Childhood Nostalgia Essay

Childhood memories never fade easily, and I long for the life I had as a child, as many others do. Nostalgia will always be a part of me, as my childhood was simply unforgettable and wonderful. When I was a child, I lived with my grandparents for a while, as my parents are both busy with work in their company. I still have a clear visual memory about my grandparents’ traditional Chinese house. The old wooden gate with black rings on both sides displays the typical Asian atmosphere. When I open the gate, I immediately smell the smoke of burning wood used to heat the house. The split firewood is stacked on the side wall of the house, enough for several winters. The front yard is covered in green fresh grass which turns into yellow dry grass as winter approaches. Some stones are imbedded in the grass like a bridge to the house from the gate. It was truly a view few other places can compete, and it’s a break from the concrete urban jungle I was used to in the cities. A medium-sized pomegranate tree is planted in the corner of the yard, and its sweet sour fruits are picked and eaten. These fruits are some of the most delicious I’d ever had, and I still long for them every single day. As a child, I was always amazed how the tree bore the red delicious fruit every year. It was then I realized how food always tastes better when you grow them yourself. Finally, there is a titanic rectangular building that seems simple in shape but complex in other aspects. The black tiled roof, in my opinion, is the most appealing strength of the house as those hundreds of tiles are engraved with delicate patterns, making the tiles bumpy and coarse. Under the roof, there is a tiny nest of swallows which symbolize peace and happiness in China. The morning at my grandparents’ house is welcomed everyday with the harmonic songs that the birds provide. These fine details of the house always linger in my head, persuading me to visit my grandparents, as these memories are simply timeless.

Negro Speaks of Rivers Analysis

Proud to have endured some of the most powerful challenges mankind has ever witnessed, he Negro spirit has grown through time with its people. In Langston Hughes’s poem, â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers†, the speaker uses devices such as anaphora and allusion to convey pride in the Negro spirit. The anaphora present in the poem is seen in phrases such as, â€Å"I bathed,† â€Å"I built,† â€Å"I looked,†   and â€Å"I heard† . Each of these phrases has a declarative feeling, in which the speaker is strongly affirming that he, himself, has performed the actions.They dictate events in history, which give the Negro spirit its sense of valiance and pride. When the speaker proclaims, â€Å"I looked upon the Congo and raised the pyramids above it,† he is alluding to his ancestors’ past experiences as slaves. In which they lived in harsh conditions, and performed demanding tasks such as building the pyramids. After this, the Negro sp irit reminisces a time when Abraham Lincoln sailed down the Mississippi by recalling, â€Å"I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset†.With the use of this allusion, the spirit mentions how the hard work throughout history has paid off, and that it is something to be proud of. The spirit has â€Å"[known] ancient dusky rivers,† in which African ancestors have lived as slaves, been mistreated and had to earn their freedom. The Negro spirit is proud of his honorable acts, in which he rose from deep within the â€Å"dusky rivers† and climbed his way to a golden sunset.

Breaking the Law

Nowadays people think rules is not something important in their life and they are not following the rules even they break the rules. For them, they can do whatever they wanted in this world because they think this world is belong to them. Their bad behaviors distract people from having a peaceful life. Addition, violence in this world getting increases and because of that, they cause a lot of trouble in mean time. There three main causes of breaking the rules and law. One of the main causes is selfishness. The selfish behavior exists because of desire. They do what they wanted. They think with their feet and not their mind. Why I am saying like this? This is because they break the traffic light rules. For example, right now is a red light and we are supposes to stop the car wait for the next green light but because of selfish behavior. They break the rules and take their risk to do whatever they wanted. Because of this, it may create a disaster, an accident or perhaps, could kill someone because of this behavior. There is more, they drive in their own way or road. For example, this road is one way road but they turn it into two ways road. The impact of overcoming accident is heavy and it is totally a big disaster. It not only could jam the highway but at the same time, they could kill hundreds of innocent people. â€Å"You intent to go into the right lane and then the traffic light ahead. But the vehicle in front of you has stopped right in front of you. And it’s a yellow box. Such selfish drivers do certainly spoil your day. † (Yap 2010) Second main cause is lack of police and their behavior. In Malaysia, we are lack of policeman and there is a plenty of chances for them to break the rules. I would like to compare with the Singapore and American. In Singapore, their policeman work hard to protect the country and civilians. In American, policeman salary is a big amount of dollars. Because of that, there are a lot of people wanted to be a policeman. But in Malaysia, policeman salary is too low and because of that, policemen do not work hard to protect the country and people. There is another reason, the reason is their behavior. Most of the policemen are lazy to do their work. This is because they need to repeat the same duty every day. But that is not the reason, some of them, they use the power to do bad thing. For example, spot-check on girls by male policeman. They take opportunity to do their pervert stuff on them. Motorcycles are meant to ferry only two people. Although the law is silent, police do not fancy arresting riders who break the law by placing a young rider in the front basket of the motorcycle. † (Yap 2010) Third main cause is deregulation. In Malaysia, people are easy to break the rules because it is too loose. Besides that, governments do not take serious in this matter. In Malay sia, they just wanted to have the power in this country. Once they get it, they do not use the power to take care the country or even protect it. They use the power for their self and they do not even look at their people. The country may be in a good place but the civil do not like the place with a lot of trouble and violations. At the same time, Malaysian government’s promises are not been fulfill. â€Å"According to a report on Thursday by online news portal MalaysiaKini, the MCMC chief operating officer, Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, confirmed that the commission was behind the site blackout. †It is being blocked because we found that some of the comments on the Web site were insensitive, bordering on incitement. † (Lee 2008) In conclusion, government should take this matter seriously or citizen may lose trust on them and they could not live in a peaceful life. Day by day, crimes getting increase and a lot of trouble going to be exist. Police should do something about it because it is getting worst. They should firm the rules so that people will obey and follow the rules in a right way. At the same time, they must get back the royalty and the trustworthy of citizen. The Malaysia is break into pieces and governments should fix it and get it into shape back before citizen take advantage. However, government brain should be wash and be like Dato’ Mahathir. They way he talks with the citizens love them, and handle the Malaysia is perfect. Perfect enough to make Malaysia in a better way. As result, citizen may have a peaceful and a great time in Malaysia. At the same time, crimes getting decrease and Malaysia live in peace. â€Å"We live peacefully alongside one another, and we are very proud of it. You find Muslims, Christians of all denominations — Catholics, Protestants — we have a lot of Hindus, Buddhists. We also have a lot of people who don't believe in anything but themselves or anyone but themselves, living harmoniously together. I think that is something the world can learn from. † (Leslie Evans 2003)

Introduction to Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Introduction to Accounting - Essay Example Fixed costs are the costs that do not change even if sales of a product changes. These costs are incurred even if there no sales made. On the other hand, the cost will not change even when sales made are very high. An example is the printer that prints newspapers. The cost of producing incurred con the printer when it prints 10 newspapers is the same as the cost for printing 1000 newspapers. Therefore, the cost of producing newspapers in terms of printer’s cost is a fixed cost. Contribution is the amount that remains after all variable costs have been subtracted from the sales revenue. Contribution caters for the fixed costs and it leads to the net income. Contribution mainly deals with the profit made by selling the products. It is very important because it helps in determining the amount of goods that need to be sold in order to recover the costs incurred during production. For example, it helps in determining the amount of whisky products that have to be sold in order to get the cost of producing the whisky. This is a point in production that occurs when the amount of cost is equal to the amount of the total sales of the products. Although many businesses are after making profits, there are some points when the businesses neither undergo loss nor get profits. This is the breakeven point of the business. Graphically, breakeven point is achieved when the total cost curve meets the total revenue costs. An example of breakeven point is when the cost of producing whisky is equal to the amount achieved from the sales of the whisky. This means that the company neither gets profit nor loss. Breakeven point is important in recognizing the relevance of variable costs and the fixed costs. Despite this importance, breakeven point cannot be overstated since it cannot help in business decision making. This is a resource that is scarce and its supply is very low. Limiting factor is also known as the principle budget factor.

Who benefits from whistleblowing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Who benefits from whistleblowing - Essay Example One of the biggest beneficiaries of whistle blowing is the public because it is through the activities of whistleblowers that they come to attain knowledge concerning what is going on in their lives. Whistle blowing allows the public to make an assessment of the activities that are taking place in their societies and to take action to prevent any negative effects of the said activities from affecting them. In most instances, whistleblowers, especially in the public sector, provide information to the public, not for their own benefit, but as a means of doing the right thing (Wilkey 2003, p.331). When whistle blowing takes place, it is for the benefit of the public because it makes the public aware of incidents that might be going on secretly and causing them harm. For example, a whistleblower might bring to light information concerning a drug from a pharmaceutical company that while it is officially believed to be effective, is in fact having negative side effects on its users. The in formation gained from the whistleblower leads to investigations whose results, if they are found to be true, end up helping the public a great deal. Not only does such information ensure the safety of patients who might have used the drug, but it also helps those patients who had negative side effects to successfully sue the company involved and receive compensation. Therefore, in this case, a major beneficiary of whistle blowing activities is the public since it is the audience of the information and it is the only one which can put pressure on the government to act in bringing accountability to public institutions. Business organisations can also be beneficiaries of whistle blowing and this is especially based on preserving their reputations. Businesses that encourage a culture of internal whistle blowing make it possible for information to be given to management

Meat Production Business in Ukraine Research Paper

Meat Production Business in Ukraine - Research Paper Example This paper considers Ukrainian meat market. It outlines such aspects as poultry, pork, beef, etc. In case of threats of new entrance, it can be asserted that the meat processing industry has faced a very few challenges from the relative nations and other industry. This research study seems to be analytical in nature since its objective lay in investigating the loopholes prevailing in the meat sector in Ukrainian market and recommending measures that will address the same. A research philosophy refers to the preferred approach, which applied by the researcher in search of knowledge, establishing the nature of the problem and its context. Here, the existence of the problem, knowledge, values and reason has been clearly delineated (Beck, 2003). This research will be based on a positivism type of paradigm. This is the school of contemplation, which advocates for reality and objectivity (Caulley, 2007). The purpose of a research based on positivism is to find causal liaison between variables through deductive reasoning to estimate probabilities and make predictions. The problem of shortage in supply of red meat in Ukrainian market is identified to be quite real and likewise demand real answers. The only framework, which can ensure the same, is positivism approach. Through objectivity, which is duly considered to be an indispensable component of positivism, valid answers can be derived from the research (Ellingson, 2007). If compared with other research philosophies and paradigms such as realism and interpretivism, positivism clearly offers the flexibility and the clarity of procedures based on which this particular type of research can be conducted efficiently.

