Health Needs Assessment Proposal (2,000 words) Essay

Health Needs Assessment Proposal (2,000 words) - Essay Example HNA for the two boroughs; getting started, identifying health priorities, assessing the health priority, planning for change and lastly reviewing the entire process. Newham is the most ethnically diverse borough in London, experiencing the highest birth rate and having one of the highest rates of deprivation, ill health and early deaths (NHS 2009, pp. 91). According to Aston-Mansfield.org (2011, p. 4) the most recent data on employment in Newham indicates that it had the lowest employment rates in London, standing at 56.2% in 2008-09 and 59.5% in 2009-10 in comparison to London’s averages of 62.7% and 68.1% for the two years respectively. The diverse culture and high levels of deprivation and unemployment translate to existence of several health problems and health inequalities in Newham and thus lower health and wellness levels than London’s average. Redbridge on the other hand enjoys a similar or better health and well-being than London’s or England’s average as evidenced by significantly lower levels of most health considerations such as drug abuse, accidental injuries and teenage conceptions and generally a greater life expectancy (JSNA 2008, p. 58). The borough is similarly considerably multicultural, and bears health inequalities and problems (Trust for London and New Policy Institute 2010, Redbridge 2007, pp. 74-75). The decision to select these two boroughs was informed by the fact that they share a lot of considerations in terms of health needs assessment and yet have totally different health achievement profiles. The considerations for this step include the choice of population and the justification, the objectives of the HNA, the stakeholders to be involved, the resources required, the challenges and ways around them and lastly appraisal of the step (Cavanaugh and Chadwick 2005, p. 23). The populations selected in this proposal are the inhabitants of Newham and Redbridge boroughs. The subpopulations under question in both the boroughs are the

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection Essay Alan Litchman and Laura B. Trust, Co-Presidents of Finagle a Bagel, own a bagel business in Boston (Parrino, Kidwell, Bates, 2012). Alan and Laura met in business school and after gaining business experience in other industries they purchased the bagel business with the intent of growing it as much as possible. They have two primary target markets: 1) retail stores and 2) wholesale accounts with large institutions. In this paper, we will briefly discuss a few of the strategies they used to manage their working capital. The owners of Finagle a Bagel were tired of working for other people so they decided to buy one new business. They have used several financial concepts to manage the financial accountability of their small business. They have controlled costs from the beginning of the process to the delivery of the product, as well as the administrative costs. Other items that have been highlighted are the management of cash flow, payback, and the schedule of cash entries, which has allowed the company to pay its debts. They have established a good relationship with the banks in order to negotiate the time frame for payments and rate. Suppliers are also a key success factor for the company, as the payment terms are negotiated to match the flow cash. The company’s focus is to maintain its financial management so that the business may grow and return large profits. The Finagle a Bagel also has a policy of recognizing the hard work of their employees. The owners believe that managers and employees are responsible for the success of the company. Together, the company is growing in a sustainable and financially healthy way. According to Alan Litchman, when making any investment, first one has to understand what the demand for the new product is going to be, and what kind of product can be made with the new equipment (Parrino, Kidwell, ba tes, 2012). Alongside his wife, Mr. Litchman explained how important it is to understand the company’s performance and opportunities to better apply capital investment in the company. They both explained, in their own words, the importance of setting up strategies and planning before putting a new product on the market. The couple also spoke about debt. Laura Trust said that debt is ‘a necessary evil’ and sometimes taking debt has its benefits if compared to finding capital through other means, such as pursuing a partner (Parrino, Kidwell, Bates, 2012). In this case they did not want to take a venture capital partner because the owners wanted to have authority  when making business decisions, thus avoiding ‘working for someone else’ (Parrino, Kidwell, Bates, 2012). This shows that the owners prefer a business structure like a sole proprietorship. Lastly, the fact that interest rates have been dropping for small business also supported their decision to take on debt to invest in the company. The couple is very educated when making business decisions, as they understand that even when a company has financial resources, the business gains more by obtaining financial resources from banks with small interest rates, while allowing the resources they have to generate dividends with higher interest rates. This is generally called borrowing ‘cheap money’ (Investopedia, 2014). Finally, credit is also discussed. They mentioned trade credit, which is the amount of time given to pay back vendors for the products bought. The longer the term, the better, as it allows time to receive revenue before having to pay the debt. This is another very important recommendation on how to properly use cash flow and avoid taking on debt. Overall, Alan Litchman and Laura B. Trust demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to manage their capital so that their small business continues to grow and increase their net profits, despite economic challenges in the community and the country. References Investopedia. (2014). Cheap Money. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cheap-money.asp Parrino, R., Kidwell, D., Bates, T. (2012) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, (2nd Ed) John Wiley Sons Inc.

