Othello, The Shakespearean Tragedy Of Great Eclat

Othello, the Shakespearean tragedy of great à ©clat, the work that has captured the recognition of many spectators, readers, and observers. Fascinated by the popular analysis, and multiplex of themes, ranging from jealousy and love, or perhaps honor and betrayal, Othello has become intrinsic to the way one lucubrates the literary and theatrical arts, and has become indispensible in understanding Shakespearean literature. However, taking the analysis further than the ostentatious front put on by Shakespeare, one can distinguish a more malignant warrant to Othello s attractiveness to the reader, and the actions and courses he takes throughout the piece, as well as multiple developments and symbolic moments, that are deeply entrenched ideological stances of patriarchal oppressiveness, and misogyny. It is with this excogitation of the text, and the performance that one can access the truth-value of Shakespeare’s thoughts on the nature of human relationships that are revealed in O thello. The understanding of Shakespeare’s ideology and take on the nature of human relationships is found in multiple instances within developments of each act within Othello: First, the use of what Freud calls the Madonna-Whore complex within the developments of each act; Next, The use of the female characters and the way they are developed in each act to meet the ideological expectations of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan norms and to the patriarchal Venetian society that Shakespeare develops, and finally;

An Analysis of The Negro Speaks of Rivers Essay - 952 Words

The 1920s and 1930s were the years of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance. This period of the Roaring Twenties is said to have begun around the end of the war and lasted well until the Great Depression. Partially due to the migration of more and more African Americans into the north of the United States, the national literature, arts and music movement developed into something, until then, completely new and literary modernism spread further (Perkins and Perkins 212). The 1920s were a time of immense change, with women becoming eligible to vote, alcoholic beverages become prohibited to sell, and later on the crash of the stock market (Perkins and Perkins). With modernism and the invention of new things like the television, Americans†¦show more content†¦One of his earliest poems, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, was written in 1921, long before Hughes would actually travel the world. However, without knowing the authors background and history, one might think it was written b y a wise man of old age. Having only lived in various places in the United States, Hughes wrote this poem of an African American man who has seen the world, full with things many people never get to see, that nourished his soul and formed bonds with humans deepest roots. The four rivers the narrator is mentioning, the Euphrates, the Congo river, the Nile and the Mississippi river, are all of great importance not only in the lives of all human beings, but slaves in particular. The Euphrates is said to be the longest river in Southwest Asia as well as the worlds oldest river overall. As mentioned in the poem, the Euphrates is â€Å"ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins† (Hughes 222), at least figuratively speaking since the Euphrates is approximately 450.000 years old (Muhesen 95-105). This ancient river has been a place of human settlement since the very beginning, and its water has made life possible for those who settled down close to it. In a way, thisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Negro Speaks Of Rivers796 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† - Langston Hughes â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† by Langston Hughes is a 10 line lyric poem in free verse. This poem is compiled of 5 stanzas with various line lengths. â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† doesnt rhyme, however, the repetition of the word â€Å"rivers† insinuates transition. This essay focuses on the importance of the word â€Å"rivers† throughout the poem because it discusses the origins of humanity and the interplay between racism and equality. Hughes discusses theRead MoreAnalysis of Langston Hughes ´ The Negro Speaks of Rivers927 Words   |  4 PagesHughes has tried multiple times to reconnect with his father, but it never succeeded. Although Langston Hughes has a complicated relationship with his father it led him to write one of the most well-known novels that gave him recognition: Negro Speaks of Rivers. Langston Hughes was born February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes’s father, James Nathaniel Hughes, left him and his mother and headed to Mexico. Hughes, his mother unable to provide for him, lived with his grandmother in LawrenceRead MoreAnalysis Of Langston Hughes Poem The Negro Speaks Of Rivers 1242 Words   |  5 PagesDaniel Lemaire Professor Merton Lee EN-101-12 28 October 2014 Essay 2 While reading Langston Hughes’ poem, â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† the theme of roots is predominant throughout the reading, this theme raises question to the whole meaning of the poem. Although the word â€Å"roots† itself is never in the actual text, it contains strong details of the poem promoting deep imagery and depiction of veins, tributaries, and the roots of the plants and trees. Hughes wanted to give the reader the illusionRead MoreAnalysis Of Langston Hughes s The Negros Speaks Of Rivers 896 Words   |  4 PagesThrough his works such as â€Å"The Negros Speaks of Rivers,† â€Å"Harlem† and â€Å"I Too, Sing America,† Hughes is able to reveal and describe the lives of African Americans early in the 20th century. Langston Hughes reveals the theme of pride in â€Å"The Negros speaks of Rivers† through the hardships of his race and the endurance and strength of his race. He analyzes how the African American race has survived, yet being enslaved and were seen as property. He writes, â€Å"I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and olderRead MoreRichard Wrights Assessment for the Negro Writers Essay1373 Words   |  6 PagesRichard Wrights Assessment for the Negro Writers Introduction Richard Wright’s plead in the Blueprint for Negro Writing could be very well summarized in one of the famous words from Thomas Kempis, â€Å"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.† In this popular essay, Richard Wright denounced the Negro writers as he perceived them to be merely begging for the sympathy of the bourgeoisie instead of striving to present a lifeRead MoreExploring the Symbolism and Historical Allusions in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers1311 Words   |  5 PagesDear Professor X, In exploring the symbolism and historical allusions in Langston Hughess The Negro Speaks of Rivers, I hoped to trace the different elements that influenced Hughes and how he viewed himself within the world and society. In the process of examining the poem and beginning to create a structure, I had to not only look at the superficial meaning of what Hughes was saying, but also look for alternative meanings of what he said. Additionally, I had to tie in my knowledge of historyRead MoreLangston Hughes Essay797 Words   |  4 Pages Hughes background and personal beliefs were quite influential in his writing and it is reflected in his tremendous discontent for the white mans world. Three of his works that that display this feeling and similar theme include The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Porter, and Refugee in America. Langston Hughes was born and educated in the South during what can be classified as Jim Crow years. Although through most of his career he did not really live in the South, he did not forget all ofRead MoreReoccurring Themes in the Work of Langston Hughes Essay1649 Words   |  7 Pagesinsight into all aspects of black life in America, including oppression, struggle, music and culture. Hughes speaks about black oppression in a full range of representation. The blacks that Hughes focuses most of his writing on are the â€Å"most burdened and oppressed of the black underclass, and people who have the most reason to despair but show the least evidence of it† (Bloom, â€Å"Thematic Analysis of the ‘Weary Blues’† 14). He tells the story of their life and times to voice his displeasure with the oppressionRead MoreThe Negro Speaks Of Rivers1548 Words   |  7 Pageshim to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, both whom Hughes would later cite as primary influences. By the time Hughes was enrolled at Columbia University in New York, he had already launched his literary career with his poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† in the Crisis, edited by W.E.B. DuBois. He also committed himself to writing mainly about African Americans. Leaving Columbia in 1922, Hughes spent the next three years in a succession of menial jobs and traveling abroad. He returned in lateRead MoreThe Criticism Of John Crowe Ransom2127 Words   |  9 Pagesdoes admit that historical studies are indispensable he claims that it is merely instrumental and cannot an end itself. Even though he recognizes the importance of historical studies he argues that historical studies should be excluded from analysis. It is true that there is a lot to gain from analyzing and paying close attention to form, literary devices and techniques that are incorporated within a poem and a certain level of knowledge of the poem can be found solely within the poem. However

