Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE It is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton. It refers to paper and pencil data gathering method by letting the subject or respondent complete the questionnaire before the researcher or his representative, or it can be mailed Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. However, such standardized answers may frustrate users. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups conducting a survey by questionnaire may not be practical. Questionnaire is also the most commonly used tool to generate data. Sometimes, it is called the survey form. TYPES A distinction can be made between questionnaires with questions that measure separate variables, and questionnaires with questions that are aggregated into either a scale or index. Questionnaires within the former category are commonly part of surveys, whereas questionnaires in the latter category are commonly part of tests. Questionnaires with questions that measure separate variables could for instance include questions on: * preferences (e. g. political party) * behaviors (e. g. food consumption) * facts (e. g. gender) Questionnaires with questions that are aggregated into either a scale or index include for instance questions that measure: * latent traits (e. g. personality traits such as extroversion) * attitudes (e. . towards immigration) * an index (e. g. Social Economic Status) Question types Usually, a questionnaire consists of a number of questions that the respondent has to answer in a set format. A distinction is made between open-ended and closed-ended questions. An open-ended question asks the respondent to formulate his own answer, whereas a closed-ended question has the respondent pick an answer from a given number of options. The response optio ns for a closed-ended question should be exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Four types of response scales for closed-ended questions are distinguished: * Dichotomous * Nominal-polytomous * Ordinal-polytomous * (Bounded)Continuous A respondent's answer to an open-ended question is coded into a response scale afterwards. An example of an open-ended question is a question where the testee has to complete a sentence (sentence completion item). What Are the Criteria of a good Questionnaire? 1. The language must be clear. 2. The content of the question must be specific. . The question should show singleness of purpose. 4. The question must be free from assumptions. 5. The question must be free from suggestions. 6. The question should have linguistic completeness and grammatical consistency. Questionnaire administration modes Main modes of questionnaire administration are: * Face-to-face questionnaire administration * Paper-and-pencil questionnaire administration * Computerized questionnaire administration * Adaptive computerized questionnaire administration

Autobiography Undral Batsukh

My name is Undral Batsukh. I was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Now I’m living with my husband and my two children in Darkhan City, Mongolia. . When I was seven-years-old. I enrolled in the secondary school No. 81 in 1988. I successfully completed my secondary school majoring in the social science with the grade â€Å"A† in 1998. After graduation, I entered The National Institute of Mongolia in 1998 under the selection for the students specializing on the Law. While I was studying in 4th grade, I did my first intership in â€Å"Tugs uchrahui† Co. ,ltd. I successfully graduated and awarded /Diploma with Distinction/ degree of Bachelor of Lawyer. My GPA was /3. 13/, thesis â€Å" Public administration law /90 A/, civil law /90 A/. After graduation I became a state agent. I worked in the †Police office of the Khan-uul district†. From 2005 I worked as Expert of local statistical information. At this time I applied up-to-date information technologies in our office activity. Since May 2009 I have been working as an officer in charge of internal affairs in the Governor’s Department of the Darkhan City. While I was working I always tried to improve my skills. In particular, I?passed the legal examination of the Ministry of Justice, then I got the official certification of the accepted Lawyer from this Ministry in 2005. In accordance to the Civil Service Law of the Mongolia I successfully passed the examination for the accepted state agent in 2006. In addition, now I’m the leader of Governor’s Department Labor Union, head of Women’s Federation of Darkhan city, the leader of the Sorority and member of the Mongolian Social Democrat Youth Organization. In last year 2009 Darkhan city Governor appreciated my achievement to promote Province’s social , economy and culture situation then awarded by the Certificate of merit. In 2009 authorities honored my efforts and awarded â€Å"Honorary Certificate† by Provincial Governor’s Office. I have been working 8 years in State Administrative system and 7 years of them worked in Government organization. If someone asks me to describe myself in the three words I’ll answer that â€Å"I am independent, hardworking and cheerful. Because I have a dream. Dream to do some development for my City. Development to promote life of our local citizens. I always try to improve myself. I have experience on many projects and I was doing statistical stuffs there. So that the things we learn on research methodology course is very close to me except it is in English. I will do my best to graduate from here successfully. I am interested in the projects involved to the prospering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Mongolia. The reason of my interest is involved to the objective of developing SMEs to reduce poverty & unemployment, and to improve the well-being of society and human beings. So that I would like to choose a topic related to the development of SMEs in Mongolia. After successful graduation from Taiwan I want to come back to my country Darkhan city with qualified experience of management and to contribute for development of Mongolia as a part of integration of the world. Written by Undral Batsukh 01/04/2011 When I get back to my hometown Darkhan, I am going to work on the issues related to the development of Small and Medium Enterprises and also implement the projects involved to the poverty reduction.

Personal and Team Effectiveness

Personal and Team Effectiveness Introduction: In every organization particularly in the Health and Social Care Industry which involves individual employees and the entire workforce to where they are the company’s backbone of its existence it all rely on the importance of personal and team effectiveness to achieve the organization’s mission statement and service to their customers. In the influence of the management and organisational factors on the effectiveness of the people involved in the care particularly through developing their ability to work effectively in teams and developing their knowledge and skills so that they can contribute to the delivery of a quality service. All organizations require their people, at times, to work in groups. The most successful organizations find ways to realize the full potential and capability of groups. They understand the important contribution that groups can make effective groups usually outperform individuals. Organizations are comfortable establishing, empowering and promoting the participation of people in groups, value change and adaptation as key to improving productivity, quality and customer service and are constantly looking for creative ways to use groups to drive performance improvements. In looking at strategies for personal and professional development which refine behaviours, improve capability and give individuals the confidence and competence to excel not only for themselves but as part of the entire Health Care team as shown in high-performing organizations, the most successful groups function as â€Å"teams†. Teams flourish in organizations which create a climate where people want to work together giving their best efforts. Definition: Personal effectiveness is a branch of the self help movement dealing with success, goals, and related concepts. Personal effectiveness integrates some ideas from â€Å"the power of positive thinking† and Positive Psychology but in general it is distinct from the New Thought Movement. Team effectiveness refers to the system of getting people in a company or institution to work together effectively. The idea behind team effectiveness is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of the team were working on their own. Content: According to Carl Jung’s premise that all change and development starts from within and its principle underpins to the approach and it all start with personal effectiveness. The middle and senior managers in Health and Social Care should develop their skills and competencies in leading and managing the team. It is where the management of each organization would find how to enlighten and have each of them to explore and examining the facets that each of the employees are unique and valuable individual in the organization for the better good of the entire workforce. By exploring the preferences of others to understand why they behave as they do particularly and inspire those that are into the team and show them how to adapt and collaborate for improved interactions. The team leader and managers should see through it that the individuals and the entire team should focus on the implications and evaluating the by using management for the people for improving the organizational performance. In every individual, each has their own personality, style and personal interactions for effectively doing the job. By achieving this personal development and individual effectiveness comes with training, career development, staff development plans and the management will implement the development programs by in-house training, using supervision and appraisal, external courses, action-centred learning, lifelong learning, coaching and mentoring, assessing competence. The monitoring performance of individuals through observation, appraisal, periodic review, and achievement of successful outcomes as well as the use of targets, benchmarks, feedback from others is one key factor in measuring personal effectiveness. By Identifying individual training and evelopment needs: monitoring of performance, career development planning, changing personal circumstances. Strategies for promoting continuous development: achieving competence, training versus education, partnerships, staff development plans, compliance with external requirements, dedicated allocation of resources, use of external kite marks for exampl e Investors in People. In assessing the individual effectiveness is by describing different ways in which the performance of individuals working in health and social care may be monitored and by describing how individual training and development needs may be identified. Analyse different strategies for promoting the continuing development of individuals in the health and social care workplace. The effective staff development programme may be implemented and evaluate the effectiveness of a specific staff development programme with which the management is familiar. Team effectiveness is determined by several factors: †¢ The right mix of skills. Team effectiveness depends in part on bringing together people who have different skills that somehow complement each other. This can mean different technical abilities or communication skills. In fact, teaming up people who share the exact same characteristics is often a recipe for disaster. Team effectiveness depends on people taking on different roles in a group setting. If there is no agreement on who does what in the group, it is unlikely that the team will prosper. †¢ The right motivation. Team effectiveness is directly linked to the interest that the group has on the project. If the job is too easy or too difficult, or if the rewards for achieving the end result do not seem worth the effort, the team may end up working half-heartedly in the project. The task should also have a clear outcome. Working towards a specific goal enhances team effectiveness significantly. †¢ The ability to solve conflicts without compromising the quality of the project. Team work has one major downfall. Sometimes groups end up making decisions they know are not in the best interest of the project, just so they can keep the process moving. Conflict is innate to any work done in groups, and should be taken as part of the challenge rather than as something to be avoided by compromising. Team effectiveness should be increased, not compromised, through conflict. The model of team development as developed by Bruce Tuckman that teams evolve through four main stages. †¢ Forming is when the members are first brought together. It is a period of exploration, testing and orientation. †¢ Storming is a difficult but inevitable stage, where members may compete and conflict. †¢ Norming is the stage where the team starts to pull together, and noticeable progress begins to be made. †¢ Performing is characterized by a high level of task focus, and the team producing consistent and excellent results. Discussion: It is important as well for a team leader to create a climate in which people can develop and contribute to their full potential. The climate must be one of cooperation, commitment, and team focus. A good leader must also be a good coach. Different members are used as resource leaders because of their knowledge or experience. The focus is on how to get the job done, not on who controls the team. Team members are empowered to do the job they must do. Everyone is involved in the functioning of the team. In light of the discussion, the following points summarize the conditions required to create an effective team environment, each of these factors is important, and they are also highly interdependent. All of these factors are critical to achieving an effective and high performing team. Leaders can help create these conditions through the following behaviours. 1. Trust, Respect and Support †¢ Encourage and protect team member diversity in views, backgrounds, and experiences. †¢ Inspire teamwork and mutual support through example. Keep your commitments and expect the same from all team members. 2. Commitment to the Team †¢ Support and positively represent the team to senior management, peers and other employees. †¢ Ensure that individual member and team accomplishments are recognized and celebrated appropriately 3. Shared Vision †¢ Clarify the tasks to be accomplished. †¢ Establish and communicate a vision about what the members can achieve as a team. â₠¬ ¢ Encourage team members to participate in creating their vision of what the team can accomplish. 4. Open and Honest Communications Communicate fully and openly; welcome questions; avoid the â€Å"need to know† limitations. †¢ When seeking solutions, encourage members to suspend assumptions, reflect on their own thoughts and feelings, clearly voice these, inquire about and listen to opinions of others, and be less reactive. 5. Empowerment and Involvement of all Members †¢ Encourage members to participate. †¢ Make it easy for others to see opportunities to work together. †¢ Clarify that problem-solving is a responsibility of all team members. †¢ Mediate conflicts before they become destructive. 6. A Learning Environment †¢ Guide team members to determine where they actually are relative to their goals, and to clarify why the gaps exist and how to bridge them. †¢ Surface and treat conflicts as learning situations. Peter Senge, in his book â€Å"The Fifth Discipline† says, â€Å"One of the most reliable indicators of a team that is continually learning is the visible conflict of ideas. In great teams, conflict becomes productive. Conclusion: In every Health and Social Care organization they must be People Investors to which people or the staffs are a company’s most valuable resource. Human beings have unlimited potential to grow, develop and learn and in that sense constant training and improvement of personal and team development is needed for the organization to be successful and create a greater impact to the service user and the people involved in the care and service. The leader’s role is to help each team member achieve his or her potential and they act as coach which provide more structure, guidance and direction as well as to clarify tasks, goals, management’s expectations, and the way their performance and contributions will be measured. Teams need to be constantly developed for creating an effective approach on how things should be done for the better service to the clients. Members of the team generally have a broader range and depth of skills and experiences. With encouragement and support from the leader and other team members, individual members can enhance their technical, functional, problem-solving, decision-making, interpersonal and teamwork skills by taking some risks and facing some new challenges. Everyone is capable of making decisions that affect them, provided they are given the appropriate information and training. People do not resist changes they have been involved in making for the benefit of the entire team and the effectively managing the entire conflict which will be turned in to an advantage in solving the problem. Gaining true employee involvement is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort it always develop each personal and team effectiveness, If a change is affecting the team, the leader must be a role model of the â€Å"new† way. The leader must be able to â€Å"let go† in order to empower people. The leader must train and coach people first so they will be ready and able to succeed. The leader realizes mistakes are unavoidable, and helps people learn from them. A key factor which differentiates teams from work groups involves the interdependence of people. As Stephen Covey points out in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, â€Å"Interdependence opens up worlds of possibilities for deep, rich, meaningful associations, for geometrically increased productivity, for serving, for contributing, for learning, for growing. Reference: Tuckman, Bruce W. â€Å"Developmental Sequence In Small Groups†. Psychological Bulletin 63, 1965, pp. 382-399 http://gtwebmarque. com/wikis/gtwm/index. php/The_Fifth_Discipline http://www. skillsforcare. org. uk/workforce_strategy/workforce_strategy. aspx http://www. insights. com/LearningSolutions/Expertise/IndividualEffectiveness. aspx http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Team_building http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Personal_effectiveness http:// www. wisegeek. com/what-is-team-effectiveness. htm