Why might employees be crucial to competitive success Essay

Why might employees be crucial to competitive success - Essay Example In general, competitive success of an organization has an increasing impact on individuals and the community. The problem under analysis has been widely discussed in the literature. Such gurus of management as M. Porter (1985), Tomer (1987), Storey (1989), Arthur (1994), Huselid (1995), Pfeffer (1996), Huselid and Becker (1996), Pickus and Spratt (1 997), Ichniowski, et al (1997), Patterson et al (1998), Guest (2000) etc. analysed the impact of employees performance on competitive success of a firm and interdependence between HR strategies and successful business performance. They explain why employees are crucial to competitive success and what strategies a company should implement to achieve competitive success. M. Porter, in his book "Competitive Advantage" singles out the main criteria for success. Cost leadership, high quality and innovation are the main elements of competitive success (Porter, 1985). Cost leadership advantage is based on a firm's position as the industry's low-cost producer, in broadly defined markets or across a wide mix of products. For a company managing for high quality means more than just fine-tuning production controls. High quality is used as a weapon and companies are wanting to produce products that meet customers requirement. The idea is to get products to a market with fewer defects. A high degree of rivalry usually compromises the potential profitability of an industry and typically results in innovation which stimulates consumer demand for the products of the industry. Without an adequate supply of staff and employees commitment to work, it will be difficult to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. M. Armstrong agrees with Porter saying that: "unique talents among employees, including superior performance, productivity, flexibility, innovation and the ability to deliver high levels of personal customer service, are ways in which people provide a critical ingredient in developing an organization's competitive position". (Armstrong, 2001, p. 110) Decision about the future strategy of the organization are made by people and strategies are implemented by people. The success or failure of a current strategy will depend not only on decisions made in the past but also on how those decisions are being implemented now by people employed by the organization. It is therefore important to questions about who, how and why people are doing what they are doing and what they should do to achieve competitive success. Employees' skills, knowledge, and abilities are among the most distinctive and renewable resources on which a company can draw, their strategic management is more important than ever. Increasingly, organizations are recognized that their success depends on what people know, that is, their knowledge and skills. According to this Porter's theory (1985) any organization can gain competitive advantage by developing resources, which add unique value, which can't be adopted by another company. Human capital adds value to the company and it cannot be imitated. Employees are crucial for competitive success because human capital becomes" a philosophy that appeals to managements who are striving to increase competitive advantage and appreciate that to do this they must invest in human resources as well

Are DNA Databases crossing the Line Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Are DNA Databases crossing the Line - Essay Example 122). Initially, DNA samples were only collected from criminals arrested in connection of felonious nature, but the courts now target DNA collection from every arrested citizen connected with any federal crime commission. Furthermore, more DNA samples will be collected from all immigrants who are under the custody of federal authorities. When this gets fully affected, these genetic identifiers will be increased at a rate of one million persons per year to the already culturing DNA database held by the various law enforcement organs of the federal jurisdiction (Kaye, 2006, pp. 74). As a result of this broad based approach, many contentions and disagreements have been raised and it seems this is just the beginning of a much larger scheme intended to privately scrutinize people without their prior knowledge. This paper therefore endeavors to make an insight into these fundamental factors among other issues revolving around the question of DNA databanks to find out their relevance or irreleva nce in relation to human and constitution rights’ protection guidelines. United Kingdom was the first government to set up a national government database in April 1995 using the SGM- Second Generation Multiplex DNA profiling system and from 1998 adopted the SGM+ system. By the end of 2005, the database had accumulated more than 3.1 million profiles, of which about 585,000 belonged to children below 16 years of age (Leigh, 2004, pp. 23). Towards the end of 2006, the database contained over 4 million records, becoming the largest DNA database in the world at the time. Furthermore, it is estimated that this figure is increasing at a rate of thirty thousand DNA samples every month. Most of these samples are accrued from scenes of crimes as well as those collected by police from arrested suspect. This was followed by New Zealand and in 1998 France set its

Diary of an Individual (in Mesopotamia) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Diary of an Individual (in Mesopotamia) - Essay Example As Knights, they were highly skilled in warfare, trained in their bodies to be ready for battle at any moment day or night, trained in their wills to selfless subordination and cooperation. With the grace of God, I arrived at a Templar’s Priory safe and without any difficulties along the way. Perhaps, it is really the will of God, that I should serve his crusade to protect the Holy Land from the infidels who makes false claims about their faith. I am just waiting for my investiture, which I have heard so much about but none really has seen, and from then on, I shall be at the disposal of God’s Will. I thank you for bringing me out in this world and taking care of me to be the man that I am today. I know that it worries you so much for me to join this Holy Crusade. But God has purpose for every one of us, and mine is to serve Him and to protect the Faith. Please don’t feel bad as this service will surely earn His Grace and will absolve our sins. If man has to do p enance for, it would be better to do it for his service of His crusade. I promise you I will be safe. Please do not worry, God is on my side and He will protect me. Whatever that will happen to me will be according to His Will. For I leave everything to him now, from everything that I own to my own life. For there is no greater glory in this life than to serve the purpose of God. Your beloved son. Dear Camilla, I am writing to you in excitement and in pain. I am excited. Any moment now, I will be dubbed as a Knight and will be joining the ranks of men who serve the Glory of God.... I am excited because any moment now, I will be dubbed as a Knight and will be joining the illustrious ranks of men who serve the Glory of God. I cannot tell you enough how happy I am to be in this Priory. Just this morning, I made my prayer to the Almighty bidding you good health and happiness. I already made the necessary preparations of cleansing my soul to be ready to receive the glory of God. From then on, I shall be forbidden to cleanse my physical body for what would matter after that would be the purity of my soul. I love you. I cherish the moments we had and every time I feel lonesome, I just say my prayers and think about you. And all of my worries are gone. But I have to take a code that I am not to covet any earthly possession and woman for I will serve solely God’s Will. I will be sworn to poverty, obedience and chastity. And to that, in as much as my heart bleeds, I know that God has a purpose for both of us. I thank your love, and I have not loved any woman as mu ch as I have loved you. But my calling demands that I have to release you from your engagement to me. For I will become a monk, who will serve only but God. It pains me to release you for I loved you, but I know that in time, this pain will be healed by his Grace. I bid you happiness and health. And may you find a man who will love and cherish you as much as I do. And have a family which I cannot provide. I am breaking up not because of the lack of love, but because of a greater love. Love that encompasseth all things to join a crusade to protect the Faith. Your beloved Letter 3 (letter to a friend) Dear Faust, I am sorry I was not able to say my final bidding when I left. It came to me that you were looking for me and quite worried for me. Please worry not for I am safe and in the Grace of

Creative Photography Essay Example for Free

Creative Photography Essay What are three examples of forms of music? One example of forms of music Describe each form. What is form in music? Critical Thinking Questions Music has sometimes been referred to as a universal language. Why has this description been applied to music? Emotions are a common feeling shared among human beings. Music communicates so many things that everyone can understand without having to speak a word . It communicates love, frustration, hatred, war, friendship, commerce, marriage, separation, unity, confusion. Music is referred to as a Universal language Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Yes I agree Why? Music is universal it provokes the same feelings no matter what kind or style it is music cultivates everyone’s inner feelings. and thoughts Why is musical notation important? Musical nation is important What benefits do musicians and others receive from being able to write down and note aspects of a musical piece? In the first part of the module, we discussed how music is everywhere in society. What are some of the ways that we use music? How do you use music in your own life? Music can help influence the mood or feeling in a place by the way in which it is played. What is a specific example of this that you have experienced? Discuss the experience (what was the song? how was it played? how did the mood/feeling change? ). For example, you might discuss an experience at a concert, religious service, or another place where music played a part in creating the mood.

