“the Awakening” from a Feminist Perspective Essay

Running Head: â€Å"THE AWAKENING† FROM A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE In Kate Chopin’s novel, â€Å"The Awakening†, Edna finds herself in a society where women were socially confined to be mothers and wives. This novel embodies the struggle of women in the society for independence along with the presence of women struggling to live up to the demands that their strict culture has placed upon them. A part of Edna wants to meet the standards of mother and wife that society has set, however her biggest desire is to be a woman free from the oppression of a society that is male dominant. Readers will find that the foundation of â€Å"The Awakening† the feminist perspective because of the passion that Edna has for gaining her own identity, and independence,†¦show more content†¦Although she was just attempting to swim alone, she saw this experience as a great failure because the fear or â€Å"encounter with death† prevented her from moving forward with the goal that she set for herself. The frustration that stemmed from t his experience carried to that night where she asserted herself to her husband by defying his wishes. Her assertion was her first experience of freedom from oppression. â€Å"The Awakening† gives readers different view of feminism. The novel not only displays how Edna begin to gain independence from the role of an obedient wife but the novel also embodies of how Edna gains control of her body. The idea of Feminism rebukes people from being treated as property. This notion of feminism not only applies to independence but also freedom of making decisions, in Edna’s case, Decisions about her body and sexuality. Edna cared for her husband and appreciated how well he took care of their family. However, she didn’t love him, â€Å"she had married without love as an excuse† (Chopin, 2005). This being evident in the novel, it’s no surprise the Edna started to stray from her marriage to Leonce. The estrangement between the couple started earlier in the nov elShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening Feminism Essay1262 Words   |  6 PagesAfter reading The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, I believe the text is feminist. Whether Kate Chopin was deliberately writing for early feminists or not, the book has many early feminist ideas and it is shown through the main characters awakening by being eccentric. The author uses Edna Pontellier as an anti-conventional woman, breaking societal laws that govern her life, in search for individuality in a society that represses her. From a reader’s perspective in the early 1900’s, Edna would be a mentallyRead MoreEssay on A Male Dominated Society During the 19th Century952 Words   |  4 Pagesmothers and wives. A world where women had rights, control, and power was a fantasy. According to Hall, he states, â€Å"Key to all feminist methodologies is the belief that patriarchal oppression of women through history has been profound and multifaceted† (Hall 202). In other words, it is known that t he male takes complete cruel supremacy over the years in our history. In The Awakening and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, they all convey the strugglesRead MoreAdele Ratignolle Essay788 Words   |  4 PagesIs there one definition of feminism? Kathleen M. Streater wrote the article, Adele Ratignolle: Kate Chopin’s Feminist at Home in The Awakening. The peer-reviewed journal entry was published in The Midwest Quarterly and seems to be the only article written by Streater as it is difficult to find much information on Streater. Streater made a convincing argument throughout the article by using expert quotes that bolster the position she took in addressing Edna’s radical feminism. Streater said, â€Å"ToRead More The Variety of Feminisms and their Contributions to Gender Equality by Judith Lorber1120 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many branches of feministic theorems. As Judith Lorber wrote in her article, The Variety of Feminisms and their Contributions to Gender Equality feminist denominations arose from different views, making many contributions to improve women’s status. Lorber discusses the views of, â€Å"gender reform feminisms, gender resistant feminisms, and gender revolution feminismsâ₠¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1) etcetera, all which have fought to improve women’s rights. Though there are many different aspects of viewing feminism,Read MoreHow Can a Feminist Reading of Lady Chatter-Leys Lover Illuminate Lawrences Depiction of Men and Women?1498 Words   |  6 PagesHow can a feminist reading of Lady Chatter-leys Lover illuminate Lawrences depiction of men and women? Lady Chatterleys Lover is renowned for its supposed obscenity and daring nature. Perhaps this obscenity is necessary in exploring Lawrences message of female liberation as our protagonist escapes her loveless marriage. Yet, through feminist interpretation, it may be viewed that this freedom is no more than Lady Chatterley jumping from one gender constraint to another and so women are portrayedRead MoreThe Awakening : Evaluating The Core Values Of The Nineteenth Century1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe Awakening: Evaluating The Core Values of the Nineteenth Century In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier exists as the embodiment of the feminist ideas that stand as outliers in the midst of the more traditional nineteenth century beliefs. Set in 1899 near the end of this generation, Chopin’s work explores the shared attitudes of most of the novel’s cast as they respond to Edna’s search for independence and freedom, an action that challenges her conservativeRead MoreAnalysis Of Proto-Feminism In The Awakening By Kate Chopin838 Words   |  4 Pagesliberation was not a familiar concept to society, however a great variety of literature from this time period displayed how women defended themselves for the independence and freedom they lacked. Along with the many novels written in this time period, The Awakening written by Kate Chopin in 1899 justifies this philosophy. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of the story took on the challenge of isolating herself from societal norms and provin g her capabilities as a woman in a community of Creoles. DespiteRead More A Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay536 Words   |  3 PagesA Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening The multiplicity of meanings and (re)interpretations informing critical studies of The Awakening reveal a novel ripe for deconstructionist critique. Just as Chopin evokes an image of the sea as symbolic of Edna’s shifting consciousness (â€Å"never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude,†138), likewise the deconstructionist reading of a text emphasizes fluidity over structure: â€Å"A text consistsRead MoreKate Chopin s The Awakening1185 Words   |  5 PagesWhen The Awakening was published by Kate Chopin, feminist movement was being expended. According to Dobie, the growing strength of the feminist movement has also led to the establishment of women’s studies programs†¦which question the qualities of femininity and masculinity, and in feminist literary criticism. (Dobie 108) However, the society was still male centered system, and women were considered as subordination of men. The society intentionall y worshiped constructed notion, like ‘true womanhood’Read MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1479 Words   |  6 Pagescontroversial novel, The Awakening, ignited turmoil because of her blatant disregard of the established 19th century perspective of women upholding strictly maternal and matrimonial responsibilities. Edna’s candid exploration of the restrictions on women through her liberal behavior in a conservative Victorian society makes her a literary symbol for feminist ideals. Despite denunciation from other people, Edna chooses individuality over conformity through her veering from traditional obligations.

White and black box Project software testing Free Essays

Introduction There were different ways of testing the software, white box testing and black box testing. In the white box testing, it looks into the covers and into the details of the whole software we created enabling us to see what’s happening inside it. On the other hand, black box testing just looks into the available inputs for the software and what expected outputs are that should result from each input not concerning within the inner work of the software. We will write a custom essay sample on White and black box Project software testing or any similar topic only for you Order Now So this makes a difference of the area they choose to focus on. (www.testplan.com, 7th Feb 2011) Hence going through the black box testing and white box testing, we as a testing team thought of using black box testing as it its more appropriate for our software which involves security testing and usability testing. So being two persons in the testing team it was easy for us to divide the task. I took usability testing where as my other group mate did security testing. As soon as we got the final copy of the working software, I checked the whole software if it works as it says or not. We first had to install a program called WampServer to run our software. I ran the software and checked the web design whether it is user friendly or not. This helps for the ease of use of the software for our customers or the users. The index page looked like as below: And the survey page which is the main page looked like one below: Page 1: Page 2: We also have details about the data protection to make sure that this software we created is copyrighted and also mentioned stuff like information we collect from the users, IP addresses and cookies, uses made of the information, users rights, data security and access to information. We also have a page where the users or the customers will know about us. We also have features for disabled person who have to click â€Å"high visibility† in the index page to access it. It is mainly for the people who are suffering from colour blindness or have partial visual impairment so we made the font bigger and used just three colours for the whole website and looked like below: The above snap shot is of the first page for the disabled users. As we can see that it hasn’t got much of colour contrast and the font are bigger. We have used white and yellow text and blue as the background to avoid visual glairiness because through research we have found that the people with low vision sees this colour more comfortably. Then we got the survey page whose layout is also similar as the above one. This is the survey page for the disabled users. We used bigger fonts through the whole webpage and maintained a text format meaning that we have got rid of all the necessary decorations and kept it simple. Both a â€Å"Normal† and â€Å"High Visibility† web page contains exactly the same information and has the same format. The only difference is in term of graphic so that it provides better visibility. After testing the usability of the software and modifying the software till it was perfect, it was time for us to conduct the usability testing with other user. Before using the usability testing method we need to understand what usability means. It doesn’t mean to have perfect software with no errors or having good features. It should help the customers or the users to use the software or any other products quickly and easily to gain the goal and hence accomplish the tasks. In this project, our task was to build a micro questionnaire data gather which should consist of a website and database to store the information. This website displays an introductory descriptive paragraph and displays four related questions where one of the questions is the central question and the other three are associated questions whose answers will build up a composite answer which will validate or not any information given to the real question. So the users had to go to the index page, choose which graphic they prefer to use and give answers to the questions. I chose two methods of usability testing for our software and they are user and expert review. User testing: In this method of testing, I chose 5 different users. Three of them were GCSE level students and two of them were students from the university. The software was ready in my laptop to be used and then told them what they had to do with the software. I also requested them to give some feedback about the website itself. Then all of them started going through the website, looking through the layouts, fonts, colour, etc. This test was done individually in different places. Then they read the question and answered them as per their own thinking. There was one user who used glasses so I asked him to take it off n use the â€Å"high visibility† layout if he doesn’t mind and he did. The feedback was quite good as well. He described about the colours and size of the fonts which were of perfect match and even the contrast to the background were easy for them to read. They also gave feedback about the navigation of the website which was pretty much easy. Expert Review: In this method we involved an expert for inspecting the software. We asked him to examine the whole website and give us feed back. I took started the software and then he examined the whole software. Feedback from user testing: The layouts of the website were well presented. The contrasts of the colour were chosen well. The colours for the high visibility were chosen well. It was user friendly. It was easy to learn how to use it. Navigations of the software were simple. It has an appealing layout. It provided objective information to the users. Storing of data was effective n efficient. Refrences: http://www.testplant.com/download_files/BB_vs_WB_Testing.pdf, 7th Feb 2011 Usability inspection methods, Jakob Nelsen, Sunsoft and Robert L. Mack, IBM T.J. Watson research centre Interaction design – beyond human computer interaction, second edition, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd Usability Testing and Research, Carol M. Barnum, Southern Polytechnic State University How to cite White and black box Project software testing, Essay examples