Optical Fiber Sensors and Conventional Sensors

Optical Fiber Sensors and Conventional Sensors ABSTRACT This study deals with the comparison of the two types of sensors which are widely used in civil engineering, namely, conventional sensors and optical fiber sensors. Temperature and displacement are the two principal parameters which are measured with the aid of Fiber optic sensors. Bragg Grating, Interferometric, Intensity Sensors, and optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) are some of the techniques which are used for sensing. In this study, various case studies have been undertaken and have been analyzed. With the aid of these case studies, a detailed analysis and comparison of the sensors is carried out. Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION In the last two decades, the world has witnessed a revolution in the sectors of optoelectronics and fiber optic communications. Various products such as laser printers and bar code scanners which have become a part of our daily usage, are a result of this technical revolution only. The reasons for the phenomenal growth of the fiber optics are many. The most conspicuous reason being the ability of the fiber optics to provide high performance and highly reliable communication links and that too at a very low bandwidth cost. As we see that optoelectronic and fiber communications industry has progressed a lot, and along with these industries fiber optic sensors have also benefited a lot from these developments. Due to the mass production in these industries, availability of fiber optic sensors at a low cost has been made possible in recent years. With their availability at affordable costs, fiber optic sensors have been able to enter the domain which was otherwise being ruled by the trad itional sensors. In recent years, the demand for the development of new materials to strengthen, upgrade and retrofit existing aged and deteriorated concrete structures has increased rapidly. The continuing deterioration and functional deficiency of existing civil infrastructure elements represents one of the most significance challenges facing the worlds construction and civil engineers. Deficiencies in existing concrete structures caused by initial flawed design due to insufficient detailing at the time of construction, aggressive chemical attacks and ageing of structural elements enhance an urgent need of finding an effective means to improve the performance of these structures without additionally increasing the overall weight, maintenance cost and time. In the last 50 years, a large number of civil concrete structures have been built; many of these structures, particularly in off-shore regions have now deteriorated and require repair in a short period of time. Moreover, the increase of traffic volume and population in many developing countries is causing the demand to upgrade existing concrete structures to increase. The damage of reinforced concrete (RC) structures through reinforcement corrosion and residual capacity are the most important issues that concern engineers. These problems occur not only in constructed concrete structures but also in structures strengthened by externally bonded steel reinforcements. In the past, the external steel plate bonding method has been used to improve strength in the tensile region of concrete structures with an epoxy adhesive and has proved to be successful over a period of 20 years. However, the use of steel reinforced plates and bars has its disadvantages including high corrosion rates, which could adversely affect the bond strength and cause surface spalling of the concrete, due to volumetric change in the corroded steel reinforcements. Since the early 1980s, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials have been used as a replacement for conventional steel materials for concrete strengthening applications. In recent years, the interest in utilizing FRP materials in the civil concrete industry in forms of rods, plates, grid and jacket has grown increasingly. When an FRP plate with high tensile strength properties bonds on the concrete surface, it can strengthen the structure with minimum changes to its weight and dimensions. FRP offers substantial improvement in solving many practical problems that conventional materials cannot solve to provide a satisfactory service life of the structure. Unlike the conventional steel materials, FRP is corrosion resistant. The beneficial characteristics of using the FRP in concrete construction include its high strength-to-weight ratio, low labour requirement, ease of application, reduced traffic interruption during repair, cost reductions in both transportation and in situ maintenance for a long-term strategy. Its high damping characteristic also attracts more structural engineers to use these materials for seismic retrofitting. Due to the increasing use of FRP-plate bonding techniques in strengthening civil concrete structures, the interest in finding a suitable means of monitoring the structural health conditions of these strengthened structures has therefore increased substantially. Since strengthened structures are covered by the FRP plates, the mechani cal properties of the concrete may not be measured or detected easily through conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, such as strain measurements using surface mounted strain gauges or extensometers, radiography, thermography and acoustic emission methods, particularly in areas with microcracks and debonds underneath the externally-bonded plate. Besides, these structural inspection technologies, in certain cases, require special surface preparations or a high degree of flatness in the concrete surface. These requirements may be hard to achieve, particularly for an area that is exposed to a harsh environment. During the 1990s, a multi-disciplinary field of engineering known as ‘Smart Structures has developed as one of the most important research topics in the field.The structure is formed by a marriage of engineering materials with structurally-integrated sensor systems. The system is capable of assessing damage and warning of impending weakness in the structural integrity of the structure. Fibre-optic sensor technology is a most attractive device currently used in the aerospace and aircraft industry for on-line monitoring of large-scale FRP structures. The development of distributed fibreoptic sensors, which provides information on a large number of continuously distribution parameters such as strain and temperature is of great interest in most engineering applications.11,12 The sensors are embedded into a structure to form a novel self-strainmonitoring system, i.e. the system can self-detect its health status and send response signals to operators during any marginal situation during service. The embedding sensor, due to its extremely small physical size, can provide the information to a high accuracy and resolution without influencing the dimension and mechanical properties of the structure. Fibre-optic sensors present a number of advantages over the conventional strain measuring devices: (a) providing an absolute measurement that is sensitive to fluctuation in irradiance of the illuminating source; (b) enabling the measurement of the strain in different locations in only one single optical fibre by using multiplexing techniques;(c) having a low manufacturing cost for mass production; and (d) its ability to be embedded inside a structure without influencing the mechanical properties of the host material. A new development of ‘Smart materials and structures was driven by a strong demand for high performance over recent years. A system integrated into structures and being able to monitor its hosts physical and mechanical properties such as temperature and strain, during service is appreciated as a ‘Smart structural health monitoring system. The term smart material and structure is widely used to describe the unique marriage of material and structural engineering by using fibre-optic sensors and actuation control technology. The smart structure is constructed of materials that can continuously monitor their own mechanical and physical properties, and thereby, be capable of assessing damage and warning of impending weakness in structural integrity. This design concept results in improved safety and economic concerns regarding the weight saving and avoidance of over-designing of the structure in the long run. In Fig. 1, a schematic illustration of the structures possibilities created by the confluence of the four disciplines is shown. In the figure, a structure invested with actuating, sensing and neutral networking systems to form a new class of adaptive structures is shown. A structure with integrated sensor or actuator systems i s able to provide a self-structural health monitoring or actuating response, respectively. If both systems are integrated together into a structure, the sensor and actuators can act as nervous and muscular systems, like a human body, to sense the conditions such as mechanical strain and temperature of the structure (a smart structure) and to provide control of such changes of stiffness, shape and vibration mode (a controlled structure). The combination of these two systems into one structure is called a ‘Smart adaptive structure. This structure with a built-in neural networking system, like a brain, is then able to self evaluate the conditions, which are based on changes of structural parameters, thermal conditions and ambient environments to give an appropriate mechanical adjustment. This structure is commonly called an ‘Intelligent adaptive structure. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY There has been an unprecedented development in the fields of optoelectronics and fiber optic communications. This in turn, has brought about a revolution in the sectors of telecommunication and various other industries. This has been made possible with the aid of high performance and reliable telecommunication links which have low bandwidth cost. Optical fibers have numerous advantages and some disadvantages. The advantages include their small size, resistance to electromagnetic interference and high sensitivity. On the other hand, some of its disadvantages are their high cost and unfamiliarity to the end user. But its great advantages completely overshadow its minor disadvantages. So, in this study an attempt is being made to compare the modern age fiber optic sensors with the conventional sensors. Also, with the aid of the case studies, the impact of fiber optic sensor technology on monitoring of civil structures is studied (McKinley and Boswell 2002). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT In the past various kinds of sensors have been used in civil engineering for measuring temperature, pressure, stress, strain etc. And as the optical fiber sensors spread their wings, the civil engineering is bound to gain a lot from these modern sensors. Presently, there exist a number of problems with the existing civil infrastructures. These civil infrastructures such as bridges etc. have a pretty long service period which may amount to several decades or maybe even hundred years. Thus, during this time period, these structures suffer from corrosion, fatigue and extreme loading. Since concrete is used mostly in these civil infrastructures, it degradation is a major issue all over the world. The amount of degradation and the time when the degradation starts depends on various factors and is inevitable and unavoidable. Thus, in order to keep these civil structures in good condition, it becomes necessary that their condition be monitored and adequate steps be taken. Thus, we need sensors which can monitor these structures throughout the life of these structures. Thus, in this study the impact of fiber optic sensors is studied on civil structures. 1.3 OBJECTIVES There are a few objectives that are planned to be achieved at the end of this project, these are: A general discussion on the present state of structural monitoring and the need of fiber optic sensors in this field A general study on Comparison between Conventional Sensors and Optical Fiber Sensors Review of Case Studies on Fiber Optic Sensors application in Civil Engineering Structures 1.4 WORK PLAN Discussion, reading and observation Problem identification through reading, discussion and observation of the area studied Understand and identify the background of problem Studying feasibility and needs to carry out the investigation Identification of the Title for the project Identify the aim, objective and scope of the project Literature Review Understanding the background of the problem Understanding the history of the sensor technology in structural monitoring Carrying out literature survey on generic technologies of sensors for concrete structures Identify the types of sensor involved in monitoring the structural in civil engineering Identify the technique used and the working principle for each type of sensors (in particular optical fiber sensors) Case Study Choose the relevant and related case study for discussion Describe important aspects of case study Analyze the use of sensors in the case study Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations Discuss the similarities and differences Discuss the technical facets of sensor application Draw the overall conclusion for this project Give some recommendation for future Chapter 2: APPLICATIONS These days the fiber optic sensors are being used for a variety of applications, the most prominent of them being: Measurement of rotation and acceleration of bodies Measurement of electric and magnetic fields Measurement of temperature and pressure of bodies Measurement of acoustics and vibrations of various bodies Measurement of strain, viscosity and chemical properties of materials Measurement of surface condition and tactile sensing Measurement of sound , speed and proximity of bodies Determination of color and weight of different objects Measurement of linear and angular positions and this is widely utilized in civil engineering structures 2.1 ADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTIC SENSORS Like with any other technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages using fiber optic sensors. The prominent advantages being: Fiber optic sensors are lightweight and this is of great importance in case of engineered structures Fiber optic sensors are of smaller size as compared to the traditional sensors Also, fiber optic sensors consume less power as compared to the