Vehicle ad-hoc Network (VANETS) Technology

Vehicle ad-hoc Network (VANETS) Technology Chapter 1 Introduction Now a day, everything is moving away from wired technology and leading towards wireless. The fascination of mobility, accessibility and flexibility makes wireless technologies the dominant method of transferring all sorts of information. Satellite televisions, cellular phones and wireless Internet are well-known applications of wireless technologies. This work presents a promising wireless application and introduces a tiny contribution to its research community. Research in wireless communication field is growing faster, day by day, then any other field. It serves a very broad range or series of different kind of applications using different topologies. Every one of these comes with some new and specialized protocols. In this research, we will present an introduction to a wireless technology. This wireless technology directly affects car accidents and the sales of one of the largest markets. It is the technology of building a strong network between mobile vehicles; i.e. let vehicles communicate to each other. This promising technology is literally called Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs). 1.1 Background Since the first invention of mobile vehicles, governments and manufacturers have researched accidents to reduce the number of vehicle crashes in order to reduce costs, injuries and fatalities. First of all, VANET technology is going to reduce crashes by doing research in this field. Accordingly, related governmental authorities initiated new projects to the learning institute for study, research, development in the field of wireless technology and VANETs also paying attention in its standards. The ‘Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) [1] is a pioneer ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation [2]) project dedicated to VANET standardization. Then, the acronym or short form ‘DSRC becomes a global or familiar name of kind of standards that aim to put VANET technology into life. The DSRC mainly concerns with the communication that is how to make different communication links between vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle -to/from-roadside units. 1.2 Motivation In the last few years, vehicular network has gained great attention in industry. Federal communication commission (FCC) has assigned 5.850-5.925GHZ frequency band to promote safe and efficient road trips, which is planned for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. Car manufacturers, e.g., Audi, BMW and DaimlerChrysler, also formed a Car2Car communication consortium [3], in which the prototype development for inter-vehicle communications is underway. In near past, IEEE 802.11-based solutions for VANETs are also studied by IEEE 802.11p. IEEE 802.11p Wireless Access in the Vehicular Environment (WAVE) that defines changes to IEEE 802.11 to help Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications. IEEE 802.11p helps data exchanges between fast moving vehicles with each other and also exchanges data from vehicles to road side unit or from road side unit to vehicles in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz. The Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz is here today to provide safety that is increasing safety in case of road accidents, reducing highway or road maintenance cost and also improving mobility. Intersection and road departure collisions report for round about 50 percent of all crashes and victims on our roads. On an average day in the United States, vehicular collisions kill 116 and injure 7900[8]. More health care dollars are consumed in the United States treating crash victims than any other cause of illness or injury [8], [10]; the situation in the European Union is similar, with over 100 deaths and 4600 injuries daily, and the annual cost of â‚ ¬160 billion [11]. By getting rid from road victims and crashes, DSRC can provide or play important role in reducing road accidents, deaths, injuries, heavy traffic and increasing road safety by improving communication between vehicles and between vehicles and road side infrastructure. DSRC emerged from a partnership among automobile manufacturers, state and federal transportation officials, toll transponder equipment suppliers and the Federal Communications Commission. There is a recognized need for on-the-go communication with motor vehicles and reliable communication between vehicles to increase highway safety by providing warnings and alerts that enable drivers to take corrective and/or evasive actions. At the same time, it can be able to provide information i.e. real time information to drivers so that to improve mobility and motorist conv enience, such as information on congestion or traffic incidents. The car manufacturing industrys determination to roll out vehicle-to-vehicle communication in the near future and, on the other hand, to the increasing disillusionment concerning the need for the vast number of protocols developed for general Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs) in the past few years while on the other side that is for VANETs, industry pressure has created a situation in which an overwhelming interest in solutions to problems leads to a preference for real-world research as opposed to fancy theory. As the concept came from MANETs which totally depend on the subscribers motion as the motion is random it is difficult to cater it but this problem was very negligible when researchers observed it in VANETS. At highways vehicle move in an organized pattern with different speeds so initially it seemed that VANET will easily be implemented. Another major reason for VANET can be Traffic deaths and injuries which is a major health and social issue. While industrialized nations (e.g., the United States) have continuously reduced annual traffic deaths since 1970, annual traffic-related fatalities and injuries remain high (in the United States alone there were over 41,000 deaths and 5 million injuries in 2000, according to the NHTSA) [7]. The economic impact of vehicle crashes in the United States exceeded US$230 billion or 2.3 percent of the U.S. GDP in 2000 [7]. We want to remain connected with the world through net whether at home, airport, at work or even on the roads. Example Description Obstacle warning Stopped/Skidding/Slowing down vehicle warning, road obstacle/object-on-road warning Lane Merge/Lane Change Assistance Merging/Lane changing vehicles communicates with vehicles in lane to safely and smoothly merge. Adaptive Cruise/Cooperative Driving Automatically stop and go smoothly, when vehicles are in heavy roadway traffic; cooperates driving by exchanging cruising data among vehicles. Intersection/Hidden Driveway Collision Warning vehicles communicates to avoid collisions at intersections without traffic lights or hidden driveway. Roadway Condition Awareness Vehicles communicates to extend vision beyond line of sight (e.g. beyond a big turn or over a hill) Table-1.1: Example of Vehicle Safety Communication [10] 1.3 Scope of Project Some of the industries and universities working on VANETs are as follow DaimlerChrysler AG Fraunhofer FOKUS NEC Europe Ltd. Robert Bosch GmbH Siemens AG TEMIC Telefunken Microelectronic GmbH Universities of Mannheim, Hamburg-Harburg, Karlsruhe, and Hannover. 1.4 Organization of Project Thisthesisis mainly divided into four chapters. In the first two chapters (1-2) introduction and an overview over the topic and used technologies is given. In the following chapter (3), we have discussed the standards of IEEE and also discussed the MAC Layer and PHY Layer of IEEE 802.11 in detail. In chapter 4, simulation analysis of our work is shown along with the results. In the last chapter, we have summarized this whole thesis, what we have concluded from this project and future work needs to be done are discussed. Finally, in appendix some additional information can be found. In chapter two, VANETs characteristics, some of its applications and the research challenges faced by governments and car manufactures are discussed, continued by MAC Layer and PHY in chapter three. We have also discussed the WAVE architecture in chapter 2. From chapter three on, we have a look at some protocol improvements and extensions. Some thoughts, tests and their results on VANETs, those are related to our work, can be found in chapter 4. Chapter 2 VANETs VANETs (Vehicle ad-hoc Networks) is a form of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs), which provide a communication between the vehicles and also fixed equipments, usually defined as road side equipments. 2.1 What is VANET Vehicle ad hoc network comprises of three words. i. Vehicle ii. Ad-hoc iii. Networks i. Vehicle â€Å"A machine such as a bus or car for transporting people or goods†. [4] A lot of progress is happening in the field of vehicles since the invention of wheel. Development is due to provide services to the people and make their task easier. ii. Ad-hoc It refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. For example you just meet someone outside your office and you exchange some words. On the other hand infrastructure system is a system which is fully installed and deployed than it works according to some predefined rules and regulations. iii. Network â€Å"A system, as in a business or university, consisting of a computer or computers and connected terminals, printers etc. specific, a local area network†.[3] The concept of networking is introduced because resources are limited and we have to utilize them efficiently. As it is not possible for firms to provide printer, faxes and other machines to everyone so they just inter linked all the devices so that each one can utilize it keeping the cost at minimum. Vehicular connectivity can be fairly considered a future killer application, adding extra value to the car industry and operators services. Taking into account the constant growth of automotive market and the increasing demand for the car safety, also driven by regulatory (governmental) domain, the potential of car-to-car connectivity is immense. Such system should be suitable for a wide spectrum of applications, including safety related, traffic and fleet control and entertainment. First, issues concerning architecture, security, routing, performance or QoS need to be investigated. Standardization of interfaces and protocols should be carefully planned to ensure interoperability, as vehicles coming from different vendors must communicate seamlessly. Having different competing systems would result in decreased market penetration and poor overall system efficiency, thus only one common system can be deployed. And finally, wise deployment strategy has to be proposed, as most applicatio n would become functional only after certain market penetration is reached. The first milestone of standardization process was the allocation of 75 MHz of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) spectrum to accommodate Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to- Infrastructure (V2I) communication for safety-related applications by US Federal Communications Commission (1999). Commercial applications are also allowed to operate in this spectrum. 2.2 VANETs Applications According to the DSRC, there are over one hundred recommended applications of VANETs. These applications are of two categories, safety and non-safety related application. Moreover, they can be categorized into OBU-to-OBU or OBU-to-RSU applications. Some of these applications are as followed: 2.2.1 Co-operative Collision Warning Co-operative collision warning is an OBU-to-OBU safety application, that is, in case of any abrupt change in speed or driving direction, the vehicle is considered abnormal and broadcasts a warning message to warn all of the following vehicles of the probable danger. This application requires an efficient broadcasting algorithm with a very small latency. 2.2.2 Lane Change Warning Lane-change warning is an OBU-to-OBU safety application, that is, a vehicle driver can warn other vehicles of his intention to change the traveling lane and to book an empty room in the approaching lane. Again, this application depends on broadcasting. 2.2.3 Intersection Collision Warning Intersection collision warning is an OBU-to-RSU safety application. At intersections, a centralized node warns approaching vehicles of possible accidents and assists them determining the suitable approaching speed. This application uses only broadcast messages. In June 2007, General Motors ‘GM addressed the previously mentioned applications and announced for the first wireless automated collision avoidance system using vehicle-to-vehicle communication (Figure-2.1), as quoted from GM, If the driver doesnt respond to the alerts, the vehicle can bring itself to a safe stop by avoiding a collision. 2.2.4 Approaching Emergency vehicle Approaching emergency vehicle is an OBU-to-OBU public-safety application, that is, high-speed emergency vehicles (ambulance or police car) can warn other vehicles to clear their lane. Again, this application depends on broadcasting. 2.2.5 Rollover Warning Rollover warning is an OBU-to-RSU safety application. A RSU localized at critical curves can broadcast information about curve angle and road condition, so that, approaching vehicles can determine the maximum possible approaching speed before rollover. 2.2.6 Work Zone Warning Work zone warning is an OBU-to-RSU safety application. A RSU is mounted in work zones to warn incoming vehicles of the probable danger and warn them to decrease the speed and change the driving lane. 2.2.7 Near Term [5] Traffic Signal Violation Warning Curve Speed Warning Emergency Electronic Brake Lights 2.2.8 Mid Term [5] Pre-Crash Warning Cooperative Forward Collision Warning Left Turn Assistant Lane Change Warning Stop Sign Movement Assistance Application Comm. type Freq Latency Data Transmitted Range Traffic Signal Violation 12V One-way, P2M 10 Hz 100msec Signal Status, Timing, Surface Heading, Light Position, Weather 250m Curve Speed Warning 12V One-way, P2M 1 Hz 1000msec Curve Location, Curvature, Speed Limit, Bank, Surface 200m Emergency Brake Light Vehicle to Vehicle Two-way, P2M 10 Hz 100msec Position, Deceleration Heading, Velocity 200m Pre-Crash Sensing Vehicle to Vehicle Two-way, P2P 50 Hz 20msec Vehicle type, Yaw Rate, Position Heading, Acceleration, 50m Collision Warning Vehicle to Vehicle One-way, P2M 10 Hz 100msec Vehicle type, Position, Heading Velocity, Acceleration, Yaw Rate 150m Left Turn Assist 12V and V21 One-way, P2M 10 Hz 100msec Signal Status, Timing, Position, Direction, Road Geom., Vehicle Heading 300m Lane Change Warning Vehicle to Vehicle One-way, P2M 10 Hz 100msec Position, Heading, Velocity, Acceleration, Turn Signal Status 150m Stop Sign Assist 12V and V21 One-way 10 Hz 100msec Position, Velocity, Heading, Warning 300m Table-2.1: Eight high-priority vehicular safety applications as chosen by NHTSA and VSCC. Note that communication freq. ranges from 1-50 Hz and Max. Communication range spam 50-300 meters. P2M represents â€Å"Point-to-Multipoint†, 12V represents â€Å"infrastructure to vehicle† and V21 represents â€Å"Vehicle-to-Infrastructure†. [5] 2.2.9 Comfort related applications Traffic efficiency Better navigation Internet access The whole theme of these applications is improving passengers comfort and traffic efficiency. That includes nearest POI (Points of Interest) localization, current traffic or weather information and interactive communication. All kinds of applications might be applied here. Another application is reception of data from commercial vehicles and roadside infrastructure about their businesses (wireless advertising). Enterprises (shopping malls, fast foods, gas stations, hotels) can set up stationary gateways to transmit marketing data to potential customers passing by. The important feature of comfort/commercial applications is that they should not interfere with safety applications. In this context traffic prioritizing and use of separate physical channels is a viable solution. 