Nursing Theories and Profesionalism Free Essays

string(90) " faced with a developmental conflict that impacts later functioning and further growth 3\." Term paper on â€Å"Nursing care theories and models and their application to: 1. Adult health nursing† 2. Community Health nursing† 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Nursing Theories and Profesionalism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Reproductive Health nursing† A theory is a set of propositions used to describe , explain predict and control. Nursing theory is the term given to the body of knowledge that is used to define or explain various aspects of each profession of nursing. Levels of nursing theories. * Grand nursing theories. This type of theory has the broadest scope and present general concept and propositions. Theories at this level may both reflect and provide insight useful for practice but are not designed for empirical testing. This limits the use of grand nursing theories for directing, explaining and predicting nursing in particular situations . * Mid range nursing theories. Are narrower in scope than grand nursing theories and offer an effective bridge between grand nursing theories and nursing practice. They present concept and positions at a lower level of abstraction and hold great promise for increasing theory-based research and nursing practice strategies. * Nursing practice theories. Nursing practice theories have the most limited scope and level of abstraction and are developed for use within a specific range of nursing situations. Nursing practice theories provide frameworks for nursing interventions and predict outcomes and the impact of nursing practice. Types of theories. i. Descriptive theory : it defines properties and components of a discipline, it sorts out meaning and observations and sets forth what elements exists in the discipline it identifies and describes specific characteristics of particular people, groups, situation or event. ii. Explanatory theory: identifies how the properties and components relate to each other and accounts for how the properties and components related to each other and accounts for how the discipline functions. It describes relationships among various phenomena. iii. Predictive theory: predicts the relationship between the components of a phenomenon and predicts what conditions it will occur but does not provide control. iv. Prescriptive Theory: addresses nursing therapeutics and consequences of interventions. Such theories designate under what conditions something should occur. Characteristics of nursing theory * They are interrelating concepts in such a way as to create a different way of looking at a particular phenomenon. * Logical in nature. * Generalizable. * Bases for hypotheses that can be tested. * Increasing the general body of knowledge within the discipline through the research implemented to validate them. * Used by the practitioners to guide and improve their practice. * Consistent with other validated theories, laws and principles but will leave open unanswered questions that need to be investigated. 1. ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY FLORENCE NIGHTNGALE The environmental theory is attributed to Florence Nightingale. The main focus of her theory is the control of the environment of individuals and families both healthy and ill. She discusses the need for ventilation and light in sickroom, proper disposal of sewage and appropriate nutrition. Her ideas about nursing have guided both theoretical thought and actual nursing practice throughout the history of modern nursing. Nightingale considered nursing similar to a religious calling to be answered only by women with an all consuming and passionate response. She considered nursing to be both an art and science and believed that nurses should be formally educated. . Application of environmental theory in: Adult health nursing Unnecessary noise is not healthy for recuperating patients. Nightingale advocated for a quite environment in the hospitals. Petty management proposed the avoidance of psychological harm no upsetting news strictly war issues and concerns should not be discussed inside the hospital. She includes the use of small pets of psychological therapy while nursing adult patients. Dietary intake- patients to be fed with clean food and water Light has quite as real and tangible effects to the body. Her nursing intervention includes direct exposure t sunlight. Control of room temperature- patients should be nursed at appropriate temperature With the use of Nightingales ideas hospitals became a place for people to recover rather Than a place to die. Community Health Nursing Warmth quiet and diet environment she introduced the manipulation of the environment for patient’s adaptation such as fire operating the windows and repositioning the room seasonally. Cleanliness and sanitation- she assumes that dirty environment was the source of infection and rejected the germ theory. Her nursing interventions focus on proper handling and disposal of bodily secretions and sewage frequent bathing for patients and nurses, clean clothing and hand washing. The environmental theory is utilized by modern architecture in the prevention of â€Å"sick building syndrome† applying the principles of ventilation and good lighting. Noise management- noise pollutes the environment making it unhealthy for people and can cause serious conditions e. . ear problems When for a reason hospitals did not hire their own nursing graduates nurses applied nightingales principles in the community in the development of public health nursing. Reproductive Health Nursing Good balanced diet is important to pregnant women in order to bring forth healthy children. Clean environment is an important aspect in child delivery to prevent postnatal complications; this is a clea r application of the environmental theory. 2. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES. Developmental theories are called sometimes theories of growth and development. Development models emphasize processes of growth development and maturation. Focus is also on identification of actual and potential developmental problems and delineation of intervention strategies that foster maximum growth and development of people and their environment. The theorists classified under the developmental model branch include: 1. Sigmund Freud Freud proposed one of the best known grand theories of child development. According to Freud’s theory child development occurs in a series of stages focused on different pleasure areas of the body. During each stage the child encounters conflicts that play a major role in the course of development. 2. Erick Erickson Rather than focusing on sexual interest as a driving force in development, Erickson believed that social interaction and experience played a decisive role. His eight stage theory of human development described this process from infancy through death. During each stage people are faced with a developmental conflict that impacts later functioning and further growth 3. You read "Nursing Theories and Profesionalism" in category "Essay examples" Jean Watson Caring is the most important aspect of nursing. According to Watson caring is when the nurse enters in to the experience of another person and another can enter into the nurses experiences (Watson 1989 pg 234) Her main concern in the development of this theory is to balance the impersonal aspects of nursing care that are found in the technological and scientific aspects of practice with the personal and interpersonal elements of care that grow from a humanistic belief in life. She openly recognized the clients and family’s spirituality and spiritual beliefs as an essential element of health 4. Madeleine Leininger’s Cultural care Diversity Leininger states that care is the essence of nursing a man caring and dominant distinctive and unifying feature of nursing. This model model emphasizes that health and care are influenced by elements of social structure such as technology, religious and philosophical factors, kinship and social systems, cultural values political and legal factors economic and educational factors. Along with the universal nature of human beings as caring beings, the cultural care values, beliefs and practices that are specific to a given culture provide a basis for the patterns, conditions and actions associated with human care. Application of Developmental theories: Adult health Nursing. According to Watson’s caring way, the theory helps in establishing a relationship of help and trust between the nurse and the client. Watson’s theory aids in the adult patients/clients nursing as they are able to express both positive and negative feelings with acceptance. It assists in whatever way deemed appropriate to meet the basic human needs of the client. Community health nursing Watson’s model aids in manipulating the environment to make it more supportive, protective or connective for the client with any type of disease process. Watson’s theory recognizes the client’s and family’s spirituality and spititual beliefs as an essential element of health. Reproductive Health nursing Developmental theories are useful in assessing whether a child’s growth and developmental stage is keeping pace with his chronological age. Children falling outside the normal ranges need medical and nursing interventions. Growth and developmental theories are also useful to nurses teaching parents about what to expect from their children at certain ages and stages. Through the study of developmental theories, nurses understand and should remember that although knowing characteristic traits, developmental tasks and stages is useful, each individual is unique in style and behavior. 3. INTERACTIVE MODEL. This model emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships between the nurse and the person. It focuses on identifying any interpersonal problems and providing intervention techniques to promote optimal socialization. The leading theorists of interactive model include: Hildegard Peplau’s interpersonal theory. Her theory of interpersonal relations provides a useful framework for investigating clinical phenomena and guiding nurses’ actions. Her theory focuses primary on the nurse-client relationship in which problem solving are developed. Four phases occur during this interactive process: orientation, identification, exploitation and resolution phase. Throughout these phases, the conselling, leadership, surrogate, resource person and teaching role. Virginia Henderson’s Model. The foundation of Henderson’s theory is that nurses should focus on the patients rather than the task. The core component to Henderson’s theory is for nurses to help patients become self sufficient. She emphasized the importance of increasing the patient’s independence so that progress after hospitalization would not be delayed. APPLICATION OF INTERPERSONAL THEORIES; Adult Health Nursing Peplau’s theory is significant for practice in that it propelled psychiatric nursing from custodial based care to interpersonal relationship theory based care Peplau’s theory has provided an enduring educational for teaching the nurse patient relationships as a pivotal nursing process in all contexts of practice. The therapeutic nurse patient relationship promotes active participation of patients in their health care. Peplau’s theoretical work has also promoted a paradigm of professionalization and empowerment for educating nurses for the 21st century. Nursing education has been deeply affected by Henderson’s clear vision of the function of nurses. The nursing theories of Peplau and Henderson are commonly used by psychologists and psychiatrists as well as nurses in mental health clinic settings. They provide a framework for understanding patients’ reactions to illness, birth, deaths and traumatic life events. Henderson conceptualizes the nurses role as assisting sick or healthy individuals to gain independence in meeting 14 fundamental needs. Community Health nursing. Interactive models are applied in the community as there is enhancement of social acts and relationships, through interaction of the community members and the nurse. People are able to clearly identify any problems they may have and look for intervention techniques to promote optimal socialization amongst themselves. Henderson’s theory expects society to contribute to nursing education. Reproductive health Nursing. Marriage and family-This theory can involve marriage and family planning methods for adults. This process teaches abstinence and practicing safe sex until marriage. Nurses open lines of good communication to address the concerns the client has about preventing unwanted pregnancy. Family planning programs are available to young adults interested in practicing birth control techniques and abstinence until marriage. Nurses counsel on the choice of birth control, its use or change of use. As per Peplau’s theory, the nurse assumes the teaching role and assists couples in knowledge concerning the fertility cycles. 4. SYSTEMS THEORIES. The systems model of nursing views the person as a multidimensional being who reacts continually to a world of stressors. Systems may be closed or open depending on the amount of information coming in or out of the systems. Opens systems allow for exchange of information through their bounderies. closed systems refer to rigid structures in which minimal exchange of ideas are limited. Some theorists include King Imogene, Neuman and Orem. Imogene King. His theory describes a dynamic interpersonal relationship in which a person grows and develops to attain certain life goals. Betty Neuman Her theory is a nursing theory based on the individual’s relationship to stress, the relationship to it and reconstitution factors that are dynamic in nature. The purpose of the nurse is to retain this system’s stability through the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Roy’s adaptation model. Roy’s model sees individuals a set of interrelated systems (biological, psychological and social). The individual strives to live within a unique band in which he or she can cope adequately. Nursing attempts to alter the environment when the person is not adapting well or has in effecting coping responses. According to The Roy adaptation model, the person has coping mechanisms that are broadly categorized in either regulator or cognator systems. Orem’s General theory of nursing. Orem’s theory revolves around a person centered model, in which the nurse identifies self care needs of the patient and then works as collaboratively as possible with the patient to meet those needs. The theory includes self care, self care deficit and nursing system concepts. APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS THEORY Adult Health nursing. King’s theory highlights the importance of a client’s participation in decision making that influence care and focuses on both the process of nurse-client interaction and the outcomes of care. Newnan’s system model is applied in attempting to restore the stability of the system using the primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. Neumann’s theory is also used in practice and in research. Its concentric layers allow for a simple classification of how severe a problem is the level of insult can be quantified allowing for graduated intervention. Today’s nurses use nursing diagnoses to describe patient’s problems. Orem’s self care deficits are well represented here. Roy’s adaptation theory is applied in nursing as it allows to assess patient’s stressors and abilities to cope. Nurses familiar with adaptation theories can help patients realistically appraise their stressors, examine their usual coping responses and if necessary learn new ones. By use of these theories in adult nursing, nurses can interact with the patients to facilitate achievement of health-related goals. Community Health nursing As people interact with others in the community, they must continually adjust to stressors’ in the internal and external environment Nurses can effectively provide care at the interactional systems level at which they deal with small to moderate-sized groups in activities such as group therapy and in health promotion classes. King’s theory offers insight into nurse’s interaction with individuals and groups within the environment. The role of nursing at the social systems level can be expanded to include involvement in Policy decisions that have an effect on the health care system as a whole. Orem’s self care deficit theory has been widely adopted in a variety of clinical settings like rehabilitation nursing, with its focus on addressing self care deficits in patients with physical disability or chronic illness and home health nursing which is aimed at making patients as safe and independent as possible in their own homes. Reproductive Health nursing Parenthood and stress management-Nurses taking part in family planning are available with advice after delivery of the child. This postnatal care consists of feeding techniques, health concerns for the baby as well as for the mother. Nursing give needed counseling and support to mothers who might experience postpartum depression. These theories provide the necessary guidance to couples to handle the entire process from conception to birth so that the couple can make the most of becoming a happy and healthy family. Orem’s self care theory is applies in diagnosing various reproduction disorders. Reference: * Yema M. Luhahi, Nursing Theories and professionalism, NRSG 121:RN, BSN, MPH, Senior lecturer. * Linderg and al (1998) introduction to Nursing: concepts. issues and opportunities. * Barium Barbara (1998). Nursing theory: Analysis, Evaluation, Lippincott Williams and Wikins ISBN 978. * Allender J N:(2001)Community Health concepts and practice,8th edition. * Tomey A M Alligood. MR. (2002)Nursing theorist and their work(5th edition),Mosby, Philadelphia. * Memmott,Rae Jeane,use of the Neumann systems model in interdisciplinary team. How to cite Nursing Theories and Profesionalism, Essay examples

Estimated Cash Budget

Question: Discusss about the Estimated Cash Budget. Answer: Estimated Cash Budget Particulars July - Sept Oct - Dec Jan - Mar Apr - June Professional Salaries 60,000 80,000 80,000 100,000 Secretarial Wages 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 Training 5,000 6,000 3,000 5,000 Office Supplies 5,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 Electricity 1,500 1,200 1,800 1,600 Insurance - - 16,000 - Rent 24,000 26,000 26,000 26,000 Travel 42,000 42,000 28,000 56,000 Estimated Cash Payments 167,500 193,200 192,800 226,600 As per the given question, the cash payments will be done as per the above schedule. Payment of Insurance will be done in the month of January only and hence there will not be any outflow of cash in other quarters. Adjustment in payment schedule has been done as per the given set of rules for different line items. A - Direct Labour Budget Particulars July - Sept Oct - Dec Jan - Mar Apr - June Production 21,000 41,000 41,500 51,000 Labour Hours per unit 3 3 3 3 Total Labour Hours Reqd 52,500 102,500 103,750 127,500 Hourly Rate 18 18 18 18 Total Direct Labour Cost 945,000 1,845,000 1,867,500 2,295,000 The budget schedule drawn above shows the complete picture of direct labour cost. The maximum expense is in last quarter as the production is highest in that quarter. B Factory Overhead Budget Particulars July - Sept Oct - Dec Jan - Mar Apr - June Production 21,000 41,000 41,500 51,000 Labour Hours per unit 3 3 3 3 Total Labour Hours Reqd 52,500 102,500 103,750 127,500 Factory Overhead Fixed Salary 71500 71500 71500 71500 Depreciation 31000 31000 31000 31000 Rent 60000 60000 60000 60000 Variable Indirect Material 183,750 358,750 363,125 446,250 Indirect Labour 136,500 266,500 269,750 331,500 Others 15,750 30,750 31,125 38,250 Total Factory Overhead Budget 498,500 818,500 826,500 978,500 References Nasrollah A,Misty W, (1992) "CASH BUDGETING PRACTICES AND COMPUTER USE BY AUTOMOTIVE DEALERSHIPS",International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 5 Vclav B,Petr D, (2007) "Nonlinear optimisation and rational cash flow",Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 14 Iss: 3, pp.277 292 L. Joshi,Jawahar Alà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Mudhaki,Wayne G. B, (2003) "Corporate budget planning, control and performance evaluation in Bahrain",Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 18 Iss: 9, pp.737 750 Lilià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Anne Kihn, (2011) "How do controllers and managers interpret budget targets?",Journal of Accounting Organizational Change, Vol. 7 Iss: 3, pp.212 236 Khursheed O,Andre de K,Philip H. S, (1995) "CAPITAL BUDGETING: A FUZZY SET APPROACH FOR DETERMINING EXPECTED VALUE OF CASH FLOWS",Asian Review of Accounting, Vol. 3 Iss: 1, pp.105 - 125