traditional sensors Along with this, these sensors show high resistance to electromagnetic interference as compared to the traditional sensors On top of this, fiber optic sensors have enjoy high bandwidth and high sensitivity as compared to their traditional counterparts Fiber optic sensors are usually embedded in objects and due to this, these sensors can gain access to areas which till date remain inaccessible with the aid of traditional sensors Also, these sensors are accurate over a greater dynamic range as compared to the traditional sensors Fiber optic sensors are also capable of being multiplexed which again is a further advantage over their traditional counterparts Also, fiber optic sensors are capable of distributed measurements which gives them an edge over and above the traditional sensors Last but not the least, they also show greater environmental ruggedness as compared to the traditional sensors 2.2 DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTIC SENSORS But all this is just one side of the coin. Though on seeing these advantages, it might appear that fiber optic sensors are way too advanced as compared to the traditional ones, but it is not exactly true. These fiber optic sensors also have some disadvantages due to which their advancement in todays world has been somewhat curtailed. The major disadvantages of fiber optic sensors are: Fiber optic sensors are quite costly as compared to the traditional sensors. Due to this, many people still consider traditional sensors to be a better option in cases where cost is a major consideration. Secondly, these sensors have come into prominence only in the last two decades. Due to this, people appear to be somewhat less educated regarding their usage and operations. And this unfamiliarity with the usage of these sensors, has proved to be a major hurdle in being able to capture the whole market. Also, these sensors are considered to be more fragile as compared to the traditional sensors which raises a question over their adaptability in extreme conditions Also with the fiber optic sensors there exists the inherit ingress/egress difficulty Fiber optic sensors usually have a non-linear output which is a cause for concern in some applications From the above discussion, we can see that as is the case with any other new technology, there are both merits and demerits of fiber optic sensors. But, what is worth considering here is that the advantages of this technology are much more than its disadvantages and are able to outweigh them. Also, from the demerits which are mentioned here, it is clear that these demerits are bound to wither away as this technology develops and gains more prominence. 2.3 APPLICATIONS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING Now we come to the discussion of the need and applications of the fiber optic sensors in the field of civil engineering structures. The monitoring of civil structures has a great significance in todays world. Today, we not only need to construct reliable and strong civil structures, but we also need to monitor these structures in order to ensure their proper functioning and their safety. Also, with the aid of the monitoring of various parameters of the structures, we can get knowledge about state of the building and by using this data, we can in turn plan the maintenance schedule for the structure (Mckinley, 2000). Also, this data can give us an insight into the real behavior of the structure and can thus take make important decisions regarding the optimization of similar structures which are to b e constructed in future. The maintenance of the structures can be approached in one of the two ways, namely: Material point of view- In this approach, monitoring is concentrated on local properties of the materials which are used in the construction. In this approach, we observe the behavior of the construction materials under the conditions of load, temperature etc. In this approach, short base length sensors are usually utilized. Also, it is possible to get the information about the whole structure with the aid of extrapolation of the data obtained from these sensors. Structural point of view- In this approach of measurement, the structure is viewed from a geometrical point of view. In this approach, long gauge length sensors appear to be the ideal choice. In this approach, we will be able to detect material degradation only if this material degradation has an impact on the form of the structure. In the recent years most of the research work which has been carried out in field of optic sensors has been in the field of material monitoring rather than structural monitoring. It is also worth mentioning here that, more sensors are required in the case of material monitoring as compared to structural monitoring. We know that civil engineering requires sensors that can be embedded in the concrete, mortars, steel, rocks, soil, road pavements etc. and can measure various parameters reliably. Also what should be taken into account is that these sensors should be easy to install and should not hamper the construction work or the properties of the structure in any derogatory manner. Also, it is common knowledge that at the sites of civil engineering, there exist the unavoidable conditions of dust, pollution, electromagnetic disturbances and of unskilled labor. Thus, the sensors to be used in these cases need to be rugged, should be inert to harsh environment conditions and should be easy to install and their installation could be carried out by unskilled labor. Along with all these things, it is imperative that these sensors are able to survive a period of at least ten years so that they can allow for a constant monitoring of the aging of the structure. Thus, we see that the fiber optic sensors ca n prove to be quite handful in civil engineering applications and structures. In the past various kinds of sensors have been used in civil engineering for measuring temperature, pressure, stress, strain etc. And as the optical fiber sensors spread their wings, the civil engineering is bound to gain a lot from these modern sensors (Vurpillot et al., 1998). Chapter 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ON FIBER OPTIC SENSORS Fiber optic sensors are of many kinds, but they can be broadly classified into two types, namely, extrinsic fiber optic sensors and intrinsic fiber optic sensors. There is a great deal of difference between these two types of fiber optic sensors and this difference is discussed in detail below. 3.1 EXTRINSIC FIBER OPTIC SENSORS This type of fiber optic sensor is also known as hybrid fiber optic sensor. As we can see in the figure above that there is a black box and an input fiber enters into this black box. And from this input fiber, information is impressed upon light beam. There can be various ways by which the information can be impressed upon. Usually this information is impressed upon the light beam in terms of frequency or polarization. This light which then posses the information is carried away by the optical fiber. The optical fiber now goes to an electronic processor. (Vurpillot et al., 1998) Here, in the electronic processor the information which is brought along by the fiber is processed. Though we can have separate input fiber and output fiber, but in some cases it is preferred to have the same fiber as the input fiber and the output fiber. 3.2 INTRINSIC FIBER OPTIC SENSORS The other type of optic fiber sensors is the intrinsic fiber sensors. An example of an intrinsic fiber sensor is shown in the figure below. The working of the intrinsic fiber sensors is somewhat different from the working of the extrinsic fiber sensors. In the intrinsic fiber sensors, the light beam is modulated and we rely on this modulation in the fiber in order to carry out the measurement. In the figure above, we can see an intrinsic fiber sensor or what is also known as all fiber sensor. 3.3 INTENSITY BASED FIBER OPTIC SENSORS While there exist various kinds of fiber optic sensors today, but the most common of these sensors is the hybrid type fiber optic sensor which depends upon intensity modulation in order to carry out the measurements (Zako et al., 1995) In the figure below, we can see a vibration sensor. In this vibration sensor, there exist two optical fibers. The functioning of this fiber optic sensor is quite simple. In this fiber optic sensor, light enters from one side. And when this light exits from the other side, it exits in the form of a cone and the angle of this cone depends on two parameters. The two parameters upon which the angle of this cone depends are: Firstly, it depends on the index of refraction of the core Secondly, it depends on the cladding of the optical fiber Also, the amount of light captured by the second optic fiber depends on a number of factors. The prominent factors on which the amount of light captured depend are: It depends on the acceptance angle It also depends on the distance â€Å"d† between the optical fibers Another type of fiber optic sensor is the flexible mounted mirror sensor. The important characteristics of this sensor are: In this case, a mirror is mounted which is used to respond to external parameters such as pressure. The modulation in intensity is caused the shifts in the mirror position. These sensors are used in a variety of applications such as door closures. In a door closure, a reflective strip is used. These sensors are used to measure small variations and displacements 3.4 LINEAR POSITION SENSORS In todays world, linear position sensors have become widely applicable. They are being used for various purposes (Zako et al., 1995). In many of the linear positioning sensors, wavelength division multiplexing is used. An illustration of the linear position sensor is shown in the figure below. The various components of this linear position sensor are: It consists of a broadband light source It consists of various detectors as shown in the figure above It also consists of wavelength division multiplexing element which acts as the principal component of this instrument. It also consists of an encoder card In the example above, a broadband light source is utilized. The light from this broadband source is carried to a wavelength division multiplexing system with the aid of a single optic fiber. The wavelength division multiplexing system is used to determine the linear position. Another linear motion sensing method which is very widely used today and is quite similar to the method discussed above is known as the time division multiplexing method. This method is illustrated with the aid of a figure shown below. In this method instead of a broadband light source a light pulse is used. Here, the combination of the returned signals takes place. As a result of this combination of the returned signals, the net signal which is produced moves onto the position of the encoder card. The main areas in which these intensity based fiber optic sensors have found application are: In commercial aircrafts In military aircrafts In these applications these modern sensors have performed quite well and are at par with the performance of the conventional sensors. But, because of the various advantages these sensors enjoy over and above the conventional sensors, these modern sensors are bound to replace the conventional sensors in the years to come. 3.5 LIQUID LEVEL SENSORS This is another type of intensity based fiber optic sensor. In the functioning of this sensor, the principle of total internal reflection is utilized. Thus, in these sensors the refraction index of the glass and the fiber occupy the pivotal role. These sensors can be utilized for a variety of purposes. The most prominent of its applications are: Measurement of pressure changes in gels Measurement of pressure changes in various liquids Measurement of refractive index changes in gels Measurement of refractive index changes in different types of liquids Measurement of the level of a liquid in a vessel and this application is utilized in various industries to measure liquid levels These sensors have an accuracy of about 5 percent and are gaining importance in various industries for their usefulness. 3.6 SOFO SENSORS These are fiber optic sensors which are utilized for strain measurement. These sensors have become quite popular owing to their innate merits. Out of all the fiber optic sensors, these sensors are the ones which are being used most extensively today. These sensors are being used to measure curvature and various other parameters in giant civil structures. These sensors form a part of the interferometric system (Vurpillot et al., 1998). Also, these sensors have the ability of measuring the parameters in an absolute manner using low-coherent light. The important properties of these sensors are: These fiber optic sensors enjoy a high resolution. The resolution of these sensors is 2  µm These sensors can be of varied lengths. Their length can be as small as 0.2m or can be as large as 20m. Also, these sensors have the property of being temperature compensated The SOFO system setup consists of a number of equipments. The main components of the SOFO system setup are: It consists of a fiber optic sensor which forms the crux of this monitoring system. It is the most important component of the monitoring system. It consists of a sensor chain with partial reflectors. One terminal of this sensor is connected to the coupler Another terminal of the sensor chain with partial reflectors is connected to the LED. The coupler in turn is connected to the photo diode and a mobile mirror. This whole portable reading unit is connected to portable computer terminal. This ensures that that the whole monitoring system can be taken to the location and can be directly used at site. These sensors can be utilized in two ways. They can either be embedded in the structure at the time of the construction of the structure. Or, they can used to measure the various parameters externally. Though in both the cases, that is, in case of embedding or in the case of external anchoring, the performance of the sensors remains the same, but still, in modern smart structures, embedding is preferred (Perez 2001). This is because, in the case of embedded sensors, the sensors continuously measure the parameters and are easy to manage. Whereas in the older structures, where embedding is not preferred, external anchoring is used. Chapter 4: CASE STUDIES Case study 1: Monitoring of San Giorgio pier San Giorgio pier is a massive concrete structure. Its length is about 400metres. It

