An I.T. for a peography vepartment Essay

he geography department need to give out letters about a field trip to the Peak District but they need to personalise the letters to make more appealing to parents. Ms Keeley, the Geography teacher organising the trip, currently starts the letter with ‘Dear Parent’ instead of a personalised start like ‘Dear Ms Mir’ or something like that. The Improved System An improved way of doing it would be using mail merge to personalise the letter by using people’s names, addresses, job occupations, etc. I will use word processor to solve her problem. Why use IT? We use IT because you can edit and delete, be more presentable (therefore easier to read), and print multiple copies. You can also put in logos. Justification of Hardware and Software Hardware Specification Benefit of choice Home PC Intel Pentium 3 processor running at 866 MHz E. g. Mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc Good value for money, easy to get hold of. Easy to get programs for it. I can use a floppy disk to transfer from home to school. Printer Laser HP 2100 6-9 prints per min as against 2-3 for an inkjet. 30 copies printed to a laser equals 5 minutes. To an inkjet it equals to 15 minutes. A cartridge on a laser is i 20 that does 600 copies. But on an inkjet it is i 60 and does 6000 copies. Therefore a printout will cost 10 times more. So, a Laser printer is good quality, cheaper and easier to run. Software Specification Benefit of choice Word processor Microsoft Word-   Mail merge – form letters, envelopes, mailing labels   Formatting- font, margins   Editing- spelling and grammar checking Choosing Word rather than Publisher or WordPad is better because:   You don’t have to draw text boxes   It will look professional   The Word lay out is perfect for a letter   Word has more accessories Database SIMS. You don’t have to transfer it to anywhere else e. g. Excell Quantitative Objectives The Geography Department want me to make personalised letters to pupils wanting to go on the trip. The letters need to:   It needs to look professional It needs to have neat presentation   It needs a logo It needs to be personalized   It needs to have the pupils name, addresses What Next? I will need to talk to Ms Keeley and find out what she needs to have on the letters. I will produce a number of solutions for her to choose which one she prefers. I will then implement the chosen solution and test it. I will finally ask her to evaluate the letter.

Romeo and Juliet- Dilemmas

Out of the frying pan into the fire: The cause and effect Friar Lawrence’s dilemma, in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. A dilemma is a very unfortunate thing that no individual should ever have to face. A dilemma is a very tough choice in which there are many choices, all of which usually have bad outcomes.William Shakespeare gives us many examples of a dilemma throughout his play of, Romeo and Juliet, some of the dilemma’s Shakespeare shows us, is when Friar Laurence has to decide whether to marry Romeo and Juliet, how he has to decide how to get Romeo and Juliet back together after Romeo is banished, and finally how his choice leads to the death of the two star crossed lovers.Through friar Laurence’s example, William Shakespeare demonstrates that when faced with a dilemma go with a simple choice, because when ideas become complex there is more room for error. Initially we see Friar Laurence as a man of the church who disapproves of Romeoâ₠¬â„¢s love for Rosaline, but also disapproves of him changing whom he loves very quickly. Friar Laurence tells Romeo that he is going through love to quickly, (Holy Saint Francis!What a change is here! Is Rosaline that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes†2. 3. 66-69) This is only some of the wisdom spoken by Friar Laurence to young Romeo in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet on the decision made by him to wed thirteen year old Juliet in such hastiness after shedding his love for Rosaline.Romeo sought after instruction through the wisdom of Friar Laurence when he first met Juliet as there was no one else he could turn to, especially when the couple decided they wanted to get married. At that point in the play, it became apparent to Friar Laurence that if he were to marry Romeo and Juliet that it could abolish the hatred between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s, and con cludes that he will help Romeo and Juliet plot their marriage in secret, hoping that it will bring their family’s together.However, after Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet, he is confronted with the obstacle of Romeo being banished, which causes him too struggle as he seeks to find a way to keep Romeo and Juliet together. Juliet convinces Friar Laurence to help her by coming up with a plan to bring Romeo and Juliet back together, (God joined my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands; And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo's sealed, Shall be the label to another deed†¦Could to no issue of true honor bring! Be not so long to speak!I long to die, If what thou speak'st, speak not of remedy! 4. 1. 56-58 ; 66-68). In the discussion Juliet blames Friar Laurence for marrying her to Romeo, and blames him for Romeo being banished, she tells him it is his entire fault and he needs to fix it, thus evoking Friar Laurence to come up with a plan to help her spend time with Romeo. Consequ ently when Friar Laurence comes up with a complex plan, when something that Juliet said sparks an idea, (O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, 4. . 78) Juliet tells him that she would rater die than marry Paris, which brings him to the idea of faking Juliet’s death. He believes, with a draft that puts Juliet to sleep, and makes her look dead, her family will put her in the family vault. Then as a second stage of the plan a letter would be given to Romeo telling him to come to the burial vault, where they will meet, and then after she awakes they will be able to run off together, and live somewhere else happily ever after.But the complexity of father Laurence's plan leads to a miscommunication, which causes the death of both star crossed lovers. Romeo fails to receive Friar Laurence's letter and receives the news of Juliet's death from a relative, but the relative does not know of the plan behind her death. Romeo goes to visit the burial vault, and kills himself over Juliet 's seemingly dead body, soon after she awakes and then kills herself once she realizes Romeo is dead.This is why a dilemma is so complicated and why it should not be forced upon anyone. As demonstrated by William Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet, a dilemma is a choice with much room for error and needs to be gone through with much precaution. William Shakespeare saw the need to put dilemmas in his play and understood the importance of choices that seemed like every day choices, but had hard decisions involved, choices in which the power to change the whole story line is held.These choices are shown by William Shakespeare's character Friar Laurence, as he has to decide whether to marry Romeo and Juliet, he has to decide how get Romeo and Juliet back together after Romeo is banished, and finally when his choices lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet. One bit of advice that should be taken from this play is that, when faced with a dilemma go with a simple choice, because when i deas become complex there is more room for error.

Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History

The Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance provided mankind with new ways of life. Although these advancements in architecture, agriculture, education and ideas transpired in different periods of history, they both had massive effects on our way of life today. Without these revolutions, our lives today would be unrecognizable. Life was drastically different before the Neolithic Revolution. During the Paleolithic Period, people were nomads. They lived in groups of 20-30, and survived solely off their surroundings by hunting animals and gathering various plants.Roles ere based on gender; men hunted and women gathered plants. They developed simple tools such as spears and axes out of materials such as stone, bone and wood. Human beings lived in this manner until about 10,000 BCC, when they started to cultivate crops and domesticate animals. This is known as the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution is a major turning point in human history. It was a fundamental change in the way people lived. The shift from hunting & gathering to agriculture led to permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, new technologies, and the eventual rise of civilizations.Another effect of this revolution was the advanced form of a society. Class systems arose, with the Council of Elders at the top, and farms, merchants and craftsmen at the bottom. After a period of little education or values, Europe was ready for advancement. It was a time of creativity and change in Europe. The Renaissance was centered in Italy during the sass before spreading to the rest of Europe in the 1500 and sass. Achievements in art, literature, science and ideas made this period a golden age. Ideas such as Humanism became widely popular during the Renaissance.Humanism stressed the importance of education. The study of ancient Roman and Greet texts became the learning standard. Humanism also stressed the importance of focusing on the present, rather than the afterlife. People changed th e way they thought of themselves, each other and the world around them. The effects of the Renaissance are still witnessed today. From architecture to mathematical theorems, the Renaissance had a long lasting effect on society. The Pythagorean Theorem, and the use of printing presses and Humanism are all examples of this.As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning eased on ancient texts, the development of unique perspective in painting, and gradual, yet widespread educational reform. Without the Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance, this world would be very different. Each revolution contributed to our way of life and continues to shape it through values and educational standards. Advancements in architecture, agriculture, education and ideas back then provided a pathway towards the civilized, educated and advanced society we have today. Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History By reclaiming

See attachment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

See attachment - Coursework Example The alternative, renewable energy sources serve as a great source of energy; however, they also bear challenges in their usage. One serious challenge facing the wind as a form of energy source is its lack of adequate power to turn the turbines. Consequently, this leads to little or no production of usable energy. Solar energy also has its share of challenges. Integrating solar panels within homes has become a challenge; people do not find the urgent need. Another challenge facing the alternative, renewable energy sources is that the cost of fossil fuels is cheap, in America. This makes it difficult for renewable energies to penetrate the energy market. Geothermal energy forms another renewable energy source, which originates within the earth’s crust. The geothermal energy undergoes conversion into usable energy within plants constructed for this purpose. It is also noteworthy that coal, oil and natural gases form nonrenewable energy resources. As time passes, these resources are on a constant depletion. The common challenge experienced by the nonrenewable energy resources is the difficulty in controlling their depletion. It is a challenge, as man has no way of replacing the used resources. In the management of nonrenewable energy sources, man is finding it difficult to find and use an alternative energy source that matches the amount of energy they provide. Additionally, most of the nonrenewable energy sources cause environmental pollution, making their management a difficult