Quantitative Decision Making-Transportation Essay

Quantitative Decision Making-Transportation - Essay Example An innovative approach namely the dual-matrix approach will be used to address the transportation problem. This approach will judge the transportation model beginning from a good realistic solution and using a matrix in order to get the subsequently improved solution until the most advantageous solution is attained. In this approach, the linear form of algebra will be adopted in order to work out the transportation problem. There will be the introduction of an innovative concept known as virtual cells in this approach (JI and CHU, 2002). This approach will attempt to be functional on both unbalanced and balanced transportation problems. There will no need to convert the unbalanced transportation problem to a balanced transportation problem as in the case of other approach named as stepping-stone method. In addition to this, the method of dual-matrix does not imply the problem of degeneracy. Furthermore, this approach entails the characteristic of no tracing of the path. On the contrary, it also absorbs a disadvantage that is, it requires an (m+n)x(m+n) matrix. However, this problem is not considered to be serious enough towards the enhanced computers of today and for a big level of transportation problem (JI and CHU, 2002). With the purpose of testing the effectiveness of the dual- matrix technique, numerous numerical instances will be performed. When these examples will be compared to the stepping-stone technique, the consequences will always determine and signify dual-matrix to be better relative to the stepping-stone. The degeneracy and tracing of path perhaps prove to be serious for a major transportation problem (JI and CHU, 2002). Major logistics companies have increasingly devoted their attention towards transporting issues of their businesses. This is mainly due to two aspects which include a reduction in cost and enhancement of customer service. There is a remarkable example of FedEx which offers a variety of logistics solutions to its customers. These services are categorized on the grounds of numerous kinds of customer requirements.  

Accounting case study analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Accounting analysis - Case Study Example The charity Help Our Homeless Offspring, look forward towards violating the rule of exceeding 25 percent expenditure and funding to survive. They must have an expensive TV for advertisement. The resulting effect is an increased expenditure to funding ratio beyond 25 percent. Such activities are unethical and unacceptable because they contradict accounting principles (Needles, Powers and Crosson, 2011). The accountant of HOH felt that the misallocation of cost at the expense of exploiting the willing donors was an unethical act because it contradicts accounting principle (Vanderbeck, 2013). For example, the following principles were violated namely; full disclosure principle, cost principle and reliability accounting principle. HOH charity should disclose the true state of affairs and avoid misleading the donors, as well as other users of accounting information (Smith, 2011). Further, the information disclose should be reliable to avoid making wrong decision. The senior accountant in this case tends to justify unethical acts applied by the company (Lerner and Cashin, 2009). As an accountant who adheres to the accounting ethics, it will be inappropriate to do nothing because misallocation of cost contravene the principle discussed. I would, therefore, tell my corporation to embrace the accounting principles. Instead of misallocating the cost to mislead the donors, the corporation should focus on minimizing its variable cost. I would not encourage my corporation to work with HOHO because the top management are encouraging unethical practices (Duska, Duska and Ragatz,

Competitive Advantage Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competitive Advantage - Assignment Example It encompasses several aspects of a company's marketing tactics and strategies in building a strong competitive advantage that can secure the company's future. A competitive advantage is plainly a facet or capability of the organisation that it occupies or extends to the customers. For an organisational facet to form a 'competitive advantage', it needs to be unequalled in the market and not acquired by any other existing or upcoming competition in the market. This notion can also be translated in the words of Barney (2002, p9) as, "a firm experiences competitive advantages when its actions in an industry or market create economic value and when few competing firms are engaging in similar actions". Porter (1985, p3) explores the concept of competitive advantage as the capability of an organisation to create value for its customers in a way that procures more value to the customers than the competitors, he says, "Competitive advantage grows out of value a firm is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm's cost of creating it. Value is what buyers are willing to pay, and superior value stems from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. There are two basic types of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation". Hence, a firm's competitive advantage has to be unique among all the other companies in the market. This implies that whatever company owns and provides to customers should have one or more differential aspect that can distinguish it form its competitors. Today, many organisations engage in providing almost same kind of products to a specific range of products. Consequently, the customers need to choose between a lot of options with slight distinction to satisfy their needs and problems. For a firm to win more customers than its competitors and sustain them in the long run, it needs to offer its customers something that is not being currently offered in the market. For instance, a different product with enhanced value, a courteous and friendly workforce, a well-known company image, and a breakthrough in technology helpful in satisfying customers in a much better way than the competitors. The customers would only be willing to buy the company's product or even pay a higher price for it if there's something in the product or service being by the company that the customers perceive to be valuable or different in satisfying their needs than other products in the market. The more the customers perceive the product to be valuable, the more the opportunity for the company to remain successful in the long run. The upcoming section of the paper investigates into some of the aspects of a company's marketing tactics and manoeuvres that could be utilised towards the achievement of a competitive advantage. Winning Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty And Trust Firms consistently endeavour to attain the mellowest possible levels of customer satisfaction and retention to survive in the modern competitive business arena. It is a factor that rightfully approximates a company's emplacement in the competitive market. If the customers are satisfied, the company is likely to be successful; otherwise it is doomed to be obscure in the future