2.2.10 Safety related applications Accidence avoiding Danger warnings Intersection coordination Cooperative driving Safety-related applications may be grouped in three main classes: assistance (navigation, cooperative collision avoidance, and lane-changing), information (speed limit or work zone info) and warning (post crash, obstacle or road condition warnings). They usually demand direct communication due to their delay-critical nature. One such application would be emergency notifications, e.g. emergency braking alarms. In case of an accident or sudden hard breaking, a warning is sent to the subsequent cars. That information could also be propagated by cars driving in the opposite direction and, thereby, conveyed to the vehicles that might run into the accident. Another, more advanced example is cooperative driver assistance system, which exploits the exchange of sensor data or other status information among cars. The basic idea is to broaden the range of perception of the driver beyond his field of vision and further on to assist the driver with assistance applications. Transmitting this data to cars following on the same road, drivers get information about hazards, obstacles or traffic flow ahead; hence driving is more efficient and safer. Some applications of this kind are operating only when certain penetration of VANET enabled cars is reached. [6] 2.3 VANETs Characteristics Although VANETs, Wireless Sensor Networks and Wireless Mesh Networks are special cases of the general MANETs, VANETs possess some noticeable characteristics that make its nature a unique one. These properties present considerable challenges and require a set of new especially designed protocols. Due to the high mobility of vehicles, that can be up to one hundred fifty kilometers per hour, the topology of several VANET changes frequently and unexpectedly. Hence, the time that a communication link exists between two vehicles is very short especially when the vehicles are traveling in opposite directions. A one solution to increase the lifetime of links is to increase the transmission power, but increasing a vehicles transmission range will increase the collision probability and mortify the overall throughput of the system. The other solution having a set of new protocols is employing a very low latency. Another effect of these high speed nodes is that the usefulness of the broadcasted messages is very critical to latency. For example, if we assume that a vehicle is unexpectedly stopping or suddenly stops, it should broadcast a message to warn other vehicles of the probable danger. Considering that the driver needs at least 0.70 to 0.75 sec to initiate his response [7], the warning message should be delivered at virtually zero sec latency. In VANETs, location of nodes changes very quickly and unpredictably, so that, building an efficient routing table or a list of neighbor nodes will tire out the wireless channel and reduce the network efficiency. Protocols that rely on prior information about location of nodes are likely to have a poor performance. However, the topologies of a VANET can be a benefit because vehicles are not expected to leave the covered road; therefore, the running direction of vehicles is predictable to some extent. Although, the design challenge of protocols in wireless sensor networks is to minimize the power consumption, this is not a problem in VANETs. Nodes in VANETs depend on a good power supply (e.g. vehicle battery and the dynamo) and the required transmission power is small compared with power consumption of on-board facilities (e.g. air-condition). It is predicted that, as VANET is deployed in the beginning, only a small percentage of vehicles will be outfitted with transceivers. Thus, the benefits of the new technology, especially OBU-to-OBU applications, will not go up until many years. Furthermore, the limited number of vehicles with transceivers will lead to a numerous fragmentation of the network. Even when VANET is fully deployed, fragmentation may still exist in rural areas, thereupon, any VANET protocol should expect a fragmented network. Privacy, safety and security are of fundamental effect on the public receiving of this technology. In VANETs, every node represents a specific person and its location tells about his location. Any requirement of privacy can ease a third party monitoring persons daily activities. However, from the other point of view, higher authorities should gain access to identity information to ensure punishment of illegal actions, where, there is a fear of a possible misuse of this feature. The tampering with messages could increase false alarms and accidents in some situations defeating the whole purpose of this technology. Finally, the key difference between VANET protocols and any other form of Ad-Hoc networks is the design requirement. In VANETs, the key design requirement is to minimize latency with no prior topology information. However, the key design requirement of Wireless Sensor Network is to maintain network connectivity with the minimum power consumption and the key proposed design requirement of Wireless Mesh Network is reliability. WE can summarize the main characteristics of VANETs as follows; High mobility of nodes No prior information about the exact location of neighbor nodes Predictable topology (to some extent) Significant latency requirement especially in cases of safety related applications No problem with power Slow migration rate High possibility to be fragmented Crucial effect of security and privacy 2.4 Research Challenges in VANETs When deploying of a vehicular networking system, a number of issues have to be determined, often from distant fields of expertise, ranging from applications improvement up to efficient issues. VANET could be considered as an instantiation of MANETs (Mobile Ad hoc Networks); however their behavior is fundamentally different. These unique characteristics of these networks are as follows: Rapid topology changes and fragmentation, resulting in small effective network diameter Virtually no power constrains Variable, highly dynamic scale and network density Driver might adjust his behavior reacting to the data received from the network, inflicting a topology change Here we briefly mention some of the core research challenges that need to be discussed. 2.5 Wireless Access technology There are several wireless access standards that could be used as a foundation for VANET technology. In general the major seek is to provide a set of air interface protocols and parameters for high-speed vehicular communication by mean of one or more different media. 2.5.1 Cellular technology (2/2.5/3G) The key role of 2/2.5G i.e. cellular technology are coverage and security, and 3G, slowly but steadily coming over 2/2,5G, provides enhanced and better capacity and bandwidth. Several telematic and fleet management projects already uses cellular technology (e.g. SMS reports), on the other hand it is comparatively more expensive, together with limited bandwidth and latency make it impossible to use as a main communication means. 2.5.2 IEEE 802.11p based technology IEEE is working on a variation of 802.11 standards that would be applied to support communication between vehicles and the roadside, or, alternatively, among vehicles themselves, operating at speeds up to 200 km/h, handling communication ranges as high as 1,000 meters. PHY and MAC layers are based on IEEE 802.11a, shifted to the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz within US). The technology is promoted by the car industry both in Europe and US. Estimated deployment cost is foreseen to be relatively low due to large production volumes. C. Combined wireless access one of the most significant and important efforts in combining those wireless access technologies is done by ISO TC 204 WG16. It builds on the top of IEEE 802.11p, using additional set of interface protocols. Currently supported standards include: Cellular Systems: GSM/GPRS (2/2.5G) and UMTS (3G), Infrared Communication and wireless systems in 60 GHz band. Using all those interfaces in a single, uniform system would result in incre ased flexibility and redundancy, thus improving applications performance. Apart from interoperability issues, CALM is also engaged in the standardization of the protocols, network layer and the management services. 2.6 WAVE Architecture WAVE system architecture is totally a set of WAVE standards that describes the communication stack of vehicular nodes and the physical air link between them. Any RSU may have two interfaces, one for the WAVE stack or architecture or wireless networks and the other for external interfaces like wired line Ethernet that may be used to get access to internet and for connection to internet it is mainly used. Similarly, each OBU may have two interfaces, one for the wireless WAVE stack and the other for sensor-connections and human interaction. OBU is not full-duplex so, therefore, it cannot transmit messages simultaneously, so DSRC is half-duplex. The RSU and OBU can send messages only when the channel becomes idle and also confirmed that it is idle. If the channel is busy, RSU and OBU need to wait and if the channel is idle then RSU or OBU will send the signal Request to Send (RTS) to control channel. The control channel will allocate the channel on the basis of high priority first followed by low priority. The high priority messages are those messages related to public safety. The WAVE architecture is defined by the IEEE 1609 family of standards and uses the IEEE 802.11p amendment to extend the use of 802.11 to vehicles. The IEEE 1609 family is composed of four standards describing the resource manager, security services, networking services and multi- channel operations. WAVE standard consists of five complementary parts 802.11p â€Å"Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE)† [8] which is an amendment to the well known IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard and covers the physical layer of the system. 1609.1 â€Å"Resource Manager† [8] that covers optional recommendations for the application layer. [13], [14] 1609.2 â€Å"Security Services for Applications and Management Messages† [8] that covers security, secure message formatting, processing and exchange. [13], [14] 1609.3 Networking Services† [8] that covers the WAVE communication stack. [13], [14] 1609.4 â€Å"Multi-Channel Operation† [8] that covers the arrangement of multiple channels and how they should be used. [13], [14] The most evident part is its dual stack. Whereas there is a well-known stack, called TCP/IP stacks and on the other hand there is a stack, called WAVE Short Message stack. The function of the WAVE Short Message stack is to provide a connectionless transport protocol i.e. without checking the connection that whether connection is made or not, similar to UDP but on a single-hop basis. The safety applications are supposed to use this stack only while non-safety applications can use both. It should be noted that the devise or design of this approach is focused on non-safety applications and considers safety as a black box. 2.6.1 IEEE 1609.1 Resource Manager The IEEE 1609.1 standard defines the architecture and data flows of WAVE. It also describes command messages and data formats. [9], [8]. The standard explains how data communication between road side units and vehicle on board units occurs. The discussion of this standards operation will be based on the standard defines applications residing on the on board unit as Resource Command Processors and those residing in road side units or elsewhere as Resource Manager Applications. The Resource Manager is the focus of this standard and is also the application that is responsible for managing communication between multiple Resource Manager Applications and Resource Command Processors. [9], [8] WAVE communication imitates a client-server architecture that is managed by the Resource Manager. For example, in the case where a company wants to provide traffic updates by analyzing vehicle speed statistics in a stretch of highway, the application that analyzes the traffic data (a Resource Manager Application) would reside on the road side unit or a remote server that is connected to a road side unit. When the Resource Manager Application sends a request for the speed of the vehicle the Resource Manager application in the road side unit receives the request then forwards it to the vehicles Resource Command Processor application using WAVE. The vehicle then replies to the Resource Manager which forwards the message to the Resource Manager Application. If another passing vehicle asks for traffic updates by sending a request to the road side unit, the roles of client and server from the previous case are switched. WAVE is designed to provide secure communications and minimize the cost of on board units by minimizing the amount of processing required by them. All only desired information relevant to road safety will be transferred. 2.6.2 IEEE 1609.2 Security Services The IEEE 1609.2 standard defines secure message formats and processing and infers circumstances for using secure message exchange. [13], [8]. It deals with security services for applications and management messages. Security is important in WAVE because vehicles transmit sensitive information that could constitute a violation of privacy if accessed by unauthorized parties. The efficacy and reliability of a system where information is gathered and shared among autonomous entities raises concerns about the authenticity of the received data. For example, a bad actor could misrepresent its observations in order to gain advantage (e.g. a vehicle V falsely reports that its desired road R is stopped with traffic, thereby encouraging others to avoid R and providing a less-congested trip for V on R). More malicious actors could impersonate other vehicles or road-side infrastructure in order to trigger safety hazards. Vehicles could reduce this threat by creating networks of trust, and ignorin g, or at least distrusting, information from un-trusted senders. [13], [8] A trusted communication generally requires two properties are met: The sender is conclusively identified as a trusted source. While in transit, the contents of the senders message are not tampered. WAVE maintains security by ensuring confidentiality and authenticity in message transmissions. The final standard is expected to address privacy issues with the current version. WAVE ensures confidentiality