Love Using specific artistic examples define Neoclassicism Essay

Love Using specific artistic examples define Neoclassicism - Essay Example To a certain extent, the assertion that neoclassicism was a representation of a reaction against optimistic, energetic, and passionate renaissance view could be true. This view perceived man as a being fundamentally good, with an infinite potential for both spiritual and intellectual growth. However, theorists of neoclassical view considered man as imperfect and inherently sinful, with a limited potential. The renaissance view gave facts from imagination, invention, and experimenting, but was replaced by neoclassical view. This view gave emphasis on order and reason, on common sense, on restraint, and on religious, economic, philosophical, and political conservatism. A famous neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Igres, who lived from 1780 to 1867 made outstanding paintings (154). One of his paintings, The Apotheosis of Homer, which symbolizes the belief of Ingres in a hierarchy of timeless, is a good example since it based its work on classical precedent. Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guerin is also a famous French artist of the neoclassical period who made a painting known as Aurora and Cephalus and appears as shown below. In essence, neoclassicism concentrated on the fact that man was the most accurate subject of art, perceiving art as fundamentally pragmatic. In addition, to the theorists, art was valuable since it was useful, and properly intellectual, but not emotional (198). The main aim of neoclassical was to substitute overall design with the new ideas of symmetry, proportion and the like. In literary forms, they gave emphasis on essays, letters, satire, and such. Though neoclassicism seemed replaced later, it is work noting that artistic movements do not really die. This is evident because aesthetics of neoclassicism reappeared later in the 20th

The Valentine Day Massacre Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Valentine Day Massacre - Research Paper Example Schwinger and John May, along with five other members of the North Side Irish gang were lined up against a wall and were executed using Thompson sub-machine guns.3 The Victims were executed against the inside rear of a wall belonging to SMC Cartage Company garage at 2122 North Clark street on Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago, later the wall became famous as the Massacre wall. The Wall remains the most important artifact of the event. The infamous wall received world wide press coverage because photos depicting the bloody aftermath of the massacre were published world wide.4 According to the coroner’s report, seven machine gun bullets and two shot gun blasts were fired on the seven victims lined against the Massacre Wall. Out of seven, one victim managed to survive for several hours in the hospital but, he refused to name his killers.5 The murders were committed by gangsters, handpicked by Al Capone, who hired them outside the city to minimize the chances of being recognize d by the North Side Irish gang victims. The case still remains officially unsolved because no one was ever convicted of the crime. Al Capone was a very powerful gangster and the event of Valentine Massacre took place at the height of his power in Chicago. The influence of Al Capone on Chicago can be analyzed from the following quote: â€Å"At the height of his power Al Capone carried everyone- from the mayor of Chicago, police captains and judges, to the bell-boys at his luxurious hotel residence – around his pockets like loose change, and used his power to exploit society’s ubiquitously puissant blend of fear and greed.† 6 Jack McGurn was the right hand man of Al Capone and it was him, who was the master mind behind the Valentine Massacre.7 Jack McGurn was a perfect example of archetypal good- boy-gone-bad, who harbored a vicious criminality which was perfectly mirrored by the gruesome events of Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Jack McGurn was paradoxical and his actions left an indelible impression in the history of America. Jack McGurn and Al Capone staged the murders meticulously in an attempt to eliminate George Bugs Moran. The groundwork devised by Jack McGurn was not only devilishly spectacular but was meticulous as well.8 Jack and Al Capone planned that their hired killers will lure George Moran and his favorite men to warehouse of SMC Cartage Company, by offering them an irresistible deal, which in the case was, a load of hijacked whiskey.9 According to Jack’s plan, Once Moran and his men enter the warehouse, killers disguised as policemen will arrive at the scene, pretending to arrest them, but will kill them instead. Al Capone and Jack McGurn knew that they both would be suspected so they conveniently went out of town, when the massacre took place. Al Capone went on vacation to Florida while Jack went safely elsewhere. Unfortunately, the timing went wrong and the plan misfired because Moran arrived late at the wareh ouse and saw the disguised killers getting out of the police car. Moran was scared and he fled. Therefore, the killers executed seven men that were already there at the warehouse garage.10 Then the two killers disguised as uniformed police officers led the other men at gunpoint, out of the garage after successfully carrying out the shooting. John

Challenges and Responses to Improving Geriatric Nursing Care Essay

Challenges and Responses to Improving Geriatric Nursing Care - Essay Example Therefore, there is not only shortage of nurses to deal with the old aged, but also poor services offered by practicing nurses. There is need for colleges to equip nursing students with skills to enable them perform optimally when serving the old. Incorporating practical sessions and internship will help a great deal in improving their knowledge. Experience gathered during internship provides one with a chance to practice handling the old age at an early age, and thus perform better latter at work. It is therefore necessary to understand the needs of the old aged, and how best to deal with them. From research, nurses who have interacted with the old people understand them better, communicate with them effectively and are able to attend to them comfortably and effectively. Discussion Nursing education and practice for the aged challenges The number of old-aged people seeking health care facilities is rising with no or minimal changes in the number of nurses specialized in the field. A ccording to Hickman, University of Western Sydney and Newton (2007), most of the nurses attending to the old people have no special training. Therefore, apart from the shortage of nurses trained in dealing with the old, the already practicing nurses are offering substandard services to the old aged. This is because they lack professional competence in that area. Various reasons have contributed to reduced number of people training in gerontological studies, (Vincent, 2012). For instance, education institutions are faced with the challenge of handling large numbers of students. This leads to difficult in the institution offering the required facilities to the learners, hence leading to inadequate education. As such, nurses graduating from such institutions are not fully prepared to handle the elderly. Additionally, students find it difficult to pursue education program on care giving to the old age due to complexity of research projects undertaken in the field (Shellman, 2012). Moreo ver, studying gerontology is expensive, thus not affordable to some people. The nursing services for the old aged are quite costly making them unaffordable to a majority of the population. Due to health complication associated with old age, the elderly have frequent visits to health facilities thus, take a quantitative amount of their income. Additionally, most of the health care institutions cannot afford quality facilities for providing high quality services to the elderly. University of Western Sydney and Halcomb (2007) suggests that huge costs are required to equip the institutions with the facilities. As such, due to monopoly, institutions that have such facilities transfer the cost to the clients in form of increased health care fees. The cultural norms influence nurses in learning and carrying out their daily assignments. For example, there is a belief that the old age is characterized with diseases and sicknesses. In actual sense, there are old people who are healthy and do not have frequent body complications. As such, given the required attention and care, they are able to perform normally. From a different perspective, the elderly have values that differ from those of the youths, due to age difference and experience (Fox, 2013). This differences lead to a challenge when a young nurse is dealing with an old aged person. The disparity result to conflict and discomfort, and consequently leads to ineffectiveness in service delivery. Cultural differences are present when people

Building Performance Management through Employee Participation Essay

Building Performance Management through Employee Participation - Essay Example Employee participation is a significant component of motivating them which is also necessary for both their growth and that of the organization. By virtue of their positions, employees have unique and relevant performance information that may not be obvious to those conducting the performance management process (Mayer & Gavin 44). As evidenced by the JMI case, most employees feel unsatisfied with feedback and goal setting processes used by the management. They tend to view it like a procedure manufactured elsewhere and imposed on them. Contrarily, their active participation in the process provides them with a voice in the system, developing a sense of belonging and ownership over the process (Mayer & Gavin 46). Greater employee participation will create an environment of employee support and cooperation. This will encourage developing of counseling and coaching relationships, reducing defensive tendencies and tension and making the results more acceptable to the employees (Mayer & Ga vin 46). Employees provide input on the required standards on which their performance will be based (Cardy & Dobbins 12). It is, therefore, vital to formulate standards that evaluate essential responsibilities and duties by balancing the process, individual and group participation and the outcome. Employees can have a say by contributing their suggestions on the types of rating systems that give an actual representation of their responsibilities and duties (Cardy & Dobbins 12). Studies have indicated that self evaluation increases the participation of employees while enhancing overall satisfaction when used for the purposes of development (Cardy & Dobbins 19). Employees can carry out their own evaluation by completing their own performance evaluation forms prior to the official evaluation interview (Cardy & Dobbins 12). Although it is evident that managerial and employee ratings may not always be in agreement, it is essential for both groups to remember that the process does not see k absolute agreement. Rather, it should be viewed as a process aimed at obtaining consensus from the two teams over time (Mayer & Gavin 54). As with the JMI case, the consultant interviewed the management and used the employee participation technique to solicit feedback from the organization. With this feedback, they were able to identify the problems the employees had with the performance manage system in use. They generated the employees’ support through their participation to formulate a new and acceptable system. Basing on the JMI example, performance management systems can be improved by making them more sensitive to the employees’ issues. This can be achieved through increased privacy and confidentiality; according employees the management’s undivided attention and setting time to discuss issues. Those charged with carrying out the process need to be prepared prior to the exercise (Muchinsky 21). An emphasis is also placed on performance counseling. Team l eaders are encouraged to give individual employees feedback in confidence on their job performance. This may give rise to various potential benefits such as motivating them to be more productive (Muchinsky 34). Those given performance evaluation results that may be below their expectations will also accept them since