Assess the assertion that an increase in Eucharistic devotion Essay

Assess the assertion that an increase in Eucharistic devotion contributed to a narrowing of medieval society - Essay Example As a result of such circumstances, where individuals in the society were content with their lot, most of the population of medieval Europe could neither read nor does write, leaving these to the higher rank of the priesthood. In addition, this period saw the growth of the power of the Church, where almost all of the activities of the Christians in the whole of Western Europe was dictated from Rome, thus solidifying the authority of the Church hierarchy.1 Therefore, the Church established the doctrine, which was followed by medieval Europe, and this more often than not was developed in the Church’s favour, since it worked towards the promotion of its power. While these situations often worked in favour of the church, they had the negative impact of ensuring that there was little development of independent thought within the populace, meaning that the society became narrowed. Among the major causes of the narrowing of medieval society was the practice, instituted by the Church, of Eucharistic devotion, which was a requirement for all of those people who professed the Christian faith during this period. The practice of Eucharistic devotion was a church tradition, which was based in the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament by a priest so that it could be adored by the faithful. The adoration of the sacrament was considered a sign of the devotion that individuals felt towards Jesus Christ as their saviour. The faithful believed that Christ was present in the form of the consecrated altar bread and their adoration of it meant that they were opening their hearts to receive him. Furthermore, the faithful in medieval Europe, through their devotion to the sacrament, were able to meditate by looking directly at it, adding to the belief that they were participating in the continuation of the Eucharist. The Eucharistic devotion was considered to be a form of the worship of Christ as the saviour, which involved his being present in

Regulation Of Auditing Profession In UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Regulation Of Auditing Profession In UK - Essay Example He says that the need to furnish useful information to shareholders with due integrity nurtured the growth of auditing professionalism in the UK. Anderson et al. (1996) corroborate that in the United Kingdom, the professional accountants from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales generally performed the external audit of all the listed companies even before the legal requirement was actually imposed on companies to get their financial statements audited from qualified accountants. It therefore suggests the need and criticality of auditing profession in the UK corporate environment, where the shareholders are desperately relying on the profession to carry out a check on the utilisation of their investments. Auditing profession in Britain captures every sector of the society and dominates the regulation no matter how often this profession has been found to be involved in corporate scandals. Regardless to what happens to both the sides i.e., the shareholders and ma nagement, this profession remains to be the beneficiary class (Sampson, 2004). The level of professionalism demonstrated by the auditing firms enhances the importance of a keen eye that needs to be placed over the auditing profession in the form of regulations. Cousins et al. (2000) emphasise that the shareholders and investors coming from the general public in UK have been victims of corporate scandals owing to audit failures and the oversight of auditing firms. The auditors in UK are proficient enough in their profession to play around.... onal accountants from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales generally performed the external audit of all the listed companies even before the legal requirement was actually imposed on companies to get their financial statements audited from qualified accountants. It therefore suggests the need and criticality of auditing profession in the UK corporate environment, where the shareholders are desperately relying on the profession to carry out a check on the utilisation of their investments. Auditing profession in Britain captures every sector of the society and dominates the regulation no matter how often this profession has been found to be involved in corporate scandals. Regardless to what happens to both the sides i.e., the shareholders and management, this profession remains to be the beneficiary class (Sampson, 2004). The level of professionalism demonstrated by the auditing firms enhances the importance of a keen eye that needs to be placed over the auditing profession in the form of regulations. Cousins et al. (2000) emphasise that the shareholders and investors coming from the general public in UK have been victims of corporate scandals owing to audit failures and the oversight of auditing firms. The auditors in UK are proficient enough in their profession to play around with the standards set by the regulatory bodies. Hence, it is increasingly important to continuously revise the efficacy of standards in protecting the shareholders' interest. One of the major causes behind such exploitation of professional influence is to a great extent brought about by the concentration of 'auditing power' among a few firms in UK. Arnold and Sikka (2001) illuminate that UK accountancy profession is highly dominated by a handful number of firms

Evaluating Decision Alternatives and Assessing Risk Essay

Evaluating Decision Alternatives and Assessing Risk - Essay Example The chairman to the bank Kenneth Lewis admitted that the information he gave out was not accurate. The executive of the bank, therefore, made mistakes that were against the ethics required in corporations (Cohen, 2009). There are many decisions that the executive of the bank of America took that render them unethical. Among them includes the disguise by Merrill lynch on the risk involved. It was done by changing the â€Å"investment grade† to other investments referred to as the CDOs. The problem was further increased by the credit derivatives. It was because a person could trade the investments many times. It could only get understood by the professionals due to payments on mortgages being done in several years. The activities in the bank continued deteriorating in the prevailing days that loans begun defaulting (James et al., 2002). Merrill lynch as indicated was not able to trade billions of the CDOs as if it had traded them, the players in the market had a chance of discounting the CDOs. The workers in the Merrill had the intentions of earning high bonuses continuously; as a result, they did not trade the CDOs. The employees did not indicate losses and later escaped with the lies. The accountants in the Merrill lynch failed to perform their duties and obligations. The problem raised alarms to the non professionals, however, the management allowed Merrill to escape with the funds. The bank of America acquired the Merrill lynch in the year 2008. A month later it was known that Merrill had losses that summed up to $15 billion. It was in the fourth quarter of the year and BofA made claims that the losses got incurred in December (Cohen, 2009). The bank did not give information to the shareholders and moved on to putting $20 billion in TARP funds. SEC (Slumbering Esquires Club) filed another complaint against the Merrill failure to disclose information about the losses in the month of

THE COOP Essay Example for Free

THE COOP Essay 1. What is the size of the loss at the Coop? What could have been attributed to this loss? (Be thorough in your analysis) Answer: In 1994, â€Å"‘The Coop’s† average sales were $775,000, and there were 76 stores in total. So the Coop would reach the sales $58,900,000(76 x $775,000 =$58,900,000). If Coop were able to maintain the 10% growth per year. In 1995 Coop’s sales should be $64,790,000 ($58,900,000 x (1 +10%) =$64,790,000). However, due to the 6% average decline in sales for 20 stores, the real sales in 1995 is $62,310,000 (20 x $775,000 x (1-6%) + 56 x $775,000 x (1+10%) =,310,000). So in total Coop lost $2,480,000 ($64,790,000 – $62,310,000 = $2,480,000) in 1995. There are many factors may result in Coop’s sales decline. Firstly, Coop may fail to meet the consumer needs. The Chicken Coop founded in 1974, and the specializing in chicken never changed. However the consumer’ taste and habit have changed today. Also, the consumer targeting between the age of 18 and 45 is too board. Secondly, the manger does not have depth knowledge about the market. Wallace made business plan rely on his hotel business experience. Thirdly, the number of new employee increased because of the business expanding. However, there are many new employee are less trained, so the quality of the service decreased. Also, the Coop’ sales did not increase, the cost of the new employee increased a lot. Lastly, the competitors are improving. For example the KFC complemented its advertising with special promotions and provide a variety products service. All the four fa ctors may have been attributed to Coop’s sales loss. 2. Analyze the dynamics between McMichael and Wallace. Are they looking in the same direction? Why, why not? Answer: McMichael and Wallace are two of the top managers. All of them are paid close attention to customers. They realized the lack of customer sight and market insight, but they have different views about the market research and the sales slump. McMichael worked for Coop science 1982, she always thinks the quality of the food is the core competence of Coop. As same as Buckmeister, she believes the motto â€Å"We are chicken†. So she thinks the better food quality and service could help Coop solve the sales problem. For Wallace, he is relatively new to the company and has extensive experience in the hotel business. Wallace focus on renew the brand image to meet current consumer needs. He provided new menu to attract more consumers. Wallace thinks Coop need new market activities  improve competitive advantages. Both McMichael and Wallace are thinking from their narrow functional area. 3. Evaluate each of the initiatives proposed by Buckmeister, Wallace, and McMichael (pros and cons). Answer: McMichael suggested Quality Inspection Program and The taste. The Quality Inspection Program will help Coop improve the quality of the food, service and facilities, these all important factors to attract consumers and increase sales. However, these program only provide current information about Coop stores, it does not provide information about consumer taste and competitor situations. The Taste grogram provided the information of competitors, it help Coop to make positive change to reflect competitive environment. However the information gathered from loyal customer may not represent all the consumer thought. And it has the cost of the program is high. Wallace suggested Brand Image Monitoring Surveys and The Customer Experience Study. The Brand Image Monitoring Surveys will gather quantitative data on the Coop’s brand image vis-à  -vis its competitors. A market research supplier would interview customers and potential customer by telephone. This program may help Coop gather a lot of representative information. However it cost too much. And personally I do not like answer the telephone survey, especially pick up a call from restaurant which I have never been. The Customer Experience Study provided consumer some benefit if they cooperate with Coop’s survey, I think it will help for Coop’s brand image and attract loyal consumer. However, I do not think this is the best way to gather information with so many costs. Coop should consider is that worth to cost $45,600 and even more. Buckmeister’s Customer Feedback Cards is a direct and easy way to get consumer feedback, and it cost less and response well. However, it will make employees and mangers work more. And the flexibility is poor, also this method only gather information from current Coop consumer. 4. Which one(s) would you support and why? Answer: I support Wallace’s suggestion. McMichael’s suggestion focus on the customer service and food quality, I do not think this the main factors related to Coop’s sales decrease. I think Coop should focus on consumer information research. Coop is old company failed to meet current consumer needs. Wallace’s suggestion will help Coop gather large information about consumer thinking, and then they can make changes to reflect the market  development. 5. What would be the total cost of your selected market research and is it well justified? Answer: Brand Image Monitoring Surveys was the most expensive option that The Coop was considering. Proposals from market research suppliers ranged from $20,000 to $50,000, and it may need 900 interviews. The Customer Experience Study would cost $45,000 and even more. I think the cost is not justified, because not very consumer will cooperate with the survey. I do not think every telephone survey will be successes answered, but Coop has to pay it.

