Applicability of Alternate Minimum Tax

Pertinence of Alternate Minimum Tax All the non-corporate personal citizens should be paying AMT. The standard for relevance is that the AMT is payable if: Tax under typical Provisions (according to personal assessment act) is not exactly AMT. For this situation the balanced all out salary is viewed as the complete pay and expense obligation is determined over it. The other standard notices that the AMT won't be paid by the individual, HUF (Hindu Undivided Family), AOP (Association of Persons) and Artificial Juridical Person if the Adjusted Total Income isn't more noteworthy than Rs.20 lakhs. Non-Applicability to LLP’s joined under remote Law Limited Liability Partnerships consolidated under outside laws are not considered â€Å"Firm† according to the definition given under area 2(23) and are considered under the definition given in segment 2(17). In this way, the arrangements of AMT are not relevant to such LLPs. Materialness to outside firms not fused under any Foreign Law Foreign firms which are not fu sed according to the remote nation law yet fits into the meaning of â€Å"firm† according to Indian Partnership Act,1932 is viewed as firm as under segment 2(23). Along these lines, the arrangements of AMT according to section XII-BA are appropriate to such firms. The Alternate least expense risk is according to area 115JC for the pay to be chargeable to burden under India. Rate The pertinent pace of AMT is 18.5%, which is determined on Adjusted Total Income. Further, the last AMT is determined by computing training and auxiliary instruction cess of 3% on 18.5% and overcharge if pertinent. Overcharge isn't appropriate for LLP. A Table containing steps is remembered for annexure alongside a representation. The means and representation are given in Annexure-I and II separately. According to the arrangements of AMT, the last expense risk for the non-corporate assessees is more prominent of the duty according to typical arrangements and Alternate Minimum (Tax @ 18.5 percent (in a ddition to auxiliary and training cess as appropriate) on balanced complete Income). Substitute Minimum Tax Credit Tax credit is accessible against future expense obligation if AMT is more prominent than charge under ordinary arrangements. The credit sum is the contrast between the two and can be balanced or conveyed forward for a long time from the year where the credit was earned. From the evaluation year 2018-19, the period will be fifteen years.The segment material is 115JD. Set-off is accessible when the assessment according to ordinary arrangement for LLP is more than AMT. The measure of set-off is constrained to sum paid in overabundance of AMT. In any case, the principles with respect to take forward or set-away are not appropriate for instruction and optional training cess. Further, on the off chance that the credit isn't used inside ten years, at that point it can’t be benefited later on. Intrigue isn't paid on charge credit profited. Use of different Provisions of this Act The arrangements are given under segment 115JE and are material to the non-corporate assessee to whom AMT arrangements apply. This segment incorporates advance assessment, enthusiasm according to areas 234A,234B and 234C punishment. Key focuses concerning the New Chapter XII-BA

Communications Plan Template How to Build Yours In 12 Steps

Interchanges Plan Template How to Build Yours In 12 Steps What message would you like to impart to your crowd? What do you need your crowd to think about your association? Whats your brands crucial reason? These inquiries can leave advertisers getting a handle on at straws.â On the off chance that you cannot answer them unmistakably, however, your interchanges plan will undoubtedly go out of control. What's more, that is actually why weve composed this post. Youre going to adapt precisely how to make a steady informing system for your association. As you go along,â youll figure out how to record everything utilizing a straightforward correspondence plan layout. Besides, youll figure out how to execute that arrangement utilizing your blog, online networking, and email advertising. Get Your Free Communication Plan Template + Bonus Calendars To make arranging your interchanges procedure simple, we’ve fabricated this free layout. Besides, we’ve additionally included two schedule formats to keep your execution sorted out. Here’s what your pack incorporates: Correspondence Plan PowerPoint to spread out your whole interchanges methodology. Showcasing Calendar templateâ to plan the entirety of your substance and crusades. Online life Calendar templateâ to plan the entirety of your web based life messages. Download them now, and afterward let’s get down to work. The most effective method to Create A Communications Plan in 12 Steps (Free Template)What Is A Communication Plan For this post, a correspondence plan is: A correspondence plan is a nitty gritty technique that plots an association's intended interest groups and the messages they have to get to drive wanted business results. What is a correspondence plan, anyway?12 Steps To Develop A Solid Communication Plan Since you recognize what a correspondence plan is, you can take a shot at building one. The accompanying 12 stages will assist you with arranging a full methodology that you can impart to your group. Here's the manner by which to build up a correspondences plan in 12 steps.Step One: Establish Your Mission Statement The initial phase in your correspondence arranging process is helping your group to remember your statement of purpose. Your statement of purpose is the ultimate objective that your organization needs to satisfy for your clients. Here are a couple of model statements of purpose to motivate your own (in the event that you don’t have one yet): Starbucks: To motivate and sustain the human soul †one individual, each cup and one neighborhood in turn. : Organizing the world each advertising schedule in turn. Nike: To carry motivation and development to each athlete* on the planet. Take a stab at utilizing this layout to organize your statement of purpose. Our association exists to give [benefit], [benefit], and [benefit] through [product or service]. When you have your statement of purpose record it in your correspondence plan format: Do you know your association's crucial Two: Identify Your Business Objectives The following stage in your procedure is to distinguish your business goals. Business targets are objectives your organization or association needs to hit to be fruitful. Each objective your group hinders needs to add to these targets. On the off chance that you’re unconscious of what you’re focusing on, you’ll miss without fail. Converse with or plan a gathering with your director to discover these goals. When you have them record them in your layout: Stage Three: Develop Audience Personas The subsequent stage is to discover your intended interest group or crowds. These are the individuals your association is attempting to reach. In this manner, you have to distinguish what their identity is and what is most important to them so you can make messages that associate with them. Distinguish Your Target Audience Before you begin building up your crowd personas, you have to distinguish your intended interest group. Your intended interest group is the gathering of individuals who are destined to buy your item or administration. Here are a couple of approaches to become familiar with your intended interest groups: Overview current clients to become familiar with them. Try utilizing instruments like SurveyMonkey or Google Formsâ to assemble information from your crowd. Ask segment style questionsâ to accumulate the data you are searching for. Dive into Google Analyticsâ to become familiar with who is as of now visiting your site. Search through your competitorsâ social media supporters to see who they have all the earmarks of being pulling in (and contrast that with your own adherents). Once you’ve accumulated the information, you have to make a one to two sentence portrayal about your crowd. It could look something like this: Our intended interest group is comprised of expert 20 to 28-year-olds who have recently begun their first occupation subsequent to moving on from school with a four-year degree. Make sure to keep it brief, as you’ll really expound later. Record these announcements in your correspondences format: Are you utilizing personas in your correspondence plan?Develop Your Audience Persona Once you’ve decided the fundamental data of your intended interest group, you can utilize the study data you gathered before to make a point by point crowd persona. Every persona ought to contain the fundamental data about every one of your intended interest groups including: Age Sexual orientation Occupation Title Area Pay There’s likewise space to round out interests and leisure activities of your crowds just as the issues they are presently confronting. Suggested Reading: How To Find Your Target Audience With A Marketing Persona Stage Four: Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) To make powerful correspondence, you have to realize your special selling suggestion. What is a USP? As indicated by Entrepreneur, a remarkable selling recommendation is: The factor or thought introduced by a dealer as the explanation that one item or administration is not the same as and superior to that of the opposition. Let’s investigate a model. Casper is an online bedding retailer, and their USP is engaged around one straightforward thought. Since their item is sold legitimately to the shopper, they can offer lower costs than what you would discover in the event that you went to a blocks and cement store. Unbeatable minimal effort separates them. Enormous or little, distinguishing your USP will have an immense effect in your correspondence procedure. Work with your group to think of your USP and record it in your layout. What's your one of a kind selling proposition?Step Five: Draft Your Calls To Action Every single one of your intended interest groups will have a source of inspiration. What do you need your crowd to do after they have perused or heard your message? For instance, let’s state your association is a planning programâ designed to assist individuals with making money related opportunity.  Your target crowd is ages 20-28, beginning their first occupation and managing a  mountain of understudy advance obligation. Your source of inspiration is pursue a free discussion to assist them with getting their advances paid off at the earliest opportunity. You comprehend what you need them to do; presently you need to make sense of the correct stating that makes the last push they have to make a move. This realistic is stuffed loaded with 54 unique words that you can remember for your CTA: On the off chance that we return to our model some CTAs that this organization could utilize are: Find how to stretch out beyond your understudy advance installments and pursue a free discussion. Register for a free meeting and exploit this exceptional proposal before it’s gone. These CTAs ought to distinguish the activity and general informing your association needs to convey to every crowd. Record themâ in your format. Does your correspondence plan incorporate clear calls to action?Step Six: Choose Your Channels The subsequent stage in your correspondence plan process is picking the channels that you’re going to share your message on. Blogging As per Express Writers, including a blogâ as a key piece of your site expands your opportunity of better web crawler rankings by 434%. Blog entries are incredible for sharing an assortment of news including: Organization occasions. Organization news. Feel great activities your association has taken on. The most effective method to content. Updates to items and administrations. Dispatches of new items and administrations. Suggested Reading: How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like Crazy Email A second channel choice to consider is email. As indicated by Imagination, messages as a rule create 38 dollars for each 1 dollar spent. That’s a 3,800% degree of profitability. So how might you use email to spread your message? Some basic strategies are: Email Newsletters that stay up with the latest with your most recent substance and news. Press Relations: Need to get an official statement out in a rush? Email is an incredible way send your official statements out to your press contacts. Deals Offers: Having a constrained time offer to allure your clients to purchase from you? Tell them with a brisk email impact that is brimming with message duplicate that urges them to purchase. Instruments like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, and Wordflyâ can assist you with beginning. Internet based life On the off chance that you choose to utilize internet based life, guarantee that your association is utilizing the best channels for your motivations. Here’s are a few realities to remember about each system. You can likewise pick your systems dependent on where your crowd would be generally dynamic. As indicated by the Pew Research Center, this the most refreshed crowd segment information starting at 2016. Source: pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/internet based life update-2016/ Utilize this information to see where your intended interest group is generally dynamic. Suggested Reading: How To Automate Your Social Media With And Get Your Time Back Pick your diverts and record them in your format. Stage Seven: Decide Your Publishing Frequency Since you have your channels chosen, your subsequent stage is to decide how frequently you’re going to distribute your substance. Each channel has its own arrangement of best works on with respect to distributing recurrence. Blog Entry Publishing Frequency Your blog entry distributing recurrence will differ a great deal contingent upon y