Research for Study Purposes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research for Study Purposes - Essay Example 2. Professional mode - to be found in professional journals, magazines and newspapers. Its purpose is to 'add to practical knowledge' and its audience is mainly practising professionals, teachers and others engaged in the educational service. 3. Pedagogic mode- to be found in research assignments, dissertations and theses. Its purpose is to 'demonstrate to a tutor, and possibly and external examiner, that the student is learning to conduct systematic, critical and self-critical enquiry.' - found in professional journals. Whatever type of research an individual is carrying out, there are different sources which can be used, all of which have both positive and negative aspects. Source materials include books, journals, internet, CD Rom's, video / DVD's, audiotapes, magazines and newspapers. All of these sources are secondary forms of information. Dependant on the nature and purpose of research being carried out it may be deemed both viable and valuable to carry out primary research. Such methods may include focus groups, one to one interviews or questionnaires / surveys. The success of which will to a large extent depend upon the professional nature, skill and ability of the interviewer / conductor or question setter. Research in this instance could be quantitative for numerical statistical analysis or qualitative for descriptive evaluation. Regardless of the research source material Ary et al (2004) reports that: Research must be appropriate for its audience. Research should have a clear aim e.g. to describe a situation, to inform action, report to specific audience etc Research should have a purpose - to impart knowledge, for accountability, accreditation etc Research should be written appropriate to its audience e.g. academics, fellow professionals Research form may take various paths, entirely text based, multimodal maybe containing video or audio recordings, links to websites, etc A research paper should consider its relevance to its audience in terms of length, style and genre and be written appropriately Research should take into account the role of the respondents - make them feel valued Research from whatever means will also share the following limitations; Legal and ethical considerations - relating to confidentiality, ownership and management of data, copyright and intellectual rights. These must be considered before data collection and agreed with all the relevant parties. The new Data Protection Act (1998) came into effect in UK in 2000 and researchers must be considerate of exactly what their data collection involves and what is to be done with the data before they seek the relevant authority. Methods of research need to be practically considered before being undertaken wholesale for practicality. (i.e. interview = more personal v questionnaire = anonymity) Research needs to be objective and devoid of bias. Ary et al (2002) states that 'bias may result from selective observations, hearing only what one wants to hear, or allowing persona attitudes, preferences and feelings to affect interpretation of data'.

Discuss Internet as a tool to International marketing Essay

Discuss Internet as a tool to International marketing research(implications, advantages & disadvantages) - Essay Example   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Market   research   is   a   systematic,   objective   collection   and   analysis   of   data   about   a   particular   target   market,   competition,   and/or   environment.   This   type   of   research   must   always   have   some   form   of   data   collection,   whether   it   be   secondary   research   or   primary   research,   which   is   collected   direct   from   a   respondent.   There   are   two   types   of   research:   quantitative   and   qualitative.   Quantitative   research   involves   numbers.   An   example,   a   fast   food   chain   might   ask   customers   to   rate   the   service   as   excellent,   good,   poor   or   very   poor.   Qualitative   research   tries   to   understand   how   or   why   things   are   the   way   they    are.   The   research   involves   more   Ã‚  face-to-face   contact.   An   example,   a   research   might   ask   a   consumers   why   they   have   decided   to   buy   a   certain   type   of   soft   drink.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The   Internet   has   changed   how   marketing   research   has   changed   internationally.   Why,   percentage   wise,   half   the   homes   in   the   United   States   have   computers.   This   movement   came   about   for   four   reasons:   the   prices   of   personal   computers   are   decreasing,   current   home   connections,   slow,   but   are   now   becoming   more   rapid,   companies   are   spending   large   amounts   of   money   on   small   internet- only   computers,   and   the   introduction   of   web   television.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All   these   factors   have,   and   will   continue   to   increase   the   number   of   people   with   access   to   the   internet.   What   will   also   increase   is   the   potential   to   gather   information   from   consumers,   access   secondary   data   sources,   advertise   and   sell   products.   This   is  

Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay Example for Free

Stress and Anger Management and Communication Styles Essay College Education is the end of uphill battle for students. These vital and rigorous educations provide greater opportunities in life. A lot of hardships are faced by college students and stress is one major factor that contributes to it. Mismanagement of stress causes burnouts. Common factors of stress are time management, financial problems, sleep deprivation, social activities, health, etc. Hatcher and Prus (1991) named these stress factors as academic situational constraints. Their study accounts these factors that decrease academic performances. Being in a new environment may be a cause for students to encounter different problems while going through their college life. These problems may involve the inability to fit in or to mingle with the people around them, difficulties in managing time or their schedules easily, coping up with the new knowledge that is being given to them. Experiences such as the ones mentioned may cause stress to the students. Stress, which may affect their dealing with other people and their ability to manage the things around them. Even in the midst of facing these  problems, students are still able to adapt or think of ways to cope up with them. It takes time to be comfortable around new people or environment but once someone gets the hang of it, eventually, they will find it easier. Skills with time management may be develop through the days or weeks that students have to go through. Learning, though different in styles in all individuals, could eventually adapt. These problems that they encounter and their adaptability to them are natural to humans. The behavior toward others falls somewhere on a spectrum between toxic effect and nourishing effect. Toxic behavior makes people feel devalued, angry, frustrated, guilty or otherwise inadequate. Nourishing behavior makes people feel valued, respected, affirmed, encouraged or competent (Albrecht, 2000). It is an ability that is termed as social intelligence. Such ability â€Å"includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and a knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others†. Stress and anger possess threats that may put our health in danger. Today, there are increasing level of stress in both men and women. The mishandled anger of teenagers may result from further problems like being involved in scandalous acts, declining of mental health, deviant behavior, etc. The researchers believe that individuals possess the unique blend of intelligences. The researchers want to find out how our intelligence with intrapersonal and interpersonal affects the control of stress and anger. The study may provide enlightenment with the ability to understand ourselves and the ability to interact with other people. Other studies focus only on communication styles, stress management or anger management individually. Some correlates the communication styles to the stress management while some focus on the correlation of stress to the anger management. Studies of anger management are rarely focused on. This study focuses on the accumulation of communication styles and the stress and anger management and their correlation to each other. It relates to other studies in a way that the results are already combined and compared to one another. Statement of the Problem The main purpose of the study is to compare the difference of the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability scores and determine if it affects  the stress and anger management of PLM Freshmen Psychology students. Specifically, the researchers aim to answer the following questions: 1. What is the level of stress management of the students under? 1.1Intrapersonal 1.2Interpersonal 2. What is the level of anger management of the students under? 2.1Intrapersonal 3. Is there a significant difference in the level of stress management of the students under. 3.1Intrapersonal 3.2Interpersonal 4. Is there a significant difference in the level of anger management of the students? 4.1Intrapersonal 4.2Interpersonal Hypotheses The study was designed to test the hypotheses: 1) There is no significant difference in the level of stress and anger management of respondents under the communication styles, intrapersonal and interpersonal. Significance of the Study Students, teachers, guidance counselors and other researchers interested in the field of social science may find this study useful for their own work. The results of this study can provide students with information regarding the ideal communication styles in order to manage their stress. This study can also provide teachers and counselors with the background to help their students with their relation to their studies and other researchers with literature for their related research undertaking. The study is predicted to provide information that can be used in understanding and improving the stress management of students. Scope and Limitations The study was focused on determining the difference of interpersonal ability  and intrapersonal ability of Bachelor of Science in Psychology freshmen student this School Year 2012-2013 in dealing with stress and anger management. The study area was limited only at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Intramuros, Manila. The researchers decided to choose freshmen, since first year students are new in college and are more prone to stress and feel difficult to handle situations because of the new environment, responsibilities and friends to adhere in college years. In gathering the data needed, three sets of questionnaire were used. The test for stress management, anger management and multiple intelligence tests but only the social intelligence where the interpersonal and intrapersonal ability are considered. Though different, the concepts however of each questionnaire are related and useful to combine all the supported data for the study. Also the researchers did not include and emphasi ze the relationship of intrapersonal ability and interpersonal ability. CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Review of Related Literature and Studies Interpersonal and Stress In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances about adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or high grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times leads to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind on assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Orino (2011) added that College life is also a time of enormous stress – a time of confusion,  loneliness and uncertainty and never to be experienced again from the vantage point of a young adult whose perspective is clouded by inexperience, insecurity and the struggles of discovering a separate identity. Being in the adolescent stage, the college freshman’s adjustment to college highly depends on the personal quality he possess in order to cope up with the various demands of college life. This is where stress plays a big role. It affects an individual in many ways – even in the little things. Stress is something that is never to be missed in college life. It is defined as the nonspecific response of the body to any pressures made by it. In other words, any reaction or response your body makes to a new situation is stress (Barcase, 2007). Socializing with the people in the surroundings and getting to know them can be a source of stress. There are cases when people who don’t have high interpersonal ability get stressed when interacting with others. Merely meeting and talking to a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a friend can be stressful if we don’t know what to say or how to act (Barcarse, 2007). When stress gets in the way of interacting, the interpersonal aspect of the life of a student affects their academic performance and therefore be stressed when they struggle to cope with new lessons or when they are loaded with lessons to be reviewed before taking exams. Students are also very stressed and anxious when they are experiencing new educational settings. In college, many students are experiencing changes in grading standards, course load, teaching practices, peer group, and parental contact. Some have difficulty adapting to the changes of college transition and revealed that high school is very much different from college (Sison, 2008). It is during these times when students feel amotivation. Amotivation is a state in which individuals cannot perceive the relationship between their behaviour and that behaviour subsequent outcome. Amotivated individuals cannot predict the consequence of their behaviour nor can they see the motive behind it. They feel disintegrated or detached from their actions and will thus invest little effort or energy in its effectuation (Green-Demers, et. al, 2006). When these individuals are amotivated, there will be changes in their  behaviour, in their point of view or even the way they view things. Some noticeable changes whether sudden or gradual can include changes in mood, eating, and sleeping habits, substance use, increased isolation, peer pressure, identity crisis, and feeling helpless or hopeless. In the long run, such symptoms, as well as the pressure of life’s demands if not handled properly, can lead to poor adjustment to university and ultimately, to experiencing a crisis situation, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts or severe anxiety or depression, to the point that everyday activities become difficult to accomplish and academic performance was affected (Sison, 2008). Patrick, Ryan and Kaplan (2007) examined perceptions of the classroom social environment as it relates with engagement in classroom. It was found that when students feel a sense of emotional support from teacher, academic support from peers and encouragement from teacher to discuss their work, students are more likely to use self-regulatory strategies and engaged in task-related interaction. This shows that social environment affect student’s academic and social beliefs about themselves, which in turn affects their behaviour and cognitive engagement in class and then their achievement. This shows that even when stress affects the students’ interaction with other students; they may still be able to handle it well if they have a good feel about their surrounding and the people around them. One way to resist stress is to have a good interpersonal relationship with the people around or to have a good feel about oneself. Learning how to handle or control the things around an individual makes him or herself more confident. Self-confidence and feeling in control of life are immensely valuable when it comes to fending off negative stress. Something as apparently flimsy as attitude and self-esteem has a very big impact. One of the strands found in the techniques is looking at building self-esteem (Clegg, 2000). Aside from the interpersonal aspect, students can also experience stress in the intrapersonal aspect. Stressing themselves or sometimes it’s when their emotions are flared up or when their angry. According to Remedios Alcazaren-Ureta (2011), anger management is simply an aspect of managing  stress, since anger is a symptom of stress. O’Neil (2006) emphasized that â€Å"It is widely assumed that anger occurs as a result of frustration, perceived threat or a belief that a personal injustice has occurred. Common triggers are social or interpersonal in nature†¦ The individual’s appraisal of a situation, including expectation of himself or herself and others†. Synthesis The researchers believe that each and every stated in this research is related in this study. The literature and studies supported each concept in the study by depicting actual and normal situations of a college student at home and in school. The literature and studies also emphasized the importance of stress and anger management to the improvement of the communication styles of students. The related literature and studies stated in this research did not entirely support the correlation in the difference of scores in the stress and anger management of students, it only shows that these justifies both side of the study. Theoretical Framework Freshmen students, as becoming new to the university they tend to have difficulties in coping with the new environment. Becoming friends with other students need skills in communicating their feelings and thoughts these pertains to their Intrapersonal and Interpersonal abilities. These pertain to the Social Intelligence theory which is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. Sometimes referred to simplistically as people skills, SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of ones own perceptions and reaction patterns. (Dr. Karl Abrecht, 2004) Handling stress and anger means controlling yourself in order to be in harmony with the environment. In students, stress can decline your mental  process, health and the relationship towards other people. Friends can be a stress towards you or your friends can be affected by your stress. Same as anger, it brings trouble to students when they cannot control their negative feelings to others. By being new to the environment, stress and anger mishandle may arise and that the â€Å"people skill† is needed for adaptation in the environment. It all comes to one’s self to overcome stress and anger. College life brings new experiences as well as frustrations. Freshmen college students are more prone to face these. A new freshman college student must learn to balance his social and emotional skills in order to cope up with the demands of college life. The stress and frustrations caused by the new adjustments made by the students may test their social or interpersonal abilities for they make new friendships and interact simultaneously with people not familiar to them. It is also assumed that these new companions have different personalities which can make interacting with them more stressful for students. Since they are also pressured and overwhelmed by the heavy loads of work, freshmen students become aggressive and frustrated when their efforts results to failure. With these instances given, the interpersonal abilities of the students can be correlated to their stress and anger management in school because students with high social skills can handle stress caused by the people around them. As Dr. Albrecht (2004) stated, that Social Intelligence (SI) is the ability to get along well with others, and to get them to cooperate with you. It is also referred to simplistically as people skills,† SI includes an awareness of situations and the social dynamics that govern them and knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his or her objectives in dealing with others. The frustrations brought by the pressure of school works and requirements may also trigger anger to students. The emotional intelligence of students is challenged in these situations and these can be correlated in their anger management. Students who are insightful can handle frustrations and they will not always resolve to aggression or anger. According to Salovey and Mayer’s (1990), emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use  this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. In a new environment, people will learn to adapt eventually. But while in the process of adaptation, these people will experience stress, anxiety, and anger from their surroundings. Even in an academic setting, instances on adapting also happen especially when it is the start of a school year or when someone has reached a new or higher grade level. This study focuses on the ability of the students to adapt in a new environment in the college level. The CS Translator (2000) mentioned that college life is full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and being on their own are the best. Falling behind in class, pulling an â€Å"all-nighters† and final exams can be the worst; sometimes the best of times lead to the worst of times. Students who spend too much time meeting new people and â€Å"socializing† find themselves skipping class, falling behind in assignments and â€Å"bombing† exams. Stress is inevitable part of daily life of every individual. Most especially in college students who are more prone with it. New places to acclimate, major subjects that will drive you crazy, sleepless nights due to exams, reports and assignments and lastly strangers who’ll you meet and eventually will become one of your friends or the reason of your stress. By this, stress can trigger our well-being inside and out. This may also lead to the point where we can’t restrain anymore and get a strong feeling of displeasured namely anger. By knowing and realizing the situation your own, we have this efficiency in dealing with our everyday problems. It may come to our inner strength where we have this certain control of our emotion or to the environment and people around us whom we get this urge to stay calm and be reserve. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence has a great influence in the research to be performed by the researchers in this thesis. Gardner’s MI (Multiple Intelligence) determines the intelligence of an individual including the Intrapersonal ability and Interpersonal ability. With this theory the researchers will determine the Social Intelligence of an individual (Interpersonal and Intrapersonal). This theory will be the  researcher’s basis to determine whether which kind of personality will be the greatest in case of handling stress and anger management. According to Gardner; Intrapersonal persons are the ones who are independent and happy spending time alone, they find it easier to learn by thinking and working quietly on their own. Intrapersonal has a determined character who might not be as at risk to peer pressure, they also has a good idea of their own strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand Interpersonal are considerate persons, they enjoy mixing and talking with lots of friends, they also enjoy playing team games and share thoughts and feelings to others. They also has a good ability to tell how others are feeling by their tone of voice or body language, people often come to this kind of persons for support and advice. Lastly they genuinely care about others and finds it easy to get on their own way. Social Intelligence is the ability to get along with others this includes the awareness of situations, knowledge of interaction styles and strategies that can help a person achieve his/her objectives in dealing with others. It also involves a certain amount of self-insight and a consciousness of one’s own perceptions and reaction patterns. SI (Social Intelligence) will serve as a way of determining a person’s interaction with others. A low level of SI may connote the inability to connect with people and influence them effectively. This happens to be a characteristic of a person with a high Intrapersonal Ability. Conversely, a high level of SI may connote the ability of a person being much more effective in dealing and interacting with others, this is a characteristic of a person with a high level of Interpersonal Ability. Freshmen Psychology Students Conceptual Paradigm Multiple Intelligence Test INTRAPERSONAL INTERPERSONAL Anger Management Stress Management Anger Management Stress Management To be able to accomplish the study, the researchers made an organizational chart or framework on how the study will flow. The respondents, will be given the Multiple Intelligence Test. The test will identify the ability to which an individual is greatest, either Interpersonal or Intrapersonal. After identifying the ability of the student, the researchers will administer the next test, the Burn out Test. This test will determine the Stress Management and likewise, the Anger Management Test will determine the level of anger management of an individual with of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal ability. Definition of Terms Stress Management it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle stress caused by external factors. Anger Management – it is the ability of BS Psychology freshmen to handle frustrations within oneself. Interpersonal ability – ability to communicate effectively with people around the individual. Intrapersonal ability – ability to handle emotions effectively, particularly anger. Correlation – refers to how communication styles related to stress and anger management Communication Style – refers to the intrapersonal and interpersonal ability of an individual Mismanagement – inability of the person to organize emotions or situations such as stress and anger Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Ability Scores- Data or result gathered from the social intelligence category under multiple intelligence test of the BS Psychology freshmen.