Design Of Wifi Based Tdma Protocol Information Technology Essay

Design Of Wifi Based Tdma Protocol Information Technology Essay Time division multiple access is a multiple access method for shared the channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. TDMA is successful works in cellular mobile communication for several years ago. Recently has been combined with OFDM to introduce OFDMA. TDMA also ensure fairness between nodes in the network. In vehicular scenario, we proposed TDMA protocol to work with CSMA/CA to mitigate and cope with some of the challenges in vehicular communications. In this chapter we will discuss the design of the protocol, connection messages, protocol flow and cross intercommunication between the new TDMA sublayer with CSMA/CA and PHY layers. In section 3.2 a general explanation of proposed TDMA protocol, the design of Wi-Fi-based 802.11p is discussed in Section 3.3. In Section 3.4, implementations of TDMA protocol in the simulation environment is presented. Simulation problems and implementation improvements is discussed in Section 3.5. The chapter summarization is given in Sec tion 3.6. 4.2. EXPLANATIONS OF TDMA PROTOCOL The TDMA protocol is representing as a provider client protocol, which means the protocol is centralized. The other possibility is to define a distributed or an ad hoc protocol as it is done in (Fan Yu, 2007) and (Katrin, 2009). We mean by centralized that the provider will be the only one handles the information that has given in both channels. This does not mean that all communication is going to be only unidirectional (from the provider to the client), but sometimes is going to be bidirectional communication. The provider in our case here is the RSU (Road Side Unit) and the client/station is OBUs (Onboard Units). Form now we may always use the term RSU to provider or centralized node and the OBU to client or mobile station. Here we need to implement frame of 10 ms, those frame consist of two main time slots, one of them for the control and the second one for the service or data channel, and both are using different duration. Why we chose value of 10 ms because this is currently used in many TDMA implementations i.e. WIMAX. 4.3. DESIGN OF WI-FI BASED TDMA PROTOCOL IEEE802.11 has two modes DCF and PCF. Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) relies on CSMA/CA distributed algorithm and an optional virtual carrier sense using RTS and CTS control frames (IEEE Std 802.11, 1999). If the channel is busy during the DIFS (DCF Interframe Space) interval, the station defers its transmission. Point Coordination Function (PCF) is used for infrastructure mode, which provides contention-free frame transfer for processing time-critical information transfers (W. Wang, 2003). PCF is optional in the standard and only few vendors implemented it in their adapters. Two different periods defined at PCF mode: contention-free period (CFP) and contention Period (CP). CFP uses contention free-poll frames to give stations the permission to transmit. However, PCF has many drawbacks and limitations in long distance applications (i.e. up to tens of kilometers) this due to sensitivity of the acknowledgement (ACK) messages to propagation delay which is designed for contention -free local area networks purposes. Also, once a station reserves the access to the medium, it may occupy the medium for long time without any station can interrupt its transmissions even in the high priority traffics case; i.e. if the remote station has lower data rate due to the distance, then it will take long time to release the channel (Pravin, 2003). Consequently, it has been shown that (S. Sharma, 2002) (Sridhar, 2006) TDMA based MAC is suitable for long distance propagation delay. Most of the implemented solution for long distance Wi-Fi-based network was used WiMAX like TDMA frame for conducting the PMP scenario. However, using WiMAX/TDMA above Wi-Fi is increasing the system complexity and overhead since the WiMAX/TDMA has been built for the licensed-based and Wi-Fi is built with unlicensed environment. In this research a design of TDMA over the 802.11 is presented. The function of the proposed TDMA is to disable the contention behavior of 802.11 (CSMA/CA) for contention-less MAC. In this research a new cross layer design is introduced between CSMA/CA and new logical TDMA layer, which the Wi-Fi MAC frame is encapsulated in a logical TDMA header before forwarded to IP layer. The proposed protocol stack is shown in Figure4.1. The CSMA/CA peer-to-peer protocol is disabled and replaced with TDMA peer-to-peer protocol as shown with the dot-lines. Figure.4.1. Protocol flow of the TDMA-based PMP The logical TDMA header is added between IP header and MAC header. The function of the new header is to disable the random access feature of the CSMA/CA in 802.11 and replace it by logical TDMA function, which is maintains the synchronization of the local timers in the stations and delivers protocol related parameters. The frame is shown in Figure 4.2. The proposed TDMA header contains BCCH (broadcast control channel), FCCH (frame control channel) and RA (random access). BCCH: contains general information i.e. timestamp through time_stamp_update(), SSID, BS-node capabilities and random access time interval ra_interval(). All this parameters (except the RA time interval) is prepared and copied from the beacon frame (using beacon_content()) from the Wi-Fi MAC device driver. The BCCH information helps the APs in the sleep, wakeup, transmitting and receiving times. Figure.4.2. Additional TDMA header is added to Wi-Fi frame FCCH: carries the information about the structure and format of the ongoing frame i.e. scheduler () and time_slot_builder(); containing the exact position of all slots and Tx/Rx times and guard time between them and scheduling. RACH: contains a number of random access channels (RCH). This field is uses when no schedule has been assigned to the APs in the UL fields. Non-associated APs use RA for the first contact with an AP using slot_time_request(). The flow diagram of logical control and data channels is shown in Figure 4.3. Figure 4.3: the flow of the virtual channels for the TDMA frame, First, the RACH frame is receiving if there any connection request from APs to BS. Then, BCCH, FCCH and AGCH broadcast their information, then transmit and receive users payload. Timer is controlling all the transmitted and received signals. Although, the new TDMA header is introduced at the cost of the performance due to the overhead, however, in the long distance applications with point-to-multiple-point infrastructure scenarios usually the numbers of stations are not too high compared with end-user part. In our scenario we consider 4 remote access points and one central access point (BS-node). By implementing TDMA_module() each APs would assigned with time slot within the TDMA frame. TDMA also saves power because each STA only needs to wake-up during these time slots in each frame. If new node (AP) wants to join the network it listens to the BCCH frame to get the initial parameters from the BS-node. Then it uses the RA period to send time_slot_request() request to the BS-node to r equest for time slot. The BS-node uses the FCCH field to update the new scheduling table in scheduler(). The TDMA_module() assigns time slots for APs by taking copy of the NAV (network allocation vector) information (NAV_update()) from the Wi-Fi MAC layer and modifying it according to the schedule scheme. NAV is considered as virtual carrier sensing which is limits the need for contention-based physical carrier sensing. This is done by setting new back_off_counter() and NAV_new() in the TDMA_module() which indicates the amount of time that medium will be reserved for each time slots. The BS-node set the NAV value to the frame length time plus any other necessary messages to complete the current operation to make sure that no station (AP) will access the channel during the frame transmission. Other stations count down from the NAV to 0. When the NAV has nonzero value, the scheduler () send back to the Wi-Fi MAC that indication that the medium is busy; before the NAV reaches 0, the ba ck_off() and NAV_new() update the Wi-Fi MAC with the new NAV. The destination address (DA) and source address (SA) in the MAC frame header and in the SSID is modified according to the new NAV and RR scheduling information. Figure4.4 shows illustrate the flow of the process in cross-layer concept, which is consisting of three layers: TDMA source code, wireless driver and hardware abstraction layer (HAL). The cross layer is performed between wireless driver and the source code. HAL is different for each hardware platform. The procedure of this approach is also below: Core Module: Repoint the WiFi_MAC_SAP to TDMA_MAC Point the MAC-TDMA_SAP to IP TDMA_module() { //modify the NAV vector for virtual (fake) busy network busy If NAV() not_equal_to_zero then { //copy the NAV value to new place to use it for new AP Network_entry Copy CSMA/CA/NAV() to CSMA/CA/NAV_old() Copy TDMA()/NAV_new() to CSMA/CA/NAV() } If NAV()=0 then { // call NAV_update() TDMA/NAV_update() Set back-off counter() Send the NAV_new() to scheduler() } Scheduler(){ //using round robin queue scheme Round_robin() } //time_slot_builderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Time_slot_builder(){ random_access(){ // See if there are any time slot request If time_slot_request(){ Time_slot()++ } else traffic(); } } //add the new TDMA header // send the broadcast control channel (BCCH) bcch(){timestamp(); ra_interval; SSID;BS-node capability}; //for the RA using the same etiquettes used by contention period (CP) at the MAC level fcch() { slots_time_builder() Set frame_format(){ Slot_time_interval; } 4.3.1 TDMA Protocol Flowchart In Vehicular Environment The RSU sends the beacon frame periodically with the free slots available in the TDMA frame. The OBU scans for the RSU beacon. If more than one RSU respond, comparisons are made on their (received signal strength indicator) RSSIs and the best one is selected after which the order of merits are applied on the other RSUs as first, second, etc candidates according to their RSSI signal strength. The OBU uses the beacon to synchronize its frame with the RSU after which the OBU sends the data in the free slots (in the coming uplink frame). A check is performed to find if the RSSI Figure.4.4. Implementation and incorporating TDMA in 802.11p protocol stack. OBU scan for the RSUs Beacon frame More than one Beacon frame Are received No Compare the different RSSIs and select the best and > threshold Yes Synchronization and clock Exchange with RSU Send data in the free slots In the UL sub-frame RSSI No Yes Figure4.5 TDMA Protocol Flowchart The TDMA frame structure is shown in Figure4. 3. The TDMA frame encapsulates the 802.11 frames in the payload subsection. The frame is repeated periodically for every 20msec (which is the length of the frame). Each frame contains the beacon filed, i.e. the broadcast control channel (BCCH) which comprises timestamp, SSID, and BS-node capabilities. The frame also contains the frame control channels which carries information on the structure and format of the ongoing frame, i.e. the slots scheduler which contains the exact position of all the slots and the Tx/Rx times and guard times. The GACH and the RACH are used for random access channel when the OBU needs to join the WBSS. The RACH is the channel that the OBUs use for association request. The GACH is the grant access channel that contains all the OBUs accepted for transmission in the next frame. The TDMA is using transmission opportunities (TXOPs) mechanism originally provided by the IEEE 802.11e to calculate the DL and UL time slots duration. The TXOP is a predefined start time and a maximum duration for the station to access the medium. A RSU will set its own NAV to prevent its transmission during a TXOP that has been granted through the OBU (Figure4. 6). Rather than categorizing the data traffic based on the voice, the data and the video as in the 802.11e, the data traffic priority categories are based on the OBUs channel quality. The RSU gives high priority to vehicles with high speed to send more frames before it leaves the WBSS. The vehicle with the high channel fading will get more number of slots. Of course, this mechanism will introduce performance anomaly, however, we can use any of the solutions available in the literature for the performance anomaly (Tavanti, 2007) (IEEE P802.11p/D3.0,2007). DCD feedback TDMA DCF EDCA PMD and PLCP Figure4.6 Channel fading parameters feedback for vehicles transmission priority and TXOP setting. 4.4. IMPLEMENTATIONS OF TDMA PROTOCOL IN THE SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT In the previous section, we theoretically describe the main characteristics of the protocol which we want to design. This section explains how we implemented the ideas of this thesis by the modification Code of C++ in the Network Simulation. Although the protocol that we want to design is basically a protocol of MAC, we have to put in mind that is not only changes to be made in the MAC layer will be done. We will also have to deal with the physical and application layer. From the point of view of the provider of MAC layer is the one which is responsible to handle the various types of packages (from service and control channel). In fact, the MAC layer in the side of the provider is the one which carries the multiplexing of TDMA between the two channels (and also between various services to the interior of the channel of the service). The application, in this case, will produce the packages which will be presented in each channel. From the point of view of the client layers, MAC and application are simple. The MAC layer basically responsible; to send to application the packages which the client wants to receive (packages which belong to the channel or from desire service) or throwing the packages that not requested by the client (packets from a broadcast or unicast service the client is not interested in). The application layer will be the one that which produces the packages of the request from clients to send to the provider when they are interested by a service unicast. Well as we described in detail the characteristics of the MAC protocol designed earlier, we may carry out this idea described theirs corresponds to the last version of our protocol, to reach this execution that we programmed and examined before simple versions, the changes of the force and improvements made between the versions are related to the definition of the various services offered in the section of channel service: The first version only considered a unidirectional communication between provider and client. The reason was that we only define broadcast services in the service channel. A second version consisted in defining unicast services and hence introducing a bidirectional communication between provider and client. This new version was more complex than the previous one so we decided to divide the application we had until now (called pbc3) into two sides: the application in the provider side (pbc3) and the application in the client side (pbc3Sink). This idea of defining two sides of an application or protocol layer (to simplify its implementation) is already used in other applications or protocol layers included in