An Analysis Of Singapore Airlines Performance Commerce Essay

Singapore Airlines has been a major discovery in the air power universe. It has been systematically been executing good against their rivals. It is besides regarded as the best air hose in the universe. We examine how SIA has achieved its impressive public presentation and be able to stay competitory throughout its history. Besides, we examine the strategic success through distinction by agencies of service excellence and invention, together with cost leading issue. We take into history the critical factors every bit good as organizational factors that provide competitory advantage for Singapore Airlines. We discuss in inside informations about the â€Å" Singapore Girl † , In-flight service, Training, Customer feedback, Team spirit, Tripartite agreement, Strategic hub, Alliances, Governmental Support, Cost-saving. Introduction: SIA started its service as Malayan Airways in 1947. Following a common understanding between the Malaysian and Singaporean Government over the split of the Malaysia Singapore Airlines, two new air hoses were formed viz. SIA and Malaysia Airways. The freshly formed SIA began its operation in 1972. As Malaysia Airways took over the domestic paths, SIA decided to concentrate on international web to vie for paths, acquire the rights to set down on different international airdromes, set up bilateral understandings, buying flight slots and set uping set downing rights. Furthermore, SIA went on to buy Boeing 747 Jumbo jets and besides cargo services were offered excessively. Following 7 old ages in service, the aircraft were traded for new and more efficient aircraft. SIA has a policy of maintaining immature fleet as a scheme for clients to believe of better safety. SIA besides decided to spread out its fleet which included a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. SIA is regarded the best air h ose in the universe following the legion awards they have received. To hold been acclaimed such a good repute and been keeping it for old ages, it has non been an easy nut to check down. Harmonizing to Chan ( 2000 ) analysis, he suggests that SIA has been so successful since they implement a double scheme affecting distinction through first-class in-flight service and invention, together with cost leading in its direction. However, Porter ( 1985 ) argued that distinction and cost leading must be reciprocally sole since they require alternate agencies of investings. Furthermore, we examine the critical and organizational factors involved for the strategic success of SIA harmonizing to the Chan ( 2000 ) instance surveies. 1. Customer Focus Strategy SIA is a service industry. Its top precedence is to heighten client service and besides better the service and merchandise they offer to run into and fulfill clients ‘ demand alternatively of following cost salvaging construct normally implemented by the traditional U.S air hoses. SIA adopt a customer-focused scheme alternatively of concentrating on rivals or themselves foremost. Although it involves a high cost, SIA net income border has non been affected. This clearly shows that if an air hose wants to be successful, it has to take the hazard to offer better client service, which in bend involves higher investing but finally basking a higher output of net income. This is what SIA implemented and so far has been successful in its quest. SIA was besides the first air hose to concentrate on client service construct and besides heightening its repute of supplying quality service and it is ingrained in the heads of clients. This so helps SIA to be in the pole place for sustainable competitory advantage. 2. Marketing Weapon: â€Å" Singapore Girl † Furthermore, in order to develop and implement high quality service criterions, SIA uses the â€Å" Singapore Girl † icon as its selling arm of great cordial reception service to clients. With such a simple and genius thought, SIA has been so successful for the past 25 old ages with no mark of ruin. This has been greatly awarded and has earned a positive and singular repute such that it is being displayed at the Famed Madame Tussaud ‘s Museum in London. The â€Å" Singapore Girl † is ever featured in the advertisement magazines or layouts even if SIA is advancing new finishs, bigger aeroplanes, or even new repasts on-board. This is because the bottom line for SIA is to present quality service and that â€Å" Singapore Girl † is the perfect illustration to show that service. A pilot, an aircraft applied scientist or a celebrated chef will non be suited to present the message of â€Å" quality service † to clients. SIA air hostesss are dressed in a bea utiful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by celebrated manner house, Pierre Balmain ( Chan, 2002a ) . SIA ‘s nucleus competences include marketing accomplishments developed by its top direction and the interpersonal accomplishments of its flight attenders harmonizing to ( Ayob, 2010 ) . Making the flight every bit gratifying as possible is the aim of SIA. 3. Training SIA has adopted a rigorous and selective attack for staff enlisting. It is based on an intensive and comprehensive preparation where the most suited and efficient staffs are selected for an ongoing 4 month class which is considered the longest preparation of all time every bit compared to other air hoses. Some of the specific subjects covered during the preparation are safety, proviso of service reflecting heat and friendliness, beautiful tips, treatments of epicure nutrient, all right vinos and the art of conversation. These subjects antecedently mentioned if good assimilated by the selected campaigners, will supply a major encouragement to SIA and besides to its clients due to the fact that the attenders will hold sensible cognition of the things that clients might inquire during the flight. As these subjects covered up most if non all of the information that usually riders tend to inquire. The preparation is besides conducted during period of economic crisis as it will assist the air hose to travel frontward in service quality betterment as other air hoses might travel back to salvage cost and besides it proves to the staffs that uninterrupted betterment are of import for success ( Kauffman ) . Furthermore, SIA believes that employees play an of import portion in conveying success to the air hose. Its flight attenders, together with its pilots come from different cultural backgrounds and are able to pass on to riders in different linguistic communications depending where they fly to. 4. Customer service and In-flight service In 1972, SIA became the first air hose to supply free nutrient and alcoholic drinks on its flights regardless of category, every bit good as in-flight amusement at no excess cost. Passengers are served with delightful, gourmet nutrient and the flight attenders pay peculiar attending to detail. Furthermore, SIA has one flight attender for every 22 seats which is good above the industry norm. SIA will even function instant noodles on petition. In 1997, SIA introduced the Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang. In the same twelvemonth, it launched advanced in-flight amusement offering riders sing and listening options from a broad assortment of 20 films, 20 short characteristics and about 50 Cadmiums. Besides, First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club members were provided internet check-in service when winging out of Singapore in 1996 ( Chan, 2000a, p.7 ) . SIA is besides really good at managing people state of affairs in such a manner that if of all t ime SIA promises to present the baggage in 10 proceedingss, so it will lodge to that promise ( Ramaswamy 2002 ) . Furthermore what SIA wants to accomplish is that they want to do the clients aware that they are non merely paying to transport them from one state to another, but besides that they are basking the service offered to them on board and besides that they feel comfy and non like stuck in an enclosed compartment particularly on a long-haul flight which is rather raging. SIA wants to indicate out that they are viing to be the best air hose in the industry but alternatively they are viing to be the best service administration alternatively. To accomplish that, SIA benchmark themselves non merely against their rivals but to the best in category service companies. With respect to business-level scheme, SIA manage to present quality service to clients ( accomplishing distinction ) , at a degree of costs that approach those of a budget bearer. This accomplishment challenges Porter ‘s suggestion that distinction and cost leading are reciprocally sole. ( Heracleous et al. , 2009 ) . 5. Customer feedbacks SIA does seek feedback from its riders in order to better its quality service. In 1998, a study on 4000 riders from all the categories was conducted. It involves information from riders from different flights viz. London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Mumbai and Hong Kong ( Chan, 2000b ) . Comfort, privateness and the experience that SIA offered were the chief issues involved. So, an immediate action was taken by SIA whereby a squad of specialized people started to restitute and implement what was necessary to be done. For illustration, SIA renovated the made-to-order seats to cashmere covers. SIA wage peculiar attending to clients ‘ demand as a resource for invention thoughts. 6. Cost economy SIA focuses its cost economy scheme at the direction degree. Aircraft care, catering and security are run and managed as subordinates. This is planned since SIA will hold a better control of the costs this manner. As a consequence, SIA has generated a better-cost nest eggs and besides increased its net income border ( Asiatic Business Review, 1996, p.34 ) . Furthermore, SIA relocated and outsourced its database and processing maps to much cheaper Mumbai in India and Beijing in China. 7. Strategic flexibleness Hax and Wilde ( 2001, p. 114-5 ) believe that in a fast-changing universe, â€Å" Strategic flexibleness can bring forth higher net incomes by assisting a company stay absolutely tuned to the market and avoid acquiring trapped in dead-end concern theoretical accounts † . SIA has been implementing the construct â€Å" flexibleness † by come ining into new markets- opening new paths. Since SIA does non hold any domestic paths to function, it has to look for paths that even originate in 3rd states winging to another 3rd state. Furthermore, to assist spread out its web of flights, SIA has code-sharing understandings with about 20 air hoses, including cardinal partnerships with Delta Airlines and Swissair. SIA, Delta Airlines and Swisssair are besides spouses of the Global Excellence Alliance, each keeping 5 % equity bets in the other two. ( Chan, 2000b ) . Constructing up confederations as a scheme to stay competitory in the planetary market is aboriginal presents for air h oses to be a success as noted by Johnstone ( 1996 ) . Harmonizing to Hanlon ( 1996 ) , holding a strategic hub strengthens the strategic competitory place of an air hose. Singapore is a really good illustration of a strategic hub which contributes to the success of SIA. Furthermore, SIA presents themselves as attractive spouses with other air hoses to construct planetary strategic confederations and webs. In 1998, SIA had a strategic understanding with Lufthansa. This has allowed SIA the chance to hold a strategic European hub in its international web and frailty versa. SIA riders going between Singapore and Frankfurt can now bask more flights to take from due to the understanding made. 8. Governmental Support The Singaporean Government plays an of import function in negociating actively for favorable air understandings and agreements with other states. It besides helps in the development of Singapore Airlines and Singapore ‘s Changi Airport every bit good. With the coaction of the Singapore Government, SIA and Changi Airport, wholly have distinguishable strategic competitory advantage and has helped SIA in their pursuit for success in the international air power universe ( Business Traveller- Asia Pacific, 1997b, p.3 ) . 9. Team Spirit SIA adopts a airy, â€Å" can-do † and animating attack which motivates its squad members. BHAGs are used in SIA scheme to bring forth squad spirit and that is the ground behind SIA success harmonizing to Chan ( 2000 ) . The squad spirit is built within its 6600 crew members through a little group of 13 crew members who are formed and wing together to beef up their relationship in the workplace and besides better the civilization of cost effectual service excellence and the equal force per unit area to present SIA promise to clients harmonizing to Heracleous et Al ( 2009 ) . Furthermore Doganis ( 2006 ) noted that the productiveness of SIA employees is one of the highest in the planetary air hose industry. Decision: Meanwhile, critics and rivals complain that much of SIA ‘s success is due to environmental factors and the function of authorities instead than its ain capablenesss. Analysts note that one benefit of Temasek ‘s 54.5 % interest is lower sensed debt hazard by loaners and therefore lower cost of adoption ( even though SIA does non necessitate to borrow significantly ) . The industrial dealingss climate in Singapore is deemed to be less adversarial than elsewhere, enabling SIA to implement policies that would hold caused significantly more clash in many other air hoses. Critics besides suggest that SIA ‘s acquisitions have non fared that good. In 1999 SIA bought 49 % of Virgin Atlantic, and wrote away 95 % of the investing shortly after 9/11. In 2000 it acquired a 25 % interest in Air New Zealand, which was earnestly impacted by the prostration of its debt-laden Australian arm, Ansett Airlines ; this investing was besides written

