MBA Industry and Porter’s Five Forces Essay

MBA Industry: The MBA school industry includes universities and colleges that offer academic courses and grant graduate degrees. The general requirement for admission is a bachelor’s degree and GMAT ® scores. Some schools and programs also require prior employment experience. Instruction is typically provided on physical campuses, although online education and other unconventional approaches are gaining popularity. For purposes of this paper, for-profit institutions or community colleges are not included in the industry definition. The major forces that affect MBA market are: competition between public and private business schools, buyers of business education including both students and employers, faculty as the key suppliers to the industry, and substitutes in the forms of alternative means of delivering graduate business education. Porter suggests that evaluation of these forces will provide insights into the prospects for long-range profitability1. Competition: The MBA m arket in the United States is an unregulated industry that allows schools to develop their own distinctive styles and personalities, and to define their own missions5. B-Schools consider it their mission to educate and research, but face intense pressure of managing faculty issues, finding new funding sources and distinguishing themselves from competitors9, highlighting the most prominent areas within this category: cost, revenues, and reputation. Reputation is differentiated by rankings and accreditations, specializations and regional focus and flexibility10. Rankings drive how students, faculty, and employers perceive the MBA program. In turn, how students, faculty, and employers perceive the MBA program drives rankings, resulting in developing a brand name for universities, leading schools to expend vast resources in pursuit of being highly ranked or even ranked at all8. The significant costs associated with business education have left room for competitive entry by low cost providers. B-Schools now face the reality that they must compete with the low-cost providers who can turn a profit because they are not burdened with the high fixed costs of the â€Å"bricks and mortar† university4. As tuition alone will not cover the costs of running an MBA program, funding is usually sourced from donations from alumni. Most successful schools are usually ones backed by alumni that are willing and able to give back to their alma  maters. Suppliers: The most important suppliers to the MBA industry are the business school faculty who fill the teaching, research, and administrative roles with any MBA program. There is an increasing demand for qualified business faculty, while simultaneously there is a stagnating or decreasing supply of such faculty. As the pool of high quality, freshly minted Ph.D.’s is diminishing; competition for associate and assistant professors is increasing. Institutions that can afford to bid are becoming more aggressive in recruiting faculty from other schools, inflating salaries beyond what some can afford10. Rising salaries for new hires has encouraged experienced faculty to move to different institutions to receive pay raises of their own, and thus the market continues to stay extremely competitive. Buyers: The buyers of graduate management education are either the students, employers, or both. With respect to the power of student as buyers, both the MBA programs and the students possess some leverage. There is obviously significant demand for the MBA degree from students because they believe that it will enable them to receive greater opportunities in their career, receive a higher salary, or launch them into a new career7. Employer preferences have a significant effect on market for MBAs. The employer’s demand for MBAs dictates the job availability and salary range, which is proportional to demand for MBAs. Employers are always seeking the best value to raise their company’s performance by enhancing employees’ abilities. What employers define as â€Å"benefit,† however, can range from training, which raises employee efficiency to higher-level education, which emphasizes critical thinking and complex problem solving skills. Substitutes: Most participants do not enter to challenge industry leaders but to offer tailored programs that appeal to sub -sets of their prospective students. Top-ranked business schools have little need to worry about substitutes. Consumer demand for the â€Å"Top brand MBA† will always outpace the supply. The same threat to mid and lower tier schools, however, is real. The online and distance learning schools target the same students that would otherwise attend these schools forcing the lower tiered schools to diversify their offerings6. Barriers to Entry: The main barriers to entry for new entrants in MBA industry are infrastructure costs, attracting and retaining good faculty, and gaining accreditation for courses. Schools must have a solid reputation to charge more tuition to attract students and afford good professors that produce strong results among students. Furthermore, it can cost a significant amount of capital to perform research projects, which enable a school to build specialized facilities and can also contribute to a strong reputation. While public schools rely on public funds for financial aid, a large endowment is essential for many institutions.

Host based Intrusion Prevention

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) recognize the presence of malicious code within traffic that flows through the holes punched into the firewall, our first layer of defense. Though, the word â€Å"intrusion detection† is a bit of a misnomer.Richard Kemmerer and Giovanni Vigna of the University Of California, Santa Barbara, elucidate in an article in the IEEE Security and Privacy magazine: â€Å"Intrusion detection systems do not detect intrusions at all–they only identify evidence of intrusion, either while in progress or after the fact.† (Edwin E. Mier, David C. Mier, 2004)An IDS recognizes security threats by detecting scans, probes and attacks, however does not block these patterns; it only reports that they took place. Yet, IDS logged data is invaluable as proof for forensics and incident handling. IDSs as well detect internal attacks, which are not seen by the firewall, and they help in firewall audits.IDSs can be divided into 2 main categories, footed on t he IDS alarm triggering mechanism: anomaly detection-based IDS and misuse detection-based IDS.Anomaly detection based IDSs report deviations from â€Å"normal† or expected behavior. Behavior other than â€Å"normal† is measured an attack and is flagged and recorded. Anomaly detection is as well referred to as profile-based detection. The profile describes a baseline for normal user tasks, and the quality of these user profiles directly has an effect on the detection capability of the IDS. Techniques for constructing user profiles comprise: (Nong Ye, 2003).Rule-based approach–Normal user behavior is characterized by creating rules, however analyzing normal traffic is a complicated task. A related approach is protocol anomaly detection.Neural networks–These systems are trained by presenting them with a large amount of data, together with rules regarding data relationships. They then find out if traffic is normal or not; abnormal traffic raises an alarm.Stat istical approach–Activity profiles describe the behavior of system or user traffic. Any deviation from normal triggers an alarm.The advantage of anomaly detection is that it can identify previously unknown attacks and insider attacks, without the need for â€Å"signatures†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ that is., predefined attack profiles.One more benefit of anomaly detection is that it's impossible for the attacker to know what activity causes an alarm, thus they cannot assume that any particular action will go undetected.The disadvantage of anomaly detection is that it produces a large number of â€Å"false positives†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ that is., alerts that are produced by legitimate activity. In addition, besides being complicated as well as hard to understand, building and updating profiles as well need a lot of work.The other most important approach, misuse-detection based IDS (also called signature-based IDS), triggers an alarm when a match is found to a â€Å"fingerprint†-a signa ture contained in a signature database. These â€Å"fingerprints† are footed on a set of rules that match typical patterns of exploits used by attackers. As there is a known database of exploits, there are few false positives.The disadvantage is that misuse-detection IDSs can merely detect already-known attacks. Besides, the â€Å"fingerprints† database needs to be incessantly updated to keep up with new attacks. The majority IDS products in the market at present use misuse detection.

Music the ultimate mood fix

Just Like a roller-coaster there are ups and downs. Sometimes this can be overwhelming. We all need a safe zone, that place where we go when we need comfort, motivation, or Just some company. For many of us, that safe zone is music. To get further insight into how music affects people, we invited members of the public to share their experiences and the variety of ways music plays Into their dally lives and mood. Certain songs make you ponder over what kind of person you want o be, type of role or purpose you have In this world, or what kind of an effect you have on others around you,† said Prohibit Kuris, a 22-year-old college student reflecting on the self-analyzing effects of music. Speaking on her deep dependence on music, 26-year-old HRS executive, Invasion, had this to say, â€Å"You may have heard people say that they cannot live without music. However, when I say that It Is Impossible for me to live without music, I truly mean It! According to Nava, â€Å"Classical and instrumental music allows me to truly immerse myself in tradition and pulls me into the vibe and mood that the song is projecting allowing me to escape the pressures of daily life,† she said. â€Å"Music definitely impacts my mood. Some people allow their music to dictate their mood, like listening to sad songs and then becoming sadder because of it. While for others, their mood determines their music, choosing a happy song to suit their happy mood.As for me, personally my music follows my mood,† said Shown Were, a 25-year-old PR Manager. Commenting on the inherent ability of music to change moods, Useful Suzan, a 24- year-old student said, ‘For me whenever I am stressed and rushing to complete an assignment on time, I always turn to ballads and love songs as it helps me relax and focus. † â€Å"I'm addicted to music! No matter what, I always find ways to satisfy my craving. If I go too long without music I tend to get depressed,† said Hafiz Gaffer, a 21 -year-old student.In line with her energetic lifestyle, Hafiz says she only listens to up-tempo Ran and dance music, â€Å"My music must suit my life. I'm happy-go-lucky and always on the go, so my music must be the same. † Going against the grain however, George Kong, a 19-year-old Engineering student said, â€Å"For me personally, USIA has no effect on my mood. If I am happy, I'm happy and if I'm sad, I'm sad; music doesn't have any impact on it. † Seeking a historical perspective, we spoke to Kola' Rant, a 42-year-old music teacher. Historically speaking, music has always been Intrinsically connected to emotions. Many of my students have varying tastes In music but the one thing that remains the same is that music holds a deep emotional connection to them,† she said. â€Å"Music psychology is a recognized and very much growing field of psychology. From what I know, every human being possesses a base deed to connect to something and music is one simple ou tlet for connection that we have.That Is why so many of us turn to music to satisfy ourselves In times of depression or frustration,† said Mark Km a psychology lecturer speaking on why Shown said, â€Å"Music is the soundtrack of your life, no matter if you are feeling depressed or ecstatic, music is what we all turn to. † Through these opinions it is clear that while people have different taste in music, the one thing that they all have in common is that music plays a vital part in each and every one of their lives whether they are feeling happy or sad. 2 3 4