the simulator as TCP. The third and last version consisted in implementing the algorithm which handles the access of more than one client to the same unicast service. This was not considered in version two. When we are programming our MAC protocol, several problems raised, which are not only in our side, but also of the limitations or the restrictions of the Network Simulation. Well, in the next section4.5 we describe and explained all, it is worth to mention a principal limitation in so much it deeply influenced the execution of our protocol. The limitation comes like more parallel flow of the data in the same node started to appear (the node can be client or provider). In our case we decided to have only one provider, this provider will produce the data of both services. This means that the provider will have more application to the function in parallel and more file test in the MAC layer (see Figure 3.2), each one associated to a different data flow. That is the reason why we are interested in parallelizing. The problem is, in so far as we know, installing parallel flows in same node; is not a task easy to make in the simulator. The most common solution is composed to use nodes as parallel flows as much of an idea used when a protocol stack is defined on the two aircraft or more (like the plan of the data and management represented on Figure 2.3). This is Explained in (GMPLS, 2006), or when we wish to have a node of multi-interface, in (NS2 Notebook). The idea is: if we cannot have more than one application function in parallel in the same node, what would be the possible solution? The answer to that, like also accentuated in section4.5, is to have only one application to function in the provider, which produces various types of packages according to the time execution. This approximation also solves the problem to have more than one queue (in parallel) in the MAC layer. We will not need various queues to store various packages due to these packages arrive at the MAC layer already in the order; they must be sent. This solution simplifies the definition of the MAC layer but made the definition of the application layer to be more complex. Although the solution taken could seem rudimentary; the fact is that the difference between the theoretical solution and rectifies is not also large particularly when to think that what we want with once examine with the protocol is implemented. After the mention and explanation of this problem we can now specify how the protocol was made. We will start to explain how application is defined in all both, client and provider. Both sides application have two principal functions: one is responsible for creation and sending of the packages to the lower layers and the other is responsible to receive the packages of the lower layer. The application in the side of the provider calls the pbc3 and has two principal functions: one for send and other for receive frame. While sending the frame we basically have to create a package (by defining its title) and send it. The provider will send various types of packages according to the execution time. Basically we will have two types of packages: the packages of management in the control channel of inspection mark and the packages of the data in the excavation of service of the channel timeslot. These packages will have various headers. In case of the packages of the zones information of the header are as in Figure 4.7: Type Service_id Time_slot seqNum lastPacket node_id Send_time Payload Figure 4.7: Fields of the application header for data frames. Service_id: Field used by the provider to indicate the service whose payload is included in the frame. Time_slot: Field that shows the subtime slot when the service is offered. SeqNum: Sequence number of the packet sent. Nowadays is only used in data packets which belong to unicast services, it is used by the provider when more than one client want to receive the same private information. LastPacket: This field is related to seqNum. It is used to indicate that the packet sent is the last one. In case of management frames the header is defined by the following fields in Figure 4.8. Type Services_ Num_services node_id Send_time Payload Information Figure4.8. Fields of the application header for management frames. services_information: It is only used in management frames. It is a vector which contains the basic information about the services offered by the provider. This basic information is defined by three fields: the first field is the identifier of the service, the second field is the subtimeslot identifier and the third field is the type of the service (as we said already before the type of the service means if the service is broadcast or if it is unicast). These three fields must be defined for each service available in the provider, the Figure 4.9 shows that. Service 1 Time Slot where Type of Service 1 Service 2 Time Slot when Type of service 2 Identifier Service 1 is offered Identifier Service 2 is offered Figure 4.9: Example of the services_information buffer when two services offered. Although in our implementation the identifier of the service and the identifier of the timeslot is the same (which means the service whose identifier is the number one will be offered in the subtime slot number one), we decided to define two variables because they would have different values in future versions of the protocol. Num_services: Value used to indicate the total number of services which are going to be offered by the provider during the service channel timeslot. Once we have explained how our application works in both sides (provider and client) we must explain the main changes done in the MAC layer. When we download the NS2.33 version there was already included an implementation of IEEE802.11a protocol. We didnt want to make use of this code because it was totally oriented to guaranty the CSMA/CA with virtual carries sense mechanism, we are not interested in. there was also simple TDMA implementation included. We decided to adapt into our requirements. We basically had to change the definition of the TDMA frame and to set up both data and management MAC headers. In contrast to the application layer there are no variables defended to make use of the MAC layer through the Tcl script. If we concentrate on the physical layer, we will see that in our version of Network Simulation NS2, there were already two physical layers for wireless communications applied: the first one called the wirelessPHY and the second one called WirelessPhyExt. We are interested to use this last version of the physical channel basically it presented an important concept for us: it supports multiple arrangements of the modulation. WirelessPhyExt leaves the function with BPSK, QPSK, QAM16 and QAM64 as it is described in (Qi Chen, 2008). The modulation influences certain important characteristics such as the rate of header information and minimum sensitivity of the receiver, according to the indications the Figure 3.3 of, and consequently the period of the data of transmission and SINR necessary to receive it and to decode it. The only problem is that this new version of the wireless channel must be used together with an extension of the MAC layer called Mac802_11Ext. We were not interested in using that one for the same reason we were not interested in using the Mac802_11 version; and for that we decided to introduce the multiple modulation schemes in the WirelessPhy layer. Another important point when working low layers of the WAVE protocol stack is to think about how the channel is modelled in NS2. There are four different types of channel propagation defined and include in NS2.33, The free space model, the Two-Ray Ground reflection model, the Shadowing model and the Nakagami model. The first three models are well described in (The NS manual, 2008). 4.5 SIMULATION PROBLEMS AND IMPLIMENTATION IMPROVEMENTS Here we explained the reason for which we are interested to study the technology of TDMA in the V2I communications and the process followed to define and apply our protocol. By creating a new protocol, sometimes it is not possible to design the theoretical idea that we had because of some limitations presented by the simulator. It is also possible that our execution could be improved at the points given. We must realize that although the protocol seems to be complex sometimes, many improvements could be made to obtain the best and more specific results. The idea of this section is just to explain the main problems found when elaborating our protocol and to suggest some future improvements. If we refer first to the problems found when we were working we must clarify that most of them are not really problems (in the sense of bugs found when executing the protocol) but limitations the simulator has which do not allow us to define the protocol as we wanted to. There are three main limitations we want to point out: The first is already mentioned in the previous section. The problem is related to the parallel data flows in a node. We were interested by this fact of being able not only to have more application to the function in parallel in the same node (as explained in the section 4.4) but to also define the two planes of protocol, data and planes of management, in the same node (that we can see Figure 2.3) although this last idea was thrown it required of much work to make. In section 4.4 we adopted easy and the fast solution which does not have affected the results obtained. But there is other solutions, simplest is composed to define nodes as many, in the code of TCL, as data flows we need and link these nodes through a router. To explain it easily: we will have one node per each data queue (see Figure 3.3) and one router that handle the information from each node. This solution is based in the actual implementation of the Diffserv queues in the NS (Definition of physical queues) where virtual and physical queues are used (Implementing multiqueue). In our case we will need at least two nodes: one for the data of the control channel and the other for the data of the service channel, in case only one service is offered. We must realize this solution involves changes in the Tcl code which leads to a simple C++ implementation. Another solution, which could be considered as an improvement is to have only one application running on the provider that generates different types of packets but instead of doing it as a function of the execution time, it could generate them randomly and give the work of organize them to the link layer. In this case we will need to define an algorithm in charge of finding the desired packets in the unique queue that exists in the link layer and sending them in the correct order to the MAC layer. There is a third solution which allows having an implementation closer to the one specified in the standards ((IEEE 802.11, 2007) and (Implementing multiqueue)). The idea consists of adapting the definition of the queue done nowadays in the implementation 802.11e standard which is included in the simulator. As we can see in (Design and verification, 2003) this implementation requires changes in the definition of the class queue which allows having multiples queues by creating them in an array (Evaluation of IEEE 802.11e). The source code of this new type of queue can be found in (Evaluation of IEEE 802.11e). The second limitation is related to the synchronization of the nodes. Those nodes can be an OBU or a RSU. The NS is a simulator based in events controlled by timers. The fact is, as it is pointed out in IEEE 1609.4 standard in (Yunpeng, 2007) all the nodes require to be synchronized before communication. The synchronization is especially important when using TDMA technology and it is a process which will be carried on when any OBU enters in the communication area of a new RSU in a centralized system. The fact is that in the NS tool all the nodes implemented (in the Tcl code) have the same time basis which means they do not need any synchronization because they are already synchronized. If we are interested in defining the synchronization process we should first desynchronize the nodes by manipulating their timers. In our case we will consider the RSU time basis to be the one the other nodes must to synchronize on. Each OBU will have to follow a synchronization process before receiving data frames from the RSU. The idea could be the following: the first time an OBU receives frames from a new RSU it gets the timestamp of the RSU and, after adding the delay produced by the propagation of the frame to this timestamp, adjusts its timers. Calculate the delay or time difference between the RSU and the OBU is not complicated. The only idea which does not seem clear is how to set up different time basis in the nodes. The third and last limitation is related to the anti-collisions mechanism used in the MAC layer mainly based in CSMA/CA algorithm. We detected the problem when executing our code: we found there were collisions between request frames when a considered number of OBUs were interested in receiving information about the same unicast service. Those collisions should not take place if we keep in mind each node is supposed to be able of sense the medium to see whether it is busy before sending any kind of frame. Why this type of collisions is produced? As we explained earlier, it is necessary to present intervals of guard to the end of each time slit to avoid collisions between the reinforcements produced by various devices (OBUs and RSU in our case) but in this case the collisions due are produced to different OBUs send braces of request really narrowly in time and, because of them cannot detect if the medium is with vacuum or not, a collision is produced and detected by the RSU. When working with the NS tool we are not able to do all the things we want to, not only because of some restrictions or limitations the tool has (as we explained before) but also because of time we did not implement all the ideas which came to our mind and we must simplify and focus our work. Because of this lack of time there exist a lot of points in our protocol which could be improved. Some of these points are explained in the following paragraphs. If we focus in the implementation of the control channel the most important improvement which could be done is to introduce critical frames and implement the process each node has to follow when receiving those frames. Introducing those types of frames will be really interesting because we can see how to handle both types of information (critical and no critical) and we would make a better use of the control channel than we do in our actual implementation. If we pay attention to the service channel there are some things which could be improved, the ideas are summarized in the following points: In the actual implementation there is not any prioritization between nodes, which means when two or more nodes want to receive the same information (which is unicast) the first who ask for it is the first which receives the data. One possibility is to define the priority as a function of the position of each OBU with respect to the RSU. It sounds coherent to give higher priority to the nodes that are closer to the RSU because of their small latency (time necessary to consume a service). Basically the latency is smaller because the propagation time (one of the terms

