5-Complaints-You-Arent-Hearing-From-Your-Employees

5-Complaints-You-Arent-Hearing-From-Your-Employees Even the best leaders occasionally overhear the people they supervise griping about something at work- interdepartmental kvetching is normal, and it can even be healthy blow off steam! But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to hear. Heather Younger, Employee Experience Consultant writing for the Huffington Post, has some insights- the things your employees are probably thinking but don’t want to tell you. Maybe you can start making changes before discontent roils over into more disruptive activity.1. They want you to care about them as people.Yes it takes energy to get to know your employees and accommodate their needs, but it’s a crucial investment in the strength of your business and the resilience of your workforce. Be willing to listen- even to the things that are tough to hear- and willing to take action once you’ve received valid feedback.2. They feel they can’t provide honest feedback.Every employee can probably point to a time when they spok e up about something and were ignored or overruled or faced consequences later. Have you created a safe space? Do employees have an anonymous way to contribute feedback?Let them tell you what you could be doing better, and don’t punish them for noticing vulnerabilities. Provide positive recognition for employees who provide especially helpful ideas, and you will be rewarded with closer working relationships among your team.3. They often do not trust their manager or senior leaders.Mistrust, in my experience, arises when employers actions do not match their words. If your employees see you putting on one face in a meeting and another one behind closed doors, if you make promises you fail to fulfill, or if you violate their confidence, their trust in your may take a hit. This is particularly true for micromanagers- if you clearly don’t trust your employees to do the job you hired them for, why should they trust you to direct their talents and time?4. Recognize and cultiv ate meaningful work.Odds are you’ve already learned about at least a few of your employees’ outside passions- the things they would spend time on even if they weren’t paid to do it. How can you bring some element of those hobbies or interests into their daily work?At my most frustrating job experience with an arts education nonprofit, one of the best outlets my manager was able to give me was helping in an arts workshop after school. It gave me a break from writing grants and trying to manage board members and provided a really important window into the teaching I really wanted to be doing. Maybe it feels silly to have a conversation about how to bring private interests into the workplace, but it revolutionized the way I thought about that job.  5. Many are seeking opportunities to grow, inside or outside of your organization.Along the same lines, remember that your employees probably don’t see themselves in their current role permanently. If you donâ⠂¬â„¢t already have annual meetings to review their work and set short- and long-term goals, establish some ASAP. Make sure you know what they’re hoping to accomplish and take steps together to advance them towards those goals. If you don’t, some other company will.So open your door and listen up- try to hear what your employees aren’t saying and respond as though they had spoken up!5 Things Your Employees Aren’t Telling You But You Need to KnowRead More at Huffington Post

Back Up Your Writing

Back Up Your Writing Back Up Your Writing Back Up Your Writing By Simon Kewin John Steinbecks dog ate an early draft of Of Mice and Men. Ernest Hemingway famously lost an entire suitcase of his early writings a suitcase that contained his originals and all his copies. The only copy of Thomas Carlyles The History of the French Revolution was destroyed when it was used to light a fire. It took him six months to recreate it. Dylan Thomas managed to lose the script for Under Milk Wood three times. These days, if youre using a computer to create and store your work, none of this should ever happen. While computer hard disks can fail and laptops can be lost or stolen, you should always have your precious work safely backed up. Making copies of computer files is a trivial matter and if disaster strikes, restoring your magnum opus to working order should be a simple matter of a few clicks. Many writers have some informal system for backing up what they create. Perhaps they copy everything to a CD or USB drive from time to time, or email a copy to someone else. These approaches are a good start, but theres no substitute for an automated mechanism. Its all-too easy to forget to carry out a back up. Whole weeks can go by without one being made and that means whole weeks of work can be lost. Computers are good at mundane, repetitive tasks like this whereas people often arent. Ideally, you should make (at least) two backups of everything you write : one local and one off-site or remote. The local one can be used to quickly recover an accidentally-deleted file, or to revert to an earlier version of a manuscript if something has been lost. A USB drive is ideal for this : they are cheap and portable. A 2GB (2 gigabyte) model can hold the manuscript of a 100,000 word novel a couple of thousand times over. You’ll also need some software to automatically perform the back up. There’s lots available, some of it free. The remote backup is vital if disaster really strikes and both computer and local backup are lost (because of, say, theft or fire-damage). There are numerous services available on the internet that will use your broadband connection to back up your files in a safe, remote location. If the worst happens, you can just download them all and carry on working. If you dont have a backup scheme in place, set one up now before its too late. Footnote : Backup and back up are often used interchangeably. The best approach is to treat backup as a noun : the name given to the copy of some data and to use back up as a verb : what you do to create a backup. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingDisappointed + PrepositionHow to Punctuate Introductory Phrases

