Potential Market Segmentation

Since the raw materials are very much available in our country, I have decided to give the product an indigenous image. Sandwood is a kind of talcum powder that provides the consumers with processed sandal mixed talcum powder in bottles. For the marketing purpose of the product I have decided to launch three product lines. The Sandwood would be launched in the market at 150 gms. 100 gms. and 50 gms bottle. I have set a reasonable price for the product so that all kinds of people can afford to buy this talcum powder. I have targeted a huge market segment for the product.Bangladesh s a large populated country. Lots of people are looking for such a product. Sandal mixed Talcum Powder are not available all the time. My target market includes health conscious people, women, children & many other consumers, which I have segmented from the Demographical, Geographical, Psychographical & Behavioral point of view. Product Potrayal: I am a Brand managers of a consumer product in a domestic comp any. The top management asked me to choose a product to segment the potential market and we choose Talcum Powder. The description of the product is given below.Product: Talcum Powder Brand Name: Sandwood Plastic Bottle Container: Size: Price: 1 50 Grams Taka 100. Product Features: It's Total skin comfort. Feel better than regular talcum powder. Keep the body fresh for a long time. It has a classic scent. Product Ingredients: Natural sandal, Talc, hydrated magnesium silicate, Scent We choose this very product because normally there are much talcum powder produced for women and many of them have been produced for both male and female but there are very few company that produce women talcum powder and most of them are produced outside Bangladesh.

Color of Water Essay Essay

What factors contribute to who you are today? A question that many struggle with including James McBride, the author of The Color of Water. James struggled with finding himself because of his mixed background, a white Jewish mother and a Black father. When James finally gets an understanding of the culture, races, and religions that surrounds him it helps him to gain his own identity, point of view, and allows him to share his experiences with others who may be going through the same things in his writing. As James enters many different cultures he comes to realize what type of surrounding and life he wants for himself when he visits his sister jack in Louisville, Kentucky. The culture in Louisville was very violent. James and his friends participated in illegal activities such as breaking into cars, shoplifting, and doing illegal drugs (McBride 139). After complaining about life, doing illegal things, talking to Chicken Man a man that sat on the corner on a crate, and drank alcohol all day who told James that no one will know who are you unless you make something of yourself and that sitting on the corner all his life is a bad decision (150), and taking Jack’s advice, â€Å"you have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself† (161), he enrolls back into high school and later goes on to Oberlin College. Growing up James’ mother Ruth always tells him that white people are no good, but as a young adult his perspective changes altogether. As James completes high school and early into college a white lady by the name of Mrs. Dawson who donated most of her time and money to inner city kids sponsors James to be able to go to Europe and travel with the American Youth Jazz Band and continues to help him get into graduate school. When James’ friends in college talk about how all white people are rich and they have no problems James had no choice, but to agree because of the surrounding he was in, but in his mind he was strongly disagreed with the statement that had just been made having just read the letter from Mrs. Dawson about her husband dying suddenly of cancer (187). Church plays a big part in James’ life. As a kid James goes to church every Sunday and experiences people crying and being uplifted. Also his father starts the New Brown Memorial Church, which James goes back to visit later in life. From going to church every Sunday James develops his own relationship with God after he goes through the part of his like where he is very rebellious and disobeys the law. After he enrolls back into school he turns to God to ask him for strength (161). This shows James getting his own opinion from God and his religion instead of just going to church because he’s being going all his life. Suffolk had begun to suffocate me. The isolation my family felt, the heartbreak they had suffered† (223). James researching into his mother’s history shows him why he went to Jewish schools instead of the public schools, what happens in Suffolk that causes Ruth to leave, start a new life, and become very secretive. Heritage is important because it lets you know what struggles, accomplishments, etc. your family has overcome, why things are the way they are, and how you can continue a tradition, or better understand who you are. Knowing about my Mother and Father’s background gives me an idea of what our family is about and what type of things I should stand for, or if I believe in the same things that my parents believe in. Learning about heritage and the different factors that make up his surrounding James McBride finds his identity, gains his own opinion, and point of view. Reading The Color of Water and going through this experience along with James encourages others to learn more about their heritage and who they are, and if you already have that information interpret it into a way that benefits you and can maybe even help someone else.

Marketing Management †Caselet on Organic Foods Essay

Overall Understanding of the Case, 3 C’s Scenario and Analysis Of Complete Marketing Environment : Organic food refers to food items that are produced, processed and packaged without using chemicals. Organic food is increasingly becoming popular due to its perceived health benefits over conventional food. The industry is growing rapidly since the past five years and has caught the attention of farmers, manufacturers and, above all, consumers. The health benefits of organic food are more perceived than real. However, the public opinion that organic food is healthier than conventional food is quite strong and is the sole reason for about 30% growth in the organic food industry since the past 5-6 years In general, organic food consumers, manufacturers and farmers strongly believe in organic food having following benefits over non organic food: ? Better health: Since organic food is not prepared using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it does not contain any traces of these strong chemicals and might not affect the human body. Better taste: People strongly believe that organic food tastes better than non organic food. The prominent reason for this belief is that it is produced using organic means of production. Further organic food is often sold locally resulting in availability of fresh produce in the market. Environment safety: As harmful chemicals are not used in organic farming, there is minimal soil, air and water pollution; thus ensuring a safe world for future generations to live in. Animal welfare: Animal welfare is an important aspect of producing organic milk, organic meat, organic poultry, and organic fish. People feel happy that the animals are not confined to a miserable caged life while eating organic animal products. ? ? ? Popular organic food items include organic tea, organic coffee, organic wine, organic meat, organic beef, organic milk, organic honey, organic vegetables, organic fruits, organic rice, organic corn, organic herbs, organic essential oils, organic coconut oil and organic olive oil. Indians prefer organic preserves, tea, honey, cashew butter and various flours. The organic concept is not limited to food items. Due to excessive usage of harmful chemicals in cosmetics, people are turning towards organic cosmetics, clothing etc. ACNielsen, survey suggests preference of consumers for functional foods – foods that have additional health benefits. India was among the top ten countries where health food, including organic food, was demanded by the consumers. Around the globe, Organic alternatives are purchased mainly for health reasons. Over two thirds of survey respondents think that organic foods are healthier for them and their children. This healthy perception is consistently strong across the Asia Pacific region. Online Indians top the list with 87 percent of consumers purchasing organic foods motivated by the perceived benefits they can derive for their children’s’ health. Health Benefit for kids is seen, hence even willing to pay more. Organic food market is still a developing market, especially in India. Most of the people who eat organic food don’t buy it regularly. Hence need to sell other health products too if one wishes to get a daily (or at least weekly) visit from their customers. Indian organic food consumer needs education. ? There are many consumers who are unaware of the difference between natural and organic food. Many people purchase products labeled as Natural thinking that they are Organic. Organic food refers to food items that are produced, manufactured and handled using organic means. Natural food, on the other hand, generally refers to food items that are not altered chemically or synthesized in any form. These are derived from plants and animals. Thus a natural food item is not necessarily organic and vice versa. Further, consumers are not aware of the certification system. Since certification is not compulsory for domestic retail in India, many fake organic products are available in the market. ? Q. 1 (a) Your organization , which already markets branded Indian spices and flours, is planning to enter the domestic market with organic foods in related products. Segment the market for organic foods, specify the target you as an organization will choose and develop a positioning platform. The Company is already into branded Indian spices and flours ( Consumer non durable category ) and has a robust Intensive Distribution channel & market share. They can use this strength in making the Marketing environment conducive to launching organic foods in the related products. Understand Consumer decision making process : Company needs to focus on the benefits and experiences ( Basic need of Hunger, Security need of being safer option and Health ) produced by these Organic foods over non organic ones & Question why their consumer will / is buying the Organic products. Concentrate on the Health need, influence consumers by educating them and providing adequate information on Organic foods. Allow them to evaluate alternatives and make firm and favourable purchase decisions. The company will expand market share basis this and increase customer satisfaction & resultant profits. Create pull with adequate & clear communication and use ultimate push at dealer / distributor end – i. e. modern retail format – in-store promotions In terms of opportunity will look at i) Product Development i. e. new organic products in present market and also ii) Related Product Diversification – New organic product in new market – from normal branded Spices & Flours to Organic ones. Can further expand the product line by adding packaged Organic Bread with added supplements / vitamins ; Whole grain, high fibre products ; Cereals and pulses. At a later stage also introduce other Organic food product lines like Vegetables, Fruits, Fruit juices etc. Marketing will determine which attributes are most important in influencing a consumer’s choice to purchase. Initially being a Consumer nondurable ( FMCG ) category of product, the involvement will be low. But with the increased awareness, emphasis on the emotional Health need, Credence attribute, consistent quality and value to customer, can look at moving our products to high involvement and Brand loyality. Therefore, creating awareness amongst consumers and within the distribution chain could be seen as an opportunity for marketers to find a positioning for Organic foods claiming health benefits, to reach out to a wider base. Product – Will prefer to choose Organic flours first then spices to begin with as flours are Base foods which are consumed in larger quantity as compared to spices which are Ingredient foods, consumed in lesser quantity. Also base foods have a larger reach and are considered more important as compared to ingredient foods. Segmentation : Name of Product : Potential customer needs : Organic Foods – Flours – Base Foods Basic Hunger need : Base Food Security need : Safe/No Harmful Chemicals / Clean Sub market : Determining variables : Consumer Characteristics Emotional need : Healthy Tasty and Nutritious Pure / Unadulterated High Fibre content Non Polluting / Environment Friendly Base Food : Flour Health & Nutrition B2B – Health Food Restaurants Health & nutrition value Availability Awareness Calorie / Nutrition info Children Health conscious Mothers Earning members of family Elders in family with special health needs. Further Segmentation Geographic – Metro – A class cities Demographic – Income – High income group families Age / Occupation – Children : 3-15 yrs / Students Earning members of family : 25 – 60 yrs /Professionals Elders : 60 yrs + / Retired Psychographic – Health and fitness conscious With special health needs – like Nutrition, BP, Diabetes, Tension, Obesity etc Cultural shifts: lifestyle, leisure Target chosen : Customer : Mother – working / homemaker Consumer : Children Will first target Children Health needs, then at later stages of acceptance can cover all other areas of consumers and also introduce more product lines and variants as discussed earlier. Position : Positioning by Benefits : Basis is the benefit consumer gets in using the product, Product Promise POSITIONING STATEMENT : IT IS A ORGANIC FLOUR, BETTER THAN THE NORMAL NON ORGANIC FLOURS BECAUSE IT IS HARMFUL CHEMICAL FREE AND HENCE MORE HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS FOR GROWING CHILDREN The company will talk about the Farm to Fork concept – ie from unpolluted Creation to Consumption Everything is Organic, in the purest form. There is nothing artificial about it For a. Healthier India Will educate existing consumers, create awareness wrt FAB of Organic Foods through all possible areas of Media like TV, Print, In store promotions, Outdoor, Sampling, Demos, Direct mailers, Schools info sessions, Nutrition talks / classes, School Canteens, Health food outlets, Health food restaurants, Exercise areas, Public chat rooms, online etc Q. 1(b) Based on the above question’s answer – Assume that the organic food category is in the introduction phase of PLC, accordingly what would be the major marketing decisions at this stage? Do you expect the adoption rate to be fast or slow? Justify. Major marketing decisions at this introduction phase of PLC As discussed above in the Overall Understanding of the Case, 3 C’s Scenario and Analysis Of Complete Marketing Environment and the Product STP, initially mass market the product through existing Intensive distribution network. This stage will see more of Product information through Promotional campaigns to increase Public awareness, which will then Stimulate demand. The later growth & maturity stages of PLC will see more of Brand Promotion and Market segmentation ( also see above ) Product chosen – Base food – flour , can move to whole grain organic bread / biscuits / pasta Also later Organic ingredient foods like spices, condiments Expand in the area of Organic pulses, vegetables, fruits, juices & preserves. Price – Premium / atleast 20% above normal non organic foods Place – Modern trade / also Health food Restaurants tie up like Subway etc which will exclusively use our organic flours for their whole wheat & multi grain breads. Promotion – In shop education, in store activation to educate consumer. Media like TV, Print, In store promotions, Outdoor, Sampling, Demos, Direct mailers, Schools info sessions, Nutrition talks / classes, School Canteens, Health food outlets, Health food restaurants, Exercise areas, Public chat rooms, online etc Initial Adoption rate will be slow. But with sustained awareness will wait for the tipping point in our favour. As new product category, greater awareness is required There is already a Movement towards natural foods from synthetic / chemical based foods : Beverages – Aerated drinks to juices, Tropicana, Real, no preservatives – LMN, Neebooz, Lemonez, Green tea. Base foods – white to brown – whole grain, multigrain breads, flour Cosmetics – study says 66% of what we apply is absorbed by body – harmful chemicals etc, Hence move towards organic & safe products eg Body Shop, Biotique etc Organic food market small now but Volume to come from growing trend of Health & Environment conscious campaigns and followers who will in turn be major influencers in buying decisions of people. Market will grow and prosper – by creating new market for safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly Organic Foods. Also with this the Company will maintain credibility and constantly improve quality and offerings to suit customer needs and hence hope to create a big brand with loyal customers over a sustained period of time.