The Most Important Thing In Communication Is Hearing Communications Essay

The Most Important Thing In Communication Is Hearing Communications Essay Good communication is important, but what is communication anyway? The exchange of information? Many people think that communication is the same as the use of language. An understandable thought, because without a language it would probably be impossible to pass on information for this assignment. People spend about seventy percent of their day on language, this means talking, listening, reading and writing. Therefore language is very important for people to pass on information. A man with a red head, throbbing veins and a clenched fist, crying out: ‘Are you kidding me, I am not angry. This shows that we are not only communicating in languages (verbal communication), but also through body language (nonverbal communication). In this case, the nonverbal communication includes the red-faced head, throbbing veins, clenched fists, his volume and the tone of voice. Verbal and nonverbal expressions have different communication powers. The person from the example claims that he was not angry, but most people will not believe him. Because his body language ‘says something else. In cases in which language and body language contradict each other, the body is believed rather than the spoken word. Types of nonverbal communication Facial expression Emotions can be found throughout the whole body, posture and by gestures, but especially on the face. You can read a lot of emotions from the position of the eyebrows, mouth and particularly the lips. Non verbal communication can be a huge difference in cultures. But the facial expression for happiness, sadness, anger and fear are similar throughout the whole world. Gestures Some people support their story with many movements. Sometimes they need to beckon the people to make something clear. For example, you would specify how big or small something is or you have to make a move. This includes movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Sometimes simple gestures are symbols, as the fist with the thumb up: ‘Well done or with the thumbs down. ‘Really bad. Eye-contact Eyes are the mirror of the soul. The most deep and intense emotions are expressed through the eyes. Therefore eye contact is almost a synonym for personal contact. It is also very sensitive, because when you look someone too long to attract attention, this can be seen as rude or even intrusive, this is only the case when the other side doesnt want any contact. It can also be nice to have eye contact and it might be interesting to see how the other responds. Maintaining eye contact while both speaking and listening is a sign of confidence and interest. Posture Your body language can give you an individual status or power. It says something about who you are. For example, when you are a little shy, you will probably look to the ground. The movements of your hands and feet can be a bit slow. If you are a proud person you will walk with your head up, shoulders back, chest forward and with a lot of enthusiasm. Communication through object communication In our culture, the choice of clothing is an important way to communicate without words. Someone who will apply for a job will generally watch carefully what he wears and if anyone should give a presentation to a group of important people he will not normally do that in a pair of jeans. It is therefore surprising to see that relatively little research has been conducted to see a person clothing. It does appear that someones clothing should not underestimated the importance for the picture others have of him and the impact that his words are. But it is very difficult to cover general rules. What we can say is that people respond more positively to someone wearing similar clothing than someone with a totally different style. An American student had to interview farmers as vacation work. The first day he dressed in a suit with tie. He received little cooperation from the farmers. When he decided to wear jeans and a working shirt, he got considerably more response from the farmers. Someone appears to be believed better when his clothes and hair are better cared. But this is only the case when people do not know each other, so they have to make a good first impression. In the business world there are usually very strict dress rules. Not (well) aware of these rules can have a major impact on how others respond to you. Wrong choices in this area may therefore be harmful to your career. If you are underdressed or overdressed it may have a result in falling out of place. Appearance When you look at someones appearance, you can see how someone feels or what they want to radiate. For example, if someone has a hair bun it radiates neatness and meticulousness. Short shaven hair and spines radiate an easy and modern behavior. A beard may indicate wisdom, but also someone who is slovenly or it has to do with religion beliefs. If a woman has shaved hair it can arouse the suspicion that she is a lesbian, which is often a prejudice. Clothing Clothing can also be a form of communication. For example, you can see what kind of job the person has. When he/she wears a suit, he or she probably has an office job. You can also see what kind of music someone loves, (Punk, hardcore, RB) by the clothes they are wearing. For a lot of people branded clothing is often an important factor. It gives a certain status and suggests a certain quality. It often can characterize a particular group. Colors When you pay attention to colors you can see how someones life is. For example, someone wearing lots of bright, cheerful colors, is often an optimistic person. And someone with all-black clothes radiates sadness or just wants to make a statement. When and how to make eye contact in different cultures Like all mammals, the behavior of the eyes of people is very important. We have already seen that people respond positively to pupil expulsions. However, if someone sees something unpleasant, pupils will be smaller. The preference for the eyes seems to be a natural feature. Babies that are an hour old show a strong preference for forms that strongly resemble a face compare to other forms. Another very important sign is eye contact with the eyes. People who love each other are looking with pleasure to each other. If someone looks at another person for a longer period, so that is seems not be functional, will look aggressive. This applies much more for men than women. Men who have too much eye contact are more experienced as dominant or even aggressive compared to women. This is probably because too tightly is associated with rage and anger. Many teachers use the viewing behavior as an indicator if they want to select students whos homework they will check. After the teacher asks a question, he or she looks around the classroom. Students know the answer, will look to the teacher, while students who do not know the answer will often avoid eye contact. By looking at eye movements of people, you can see how people think about issues.  § If someone thinks visually and he will look left or right or look right through the center tail.  § If someone thinks phonetically, he or she will move their eyes to the right center, left center or lower left part of the eye.  § If someone thinks kinesthetic, he or she will look to the bottom right. Different Angles Here are a few different angles. These angles are for right-handed people. For the left-handed people it can be the other way around. A. Visually constructed images If someone looks to the right center, he tries to imagine something visually that hasnt actually occurred. He thinks from his imagination. According to the forecast, people could respond in this way to questions like: How do you spell your name backwards? (People can only do this if they are trying to see their name) B. Visually remembered images If someone looks to the left center, while talking, this means that he is trying to remember it visually. In this case his memory is very important. People will respond to a question like: What do you see when you are walking to the station? C. Visualization When people are looking right through the middle, without focusing, they often try to illustrate something. This is often by asking for examples of abstract concepts: Give me an example of social inequality. D. Constructed noise Middle right means that someone is trying to make noises that he had not previously heard: How would Mozart on a synthesizer sound? E. Remembered sounds Eye movements to the left center indicate that someone is trying to remember a word or sound: Is the second note of that song lower or higher than the third? F. Internal dialogue Bottom left represents the internal dialogue: What do you say to yourself when you are trying to talk courage to yourself? G. Kinetic When people look to the bottom right, it refers to feelings and bodily sensations: How does it feel when you are feeling very hungry? Can you see when someone is lying? Some people are hard to catch on a lie, even if they lie. Facial expressions are not always a reliable source of information to identify the lie. Some people smile while they lie, while another just has a quiet expression. Some evidence that people lie:  § People who lie often take a closed attitude. People who lie, uses their language differently and they often leave holes in their conversation, presumably to prevent what they say might betray them.  § The voice of people who lie usually goes higher than when those same people tell the truth.  § Liars often though their face or playing with pencils or other objects. The FBI can look at peoples eye movements. People who describe a situation or condition that have occurred here are their eyes to move left (remember for pictures) or to left center (for recalled words). When people think of words as they contrast to the right center and made statues the right to be here. But if someone constantly fumble with items in his hands, after a question, it obviously cannot be concluded that he is lying because he is fumbling. And if somebody has suddenly a closed attitude, this does not mean that he is lying. It may be that he just tells the truth, but it is so painful that he signed an attitude. Body language In general, people pay more attention to someones body language than to their words. Words determine the topic, but the way those words are expressed, determines how the message is interpreted. One explanation for the credibility of non-verbal communication besides verbal communication is that words are much easier to control than our behavior. Many people who lie find it difficult to keep eye contact and start to blush. Sometimes nonverbal communication is not difficult to control. Someone who likes another person, often get ‘caught because of the fact that their pupils grow bigger when he or she looks at that person. Sender and receiver are both not aware of this pupil reaction, but the receiver picks up the information unconsciously. This person gets positive and warm feelings for the person with the enlarged pupils. 