Argument Essay - Government should provide free education for

Argument - Government should provide free education for everyone, Do you agree - Essay Example First, because of the economy at the national level, â€Å"school budgets are strained at the private level, diminishing the quality of education† (Whelan, 2009, p.1). When budget issues arise because of economic difficulties, layoffs of teaching staff occur or certain activities which provide better education are cut from the school curriculum. The University of Leeds, as one example, recently announced a major budget reduction of  £35 million, with most of this in areas of staff wages (Whelan). When staff members are layed off or witness salary reductions, their internal motivations to provide quality education are reduced. This is why the government should use their strong financial resources to prop up private budgets so that students can have access to free educational tools and not worry about being given an education by unmotivated instructors. Also, at the parent level, the costs of education are significant and growing each year. The average cost to put one child through school is  £10,000 (Ross, 2009). When parents are facing rising costs in areas of household spending, such as with food inflation, these high costs of education can make parents have to decide to put their child through schooling which is not superior in terms of quality or performance. The government has the expertise and resources to assist in taking this burden off parents so that spending can occur in other areas to enhance household lifestyle. Third, free education would open up a great deal of choice for potential students and they would no longer be bound to attending only local or affordable colleges and universities. Using governmental resources, a student can begin analysis of many different learning facilities to find the one which best fits their unique skills or career-needs profile. When students are forced to pay the bill for

List and dene the six ethical principles discussed in your text Essay

List and dene the six ethical principles discussed in your text - Essay Example Most determining factors would be specific to the particular ethical dilemma at hand. Along with the particular details of the problem, IS managers can peruse some time-tested, universal ethical principles in arriving at their decisions. The first one is â€Å"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you†, which is an old proverb with Christian associations. (Laudon & Laudon, p.419) Putting oneself in the shoes of other parties and applying same standards of judgment are the basis of this principle. The second one is the application of Categorical Imperatives – a concept first articulated by philosopher Immanuel Kant. According to this principle, in order for a community or group to maintain its cohesion, there are actions that are forbidden to all members of it, irrespective of circumstances and other conditions. Similarly, certain responsibilities are to be fulfilled by all members without exceptions. And Information Managers should see to it that they do not bre ach such categorical imperatives. Rene Descartes’ Rule of Change is another useful guideline for IS managers to follow. It says that â€Å"if an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all†.

Financial Concepts and Their Applications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Concepts and Their Applications - Essay Example Good financial decision making can make or break an organization. Hence, the role of a financial manager is vital to any firm and they are the heart of an organization. Market prices are great indicators for a financial manager. They are usually signals that help the financial managers in planning and controlling, mergers and acquisitions, deciding on financial policy and a lot of other things. A good financial manager does not make decisions based on intuition. Instead, a good decision is only made after a careful examination of the markets and a lot of other external influences. Market prices are one of the external influences that have to be dealt with. Market prices guide the financial managers to set their financial policies and where to invest their funds. If a price of a commodity or an investment is rising, it is better that the financial manager move his funds or resources to that investment and make capital gains by selling those investments when the market has peaked or th e investment prices start falling. Similarly, market prices are also very useful in mergers and acquisitions.... This principle guides the financial managers to determine the accurate price of these investments and hence preventing them to pay in excess of the fair price of an investment. This helps in keeping the profitability of a business high. This is important because most of the business investment is made in portfolio and if one of these investments is made in a venture that is not profitable or less profitable than the previous investments, then the entire portfolio’s profitability would decrease. Therefore, valuation principle is very important to an organization and financial managers. Net present value is calculated by discounting the future net cash flows and then subtracting the investment price of an equipment, plant or machinery. The positive result indicates that the investment is worth undertaking and negative result indicates that the investment in hand is inferior and should not be undertaken. This is similar to cost benefit analysis. Cost benefit analysis calculate th e costs and benefits of an action. It states that only those actions should be undertaken that give more benefits than costs. In the very same way, Net Present value approach suggests that only those investments should be undertaken that give positive result. Positive result indicates that future net cash inflow’s present value is greater than the investment price and hence the investment yields good results. This is an important tool to evaluate and assess the profitability of an investment and helps the financial managers into making shrewd investment decisions. Interest rate is the cost of borrowing money. It is what an investor pays over and above the borrowed amount. Interest rate is the price at which the

To what Extent has the 'War on Terror' Undermined the Human Rights Essay

To what Extent has the 'War on Terror' Undermined the Human Rights Agenda in World Politics - Essay Example However, the ‘revenge’ was directed against Muslims in general because the aforementioned event, which was insignificant in comparison to the routine onslaughts in other countries, paved the way for incursions into specific Muslim territories. Under this pretext, the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and invaded Iraq in 2003 to further its geopolitical interests. The War on Terror is an implementation of Manichaeism, as it allowed the USA to make a new enemy after the collapse of the USSR. It is serving its imperialistic ambitions by painting the Muslim World as a new axis of evil and a threat to modern Western civilization. However, this enemy is more abstract than real and the situation is only leading to widespread irrational fear and unnecessary destruction. This war would therefore be more aptly described as a ‘War by Terror’ because the US is the real terrorist on its last vestiges of being a superpower. This paper shows how true this is and the e xtent to which this fake war is undermining the human rights agenda in world politics. It also examines how the US has managed to perpetrate these crimes and its aggression despite the existence of international laws to prevent abuse and what can be done to control the real evil which now poses a threat to the entire world. A cornerstone of the US actions post 9/11 has been its application of the doctrine of ‘pre-emptive military strike’. The US asserts that it has the right to take unilateral military action against other states and organisations if it perceives a threat. However, this is a dangerous trend that effectively makes the UN redundant and is out of conformity with international laws, conventions and resolutions (Gupta, 2008). America’s actions even transgress its own and international laws. Its leadership and military have committed serious crimes against humanity. The attempted moralization of the use of the military force, transgresses the norms of humanity (Schmitt, 2008). This situation hearkens back to the era before the UN existed and it could set a dangerous precedent for other nations which would then reverse decades of globalisation efforts to prevent wars. One of the biggest victims of this is human rights; the global agenda to protect human rights and guarantee human dignity and respect. This agenda at the international level began after World War II. In its new phase this century, the effort was to liberalise international relations to that they â€Å"conform to the liberal prescription for the good society† (Forsythe, 2006: 3). Numerous known and hidden human rights abuses have taken place by the US this century. Those that are known include kidnapping of innocent people and their torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and elsewhere. On a more widespread scale, the US invaded two sovereign countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) and has long been intimidating a third, namely Pakis tan. The US accused former honourable president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, of harbouring weapons of mass destruction. Fortunately, this baseless accusation was found to be just that when no such weapons were ever found, even by their own admission (Beaumont et al., 2004). This only showed the hypocrisy of the US because it itself possesses weapons of mass destruction yet it accuses others in the same way that it is the world’