The Recovery and Investment Plan to Rebuild the American Economy after Essay

The Recovery and Investment Plan to Rebuild the American Economy after Recession - Essay Example The Boskin commission states that accurate measures in the costs of living are among the most useful and important data necessary to evaluate economic performance. The living cost change between two periods indicates how much income people would have needed in the previous period given the price of goods and services available then. For example if a family with $15,000 income in 2000 would have needed $45,000 in 1999, then the cost of living has dropped by two thirds. The commission argues that the complexity of the dynamicity of the economy should not be reasons to bemoan the difficulties in the construction of an accurate cost of living index.It highlighted sources of possible bias and further suggests improvements to the various official statistics currently used as proxies for changes in the cost of living like the consumer price index that measures the cost of purchasing a fixed market basket of goods and services. The CPI is calculated, while keeping the weights fixed through t ime, by attempting to measure changes from one month to another in prices of the same or quite closely related goods and services. But this weights would no longer reflect what consumers are actually purchasing because through consumption baskets change in part because of changes in the relative prices of goods and services. Where the purchases are made also do change just like consumers do change their purchases. The current methodology suffers from outlet substitution bias that insufficiently takes into account the shift to discount outlets. This occurs when shifts to lower price outlets are not properly handled.  

Change Management Process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Change Management Process - Research Paper Example The change is beneficial in a number of ways, which aid businesses in realizing increased outputs, customer relations, and profits (Benjamin, & Levinson, 1993). The proposed change in this case is the adoption of IT and web based technologies in the operations of business, in a generalized capacity. Transition is a concept by which businesses have to encompass in operations. It is an obligation for proprietors to meet the customers’ expectations in the manner by which operations are conducted. The market in which businesses operate set the standards by which operators in the setting must uphold. Advances in technology, particularly in the IT department, such as the introduction of ecommerce in the business environment, have led to changes in how business and its management are conducted (Benjamin, & Levinson, 1993). With more consumers relying on IT and web technology in sales, marketing and advertising, incorporating IT into businesses is a change management process that is beneficial to the businesses. The management has the opportunity to learn the customers’ needs and wants, while the customers are provided with the opportunity to learn more about the enterprise, such as the products and services offered (Mento, Jones, & Dirndorfer, 2002). Adoption of IT in the business environment incorporates three major phases. The first step of the process involves preparation for the change. In this case, the preparation involves defining the change management strategy, making preparations revolving about the management team and developing the model to follow (Kettinger, Teng, & Guha, 1997). The second phase is change management, which incorporates defining the change management plans and taking the proper action to implement the plans. The final phase of the process is based on strengthening the change. The phase involves collection and analysis of feedback based on the plans implemented (Benjamin, & Levinson, 1993). Diagnosis and management of pitfalls and

Capital Punishment should be abolish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Capital Punishment should be abolish - Essay Example Capital punishment is exercised on mentally ill individuals, it also causes emotional suffering for their families and is applied without taking into consideration the convict's case and situation. Thus, death penalty should be abolished. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) says: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5)." So how can we explain that each year death penalty is performed throughout the world not observing the individual human rights Moreover, "Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law (Article 6)." Does capital punishment treat offenders as human beings Rather not, I reckon. Instead, the state chooses to punish the villain citizen by killing him. One of the incontrovertible arguments against the capital punishment is that criminals are also real, human beings like us, who have their lives and families. Many of the serial killers have deep psychological problems and instead of being killed should be put into mental institutions and asylums. We have to wisely consider how we will look at criminals, especially murderers - as evil or sick. This is another very important issue and it seems that society hardly ever reacts reasonably on this.

Discussion and Participation Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion and Participation Questions - Essay Example Another factor to consider is the quantity of philanthropic work companies performed. In order to foster an ethical work environment companies should have a formal code of ethics and an employee manual. Ethics can be used as a factor to gain an advantage over the competition. Social responsibility is one of the hottest trends in the business industry. 2. A company that has achieved great success and incredible levels of growth is Starbucks Cafe. This company took the concept of a coffeehouse to brand new level by offering products of greater quality, great product variety, and excellent customer service. One of the practices that make this company very socially responsible is its use of fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee is a practice that guarantees poor farmers across the world at least $1.26 per pound of coffee which is twice the global price of that commodity. This firm has used innovation such as being one of the first coffeehouse to offer Wi-Fi broadband internet free of char ge. The firm has taken advantage of technologies to sell downloadable I-tunes. The company offers a lot of value by providing its customers with a great experience in all its stores worldwide. 3. To me it is not out of the ordinary that customization has become as valuable as standardization was at the beginning of the 20th century. Business has change and companies now have to provide a higher level of customer service and satisfaction. If a customer desires a customized product companies cannot afford to say no because that client will be lost forever and the competition will provide the potential client the customized product or service the person needs. In the service industry customization has become more important than ever. For example consultants provide a specialized customized service to each client they serve. 4. Participation professor Corporate values are very important towards the success a manager can achieve. A few years ago I worked at a company that was lacking any type of corporate ethics. The manager of the company lied to workers about compensation, incentives, and production quotas among other matters. The employees were offered incentives and the company never honored them. The lies and corruption at this company were so deep that the firm began to steal hours from the workers and the paychecks were received two to three weeks late every pay cycle. The lack of corporate ethics did not allow some of the good supervisors to do their job well since the employees lost all respect they had for the administration. 5. Participation – Matt An environmental factor of great importance that you mentioned in your response is pollution. Pollution has become one of the most dangerous environmental factors humanity faces. The rising levels of CO2 are contributing to the global warming effect. Humanity is destroying our rainforest at an alarming rate. It is estimated humanity deforestation problem is so bad that at current rate of deforestation a ll our rainforest will be gone within 100 years. Our water supply is not sufficient to provide water for the entire population of earth. In places such as the Sub-Saharan desert people do not have accessible drinkable water. Our society is so depend on crude oil that within 40 years it is possible that we may dried up all our petroleum reserves. 6. Participation - Kershena In your response you mentioned the importance of free trade agreements. Free trade agreement

Poetry and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Poetry and Politics - Essay Example have tapped into the American conscience and have examined the utility of war against the backdrop of the experiences of American soldiers abroad and Americans at home in times of war (Goldensohn, 2006). Poets are generally expected to be contemplative and to give expression to reality. Poets not only â€Å"interpret the world, but inform and renew it† (Clements, 1990, p. 239). In this regard, American poets through poetic expression have contemplated, interpreted, informed and renewed the war expression, rationalizing for the most part their objection to war. Some of these poets were actually â€Å"conscientious objectors† (Metres, 2007, p. 5). Robert Lowell was a conscientious objector and is the main subject in his poem Memories of West Street and Lepke which reflects upon his experiences when he was imprisoned for a few days in West Street Jail awaiting a sentence for his refusal to be drafted for the Second World War (Metres, 2000). During his stint in Jail, Lowell met Czar Lepke, a leader of a gang known as Murder Incorporated, who had been sentenced to death for murder. Lepke allegedly told Lowell that he was in jail for killing a human being and asked Lowell what he was in jail for to which Lowell replied â€Å"Oh, I’m in for refusing to kill† (Metres, 2000, p. 661). Lowell’s Memories of West Street and Lepke does not recount this specific encounter, but it presents a realistic image of American freedom and by doing so, forces the reader to ponder whether or not that freedom is worth going to war to protect. Lowell himself is living in a huge house and has only one child, a nine month old baby girl. Meanwhile, a man is â€Å"scavenging filth in the back alley trash cans† and â€Å"has two children† (Lowell, Lines 6-7). Thus Lowell’s consciously brings attention to the fact that freedom brings about inequities. Moreover, Lowell mentions his young daughter which brings to mind the fact that at this very young age, she might never know her father