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Land law - Essay Example A tenancy agreement vests an interest in the land unlike license agreement whereby the individual is only granted personal interest by the owner of the land and such interest can be revoked at anytime without any notice2. In differentiating tenancy agreements and license, the intention of the parties at to the nature of agreement is irrelevant; the only determining factor is the intention to grant the party exclusive possession of the property3. A license agreement grants the individual a personal privilege which is revocable at the will of the person granting the license. In tenancy agreements, a letter conveying the transfer of interest in the land to the tenant is mainly used as the evidence of exclusive possession of the property. The licensee is required to use the real property according to the terms set out in the license agreement while the licensor remains with the exclusive possession and control of the property. A license only makes acts that would be considered unlawful l ike trespass to be lawful. For instance, a license agreement allows the licensee to walk through the land of another or keep his goods in the land of the licensor without being prosecuted for trespass. A gratuitous license can be revoked by the licensor without any notice if the licensee contravenes the terms set out in the agreement or when the licensor desires to end the license4. A tenancy agreement mainly covers a term not exceeding more than three years but there is no express requirement that it should be executed by a deed. The interest of the tenant in the tenancy agreement is protected from third party interference, even without any formal registration as long as the tenant has paid the market rate rent for the property. Tenancy agreements can be created by contract law or common law. A fixed term tenancy covers a fixed period of time whereby the tenant is required to vacate the premises at the end of the period5. Some tenancies are created by common law whereby the tenancy continues indefinitely until it is terminated by provision of notice. In this type of tenancy, the tenant continues to pay rent in periodic terms until both the landlord and tenant provide each other with a notice of intention to terminate the tenancy. A tenancy at will is another form of tenancy that is created by common law. In this type of tenancy, the tenant will occupy the real property either with express or implied consent of the landlord. This mainly occurs when a pre-existing fixed term tenancy expires and the tenant continues to occupy the property up to the time a new tenancy agreement is created or until the landlord requires the tenant to vacate the property6. Another form of tenancy is tenancy at sufferance which occurs at the end of fixed term tenancy holds over to the property and the landlord does not give an indication of consent or objection of the tenant continuing to occupy the premises. If the landlord requires the tenant to move out of the property, the conti nuing occupancy of the property by such a tenant amounts to trespass. If the tenant pays rent which the landlord accepts, the tenancy changes to periodic tenancy. Tenancy agreements contain covenants and conditions which parties are prohibited from breaching. Covenants impose obligations on one party for the benefit of the other party while conditions refers to even that may occur or not occur leading to the termination of the tenancy. A breach of a covenant will make the landlord

Carbon monoxide emissions from automobile related to the greenhouse Essay

Carbon monoxide emissions from automobile related to the greenhouse effect and how it negatively affects the US economy - Essay Example This discussion will examine the role automobile emissions play in global warming, briefly explain the phenomenon, its effects on the environment and the economic consequences to the U.S. The rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are becoming increasingly disconcerting. Worldwide, â€Å"carbon dioxide emissions are increasing by four percent a year† (Miller, 1990: 450). Eighty percent of the world’s population accounts for just 35 percent of CO2 emissions while the United States is responsible for generating nearly half. Automobiles are the main cause of air pollution with toxins emitted from stacks at coal-burning electric power plants running a close second (Breuer, 1980: 70). In addition to CO2 emissions, vehicles emit carbon monoxides (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), all of which contribute to global warming (Energy Information Administration, 2004). As the balance between the CO2 levels in the ocean and atmosphere is disturbed by interjecting increasing amounts of CO2, the oceans continually absorb higher concentrations than it does naturally. The subsequent warming ocean waters are less effective in their ability to absorb CO2. At increased temperatures, the atmospheric water vapor and resulting precipitation will be proportionately higher. (Schroeder, 2007) The more rapid water recycling rate due to the greenhouse effect will result in heavier rainfall amounts and the number of extreme rainfall events. Higher rainfall rates will cause increased tropical storm intensity in addition to the warmer temperatures. Hurricanes may be even more frequent and intense than presently predicted. Scientists universally forecast that global warming will melt glaciers causing a rise of sea-levels which will hasten erosion resulting in the loss of vast areas of land. The change will bring about elevated storm

Assessing non-parametric or t tests Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessing non-parametric or t tests - Assignment Example Student’s t-test for single mean is used to test a hypothesis on a specific value of the population mean. It is used to test the null hypothesis against the alternative hypothesis. The t-test for difference of means is used to test the hypothesis that two populations have the same mean. A paired t-test is usually used when the two samples are dependent- this happens when each individual observation of one sample has a unique relationship with a particular member of the other sample. A t-test for correlation coefficient is used for testing an observed sample correlation coefficient (r).Lastly, a t-test for testing significance of regression coefficient is used to test the significance of regression coefficients in linear and multiple regression setups. However no matter the type of t-test you use two assumptions have to be met. These assumptions are that the populations from which the samples are drawn are normal and the population standard deviation is not known. In this resea rch article unpaired t-test was used. Unpaired t-test which is also known as the student's t-test assumes that analyzed data is from a normal distribution. An unpaired test will need two independent groups to be applied and the sample size from the two groups may or may not be equal. In addition to the assumption that the data is from a normal distribution, there is also the assumption that the standard deviation (SD) is approximately the same in both groups. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY The research study is ‘The Effects of Vitamin B6 on the Liver of Diabetic Rats: A Morphological and Biochemical Study’ which was done by Sehnaz Bolkent, Ozlem Sacan, Ayse Karatug and Refiye Yanardag. It is a biological study where the aim of the research study was to examine the morphological and biochemical results of supplement B6 on liver organ cells of normal and streptozotocin-diabetic mice. A trial diabetic issue was caused by intraperitonal hypodermic injection of streptozotoci n (STZ) in a single amount of 65 mg/kg. Vitamin B6 was applied by subcutaneous hypodermic injection at an amount of 20 mg/kg for 15 times. The degenerative changes in the liver organ cells, biochemical changes in sugar stages and in serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) actions were identified. Degenerative changes were seen in the suffering from diabetic issues creatures by light microscopic research. Blood vessels sugar stages, serum AST, ALT and ALP actions improved in the suffering from diabetic issues group. On the other hand, the treatment with supplement B6 for 15 times changed these results. As a result, all of the acquired morphological and biochemical results led to the summary that supplement B6 has a safety effect against diabetic issues. DESCRIPTION AND CRITIQUE OF THE STATISTIC The biological results in this study were evaluated using unpaired t-test. The two variables used were control and control animals given v itamin B6. Both variables were subjected to the same conditions for a specified time of 15 days. The function unpaired test is used to compare two population means. Basically the main aim of this function is to test the null hypothesis that the two population means are equal or the same. The procedure to carrying out an unpaired t-test is first you have to calculate the difference between