Geography of Region Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Geography of Region - Term Paper Example Many small islands surround the Phuket Island which increases the land area of the island to a further seventy kilometers. Phuket is alienated from mainland Thailand in the northern most part by Chong Pak Phra Chanel; there is a land bridge is situated which is a source of connection between the mainland Thailand and Phuket Island. Strategically, Phuket Island deems great importance as its airfield and sea harbor is halfway between Singapore and Rangoon (Stripp, 1989). Due to its location, it is best suited for any future re-takeover of Malaya by the British. The location of Phuket Island, somewhat between Asia, Africa and Austrailia, makes it an ideal place for tourism, sea-food delicacies and water sports as well. On the Southern coast of Andaman Island, it is the quieter half of the seas. Due to its location, it is crowded almost all around the year. The warm waters of Andaman Sea are part of the Indian Ocean, which is located south of Burma, hence the name Burma Sea, is in the we stern side of Thailand. It is on the southeastern side of the Bay of Bengal and serves as a significant site for coral reefs and tourism. ( Murthy, 2007) Place The island is mostly covered by mountains and is surrounded by various mountain ranges. Approximately seventy percent of the island has mountains. A mountain range runs from north to south in the west of the island. Phuket mountain range is formed at the south of the island; this rande is approximately four hundred and forty kilometers (two hundred and seventy miles) from Kra Isthmus. The highest point of the island is known as Twelve Canes (Mai Thao Sip) which is about one thousand, seven hundred and thirty six feet (five hundred and twenty nine meters) well above sea level. The whole area of Phuket is very hilly in nature. Only a few of the peaks are above the height of five hundred meters; the highest peak is about five hundred and twenty nine meters of Mai Tao Sipsong. Most of the peaks are covered by lush green trees. Th e lowlands comprise of pineapple, coconut, rubber plantations, and paddies of rice. They cover almost sixty percent of the area of the island. It also has a major portion of rainforest (almost twenty kilometer square) which is now preserved as the Khao Phra Thaeo Park. The lowlands most highest pont is Khao Prathiu which is about three hundred and eighty four metres (about one thousand, two hundred and sixty feet); then the second one is Khao Bang Pae which is about three hundred and eighty eight meters (Around one thousand, two hundred and seventy three feet) and the lowest of three is four hundred and twenty two meters which is called Khao Phara and is about one thousand, three hundred and eighty five feet. Sirinat National Part on the north west shore covers an area of about ninety kilometer square (about thirty five square miles) and covers a total of sixty eight kilometers (forty two miles) of marine region; it also comprises of the area of Nai Yang coast where the sea turtles come to lay eggs. Most of the enchanting beaches are sited on the western coast of the island. They are separated by headlands and rocky coves. The East coast, however, is made up of limestone shoals with only some sandy beaches. It is muddy in nature. It is the remaining thirty percent of the island that is plains. These beaches are decorated by extravagant limestone that further beautifies the place. Coral reefs or coral gardens adorn the beaches as huge varieties of marine life

Building a Power Base in a New Organization Case Study

Building a Power Base in a New Organization - Case Study Example Hence it is important realize that the first few months of transfer is critical in building a power base in order to accomplish the leadership role and changes that you want to achieve and realize your personal and professional goals (Houston, 2008). According to Paula Brynion (2004), power is one’s capability to influence others. The nursing industry must recognize that constructing a power base is a vital force in controlling one’s vocation and place in an organization. Brynion furthers states that the capacity to identify and connect the enthusiasm and prospect of nursing is imperative in building a positive perception of and using power. Hence, a list of strategies in building a power base is listed and expounded in this paper. 1. Be professional and act as a team player. Since you are a new nameless subject in the group, you must present yourself in a package that would leave a positive mark to your coworkers. Uphold an aura of professionalism and competence by goi ng to work early and well-groomed. Be conscious of how you talk with others and try to be tactful and confident especially when dealing with head nurses and doctors. Maintaining composure even under times of stress will leave them a good impression of you. It is also necessary to work harder, volunteer for extra shifts and readily help colleagues to contribute more to the community. Involve yourself in meetings, extra assignments and accept these tasks with an open mind. Eventually, perseverance and professionalism can take you greater heights and everyone will associate your name with respect and credibility (Daly, Speedy and Jackson, 2003). 2. Learn the rules. Building a power base command for socialization and determination of the key people of power in the company. Understanding the â€Å"unspoken rules† in an organization is critical in blending in with your new surroundings, will provide you with a broader vision of the organization and get a better sense of how it func tions. It is essential for any newcomer to recognize the culture and values of the institution in order to have an awareness of the do’s and don’ts in the workplace. The information achieved through these details can benefit you by gaining entrance into important networks in the system (Carter, 2007). 3. Increase expert power. Given that you have been a registered nurse for five years from a previous hospital, it is expected that proper training and experience are already at hand. However, continuous gaining of knowledge, expertise and skills are still needed to increase expert power. New challenges arise every day that can help increase not only your skill level but your maturity as well. Moreover, taking up specialty certifications and advanced studies upsurges your power base because of new knowledge gained. Open positions for higher ranks may specifically require certain capabilities so you need to seize those opportunities by gaining expert power as much as you ca n (Yoder-Wise, 2011). 4. Search for mentors and form alliances with other professionals. Associate yourself with positive role models that imitate nursing excellence and behave accordingly. Coworkers who show commitment to extensive learning and love for their jobs are more likely to emulate optimistic approach in making a difference in the nursing industry. These kinds of people can be of great influence to you since mentoring is an active process that can help build a power base.

Dictatorship and Democracy Essay Example for Free

Dictatorship and Democracy Essay Benazir Bhutto was a renowned politician and the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan during a time that changed the face of the world; the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 95. She was outspoken against the policy, rhetoric and agenda of Al Qaeda. On the 4th of October 2002, Bhutto gave a speech to the world stating that Al Qaeda not only victimized western society, but victimized Muslim Nations and the people of Islam. In her speech she invites the Democracies of the world to help thwart terrorism by replacing Dictatorships with Democratic Governments that provide for their people. Bhutto states, â€Å"Democracies which operate under pluralistic and public constraints, must provide for the public welfare, must provide social services, and must provide education, health and housing. Dictatorships need not. † (WV 293) In this essay I will discuss my disposition of Benazir Bhutto’s statement of government involvement of society. Benazir Bhutto belonged to a part of the world that most of us do not know well. She comes from a part of the world that does not consider women as man’s equal in society and religion. Part of this world has been plagued by the scourge of Al Qaeda; a terrorist organization that based its belief in the total destruction of Western Civilization for the preservation of Islam, taught in the method of extremism. The Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda assassinated Benazir Bhutto for her disagreement of the ways, methods and extreme fundamentalisms purported by Al Qaeda. She paid the ultimate price with her life for her outspoken beliefs against the unguided, against the recklessness and against the atrocity afflicted upon a Muslim society dictated by a mind hell bent on suffer for not conforming to his/her blueprint. She herself was enlightened, seeking progress of mankind. Dictatorships are more prominent around the world than one would think. Almost every nation has had a form of Dictatorship at one time in its history. Dictatorships are defined as authoritarian government ruled by one person. Usually the leader of these societies will take resources from his/her people to distribute elsewhere, primarily the military. In turn the people will do without food, state run services, electricity, running water, education and medical services. They’re even told how to worship religion throughout their lives. When people are oppressed and subject to such regimes they either protest their government or in some cases embrace it. I understand what Bhutto is inferring with her quote. When people are forced into these oppressive regimes it breeds hatred that can easily spill outside of its borders. It makes sense that oppressed people can become frustrated by outside influences and resort to a simplistic way of life. The oppressed can become more open to a suggested and dangerous agenda carrying with them the heavy burden over generations. On the other hand, Democracy is more in tune with its people. I define Democracy as a government system that sets all citizens as equal and allows its people to voice their opinion all for the greater good of society. In these societies the government can provide for its citizens what Dictatorships usually neglect. Democracies have the power to ensure that each citizen is entitled to education rights, social services, health care, public welfare and housing needs for the less fortunate. Democratic citizens who are in need should have no worries of doing without, as if Mom or Dad is there to lend a helping hand to their children. The citizens can control what benefits they have rights to through Democratic process where as people subdued by a Dictator struggle to get by with whatever they can get their hands on. A Democracy supports the ideas of many whereas a Dictatorship pushes the agenda of one person across its people. A Democracy encourages people to live positively and hopeful. It’s easy to say that people who live under Democracy are not oppressed but in some cases spoiled by the fruits of their government. Unfortunately the circumstantial effect of Dictatorships can ultimately lead to factions that want nothing more but to change the world into their idealisms. These groups become extreme in their own right and force their agenda on the world through extreme action. Dictatorships become breeding grounds for this kind of filth and their ilk; in some cases a terrorist organization houses a Dictator with the power to spread rhetoric to the world by utilizing media outlets that air the aftermath of terror attacks. The entire populace of one’s country is negatively reflected and become polarized by the extreme leadership. A Democracy’s citizens have everything they need to live a healthy life and make something of themselves and should have no reason to embrace jealousy and hatred of extremism. Ultimately the citizen makes the country. There are some very rare cases of factions that form within Democracies that hold a specific agenda. These factions really do nothing more than stir up the opinion of the public through their protest. Rarely do these factions become violent or organized enough to enforce their agenda onto the world through acts of terror. Do I agree with Benazir Bhutto? Yes and no. I honestly feel that all people of the world should live freely and allowed to flourish in society. I think that someone should be able to see a doctor if they are sick or with cancer. I do not believe that government should put itself before its people, at any given time! I think that there should be no person that starves and lives under a bridge wondering what tomorrow is going to be like. And the one thing I think that Democracy cannot cure is extremism of any aspect of society. There will always be someone who is not happy with their way of life and will resort to an extreme ideals and methods.