How do the Bankers Bonuses Affect the Investment Behaviour Research Paper

How do the Bankers Bonuses Affect the Investment Behaviour - Research Paper Example The concerns and the perception have changes and numerous controversial ideas have changed the bankers’ bonuses ideologies significantly. Therefore, the research aims at identifying and analyzing the effects of bankers’ bonuses to the banking investment especially in relation to the performance of the banks. The main aim of the bonus banking is to balance long-term and short-term value creation and satisfying accountability of the stakeholders with the intent of attracting, retaining, and motivation talent. However, what is the underlying reality of this motivational system The research shall answer this concern by seeking the  response to the following question: In the journal, Banker’s pay structure and Risk, John Thanassoulis addresses the contrasting problems facing the banks and bankers. According to Thanassoulis, these contrasting banking problems are embedded in the competitive labor market where the banks are seeking best talents. Additionally, Thanassoulis notes that banks often use various motivation efforts that vary with the remuneration. However, the introduction of the remunerations motivations makes banks risk shifting problems by creating incentives that will only inflate the early earnings of the managers. In most cases, the management of some bonuses is of deferred optimally. Thanassoulis further notes that

Textbook Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Textbook Analysis - Essay Example The first page contains questions and quotations that give the reader an insight of the content of that unit. The pages begin with quotes, collages, questions, and unit introduction. This creates an idea of the flow of the content in that unit and the reader is able to prepare accordingly. Every collage contains images that correspond to the topic of the unit. They display values such as childcare and education, interaction of people in the society, and items encountered in the world such as computers. These images relate to the topic of the unit. Stereotyping refers to generalizations based on characteristics of all members of a group, based on wrong images about individuals in the group (Schneider, 6). The collage on unit six has two women holding young children. This creates the impression that women have the sole responsibility of caring for the young ones while men participate in activities such as education (Unit 6). One image shows a woman serving as a magistrate, which implies only few women rise to the level of prominent people in the society compared to men. The collage also contains the image of a black woman holding a child with an Asian ancestry. This illustrates the closeness of members of the minority groups as compared to close ties between minorities and majorities. This image is stereotypic since there are hostilities between members of minority groups such as Latinos and Africans. The collage on unit eight refers to technological advancements encountered in the modern world. The collage illustrates an ATM machine, computers, and roads that are usually associated with urban areas especially in developed countries. The traffic jam on the road indicates a high number of users that is usually associated with urban areas (Unit 8). These images create the perception that transport networks in urban areas are usually busy. The computers and ATM machines indicate ease of communication and service delivery that is experienced in the

Strategic management (Fujifilm case study) Study

Strategic management (Fujifilm ) - Case Study Example Al., â€Å"Fujifilm: A Second Foundation†). The paper deals with the business plan of the company for the future five years. The marketing projection is done by taking into consideration the entire products of Fujifilm and its market growth in the past years. The operational estimation is conducted by considering the set marketing plan. The outer and inner environment of the company and the competitors’ strength as well as weakness facilitates to estimate the operational prediction. The financial analysis is done by examining the marketing and operations of the company and their performance along with income statement of the previous years. The paper also covers the process of implementation of major objectives in order to achieve success. Finally, the paper is completed with a brief conclusion. 2.0 Marketing Projection The sales projection relates to the estimation of potential sales of a company at a certain time period. The sales projection of Fujifilm’s produ cts and services can be prepared for the coming five years. The marketing projection of Fujifilm for successive five years from present scenario is based on several factors. There may be external or internal factors that affect sales projection (Sane Jose State University, â€Å"Process for Sales Projection†). The marketing and sales of the product of Fujifilm have helped to increase its market share and proper planning will enhance its growth in the coming years. The various factors that are responsible for Fujifilm’s future projection are seasonability aspect prevalent in business, comparative situation of the economy, fashions of new products, changing population and productivity, income of consumer, present market share, innovative product lines, inventory shortage, recent trend in sales and price changes among others (Sane Jose State University, â€Å"Process for Sales Projection†). The various marketing products of Fujifilm are ‘electronics productsà ¢â‚¬â„¢, ‘highly functional materials’, ‘medical imaging’, ‘life science’, ‘graphic arts’, ‘optical devices’ and ‘documents’. These products are expanding globally and are in huge demand in market. To maintain its demand in future, the company needs to develop various marketing techniques. The market share of LCD FUJITAC in global market is 80% and for WV film it acquires 100%. Thus, in the coming years the growth will be high as a result production capacity need to be raised (Fujifilm, â€Å"Highly Functional Materials†). To enhance production as well as growth it needs to develop innovative marketing techniques. The diagnostic materials acquired the top market share; therefore it must be provided prior importance. Due to recession, gradually revenue from medical imaging has lowered down. The forecasting can be done by taking into consideration the various aspects of customers and market and their demand for more innovative products (Fujifilm, â€Å"Highly Functional Materials†). The three sections of products that are manufactured in the company throughout the year are imaging solution, information solution and document solutions. The business growth of these products under these sections varies considerably. By examining the revenue of business trend from the year 2007 to 2011, it is possible to predict the revenue from the

Urban Consolidation and Environmental Sustainability Essay Example for Free

Urban Consolidation and Environmental Sustainability Essay Urban consolidation is a rising issue in amny capital cities and could have a dramatic effect on the environmental sustainability of Australian cities in the near and distant future. â€Å"Urban consolidation policies concentrate on increasing housing densities in the large cities to produce more compact development, shorter travel distances and less dependence on automobiles. † (Forster 2004, p. 171). Some of the main negative issues that is caused by urban consolidation are a drop in value of pre-existing suburban housing, an overload of public resources in over-crowded cities and traffic and transport inconviences. There are many benefits to urban consolidation which involve lower short term envirnomental impacts and high levels of convience, but at the same time there are many disadvantages which are discussed in this essay. The policies of urban consolidation are surrounded by the idea of building large cities upwards, rather than outwards. This means that they are focussing on constructing multi-story facilities close to the centre of the cities. â€Å"more compact development would reduce the rate at which urban expansions consumes good agricultral land and threatens sensitive natural environments† (Forster 2004, p. 71). Existing housing urban housing and facilities must be demolished to make way for new high rise structures. This indicates that for many australians who have worked hard to buy/own their own home in the inner suberbs of major cities, it will be a struggle for them, due to the fact that their house/dwelling or property will decrease in value. As the population increases, the total of vehicles increases aswell. â€Å"In 1945 there were 100 cars per 1000 people, by 1970 there were almost 500 cars per 1000 people†(Forster 2004, p. 17), this will cause traffic congestion within the cities. As a result of traffic congestion, pollution levels will increase. This will negatively affect peoples health and well being. Along with the inconviences of urban consolidation on the everyday lifestyle, health issues can also be inflated. Childhood obesity is more likely to occur in children that were raised in areas of urban consolidation rather than a child raised in a suburban area, â€Å"urban sprawl communities separate people’s homes from stores, offices, services and restaurants. This makes it nearly impossible for people to carry out their errands, sporting activities or go to work without using their car†(Lopez 2004). This is largly due to the fact that children raised in urban consolidation generally have little access to large parks and playgrounds and would have to go out of their way to be highly active on a regular basis, where as children in suburban areas have access to these large parks and outdoor play areas. There can be many negatives with living in an urban consolidated area which can be an overcrowding in kindergarden and schools, lengthy waiting lists to seek medical attention and a possible need to travel further distances to get to bigger and better-equipped shopping districts. These needs negate the value of urban consolidation in that if many people will still be required to travel moderate or lengthy distances to access facilities then they would be better off to live further into the suberbs where the shops/facilities are well equipped. In conclusion, the policies of urban consolidation would be highly beneficial and have great outcomes in all major Australian cities if the preceding measures were taken care of prior or at the same time to taking action against urban sprawl. Although there are some positives to urban consolidation, such as lower automobile dependance and increased convinience, the many negatives outweigh them. In the long term the policies of urban consolidation may benefit some major cities in australia, but given the current situation in which many cities are not developing at the same rate as urban consolidation is affecting them, it stands that urban consolidation is not the answer to environmental sustainability for Australian cities.