Biochip

[pic] (Life on a Chip) (PAPER UNDER THE THEME:†BIOCOMPUTING & INFORMATICS†) ABSTRACT â€Å"A single electronic card may replace everything in your wallet including. . . . . . your cash . . . your credit cards . . . your ATM card . . . your ID cards . . . your insurance . . . and your life FUTURE One card, or one chip, with your life on it. † â€Å"Biochips†-The most exciting future technology is an outcome of the fields of Computer science, Electronics & Biology. Its a new type of bio-security device to accurately track information regarding what a person is doing, and who is to accurately track information regarding what he is doing, and who is actually doing it. It’s no more required with biochips the good old idea of remembering pesky PINs, Passwords, & Social security numbers . No more matters of carrying medical records to a hospital, No more cash/credit card carrying to the market place; everything goes embedded in the chip†¦. Every thing goes digitalized. No more hawker tricks on the internet†¦.! Biochip has a variety technique for secured E-money transactions on the net. The power of biochips exists in capability of locating lost children, downed soldiers, and wandering Alzheimer patients. Our contributions to this paper lie in the aspects of â€Å"Implementation of Glucose detector in Biochips† †Implementation of Oxygen sensor in Biochips† 4. â€Å"Implementation of Blood pressure sensor in Biochips† 5. â€Å"Proposal of Solution for the typical theft problem faced by the Biochips† The four contributions have been discussed in detail with the proposed principles for implementation of the concepts. A simple ID chip is already walking around in tens of thousands of individuals, but all of them are pets. Companies such as AVID (Norco, Calif. ), Electronic ID, Inc. (Cleburne, TX. ), and Electronic Identification Devices, Ltd. (Santa Barbara, Calif. ) sell both the chips and the detectors. The chips are of the size of an uncooked grain of rice, small enough to be injected under the skin using a hypodermic syringe needle. They respond to a signal from the detector, held just a few feet away, by transmitting out an identification number. This number is then compared to database listings of registered pets. The Biochip tagging for humans has already started†¦Rush out for your tag!!!!! INTRODUCTION:- Biochips are any microprocessor chips that can be used in Biology. The biochip technology was originally developed in 1983 for monitoring fisheries, it’s use now includes, over 300 zoos, over 80 government agencies in at least 20 countries, pets (everything from lizards to dogs), electronic â€Å"branding† of horses, monitoring lab animals, fisheries, endangered wildlife, automobiles, garment tracking, hazardous waste, and humans. Biochips are â€Å"silently† inching into humans. For instance, at least 6 million medical devices, such as artificial body parts (prosthetic devices), breast implants, chin implants, etc. , are implanted in people each year. And most of these medical devices are carrying a â€Å"surprise† guest — a biochip. In 1993, the Food and Drug Administration passed the Safe Medical Devices Registration Act of 1993, requiring all artificial body implants to have â€Å"implanted† identification — the biochip. So, the yearly, 6 million recipients of prosthetic devices and breast implants are â€Å"biochipped†. To date, over 7 million animals have been â€Å"chipped†. The major biochip companies are A. V. I. D. (American Veterinary Identification Devices), Trovan Identification Systems, and Destron-Fearing Corporation. THE BIOCHIP TECHNOLOGY The current, in use, biochip implant system is actually a fairly simple device. Today’s, biochip implant is basically a small (micro) computer chip, inserted under the skin, for identification purposes. The biochip system is radio frequency identification (RFID) system, using low-frequency radio signals to communicate between the biochip and reader. THE BIOCHIP IMPLANT SYSTEM CONSISTS OF TWO COMPONENTS: [pic] |[pic]  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | |PERSPECTIVE OF | | |THE ACTUAL SIZE | THE TRANSPONDER: The transponder is the actual biochip implant. It is a passive transponder, meaning it contains no battery or energy of its own. In comparison, an active transponder would provide its own energy source, normally a small battery. Because the passive biochip contains no battery, or nothing to wear out, it has a very long life, up to 99 years, and no maintenance. Being passive, it's inactive until the reader activates it by sending it a low-power electrical charge. The reader â€Å"reads† or â€Å"scans† the implanted biochip and receives back data (in this case an identification number) from the biochip. The communication between biochip and reader is via low-frequency radio waves. The biochip transponder consists of four parts: 1. computer Microchip: The microchip stores a unique identification number from 10 to 15 digits long. The storage capacity of the current microchips is limited, capable of storing only a single ID number. AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices), claims their chips, using an nnn-nnn-nnn format, has the capability of over 70 trillion unique numbers. The unique ID number is â€Å"etched† or encoded via a laser onto the surface of the microchip before assembly. Once the number is encoded it is impossible to alter. The microchip also contains the electronic circuitry necessary to transmit the ID number to the â€Å"reader†. 2. Antenna Coil: This is normally a simple, coil of copper wire around a ferrite or iron core. This is tiny primitive radio antenna â€Å"receives and sends† signals from the reader or scanner. 3. Tuning Capacitor: The capacitor stores the small electrical charge (less than 1/1000 of a watt) sent by the reader or scanner, which activates the transponder. This â€Å"activation† allows the transponder to send back the ID number encoded in the computer chip. Because â€Å"radio waves† are utilized to communicate between the transponder and reader, the capacitor is â€Å"tuned† to the same frequency as the reader. 4. Glass Capsule: The glass capsule â€Å"houses† the microchip, antenna coil and capacitor. It is a small capsule, the smallest measuring 11 mm in length and 2 mm in diameter, about the size of an uncooked grain of rice. The capsule is made of biocompatible material such as soda lime glass. After assembly, the capsule is hermetically (air-tight) sealed, so no bodily fluids can touch the electronics inside. Because the glass is very smooth and susceptible to movement, a material such as a polypropylene polymer sheath is attached to one end of the capsule. This sheath provides a compatible surface which the bodily tissue fibers bond or interconnect, resulting in a permanent placement of the biochip. BIOCHIP AND SYRINGE | |[pic] | The biochip is inserted into the subject with a hypodermic syringe. Injection is safe and simple, comparable to common vaccines. Anesthesia is not required nor recommended. In dogs and cats, the biochip is usually injected behind the neck between the shoulder blades. Trovan, Ltd. , markets an implant, featuring a patented â€Å"zip quill†, whi ch you simply press in, no syringe is needed. According to AVID â€Å"Once implanted, the identity tag is virtually impossible to retrieve. . The number can never be altered. † THE READER: The reader consists of an â€Å"exciter† coil which creates an electromagnetic field that, via radio signals, provides the necessary energy (less than 1/1000 of a watt) to â€Å"excite† or â€Å"activate† the implanted biochip. The reader also carries a receiving coil that receives the transmitted code or ID number sent back from the â€Å"activated† implanted biochip. This all takes place very fast, in milliseconds. The reader also contains the software and components to decode the received code and display the result in an LCD display. The reader can include a RS-232 port to attach a computer. WORKING OF A BIOCHIP: The reader generates a low-power, electromagnetic field, in this case via radio signals, which â€Å"activates† the implanted biochip. This â€Å"activation† enables the biochip to send the ID code back to the reader via radio signals. The reader amplifies the received code, converts it to digital format, decodes and displays the ID number on the reader's LCD display. The reader must normally be between 2 and 12 inches near the biochip to communicate. The reader and biochip can communicate through most materials, except metal. THE APPLICATIONS: 1. With a biochip tracing of a person/animal , anywhere in the world is possible: Once the reader is connected to the internet, satellite and a centralized database is maintained about the biochipped creatures, It is always possible to trace out the personality intended. 2. A biochip can store and update financial, medical, demographic data, basically everything about a person: An implanted biochip can be scanned to pay for groceries, obtain medical procedures, and conduct financial transactions. Currently, the in use, implanted biochips only store one 10 to 15 digits. If biochips are designed to accommodate with more ROM & RAM there is definitely an opportunity. A biochip leads to a secured E-Commerce systems : It’s a fact; the world is very quickly going to a digital or E-economy, through the Internet. It is expected that by 2008, 60% of the Business transactions will be performed through the Internet. The E-money future, however, isn't necessarily secure. The Internet wasn't built to be Fort Knox. In the wrong hands, this powerful tool can turn dangerous. Hackers have already broken into bank files that were 100% secure. A biochip is the possible solution to the â€Å"identification and security† dilemma faced by the digital economy. This type of new bio-security device is capable of accurately tracking information regarding what users are doing, and who are to accurately track information regarding what users are doing, and who is actually doing it. Biochips really are potent in replacing passports, cash, medical records: The really powered biochip systems can replace cash, passports, medical & other records! It’s no more required to carry wallet full cash, credit/ATM cards, passports & medical records to the market place. Payment system, authentication procedures may all be done by the means Biochips. 4. Medicinal implementations of Biochips : A New Era Proposed by us 1. Biochip as Glucose Detector : The Biochip can be integrated with a glucose detector. The chip will allow diabetics to easily monitor the level of the sugar glucose in their blood. Diabetics currently use a skin prick and a hand-held blood test, and then medicate themselves with insulin depending on the result. The system is simple and works well, but the need to draw blood means that most diabetics don't test themselves as often as they should. Although they may get away with this in the short term, in later life those who monitored infrequently suffer from blindness, loss of circulation, and other complications. The solution is more frequent testing, using a less invasive method. The biochip will sit underneath the skin, sense the glucose level, and send the result back out by radio-frequency communication. Proposed principle of Glucose detection: A light-emitting diode (LED) in the biochip starts off the detection process. The light that it produces hits a fluorescent chemical: one that absorbs incoming light and re-emits it at a longer wavelength. The longer wavelength of light is then detected, and the result is sent to a control panel outside the body. Glucose is detected because the sugar reduces the amount of light that the fluorescent chemical re-emits. The more glucose there is the less light that is detected. Biochip as Oxygen sensor: The biochip can also be integrated with an oxygen sensor . The oxygen sensor will be useful not only to monitor breathing in intensive care units, but also to check that packages of food, or containers of semiconductors stored under nitrogen gas, remain airtight. Proposed principal of Oxygen sensor in Biochip: The oxygen-sensing chip sends light pulses out into the body. The light is absorbed to varying extents, depending on how much oxygen is being carried in the blood, and the chip detects the light that is left. The rushes of blood pumped by the heart are also detected, so the same chip is a pulse monitor. 2. Biochip as an Blood Pressure sensor: In normal situations, The Blood Pressure of a healthy Human being is 120/80 mm of Hg. A Pressure ratio lower than this is said to be â€Å"Low BP â€Å" condition & A Pressure ratio more than this is â€Å"High BP† condition. Serious Effects will be reflected in humans during Low & High BP conditions; it may sometimes cause the death of a Person. Blood Pressure is checked with BP Apparatus in Hospitals and this is done only when the patient is abnormal. However, a continuous monitoring of BP is required in the aged people & Patients. A huge variety of hardware circuitry (sensors) is available in electronics to detect the flow of fluid. It’s always possible to embed this type of sensors into a biochip. An integration of Pressure (Blood Flow) detecting circuits with the Biochip can make the chip to continuously monitor the blood flow rate & when the pressure is in its low or high extremes it can be immediately informed through the reader hence to take up remedial measures. Typical Problem of Biochips: A Solution Proposed – The Lock: Problem before the world A chip implant would contain a person’s financial world, medical history, health care — it would contain his electronic life†. If cash no longer existed and if the world’s economy was totally chip oriented; — there would be a huge â€Å"black-market† for chips! Since there is no cash and no other bartering system, criminals would cut off hands and heads, stealing â€Å"rich-folks† chips. â€Å"It is very dangerous because once kidnappers get to know about these chips, they will skin people to find them,† (New York Times, June 20, 1999) The typical solutions won’t work well are already proposed by different people: The Biochip must retain data only if it is placed in a fluid medium like blood & not in any other medium. This technique is unsuitable for identification of dead bodies (murdered by the kidnappers) as it loses the data about the social security number. 