Free Essays on School Veto Power Over Books On Reading List

in it that may affront individuals, there might be an explanation that the instructor has picked the book. I solidly accept that if the educator can give an intelligent explanation behind keeping the book in light of faulty terms, at that point that the book ought to be permitted. In any case, guardians and those restricted to the book must be heard too. There may be a consistent motivation behind why the book shouldn’t be on the rundown; that is the place the democratic becomes an integral factor. Generally, some sort of understanding must be made among guardians, overseers, and educator. The two gatherings should be open and adaptable and both need to keep the wellbeing of the youngsters as their top needs. The guardians don’t have the entirety of the force for this situation. Nor do the educators. They ought to have equivalent force, and I... Free Essays on School Veto Power Over Books On Reading List Free Essays on School Veto Power Over Books On Reading List For what reason ought to or shouldn’t we let guardians have veto control over which books their kids might be educated in government funded schools? There are numerous speculations on this subject and sentiments go the two different ways. Can guardians truly have a significant assessment or do they need to simply concur with the books that have been put on the rundown? Clearly this inquiry must be tended to and move must make place, however what do we do? As I would like to think, the school’s English office conveys the majority of the force in government funded schools when choosing which books will be perused by the understudies. On the off chance that a delegate gathering of guardians, instructors or chairmen see a specific book inadmissible for understudies, at that point there ought to be an open door for them to talk about their agreement with the individuals who have a contradicting view. The educators choice isn't an official choice for this situation. For instance, if a word is utilized in a book that the educators see as sufficient for youngsters to peruse yet others deviate, some sort of casting a ballot framework ought to be set up to settle this issue. One explanation that instructors pick a book for understudies to peruse is that they trust the book will assist understudies with turning out to be better perusers and progressively created individuals. On the off chance that the book has words in it that may outrage individuals, there might be an explanation that the educator has picked the book. I immovably accept that if the educator can give a sensible explanation behind keeping the book due to sketchy terms, at that point that the book ought to be permitted. In any case, guardians and those contradicted to the book must be heard too. There may be a sensible motivation behind why the book shouldn’t be on the rundown; that is the place the democratic becomes possibly the most important factor. Generally speaking, some sort of understanding must be made among guardians, directors, and educator. The two gatherings should be open and adaptable and both need to keep the wellbeing of the kids as their top needs. The guardians don’t have the entirety of the force for this situation. Nor do the educators. They ought to have equivalent force, and I...

Information Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Data Structure - Essay Example For the most part, linguistic structure is the fundamental center of syntactocentric origination and the pragmatics and semantics (data structure) are viewed as the subsidiaries of sentence structure. Then again, the equal engineering hypothesis of the spot of data structure in language structure differentiates the contentions of syntacto-driven origination by recommending that there is no predominant segment yet a progression of collaborating segments and the cooperations are not really interceded through the syntactic parts. Be that as it may, in spite of the fact that the hypothesis of Syntactocentric engineering is generally introduced on the conviction that data structure including the relations among significance and sound regularly emerges from the mapping of different syntactic structures into phonetic structure, late hypothetical advancements have uncovered that phonological structures have their confinements and their blends can't be just decreased to syntactic terms. Subsequently, equal engineering at present is by all accounts the most fitting hypothesis that can be utilized to clarify the Place of data structure in syntax structure. One of the most regularly utilized equal design approaches known as the job reference punctuation (RRG) especially sets that one single synactic portrayal of a sentence ordinarily relates to the genuine structure of a sentence.

Essay --

Flu or influenza is brought about by RNA infections of the family orthomyxoviridae, that influences the nose, throat, and lungs-the respiratory framework. The normal manifestations are: fever and respiratory issues, for example, hack, sore throat,stuffy nose, just as migraines and muscle throbs. Flu infections are spread for the most part by beads produced using individuals hacking, sniffling or talking while at the same time having this season's flu virus. These beads can land in the mouths or noses of individuals or can breathed in into the lungs. It is least normal for the infection to spread by contacting a contaminated surface then their mouth or nose. Influenza infections are isolated into 3 classifications, A, B, C. An and B are liable for issues in the respiratory framework that regularly happens throughout the winter. Flu types C is very not the same as An and B. Type C just aim gentle respiratory side effect or none by any stretch of the imagination. As per CDC, nobody realizes precisely what number of individuals bite the dust from seasonal influenza disease every year. There are four primary purposes behind this. As a matter of first importance, states are not required to report flu related passings that are more seasoned than the age of 18. Second, se...