Super Size Me: Film Report

Super Size Me: Film Report Chapter I: Introduction Morgan Spurlock the director of Super Size Me went on a daring adventure to test whether the claims made by two overweight/obese teenagers was true. Two teenagers claimed that they had received their condition as a result from the McDonalds Cooperation by eating their fast food. Seeing how McDonalds is the most populous fast food restaurant in the world. Many Americans do indeed follow a fast food diet but are unaware of the exact health results. Since America is growing in the percentage of overweight/ obese people in America there should be some data on what fast food restaurants have in this issue. Obesity has become a major health problem in the United States; with over 60% of adult Americans beingobese. Obesity can lead to an array of other diseases, an increased risk of illness and premature death. Chapter II: Review of Literature The documentary, Super Size Me, was not only created to show the harmful effects of eating fast food, namely McDonalds. Morgan created the film to show that fast food has become a fixture in our countrys culture. I learned the ongoing and fast rate obesity is growing. Diabetes is also playing a key role as well as psychological changes and side effects that can result from a high fatty diet. Marketing campaigns by fast food markets are stronger and louder than healthy eatingmessages. Being obese has now become the second largest preventable cause of death falling behind cigarette users. Each day, one in four Americans visits a fast food restaurant. This figure shows how the fast food market has really taken a grasp on American lifestyles with eating. With McDonalds making up of 43 percent of the fast food market today and shelling out more money in advertising alone compared to health food ads, its easy to see how the convenience of fast food has taken apart of Americans â€Å"culture†. In general, children and adolescents are eating more food away from home, drinking more sugar-sweetened drinks, and snacking on food that cost generally less than their healthy counterparts. Convenience has become one of the main criteria for Americans food choices today, leading more and more people to consume quick service or restaurant meals or to buy ready-to-eat, meals to prepare at home rather than the ordinary home-style cooking by the mother due to the fact that this requires far more work. Only 21 percent of young people eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. 32 percent of adolescent girls and 52 percent of adolescent boys consume three or more eight ounce servings of soda per day. And with, schools currently decreasing the amount of free play and physical activity that children receive during school hours this does not add up to a particularly healthy lifestyle. Only about one-third of elementary children have daily physical education, in which this time of life can set the tone on how children will lead their lives as they later grow up into adolescents. Spurlock goes on to show how our nation is becoming morbidly obese and the fast rate it is growing just by fast food in itself. In the United States alone it has reached epidemic proportions. Being overweight during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type two diabetes as a youth. With over 60 percent of adult Americans beingobese side effects can result from this, hypertensionbeing one of the most common side effects of obesity. Another complication associated with obesity is diabetes, with 15 million people alone in the United States being diabetic; approximately 10 percent are juvenile onset diabetics. The other 90 percent of diabetics are type two diabetics, commonly known as adult onset. Those who develop adult onset diabetes generally are diagnosed in their middle years, between 30 to 60 years old. This type of diabetes is almost always associated with obesity. The m ajority ofobeseindividuals with diabetes can reduce their complications by losing as little as 10 percent of their current body weight. Just being diagnosed with diabetes will automatically cut 17-27 years off a human life. Overweight in children and adolescents are generally caused by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns resulting in excess energy intake, or a combination of the two. If people were to look at the long-term consequences, overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, which increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese. Within the documentary, Spurlock seems to contract the beginning stages of a severe condition calledsleep apnea. For people with this problem, it becomes more difficult to breathe at night as their weight increases. People with this condition typically snore severely and have episodes when they stop breathing completely, sometimes for up to one minute at a time. Sleep apnea although not as well known of a complication is still quite serious, and in many cases requires medical attention. The best method of treatment for any of the above side effects is weight loss. In 2000, the total cost of obesity for children and adults in the United States was estimated to be $117 billion ($61 billion in direct medical costs). Understanding the causes of childhood obesity can provide people with the opportunity of eating right and staying healthy. Chapter III: Methodology Before undertaking the experiment of living every childs dream by eating McDonalds for thirty days, procedures needed to be taken to ensure that data would be accurately recorded and that Spurlock would be obtaining the most accurate results possible. He must eat one of everything on the menu at least once, and when asked to super size his meal he must do so. Another requirement of Morgans experiment is that he can only take 5,000 steps a day to replicate the exercise that most average Americans get on a daily basis. He must also eat three meals a day, no exceptions and if McDonalds doesnt serve it Morgan cant eat it. To start, Morgan enlists three doctors to assist him through his thirty day documentary. A cardiologist, gastroenterologist, and a general practitioner all check him out at the beginning of the experiment. Spurlock, who stands six feet two inches tall, had a body weight of 185.5pounds, 11 percent body fat, perfect blood pressure, and cholesterol of 168, Morgan sported a very fit body before undergoing the McDiet. This is about as perfect of a body that someone can sport at the age of 32. Morgan also hires a nutritionist and dietician named Bridgett Bennet who will help track his progress. With the hypothesis of what results that may be seen from this diet, the cardiologist says that he expects to see a change in Morgans triglycerides, but he says that his liver will probably be able to metabolize the excess fat. The general practitioner says that Morgan will probably gain weight and that his cholesterol will probably go up as well. In my own personal opinion, an experiment I would use as a follow-up to Spurlocks would be a test to show more of a long term effect on eating at McDonalds. If I was a scientist and was studying the effects of eating fast-food, one way I would go about running this experiment would be to find two men of common age, height, weight, and healthy eating habits. Then I would have one of these men continue with their healthy eating, while the other man has McDonalds at least twice a week. The man who continued eating healthy would help provide a control for the experiment that Spurlock lacked. Even extending the period of the experiment to maybe two to three years will provide a more realistic view of the effects on McDonalds in a diet then an unrealistic every day and every meal experiment. Whether there would be a huge difference in the two men or none at all, I have no idea but I think that it would be a way to increase the validity of the lab that Spurlocks experiment lacked. Chapter IV: Presentation of Findings Even during the first few days of the McDonalds diet, Spurlock was showing signs of being visibly uncomfortable. One afternoon eating in his car after stopping at a drive-through, he was havingtrouble finishing his supersize fries, complaining that he was experiencing a McBelly ache, McGas, and McSweats. The results in the 30 day McDonalds diet is that there was change to the human body caused by fast food was in fact much worse than the three doctors had originally anticipated that occurred to his body after undertaking this experiment. Before, Spurlock was in taking about 2,500 calories per day, but when undergoing the McDiet, the calorie intake doubled to 5,000 per day. Morgan frequently pointed out that throughout his day, he felt depressed and sad, during his thirty day McDonalds diet. Spurlock claims he was hooked on fast food during his binge, feeling happy only while eating. I definitely went through serious withdrawal symptoms, including headaches, sweats, and shakes, and only when he ate another McDonalds meal did he find sanction from these symptoms. Over time Morgans weight dramatically increases, his health weakens and he begins to show signs of depression. Morgan at six foot two inches, 185 pounds, and 11 percent body fat was fit and lean at the start the month. After 30 days Morgan has gained 24.5 pounds and increased his body fat by seven percent, concluding that such an extreme diet really can be hazardous to your health. His cholesterol goes up, and so does his blood pressure. His doctor describes his liver function test results as obscene. His liver test came back to ratify the doctors conclusion, that his liver was starting to turn to fat. His cholesterol went from 168 to 230.He went from 11 percent body fat to 18 percent body fat. This was extreme for just thirty days. During his various checkups throughout the month, his body weight slowly increased except for one exception when one pound was lost. This is theorized that the excess fat he was obtaining was weighing less than the muscle mass that was being lost.The movi e presented some alarming facts.With only seven items on the McDonalds menu were sugar free along with the case that McDonalds can be found in nearly every city across America, this doesnt help the cause of the growing obesity pandemic in America. Chapter V: Summary/Implication/Discussion What else is there to be expected if you are eating fast food three times a day and getting little to no exercise? Since Spurlocks documentary Super Size Me argues that fast food is addictive but not in the typical way that someone would find it. It was only addictive in the case of finding a haven from the various side effects of not consuming fast food. Throughout the course of the documentary Spurlock uses humor to advance his thesis. He shows pictures of famous personalities to kids who look to be about six years in age. The children readily identify Ronald McDonald and George Washington but are stumped by a third picture. George W. Bush? one little boy ventures, No, but thats a good guess, says Spurlock, turning the picture toward the camera. Its a drawing of Jesus Christ. How does this help further prove that children are on a course of obesity just because they can identify the leading fast food figure? Its not the kids to blame that Ronald McDonald spends a great deal of time on commercials of children television commercials than Jesus himself does. As with Spurlocks exercise in extreme eating, Im not sure what that proves. The fact that kids know who Ronald McDonald is does not mean they will end up becoming obese. Similarly, Spurlock asks a group of tourists to stand in front of the White House and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which they have trouble doing accurately and in unison. But when he asks about the components of a Big Mac, one of them wattles off, Two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun. Im sure that if I went on to remember the list of what a Big Mac consists of, I can still avoid eating one. Throughout the movie I found one particular quote that stood out to me apart from the rest. It came from the words of Jared Fogle, the man off of the Subway commercials, commenting to a obese family that The worlds not going to change. You have to change. All in all, I think that this experiment was not valid. However, the effects resulting from Spurlocks experiment were too good to be true. Supersize Me† showed me very interesting things about eating at McDonalds. For example, it helped me realize that eating at McDonalds is a consumers choice. The meals provide a quick, easy, and cheap way to fill a persons stomach which definitely attracts many customers to eat at a restaurant. There is without a doubt that fast food comes at a costly sacrifice and being absurdly unhealthy. People, if they realized the facts of what they were eating you cant blame them for wanting a crack at the fast food industry of what it has done to their body. However the catch is, its your own choice to purchase the food they are selling. If people are really worried about their health, then they should take the measures of looking up exactly what it is they are consuming. Within months after the films release McDonalds excluded the Supersizing option. Nutrition information was printed right on food packages, and thousands of people may have started thinking twice before considering McDonalds for a meal. In this case of the documentary, â€Å"Supersize Me† was a hit success.

What Is The Digital Divide?