Social Work Analysis

Social Work Analysis My setting is a small rural Church of England Voluntary Controlled primary school with approximately 75 children and approximately 12 teaching staff including the head and teaching assistants. The staff work, on a part and full time basis. There are 3 mixed ability and mixed age classes. Class 1 consists of reception, year 1 and half of year 2 children. It is interesting to note that the half of year 2 children are all boys. Class 2 is the other half of year 2, year 3 and half of year 4, again mainly boys. Class 3 consists of the rest of year 4, 5 and 6. This is an old village school with modern additions. There are two separate play areas including hard surface and grass areas and play equipment. In 2009 education league tables my setting was in the top third. The setting performed below national average in 2008 for year 6 Standard Attainment Tests (SATS) however in 2009 we were slightly above the national average. In 2009 30.8% of year 6 children were identified as having special needs, from a class of 13. (bbc.co.uk. Accessed 22 Id April 2010) In the last OFSTED report 2007 the setting achieved an overall score of 2- Good. The major feeder for the setting is the local pre-school. I view my own role in the setting is to enable and support each child. It is of key importance that I, as it is for all practitioners to I view my own role in the setting is to enable and support each child. It is key importance that I, as it is for all practitioners to identify any need of a child be it physical or emotional or in way affects the holistic well being of the child. All early years staff are committed to putting children first: the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). (Hobart and Frankel 2003:123) All barriers to a childs growth and life chances must be addressed. If a child has a need that may not be fully met by the practitioners alone within the setting the lead practitioner must be informed to alert and call in the team of outside agencies to meet with the parents and practitioners in the setting to provide the best service to meet the needs of that child. This is in line with the Governments vision of integrated front-line delivery of services to improve future outcomes of children and their families. (It is crucial for practitioners to act as facilitators. To meet the needs of a child the role of a practitioner is to first identify the need and if necessary share the information with other specialists and other outside agencies to aid the process of better outcomes for that child. Individual Learning Plans and Common Assessment Forms are useful tools for collaborative working. Communication is the key to executing strategies and building positive working relationships. It is a vital role of my practice to develop and maintain relations to the other organisations. Relationships develop and change over time. It is through critical reflection and analysis that practitioners can think and improve their practice. There are many different ways that the Setting communicates with the different groups. There are different levels of formality and speed required. For example in a child safeguarding situation, urgent action may need to be taken. Action could be initiated by a means of a telephone call followed by written statements. Other forms of communication include minuted meetings, for example parents and a Local Educational Authority and Practitioner meet to discuss an Action Plan for an individual child. Written reports form the core of an Individual Learning Plan for a child with additional needs. Other reports include OFSTED Action Plans agreed with the Head Practitioner and the Governors. For example member A of the Behavioural Support Team called a meeting with the Head Practitioner and the two named Practitioner supporting a child with challenging behaviour. The reason for the meeting was to discuss the effectiveness of the latest action plan that they had created for a child in class 1. The Head Practitioner had received the plan of new strategies but had not shared the information with the other practitioners therefore the new methods of dealing with certain behaviour had not been implemented due to the lack of communication between members at the Setting. On reflection of this critical incident, I wonder why the childs parents were had not invited to the meeting to share their views on how best to support their child in the Setting. This is an example of top-down management. In my role as an Early Years Works I need full access to the information necessary for individually supporting each child otherwise Every Child Matters will not work. The power is most definitely with the specialist to instruct the setting to carry out a plan of action with different support mechanisms. This is as a direct result for government inclusion policy, but the practitioner cannot implement the plan if the setting does not have an open or transparent communication policy. It is probably a weakness in management skills and a lack of democratic leadership skills that the lead practitioner does not share information. Alternatively this could be as a result of an overloading of responsibilities on one Head Practitioner. Thirdly the Head Practitioner may not trust the confidentiality of the staff. In his book, The Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schon talks about the benefits of reflection. (infed.org Last Accessed 16th April 2010) This allows practitioners to explore the interactive processes which have impact on practice and outcomes of children, their families and their community. Through reflection practitioners may gauge the effectiveness of action taken at the Setting. Through reflection practitioners may focus and think about their own values and beliefs. Reflection is an important tool to evaluate and improve ones practice. The process allows a deeper understanding of the impact of practice on a childs development. Knowledge gained from the whole procedure should shape practice and the sharing of information and experiences with other practitioner will raise issues for discussion which will ultimately benefit both practitioners and children. This method should lead to improved practice and greater understanding of issues in the setting. I have critically reflected on improving the communication links between the practitioner and behavioral unit. One way round this, could be for the behavioural team to feel sufficiently confident to send the information directly to the Early Years Practitioner who is working directly with the child. There may be an issue of power or positioning. Possibly the behavioral team perceive themselves as professional elite and recognise the Head Practitioner as equal in professional status Another member of the behavioural support team, older, wiser and more experienced, took a different approach regarding the same child. Met with behavioural support worker B regarding child possibly on the Autistic Spectrum. He asked for feedback on the childs behaviour and well being. He specifically asked if the child was happy and engaging with the other children. He asked my opinion on what I thought would be the best strategy in supporting learning as he said you have built up a relationship with the child and he understood that I worked closely with the child on a day to day basis. (Reflective Journal November 2009) On reflection the practitioners including myself, would have been in a better position to comment if more information had been made available to me, in preparation to the meeting. I would like to have been fully informed and kept up to date with the latest information as I was one of the named persons for that child. This made the meeting a waste of time as I was unable to comment on how the child had responded to the new board and methods as I had not created the new teaching resources. The Head Practitioner had received the previous report and recommendation from the behavioural unit but this information was not shared with any of the other practitioners. Consequently no action had been taken by the practitioners supporting the child. (Reflective Journal October 2009) My ability to reflect on failures and successes in the use of different communication styles between professionals will enable me to ask for information in order to do my job. So reflection is an important process which aids professional development and practice. The aim is to include and enable all children using specific plans for inclusion. A practitioner professional duty is to use critical thinking and critical action as a tool to improve life chances and promote a healthy quality of life for individual children. This will bring the government policy of Every Child Matters into reality within my Setting. The Government recognises the crucial role of parents, carers and families in improving outcomes for children and young people and the need to provide support for parents, carers and families in order for them to do so. The Government also recognises the important role of the local community. (Last Accessed 30-04-10 at bbc. co. uk) Through joined up working and positive partnerships, the needs and holistic wellbeing of every child should be met to realise the Governments vision of Every Child Matters. The issues involving power and position of practitioner are complex. The flow of power has a direct effect on how a child and their family are supported. Power itself is a very tricky idea. Finding out where the power is involves at least two manoeuvres. First, we ask ourselves: who is in a position to influence or control the lives of whom? Secondly, we ask ourselves: in whose interests is this influence or control exerted? (Walmsley et al 1997:131-132) The question of power and status has a direct effect on relationships. Those who are at a similar level of position may be more inclined to share information, than with a person that they perceive to have a lower social status. Unequal power in relationships and partnerships may have an immense impact on the processes needed for joined up working and could directly affect the outcome for children. It is important to understand the relationship between personal and social construction. The flow of power is a two-directional process. Each persons actions are influenced by their values and beliefs. These actions effect children, families and the wider community. Their values and beliefs are affected by the community in which they live, so these values are shaped by social structure. Our social identity may change depending on experiences, relationships and social interactions. (Wabsley 1997:235-237) Different practitioners have different views on their role. Beliefs of others may differ from the beliefs of self. For example other peer practitioners do not believe that it is also their responsibility to support and interact heavily with parents and family. They are happy to deal with other education professionals but they see parents as an obstacle to their work. There are also parents who do not wish to engage with practitioner. There are numerous reasons as to why parents and carers may not work effectively with the Setting. The barriers may be physical or concerning difficulties in communication. (Hobert and Frankel 2003:136) For example a lack of time for developing relationships or if they have the opinion that the practitioners are interfering or making judgements on the way they live; or had a poor educational experience and may feel intimidated by the educational environment. They may also not understand the value of engaging with the Setting. The Government policy aims to bring about change with emphasis on empowerment and community development. This needs good partnerships between families, practitioners and the groups in the wider community. This is not possible if all the practitioners do not share the same vision or if parents do not want to participate in partnerships with the Setting. Some parents are hard to reach and it can be problematic in deciding the best course of action. A practitioner needs to attempt to engage with parents whilst maintaining a professional distance. Parents and family are crucial members of the team around the child. For all of a childs needs to be met all groups that can provide a service to benefit the child must participate and work together towards a common goal. 13Values are therefore linked to wider ideas which are woven into the social fabric and are often mixed and contradictory. We therefore need to expose and examine our own assumptions as professional workers. (Lea 2010 Including and Enabling professional practice and inclusion notes) The Government provide the Schools, National Health Service, Police and other agencies to support the family. The Government also conduct research to develop social policies to regulate and shape childrens lives to ultimately improve each childs social outcome. Policies and frameworks for example, the Early Years Foundation stage and Every Child Matters are designed to guide Setting, Social Workers and other Health Professional to give every child a fairer chance in life. Communication is an important step to try to improve the chances and opportunities of all children. If a setting fails to communicate effectively with an agency there have been extreme consequences for the child and family. Three children a week are dying of abuse or neglect at the hands of parents or guardians,. including some already on the child protection register. Last Accessed 2nd May 2010 at dailymail.co.uk There may be an impact on the child due to domestic violence. Practitioners need to be vigilant and in tune with the childs usual behaviour to notice differences in the attitude, health and well being of the child. 15 The Setting is the core of the diagram. Setting practitioners spend the most time with children and families and in a position to have the closest relationships. The next group have less time in contact with the child, but have regular input for the support of the children in the setting. They are a part of the local community as well as the setting. The third including OFSTED and LEA professionals are called in by the school specialists may have intensive time with a limited number of children on a 1:1 basis. The fourth include Emergency services and the wider community groups. The motivation for community contact is to be proud and social cohesion. Finally the Government has overarching policies and how they resource and affect children families and the Setting. The long-term outcomes may include children engaged with their community and this may lead to a sense of belonging and an increase in health, positive behaviour and well being. inter-professional and inter-agency working has a huge positive impact on the welfare of children. Government funding, resources and how practitioners support children impact on their self-esteem, progression and multiple issues concerning their life chances. It is the practitioners responsibility to ensure that the resources always get through to the individual child Early Year practitioners are agents of change. They have the responsibility to ensure high quality early year provision. Their duty to meet the Early Year Foundation Stage involves the aim to constantly improve practice and work in partnership with parents and the wider community. The building of supportive relationships with children requires listening effectively to their voice and all the voices of other groups and organisations that interact with the Setting and can influence the childs life chances Through reflection in action and reflection on action a practitioner may use experiences to aid professional development and meet the expectations of the Government. The EYFS process is designed to take down the barriers between professions. The team around the child should have shared values and aims in terms of the outcome of the child and family and consequently the community bought together by the government initiative. The EYPS will allow a better understanding of how the different groups collaborate and this should improve every childs life chances. (ECM para) This builds on the core aims of Every Child Matters which was designed to give a fairer chance to all children. Be Healthy, economic independence. The long-term Government vision is to narrow the gap between the children who achieve and those who do not by providing services to children and their families which is focused on the following five outcomes. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Being healthy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Staying safe à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Enjoying and achieving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Making a positive contribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Economic well-being (Pugh and Duffy 2006:10) The children from certain groups such as looked after children, traveller children, children with disability and the Gifted and Talented are often considered to be vulnerable to not having all their needs met. The development of Childrens services aims to integrate health, social and educational teams. For true integration to a team and take collective responsibility of the child. The sharing of information is often crucial to position resources to best meet the needs of children. This encourages the development of good quality partnerships should lead to improved services for the child and their family. This is politically driven, and if the government changed will there be the priority on the funding and focus of EYFS and ECM. Political opinions It is the governments aim to have EYPs in all Childrens Centres offering early years provision by 2010 and in every full day care setting by 2015. (Childrens Workforce Development Council Introduction and information guide:5) The Labour government has focussed on child poverty using many initiatives. These include Family Tax Credits and Sure Start provision. These are part of a concerted programme created because it was identified that your start in the early years is directly related to your life chances. It has been recognised that the quality of parental skills is of importance. Research suggests that the level of education of practitioners has a direct effect on the outcome of the children in their care. This is why the Government is up skilling the Early Years Workforce and promoting good parenting skills. There is research evidence of the benefits of good attachment for a childs whole development. The process of critical self reflection allows for the improvement of my own performance and the performance of my Setting. Every team member needs to jointly reflect on the ways that we can improve out communication and management of our links with the multiple agencies and the wider community. As a team this should be a part of our continual professional development. Word Count 3131

Essay --

VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK A journal article Submitted to Dr. David Beach Electronics and Computer Technology Department Indiana State University By Teja Tatini â€Æ' Table of contents: 1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------- 3 2. Virtual Private Network ------------------------------------------------ 4 3. Purpose of VPN --------------------------------------------------------- 5 4. VPN protocols ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 i) PPTP ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 ii) L2TP ----------------------------------------------------------- 5 iii) IPsec ----------------------------------------------------------- 6 5. Modes of operation ----------------------------------------------------- 6 i) AH ( Authentication Header) ------------------------------ 6 ii) ESP ( Encapsulated Security Payload) -------------------- 7 6. VPN security considerations ------------------------------------------ 8 7. Conclusion --------------------------------------------------------------- 8 8. References --------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Table of Figures: Fig 1: Traditional leased line network --------------------------------- 3 Fig 2: Basic VPN connection ---------------------------------------... ...ofile, encryption keys and algorithms. 2. Personal firewalls should be installed and configured properly on the client VPN machines to block the unauthorized access to the client. 3. The user should remain aware of the physical security of the machine, in particular when authentication information is stored in the machine. Conclusion: Virtual Private Network provides a means of accessing a secure, private, internal network over insecure networks like external networks and internet. The most widely used technology in VPN is IPsec in most of the business environment to provide secure and safe encrypted data transfer between host and different remotely accessible clients. References: 1. http://info.lib.uh.edu/services/vpn.html 2. http://www.positivenetworks.net/images/client-uploads/jumppage2.htm 3. http://vpn.shmoo.com/ 4. http://www.ipvanish.com/why-vpn.php

affirmative action Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction: Affirmative action in higher education should be abolished. College admissions should be based on what the admissions board is looking for, not what the government says should be required. In this paper, I will present evidence to support that position. At one time, affirmative action was a needed and legitimate policy. Segregation has existed way too much in the past and has left people out of jobs, out of certain areas of town, and schooling. We needed to make a law that would get rid of segregation, and help everybody assimilate or just live peacefully without discrimination. When a majority the southern where rebelling and would not allow African Americans in their stores, schools, etc, affirmative action was justifiable. But is it today? Much of the affirmative action debate is, and should be centered on education. Many of the critics whom at one time also believed that the preferential treatment shown to lower the discrimination towards minority groups is something that should be eliminated. Being that American society has become less discriminatory, affirmative action may be less necessary. Discrimination is something that will always be an issue; there will always be backwards individuals who cannot overlook their own prejudices for the greater good. However, there are fewer of these people. With declines in racism, we should also seek to eliminate the reverse racism now being displayed towards college while male applicants. This is an issue that effects potential students, and those who get rejected merely apply to another school. How can this issue of accepting minorities over others because be brought to the attention of the lawmakers without making it seem as if there will be less opportunities for minority groups? Equality is a very sensitive topic that has to be danced around with the potential for a misconception of what is trying to be achieved. In the early 1960's the federal government implemented programs such as the National Defense Student Loan Program (NDSL), work-study programs, and the National Defense Educational Act (NDEA). These programs made it easier for minority groups, especially African Americans, to receive financial help. Equal opportunity grants also helped enroll more minorities, especially blacks. At the time, these ... ... succeeding in the collegiate environment. A fallacy that is prevalent is that minorities score much lower then the white majority. This is not true; there is a small gap, but it is not significant. Yes minorities quite often do have to deal with crowded classrooms, teachers with less advanced degrees, and the lack of counseling recourses that are available for predominantly white, suburban schools. However, is this a reason to give funding to those who lack? America is based on the ideological belief that "you can be whatever you want to be, or, work hard enough and you will achieve your goals." To place this belief in the minds of all youth should be enough. To place this in the minds of all the same youth but then give preferential treatment to the minority class is a blatant display of reverse racism that should be done away with henceforth. References Cited The College Board Review; August 1999, No.188 Leonard Biard-College Student; September 2001 V.35, No. 3 Comparative Educational Review V.47; No.1, February 2003 The College Board Review; No.189/190, January 2000 College and University Journal V.79; No.1, Summer 2003 Educational Theory; Winter 2002,V.52 N.1