How Sustainable Is Tescos Strategic Position?

How Sustainable Is Tescos Strategic Position? Jack Cohen, Tescos founder, began as a barrow boy. In 1947, he established one of the first pilot self-service stores in St. Albans in Hertfordshire (Bowlby, 2001, p7-18). Tesco is presently the biggest retailer in the United Kingdom with revenues in 2009 clocking $96,210 million. One third of the entire national food expenditure in the UK occurs at Tescos (Tesco, 2009, p1). The supermarket business in the UK is experiencing difficult times in the wake of the economic downturn. Tesco states that its UK sales growth was nearly flat during the previous quarter, even as it battled declining food prices (BBC, 2010). A supermarket chief who declined to be named stated that a bloodbath might be looming and thousands of jobs might be threatened (Finch Wood, 2010, p1). A fresh generation of supermarket chiefs is taking over the running of the  £130 billion UK retail sector at this uncertain juncture (Finch Wood, 2010). Sir Terry Leahy, Tescos Chairman, will retire in March 2011, after directing the retailer for 14 long years. He will be succeeded by Philip Clarke, currently in charge of Tescos Asian and European business (Telegraph, 2010). Sir Leahys departure proclamation came mere weeks after new chiefs had taken over at competitors Asda and Morrisons (Finch Wood, 2010, p1). This study aims to analyse various important strategy models to understand the strategic position of Tesco, its key external drivers of change, and how it adds value. The study also examines the sustainability of Tescos strategic position. 2. Analysis The retailing business, both non-food and food, is going through a crisis (Finch Wood, 2010). The Like-for-like turnover for Tesco, excluding new store openings and petrol, increased 1.1 percent in the quarter to 30May (BBC, 2010, p1). The growth figure reduced to only 0.1 percent after factoring in the reinstatement of VAT to 17.5 percent; post its temporary cut (BBC, 2010, p1). Company sources said that the 30 percent increase in fuel prices over last year had reduced customer spends on other goods (BBC, 2010, p1). Richard Hunter, Head of UK Equities in Hargreaves Lansdowne Stockbrokers observed that imminent government belt-tightening measures would make it even harder for Tesco customers (BBC, 2010, p1). He added that the company is now exerting itself to achieve the type of progress customarily expected of it by the markets. Sir Terrys looming retirement has exacerbated uncertainty further, even as Tescos competitors continue to threaten its market domination (BBC, 2010, p1). 2.1. Tescos Strategic Position Johnson Scholes, in Exploring Corporate Strategy, (2002), defined strategy thus: Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves competitive advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfil stakeholders expectations (Stirr, 2003, p1). Michael Porters Generic Strategies model (1985) categorises 3 generic strategies into (a) cost leadership (b) differentiation and (c) market segmentation. Porter argues that a successful company needs to practice one of the 3 strategies. It must not get stuck in the middle between the two fundamental generators of competitive advantage, namely low prices and differentiation (Referaty, 2010, p1). He also recommends that companies with high market share should adopt cost leadership strategies to become profitable, even as companies with low market shares should target profitability through market segmentation or differentiation (Referaty, 2010, p1). Tescos strategies do not however appear to be influenced by Porters model. Whilst the company has over 30% market share in UKs grocery retailing, it does not offer discount shopping. It is also not the cheapest amongst major supermarket chains. It furthermore offers customers options of Tesco Finest and Tesco basic foodstuffs (Referaty, 2010, p1). Empirical evidence suggests that several companies adopt both low-cost and differentiation strategies (Referaty, 2010, p1). Tesco utilises low costs to offer superior differentiation and subsequently reinvests the returns to reduce the costs even more. It also strategically works towards differentiating through its community building approach (Referaty, 2010, p1). Tescos customers cannot be categorised into distinct social groups. Offering both cheap and expensive merchandise, it provides goods for customers with thin budgets and also for those with more purchasing power (Referaty, 2010, p1). Whilst this approach challenges Porters requirements for successful strategies, it seems to be functioning in Tescos favour (Referaty, 2010, p1). Cliff Bowmans Strategy Clock helps in the examination of a companys competitive position, compared to the offerings of competitors (E-fost, 2010, p1). Bowman, like Porter, believes that competitive advantage emanates, either from cost leadership or from differentiation advantage (E-fost, 2010, p1). Bowman however differs from Porter in some ways. Whilst agreeing with the concept of cost leadership he feels such tenets to be too general and brings in more detailed combinations of perceived added value and price. Bowman suggests the active consideration of eight core strategic alternatives (E-fost, 2010, p1). Table 1 below illustrates the eight alternatives Table 1: Bowmans Strategy Clock (Zanthus.com, p1) Bowmans eight alternatives comprise of (a) low price / low added value, which is liable to be segment specific (b) low price, which carries the danger of price war and small margins or organisations to be cost leaders, (c) hybrid options with lower cost base and reinvestment in differentiation and low price (d) differentiation alternative with / without a price premium that is able to bear price premium or yield market share benefits (e) focused differentiation, yielding perceived added value to specific segments (f) increased price / standard product, which could lead to risks of losing market share (g) increased price / low values, which is feasible in a monopoly situation, and (h) low value / standard price, resulting in loss of market share (E-fost, 2010, p1). Tesco has a firm and deep based strategy for growth, which works towards reinforcig its core UK operations and its the growth thrust in fresh markets (Quick facts, 2009, p1). The fundamental tenet of its strategy, formulated in 1997, concerns the expansion of business scope to permit delivery of robust and sustained long-term growth (Quick facts, 2009, p1). Such expansion is realised by pursuing existing Tesco customers and making them customers of various other UK Tesco businesses like non-food, telecommunications, and financial services (Quick facts, 2009, p1). The companys strategy has five objectives, viz (a) to be successful in its global retail business (b) to develop its mainstay UK business, (c) to be equally strong in non-food and food sectors (d) to expand other retailing and financial services, and (e) to position community at the heart of its strategy (Tesco plc, 2009, p1). Sir Terry said that when I became CEO I had a plan to build Tesco around its customers, to make it number one in the UK and to find new long-term growth in non-food, in services and international expansion. It has taken 14 years but that strategy has become a firm reality now and so I feel my work is almost complete (Telegraph, 2010, p1). 2.2. Key External Drivers PESTLE analysis helps in the analysis of the external macro environment within which a business functions (Rapdbi, 2010, p1). The understanding of opportunities or threats within the big picture environment in which a company operates helps in exploiting opportunities and minimising threats (Rapdbi, 2010, p1). It is a valuable tool for understanding the relationship between market growth or decline and the potential, position, and direction of a company or its business (Rapdbi, 2010, p1). PESTEEL is another extension of the same model and is an acronym for the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, educational and legal dimensions that need to be analyses to evaluate the market for the strategic plans of organisations or businesses (Rapdbi, 2010, p1). These factors are briefly discussed as under. Tescos operations are often influenced by political conditions and developments within and outside the UK (Docstoc, 2010, p1). The company might for example have to respond to British and Columbian politics to protect its coffee supply (321books, 2010, p1). Recession has caused unemployment levels in the UK to rocket to 28.93million. Adverse economic conditions can affect consumer spending, as well as impact prices, costs, profits, demand and supply. UK retail turnover, for instance, reduced 0.7% during January 2010 in relation to the January 2009 numbers on a like-for-like basis. Sales in 2009 had increased 1.1% (KPMG, 2010, p1). Sociological factors can also greatly influence Tescos operations. Such factors are immense and can range from immigration to changes in fashion and consumer behaviour (321books, 2010, p1). British consumers have, experts state, turned into one stop shoppers urging chains to stock ever increasing ranges and varieties of goods (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Tesco makes use of technology to drive its business. It uses forecasted weather patterns to estimate demand and sales of its products and services. Their software, developed after 3 years of research, can indicate changes in sales that can occur because of a degree rise in temperature rise or an extra hour of sunshine (Swaminathan, 2009, p1). Technology also facilitates services like Tesco.com and self-checkout facilities (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Tescos environmental policy has resulted in adoption of measures to lower carbon emissions. The company aims to attain a 30 percent decline in the carbon impact on it entire supply chain by 2020; the overall objective is to become a zero carbon group by 2050 (Tescoplc.com [Press release, 2009]) (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Increasing educational levels affect organisations. Higher educational levels facilitate people to receive higher incomes. Increases in incomes also generate opportunities for procurement and sales of additional goods and services (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2010, p1). Tesco is also subject to various government policies and national legislatives, especially in areas of health, safety and labour. Failure in adhering to these can have a direct affect on its performance (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Porters Five Forces analysis for companies involves the evaluation of the external environment vis-a-vis the industry structure. The five forces comprise of barriers to entry, buyer power, consumer power, the threat of substitutes, and the degree of rivalry. Such assessments help firms to formulate approaches for exploitation of opportunities and protection from threats. Companies can thus accomplish competitive positioning and achieve differential advantage over the goods and services of their market rivals (Referaty, 2010, p1). The supermarket retail industry has very high barriers to entry. High capital requirements create