What Is The Digital Divide? One of the worlds most serious problems is the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor. A small percentage of the worlds population enjoys luxuries while global poverty seems to be increasing. A key aspect of this divide is the digital divide where a large difference in terms of access to information communication technology. Throughout developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America access to such technology is limited whereas in developed nations members enjoy the convenience provided by such technology and is more efficient and effective through usage of such technology and also takes advantage of the educational opportunities made available by ICT (Tiene, 2002). The concept of the digital divide can be explained from two perspectives: (1) the distance between countries who have access to electronic information and those that do not, (2) the difference in internet literacy between citizens of developing and developed nation (Brooks, Donovan, Rumble, 2005). (http://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-873.pdf) The second scenario is often considered as a direct result of the former where the lack of infrastructure made available does not create an environment suitable to encourage a higher literacy rate of usage of the internet. The digital divide refers mainly to the division between the information rich and the information poor and is also used to divide the globe geographically similar to the NorthSouth dichotomy (Gudmonsdottir, 2005). The difference in the divide can be attributed to 5 factors, socioeconomic, geographical, educational, attitudinal and generational factors. Information Communication Technology (ICT) has pla yed a major role in the 21st century. However, usage of such technology remains poles apart when compared between developing and developed nations. The term digital divide is used to describe situations where there are gaps in the market in terms of access to the use of ICT devices (Singh, 2012). The measure of the digital divide is not limited to access of the internet and measures other gaps such as access to mobile technology and other forms of communicative technology. According to OECD (2001), the term digital divide refers to the gap between individuals, households, business and geographic areas at the different socio-economic levels with regard to their opportunities to access of ICTs and their use of the internet. It reflects the differences between and within countries. For the purpose of this paper, it will examine the digital divide using the concept of the haves (represented by developed countries) and have nots (developing nations) along with the key assumptions as to h ow the digital divide determines the future of class, education and economic capacity with long-term and social political consequences. The paper will further examine the efforts made by global agencies and the policies that they have developed to overcome this divide and examines the level of success of these policies. The digital divide exists between countries with different levels of progress and even within the country between urban and rural areas (ITU, 2002). It is a result of the disparities of society and is likened to the divides created by income, health and education. The primary reason for the disparity is poverty where when a countrys citizens have less money it is less likely that they would use ICT (Figure 3). Difference in access to ICT has created a difference in the measure of power in society with the digital divide reflecting how power is being distributed. The digital divide in reference to figures 1 and 2, can be seen that developed nations are among those with the highest internet penetration boasting penetration of over 60%. Developing nations represent the lower half in terms of internet penetration and do not even have a .25% penetration among the 10 countries with the lowest internet penetration. Internet usage among those countries is largely associated with the more dev eloped cities and usage of internet in rural areas is almost unheard of. ] Recent efforts by organizations have shown evidence that the digital divide is shrinking. Developing nations have been able to increase the number of internet users by 2% in 1991 to 23% in2001. However, advancements in technology has led to a new form of digital divide where shifts have been made from basic to advanced communciations. This is harder to measure as it measures the quality of ICT used. For example, international internet bandwidth is a good measure of users experiences as the greater the bandwidth the quicker the response time improving efficiency. Comparisons between developed and developing nations can be illustrated where the 400,000 citizens in Luxembourg have more international internet bandwidth compared to Africas 760 million citizens. The highspeed internet access made available in developed nations allows internet users to better quality access and allows them access to more advanced sites that allow video streaming rather than basic usage like checking emails. Impact of the Digital Divide The digital divide and its impact on developing nations economies is that of a spiral where they do not have the economy to support the infrastructure necessary to allow developing nations to utilize technology to level the competitive advantages with developed nations. Primary concerns among developing nations is that poor countries have more pressing concerns such as focusing on food, healthcare and basic needs of the people rather than focusing on technological advancement (http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/01/27/the_digital_divide_issues_and.htm). As a result of this, developing nations lack the capabilities of establishing the infrastructure necessary to allow their nations to have wide enough coverage to be effective. This puts their country in a position where they schools are unable to teach IT skills necessary in more industrialized industries which would help move a country beyond an agricultural themed economy. Also, it puts students from these schools at a disadvant age as they are unable to take advantage of the vast amounts of information available on the web. In comparison, developed nations have the ability to recruit highly trained individuals who are equipped which enables them to produce more giving the country a higher economic growth. Also, countries that lack the IT infrastructure will be unable to carry out e-commerce or e-businesses putting themselves at a disadvantage in the global market. With e-commerce representing 12% of retail sales in the United States, it indicates the impact of technology in the market. It also helps improve overall growth of an economy by reducing costs of some processes such as the elimination of the brick and mortar stores, ease of advertising, reducing search costs and improving efficiency of doing business. Also, access to mobile technology has a significant impact on economies of developed and developing countries. In developing countries the impact is more pronounced as in Wavermans model a developin g country an increase of 10 mobile phones per 100 people helps boost the GDP growth by .6 percentage points. To illustrate this, in Bangladesh, farmers and fishermen use these mobile phones as a means of identifying the best prices they can get for their goods. Small businesses can use mobile phones as a means to shop around for products. Use of technology in this manner reduces transaction costs, broadens trade networks and helps reduce the need for transportation and broadens the trade network (http://www.economist.com/node/3742817?story_id=3742817). However, as developing nations do not have the infrastructure in place to allow broad usage of such technology, it reduces the production capability of the individuals in their country reducing their competitiveness on the global scale. One of the most important effects of the digital divide is the impact it has on educational efforts in developing nations. With the use of digital technology, it grants access for students to large amounts of information provoking thoughts in dynamic ways and encourages them to work more efficiently. Without access to ICT, developing nations face the possibility of being unable to keep up with their peers. The United Nations Development Program in its Human Development Report for 2001, noted that the technology divide is consistent with the trend of following the income divide across the globe. A lack of education in ICT puts citizens of a developing nation in a weaker position of benefitting from new technologies reinforcing the economic disparities between the rich and poor (Henry, 2012). The digital divide in the societal sense can be likened to events in the past, similar to the industrial revolution. Taking a look at the Meiji Restoration in Japan, it can be observed that with the industrialization it enabled international competitiveness and economic benefits which in turn led to Japan being able to compete on a global scale. Introducing industrialization has led Japan to become a globally recognized force in the world with great technological advancement in manufacturing and information technology. In comparison however, nations who have yet to adopt industrialization can see their GDP per capita and living standards at rate considerably lower compared to Japan. ICT adoption of nations in the developed world is considerably greater in comparison to developing nations as they have better access in terms of resources and have the existing infrastructure to support it. ICT adoption in terms of the digital divide can create a parallel collapse to an even greater degr ee in comparison with the industrial revolution. The ICT revolution creates barriers such as access to information, restructuring society and creating horizontal networks divided by access to information technology. Differences in the scale of technology adoption restructures society by altering class structure to create a new degree of equality in the potential it gives to access to common knowledge via technology such as the internet. Limited adoption of ICT by developing countries further exasperates the divide as it creates a new class system of access. It creates a division of the haves and have nots. The divide could lead to unemployment in more advanced industries which adopt technology as new skills are required and could lead on through generations if members of society are not trained. This could force members of developing nations to focus on primary industries such as agriculture and mining which would lead to such nations being left behind in terms of competitiveness in other industries. United Nations (2001) Human Development Report New Technologies and the Global Race for Knowledge Chapter 2, pp.57-75. Gudmunsdottir, C. (2005). Approaching the digital divide in South Africa. NETREED Conference. Retrieved 22nd September 2012. From http://www.netreed.uio.no/conferences/conf2005/GretaGudmundsdottir.pdfudmundsdottir.pdf Venkat, K. (2002) Delving into the Digital Divide IEEE Spectrum, Volume 39, Issue 2, February, p.14. Retrieved 22nd September 2012. From http://www.cleanmetrics.com/pages/IEEESpectrum-02-2002.pdf Henry, L. (2012). The Digital Divide, Economic Growth and Potential Poverty Reduction: The Case of the English Speaking Caribbean. University of West Indies, St Augustine. Retrieved 22nd September 2012. From http://www.caribank.org/uploads/publications-reports/research/conference-papers/development-strategy-forum/The%20Case%20of%20the%20English-speaking%20Caribbean.pdf Peà ±a-Là ³pez, I. (2003) Want bad news?: ITU Digital Access Index: Worlds First Global ICT Ranking In ICTlogy, #3, December 2003. Barcelona: ICTlogy. Retrieved 22nd September 2012 from http://ictlogy.net/review/?p=38 Source: OECD Communications Outlook 2011 [www.oecd.org/sti/telecom/outlook] Bridging the Digital Divide This section of the paper examines the causes of the digital divide and the efforts put forward by organizations towards bridging the gap. The relationship between ICT and lifelong learning and policies and objectives by governments towards improving the economic competitiveness and reducing the social exclusion are complex. The figure below illustrates the complexity and the road towards bridging the digital divide. Policies made by governments and organizations have to support both competitiveness and inclusion and also at the same time use digital technologies to support lifelong learning. By creating the center of the diagram larger, the digital divide can be overcome with the right policy objectives. The following will identify the objectives needed to be met in order to bridge the divide. http://www.oecd.org/site/schoolingfortomorrowknowledgebase/themes/ict/41232069.jpg Guide to Bridging the Digital Divide Sourced from Mcnair, 2000 An important objective is to secure access for all to ICT as one of the major causes of the digital divide is the difference between the technologically advanced and technologically poor nations (Mcnair, 2000). A good indicator of the level of the digital divide is the number of access lines and access paths per 100 inhabitants. As the graph below indicates the total communication paths in OECD countries has steadily increased over the years however, it is still not evenly distributed as the highest ratios of access paths are still being held by developed nations. The digital divide is even deeper for internet access with China, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel accounting for 52% of all internet hosts outside the OECD and Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa representing a further 24%. This indicates that there is the distribution even among developing nations is skewed such that approximately 76% of internet hosts outside the OECD nations are in 9 countries (OECD, 200 1). A solution to this issue is to consider liberalizing the telecommunications market. The liberalization of telecommunications services helps improve the competition forcing existing firms to improve on their service quality; it will lead to price reductions, better service coverage and improve access to ICT (OECD, 2001). As the affordability of access to ICTs reduce, it encourages usage of ICTs (Pena-Lopez, 2003). In Europe for example, it can be observed that with liberalization, the average cost of telephone charges continue to decline. The average price for bundle services dropped by 32% after liberalization of the telecommunications industry in Europe in 1998. Similar circumstances occur with bandwidth prices in Europe where competition and a rapid drop in bandwidth prices occurred as can be observed in the figure below. The increased competition on a global scale has led to several key factors in addressing the digital divide (1) Computing costs have steadily decreased and c apacity is increasing in a variety of devices to prices where many users can afford. (2) Competition among technology firms has led to improvements in technology such as the new wireless protocols which are able to overcome technical and financial problems when expanding into rural communities in developing nations. (Smyth, 2006) (http://www.intel.com/it/pdf/wireless-technologies-and-e-learning-bridging-the-digital-divide.pdf) Source: OECD Communications Outlook 2011 Developing infrastructure necessary to facilitate the usage of ICT is also crucial in bridging the digital divide. The responsibilities of this however falls on, local governments, private institutions and also international organizations with the technological expertise in helping facilitate the construction of the infrastructure. Among the key projects which have been launched is the optical fibre network being deployed throughout South and East Africa. As part of a project by national and cellphone operators, national research and education networks are emerging in African countries as part of a consortia to link their major institutions by purchasing internet bandwidth. This project SANREN, is being funded by the Meraka institute as well as the tertiary education network to create a broadband system for its higher education and research institutes. The project aims to be the Geant of Africa and is expected to be at least 1,000 times faster than the current infrastructure made ava ilable. The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) is another initiative considered to be a milestone in the region. The objective of which is to connect the countries of Eastern Africa with the rest of the world via an optical cabling system. This allows countries in the region to no longer rely on expensive satellite systems as a means for connectivity. This project is being funded by the Developmental Bank of Southern Africa and the World Bank. (http://www.saao.ac.za/fileadmin/files/Publications/Quest_Digital_Divide.pdf) Having the infrastructure in place helps increase access paths reducing the barriers to access to ICTs. Another key would be using education as a means to bridge the digital divide. Disparities in the level of education explain 9.9-14.4% in computer penetration gaps with the average number of years of school in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa being 3.7 years and 8.3 years in Europe and Central Asia. In comparison, the average years of schooling in the United States is 12.1 years. Having computers requires a certain degree of education to be used therefore countries with low levels of human capital have limited demand for computers(http://cgirs.ucsc.edu/publications/wp/wp2004-3.pdf) (Caselli and Coleman (2001) and Pohjola (2003)). It is imperative therefore that for organizations to create a learning economy within developing nations where individuals, firms and countries will be able to create wealth in proportion to their capacity to learn and share. Creating a learning economy places emphasis on life-long learning to foster dissemination, circles of discovery and an emergence of sha red understandings. The World Bank has implemented several measures to help develop developing nations towards a knowledge economy http://www.worldbank.org/education/digitaldivide/DD_EXT.pdf. The Human Development Network (HDN) provides knowledge management, training resources and technical assistance for developing countries in areas such as education and the use of technology for educational purposes. It has also developed a program that provides training for teaching staff and students in developing countries known as the Developmental program. Another initiative by the World Bank is setting up Global Distance Learning Centers which aim to provide tailored learning programs and state of the art facilities for internet-based learning (http://gdln.org/about). The Bank has also developed financing instruments for education based programs. The number of education technology activities increased by 20 and 90% in 1997 and 1999. 1/3 of this financing went towards developing nations in L atin America and the Caribbean. Building on the initiatives taken, the World Bank has set up a specific task force with the aim of bridging the digital divide through education. The objective of the task force is to assist developing countries in developing strategies with regards to technology in education. The task force is also assigned to promote projects that help address key issues in terms of education such as quality and increased access to ICT. This task force will work hand in hand with another division of the World Bank, the Global Distance Education Network which has similar goals in reducing the digital divide. By providing its expertise in these areas and helping set up a proper mapping guide as to how to improve education, it creates better environments to educate citizens of developing nations. The higher the level of education, the higher the demand for computers resulting in better usage of ICTs in these developing nations (Fairlie, 2003). These initiatives also help educate citizens of developing nations and trains up a workforce able to develop, maintain and provide value-added products and services required by the knowledge economy which will in turn help improve the countries competitive capabilities (Hudson, 2000)_(http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/BRYUH/12.hudson.pdf). Examining the digital divide, it can be observed that the digital divide is getting smaller, however it is still not equal across all borders. Certain developing nations still face more pressing issues such as fulfilling basic needs of their people particularly in countries with the lowest digital access index such as Niger, Mali and Chad. Political turmoil in these countries make it difficult for international organizations such as the World Bank to assist in narrowing the digital divide. Progress can definitely be seen as some key points are examined. In 2010 there were approximately 2 billion internet users worldwide having doubled from 1 billion in 2005 with China leading the charge at 418.9 million. Information based development in China has exceeded the worlds average level as a result of its initiatives in bridging the divide. Lack of access to ICT leads to a lack of education, wealth and income, in turn leading to lack of access to ICT infrastructure and services and so continues the digital divide. Several socio-economic groups, especially within the developed world, have benefited enormously from the innovative creations of the ICT industry, not least in the arenas of learning and collaboration. By sharing this experience and expanding the key uses of ICT in education to other groups within our own society and in the developing world we can kick-start the beginning of the end for the digital divide. To date, communications equipment has been expensive and requires good infrastructure to be in place. Rural communities and developing countries often do not have either the necessary infrastructure or the available funding to put such infrastructure in place. With the advent of the new wireless technologies, there is an unprecedented opportunity to remedy this situation at a fraction of the cost, and in a f raction of the time, that would previously have been required. The digital divide must then be fought on at least two battlefields: economy and education. Regarding the possibility to allow more people to be able to afford a computer or a mobile phone, a good accomplishment is represented by the fact that the cost of digital technologies lowers year after year. The UN are currently helping eliminating the digital divide in developing countries by promoting international initiatives, and also private institutions are contributing with ideas such as the One Laptop Per Child project. On the other hand, there is still a lot to do to make sure everyone can properly use digital technologies; for example, the Internet which is the expression of the new media world is still not completely accessible and interactive to most of its users. Starting with web design, a big accomplishment would represent a more distributed adoption of the W3C accessibility guidelines, let alone the use of a writing style that is based on simple grammar and makes content easily searchable and readable. The major issue, however, remains the lack of education that influences many people and does not allow them to access certain information sources that are only reachable via digital technologies. In this case, the progressive spread of mobile phones and the expansion of mobile networks (as stated in a recent report by Word Bank) might certainly represent a significant improvement in the lives of all those individuals whose access to the digital era is still denied. Link: http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/01/27/the_digital_divide_issues_and.htm#ixzz28RyJWlzR