Reflection on a change management and leadership

Reflection on a change management and leadership In 1947, MIT Professor Harold E. Edgerton and his several students were established EG G and which were involved in management of nuclear weapons to government and also in a wide range of similar activities. Perkin-Elmer was an older company then EG G and was established in 1930. Perkin and Elmer introduced it in a partnership and its operation was divided into two major divisions which was Analytical Instruments Applied Bio system. In 1999, there was an acquisition of Perkin-Elmer and EG G. Perkin-Elmer sold its name and Analytical Instruments division to EG G and EG G also sold its technical services business to Carlyle group investment firm .Then they would drop the EG G name and take the name of the acquired co. by disappearing the hyphen between Perkin Elmer and after the approval of its shareholders then after EG G was known as PerkinElmer. But there was one problematic element in the future of EG G its Perkin-Elmer operations was a good leadership. A good leadership was required in EG G to change a company rapidly and radically. Thats why for the fulfillment of the above requirement. In 1998, GREGORY L SUMME brought in company. He was with the experienced a lot as a partner at Mc Kinsey Co. , at General Motors he was general manager of commercial motors, at AlliedSignals Aerospace Engines and at General Aviation Avionics he was a president and recently at the Automotive products Group at AlliedSignal he was president of it. And because of his this track record at making technology companies competitive and profitable the Co. brought him to turn around the business as in recent years the company had been faltering. Now, PerkinElmer divided its business in two segments Human health and Environmental health. In Human health they are dealing with the companies of Bio-discovery, Genetic Screening Medical Imaging operating units. Environmental health segments are dealing with the laboratory services, Analytical sciences and detection Illumination units. DISCUSSION OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP THEORIES Change management: Change management  is a structured advent to developing  individuals,  teams, and  organizations  from a current status to a desired future status. It is aimed at empowering the employees to secure and changes of the grip in their current business environment within the organizational process. In Change management, project changes are formally introduced and approved. Models of Change Management McKinsey 7S Model The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors which are categorized as either hard or soft elements as. I personally feel that 7s model can be related to this assignment as the changes were distributed in 7 elements which are as above and which are explain below as per the related company STRATEGY: after the acquisition, the leader implemented new strategies in the company. STRUCTURE: there was a structural change because of acquisition. SYSTEMS: New systems were implemented by the new leader in a company. SHARED VALUES: there were some ethics and new systems of work made by new leader which was shared as a core value of company. STYLE: the style of leadership adopted by the new leader to sort out all the complicated issues of the company. STAFF: the employees were distributed according to their capabilities and mostly new staff was recruited. SKILLS: Training programs were given to every individual from top to lower level management. Leadership  is the process of  social esteem  in which one person can influences others to attain an objective and directs the organization with a group of people to achieve a common goal through change. Leader: An individual who has granted authority, usually based on hierarchal position, in an organization. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills make it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen . According to this assignment I concluded that the contingency theories are applied as this theory focus on individuals related to the environment that can be determined which particular style of leadership is best satisfied with the situation. The organization was structured in a way that who reports to whom rule was adopted. All the implementations were covered by the leader Gregory L. Summe. He distributed the whole problems in his effective leadership style that he focused on identifying the situational variables to fit the particular circumstances. COMPLICATED ISSUES IN EG G They had problem like inconsistent operating performances, a week reputation with investors, a highly fragmented organization as a company was holding of 31 diverse businesses with 31 different cultures brands and many businesses with uncertain prospects, no strategic coherence while there was lot of good technology in the business, experienced executives were there in company management but some of them had a lack of the right skills, the Pace Priorities were incompatible with the direction of the co. want to go as many of them came from the govt. services business and also other managers skills were under-developed and too narrow. So, they worked in one role in one business of EG G for a long time. CHANGES ADOPTED TO OVERCOME Firstly, the company focuses on improving their ability to gain consistent earnings. So that, they had good financial record and also regain trust of financial markets. And for this they established a new culture which was with more ambitious about performing goals and with clearer accountability. Secondly, it consolidated its 31 businesses into five strategic business units. Five strategic business units Thirdly, they offset the charges involved in this restructuring from the sale of several businesses including two mechanical businesses Sealol and Rotron. Fourthly, they sold all the government services business as it operated in a low margin, consolidating, declining market. Fifthly, they changed their name to signal to their customers, investors and employee that this was a new company. Sixthly, as they started with nine different businesses and brands but then they quickly narrowed their focus on just three segments: specialty illumination, digital imaging and telecommunication as dealing in more selective and for healthier their portfolio. Seventhly, they made seven key acquisitions and this is designed to quickly provide them complementary products, technologies and geographic coverage. Seven key acquisitions are divided as follows: One in optoelectronics, One in fluid sciences, Two in instruments, and Three in life sciences. Eighthly, they shifted power away from corporate center to each of the business units. Last but not least, for all employees of PerkinElmers they place a broad range of training programs to teach leadership skills, business fundamentals and best practices and it consists of four programs aimed to develop each individual at various levels of the organization and they were Advanced Leadership Institute, Emerging Leaders Program, Driving World-class Performance Program and Skills based Training Programs. SUSTAINING CHANGE Companys operating margin which was less than 6% in 1997 exceeds to 11%. After focus on three segments, the market leaders in both specialty illumination and imaging segments, which together accounts for 80% of the divisions revenues. In telecommunications segment, they achieve an annual revenue growth rate of more than 100%.The seven acquisitions made them number one in world in explosives detection systems and one of the top three in analytical instruments. They also have good terms with their investors as they understand and support their strategy to upgrade the portfolio. They reduce their corporate staff from 140 people to 65 people after taking the decision of shifting power away from the corporate center to each of the business units. CONCLUSION It can be concluded that if you have the right person leading the charges, good thing always happen but the Important decision is to choose right person and also in this company they choose a right man at right time which no doubt benefitted the company a lot. In contrast of a company, the Gregory L Summe was taking almost all right decision to turn around the business as per the requirement of the company and it also gained a success by restricting it. As its operating margin was increased , its revenues was increased , the co. had a tag of no. one in world in explosives , detection systems and one of the top three in analytical instrument and in present in current year its revenue was gone up to 498.3 million. The major change was to change of the name of company i.e. from EG G to PerkinElmer. The change of the name was just the part of acquisition however it was also to attract the new group of investors in the company. The profit has been raised in current year and it has been concluded that 2010 may be a brighter year for the company. PerkinElmer is delivering world drive productivity, quality and accuracy. Although forward looking statements such as believes, plans, project intends are leased on managements current assumption and expectation. However, these should be assured that their expectation and assumption are proved to be accurate and profitable.