12 French Verbs You Might Not Be Using

12 French Verbs You Might Not Be Using Even after nearly a decade of French classes and numerous visits to France, there were some verbs that I didnt use until I moved here and was immersed in the language and culture. Some I had never learned, while others just seemed unusual or unnecessary. In case youre in the same boat, here are a dozen French verbs that I find essential in France, even if my French teachers didnt seem to think so.AssumerTo be fair, assumer is not a verb that I use every day, but I sure hear it a lot, especially in movies and TV shows. It doesnt mean to assume as in to take something for granted (the French translation of that meaning is prà ©sumer), but rather to assume / take on responsbility for something. So its very common in dramatic scenarios, like when one character does something wrong and another character tells him to accept the consequences.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aprà ¨s son accident, jai dà » assumer le rà ´le de mon collà ¨gue.  Ã‚  Ã‚  After his accident, I had to take on / assume my collea gues role.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest toi qui las fait, alors assume  !   Ã‚  Ã‚  You did it, so accept the consequences!Conjugating assumer | Using assumerSe dà ©brouillerIts funny that I only learned this verb after Id been studying French for many years, because se dà ©brouiller is perfect for describing less than perfect language skills. Possible translations include to get by, to manage, to cope. Se dà ©brouiller can also refer to getting by in non-language situations, and the non-reflexive dà ©brouiller means to untangle, to sort out.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il se dà ©brouille bien en franà §ais.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gets by fairly well in French, He speaks fairly good French.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu te dà ©brouilles trà ¨s bien.  Ã‚  Ã‚  You do very well for yourself, You make a good living.Conjugating dà ©brouiller | Using dà ©brouillerFaillirI love the verb faillir, partly because its not equivalent to a verb in English, but rather an adverb: to almost (do something).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai failli manquer lautobus.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I almost missed the bus.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elle a failli tomber ce matin.  Ã‚  Ã‚  She nearly fell this morning.Conjugating faillir | Using faillirFicherFicher has a number of different meanings and uses. In the normal register, ficher means to file or to stick/drive (something) into (something). Informally, ficher means to do, to give, to put, and more.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a dà ©j fichà © les documents.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He already filed the documents.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mais quest-ce que tu fiches, l  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  What the heck are you doing?Conjugating ficher | Using ficherIgnorerIgnorer is another great French verb that needs an adverb in the English translation: to not know. Sure, you can also say ne pas savoir, but ignorer is shorter and somehow more elegant.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jignore comment elle la fait.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I dont know how she did it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il prà ©tend ignorer pourquoi.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He claims not to know why.Conjugating ignorer | Using ignorerInstallerYou know installer means to install, put in, set up, but it has additional meanings: to put up (e.g., curtains) and to furnish (a room). Sinstaller means to settle (into a lodging), to set oneself up, to sit down, or to take hold.  Ã‚  Ã ‚  Tu as bien installà © ton appartement.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Youve furnished your apartment nicely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Nous nous sommes enfin installà ©s dans la nouvelle maison.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Were finally settled in the new home.Conjugating installer | Using installerRangerRanger means to arrange, tidy, put away - any sort of action related to putting things where they belong. (Please, no comments on why I didnt know this verb.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peux-tu maider ranger la cuisine  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Could you help me tidy up the kitchen?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a rangà © les documents dans le tiroir.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He put the documents away in the drawer.Conjugating ranger | Using rangerSe rà ©galerIts not surprising that the French have a verb, se rà ©galer, for talking about how delicious something is, but what is unusual is that the subject of the verb in the English translation can be different. Note that se rà ©galer can also mean to have a good time, and that rà ©galer means either to treat someone to a meal or to regale someone with a story.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je me suis rà ©galà © !  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was delici ous! I had a delicious meal!  Ã‚  Ã‚  On sest bien rà ©galà © la fà ªte.  Ã‚  Ã‚  We had a great time at the party. Conjugating rà ©galer | Using rà ©galerRisquerYou likely use risquer to talk about risks, but what you might not know is that it can also be used for positive possibilities.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attention, tu risques de tomber.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Careful, you might fall.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je pense vraiment que notre à ©quipe risque de gagner.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I really think our team might win.Conjugating risquer | Using risquerTenirTenir is another verb with a whole host of meanings that you might not be aware of: to hold, keep, run (a business), take up (space), and more.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peux-tu tenir mon sac ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Can you hold my bag?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ses affaires tiennent pas mal de place.  Ã‚  Ã‚  His things take up a fair amount of space.Conjugating tenir | Using tenirTrierThe verb trier is used to talk about sorting everything from recyclables to baskets of fruit.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut trier avant de recycler.  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have to sort (your garbage) before recycling (it).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beaucoup de ces frambois es sont pourries - aide-moi les trier.  Ã‚  Ã‚  A lot of these raspberries are rotten - help me sort them (separate the good and bad ones). Conjugating trier | Using trierTutoyerThe quintessential French verb, you can use tutoyer only when you think its time to take your relationships to the next level: switching from vous to tu. (And dont forget about its antonym vouvoyer.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  On peut se tutoyer ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Can we use tu?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Normalement, on tutoie ses parents.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Normally, people use tu with their parents.Conjugating tutoyer | Using tutoyerRelated lessons:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Top 10 verbs  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 verbs you might be overusing

valuate how Cash flow forecasts, Break even charts, Profit Loss statements and Financial recording systems can contribute to managing business finances Essay Example

valuate how Cash flow forecasts, Break even charts, Profit Loss statements and Financial recording systems can contribute to managing business finances Essay Example valuate how Cash flow forecasts, Break even charts, Profit Loss statements and Financial recording systems can contribute to managing business finances Essay valuate how Cash flow forecasts, Break even charts, Profit Loss statements and Financial recording systems can contribute to managing business finances Essay Financial control is a vital part of any business. If you lose control it will almost certainly result in your business spiraling into bankruptcy. A wise way to avoid this is to simply record your past cash flows, your current patterns and use the information to construct documents I will explain in detail. These can all be made simply by keeping the required information. Do not forget that all of the information from each document cannot tell you exactly how your company will perform in the future, but it can give you a good guide. I will also include relevant pictures to show what these documents should look like.Cash Flow ForecastsCash flow forecasts are a great way to estimate how your company will perform in the future. They are the standard way to find where your business will peak and trough in its revenues. It is also a handy way to see how much money your business has recently if it is up to date, since it lists closing balances. You can also check your trading profit (Sales capital minus costs) and revenue, (Capital from sales) whilst also having your capital from last month and costs from the current month easily displayed. These are helpful for a business because they are quick and relatively easy to make. They can be flawed sometimes because people can sometimes not make realistic estimates or consider all factors, which can result in the company being too optimistic or pessimistic in spending and sales.This could hinder your company more than help it. For this reason, you should wait until it is sensible to make a cash flow forecast. Benefits of accurate cash flow forecasts include detecting overdrafts early on and finding problems, the ability to review your costs and pricing to suit your disposition and being able to renegotiate terms with others, such as banks or creditors. It is also a great document to show to people that may be interested in your business, such as shareholder, (Potential) investors, creditors and lenders. Since it can be hel pful to show to a creditor, it is also a helpful way to clear up issues surrounding a companys liquidity. It is also good to show shareholders and investors since it will give them an easy way to compare with other competing firms.Break Even ChartsBreak even charts are a method of identifying what prices you will have to set to break even in certain situations, among other things. Although they can sometimes be tricky to get exactly right, knowing what your break even point can sometimes be a big help. Microsoft Excel also has a feature where you can make a break even chart on the computer, which can have less human error in comparison to hand drawn charts. Advantages of break even charts include being able to check many situations before you decide a strategy, to be able to have a visual way to identify your costs and revenues. This will be able to let you put cost-based pricing in place, which essentially means that you can price your products around your costs, so you can work ou t the best way to receive maximum profit.These charts are limited though, since they can only predict. Sometimes you have to check that the situation is feasible, since the break even charts may give you an impossible situation where you cannot sell the amount you need to break even. Also do not forget more variables are always around, so leave a margin of error and do not leave break even charts as your only source of advice. On the chart below, we can clearly see where the blue and red line cross, with the red line being costs and blue being revenue. The break even point is the exact point where they cross. Some people can even choose to draw a line directly downward just to check where it touches on the x axis, which can reduce human error so the data is more accurate.Profit and Loss StatementsSince by law, you will be required to create financial statements each year on behalf of your company, you will most likely need to create a profit and loss statement. In Laymans terms, a p rofit and loss statement will help you document what happens when your revenue is turned into profit. The costs will be the main focus of this document because, not only does it help the government and banks involved when they ask for it, it will also help you find out where your revenue is being spent, similarly to one of the uses of a cash flow forecast. It can be as simple as writing down the revenue minus costs, which will equal your profits, but most documents should be more detailed.You need to expand upon where your costs have come from, who the recipient is and what the specific amounts are. Since this can be used to forecast your sales and costs, you can estimate these values sensibly but they will not be an official document unless they are real figures. A theoretical profit and loss statement is only for the businesses use. Advantages of profit and loss statements include being a simple way of seeing past and present situations for the business, including theoretical ones , being an easy document to write and read, and providing vital information to internal and external sources. They are, meanwhile, limited to the information they supply and they will almost always need to be backed up with more information as proof, since the document is so short.Other Financial Recording SystemsMost financial recording systems will help you find sources of financial problems, allow you to control your credit and predicting situations where cash is vital so you can leave a margin of safety (For example, you must make sure you have enough money to start up your business otherwise you will be in the red instantly, which will have a bad effect from the start). Other financial recording systems include the balance sheet, which helps the company show its financial position at any time. This can be helpful if the business needs to find information at a single point in time. It is the only one of the documents mentioned that can do this.All financial recording systems wil l generally benefit your company if you construct them correctly, since most are a good way of predicting what is to come for your business and how you can prepare.