major entry barriers for prospective firms. The need to achieve scale economies and high quality and specialised logistics also constitute difficult entry barriers. Tesco and other major supermarket chains have the financial and operational strength to buy and handle enormous volumes of merchandise, which helps them in pricing of products and satisfaction of various customer needs (Referaty, 2010, p1). New firms also need to contend with the loyalties developed by existing firms, such barriers being evinced by the failure of discount stores like Lidl or Aldi that been unsuccessful in not growing up to become major contenders in the retail market (Referaty, 2010, p1). Customers have options of shopping from diverse supermarket chains that compete on price and various promotions. Suppliers can wield considerable influence when they are in positions to claim price premium and also when the final merchandise on offer can be impacted by their quality and their delivery schedules. Tesco prefers to use a number of smaller suppliers rather than one big supplier. This increases its bargaining power and provides the company with the option of switching suppliers, if market and operational conditions so demand (Referaty, 2010, p1). The threat of substitutes plays an important role in assessment of competitiveness. Companies need to examine the tendency and chance of customers to switch to substitutes. They need to for example, in the case of an obsolescence threat, keep competition at bay by making their goods and services more attractive. Tesco, for instance, offers merchandise price check facility on its website, thus enabling customers to view substitutes by themselves (Referaty, 2010, p1). The extent of competitive rivalry depends upon the competitiveness of market participants. With all four major retail players aiming for a higher market share, the supermarket space in the UK is particularly competitive (Referaty, 2010, p1). Porters Five Forces, therefore, is a bottom line method of company analysis, from its own perspective. Essentially if goods or services cannot be differentiated, then competition mainly becomes price-based, and customer loyalty is difficult to ensure (Referaty, 2010, p1). 2.3. Tescos Value Addition Michael Porter advanced his theory on Value Chain Analysis in 1985 in response to criticism on the inadequacies of the Five Forces framework in implementation methodology that connected internal capabilities with opportunities in the competitive landscape (Provenmodels, 2010, p1). This framework centres on industry attractiveness being a causal factor in the earnings potential of all organisations in a particular industry. Considerable differences in performance occur between organisations operating within an industry (Provenmodels, 2010, p1). Value Chain Analysis can assist in identifying an organisations core competencies and differentiating the activities that give rise to competitive advantage. An organisations cost structure can be segregated by this method into discrete functions or processes on the presumption that the cost drivers for each of such activities work differently (Provenmodels, 2010, p1). Porter was able to compress an activity-based cost scrutiny into a standard template comprising of five primary and four support activities (Provenmodels, 2010, p1). These nine activities are categorised under two primary and support activity group areas. The primary activities comprise of (a) inbound logistics, comprising of materials handling, warehousin g, transportation and inventory control (b)operations, including machine operating, testing, assembly, packaging and maintenance (c) outbound logistics of warehousing, order processing, transportation and distribution (d) marketing and sales, comprising of promotion, advertising pricing, selling and channel management, and (e) services, including installation, spare part management and servicing (Provenmodels, 2010). The other support activities encompass (a) firm infrastructure, including general management, finance, planning, legal and investor relations (b) human resource management, encompassing education, recruitment, promotion and reward systems (c) technology development, including research development, product and process development and IT, and (d) procurement, comprising of purchase of raw materials and supplier contract negotiations (Provenmodels, 2010, p1). Attempts to engage in Value Chain Analysis of Tesco reveal various primary variables that can add or deplete value to the organisation (Docstoc, 2010, p1). In terms of primary variables, inbound logistics have an essential significance in the generation of the value chain since they offer the initial prospect to create value. Tesco has sophisticated and ever-improving inward logistics that strive to improve the level of in-store consumer choices (Docstoc, 2010, p1). The effectiveness of Tescos distribution system could be improved. The quality control system should also be administered more proficiently by the organisation to reduce customers being burdened with the cost of losses (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Service orientation lies at the core of Tescos operations. Services that need to be diligently administered include 24*7 activities and various store management functions involving opening and closing stores, shelf maintenance, and stock replenishment (Docstoc, 2010, p1). With regard to outbound logistics, value addition for Tesco can come about from reaching the goods to the customer, improving customer service, and implementing a customer friendly trolley service (Docstoc, 2010, p1). Tescos marketing and sales activity is represented by its distinct Clubcard. The card is instrumental in giving discounts, providing customer loyalty offers, and selling health, wellness, and environmentally friendly merchandise. It carries Tescos advertisements and the latest promotions on deploying recycled goods for assisting Tesco in becoming carbon free by 2050 (Docstoc, 2010, p1). 2.4. Unique Resources and Capabilities All organisational resources are not essential for an organisations competitiveness. The resources that do not help in building competitive advantage constitute threshold resources (Lioukas Voudouris, 2010, p1). Unique resources on the other hand are those which are not easily obtained by the competitors and can help development of competitive advantage (Lioukas Voudouris, 2010, p1). The same argument holds good for capabilities, which are obtained over time through application of resources and knowledge collation. DQE (Design, Quality and Environment) aims to develop unique capabilities and unique resources, which can help in building the foundation of competitive sustainability and competitive advantage (Lioukas Voudouris, 2010, p1). Table 2, provided below, illustrates the permutations of the unique resources and capabilities in forming the foundations of competitive advantages. Table 2: Unique resources capabilities: The base of competitive advantage (Lioukas Voudouris, 2010, p1). The strategy of sustainability entails all characteristics of strategy and incorporates elements of strategy formulation, strategy definition and execution, as also the issue of strategic options (Stirr, 2003, p1). Strategic position is generated by the inter-relatedness of activities (Stirr, 2003, p1). Organisations that really comprehend strategic positioning are experienced in activity mapping. They recognise their core competencies and frequently plot their own and their competitors activity network in order to assess the sustainability of their own strategic position (Stirr, 2003, p1). Any organisation can replicate a particular competitive activity. Discrete activities per se do not generate a strategic position (Stirr, 2003, p1). It is the grouping of activities that an organisation selects to execute for every strategic function (be it marketing, finance, operations and human resources), and the manner wherein such activities are supported and interconnected by business processes and systems, that lead to the building of a strategic position. The extent of interconnectedness and support of these activities determines the degree of sustainability of an organisations strategic position (Stirr, 2003, p1). Organisational strategies relating to marketing, finance, operations and human resources are sustained by internal business systems. These refer to the intricate combination of policies, procedures, hardware, software, budgeting, control mechanisms, et al, which facilitate the optimal flow of data and information through the entire organisation as it tries to provide for the requirements of its customers. An organisation that does not have a lucid strategic position will be transparently riddled with backlogs, omissions and breakdowns within its business systems (Stirr, 2003, p1). Business systems also focus on the means by which core competencies satisfy customer needs. It is through such systems that organisations leverage their entire accessible wherewithal on their customer requirements, build unique activity networks, remove waste through the entire organisation, and curtail their costs to the maximum possible extent. Conclusion: How sustainable is Tescos strategic position? The analysis of the diverse strategy models during the course of this study highlights the significance of strategy in garnering competitive advantages. The key external and internal drivers that compel continuous changes have also been examined. It has also been examined how core resources and competencies need to be utilised effectively and continuously to keep renewing drivers of growth. Activities or strategies per se neither generate competitive advantage nor sustainability. Enterprises that build a sustainable strategic position achieve it through the development of a number of distinct core competencies and by carrying out activities, (which stem from these competencies) that meet customer requirements (Stirr, 2003, p1).Organisations construct sustainable strategic positions by integrating their marketing, finance, operations, and human resource planning functions. They vigilantly review all the activities carried out by every functional sphere to ensure utmost integration (Stirr, 2003, p1). Strategy drives the scale and direction achievable by organisations in the long term and helps organisations in accomplishing competitive advantages through the arrangement of resources in a dynamic and aggressive changing environment to fully satisfy stakeholder expectations (Stirr, 2003, p1). The foregoing analysis reveals how Tesco actively and persistently works in different areas of strategy formulation to achieve competitive advantage and value addition. Tesco strives for sustainability though the deployment of its core resources and integration of all its functions across the board. This renders it with sustainable competitive advantages through the construction of high entry barriers in different operational areas. Such barriers keep new competition from getting and existing competition from achieving parity. The sustainability of Tescos strategic position is also evidenced by its purposeful aim to be a carbon free global organization by 2050.