3. The data in the Biochip must be erased if it is exposed to sunlight/air. This technique is unsuitable as transplantation of biochip from genuine to the fraud in darkness (by means of infrared light) or in the vacuum (by means of oxygen cylinders). And many such†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.!!!!!!!! Our key: The solution Proposed by me: A generic & existing model of Biochips consists of only ROM component in it and is capable of accommodating the data such as social security number, Passport number, bankcard number etc. , which are normally permanent in nature. The induction of RAM component in addition to ROM & storing the Bankcard, Financial details which causes the problem is a mere solution. As RAM needs to be continuously charged inorder to retain the data, Current can be supplied to the chip either from the electrical energy produced in the cells or by converting the heat energy in our body to electrical energy. Once if the chip is taken out from the human body RAM immediately loses the Power supply from the human body; thus information in the RAM is lost and therefore is useless for the kidnappers. However this technique will not affect the data in ROM i. e. Social security number that can be used to detect the address of the dead bodies that were unidentified. CONCLUSION The Cyber Future InfoTech will be implanted in our bodies. A chip implanted somewhere in human bodies might serve as a combination of credit card, passport, driver's license, personal diary. No longer would it be needed to worry about losing the credit cards while traveling. A chip inserted into human bodies might also give us extra mental power. The really fascinating idea is under fast track research â€Å"but we're close. † The day in which we have chips embedded in our skins is not too far from now. â€Å"This is science fiction stuff. † †This is a true example to prove science really starts s with fiction†. BIBLOGRAPHY:- www. mrgco. com www. anl. gov www. freepatentsonline. com Biochip [pic] (Life on a Chip) (PAPER UNDER THE THEME:†BIOCOMPUTING & INFORMATICS†) ABSTRACT â€Å"A single electronic card may replace everything in your wallet including. . . . . . your cash . . . your credit cards . . . your ATM card . . . your ID cards . . . your insurance . . . and your life FUTURE One card, or one chip, with your life on it. † â€Å"Biochips†-The most exciting future technology is an outcome of the fields of Computer science, Electronics & Biology. Its a new type of bio-security device to accurately track information regarding what a person is doing, and who is to accurately track information regarding what he is doing, and who is actually doing it. It’s no more required with biochips the good old idea of remembering pesky PINs, Passwords, & Social security numbers . No more matters of carrying medical records to a hospital, No more cash/credit card carrying to the market place; everything goes embedded in the chip†¦. Every thing goes digitalized. No more hawker tricks on the internet†¦.! Biochip has a variety technique for secured E-money transactions on the net. The power of biochips exists in capability of locating lost children, downed soldiers, and wandering Alzheimer patients. Our contributions to this paper lie in the aspects of â€Å"Implementation of Glucose detector in Biochips† †Implementation of Oxygen sensor in Biochips† 4. â€Å"Implementation of Blood pressure sensor in Biochips† 5. â€Å"Proposal of Solution for the typical theft problem faced by the Biochips† The four contributions have been discussed in detail with the proposed principles for implementation of the concepts. A simple ID chip is already walking around in tens of thousands of individuals, but all of them are pets. Companies such as AVID (Norco, Calif. ), Electronic ID, Inc. (Cleburne, TX. ), and Electronic Identification Devices, Ltd. (Santa Barbara, Calif. ) sell both the chips and the detectors. The chips are of the size of an uncooked grain of rice, small enough to be injected under the skin using a hypodermic syringe needle. They respond to a signal from the detector, held just a few feet away, by transmitting out an identification number. This number is then compared to database listings of registered pets. The Biochip tagging for humans has already started†¦Rush out for your tag!!!!! INTRODUCTION:- Biochips are any microprocessor chips that can be used in Biology. The biochip technology was originally developed in 1983 for monitoring fisheries, it’s use now includes, over 300 zoos, over 80 government agencies in at least 20 countries, pets (everything from lizards to dogs), electronic â€Å"branding† of horses, monitoring lab animals, fisheries, endangered wildlife, automobiles, garment tracking, hazardous waste, and humans. Biochips are â€Å"silently† inching into humans. For instance, at least 6 million medical devices, such as artificial body parts (prosthetic devices), breast implants, chin implants, etc. , are implanted in people each year. And most of these medical devices are carrying a â€Å"surprise† guest — a biochip. In 1993, the Food and Drug Administration passed the Safe Medical Devices Registration Act of 1993, requiring all artificial body implants to have â€Å"implanted† identification — the biochip. So, the yearly, 6 million recipients of prosthetic devices and breast implants are â€Å"biochipped†. To date, over 7 million animals have been â€Å"chipped†. The major biochip companies are A. V. I. D. (American Veterinary Identification Devices), Trovan Identification Systems, and Destron-Fearing Corporation. THE BIOCHIP TECHNOLOGY The current, in use, biochip implant system is actually a fairly simple device. Today’s, biochip implant is basically a small (micro) computer chip, inserted under the skin, for identification purposes. The biochip system is radio frequency identification (RFID) system, using low-frequency radio signals to communicate between the biochip and reader. THE BIOCHIP IMPLANT SYSTEM CONSISTS OF TWO COMPONENTS: [pic] |[pic]  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | |PERSPECTIVE OF | | |THE ACTUAL SIZE | THE TRANSPONDER: The transponder is the actual biochip implant. It is a passive transponder, meaning it contains no battery or energy of its own. In comparison, an active transponder would provide its own energy source, normally a small battery. Because the passive biochip contains no battery, or nothing to wear out, it has a very long life, up to 99 years, and no maintenance. Being passive, it's inactive until the reader activates it by sending it a low-power electrical charge. The reader â€Å"reads† or â€Å"scans† the implanted biochip and receives back data (in this case an identification number) from the biochip. The communication between biochip and reader is via low-frequency radio waves. The biochip transponder consists of four parts: 1. computer Microchip: The microchip stores a unique identification number from 10 to 15 digits long. The storage capacity of the current microchips is limited, capable of storing only a single ID number. AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices), claims their chips, using an nnn-nnn-nnn format, has the capability of over 70 trillion unique numbers. The unique ID number is â€Å"etched† or encoded via a laser onto the surface of the microchip before assembly. Once the number is encoded it is impossible to alter. The microchip also contains the electronic circuitry necessary to transmit the ID number to the â€Å"reader†. 2. Antenna Coil: This is normally a simple, coil of copper wire around a ferrite or iron core. This is tiny primitive radio antenna â€Å"receives and sends† signals from the reader or scanner. 3. Tuning Capacitor: The capacitor stores the small electrical charge (less than 1/1000 of a watt) sent by the reader or scanner, which activates the transponder. This â€Å"activation† allows the transponder to send back the ID number encoded in the computer chip. Because â€Å"radio waves† are utilized to communicate between the transponder and reader, the capacitor is â€Å"tuned† to the same frequency as the reader. 4. Glass Capsule: The glass capsule â€Å"houses† the microchip, antenna coil and capacitor. It is a small capsule, the smallest measuring 11 mm in length and 2 mm in diameter, about the size of an uncooked grain of rice. The capsule is made of biocompatible material such as soda lime glass. After assembly, the capsule is hermetically (air-tight) sealed, so no bodily fluids can touch the electronics inside. Because the glass is very smooth and susceptible to movement, a material such as a polypropylene polymer sheath is attached to one end of the capsule. This sheath provides a compatible surface which the bodily tissue fibers bond or interconnect, resulting in a permanent placement of the biochip. BIOCHIP AND SYRINGE | |[pic] | The biochip is inserted into the subject with a hypodermic syringe. Injection is safe and simple, comparable to common vaccines. Anesthesia is not required nor recommended. In dogs and cats, the biochip is usually injected behind the neck between the shoulder blades. Trovan, Ltd. , markets an implant, featuring a patented â€Å"zip quill†, whi ch you simply press in, no syringe is needed. According to AVID â€Å"Once implanted, the identity tag is virtually impossible to retrieve. . The number can never be altered. † THE READER: The reader consists of an â€Å"exciter† coil which creates an electromagnetic field that, via radio signals, provides the necessary energy (less than 1/1000 of a watt) to â€Å"excite† or â€Å"activate† the implanted biochip. The reader also carries a receiving coil that receives the transmitted code or ID number sent back from the â€Å"activated† implanted biochip. This all takes place very fast, in milliseconds. The reader also contains the software and components to decode the received code and display the result in an LCD display. The reader can include a RS-232 port to attach a computer. WORKING OF A BIOCHIP: The reader generates a low-power, electromagnetic field, in this case via radio signals, which â€Å"activates† the implanted biochip. This â€Å"activation† enables the biochip to send the ID code back to the reader via radio signals. The reader amplifies the received code, converts it to digital format, decodes and displays the ID number on the reader's LCD display. The reader must normally be between 2 and 12 inches near the biochip to communicate. The reader and biochip can communicate through most materials, except metal. THE APPLICATIONS: 1. With a biochip tracing of a person/animal , anywhere in the world is possible: Once the reader is connected to the internet, satellite and a centralized database is maintained about the biochipped creatures, It is always possible to trace out the personality intended. 2. A biochip can store and update financial, medical, demographic data, basically everything about a person: An implanted biochip can be scanned to pay for groceries, obtain medical procedures, and conduct financial transactions. Currently, the in use, implanted biochips only store one 10 to 15 digits. If biochips are designed to accommodate with more ROM & RAM there is definitely an opportunity. A biochip leads to a secured E-Commerce systems : It’s a fact; the world is very quickly going to a digital or E-economy, through the Internet. It is expected that by 2008, 60% of the Business transactions will be performed through the Internet. The E-money future, however, isn't necessarily secure. The Internet wasn't built to be Fort Knox. In the wrong hands, this powerful tool can turn dangerous. Hackers have already broken into bank files that were 100% secure. A biochip is the possible solution to the â€Å"identification and security† dilemma faced by the digital economy. This type of new bio-security device is capable of accurately tracking information regarding what users are doing, and who are to accurately track information regarding what users are doing, and who is actually doing it. Biochips really are potent in replacing passports, cash, medical records: The really powered biochip systems can replace cash, passports, medical & other records! It’s no more required to carry wallet full cash, credit/ATM cards, passports & medical records to the market place. Payment system, authentication procedures may all be done by the means Biochips. 4. Medicinal implementations of Biochips : A New Era Proposed by us 1. Biochip as Glucose Detector : The Biochip can be integrated with a glucose detector. The chip will allow diabetics to easily monitor the level of the sugar glucose in their blood. Diabetics currently use a skin prick and a hand-held blood test, and then medicate themselves with insulin depending on the result. The system is simple and works well, but the need to draw blood means that most diabetics don't test themselves as often as they should. Although they may get away with this in the short term, in later life those who monitored infrequently suffer from blindness, loss of circulation, and other complications. The solution is more frequent testing, using a less invasive method. The biochip will sit underneath the skin, sense the glucose level, and send the result back out by radio-frequency communication. Proposed principle of Glucose detection: A light-emitting diode (LED) in the biochip starts off the detection process. The light that it produces hits a fluorescent chemical: one that absorbs incoming light and re-emits it at a longer wavelength. The longer wavelength of light is then detected, and the result is sent to a control panel outside the body. Glucose is detected because the sugar reduces the amount of light that the fluorescent chemical re-emits. The more glucose there is the less light that is detected. Biochip as Oxygen sensor: The biochip can also be integrated with an oxygen sensor . The oxygen sensor will be useful not only to monitor breathing in intensive care units, but also to check that packages of food, or containers of semiconductors stored under nitrogen gas, remain airtight. Proposed principal of Oxygen sensor in Biochip: The oxygen-sensing chip sends light pulses out into the body. The light is absorbed to varying extents, depending on how much oxygen is being carried in the blood, and the chip detects the light that is left. The rushes of blood pumped by the heart are also detected, so the same chip is a pulse monitor. 2. Biochip as an Blood Pressure sensor: In normal situations, The Blood Pressure of a healthy Human being is 120/80 mm of Hg. A Pressure ratio lower than this is said to be â€Å"Low BP â€Å" condition & A Pressure ratio more than this is â€Å"High BP† condition. Serious Effects will be reflected in humans during Low & High BP conditions; it may sometimes cause the death of a Person. Blood Pressure is checked with BP Apparatus in Hospitals and this is done only when the patient is abnormal. However, a continuous monitoring of BP is required in the aged people & Patients. A huge variety of hardware circuitry (sensors) is available in electronics to detect the flow of fluid. It’s always possible to embed this type of sensors into a biochip. An integration of Pressure (Blood Flow) detecting circuits with the Biochip can make the chip to continuously monitor the blood flow rate & when the pressure is in its low or high extremes it can be immediately informed through the reader hence to take up remedial measures. Typical Problem of Biochips: A Solution Proposed – The Lock: Problem before the world A chip implant would contain a person’s financial world, medical history, health care — it would contain his electronic life†. If cash no longer existed and if the world’s economy was totally chip oriented; — there would be a huge â€Å"black-market† for chips! Since there is no cash and no other bartering system, criminals would cut off hands and heads, stealing â€Å"rich-folks† chips. â€Å"It is very dangerous because once kidnappers get to know about these chips, they will skin people to find them,† (New York Times, June 20, 1999) The typical solutions won’t work well are already proposed by different people: The Biochip must retain data only if it is placed in a fluid medium like blood & not in any other medium. This technique is unsuitable for identification of dead bodies (murdered by the kidnappers) as it loses the data about the social security number. 3. The data in the Biochip must be erased if it is exposed to sunlight/air. This technique is unsuitable as transplantation of biochip from genuine to the fraud in darkness (by means of infrared light) or in the vacuum (by means of oxygen cylinders). And many such†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.!!!!!!!! Our key: The solution Proposed by me: A generic & existing model of Biochips consists of only ROM component in it and is capable of accommodating the data such as social security number, Passport number, bankcard number etc. , which are normally permanent in nature. The induction of RAM component in addition to ROM & storing the Bankcard, Financial details which causes the problem is a mere solution. As RAM needs to be continuously charged inorder to retain the data, Current can be supplied to the chip either from the electrical energy produced in the cells or by converting the heat energy in our body to electrical energy. Once if the chip is taken out from the human body RAM immediately loses the Power supply from the human body; thus information in the RAM is lost and therefore is useless for the kidnappers. However this technique will not affect the data in ROM i. e. Social security number that can be used to detect the address of the dead bodies that were unidentified. CONCLUSION The Cyber Future InfoTech will be implanted in our bodies. A chip implanted somewhere in human bodies might serve as a combination of credit card, passport, driver's license, personal diary. No longer would it be needed to worry about losing the credit cards while traveling. A chip inserted into human bodies might also give us extra mental power. The really fascinating idea is under fast track research â€Å"but we're close. † The day in which we have chips embedded in our skins is not too far from now. â€Å"This is science fiction stuff. † †This is a true example to prove science really starts s with fiction†. BIBLOGRAPHY:- www. mrgco. com www. anl. gov www. freepatentsonline. com