1 So it may be interesting to watch the body language of people around you. Did we learn nonverbal behavior? Most of our nonverbal behavior we have learned through the years. Some of the gestures may have completely different meanings in different countries.If someone in France points to his head he finds you pretty smart. But if the Frenchman points his hand to his sleep, he wants to say that you are crazy in a negative way. And if we are accepting something we make a circle with thumb and forefinger. ‘Ok. But in Brazil this gesture means a contempt notion. Some nonverbal behaviors are probably not learned but self thought. Facial expressions for interest, joy, surprise, fear, anger, pain, disgust, contempt and shame have the same meaning in all cultures of the world. This strongly suggests that at least some facial expressions are congenital standards. Another proof that some expressions of emotions are self thought, is that deaf and blind children have the same basic facial expressions for emotions as people who do not have disabilities (e.g. crying, smiling, fear and anger). These emotions cant be wrong interpreted by looking at their faces. Although certain facial expressions are innate, it does not mean that they are always shown by people. Our education can ensure that certain expressions are not appropriate for adults to be shown. By culture and growing up, the expression of an innate emotion itself is changing. Thus, the innate facial expression for anger is showing the teeth and frown the eyebrows, in order to protect the eyes. In many cultures it shows the innate expression of anger openly. Instead, those oppressed by the teeth and the lips to be pressed. This also prevents people verbalizing their anger to continue swearing. If people who are angry no longer protect their eyes by frowning, but just dilate their eyes and show their teeth, this is usually a sign that someone is no longer in control. He even not thinks anymore about protect himself. And if he gets a fair complexion which is transported through blood to the muscles, it is time for you to find a safe place to hide. Because these people are really dangerous. 1 Hess, 1975 2 Eibl-Eibesfledt, 1970 Also for other emotions, cultures can add to those feelings to show the other non-native form. Japanese and American students were shown pictures of very bloody operations. If the students thought they were no longer observed, the facial expressions of Japanese and Americans are identical: the horror on their faces was plain to see. However, if they knew they were observed, unlike the Japanese. Americans were to hide their horror by smiling. In Japan it is rude to show your emotions openly in presence of others.3There are also differences in culture is often seen between men and women. For example in western cultures it is much more common for women to openly demonstrate sorrow compared to men. Men are more expected that they control their emotions (Real men do not cry!). People seem to be quite aware of their facial expressions. As already shown by the example of Japanese and American students, facial expressions, like languages, can be controlled. This has not always the best facial expressions (nonverbal indicator of what people really feel). 3. Research of Paul Ekman Meaning of the arms and hands Hands are frequently used to support verbal communication. Gestures often have a logical and traceable meaning. Some gestures are very clear in meaning. So we all know the insulting gesture of the middle finger. Other gestures have a meaning that is rooted in history. In England, for example, there are two gestures that are very similar: Everyone knows the famous V-sign of victory, made famous by Winston Churchill: the index and middle fingers of the right hand raised with the palm, but with the palm facing inwards. The main difference is the direction of the palm. With the palm directed toward the other has a positive meaning. With the outside of the hand addresses to the other is an offensive gesture. It is impossible to map all signs in the world. Here are some examples:  § Making a fist usually has an aggressive or offensive meaning.  § Showing the back of the hand is often referred to as being offensive. It usually has a negative signal value for the other.  § Showing open hands, palms up often has a submissive pleading or meaning. It generally has a non-aggressive signal value for the other.  § Showing open hands, palms towards the other, often has a bowing, submissive or defensive meaning. It usually has a non-aggressive signal value for the other.  § The downward keeping the palms often has a calming, enchanting sense.  § The further the hands held together, the less vulnerable a person feels himself generally speaking. The hands The hands are sometimes busy moving body parts or hidden in a trouser pocket. Hands tells people always something. It can show feelings and moods. They tell their own interpretation of events. But how to recognize certain feelings and attitudes? Here are some examples, feelings of the hands:  § Uncertainty: Someone has his hands all entangled. The palms are fully hedged. Soft fingertips rubbing against each other to indicate that a person has a conflict, challenge or prefer to avoid discussion going.  § Dominant: A person has his hands behind his back. The person is confident of himself and feels dominantly.  § Apparent dominant: An individual has his hands behind his back. The person wants the world to convince that he feels dominant.  § Hide: A person has his hands hidden in his pockets. He wants no positive nor a negative reaction, he takes the role of an observer. Examples, attitudes of hands:  § Open palms: This is a reliable measure of whether someone is honest.  § Questioning hand: The hand with the palm facing upward with your fingers is more or less a ‘bowl shape.  § Stop sign: During a conversation one person raises his hand, together with the palm facing out. The person indicates that it is ‘enough.  § The commanding hand: The hand points to the palm as if the hand down any rebellion from below suppressed. The arms †¦. How to improve your nonverbal communication skills? Some people dont believe that you can learn nonverbal skills, but you can. It will lead you to a few surprises. When you pay attention to nonverbal aspects of communication it will improve your communication skills. It can help you in both your personal and professional life. It can also enhance your own ability to communicate effectively because people are not always aware of the signals of nonverbal communication. It is very important to pay attention to nonverbal signals, like eye contact, gestures, postures, and body movements. It can help you to understand some difficult words or meanings. In some cases words do not match nonverbal behavior. The other person can say that he or she is happy but the look on their face will show you that he or she is unhappy. Also the tone of the voice can give you information of that person. People can say some words in an enthusiastic, disinteresting or even angry manner. So if you want to show interest in something or someone, express your enthusiasm by using your enthusiasm in the tone of voice. When people are evading or trying to hide something or someone, you can see it in their eyes. Eye contact is an important part of communication, its important to remember that good eye contact does not mean staring constantly into someones eyes. Your eye-contact may last up to four or five seconds. Different interpretation Behavior in other cultures can be interpreted very differently. For example, in Arabic countries men greet another with a handshake. Men, however, may not handshake with women. In many Asian countries the handshake is not so common. They use an alternative way of greeting such as nodding one hand on their chest or bend in different degrees of depth. Habits and conducts, for example from different religions can have a big influence on the physical presentation of people from other cultures. Another difference between Arabic and European people is that the left hand in Arab cultures is unclean. Also crossing your legs is an insult for Arabic people because if you show your foot sole, you are disrespectful. Cross-cultural misunderstanding of nonverbal communication The three-step method of Intercultural communication (dr. pinto). Culture and culture models People do not exactly know what the meaning of culture is. But it has something to do with values, habits, history, knowledge, experience, beliefs, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, roles, relations and manners of people behaving, that are different from other cultures. It is very difficult to find the definition for culture. Therefore it is probably easier to explain culture by discussing a number of theories. Theory 1. The fishbowl Model The Fishbowl Model describes the natural instinct humans have to act upon our own perceived short-term individual benefit, rather than long-term benefit or the benefit of others. The Fishbowl offers the class an opportunity to closely observe and learn about social interactions. You can use it in almost every area. Theory 2. The Iceberg Model This model is about the visible and invisible cultural aspects; The practices described above are the tip of the iceberg, the things we can see, hear, observe. The small part above the water level is visible. In it, we can include manners, customs, and languages: all things we can observe and learn. We also talk about the explicit aspects of culture, those aspects that we can easily describe. However, the larger chunk, is hidden under water, and we cannot see it. This is where we find the values and the vision of the world, the way of thinking and the assumptions we have. All these aspects are hidden; we cannot easily express our values. Theory 3. Union Model of Culture The Onion Model of Culture shows how culture has a number of layers. There are a number of interpretations of this model out the most easy one consists of four key layers. ‘Culture is a system that can be peeled, layer by layer, in order to reveal the content. Imagine the whole onion as ‘culture and as you peel on, you see different levels which work on and influence culture, in any particular society.4 Significant conversations are those that move beyond the material and behavioral levels (first two rings) to consider values, beliefs and worldview. This means that the goal is to move beyond comments about our environment (for example weather, sports) and behavior (our preferences for schools, holidays, church) to consider values (appropriate behavior, sexual morality), beliefs (value of human life) and worldview. 4. Geert Hofstede Conclusion Answer to the main question What does nonverbal communication exactly means and what kind of effect has nonverbal communication on people from different cultures. Literature Internet  § http://iwp.cs.utwente.nl/Vaardigheden/G-Nonverbaal/Koefening/koefening.html  § http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_communication  § http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language  § http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/nonverbal-behaviour.php  § http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/busting-myth-93-of-communication-is.php  § http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.htm  § http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/tp/nonverbaltips.htm  § http://www.innerned.org/nvc2.html  § http://www.psychowerk.com/Woordenboek/N/nonverbaal%20gedrag,%20de%20gebaren%20en%20hun%20betekenis.htm  § http://humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com  § htm http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/education-reduces-cross-cultural.php  § http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/businessetiquette/a/making-eye-contact.htm  § http://www.lichaamstaal.com/cultuur.html  § http://www.gilde-samenspraak.nl/sitebuilder/index.asp?nodeid=235  § http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00451/nonverbalcom.htm  § http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm  § http://www.lichaamstaal.com/cultuur.html Books  § Basisprincipes van communicatie, Klaas Wiertzema Patricia Jansen  § Communicatie handboek, Drs. W.J. Michels Planning and logbook Not ready yet, (plan of action) Number Activity Starting date Deadline Estimated Workload (hours) Actual Workload (hours) 1 . Making Project Plan 12/03/10 17/03/10 4 1.1 First draft 12/03/10 17/03/10 3 1.2 Revision 18/03/10 18/03/10 1 2 . Pre-research 23/03/10 02/04/10 68 2.1 Orientation 23/03/10 26/03/10 5 2.2 Internet search 24/03/10 02/04/10 28 2.3 Literature search 24/03 31/03/10 28 2.4 Television series 23/03/10 01/04/10 5 2.5 Search for visual aids 26/03/10 31/03/10 2 3. Definition of research question 05/04/10 25/05/10 55 3.1 Select subjects 06/04/10 09/04/10 4 3.2 Select information for each subject and create structure 07/04/10 19/04/10 3 3.3 Write information about every subject 19/04/10 25/05/10 43 3.4 Add visualization with captions 15/05/10 20/05/10 5 4. Final things to do 28/06/10 16/06/10 17 4.1 Rewrite after first check 28/05/2010 11/06/10 16/06/10 12 4.2 Final touch of the script 11/06/10 16/06/10 5 Total hours 144