Free Epic of Gilgamesh Essays: Themes of Gilgamesh :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

Themes of the Epic of Gilgamesh  Ã‚   Many themes are incorporated into the story line of Gilgamesh. These include three very important concepts: death is inevitable, immortality is unachievable, and friendship is a necessity. One of the main themes in the epic is that death is inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the fact that he will die.   He denies the truth, because he does not want to think about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him. "And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart, it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16). "'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified. I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12). The theme of death being inevitable leads to another theme, similar to the first. This is that immortality is unachievable, shown through similar examples as the first theme. Gilgamesh realizes that immortality is not obtainable after his quest for it. He discovers that the quest was pointless, because he will die regardless of the steps to prevent his death in the future. "'Never has a mortal man done that, Gilgamesh'"   (Tablet IX, Column III, 8). "'The fate of mankind overtook him... In fear of death I roam the wilderness...Me, shall I not lie down like him, never again to move?'" (Tablet X, Column II, 3, 8, 13-14). "'From the beginning, there is no permanence'"   (Tablet X, Column VI, 32).

“Owls” by Mary Oliver Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In this excerpt from â€Å"Owls† Mary Oliver writes with grave, and pensive to consider her towards nature by indicating the complexities of one’s response towards nature. Her usage of figurative language to visualizing the surrounds of the flowers, her metaphors to control the interpretation of the owls and her imagery of the yin and yang point of view in her essay to fully describe the owls and the flowers. Oliver’s use of figurative diction produces a vivid image for the reader to engulf themselves in. The thrilling description of the great horned owl in a tree, depicting the owls a â€Å"pure† hunter of the world. The author explains that the owls are â€Å"merciless† against other animals generating a predator that is fearless in his hunt for his prey. The author is constantly placing labels upon the owls such as â€Å"death-bringer† to associate the owl with the cause of death. The author’s use of imagery to create a contrasting view of nature such as a yin and yang portray. The owl represents the yin of these cynical unforgiving creatures of â€Å"razor-tipped toes† displaying a rough character that terrifies any other creatures. While the yang of the flowers is dream-like and serene â€Å"red and pink and white tents† that truly embody the light and joy; the two are compared even through their colors of these â€Å"night† and light characters of nature. Contrasting is a major focus which the author uses throughout the excerpt about the characters of nature. Oliver depicts the â€Å"screech owl on her wrist† to explain the complicated characters of nature. Even though this great horned owl is terrifying, Oliver still is in amazement of it. She says it would become the main purpose of her life. While â€Å"the scream of the rabbit† in â€Å"pain and hopelessness† is terrible, it is not comparable with the â€Å"scream of the owl† which is of â€Å"sheer rollicking glory.† Nature has extremes, and the owl is the extreme of terror. The flowers, however, represent the extreme of happiness. Through parallelism, Oliver exemplifies the happiness given by the fields of flowers. The flowers have â€Å"sweetness, so palpable† that it overwhelms Oliver. Henceforth, Oliver though the use of diction her creates shift in the tone of the piece from cynical to serene. By translating from death and predator-prey owls to â€Å"immobilizing happiness† flowers, she primarily used contrasting views and lots of imagery to convey her view of nature different characters.

Early American History Up To 1865

Early American History Up To 1865 Free Online Research Papers In the early 1600’s John Smith led an expedition to the new world accompanied by gentlemen from his homeland in order to establish a new settlement called Jamestown. They came ill prepared and did not have very many tools to guarantee their success, so when they first arrived their task at hand proved to be very difficult. Aside from not having the necessary means for survival, the new settlers we constantly under attack or at constant odds with the Indians who inhabited the land when they arrived. The Algonquian Indians were headed by a fierce leader who was feared by his followers as well as some of the new immigrants to the country; his name was Powhatan. Chief Powhatan was the type of chief that could make his subordinates tremble with just one look of disapproval. He was a fierce warrior and for decades, helped the Indians maintain sovereignty over their land. His successor and half brother Opechancanough took over the task of being the leader of the Algonquian people in the event on Chief Powhatan’s untimely death. He was also a great warrior and was actually responsible for taking John Smith captive in 1608 and bringing him before the chief for judgment. This is when it is said in history that the chief’s daughter Pocahontas intervened on his behalf. Her marriage to John Rolfe brought a period of peace to Jamestown which ended abruptly when chief Powhatan died in 1618. After the Indian Massacre in 1622, Chief Opechancanough gave up on peace with the settlers and instead resorted to force to regain their power in the land. They lost the fight ultimately and the chief was shot in the back by a solider who was guardin g him. Before Chief Opechancanough was killed, however, there was another significant war going on with other Indian settlements. In 1637, an armed conflict between Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies allied with various Indian tribes against the Pequot Indians took place and was called the Pequot War. The Pequot sought to aggressively extend their land and trade control through the Connecticut river valley while other colonies were interested in the same things. The conflict ended with the Pequot people being almost comepletely exterminated. The Virginia colony was not totally free from uprisings after the Indian conflicts. In 1676 there was another unrest that is called Bacon’s Rebellion. It was led by colonist Nathan Bacon and was originated because of the taxes being imposed on citizens for the building of forts. Nathan Bacon was arrested for the disturbance but was released after his followers forced his freedom at gunpoint. Further along in history, an African American inventor named Eli Whitney revolutionized the cotton industry in the South and actually helped the North win the Civil war. He invented the cotton gin and interchangeable parts and opened the door for a wave of technology that would change how the world operated. He was forced into litigation over his patents for his inventions, however, and in turn spent a lot of his profits from the inventions on court and lawyer fees. Stephen F. Austin also a very important figure in the colonization of America especially in the South. He started off running the family business which was a store in their home town but eventually was appointed judge in Arkansas. He began a colony after his father’s death in 1821 in present Fort Bend County and was known for bringing the first settlers to Texas known as the â€Å"first 300†. Our state capitol is named for him. Before we had the constitution as we know it today, there existed another document that governed us. It was called the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. It provided for orderly settlement of the western United States, made new states in the union equal to the old ones, and provided that Congress agreed that everyone had full citizenship and access to all rights. It is also sometimes known as the â€Å"old constitution† . Quock Walker was a slave who helped the state of Massachusetts take part in the first case that actually based the legality of slavery on the 1780 constitution. He sued his slave owner for assault and battery under the grounds that he was a freedman. He won fifty pounds from his case and was able to keep his freedom. Research Papers on Early American History Up To 1865Where Wild and West MeetNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This Nice19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2PETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaBringing Democracy to AfricaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

Immigration and Discrimination essays

Immigration and Discrimination essays Since the birth of America, the United States has been a place of hopes and dreams for the downtrodden trapped by poverty, famine, and political instability in their homelands. These masses have historically turned to the United States as a way to make a better life for themselves and their families, but these people have not always found the lives they dreamed of making in the United States. The United States has a rather shameful history of treating its immigrants poorly. Immigrants throughout the history of the United States have been avoided, persecuted, and discriminated against; and yet they have borne these overwhelming burdens because as miserable as their conditions in America have been, they have always been better than those in their homelands. The Chinese immigrants to this country in the mid-nineteenth century had several motivations for leaving their homeland. Some came to the United States to escape the turmoil of the Opium War that had taken over China at the time. This conflict between China and Great Britain exploded when the Chinese government outlawed the importation of opium and ordered the destruction of British opium stored in the city of Canton, at which Great Britain immediately declared war on China(Morrow 29). This conflict, combined with the vast problems of poverty and famine in China caused many of the Chinese to look toward the United States for a solution. Around the same time these events were taking place in China, the California gold rush was picking up momentum in the United States. Only a handful of Chinese were living in the United States when gold was discovered in 1848, but news of the discovery soon reached China. According to one account: ...many saw this as an opportunity to escape the extreme poverty of the time. Many peasant families were forced to sell one of their children, usually a girl, in order to survive. Paying forty dollars cash or signing a contract to repay one hu...

Marijuan issue essays

Marijuan issue essays Californias Medical Marijuana law Under federal law using marijuana in anyway is illegal. But starting on 1996 California passed proposition 215 making it legal to smoke marijuana if you have a serious illness and you need to obtain a doctors recommendation first. This law was passed because marijuana lessens pain and stops nausea from resulting from serious diseases. It also lowers the internal eye pressure associated with glaucoma which slows the process of blindness. It reduces the pain of AIDS patients plus it makes them hungry because of those suffering malnutrition because of AIDS wasting syndrome. It also reduces muscle spasticity and chronic pain because of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and spinal cord injuries. In 1998 the U.S. government sued the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative (OCBC) in federal court for violating the Controlled Substances Act. They want to do this because proposition 215 is very loose. For example to be order to get marijuana you would have to have a illness but it also say that you can use it for any other type of illness for which marijuana provides relief which could be stress, headaches, upset stomach, insomnia....or anything else. You wouldnt even need a written prescription to get it. Anyone with a oral recommendation or approval by a physician can grow, possess, or smoke marijuana. Even little kids can smoke pot legally if they have a prescription. Plus there is no FDA approval for marijuana. The quality, purity and strength of the drug is unregulated. The Government wanted the OCBC to be ban from distributing marijuana to patients. But the OCBC in there defense said that it acted out of medical necessity because of seriously ill citizens, and that such a medical necessity should be an exception to the law. But the district court favored the U.S. government, which caused the OCBC to shutdown. But In May 2001 the Supreme C ...