Environmental Biotechnology (biological process) Essay

Environmental Biotechnology (biological process) - Essay Example Researchers, Mekonnen M Demeke and group, at the Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Leuven-Heverlee, and the Department of Molecular Microbiology, VIB in Belgium modified the genetic makeup of yeast strains through yeast mating. They developed not one but three strains of super-yeast that had both D-xylose conversion ability and high tolerance to inhibitors. The main strain, Ethanol Red, already has successful industrial application and the fact that these three super-strains are derived from it goes on to show that there will be no limitations to their industrial applications for synthesis of biofuel. After screening 580 Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) strains, researchers identified a strain with the highest tolerance to inhibitors. It was mated with an industrial yeast strain GS1.11-26 (having the genetic background of Ethanol Red) that could ferment D-xylose. From the resultant hybrids, two strains (GSF335 and GSF767) were selected that had had high inhibitor tolerance as well as D-xylose conversion ability. Separately, a third super-strain was produced through meiotic recombination. The result – three super strains exhibiting â€Å"significantly improved tolerance to inhibitors in spruce hydrolysate, higher glucose consumption rates, higher aerobic growth rates and higher maximal ethanol accumulation capacity in very-high gravity fermentation, compared to GS1.11-26†. Simply put, these strains had better D-xylose conversion capacity and inhibitor tolerance compared to the primary strain. Engineering of traits for D-xylose conversion has been a very challenging proposition in industrial biotechnological research. Until now, methods such as evolutionary engineering and mutagenesis were attempted. However, researchers had little control over these processes. The development of yeast superstrain is thus a major breakthrough in this field. Further research on other such traits for the

Food Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Food Marketing - Essay Example An alternative geography begins to emerge because the restricted ecologies of quality food production are frequently to be found in areas that have escaped the industrialization processes that support globalization. This is most apparent in agriculture, where the maintained use of â€Å"output-enhancing† technologies in the post-war period has frequently resulted in uncovered agricultural ecosystems. Thus those areas that have largely remained insignificant to industrialized agriculture are generally the very areas where quality production might bloom. The turn toward quality in consumption may then reveal a very different mixture of productivity, one that contrasts in important respects with the dominant geographic distribution of food production activities. Consumers increasingly are linking ideas of food quality to ideas of nature in the agro-food system, as though they feel that the higher the natural content of food the less susceptible it will be to hurt human interferen ce. Yet, some leading commentators on the food sector have begun to argue that the theoretical analysis of food has tended to underplay the â€Å"salience of nature†. It is now widely believed that the agro-food system is globalize, and much of the recent research into the agro-food system has taken as its main focus how processes of globalization come to be driven by the reshaping of food production processes according to patterns of capital growth.

The Turkish and Kurdish Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Turkish and Kurdish Conflict - Essay Example In 1920-1930s Kurds several times unsuccessfully rose against the Turkish authorities. In 1961 the Kurdish revolt in Iraq proceeding for several decades with breaks began. The growth of the Kurdish nationalism led to appearance of the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkerà ªn Kurdistan, PKK) in 1978 (Combs & Slann, 2007). It is the military-political organization that was formed at an initial stage of the fight (1984 - 1993) with the purpose of creation of the sovereign state of Kurds in Turkey. However, in 1993 the purpose was changed for creation of the Kurdish autonomy as a part of Turkey. In the same time the Turkish Kurds were exposed to persecutions: the use of the Kurdish language was forbidden, and the Kurdish nationality was considered to be nonexistent (authorities began to call Kurds "Mountain Turks"). On August 15, 1984 PKK began guerrilla war in the east and southeast provinces of Turkey. The regular Turkish army was involved to fight against guerrillas, in 1987 state of emergency was declared in the region. The main Kurdish bases were located in the north of Iraq. Under the agreement between the governments of two countries, the Turkish security forces had the right to interfere into the territory of Iraq, pursuing guerrilla groups. Within the 1990th years Turkey performed a number of military actions in Iraq (the largest in 1995 and 1997). The capture of the leader of PKK Abdullah Oà §alan by the American and Israeli services in Kenya on February 15, 1999 became the largest success of Turkey in fight against PKK. Before the capture on September 1, 1998 Abdullah Oà §alan urged RKK to call a truce, and after the capture — to send all combatant forces to the north of Iraq. After that guerrilla fight of PKK started to slow down.

The European Central Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The European Central Bank - Essay Example (ECB, n.d.) From the moment of its inception, the European Central Bank has been a favorite target of criticisms from economists and political leaders alike. Surprisingly, among its staunch critics are European countries themselves which suffer economically because of the oftentimes rigid and unreasonable policies ECB follows. This paper will thus examine how the political and economic world perceives the performance of the central bank in this regard. Commentaries from analysts, studies done by independent economic research bodies, and the media will be the three main sources for this research. "The list of challenges is long and a lot of work lies in front of us." This was the concluding statement of Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, member of the ECB Executive Board during a speech on a conference in Vienna, Austria in 2004. However, she was optimistic that the system would be able to handle challenges that would be present along the way. (ECB, 2004) Among the many challenges present is how to balance decision-making with regards to rate increase to benefit all the economies of the EU member states. Because the ECB does not only cater to a single economy, it has this inherent challenge. An increase in rate would mean a negative effect on a country with a growing economy while it is a positive move for a country with a high inflation rate. The GoCurrency website cited that "several larger economies in the euro area (Germany, for example) that were recently coming out of an economic slump were unhappy as the higher rates would stunt their growth."(GoCurrency, 2006) One classic example often mentioned by analysts is the effect of low interest rates in countries with property bubbles such as Ireland. Because "the ECB was keeping rates low to help the stodgy economies of France and Germany, where growth was weak and needed nurturing, the need of the Irish to raise rates to help their already ailing economy is not addressed". (Louth, 2007) With the recent slump in mortgages in the American market, ECB is once more in the dilemma of raising rates in September or not. It should be noted that this is the first time since September 2001 that there is a proposed increase in rates. (MECB Update, 2002, p 3) Jean-Claude Trichet, President of ECB, indicated in August that the ECB "will raise its key refinancing rate to 4.25 from 4.0." (TodayOnline, 2007) However, there has been pressure from the world community to halt this intended rate increase. The article that appeared on the Business World website entitled "NCB: Another ECB hike could be risky", quoted NCB analyst Dermot O'Brien as saying that the credibility of the ECB may be in question if it does not proceed with the intended rise in rates and sticking to its original plan would be seen as immature stubbornness. This is the current dilemma. (Business World, 2007) With the "surprisingly weak growth figures for the

Genesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Genesis - Essay Example First, man was made in the image of God as a proof that God has the ability to make decisions. This characteristic can also be seen in humans, as they have the ability to make decisions. This is an exceptional characteristic that is evident in humans. On one hand, humans have the freewill to make decisions, without any obligation from other animals. However, all the other creatures on the earth surface do not have such characteristics, as they are bound by nature. Similarly, creation of man in the image of God enhances the creativity of the Supreme Being. Humans have the ability to be creative in a number of aspects. Apparently, this aspect gave humans control over other creatures on the surface of the earth, since they lack such a character. In addition to this, humans have the mental and social capability, which is enhanced through speech. When looking at the book of Genesis, God communicated through speech. Since the word of God was immensely powerful, all the creation was made th rough spoken words. Ultimately, God gave man the ability to speak. This shows common characteristics in man and God. Making man in the image of God redeems human beings from the animal world. According to the story of creation, God is in ultimate control of all creation2. He has control over all activities, animals, plants and any other creation. However, after creating man in his image, God gave man control over the other creatures on the earth’s surface3. In essence, man was instated as the supreme control over all the creation on earth. This shows that God gave man the power to take care of all the creation, which is in resemblance of His character. Man was created in the image of God, which denotes the righteousness and innocence of God. As a fact, God is holy and supreme being with a moral compass. Initially, Adam was created as â€Å"very

Sidneys and Freidbergs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Sidneys and Freidbergs - Assignment Example The sugar extraction was very complex and technical than what Europeans got used to, and ultimately resulting in sugar becoming food for the wealthy. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the sugar consumption rapidly rose in England resulting in sugar be seen as the necessity of the people regardless of the economic status. In the entire article, Mintz emphasized the importance of the spread of sugar cane in a cultural and economic sense. In addition, he examined how sugar functioning developed and transformed over time. It began as medicine to sweetener to preservative and now the food is in the form of molasses. In addition to the anthropological perspective, he looked at the historical meaning of sugar consumption. Mintz structured his article in chronological order by examining the sugar usage in each period. Initially, he suggested that he would examine the sugar cane usage though he argued that it would be hard to discuss it alone without involving other foods. Thus, the way he discussed foods, he pointed out that sugar cane gets linked with other foods that developed during diverse times revealing the world transformation. The problem with this article is that Mintz went too far in connecting his data with the main point. For instance, he took an individual general statement about the focus of Europe on the New World and argued that it was as if the writer had sugar thoughts when writing it. According to me, I think Mintz’s thoughts were a great stretch, now that the author did not say anything about the sugar. Thus, he should not have presented it as a fact in his article. Freidberg aims to show how the geographic perspective enriches the food’s historical analysis. He situates practices and norms in ecological and spatial contexts. The article examines the 20th-century food consumption history in Burkina Faso, specifically in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Operations Management in a Business Context Essay