Research Social Stratification And Mobility -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Research Social Stratification And Mobility? Answer: Introduction This report aims to investigate the suitability of work from home facility for the employees of AKC Architectural Firm (AKC). From the provided situation, it can be observed that the company is facing the issue of high absenteeism among the employees, as most of the employees have to stay at home due to look after their sick children and due to other school related issues. For this reason, the management of AKC is considering to provide the employees with work from home facility so that they can continue their work. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the companies are required to consider some major factor before implementing the facility for work from home (Allen et al. 2013). The following discussion considers all the major aspects required to be discussed before the implementation of the work from home strategy for the employees of AKC. Software and Access Before the implementation of the strategy of work from home, the accountant is needed to assess the availability of appropriate software so that the works can be done in a smooth manner from home. There needs to be appropriate software that will maintain a connection between the employees and the administration team. With the assistance of this software, the instructor will be able to give instructions of the tasks in working hours. This can be a video software, chatting software or the personal mail of the company. The accountant needs to assess all these aspects (Masuda et al. 2012). Purchase of Additional Resources This part is related with the above part. After the assessment, in case the accountant finds that some important resources like software and others are missing, the company needs to purchase them for implementing work from home facility. Another important aspect is laptops. In case the AKC uses desktop computers at office, they need to buy laptops along with the required software for their employees so that they can carry them to home for doing work from home. Thus, the company needs to bear the expenses of buying laptops. However, if AKC uses laptops at use, then they need to give permission to the employees for carrying these laptops at home. In both of the cases, AKC needs provide the employees allowance for internet (Sweet et al. 2014). Cost Savings AKC has certain scopes for cost saving by implementing the strategy of work from home. First, in the employees of the company are provided with fork from home faculty for 3 days a week, then there will be a reduction of utility bills for the company; like electricity bills, internet usage bills and telephone bills. After that, the company will save the money for traveling allowances provided to the employees, if there is any. Other costs saving areas are savings in the usage of water, coffee, tea and others (Leslie et al. 2012). Taxation Benefits of Work from Home It is an important aspect to inform the employees of AKC about the taxation benefits of work from home. As per Australian Taxation Office, in case the employees use tools, equipments and other assets for the generation of income, then the employees can claim a taxable deduction for some or all of the cost of the assets (ato.gov.au 2018). It is important for the company to inform the employees about the taxation benefits of work from home so that they become interested in this aspect. Working Hours According to the Australian regulation, the employees have 38 working hours in a week. It needs to be mentioned that there is not any exception of this working hour in case of work from home. For this reason, the employees of AKC need to work for 38 hours in a week (Duncan and Pettigrew 2012.). However, there needs to be flexibility in the working hours as the main aim of the strategy of work from home is to provide flexibility to the employees. For this reason, the employees should be given with the option to fulfill the working hours of 38 hours in a flexible manner. It implies that they can work whenever they want to work buy required to fulfill the assigned working hours and tasks (Katz and Krueger 2016). Process to Stop Abusing the Working Hours There is a major possibility of the abuse of working hours by the employees in case of work from home as the employees many take the negative advantage of work from home and do not fully work in the full working hours. In order to avoid this issue, the employees are required to be assigned work on daily basis that need to be completed on daily basis. This will make the employees to work in urgent basis and they will get the flexibility for working. In addition, there needs to be penalty for the abuse of working hour like salary deduction and others. All these aspects will stop the abuse of working hours (Ferguson et al. 2012). Issues in Flexible Working Hours Some major issues can be seen in flexible working system. The first issue is the availability of the employees. In flexible working system, the administration teams are not always able to make contacts with the employees that hamper the work. The next issue is the timely completion of assigned tasks. There are many instances where the employees miss the deadline of tasks or cannot deliver the work in time. Some other issues can be the establishment of connectivity with the employees and others. Thus, the accountant needs to solve these issues in order to put the system in place (Eversole, Venneberg and Crowder 2012). Availability of Adequate Staffs The company needs to segregate the whole employees in some groups. These teams will have certain working slabs allocated for them and they must be available in that working slab. For example, there can be four teams. They are team 1, 2, 3 and 4. Now, team 1 is required to be present from 9 am to 11 am on a mandatory basis. Team 2 needs to be present mandatory from 11 am to 1 pm and so on. With the implementation of this strategy, the company can ensure that there will always be adequate staff on site (Stier, Lewin-Epstein and Braun 2012). Different Arrangements There will be different arrangements for the administrative team and the employees as flexible working system can also be provided to the administration team. However, the work pressure will be more on the administrative team as they will have the responsibility of assigning the works, follow on various work related issues, follow on the availability of the employees and others. The responsibility of the administration team will be to report to the higher authority about various work related issues on a constant basis so that everything can be run in the smooth manner (Wood et al. 2012). Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it can be seen that the accountant of AKC needs to consider the above-discussed issues in the implementation of the work from home facility. Amendment with all these issues will ensure the reduction on absenteeism for the companies. In addition, the company will be able to continue their operation in an effective manner as they employees have excellent skills. Based on the above discussion, some recommendations are provided below: It is recommended that AKC should purchase adequate amount of laptops along with software for this strategy. The company is also recommended to inform the employees about the taxation benefit of work from home so that their enthusiasm can be increased. It is recommended that the company should implement the discussed suggested strategy in order to ensure availability of the employees. References Allen, T.D., Johnson, R.C., Kiburz, K.M. and Shockley, K.M., 2013. Workfamily conflict and flexible work arrangements: Deconstructing flexibility.Personnel psychology,66(2), pp.345-376. Ato.gov.au. (2018).Tools, equipment and other assets. [online] Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/tools,-equipment-and-other-assets/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018]. Duncan, K.A. and Pettigrew, R.N., 2012. The effect of work arrangements on perception of work-family balance.Community, Work Family,15(4), pp.403-423. Eversole, B.A., Venneberg, D.L. and Crowder, C.L., 2012. Creating a flexible organizational culture to attract and retain talented workers across generations.Advances in Developing Human Resources,14(4), pp.607-625. Ferguson, M., Carlson, D., Zivnuska, S. and Whitten, D., 2012. Support at work and home: The path to satisfaction through balance.Journal of Vocational Behavior,80(2), pp.299-307. Katz, L.F. and Krueger, A.B., 2016.The rise and nature of alternative work arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015(No. w22667). National Bureau of Economic Research. Leslie, L.M., Manchester, C.F., Park, T.Y. and Mehng, S.A., 2012. Flexible work practices: A source of career premiums or penalties?.Academy of Management Journal,55(6), pp.1407-1428. Masuda, A.D., Poelmans, S.A., Allen, T.D., Spector, P.E., Lapierre, L.M., Cooper, C.L., Abarca, N., Brough, P., Ferreiro, P., Fraile, G. and Lu, L., 2012. Flexible work arrangements availability and their relationship with work?to?family conflict, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions: A comparison of three country clusters.Applied psychology,61(1), pp.1-29. Stier, H., Lewin-Epstein, N. and Braun, M., 2012. Work-family conflict in comparative perspective: The role of social policies.Research in Social Stratification and Mobility,30(3), pp.265-279. Sweet, S., Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Besen, E. and Golden, L., 2014. Explaining organizational variation in flexible work arrangements: Why the pattern and scale of availability matter.Community, Work Family,17(2), pp.115-141. Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Morrison, R. and Seet, P.S., 2012.Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications. John Wiley Sons Australia, Ltd..

The Black Death Essays - Plague, Second Plague Pandemic, Epidemics

The Black Death The Black Death The Black Death was one of the most severe plagues in its time. I am going to talk about the Black Death, which is also known as The Black Plague and The Bubonic Plague. The main area I will cover is What the affects of the Black Plague was and how is spread. The presenting symptoms of the Black Death are shivering, vomiting, headaches, giddiness, an intolerance to light, pain in the back and limbs, and a white coating on the tongue. A fever of between 103 and 106 occurs immediately. Within 24 hours coughing starts, then becomes spitting up blood. The plague is an acute disease, meaning it normally doesn't last a long time. Also, if you recover from having it you will be immune to it for the rest of your life. The Black Death is caused by the infectious agent Yersinia Pestis, also known as Pasteurella Pestis. Yersinia Pestis is a bacteria. There are two types of bacteria cells, gram-negative and gram-positive. Yersinia Pestis is gram-negative. This makes antibiotics less effective on the plague because gram-negative bacteria have a lipopolysaccharide layer over their walls that add extra protection. The lymphatic system is the system most greatly affected by the Black Death. Plague victims are notorious for having large bumps on their body called "buboes". These are in fact swollen lymph nodes filled with puss. When healthy, the lymph nodes are soft and can't be easily seen, but the spread of infection causes them to harden and become painful. They are large and obtrusive, and they sometimes turn black. This is due to breaking blood vessels, which then dry on the surface of the body, causing black bumps on the body. The largest concentrations of lymph nodes are in the neck, armpits, and groin. These epicenters swell when a person is ill because the body makes a large number of white blood cells to fight off whatever pathogen has entered the body. Lymph contains many white blood cells that help fight cancer causing and disease organisms. The "electron transport chain" function in the body is necessary to make basically all things happen in the body. Yersinia pestis releases a toxin into the body that inhibits this function from happening. So the bacteria stop the body in its tracks. This doesn't involve the lymphatic system, but is another way the plague affects the body. In the Middle Ages, people weren't sure how the plague was being spread so quickly. Now we know that fleas spread the plague. The bacterium, called Yersinia Pestis, makes its way to the upper digestive tract of the flea where it breeds and multiplies. When the flea finds a new host and drinks the blood, it regurgitates the bacteria into the host, thus infecting the host. Many people think that rats spread the Plague. This is partly true. Rats are not the direct infectors of the Plague; they are merely hosts for the fleas carrying the bacteria. The Plague can be spread through any rodent or animal that could get fleas. So the rat, cat, or prairie dog that has fleas could be considered a vector for the disease. Rodents can carry the plague, but it does not affect them, they can then pass it on to humans who will most likely die. Once the bacterium is regurgitated into the new host, it begins to multiply in the blood stream and the lymphatic system. The Bacterium travels to the liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, and brain, basically attacking the whole body at once. The system that the plague has the largest effect on is the lymphatic system, because that is where the most bacteria multiplies. As the lymph nodes swell with puss, the disease circulates through the blood stream and creates the possibility of hemorrhaging and lots of other things. The history of the bubonic plague is a sad one. Three major pandemics have occurred during the 6th, 14th, and 17th centuries. The first outbreak was known as the Plague of Justinian, named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian. 70,000 people died from the plague in Constantinople over two years. From there, the plague was transmitted to France and Italy over trade routes, causing small outbreaks for many years. The effects of this outbreak were on a large scale. In the 14th century, the worst plague of all time occurred, starting in China. This outbreak became known as the Black Death. From China, the plague spread to Europe by two routes. Because China was a major trading center, the plague easily spread on ships. Also, the Tartars carried the plague closer to Europe and