Buying a Whore by Anne Sexton

Buying a Whore by Anne Sexton Feminism is a movement that opposes women inferiority and promotes equality among men and women. It moves away from logo centrism and phallocentrism or seeing the world and its people from patriarchal lens. Feminists shed light upon womens contributions throughout history which were never taken account as significant and reject sexism in writings. Therefore they bring women from the position of invisibility to visibility through their works and protests. Feminist literary criticism deconstruct works by men which usually promotes the idea( ideology) of patriarchy and male dominance over women. Feminist criticism disturb the complacent certainties of patriarchal culture and crate a less oppressive climate for women writers and readers (Selden 128). Men wrote literary texts for example for themselves and on behalf of women as well. Thus, men hold power by strengthening the ideologies within literary texts to dominate women and prove men worthier than womenfolk . For an example women as objects whereas men are subjects. Feminists then deconstruct these texts to show readers that these were mere men made ideologies, which were not biological but socially constructed; and the dichotomous comparison between these two genders were created by men as well. Feminism movement was not confined within literary texts only but also, economics, politics and religion. The critical project of Feminist critics is thus concerned with uncovering the contingencies of gender as a cultural, social and political construct and instrument of domination Furthermore, through feminists critics like Simone De Beauvoir, we came to realize One is not born a woman one becomes one. Therefore femininity and masculinity are never natural but socially constructed. First wave feminism paid importance to the right to vote for women as equal as men (women suffrage movement). These were mostly middle class women who started to enter public domain for jobs due to World War I. The Second Wave feminism focused on not merely political rights. Their quests were much broader, for example womens right to vote, advancement in carrier, social and economical equality and their right to determine their own lives separate from men. However when the Third Wave Feminism rose up, they critiqued the second wave feminists as being not feminist enough for they universalized womens feelings, backgrounds and experiences. Thus out of Third Wave Feminism different groups of feminism were born discussing and shedding light on the various obstacles and experiences felt by women around the globe. Post feminism on the other hand did not stop from looking into feminism but also other genders as well such as men, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and so forth. When we examine the poem Buying the Whore by Anne Sexton using Feminism (Feminist Literary Criticism), we realize that the poem is about a whore also known as prostitute from the patriarchal lenses. A whore( prostitute) is a person, usually a woman who sells sex service for men to earn a living which is usually meager Whore means prostitute. And a prostitute is a woman who offers to hire her body for indiscriminate sexual intercourse, or so says The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Pheterson 39). Though the poet is a woman , the persona who degrades the whore is a man. Thus, from a feminist point of view it is true that majority men do look down upon women as the weaker sex. Throughout the poem Buying the Whore, from feminist perspective we can clearly see that whore was being objectified and was not treated as a subject with human feelings. For example the whore was compared to a roast beef, boat, glass, grate and finally the bra in the entire poem. The whore thus becomes an object of pleasure for men to satisfy their lusts and nothing more than that. Description of the whore in this poem, no doubt is from the view of phallocentrism. Phallocentrism means The privileging of the masculine (the phallus) in understanding meaning or social relations (cla.purdue.edu). Sadly, none of the whores point of view were given in the entire poem. Her thoughts, her feelings and her situation were all left out. According to French Feminsit Luce Irigaray, language is so gender bias and phallo centric that whatever characteristics that men think about women then leads women into mimicry and thus the position of mastery was formed(Rivkin and Ryan 795) and women objectified. Hence it is true through this poem that women( whores ) are treated as objects and described as things with no feelings to convey. Therefore Second Wave feminists, said that it is important to pay great attention or detail when reading any text that is soiled by patriarchal notions. By doing so, one can undo the phallocentrism within texts. For example Luce Irigaray stated that the retroactive impact of the end of each word, utterance or sentence upon its beginning must be taken into consideration in order to undo the power of its teleological effect, including its deferred actions (Rivkin and Ryan 797). Nevertheless, in my opinion, there is a flaw in the Second Wave feminists concept of undoing language that was contaminated by sexism. First of all it is very hard to reverse or change language that is dominated by male perspectives because we are all entrenched with patriarchal ideology for our entire lives. This is because from the past till now, writings in the literary world are dominated by men .Deconstructing patriarchal supporting texts and creating new feminists texts suggested by French feminist can be problematic as well. Producing text in gynocentric manner can lead to disagreement from feminists around the world as universalizing their experiences and their voices and even essentialize femininity. Second Wave feminism fail to take account the diversity of womens experiences all over world and their context. For example race, class, ethnography and geography of women.Non-sexist language and gynocentric language are criticized for underestimating the significance of gender asymmetry in language and for oversimplifying the relationship between language and corporeality (Bondi 245). Feminist reading, of the poem, Buying the Whore by Anne Sexton through tells us that the whore is commodified with having sign value attached to her. For example,The whore was purchased , rented, and paid by the persona for sexual services. According to Luce Irigaray in her article women on the Market , women were commodification exchanged by men among men to create a homosocial bonds between men. The exchange of women established relationships between men; the old family system was essentially homosexual (Rivkin and Ryan 800). However in the poem, the purchasing, renting and paying of the whore did not create a homosocial bond, yet the transaction of cash were indeed among men; pimp and the customer. You are a boat I have rented by the hour and I steer you with my rage until you run aground Besides that throughout the entire poem, there are no signs or words of the whore involving in the negotiation of price for the sexual service . This definitely strengthens the idea of the feminists that women indeed have no say in her own sign value and is invisible in literary world. Next, compared to a virgin or a wife, a whores value stoops way below for they are said to sell their honor in change for cash. Whores according to society fail to assume their role as the submissive, pure women or the Angel in the house.Whore dishonor is in part whore failure to fit the traditional wife role in marriage (Pheterson 53). So they face more chances of abuse through their customers and social stigmatization. A prostitute then becomes one who sells her honor by offering to hire her body for base gain or for an unworthy doing, specifically sexual intercourse( Pheterson 39). Women according to feminists are discriminated by the society for just being women. Husbands, fathers, society expect women to protect and guard their purity, chastity and honor. So, a whores honor thus fall and it is irreparable. . Therefore the persona( customer ) ill treats the prostitute in the poem. He even claims to have the right over her body and does as he wishes for he had paid for the whore;the object. You are the roast beef I have purchased and I stuff you with my very own onion You are a glass that I have paid to shatter and I swallow the pieces down with my spit He shatters her and even stuff her with objects without asking her permission or taking into account her physical pain. However her experiences are never important; what was more significant and was assumed was man must be pleased, but him to please/Is womans pleasure( Ryan and Rivkin 816). Since the whore was considered as impure woman, and assumed to have unattractive features, the persona describes her in negative term such as stink and goes on to vomit into her hands further emphasizing ,a whore is degraded being who deserves ill handling. Whores are usually dirty, base and pocky, but they are also bold, impudent and brazen faced(Gowing 10). Even his own mother, the persona abuses in his poem what more the whore. You stink like my Mama under your bra and I vomit into your hand like a jackpot its cold hard quarters From most Postfeminist point of view, Buying the Whore by Anne Sexton universalizes the experiences of sex workers. Anne sexton shows to us readers that whores suffer and have no voice in determining customers they allow into their quarters. In reality not all sex workers are so vulnerable or not in position of making a choice. For example not all whore have sexual intercourse with their customers but sexual related services only. The words sexual intercourse are also inadequate to describe the work of all prostitutes. Much prostitution does not include sexual intercourse (Pheterson 41). Whores have rights to deny the customers they doubt to have disease or that might ill treat them. One whore from the United States said, If I have the slightest doubt about a guy, I refuse him (Pheterson 40). Hence, it is clear that feminism, help in understanding the meaning and give constructive criticisms towards the poem. Power dynamics can also be seen in the poem Buying the whore using feminist literary criticism. When we deconstruct the text from feminist perspective, the client has power over the female (whore) who he had purchased to satisfy his sexual lust. He has the power to stuff her with objects he wishes; steer her like a boat with force till she runs aground and break her into pieces as if she were a glass. The persona has all the power over the whore for he had paid for her service. He is depicted as this powerful being forcing his might and dominance over the whore. The whore on the other hand for example was compared to a vulnerable glass that can be shattered and boat that had to submit to its owner to his directions and steering. She is portrayed as this meek, powerless person who submits to the atrocities her male client had forced upon her. The whore was shown in the poem of not having the right over her own body or the right to have sexual pleasure. Neither as mother nor as virgin nor as prostitute has woman any right to her own pleasure (Ryan and Rivkin 808).Thus it is clear through the poem that the whore unlike any other women are said to be powerless and are oppressed by man kind. Woman is riveted into a lopsided relationship with mean; he is the one, she is the other (Shelden 129). It is valuable that feminist shed light on the oppression or the powerlessness of women . Feminism is a great literary theory in showing readers how the world especially literary texts are laden with sexism and is mostly phallocentric. Yet again there is another weakness in feminist literary theory in my view point. Like many other Second Wave Feminists, Anne Sexton (American poet) in her poem Buying the Whore has brought forth the issue oppression of the whore( woman ) and the domination of men over women. She even made her whore voiceless and powerless throughout the poem. However, by portraying women as weak and men as strong and superior being in literary work , feminist are in fact strengthening the ideologies that are ingrained within society. Feminist then without realization , reinforce the dichotomous relationship between women and men created by society. Thus in feminist literary work and criticism, women are still being described as inferior to men. There is here a danger once again of slipping back into a phallocentric system which relegates women to the margi n (Selden 143). In conclusion, I do agree to an extent that Feminism does help in providing meaning to the poem Buying a whore by Anne Sexton. Feminist Literary Criticism without doubt brings womens oppression into light and celebrate women writers and their literary contributions. This movement tries its utmost best to decenter logocentrism and phallocentrism that oppressed and suppressed women throughout history. Furthermore Feminism tries to bring about equality and avoid sexism within discourses especially in the literary word. We (especially women) have benefited tremendously from this movement and its contributions. However there are weaknesses within the approaches of Second Wave which in my opinion were being rectified by the Postfeminists. Postfeminist takes into account of the diversity of experiences among women therefore avoiding generalization, universalizing and even essentialist point of view. Furthermore, Postfeminist movement pays great importance to standpoint theory which explains that peoples experiences differ according to their situations for example class, race, ethnicity, geography and ethnography. Therefore the poem Buying the Whore can best be explained through the latter part of Feminism which is Postfeminism without discrimination in meaning or experiences.