Basis for Business Operation Initiatives Essay

This study utilized event organizers based in Batangas, a southern popular province, which also is a great popular destination for many types of events. Findings showed that the event management business in Batangas City is generally a personal event type of business whose year of operation ranges from one to three years, mostly link to church or reception venues and usually offers on the day coordination. In the assessment of its perceived viability, it was found out that this type of business is moderately viable in terms of market, technical, business model, management model, economic and financial, and exit strategy. Among all the dimensions tested, only market, management model, economic and financial, and exit strategy showed significant relationship with the profile variables of the event management business. From the enumerated problems encountered, those that got the highest rate were demanding clients, overbooking of reservation/exceeding number of guests and failure to meet spectators and/or competitors expectations. And, the recommended business operation initiatives were based on the weaknesses discovered using Thompson’s Dimension of Business Viability Model. Viability of Event Management Business in Batangas City: Basis for Business Operation Initiatives Event management is a multi-million dollar industry, growing rapidly, with mega shows and events hosted regularly. The recent growth of festivals and events as an industry around the world means that the management can no longer be ad hoc. Ad hoc generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes. Thus, a standard in managing events should be designed as a general guide. Events and festivals, such as the Asian Games, have a large impact on their communities and, in some cases, the whole country. These impacts generally include economical, socio-cultural and environmental impacts, and should be seriously considered. The industry now includes events of all sizes from the Olympics down to a breakfast meeting for ten business people. This means, from an event with millions of people to an event for small group only (Goldblatt, 2004). For a flourishing industry such as events industry, it is vital to assess whether it is a viable business in a specific place, so as to make sound decisions in the allotment of investments. One tool that most investors rely upon is a business feasibility study which specifically discusses the various dimensions of business viability. The examination of viability is very vital for the future decisions of present and prospect entrepreneurs in the event industry. In the Philippines, demand for special service in the hospitality industry rged many entrepreneurs to specialize on this aspect. They range from large companies to those small-scale entrepreneur who uses only their creativity, connections and time to make an event extra special for their clients. Their skills in organizing, technical knowledge, personal relation, marketing, advertising, catering, logistics, decor, glamour identity, human relations, study of law and licenses, risk management, and budgeting are just some of the r equirements for these companies and entrepreneurs to be successful in this industry (Devney, 2001). The rapid growth of event industry has been evident in the Philippines particularly those companies targeting the market of special and corporate events. Batangas is known to be one of the most famous tourist destinations near Metro Manila. Batanguenos are also known for celebrating every little event. Such a mindset makes it a good venue for events, thus a potential market for event organizers. For the past years, catering businesses have bloomed rapidly in this province and more locals are already patronizing the service of caterers managing the preparations of their events. Past researches predicted the growth of this business and concluded its positive prospects; however, catering business is simply a branch of a greater industry, which is the special event industry. Currently, there are already few entrepreneurs who are venturing to event management business in Batangas. Some of them are owners of famous catering businesses, while some are independent small-scale entrepreneurs. Most of them work in teams, contributing their special skills in planning, marketing, and implementing events. The demands for a more unique, themed celebration make event organizers more preferred by Batanguenos. However, it has been observed that this industry has not yet deeply penetrated Batangas City in particular. Many people are not yet aware of event organization as a profession and a sound business idea. There is also a dearth of research on event management that gives information on the present status and viability of this particular business. This study aimed to determine the viability of event management usiness in Batangas City to serve as the basis for business operation initiatives. The researcher deemed it important to find out whether this new industry has the capacity to survive and progress in the same growing city of Batangas in the years to come. Using Thompson’s (2005) Dimension of Business Viability as the instrument, this research investigated the core dimension of market viability, technical viability, business model viability, management model viability, econo mic and financial viability, and exit strategy viability. By examining these aspects and considering the common problems encountered by existing firms, it can be determined whether a business, particularly event management business, can survive and continue growing. The output of this research is the possible business operation initiatives that can be suggested to present and future entrepreneurs venturing on this kind of business. Findings of this study could help present event organizers in improving their business. In addition, it will also aid future entrepreneurs who may want to engage in this particular business, which may later on contribute to the development of the economy, particularly in Batangas City. In the view of the Graduate School, this study could serve as a springboard for the future researchers who are inclined to analyzing the viability of their chosen business because they could use the same tool which was Thompson’s Dimension of Business Viability. Objectives The present study determined the perceived viability of event management business using Thompson’s Model as to Market, Technical, Business Model, Management Model, Economic, Financial Model, and Exit Strategy. It also identified possible relationship of the business profile variables in terms of type of event business, year of operation, business linkages, and type of coordination to the perceived viability. In the operation of the business, problems were also discussed in order to propose programs for further improvement. Business operation initiatives based on the assessment of perceived viability were also designed to enhance the sustainability of event management business in Batangas City. Hypothesis There is no significant relationship between the perceived viability of the event management business and the profile variables of the event management business. Event Management. The Event Industry, particularly those pertaining to event management businesses, encompasses a very wide range of issues if viewed in a worldwide perspective. Due to the unusual fragmentary nature of the events ‘industry’, an over-all assessment of the market size of the business is a difficult process. It is preferable to look at individual events, or groups of the same kinds of events, to assess their scope, impacts and extent; although it is possible to make some estimates for certain sectors of the events business; this is not sufficient to provide a picture of the whole (Shone and Perry,2004). Event management has become an industry in its own right, featuring specialist event companies and event managers. Special events are part of our history and culture and have been so for thousands of years in countries around the world. It was observed that people have always celebrated or marked special occasions in their lives: births, deaths, tribal initiations, marriages, seasons, spring times, harvests, full moons. The history of many other nations has been catalogued with dates of victories, celebrations, festivals, and special events from the time they were founded up to the present time. He further noted that the range of events is so wide that there is no one definition which encompasses all (Torkildsen,2005). Event Management is the capability and control of the process of purpose, people, and place. It follows that events are happenings with objective. Event objective components can help analyze the full range of international events currently being staged. It is the building blocks of the event objectives. Public assembly is events managed by professionals who typically bring people together for a purpose. There is no point in being particular about the number of people but it should be emphasized that the size and type of the group will determine the level of skills required by the professional event manager. Moreover, it should be accentuated that the term purpose was included in the definition because the professional event managers begin with a purpose in mind and direct all activities towards achieving this specific purpose (Goldblatt, 2004). Four attributes should be taken into account regarding the peculiarities of the event marketplace. These include size and volume of output, complexity and variety of services or products offered to the consumer, uncertainty of numbers attending, cost, time schedule and technical requirements, and interaction with the consumer and degree of consumer/customer contact (Tum,2006). Planned events are created to achieve specific outcomes, including those related to the economy, culture, society and environment. Event planning involves the design and implementation of themes, settings, consumables, services and programmes that suggest, facilitate or constrain experiences for participants, guests, spectators and other stakeholders. Every event experience is personal and unique, arising from the interactions of setting, program and people (Getz,2007). Professional event coordination is the integrated implementation of all the operational and logistical requirements of an event, based on the scope of event elements included in the event design. An event, any type of event, is held for a purpose. Public or private, commercial or charitable, celebratory or commemorative—event bring people together to share an experience and produce a measurable outcome (Silvers,2007). Several external factors also affect the growth of the event management industry. Some of these factors are the rate of the growth of economy, lifestyle, and changing characteristics of the people living in the area. Tourism and branding activities like festivals and corporate activities such as conferences, product launches, award ceremonies, and gala dinners are under the scope of event management business. Key factors for the success of an event management business are reputation, network, service promotion, links with the suppliers, and high quality managerial skills (Gordon,2010). There are a number of companies hosting and organizing events on a regular basis. These range from the small time private events to the large-scale international events. Yes, the large scales one do happen far rarer, but then the amount of returns they churn out is far beyond expectations. However, in the past there have been events that have also resulted in losses to the hosts and sponsors for varied reasons. But then, all said and done, event management is about organization and execution, and that is precisely where the money lies. Those in the field are paid for these services. Today, there are number of people who have entered the field because they realize the potential of the market where demand and supply is concerned. In fact, the most profitable aspect of this field is the need for creativity. And that is how and where one earns. The management of events calls largely for coordination from stage one. The first thing required is to get the orders for the event. This process is also known as pitching for an event. Usually, whether it is for small time events (birthday parties and weddings) or then for larger ones assigned by companies (exhibitions and trade fairs), or then the international concerts; the event manager/company is asked to submit a project report, with the finances involved. On the basis of this is the assignment given to them (Maligalig,2010). Special Events. On one of the focus group discussions conducted by Goldblatt (2002), one of the old ladies said that when he reached the age that she was in, he will forget everything, but the only things that will remain in his memories are the special events and milestones that had passed through her life just like her daughter’s wedding and their fiftieth anniversary. That’s why he affirmed that more people are hiring companies that would organize such special events. This basic anecdote about special events has been the prime reason why the special event industry is continuously growing and innovating. Research showed how people value special events in their life to the point that they are willing to pay high price to those people who can make it less stressful and more creative for them. Special events are widely recognized as being a growth sector of the tourism industry with potential to generate substantial economic benefit for the city, township or region involved. This wider recognition of events tourism has also heralded a continually expanding number of new events in many regions as community leaders, clubs, and local and regional tourism industry representatives have identified opportunities to tap into the visitor market (Tonge,2010). Special event is a phenomenon arising from those non-routine occasions which have leisure, cultural, personal or organizational objectives set apart from the normal activity of daily life, whose purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experience of a group of people. A special event is a unique moment in time celebrated with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs. In the view of event organizers, it is a one-time or infrequently occurring event outside normal programs or activities of the sponsoring or organizing body. On the other hand, in the view of the customer or guest, a special event is an opportunity for leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience. A special event is a gathering of human beings, generally lasting from a few hours to a few days, designed to celebrate, honor, discuss, sell, teach about, encourage, observe, or influence human endeavors. There are some characteristics of special events as a service. Among them are uniqueness, perishability, labour-intensiveness, fixed timescales, intangibility, personal interaction, ambiance, and ritual or ceremony. Special events are â€Å"special† because they target an external market; they bring people from outside the inner circle of your organization nto contact with your cause (Goldblatt,2002; Getz,2002; Matthews,2008; Levy,2001; Shone and Perry,2004). The term ‘special event’ has been coined to describe specific rituals, presentations, performances or celebrations that are consciously planned and created to mark special occasions and/or to achieve particular social, cultural, or corporate goals and objectives. Type of Event Business. There are many diffe rent types of events. Wedding is a union between two people who wish to spend their lives together. A wedding can be small with two people plus a person to officiate the ceremony such as priest, rabbi, justice of the peace or minister. It can also be enormous, elaborate events involving a few hundred of people or more. Gala events take place at large venues and often involve a few hundred guests. The occasion for a gala may be to celebrate milestone events such as anniversaries or birthdays or to raise money for various causes. The menu varies from cocktail-party fare to a million-course dinner. Cocktail or formal attire is required for a gala. Large casual event is a business or casual gathering involving at least one hundred guests. These events are less formal than gala and takes place in the afternoon as well as the evening. It may be a company picnic, bar or bat mitzvah, or a family reunion. Corporate events and dinners include meetings, in-house catering, and dinner with clients. Intimate dinners can be held in private residence or the private room of a restaurant or hotel. Thirty guests or less meet the requirement for an intimate dinner. Cocktail party take place during evening hours, and it can work well at a wedding, gala, business