Risk Management Process

Risk Management Process Introduction Risk is imminent in any industry that a business organization may be operating. As a result, it is incumbent upon the management to put in place measures that will ensure adequate prevention of any possible risk. Risk management process has been defined as a process through which an organization plans and executes organizational activities with the aim of reducing or even avoiding effects of risks.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Risk Management Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is important, however, to note that it is capital and income of organizations that are shielded against risk. It should also be noted that for a typical risk management program to be effective, various vital components must be taken into consideration. Risk identification To begin with, it is important to note that one will be fight a futile war if the enemy is not known. Consequently, it is paramount that any risk man agement program begins by identifying which risks are most likely to occur and therefore affect the business. It is only after identification of the risk that it can be feasible to investigate causes of the risk. The risk identification step should also include the identification of events or activities of the organization that are most likely to trigger risks. The manner in which management may chose to carry out the risk identification process usually depends on the business environment, culture as well as the regulations in place. Risk Assessment Risk identification enumerates the risks that can occur, but does not say anything about the most prevalent or the most severe risk. However, for proper risk management it is important for the firm to know which risks can easily occur and which ones have the highest effects on the company assets or income. Consequently, risk assessment to categorize the possible risks according to their probability of occurrence and severity of impact is crucial. It is imperative to note that risk assessment also involves determination of the assets that are vulnerable incase a given risk occurs. However, risk assessment has one draw back which is its inability to precisely determine the pace at which various risks can occur. This is due to the unavailability of reliable statistics hence a higher degree of inaccuracy. Nevertheless, this component of risk management program is vital in assisting management to prioritize its actions. Risk Handling Risk handling involves the process by which strategies to tackle each risk are formulated and implemented. In addition, it includes the prioritization of the strategies in order to cater for the most crucial assets. The ultimate goal of any risk management program is to avoid any risk to the organization. However, it is practically impossible that risks can be completely avoided by any organization no matter how perfect the risk management program may be.Advertising Looking for repo rt on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the programs aim to avoid the risk if possible or transfer the risk whenever necessary to institutions or people well placed to take the risk. Nevertheless, there comes a time when the firm cannot avoid some risks. In such a scenario, the management may choose to mitigate the effects of the risk or accept the risk either partially or in full. Whichever the strategy that a firm may choose, its priority should be to safeguard the organization’s capital, assets and income. Conclusion Risk management is not an easy or direct process as many may have wished it to be. Besides being influenced by uncontrollable conditions, it is clouded by a lot of uncertainties which leads to inaccuracies in decision making. Nonetheless, it is a crucial part of organization procedures and has to be undertaken. Therefore, it is upon the management of any organization to ensure that efforts are made to get the most appropriate risk management program implemented.

African American Inventors - Patent Holders Index P

African American Inventors - Patent Holders Index P Black history inventors are listed alphabetically: use the A to Z index bar to navigate and select or just browse the many listings. Each listing has the name of the black inventor followed by the patent number(s) which is the unique number assigned to an invention when a patent is issued, the date the patent was issued, and a description of the invention as written by the inventor. If available, links are provided to in-depth articles, biographies, illustrations and photos on each individual inventor or patent. How to submit to the database. O Pace to Pickett, Pinn to Purvis Q Harold Pace #5712899, 1/27/1998, Mobile location reporting apparatus and methods Lionel F Page #2,170,032, 8/22/1939, Auxiliary circulating device for automobile heaters Alice H Parker #1,325,905, 12/23/1919, Heating furnace John Percial Parker #304,552, 9/2/1884, Follower-screw for tobacco presses#318,285, 5/19/1885, Portable screw-press James A Parsons Jr. #1,728,360, 9/17/1929, Iron alloy#1,819,479, 8/13/1931, Method of making silicon iron compounds#1,972,103, 9/4/1934, Process for treating silicon alloy castings#2,200,208, 5/7/1940, Corrosion-resisting ferrous alloy Moses Payne #394,388, 12/11/1888, Horseshoe Robert A Pelham #807,685, 12/19/1905, Pasting device#NA, 1913, Tallying machine John Perry Jr. #3,284,239, 11/8/1966, Biochemical fuel cell (co-inventor Herbert F Hunger) Frank R Perryman #468,038, 2/2/1892, Caterers tray table Charles A Peterson #3,391,903, 7/9/1968, Power generating apparatus Henry Peterson #402,189, 2/30/1889, Attachment for lawn mowers William Henry Phelps #579,242, 3/23/1897, Apparatus for washing vehicles Anthony Phills #5,136,787, 10/3/1991, Ruler template for computer keyboard John F Pickering #643,975, 2/20/1900, Air ship Henry Pickett #152,511, 7/30/1874, Improvement in scaffolds O Pace to Pickett, Pinn to Purvis, Q Traverse B Pinn #231,355, 8/17/1880, File holder William D Polite #1,218,458, 3/6/1917, Gun Austin J Polk #558,103, 4/14/1896, Bicycle support Jessie T Pope #2,409,791, 10/22/1946, Croquignole iron James Hall Porter #3,534,528, 10/20/1970, Gas well sulfur removal by diffusion through polymeric membranes Alfred G B Prather #3,715,011, 2/6/1973, Gravity escape means Frank Rodger Prince #3,637,743, 1/25/1972, Production of 2-pyrrolidones Abraham Pugsley #433,306, 7/29/1890, Blind stop#433,819, 8/5/1890, Shutter worker Samuel Pugsley #357,787, 2/15/1887, Gate latch John E Purdy #405,117, 6/11/1889, Folding chair, (co-inventor Daniel A. Sadgwar) #570,337, 10/27/1896, Device for sharpening edged tools#609,367, 8/16/1898, Device for sharpening edged tools#630,106, 8/1/1899, Device for sharpening edged tools William H Purdy #D 24,228, 4/23/1895, Spoon design (co-inventor Leonard C. Peters) Willam B Purvis #256,856, 4/25/1882, Fastener for bag#273,149, 2/27/1883, Hand stamp#293,353, 2/12/1884, Paper bag machine#419,065, 1/7/1890, Fountain pen#420,099, 1/28/1890, Paper bag machine#519,291, 5/1/1894, Electric railway#539,542, 5/21/1895, Magnetic car balancing device#588,176, 8/17/1897, Electrical railway system Continue black history database Q

Health Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Economics - Essay Example The studies conducted by Shadick and colleagues focused on assessing the cost effectiveness of the vaccination against the Lyme disease by developing a decision analytic model. However, the evidence gathered for such an experiment may be not being considered as robust as it may seem because the probabilities and costs used by Shadick and Colleagues were taken from the literature which may not be considered as entirely satisfactory as it may seem. Further, best estimates were used on the base case analyses whereas the ranges used in sensitivity analysis were considered as clinically plausible only. Further, the evidence for compliance and risk effects were taken from relatively newer and recent trials which may not have considered as entirely satisfactory and untested due to lack of time tested empirical proofs. Further the evidence for cost effectiveness and management of Lyme disease were taken from one study only and the dollar values were updated up to 1998 only which may not entirely be considered as entirely accurate and relevant. Based on the above, it may be easily inferred that the evidence may not entirely be considered as robust as it lacks in many areas which were conceptually not corrected/designed according to the relevant economic variables. Any health state rated between zero and one can be rated as death or equivalent and perfect health whereas anything below zero on visual analogue scale may be termed as worse than death therefore based on three given states of A, B, C at 0.1, 0.45, 0.8, we can assign a utility of death or equivalent because all the utilities are greater than zero but less than one. Therefore, the utility assigned to all three states are effectively representing one state because all three are less than one and greater than zero. Q#1(d) An incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) can be less than $40,000/- per quality adjusted year only if the persistence of vaccination efficacy is considered at three years. The traditional studies suggested that the cost effectiveness ratio, under two year time horizon of vaccination efficacy, the overall cost reach to $105,000/QALY. However, when this time horizon is stretched to three years, the incremental cost effectiveness ratio can reach up to $29,600/QALY. It is also important to note that Shadick & Colleagues took a radically larger efficacy period as in comparison to traditionally used. Q#1(e) With the increase in the vaccination cost by 100% i.e. from $150 to $300, the overall cost saving/QALY would decrease and the program would have moved up into the league table indicating smaller cost savings from the vaccination. The cost saving however is taken in terms of the costs averted while using the given vaccination. Q#2 Shadick and Colleagues considered a decision analytic model as one of the valid tools for making economic evaluation. Decision analytic tool is used when the intention of the researcher is to make justifiable and defendable decisions. Since, economics always involves a relative degree of abstraction therefore it sometimes becomes critical that such model for economic valuation is used which can provide researchers considerable degree of comfort while defending assessments made. (Arsham, 1994). Making comparison with earlier studies provide a peer reviewed evidence which can help researchers to take on the research

Operation Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Managment - Essay Example n the period of five years, as stated in the case, the number of fire alarms had increased by 96%, putting a strain on the City Fire Departments budget and other resources. Resource allocation, police violence and corruption were some of the problems in the New York Police Department. Resource allocation was also the issue for the ambulance services. In the Fire Project, real life simulation was used as the major model in order to look at the situation. Also, methods such as queuing models for fire company availability, Bayes approach to alarm forecasting, and integer linear programming of fire company relocations. In the Police Project, real life simulation was also used along with optimization and queuing models in order to provide with staffing alternatives. As for the ambulance services, simulation analysis was also used. For the Fire Project, the major solution that was proposed was the closing of 24 fire company locations and disbandment of ten fire companies. The fire company locations were determined in relation with the area they covered, and dependent on their distance to the area that they could service. With the use of management science models, it was found out that in order for the NYC to cut down on costs in relation to the effectiveness of the company, this solution was vital. Also, as for deployment, staffing alternatives were created in order to address the issue of the mismatch between the number of fire companies on duty during peak times of fire alarms. The solution was successful that the NYC government sought the use of management scientists in addressing other problems of resource-allocation and deployment. For the Police Project, staffing alternatives were created from the optimization and queuing models in order to determine the allocation of patrol cars and police officers in different locations of the city that demanded the police services. As for the ambulance services, the solution was to tie up the ambulances to the areas with