An Introduction to Knowledge Management - Focus

An Introduction to Knowledge Management - Focus Nowadays, the boundaries of companies and organisations are blurring as the world is becoming increasingly connected.  As Dave Gray puts it: “by changing the way we create, access and share information, social networks are changing the power structure in society”. Knowledge management is a key way to harness these changes and in this article Ill explain why and how to do so. Knowledge Management Knowledge Management develops systems and processes to acquire and share intellectual assets and collective knowledge. It increases the amount  of useful, actionable, and meaningful information available, and seeks to increase both individual and team learning. In addition, Knowledge Management can maximise the value of an organisation’s intellectual base, across diverse functions and disparate locations. In this article  I will take you through the theories behind Knowledge Management and share three best practices, so youre able to take this advice directly to your business or organisation. Benefits of Knowledge Management There are two different sets of benefits associated with good knowledge management: traditional benefits and connectivity benefits. Traditional benefits are well known by most organisations. These include: better use of existing resources increased productivity and consistency establishment of best practices creation of institutional memory team retention faster learning curves competitive advantage capacity to replicate success. With these benefits, good knowledge management helps the organisation to stay flexible and adaptable, while promoting creativity and innovation. On the other hand, connectivity benefits include: internal and external support networks empowerment and engagement trust and reputation wider geographical reach a stronger and united voice, given that nowadays every member of an organisation is also an ambassador.   In recent times, these connectivity benefits are gaining more relevance as companies are adapting to new ways of operating. As a result, companies are  working more with both trusted partners and  freelance professionals, who are drawn on  for project work.   Get started with Knowledge Mapping! Sign up for MindMeister Try it free! Sign up for MindMeister Does Knowledge Management always work? Based on my fifteen years of experience and exposure to numerous companies and industries, my answer would be no. Every now and then, companies decide to embark on a knowledge management initiative, because many executives recognise intellectual capital as their most valuable asset. A typical mistake is to assign such an initiative to the IT department, when two key elements of knowledge management are the people involved and their willingness to share. For this reason, any Knowledge Management initiative should focus on the people, not the technology. Principles for good practice In this series of articles, we will elaborate on how to implement a successful knowledge management initiative and how collaborative mind mapping can help with this process. This innovative approach is based on the following three principles for good practice: 1. Have documents which are easy to create, share and re-arrange Members of your organisation should be able to share their knowledge in the easiest way possible. If the process  is difficult, the level of engagement and amount of contribution will reduce dramatically. Similarly, any knowledge domain is organic and will evolve with time, so the different domains and different knowledge assets will need to be re-arranged (forgotten even). This process should also be extremely easy. In my experience, SharePoint and Wikis won’t fulfill this principle, especially when it comes to re-arranging, which is why we advocate for knowledge mapping. A Knowledge Map on the social media strategy at MeisterLabs, for example, could end up looking something like this: 2. Knowledge should be organised as an ontology, not as a taxonomy In case I’m not using these big terms in their traditional sense; by taxonomy I mean a tree diagram, and by ontology I mean something like a network. We are all very familiar with working with folders and folders within folders (a taxonomy). Sadly, this system for storing information is not good enough for capturing our precious common knowledge. Different people access different domains of knowledge via different paths. Mind mapping allow us to create intuitive models of the common knowledge (ontologies) which are easy to navigate and work with. 3. The knowledge model should be built from the ground up This third principle is quite straight-forward: whatever the Knowledge Management system, it should be built from the ground up. We recommend building your Knowledge Management system around communities of practice and starting small. The way we do it is as follows: first choose a specific company objective that is closely connected to knowledge (low hanging fruit), second define a small community of practice around it and give them a clear goal. Finally, start working on that specific domain for that specific target. By doing so you will create a small but functional Knowledge Management environment, which is useful for everyone from day one. People within this community will feel ownership, will subsequently look after their domains and will feel comfortable using the platform. Next steps So there’s our overview of the benefits of Knowledge Management and the three key principles for good practice, to begin our Knowledge Mapping series. Stay tuned for the next article in which well discuss: What should be considered knowledge and what should be considered information and the differences between, using a few intuitive examples An introduction to Knowledge Mapping, as we demonstrate how to use MindMeister to map knowledge. In you enjoyed this article, check out the second article in the Knowledge Mapping series: How to Build a Knowledge Map. Get started with Knowledge Mapping. Try out MindMeister Its free! Try out MindMeister An Introduction to Knowledge Management - Focus Nowadays, the boundaries of companies and organisations are blurring as the world is becoming increasingly connected.  As Dave Gray puts it: “by changing the way we create, access and share information, social networks are changing the power structure in society”. Knowledge management is a key way to harness these changes and in this article Ill explain why and how to do so. Knowledge Management Knowledge Management develops systems and processes to acquire and share intellectual assets and collective knowledge. It increases the amount  of useful, actionable, and meaningful information available, and seeks to increase both individual and team learning. In addition, Knowledge Management can maximise the value of an organisation’s intellectual base, across diverse functions and disparate locations. In this article  I will take you through the theories behind Knowledge Management and share three best practices, so youre able to take this advice directly to your business or organisation. Benefits of Knowledge Management There are two different sets of benefits associated with good knowledge management: traditional benefits and connectivity benefits. Traditional benefits are well known by most organisations. These include: better use of existing resources increased productivity and consistency establishment of best practices creation of institutional memory team retention faster learning curves competitive advantage capacity to replicate success. With these benefits, good knowledge management helps the organisation to stay flexible and adaptable, while promoting creativity and innovation. On the other hand, connectivity benefits include: internal and external support networks empowerment and engagement trust and reputation wider geographical reach a stronger and united voice, given that nowadays every member of an organisation is also an ambassador.   In recent times, these connectivity benefits are gaining more relevance as companies are adapting to new ways of operating. As a result, companies are  working more with both trusted partners and  freelance professionals, who are drawn on  for project work.   Get started with Knowledge Mapping! Sign up for MindMeister Try it free! Sign up for MindMeister Does Knowledge Management always work? Based on my fifteen years of experience and exposure to numerous companies and industries, my answer would be no. Every now and then, companies decide to embark on a knowledge management initiative, because many executives recognise intellectual capital as their most valuable asset. A typical mistake is to assign such an initiative to the IT department, when two key elements of knowledge management are the people involved and their willingness to share. For this reason, any Knowledge Management initiative should focus on the people, not the technology. Principles for good practice In this series of articles, we will elaborate on how to implement a successful knowledge management initiative and how collaborative mind mapping can help with this process. This innovative approach is based on the following three principles for good practice: 1. Have documents which are easy to create, share and re-arrange Members of your organisation should be able to share their knowledge in the easiest way possible. If the process  is difficult, the level of engagement and amount of contribution will reduce dramatically. Similarly, any knowledge domain is organic and will evolve with time, so the different domains and different knowledge assets will need to be re-arranged (forgotten even). This process should also be extremely easy. In my experience, SharePoint and Wikis won’t fulfill this principle, especially when it comes to re-arranging, which is why we advocate for knowledge mapping. A Knowledge Map on the social media strategy at MeisterLabs, for example, could end up looking something like this: 2. Knowledge should be organised as an ontology, not as a taxonomy In case I’m not using these big terms in their traditional sense; by taxonomy I mean a tree diagram, and by ontology I mean something like a network. We are all very familiar with working with folders and folders within folders (a taxonomy). Sadly, this system for storing information is not good enough for capturing our precious common knowledge. Different people access different domains of knowledge via different paths. Mind mapping allow us to create intuitive models of the common knowledge (ontologies) which are easy to navigate and work with. 3. The knowledge model should be built from the ground up This third principle is quite straight-forward: whatever the Knowledge Management system, it should be built from the ground up. We recommend building your Knowledge Management system around communities of practice and starting small. The way we do it is as follows: first choose a specific company objective that is closely connected to knowledge (low hanging fruit), second define a small community of practice around it and give them a clear goal. Finally, start working on that specific domain for that specific target. By doing so you will create a small but functional Knowledge Management environment, which is useful for everyone from day one. People within this community will feel ownership, will subsequently look after their domains and will feel comfortable using the platform. Next steps So there’s our overview of the benefits of Knowledge Management and the three key principles for good practice, to begin our Knowledge Mapping series. Stay tuned for the next article in which well discuss: What should be considered knowledge and what should be considered information and the differences between, using a few intuitive examples An introduction to Knowledge Mapping, as we demonstrate how to use MindMeister to map knowledge. In you enjoyed this article, check out the second article in the Knowledge Mapping series: How to Build a Knowledge Map. Get started with Knowledge Mapping. Try out MindMeister Its free! Try out MindMeister An Introduction to Knowledge Management - Focus Nowadays, the boundaries of companies and organisations are blurring as the world is becoming increasingly connected.  As Dave Gray puts it: “by changing the way we create, access and share information, social networks are changing the power structure in society”. Knowledge management is a key way to harness these changes and in this article Ill explain why and how to do so. Knowledge Management Knowledge Management develops systems and processes to acquire and share intellectual assets and collective knowledge. It increases the amount  of useful, actionable, and meaningful information available, and seeks to increase both individual and team learning. In addition, Knowledge Management can maximise the value of an organisation’s intellectual base, across diverse functions and disparate locations. In this article  I will take you through the theories behind Knowledge Management and share three best practices, so youre able to take this advice directly to your business or organisation. Benefits of Knowledge Management There are two different sets of benefits associated with good knowledge management: traditional benefits and connectivity benefits. Traditional benefits are well known by most organisations. These include: better use of existing resources increased productivity and consistency establishment of best practices creation of institutional memory team retention faster learning curves competitive advantage capacity to replicate success. With these benefits, good knowledge management helps the organisation to stay flexible and adaptable, while promoting creativity and innovation. On the other hand, connectivity benefits include: internal and external support networks empowerment and engagement trust and reputation wider geographical reach a stronger and united voice, given that nowadays every member of an organisation is also an ambassador.   In recent times, these connectivity benefits are gaining more relevance as companies are adapting to new ways of operating. As a result, companies are  working more with both trusted partners and  freelance professionals, who are drawn on  for project work.   Get started with Knowledge Mapping! Sign up for MindMeister Try it free! Sign up for MindMeister Does Knowledge Management always work? Based on my fifteen years of experience and exposure to numerous companies and industries, my answer would be no. Every now and then, companies decide to embark on a knowledge management initiative, because many executives recognise intellectual capital as their most valuable asset. A typical mistake is to assign such an initiative to the IT department, when two key elements of knowledge management are the people involved and their willingness to share. For this reason, any Knowledge Management initiative should focus on the people, not the technology. Principles for good practice In this series of articles, we will elaborate on how to implement a successful knowledge management initiative and how collaborative mind mapping can help with this process. This innovative approach is based on the following three principles for good practice: 1. Have documents which are easy to create, share and re-arrange Members of your organisation should be able to share their knowledge in the easiest way possible. If the process  is difficult, the level of engagement and amount of contribution will reduce dramatically. Similarly, any knowledge domain is organic and will evolve with time, so the different domains and different knowledge assets will need to be re-arranged (forgotten even). This process should also be extremely easy. In my experience, SharePoint and Wikis won’t fulfill this principle, especially when it comes to re-arranging, which is why we advocate for knowledge mapping. A Knowledge Map on the social media strategy at MeisterLabs, for example, could end up looking something like this: 2. Knowledge should be organised as an ontology, not as a taxonomy In case I’m not using these big terms in their traditional sense; by taxonomy I mean a tree diagram, and by ontology I mean something like a network. We are all very familiar with working with folders and folders within folders (a taxonomy). Sadly, this system for storing information is not good enough for capturing our precious common knowledge. Different people access different domains of knowledge via different paths. Mind mapping allow us to create intuitive models of the common knowledge (ontologies) which are easy to navigate and work with. 3. The knowledge model should be built from the ground up This third principle is quite straight-forward: whatever the Knowledge Management system, it should be built from the ground up. We recommend building your Knowledge Management system around communities of practice and starting small. The way we do it is as follows: first choose a specific company objective that is closely connected to knowledge (low hanging fruit), second define a small community of practice around it and give them a clear goal. Finally, start working on that specific domain for that specific target. By doing so you will create a small but functional Knowledge Management environment, which is useful for everyone from day one. People within this community will feel ownership, will subsequently look after their domains and will feel comfortable using the platform. Next steps So there’s our overview of the benefits of Knowledge Management and the three key principles for good practice, to begin our Knowledge Mapping series. Stay tuned for the next article in which well discuss: What should be considered knowledge and what should be considered information and the differences between, using a few intuitive examples An introduction to Knowledge Mapping, as we demonstrate how to use MindMeister to map knowledge. In you enjoyed this article, check out the second article in the Knowledge Mapping series: How to Build a Knowledge Map. Get started with Knowledge Mapping. Try out MindMeister Its free! Try out MindMeister

Strategy Formulation, Implementation and Evaluation - 1100 Words

Strategy Formulation, Implementation and Evaluation (Essay Sample) Content: Global Strategy Analysis. The External and Internal EnvironmentsNameInstitutional AffiliationGlobal Strategy Analysis. The External and Internal EnvironmentsPESTEL Analysis for Amazon.comIn this paper, the focus will be on Amazon.com, which is an American based electronic store with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Along with its vast investment into electronics, Amazon.com has also grown into a reputable cloud computing company, whose success of Amazon can be attributed to its own internal and external operations, policies, and management. To adequately analyze the companys macro external environment, the PESTEL technique will be used (Martin, 2014).Over a couple of years, Amazon has been growing exponentially and even expanded its services beyond the United States of America. The companys CEO, Boaz, has also been a contributory factor with his focus to explore new markets, such as Asia. Amazon is an e-commerce investment and similar to other investments; operat ing in a politically diverse environment is a challenge. As the company plans to open up its operations to the Asian markets, political challenges are inevitable. Red Tape and regulatory trends in the Asian market pose a challenge to the company, and the companys operations will most probably be affected.Furthermore, the economic factors are likely to affect its operations and market share. In some of the countries where Amazon wants to invest in, there exists the challenge of weak economies, meaning a lower product demand and, thus, little sales made by the company. There is a worrying trend in the Asian countries - investments are low - something that is likely to affect e-commerce ventures. Along with the Asian markets, other countries seem to have thriving economies with the target groups in these countries providing a potential customer base for Amazon. All in all, stable economies have a positive contribution to e-commerce ventures and have given Amazon.com a competitive advan tage over its competitors.Amazons Industry Analysis: New Entrants and Related ThreatsThere have been an increasing number of e-commerce platforms all over the world. Organizations and businesses are opening up to the new business opportunity, and customers are also shifting their preferences towards online shopping. The new e-commerce ventures, as well as the previously existing ones, are a threat to Amazon. New entrants into the market, such as Forever 21, Home Depot, Barnes, and Noble among others, are growing fast, taking up a substantial market share and proving to be a threat to Amazon.The same competitors and new entrants into the e-commerce market are venturing in substitute and products similar to what Amazon is offering. Some of these stores have even reduced the prices of their substitute goods, all in a bid to attract more shoppers. For instance, E-Bay offers electronics, similar and rebranded, at a lower price as compared to those offered by Amazon.Current CompetitionIn the E-commerce business, E-Bay is a major competitor of Amazon. They are a large online store; and it is within their goals and objectives to overthrow Amazon. The CEO of E-Bay says that they are aiming at changing their tactics in a move to fight the giant (Rao, 2016). There is the move to rebrand E-Bay as a retailer store instead of an investment into technology. Thus, there is the need for Amazon to move up with speed, establish its market, and try to stay relevant to the current competition.The Buyers and Suppliers for AmazonBuyers are the target group for Amazon, and suppliers provide the products and services. In any market share, the customers are the fundamental priority, as they hold the purchasing power because the reputation of the company is based on the feedbacks of the buyers. With the current statistics, Amazon enjoys a diversified customer base with a ridiculously high purchasing power. Thus, due to their base, the company has gained a competitive edge and starts exp anding to new markets with the hope that it will mean more expansion and profit. The power that they possess, their purchasing capacities, and control over the decisions made by the company are expected to increase even further. With new markets, there is the need for new suppliers since they help determine supply patterns in the organization, and the latter are going to increase a notch higher.Key Success Factors of AmazonThe success story of Amazon is based on both internal and external factors (Uzair, n.d.). It all starts with the management, all the way to the customer base, technology infrastructure, and operational policies. One of the factors that have indeed contributed to the success story of Amazon is the emergent of new markets, such as those in Asia. They have provided a new investment platform for Amazon (Pratap, 2017) and enabled the globalization dream for the company to become a reality. Thus, the organization has tapped into the opportunity and expanded beyond its b orders.The Opportunities and ThreatsCurrently, Amazon has the opportunity to grow on a global scale, but it is not without a myriad of threats. In a mixed-up list, the following are some of...