Operations Management in a Business Context - Essay Example Moreover, the company with the provision of quality products and/or services has aim at attaining a better market position in the retail industry globally. At the same time, Tesco PLC also concentrated on building a healthy relationship with its employees and stakeholders with the intention of maintaining its competitive advantage in the retail market segment. The company has been communicating information with stakeholders, so that operations of the company can be conducted in a coordinated manner (1Tesco, 2014). Over the years, Tesco PLC has diversified its business operation in different geographical location for providing several other services to its consumers that include telecoms and internet services and financial services among others. The company is listed on the â€Å"London Stock Exchange† market under the constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. According to the Tesco PLC Annual Report (2014), it is identified that the company has gained 3rd largest position among the world retail companies due to its wide range of products and services. Moreover, it has been ascertained that Tesco PLC has earned approximately  £43.6bn revenue (68%) from the local market of the UK. Consequently, the company has witnessed  £10.3bn (16%) revenue from Asian market and  £9.3bn revenue (14%) from Europe market during the year 2013-14 (Tesco PLC Annual Report, 2014). The objective of the essay is to highlight the five performance objectives, where operations management plays an important role for maintaining the competitiveness. Apart from this, the essay explains the impact of operations management performance objectives. Operation management is one of the most essential aspects for an organisation based on which organisations manage their resources as well as activities more accurately. In this regard, an organisation can significantly control its performance objectives by

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 64

Summary - Essay Example His philosophy is more influential and followed upon in western sector than any other philosopher, as he articulates that; the freedom of choice lies down with all humans, without any obligation towards the society or religion. Moreover, he argues the infinity of finite world and there are no unseen phenomena hidden, as an appearance; is an evidence of its existence. He described that the ability to prove and produce results or accomplishments lies within man, as the ability to bring change is in his hand. Thus material or object’s presence can’t provide or fabricate what is instilled as a capacity, but man can; as he has the power to be nothing or everything. However, all the changes are directly associated to time and choice. A person acts as an object and as a subject many times in his life and therefore, impression his actions leave due to his physical involvement and the impression his invisible appearance causes; work simultaneously and thus Jean has called them being-in –itself and being-for-itself. Jean has stated in his piece of work â€Å"Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself† (Sartre, p.9).Therefore one’s; self esteem is made high or low not only by his view of himself but it also includes the view point of others who stare him temporarily. Mainly it depends on the perspective of a human, whose ability define him his worth. It is a wide horizon where one can become optimistic or pessimistic, depending upon the choice again. Thus one gaze can change the view entirely depending upon the perception one has for himself. The freedom of choice is a gate way, which leads to two destinations it’s up to a person how he perceives the meaning of it, as it comes with great responsibility as well. .† Our responsibility is thus much greater than we had supposed, for it concerns mankind as a whole.† (Sartre , p.9) The most natural trait of a human is a complete

Education in Britain Essay Example for Free

Education in Britain Essay ?Each child in England at the first school term after their third birthday, is entitled to 15 hours per week free childcare funding. This entitlement is funded by the government through the local council. The Early Learning Goals cover the main areas of education without being subject driven. These areas include Personal, social and emotional development (prime area) Communication and Language (prime area) Physical education (prime area) Literacy (specific area) Mathematics (specific area) Understanding the World (specific area). Expressive Art Design (specific area) Until the mid-1980s, nursery schools only admitted pupils in the final year (three terms) leading up to their admission to primary school, but pupils now attend nursery school for four or five terms. It is also common practise for many children to attend nursery much earlier than this. Many nurseries have the facilities to take on babies, using the Early Years Foundation Stage, framework as a guide to give each child the best possible start to becoming a competent learner and skillful communicator. A primary school (also Elementary school) an school which where children receive primary or elementary education between the ages of about five to about eleven, coming before secondary school and after preschool. It is the first stage of compulsory education in most parts of the world, and is normally available without charge, but may be a fee-paying independent school. In England and Wales secondary school is for children from the ages of 11 to 18. After 11 years of compulsory education ends, and young people can decide whether to continue their studies further at school or sixth form college, or leave the education system. After five years of secondary education, at the age of 16, pupils take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. When they are in the third or in the forth form, they begin to choose their exam subjects and prepare for them. After finishing the fifth form pupils can make their choice: they may either leave school  and go to a Further Education College or continue their education in the sixth form. Those who stay at school after GCSE, study for 2 more years for A (Advanced) Level Exams in two or three subjects which is necessary to get a place at one of British universities. The typical first degree offered at English universities is the bachelors degree, and usually lasts for three years. Many institutions now offer an undergraduate masters degree as a first degree, which typically lasts for four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate masters degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate masters degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate masters degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear. Some universities offer a vocationally based foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue on to a first degree but wish to remain in employment. Postgraduate education Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which might be a: Masters degree (typically taken in one year, though research-based masters degrees may last for two) Doctorate (typically taken in three years) Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the state.

Emirates stadium

Emirates stadium Emirates Stadium Historical background (who wants the project? And why?) The Emirates Stadium is built on a former brownfield industrial estate known as Ashburton Grove in Islington, London; to provide a home ground for Arsenal FC. Arsenal FCs previous stadium in Highbury, of which it was named after, was located a mere half a mile away from the emirates. The capacity of Highbury was small in comparison to other top-flight status football clubs and therefore expansions were proposed. However, due to surrounding transport and residential amenities, further to local authority planning objections, the room for expansion was very limited at the existing ground. Corporate hospitality management via corporate viewing boxes is a key business network to Arsenal FC as a means of securing deals for the benefit of the clubs financial capital. Highbury however, was incapable of accommodating the expanding wealth of prospective clients bearing interest in the club. The proposition of enhancing corporate relationships and negotiations was a key figure in the framework plans for a new stadium. Sporting successes at Arsenal FC had also widened their fan base and the demand for match tickets was outweighing the supply. Stakeholders within the ownership of the club were subsequently underutilised and opportune revenue was missed; this was sacrificial to the prospects of future investment. After selective consideration of various locations suitable for Arsenal FC and their respective fans it was therefore decided on the turn of the millennium, that a new stadium was to be developed on the Ashburton Grove site. The capabilities of generating greater capital to enable the club to financially contest with some of the biggest football teams in Europe whilst also providing first class facilities to their many supporters showed an unwavering determination for the clubs advancement. This was the birth of the Emirates Stadium. Islington, London; was before hand, a waning borough and the new stadium was seen as a solution to contribute to the regeneration of the area. BUY OUT EXISTING OCCUPANTS ON ASHBURTON GROVE very expensive Islington councils waste recycling plant Royal mail Holloway delivery office Two bridges over the Northern city railway were also built connecting the stadium with drayton park wer also built. Structure of the project (Financing, Objectives, Constraints etc.). In order for Arsenal FC to fund the approximate  £275m project, the sale of existing surplus land assets was necessary to enable their financiers to provide sufficient supporting gain for a case in obtaining a large loan to fund the remainder. Highbury was demolished and redeveloped (with the exception of the east stand due to heritage listing) into what is now known as Highbury Square; an allotment of housing units that were sold to generate over  £300m in final completion sales (currently payable in instalments to Arsenal FC). Sportswear manufacture Nike, also contributed to the project funding through their multi-million pound sponsorship deal that is still binding at present. At the beginning of 2004, the project order date, Ashburton Properties, a subservient of Arsenal Holdings plc, was created in order to gain access to a loan over  £200m from a banking assembly that specialised in stadium facilities management and funding. Noteworthy banking companies within this assembly include: the RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland plc), The Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks plc. Towards the end of 2004, a  £100.2m corporate sponsorship deal had been struck between Emirate Airlines and Arsenal FC. One of the significant terms of this deal comprised of Emirates owning the naming rights of the stadium of which led to the stadium being known as the Emirates Stadium and not its original Ashburton Grove. Multi-faceted, Analysis, Feasibility Complicated cash flow, site assembly, waste plant location, residential, demolition and disposal, advertisements. Highbury re-development 2-stage tender: Taylor Wimpey Sir Robert McAlpine Main Contractors (There Project Manager was Gulf Christiansen) Also did Excel Centre, London. Construction team was entirely site-based (Contractors and Consultants); problems were solved quickly, minimal expense, dispute resolution. Financial, Programme capital; certainty of delivery time half way through season? X Time of the essence Stakeholder analysis (Conflicts and resolutions) Construction of the Emirates stadium began promptly once the tender had been signed in February 2004. Leading UK building and civil engineering company Sir Robert McAlpine was awarded the contract as the main contractor to complete the job. Global designs practice Populous (formerly known as HOK Sport) were responsible for the architecture and design of the stadium. They have been and are currently lead architects on many large projects of similar nature throughout the UK and across the globe e.g. Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales; Wembley National Stadium, London; and the 2014 Asian Games Stadium, Incheon, South Korea. UK-based consultant engineers Buro Happold provided solutions in both structural and services engineering design to the stadium. Arcadis AYH (formerly AYH) were initially appointed as project and cost managers to the project, however, their role quickly expanded as the administering and relocation of over 80 businesses at Arsenal FCs former site was required. This allowed for commercial and residential developments within Islington to be cross-funded and eventually made provision for the new housing allotments and a new waste and recycling centre for the Islington Borough. Private funded, Private project/ contract (Onus on who?) Local communities; business displacement, working with local authorities. Sustainability issues and agendas (Impact, Conflicts and resolutions) Due to the Emirates stadium being built upon a former brownfield industrial site, Buro Happold thought it was necessary to carry out an environmental impact assessment of the estate so that any contaminated earth found could be re-generated and re-used to provide better ground conditions for the stadiums foundations. Buro Happolds engineering expertise in developing the form and structure of the Emirates Stadium was thoroughly examined to minimise the environmental impact and reflect the aspirations of the local community. One of the most noticeable design solutions provided by Buro Happolds to meet these objectives, is the clear downward sloping roof that forms a natural dish of which augments the stadiums micro-climate. When designing the project, Populous tried to coalesce the needs of the end-users with an environmentally sound structure. As the Architects of the stadium, their ideas implemented took account of multiple contributors to the sustainable agenda that is ever-growing in the UK, particularly within urban areas such as greater London. The incorporation of natural passive ventilation systems throughout the stadium has made way for a more pleasant environmental climate whilst also deducing the need for mechanical ventilation systems of which can add to the released emissions count. Solar power systems through glass cladding and skylights have also been fitted to contribute to their power-saving ethos that could potentially prove money-saving during the lifetime of the project. Not only does the stadium have sustainable measures integrated into its design but the surrounding new-build developments have also been built to standards set out under the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) Eco Homes guidelines. These form part of the Code for Sustainable Homes; a benchmark in voluntary frameworks for sustainable development. Desso Sports Systems; a company that specialise in artificial turfs for sports and recreation currently provide the stadium with their pitch. They say that their synthetic grass fibres can be recycled for civil-engineering applicationsor as artificial turf and are keen to stress the point that only environmentally friendly, biodegradable chemical products are used to clean the turf. Regeneration Brownfield site Section 106 TCPA, obligation to support and facilitate project area Newlon Housing Trust; Social Housing Evaluation of risks Even with the new Emirates stadium as the home ground for Arsenal FC, the current demand for tickets still greatly outweighs the supply. The board of directors are said to be in the process of looking to expand the stadium as a result. It is however, very unlikely that the extent of the supply will be matched by the demand due to the sheer fan-base the football club possesses and the feasibility of constructing such a vast amount extra to the existing development. The risks of this potential expansion include jeopardising the sustainability issues mentioned (above) so that the stadium only meets the demands of the present and is sacrificial to meeting the demands of the future (Brundtland). What also needs to be borne in mind is to what extent the extra capacity will bring in terms of revenue. With economies of scale in highly populated areas such as London, the capital gain of a greater number of sales made may not prove profitable and could drastically add to the clubs overall net doubt; thought to be around  £200m 3Q 2009. Motor vehicle use and other forms of private transport have not been well incorporated into the stadiums design and surrounding location. This has not been by mistake and the developers are trying to promote the use of public transport (possibly tied in with the sustainable communities agenda). There have been recent upgrades on the tube at Holloway Station (Arsenal FCs local station) and more buses have been added to frequently provide services to the stadium. The potential risks of relying on public transport are: inaccuracies in times, traffic congestion and provision for disabled supporters access to the ground. Programming Business displacement Compulsory purchase orders Financial model Stigma with football stadiums e.g. Wembley, Birse walker stadium, laing orourke millennium stadium Economic and business related factors From a marketing point of view; the emirates stadium was purely financially driven. The clubs successes had expanded to a rate which was over-utilising its existing resources and many opportune costs resulted. As an innovation to providing Arsenal FC with the maximum potential for revenue gain, a completely new and improved stadium for the entire club was seen as the most serviceable concept to adopt. REGENERATION Not about football stadium, regeneration of Islington Trying to get on the local authorities side Reflection on projects management REFERENCES: * Arcadis AYH (2006), Professional Services: Property: Lifestyle: Stadia Sports: Projects: Emirates Stadium, available from [Accessed 08/02/10]. * Building (2007), Emirates Stadium boosts Arsenal FCs Results; Football clubs income jumps 46% following move from Highbury, available from [Accessed 08/02/10]. * DesignBuild-Network (2008), Projects: Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, London, United Kingdom, available from [Accessed 08/02/10]. * DesignBuild-Network (2008), Projects: Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, London, United Kingdom: Specifications, available from [Accessed 08/02/10]. * E-architect (2008), Arsenal Stadium, London; Information and Photos, available from [Accessed 08/02/10]. * Sir Robert McAlpine (2006), Projects: Emirates Stadium, available from [Accessed 08/02/10].