Information Technology Application in Marketing Homework Essay

Information Technology Application in Marketing Homework - Essay Example There are several reasons that underpin Facebook Popularity, and a possible continued lead in the social media platform. Some of them discussed below. First, the product creator understands the value of customers and the need to be at par with their changing needs and preference. Although Facebook is a unique product that may not need much attention, it requires persistent value addition to make it lively and relevant to the existing and new users. This continually led to invention and creativity of the highest degree to keep consumers at the edge, yearning for more each day. Facebook, continue to redesign their user interface to bring a whole and fresh experience to various users who desire for a more fulfilling service even with their phones, which might lack high specification. The user interface is unrivalled. The support department, working around the clock, and takes subscribers suggestion seriously creates a true sense of belonging that any product creator will need with his customers. Evident in this light of the argument is the recent change in the Facebook user interface after many subscribers demanded for a change. Such trends also happed in the past, which have conceived the present face of the network. According to Luten (146), customer value is the epic of marketing, and a key determinant of market position and leadership. Security issues serve a major boost to Facebook compared to MySpace. Looking at individual user profiles, most people give true data and more information that is sensitive. Aware of this possible loophole that might explain the increase plummeting of MySpace popularity among users, Facebook majors on connecting people who at least know each other. People feel safe connecting with people they know as opposed to strangers. In 2008, the reality found its way down to many users who viewed the need to be secure online. This was a period of escalating cybercrimes, and users demanded a safe and

Evaluate a case study using behaviourists approach Essay

Evaluate a case study using behaviourists approach - Essay Example Moreover, cognitive theory works on the assumption that answers are always resulting from deliberate patterning. the theory is best used for learning and teaching purposes as it assumes that perceptions is a change happening in the mind and is caused by mental depiction and relationship stirred by the experiences of an individual (BECK, 2011: 62). This paper uses a different theory from behaviorist theory and related to behavior and provides an intervention strategy. In addition, the paper analyses the pros and cons of using cognitive theory to a behaviorist approach. Cognitive theory is a psychology learning theory which tries to explain how individuals act. It reasons that the acts are from choices which are made from humans who are considered logical beings. The known aspect of this theory is social cognitive theory that lays emphasis in understanding and changing how other individuals behave. It is mostly witnessed in advertising and peer pressure groups. Moreover, the theory forms a basis of treating psychological horrors which are related to the response of an individual. The main focus of the theory is to establish the different cognitive processes in learning. The main process involved in this theory includes scrutinizing, classifying and making theories based on the available information. In my opinion, learning in cognitive theory is based on activities happening within the minds: are not created with other stimuli originating outside the mind. Abstract instructions can be used to assess students because of the similar mental models which are contextual. In using the mental models, students can either be assessed using mind maps, taxonomies or networks to determine their understanding of a learning session or experience. Also they can be asses seducing a social, individualized approach which composes of the use of groups. This involves attaching little values to the instructions to the learning experience as popularly believed all work

Private Express Trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Private Express Trust - Essay Example Megaw LJ and Sachs applied a much wider approach to the phrase â€Å"relative†. However, this elucidation is challenging as it is very arduous for the court to test the claim. Megaw LJJ and Sachs tried to resolve this issue by emphasizing the onus on the person claiming to be an ancestor to demonstrate it. Sachs LJ observed that the class of those to whom a trustee can distribute the benefit of beneficiary’s right should be â€Å"conceptually certain.† As per Megaw LJ, a discretionary trust can be said to be legal if there is a â€Å"vast number â€Å"of beneficiaries who are falling well within the class to whom a trustee can divide the benefit of trustee’s right. The additional conditions inflicted by Megaw LJJ and Sachs did not help in adhering the objective of the â€Å" any given person† test thereby paving the court to direct whether the trustee distributes the benefit of the right to an individual outside the permitted class. Hence, Re Bade n No is different from McPhail test as it was more narrow and strict. Though Stamp opinion was the minority in nature, which was in tandem with findings in McPhail. Sachs LJ test resolved many issues, by footing upon conceptual certainty and has eluded the challenging area of evidential certainty by retreating the accountability. In Re Baden, Sachs LJ footed his test on conceptual certainty, while Megaw LJ avoided the use of evidential certainty with his test where Stamp LJ employed â€Å"complete list† found to be beneficial.

Analysis Of The Ryanair Business Strategy Business Essay

Analysis Of The Ryanair Business Strategy Business Essay Business strategy is an essential component to a firms business model and is a vital player in aiding the firm drive itself to achieve its mission. Through a clear business strategy a firm can derive its position in the long term and create a competitive advantage in the market for itself. In this essay we explore the business model of Ryanair and assess their strategy. Ryanair is an Irish low cost airline headquartered in Dublin founded in 1985. It operates 181 aircrafts over 729 routes across Europe and North Africa from 31 bases. Ryanair has seen large success over the recent years due to its low-cost business model and has become the worlds largest airline in terms of international passenger numbers. Taking Porters generic business strategies into consideration, Ryanair operates a cost-leadership strategy to drive itself into achieving its mission of being the leading European low-cost carrier (LCC). Throughout this essay the business strategy of Ryanair will be analysed and the sustainability of their model evaluated. Ryanairs objective is to firmly establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service (Ryanair). Considering their objectives and mission, Ryanairs decision on their cost-leadership strategy was based on a few main factors which are discussed below. A major influence was the deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 which removed government intervention within the European continent. Under the new rules, routes and fare decisions were made by individual airlines which meant that they could compete on other factors besides food, cabin crew and frequency. As a result of deregulation, a large number of new airline start-ups emerged within the EU and competition among airlines increased dramatically resulting in downward price pressures. Ryanair was established to take full advantage of these market conditions. By offering low prices, Ryanair entered a huge and virtually unlimited market. Having seen the major success of the low cost carrier Southwest in the United States, Ryanair decided to follow in their footsteps by establishing a LCC for the European continent that targeted fare conscious leisure travellers and regular low cost business travellers. By doing this Ryanair became the first low-fare airline in Europe. However, they took the Southwest model further by offering no drinks and snacks at all and abolishing the frequent flyer program which Southwest up to this day offers its customers (Boesch 2007). The evaluation of Porters five forces influenced Ryanairs choice of a cost-leadership strategy, as the threat presented by new entrants and the threat of substitutes could hinder their success. The threat of new entrants is high within the aviation industry which meant that low fares would help drive away any further competition. The threat of substitutes to Ryanair had to also be carefully examined. Their primary market, Europe, had the availability of high speed trains and car holidays. For Ryanair to be successful, prices had to be low to attract the public, and resist strong competition from substitutes like Eurostar. As Europes largest low fare airline, Ryanairs competitive advantage remains in their ability to continue as cost leaders; providing the cheapest fares to its customers. This dictates that the company must minimise its own costs to ensure that they are able to offer customers the service at a price below their direct competitors. This leads us to consider some key functional strategies which directly help Ryanair towards their ultimate goal to be Europes leading low fares airline (Ryanair). The marketing strategy is perhaps the most obvious and significant functional strategy of Ryanair. Low fares are designed to stimulate demand, attracting fare-conscious travellers, those who may have used alternative forms of transportation or even those who may have not travelled at all. Penetration pricing as it is called helps gain market share and simply, more customers equals more revenue (Wheelen Hunger 2006). Tickets are almost solely sold on their website www.ryanair.com which very importantly keeps sales costs to a minimum since very few phone operators are employed and computers are able to cheaply handle all functions of sales. With ever increasing accessibility of the internet globally anybody with internet access can buy airline tickets from Ryanair, so distribution practically takes care of itself through this medium. Ryan Air relies on low cost promotions and in recent times has concentrated on their One million seats at one pound which is usually advertised through t heir internet site, national press and bulletin boards. It is the simplicity of this promotion which helps keep costs low since expensive advertising agencies can be entirely avoided and advertising can be dealt with in house. Ryanairs operations strateg1y determines how the airline will deploy its resources and the policies it will operate by. To keep costs low they operate a no frills service onboard aircraft. This means the fare only includes the flight. There are however a number of other measures directly related to a no frills service. These include ticketless boarding, unallocated seats, one class of travel, costs for check-in baggage, no refund policy, basic seats (to increase aircraft capacity) and charging for any additional service. All this significantly reduces costs to Ryanair. The Achilles heel of Ryanair is their greater aircraft utilisation through super quick turnaround times. Essentially this means the aircraft spends very little time on the ground, they achieve this through their human resource policies and by having none or very little cargo in the baggage hold to speed up loading and unloading of the aircraft. Logistics strategy deals with the flow of products into and out of Ryanair. Again there is heavy emphasis on cost saving and reducing measures. Ryanair fly to secondary airports which are potentially much further from the City centre but accessible enough by other forms of ground transportation. At these airports Ryanair are able to negotiate extremely aggressively and demand the lowest landing and handling fees. Additionally Ryanair is usually able to gain financial assistance with marketing and promotional campaigns at these airports. As cost leader Ryanair strives to undercut all its rivals but this means very low income per fare and requires maximum utilisation of its resources. Fortunately their financial policy ensures they are able to still profit handsomely from rock bottom fares. The aim is to breakeven on fares but to make their profits out of ancillary charges and commissions from their partners. Ryanair has a number of affiliates such as Hertz car rental, Acumus insurance and booking.com all of whom are advertised readily on the Ryanair website. Since the website has high website traffic its partners are able to reach out to Ryanairs huge client base and are prepared to pay good commissions to the firm for this privilege (IdeaWorks). Ryanair also generate income from advertising on board the aircraft. Ancillary revenue is generated from many of the services that traditional airlines wouldnt charge for, such as large baggage into the cargo hold, allocated seating, snacks and drinks. Ryanairs strategy when purchasing aircraft is to buy new, uniform aircraft. This is beneficial for a number of reasons all of which directly help cost saving measures. Firstly, by being able to order same aircraft in bulk they are able to negotiate a better price per aircraft. Secondly, uniform aircraft mean that there are potential savings in staff training; air stewards being more familiar with all aircraft and maintenance will be simpler. Finally by buying new, the company has safer, more fuel efficient planes with lower maintenance costs. Safer aircraft also means greater consumer confidence, equating to more fare sales. Furthermore Ryanair aggressively hedge and fix as many of their costs as possible, such as oil and aircraft prices so they are not subject to future price fluctuations which could adversely affect profitability (Stone 2008). The human resource policy is again directly related to reducing costs. Employees are expected to pay for their own uniform and equipment. Training given is the required minimum and staff utilisation is among the highest in the airline industry. Many staff are employed on performance contracts and those who do not meet their expectations are readily replaced. Staff are also expected to take on a number of roles, cabin staff will also clean the aircraft prior to the next service, check in staff assist in boarding the aircraft etc. Ryanair has successfully experienced years of growth both in the number of its aircrafts and passengers since its launch.   However, with the global financial system recently suffering its greatest crisis in more than 70 years, existing business models of many aviation firms are coming under great strain. As this economic downturn bankrupts LCCs like XL and Zoom with more expected to follow, the question is whether Ryanairs cost-leadership strategy is sustainable or not as it continues to offer lower fares in the face of high costs. Although Ryanair has posted losses along with other aviation firms for the latest quarter, it is expected to emerge from this downturn with fewer competitors because its à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.8 billon balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry. Additionally, as the credit crunch takes its toll, traditional airlines are not in a position to cut fares and the threat of new LCCs is virtually eliminated due to the lack of financing. Although Ryanair f aces competition from substitutes like Eurostar, it is at an advantage because of Eurostars limited destinations.   Ryanair is sticking to its mantra, when the going gets tough, sell more seats for almost nothing (Symonds 2008). By offering low fares, Ryanair expects passengers to trade down to the low cost airlines rather than stop flying completely. This trend appears accurate so far based on passenger numbers as recession forces millions of passengers to focus on price (Waterman 2009). Additionally, the latest statistics from The European Low Fares Airline Association members show a 15.7% year-on-year growth in the number of passengers for 2008, indicating that the LCC model is robust, even in times of crisis (Latest 2009). Consequently, there is no doubt that Ryanair looks poised for substantial profits and passenger growth in the coming years. However, in order to compete with other LCCs and maintain its continued market share growth in the future, Ryanair needs to improve its poor customer relations. The sustainability of Ryanairs cost leadership strategy also depends largely on the price of oil and how effective the firm is in cutting costs in order to continue offering low fares. According to the firms latest financial report, Ryanair will enjoy significantly lower oil costs thanks to their recent hedging programme, when most of their competitors are already hedged at much higher prices. These lower prices will drive Ryanairs traffic growth, maintain high load factors and capture market share from higher cost fuel surcharging competitors (3rd Quarter Results 2009). In order to cut costs, Ryanair plans to close all its airport check-in desks by the end of 2009 and have passengers check-in online instead. Other cost saving methods not yet implemented include charging customers for using toilets on airplanes (Lalor 2009). These cost cutting ideas are not very popular among consumers and it means that Ryanair needs to improve its already tarnished brand image in the future which it had attained through negative press reporting and misleading advertisements. The current strategy at Ryanair is expected to work so well that despite the recession Ryanairs CEO has underlined the firms commitment to expansion. The firm is expected to grow at 20 percent a year because of a 180 aircrafts on order from Boeing. These expansion plans for the future will require the company to increase its landing slots at airports and recruit more employees. Currently Ryanair has limited access to landing slots in major airports and the secondary airports are long distances away from city centres which could make it less attractive in the future.   However, a remarkable cut in flights by other European airline carriers due to recession is creating enormous opportunities for Ryanair, as many major airports compete to reduce charges in order to attract Ryanairs growth (3rd Quarter Results 2009). Availability of skilled personnel shouldnt be a problem for Ryanair due to recent high unemployment levels. However, Ryanair needs to improve its current low level of empa thy for employees if it is to retain them in the future. Even though Ryanairs cost leadership strategy is robust and it looks set to serve them well in the future, there are some key areas within the business that can be improved on to enhance the firms profitability and brand image. Ryanair has always been criticised for many aspects of its poor customer relations. According to The Economist, Ryanairs cavalier treatment of passengers had given Ryanair a deserved reputation for nastiness and that the airline has become a byword for appalling customer service   and jeering rudeness towards anyone or anything that gets in its way (Aviation 2007). If Ryanair is to maintain its large customer base, it needs to ensure that it acknowledges its customers concerns and maintains a service focused attitude at all costs. Ryanair needs to invest in servicing customers better by providing a non-premium contact number, improving its non user friendly website, and simplifying the terms and conditions of the flight service. Ryanair should also create a frequent flyer program to establish a fixed customer base and encourage customer loyalty. Ryanair is notorious for its high staff turnover which negatively affects its reputation as an employer. Over utilization of employees, poor remuneration package, and minimal training are a few other critical items to be considered by Ryanair if it is to retain employees in the future. Ryanair needs to understand that although it is currently possible to replace outgoing employees, but with time Ryanairs overall image will be tarnished. Resultantly, attracting new employees could become impossible and this will hinder their expansion plans. Ryanair should incorporate a flexible benefits package solely designed to improve employee morale such as flexible working hours and extra holidays. To improve its image amongst employees, training at all employee levels must include exposure to similar techniques and methods that help promote the development of a uniform company identity. Following huge success in Europe, Ryanair should consider introducing low cost transatlantic flights to support its expansion plans and attain a larger customer base. With a high demand for certain routes like London-New York and room for negotiation in airplane prices and airport slots mainly due to the current financial climate, it is an ideal time to further reap the rewards of the cost leadership strategy that has served Ryanair so well over the years. Ryanairs model looks set to survive the current industrial downturn through its lower costs and substantial cash balances. No airline is better placed in Europe than Ryanair to trade through this downturn. It will therefore continue to grow, by lowering fares, taking market share from competitors, and expanding in markets where competitors either withdraw capacity or go bust (Monaghan 2008). By taking the recommended improvements into consideration, it looks like Ryanairs cost leadership strategy seems ideal for the future. Word Count: 2,493