Vietnam War Essay -- essays research papers

Chapter 10: A Generation in War and Turmoil: The Agony of Vietnam It has been known that the Vietnam War affected many American soldiers who were involved in the war physically and psychologically. The Vietnam War was one of the most memorable wars in history. Many Americans’ lives lost for no objective at all. Chapter 10 informed us about how the Vietnam War started and what really happened during that time. It also gave us background information about Vietnam Veterans and nurses who were involved in the war and what they went through during the war. I had the opportunity to interview a Vietnam Veteran also.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Vietnam Veteran I interviewed was my grandfather; he was 27 years old during the time of the war. He volunteered to go to Vietnam because he didn’t like picking fruits and vegetables in the hot sun with his father. That’s when he decided to join the service and he volunteered to go to Vietnam. My grandfather only served one tour, because he wanted to go home to his family. So, his younger brother Rick who was single volunteered to go to Vietnam. My grandfather told me that Rick had a death wish so it didn’t really matter to him if he came back dead or alive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The day after my grandfather left Playku Central Highland the army was overran by the Vietcong and there began the hand to hand combat. My grandfather was really scared for his little brother because he was afraid he would never come back, and...

I Am Sam Analysis

Sam loves his daughter Lucy very much and tries very hard to keep her with him. Although, he is mentally-challenged and the court argues whether or not he should keep Lucy. They say he only has the ability of â€Å"a 7-year old† and doesn’t have enough money. He looks for a lawyer to help him get Lucy back, which she offers for free under the pressure of being seen by these women who gossip about her at work. She is super annoyed with him at first but eventually starts to understand and be nicer to him, so she helps him what to say at court.Lucy is with a foster family who eventually gives her back to Sam because they don’t think they can promise to give her the love she’s never had. They decide to be on Sam’s side in court & promise not to tell that Sam can’t take care of her alone. They win the argument and Sam and Lucy live together again. Main Character Description Sam: He is a mentally-challenged father who loves his daughter very much. He’s very caring, happy, and loves Ihop. He enjoys making paper cranes and other different shapes too.His job was working at Starbucks, and then he quits and works at Pizza Hut. Sam can also lose his temper quite easily as shown in the scene where he and Lucy eat at a different breakfast place and he throws a fit when she tells him they don’t have French pancakes with fruit toppings on the side. Lucy: She is a very smart and sneaky young girl. Even though her dad isn’t normal, she still loves him unconditionally and wants to see him as much as possible. She is also very understanding towards her father and cares about him a lot.Rita: Rita is Sam’s lawyer to help him with getting Lucy back. She lives a very stressful life with people who dislike her, with hundreds of things she needs to do, and then she has to deal with this case she brought herself into. She never loses, so she tries very hard to win this case. She becomes very caring and understanding to wards Sam as she helps him through getting Lucy back. Psychological Illness Autism is portrayed in this movie with Sam who struggles to keep his daughter to live with him.In the beginning, Lucy’s friend asks her, â€Å"What is wrong with your dad? Is he retarded? † and replies with a yes. Her friend judges Sam very negatively because he is not â€Å"normal. † On the day of Lucy’s birthday party, Sam tries to calm everyone down so they can surprise Lucy; he touches one of the kids to hide and the child says, â€Å"get off me! I have cooties! † The child doesn’t even want to be touched or handled by him because of the way he is.The father also pushes him down away from his child right when Lucy walks in and sees that. She loves her father no matter what because he has always been there for her and will always love her like no one else can. Her peers would look at him like he is a weirdo and laugh at him. Whenever he would talk to people, they would just keep nodding their heads like they’re listening because they don’t care what they have to say. But Sam has some friends just like him who all like to hang out just like a regular group of friends.They would compliment each other a lot, encourage each other, support each other, and talk about their same interests. The court officials thought it was best for Lucy to not live with Sam because they don’t think he has the ability to support her. Especially since he has a mental illness, they don’t think he would be able to take care of her properly. But he pointed out that all she needs from him is love, support, patience, to listen to her, and happiness.