The hydration step Essay Example for Free

The hydration step Essay Oxidation is the major pathway for the catabolism of saturated fatty acids. It involves the successive removal of two-carbon fragments from the carboxyl end of the fatty acyl CoA (Champe, Harvey, Ferrier, 2005). The first three steps of this ? -oxidation spiral are the following (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000): Dehydrogenation or oxidation – the removal of two hydrogen atoms from the 2(? )- and 3(? )-carbon atoms, catalyzed by acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, yielding 1 FADH2; Hydration – the addition of water to saturate the double bond, forming 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA, catalyzed by ? 2-enoyl-CoA hydrase (also known as enoyl-CoA hydratase); and Dehydrogenation or oxidation – a further dehydrogenation on the 3-carbon, catalyzed by the enzyme L(+)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, producing 1 NADH. The end-products of this pathway, after a few more steps and successive reentry of acyl-CoA into the cycle, are acetyl CoA, NADH and FADH2. The citric acid cycle is the energy-producing pathway â€Å"where the oxidative metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and fatty acids converge, their carbon skeletons being converted to CO2 and H2O† (Champe, Harvey, Ferrier, 2005). Although it is technically a cycle, the â€Å"last† three steps are identified as follows (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000): Dehydrogenation or oxidation – succinate, in the presence of FAD, is converted by the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase into fumarate and FADH2; Hydration – the addition of water to fumarate to produce L-malate, catalyzed by fumarate hydratase (also known as fumarase); and Dehydrogenation or oxidation – the conversion of malate and NAD+ by the enzyme malate dehydrogenase to oxaloacetate, NADH and H+. The chemical conversions involved in the citric acid cycle that eventually produce carbon dioxide and water generate a form of energy that is usable by aerobic organisms (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle). Obviously, the first three steps of the ? -oxidation pathway and the last three steps of the citric acid cycle involve the same reactions. Both occur in the mitochondria of the cell. In both cycles, the first dehydrogenation (also called oxidation, depending on the source) involves a flavoprotein coenzyme with a FAD prosthetic group, and FADH2 is thus yielded. The hydration step in ? -oxidation and the citric acid cycle involve hydratase enzymes. The second dehydrogenation step in both cycles require the NAD+ coenzyme and produce NADH + H+. That having been said, the main difference between these otherwise similar reactions is that they have different substrates and yield different products. The last step in the ? -oxidation pathway is the splitting of ? -ketoacyl-CoA by the enzyme ? -ketothiolase (http://themedicalbiochemistrypage. org/fatty-acid-oxidation. html). This reaction produces an acyl-CoA derivative that contains two carbons less than the original acyl-CoA molecule that that underwent oxidation, as well as acetyl-CoA. The acyl-CoA thus formed reenters the ? -oxidation spiral, while the acetyl-CoA is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water through the citric acid cycle. The first step of the citric acid cycle is the initial condensation of acetyl-CoA with oxaloacetate to form citrate, in a reaction catalyzed by citrate synthase (Murray, Granner, Mayes, Rodwell, 2000). A carbon-to-carbon bond is created between the methyl group of acetyl-CoA and the carbonyl carbon of oxaloacetate. Acetyl-CoA transfers its two-carbon acetyl group to oxaloacetate, which initially contains four carbons, and a six-carbon molecule is then formed as citrate (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle). Both reactions involve acetyl-CoA. However, acetyl-CoA is the product in ? -oxidation, whereas it is one of the substrates in the citric acid cycle. Coenzyme A is required in the last step of ? -oxidation, whereas it is one of the by-products in the first step of the citric acid cycle. Finally, in ? -oxidation, two carbons are removed per cycle, whereas the citric acid cycle involves the addition of two carbons. References Champe, P. C. , Harvey, R. A. , Ferrier, D. R. (2005). Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry. Philadelphia: Lippincott Wiliams Wilkins. Citric Acid Cycle. (2008). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle Fatty Acid Oxidation. (2008). In The Medical Biochemistry Page. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from: http://themedicalbiochemistrypage. org/fatty-acid-oxidation. html Murray, R. K. , Granner, D. K. , Mayes, P. A. , Rodwell, V. W. (2000). Harper’s Biochemistry (25th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Psychology/clockwork Orange Essays -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Clockwork Orange is a film about a wild and troubled young lad Alex. Alex and his friends (droogs) get a high from inflicting harm upon others. They commit random acts of robbery and rape around London. Alex, as the ringleader, eventually gets caught and is sent to prison. It is in prison that scientists study Alex’s violent behavior. Scientists believed that through special training or a program that his evil ways could be fixed. Alex was subjected to a conditioning program that would create an unpleasant physical reaction to just the thought of doing harm to another person. Skinner’s theories on behaviorism are introduced in these scenes where the doctors are trying to â€Å"cure† Alex. As part of the conditioning program, Alex is forced to watch films with his eyelids clamped open. His face is then wrapped in electrical straps and wires. He is forced to watch violent scenes and right after those scenes follow crimes that Alex committed with his gang of friends. In the rear of the theater, the doctors watch his reactions and record his behavior. These images of violence in the films induced nausea caused by the injections. As he watches, a feeling of queasiness slowly takes over. The doctors predicts that he will associate the death experience with the violence he sees. After his first session, the nurse later says that Alex has made a very positive response to the conditioning, and he is being cured. The next day the films are being played with ...

Amanco Case Study Essay

Is the Amanco strategy an example of â€Å"corporate social responsibility† or â€Å"corporate self-interest†? Amanco’s strategy is an example of corporate social responsibility. Amanco came from a group who self-regulated social responsibility into its business model. Amanco’s business model is also self-regulated and has opportunity to be recognized as a company with social concerns. It almost cannot be seen as a corporate self-interest, because Amanco addressed every step of their operation. They employed a birth-to-grave approach when looking at the effects it had on the social well-being of the people and the environment. Why has Roberto Salas chosen to develop a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard to represent Amanco’s triple bottom line objectives? He chose to develop this strategic map, so that his top, middle, and bottom manager can understand the directions that the company wants to go it. By developing this map, it is easier to adapt this strategy in the different regions and business units. Why did Salas choose to modify the traditional strategy map/BSC format? Salas didn’t think that the traditional strategy map clearly presented the triple bottom line concepts as a foundation for any value creation and competitive advantage. He thought by modifying the map, it would make it a clearer and more logical representation of the company’s strategy. What challenges does Salas face with implementing Amanco’s strategy? Salas’s challenges will be getting the right people to champion such a strategy. This falls a little into the Red Strategy of getting the right people, who understands, and buys into the strategy. The problem doesn’t just lie with the people, but also with the different rules and regulations, and the languages in the different countries. Trying to standardize the strategy would be a huge challenge, but it sounds like the created Local SSCs first and tried to link it back to the company’s SSC. In what ways is Amanco following a ‘yellow’ strategy? Amanco is a yellow strategy company, since they look to be considerate of the people. Their purpose and practice goes a long way in making sure that their actions address the needs of its community. Things like product awareness; they adapted a birth-to-grave approach on their products, vetting each step in the cycle to make sure that their outputs weren’t detrimental to the community. With the people, they started within, in ensuring that their employees were taken care of.