The Music of Dmitri Shostakovich Essay -- Musicians

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on September 25, 1906, Shostakovich was the second of three children born to Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofiya Vasilievna Kokoulina. His father was of Polish descent but both his parents were Siberian natives. Dmitri was a child prodigy as a pianist and composer. He began taking piano lessons from his mother at the age of nine. He displayed an incredible talent to remember what his mother had played at the previous lesson and would get caught pretending to read the music, playing the music from his last lesson instead of what was placed in front of him. In 1919, at the age of thirteen, he was allowed to enter the Petrograd Conservatory in Saint Petersburg and studied piano with Leonid Nikolayev. Because the conservatory was poorly funded, it did not have heat; the students had to wear coats, hats and gloves constantly only taking off their gloves when composing. Because of these poor living conditions Dmitri developed tuberculosis of the lymph glands in spring 1923 and had to have an operation. Nevertheless, he completed his final piano examinations at the conservatory in June with his neck still bandaged. Shostakovich, though very intelligent and talented, was seen as immature in his final year at the conservatory Shostakovich initially failed his exam in his Marxist method class. When another student was asked to explain the difference between the music of Liszt and Chopin on sociological and economic grounds, the young composer burst out laughing. Luckily, he was able to petition the decision and re-take the test with a str aight face. In the future, he would learn not to be so casual about politics. His first major musical achievement was the First Symphony, premiered in... ...lder). Works Cited †¢ Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A history of western music. 8th ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print. †¢ Fanning, David. Shostakovich studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print. †¢ Hurwitz, David, and DmitriÄ ­ Dmitrievich Shostakovich. Shostakovich symphonies and concertos: an owner's manual. Pompton Plains, N.J.: Amadeus ;, 2006. Print. †¢ Norris, Christopher. Shostakovich, the man and his music. Boston: M. Boyars, 1982. Print. †¢ Volkov, Solomon, and Antonina W. Bouis. Shostakovich and Stalin: the extraordinary relationship between the great composer and the brutal dictator. New York: Knopf, 2004. Print. †¢ David Fanning and Laurel Fay. "Shostakovich, Dmitry." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 14 Apr. 2012 .

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s usage of letters allows the reade

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s usage of letters allows the reader to fully comprehend the situation and certain feelings of the characters. The Usage of Jane’s Letters in Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s usage of letters allows the reader to fully comprehend the situation and certain feelings of the characters. For example, the two letters sent by Jane Bennet to Elizabeth Bennet in Chapter 46 allow the novel to arrive at a turning point in many different aspects. The obvious purpose of the written letters is to inform the reader of the events at hand regarding Lydia Bennet and Mr. Wickham. However, these letters allow changes to take place in other relationships as well. Jane Bennet illustrates herself much in the letters that she composes. She is constantly optimistic and trusts people immensely, shown in the lines â€Å"But I am willing to hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood.† Jane is constantly considering the feelings of other people and she conveys that she does not like to impose on others. She states in the second letter, â€Å"Now as the first shock is over, shall I own that I long for your return? I am not so selfish, however, as to press for it, if inconvenient.† Even in her opening statement in the first distressed letter Jane states, â€Å"I am afraid of alarming you-be assured that we are all well.† These statements easily show her compassion and consideration for others. When describing the state of the rest of the family because of Lydia’s actions, Jane precedes each of their names with the word â€Å"poor.† For example, she writes â€Å"my poor mother is really ill and keeps to her room,† and â€Å"Poor Kitty has anger for having concealed their attachmen... ...y because of the incorrect address is vital in conveying Jane’s emotions to the reader. It is apparent that Jane Austen intended these two solitary letters to play a vital role in the novel. These letters single-handedly brought on the climax of the novel and allowed many different relationships to develop. If the letters were not available to the reader or even simply mentioned, the novel would be lacking in a connection with the reader. These letters convey emotions and worries that otherwise might not be discussed in person, such as the negative comments about Mr. Wickham and his supposed intentions for Lydia Bennet. The letters also allow the reader to personally imitate the internal reactions of the original receiver in the novel. Jane Bennet’s two letters to Elizabeth certainly fulfill these literary functions and are quite essential to the novel.

Ray Bradbury :: History

Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920. He was the third son of Leonard Spaulding Bradbury (a telephone lineman for Waukegan Bureau of Power & Light [Wolfe 62, http://www.brookingsbook.com/bradbury/biography.htm]) and Esther Marie Bradbury (a Swedish immigrant [Snodgrass 73]). Ray lived in Waukegan, Illinois for six years until his family left to Tucson, Arizona in 1926. (http://www.brookingsbook.com/bradbury/biography.htm. When Ray Bradbury was eleven, he would be writing stories on butcher. (http://www.brookingsbook.com/bradbury/biography.htm) Ray was very much into science fiction, horror movies, books, comic books, and magic acts. (Snodgrass 73) At age 12, Ray read a newspaper headline reading "World Would End Tomorrow". (Tucson 1932) Young Ray was all excited about this event so he and his brother packed a lunched and camped out on a ridge to see the end. They waited for some time and nothing happened. Disappointed, he and his brother left the ridge and went home. From that point on, Ray vowed to separate from religion. Why? Because he doesn't like a god who likes to see his people run in pseudo-terror. (Vollmer) In 1932, - after his father, Leonard Spaulding Bradbury, was laid off work because of the depression - his family moved to Los Angeles, California. (http://www.brookingsbook.com/bradbury/biography.htm) In 1935, at the age of fifteen, Ray would continue writing stories. Every once in a while he would send them to national magazines for print. (Wolfe 63) None of his work, at this time, was printed. Even though his work was never published, that didn't dispair him from his love of science fiction. With that, he joined the Los Angeles Science-Fiction Society. (Snodgrass 73) Later in the same year, Ray printed out his own magazine called Futura Fantasia. Futura Fantasia only consisted of Ray Bradbury's work. The magazine lasted for only four issues. (Snodgrass 73) In 1938, Ray Bradbury finished High School at Los Angeles High School in Los Angeles, California. (McNelly 918) Nearly four years of trying to have one of this stories being published, Ray has his fist printing with Imagination! Magazine and the story called Hollerbochen's Dilemma. (http://www.brookingsbook.com/bradbury/biography.htm) This was a big break for Ray. He had never had a piece of work of his being printed. Some of Ray's influences have been "†¦ L. Frank Baum's magic land of Oz, the never-never Africa of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, and Barsoom, Burroughs' impossible, romantic Mars†¦". (McNelly 918) But with even these writers, his biggest influence was not of a writer, but of a magician act of a passing circus.