Electronic Toll Collection Essays

Electronic Toll Collection Essays Electronic Toll Collection Essay Electronic Toll Collection Essay A  2. 45  GHz  RFID  System   for  Electronic  Toll   Collection B. Tech. Project by Praneeth  Tammiraju   04007032 Index 1. Introduction 2. RFID in ETC a. RFID – a review b. The actual role c. Technicalities in brief 3. The Reader Design a. The transceiver design b. Circuit description c. The PCB of the reader d. Programmability of the reader 4. The Transponder Design a. Broad Overview b. Redesigning rectifier 5. Communication Protocol 6. Conclusion 7. References 2 3 3 3 4 6 6 7 9 9 11 11 11 13 14 15 Introduction Tolling on roads and highways today is done mostly on a manual basis i. e. vehicles stop at a check gate and the toll is collected manually by authorized personnel. This poses a lot of problems such as traffic congestion, inefficient use of human resources, vast amount fuel and time wastage apart from, of course seeming very primitive in today’s world of automation. There are already methods in practice that attempt to automate the whole pr ocess. Systems that use installed video cameras that scan the license plates of the vehicles to identify the vehicles and initiate the tolling process are a viable solution but with their own problems in execution – the most important being the logistical diversity in the nature of vehicles which makes a universal protocol impossible. In this context, RFID puts forward a very efficient solution to the automation problem in the case of electronic toll collection. This document discusses the use of RFID in Electronic Toll Collection. It discusses the requirements of such an pplication and how RFID systems should be customized to meet these needs. It describes a circuit for the transceiver at frequency 2. 45 GHz and its interfacing with a computer. A brief note about the specifications of the antenna used and an introduction to the transponder design are made. 2 RFID in ETC RFID – a review The basic working of an RFID is well described in Fig. 1 below. Fig. 1: Schematic of an RFI D system [1] The actual role Given this background of RFID and its working, its application in toll collection becomes obvious. The use of RFID in tolling can be explained simply with the analogy of pre-paid mobile phone users. Every mobile phone user pays a certain amount of credit amount and gets a calling card. Now, whenever he makes a call, the stipulated amount of call charges is deducted from his credit amount. This is the basic idea of electronic toll collection. Vehicle owners pay some credit amount and get an RFID transponder or tag on which information as to the vehicle identity and credit amount is coded. This tag is stuck on the vehicle itself. Whenever the vehicle crosses a highway toll gate where RFID transceivers or readers are installed, the vehicle is identified with the help of communication between the readers and the tag and the information is passed onto the centralized network and database from where the toll amount is deducted. Ideally, this is a perfect remedy for manual toll collection where complete automation is possible. Still for purpose of policing and legal issues, video cameras can be installed for video confirmation of the vehicle and some personnel can be appointed to supervise the processes. 3 Fig. : Electronic Toll Collection [2] An improvement in this system could be if this installation is made in two stages i. e. if two gateways are installed some distance apart so that when a vehicle passes through the first gateway the tolling process is initiated and the toll deduction is confirmed at the second gateway whereby a check gate can be opened thereby enabling law enforcement and automation. Technica lities in brief The technical issues involved in building the above described system are [3]: The RFID reader at the gateway The RFID tag on the vehicle Proper communication between the above The network connectivity The RFID reader The RFID reader must be equipped enough to perform functions such as initiating information exchange with the in-vehicle tags and with the central database network simultaneously. This typically asks for an RF transceiver connected to microcontroller which is in turn connected to a computer interface. The detailed discussion on its design features is made ahead in this document. The RFID tag The RFID tag that is present inside the vehicle will preferably be an active tag i. e. it carries an on board power source like a battery. It also carries enough memory on it to store the identification information of the vehicle. Also, read-write capabilities must both be present on the tag. 4 Communication between the reader and the tag Electronic Toll Collection has as its primary objective the unobstructed passage of vehicles through the gateway. This implies the information exchange that needs to take place between the reader and the tag must occur even the vehicle speeds are of the order of nearly 80 kmph especially when the vehicles pass from a good distance of nearly 5 m – 8 m from the reader. This necessitates fast data transfer between the reader and the tag, typically of the order of 1 – 2 Mbps. At the same time, the open spaces usually encountered on highways minimize the trouble of obstructions in the line of sight. Under these conditions, a system that operates in the microwave region seems most conducive. The ISM band around 2. 45 GHz serves this purpose. Thus, the system to be discussed in this document is designed to be operational in the range of 2. 45 GHz. There is no standard protocol that is used universally in RFID applications in the range of 2. 5 GHz. Still, on studying the various automatic toll collection systems in place, it is understood that the IEEE standard 802. 11 could be used for the information exchange between the reader and the tag. The network connectivity The reader collects the data from the tag and it must then coordinate with the centralized database through a perpetual network so that toll deduction procedure is completed without g litches. This requires credible and fast network systems that offer similar data transfer rates so as to enable the passage of the vehicle without delay. The speeds of the network can, of course, be traded off with the distance between the two stages of the toll gateways. In cases of network failure, a backup buffer memory for the transactions must be present at the reader itself. Among the four critical technical issues mentioned here, this document describes in detail the RFID reader design. 5 The Reader Design The reader design can be broadly divided into two parts – the actual transceiver design and its interfacing with the computer through a serial port like MAX32 protocol. Here, only the transceiver design is concentrated upon while a diagram describing the interfacing with the computer is provided. The transceiver design This document describes the design of the transceiver made by the use of the industry-range chip CC2511f8 – an RF transceiver chip from Chipcon (now from Texas Instruments). This chip is chosen so as to enable RF communication at 2. 