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How to Say of Course in Spanish

If you want to indicate that something is obvious, just as you would do in English with the phrase of course, here are some words and phrases that you can use, some of them are adverbs of affirmation. Of course, when translating such sentences to English, you arent limited to the phrase of course or those used here; depending on the tone of the conversation, you can also use words such as obviously and certainly. Claro A literal translation of claro is clearly, although of course often works, depending on the context: Claro que irà © a Costa Rica a ver a Cristiano. (Of course, Ill go to Costa Rica to see Cristiano.)Sà ­, sà ­, claro, estoy muy contenta. (Yes, yes, of course, Im very happy.) ¡Claro que sà ­! (Of course!) ¡Claro que no! (Of course not!) ¡Claro que fue gol! (Of course, it was a goal!)La diferencia, claro, es que la droga es ilegal. (The difference, of course, is that the drug is illegal.)Claro que el paà ­s està ¡ dividido entre los que trabajamos y los que no trabajamos. (Clearly, the country is divided between those of us who work and those of us who dont work.) Desde Luego As is the case with other idioms, the phrase desde luego doesnt make much sense if you try translating it word for word (since later). But in some areas it is a popular way to say of course:  ¡Desde luego! (Of course!) ¡Desde luego que no! (Of course not!)Desde luego que habrà ­a un nuevo plan. (Of course thered be a brand-new plan.)Desde luego que vamos hacerlo lo mà ¡s rà ¡pido posible. (Of course, were going to do it as quickly as possible.)Jimmy Page es un gran guitarrista, desde luego. (Jimmy Page is a great guitarist, of course.) Por Supuesto Por supuesto is also very common:  ¡Por supuesto! (Of course!) ¡Por supuesto que no! (Of course not!)Por supuesto creo que el estado debe ayudarnos. (Of course I believe the state should help us.)Estoy muy satisfecha, por supuesto. (Im quite satisfied, of course.)Por supuesto, vamos a analizar todo lo que pasà ³. (Obviously, were going to analyze everything that has happened.) Be aware that sometimes por supuesto can be part of a longer phrase to indicate that something is supposed rather than proven, as supuesto is the past participle of suponer, which often means to suppose: Detuvieron al hijo del actor por supuesto abuso. (They arrested the actors son for alleged abuse.) Es un Hecho Que Es un hecho que can be used to indicate that something can simply be assumed: Es un hecho que los senadores tambià ©n aprobarà ¡n el programa. (It can be taken for granted that the senators will also approve the program.)Creo que es un hecho que el cambio del clima se debe al hombre. (I believe its a given that climate change is mans doing.) Other Adverbs Other possibilities include the adverbs obviamente (obviously), seguramente (surely) and ciertamente (certainly), although of course the choice of translation depends on the context: Obviamente la pregunta està ¡ formulada de esa manera para confundir a la gente. (Obviously the question is worded that way to confuse people.)Compramos muchas cosas y obviamente compramos trajes de baà ±o. (We bought a lot of things, and obviously we bought swimsuits.)Seguramente prefieren lo mismo que nosotros. (Surely they prefer the same thing as we do.)Ciertamente no quiero ser parte de ello. (Certainly, I dont want to be part of that.)Nuestro profesor, ciertamente, es à ºnico. (Our teacher definitely is unique.)Las casas està ¡n deterioradas y seguramente requerirà ¡n de una inversià ³n grande. (The houses are deteriorated and surely will require a large investment.)

Historical Research On Popular Culture - 2343 Words

Brandon Schwery Historical Research Paper Popular Culture 22 October 2014 Popular culture defines our country in many aspects. It is how we will be viewed by future generations, and how we view previous generations. There are songs, movies, inventions, artwork, and books that let us momentarily go back into the times in which they were produced and let us experience it for ourselves. These different forms of media can teach us a lot about our ancestors. Popular Culture gives us an accurate windows into the times in which it was produced through many forms of media, events, and styles. There were a lot of positive themes in the 1920’s. The American economy was thriving and the troops just returned home from war, which produced a united and†¦show more content†¦The term flapper referred to women that were â€Å"northern, urban, single, young, middle-class women† (Flappers). Flappers had a new style and look that was not seen on women before; they would wear more revealing clothes such as short skirts, they cute their hair a lot shorter, and they would regularly wear makeup (Flappers). Flappers were a new type of woman that society was not used to. Flappers did not stay at home and rely on a man anymore; they would go out and find jobs to support themselves. At night, Flappers could be seen at â€Å"jazz clubs, vaudeville shows, and speakeasies† (Flappers). Flappers wanted to live by their own rules, and were not afraid of what society thought about them. â€Å"New woman of the twenties adopted the same carefree attitude toward prohibit ion as her male counterpart. Ironically, more young women consumed alcohol in the decade it was illegal than ever before.† (Flappers) Alcohol was made illegal by prohibition, but that did not stop flappers from having fun. They would frequent speakeasies and other underground clubs where they could purchase alcohol and enjoy the entertainment. Flappers not only started drinking alcohol, but they also started smoking. Smoking was â€Å"previously reserved for men† (Flappers), but that did not stop the women of the 1920’s from doing it. They were an entirely new group of women. Jazz is a type of music that was originally from New Orleans that uses a

William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay - 870 Words

William Shakespeares Hamlet Hamlet play a very important role in this play. Basically the whole play revolves around him. In this play Hamlet is faced with the obligation to kill Claudius because Claudius has killed his father. Some people see Hamlet as a tragic hero with a clear and sacred obligation to kill Claudius but since he is scared to kill him and has many other things going on in his life, he is unable to kill Claudius right away. Throughout the entire play Hamlet procrastinates on killing Claudius. Why does Hamlet procrastinate for so long to revenge his fathers death? Shakespeare purposely makes Hamlet out to be a procrastinator for one very important reason, if Hamlet would have quickly†¦show more content†¦Hamlet seems to say what he wants to do but not carry it out. In his own words, . . .the native hue of resolution Is sicklied oer with the pale cast of thought.(III.i.84-85) Here it shows that when Hamlet thinks he has finally made a decision, thinking about it causes him to change his mind or simply put it off. One time in the play Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius and achieve his revenge is when Claudius is confessing his sins. Here, Hamlet does not kill him because if Claudius were to die right then, he would have gone to heaven. This is something that Hamlet does not want to see happen. Of course, there are also moral issues standing in the way, which prevent Hamlet from immediately acting upon the Ghosts orders. Hamlet always finds a way out of what he was about to do because he ends up thinking about it for too long. When is seems like Hamlet finally makes a decision, he quickly finds a reason to find fault in his decision. This makes him become a person who is has a purpose, but doesnt have the quality required to accomplish that purpose. Most of these issues are simply due to Hamlets reading in to morals too much. When Hamlet sees how promptly Polonius acted towards the death of his father in scene II, he quickly denounces himself as a coward and cries out forShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet981 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare is a historic writer that is well known and wrote many plays in his lifetime. In most of his plays, if not all, he has incorporated hidden meanings and messages. The majority of his hidden meanings are controversial topics of his time period. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the controversial topic that is throughout the play is religion and the afterlife. Afterlife plays a big role in Hamlet and is discussed throughout the play. Multiple a uthors have written on the topic of afterlifeRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet964 Words   |  4 Pagesunsatisfactory situation. In William Shakespeares Hamlet, a characters inability to overcome their weakness due to it being emphasized by their unfortunate circumstance results in their tragic downfall. This is illustrated through Hamlets over thinking, Claudiuss ambition, and Gertrudes naive persona. Hamlets character is one that is very thoughtful and conscious, however some view these qualities as procrastination and over thinking. Even Hamlet himself acknowledges this inRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet745 Words   |  3 PagesIn William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet is a unique character due to his unpredictability. He is attempting to discover the truth in a way that no other character of Shakespeare’s has done. We find Hamlet in a state of deep melancholy due to the death of his father, as well as the very sudden and lewd marriage of his uncle and his mother. Hamlet is inspired by the player giving the speech about Hecuba witnessing the massacre of her husband, Priam. He goes off on his own, and he is bewilderedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet1482 Words   |  6 PagesIn one of William Shakespeare’s most notorious plays, Hamlet, Shakespeare uses multiple scenes filled with drama to add a certain extreme dimension to the play. In a story filled with drama, such as Hamlet, an author attempts to use intense dialogue and actions in order to invoke personal emotions and feelings in the hearts of the audience. Shakespeare attempted to have the audience feel the pain that Hamlet experienced, sense the feelings of revenge that were deep in the heart of the prince, andRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet1308 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, has deep meaning and sorrow to its story. It has one of the most famous soliloquies ever to be written in theater art, â€Å"To be, or not to be.† At first, reading Shakespeare’s writing seems difficult to understand and be interested in, but as the reader reads on and digs into the roots of the play, it truly grabs the reader’s attention and makes him/her want to know more of the thoughts behind Hamlet. Thus, the story of Hamlet begins and his personality shows throughoutRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet 2214 Words   |   9 PagesMadness within: Bipolar William Shakespeare had the uncanny ability to read people then put into words how individuals reacted with one another. His most known playwright is â€Å"Hamlet†. Hamlet leads the opening of the play with grandeur; but, when his father’s ghost of comes to visit him telling of Hamlet’s uncle Claudius killed him. Hamlet schemes a plan pursuing revenge. Hamlet demonstrates depression exceptionally, in the presence of his mother and Uncle Claudius. Shakespeare’s character likely labeledRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Essay751 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Hamlet might well claim to be Shakespeares most famous play because of its language and the charm of its central character. Shakespeare wrote some thirty-eight plays. Taken individuallyRead More William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay1277 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Hamlet has been praised and revered for centuries as one of William Shakespeares best known and most popular tragedies. Based on its popularity, critics alike have taken various viewpoints and theories in order to explain Hamlets actions throughout the play. The psychoanalytic point of view is one of the most famous positions taken on Hamlet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psychoanalytic criticism is a type of literary criticism that analyzes and classifies many of the forms ofRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet1172 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet is a complex story that uses many literary devices to help develop the characters in Hamlet. One dominant device is irony. The main plot of the story revolves around irony. Hamlet is a witty character and loves to use irony. Hamlet’s use of irony displays how he insults people, discovers useful information, and reveals his true character. The use of irony in this story helps to add depth to each character, which is why Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most complex stories. There are three typesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet710 Words   |  3 PagesIn Shakespeares tragedy Hamlet are very few female characters that is caused by the story - the son must avenge his fathers killer , the mother s uncle . Nevertheless images of Gertrude , Queen of the Danish and Ophelia , daughter of royal adviser Polonius , played in the tragedy very important role . In these two images are not simply embodied many typical female character traits - as worthy , and not so . In the process of communication with these women reveal deeper characters of Hamlet and

Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education Free Essays

Checkpoint Personal Philosophy of Education Rachel Pearson AED 200 03/16/2013 Dr. Maloney Hunter-Lowe Philosophy of Education The Philosophy of education I would use would be Essentialism education. Essentialism hypothesis tells that there is a general nucleus of talents and information that an educated individual should have. We will write a custom essay sample on Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now I share the same opinion. I trust that there are certain talents that all people should have. The talents are basic talents however they are the starting point. Talents are building blocks that let children to continue stepping up to the next higher level of education that an individual should have. Instructional Philosophy I would have a behaviorist style in my class. The hypothesis of behaviorist is an educational and psychological hypothesis that states that one’s attitude is revealed by surroundings, not some one’s heredity. I believe that this is very significant because if an individual is in a bad surrounding, then their learning is slowed down by that bad surrounding. If a child is in a good surrounding they are more willing to learn and they absorb the teachings better. Behaviorist or Constructive approach to instruction I personally love the opinion of having Essentialism and Behaviorist merged together. Those two are my personal philosophy in education. Essentialism philosophy and the behaviorist style combined bring out the reality that there are definitely talents required and that the surroundings must be precise for a child’s learning. These opinions will help me supervise my classroom better and assist with my instructional technique. When the four are combined, they will work fine with each other and make me a better teacher. How to cite Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education, Papers Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education Free Essays Checkpoint Personal Philosophy of Education Rachel Pearson AED 200 03/16/2013 Dr. Maloney Hunter-Lowe Philosophy of Education The Philosophy of education I would use would be Essentialism education. Essentialism hypothesis tells that there is a general nucleus of talents and information that an educated individual should have. We will write a custom essay sample on Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now I share the same opinion. I trust that there are certain talents that all people should have. The talents are basic talents however they are the starting point. Talents are building blocks that let children to continue stepping up to the next higher level of education that an individual should have. Instructional Philosophy I would have a behaviorist style in my class. The hypothesis of behaviorist is an educational and psychological hypothesis that states that one’s attitude is revealed by surroundings, not some one’s heredity. I believe that this is very significant because if an individual is in a bad surrounding, then their learning is slowed down by that bad surrounding. If a child is in a good surrounding they are more willing to learn and they absorb the teachings better. Behaviorist or Constructive approach to instruction I personally love the opinion of having Essentialism and Behaviorist merged together. Those two are my personal philosophy in education. Essentialism philosophy and the behaviorist style combined bring out the reality that there are definitely talents required and that the surroundings must be precise for a child’s learning. These opinions will help me supervise my classroom better and assist with my instructional technique. When the four are combined, they will work fine with each other and make me a better teacher. How to cite Check Point Personal Philosophy of Education, Essay examples

Biofeedback paper free essay sample

In today’s fast-paced life one can not help but think that people are always confronted by various kinds of stress from work, school, from everyday routine, or even going from one class to another.   Because of everyday stressors and tensions, people get tired, worn out, torn apart from the supposedly normal state of living. This paper is aimed at looking at biofeedback as people’s way of coping up with stresses everyday.   It shall look at the many advantages of biofeedback, its principles and how it affects the body as well as its use as an intervention for clients with mind-body malaise. Biofeedback is based on the principle that if we can learn to become aware of some body function of which we normally overlook, then we can learn to control that function. Technical biofeedback implies the use of sophisticated instruments that can measure brainwave activity, blood pressure level, skin temperature and heart rate. We will write a custom essay sample on Biofeedback paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jeanne Achterberg reports that every clinical function that can be measured can be brought under control. (Achterberg, 1985, p. 196). The brain generates electrical rhythms that occur in four groups, each of which can be correlated with a state of awareness or particular brain activity. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beta waves – Beta waves are the normal working rhythm of the brain; they are faster and indicate more frenetic activity. A relaxed person shows very little beta. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alpha waves – Alpha waves are building blocks for higher levels of awareness. In conjunction with theta, they indicate a calming down or emptying of the mind, usually with physical relaxation. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Theta waves – These occur during creative inspiration and meditation. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Delta waves – This is the rhythm of sleep, but they are found in many people in response to new ideas. Among those who pioneered biofeedback techniques were Elmer and Alyce Green, who wrote the definitive book, Beyond Biofeedback, in 1975. Biofeedback techniques were also pioneered by Dr. Joe Kamiya in San Francisco. He monitored a subject’s alpha rhythms with an EKG (electroencephalogram) device. When alpha rhythms were being generated to a feeling of well-bring, and most subjects could learn to turn it on or off. In addition to the EEG to measure brain waves, biofeedback also uses the ESR (electrical skin resistance meter), which indicates physical arousal and relaxation. This is connected to the palm of the hand, and the meter readings to relate to the behavior of the autonomic system. The rate of blood flow varies with body tone and causes change of polarization of the sweat gland membranes. The polarization varies according to how tense or relaxed we are. The reactions which make us tense or relaxed are reflected in the fight or flight response or in the relaxation response. Stress increases the blood pressure and heart rate, the amount of muscle tension, and oxygen usage. Relaxation increases circulation to skin and organs and lowers heart rate and muscle tension. Using the data from both the EEG machine and ESR device, beta rhythms and low skin resistance accompany panic states while alpha rhythms and high skin resistance indicate relaxed states. Separating physical and mental states is the purpose of many medication techniques. Thus, we can have a relaxed body and an alert mind when we need to or an active body and a relaxed mind.    Manifestations of Anxiety Everyone in a variety of ways experiences anxiety. At times, we are acutely aware of its presence. On other occasions it affects us unconsciously. Often we mask or disguise its presence, to others and to ourselves. Ernest Hemingway noted that many bullfighters are prone to frequent yawning prior to entering the bullring. Some people complain of being bored at times when she might appropriately have been distressed. Disguising anxiety only helps to keep people from recognizing the cause. The anxiety is still there. The manifestations of anxiety are limitless. Suffice it to say that ll the major pathways of expression—affective, motoric, somatic and cognitive—are used at different times by all of us in our encounters with anxiety. In the affective realm anxiety varies from a mild form of uneasiness to worrying to nameless panic.   Approaches to the Biofeedback Intervention Biofeedback has been used effectively to teach subjects to control abnormal heart rhythms, to indicate stomach acidity in the case of ulcers, to control migraines and headaches, to help in retraining the muscles, and to benefit a wide range of diseases. Jeanne Achterberg states that those who are most successful in using biofeedback techniques are those who have strong ability to visualize and those who are highly motivated (Achterberg, 1985, p. 196). Stress-reducing techniques, such as biofeedback, and various types of mental exercise that relax the body, like autogenics and hypnosis, are helpful in controlling diseased states that arise from imbalances in the nervous system. Through the use of a device attached to a person’s fingertips, the biofeedback machine is able to help people monitor their inner states and learn to relax, thereby lowering blood pressure and controlling asthma attacks and other physiological processes. Hypnosis and autogenics help to achieve physical relaxation. Once an individual has mastered this, he/she can move into higher meditative states of awareness. Until two decades ago, one of the most tenaciously held beliefs of Western science was that there are certain parts of the human body we can consciously control—our â€Å"voluntary† systems—and others over which we have no conscious control—the â€Å"involuntary† systems. Among the involuntary components of our body were thought to be the rhythm   and amplitude of our brain waves, blood vessel expansion and contraction, blood pressure, rate of healing and strength of our immune system, and secretion   of hormones. Then, in the 1960s, sophisticated devices were constructed to measure minute changes in the bodies of laboratory animals. Scientists found that if the minute changes measured by the machines were somehow amplified and â€Å"fed back† to the animals, so that when they were performing a desired task, such as making one ear grow hot and other grow cold, they would receive a â€Å"positive reinforcement,† such as a pellet of food or a blast of electrical stimulation to their pleasure centers, then the animals were able to learn to control virtually every part of their bodies—even those long believed to be â€Å"involuntary†Ã¢â‚¬â€and could learn this control quite rapidly. (Miller, 1961 and DiCara, L. 1970). Scientists wondered what would happen if humans were hooked up to these devices, and instead of being rewarded with a food pellet, were rewarded by a flashing light, a clicking, or some other clear signal. Early experiments by psychophysiologist Joe Kamiya, of Lanley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California Medical Center, involved monitoring subjects’ brain waves, and Kamiya found that within an hour, most subjects could learn to manipulate their supposedly involuntary brain waves and generate large quantities of alpha waves. Oddly, the subjects could never explain how they were able to generate alpha waves; in fact, if they tried to do it, alpha waves disappeared. All they could say was that they just somehow â€Å"knew it† when they were in alpha. Subjects of Cade learned not through being taught any specific mind-control techniques but by monitoring real-time feedback, in the form of flashing lights indicating their brain-wave patterns. (Cade 1979).