Periodontal Disease and Diabetes Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Periodontal Disease and Diabetes - Article Example Greater gingival bleeding has also been observed among patients whose diabetes is poorly controlled than among those with well-managed diabetic conditions. Failure to treat gingivitis, which is a milder form of periodontitis, causes it to advance to the fully blown periodontitis, which is characterized by an inflammation around teeth (Taylor, Preshaw & Lalla, 2013). Prevalence and vulnerability varies in people with different ages. Children suffering from type 1 diabetes are at higher risks (more than five times) than those without diabetes but with similar levels of plaque. In adults, type 2 diabetes increases the risk of periodontitis three times more than those without diabetes. Poor glycemic control is the key exposure to the disease among such adults. Studies found similar pathogens in periodontitis sites among adult patients with type 2 diabetes. Further, hyper-inflammatory immune cells in diabetic patients increases insulin resistance, complicating the inflammation caused by periodontitis even more (Taylor, Preshaw & Lalla, 2013). These findings influence the professional career in dental hygiene, and practitioners should discuss the relationship with their patients. They should advice patients to have healthy lifestyles and avoid diets that increase susceptibility to diabetes, which may ultimately affect their dental health. Taylor, J., Preshaw, P., & Lalla, E. (2013). A review of the evidence for pathogenic mechanisms that may link periodontitis and diabetes. Journal of Periodontology, 84(4), 113-134.

Astronomy in Japan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Astronomy in Japan - Research Paper Example The ease, by which astronomy was accepted in old Japan was perhaps related to the fact that it complements the Japanese mythology, which is also institutionalized by the government. The Sun goddess Amaterasu has a central role in governance through the royal family, then there are the Moon God, and the stars and how they are interrelated and how their festivities are celebrated to strengthen Japanese traditions and rituals. It appeared that astronomy along with its place in religion gave some form of legitimacy to the myths that forms the anchor of the imperial tradition. From its first introduction in Japan to the present, astronomy have always been important to the Japanese culture. It is easy to understand this because it suits how the Japanese generally see the world. This is demonstrated best in how it is easily integrated in the Shinto traditions. Astronomy is compatible with the Japanese way of life, it reinforced their religion as well as their imperial traditions. Najita reflected this best when he said that human knowledge must rest ultimately on the proposition that the universe is an infinite absolute preceding all human and historical experiences and that what men know, therefore, must be tested with reference to the best-know science of studying the universe, which is astronomy. This is why, although, astronomy is not a Japanese invention, Japan was able to embrace it and a achieve a kind that is uniquely its own.

Entrepreneurship questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Entrepreneurship questions - Assignment Example This discussion shall focus on the earning based approach together with its strengths and weaknesses. Moreover it will focus on factors that may affect franchising over the next ten years. This mode of business valuation is based on the concept of predicting the probability of a business to make profits and more wealth in future. In this case, the valuator may undertake various forms of calculation majorly based on determining future income cash flows by using a company’s records indicating past earnings as well as other records indicating general information of past performance. This is specifically done by creating a normalcy of expected revenue and the multiplying it with a specific capitalization factor. One of the strengths of the earning-based approach is the fact that it involves the use of simple computing methods such as the Price Multiple Earnings. Moreover, this method has been considered relatively more accurate as compared to other methods like asset based approach. One the other hand, it is quite challenging to attain 100% accuracy with this method making its greatest weakness. Increasing business competition is one imperative factor that will affect franchising over the next ten years. This is due to the fact majority of upcoming businesses are exposed to high rates of competition with already established businesses thus compelling them to use business models of these already established businesses. Moreover, varying economic factors i.e. fluctuation of prices that majorly affects new small scale businesses may affect franchising over the next decade; this may compel such enterprises to franchise with already established and financially stable businesses. "EARNINGS VERSUS CASH BASED VALUATION TECHNIQUES." EARNINGS VERSUS CASH BASED VALUATION TECHNIQUES. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

Politic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Politic - Essay Example With globalization, the roles of the states are affected economically, technologically, socially, and politically as they govern their people. Due to such political arrangements, similar jurisdictions have emerged that are influencing political and economic decisions of the independent states. A pattern is thus emerging whereby states are making political progression and regression together, causing states to become developmental (Lake, 2006). The roles of states have changed in the face of globalization since some of them have high independence on others due to their economic power and influence on international decisions. United States is one of the countries in the world who is known to exercise authority over other states by influencing the manner in which they make decisions (Lake, 2006). Since the World War II, most of the western states like Britain and France started working closely with the United States leading to a more dependent scenario. Currently, most countries in Europe formed the European Union that facilitated their dependence on each other in decision-making purposes. The European Union is also known to work closely with the united states thus further fostering high dependence between the states thus in turn erodes their sovereignty. Britain together with other European countries now highly looks at the United States as an authoritative power to lean on. United States acts as the global power that other states depended on due to their increased capacity, will, and international acceptance to provide leadership. Due to globalization, many decisions of sovereign states are based on judgments of their allies, friends, and even enemies (Elmawazin, Sherif & Manga, 2013). In technological perspective, globalization has allowed barriers between states to be broken through technological globalization. The states role has changed due to the formation of an

Discuss how authors critique gender roles in thire noveles Season of Essay

Discuss how authors critique gender roles in thire noveles Season of Migration and Beer in the snooker club - Essay Example Salih writes about characters from poorer parts of northern Sudan while Ghali writes about city people in Egypt. The main characters in both of these books are male. The men in the books also meet a number of women and from time to time there is discussion of gender relations in British society and in their homeland also. Contact with Western society, and with London in particular, makes the authors think about potential changes to local family and social relationships, and especially to gender roles. In the first novel it is quite difficult to work out what the author’s views on the topic of gender are, because the male narrator has quite a different perspective from the other main character, Mustafa Sa’eed. The village in which they meet is rather traditional which means that life runs on the basis of Islamic law. The narrator describes his family, with emphasis on his grandfather who is a good male role model for him. There are also a number of elderly males who make a lot of sexist jokes about women. One of these characters, Wad Rayyes, seems to represent the dominant view : ‘He had been much married and much divorced, taking no heed of anything in a woman except that she was a woman, taking them as they came, and if asked about it replying â€Å"A stallion isn’t finicky†.’ (Salih: 66) The narrator observes this behaviour and repeats the animal comparison when he says (Salih: 81) â€Å"Wad Rayyes, who charged women as he charged donkeys†. This kind of womanizing behavior is also displayed by Mustafa Sa’eed who goes after several different British women when he is in London. He actually marries Jean Morris and she compares him to â€Å"a savage bull that does not weary of the chase† (Salih: 33). The fact that Sa’eed kills Jean Morris and drives several of his lovers to suicide underlines the aggression that this character feels in his romantic relationships. At one point Sa’eed describes his bedroom in

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons Research Paper

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons - Research Paper Example As such, the Iranian government continued with their projects to generate energy meant to serve its population that was more than 75 million, where political and other aspects took over the thinking portion over nuclear technology. Following this, political forces came into being, where they viewed nuclear technology as more than a technology meant to generate energy and power for its people. This became the driving force away from mere energy production and into production of nuclear weapons, a project that America and other world powers are against. Estimates to nuclear capability in recent times show that Iran stands a good chance to develop their uranium and include it in the production of weapons of mass destruction. This is especially so for nuclear weapons, as there is evidence in recent suggesting that the country stands a chance to begin uranium enrichment. Reasons for the pursuit of nuclear weaponry by Iran lie in the attempts by American to impose their opinions and ideolo gies on Iranians through their support for their initial nuclear project. This created the idea that the Iranians were being sidelined in their own land and in their own projects in that to them the Americans intended to take over that which belonged to them. With this in mind, the main cause that can be attributed to the deviation from the original plan can be seen in the prisoners of insecurity. This is because with nuclear power, where power stands for nuclear capability in weapons, the Iranians stand a chance to have power to eliminate threats and not be victims of world powers influencing them. In addition, the move from nuclear power to pursuits of nuclear weapons can be attributed to an aspiration of prestige, where Iran and Iraq have a bitter rivalry for the control or power in the Persian Gulf region (Dorraj 326). With nuclear capabilities, Iran stands a chance to overcome other regional and international powers, where it can manage to negotiate its way into and out of deal s that are not suitable. This also translates to international recognition as a nuclear arsenal has helped some countries into positions of power on an international scale as it also depicts the presence of technological advancement. The reasons for Iran having pursuits for nuclear weapons can therefore be attributed to image of Iran towards the outside world and the international community, as well as the state of security of the country from external forces. The consequences of Iran and its pursuits of nuclear weapons have been sanctions against Iran, where policy makers have been formulating sanctions to curb the spread of the nuclear pursuits and prevent its development. Sanctions have been employed by the US, where it has used its foreign policy to ensure that it threatens Iran against developing nuclear weapons, where its economic ability has been the main weapon. As a result, the United States has sanctioned Iran by curtailing political, economic and diplomatic relations as i t is considered to use its nuclear capabilities to fund and support terrorist activities, as well as oppose Israel (Cohen 10). The sanctions, however, have not worked to ensure that the pursuit ceases as the sanctioned aspects of Iran have been taken over by other countries that have sought to take over that which ten Americans and other countries t