Internet Scams Essay -- Computer Fraud Fraudulent

Internet Scams From the comfort of an internet user’s own home they truly have the world at their finger tips. They have access to a Global Market place through the internet. Cyberspace offers unlimited options for quick and easy ways to shop, find investment opportunities, communicate, and much more. Unfortunately however, in today’s world fraudsters also find the internet to be a quick and easy way to fool and rob unsuspecting surfers with false advertising and false promises. The fraudsters target those who do not know how to determine the validity of online offers and sales. According to the National Fraud Information Center (NFC) there were 36,802 complaints of internet fraud in 2002, and the complaints increased to 37,183 in 2003 (Internet Scams). This growing problem affects internet users everywhere, who can lose hundreds of dollars to these cunning, ruthless scam artists. According to the NFC undelivered or misrepresented goods or services from auction websites made up 89% of scam complaints in 2003 (Internet Scams). In his article entitled â€Å"Sleaze Bay,† David Freedman explains why auction websites are so appealing for fraudsters: â€Å"As is true of much of the Web, the characteristics that make auction sites so appealing—anonymity, speed, low overhead, access to millions of people, lack of outside regulation, an ability to interact from a great distance—are the very same characteristics that make rip-offs so easy† (1). According to Freedman, sites such as E-bay may be subject to shill bidding; a practice against E-bay rules that is often illegal. Shill bidding involves a seller, their friends, family, or other sellers bidding to entice other bidders to join and raise their profits. This is based on the idea that â€Å"†¦bi... ...ainst internet fraud. Works Cited Fleitas, Amy. Internet Spam Spawns Scams. Bankrate, Inc. 22, Apr. 2004 http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/advice/20021025b.asp Freedman, David. â€Å"Sleaze Bay.† Forbes. (2000) : 5 pgs. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.forbes.com/asap/2000/1127/134.html FTC Names Its Dirty Dozen. Federal Trade Commission. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm Hendersen, Les. Pyramid Schemes. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/Delivered/pyramids.htm Internet Scams. National Fraud Information Center. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.fraud.org/2003internetscams.pdf Lanford, Jim and Audri. Internet ScamBusters. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.scambusters.org/index.html Online Shopping. Office of Fair Trading. 22 Apr. 2004 http://www.oft.gov.uk/Consumer/Your+Rights+When+Shopping+From+Home/Online+shopping.htm

A Feminist Perspective

Ice-Candy-Man: A Feminist Perspective * Summary In Ice-Candy-Man the women characters cannot be easily subjugated. Lenny, her Ayah Shanta, her mother and Godmother are capable of new roles and responsibilities. It is the second novel by a woman writer dealing with the theme of Partition of India. It is likely to be a more neutral on account of the traumatic event of Partition which caused divisiveness, disharmony, mutual suspicion, hardening. Writer depicts the events overtaking the Partition in their naked cruelty and ruthlessness.She choose a theme which is different from the traditional issues—the issues of romantic involvements and the sentimental stuff. In Pakistan the measure of freedom for women is considerably less than it exists in India. In this novel feminine psyche and experiences are presented with a unique freshness. Bapsi Sidhwa uses the structural device and turns the female protagonists into the moral centre, while most of the male characters either remain apa thetic or indulge in destructive violence. In patriarchal social set up masculinity means superiority while femininity means inferiority.Masculinity implies strength, action, self-assertion and domination, femininity implies weakness, passivity, docility, obedience and self-negation. Through narrator Lenny the Bapsi Sidhwa lends weight and validity to the feminine perspective on the nature of surrounding reality. In a feminist text woman performs and controls and promotes the action by her active involvement and concern and in the process it is she who acquires the attributes of heroism and glory. In Ice-Candy-Man, Lenny’s relationship with her cousin upholds the principle of equality Ayah is a flame of sensuousness and female vitality.Lenny's mother and Lenny's aunt play the humanitarian and heroic role of fighting for the lives and property of Hindus. These two women undertake the risky job of saving lives in danger. Godmother’s sense of humor, her deer-like agility, in spite of her old age, and her power to mould, modify and order not only individuals but even the system, when she so desires, earn her respect and admiration of people around her. But besides these qualities she is endowed with profound understanding of human existence and her wisdom is revealed when she consoles the Ayah, in the aftermath of what has been done to her.Godmother concentrates in her character what the feminists feel is very important for a woman to realize her individuality the feeling of self-worth. Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan is manifestly a male discourse the focus is on the hero, Juggut Singh though he is portrayed as a devil, the writer's sympathy and admiration are obviously for him his jauntiness, his physical stature and for his moral stature. Ice-Candy-Man becomes a feminist text in the true sense of the term, successfully attempting to bring to the centre-stage the female protagonists who come alive on account of their realistic presentation.As L iterature is a powerful tool with the help of which creative writer modulate and change the society. Sidhwa depict the theme in which he discusses those determined women for whom the traditional role is inadequate, women who wish to affirm their independence and autonomy and are perfectly capable of assuming new roles and responsibilities. Writers always wish to build a world which is free of dominance and hierarchy, a world that rests on the principles of justice and equality and is truly human.

Lythronax - Facts and Figures

Lythronax - Facts and Figures Name Lythronax (Greek for gore king); pronounced LITH-roe-nax Habitat Woodlands of North America Historical Period Late Cretaceous (80 million years ago) Size and Weight About 24 feet long and 2-3 tons Diet Meat Distinguishing Characteristics Moderate size; long skull; foreshortened arms About Lythronax Despite what you may have read in the press, the newly announced Lythronax (gore king) isnt the oldest tyrannosaur in the fossil record; that honor goes to pint-sized Asian genera like Guanlong that lived tens of millions of years earlier. Lythronax does, however, represent a crucial missing link in tyrannosaur evolution, since its bones were unearthed from a region of Utah that corresponds to the southern portion of the island of Laramidia, which straddled North Americas shallow Western Interior Sea during the late Cretaceous period. (The northern part of Laramidia, by contrast, corresponds to the modern-day states of Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota, as well as parts of Canada.) What the discovery of Lythronax implies is that the evolutionary split leading to tyrannosaurid tyrannosaurs like T. Rex (to which this dinosaur was closely related, and which appeared on the scene over 10 million years later) occurred a few million years earlier than was once believed. Long story short: Lythronax was closely related to other tyrannosaurid tyrannosaurs of southern Laramidia (most notably Teratophoneus and Bistahieversor, in addition to T. Rex), which now appear to have evolved separately from their neighbors in the northmeaning there may be many more tyrannosaurs lurking in the fossil record than previously believed.

Trends for the Millennium essays

Trends for the Millennium essays Trends for the Millennium Companies of today must respond to change to survive the future. Change is inevitable-growth is optional. Change forces all business owners to adapt, adjust and be energetic in building their businesses. After all, there are only three things a company can do with change: ignore it, adapt to it or embrace it. By focusing on new ways of doing things, a company can revitalize their business. In particular, marketing in new ways and with different strategies not only simulates new business, but also gives a company a new vision on productivity. Companies will need to use their resources wisely as technologies and quick markets will leave companies trying to find their way to the door. Spending millions of dollars to make a product unique is a thing of the past with technology and the ever changing buying patterns and competition companies will have to use those dollars to emphasize their company values not specifically their product. Additionally education will play an important role as markets and technology is rapidly changing. Companies should develop a culture that encourages and fosters new ways of looking at things. They constantly should strive to create, develop, test and refine ideas. Organizations and associations are resources and committed to offering ideas, information, data, conferences, publications and more. In addition, local college continuing education classes, public workshops and even the library are resources that can be utilized. Learning about new ways to hire, train and motivate employees, for example, can be critical to success-especially because the labor market is so tight. Keeping abreast of trends in marketing (i.e. electronic communication, direct mail and response, telemarketing) also is important. As an independent business person I have used educational means to stay adept to new technologies as well as ...