Female Genital Mutilation Essay Example For Students

Female Genital Mutilation Essay Female Genital MutilationImagine a young girl; the harsh African sun is kissing her bronzed skin. The warm golden sand tickles her petite and tattered feet. The immense gold earrings she wears beats against her slender neck. Her stature is of a queen, yet she walks to an uncertain death. She stands in front of a small hut, or a tent. She glances back and sees the majestic sun that had once kissed her neck now set and somewhat leave her abandoned. She exists alone in front of that diminutive hut or tent and out comes a man. He is exhausted and is ready to go home to his companion and his supper. He looks a bit annoyed that she has come so late. His hands are stained with a ruby tint and his clothes the same. He motions the young girl in. Hesitantly, she makes small and meager steps to the entranceway. She steps into a minute room with little or no lighting. She stares upon two women and a rusty table that holds the screams of the girls that went before her. The man motions her to sit in the table. She slowly places her body on the stained and rusty table. She is a bit afraid that the table will not hold under her weight; nevertheless, she is held up. The man places his cold and clammy hands on her collarbone and pushes her back to the table. As she lies there she looks to her left and sees his instruments; a bloody and rusty razor blade. She sighs with relief. She has heard that a razor blade is the best instrument to use. She knew of women that had to take a piece of glass. She has prayed for courage and strength, yet it does not seem to arrive. The man runs his hands down the sides of her body. Has he pushes her skirt up he looks at her and says to her, Dont move. He opens her legs and begins to operate. The glare from the poor lighting obstructs his view, but he continues any way. The heat has gotten to him and he is not as awake as he was in the morning. He blinks to regain some concentration and he takes his blade in his hands. He thinks about cleaning the blade first but the thought immediately escapes from his mind. He does not want to waste any more time on this girl. The young girl sees the man raise his blade and she begins to squirm. With their hands, the women hold her legs to gain sight of his target. As the sun finally sets and the night creeps upon them, the earth and all its inhibitors are disrupted by a shrill. The screams bellow out into the night and echoes in the stars. Moments later the young girl stumbles out of the hut or tent. She is now a woman. Imagine this happening to over 100 million women around the world. This is called Female Genital Mutilation or FGM. It is an invasive procedure performed on girls before puberty. Part or all the clitoris is surgically removed leaving them with reduced or no sexual feeling. FGM is very emotional because many women do not have the confidence to talk about their feelings and what happens to them during the circumcision. The stories that some women have are very gruesome and ex tremely painful. Yet if the procedure is not done, the women have to live with being called names and being rejected. The term FGM covers three main varieties of genital mutilation: Sunna circumcision, Clitoridectomy, and Infibulation. Sunna in Arabic means tradition and the Sunna circumcision consists of the removal of the prepuce and/or the tip of the clitoris. Clitoridectomy, which is also call excision, is the removal of the entire clitoris (both prepuce and glans), and the removal of the adjacent labia. Infibulation is also called pharaonic circumcision. This is the most extreme form and it involves removal of the clitoris, the adjacent labia (majora and minora), and the joining of the scraped sides of the vulva across the vagina, where they are secured with thorns or sewn with catgut or thread. A small opening is kept to allow passage of urine and menstrual blood. An infibulated woman must be cut open to allow intercourse on the wedding night and is closed again afterwards to secure fidelity to the husband. .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .postImageUrl , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:hover , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:visited , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:active { border:0!important; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:active , .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufbbf571c47992bbfe0156c7d866a203e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: geology a science of lies Essay Though FGM is practiced all over the world, it is most prevalent in Africa. According to the State-Agency for International developments Intra-Agency working Group on Female genital mutilation, at least forty percent of Nigerian women are victims of FGM. In Africa it is practiced in the majority of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique, and Sudan. A variety of forms of FGM is practiced in Middle Eastern countries: the two Yemens, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Southern Algeria. FGM has found its way into the United States and Europe because of immigration. Although FGM is illegal in these countries, the ritual is being practiced secretly. Some claim that FGM is a religious tradition, however, there has been no proof from both of the dominant religions, which is Christian and Muslim. In most African countries the reason for the practice of FGM has nothing to do with inter-sexuality, but more of traditional beliefs. The process is done in unsanitary conditions in which a midwife uses unclean sharp instruments such as razor blades, scissors, kitchen knives, and pieces of glass. These instruments are frequently used on several girls in succession and rarely cleaned, causing the transmission of variety of viruses such as the HIV virus, and other infections. Antiseptics techniques and anesthesia are generally not used, or for that matter, heard of. This is just like your doctor uses one instrument on all of patients without any sterilization procedure. Besides of the obvious initial pains of the operations, FGM has long-term physical, sexual, and psychological effects. The unsanitary environment under which FGM takes place causes infections of the genital area and surrounding areas. Some can have primary fatality as a result of shock, hemorrhage or septicemia. Long-term consequences are sexual fidgety, genital malformation, delayed menarche, chronic pelvic complications, recurrent urinary retention and infection, and an entire range of obstetric complications where the fetus is exposed to a range of infectious diseases as well as facing the risk of having its head crushed in the damaged birth canal. In these cases, an infibulated woman is opened further to insure a safe birth of her child. In various cultures there are justifications for practicing the dangerous practice. A girl who is not circumcised is considered unclean by the local villagers and by that is not worthy of marriage. A girl that does not have her clitoris removed is considered a great danger and ultimately fatal to a man if her clitoris touches his penis. Some have said, She loses only a little piece of the clitoris, just the part that protrudes. The girl does not miss it. There is hardly any pain. Womens pain thresholds are so much higher than mens. Others have said, The parts that are cut away are disgusting and hideous to look at. It is done for the beauty of the suture. Many women of the local villages tha t FGM takes place say that it is a tradition and they do not want to be the ones to break a tradition. Family honor, cleanliness, protection against spells, insurance of virginity and faithfulness to the husband, or simply terrorizing women out of sex are sometimes used as excuses for the practices of FGM. This practice has been committed for years now. It was said to begin in the Egyptian times and has grown from there. About two million women a year undergo a knife, a shard or a piece of broken glass to uphold this barbaric tradition. Of this shocking number, fifteen percent will die as a direct result of this practice. Of those that survive, they will have to live with infections, hemorrhaging, bladder, kidney, and urinary disorders, extreme complications during intercourse and birth and a loss of sexual sensitivity. I decided to talk about this because this is something that I can relate deeply too. No, I am not a victim of Female genital mutilation, but I am a female and just the mere contemplation of this excruciating practice happening to someone my age is heartbreaking. I was first introduced to this problem when I was a junior in high school. We did a segment on traditions throughout the world, and genital mutilation came up. I became interested in the female aspect of genital mutilation. I was reintroduced to the subject of female genital mutilation my first year in college. I worked in the media resource center and a young woman was also interested in FGM. We exchanged information and from then on I have been passionate about the subject. To think that somewhere in this world, even after all of the technology that we have experienced and discovered, a dangerous and painful unsanitary pr5actice is actually being practice is very sad. I honestly believe that official across the world should pay close attention to this tradition that is hurting at least two million women a year and killing fifteen percent of that two million. These women are our mothers, our friends, our daughters, our sisters, or they can even be us. I understand that it is important to hold on to traditions and keep the roots of your ancestors close at hand, but we must consider a different approach once the tradition starts taking away women across the world. Studying this has opened m y eyes and made me realize that the world is still grieving and searching for justice. I hope soon that the world finds it.

Important of English free essay sample

English is a West Germanic language which is official language in 54 countries and 27 sovereign states. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations and the European Union. There are hundreds of millions of native speakers of English and over a billion people have some understanding of it. The language that we call English began its journey from a fusion of dialects called Old English in the 5th Century. The Anglo-Saxon settlers who arrived on the island of Great Britain came from North Germany and Southern Denmark. There are still many traces of the original German roots in the language today and many similarities. Alongside the German roots, English has a heavy influence from Latin and in the 8th and 9th Centuries the Vikings had an influence of the language through their native Old Norse tongue. Later, the introduction of Norman French in the 11th century brought us closer to the language we speak to day and more recognisable to a modern speaker than Old English. We will write a custom essay sample on Important of English or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was to be called Middle English and it wasnt until The Great Vowel Shift in the 15th Century that modern English emerged. The rest may I say is history, the prominence of the British Empire saw the language being used in kingdoms all over the world and nowadays some may call English the first global Lingua Franca or a bridge language. English can now be considered a dominant language in the world of business, tourism, science, technology, media, medicine, telecommunications and air traffic control. There are even claims that 80% of communication on the Internet is in English. That is incredible! In todays world, knowing English is a must and not knowing it could be considered a disadvantage. In the past speaking English may have seemed reserved as a second language to a smaller group but now knowing English to some degree is essential for nearly everybody. A pilot landing an aeroplane in Germany will need to communicate to the control language in English and doctors studying in China may find that a lot of the literature and material written on their chosen field is mainly in English. So English is important but it goes much further than just The U.K and The U.S. English is the first language of Australia, Canada, New Zealand as well as many of the Caribbean islands and official in numerous countries from Africa to South-east Asia.

Picture Glossary of Geological Landforms

Picture Glossary of Geological Landforms The Earth has a diverse landscape of made up of many different landforms. These landforms have been shaped by everything from humans to weather and even the shifting of the tectonic plates. These stunning photos of each landform type will help illustrate the wonders of nature all around us. Depositional Landforms Depositional Landforms  are  built up by movement of material, usually sediment. Alluvial Fan- Where sediment spills from hills into piles on plains. Bajada- Apron of debris built of many alluvial fans. Bar- Sediment piled across the mouth of a river or bay. Barrier Island- Long sandy bar that guards the coast. Beach- Sandy shore between land and sea. Delta- Where sediment fills the mouth of a river. Dune- Pile of fine sand built by the wind. Floodplain- Wide muddy flats flanking a river. Landslide- Sediment deposit created by mass movement. Lava Flow- Building block of volcanoes. Levee- Natural berm along a river, rarely seen today. Mud Volcano- Edifice built by eruptions of gas-charged sediment. Playa- Dry lake bed, typically dusty or salty. Spit- Bar or barrier island growing offshore into open water. Terrace- Ancient bench built into a vanished lake. Tombolo- Sandbar joining two pieces of land. Tufa Tower- Limy growth exposed as a mineral lake subsides. Volcano- Mountain that grows from the inside up. Special Galleries: Landslides, Tombolos, Mud Volcanoes Erosional Landforms Erosional Landforms  are carved by the forces of erosion. Erosion is when landmasses are shaped by water. Arch- Short-lived natural bridges of stone. Arroyo- Flat-floored streambed typical of deserts. Badlands- Mazelike area of strong stream dissection. Butte- Narrow table mountain or abruptly rising stone hill. Canyon- Large, steep-walled rocky valley. Chimney- Column of rock standing in the water off a beach. Cliff- Precipitous rock face of various heights. Cirque- Mountainside bowl shaped by a glacier. Cuesta- Ridge of hard rock beds that slope gently. Gorge- High-walled rocky valley cut by vigorous waters. Gulch- Steep and narrow ravine eroded by flash floods. Gully- Small channel cut into a soft material. Hanging Valley- Stream bed that ends in a waterfall. Hogback- Ridge of hard rock beds that slope steeply. Hoodoo- Tall rock column carved by desert erosion. Hoodoo Rock- Bizarre rock shape carved by desert erosion. Inselberg- Remnant rock knob typical of deserts. Mesa- Table mountain, steep-sided and flat-topped. Monadnock- Mountainous remnant of widespread regional erosion. Mountain- Large, rocky hill with a peak. Ravine- Narrow, rocky valley carved by water. Sea Arch- Arch cut by ocean waves. Sinkhole- Collapsed ground where underlying rock has been removed. Tor- Rounded rocky knob unearthed from an underground origin. Valley- In general, low ground with high ground around it. Volcanic Neck- Solid lava core of a former volcano. Wash or Wadi- Streambed that is usually either dry or flooded. Water Gap- River valley that cuts through a rock ridge. Wave-Cut Platform- Rock surface cut flat by long exposure to surf. Yardang- Sediment shape carved by fierce desert winds. Tectonic Landforms Tectonic Landforms are made by movements of Earths crust such as earthquakes.   Escarpment- Large cliff usually made by faulting. Fault Scarp- Short-lived sign of earthquake displacement. Pressure Ridge- When push comes to shove, rock rises. Rift Valley- Formed by splitting lithospheric plates. Sag Basin- When pull comes to tug, rock falls. Shutter Ridge- High ground pulled sideways across a stream. Stream Offset- Disruption of a waterway by repeated fault motion.