Financial ratio analysis Essay

Financial ratio analysis is conducted by managers, equity investors, long-term creditors and short-term creditors. What is the primary emphasis of each of these groups in evaluating ratios? Managers deal with all types of ratios. It is important for them to judge and improve the overall financial position of the company. Financial ratios are one of the most common tools of managerial decision making. Financial ratios involve the comparison of various figures from the financial statements in order to gain information about a company’s performance. Ratios to this group, serve as indicators, clues, or red flags regarding noteworthy relationships between variables used to measure the firm’s performance in terms of profitability, asset utilization, liquidity, leverage, or market valuation. Equity Investors use the analysis of financial ratio to help equity investors know whether their investment earnings some return or not. They emphasize more on profitability ratios with those investors look for entities with high earning potential and will be reluctant to associate themselves one that poor return since the market price of stock and dividend potential will be adversely affected. Long-Term Creditors deal mostly with the solvency ratios. They are important because the ratios under this category indicate the long term financial position of the company in terms of its solvency. Financial ratios analysis helps long term creditors to know company’s ability to meet interest expenses and long term obligations on time. Times interest earned ratio, debt to total assets turnover ratio, debt to shareholders equity ratio are also some of the ratios that are helpful for long term creditors. Short-term Creditors find liquidity ratios as more important. The analysis of financial ratios assists Short term creditors to know the ability of company to pay their short term obligation. They mainly focus on corporate liquidity is especially important to creditors. If a company has poor liquidity position, it may lead to delay in receiving interest and principal payments or even losses on the amounts due. It includes various calculated ratios such as Current ratio, receivable turnover, accounts payable , liquid ratio, working capital etc. , that helps short term creditors analyze company’s credit history. (3-3) Over the past years, M. D.  Rryngaert & Co. has realized an increase in its current ratio and drop in its total assets turnover ratio. However, the company’s sales, quick ratio, and fixed assets turnover ratio have remained constant. What explains these changes? It may have been that the inventory of M. D. Rryngaert & Co. was not properly managed. We can witness that because of a higher inventory, current assets increases, with an automatic decrease in total assets turnover. However, the quick ratio and the fixed assets turnover have remained constant due to the fact that they are not included in inventory. Furthermore, with sales remaining constant and with an increase in inventory as mentioned, the company is definitely not in a good financial position. (3-4) Profit margins and turnover ratios vary from one industry to another. What differences would you expect to find between a grocery chain such as Safeway and steel company? Think particularly about the turnover ratios, the profit margin, and Du Pont equation. Safeway, being a grocery business, requires a lesser number of dollars in assets to produce a dollar in sales than would a steel company. Furthermore the margin that grocery stores derive from the sale of each item is usually low. That is why they rely on a large volume of sales, and high turnover of inventory. They sell their products quickly, with a high turnover, and a lower profit margin with having to sell higher volumes of products to make up for the low margin. As for the steel company, being a business that has a higher profit margin but low turnover ratio, it tends to have lower volume of business transactions. The steel company would also spend more money in assets in order to generate a good return in sales, as compared to a grocery store. The profit margin being the ratio between revenue and income, finds a business with higher profit margin to have lower cost of sales and hence high profit, while a business with lower profit margin will have higher cost of sales. Turnover ratios show how many times a year company is replacing their inventories. So by using the DuPont formula, we can calculate the ROA for each different company by a simpler version of the equation being Return on Assets (ROA) = Profit Margin x Total Asset Turnover.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle of Bits, Pilani-Dubai Campus for the International Aerial Robotics Competition 2011