Marketing Plan for Educational Institution/University

MIDDLE EAST UNIVERSITY FZE MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN Membership Marketing Strategy Purpose Group President MEU Chair:Mr. Janardhanan Pariyarath Chancellor: Vice Chancellor : Head of Student Services and Enrollment : Dean of Graduate Program: Dean of Post Graduate Program: HOD School of Nursing: HOD, School of Management: HOD School of Pharmacy : Admissions Director : Student/Staff Member – MEU: Chancellor’s Advisor: Marketing Team: Meeting: The Marketing Strategy Purpose Group MEU IS TO BE CONDUCTED ON†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ PurposeThe goals of the Marketing Strategy Purpose Group are to: ?Define target student populations for MEU ?Determine academic programs to be promoted ?Establish a marketing plan that focuses on increasing enrollment The Marketing Strategy Purpose Group is here submitting the (FOR APPROVAL) MARKETING PLA N GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO President Mr. Janardhanan Pariyarath to use as a guide EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Enrollment growth is of strategic importance to the future of the Middle East University. Marketing is an integral element of any recruitment activity.The Marketing Strategy Purpose Group (SPG) IS TO BE FORMED. All of the offices departments and staff have to pool the resources and funding in order to reach a broader audience of potential students. This partnership has been a positive step in achieving enrollment goals, and must continue in the future with the support of other departments across the campus. With the Marketing Plan Guiding Principles as a starting point, the Purpose Group began to determine actions that must be taken in order to improve enrollment and strengthen the overall image of the MEUUsing research from a number of sources, the Purpose Group IS TO IDENTIFY a pool of academic programs for promotion to potential students. A. HALO PROGRAMMES OF MEU ?Bachelor and post b achelor program under School of Nursing B. Core mix of programs of MEU ?Bachelor and post bachelor program under school of Management ? Bachelor and post bachelor program under school of Arts ?Bachelor and post bachelor program under school of pharmacy ? PHD Program C. Tie-up programs of MEU MBA, MCOM, MA, BBA, BCOM, BA, BSC – Calicut University. Target Audiences Target Audiences – Health care Industries, Hospitals, Medical Organizations ?Target Audiences – Traditional Fresher’s from schools for graduate Programs ?Target Audiences – Community College for post graduate program ? Target Audiences – Traditional Students (Employed expatriates) ? Target Audiences – Diverse Student Body Marketing activities among the above targeted audience include: †¢Research †¢Recruitment Geographic Range †¢Image Building/Promotion of the University as a Quality Institution †¢Web Site/E-recruiting †¢Promotion of Academic Programs and Halo Programs †¢Scholarship Development Enrollment Advisory Group †¢Internal Communication †¢Internal Marketing †¢Television and Radio †¢Media Relations †¢Visit Programs †¢Alumni †¢Community Involvement Based on demand from prospective students and growth potential and employment trends. Halo Programs were decided based on the positive effect of these quality programs on the overall image of the university. It was Decided that there will be overall promotion for academic programs, however research is also used to ascertain which marketing tools were the most effective for promotion to MEU’s primary target audiences.Finally, it is recommended that funding be increased for promotion, including funding for new research to be implemented that will assist in the marketing effort for MEU. In order to make the most effective marketing decisions, research will be needed. MARKETING PLAN GUIDING PRINCIPLES 2013-2014 A. Strengthen our connecti on to the MEU without diminishing our identity. B. Reinforce the university’s image as: a. An institution of academic excellence b. A comprehensive university with the intimacy of a small college. c. A campus where the student is the center of the universe Focus A. n our target population, which consists of five prospective groups: a)Target Audiences – Health care Industries, Hospitals, Medical organizations b)Target Audiences – Traditional Fresher’s from schools for graduate programs and Community College for post graduate program c)Target Audiences – Traditional Students (Employed expatriates) d)Target Audiences – Diverse Student Body C. Concentrate on promoting a small number of academic programs, selected on the basis of these considerations: a)Extraordinary quality and/or reputation: halo programs. b)High demand program c)Enrollment flexibility (e. g. online, evening and weekend courses) While capacity should be a factor in certain case s, the choice of programs should not be driven by considerations of excess or insufficient capacity. Some â€Å"prestige† programs may not have the capacity to absorb more students, but they create a â€Å"halo effect† that makes the university as a whole attractive to prospective students. At the same time, increased demand for a limited-capacity program would create the need to expand it. D. Package online, evening and weekend courses as â€Å"the flexible curriculum† and promote it to non-traditional and non-local students. FINDINGSMarketing Strategy Purpose Group has formed a set of recommendation to make satisfaction inventory analysis. Statistics are to be collected from several sources: 1. Visit to school 2. Parents and other family 3. Current students 4. College admissions staff 5. College web site 6. Catalogs, view books 7. Graduates of school 8. Friends 9. College guidebooks 10. Guidance counselor or teacher Television and radio advertising did not lea ve a lasting impression on The students but that broadcast advertising was very influential. The following elements and questions are going to be put forward or pointed out while approaching the prospects.If SPG is to check out these questions and should make answer by giving proper suggestion to the management, everything is concerned towards MEU Satisfaction Inventory analysis. ?Courses and majors ?Brochures about Academic programs ?Admission information/catalogs ?Approval and accreditation from the ministry of education or any other agency ? Faculty information about each course and programs offered ? Regularity of operational efficiency ?General feels and rapport about the university institution ? Cost breakdown ?Infrastructure and Housing information ?Campus life/student information ?Financial aid estimator Campus tour ?Extracurricular activities, tour, annual day, cultural, artistic programs. ?Library resources, Recreation facilities, Campus Safety MEU Satisfaction Inventory à ¢â‚¬ ¢The overall level of satisfaction at MEU is significantly higher. †¢MEU students place a high level of importance on academic quality of faculty, content of courses within their major, campus safety, parking and academic advising. †¢The least important things of MEU students pointed out are sports and leisure activities †¢MEU students continue to express concern that they cannot always easily get the classes they need to graduate on time. Basic element and reason behind lack of growth in tie up program is absence of teaching staff and the irregularity of operation or running the program also marketing efforts we did is not satisfactory everything is pointed towards the increase in labor turnover. Advertising Budgets of Comparable Universities It is difficult to accurately estimate the percentage of funds devoted to advertising and promotion at MEU Although University Relations is the department that has funding specifically allocated for advertising and promotio n, many units across the campus are spending funds from their budgets on marketing projects.Although the MEU Accounting Department is unable to provide an accurate total of money spent on advertising and promotion across the university due to inconsistent coding of expenditures across the units. There are several departments at those campuses engaged, in marketing activities, and there is not an accurate record of money spent on advertising and promotion. RECOMMENDATIONS Funding In order to adequately address the five target populations and to strengthen the image of the university, more funds must be allocated to marketing.Other public universities in close proximity to MEU are spending substantially more money on marketing and advertising. That assumption is based on the large amount of radio, television and direct mail advertising that is in the marketplace from these institutions. MEU’s message is getting lost quickly in a flood of advertising from such institutions as Wi sdom, Atlas, HAWK, Sharjah, City college Ajman, While some of these institutions are not direct competitors, nevertheless, potential students are choosing these schools instead of MEU. Research New research will be needed to track the results of the marketing effort MEU.It will be time to re-evaluate the impact of the latest marketing and promotion plans. It is difficult to measure the success or failure of any plan without research. Although it is expensive, research can also protect the institution from costly mistakes. Recruitment Geographic Range A geographical recruitment range has been defined to attract students. MEU students are primarily EXPATRIATES IN UAE. An area of growth for MEU is REQUIRED. By focusing marketing efforts TO SHARJAH & DUBAI, AJMAN, UMMUL QUAIN, This range would obviously change when student housing becomes a reality on the MEU campus.Image Building/Promotion of the University as a Quality Institution There must be a two-prong approach to marketing. Image building is the first step. This will be done through the creation of television, radio and print ads. Several ads need to be created to speak to each of the target populations. Some of the advertising should showcase more of our most notable/successful alumni. They are the best proof MEU has of people achieving their goals through education. This campaign can be expanded to include alumni with their favorite/most influential MEU professor.This will help potential students make the connection that one-on-one attention from faculty is an important quality, and a unique attribute of MEU. The second prong of image building is promotion. Promotion includes all public relations and media relations activities. The accomplishments of students and faculty must be highlighted for the public whenever possible. An important resource for image building is the recent AND PAST Student Satisfaction Inventory. By using the results of a survey by MEU students, this information can be sent to potent ial students, parents, alumni and others.It is a strong statement about the quality of the institution. Image building requires time. While MEU is already thought of as a quality university, this perception can be strengthened through promotional efforts that show the actions of the campus community. The goal is to be a top consideration for students pursuing higher education. Web Site/E-recruiting College web sites are a key factor in attracting students. MEU is nearing the completion of a re-designed, interactive web site that will serve potential and current students in a more professional manner.The new site will have an updated application form, a financial aid calculator, and an improved catalog component. Members of the University Relations staff will monitor all aspects of the web site weekly. The web site must also be promoted through an image campaign. By having positive experiences on the web site will help to build good word-of-mouth references for MEU. With a strong web site presence, more emphasis can be placed on recruitment techniques through the MEU web site. One recommendation from is to hold online Open houses for students.Other considerations include e-mail alerts about campus events and establishing a dialogue with admissions counselors and faculty. In the long run, a stronger web site and e-recruitment plan can add up to substantial cost savings by eliminating the need for printing and postage. a)Target Audiences – Health care Industries, Hospitals, Medical organizations TARGET AUDIENCE NURSING The Office of Graduate Programs has done outstanding work in the area of marketing. An extensive series of brochures promoting each of the programs has been produced. MORE than the potentiality of the market and the possibilities of the market is not considered.As nursing courses is becoming key element of the all programs of MEU. Still the MEU Not taking any scientific way for answering questions of targeted group which may come across on t he time of marketing operation PROSPECTED nursing target candidates are enrolling because of the need only. Highly demanded market prospects are coming to enrollment automatically, here â€Å"better suggestion and recommending habit of the market† is to be noted. MEU ALSO required taking much effort for strengthening the technical support from the Ministry of higher education UAE, Indian Nursing Counsel, and all authoritative bodiesMEU stands out from other universities by offering NURSING AND PHARMACY COURSES, MEU and allied institution hold good status providing these courses and program to targeted audience in hospital and medical organizations. Since there is such a large potential student population that is undecided about their course of study, we need to develop a marketing campaign that solely addresses the need to provide this group with options and assistance in plotting a course for their future. As a purpose group member observed, â€Å"We (MEU) have success with the ‘I Can’ts. ’ We need to empower them. † This ould be a unique marketing campaign by identifying the â€Å"undecideds† and offering them support and solutions as they find their way to a major. Marketing images and slogans, there was nearly universal response for images and ideas that provided the perception of â€Å"choice and possibility. † This is a theme that can be used to address traditional freshmen in marketing materials. b)Target Audiences Target Audiences – Traditional Fresher’s from schools in UAE for graduate programs and Community College for post graduate program Community college transfer students are an area of enrollment growth at MEU.The Office of Admissions is having great success with regularly scheduled â€Å"On the Spot Transfer Days† at MEU. There should proper marketing strategy for BBA, BCOM and OTHER DEGREE PROGRAM. Concerned other competitors MEU’s share in the market is very poor, mai nly because of lack proper marketing program and some time we fail to close the sale because of increasing turnover of marketing employee. And more than insufficiency of teaching staff also decreasing confident of the soul of MEU. c)Target Audiences– (Employed expatriates) Non-Traditional Students THE SCOPE AND POTENTIALITY OF THIS MARKET IS UNLIMITED.A marketing campaign can be developed and tailored to fit the market. By emphasizing faculty support and guidance, there should be separate marketing staff for offering the potential prospects, BBA, BCOM, MBA, and MCOM PROGRAM TO employed expatriates in UAE. Furthermore, evening and weekend classes are expanded; it will be a marketing opportunity to reach this group with a message of convenience. With courses being offered in almost every top career field, MEU can easily look appealing to these are that considers she/he an employee first and a student second.MEU should promote the services of the Career Development Center to thi s group. We should keep the potentiality of this market if once we cached the fruits we easily expand the target audience also to local emirates’ d)Target Audiences – Diverse Student Body More needs to be done to recruit a diverse student body to MEU. New initiatives by the Office of Admissions are seeking to reach out to students through the Flint churches. Contacts have been made with the Urban League of Flint to try to engage the Black Scholar Award recipients in the coming year as well.Throughout the year, MEU HAVE TO bring hundreds of middle school and high school students to campus to introduce them to campus life. These programs should be supported with strong promotion whenever possible. It is also recommended that Admissions, University Relations meet on a regular basis to find new ways to market and promote these programs. A new initiative to attract International Students to MEU is in the beginning stages. This will require a broader marketing reach that wil l also result in enhancing diversity and promoting enrollment growth.While there are a large number of international students attending community colleges in UAE, attracting these students to MEU could take on a regional approach. A brochure has been developed for international students, but that is not enough. Specific advertisements addressing their needs should be run in student newspapers as well as some magazines. Again, this will be an expensive venture. e)Other Target Audiences Although five target populations have been chosen, there are associated groups, who have great influence over these potential students that need to be marketed.Marketing initiative needs to be developed to recruit not just the potential students, but also these groups that are influencing factors in their decision to pursue a degree. Direct Mail While e-mail can help to save on printing and postage costs, it cannot be used alone, especially in efforts to attract non-traditional and graduate students. T he problem is many people change e-mail addresses often, or they do not check their e-mail on a regular basis. E-mail is simply not the most reliable form of communication. Direct mail continues to offer the most accurate response.It is also easy to track the results of direct mail, since most of the pieces created have a reply card. That information is entered into the University Relations Marketing database. This provides insight into which promotional pieces were well-received, and which had very little impact. Promotion of Academic Programs and Halo Programs The following areas were selected to become part of a pool from which programs will be selected for special promotion. Each of the programs chosen for advertising was selected based on three factors: 1. Interest from prospective students, 2.Growth potential and 3. Employment trends. Beyond marketing material development, detailed marketing plans need to be developed for each program. With the unique needs of each area, plans must be tailored to address specific attributes of each program, and the needs of various target audiences. Halo programs are an important component for helping to build the image of MEU as a quality academic institution. As with some academic programs, Halo Programs are being used to promote the university. Halo Programs are essential ingredients in mounting a successful public relations campaign.A good example of a Halo Program contributing to the image building process is nursing program. Management program is another outstanding halo program. By promoting such a high quality program, prospective students will perceive MEU as a leader in an important area of management, leadership and training, which then reflects positively on the entire University. Scholarship Development With rising tuition costs at public universities in UAE, it is recommended that scholarship development should be started to accelerate the pace to help potential students offset the price of pursuing a degre e.Furthermore, a concentrated effort should be made to develop more opportunities for emirates’ to train them for facing corporate environment. Enrollment Planning Committee The Enrollment Planning Committee shall be chaired by the Vice Chancellor for Student Services and Enrollment Management. The purpose of the Enrollment Planning Committee is to establish goals, make recommendations to the Chancellor, suggest strategies and assist in setting enrollment targets for various areas of the University.The EPC will engage in the discussion and provide support and a framework for the following: †¢An Admissions Plan which identifies strategies and enrollment targets †¢A clear marketing plan that is tied to established enrollment goals †¢The Enrollment Planning Committee is tied to the Purpose Group Reports (in their final and accepted forms) and the mission of the institution. The EPC shall meet on a quarterly basis to discuss, recommend and move forward enrollment r elated issues. Membership of this committee would include Internal CommunicationCommunicating the marketing initiatives to the campus community will be a major undertaking in the next few months. This can be done through a series of workshops, e-mails, and the formation of a Marketing Representatives Group. This group would be made up of designees from each unit on campus. The group would meet monthly to review marketing initiatives across units, and to coordinate efforts. Each representative would report back to their unit on the ongoing promotional efforts across the university. Internal Marketing For faculty and staff members, marketing is part of routine everyday business.Marketing is in the form of responding in helpful ways to phone calls or e-mails, assisting students with problems or questions, and being involved in the community. A continued emphasis must be placed on services to students at the institution. If a student or alum talks about their experience at MEU as positi ve, it is one of the most believable and affordable forms of advertising. Media Relations MEU has benefited in the last year from a strong relationship with the media. Mounting a media strategy campaign can help position the university as the ideal place to receive a liberal arts education in UAE.In an effort to take advantage of media attention, MEU should implement a media strategy including: †¢Identifying events/information that are appropriate for press conferences †¢Keep an updated list of all media contacts †¢Establish a contact with each department to find out newsworthy events †¢Work with local media in the creation of public service announcements that promote events on campus †¢Meet with the community relations leaders of media outlets to form partnerships that can provide free promotion of events †¢Maintain an up-to-date media resource guide for providing experts to various media outletsVisit Programs The most important recruiting strategy is the campus visit. With this in mind, the Office of University Relations along with the Office of Admissions and the Office of Graduate Programs is launching a new visitor’s center on campus. The primary purpose of the visitor’s center is to have a central-meeting point on campus for large groups. This room will be geared to hosting new visitors to the MEU campus. It will be a meeting point for tours, a room used for open houses and receptions, and general â€Å"starting point† for all visitors to the campus.These programs will be at times convenient for potential students and their families. Individuals who seek personalized attention will still be directed to the appropriate offices for service. Alumni However, they are still one of the most underutilized resources of the campus. In an effort to re-engage alumni, it is important to make them part of the public relations activities at MEU. Alumni should be formed and used for recruitment. They can be featured as success stories in publications or commercials. Community InvolvementMEU should lead the way in community involvement. By opening the campus to the community for events, new visitors will be brought to the campus. This can leave a lasting, favorable impression. The campus should continue to support and open the doors to such events as Destination Imagination. An effort should be made to attract other academic and community events to campus such as science fairs, competitions, health fairs, business expos and others. By this gesture of goodwill to area organizations and businesses, it will build positive momentum for MEU.