Analysis Of Multidimensional Data Using Various Methods

Analysis Of Multidimensional Data Using Various Methods Nikhil Deshmukh Abstract Data is exponentially increasing every year, business wants to analyze data more accurately and efficiently. Analyzing huge amounts of data is tedious tasks that involve considerable challenges, commitments and organizational expense. This paper provides an overview of different methods and tools to analyze data in the data warehouse. We will analyze the six dimensional data using both relational database and multidimensional method and compare the performance by calculation using actual data. Keywords- Data Warehouse; Analysis; OLAP; Relational; Multidimensional. Data warehouses contain data consolidated from several databases and are large in magnitude (sometimes in terabytes). Data warehouses are used mainly for decision ssupport applications and provide the summarized data than detailed, individual records for analyzing purpose. Some organizations are using data marts because data warehouse construction is a complicated process. Data marts contain information in the form of subsets for any specific department. On data warehouse and data marts, different data analytical methods can be used. In section II, two methods of data analysis is explained first is conventional query method or using simple SQL and second method is Multidimensional analysis and its different types. In the next section we have shown the incapability of conventional query method by taking the real world example and by comparing the performance of both on the basis of time taken to execute the operation and disk space used. A. Query and Reporting These are data query tools, this type of tool formulate stand alone query and after analyzing statically it gives result in the form of graphs. Such type of tools does not support multidimensional analysis and can execute only simple queries, they do not offer aggregation and consolidation concepts. These tools are optimum to generate request like How many number of articles do we have in the stock [1]. That is why these types of tools are called soft analysis tools. B. Multidimensional analysis In multidimensional database data is stored in the form of array table which allows fast visual representation of accumulated data. Sometimes it is necessary to model data multidimensional for complex analysis and visualization, especially in decision support system. Multidimensional view or structure can be considered as cubes, we can also call it cubes within cubes where each side of the cube is a dimension as shown in the fig (A) [4] To analyze multidimensional data OLAP (On-line analytical processing) is used. Types of OLAP are Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP), Relational OLAP (ROLAP), Hybrid OLAP (HOLAP) and Spatial OLAP (SOLAP). 1) OLAP: This type of server enables analysts to deep dive into performance through variety of view of the data. It shows multidimensional phase of the business data through different views. OLAP operations include Pivot (change of orientation of the multidimensional view), slice and dice (selection and projection), rollup (increasing or decreasing the aggregation level) along one or more dimensions. Conceptual model of OLAP stress on aggregation as one of the key operation e.g., computing the total production by each state (or by each month) and give the ranking accordingly. Some important characteristics of OLAP is summarization, projected data, fast interactive analysis, multidimensional view, Frequently changing business model and medium to large data sets. [2] 2) MOLAP: Multidimensional OLAP directly supports the multidimensional view of the data through storage engine. This provides very good indexing properties and speed but bad utilization of space, especially in case of sparse data; example is ESSBASE (ARBOR). [4][7] 3) ROLAP: Relational OLAP are the intermediate server sits between backend server and client. It supports multidimensional OLAP query on-the-fly. It utilizes transaction and scalability feature of relational system but mismatch between both queries can create performance issue. [4][6] 4) HOLAP: Combination of MOLAP and ROLAP is HOLAP. ROLAP server gives better performance when data is not very dense and performance of MOLAP improves when data is dense. Many vendors such as Speedware and Microsoft are thus using HOLAP, storing dense regions of the cube using MOLAP and storing the rest using a ROLAP approach [3]. 5) SOLAP: This is the category of OLAP which explores the data related to space (spatial data).SOLAP integrates concept from Geographic information system (GIS) and OLAP. It is a visual platform built especially to support fast and convenient temporal analysis and analysis of data following a multidimensional approach consist of different aggregations levels available in the form of graph and tabular display. [5] To illustrate we will take 6 dimensional business model of Beverage Company. The relational schema consists of a Fact table and one table per dimension. It contains one row for each Channel (6 members), Product (1500), Market (100), Time (17), Scenario (8) and Measures (50). A simple OLAP scenario in which we need to get the actual profit and compare with the budget.[8] A. Relational Approach The number of rows in fact table is = product of dimensions =122 million, with 80 % sparsity no of rows is 24 million. If we assume 4k block size total size id 17 GB including joins. To retrieve variance between actual and budget 6 ways joins and 17 I/O will be used which will take approximate 237 hours of I/O time. This process should be repeated for all the values, It is clearly impractical to do this with relational approach.[8] B. Multidimensional Approach We will use the same model with Multidimensional database such as ESSBASE. In the Beverage company example a block will consist of time*scenario*measure*8 bytes per cell = 55k with 80% sparsity block size will be 10 GB. 55k with 80% sparsity block size will be 10 GB.s C. Comparison Table -1: Performance comparison between relational and multidimensional approach [8] Relational approach Multidimensional approach Improvement in performance Disk Space (GB) 17 10.2 1.7 The calculation of variance (Hours) 237 2 110 After calculation on 6 dimensional business model using both the approaches it can be concluded that conventional relational data base approach takes more time and disk space than multidimensional approach. It is not feasible for relational approach where requirement is complex and many dimensions have been used because of the high operating cost of processing different joins and restriction across huge number of tables. In such cases multidimensional approach should be used, Query tools can only be used in case of simple database requirements. In this paper we also looked up at the different types of multidimensional analysis methods. References       M.-P. Nachouki, V. Lambert, R. Lehn, Data warehousing tools architecture: from multidimensional analysis to data mining, vol. 00, no. , pp. 636, 1997 Surajit Chaudhuri, Umeshwar Dayal, An overview of data warehousing and OLAP technology ACM SIGMOD Record: Volume 26 Issue 1, March 1997 Kaser, Owen, Lemire, Daniel, Attribute value recording for efficient Hybrid OLAP, Information Sciences, 2006, Volume 176, Issue 16 S. Chaudhuri; U. Dayal; V. Ganti, Database technology for decision support systems IEEE Year: 2001, Volume: 34, Issue: 12 Rosa Matias; Joao Moura-Pires Spatial On-Line Analytical Processing (SOLAP): A Tool the to Analyze the Emission of Pollutants in Industrial Installations portuguese conference on artificial intelligence 2005 Agrawal S. et.al. On the Computation of Multidimensional Aggregates Proc. of VLDB Conf., 1996. S. Sarawagi, User Adaptive Exploration of OLAP Data Cubes, Proc. VLDB Conf., Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco, 2000, pp. 307-316. George Colliat, OLAP, relational, and multidimensional database systems,ACM SIGMOD Record: Volume 25 Issue 3, Sept. 1996

Ontological Relativism and the Pragmatic Notion of Metaphysical Truth :: Philosophy Metaphysics Research

Ontological Relativism and the Pragmatic Notion of Metaphysical Truth ABSTRACT: I. Introduction The mind body problem resembles a black hole in the universe of philosophy: It takes a lot of energy which could be spent otherwise. Therefore, it would be liberating to show that it is not a problem at all. That is exactly what I shall do in this paper. Roughly, I shall argue as follows: First, I will show that the traditional mind body problem as a logical conflict will not occur if one is more decided in dualism. Then, I shall argue that dualism does not need to be an absurd position. It is absurd only when taken metaphysically, but it is plausible when taken pragmatically. I shall reject the metaphysical presumptions shared by metaphysical dualism and the materialist identity theory in order to develop a metaphysical position compatible with pragmatic dualism. Thus, I shall get rid of the mind body problem, the absurdities associated with dualism and the unintelligibility of the identity theory — all at once. II. Exchanging Logical Conflicts for Metaphysical Questions The traditional logical way of putting the mind body problem is this: (1) Physical events are caused only by other physical events. (2) Mental phenomena play causal roles such that they do cause not only other mental phenomena but also physical events, namely actions and movements. (3) Mental phenomena are not physical. These statements contradict each other, but only for the reason that (3) defends a mental-physical dualism, whereas (2) supposes identity between actions (or behavior) and phyical events. Thus, the logical conflict is constituted by nothing but indecision in dualism. I call it indecision, because the relevant reasons which lead to dualism with regard to mental and physical phenomena do equally well support dualism as to actions (or behavior) and physical events. Both variants of ontological dualism are built upon semantic dualism which is both conceptual and explanatory dualism. As to conceptual dualism, it should be conceded that mental phenomena, behavior, and actions as such can be individuated only as sensed, had, made, and done by someone. This existential dependency on a subject cannot be analysed naturalistically, because it is neither an empirical intrinsic property, nor any kind of empirical relation. It is what the contents of the concepts "sensing", "feeling", "deciding", "believing", and "acting" have in common, concepts, which do not refer to intrinsic properties or relations at all. Thus, the individuation of mental phenomena and actions as such differs essentially from the individuation of physical phenomena and events.

The Health Care Puzzle :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Health Care Puzzle Health care in the United States has improved immensely during the past century. Improved technology has finally allowed us to eliminate deadly disease from our society. Unfortunately, the technology is expensive and has put monetary burdens upon the care receivers. No longer can a middle class American afford the astronomical fees for lifesaving operations in the hospital. Because of this, health insurance, like car insurance, flood insurance or fire insurance, has been established to assure its participant that he or she is able to be provided with the best care possible. Many horrible stories by normal people have shown that it hasn't happened. Deserved health care has not been provided, and many "insured participants" have suffered because of this. The problems of health care in the United States include: questioning of cost reduction techniques, allegations of death and injury, competition between hospitals themselves, and legal loopholes in the system. It's no wonder that medic al care systems are under such scrutiny. One system in particular that has violated the system is the HMO, or Health Maintenance Organizations, a public provider which forces their patient to choose from an assortment of their physicians. Since their establishment, HMOs have gradually decreased the quality of patient health care significantly, especially in hospitals. Debates over the health care provided by HMOs have arisen in many cases. For an alarming majority, organizations like the HMO are the only affordable option for providing health care. Since most people could never afford such costs as expensive surgeries, they have turned to HMOs to provide them with care, paid via a monthly premium. A variety of services can be offered to patients in one familiar place. In addition, the doctors are good because they are screened before acceptance by other qualifying physicians. Procedures are also given more objectively, because of no extra fee incentives for the physicians in prepaid programs, where the goal is to lower costs. Also, costs are about the same for every visit, and claim forms are kept at a minimum. Another advantage of companies like HMO is that there is a familiarity between the physicians of the HMO group. Specialists of all kinds can relate to each other because they are in a cooperative working environment. In contrast, disadvanta ges exist with these health providers. Since patients depend on them for care, they must trust the HMO also. This means that their health can be damaged because of a doctor's faulty decision making, instead of the patient's.