Early childhood education- case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Early childhood education- case analysis - Essay Example This paper makes a conclusion that teachers develop a curriculum from observing the children and noting down their developmental skills, interests and other possibilities they can discover on their own within the parameters of safety. This curriculum envisions implementation in an environment organized by teachers to be rich in possibilities and provocations that challenge children to explore, problem-solve, usually in small groups while the teachers act as keen observers or recorders of the children’s learning. Teachers get to balance their role by sometimes joining the circle of children and sometimes objectively remaining outside the loop. In doing so, children are allowed feelings of success as they manage to be architects of their own learning. This exercise of analyzing the case helps teachers be more aware of the learning that goes on during play, link it to theory, and guide these children to pursue their interests in a safe and conducive environment. This paper talks that children had the freedom to communicate with whoever they wanted in the environment. Children relate to others on their own. Imogen felt the need to share the information she learned from her exploration with her friends. The learning environment provided the children with opportunities to explore and to learn for themselves. Learning ensues in a conducive environment that offers interactions with peers and supportive adults. Piaget contends that children learn a lot from interactions with the environment, at the same time, Vygotsky theorizes that children learn through conversations and involvement with peers and adults. ... dges (2008) explains that the play-based curriculum of Te Whaariki provides children with several opportunities to express, represent, explore and extend their numerous interests (Strands 4 and 5, all goals). She offers that a socio-cultural approach can bring out children from the comforts of their own culture; hence, the quality of teaching relationships should encourage and extend such interests of the children to venture into the real world. Allowing Imogen to pursue her interest in caterpillars and equipping her with the knowledge and skills in this area gave her confidence to show her â€Å"expertise† to her peers (Principle of Empowerment, Strand 3, all goals, Strand 4, goal 4). What was impressive was the adults’ approach in the children’s learning as they threw stimulating questions at the children to deepen their explorations and discoveries. This is consistent with Te Whaariki’s belief that young children need adults who can provide them with th e resources, challenges and support they need for their widening interests and problem-solving capacities (Principles of Family and Community and Relationship) (MOE, 1996). Hedges (2008) advises teachers to be more responsive to the â€Å"here and now†. They need to loosen the reins of control over curriculum planning and share the construction of learning experiences with the children. This empowers children to learn for themselves and not just to respond to what the teacher offers (Principle of Empowerment, Holistic Development, Strands 3 and 5, all goals). Malaguzzi (1993) concludes that teachers should be researchers that think and produce a true curriculum centered on children’s needs. Teachers develop a curriculum from observing the children and noting down their developmental skills, interests and other

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 60

Discussion - Assignment Example This is because Osama Bin Laden was its leader, and was responsible for providing it with ideological, as well as spiritual leadership. Despite his death, and the defeat of Al-Qaeda, the nation has not yet healed from this attack. This is because other terrorist organizations have emerged that target American citizens. These organizations are affiliated to Al-Qaida (Riedel, 22). This includes terrorist organizations such as Al-Shabab, operating in Somalia, and ISIS, a terror group aimed at establishing a caliphate in the Middle-East. These groups have managed to target and kill American civilians. This includes the latest beheadings of American journalists in Iraq (Otis, 3). These actions have caused great anger against these terrorist organizations, and United States is seeking to build an international coalition that can fight against these new terror organizations. Prominent Islamic leaders have disowned these groups, denoting that the use of violence against non Muslim members is against the principles of Islam. To fight these groups, there is a need of the government to use a two pronged approach. The government should use the military to prevent these groups from attacking its interests. The government should also initiate measures aimed at promoting religious tolerance amongst the leading religious groups. This is through education, and inclusive