Politic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Politic - Essay Example With globalization, the roles of the states are affected economically, technologically, socially, and politically as they govern their people. Due to such political arrangements, similar jurisdictions have emerged that are influencing political and economic decisions of the independent states. A pattern is thus emerging whereby states are making political progression and regression together, causing states to become developmental (Lake, 2006). The roles of states have changed in the face of globalization since some of them have high independence on others due to their economic power and influence on international decisions. United States is one of the countries in the world who is known to exercise authority over other states by influencing the manner in which they make decisions (Lake, 2006). Since the World War II, most of the western states like Britain and France started working closely with the United States leading to a more dependent scenario. Currently, most countries in Europe formed the European Union that facilitated their dependence on each other in decision-making purposes. The European Union is also known to work closely with the united states thus further fostering high dependence between the states thus in turn erodes their sovereignty. Britain together with other European countries now highly looks at the United States as an authoritative power to lean on. United States acts as the global power that other states depended on due to their increased capacity, will, and international acceptance to provide leadership. Due to globalization, many decisions of sovereign states are based on judgments of their allies, friends, and even enemies (Elmawazin, Sherif & Manga, 2013). In technological perspective, globalization has allowed barriers between states to be broken through technological globalization. The states role has changed due to the formation of an

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons Research Paper

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons - Research Paper Example As such, the Iranian government continued with their projects to generate energy meant to serve its population that was more than 75 million, where political and other aspects took over the thinking portion over nuclear technology. Following this, political forces came into being, where they viewed nuclear technology as more than a technology meant to generate energy and power for its people. This became the driving force away from mere energy production and into production of nuclear weapons, a project that America and other world powers are against. Estimates to nuclear capability in recent times show that Iran stands a good chance to develop their uranium and include it in the production of weapons of mass destruction. This is especially so for nuclear weapons, as there is evidence in recent suggesting that the country stands a chance to begin uranium enrichment. Reasons for the pursuit of nuclear weaponry by Iran lie in the attempts by American to impose their opinions and ideolo gies on Iranians through their support for their initial nuclear project. This created the idea that the Iranians were being sidelined in their own land and in their own projects in that to them the Americans intended to take over that which belonged to them. With this in mind, the main cause that can be attributed to the deviation from the original plan can be seen in the prisoners of insecurity. This is because with nuclear power, where power stands for nuclear capability in weapons, the Iranians stand a chance to have power to eliminate threats and not be victims of world powers influencing them. In addition, the move from nuclear power to pursuits of nuclear weapons can be attributed to an aspiration of prestige, where Iran and Iraq have a bitter rivalry for the control or power in the Persian Gulf region (Dorraj 326). With nuclear capabilities, Iran stands a chance to overcome other regional and international powers, where it can manage to negotiate its way into and out of deal s that are not suitable. This also translates to international recognition as a nuclear arsenal has helped some countries into positions of power on an international scale as it also depicts the presence of technological advancement. The reasons for Iran having pursuits for nuclear weapons can therefore be attributed to image of Iran towards the outside world and the international community, as well as the state of security of the country from external forces. The consequences of Iran and its pursuits of nuclear weapons have been sanctions against Iran, where policy makers have been formulating sanctions to curb the spread of the nuclear pursuits and prevent its development. Sanctions have been employed by the US, where it has used its foreign policy to ensure that it threatens Iran against developing nuclear weapons, where its economic ability has been the main weapon. As a result, the United States has sanctioned Iran by curtailing political, economic and diplomatic relations as i t is considered to use its nuclear capabilities to fund and support terrorist activities, as well as oppose Israel (Cohen 10). The sanctions, however, have not worked to ensure that the pursuit ceases as the sanctioned aspects of Iran have been taken over by other countries that have sought to take over that which ten Americans and other countries t

Goals Essay Example for Free

Goals Essay I have always believed to set a goal, focused on it, achieve the goal and then again set another goal to achieve that. With the work experience of two years that has imparted the basic skills and knowledge of the professional field; I would like to put my next step to achieve my goal by pursuing Master degree in Management Information System. Information technology is a further step to mankind. After completing my under graduate study in Computer Engineering, I worked in a software company where I got chance to hone my mind in the information management field. Working as a software engineer mainly in the database field for the two projects in the Inland Revenue Department and Nepal Telecom, my main assignments were to handle the information in a systematic and secure way. I was part of the software team from the preliminary investigation of the software development to the final review. And here where I knew the importance of the data and data turned information. My working environment is also one of the motivating factors that pushed me towards obtaining a degree in Information System. During my under graduate studies, I with my three friends undertook projects in library management system and Regional Information Provider (A project on Geographical Information System), both focusing on how we can collect the data, how we can process them and how we can get the result. Our project paper proposes the two major factors in the field of management and information system: First, how we can formulate the data. And, secondly, how we can get the secure information and store the information. The Library Management System was a project which demonstrated about the items (mainly books) owned by the library, availability of the items and information of the students who have borrowed the items. Similarly, Regional Information Provider was my major project which visualizes the concept of Geographical Information System. It was built using the Arc View 3. 0 software. It demonstrated the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu city. All the information about the rivers, colleges, schools, hospitals, market place, bus stops, roads etc. of the city was driven by the project in a systematic and efficient way. I took data mining and data warehousing and Internet/Intranet in my undergraduate studies and they were the stirring factor for me to do my projects in information system. From the last decades, the capabilities of both generation and collection of data has been increasing in great pace. The main factors include the computerization in all the sectors such as business, science, government and management. In addition to these, the World Wide Web which is a global information system has loaded us with a tremendous amount of data and information. The present scenario of online banking transactions is a good example of the need of secure and convenient information system. This explosive growth in stored data has generated an urgent need for new techniques and tools that can intelligently assist us in the management of data and information. So, defining new methods and utilizing the present tools of managing information system in a more efficient way could be a flourishing frontier in the information field for the days ahead. Beside we should not forget: The need is great in the future. The present world is surrounded by the data and information field. On one hand, these data present the potential for us to discover useful information and knowledge not seen before. On the other hand, we are limited in our ability to manually process large amounts of data to discover useful information and knowledge. So, the need of better tools and application as well as the reliable methods of utilizing the data and information is the eminent necessity of not only today’s world but the future also. The real-time processing and analysis of various data and information should be realized. There should be a constant evaluation of the system indicating relatively strong work handling capacity and expansion capacity; useful for optimization, reduction of management risks, and improvement of information efficiency. Through my academic and professional experiences, I have found that, in order to further increase myself as an asset to the information industry, I need to pursue course work in management information system that examines the fundamental principles of information systems and security, which I have discovered fits well with the research interests of outstanding faculty members in the area at University *Name*. Beside I have set up my mind to have a doctorate degree in Information Technology and I will be glad to join the PhD program in Information Technology in the university (if the university has the program) after the completion of my master degree. The University has a worldwide reputation, and commands great respect in my homeland of Nepal. As my understanding the university provides a supportive environment for opportunities in research. Through my academic career as well as my professional work, you can clearly see my passion and dedication to everything that I will undertake. I am confident that I will develop invaluable research skills while having the privilege of interaction with accessible professors and intellectually-gifted colleagues. I have a strong belief that one of the most important elements in pursuing a successful academic career is to have a good mentor who can closely guide you academically, and as a person, as well. I have achieved every success through strong willpower and persistence. I believe that life is a long journey and my present application for the University, arguably the best university in the world, is my new attempt to scale new heights. In order to develop software by a computer/software engineer he/she has to know about processing data in an accurate and systematic way. And I know the Master degree in Management Information System provides the kind of exposure needed to broaden my thinking and undo my insular prejudices that might be still prevalent in me.