Public agencies Essay Example for Free

Public agencies Essay A child’s social awareness and development are necessary to aid him/her to face the reality of life. In accordance to that, a parent has a vital role to be played in helping his/her children to attain this knowledge through experiential or hands-on learning. But in reality, not all things could be learned inside a house or even inside the classroom. That was why different public agencies are strongly advisable to parents who need reinforcements in teaching their children about mental retardation, social living, transition, and developing their vocational skills. Below is a list of some public agencies that could help parents bring out the best in their children and the reasons why they are strongly recommended. First, I would like to recommend to parents to bring their child in this agency called Vision Quest. Vision Quest has run a long way for nearly 35 years. They have their distinct way of reaching out to the youth. According to Robert Burton, the founder and chairman of Vision Quest, â€Å"In Vision Quest programs, young people find themselves surprised, challenged, inspired, and sometimes confused but always growing. It’s the path to a new start. † Moreover, they use a very practical approach which concerns primarily with ethics and values. They make learning and discovery a fun thing to do, which in turn earns them a long term result. Furthermore, this agency has already passed and made a positive result to the evaluation conducted by different well-trusted organizations such as Rand Corporation, the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges Commission, the State of California Auditor General’s Office, the Allegheny court system, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Youth Policy. I would also highly recommend the Youth Communication agency. This agency has the main goal of hearing and understanding the youth of today because they believe that these young people have their own ideas, solutions, and concerns about the society. They develop newsmakers, news writers, make new stories, discover talents and flaunt a child’s full potential. These provide the parents the knowledge of their child’s emotions and skills. Another good choice is the Variety Club of Illinois. This helps physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged youth nowadays. They keep their responsibility and assist parents in their child’s physical activities. They have a mobility program called â€Å"Kids on the go† wherein they provide physical activities that require a lot of movement and socialization. These are great chances to mold a child’s productivity. On the other hand, Association House Agency is also highly recommended. It aims to educate, train, and provide child welfare, mental health, and recovery services. This agency teaches children different vocational skills, art crafts and assists with special Olympics that children would enjoy. Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago is another agency of great choice. This agency has the main purpose of inspiring and enabling young children most especially those children who undergo disadvantaged circumstances to realize their worth and their full potential as concerned citizens. Also, a child should also learn different social skills which would be very useful in becoming a productive and law-abiding citizen in the near future. With that, Zion Temple Educational Center could accompany parents in teaching these skills. This agency helps elementary students attain good academic standing while enjoying recreational activities. This would be a very big help to parents because learning I guess, is easier when you are having fun. Abraham Lincoln Hope Headstart is an agency designed to help children be successful in the fields they are to take, promotes positive thinking, and provides enjoyable creative experiences. This helps parents in molding their child’s community responsibility and provides an educational setting for experiential purposes. Another helpful public agency is Brain Boosters. This helps children increase their self-esteem and be a sociable person, improve study habits and gain high grades, and the social skills to make him a good citizen of the US. They provide skillbuilding activities that bring out a child’s full potential. These goals are also reflected by this agency called South Side Help Center. This also aims to develop a child’s social skills that could help him get all along his daily living. Moreover, this also enhances a child’s potential of being a good leader through some constructive activities. And lastly, I would like to recommend the School of Art Institute. This agency helps parents in discovering their child’s creative side and aesthetics. This also gives an opportunity to aspiring young artists. I believe that all the agencies mentioned above could be of great help in each parent’s role of guiding, molding, and developing his/her child’s physical and mental capacity and to lead their children in the right path. These agencies could all divert children’s attention into a more productive and significant activities. Parents have their choice of watching their children’s growth and well-being. If all parents would just realize how significant these public agencies are, their children will never go wrong and children of today will less probably possess risky behaviors. Also, most probably, through practice and daily experiences, these activities would be developed as hobbies.

A Well Detailed Spiral Model Information Technology Essay

A Well Detailed Spiral Model Information Technology Essay The life cycle model most likely preferred or suitable for Sales Order Despatch Application system would be the Spiral Life Cycle Model. The Spiral Life Cycle Model is a software development approach combining elements of both design and prototyping in a much more comprehensive and understandable stages. The spiral life cycle combines the iterative nature of prototyping with the controlled and systematic aspects of the waterfall model, therein providing the potential for rapid development of incremental versions of the software. In this model the software is developed in a series of incremental releases with the early stages being either paper models or prototypes. Later iterations become increasingly more complete versions of the product. A WELL DETAILED SPIRAL MODEL The spiral life cycle model typically contains 6 task regions: i. Customer Communication ii. Planning iii. Risk Analysis iv. Engineering v. Construction and Release vi. Customer Evaluation All the above mentioned tasks has to be addressed during the development of the Sales Order Despatch Application. 1.1 Customer Communication This task region basically has to do with knowing the customer and establishing an effective communication and gathering the requirements of the system to be developed. Customers therefore would be referred to as the management of the Sales Order Despatch System. These requirements can be gathered using several fact finding techniques. The techniques used for this system would be: Questionnaires A survey will be simply carried out on selected Sales Order Despatch Application current workers. This survey would help us understand what the end users of the SODA would want from the new system. And by placing any current problems they are facing as at the time the survey is being carried out can help in enhancing the new system and tackling such problems in the new system. Interviews In this particular fact finding technique, different levels of workers and bodies of the organisation would be interviewed in order to get a suitable and preferable view of the system to be implemented. Such problems being faced in the current system also need to be addressed, and those problems must be surpassed by the new computerized system. The most important people who would be interviewed would be the Managing Director of Fizzypop Plc and major end-users of FizzyPop plc in charge of the day to day activities. The purposes of these fact findings are to understand the functional and non-functional requirements of the system. 1.2 Planning Once all the necessary information is gathered through the interviews and questionnaires, they should be addressed as requirements. Also the system must be developed within a limited time and budget. In this stage an initial budget will be built to get a rough idea on what the final cost will be to implement the system. This initial cost will vary from the final budget due to many changing factors. Also a deadline must be given by the restaurant as to when they want the system implemented. A Gantt chart must be developed to monitor the progress of the system. This will ensure that the system is finished and delivered on time. This a view of the gantt chart which the developers and analysers will use to monitor the progress of the system to be developed: 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 Here are the functional requirements identified for the system: Functional Requirements Functional requirements are the requirements needed for the new computerized system to function properly. The following are the functional requirements for the Sales Order Despatch Application system: * Allow the end-user to specify the customers soft drinks and delivery requirements via an intranet web page. * Able to edit, add to the job sheet online. * Allowing staff and management to view and produce reports of packaged items, via their internal networking infrastructure (i.e., their intranet). * Customers order is been verified against current capacity, stock availability and delivery dates. * Receive confirmation of the delivery date and related billing information * The information system needs to be integrated with their current customer and distribution database. * The system will, from time to time, provide the company with detailed reports of customer profiles (number of customers, types of drink purchased, and current revenue). * 1.3 Risk Analysis In this particular task region, all possible risks to be encountered are been identified. A risk probability impact matrix should be also put up in order to understand the effects of the risks better. Whereby Risk categories have been divided in to 2 sections, namely Technological and Management, and here are examples of such risks: * Management Risks o Computer illiteracy within end-users o Takes time for end users to be comfortable with the change of initial system to current system o Misuse of developed system might lead to unnecessary expenditure on maintenance o Lack of team Support o Inadequate time to complete project o Inadequate funds/ Final expenses higher than initial budget o Disclosure of company information * Technological Risks o Power Failures are vulnerable to loss of data o Due to improper management Data Corruption / Loss of Data can occur o There might be Intruder Attacks from hackers. o Hardware Failures. o The Rapid evolving and change in software. Initially after getting all the risks for the system, it has been noted down that the following risks that have an actual threat to the SODA system are mentioned below: * Inadequate time to complete project * Inadequate funds/ Final expenses higher than initial budget * Data Corruption / Loss of Data * Intruder Attacks * Hardware Failures * Misuse of Equipment 1.4 Engineering: This task region is to design the system with the gathered requirements information using selected tools and coding techniques selected. A sample prototype can be designed as well in this stage. The programming language that can be used to develop the Sales Order Despatch Application SODA could be Java and ASP.NET Since java is a very popular programming language with its own GUI. While ASP.NET is a web based programming language which is also platform independent with JAVA therefore it would be easy making future amendments to the system, in case the system hardware is changed or ready to be reviewed again. SQL server 2008 can be used to create the database for the Bottling companies. It is easier to create and link tables and create queries using SQL server 2008 and will be able to handle all customer and bottling information, including record keeping of customers visiting the website. 1.5 Construction and Release This is the stage where the prototype of the system that was initially designed in the previous stage would be brought into life by coding the system. Once the coding is carried out, the system has to test to see if it meets all the requirements. Testing can be done using sample of test cases and then the actual output is matched against the expected output of the above mentioned system. Once we are through with testing and it meets the given expectations, the final documentation is prepared along with a training manual showing the customer on how to use the system. Technical support will also be provided along with the training manual. 1.6 Customer Evaluation This is the task region whereby feedback is been gotten from the management of FizzyPop Plc. Whether or not the developed system is up to their expectations is learned in this stage. This could be determined as the final stage of the project if the system is acceptable by the FizzyPop plc. But. If it is not accepted therefore you have to case it is back to task region one, Customer communication, by getting the information needed to do amendments and understanding what the customer wants in the system. QUESTION 2 The goal of every software engineer in software engineering is gaining durability for quality products depending on the attributes of such products. There are laid down set of qualities specifically linked with system dependability attributes such as security, safety, fault tolerance; quality that makes for convenience of use, such as usability, adaptability, and clarity; and quality that facilitates and makes future upgrades and maintenance easy. There is some agreement about the attributes that define software quality and dependability over a range of products. These definitions provide the base knowledge from which individual quality products are planned, engineered, analysed, measured, and enhanced. There are many dependability measurement attributes that could be applied to the SODA system, but only few of such attributes of dependability measurements would be described below. These attributes have been selectively chosen due to its high contribution to Sales Order Despatch Application SODA namely: 1. Efficiency/ Performance of the system 2. Accuracy 3. Dependability 4. Usability 2.2Efficiency/ Performance of the system Performance/ Efficiency of a system, is a set of attributes that bear on the relationship between the level of performance of the software and the amount of resources used and under stated conditions. Resources may include other software, hardware, services of operating and users for maintenance and operation. This attribute have 2 major features namely: Time and resource behaviours. And if a processing results requires a very high performing processor and lots or RAM to display the processed result under 3 seconds, that is an indication of poor resource performance. In other words even if the processed results are accurate to its single term, it still requires excess time and resources, it will simply affect the overall quality of the system. . 2.1 Accuracy Accuracy is an attribute of software that deals with the provision of right or agreed results and its effects. The question to be figured out next is how accurate the system performs. For example, the user enters drink specification Mountain dew using the Add function in the database, and the system displays results for Drink specification of only Mirinda or Malta , that indicates an inaccurate system. This happens due to poor programming and system designing. Overall an inaccurate system means the quality of software is poor and therefore the end-users (FizzyPop plc) will not be pleased with the entire software. 2.4 Dependability After the system has been designed for FizzyPop plc And it has proven to be efficient, effective, user friendly and safe, we still have to worry about how dependable the system could be. That is to say that Dependability basically is how dependable the system implemented would be, which has many features and some of those features are: * Maintainability Normally after the system is implemented and sold to FizzyPop plc, it must be maintained, and this maintenance will be done by the users of SODA. Maintenance will usually include updating the system software, taking backups. All this will be taught to the user during the training phase, but this also must be easy to do. * Reliability FizzyPop plc would be open throughout the day, and the system will also be on and running as long as FizzyPop exists.it could only be altered when further development process is been carried out and ready to implement. NOTE: The system must be able to operate during these times without and crashes or system failure. * Availability The system must be able to be started up within a short time, and ready to use. Queries must be responded to as and when the user demands them, that is the basic idea of availability. The system must be ready to use on the users demand. 2.3 Usability Usability is a set of attributes that put up with on the effort needed for use of a system, and on the individual assessment of such use, usually evaluated by the user of the system. The system developed for FizzyPop plc should be easy to use and learn. The user involved with the day to day function of the system, does not really need to be very good technically. Therefore the system must be designed in a way it easy to understand for users who will be using the system. All error messages must be in simple understandable English with less technical jargon. Therefore in the event of any errors the system user should be able to overcome the problem by themselves. Any new user of the SODA system should be able to have an experience and understand how the system works on their own. That will be a good indication of a user friendly system, in other words a good quality system. Also a training session must be provided to the users of SODA in order to show them on how the system works. A manual will also be given, in any case, if there are any problems in the system that needs any attention, SODA users (FizzyPop plc. Staffs) can look up the manual for details. CONCLUSION The spiral life cycle model has been chosen to develop the system so that the final product developed for FizzyPop plcwill very few or no problems will be found at all. This model makes sure that all the risks involved will be identified and taken care of before being handed over to the Bottling Company known as FizzyPop plc. Since the spiral model uses a rotating pattern, it ensures that all requirements are identified, and the system designed meets the specifications in order to make sure SODA users are satisfied with the system before the system is delivered to them. This spiral way of designing the system is also a bit costly to FizzyPop plc compared to developing the system using other methodologies, but its outcome is much worthy. In summary of the dependability measurement attributes, it could be said that, the software which is most efficient, effective and user friendly would be bad in terms on quality if it has low dependability qualities, such as, taking too long to start-up , regularly freezing up/ crashing and requiring high end technical training for users to maintain the system. If it is also a very dependable system, but with poor efficiency, performance and a bad user interface. it will not be a good quality system either. Finally we have concluded by saying that the system developed for FizzyPop plc must be perfect in all of these attributes; any defect or failure in any of these attributes will compromise the overall software quality for the system.

Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors Essay -- Senior Management, N

The effectiveness of non-executive directors is becoming to be seen as critical for the contribution to the effectiveness of corporate governance in providing investor protection. Relevant situational and sectoral experience enhances the effectiveness of non-executive directors. Jebb (1998) cited in Ahwireng-Obeng, Mariano and Viedge (2005) suggests that it is a better strategy to hire non-executive directors who have experience in similar as well as other sectors and situations that the company is likely to face than search for a particular expertise in a director. According to Pincombe (2000), this enables the utilisation of specialist skills in different fields and the broadening of experience (Ahwireng-Obeng, Mariano and Viedge, 2005). To a certain extent, the tenure of service also has impact on the effectiveness of non-executive directors. Feldman (1992) is of the view that a board that services a business well today may not be qualified to lead it five years from now as markets and products evolve. Therefore, the appointments of non-executive directors should be for a specific term and new members should be appointed as and when needed. One suggestion is that by serving for more than ten years, the board member tends to become too close to senior management to provide objective oversight (Ahwireng-Obeng, Mariano and Viedge, 2005). However, this could provide the in-depth knowledge and institutional memory that a new board member has to work hard to acquire (Fleming, 1998 cited in Ahwireng-Obeng, Mariano and Viedge, 2005). As for the selection and appointment, â€Å"good boards do not just ‘happen’; they are carefully constructed working teams† (Vennat, 1995). In other words, it is by selecting and developing appropriate indiv... ...m their duties, particularly those sitting on the Nominations Committee, Remuneration Committee and Audit Committee on an irregular basis, meeting only a few times a year (Pass, 2008). Due to limited time of involvement, non-executive directors could be too "remote" from internal decision-making processes to make an effective contribution and lack of information. The effectiveness of non-executive directors would be undermining when they are uninformed about the challenges they face. Hurley (2000) cited in Ahwireng-Obeng, Mariano and Viedge (2005) suggests that making the following list of information available to non-executive directors can contribute to their focus and productivity: board policies, committee guidelines, board minutes, authority annotations, contract summaries, organisational charts, member surveys and analyses, and programme or project analyses.

Earthquake Loads & Earthquake Resistant Design of Buildings :: essays research papers

Earthquake Loads & Earthquake Resistant Design of Buildings 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Summary  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthquake Design - A Conceptual Review  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthquake Resisting Performance Expectations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key Material Parameters for Effective Earthquake Resistant Design  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthquake Design Level Ground Motion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 6.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elastic Response Spectra  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 6.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relative Seismicity  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 6.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soil amplification  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Derivation of Ductile Design Response Spectra  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analysis and Earthquake Resistant Design Principles  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 8.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Basic Principles of Earthquake Resistant Design  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 8.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Controls of the Analysis Procedure  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 8.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ‘Conventional’ Earthquake Design Procedure  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Capacity Design Philosophy for Earthquake Resistance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 9.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Approach  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 9.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Implications of Capacity Design  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthquake Resistant Structural Systems  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 10.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moment Resisting Frames:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 10.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shear Walls  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 10.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Braced Frames  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Importance & Implications of Structural Regularity  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 11.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 11.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vertical Regularity  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 11.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Horizontal Regularity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 11.4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Floor Diaphragms  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 12.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methods of Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 12.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Integrated Time History Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 12.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Multi-modal Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 12.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Equivalent Static Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 13.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trends and Future Directions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 14.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusions  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 15.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  17 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summary The primary objective of earthquake resistant design is to prevent building collapse during earthquakes thus minimising the risk of death or injury to people in or around those buildings. Because damaging earthquakes are rare, economics dictate that damage to buildings is expected and acceptable provided collapse is avoided. Earthquake forces are generated by the inertia of buildings as they dynamically respond to ground motion. The dynamic nature of the response makes earthquake loadings markedly different from other building loads. Designer temptation to consider earthquakes as ‘a very strong wind’ is a trap that must be avoided since the dynamic characteristics of the building are fundamental to the structural response and thus the earthquake induced actions are able to be mitigated by design. The concept of dynamic considerations of buildings is one which sometimes generates unease and uncertainty within the designer. Although this is understandable, and a common characteristic of any new challenge, it is usually misplaced. Effective earthquake design methodologies can be, and usually are, easily simplified without detracting from the effectiveness of the design. Indeed the high level of uncertainty relating to the ground motion generated by earthquakes seldom justifies the often used complex analysis techniques nor the high level of design sophistication often employed. A good earthquake engineering design is one where the designer takes control of the building by dictating how the building is to respond. This can be achieved by selection of the preferred response mode, selecting zones where inelastic deformations are acceptable and suppressing the development of undesirable response modes which could lead to building collapse. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthquake Design - A Conceptual Review Modern earthquake design has its genesis in the 1920’s and 1930’s. At that time earthquake design typically involved the application of 10% of the building weight as a lateral force on the structure, applied uniformly up the height of the building.

Passion :: essays research papers

â€Å"Florida State University, here we come!† Fort Lauderdale to Tallahassee, what a trip! On the road again†¦blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, on the road again, that damn song always in my head when we’re going on a long bus ride. I should figure out the words in between, but I’m always too lazy. Now that I think about it, I still have two cases to write if I want debate. Mr. Wakefield would kill me if he knew I’m going to a huge state tournament unprepared. I’m not worried, I’ll do it after the first stop†¦I’m tired now anyways. I’ll just take a little nap. I woke up because of all the noise†¦we’re at the first stop. It’s been four hours?! I’m still tired, so, I put my head back again. Once again, I woke up because of the noise†¦we’re at the second stop now. I slept through another four hours, I can’t believe it, and I didn’t get anything done! I’m not worried , I’ll write my cases after this stop†¦ I’m hungry anyways. So, I ate a bunch of snacks, listened to my Walkman, and went back to the bus. I’m just going to relax right now; my head hurts and my stomach is full. Here we are, Tallahassee, Florida! It’s okay, I’m not worried, once we eat dinner and settle in our hotel rooms, I’ll write my cases. So, we eat dinner, get our rooms, unpack, and now I’m way too tired to write my cases†¦ I’ll write before the tournament tomorrow. The tournament is about to start and I still don’t have any cases ready†¦it’s okay; I can write it before my rounds. I look over to the side and see someone posting the rounds up. All right, rounds are going to start in fifteen minutes and I don’t have my cases ready – okay, now it is time to panic! Well, I always said I work better under pressure†¦obviously, a lot of pressure. I sit down and I’m writing as fast as I possibly can. Wow, so many ideas†¦my hand can’t keep up! I can smell the smoke coming from the pencil grinding on my notepad. I can hear myself rooting for myself†¦go, go, go, go, Usilia you’re awesome! Okay, it’s time to go to my round, so I plot my butt down next to the door and continue writing. When my opponent gets there, I tilt my notepad so he doesn’t see what I’m writing.