45 GHz and also because it suits our needs of data transfer speeds and power consumption. Fig. 3: Transceiver circuit using CC2511f8 [4] 6 Circuit description [4] The three most important parts of the circuit to be described are the biasing resistor, the RF impedance matching circuit and the USB connectivity circuit. The biasing resistor The resistor R271 is used to setup a biasing current accurately. The RF impedance matching As seen from the pins RF_N and RF_P, the impedance of the antenna circuitry must be Zout = 80 + j74 ? This is taken care of by the balun circuitry. The USB connection The resistors R262 and R263 near the pins DP and DM are used for impedance matching and the resistor R264 is used as a pull-up resistor. This resistor must be tied to the voltage provided by the USB bus itself. The typical values of the various elements used in the circuit are given below in Table 1. An important note should be made about the decoupling capacitors at the power source. Their values and placement very close to the supply is a critical issue in the performance of the reader. The antenna [5] The diagram shows an alternative solution for the antenna as a folded dipole PCB antenna as opposed to the shown 50 ? antenna. The characteristics of that antenna are given in the tables and figures to follow. 7 Table 1: Values of the components used in the circuit [4] Fig. 4: Folded dipole antenna circuit [5] Table 2: Folded Dipole properties [5] Table 3: Dimensions of the antenna [5] 8 The PCB design of reader Given below is a simplified design of a PCB which is ready to be plugged directly into computer through a USB connection. There were quite some issues faced in the design of this PCB which ideally should have been done in many layers to reduce the size and ease the physical utility. Considering experimental and laboratory utility, the physical dimensions of the PCB have been bloated and hence, the whole circuit has been accommodated in just two layers with the bottom layer being a complete ground plane. The commercial availability of the capacitors and inductors of the specified values and size was a major concern and hence, some minor modifications have been made while designing the PCB. Despite such extensive care taken to relatively ease this PCB’s manufacturability, physically making this PCB is still a tough job given the acutely narrow connections and dense packing of elements on the board. Programmability of the reader The reader consisting of CC2511f8 has some unique programming features such as direct programmability from a computer via USB connection. However, it needs a programmer/evaluation kit and a software named SmartRF from TI. If once programmed initially, the given circuit can then be used as a dongle for all information exchange with a computer. The programming is rather simple given the on-board microcontroller being an adapted version of 8051. Also, the chip provides elaborate programmability thanks to the various components like ADC, USB connector, I/O devices etc. eing on-board and controllable. The reader could have well been made of CC2500 which doesn’t have an on-board microcontroller and hence can be programmed via an external microcontroller in a much simpler fashion. However, this typically increases the complication of the circuitry and necessitates the usage of external components. This greatly limits the functionality of the reader. The USB connectivity is also greatly handicapped in such systems. Most importantly, though the initial costs of the reader with CC2511f8 are high due to the ost of the programmer, in the long run or for manufacturing purposes, it proves to be much cheaper than a reader with CC2500 and an attached 8051 microcontroller. 9 Fig. 5: The 2-layer design of the USB connectable reader using CC2511f32 Fig. 6: PCB layout and dimensions of the antenna 10 The Transponder Design Broad overview The design of the transponder is dealt in brief over here concentrating on the essentials. Its basic architecture is described vividly in the figure given below: Fig. 7: Transponder architecture [6] Redesigning rectifier Typically, it is expected to use an active tag for toll collection purposes as fast data rates and long ranges are mandatory. However, if we can have a good rectifier with high efficiency, passive tags can be a good option too as they would then make the whole system cost effective. An effort to throw light on one such possibility is made in this document. Consider the following rectifier design: Fig. 8: Rectifier design [6] 11 This rectifier has been tested for an efficiency of 37% [6] and thus, it makes it very much possible to use passive tags in the design of transponders for electronic toll collection. This design has added advantages of providing the possibility to predict the input power in order drive a specific DC current at a specific DC voltage. There is a lot of scope for further work on this architecture to specify the exact design of the transponder in the later stages of this project. 12 Communication Protocol The electronic toll collection systems use the back-scattering modulation techniques to establish tag-reader communication. This is achieved essentially by varying the reflection coefficient at the rectifier input. The reflection coefficient can be varied both in its amplitude and in its phase. Thus, both ASK and PSK are possible. In ASK the input impedance is switched between the matching and the reflecting values whereas in PSK the impedance reactive part it switched between two complex conjugate values [6]. Both ASK and PSK have their own advantages and disadvantages and their choice is a strict trade-off between the power used by the tag for its operations and the power reflected in back-scattering for communication with the interrogator. In order to accomplish multi-lane tolling, we need to ensure that anti-collision algorithms are in place. Usually TDMA protocol with Slotted-Aloha procedure is effective in road-tolling systems. 13 Conclusion This document has discussed a design of the 2. 45 GHz RFID system for the use of toll collection. The complete design of the reader is now ready to be built and tested and for the transponder, a design for an active tag was studied and a new design using the mentioned rectifier for a passive tag is proposed. The prime challenge in taking this project ahead would be the programmability of the new chip that was discussed as it requires a completely new programmer tool different from its previous RFID semiconductor counterparts. Alternate designs using the older chips can be accomplished but the cost and size reduction and the efficiency one can achieve with this CC2511f32 make the installation of the new programmer worthy for any scale of manufacture larger than laboratories. 14 References [1] O. Shoewu and O. Badejo, â€Å"Radio Frequency Identification Technology: Development, Application, and Security Issues† Pacific Journal of Science and Technology, Volume 7, Number 2, November 2006. www. akamaiuniversity. us/PJST7_2_144. pdf [2] www. quatech. com/applications [3] www. freepatentsonline. com/6639509-0-large. pg [4] Datasheet, â€Å"Low-Power SoC (System-on-Chip) with MCU, Memory, 2. 4 GHz RF Transceiver, and USB Controller†, CC2511f8, Texas Instruments. [5] Design Note, â€Å"Folded dipole for CC25xx†, DN004, Texas Instruments. [6] Jari-Pascal Curty, Norbert Joehl, Catherine Dehollain, Michel Declercq, â€Å"A 2. 45 GHz Remotely Powered RFID System†, Research in Microelectro nics and Electronics, 2005 PhD, Volume 1, 25-28 July 2005 Page(s):153 156 vol. 1. [7] U. S. Patent: Woo et al. , Dual Mode Electronic Toll Collection Transponder, U. S. Appl. No. 11/409,897, filed Apr. 24, 2006. [8] U. S. Patent: Tang, RF Transponder with Electromechanical Power, U. S. Appl. No. 11/054,520, filed Feb. 9, 2005. [9] U. S. Patent; Tang et al. , Method of Enabling Two-State Operation of Electronic Toll Collection System, U. S. Appl. No. 11/437,236, filed May 19, 2006. [10] Sabri Serkan Basat, â€Å"Design and Characterization of RFID modules in Multilayer Configurations†, etd. gatech. edu/theses/available/etd-11202006124610/unrestricted/basat_sabri_s_200612_mast. pdf [11] IEEE Standard 802. 11b-1999 R(2003) http://standards. ieee. org/getieee802/download/802. 11-1999. pdf 15