Helen Gardner :: Helen Gardner Essays

Helen Gardner In act one scene one we discover that Helen is a very down to earth type of person as she says â€Å"when I find somewhere for us to live I have to consider something far more important than your feelings. . . .The rent†, this shows that she is thinking about the more important things in life, she is also emphasising the letter â€Å"I† which is implying that she is a lot better than her daughter, this also shows that she has a roof over Jo’s head. The beginning of this play shows that Helen enjoys drink, â€Å"pass me a glass Jo† the first thing that she thinks about is alcohol, this shows that if she can afford to buy whisky then she may have been able to find a better place for them to live, although the accommodation isn’t very appropriate it still provides Jo with a roof over her head, we also get the impression that she is an unfit parent as her priorities should be towards her daughter and not towards alcohol. Helen feels that Jo owes her a lot, Jo feels the total opposite, and there is not a close relationship, Helen feels that she deserves respect from Jo, most people may think that as Helen is Jo’s mother then Jo does owe her a lot but most people would think that Helen owes a lot to Jo as she hasn’t really been there for her daughter all these years, but as an adult Helen does deserve respect from her daughter no matter what she has done, because at the end of the day Helen did bring Jo into the world and has brought her up to be what she is now. As we can see in act one Jo shares a bed with Helen this is a redeeming quality because if Helen despised Jo that much she wouldn’t be willing to do this, because at the end of the day the both need somewhere to sleep. Helen has a very negative view on life as she says, â€Å"that’s where we all end up sooner or later†, this was related to Jo trying to decide where to put her bulbs, she felt that the best place to put them was in a cold dark place, the cold dark place meaning to Helen a grave, this is yet another reference of death which Helen seems to use. I think that by being a prostitute and sleeping around is a way for Helen to find someone to love her, she craves it. Helen seems to be addicted to men, She gives Jo a distorted view on