or social event. A typical cocktail party provides seating for about half the guests and serves a menu of passed hors d’ oeuvres and appetizers with some stationary items (Mancuso,2007). Corporate event management involves managing various corporate events that can be a special media event, an internal event or event open to the public such as a fundraising gala. They are usually managed by a professional planner whose specialty is corporate events. An experienced event planner has the expertise to research and plan a successful event from start to finish. Some of the common examples of corporate events are launching a product, road show, galas and media event with corporate sponsorship. The events are managed according to their respective nature, keeping in mind the aim of the event, the audience to be reached and the content of the message to be transferred. Launching a new consumer product is a good example of what a planner does to manage this type of corporate event. Launching a product involves consumer conviction as an ultimate goal. The customer has to be convinced to buy the product by using innovative ideas. A corporate event manager might set up a convention to launch the product. This would involve planning all pre-convention meetings, working with graphic artists, writers and printers for all printed materials, choosing a location for the convention, selecting food and entertainment, etc. (Cole,2010). The event planning service business is a $500 billion business worldwide today, with lots of growth opportunities. The profit margin has gone up from 15% to 30 to 40%. People hire event planners because they don’t have the time and expertise to organize events themselves. Some of the events for which event planners are hired are: Celebrations (fairs, parades, weddings, reunions, birthdays, anniversaries), Education (conferences, meetings, graduations), Promotions (product launches, political rallies, fashion shows) and Commemorations (memorials, civic events) (Dilliard, 2010). Various authors have their own topology of events used to categorize events. One topology splits events into four broad categories based on the concept of events having leisure, cultural, personal or organizational objectives. Leisure events include events for the purpose of leisure, sport and recreation. Cultural events, on the other hand, involve ceremonial, sacred, heritage, art and folklore. Personal events consist of weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. Lastly, organizational events are those for commercial, political, charitable and sales. However, the authors emphasized that in this typology, there are frequent overlap. Cited example is the graduation of a student from a university could be a personal event for his or her family and an organizational event for the university (Shone and Perry,2004). This study will be using the typology of events made by Shone and Perry (2004) to categorize the type of event management business that the subject of the study may fall into. This classification may be broad but it will give a clear view of their business type. Business Linkages. No event takes place in isolation and each event involves a set of interdependent and interacting elements within a system: the event product with event participants, the audience or customer, and the sponsor (Tassiopoulos, 2005). We should be aware that an organization does not operate in isolation. The event operations management model shows in the first stage that there are different environments that have an influence on it and should be analyzed. These are the internal and external environments. Following analysis of these, it is then possible to develop the planning process. All organizations should work in partnership with their suppliers, customers and competitors (Thompson,2001). An immediate impact is made on an organization by suppliers and customers, on whom it depends, and its competitors—both existing ones and new ones joining the industry. The influencers in the inner circle of the figure may be easier to control and manage than those in the in the outer circle (Tum, 2006). Often within an event company there is not a specific purchasing officer, many of the staff may create buyer/supply relationships with different companies. Some products may be bought outright and owned by the organization, and others will be used for only one event. In the case of some of the purchase agreements, for example the caterers or pyrotechnic suppliers, it is the whole service and system that is purchased and the contracted company will bring their own products and staff. To be successful, these relationships and method of purchasing or leasing must be managed effectively since they all provide vital supply chains throughout the operation (Tum, 2006). The emergence of an association in Great Britain named In Any Event has greatly helped event organizers in their area. In Any Event is a collaboration of eight event companies. The association will check on the quality of the services offered by the members using a given standard. According to the members, an effective trade body is all about quality and trust (Skeith, 2009). The emergence of the industry has also led to the formation of professional associations providing networking, communications and liaison within the industry, training and accreditation programmes, codes of ethical practice and lobbying on behalf of their members. Event managers should identify the associations that best suits their individual situation and the needs of their organization, as some associations promote individual membership, whilst others promote membership on an organizational basis. Some of the main trade and professional associations covering the events industry are associations, conference/meetings, exhibitions, incentive travel, festivals, corporate hospitality, music events/events production, venues, and miscellaneous/suppliers (Bowdin, 2006). Food, beverage and celebration are inextricably connected. From social life cycle events to mega events such as the Olympic Games, the relationship between food and frivolity has been a close one. This is not to suggest that it is not serious business as well (Goldblatt,2001). The hotel contract plays one of the most significant roles in the planning of the conference. The hotel layout, logistics, room rates, audio visual, and of course meals can financially make or break your organization (Oliver,2005). Events are organized by several different actors with individual interests. In order to perform the project task at hand, actors form relationships aimed at cooperation. Relationships involve political processes, which can be understood from a consensus and a conflict perspective. From the consensus perspective, mutual commitment, trust, and onversation are important to build fruitful relationships. From the conflict perspective, tensions, conflicts, and power games are considered unavoidable aspects of social interaction, which create change and renewal (Larson,2001). In the tourism business, linkages with hotels, travel agencies, transportation companies, schools, restaurants and other agencies appear very important if the tourist operators would like to stay long in the business. It seems that being alone in the business without any linkage with other establishments would not mean much in terms of survival. In other words, establishing linkages with other types of business firms help tourist operators maintain their position in the market (Festijo,2010). Identical to Festijo’s study, the present study will also make use of business linkages as one of the profile variables that could affect the perception of the respondents regarding the viability of events management business. Type of Coordination. Services should be provided to conform to given factors. This includes specification, consistency, timeliness, flexibility, right price, and added value and little extras. The first and crucial issue is the specification. Unless the service fulfills the requirements of the customer, it will not be used. The second important issue is consistency. Customers expect service to be at the same level, or better, each time it is experienced. Once a level of quality of service has been promoted, or actually provided, customers will be quick to notice if it is not achieved or sustained. There is no point in setting a high standard of service if the operation cannot consistently meet the standard. The third issue is timeliness. The timing on when to grant the service should also be considered because it may be the reason why a customer may be upset and never comes back again. However, timing is of lesser importance when customers make appointments in advance. Fourth, flexibility is important in the service industry. The moment the event is delivered, it is consumed. Immediately, of course, event organizers may come across difficulties. In these scenarios, the event manager has to be flexible to accommodate the changing situations. Customer expectations still have to be fulfilled despite changes in circumstances. Fifth, determination of the right price can be agreed once the marketing team is satisfied that they know what the customer wants—the specification. This will determine the price that can be charged. This concerns the ability of the team to supply the specifications that can increase customer satisfaction, and at the same time, bring profit to the business. In the sixth position is added value and little extras. Once the event has met the basic requirements, then all the other ‘extras’ will add to the perception of quality and could provide the edge in a competitive environment (Tum,2006). Kandampully (2002) believes that service quality can be defined as the extent to which a service meets the expectations of customers. He divides customers into four broad group: internal customers (employees and managers of the firm), external customers (a firm’s end customers), competitors’ customers (those who the firm would like to attract, and ex-customers (those who are going elsewhere and therefore are no longer our customers). Most of the independent event coordinators are offering three types of services. These includes the Full Event Coordination, the Partial Coordination and the On the day Coordination. In Full Event Coordination, consultation begins within an allowable time frame convenient for the client and coordinator. It involves actual conceptualization, budget planning, sourcing of suppliers (with final approval of client), venue, physical, arrangement, conceptualization of the program, and continuous coordination with the client and supervision during the actual date of the event. In Partial Coordination, consultation begins few months before the event where it is assumed that 40% of the preparation has been completed. Previous accomplishments of the client are then handed over to the coordinator for continuation of plan and additional support. The coordinator takes on bringing together the concept and confers it with the suppliers that the client has already chosen. Continuous coordination with the client and supervision on the actual date of the event is granted. In On the Day Coordination, consultation begins after confirmation of client as to the services to be provided by the coordinators. The coordinator completes the concept and program and works together with the suppliers for final arrangements. The coordinator also straightens out matters on deliveries, venue, physical arrangement, program briefing with the host, and supervision on the actual day of event. The present research will make use of these three types of coordination to categorize the services offered by the event management businesses. Business Viability. The  viability  of a business is measured by its long-term survival, and its ability to have sustainable profits over a period of time. If a business is viable, it is able to survive for many years, because it continues to make a  profit  year after year. The longer a company can stay profitable, the better its viability. A business feasibility study is an analytical tool that includes recommendations and limitations, which are utilized to assist the decision-makers when determining if the Business Concept is viable (Thompson,2005). Analyzing the prospects for this type of business, it was noted that its commercial sector has developed rapidly during the last fifteen years and will continue to do so. The market for events has expanded to the point where the need for a much better professional infrastructure is evident. The increasing number of events management companies and professional event organizers is an indication of this demand (Shone and Perry,2004). While real viability can affect perceived viability, there are other (possibly irrational) influences on perceived viability that have nothing to do with real viability. Conversely, the effect of perceived viability on real viability is at best indirect (perhaps by affecting morale or the cost of capital) – but any causal link in this direction cannot be taken for granted and should be explained. In order to measure the viability of events management business in Batangas City, the researcher opted to use the Dimensions of Business Viability Model created by Thompson (2005). This model has long been used by many entrepreneurs to test the viability of their business and business idea. Thus, the result of this study will be limited to the aspects determined by this model. The Dimensions of Business Viability Model is a generic framework that assists entrepreneur in identifying individual tasks (decisions) in validating the Business Concept. The model also aligns the findings with functional processes of an enterprise which an audience can easily understand. It is a decision weighting model that provides a benchmark framework for measuring the Business Concept’s viability. The model allows the entrepreneur to weigh the over-all and segmented viability of Business Concept (Thompson,2003). The Dimensions of Business Viability Model will validate the Business Concept by the core dimension of market viability, technical viability, business model viability, management model viability, economic and financial viability, and exit strategy viability. Each dimension of the business viability model will contain components which evaluate individual characteristics of the enterprises business venture’s viability. In developing the model to best fit the business under examination, the entrepreneur will need to structure each dimension. Market Viability includes the components of market environment (e. g. size, sustainability, potential market, target market, potential value), competitors, similar products, pricing, packaging, distribution to markets, and promotion/advertising (Thompson,2005). In determining the market viability of a product or service, the following steps must be followed: First, compare your offer to a 3-legged stool, which cannot support weight unless all three legs are equal in length and spacing. One leg is the offer itself, which includes price and demand. A top quality offer at a competitive price is still a low fail if the other legs are not balanced. The second leg is the customer list. If you don’t know who wants your product or service, then you have nothing. The third leg is the process, language and messaging used to convey the value of the offer to the list. Second, determine the mass appeal of your product or service. If only a very select few can benefit from it, then your offer may be too limited to generate enough revenue to justify the investment of taking it into the marketplace. Identifying a specific demographic target is a strategic necessity, but there is a certain volume required to break even and a much larger volume required for long-term profitability. Third, measure the uniqueness of your offer against all competitors or whoever shares your market niche. The more unique your offer is the more likely it will gain share against your competitors. Fourth, assess the exclusivity of your offer. If your potential customers can get your product or service somewhere else, then you will be forced to find another factor to differentiate your offer from the competition. If your offer cannot be found anywhere else, your business will benefit invariably. Lastly, test the perceived value of your offer. In order to be successful in business, you must be able to sell your product or service at a price point that is commensurate with what people are willing and able to pay. Ironically, you can under price an offer as well as overprice it. Public relations are of a vital importance to every operator and an increasingly important part of the marketing and sales function, and provide the operator with positive support to sales and promotion activity. In reality, effective public