Creating Effective Matching Questions for Assessments

Creating Effective Matching Questions for Assessments As teachers create their own tests and quizzes, they typically want to include a variety of objective questions. The four major types of objective questions include multiple choice, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, and matching. Matching questions are made up of two lists of related items that students must pair up by deciding which item in the first list corresponds to an item in the second list. They are appealing to many teachers because they provide a compact way to test a great deal of information in a short amount of time. However, creating effective matching questions requires some time and effort. Advantages of Using Matching Questions Matching questions have a number of advantages. As already stated, they are great at allowing teachers the ability to ask a number of questions in a short amount of time. In addition, these types of questions are quite useful for students with a low reading ability. According to Benson and Crocker (1979) in Educational and Psychological Measurement, students with low reading ability scored better and more consistently with matching questions than the other types of objective questions. They were found to be more reliable and valid. Thus, if a teacher has a number of students who have lower reading scores, they might want to consider including more matching questions on their assessments. Hints for Creating Effective Matching Questions The directions for a matching question need to be specific. Students should be told what they are matching, even if it seems obvious. They should also be told how they are to record their answer. Further, the directions need to clearly state whether an item will be used once or more than once. Here is an example of well-written matching directions:Directions: Write the letter of the American president on the line next to his description. Each president will be used only once.Matching questions are made up of premises (left column) and responses (right column). More responses should be included than premises. For example, if you have four premises, you might want to include six responses.The responses should be the shorter items. They should be organized in an objective and logical manner. For example, they might be organized alphabetically, numerically, or chronologically.Both the list of premises and the list of responses should be short and homogenous. In other words, do not put to o many items on each matching question. All responses should be logical distractors for the premises. In other words, if you are testing authors with their works, do not throw in a term with its definition.Premises should be approximately equal in length.Make sure that all of your premises and responses are on the same test printed page. Limitations of Matching Questions Even though there are a number of advantages to using matching questions, there are also a number of limitations that teachers must consider before including them in their assessments. Matching questions can only measure factual material. Teachers cannot use these to have students apply the knowledge they have learned or analyze information.They can only be used to assess homogenous knowledge. For example, a question based on matching elements with their atomic numbers would be acceptable. However, if a teacher wanted to include an atomic number question, a chemistry definition, a question about molecules, and one about states of matter, then a matching question would not work at all.They are most easily applied at an elementary level. Matching questions work quite well when the information being tested is basic. However, as a course increases in complexity, it is often difficult to create effective matching questions.

The 85 Cutest Puppies to Brighten Your Day (Pics + Videos)

The 85 Cutest Puppies to Brighten Your Day (Pics + Videos) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Looking for the cutest puppies to cheer you up? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve got pictures and videos of puppies doing all sorts of adorable things. Find cute puppies indoors, cute puppies outdoors, puppies with other puppies, puppies with other baby animals, puppies with babies, funny puppies, and sleeping puppies. Try to make it through this collection of puppy pictures without saying awwwww. I dare you! What Kind of Cuteness Are You Looking For? Cute Puppies Indoors Cute Puppies Outdoors Cute Puppies With Other Puppies Cute Puppies With Other Animals Adorable Puppies With Babies Funny Dogs Sleeping Puppies Cute Puppies Indoors #1: This adorable yawner. Flickr/Ted Fu #2: This pup getting a bath. #3: This teeny destructor. #4: This pup who likes shoes. #5: This escape artist. #6: This little Frenchie. #7: This cutie who is trying to eat his way to safety. #8: This pup who wants to stay in bed all day. #9: This pup in a cup. Cute Puppies Outdoors #10: Another pup in a cup! #11: This precious Dalmatian pup. #12: This unusually cuddly White Walker (look at those eyes). #13: This Corgi jumping into the water. #14: This little Bulldog pup struggling to climb a step. #15: This Golden Retriever who doesn’t yet know what to do with a dog bowl. #16: This curious Dachshund pup. #17: This pup who is ready to roll. #18: This pup enjoying the pool. #19: This teeny pup who is happy just lying in the grass. #20: This little one that doesn’t let snow get in her way. Cute Puppies With Other Puppies #21: These pups who are rather fond of one another. #22: These three siblings who fit in a shoebox. #23: These Bernese Mountain puppies who like to fight. #24: These Labrador pups who are full of energy. #25: Golden Retriever kisses. #26: These little adventurers. #27: These huggers. #28: These teeny Chihuahuas. #29: These pups who are getting a lift from momma. #30: These pups who think they're human. #31: These Golden Retriever pups playing with ice cubes. #32: These pups that are secretly mini-polar bears. Cute Puppies With Other Animals #33: This Corgi with a bird on its head. #34: These puppies meeting kittens. #35: This pup with its chimpanzee pal. #36: This Corgi who is slightly terrified. #37: This Chihuahua pup who think she’s a goat. #38: This pup with ducks. #39: This Shiba who doesn't like his new cat friend. #40: This pup and baby cheetah who cuddle. #41: This pup who is a little afraid of cats. #42: This puppy and kitty snuggle sesh. #43: This cat who is outnumbered: #44: This pup meeting a pony. #45: This puppy kissing a bunny. #46: This Labrador pup who doesn’t seem very interested in the snow Bengal kitten. #47: This pup and bunny who are ignoring each other. Adorable Puppies With Babies #48: This pup who is excited to meet her new sis. #49: This Golden pup who is quite smitten with his new pal. #50: This pup who is helping his friend get cleaned. #51: This baby loves his cuddle buddies. #52: These pugs and their pal. #53: This Shorkie pup and baby who like to play fight. #54: This pup who wants to kiss his baby friend. #55: This baby laughing at his Boxer puppy. #56: This not so great guard dog. #57: These kissing buddies. #58: This Labradoodle who takes a kick to the face. Funny Dogs #59: This not-so-coordinated pug. #60: This motorcycle pup. #61: This Pitbull pup who likes cheese whiz. #62: This Corgi cautiously exploring new household items. #63: This Bernese Mountain dog puppy who really hates lemons. #64: This little shopper. #65: These pups who get caught in toast. #66: This Golden Retriever pup who gets caught. #67: This Corgi in a raincoat. #68: This Golden pup who fights a mirror. #69: This pup who thinks he's a baby. #70: This pup who hates vacuums. #71: This pup who gets a ride. #72: This Golden Retriever who is stuck. #73: This pup riding a bike. #74: This Bulldog riding a roomba. Sleeping Puppies #75: Nap time! #76: This one who just can’t open his eyes. #77: This pup who plays dead really well. #78: Not quite 101 Dalmatians. #79: This pup who needed an afternoon nap. #80: This cuddling family. #81: This festive sleeper. #82: These sleeping Shiba Inu pups. #83: This one who can fall asleep anywhere. #84: This sleepy bunch. #85: This teeny fellow who is smaller than a hand.