Human Resource Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resource - Coursework Example The world has become a social platform, everyone is communicating with everyone on the ground of internet and mobile phones, the entire world is not connected at all times. Humans go out and they socialize with people on different occasions. This interaction with people then further develop into relationships, they find some to be beneficial and other to be not. During our interaction with other we find certain similarities and certain difference, and finally, we develop our relationship with those we feel comfortable. This all starts with communication at personal and professional level. At home, school, offices, social gathering and other related platforms. In our paper, we would look how the theories have been applied by us on our daily basis and how they have affected and impacted us. Theories The two theories under review are the symbolic interaction theory and social penetration theory. The two theory are the different perspective of how the societies interact with each other and how they make sense of the world around. The first of the two theories Symbolic Interaction Theory takes society as a product of the everyday social interaction of individuals. It also studies how people use symbols to create deeper meanings. The theory was formulated by Blumer in 1969 and the inspiration of the theory was further developed in 1981 by Dewey, this scientist believed that human beings are best understood if studied practically in an interactive environment (Sparknotes, 2014).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual Essay

What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction in animals - Essay Example Division of the zygote takes place repeatedly resulting to the growth of an embryo. This embryo grows inside the female or outside in other animals into multi cellular organism. As a result of the shared genetic information in sexual reproduction by the gametes, the off spring produced contains variety. This constitutes part of the advantages of sexual reproduction since the genetic variation gives the species an advantageous element of survival. Furthermore, genetic variation results to evolution of species which form better organisms (Kent, 2000). This species have better surviving traits in the unstable environments. Species which reproduce sexually have low extinction rates. This is beneficial as it ensures continuity of population. Sexual reproduction has several disadvantages. To this end, the need to have both male and female mate for reproduction is some time inconveniencing since both may not be willing (Rinkevich & Matranga, 2009). It also consumes excessive time and energy to look for a suitable partner. Moreover, there is no assurance after fertilization that the nucleus cell of male will fuse with the female cell. .Furthermore, counter-productive genetic combination conditions should be stable. Asexual reproduction involves one organism producing an offspring identical to it genetically. It requires one parent to reproduce. In single celled organisms the parent cells are split into two cells’ with equal content by binary fission. Multi-cellular organisms use a process known as mitosis to split cells into cells with equal number of chromosomes. Asexual reproduction has several advantages. One, it is very beneficial to the types of animals that stay in one area or not able to look for mates to reproduce. The fact that asexual reproduction does not need mating of female and male gives is advantageous to these animals as they are able to reproduce as they are. Another advantage, since no need to find a mate many off springs are produces

Reflective journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Reflective journal - Essay Example In addition, I also learnt about colostomies. The high point of my day was doing an IVPB successfully with minimal direction from my clinical instructor. The low point was seeing the patient so nauseas and unable to eat anything and there was nothing I could do to help. The patients on the medical surgery floor received great care. However, the unit should be added two more nurses to ease the amount of workload that they have to do. The nurses in the unit should also be trained on how to handle patients with unique medical conditions. Although I did not encounter any challenge, I know that I can always ask for help from any of the nurses on the medical surgery floor. My interaction with patients presents an opportunity to acquire valuable life lessons. Seeing the patient deal with so much pain with a lot of calm taught me the importance of having courage when I am faced with unpleasant conditions. Lastly, my last day on the medical surgery floor provided a great opportunity to acquire practical nursing skills. I am grateful for all the things that I have learned from the other nurses and the patients. In addition, I have been able to identify my strengths and weaknesses. This experience has not only helped me to grow as a nursing profession but also as a

Economic Problems And Issues Essay Example for Free

Economic Problems And Issues Essay Does big business own by corporations synonymous with monopoly? Let us first check the nature of the capitalist market how large firms dominated the market. When only a number of large companies dominated a specific market, what resulted would be an oligopoly. This means that only the larger and selected companies had the command in the market thus excluding smaller firms. This resulted in reducing competitive pressures in the market. In this manner, there is a tendency that the price of commodities may rise above what would be the market level. The oligopolistic producers do not have rivals or competitors coming into their market circle because of relatively high capital costs. The domination of a trade commanded by few big firms especially when they are incorporated into one large organization may result in exploitation and monopoly. In the market economy, if a market is marked by an oligopolies practice, exploitation affects the consumers because they will be charged with higher prices as compared to the price in the competitive market. The Big Businesses therefore are having a bigger slice of the oligopolistic profits because of this unfair competition at the expense of smaller firm. To know more why big business gets more profits due to oligopoly and monopoly, we need to look into the economics of production and marketing in relation to capitalism. Capitalism comes in a way that it focuses on distribution not on fair production. Instead of equal trade, capitalism is guided by hierarchy and inequality to all business concerns. Usually the privately owned businesses do their production mainly for profit where investments, income, distribution and pricing of goods and services are estimated through the operation in a market economy. In the world of business economics, this is how capitalism makes an impact in the regulation of the price of the commodity. Unfortunately due to the potential of the big business to engage in capitalism, they sometimes monopolize the market. According to the economic theory of Malcom Sawyer, within the market trade there exists a certain degree of monopoly. This indicates that profits come to those businesses with monopolistic power. As always, an increase in the monopoly of large firm always directed the profit to them instead to the small businesses. This explains that the degree of monopoly within a market will determine how poorly the small firms will be able to survive as compared to those small firms who are earning more in a more competitive market. The degree of monopoly can be graded with few factors being exhibited by the big business in the market. Their market power is obvious in the volume of their market share, the extent of their advertising, the barriers that prevent small businesses to enter the mainstream and so on. The higher and stronger of these factors, the higher the degree of monopoly. There is however an argument of the monopolistic practice of big businesses. Accordingly they put up higher prices in their product because of the prices of the materials being purchased and used in the manufacturing of goods. Another reason was the unpredictable inflation and the need for sustaining the salaries of their employees. However, any reason would still result in profits for them. Such alibis only undermine the status of their employees as according to their profits. If these companies are forced to lower their prices the employees will suffer due to lower wages and compensations. Also, poor quality materials will be used which result in poor quality products and the demand will fall as well as its production. Basically large firms can always maintain their prices and profits more than the normal price in the market without assistance from the government due to their big financial back-up and market power. The existence of Big Businesses and their influence in the economy has their impact on every nation’s future. In some ways economist always compare them to be practical capitalist building their market world in their own hands. Another bad effect of capitalism and oligopoly is that when big business are lording it over other business, the tendency would be for the smaller firms to also merge and have a fight for a competition. This is to improve their market power and have larger slice of the profits. In effect there is another monopolistic tendency in the market. Although competition is also beneficial to the consumer since they would have many choices with products, and the price would temporarily go down, the competition will most affect smaller and weaker firms. The formation of oligopolies within capitalism will result in the loss of profits for small capitalist directing the profit to Big Business. For this reasons, small and medium sized businesses ends up detesting Big Business and will be blaming the government for unfair and unequal treatment of trade (Mattick, 1974). In conclusion, the capitalists always have the tendency to use monopoly power so they can manipulate the price, the quality and quantity of the commodities. There is no real opportunity for smaller firms when the trade is being ruled by the oligopolistic and monopolistic big businesses. Although there are few advantages with competition, the smaller firms are always outside the room full of opportunities. What they lack is the power to push the big blockade blocking their road to profiteering because of the giants in the trade. The answer to the question now would absolutely be, Yes. Free Trade against Ptotectionism? What is a Free trade and what is Protectionism? Free trade is defined as a market model in which trade in goods and services between or within countries flow freely by government to government laws and restrictions. Included on the restrictions are taxes (tariffs) and other non-tariff trade barriers. On the opposite side is Protectionism. Protectionism is the economic policy of controlling trade between nations or countries such as imposing high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas and other government regulations made to discourage imports from other countries. It also includes anti-dumping laws to protect local industries from a certain foreign nation who could take-over the competition especially in business. Some people call protectionism as â€Å"fair trade† and it may sound alluring at first. Some supporters of protectionism agree that keeping out foreign commodities will save domestic jobs and give a chance for jobs to recover and enrich themselves. It will also sustain trade deficits as well. But are these claims have enough economic basis? Protectionism in effect raises tariffs and imposes quotas on the volume of commodities the government allows to come into the country. Although tariffs is one of the major financial resources of a country, such laws restriction control the choice of consumers to have freedom of choice as well as it also opens job to the trade. According to the US Department of Labor’s statistics, eight jobs are getting lost compared to one job saved in a protected industry due to protectionism Let us give an example, in Japan the government was protecting their own farmers against the influx of imported rice from other countries but in return they are paying five times more as compared with the rice in the world market. Even the European and U. S. consumers are paying more than double the price of their own commodities on certain products as compared to price in the world market take for example agricultural products such as sugar. When the U. S. Semiconductor Trade Pact pressured the Japanese to cut back production and exportation of their computer memory chips, the result was a worldwide shortage of this parts and the eventual rise of demand and short of supply. Eventually, this has caused price increase and the technology was badly hurt by such restriction. The laws of protectionism force you to pay more on taxes on foreign and imported commodities but also increase your domestic taxes as well. This happens when governments enlarge their Customs Department Bureaucracies to guard and enforce rules with trade restrictions. So if there is no benefit for protectionism, why is it being imposed and who gains from it? Those who gain specially from it are usually groups with their special interest. Such as big corporations, unions, and farmer’s groups whom they want to command higher prices as much as getting higher wages. Such groups are thought to have special political and influential clout to politicians which pass laws favorable to their counterpart. Who are the losers with protectionism? The answer would be very clear the people and their government. Then what are the benefits of a free trade? Substantially, all countries benefits from free trade. In the US, every agreement within the free trade must be checked and balanced critically. At present, the U. S. economy is being augmented by more than $12 trillion in gross income from tree trade. American exports in the 2005 has totaled to an estimated of $1. 2 trillion. Jobs that are connected with production of goods for export are 13 to 18 percent higher. The free trade policies have made competition today on a higher level in the open market. This led to better innovation and better products, higher salaries, new markets and more savings for the employees and the government. Free trade has been bolstering America’s high standard of living and there would be more opportunities and income if trade restrictions could be alleviated further. For the past 50 years, trade liberalization has made an extra $9,000 per year for each American household according to the study made by The Institute for International Economics. The relaxation of regulations by the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round of the WTO—the two major agencies that impose agreements between nations has generated an annual additional benefits of $1,300–$2,000 for the standard American family of four. In conclusion to this, freer trade facilitates more goods and services to reach consumers at lower prices, providing families additional income which they can use to buy other consumer goods. It does not only help families but helps to widen global freedom, follows international law, and provide economic development especially on poor or third world countries. The World Bank also reported in 1990 that the per capita real income is three times bigger in developing countries that has opened their markets to free trade or loosen up strict regulations on certain imported products. Freer trade and market reforms have lifted more than 500 million people from poverty for the last 25 years. This in every opinion is enough to agree on trade liberalization rather than stayed embrace with the so called â€Å"fair trade† and remained stocked from a world full of opportunities (Markheim, 2007).