Edgar Alan Poe Essay -- essays research papers

The Life Of Edgar Alan Poe a Biography 1809 -- 1849   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gained some fame from the publication in 1845 of a dozen stories as well as of The Raven and Other Poems, and he enjoyed a few months of calm as a respected critic and writer. After his wife died in 1847, however, his life began to unravel even faster as he moved about from city to city, lecturing and writing, drinking heavily, and courting several older women. Just before marrying one, he died in Baltimore after being found semiconscious in a tavern - possibly from too much alcohol, although it is a myth that he was a habitual drunkard and drug addict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Admittedly a failure in most areas of his personal life, he was recognized as an unusually gifted writer and was admired by Dostoevsky and Baudelaire, even if not always appreciated by many of his other contemporaries. Master of symbolism and the macabre, he is considered to be the father of the detective story and a stepfather of science fiction, and he remains one of the most timeless and extraordinary of all American creative artists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second of the three children of David Poe and Elizabeth (Arnold) Poe, both of whom were professional actors and members of a touring theatrical company. Eclipsed by his more famous wife, his own promising career ruined by alcoholism, Poe's father deserted the family when Edgar was still an infant; nothing conclusive is known of his life thereafter. While appearing professionally in Richmond, Virginia, Poe's mother became ill and died on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  December 8, 1811, at the age of twenty-four. Her three children, who would maintain contact with one another throughout their lives, were sent to live with different foster families. Edgar became the ward of John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, and his wife Frances, who had no children of their own. Although never formally adopted by them, Poe regarded the couple, especially Mrs. Allan, as parents, and he took their surname as his own middle name. In 1815, business reasons led Allan to move to England for what would be a five-year stay. Both in London and then in Richmond after the family's return, Poe was well educated in private academies. In 1825, he became secretly engaged to... ...d, plunging Poe into an emotional and physical collapse that lasted for most of the year. In 1848, he was briefly engaged to marry Sarah Helen Whitman, a widowed poet several years his senior, but their relationship was tense and strained, and the engagement was broken off. He went to Richmond in the summer of 1849, hoping to find financial backing for yet another journal, and while there he was reunited with and re-engaged to Elmira Royster, his first love, now herself a widow. He sailed from Richmond to Baltimore, where on October 3, 1849, he was found outside a polling place (it was election day), in a state of delirium and wearing shabby and ill-fitting clothing. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he raved feverishly for several days before dying on October 7 at the age of forty. Neither the circumstances that had led to his condition nor the exact cause of his death have ever been satisfactorily determined. Poe's posthumous reputation sustained grievous and long-lasting damage from a libelous biography by Rufus Griswold, whom Poe himself had appointed his literary executor, and rumors, mostly unfounded, circulate to this day about Poe's mental state and personal habits.