Developing Corporate Entrepreneurship

Developing Corporate Entrepreneurship Introduction Todays economy is experiencing its ups and downs very quickly: rising competitiveness and fast changing technologies create pressure to the companies that want to stay at the top of their markets. This is not going to slow down, so the need for tools of success is arising. At the same time we are moving away from the Morris and Kuratko (2002) belief that entrepreneurs are born, not made. That is why the wanting, believing, hoping, planning must be followed by doing. As already Confucius said: When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, dont adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. It is time for action and one form of it that suits different businesses nowadays is Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE). As it was stated by Sharma and Chrisman (1999), corporate entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or group of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new organization or instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. There are lots of definitions for CE nowadays, but all of them do not change the fact that CE is a tool for differentiation and competitive advantage in todays economy. In order to make a go of this phenomenon, organizations have to develop their strategies how to implement the entrepreneurial spirit in the everyday practices. In this way corporate entrepreneurship spontaneous or induced by the company itself will be not rare and unexpected, but in contrary, become a tool of overcoming inside issues, as well as external pressures. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management A lot of researches, studies were conducted in order to discover the inevitable truth that CE positively affects the performance of a company: it creates competitive advantages, helps to differentiate, adapt to new or quickly changing markets, and deal with external and internal challenges. As CE is seen as a multifaceted tool, the intensity of CE in an organization can be described by five different dimensions identified in a meta-analysis by Saly (2001): innovativeness, risk propensity, proactiveness, corporate venturing and self-renewal. When creating an organizational structure, as well as inside culture, these dimensions should be a scale measuring the future success of a company. Dealing with the globalization and fast moving changes, a company must take risks, be proactive and strive for innovation. Nurturing these traits, adapting to the environment (self-renewal) and fostering creation of something valuable that generates returns are CE key success factors in the economy of today. Of course no CE can be fostered without Human Capital (HC). In order to become an innovative, entrepreneurial organization needs the knowledge, skills, experience the HC can provide. This is why HC should be one of the most important and valuable assets for every organization. Investing in HC should be a first step towards building and encouraging the entrepreneurial direction of the overall company. As from the employee-organization relations (EOR) literature (Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002), the strongest influencers of employee affect are the organizations leaders. Their Human Recourse Management (HRM) practices can valuably contribute to effective enhancement of CE. Different HRM techniques can create a suitable inside culture for an organization to become innovative, flexible and more entrepreneurial. Each HRM practice can be addressed to different employee characteristics and in this way design the employee-organization relationships towards a collective entrepreneurial collaboration. Therefore EOR strengthened with HRM practice can become an efficient tool for creating a collective entrepreneurial atmosphere inside any organization. As organizations nowadays become living entities, diving into the trend of organizational learning, there is less fear that it will develop a strategy and become stagnant. That is why the HRM practices also evolve during the life of a company. Introducing new projects, renewal of the staff with different KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) needed at the time, allocating resources needed for development and inside learning all this organizational support is now more a necessity than luxury. So, understanding that without a learning attitude and readiness to change according the situation, any HRM practices will not be able to influence the companys corporate entrepreneurship level, is vital. Following the idea of George Bernard Shaw: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. HRM practices fostering CE inside the company HRM practices should be an important driver of CE because it involves organizational learning driven by collaboration, creativity, and individual commitment (Kaya, 2006). To foster CE in a company the first task is the set up of internal culture and environment (studies show there have to be available resources, management support and a reliable organizational structure right at the beginning in order for a company could start entrepreneurial activities). Following different studies conducted on the topic of CE and HRM practices, how to establish a suitable internal environment for intrapreneurship seems to be based on these organizational arrangements/managerial tools: Staff selection the objective of staff selection is to form an appropriate resource base of HC to foster entrepreneurial activity. As the HC of any company is one of the most important facilitators of CE, selective hiring can be a tool for influencing the CE level. The selection criteria should fit the organizations culture, be in line with the CE dimensions and reflect the needs of the company. During the process of selecting staff it is beneficial to think about the skills needed in the industry the company operates, how the employees could work together and create a brain trust. Emphasizing the team spirit is very important, because the prominence of collective entrepreneurship is growing. New members should have new ideas and complement the staff by being different and experts of their own sphere. New management staff should have relevant KSAOs, be creative, strive for action and be supportive. Finally, a possibility to grow in ones own career should also be seen during this process, because it will serve as a motivation tool and foster better environment in the company. Management support the positive attitude as well as encouragement of the higher hierarchy levels of the company for generating and developing new business ideas. Management support is important because it indicates the willingness of the managers to facilitate, promote and institutionalize the entrepreneurial spirit and activity within the organizations system and processes (Hornsby et al., 2002) which would encourage the intrapreneurs to engage in innovative projects. If the organization provides support and some autonomy it can then count on the commitment coming from employees. Still coordinating the use of resources, contributing to the fulfillment of the separate individual suggestions or efforts will end up with an increase of overall efficiency. Management support for problem solving and conflict resolution in the intrapreneurship process is required in the idea generation, development, and particularly implementation (execution) stages of the ideas (Damanpour, 1991). This will positively influence a corporations entrepreneurial behavior and enhance potential intrapreneurs perceived trustworthiness to their corporations in terms of detecting opportunities and willingness to develop novel or useful ideas, and/ or projects, and to take risks to actualize them (Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990). Internal supportive environment, tolerance for risk taking to their intrapreneurs, and a high quality HC will contribute to the innovative performance. Companys 3M approach could be taken as an illustration of the management support importance. This firm understood and experienced that capable and motivated employees can turn the company into a profitable, innovative and successful organization. That is why the management was trying to create an environment that supports individual entrepreneurship: a climate that stimulates ordinary people to produce extraordinary performances. Allocation of free time provision of sufficient time to work on developing novelties without any burden of routine workload. Delivery of free time inevitably encourages employees to take risks for putting their novel ideas into practice. When given time for convincing the management level about your project success, employees are not so distracted from their main duties and usually show more commitment towards the company. But this creates a necessity for additional control that the allocated free time would be used for purposes that benefit both sides. Here it comes out that before any significant changes there is a need of HRM practices that boost mutual understanding, better ties between employees and the organization, and make sure their values and visions are on the same path. Organizational structure should be convenient concerning decentralization level or decision-making autonomy. Employees should have the opportunity to express and suggest their ideas easily. The suitable decentralization level differs among every company, but it is a tool to become more flexible, innovative, and active suit the dimensions of CE. If organization provides autonomy for employees who actually carry out the work, this will stimulate their commitment to act in the best way for the company. Having a balanced relationship between autonomy and discipline creates an environment where employees can act, take weighted risks and innovate towards successful outcomes of the company. Companies that are becoming rigid really slow down all the innovative processes as well as cannot implement all of the possible improvements. When thinking about new ventures, projects in order to boost the competitive advantage and profitability of the company it is important they fit the organization in terms of context and organizational structure. There is a possibility to foster integrated or separate CE. For better understanding of the importance of these practices some companies can be taken as an example. Analyzing the case of the company Polaroid, one can see that the impact of bureaucracy, biases and downsizing was a big obstacle for nurturing inside entrepreneurship. The company was big-sized and stagnant, becoming a market follower. The entrepreneur in this company (Joline Godfrey) experienced difficulties to introduce her project because of the hard-to-reach attention of the managers, not flexible organization culture. The inside culture was also not women-friendly and did not show enough interest in projects that were not fully in the area the company operated. In such cases, when an organization becomes rigid, does not answer market needs mostly because of the compilation, slow processes CE must be fostered and implemented. One of the first steps should be an entrepreneurial-oriented structure that allocates the power of decision making not to the higher level employers, but takes into account the employees who know the most about the projects being undertaken. In the case of Lucent (a telecommunication equipment manufacturer), their New Venture Group formed a separate organizational entity. This entity was operating as a base of research for new opportunities, products, and businesses. Being separate has its advantages, because in this way the formed CE device does not suffer from the bureaucratic rules of the parent company, still can use the support needed, creates its own inside environment and culture that can foster CE more easily. That is why, when forming new entrepreneurial project each company has to evaluate its fit in the organization. Usually small projects are of better use inside the company: they can be accessible for all employees, motivate them to work on their projects too, but at the same time not to be too distracted from the mainstream of the company. An example of such an approach would be the case of the company Ohio Bell. The program ENTER-PRIZE (Excellence Through Employee Innovation) was designed in order to support, reward the employees who had ideas how to cut operating costs or generate revenues. This program was an implemented cultural change of the Ohio Bell company. Being nurtured inside the company and connected with all employees, this project had the best place inside the company, fitting the mainstream operations and concept. Fostering innovative ideas, this program was also a good example of the power of rewards towards CE growth. Incentives and rewards availability of a performance based reward system encouraging innovativeness is a way to foster entrepreneurship among employees. If the management tries to convince the employees to act like intrapreneurs, it must also be willing to pay them as entrepreneurs (Thornberry, 2003). Having trust in the rewarding system boosts the employee commitment, willingness to take risks and reveal the projects that could benefit both sides. A reward system that is based on achievements in innovation projects, may lead the brightest and most ambitious players to avoid innovation projects with uncertain outcomes. Building a reward system shows a positive attitude towards the employees and can significantly increase their motivation to benefit the organization. It is important to see the reward practices as a long-term thing, make resources available and not punish the employees straight after the first failure of an entrepreneurial project. Failure or errors tolerance in case of creative undertakings or risky project implementations. Such showed tolerance together with managerial support is a strong tool creating positive environment for CE. A conservative managerial attitude will block the willingness to innovate and cause lack of confidence of the employees. In order to overcome the possible frustration, organization should support the HC even during failures and continue investing in the projects that have high potential. Taking failures as an inevitable step towards success will help to maintain the level of confidence for further innovations and profitable ideas. Of course, in order not to lose control and take healthy risks, companys should build an organizational mechanism to decide which innovation projects are likely to bear fruits and which should be cast aside without having trial-errors. For example, a well known company 3M implemented a more disciplined approach to defining, selecting and funding projects. Instead of running 100 of them as earlier, the process shifted to 12 projects from which 10 are expected to be successful. In this way companies are more oriented, quickly reacting and can create true competitive advantages through expedient CE. Training and development appropriate abilities can be acquired through training and development strongest results towards boosting CE. Training can overcome the factors that decrease employees job performance and satisfaction. Staff development seen as activities that increase employees qualifications and performance at all hierarchical levels through education, career management, and work structure. All these practices can promote entrepreneurial behavior and improve the environment in the company. Training programs should be oriented towards building useful CE skills, fostering the dimensions of it inside the company: change acceptance, willingness to take risks, assume responsibility, and the value of teamwork and shared achievements. Training activities that enforce interpersonal skills should be fostered. Also training that supports creativity will strengthen innovativeness and potentially strengthen self-renewal and new business development. Finally, training on how to transf er new ideas into business will lead to higher intensity for risk propensity and proactiveness. For effective training, programs should fit the companys strategy and work process. To unfold their full effect on CE, expert knowledge, social competence, creativity, and methodical expertise are especially important to be considered. Specialist assignment specialists can anticipate and estimate specific problems earlier and thus identify needs for modifications more quickly. As CE is more often seen as a collective process, instead of putting the emphasis on one individual, firms must encourage cooperation among specialists to increase successful innovation processes. This is stressed because as environment impacts on organizational behaviors it is also seen in change of relationships between employees and employer or managers inside the organization. In order to become competitive and innovative, firms have to adopt new strategies, as well as different employee-organization relationship (EOR) patterns. The importance of this is significantly growing, because corporate entrepreneurship involves not only product innovation, risk taking or proactive responses to environmental forces, but also organizational learning, driven by collaboration and commitment. Here the collaboration of specialists could be seen as a link between employees, managers and their potential to foster corporate entrepreneurship together. As it can be observed in the Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI), a company that confronted financial and inside environment problems with a program called Change Agent Program, managerial support, concentrated staff selection and employee training and development are the tools that foster corporate entrepreneurship spirit and help to overcome the downturn a company can experience. The Change Agent program looked to replace Siemens Nixdorfs rigid corporate hierarchy with a more flexible and entrepreneurial attitude that would be more responsive to market demands. The company operated in a very competitive European market, was undermanaged and over consulted. As the employees at SNI experienced restructuring at the company during the early 1990s and four years of losses, the inside culture was far away from a company one could call innovative and lead thinking (as the ones operating in IT industry in US). The program though was focused on employees, emphasizing the importance of the people at the company and expanding the opportunities open to them. The goal of the 13 week program was to build an understanding of business fundamentals and business change along three dimensions: customer, competitiveness and culture. It combined presentations, discussions, workshops, case studies, best practice site visits, internships, and coach research. An important goal was to provide participants with new perspectives about their projects and give them the know-how to implement them upon return to the company. The programs aimed to have the sponsors (each member had two of them) provide leadership, guidance and support in order to help them achieve their project goals. This is also an example that specialists assistance is a tool fostering corporate entrepreneurship and improving the employees input. It was also aiming to help find innovative ways to approach and implement their projects. Each participant of the program had a project drawn from the area that concludes the most important challenges the company faces which were fostered by the program and implemented upon the employees return to SNI. Although the 21 Change Agents had varying degrees of success, it was clear that they played a role in driving SNI to profitability in the 1994 1995 fiscal year (for the first time in the companys history). That was reflected in the decision by the SNI Executive Board to perpetuate the Program on an annual basis. Such training and development programs foster collective and individual entrepreneurship inside the company. This example shows how important it is that such tools would fit the aim and strategy of the whole company. By addressing the right problems, training the right people (at SNI they were thoroughly selected) this training program helped the company to enhance the communication within the company, improve its international operations, flexibility and determine new possible directions. The employees felt the more entrepreneurial spirit of the companys culture and were able to channel their enthusiasm for changes and revitalization, feel more responsibility, and support what opened the ways for their projects. Conclusions Having the goal of being visible, active in todays global economy requires established companies to become more and more entrepreneurial in order to handle uncertainty and environmental dynamism. As the importance of CE is growing, more scholars are interested to define the specific tools that help to create and benefit from the CE inside the company. Different studies provide positive relationships between HRM practices and CE. As knowing the importance of qualified HC, so the management practices become a source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations. CE-related HR practices are unique to the extent that competitors cannot imitate them. Nevertheless the support from HR practices must be in line with that particular organizational culture and consistent with what is needed from employees. Considering the combined effects of all the OS factors, managerial support and tolerance for risk taking have still exerted significant effects on innovativeness. That is why firms should invest to build such an organizational environment where first, support and tolerance exist to a large extent. On the other side, organizations should spend more time on recruiting and training managers to be supportive and hold a philosophy that failure is a stepping-stone to success. As seen, HRM practices play a significant role in fostering and maintaining high levels of CE. Having a CE-friendly environment, companies should focus on the HRM practices of staff selection, staff development and training, and staff rewards that align employee motivation and entrepreneurial firm development. These practices show the highest correlation with innovative outcomes and positive CE results. Learning from the previously discussed real life examples it is obvious that CE is a complex phenomena to handle for different organizations. But the conclusion, that corporate entrepreneurship is a success factor in todays dense economy, stays the same. In order to foster the entrepreneurial culture inside the company it is important to maintain the focus on all possible sources and adapt the HRM practices to use them beneficially. LITERATURE: Employee-organization relationship in collective entrepreneurship: an overview. Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano,   David Urbano.   Journal of Organizational Change Management.  Bradford:2010.   Vol. 23,   Iss. 4,   p. 349-359 Boosting corporate entrepreneurship through HRM practices: Evidence from German SMEs. Ralf Schmelter,   RenÈ Mauer,   Christiane Bˆ rsch,   Malte Brettel.   Human Resource Management.  Hoboken:Jul/Aug 2010.   Vol. 49,   Iss. 4,   p. Organizational support for intrapreneurship and its interaction with HC to enhance innovative performance. Lutfihak Alpkan,   Cagri Bulut,   Gurhan Gunday,   Gunduz Ulusoy,   Kemal Kilic.   Management Decision.   London:2010.   Vol. 48,   Iss. 5,   p. 732-755 L.A. Hill, N.A. Kamprath and M.B. Conrad (1992), Joline Godfrey and the Polaroid Corporation (A), Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 492à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 037. Chesbrough, H.W. and Massaro, A. (2001) Lucent Technologies: The Future of the New entures Group, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 601à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 102 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 19. Bartlett, C.A. and Mohammed, A. (1995) 3M: Profile of an innovating company, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 395à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 016 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 20. Kanter, R.M., McGuire, J.F. and Mohammed, A. (1997) The Change Agent Program at Siemens Nixdorf, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 396à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 203 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 17.