The Impact of Internship on Graduate Employability Essay

The Impact of Internship on Graduate Employability - Essay Example In doing this, it is good to observe the some of the trends from those who go through internship and those who do not. The main purpose of the internship program is to give exposure on career field, occupation or industry. Internship can also be referred to any career related experience. It can range from community service to semester long assignment. This paper aims at looking the importance of internship and analyzing the trends gone through it and their place in the labor market. The aim of every graduate is to succeed in the labor market (Bossche & Gijselaers 2012). The preparations that go with this success become extremely crucial. This paper exposes the value of internship and explains why it should be taken as a vital ingredient for the success of undergraduates. Companies are increasingly valuing internship. During the experience, skills and knowledge are imparted (Bukaliya 2012). These skills apply to the future career. Internship should be treated like a professional job. It gives experiences and creates room for connections. Internship refers to an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from academic studies in a workplace setting. Internships are part of formal internship program. However, students can create their own internships. Forms internships include volunteer positions and research; it can also be a job during summer (Bukaliya 2012). Internship may pay or fail to. Sociologists are paying growing attention to the stratification of education at tertiary level. This is with regard to the difference between fields of study and labor market (Bukaliya 2012). The horizontal stratification is increasingly bearing direct impact to graduals in terms of employability of graduate, and how the labor market perceives them. Over the last few decades, there have been increased enrollments in tertiary education (Calvo 2011). This has contributed to increase in

The Securities and Exchange Commission Assignment

The Securities and Exchange Commission - Assignment Example The role of the division of investment management is to regulate investment companies. The SEC protects investors by providing a regulatory framework that oversees the activity of public corporations. The SEC creates laws that are geared towards ensuring public corporations report accurate information in a timely manner. An example of a law enforced by the SEC that raised investor confidence in 21st century after a series of corporate scandals is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The work performed by the SEC enforcement division ensures corrupt companies face penalties for their actions. A fair, orderly, and efficient market means that investors have access to a reliable marketplace that is able to handle all the consumer orders during trading hours. The trading and markets division accomplishes this task by regulating the major securities market participants which includes the brokers, dealers, transfer agents, and self-regulatory organizations. The superb electronic information system of the SEC is essential to run the market in a fair, orderly, and efficient manner. Capital formation occurs when the money saved by the government and the individuals of a society is transferred to the business sector. The SEC is an institution whose objective and mission is to promote capital formation. The SEC promotes capital formation by ensuring corporation disclose all financial information through mechanisms such as the Annual Report. The investigations performed by the SEC help stop illegal activities such as insider trading that are detrimental to

Landlord and Tenant Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Landlord and Tenant Law - Essay Example In case the landlord opposes the request for renewal, then termination of such a tenancy must be done as is prescribed by the Act failure to which has negative consequences especially on the landlord (Freedman, Shapiro & Steele 2006). This paper discusses the remedies of addressing Spotted Dice Limited which has defaulted in the service charges and rent. It also outlines practicalities of exercising break clause in a lease as well as the procedure of ensuring a lease does not get a statutory protection. This is the first part of question one, which involves explaining the remedies to be taken in addressing the issue of forfeiture by Spotted Dice Limited. The FRI basis on which Spotted Dice Limited was granted the lease in Lansbury Towers is an abbreviation for Full Repairing and Insuring. FRI basis protects and relieves a landlord from incurring the costs of repairs and insurance and it is effected from the onset of a business tenancy. It therefore means that Spotted Dice Limited being granted the tenancy of the first floor of the Lansbury Towers is liable for all the costs of repair and insurance. This should be effective for the entire period of ten years the tenancy is granted. After failing to fulfill these obligations in the sixth year of lease, Spotted Dice Limited has breached the agreement made at the time of leasing. There are therefore two remedies to address the situation, which are possession claim remedy and damages for the breach of covenant remedy (City Law School 2014). Possession claim remedy is usually taken to regain the possession of the leased premise. Because Spotted Dice Limited has failed to remit this quarter’s rent, repossession of the premise allows for leasing to a new tenant. Similarly, damage for breach of covenant remedy applies where agreements in a contract have not been honoured. From the initial agreement, Spotted