Evolution of Smart Homes

Evolution of Smart Homes I. Introduction Smart homes, the next gigantic leap in the field of home automation, have become an emerging research field in last few decades. Research on smart homes has been gradually moving towards application of ubiquitous computing, tackling issues on device heterogeneity and interoperability. A smart home adjusts its function to the inhabitants need according to the information it collects from inhabitants, the computation system and the context [1]. By 2050, approximately 20% of the world population will be at least 60 years old [2]. This age group is more likely to suffer from long-term chronic diseases and will face difficulties in living independently. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 650 million people live with disabilities around the world [3].The most common causes of disability include chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer; injuries due to road traffic crashes, conflicts, falls, landmines, mental impairments, birth defects, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. It is not possible and logical to support all these patients in the medical center or nursing homes for an uncertain period of time. The solution is to accommodate health care services and assistive technologies in their home environment which is the main objective of smart homes. Sensors, multimedia devices and physiological equipments are core components to perceive information from home environment Infrared (IR) sensors, pressure sensors, magnetic contacts, passive and active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are used to track inhabitant location detection. Electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmograph(PPG), ,temperature, spirometry, galvanic skin response, colorimetry and pulse measurement equipments are used to get physiological information from the patient. Camera and microphones provide audiovisual response from home user. Inhabitant can access the system through display panel. Power line communication protocols are widely used for the connectivity of home appliances. Public telecommunication network with voice and text messaging service is involved to provide telecare facility from remote location. Videoconferencing is used as an interactive communication media between caregiver and the client. TCP/IP protocols of Ethernet network provide data connectivity for local and remote sites and locations. Ethernet protocols are also used to connect health-monitoring equipments and to provide data repository service. Algorithms from machine learning, data compression, statistics and artificial intelligent are employed to predict user behavior, detect activities of daily life (ADL) and location. C4.5 algorithm from machine learning is utilized to build spatiotemporal context of user. C4.5 algorithm is developed by Quinlan in 1993 which classify the data to construct a decision tree according to data attributes [47].Active LeZi from data compression algorithms is used to predict inhabitants next behavior. Active LeZi by Gopalratnam et al..in 2007 builds a decision tree utilizing similar methodology of LZ78 data compression algorithm and predict next event using Prediction by Partial Matching (PPM) algorithm[22].Statistical predictive algorithms like Bayesian filtering, dynamic Bayesian network algorithms classify the information and recognize ADL of home client[34][41][44]. Different flavors of AI algorithms extended for smart home data processing. Markov model, Hidden Markov model, Artificial Neur al Network can detect the living pattern of user and can also predict the user [7][13][14][38]. Fuzzy Logic is used for home appliance control [36]. Smart home is mainly dedicated to provide health care, safety, security and monitoring service for patient and elderly. The house is equipped with sensors, cameras to track people and can trigger an alarm to a remote heath care service provider in the case of emergency. Sophisticated physiological devices monitor heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, ECG record and the patient is being observed from a distance location. Telecommunication service is used for communicating with service provider, relatives or neighbor and as a redundant acknowledgement method from the patient. For home comfort system, lighting, heating, doors, windows and home appliances are automatically controlled by ambient intelligence of smart home. Smart home also has significant contribution towards energy conservation by integration of energy meter with smart home [4]. Home automation is the initial state of smart home where electronic technologies are used to provide an easy access to household devices. Rapid development of sensor technology accelerated the growth of smart home that involved more data processing. Improvement of information and communication technology make possible to develop easy and cost effective methods for data repository and exchange. Smart home is a growing concept, efficient and lower cost solutions for general people are the main idea to promote it. II. Smart Home defination Smart home is an extension of modern electronic, information and communication technologies. The main objective of smart home research is to provide smartness to a dwelling facility for comfort, healthcare, security and energy conservation. Remote monitoring system is a common component of health smart home where telecommunication and web technologies are used to provide quick and proper medication to the patient from specialized assistance centre. The first formal definition of smart home was published by Intertek in 2003, which was involved to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) smart-homes project in UK [5]. According to Intertek a smart home is a dwelling incorporating a communications network that connects the key electrical appliances and services, and allows them to be remotely controlled, monitored or accessed. A home needs three things to make it smart: Internal network wire, cable, wireless Intelligent control gateway to manage the systems Home automation products within the homes and links to services and systems outside the home III. Review of Smart Homes Smart homes projects are being conducted for last several decades and they convey different ideas, functions and utilities. It is growing to different brunches of specialization focusing the interest of the researchers and user requirements and expectations. This article is a study of the evolution of smart home according to time. Adaptive Control of Home Environment (ACHE) system is developed by Mozer in 1998 in USA. ACHE monitors user device usage pattern utilizing different types of sensors and builds an adaptive inferential engine for neural network to control temperature, heating and lighting. ACHE can control three main components of a home while trying to maximize user comfort and conserve energy [7].ACHE is one of the early smart home projects which is able to partially automate home environment via controlling lighting, temperature and heating components. CarerNet is an architectural model of integrated and intelligent telecare system proposed by Williams et al. in 1998. Its core components are sensor set, a sensor bus, intelligent monitoring system and a control unit. ECG, photoplethysmograph, spirometry, temperature, galvanic skin response, colorimetry, and pulse measurement tools used to collect physiological data. The communication network within the clients local environment is an integration of HomeLAN and Body Area Network (BAN) which is responsible to carry real-time data, event data, command and control data. It has a distributed intelligence system in the form of smart sensors, smart therapy units, body-hub, Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) and Clients Healthcare Record (CHR). Home emergency alarm system, community health information and ambulatory monitoring service can be provided by the system. [8]. CarerNet is an abstract model of health smart home and interconnecting components. No prototype of the model has been developed . Only a hypothetical case study is of an individual who had undergone brain surgery after suffering from a subarachnoid is discussed. Barnes et al. in 1998 have evaluated life style monitoring data of elderly using infrastructure of British Telecom and Anchor Trust in England. The system detects inhabitants movement using IR sensors and magnetic contacts on the entrance of the doors. To measure temperature it uses a temperature sensor in the main living area. An alarm activation system is developed which detects abnormal behavior and communicates to remote telecare control center, the clients and their carers[9]. The researchers presented a lower cost solution for smart telecare. The limitation of the system is it can identify only abnormal sleeping duration, unexpected inactivity, uncomfortable home temperature and fridge usage disorder. Moreover, it uses a special new telecom protocol named No Ring Calling which demands modifying existing telecom protocols. TERVA is a health monitoring system developed in Finland by Korhonen et al.(1998). TERVA processes physiological information like blood pressure, heart beat rate, body temperature, body weight to draw graphical representation of wellness condition of the subject[10].Research goal of the TERVA system is to develop a real time visual monitoring system but it is unable to provide long-term trend of certain physiological information. It cannot detect physiological problems and no assistive service is deployed to provide health care. The intelligent home (IHome) project at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has developed an intelligent environment (Lesser et al.1999) IHome is a simulated environment designed with Multi Agent Survivability Simulator (MASS) and a Java Agent Framework (JAF) as tools to evaluate agent behavior and their coordination. The focus of the project is to model agent interactions and task interactions so that the agent can evaluate the tradeoff between robustness and efficiency [11].IHome is a simulation only solution, the project never build a practical smart home to evaluate their model. The Aware Home Research at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a smart home, which equipped with monitoring facilities to study human behavior (Kidd et al. 1999). To build a model of user behavior pattern, it uses smart floor to sense footsteps. Hidden Markov models, simple feature-vector averaging and neural network algorithms are applied on these data to create and evaluate behavioral model [12]. The aim of the project is to study user behavior, which is the primary stage of smart home research. The project never developed home intelligence which is a big shortfall of the research. The EasyLiving project at Microsoft Research based on intelligent environment to track multiple residents using distributed image-processing system (Krumm et al. 2000). The system can identify residents through active badge system. Measurements are used to define geometric relationship between the people, devices, places and things [13][14].The system is workable in single room only and can track upto three peoples simultaneously. SELF (Sensorized Environment for LiFe), is an intelligent environment, which enables a person to maintain his or her health through self-communication (Nishida et al. 2000). SELF observes the persons behavior with distributed sensors invisibly embedded in the daily environment, extracts physiological parameters from it, analyzes the parameters, and accumulates the results. The accumulated results are used for reporting useful information to maintain the persons health. The researchers constructed a model room for SELF consisted of a bed with pressure sensor array, a ceiling lighting dome with a microphone and a washstand with display[15].SELF describes a self-assessment system of human health but measuring only respiratory system and sleeping disorder, which is not sufficient to monitor health condition. The ENABLE project was set up in 2001 to measure the impact of assistive technology on the patient suffering from mild or moderate dementia (Adlam et al. 2004). The researcher installed two devices (cooker and night light) in the apartment of several patients in different locations to evaluate the efficiency of the system [16]. The research scope is limited to only two household devices but to assist this type of patient the whole house must possess some kind of intelligence. Health Integrated Smart Home Information System (HIS) is an experimental platform for home based monitoring (Virone.et al. 2002). IR sensors are used to track inhabitant activities and the information is transmitted via Controller Area Network (CAN) to a local computer. The system generates alerts according to some predefine zones [17]. The research is only limited to single inhabitant monitoring. In 2002, GuillÃÆ' ©n et al. developed a system composed of two parts: home station (HS) and caregiver medical center (CMC) connected via integrated service digital network (ISDN) backbone. The home station is equipped with vital signs recording module to monitor physiological data like blood pressure, temperature, ECG, pulse oximetry. Caregiver medical center is like a call center designed specially with patient monitoring software. An interactive communication system between home and caregiver center is developed using videoconferencing technology [18]. Figure 1 shows functional modules of multimedia smart home. The system requires high Internet bandwidth for videoconferencing, which needs expensive equipments and high maintenance cost. Functional module of multimedia platform [18] At University of Tokyo, Noguchi et al (2002) designed an intelligent room to support daily life of the inhabitant. The system has three main components: data collection, data processing and integration of processed data. The system learns current state of environment from sensors attached to bed, floor, table and switches. A summarization algorithm is used to track any changes in the system. The algorithm segments the collected sensory data at the points where sensor outputs changes drastically (i.e. pressure data appears suddenly or switch sensors are changed). It labels the segment with the room state. It joins a state of each segment to quantize the accumulated data and ties up the changed situation. The algorithm also tries to eliminate and reduces situations that changes slightly [19].The proposed summarization algorithm can detect user activities which is tested for single room only. No home automation method discussed utilizing the algorithm. MavHome (Managing an Adaptive Versatile Home) first introduced by Das et al. in 2002 at the University of Texas, Arlington [20]. Figure 2 describes MavHome architecture in brief. MavHome use multi disciplinary technologies: artificial intelligent, multimedia technology, mobile computing and robotics. It is divided into four abstract layers: physical, communication, information and decision. X10 protocol is used to control and monitor more than sixty X10 devices plugged into the home electric wiring system [21]. Active LeZi algorithm is developed that makes a decision tree based on kth order Markov model and predict next action calculating probability of all actions applying prediction by partial matching method [22]. Although MovHome utilize algorithms to make accurate prediction and decision, it only predicts the behavior of single inhabitant [23]. concrete architecture of MavHome[21] The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for Successful aging (RERC-Tech-Aging) at the University of Florida introduced House of Matilda (Helel et al. 2003, 2005)[24].The home is inhabited by a dummy called Mutilda. The main aim of this research is to perceive user location using ultrasound technology. After two years, in 2005 they designed the second generation of this home named GatorTech'[25]. GatorTech is actually integration of smart device with sensors and actuators to optimize the comfort and safety of older peoples. The system