Causes, Symptoms, Complications And Treatments For Essays

Causes, Symptoms, Complications And Treatments For Essays Causes, Symptoms, Complications And Treatments For The Eating Disorder Anorexia Nervosa. Causes, Symptoms, Complications and Treatments for the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa. Eating disorders are devastating behavioral maladies brought on by a complex interplay of factors, which may include emotional and personality disorder, family pressure, a possible genetic or biological susceptibility and a culture in which there is an over abundance of food and an obsession with thinness. Eating disorders are generally characterized as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and eating disorders not other wise specified. According to the World of Psychology anorexia is defined as an eating disorder characterized by an overwhelming, irrational fear of being fat, compulsive dieting to the point of self starvation and excessive weight loss.(World of Psychology Page 317). There are some causes, symptoms, complications and treatment of anorexia nervosa. There is no single cause for the eating disorder anorexia but a number of factors including emotional disorders and cultural influences. Researchers have shown that emotional disorders such as depression collaborate in causing anorexia nervosa. This is because most anorexic patients have been found to have abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters particularly serotonin, that are associated with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. According to a research conducted by Dr. John .E. Godine of Harvard Medical School studies are finding that low blood levels of amino acid tryptophan, a component in food that is essential to the production of serotonin, can produce depression and may also contribute to anorexia nervosa (Psychology Today Page 17, May 97). Researches have also shown that changes in seasons affects both depression and eating disorders and also that onset of anorexia appears to peak in May, which is also a peak month for suicide. Anxiety disorders are also very co mmon with anorexia. Phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) usually precede the onset of the eating disorder, while panic disorder tends to follow. Studies have shown that people with anorexia are especially prone to obsessive compulsive disorder. Cultural influences can also cause anorexia as can be seen in most western cultures. The social pressures of western cultures certainly play a major role in triggering eating disorders such as anorexia. On the other hand, advertisers heavily market weight reductions programs and present anorexic young models as the paradigm of sexual desirability and on the other hand again, the media floods the public with ads for junk food. According to the World of Psychology over the past quarter century, the 'ideal' female figure as portrayed in the media and by fashion and entertainment industries, has become even thinner, often to the point of emancipation(World of Psychology Page 317). Due to cultural influences in a country where obesity is epidemic, young women who achieve thinness believe they have accomplished a major cultural and personal victory; they have overcome the temptations of junk food and at the same time, created an image idealized by the media. This false sense of accomplishm ent is often reinforced by the envy of their heavier friends who may perceive anorexic patients as being stronger and more sexually attractive than they are. The media definitely plays a major role in the cause of anorexia. According to the World of Psychology It is difficult to pinpoint the cause of this disorder. More anorexic individuals are well-behaved and academically successful(The World of Psychology Page 371). Some investigators even believe that young women who refuse to eat are attempting to control a portion of their lives, which they feel unable to control in most situations(Psychology Today, May 98). The symptoms of anorexia vary since most women with the disorder keep it a secret but the major symptom is the change in size. According to an article from WebMd the primary symptom of anorexia is major weight loss from excessive and continuos dieting which may either be restrictive dieting or binge-eating and purging(www.webmd.com). The feet and hands of the anorexic patient may be cold or swollen sometimes. The stomach is often distressed after eating and is often bloated. Thinking may be confused or slowed, and an anorexic patient may have poor memory and judgement. Again all of these symptoms vary from individuals as could be seen in young women who have diabetes and anorexia. Such people may have a normal weight or even