Models of practices that underpin equality Essay

1.1- Explain models of practices that underpin equality, diversity and inclusion in own area of responsibility? My role as a senior care assistant requires me to support individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. At all times, I am expected to uphold and promote equitable practice and offer equality of opportunity while taking into account peoples political, economical, social and civil rights while promoting diversity and inclusion. I must consider my own areas of responsibility within my workplace and how my practice underpins the values and principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. In addition to this, my role is to support and influence the practice of my staff, to ensure that staff and residents are treated equally and fairly without discrimination. This is done by using a person centred approach, which is a model of practice that ensures individuals are central to the planning of their support, and are empowered to identify personal choices about how they want to live their lives. This also relates to the service users, as it enables them to be actively involved in all aspects of their care. Equality is ensuring that everyone is treated equally and fairly regardless of their ability, religion, beliefs, gender, race, age, social status or sexual orientation. Diversity recognises that although people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising and valuing those differences, and consists of visible and non-visible factors. These include, personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality and work style in addition to the characteristics that are protected under discrimination legislation in terms of race, gender, disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. By recognising and understanding individual differences and embracing them, a productive environment whereby everyone feels valued can be created, known as inclusion. The policies and procedures within my workplace are underpinned by a variety of legislation and current codes of practice. These provide me with a framework for ensuring that I uphold the principles and ethics of equality, diversity and inclusion.(see appendix) The Equality Act 2010 is the law that bans discrimination and helps achieve equal opportunities in the workplace and in the wider society. The Act brought together and replaced previous equality legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. It simplified and updated the law and strengthened it in important ways. The Act protects people from discrimination on the grounds covered by the previous equality laws. These are now called â€Å"protected characteristics†, and are; age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage nd civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. The Act also promotes equality of opportunity to prevent discrimination arising in the first place. The Equality Act also protects people from various forms of discrimination relating to disability, and also discrimination and harassment: Direct discrimination is when you are treated less favourably than another person because of your disability. This also extends to people who are  discriminated against because of their association with someone who has a disability or because they are thought to be disabled. Discrimination arising from disability is when you’re treated less favourably because of something connected with your disability (rather than the disability itself). But it’s not discrimination if the employer or service provider can justify how they treat you, or if they didn’t know that you are disabled. Indirect discrimination happens when a rule, policy or practice is applied to everyone, but it has a particular disadvantage for disabled people. But it’s not discrimination if it can be justified. Failure to make reasonable adjustments is when you need a reasonable adjustment so you are not at a ‘substantial disadvantage’, but the adjustment has not been made. The duty to make reasonable adjustments covers the way things are done, a physical feature (such as steps to a building), or the absence of an auxiliary aid or service (such as an induction loop or an interpreter). Harassment is unwanted behaviour that has the purpose or effect of violating your dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Victimisation – when you’re treated badly because you’ve made or supported a complaint under the Equality Act. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) creates a framework to provide protection for people who cannot make decisions for themselves. It contains provision for assessing whether people have the mental capacity to make decisions, procedures for making decisions on behalf of people who lack mental capacity and safeguards. The underlying philosophy of the MCA Is that any decision made must be in their best interests. The MCA is governed by 5 core principles. These can be summarised as follows: Presumption of capacity (section 1(2) MCA).Every adult has the right to make their own decisions if they have the capacity to do so. Family carers and healthcare or social care staff must assume that a person has the capacity to make decisions, unless it can be established that the person does not have capacity Maximising decision making capacity (section 1(3) MCA). People should receive support to help them make their own decisions. Before concluding that someone lacks capacity to make a particular decision, it is important to take all possible steps to try to help them reach a decision themselves. Right to make unwise decisions (section 1(4) MCA). People have  the right to make decisions that others might think are unwise. A person who makes a decision that others think is unwise should not automatically be labelled as lacking the capacity to make a decision. Best interests (section 1(5) MCA). Any act done for, or any decision made on behalf of, someone who lacks capacity must be in their best interests. Least restrictive option (section 1(6) MCA). Any act done for, or any decision made on behalf of, someone who lacks capacity should be the least restrictive option possible. The Human Rights Act is a UK law passed in 1998. It means that any person can defend their rights in the UK courts and that public organisations (including the government, police and local councils) must treat everyone equally, with fairness, dignity and respect. The human rights that are contained within this law are based on the articles of the European Convention, and does two things; judges must read and give effect to legislation in a way which is compatible with the Convention Rights, and it is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right. The rights that are protected by the HRA are; The right to life The prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment Protection against slavery and forced labour The right to liberty and freedom The right to a fair trial and no punishment without law Respect for privacy and family life and the right to marry Freedom of thought, religion and belief Freedom of expression Free speech and peaceful protest No discrimination Protection of property, the right to an education and the right to free elections GSCC Codes of practice- Although the GSCC closed in July 2012, the codes of conduct are still used in care homes. The document contains agreed codes of practice for social care workers and employers of social care workers  describing the standards of conduct and practice within which they should work. 1.2 – Analyse the potential effects of barriers to equality and inclusion in own area of responsibility? Equality in the workplace is about more than simply giving equal treatment to all employees and complying with the Equality Act. Within the home, we work to remove the barriers which affect recruitment and progression. These barriers can include age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, social background, physical or mental disabilities, marital or parental status, gender identity, communication and language. All policies and practices within the organisation create equal opportunities for personal and professional growth- from establishing fair pay structures offering equal access to benefits to ensuring that promotion and progression is fair. At the very minimum, employers are required to eliminate discrimination from the whole employment cycle, starting from the application stage and throughout an employee’s career. Barriers that prevent equality and inclusion are as follows; Physical- Buildings and access, personal physical health, sensory loss Attitudinal- Personal feelings, thoughts and behaviours Structural- Economic, environmental, social systems Institutional- Policies and procedures where some people are disadvantaged over others e.g. maternity leave Examples of inequality in the workplace include; Direct discrimination- when an employer treats an employee less favourably than someone else because of a protected characteristic Indirect discrimination- when a working condition or rule disadvantages one group of people more than another. E.g. saying that applicants for a job must be clean shaven puts members of some religious groups at a disadvantage. Indirect discrimination is unlawful whether it is done on purpose or not. Equality laws may be jeopardised if training and promotion is targeted at younger members of the team, assuming that older workers are not as interested in career progression as their younger colleagues. Failure to  provide adequate facilities for disabled people in the workplace, or failure to tackle bullying and harassment against an employee from a different ethnic origin may contribute towards a tribunal claim. Discriminatory tactics in screening of potential staff members, e.g. deliberately choosing male staff over female staff regardless of their ability to do a job. Effects of this type of discrimination include; diminished life chances, social exclusion, marginalisation, poor interpersonal interactions and communication, disempowerment, and low self-esteem and self-identity. Oppression is another barrier that can affect equality, diversity and inclusion. It is the consequence of five different factors including; stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination (as stated above), oppression and internalised oppression. It is defined as the â€Å"unjust or cruel exercise of power† (Webster, 2013). Standing up and taking action when this type of behaviour occurs is a way to eliminate oppression. Also, being aware about what oppression is as well as methods of prevention can be used as an effort to reduce, if not eliminate, and enables staff to work in an anti- oppressive manner. Oppression happens in many atmospheres, especially in a working environment. Prevention is the main key to avoiding this type of hostility. This can be done with enforcement of policies, including written disciplinary actions that will be utilised if this occurs, as well as a chain of authority. Having a written policy clearly sets out the expectations of employees by the employers, not only of what is acceptable and unacceptable, but what consequences are to be enforced on to non- compliant employees. This should be read and signed by all employees as a preventative measure to avoid further problems. The chain of authority is listed so employees are aware of who they will have to answer to in this situation, and who will be enforcing the consequences of their actions. The mechanics of oppression are described as participating, turning a blind eye and denial. Staff who witness this type of behaviour, being well aware but not taking action or altogether denying that the behaviour is occurring are examples showing how oppression continues to exist. Failure to uphold equality, diversity and inclusion through practice will  breach European and UK law and codes of practice and incur penalties such as loss of registration and significant damage to reputation. Consequences for the individual range from low self-esteem, poor mental and physical health and risk of harm and abuse. Therefore, it is paramount that regular training, supervisions and discussions take place to ensure that staff do not display this type of behaviour, or are victimised by others. As a senior, it is important that I notice these barriers and act quickly to prevent any issues from developing. 1.3 – Analyse the impact of legislation and policy initiatives on the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion? It is important that I am familiar with the Acts of Parliament, regulations, guidance and codes of practice in order to promote best practice within the home and to inform staff, ensuring they are up to date on any changes. As a qualified social worker, I already have some background knowledge on different acts and legislation within the health and social care sector, and have put these into practice in two six month placements throughout my academic career, and also my current job in the care sector. Equality, diversity and inclusion are addressed within the essential standards set out by CQC which are underpinned by the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Regulation 17(2) (h) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 says that : â€Å"the registered person must†¦take care to ensure that care and treatment is provided to service users with due regard to their age, sex, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and any disability they may have†. This regulation relates to Outcome 1 – respecting and involving people who use services. However, the wording of this regulation suggests that these equality characteristics should be considered in all aspects of care, treatment and support. This is also the approach taken by CQC in the essential standards. In addition, Regulation 9(1)(b)(iv) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 says that: â€Å"The registered person must take proper steps to ensure that each service user is protected against the risks of receiving care or treatment that is inappropriate or unsafe, by means of†¦ the planning and  delivery of care and, where appropriate, treatment in such a way as to— avoid unlawful discrimination including, where applicable, by providing for the making of reasonable adjustments in service provision to meet the service user’s individual needs.† This regulation relates to Outcome 4.Regulation 17(1) a of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (regulated activities) regulations 2009 says that: â€Å"The registered person must, so far as is reasonably practicable, make suitable arrangements to ensure†¦the dignity, privacy and independence of service user s.† Regulation 17(2) (a) says that: â€Å"the registered person must treat service users with consideration and respect† This regulation relates to Outcome 1. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010. Formerly, it made it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport. The DDA 1995 departed from principles of older UK discrimination law (the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976). These acts, also repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010, made direct and indirect discrimination unlawful. The core concepts of the DDA 1995 are instead: less favourable treatment for a reason related to a disabled person’s disability; and failure to make a â€Å"reasonable adjustment†. â€Å"Reasonable adjustment† or, as it is known in some other jurisdictions, ‘reasonable accommodation’, is the radical concept that makes the DDA 1995 so different from the older legislation. Instead of the rather passive approach of indirect discrimination (where someone can take action if they have been disadvantaged by a policy, practice or criterion that a body with duties under the law has adopted), reasonable adjustment is an active approach that requires employers, service providers etc to take steps to remove barriers from disabled people’s participation. The National Minimum Standards sets out the standards for care homes for older people, which form the basis on which the new National Care Standards Commission will determine whether such care homes meet the needs, and secure the welfare and social inclusion of the people who live there. The standards  set out in this document are core standards which apply to all care homes providing accommodation for older people. They acknowledge the unique and complex needs of individuals, and the additional specific knowledge, skills and facilities needed in order for a care home to deliver an individually tailored and comprehensive service. As stated in outcome 1.1 I have discussed the Equality Act 2010, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It is also essential that all staff are familiar with the homes own policies on diversity, equality and inclusion (see appendix) If these policies are not adhered to, it could result in guidelines, legislations and requirements also not being adhered to, which could result in the residents and staff being subjected to abuse. 2.4- How do you support others to challenge discrimination and exclusion? As a senior, I have an important role to play in championing diversity, equality and inclusion in my workplace. I am expected to articulate my own beliefs and values regarding diversity, recognise equality, respect and tolerance, and encourage non- judgemental attitudes and anti- discriminatory practice in order to inspire and lead my team. It is also important to encourage a positive culture within the workplace that promotes the principles of good practice. Examples of opportunities include; Developing and delivering training and CPD reviews so that the team is kept up to date with new developments Providing a safe environment where people feel empowered and supported to challenge discrimination and poor practice Ensure all staff are aware of the â€Å"whistleblowing† policy and other policies in place to challenge discrimination. (see appendix) I am also the workforce representative, so this means that staff can openly discuss any issues or concerns they have which could include issues of discrimination and exclusion. I have received some complaints that staff feel they are being victimised, as there has recently been a divide between night/day staff, with each day/ night members complaining that the other are not pulling their weight, or they are not assisting the residents in meeting  their personal care needs to a high standards e.g. wet beds, soiled pads not being changed etc. To rectify this issue, staff members were expected to complete a night/ day shift that was opposite to their usual shift pattern, in hopes to highlight what the different shift patterns and routines entailed and what was expected from staff members. The work â€Å"clique† was also used which has serious connotations as can be linked to bullying, which is a form of victimisation and exclusion. There was a management meeting held to discuss these issues and ways to rectify them. A â€Å"team building† night out was arranged, in hopes to bring all staff together. When discrimination and exclusion occur in policy and practice, I have a duty of care to challenge it, by reviewing and monitoring situations to identify and give examples of best practice. This can be done by undertaking supervisions, encouraging reflective practice to consider individual roles and accountability, maintaining quality assurance systems and record keeping, monitoring and evaluating processes and regular training. Ensuring staff are familiar and adhere to policies and procedures (see appendix) is also a positive way to address issues of discrimination and exclusion, as it ensures staff are fully aware it will not be tolerated within the care home. In relation to the residents there are many laws and policies that are aimed to prevent this. The â€Å"No secrets† white paper is a UK Government initiative from the Department of Health which provides guidance on developing and implementing policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. Abuse can be defined as: Physical, sexual, psychological, financial, neglect and discriminatory. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) policy also states the duty of care placed on local authorities and organisations to protect older people from abuse and harm. As the care home specifically caters for residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia, there is a higher chance that these residents can face widespread discrimination for a number of reasons. There is significant misunderstanding and stigma attached to dementia that manifests itself in widespread discriminatory attitudes. Age discrimination is also a factor that they could face, and potentially more at risk of discrimination and infringements on their human rights because they may not have the capacity to challenge or report what has  occurred, meaning they face a poorer quality of life. At the care home, we ensure that this type of discrimination is challenged by offering high quality care based on individualised care and support which builds on a person’s abilities and strengths, treating people with dignity and respect offering choice and safeguarding privacy, and that staff are properly trained in caring for residents with dementia and who are fully supported in their role. If a resident or a member of their family feel they are being discriminated against, the complaints procedure enables them to formally complain, and feel fully supported in doing so. The à ¢â‚¬Å"residents charter of rights† policy is available to all residents, their families and visitors, and details how they should be treated according to the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and also the essential standards set out by CQC. 3.1- Analyse how systems and processes can promote equality and inclusion or reinforce discrimination and exclusion? Every organisation has policies and procedures in place that are informed by legislation and national guidelines, in hope to promote anti- discriminatory practice. At the care home, we have a mission statement that details the way we intend to create a positive working environment whereby the shared principles and values of good quality support are upheld throughout the organisation. The statement reads; Vision Statement: We strive to be at the forefront of delivering exceptional standards of care and establishing ourselves as a leading and innovative care group in the United Kingdom. Mission Statement: We believe in a holistic care approach supported by dedicated and motivated staff team who are specifically trained to deliver a quality service. Our ethos encourages independence of residents in a friendly, welcoming, and safe environment with a â€Å"home from home† atmosphere. Philosophy of Care: QCG philosophy encompasses five basic principles of care which are; Quality of care with a holistic approach ensuring psychological, spiritual and physical well-being of residents A motivated, enthusiastic and specifically trained staff team to deliver this care Ensuring dignity and respect of residents in a non-discriminatory way in accordance with the resident’s charter of rights. (see appendix) Encouraging an independent and supported lifestyle with well-structured activities and social programmes A homely care approach fostering friendships, family involvement, local community interaction and support. The effectiveness of these systems and processes will need to be monitored, and this can be done through; A regular review and audit of policies and practice will identify areas to be addressed Individual and family questionnaires can identify areas that require improvement, but also highlight areas of good practice and provide the benchmarks for reviewing and monitoring practice within the workplace. In depth and thorough induction training to ensure new employees are aware of their job roles and responsibilities Complaints procedures can contribute to providing evidence in particular cases. Developing and maintaining effective complaints procedures will enable areas to be identified relating to diversity and equality which require improvement. 4.1- Describe ethical dilemmas that may arise in own area of responsibility when balancing individuals rights and duty of care? Confidentiality My duty of care towards the resident, and my responsibility to safeguard individual privacy could cause legal and ethical tensions. Ethical dilemmas arise frequently throughout the social care sector, particularly within my role as a senior carer, and it is my duty and the duty of the home to ensure that individuals are protected from harm. A number of factors need to be considered including the residents need to be informed as to how information about them is used and consent should be sought to share information with outside agencies. However, information can be disclosed where there is an overriding public interest e.g. where abuse is suspected. In this circumstance, confidentiality can be broken if a resident is at serious risk of; harm to themselves, harm to others, exploitation or physical/ sexual/ verbal abuse, significant financial gain or loss. I would also need to assess whether or not the resident has capacity and adhere to the MCA 2005 framework. The five principles of assessment are; Presume capacity unless established otherwise Take practical steps to enable decision making Accept that people can make unwise decisions Act in the persons best interests Use the action least restrictive of the persons rights and freedom of choice The use of sharing of service user information forms an essential part of the provision of health and social care, however the nature of this information needs to be in line with the legal duty to keep all personal information confidential. The relationship between staff and resident needs to be one of fidelity and trust, and residents have a legitimate expectation that private information will not be shared, used or disclosed without their consent. Therefore, all staff have strong legal and ethical obligations to protect resident information and the law and standards that govern practice and the handling of personal and confidential information are; The Data Protection Act The Human Rights Act 1998 (article 8) The Freedom of Information Act (2000) The Essential standards of quality and safety The Equality Act 2010 The Public Interest Disclosure Act (1999) Own Beliefs and values Each person has a unique set of values and beliefs, and strive to live their lives by these. The same is true for the resident who are supported within the care home, and occasionally personal values and beliefs may be different from the residents and their families. If the resident has a Lasting Power of Attorney in place that has a say over their health and welfare, or if they had a living will in place prior to a decline in their mental illness than this can also cause an ethical dilemma. A resident in the care home had a living will in place where, in the event that they had a decline in their mental state and became very unwell, then they would not want to be treated for this illness. The resident does now unfortunately have severe dementia; he became unwell with a chest infection, and his daughter, who has Lasting Power of Attorney, did not want him treated. Personally, I did not agree with this decision, as felt that it was not a severe illness as stated in his living will, and could be overcome with some antibiotics. His daughter did not want the GP contacted, however, I felt it was in the best interests  of the resident to speak with the GP regarding this issue, as felt he could become seriously unwell without antibiotics, so I was therefore trying to protect him from harm. This was a serous ethical dilemma for me and a big learning curve. After a long discussion with the GP, it was decided that the GP would contact the daughter to explain the possible severity of the situation, and she eventually agreed to treatment. Other factors that can cause ethical dilemmas include; the management of resources- balancing good support with available resources can be a challenge, organisational policies- While there may be solid reasoning’s behind the policies, some may impact negatively on a staff member if for example they are unable to work unsupervised due to disability, safeguarding- disclosing information of a safeguarding matter to the correct person if a resident and/or staff member has asked you not to disclose and balancing the needs of the family and the needs of the individual- sometimes challenging the families wishes to meet the needs of the individual may be necessary. 4.2- Explain the principle of informed choice? Choice and control is about freedom to act, for example to be independent and mobile, as well as freedom to decide. Having choice and control over one’s life and involvement supports autonomy and self-esteem. The issues of choice, control, involvement and self-determination are at the forefront of current government policy. Department of Health research found that health and social care recipient’s value having information to make choices and decisions for themselves, and that feeling confident and maintaining control is important. Putting People First (2007) outlined a shared vision for social care and radical reform. Autonomy – through maximum choice, control and power for people over the services they receive – is central to the values outlined in the paper. Information, advice, advocacy and support with decision-making, are all key to ensuring that people can exercise autonomy. Every resident in the care home has a consent to care and treatment form in place that they must agree to before care can be carried out. This means they agree to information sharing, intervention from GP’s and nurses etc. If the resident is unable to give signed consent but it appears they can give  verbal consent than their next of kin can sign for them. However, if the resident is unable to give signed or verbal consent, than this would affect their informed choice as a Mental Capacity Assessment and Best Interests Assessment is carried out. For most residents in the care home, making complex decisions and choices requires additional support as the majority have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia. There are different processes for decision making when considering choices. An informed choice is when an individual is supported to make a decision, and as a senior, I have a responsibility to provide residents and their families with all the necessary information to make those decisions. It is important to be mindful of the range of accessible information the individual requires in order for them to make the decision, and this decision must be unbiased and evidence based. It is important to also consider how the resident communicates and who else may need to be involved such as family members, GP’S social workers etc. Many of the residents have a Power of Attorney in place which covers finances, and approximately four residents have a Lasting Power of Attorney which covers health and welfare. In this case, decisions can be a lot harder to make as a family member may have the final say regardless of the residents values, which should always be upheld. This is because the resident may not be able to express their wishes due to a decline in their mental illness. The residents are however, protected by the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.