Non Cooperative Target Recognition Information Technology Essay

Non Cooperative Target Recognition Information Technology Essay One of the most important aspects of any combat situation is target identification or recognition. In aerial combat, the problem is compounded because of large ranges and similar looking fighter aircraft. Unless a threat is ascertained, counter offensive action cannot be initiated. The problem of target identification in the present air combat scenario has been further complicated due to the large range of the new generation Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles  [1]  . While in the yesteryears, procedural control and systems like Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) were in place, they did not guarantee positive identification, since they were not stand alone in nature  [2]  . Therefore there was need to develop a stand alone system capable of identifying airborne threats. 2. Thereafter Non Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) techniques were developed, which did not depend on any direct participation from the target for identification purposes. With the emergence of this technology, a big hope was created that this technique would be resolve all the identification issues. The NCTR technology started gaining momentum in the mid eighties and is yet to prove its capability, almost 25 years on  [3]  . Despite technological advances in computers, NCTR is yet to see the light of the day. Though many modern day Airborne Interception (AI) radars feature NCTR, it is still not being used as the primary means of target identification. NCTR at present is being used in conjunction with IFF and other procedural methods primarily due to its reduced reliability. 3. Incorporation of NCTR technology in the older AI radars may involve change of the radar itself. Considering this and the fact that NCTR technology has not fully matured, is NCTR really the most economically viable solution for airborne target identification at present? Or is there a better system available for this purpose? Methodology 4. Statement of Problem. Modern day air combat environment is dense with both friendly as well as hostile aircraft. Identification is a serious problem and this has been further compounded by significantly large ranges of new generation air to air missiles. Erstwhile methods of target identification like IFF have failed in many situations, leading to fratricides. Would employment Non Cooperative Target Recognition techniques alone resolve this issue? 5. Hypothesis. NCTR as a technology is very demanding on the computer hardware as well as software. So at present NCTR may not be the best solution for problems related to aircraft identification in a dense air combat environment. It is possible to get inputs from all available sensors like AI radars, AWACS, aerostats etc and integrate them to form an intelligent composite picture and identify friends from foes. However NCTR as a concept is still very lucrative. 6. Justification of Study. The requirement and importance of target identification is fairly obvious and history will bear testimony to the fact that most of the fratricides have been due to incorrect identification. Earlier systems have failed primarily because the onus of identification was with the target. Inability to prove himself for whatever reason, resulted in a friendly target being declared hostile. While NCTR as a concept seemed to be a good solution, the technological implementation of the concept has still not emerged fail proof. Also, integration of various other existing sensors in a networked environment to form an intelligent composite picture seems to be a more viable solution. 7. Scope. The scope of this paper is to examine as to whether NCTR is really the path ahead, as far as target identification goes. The paper will look into the complexities associated with database required for airborne target identification (3 dimensional space, multiple aircraft configurations etc.) and also the technical limitations associated with implementation of NCTR. The paper would also examine the feasibility of implementing other techniques of identification. The scope would be limited to logical analysis based on available information on the subject and would not involve any scientific experiment or mathematical computations. 8. Methods of data collection. NCTR as a subject has gained momentum only in the past few years and hence has very few publications giving basic insight. Most of the data has been collected on the internet including soft copies of the books and validated thesis by others. The sources are mentioned in the bibliography at the end of the paper. 9. Organisation of the Dissertation. It is proposed to study the subject in the following manner:- (a) Chapter I Introduction and Methodology. In this chapter the subject is introduced. This chapter also defines the statement of problem, the justification for the research and the methodology involved. (b) Chapter II Need for Airborne Target Identification systems. This chapter brings out the requirement and complexities involved in airborne target identification. (c) Chapter III History of NCTR. This chapter gives a brief insight into the history of NCTR (d) Chapter IV How exactly NCTR Works. To appreciate the complexity involved in the airborne identification process, it is important to understand how exactly NCTR functions. This chapter brings out the complexities involved in the working of NCTR. (e) Chapter V Various Types of NCTR Techniques. This chapter brings out the types of NCTR techniques available for use. Though the chapter is technical in nature, it is important to assimilate the various techniques in order to understand the complexity and short comings of the system. (f) Chapter VI Database Generation. The efficiency of entire process involved in NCTR depends on an accurate and exhaustive database. This chapter brings out the methods available and the limitations in generating adequate database. Again this chapter like the previous chapter is slightly technical in nature despite best efforts of keeping it as simple as possible. (g) Chapter VII Technical Limitations of the System. While so far the paper dealt with the software aspects, this chapter would bring out the technical limitations of the hardware required by the radar for functioning of NCTR. (h) Chapter VIII Alternatives to NCTR. This chapter looks at the alternatives to NCTR for target identification. (j) Chapter IX Conclusion. This chapter concludes the topic. CHAPTER II NEED FOR AIRBORNE TARGET IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. SUN TZU Introduction 1. In any hostile situation it is important to identify the adversary. Without knowing who the enemy is, how can one fight? Same is true for aerial combat, only with added degree of difficulty. While in the earlier years, aircraft identification was mostly restricted to visual identification, with improvement in technology this was no longer possible. The increasing weapon ranges post World War II made it difficult to visually identify aircraft in air during combat. 2. And also, any given airspace may contain friendly, neutral as well as hostile aircraft. How can one fire at an aircraft without ascertaining its nature / intent. Therefore aircraft identification forms a vital part prior to weapon launch. Tragic Incidents. 3. History is full of tragic incident of misidentification in air. There are numerous examples of neutrals having been shot from the sky. There also many cases of fratricides even in the recent conflicts. Some of them have been enumerated below  [4]  :- (a) On 5 October 2001, a Russian Sibir Tu-154 Airliner flying from Israel to Russia was thought to have been shot down by a missile fired by Ukrainian troops in a military exercise. (b) In April 1994, 02 USAF F-15 aircraft under positive control, accidently shot down their own Army Black Hawk Helicopters in Northern Iraq  [5]  . Visual Identification of Aircraft 4. World War Era. In both the first and second world war, aircraft recognition did not pose any major problem. In this era, the kill solution was attained by use of guns and hence the weapon ranges were much closer as compared to the distances at which the targets were discernable. The aircraft were slow moving and it was possible to spot and identify the type of aircraft before commencing offensive action. The combat was largely within the so called Visual Bubble of the pilot/s. As can be seen from Fig 2.1, the aircraft can be visually recognized by identifying the distinct shape, colour and characteristic visual features of the aircraft. Due training was imparted for this. In fact, in United Kingdom, The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was formed, which had civilian personnel specially trained for identifying aircraft  [6]  . Fig 2.1 : Aircraft of World War Ihttp://www.military-aircraft.org.uk/ww1-fighter-planes/nieuport-17.jpgRoyal Aircraft Factory SE5A World War One Aircraft 5. Post World War II. However post World War II, there was a rapid improvement in the fighters and weapon technology. With the advent of close combat air to air missiles and increase in weapon ranges, the hostile aircraft had to be identified by at least 2-3 km to initiate evasive action. Also the newer jets were similar looking in terms of shape and size. In the Fig 2.2, photos of F-15 and MiG-29 aircraft are placed side by side for comparison. While F-15 is an American fighter, MiG-29 is from erstwhile Russia. One can easily appreciate the similarity of features which may result in one being mistaken for the other. If this is the case at close ranges (20 30m), it would be reasonable to assume that visual identification would be almost impossible at ranges of 2 km and beyond. Fig 2.2 : Visual Comparison of F-15 and MiG-29 Fightershttp://www.atfx.org/photos/f15a.jpghttp://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/mig29/mig29_12.jpg 6. Post World War II, there also has been a significant increase in the speed of fighters engaged in aerial combat. This fact together with earlier mentioned aspects makes visual identification a passà ©. The use of radars did give some respite to the aerial fighters. However the weapon solution was still based on visual identification. With the advent of BVRs, the need for alternate means of identification gained importance. Without this, the full capability of BVR cannot be exploited  [7]  . 7. To tackle this problem of target identification, some techniques like the IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) have been developed so far. IFF systems are based on challenge response system. The system consists of a transponder fitted on the aircraft which replies in the form of suitable codes to any other IFF system. If the codes match, the aircraft is declared friendly. However should the code be incorrect or in case of no response, the aircraft is declared hostile. It should be kept in mind that response would not be possible in case of battle damage, loss of encryption keys, wrong encryption keys, or equipment failure. Therefore the major drawback of this system was that it was imperative on the part of the friendly aircraft to prove that he is friendly. In the event of faulty transponder, there are chances of fratricide. 8. Therefore there is a need to have a stand alone system capable of identifying and recognizing aircraft to take timely responsive action and also to prevent fratricide / shooting down of neutrals. CHAPTER III HISTORY OF NCTR Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. SUN TZU 1. Need for a Stand Alone System. As can be seen from the last chapter, the IFF systems had a major drawback, that of requiring participation from the other aircraft. Inability to participate in the challenge response loop by other aircraft due to whatever reason was construed as Hostile by the system. This has resulted in many fratricides in the past. A number of such fratricides due to faulty IFF resulted in the need for a stand alone system. Some more cases of disasters due to faulty IFF are enumerated below:- (a) 1980. An Italian DC-9 passenger plane was shot down with a missile near Sicily. The missile was aimed by mistake because of incorrect IFF and discrimination of the type of plane. 81 passengers died.  [8]   (b) 1988. In the Persian Gulf, an Iranian Airbus was shot down by an SM-2 standard missile. The aircraft was erroneously recognized as an F-14 fighter aircraft. 298 people died.  [9]   (c) 2003. A glaring example of fratricide due to faulty IFF is that of two Royal Air Force Tornados returning after a mission in Iraq , which were shot down by US Patriot missiles on 22 Mar 03, in which both the crew were killed instantly. The investigating board attributed one of the causes as faulty IFF probably broken down due to power failure  [10]  . 2. These kind of mishaps led to the requirement of having a system which could identify aircraft without the active involvement of the unidentified aircraft. The concept of NCTR dates back from the mid seventies. A program started by the USAF code named Musketeer, introduced the idea of NCTR for the first time. In this program, the aircraft radar was used to count the fan blades in the engine  [11]  . This technology was later named as Jet Engine Modulation which would explained in detail in the subsequent chapter. The radar signature was unique to each engine. Since most aircraft had different engines, this technique was exploited for identifying the type of aircraft. 3. Though the concept was introduced in the mid seventies, the computational technology then was not adequate. The radar per se only gathers data and the extraction of useful information has to be done by the radar computers. Hence NCTR technology had to wait till mid eighties for the computer technology to catch up.  [12]  Thereafter the USAF had incorporated NCTR modes in the An/APG 63 radar of F-15 C aircraft. During the Gulf war in 1990- 91, use of this technique was made in conjunction with Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) for identifying hostile aircraft  [13]  . 4. Post Gulf war some progress was made in Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) systems. These systems did not restrict themselves to aircraft radars and were mostly ground based systems using millimetric wave radars  [14]  . The ranges of these radars were significantly lesser than airborne interception radars. While these radars were completely different in terms of technology and operating ranges, the basic concepts were similar. However the computations involved in aerial target recognition was much higher than ground targets. Though many experiments were conducted on ATR systems, the progress in NCTR was not at the same pace. 5. Post 1985, NCTR was tried and fitted on the USAF F-14, F-16 and F-18 aircraft. In addition, NCTR was also fitted on selected foreign F-15s (Israeli), British Tornados and French Mirage 2000-5s  [15]  . Today, in 2010, the technology has still not fully matured and still cannot be used in isolation for aerial target identification. CHAPTER IV PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION AND COMPONENTS OF NCTR Principle of Operation 1. Now before proceeding further, it would be prudent to understand how NCTR principles work. NCTR fundamentally relies on the returns from the target aircraft. Hence no active participation (as in IFF) is required from the target aircraft. Non Cooperative Target Recognition like any other identification process would in simple terms consist of first sensing the target. Then the relevant features of the target are extricated and compared with a database. Thus any NCTR system should essentially contain a Sensor, a Feature Extractor and a Classifier. 2. The principle of operation of NCTR is very similar to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) as in computers. The data from the target is collected by a suitable sensor and relevant data extracted. This is compared to the data existing in the library and then classified based on the results of the comparison. And for the success of this technique, a huge library of various aircraft profiles is required as database for comparison. The steps involved in identifying the target aircraft has been depicted in Fig 4.1. The flow chart of target recognition shows that the Recognition Algorithm takes two inputs namely measured target signature and signatures stored in the library and gives target identity as the output. Recognition Algorithms have been briefly explained subsequently. Fig 4.1 : Flowchart of Target Recognition SENSOR 3. Choice of Sensor. Choice of sensor is a very important part of this identification process. Without proper or adequate returns from the target, it would be nearly impossible to accurately classify the aircraft. For NCTR per se, a number of sensors are available Optical, Infra red, laser, acoustic and radar. However the optical, IR and laser sensors are prone to adverse weather conditions like moisture, dust etc. Also the detection ranges of these sensors are significantly lesser as compared to air to air weapon ranges especially in a BVR environment. Radar as a sensor has significant advantages as compared to the other sensors for the following reasons  [16]  :- (a) Aircraft are generally constructed by radar reflective material (even those with carbon composite have metal parts that reflect radar). (b) Radar can be used by day or night and is not affected by haze, fog, snow and rain. (c) Radar ranges are much higher than other sensors due to reduced atmospheric propagation attenuation.. (d) Radar has been one of the most extensively used sensors for aerial surveillance and the technology to generate, receive and process radar signals has been continuously refined for nearly 100 years. Hence radar is the optimum choice of sensor for NCTR on fighter aircraft. Moreover radars are already in place in all the modern generation fighters. Hence there would be no requirement to add a separate sub system on the aircraft. 4. Sensor Requirements. The radar capability required for the NCTR is specific. It is misnomer that any radar can be made NCTR capable. Suitable radar software is not the only thing that required for NCTR process. It is important that the radar design is appropriate to the type of measurement that has to be performed and to provide the type of target signature required. In order to obtain signatures of high integrity, the waveform must be carefully designed and the radar must support the transmission and reception of the signal without distortion  [17]  . The radar must be designed to minimize the effects of multiple reflections and clutter. The radar must also possess sufficient energy so that the returns from the target contain adequate data, required for the recognition process. Therefore it may not be possible to upgrade the existing radars with NCTR capability. Should it be possible, it may entail change of major components, which may not be the most economical solution for preventing fratricides. FEATURE EXTRACTOR 5. Function. The returns from the radar are simply electromagnetic pulses. It is of no use unless, relevant data is extracted from them. This is done by the Feature Extractor. Feature extraction is a process which happens inside the radar computer by means of suitable algorithms. These algorithms look for a specific attribute and isolate them for comparison. The algorithm for feature extraction would depend on the type of NCTR technique being employed for target recognition. Types of NCTR techniques are explained in detail in the next chapter. 6. Constraints. Feature extraction is a highly complex problem due to highly dynamic nature of fighter aircraft  [18]  . The radar returns from the aircraft are highly aspect dependent. More the aspect, more and stronger the radar returns, hence better feature extraction Aspect angle in simple terms is a measure of how much of the target aircraft is visible. When viewed from front / rear minimum area is visible and this is Zero aspect. When viewed from broad side, maximum area of the aircraft is visible. Now the aspect angles in 3D space are both in terms of elevation as well as azimuth. Due to highly aspect dependent nature of the scattered signature, the process of feature extraction becomes even more difficult. Also due to movement of the target, the radar signatures get distorted and this poses problems not only in feature extraction but also classification. These aspects are discussed in detail in Chapter 5. 7. After the radar has transmitted the pulses, detected and processed the return from the target of interest, the target signature is now ready for the recognition process. In order to perform correct target recognition, a lot of information needs to be known about the target. These information are contained in the form of a library in the radar computer. The details of database and database generation are discussed in detail in Chapter 6. CLASSIFIER 8. Classifier. The classifier in an NCTR system compares the extracted features of the target signature with the already existing library of aircraft signatures. The comparison is made with the help of recognition algorithms  [19]  . Recognition algorithms are mathematical techniques or formulae that compare the signatures which have been measured with the mathematical models of aircraft existing in the radar library. The algorithms are designed to analyse and assess how close a match a particular signature is to reference signature contained in the library. With the help of these algorithms, the classifier now assigns the most appropriate and closest identity to the target. Shown in the fig 4.2 is a target signature being compared with the three reference signatures. On close analysis though the target signature does not perfectly match any of the reference signatures, it is closest to Target C. Therefore the classifier would it assign the measured signature as Target C. Fig 4.2 : Target Signature Comparison with Reference Signatures 9. Target signatures have to be measured, modelled and analysed, to enable the attributes used for recognition to be identified. The techniques for reliably extracting these attributes from the target have to be determined. Libraries of target data have to be assembled, ordered, managed and updated as new targets emerge and more target signature data becomes available. The development of reliable recognition algorithms is clearly critical for developing a high-performance target recognition capability. 10. While a computer can easily identify various objects based on the size, shape, colour etcetera, it would still lack the ability to identify objects logically as the human brain does. Till the neural and genetic algorithms are not fully developed, it would be difficult to optimize NCTR for aerial identification.