Functional Requirements of Airline Reservation System

Functional Requirements of Airline Reservation System This project deals with the development of a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document that specifies what an airline reservation system should and should not do. The SRS document is divided into five sections namely System Objectives This section lists all the goals and objectives of the system categorized based on the viewpoint of the airline company and the customer (passenger). These are higher-level goals which are somewhat broad in nature. They help in a top-down development of the SRS. System Context This section clearly depicts the environment and boundaries of the ARS and the entities with which it interacts. It helps us see how the system fits into the existing scheme of things. What the system will do by itself and what it expects other entities to do is clearly delineated. Functional Requirements This section is the bulk of the document and precisely states the functions of the system what it should do and what it should not. This section is split into subsections modeled after the real world activities like reserving tickets, rescheduling tickets etc. Freedom from ambiguity and navigability were kept in mind while documentation. A consistent terminology has been followed throughout and the terms are explained in the appendix. The subsections follow a logical sequence that reflects the real world. For example, a customer cannot reschedule a ticket unless he has bought one earlier and cannot buy one unless he has checked its availability. Non-functional Requirements These are quality requirements that stipulate the performance levels required of the system for various kinds of activities. Numerical lower and upper limits set conditions on the response times, access times etc of the system. Sometimes, tradeoffs are necessary among various non-functional requirements. Future Requirements These are the specifications which are not provided for now in the current version of ARS but which could be incorporated into future versions. Some of these need advanced technologies and interfaces with other systems. The ARS could be designed in future to enhance the existing capabilities or add entirely new ones. The assumptions and limitations of the ARS have been interspersed in the SRS to present the same in their proper context. 1. System Objectives 1.1 The Airline Reservation System (ARS) is a software application to assist an airline with transactions related to making ticket reservations, which includes blocking, reserving, canceling and rescheduling tickets. 1.2 From the viewpoint of the airline 1.2.1 Minimize repetitive work done by the system administrator and reservation clerks. 1.2.2 Maintain consistency among different access modes, e.g. by phone, by web, at the information desk and across different physical locations. The users should be basically taken through the same steps by the system as they go through in conventional desk-reservation systems. 1.2.3 Maintain customer information in case of emergency, e.g. flight cancellation due to inclement weather. The profile can also be used by the airline company to track user preferences and travel patterns to serve them better, plan routes, for better marketing and efficient scheduling of flights. 1.2.4 Maximize the revenue of the airline company by various means: 1.2.4.1 Increase awareness among frequent travelers about various special offers and discounts. 1.2.4.2 Minimize the number of vacant seats on a flight and maximize flight capacity utilization. 1.2.4.3 Maintain the capability to adopt a flexible pricing policy. The price of the tickets should be dynamically determined based on how early, before the date of departure, the customer buys the ticket. 1.3 A survey conducted by airline companies shows that users of an existing reservation system would respond favorably to an ARS that satisfied or helped them satisfy the following objectives: 1.3.1 Reduce effort and frustration for travelers in scheduling a trip, especially by reducing the search effort for the flight they need to take. 1.3.2 Show all possible combinations and itineraries available for a pair of origin-destination cities. 1.3.3 Reduce redundancy in the information required from the customers in order for them to buy tickets, create user accounts etc. 1.3.4 Check the validity of input data and give a feedback to the user in case of errors or inconsistency. 1.3.5 Provide flexible access modes to users internet, telephone, PDA. 1.3.6 Protect customers privacy concerns. 1.3.7 Make it easy for travelers to check the ticket status or make changes to their trip. 2. System Context 2.1 The ARS will provide the following types of easy-to-use, interactive, and intuitive graphical and telephonic interfaces. 2.1.1 The ARS will provide an easy-to-use, intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) as part of the Clerk/Administrators working desktop environment. 2.1.2 The ARS will also provide an interactive GUI, on the World Wide Web for the general customers. The above two ARS interfaces shall help provide the following functionalities to the users access to the ARS to check the flight schedule, availability of seats, ticket price and to block, reserve, cancel, and reschedule tickets. The ARS will also provide an easy-to-use, simple telephonic user interface, which can be accessed by the customers through telephone or cell phone from anywhere. This interface shall provide access, only to the following functionalities, namely, check flight schedule and check ticket status including any change in the flight timings. The functionality available through this telephonic interface is limited because of security constraints. 2.2 The system and its environment and the interactions between them are depicted in the diagram below. DB-Reservations Flight Schedule Database Customer Via Web DB-User DB-Schedule I N T E R F A C E CW DB-Geography ARS software INTERFACE Cp Customer Via Phone INTERFACE A Administrator The closed boundary above clearly delineates the system and the environment. The diagram shows the interactions between the ARS software and the databases inside the system. There are three databases internal to the system and which the system maintains. DB-user is the database containing all the personal information of the registered users of the ARS. This can be updated by the user by logging in to the system. Information from this database is used during transactions like charging the credit card etc. DB-schedule is a copy of the flight schedule database. The latter exists independently and is updated by a flight scheduler system which is out of scope of the ARS. DB-schedule is updated with the latest status of the flight schedule database whenever there is any change in the latter. For example, if a flight has been added to the schedule between two cities on Tuesdays, DB-schedule gets updated with this change through a process with which we are not concerned. It is external to th e system and is out of the scope of this SRS. DB-schedule also contains the base prices of tickets for various flight numbers. DB-reservations are a database containing information regarding the number of seats available on each class on different flights. It has provision for marking how many of the reserved seats have been blocked but not yet bought. DB-reservations should update itself using DB-schedule, for example, if a new flight is added. DB-geography is a database, which contains information about the cities and towns serviced by the airline. The distance between all cities and towns is contained in a matrix form. There are three interfaces, one for the administrator, one for the customer via web and another for the customer via phone. The administrator can update DB-schedule with any changes in the base prices of flight tickets. The system uses a pricing algorithm and dynamically determines the actual price from this base price depending on the date of reservation vis-Ã  - vis date of departure. The customer interfaces (web and phone) enable multiple functions which are described in the following section section 3. 3. Functional Requirements 3.1 User Accounts 3.1.1 The passenger, who will henceforth be called the user, will be presented with 3 choices by the reservation system, as the first step in the interaction between them. A user can choose one of these and his choice would be governed by whether he is a guest or a registered user and whether he wants to check the availability of tickets or also block/buy them. The terms registered user and guest are described below. 3.1.1.1 A user who has traveled by the airline earlier would have been given a user id and a password. He would have his personal information stored in the database referred to earlier in section 2 as DB-user. This personal information would be henceforth referred to as profile. Such a user with a profile in DB-user shall be called a registered user. A registered user will be able to check the availability of tickets as well as block/buy a ticket by logging into the system. 3.1.1.2 A new user, on the other hand, would either have to register himself with the system by providing personal information or log into the system as a guest. In case of a, the new user becomes a registered user. In case of b, the new user would remain a guest. A guest can only check the availability of tickets and cannot block or buy tickets. But a registered user can also act as a guest if he only wants to check the availability of tickets. Availability of tickets always refers to viewing the flight schedule for given days, the price of tickets and any discount offers. The system shall present the user with an option to exit from the system at any time during the following processes. 3.2 Registration and creation of user profile The system shall require a user to register, in order to carry out any transactions with it except for checking the availability of tickets. It will ask the user for the following information at the least a user id, a password, first name, last name, address, phone number, email address, sex, age, preferred credit card number. The system will automatically create a sky miles field and initialize it to zero in the users profile. 3.3 Checking Availability 3.3.1 After logging in a user (either a registered user or a guest), the system shall request him to enter the following details origin city and destination city. City is a generic term and refers to a city or town as the case may be. The origin and destination cities would be entered as text. The system shall now refer to the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-geography in section 2, and check if there is any ambiguity with the names of the cities. In case there are more than two cities with same name as entered by the user, the system shall list all of them (with more qualifications) and ask the user to select one of them. In case, either the origin or destination cities are not listed in DB-geography as being directly serviced by the airline, the system shall suggest the nearest city to which service is available, including the distance of the destination city from this nearest city. After the origin and destination cities are ascertained, the system shall now access the flight schedule database, referred to as DB-schedule in section 2, and checks if there is a direct operational service between the two cities. If not, the system shall suggest possible routes and transfer points using a route selection algorithm. The user shall now be presented with a choice of either selecting one of the routes. In case he selects a route, the system shall fill in the intermediate stop over points and create a multiple trip itinerary for the user. 3.3.4 The system shall now ask the user to enter the following details class, one-way or round trip, departure date and the number of adult passengers, children and senior citizens. Class refers to business class/first class/club class/smoking/non smoking. This choice shall be made by the user through a drop down menu indicating all the possible combinations of choices. One-way/round trip shall be either a drop down menu or a check box selection. Departure date refers to either a single date or a range of dates, entered through a calendar-like menu. This menu shall not show dates in the past or those dates that are too ahead in the future(as determined by the airline policy). In case, the trip is a round trip, the system shall also ask the user to enter the departure date on the return trip. Having taken all the above input from the user, the system checks for any false entries like the departure date on the return trip being earlier than the departure date on the onward trip. In case of incompatibility, the system shall display a suitable error message and prompt the user to enter the information correctly. Having taken all of the information as laid out above in 3.3.1 and 3.3.4, the system shall now access the flight schedule database DB-schedule and queries it using the input provided by the user. The system queries the reservation database DB-reservations to check which of the flights on the schedule have seats available. The system displays the results in a suitable form (a tabular form) with the following information depicted for each flight number the flight number, departure time in origin city, arrival time in destination city, the duration of the flight (taking into account the possibility of a change of time zone) and the number of seats available on that flight. There can be several flights between two cities and all of them will be listed for the particular date that the user wants to depart from the Origin City. In case, the user has entered a range of dates, the system shall display all the flights for all those dates in the range. If the user has requested a round trip, the system shall display two tables one for the onward trip and one for the return trip. There will be a check box in front of each line in the table representing a flight with available seats. The user is now asked to check one of the boxes reflecting a choice of a flight number and time. In case of a round trip, the user is asked to check one box each in the two tables. The system shall now display the price of the ticket for the trip. This will be the sum of the prices for all the members of the travel party being represented by the user. The system shall also list any rules regarding the cancellation of tickets what percentage of the price will be refunded within what date ranges. This will be displayed as a table. Making Reservations/Blocking/Confirmation 3.4.1 After having taken the user through the step 3.3, Checking Availability, The system will now ask the user if he wishes to block/buy the ticket. If yes, and if the user has been a guest, he will have to first register and become a registered user and then log onto the system. If the user is already a registered user, and if he has logged on already, he can block/buy the ticket, but if he has been acting as a guest, he will have to log on. Having ensured that the user is logged on validly according to 3.4.1, the system compares the departure date with the system date. If the departure date falls within 2 weeks of the system date, the system informs the user that he has no option to block the ticket and asks him if he would like to buy it. If the difference between the departure date and system date is more than 2 weeks, the system asks the user if he would like to block or buy the ticket. The system informs the user that he can block the ticket at no cost now. It also informs him that if he chooses to block the ticket, he should make a final decision before 2 weeks of the departure date. The system shall send an email to the user, 3 weeks before the departure date as a reminder, in case he decides to block the ticket now. Having taken the input from the user in 3.4.2, the system shall now proceed to update the reservation database DB-reservation. It will decrement the number of available seats on the particular flight for the particular class by the number of travelers being represented by the user. In case of a blocking, the system makes a note of it in the database to be used if the user doesnt turn up before 2 weeks of the departure date. It generates a blocking number and displays it for the user to note down. In case the user buys the ticket, the system accesses his profile and charges the price of the ticket to his credit card number. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it to the user for him to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. 3.5 Confirm Ticket 3.5.1 A user who has earlier blocked a ticket after going through the steps 3.2 through 3.4, is required to either confirm the ticket before two weeks of the departure date or the ticket stands cancelled. To let the user confirm a ticket, the system shall first log him on and ask for his blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and removes the check mark, which so far represented a blocked seat. The seat is now confirmed and reserved for the user. The system accesses DB-user and charges the price of the ticket to the credit card number of the user. It simultaneously generates a confirmation number and displays it for the user to note down. The ticket has been reserved. It adds the mileage of the trip (accounting for the number of travelers) to the skymiles in his profile. 3.6 Reschedule Ticket The system shall present the user with an option to re-schedule his travel partys trip. In order to do this, the system first logs on the user and requests his confirmation number. It will not allow a user to reschedule a blocked ticket but only a confirmed ticket. Using this, it queries DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip to the user, including but not limited to origin city, destination city, date of departure and date of arrival (in case the trip is a round trip). The system shall now ask the user to select new dates from the calendar-menu. It now goes through step 3.3. In case, there are no available tickets for the dates entered, it displays a suitable message informing him that rescheduling to that date is not possible. In case there are tickets available, the system asks the user to select the flight number for the trip (another for the return trip if the trip is a round trip) and proceeds to update the database. The system accesses DB-reservation and decrements the number of available seats on the flight(s) by the number of members in the users travel party. It then increments the entry for the previous flight by the same number to reflect an increase in the available seats on it as a result of the rescheduling. The system now checks if there is any difference in the prices of the tickets. If so, it accesses DB-user and charges or credits the credit card as the case may be. The system generates a new confirmation number and displays it to the user. 3.7 Cancellation The system shall also give the user an option to cancel a confirmed ticket or a blocked ticket. The latter case is simpler and will be dealt with first the system shall first log on the user and request the blocking number. Then it accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats by the number of people in the users travel party. In the former case, i.e., for a confirmed ticket, it asks for the confirmation number and accesses DB-reservation and presents the details of the trip as in step 3.6.1. It then lists the applicable rules for cancellation of tickets and depending on the system date and the departure date, it displays the % of the amount that would be refunded if the user cancels the ticket. After the user cancels the ticket, the system generates a cancellation number and displays it for the user to note down. It accesses DB-reservation and updates it by incrementing the number of available seats on that flight by the number of travelers in the users party. It accesses DB-user and credits the refund amount to his credit card number. The system then deducts the mileage of the trip (taking into account the number of travelers in his party) from the sky miles in his profile. 3.8 Update Profile The system shall enable the user to update his profile at any time. Changes can be made in fields including but not limited to address, phone number and preferred credit card number. 3.9 View Ticket Status The system shall allow a user to view all information about his trip. After logging him on, it asks for his blocking number or his confirmation number. It accesses DB-reservation and retrieves the details of the trip and presents them to the user in a convenient format, including any last minute changes to the flight timings etc. Such changes will be highlighted. 3.10 Query Flight Details The system shall allow any user (registered or non registered) to access the details about the arrival and departure times of a flight by requesting the user to input the flight number and date. The system accesses DB-schedule and presents the time of arrival and departure. Telephone access The system shall be accessible through a touch-tone telephone. The telephonic interface shall, at the least, provide the customer with the facility to check availability of tickets and query flight details. The system shall walk the customer exactly through steps 3.3 and 3.9 respectively but through a telephonic interface. Non-functional Requirements 4.1 Performance 4.1.1 Response time of the Airline Reservation System should be less than 2 second most of the time. Response time refers to the waiting time while the system accesses, queries and retrieves the information from the databases (DB-user, DB-schedule etc) (A local copy of flight schedule database is maintained as DB-schedule to reduce this access time) ARS shall be able to handle at least 1000 transactions/inquiries per second. ARS shall show no visible deterioration in response time as the number of users or flight schedule data increases 4.2 Reliability ARS shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ARS shall always provide real time information about flight availability information. ARS shall be robust enough to have a high degree of fault tolerance. For example, if the user enters a negative number of passengers or a value too large, the system should not crash and shall identify the invalid input and produce a suitable error message. 4.2.4 ARS shall be able to recover from hardware failures, power failures and other natural catastrophes and rollback the databases to their most recent valid state. 4.3 Usability ARS shall provide a easy-to-use graphical interface similar to other existing reservation system so that the users do not have to learn a new style of interaction. 4.3.2 The web interface should be intuitive and easily navigable Users should be able to understand the menu and options provided by ARS. 4.3.3 Any notification or error messages generated by ARS shall be clear, succinct, polite and free of jargon. Integrity 4.4.1 Only system administer has the right to change system parameters, such as pricing policy etc. The system should be secure and must use encryption to protect the databases. 4.4.2 Users need to be authenticated before having access to any personal data. 4.5 Interoperability ARS shall minimize the effort required to couple it to another system, such as flight schedule database system. 5 Future Requirements 5.1 Support for waiting list functionality 5.1.1. ARS shall be made more flexible in ticket reservation handling, and shall accept waiting list for reservation. 5.1.2 The waiting list handling capability of ARS shall be made more advanced, by enabling it to send requests to the Flight Scheduler to schedule extra flights, depending on the demand in a particular corridor, and providing the wait listed passengers with a new flight. 5.2 The telephonic interface of the ARS shall be improved to support more functionality like allowing the customers to cancel a ticket etc., by incorporating security measures. 5.3 ARS shall be made more dynamic and helpful to the users by enabling it to send instant messages to the passengers, of a cancelled or rescheduled flight, through email, phone, fax etc., informing them about the change, and providing them with other feasible alternatives. 5.4 Information about the kind of meals served in a flight and the type of entertainment offered on a flight should be incorporated into the system. Provide service integration with auto rental agencies and hotel chains. Interface for the travel agents shall be provided in the future versions with additional features like informing them of any availability of seats on a flight which was earlier booked to capacity. Choices like aisle or window seats shall be provided to the users. The ARS shall be able to handle the situation where flight services are available to multiple airports in a single city.