is not user friendly because it requires wearable device for user tracking. In 2004, Mihailidis et al. developed a computer vision system in pervasive healthcare systems. The vision system consists of three agents: sensing, planning and prompting. Statistics and physics based methods of segmenting skin color in digital images are used for face and hand tracing [26]. Only hand and face tracing is not sufficient to make an efficient smart home system, the system should include body tracking and hand gesture reorganization. Multimedia Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo Inc. in Japan, has developed a system for modeling and recognizing personal behavior utilizing sensors and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag (Isoda et al. 2004)[27]. C4.5 algorithm is used to construct decision tree from the data obtained from the sensors and RFID tags. The users behavioral context at any given moment is obtained by matching the most recently detected states with previously defined task models. The system is an effective way for acquiring users spatiotemporal context but no intelligent system is developed for home appliances control. Andoh et al. in 2004 developed a networked non-invasive health monitoring system analyzing breath rate, heart rate, snoring and body movement. Researchers adopted Ethernet network for breath monitoring system implementation. The system can estimate sleep stages analyzing data using the algorithm developed for the purpose [28]. The system cannot summarize long term observation of patients sleeping disorder. In 2005, Masuda et al. have developed a health monitoring arrangement using existing telecommunication system for home visit rehabilitation therapists. Researchers used an air filled mat to measure heartbeat and respiratory condition. When the patient lies on the air mat, his heartbeat and respiratory movement cause significant change in air pressure inside the mat, which is measured by pressure sensor and analyzed by appropriate filtering process [29]. The interesting part of the project is the usage of an air bag as monitoring equipment but its limitation is, it can only measure heart rate and respiratory condition. In 2005, Ma et al emphasized on context awareness to provide automatic services in smart home. They used case-based reasoning (CBR) to provide more appropriate services. CBR technique relies on previous interactions and experiences to find solutions for current problems. The system can adopt any manual adjustment done by modifying case data [30].This is the initial state of the project where few scenarios like AC, TV, lamp interaction is evaluated. Their future plan is to add more contexts and enrich the features of case tables. The House_n group at MIT designed PlaceLab a new living laboratory for the study of ubiquitous technologies in home environment (Intille et al. 2005). PlaceLab deployed with numerous wire, light, pressure, temperature water, gas, current sensors with video and audio devices to create vast amount of real life data from single volunteers as well as couples [31].The goal of the project is to study human behavior, influence of technology on the people and how technology can be used to simplify user interaction with home appliances. Their main contribution is an open online database of smart home sensor events and a well featured analyzing software [48].Researchers never implemented the study to build an autonomous intelligent home. Yamazaki (2006) constructed Ubiquitous Home, a real-life test bed, for home context-aware service. It is a housing test facility for the creation of useful new home services by linking devices, sensors, and appliances across data networks. Active and passive RFID tags located above the ceiling and at the entrance of the door are used to detect and recognize inhabitants. Pressure sensors are used to track user movement and furniture. The system is occupied with plasma panels, liquid crystal display and microphone for better interaction with the users. A network robot is employed to perform certain home services. Researchers concluded that the goal of smart home is not to design an automated home but to develop an environment using interface technologies between human and the system [32].Although, the researchers installed enough sensors and interfacing devices , the system is only sensible to few task automations like TV program selection, cooking recipe display and forgotten property service. Ha et al. (2006) presents a sensor-based indoor location-aware system that can identify residents location. Researchers used an array of Pyroelectric Infrared (PIR) sensor and proposed a framework of smart home location aware system. An algorithm is developed to process the information collected from PIR sensors for inhabitant location detection. Their next step is to design an algorithm to determine location and trajectory of multiple residents simultaneously [33]. The project in dedicated to user location detection system which is an essential part of smart home. No system is developed to provide intelligence to the house employing user location. In 2007, Rahal et al. at DOMUS laboratory, Universit ´e de Sherbrooke, Canada, utilized Bayesian Filtering methods to determine location of the inhabitants. Bayes filters are efficiently used to estimate a persons location using a set of fixed sensors. In this method, the last known position and the last sensor event are both used to estimate a new location. The algorithm based on Bayesian filtering shows a mean localization accuracy of 85% [34].This project also deals with user location detection algorithm, no home automation is developed using the processed information. De Silva et al. (2007) have implemented an audiovisual retrieval and summarization system utilizing multimedia technology for human behavior tracking. Using a large number of cameras a hierarchical clustering of audio and video handover used to create personalized video clips. An adaptive algorithm is used for complete and compact summary of the video retrieved. Basic audio analysis methods are applied for accurate audio segmentation and source localization. An interface allowed users to incorporate their knowledge into the search process and obtain more accurate results for their queries [35].The system can track people, extract key frame, localize sound source, detect lighting change but cannot distinguished different people. At Tampere University of Technology, Vainio et al.(2008) developed a proactive fuzzy home-control system. An adaptive algorithm applied to evaluate the test on obtained results. The goal of the research is to help elderly people live independently at home. Developed system can recognize routines and also recognize deviations from routines. The system can provide information to caregivers about living rhythm, sleeping disorders, and medicine taking of inhabitant [36]. But the system works sensibly only for lighting control. In 2008, Swaminathan et al. proposed an object reorganization system using visual image localization and registration. Appliances are first registered in the image processing system. According to the voice command of the user, appropriate object is selected using an environmental map [27].It is actually a home automaton project using speech reorganization to receive user command and commands are executed to the objects which already known to the system. Growing Self-Organizing Maps (GSOM) used a self-adaptive neural network to detect and recognize activities of daily life addressed by Zheng et al in 2008 [38] [39]. The GSOM follows the basic principle of the Kohonen self-organizing map with a special focus on adaptive architecture. The learning process of the GSOM is started by generating an initial network composed by four neurons on a 2-dimensional grid, followed by iteratively presenting training data samples. The system is tested in single room apartment for about two weeks where it can recognized user pattern of 22 distinct activities. Like other Self Adaptive Neural Networks (SANN), the system is depends on several learning parameters to be determined in advance such as initial learning rate and the size of the initial neighborhood. Other machine learning method must be utilized in parallel to determine optimum parameter for best performance. In 2008, Perumal et al. from Institute of Advanced Technology of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) have presented a design and implemented Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) based residential engagement for smart home systems appliances control [40]. An appliance control module based on SOAP and web services developed to solve the interoperation of various home appliances in smart home systems. Fifteen feedback based control channels implemented with residential management system through Web Services. If the residential management system experiences server downtime, the home appliances can still be controlled using alternate control mechanism with GSM network via SMS Module locally and remotely. This system offers a complete, bi-directional real-time control and monitoring of smart home systems. No security mechanism is used to protect the web server from unauthorized access. Virone et al. present a dozens of statistical behavioral patterns obtained from an activity monitoring pilot study. The pilot study examined home activity rhythms of 22 residents in an assisted living environment with four case studies. Established behavioral patterns have been captured using custom software based on a statistical predictive algorithm that models circadian activity rhythms (CARs) and their deviations (Virone et al. 2008). The system cannot differentiate multiple inhabitants [41]. Yoo et al. examined web-based implementation possibility of a central repository to integrate the biosignal data arrives from various types of devices in a remote smart home. Medical waveform description Format Encoding Rule (MFER) standard is followed for communicating and storing the biosignal data in ubiquitous home health monitoring system. The web-based technology allowed ubiquitous access to the data from remote location. The paper presents a common data format for all types of sensor (Yoo et al. 2008)[42].Figure 3 describes functional architecture of web based data retrieval system. Information security, which is a burning issue for any web based system is not considered in this research. A web-based architecture for transferring the measured biosignal data from the u-House to the remote central repository. A snow-flake data model is designed by Zhang et al. in 2008 to represent the activities data in smart homes [43]. Sensor data are stored in the homeML structure. A new algorithm is proposed on the prediction of class labels for variable person and activities of daily life (ADL) indicating who is doing what, given the observed episode and time information. Accuracy is calculated as the proportion of the number of correctly predicted class over the total number of episodes in the evaluation dataset. The learning output in the form of a joint probability distribution is also assessed by the distance to the true underlying probability distribution, using the Euclidean metric. The smaller the distance is, the closer the learned model to the true situation. The algorithm is based on probabilistic distribution and able to predict ADL of more than one inhabitant. The result given is based on simulated data and the example shows only one task identification (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"making drink activi ties). In 2008, Park et al. proposed a method for recognizing ADL at multiple levels of details by combining multi-view computer vision and RFID based direct sensor [44]. A hierarchical recognition scheme is proposed by building a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) that encompasses both coarse-level and fine-level ADL recognition. Their methodology combines the two tracking technology. The system requires wearable RFID tag which is not comfortable for users. Rashidi et al. developed CASAS at Washington State University in 2008. CASAS is an adaptive smart home that utilizes machine-learning techniques to discover patterns in user behaviour and to automatically mimic these patterns. The goal is to keep the resident in control of the automation. Users can provide feedback on proposed automation activities, modify the automation policies, and introduce new requests. In addition, CASAS can discover changes in residents behaviour patterns automatically. Frequent and Periodic Activity Miner (FPAM) algorithm mines this data to discover frequent and periodic activity patterns. These activity patterns are modelled by their Hierarchal Activity Model (HAM), which utilizes the underlying temporal and structural regularities of activities to achieve a satisfactory automation policy. User can provide feedback on proposed automation activities, modify the automation policies, and introduce new requests [45].To make a system more interactive smart home s hould be equipped with voice reorganization facilities which is absent in this system. Raad et al. developed a cost-effective user-friendly telemedicine system to serve the elderly and disabled people. An architecture of telemedicine support in smart home that consists of web and telecom interface is considered in their research (Raad et al. 2008)[46]. This system also suffers from information security issues. PRIMA (Perception, recognition and integration for interactive environments) research group of the LIG laboratory at the INRIA Grenoble research center in France has defined a model for contextual learning in smart homes (2009). The authors developed a 3D smart environment consisting cameras, a microphone array and headset microphones for situation modeling. It relies on 3D video tracking and role detection process regarding activities of the person. Roles are learned by support vector machines (SVM). It is also capable to learn speed of the inhabitant and distance to the interacting object. Proposed system can identify situations like introduction, presentation, aperitif, game and siesta. Its error rate is very high [49]. Kim et al. developed a pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensor based indoor location aware system (PILAS) in 2009.The system uses an array of PIR sensors attached with the ceiling and detects inhabitants location by combining overlapped detected areas. PIR sensors construct a virtual map of resident location transition. To improved accuracy, they applied Bayesian classifier using a multivariate Gaussian probability density function to determine the location of an inhabitant. PILAS is unable to detect multiple residents [50]. Wang et al. have developed a smart home monitoring and controlling system(2009). The system can be controlled from remote locations through an embedded controller. They have developed different GUI for mobile devices and PCs. Each device has a unique address. A new command format to control the devices is introduced. It is a complex system and not compatible to previous smart homes architectures [51]. Yongping et al. have developed an embedded web server to control equipments using Zigbee protocol (2009). For this purpose they used S3C2410 microprocessor which was programmed with Linux 2.6 kernel. To provider online access a small web server (only 60 Kbytes) named Boa is installed. An interface had also been designed to communicate with Zigbee module (MC13192).The system do possess any type of intelligence [52]. Hussain el al. have developed inhabitant identification system using wireless sensor network (WSN) and RFID sensors (2009). The system can identify user location by the intensity of the Radio Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of WSN. A person is recognized by attached a RFID tag. The combined reading of RSSI signal and RFID receiver can successfully identify specific location of a resident in the home. The system is limited to single person tracking [53]. At Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan, Chen et al.