The Sikhs Essay -- essays research papers fc

In the year 1469 a man named Guru Nanak was born into a Punjabi-Hindu family. His name means "He who was born at the home of his mother's parents", which was in Talwandi, near Labone ("Sikhs" 647). We know little about Nanak's life but a lot about his beliefs from a book called " Adi Granth" or " Granth Sahib", which means holy book. Some of his beliefs were the reality of "karma" and "reincarnation".These are beliefs that our actions in this life determine how high or low we'll be in our next life. The Hindus and Muslims believe it is best to worship, missionize, study and write the sacred scriptures, and other religious public actions and behaviors. Nanak believed that this is wrong. He felt that the people should be involved in inward meditation to the God, Akal Purakh (Nanak was a monotheist, believing in one god). Nanak believed that Akal Purakh is the almighty creator and sustainer of the universe and he has no form. If one is truly devoted to Akal then Akal may reveal himself to you in "nam" or the divine name. Since Akal created the world and everything in it then, the world can be considered an expression of "nam",(McLeod 5). Akal, to reveal himself through "nam", speaks the "sabad" or divine word, through a loyal believer. This believer acts as the eternal guru, or teacher, speaking in the mystical voice of Akal through the "sabad". A guru can achieve this divine harmony with Akal by the practice of "nam simaran". This can be accomplished in many ways. One way is by the repeating of a "mantra", a word that expresses the divine reality. Another way is to sing devotional songs or even to have deep mystical concentration. Guru Nanak attracted many disciples, or "sikha" (this is where the name Sikh comes from). These "sikhas" were the original Sikhs. Before Guru Nanak died he appointed a successor from among his disciples to be the second guru. This started the chain of the ten Sikh gurus which lasted 439 years from the birth of Nanak to the death of Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, in the year 1708, ("Hindus and Sikhs" 11). Nanak appointed as his successor Lehna or Lahina, who later changed his name to Angad (Angada was a lesser legendary hero of that time).... ... run away with the guns given to them by the police or join the Sikh militants, ("Throwing Punches" 30) It is very dangerous for journalists to write about the Sikhs. In the past few years. seventeen journalists have been killed by the Sikhs because they have written unfavorable articles about the Sikhs and their terrorist activities, ("Throwing Punches" 30). A recent Sikh terrorist act involved Sikh "freedom-fighters" stopping a train in Punjab. They boarded the train and killed forty-seven innocent people, ("Forty-seven Killed" A1). Sikhism has changed from the time of Guru Nanak, where it was a peaceful, inward religion to the present where there is much violence by the Sikhs and pride in their violent ways. Bibliography "Forty-seven Killed by Sikh Militants". Wall Street Journal 27 Dec. 1991: A1 "Hindus and Sikhs". Scholastic Update 10 Mar. 1989: 11 McLeod, W. H. The Sikhs. N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 1986. "Sikhs". Encyclopedia Brittanica. 1963 edition. "Sikhs Attack Bombay" New York Times 6 Mar. 1992: A12 "Throwing Punches in Punjab" The Economist 5 Jan. 1991: 30

The English Patient Essay -- Film Movie Movies English Patient

Count Lazlo Almasy, the English Patient, is a man in an Imperial time and world. The people in this world live by Imperial rules and perpetuate Imperial stereotypes. The film takes place in World War II era Africa, and as the film portrays it, in the mysterious and exotic Sahara desert and in Cairo, Egypt. Count Almasy’s character lives in the desert among imperial explorers and in the desert environment full of natives who bring to life classic stereotypes full of ignorance and white prevalence and power. Ella Shohat and Robert Stam, authors of Unthinking Eurocentrism, believe that the Imperial attitudes that the British government and the Western imperial society initiated, continue today and are alive in the cinema. The film, â€Å"The English Patient† is a key example of Imperial influence on cinema with the exception of one character: Count Almasy. On the surface, Almasy seems to be just like those around him, but when one looks deeper, his characteristics show tha t he is in fact an anti-imperial. Almasy’s character invites the viewer to identify with his seeming quest for adventure and then reveals qualities that then revise the colonial stereotypes that he seemed to personify previously. In the chapter â€Å"Imperial Imaginary† by Shohat and Stam, the authors discuss the idea that the perfect imperial subject is the adolescent male because of his vulnerability and hunger for adventure (101). The nature of imperialism is one of power and control. To teach a man to be an imperial one must teach him to love adventure. According to the authors, the empire by its very nature is the man’s plaything and that â€Å"boys [can] play in the space of an empire† (101). It gives them the freedom and creativity to explore and through cinema... ...at, unpredictable weather, and the general exoticism of the Sahara, Almasy is the odd light in the dark of the â€Å"Imperial Imaginary†. According to Stam and Shohat’s definition of the imperial, Almasy fits into their image only on the surface. He believes in many things that are antithetical to that of the imperial,largely his feelings about borders, names, and maps. When one delves deeper into his personality and beliefs, it can be seen that he is in fact the anti-imperial amidst a plethora of imperial stereotypes. Works Cited Ondaatje, Michael. The English Patient. New York: Random House, Inc., 1992. Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and theMedia. New York: Routledge, 1994. †The English Patient†. Dir. Anthony Minghella. Perf. Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Defoe, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Miramax, 1996.