The Canaanites Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Canaanites - Research Paper Example Actually speaking, God allowed Canaanites a time span of 400 years so that their abominations could ripen to receive the justice of God. By ordering the Israelites to attack and exterminate the Canaanites, God achieved two objectives. First and foremost, He brought a true and righteous judgment on the deserving Canaanites. The Canaanites’ gods were known to engage in varied types of abominations that included bestiality and incest. Secondly, by commanding the extermination of the Canaanites, God succeeded in preparing the land for His true followers so as to give way to an appropriate religious setting to justify the advent of the Messiah, who had to redeem both the Israelites and the Gentiles. Therefore, to be able to grasp a possible insight into the ways of God within a Biblical context, it is imperative to delve on the history, religion and the culture of the abominable people like Canaanites. History of Canaanites Canaanites are the people variedly described throughout th e historical and biblical records. Yet, most of the times the Canaanites were shown to be centered in Palestine (Driver 24). Perhaps the native, pre Israelite inhabitants of Palestine were known by the name Canaanites. The term Canaan and Canaanites could be traced in the ancient Egyptian records dating back to fifteenth century BC and more profusely in the Old Testament. Geographically speaking, varied biblical and historical records tend to place Canaanites in varied locations. As per some records, Canaan referred to an area encompassing most of Syria and Palestine (Driver 136). As per some other records, Canaan ascribed to the land lying to the west of Jordan River (Driver 136). Some records consider Canaan merely to be a strip of coastal land to the north of Acre (Driver 146). It was some time at the ebb end of the second millennium BC that the Israelites conquered and exterminated Canaanites. The Holy Bible tends to justify the extermination of Canaanites by associating Canaan with the Promised Land that was promised by God to the Israelites and their descendents. The origins of the word ‘Canaanite tends to be a bit disputed. However, many historians believe that the word ‘Canaanite’ originated from an ancient Semitic word meaning â€Å"reddish purple†, related to the rich purple dye that was manufactured in the area of Canaan or the wool dyed in a rich purple color (Driver 135). The Bible identifies Canaanites to be the descendents of Ham. Canaan happened to be the brother of Mizarim and the fourth son of Ham. Actually speaking, it was Canaan who happened to be the grandson of Noah, who was cursed by Noah in Genesis. In that context, historically speaking, Canaanites tend to have a vicious and evil ancestor. Perhaps, with the passage of time, Canaanites metamorphosed into a general term referring to all the tribes that inhabited the west of Dead Sea and the East of Jordan River. As per the available historical findings, the paga n ancestry of the Canaanites could be traced back to Paleolithic and Mesolithic ages (McCown 77). It was sometime during the Bronze Age that Semitic people are known to appear in the area known by the name Canaan (McCown 77). It was primarily the Semitic Amorites who entered Canaan from the northeast

Anti- corruption and integrity at a hospital Essay

Anti- corruption and integrity at a hospital - Essay Example Corruption is a global phenomenon, and it has percolated into every aspect of common life. â€Å"Corruption is a global phenomenon that causes poverty, obstructs development and drives away investment. It also debilitates the judicial and political systems that should be working for the public good† (UNODC 2007). Although all these sectors are experiencing corruption and fraud practices for some time now, corruption in healthcare sector only causes repercussion for the common people in a maximal manner. The life saving sector of healthcare is now turning into a corruption encouraging sector. Although, certain individuals working in a hospital may indulge in corruption and fraud practices, and for that entire hospital may not be blamed, the fact is, those individuals may be given the free hand to indulge in corruption because of certain loopholes in hospital’s functioning and processes. Thus, individuals are manipulated as much as they manipulate, and in a way individual corruption masks the structural corruption. So, this paper will focus on and diagnose the corruption and integrity profile in my organization of hospital setting, then will analyse the causes of any fraud practices and/or corruption opportunities that may be visible in my organization, then will discuss and assess the effectiveness of the institutional integrity policies adopted by my organization against corruption and finally will make recommendations for improving the anti-corruption and integrity of my organization. Background As mentioned above, although corruption and fraud activities are visible in many organizational sectors, corruption in healthcare systems is reaching startling levels, negatively impacting various stakeholders. Healthcare industry has spread out throughout the world, and there is no human habitable place in the world, without some form of health care structures or hospitals. All these healthcare structures were established to provide life saving and life caring options to people. However, this corruption is diminishing the efficiency and effectiveness of these centres, and this applicable to maximum countries in the world. That is, corruption in healthcare sector is visible in many countries, irrespective of whether they are rich or poor, developed or developing. â€Å"The hospital sector represents a significant risk for corruption, in both developing and developed countries alike.†(Vian, 2005). For example, in the United States alone, corrupt and fraud activities in health care has been estimated to cost US $11.9 to 23.2 billion per year; much of this expense is attributable to hospital-based care. (Vian, 2005). On similar lines, in the African country of Ghana, there is 50% loss in the health funds due to corruption, and so half of the allocated funds do not reach clinics and hospitals in Ghana. (Lindelow, Kushnarova and Kaiser 2006). Thus, corruption in healthcare sector is not region specific and is visible in all countr ies in maximal hospitals. The reason why hospitals are ‘hotbeds’ of corrupt and fraud activities, is because of the large scale movement of money, thus