Frank Gehry Essay -- Biography Biographical Essays

Frank Gehry Quote â€Å"When everybody else is ready for the ending, I’m just ready to begin,† Frank Gehry once wrote. â€Å"It’s been the story of my life† (qtd. in Templer, 1999, pp.1) Laying the Foundation Born on 28 February 1929 in Toronto, Canada, Frank O. Goldberg entered a household with a strong Polish and Jewish heritage. Twenty years earlier, Thelma Caplanski left Poland with her parents, a couple with deep religious morals. Once they settled in Toronto, the two decided to change their last name to Caplan. The owner of a hardware store, her father was also the president of a synagogue. His wife, Frank’s grandmother, was said to have good visual abilities. Thelma would continue working with the Jewish community through a Yiddish theater and the Jewish Women’s Organization as she raised Frank. Like several of Howard Gardner’s figures, Frank was close with his mother and grandmother. Frank’s father, Irving Goldberg was born to Polish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York. He lived a hard life and had to work as a kid after his father died when he was 11. Since Irving liked to fight on the streets for money, Frank would learn these skills at a later age. Frank would later be a boxer and participated in full contact karate. When Irving moved to Canada as he moved from job to job, he met Thelma and they ultimately got married. A good student, Frank went to a Hebrew school and his best subject was math; he even spoke Yiddish (Hines, 1986). In later years, his French schooling would give him an advantage while he worked in Europe (Hines, 1986; Templer, 1999). For seven years, he worked in his grandfather’s hardware store where he began to notice the variety of supplies th... ...tions, Inc. Kandela, P. (2001). The buildings of Frank Gehry. The Lancet, 358, 677-678. Levene, R. C., et al. Frank Gehry 1991-1995. El Croquis, 74/75, 5. Temko, Allan. (1993). No Way to Build a Ballpark: and Other Irreverent Essays on Architecture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. Templer, K. (1999, October 5). Frank Gehry. People. http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/10/05/gehry/print.html (2001 November 14). Frank Gehry: Architect. Guggenheim Museum. http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/gehry/biography.html (2001 November 14). Frank Gehry:Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate 1989. Complete List of Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureates 1979 – 2001 http://www.pritzkerprize.com/gehry.htm Picture Web Links: http://www.pritzkerprize.com/gehry/gehrypg.htm http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/gehry/ http://www.frank-gehry.com/projects.htm