Barriers to entry into foreign markets

Any organization of relatively any size has some fundamental aims and objectives. One of such primal aims is to grow; this growth can be in terms of sales, profits, or anything else but the underlying value is to grow. In a given region or rather in the country of origin, a firm may grow up to a certain extent may be by reaching each and every corner of the country and having presence everywhere but this ‘everywhere’ is limited or bounded by geographical boundaries so the growth, in essence, is restricted.Organizations grow ‘big’ when they cross the borders, arrive in a new market and capture mass customer base and then move on to another target while keep in mind-frame the issue of customer retention. This phenomenon or type of growth is known as entry into foreign markets. Generally, the government of any country welcomes foreign firms coming in as they increase the investor confidence and show signs of growth; however, only in a few scenarios, that can be counted as exceptions, the local competitors welcome foreign firms.There are several reasons to this fact, the prime reason being people’s attraction towards foreign products and services. To ensure their local market share retention, these local vendors create barriers to entry in the local markets, which are in essence foreign markets for the investor . This research paper presents an over view of the barriers that might be faced by an entrant into a foreign market. These barriers can be of any form and type. The major aim of this paper is to analyze these barriers and how they can be eliminated.What is a foreign market? The foreign exchange market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions . Foreign Market Entry Global Assess ment One must first identify what regions or countries of the world would be a potential market opportunity for your product or service.Also conduct an industry sector analysis that covers the market outlook for a particular industry . A Foreign Market Entry Plan Having determined the best international markets for your products, you now need to evaluate the most profitable way to get your products to potential customers in these markets. This can be achieved through a Foreign Market Entry Plan that will help plan entry into a market and the Foreign Market Growth Plan that will keep you in the market. These plans typically include : †¢ Identification of marketing and sales objectives†¢ Target market descriptive †¢ Expected sales †¢ Profit expectations †¢ Market penetration and coverage †¢ Marketing activities †¢ Identification of target market †¢ Alternative Methods of Entry (based on Country Assessment) †¢ Development or redesign of tact ical marketing plan †¢ Product adaptation, or modification †¢ Promotion strategy †¢ Distribution strategy †¢ Price strategy (includes terms of sale and methods of payment) †¢ A proposed budget and implementation schedule †¢ Resource requirements (finance, personnel and capacity) †¢ Implementation and control plans†¢ Key contacts from the United States’ Foreign Commercial Services The Foreign Market Growth Plan It is completed near the end of your first year of entry into the country market. One must identify and prepare for Trade Events. Trade shows, international buyer programs, matchmaker trade delegations programs or a catalog exhibition program can lead to tremendous international opportunities . Methods of foreign market entry Methods of foreign market entry include exporting, licensing, joint venture and off-shore production.The method you choose will depend on a variety of factors including the nature of your particular product o r service and the conditions for market penetration which exist in the foreign target market . Exporting can be accomplished by selling your product or service directly to a foreign firm, or indirectly, through the use of an export intermediary, such as a commissioned agent, an export management or trading company. International joint ventures can be a very effective means of market entry. Joint ventures overseas are often accomplished by licensing or off-shore production.Licensing involves a contractual agreement whereby you assign the rights to distribute or manufacture your product or service to a foreign company. Off-shore production requires either setting up your own facility or sub-contracting the manufacturing of your product to an assembly operator. Barriers to entry into foreign markets The main trade barriers to any foreign market include: Psychological barriers in foreign exchange markets Traders adjust their anchors in two ways. Some believe that exchange rates move tow ard (perceived) fundamentals, while others bet on a continuation of the current exchange rate trend.The behavior of the traders causes complex dynamics. Since the exchange rate tends to circle around its perceived fundamental value, the foreign exchange market is persistently misaligned. Central authorities have the opportunity to reduce such distortions by pushing the exchange rate to less biased anchors, but to achieve this; they have to break psychological barriers between anchors. High import tariffs inclusive of restrictions related to national security Tariffs are taxes that raise the price of a good when it is brought into another country.Tariffs and import quotas form the toughest barriers. Seventy percent of respondents say tariffs on goods and services are the most effective form of protectionism, followed closely by import quotas (68%). But this is by no means the whole story: 45% say that artificially undervalued exchange rates do much to boost the competitiveness of loc al firms, while 59% cite subsidized competitors as a major barrier. Many also noted the challenges of informal protectionism, such as local firms convincing government officials to block the approval of licenses.Quota systems in Japan: The tariff quota system charges a lower duty rate (primary duty rate) on imports of specific goods up to a certain quantity, but a higher duty rate (secondary duty rate) on quantities exceeding that volume. This system protects domestic producers of similar goods but also benefits consumers with the lowest tariff rates possible. The tariff quota volume for each allocation can be applied in one of two ways: according to the order in which the request was received, or according to prior allocations.Japan utilizes the prior allocation method. The tariff quota system does not restrict direct imports, since imports can be made without a tariff quota certificate, provided high duty is paid. Regarding footwear, quota allocations to individuals or companies a re based on historical trade performance in the importation of footwear. Japan has allocated quota not to quota traders but to footwear importers, so business can take place as per footwear importers requirements. At the same time, new importers can acquire special quota for new importers.The Government of Japan implements this system in accordance with governmental regulation. Therefore, Japan believes that new importers have opportunities to obtain quotas under the current quota allocation system. Unfavorable foreign rules & regulations Voluntary export restraints limit the quantity of a good brought into a country, but they are initiated by the country producing the good, not the country receiving the good. Federal, state, and local governments sometimes restrict entry into markets by requiring firms to have licenses.The Federal Communications Commission, for example, grants licenses to radio and television stations; there simply aren't enough frequencies for an unlimited number of firms to broadcast in any area. For safety reasons, all nuclear power plants are licensed as well. Governments also bar entry by giving firms exclusive rights to a market. The U. S. Postal Service, for example, has an exclusive right to deliver first class mail. Firms are sometimes given exclusive rights to do things like operate gas stations along toll roads, produce electricity, or collect garbage in a city.Exclusive rights are granted if a government believes that there is room for only one firm in a market. Until the 1980s, the federal government also restricted entry into the airline, trucking, banking, and telecommunications industries. Many of the laws that restricted entry into these industries were put into place in the 1930s, when many people believed that large firms needed to be protected from â€Å"cutthroat competitors. † Many economists now believe that these laws did more harm than good. In 1938, for example, the Civil Aeronautics Board, or CAB, was establi shed to regulate the airline industry for interstate flights.For the forty years that it existed, it didn't allow a single new firm to enter the market, although it received over 150 applications for routes. In 1978, despite protests from the airlines, President Carter ordered the deregulation of the industry and the phasing out of the CAB. Within five years, 14 new firms entered the industry. Many experts believe that airline fares after deregulation were well below what they would have been had regulation continued. For instance, take China as an example. China’s government has set policies that are posing great challenges for foreign investors.China’s regulatory framework for cross-border remains a complex and incomplete patchwork of laws, regulations and policy decisions made by various ministries and government agencies. A lack of transparency, coupled with low standards of corporate transparency and disclosure, makes it difficult for potential investors to carry out due diligence to accepted international standards. Valuing the potential liabilities of a firm is especially difficult. At the same time, the Chinese government continues to close off so-called â€Å"strategic assets† to cross-border without specifying which sectors are defined as strategic, or why.To address these issues and remove other obstacles to cross-border deals, it is recommended for China to: †¢ Streamline the approval process for cross-border and make it more transparent; †¢ Put in place a sound competition framework; †¢ Further open its capital markets to foreign investors; †¢ Encourage its firms to increase corporate transparency and provide more up to date and accurate financial information to make it easier to value a potential acquisition, especially regarding a firm’s liabilities; Relax foreign ownership restrictions.In particular, revise existing catalogues that list the type of firms that can or cannot be acquired by foreign i nvestors. The report also recommends that China pilot these recommendations in the North-East of the country before rolling them out nationwide. This region, China’s historical industrial heartland, has a high concentration of state-owned firms in need of restructuring and technological upgrading, as well as high unemployment and low productivity. Cross-border could help rejuvenate the region’s economy. Free Trade PolicyPolicy in which a government does not discriminate against imports or interfere with exports. A free-trade policy does not necessarily imply that the government abandons all control and taxation of imports and exports, but rather that it refrains from actions specifically designed to hinder international trade, such as tariff barriers, currency restrictions, and import quotas. The theoretical case for free trade is based on Adam Smith's argument that the division of labor among countries leads to specialization, greater efficiency, and higher aggregate production.The way to foster such a division of labor, Smith believed, is to allow nations to make and sell whatever products can compete successfully in an international market. Arbitrary tariff classifications Regional wise review: Africa: The eight sub-Saharan African countries under review are undertaking economic and political reforms to promote economic growth and to facilitate their integration into global markets. Most of the countries have taken steps to improve their investment climate and are actively seeking foreign investment. Tariffs have been reduced, but remain high in certain sectors and countries. Other issues hampering U.S. exporters in sub-Saharan Africa include ineffectual enforcement of intellectual property rights, onerous customs delays, and corruption. Canada: The United States trades more with Canada than with any other country, but a number of issues threaten this partnership. The 1996 U. S. -Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement, which covers $7 billion in tra de, was created to mitigate the effects of Canadian provinces' timber sales practices and to provide time for reform. But the United States has seen little change in these practices and continues to be concerned with the lack of market principles in Canadian forest management systems.The Canadian Wheat Board has been reorganized but continues to enjoy government-sanctioned monopoly status, as well as other privileges that restrict competition. In October 2000, USTR initiated a 12-month investigation of the wheat board's practices in response to an industry petition. Canada committed to bring its dairy export subsidy regime into compliance with its WTO obligations by January 31, 2001: Instead, it instituted programs that essentially replicate the old regime. The United States has requested WTO authorization to suspend trade concessions if a WTO appeals panel determines that Canada has not complied.China: The United States and China continued multilateral negotiations on China's acces sion to the WTO throughout 2000. In preparation for accession, the Chinese government launched a campaign to align domestic laws and regulations with WTO rules. But a number of problems continue to plague the bilateral trade relationship. Import standards and requirements are being used to create import barriers for products that will benefit from tariff cuts following accession to the WTO. Imports of products ranging from cosmetics to medical equipment are required to undergo duplicative and expensive quality and safety inspection procedures.Imports of agricultural products such as grain, poultry and citrus have been arbitrarily blocked. Transparency continues to be an issue for both foreign and domestic firms. Inconsistent notification and application of existing laws and regulations create problems for businesses. China has made improvements in its intellectual property rights protection regime, but a high level of product counterfeiting and copyright piracy continues. European U nion: Several European Union policies continue to create significant barriers to U. S. economic interests.These include the bananas regime, bans on U. S. beef from livestock treated with hormones and on U. S. bio-engineered products, member state government financial support to the aircraft industry, and widely differing EU standards, testing, and certification procedures. Many U. S. trade concerns stem from the lack of transparency in the development of EU regulations. The United States views transparency and public participation as essential to promote more effective trans-Atlantic regulatory cooperation, to achieve better quality regulation, and to help minimize possible trade disputes.India: Access to the Indian market has improved with the removal in the last year of longstanding quantitative restrictions on a wide variety of products. However, India continues to impose substantial barriers to U. S. exports, including high tariffs and related taxes, and a variety of non-tariff measures affecting most trade, including an onerous import licensing regime. Inadequate intellectual property protection and enforcement remains a longstanding concern. India's policy linking auto imports to investment, local content and trade balancing is the subject of a WTO dispute.India has recently introduced new labeling and other standards-related requirements that could impede U. S. exports to India. Japan: Japan is the United States' third largest trading partner, accounting for well over $250 billion in two-way trade in goods and services. But a sputtering Japanese economy, persistent market access barriers, structural rigidity and excessive regulation limit opportunities for U. S. companies trading with, and operating in Japan. The United States is encouraged that Prime Minister Mori agreed with PresidentBush in their Joint Statement on March 19, 2001, about the importance of promoting deregulation, restructuring and foreign direct investment. Much of this year's report f ocuses on progress achieved under the U. S. -Japan Enhanced Initiative on Deregulation and Competition Policy. The report highlights the U. S. submission to Japan under the Enhanced Initiative in October 2000. The initiative calls on Japan to adopt additional regulatory reforms in key sectors and structural areas of the Japanese economy. This year's report includes new sections on information technology and proposed revisions to Japan's Commercial Code.The report underscores USTR's deep concern with barriers in Japan's $130 billion telecommunications sector. Competition in this sector has been stifled due to the absence of an independent regulator; weak dominant carrier regulation; high interconnection rates for both wired and wireless services; and inadequate access to rights-of-way, facilities and other services to competitors. We are concerned about the increase in barriers to Japan's agricultural market, including the level of access for U. S. rice. Japan also needs to comply wi th a WTO ruling in favor of the United States on varietals testing.Korea: Korea is one of the United States' major trading partners, and President Kim Dae Jung has made some progress toward a more open, market-oriented economic policy. However, Korea continues to impose significant barriers to U. S. imports. Korea's high tariffs and related taxes, and anti-import biases, combine to restrict seriously access for U. S. exports. Korea's auto market remains virtually closed to U. S. companies. Korea also imposes high duties and maintains other barriers on many agricultural and fishery products.The United States has expressed its concern to the Korean Government about the negative implications of recent government-directed lending on the country's restructuring efforts, and the potential inconsistency of this action with its WTO commitments. Inadequate protection of intellectual property rights continues to be a serious problem in Korea. USTR has long-standing concerns about the Korean G overnment's involvement in, and support for the Korean steel industry. Mexico: Mexico is the United States' second largest bilateral trading partner, and has been the fastest growing major U.S. export market over the last seven years. USTR welcomes Mexico's progress in promoting competition in its $12 billion telecommunications market. However, Mexico has not addressed certain outstanding issues subject to its WTO commitments. It has failed to ensure competition in its market for international services. Unfavorable quotas and embargos Quotas place limits on how much of a good can be brought into a country. Observers in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa have frequently inveighed against U. S. trade sanctions policies aimed at punishing regimes in Cuba, Iran and Libya.They argue that sanctions and embargos have not brought the desired results, and that the Cuban, Iranian and Libyan people, rather than governments are the ones who suffer. Pundits overseas strongly support European Union retaliatory efforts designed to combat the Helms-Burton Act which allows U. S. citizens to sue foreign companies using property in Cuba confiscated from them after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959. The EU efforts includes request for the formation of a WTO dispute panel. Complaints that the Helms-Burton Act â€Å"conflicts with rules for international trade,† is â€Å"extra-territorial† in dimension, approaching â€Å"trade terrorism†.Analysts hold the strong objection against actions taken by America's allies over the sanctions issue reveals the extent of European â€Å"frustration† with the U. S. over trade issues and signals. Europe's new-found resolve to challenge the world's leading economic power. Berlin's left-of-center Die Tageszeitung, for example, held, â€Å"For more than 50 years, the U. S. has determined the rules of the global economy according to its taste. Only in recent times have the view grown in the EU that a common Europe is strong enough to have a say on an equal basis.† Criticism of the U. S. strategy, however, did not inspire observers in the press to offer other alternatives on how to promote the U. S. -stated goal of encouraging greater respect for human rights and democracy, and discouraging state-sponsored terrorism in suspect nations. This may be a good time to reinforce the idea that trade barriers are designed to protect some industries but, in fact they may hurt other industries or even consumers. Economists have found that sanctions don't often reach their political objectives and they come with high costs.A good example is the steel tariff imposed by the Bush administration, on foreign-made steel. President Bush imposed the tariffs, ranging from 8 percent to 30 percent, on some kinds of foreign steel in March 2002, in order to help the U. S. steel industry compete with foreign steel producers. Many U. S. manufacturing companies that use steel, including manufacturers of auto parts and appliances, say that the steel tariffs have raised costs for manufacturers and caused thousands of manufacturing losses. Also, people who buy cars or appliances may have to pay higher prices because of the steel tariffs.The U. S. International Trade Commission recently concluded that the tariffs have caused a $30 million net loss to the U. S. economy. In addition, the European Union is considering retaliatory tariffs against the U. S. High costs of customs administration Customs procedures for imports are time-consuming. Generally, over 10 steps are required for a typical import clearance transaction. Besides, the trade facilitation institutions are not in one place, which makes the clearance more complicated. The Kenya Customs requires more than 20 copies of bills of documents to be passed from one officer to another.The documents are not only processed slowly, but also sometimes subject to repeated examination. Similar procedures are also applied on paying of tax refunds and obta ining tax waivers and rebates on imports used for manufacture. To inspect imports, the Kenyan Customs opens almost every container, the practice of which not only delays the goods from passing the Customs, but also increases the likelihood of breakage. Customs valuation Though Kenya has implemented the Agreement on Customs Valuation since 2001, customs officials constantly uplift the declared valuation of goods instead of using the c.i. f. value provided or the supplier's invoice, which usually results in a completely higher tax liability. Information on custom valuation methods and tariffs are not disclosed. Additionally, importers are hard to question the tax liability, because the clearance process will be delayed when a dispute of valuation occurs and the high demurrage costs arising there from exert a heavy burden on the importer. Pre-shipment inspection As from June 30, 2005, pre-inspection certification is required for goods to be imported into Kenya.All goods must demonstrat e compliance with Kenya Standards or approved equivalents by evidence of a â€Å"Test Report or Certificate† from an ISO/IEC17025 accredited laboratory or recognized by the ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) or the IFIA (International Federation of Inspection Agencies). Goods imported without the above mentioned certificates or reports would be held at the port of entry at the importer's expense until their quality is determined. The new regulation has significantly affected the export of Chinese products to Kenya in the following two aspects.First, the quality certification has led to a substantial increase in the export cost. According to this regulation, all products to be exported to Kenya must obtain test reports or certificates from approved organizations. However, the Kenyan Market requires a small quantity of a great variety of goods and products. If every product needs a test report, then the cost will be greatly increased. Second, the Kenya Bu reau of Standards has assigned the certification of Chinese products to Intertek Testing Services, a company that monopolizes product testing and is known for its low efficiency.