relations are an exacting business requiring particular skills often beyond the capabilities or experience of many operators (Festijo,2010). This aspect could be taken into consideration when assessing the marketing and promotion efforts of the event management business, since this type of business generally rely on word of mouth and appreciation of their clients. Technical viability will cover capacity, availability and quality of resources, inclusive of raw materials, labour and professional expertise, supply chain implications, manufacturing process, and ability to apply IP (Internet Protocol) (Thompson,2005). Technical Viability pertains to the uniqueness and features of products and services and intellectual property positions (Morgan,2009). Business model viability entails uniqueness of model in terms of competitive advantage, ability of competitor to duplicate, ability to create value through priority knowledge and process, ability to create wealth, and ability to duplicate and delegate (i. e. documentation of tacit and explicit knowledge) (Thompson,2005). Business model is defined as a  description  of the  operations  of a  business  including the components  of the business, the  functions  of the business, and the  revenues  and  expenses  that the business generates. A business model  describes the  rationale  of how an  organization  creates, delivers, and captures value – economic, social, or other forms of value. The process of business model design is part of  business strategy. In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a  business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies. Management model viability includes application of knowledge and skills, training, employee management and recruitment, management of intellectual property, management of risk, ability to delegate to staff, suitable organizational structure, suitability of management and protocols, and ability to measure business process (Thompson,2005). Economic and financial viability will cover start up costs, working capital, operating costs, raw material costs, overall return on investment, overall profitability, breakeven point, sustainability of market versus projected revenue, and ability to generate economic value (Thompson,2005). Economic viability is characterized by long-term sustainability (profitable over the long-term) and short-term feasibility (sufficient cash flows to meet short-term obligations). Projects/ventures can be either public/community type projects or private enterprise ventures. Four financial measures are particularly useful when examining the viability of a project: Net Income, Cash Flow, Required Operating Loan, and Ending Cash Balance. Exit strategy may contain ability to create wealth from exit strategy, ability to define exit strategy, ability to relate exit strategy to industry model, ability to identify potential buyers and/or strategies, ability to create capital assets, and ability to schedule exit strategy (Thompson,2005). Planning how you exit your business is just as important as how you start it. The goal is to maximize the value of your company before converting it to cash, and to minimize the amount of time consumed. Getting out of business is a process. The length of time required to complete the process is directly related to the complexity of the business, and the circumstances underlying this decision to get out of business. It can range from one week for a home-based sole proprietorship to several years for a corporation forced into involuntary bankruptcy. Disputes and litigation add another dimension to the timeframe. Planning and awareness are crucial. The process, timing of events and tasks must be tailored to the type and complexity of the business. Each case is unique because reasons for dissolution differ, and problems that exist or develop are unique to the circumstance. The process for getting out of business successfully requires the same amount of planning as going into business. While the process should be easier, it is likely to be less enjoyable and more stressful. The best advice for business owners is to think about the future during the early stages of getting into business. Exert managerial influence to ensure that complications and problems which could affect dissolution, and net value, do not develop into roadblocks. When the time for getting out of business comes, engage the invaluable expertise you will need, and prepare a plan. The Dimensions of Business Viability Weighing Process includes the determination of dimension of viability, determination of measures of dimension of viability, assignment of component weighting to dimension, assigning weighting to key measures, assessing each measure and assigning score, weighing each dimensions overall viability, determining collective viability of business, and articulating viability of business (Thompson,2005). Problems encountered in event organization. Although there are many successful events, instances occur where hardworking organizing committees see their events generate only limited interest and fail to meet the desired objectives—situations that can leave committees with substantial debts, creating disenchantment in the community and sponsoring organizations. In these cases, the main reasons for failure are usually a combination of two or more of the following factors: failure to allow sufficient planning time, inadequate planning, problems within the organization committee (i. . power struggles, infighting, lack of necessary skills), overly optimistic income projections, inadequate market research, clashing of event dates, an ad hoc approach to marketing (lack of marketing plan), lack of sponsorship plan, inadequate budget and/or poor financial management, failure to meet spectators and/or competitor expectations, or failure to adequately make provision for inclement weather conditions (Tonge,2010). From the viewpoint of people attending local and regional events, recent research has revealed five main complaints. These include insufficient toilets, overpriced food and beverage, inadequate traffic management and signage, the event program can ran considerably over the scheduled time, and the event failed to meet the expectations created by the promotion (Tonge,2010). It is difficult to imagine an event without a crisis. The ability to handle crises is an important skill for senior staff member in event management. A good event manager faces crises and handles them calmly and effectively. He should try to avoid crises by careful preplanning and foresight. The staff should be prepared to take appropriate action when crises happen. When crises arise, the steps that should be followed in handling them include analyzing the situation in a cool manner, re-examining the objectives, examining the possibilities, considering the consequences of several solutions, selecting the best alternative, implementing the appropriate action, and continue monitoring to avoid repetition (Cruz,2005). For decades, every time event organizers plans and executes event, they are always faced with various challenges that are inevitable to the business. According to Tarlow (2002), whenever we bring people together, there is an element of risk. Event risk should not be seen as a single factor, but rather as an accumulation of variables. Depending on the circumstances, these variables would include size of the crowd, size and nature of the event site, time of day, nature of the event, consumables, age of the crowd, weather conditions, and location of the event venue. A list of some events include family and human life cycle events such as weddings, family reunions and barbecues, community events, such as school picnics, business outings, and holiday celebrations, organized shopping exhibitions, civil and political events, business meetings and conferences, sports events, ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games, concerts, religious gatherings and pilgrimages, local and national political gatherings, fairs and festivals. He noted that as an event professional, it is important to understand that it is significantly less expensive to manage risk prior to the event than deal with the crisis after is has occurred. He further discusses the importance of risk manager increasing their awareness of the assumptions they make and the potential biases that may influence their decisions. Entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for business opportunities and, at the same time, they are keen observers of existing and potential problems in the pursuit of their respective businesses. These common problems may include those connected with source of funds, source of raw materials, red tape in government, manpower/labor/HR and the lack of information to assist the Pinoy Entrepreneurs. These problems may appear to be obvious. As to sourcing of money with which to start a business, it can be raised in various ways, including personal savings, borrowing from relatives, borrowing from money lenders or â€Å"5-6† operators, borrowing from   formal sources of credit like banks and other financial institutions. Borrowing money, however, is not as easy as it they make it sound. As to the existing efforts to address red tape in government, there’s still a lot to be done, but the progress made by some agencies are really noteworthy. Several classification frameworks have been proposed for the categorization of organizational problem types. For example, over 30 years ago, Dearborn and Simon (1958) classified organizational problems into three general types: (1) sales, marketing, or distribution; (2) clarifying the organization; and (3) human relations, employee relations, or teamwork. More recently, Walsh (1988) proposed that organizational problems can be grouped into five general categories: (1) accounting-finance; (2) human relations; (3) marketing; (4) internal management; and (5) external management. Both of the above studies, however, were narrowly focused on the role of selective perception, or the extent to which affiliation with a specific department in an organization influences the types of problems identified (Terpstra,2004). Business Operation Initiatives. Business operation initiatives refer to the plans or programs of a business with regards to the operation of the business. In this study, this refers to the propose action or scheme for tourism attraction business on how to sustain its business operation to achieve its desired goals and objectives (Celis,2008). Patterned to the dissertation of Celis (2008), this study also sought to recommend business operation initiatives for the subject business. The researcher considered the concept of formulating business operation initiatives as relevant to the assessment of the viability of the business. However, they differ on the type of industry; Celis focused on tourism ttractions while the present study will focus on the events management business in Batangas City. Conceptual Framework The Event Industry, particularly the special events industry, has been a rapidly growing industry not only in the global arena but also here in the Philippines. More entrepreneurs have been showing interest in this new endeavor, though some are still thriving. Batangas City, as one of the rapidly progressing cities in the CALABA RZON area, has great potential for investors and entrepreneurs who are willing to venture for new business ideas that will meet the demand of the people. In order to attract such entrepreneurs, a study on the viability of a business will aid them in their decision makings. This research will determine the present status of the events management business in Batangas City using the profile variables. To determine the viability of the event management business in Batangas City, Thompson’s (2005) Dimensions of Business Viability will be used and will focus on the 1. 2. Market, Technical, Business Model, Management Model, Economic and Financial Model, and Exit Strategy. Through this, the researcher will also be able to extract possible problems that the entrepreneurs are experiencing during the course of their operation. The result of this viability model will be the basis in drafting recommendations for business operation initiatives that could enhance the prospects and sustainability of event management business in Batangas City. Conceptual Paradigm The figure below shows the items that have been analyzed in this research and their relationships. The profile of event management business n terms of type of event business, year of operation, business linkages and type of coordination has been identified. The researcher then evaluated the viability of event management business using Thompson’s (2005) Dimension of Viability which includes Market, Technical, Business Model, Management Model, Economic and Financial Model, and Exit Strategy. It has been identified whether there is a relationship between the profile variables and their assessment o f viability. Problems encountered were also identified and analyzed. Through this analysis, business operation initiatives have been recommended for the further development of this industry in Batangas City. Figure 1. The profile of Events Management Business in Batangas City, their assessment of its viability, and the problems encountered by this business, altogether, had been the basis for Business Operation Initiatives Methods This chapter presents a discussion of the research design in this study, the respondents of the study, data gathering instruments and procedures, and statistical treatment of data. Design The study used the descriptive design utilizing a survey questionnaire for the event management business. This study aimed to provide a description of relationships among the following variables: demographic profile and the perceived viability of events management business in Batangas City. This research design was chosen because it can provide essential knowledge about the concepts being used in this study as well as its relationship with each other. This method was deemed appropriate to the present study since this involved assessment of prevailing conditions. Respondents of the Research The questionnaire was answered by the team leader and team members of the ten identified DTI registered event organizers in Batangas City. Each team composed of not less than three members, thus the researcher is targeting 30 members of the event management business for this study. Procedure The following steps were undertaken in gathering the data to answer the questions in the study. An initial informal interview with the present event organizers was conducted by the researcher to gain reliable and related information that was used in constructing the questionnaire. In order to obtain the necessary data, the researcher used a constructed survey questionnaire. Modifications were incorporated through the help of experts in the field. A letter of request to conduct the study, together with the three-part questionnaires was sent to the different event management businesses in Batangas City. To measure the concepts relevant in the study, the researcher sought questionnaire from on-line source and modified the versions of instruments used by other studies and collated these to have an instrument appropriate for the study. The instrument was a modified version of on-line source particularly Thompson’s (2005) Dimension of Business Viability and also the profile variables included in Celis’ (2008) dissertation. These will be used to gather data needed for the study on the viability of events management business in Batangas City. Part I covered the detail on the profile of the existing events management business in Batangas City which included queries on the type of event business, year of operation, business linkages and type of coordination. Part II conveyed items included in Thompson’s (2005) Dimension of Business Viability such as market, technical, business model, management model, economic and financial model, and exit strategy. Part III enumerated the common problems encountered by the event management business in Batangas City, as formulated through informal interview and from literature review pertaining to problems of event management business. The draft of the questionnaire was submitted for both external and internal validation. To fully determine the items’ clarity, relevance and appropriateness, the researcher set the questionnaire for external validation by experts in research and event management. The researcher personally distributed the questionnaire and retrieval was done two weeks after the distribution of the questionnaire. Data Analysis The following statistical measures were applied to analyze the data: 1. Frequency and percentage distribution was used to determine the profile of the event management business in Batangas City.