Unmanned visionary vehicle of BITS, Pilani-Dubai Campus for the transnational Aerial Robotics Competition 2011 Saurabh Ladha, Deepan Kishore Kumar, Robin Singh ,Pavitra Bh whatevera, Anant Mittal, Aditya Jain, Anshul Upreti, Prof. Dr. R. K. Mittal, Dr Anand Kumar Birla initiate of Technology and Science, Pilani-Dubai Campus, Dubai, UAE ABSTRACT The Intelligent evanescent Object for Reconnaissance (IFOR) is an indepenitentiarydent fairylike fomite that has been create by BITS Pilani Dubai Campus students.The fomite is unfastened of localizing itself exploitation the rotating shaft algorithmic program, alter its attitude ( roue, gazump and swerve) and t every last(predicate)ness utilize pelvic inflammatory disease influencelers, plan modes most obstacles and aviate an unknown indoor(prenominal) purlieu with circumvent pursual guidance. In add-on, it has been designed to be capable of pattern recognition which would change it to recognize images and signs. These features enable the IFOR to execute the sixth billing of the International Aerial Robotics Competition, which involves examine an unknown indoor fragmentic number 18na protect by optical maser barriers and television cameras, bestrewn with obstacles, in the hunt club for a photograph drive. 1.INTRODUCTION The field of robotics is witnessing a paradigm shift in the deed and part of robots. With robots get self-governing and scintillating day by day, their application and drill has increased tremendously. Aerial robots specifically put on an edge over other autonomous fomites out-of-pocket to its juicyer degrees of dethawdom in motion and agile maneuverability. To tap these features and toss away the applications and versatility of the quadrotor is the aim of the team. 1. 1 Problem conte come in The sixth mission of the IARC requires teams to infiltrate a military facility from which a flash drive has to be retrieved and replaced by a decoy.This flash dr ive is placed in the Office of the Chief of Security, recognizable by a unique Arabic pattern. To r severally this path, a vehicle must explore a maze of populate invalidateing randomly placed obstacles on its highroad. In addition it must also avoid detection by a camera and optical maser barriers placed within the bena. erst dapple the tar ride pen drive is imbed it must retrieve the object afterward(prenominal) dropping a decoy in its place, the entire mission must be exerciseed in low 10 minutes. 1. 2 Conceptual Solution Team IFOR ordain be victimisation a quadrotor as its aerial vehicle to execute the sixth mission.The vehicle will use besiege following guidance to explore the maze, whilst a course of action homework organisation shall continuosly lend the environment to plan best paths around obstacles. Localization in a orbicular frame seat be readiness up using the dig algorithm, the output of which mickle be apply by a Drift ascendancy body to foliate 1 of 10 correct unwilling browse. The characterisation treat routine runs in analog to find recognizable patterns in its surrounding. Ground Station Wi-? Fi 2. 4 gigahertz Hokuyo s ordurening laser flap finder Camera Guidance, Navigation, domination -? Mission planner -? Wall following guidance -? thoroughf ar planning ? Target retrieval -? exemplar fight backing CoreExpress breakout surmount gameboard Intel element Z530 Image recognition Analog 72 MHz Safety Pilot inertial cadence Unit -? MEMS gyro sensors -? 3D magnetic compass -? 3 bloc of rotation vertebra accelerometer ARM7 Microprocessor stableness Augmentation System -? raising suffer -? Attitude hold Motors Sonar Al mter physical body of Overall establishment architecture 1. 3 Yearly Milestones In the second yr of the 6th Mission, Team IFOR intends to fly autonomously, navigate through the arena, and implement drift apply, path planning and image processing(limited to recognition of the pen drive and signboards). guess will serve as a base organization for the IFOR to successfully run all other systems that are at once dependent on the situate coordinates. Flash drive retrieval appliance will be developed in the following year. scallywag 2 of 10 2. Air vehicle The team is using an off the shelf quadrotor from Ascending Technologies, the Asctec Pelican Quadrotor. The Pelican weighs fold up 980 g and has a payload depicted object of 500 g, ideally suited for clandestine missions. The Asctec Pelican quadrotor and the propeller action. 2. 1 Propulsion and trick out system The quadrotor is a Vertical charade and Landing (VTOL) rotorcraft which is propelled by quadruplet rotors.By befittingly changing the rotor speeds the quadrotor can pitch, roll or yaw. Each of the four propellers produces a downward thrust close the totality of the blades and a torque about the offshoot of the quadrotor. The quadrotor can be flown either in diamond configuration where the pitch axis is the diagonal of the quadrotor or in self-coloured configuration where the axis of the pitch is parallel to dickens adjacent propellers. If all the four propellers spun in identical directions and speeds, the quadrotor would yaw about its centre of mass.To stabilize this yaw, the ii mountains of propellers offer in opposite directions and balance the angulate momentum generated by the other cardinal propellers. Pitch, in a square configuration, is discoverd by bring down the speeds of two propellers (A and B) and increasing the speeds of the two propellers (C and D), this pitches the quadrotor in the direction of A and B. chuck is achieved in a similar way, by increasing speeds of propellers A and D and reducing the speeds of B and D, this rolls the quadrotor in the direction of B and D. 2. 2 Guidance Navigation and check Control The quadrotor, by character, is an aerodynamically unstable system.It thusce demands to be one that is mechatronic in nature w ith its dynamics being controlled by PID generated control signals. This automatically calls for the rapscallion 3 of 10 implementation of a feedback system to monitor the quads deviations from the desired response. The Asctec Pelican already has a PID controller implemented to control the attitude (pitch,roll and yaw). The Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU) readings are used as inputs for these loops, in addition, yaw control also uses the inputs generated by the magentometer. 2. Stability Augmentation systems The instability of the quadrotor arises from the fact that the aerial vehicles dynamics are electronically varied, which leads to a cargo deck for the mechanical system to respond due to inertial reasons. The commanded attitude is delivered by use of the PID loops already described. In addition we have also implemented an altitude PID controller which can be described as below Altitude end product = Kc ? + 1& ? () +*(() ? +) ?- is the end between the desired al titude and material altitude . The MaxSonar LV sonar al timeter is used to for readings on the altitude.A drift control weapon is also required since milligram imbalances in weight apart from other factors rush a quadrotor to drift unintentionally, the drift control is concluded via a separate set of loops which can be described as follows Pitch Output Roll Output = Kc ? + + 1 ? + () +*(() ? + = Kc ?. + 1& ?. () +*(() ?. ) ?/ is the remnant between desired pitch and authentic pitch ? 0 is the difference between desired roll and actual roll Kc is the controller parameter, from which Kp (Kc * 1), Ki (Kc / Ti) and Kd (Kc ** ) entertains are obtained.The require the Zeigler Nicholls tune method was used to generate optimum values for Kp Ki and Kd. R(s) + Controller Gc(s) measured Output System Input partinging Gp (s) Control Output demodulator H (s) s transfer employment parameter Figure of control system architecture rapscallion 4 of 10 The thr ee loops described in this atom are implemented on the Intel ingredient board which is on board the vehicle. 2. 4 Navigation The quadrotor begins ascending and finds the windowpane commencement using feature detection. at once the window has been detected, the arena is infiltrated after checking whether the camera is on or off.Once inside the arena, the quadrotor moves close to the remediate wall and performs right wall following algorithm to explore the indoor arena. guessing forms the base upon which the quadrotor extracts its local coordinates for adjusting drift of suit and also aligns itself with the wall to continue its navigation. The mission planner sets the direction in which the vehicle must move. 2. 5 SLAM The verge SLAM is an acronym for coinciding Localization and Mapping. SLAM is concerned with the problem of building a social function of an unknown environment by a mobile robot while at the same time navigating the environment using the comprise.SLAM consist s of multiple parts marches extraction, data association, extract estimation, state update and landmark update. The team has developed a program that extracts data directly from the laser sensor and implements SLAM real-time using CoreSLAM libraries. CoreSLAM is a fully developed plain and efficient algorithm, which can perform SLAM using data just from a laser sensor. Due to its computational simplicity, it can easily be used on-board the vehicle. It integrates laser information in its placement subsystem establish on particle filter, using two main functions The scan o single-valued function duration function, which acts as the likelihood function used to test each state position hypothesis (particle) in the filter. The map update function, used to build the map as the robot is going forward. It uses a very simple Monte-Carlo algorithm to match the current scan with the map to get the updated (x,y) coordinates of the robot position estimate at all times during the mission. This localization is then provided to other higher-level facultys such as drift control, path planning and mission planning. varlet 5 of 10 2. public life term System The quadrotor though autonomous in its feather can also be manually commanded to abort the dodging.A pencil eraser shoot defeat mechanism has been developed in order to attain this safety feature. The obscure switch will override all other running programs in the quadrotor and little by little reduce the throttle to zero so that the quadrotor can land safely. The Pelican has a build in termination system in which, the vehicle lands the moment the transmitter fall out of range. This feature is used for Flight termination via a charge switch which shuts the transmitter off and hence causes the vehicle to land. . Payload 3. 1 Sensor suite 3. 1. 1 GNC Sensor Asctec 3D powder store is a triple axis gaussmeter that determines the vehicles heading by measuring the reasons magnetic field. A Hokuyo-Light spott ing and Ranging Device is used to scan the environment for SLAM, navigation and obstacle avoidance. A echo sounder altimeter is used to measure the altitude of the quadrotor. The quadrotors sensory system includes an Inertial Measurement Unit comprising of a Triple axis accelerometer and a MEMS gyrometers. Each of these electronic components perform crucial role in the course stability, control and navigation. . 2 Mission sensor 3. 2. 1Target identification The image processing module of the quadrotor is capable of detecting the blue guide which indicates whether the camera is on or off, this is accomplished via blob detection. In addition, it is also capable of detecting signboards using Optical reference work Recognition. 3. 2. 2 Obstacle detection and turning away The nemesis avoidance system of the quadrotor is directly a subroutine of the Path planning module. This sub routine identifies obstacles, classifies them as threat if they are in the intended path of travel.On fin ding an obstacle in the scan, the algorithm proceeds to suitably finding a path that would avoid the obstacle with the nominal possible deviation from the original path. We particularise a safe distance(the safe distance is contingent on the aerial vehicles kinematics) from an obstacle and a stripped muster outance width, a scanning range of ? degrees in front of the quadrotor is calculated to be sufficient to identify the existence of an obstacle. If in this scanning angle range, a heading is found to be in addition close to the quadrotor it is declared as an Page 6 of 0 obstacle. This is the point at which the increment algorithm takes over the navigation of the quadrotor. The reaping algorithm and path planning are represented as follows Reduce each scan by ? , thereby ontogeny every obstacle If adajecent points lie too close then reduce by secondary factor ? Considering the quadrotor to be a point calculate the longest free path Assign imporatnce factor to di? erent clea r paths based on of deviaRon from original path and total length Yaw towards the set path and pitch forward retell unRl no obstacles are found 3. confabulation theory The vehicle communicates with a base computing device via an Xbee module over the Zigbee protocol in order to deliver telemetry data. The other communication golf links include a wireless local area network link to deliver real time video to the base station. Both of these links operate at 2. 4 Ghz. Finally, a safety pilot can take control over the vehicle at any time using a Futaba radio controller operating at 72 Mhz. 3. 4 Power system The quadrotor is powered by an 11. 1V Lithium Polymer Battery. A power board is used to conduct power and communication lines to all motor controllers and other systems on board.This power board comprises of a switching power regulator to generate a stable Page 7 of 10 6V supply for the machine Pilot board and a high power MosFET to switch current ON and OFF. 4. operation 4. 1 Flight homework Each flight of steps test is performed with fulfilment precaution following the mentioned safety procedure which ensures a safe and smooth flight of the quadrotor. 4. 2 chairlist 1. Double Check LiPo shelling voltage using voltmeter. 2. Examine the propellers, safety mounts, nuts and screws for any damage. 3. Test communication link between the quadrotor and the Ground station 4.Enable safety pilot and check knock off switch action before flight. 5. Check status guides 4. 3 Man/Machine interface The Intel atom board which is on board the vehicle can be accessed via an LVDS display, this also relinquishs other HMI devices like a mouse/keyboard to be connected. 5. Risk reduction 5. 1 Vehicle status Two status LEDs allow for a check on authoritative critical vehicle states. The Red LED blinking indicates that the sensors are being initialized and calibrated. Once the sensors are calibrated a grand LED blinks rapidly indicating the flight control software is ru nning. In face the battery voltage drops below under 9. volts a loud tone is emitted, with the beeping becoming faster as the voltage drops. 5. 2 Shock / Vibration isolation The Asctec Pelican is construct on a carbon lineament frame which has a large value of Ultimate Tensile Strength that is it can withstand a large issue forth of impact without necking. The quadrotor is also fitted with soft padding pads below the arms to ensure that any impact is cushioned. EMI/RFI Solutions Page 8 of 10 The quadrotors vital components that do not communicate wirelessly are wrapped with aluminum foil paper, which does not allow for electromagnetic interference from the wireless devices.This simple resoluteness is based on the principle of a Faradays cage. Sensitive components like these are also placed above all other devices. RFI is less in the vehicle as all the computation happens on board. Safety The IFOR is equipped with landing paraphernalia designed in a mood to deflect shock from the electronic system. The propellers are also covered, which ensures safety to both bystanders and the vehicle in case of a mishap. The ON/OFF switch on board is designed active low, so if for whatsoever reason the mechanical switch breaks or looses connection the vehicle will go along ON.However this mechanism is overridden by the safety kill switch. Modeling and Simulation The intelligence of the quadrotor was extensively tested for robustness before and after burning the codes onto the on board processor. Image processing was developed from scratch to replete the requirements of the competition. The PID controllers were tested on science laboratory View. Testing Device / Routine HOKUYO LIDAR SLAM Cameras Drift Control Conclusion BITS Pilani Dubai Campus had developed IFOR to become a fully autonomous quadrotor that will be able to successfully accomplish the tasks of the IARC.The IFORs intelligence system comprises of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping algorithm for the b ot to get localize itself in its environment, achieve drift control using a simple PID controller on each of the pitch, roll and altitude controls, this ensures that the flight operation to be steady without enormous oscillating variations. The navigation of the quadrotor is dependent on the wall following algorithm along with the mission planner. Obstacle avoidance ensures that indoor environments can be explored regardless of the Page 9 of 10 Testing time-tested while running the intelligence software.Real time execution and experimentally determined accuracy of localization. Pre flight and On Flight scrutiny for image processing Onboard as hale off board testing for suitability to tuning presence of obstacles. Finally, image processing enables the quadrotor to scan for patterns, edges and symbols and make corresponding control outputs to maneuver the quadrotor to reach its target room with the flash drive. References 1) Johnson, E. N. and Schrage, D. P. , System Integration and Operation of a Research Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, AIAA Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information and Communication, Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan 2004, pp. 18. Durrant-Whyte, H. Bailey, T. (2006). Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) Part I The Essential Algorithms. Robotics and Automation Magazine 13 (2) 99110. Andrew J. Davison. Real-time simultaneous localization and mapping with International league on Computer V i s i o n ( I C C V 0 3 ) V o l u m e 2 , 2003. a single camera. Ninth IEEE 2) 3) 4) Chowdhary, G. V. and Johnson, E. N. , surmise and Flight Test Validation of want Term Learning A d a p t i v e F l i g h t Controller, Proceedings of the AIAA Guidance Navigation and Control Conference, Honolulu, HI, 2008. 5) 6) Michelson, R. Rules for the International Aerial Robotics Competition 6th Mission, http//iarc. angelstrike. com/IARC_6th_Mission_Rules. pdf Hoffmann, G. M. , Huang, H. , Waslander, S. L. , Tomlin, C. J. (2007). Quadrotor Helicopter Flight Dynamics and Control Theory and Experiment. AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference and Exhibit, 20(23), 1-? 20. Point gray-haired -? Imaging -? fire beetle MV CMOS USB 2. 0 / FireWire Camera. (n. d. ). Point Grey CCD and CMOS Digital Cameras for Industrial, Machine, and Computer Vision. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http//www. ptgrey. com/products/fireflymv/index. asp 7) Page 10 of 10