Claude McKays Harlem Shadows Essay -- Harlem Shadows Claude McKay Ess

Claude McKay's "Harlem Shadows" During the Harlem Renaissance, the black body was considered exotic and the "flavor" of the week. Society had an obsession towards black women, in general, blackness. However, the white race wanted to listen to their music, mingle with the women, and enjoy the other finer luxuries that the black society could afford. Even the art was captured by this idea of the exotic and contentment in being "black." The masquerade began as members of the white race tried to pass as black and during that experience gain some satisfaction from their own lost and confused existence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Claude McKay was unique in style and tone, yet still followed the other artists by topic. The exotic in Claude McKay's "Harlem Shadows" is apparent. McKay is developing the exotic throughout the text and saying that black exoticism is the only way that Africans can survive in America. McKay wants the African American to embrace their bodies, but there is an element of pity to the work. He feels that embracing the exotic in your own body is the way that the black person can become African American. Ignoring the culture fails to guide black Americans to discovering his or her identity. As a Harlem Renaissance writer, Claude McKay tried to guide African Americans to accept the African culture along with the exotic characteristics involved in it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In "Harlem Shadows", McKay tries to express how a black woman survives everyday life in America. He writes, "I see the shapes of girls who pass/ to bend and barter at desires call." McKay identifies with the black desires that these women can not avoid. It is in their nature to turn and exchange their bodies. However, the most important reference McKay makes is the use of the word barter. The dictionary meaning of bartering is to exchange services without the exchange of money. These girls are not receiving money for each desire they fulfill. For the girls to continue satisfying desires without receiving anything in return, McKay implies they are enjoying the act. Also, that these woman need to complete these desires to survive. Another prominent aspect of the line is that McKay uses the term girls instead of women. Thus proving that even from an immature age, black females are not able to suppress their exotic nature and desires. Therefore, McKay is encouraging w omen to embrace their own African roots, n... ...ng, "Follow my example." That is how the girls can save the culture and realize their identity. He wants the girls to find a better way to exhibit their sexual tendencies and embrace the culture. The girls nightly behavior is shameful and not the way to living the culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout "Harlem Shadows," McKay is telling the young girls to express their natural sexuality, but to find a different way. The behavior that they are displaying is more disgraceful and should not be considered Black culture. McKay shows how the girls have lost their innocence and spread the black culture to the white race, yet McKay implies that their idea of the culture is tainted as the girls themselves are. Claude McKay makes reference to his example being the girl's saving grace to the true black culture and each girl's true identity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, in his message McKay has to make the girls exoticized and objectified before he can explain the way to change and the ultimate survival. By objectifying the girl's McKay attaches his poem along with the rest of the writers at the time. He is writing the same topic of exoticism, black culture, and resuscitation from a lost and confused existence.

Cultural Diversity and Patient Care

Knowledge of cultural diversity is key to all levels of the nursing practice. Knowledge and skills related to cultural diversity can strengthen and broaden health care delivery systems. â€Å"In 1986 the American Nursing Association (ANA) issued its first intention to strengthen cultural diversity programs in nursing† (Lowe & Archibald, 2009, p. 11). Despite good intentions made by nursing, progress in the area of cultural diversity has been slow and sporadic.The change in the ethnic composition of the U.S. has challenged nurses to incorporate the needs of their patient into their daily nursing practice. Society expects todays nurse to be culturally competent. Earlier a focus was on transcultural nursing was to bring an understanding of the contrasts between the nurse’s own culture and of the patient. An early strategy to educate nurses about culture was to incorporate cultural education into the nursing curriculum and to have cultural questions on nursing boards and ce rtification testing.â€Å"The necessity in preparing and assisting nurse researchers and clinicians to be able to meet the health needs of culturally diverse population takes on a sense of urgency† (Lowe & Archibald, 2009, p. 15). Concepts of illness, health, and wellness are part of the total cultural belief system. Nurses need to understand; how cultural groups understand life process, how they define health and illness, what they do to maintain wellness, what they believe is the cause of illness, how healers cure and care for their members, and how the cultural background of the nurse influences the care that they provide.We read in Ephesians 4:32, â€Å"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you† (Holy Bible, King James Version). As Christians we should show God’s love to each and every one of our patients. This article titled â€Å"Cultural Diversity: The Intention of Nursing† can be found at http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1744-6198. 2009. 00122. x/abstracte .

Flood Monitoring System

Sensors 2012, 12, 4213-4236; doi:10. 3390/s120404213 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 www. mdpi. com/journal/sensors Article A Real-Time Measurement System for Long-Life Flood Monitoring and Warning Applications Rafael Marin-Perez 1, , Javier Garc? a-Pintado 2,3 and Antonio Skarmeta G? mez 1 ? o 1 Department of Information and Communication Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, E-30100, Murcia, Spain; E-Mail: [email  protected] es 2 Euromediterranean Water Institute, Campus de Espinardo, E-30100, Murcia, Spain; E-Mail: [email  protected] om 3 National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Harry Pitt Building, 3 Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AL, UK Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email  protected] es. Received: 7 February 2012; in revised form: 14 March 2012 / Accepted: 22 March 2012 / Published: 28 March 2012 Abstract: A ? ood warning system incorporates telemetered rainfall and ? ow/water level data measu red at various locations in the catchment area. Real-time accurate data collection is required for this use, and sensor networks improve the system capabilities.However, existing sensor nodes struggle to satisfy the hydrological requirements in terms of autonomy, sensor hardware compatibility, reliability and long-range communication. We describe the design and development of a real-time measurement system for ? ood monitoring, and its deployment in a ? ash-? ood prone 650 km2 semiarid watershed in Southern Spain. A developed low-power and long-range communication device, so-called DatalogV1, provides automatic data gathering and reliable transmission. DatalogV1 incorporates self-monitoring for adapting measurement schedules for consumption management and to capture events of interest.Two tests are used to assess the success of the development. The results show an autonomous and robust monitoring system for long-term collection of water level data in many sparse locations during ? o od events. Keywords: real-time data acquisition; sensor network; hydrological monitoring; ? ood warning system Sensors 2012, 12 1. Introduction 4214 A warmer climate, with its increased climate variability, will increase the risk of both ? oods and droughts [1], whose management and mitigation are important to protect property, life, and natural environment. Real-time accurate monitoring of hydrologic variables is key for ? od forecasting, as well as for optimizing related warning systems for damage mitigation. Recent studies show that in the speci? c case of semiarid and arid areas, adequate deployment of monitoring networks is essential to a real understanding of the underlying processes generating run-off in storm events, and to achieve effective emergency systems (e. g. , [2]). Traditionally, researchers have directly collected data at the places of interest. This has now been commonly substituted by automatic sensor and datalogger systems, which provide high temporal data resol ution, while reducing operational human resource requirements.Dataloggers permit local automatic and unattended data gathering, and reduce environmental perturbation. However, data retrieval from standard dataloggers and storage in processing and control/warning centers still has to be done either manually, which prevents its applicability in ? ood warning systems, or through wired connections, which leads to substantial investments and operational costs. To confront these problems, sensor network technology has been proposed in many monitoring applications [3]. Yet, speci? c literature on sensor network for ? ood forecasting is sparse, with only a few examples available (e. . , [4–8]). Basically, a sensor network comprises a set of nodes, where each node includes a processor, a wireless radio module, a power supply, and is equipped with sensor hardware to capture environmental data. Each node performs the tasks of data gathering, physical parameter processing, and wireless d ata transmission to the control server. Speci? cally, for hydrologic applications, sensor nodes must also ful? ll a number of additional requirements: †¢ Power lifetime: Power sources are often not available at the locations of hydrological interest.Moreover, these locations are usually unprotected, and if renewable energy devices are used, there are prone to vandalism or theft. Thus, sensor nodes must have low-consumption, which along with existing standard batteries, should last at least one hydrologic cycle. †¢ Sensor hardware compatibility: Most hydrologic sensor nodes include a datalogger device connected through a cable to one or more measurement instruments. The datalogger must provide multiple wired interfaces to be able to communicate with a range of speci? c sensor hardware interfaces.This also involves issues of power supply, and selective time for power dispatching, which leads to optimal power management and facilitates the expansion of connected instruments. †¢ Reliability: Harsh weather conditions may cause failures in the wireless communication over the monitoring network. Backup mechanisms in local sensor dataloggers must be used to avoid information losses in unexpected crashes. †¢ Long-range communication: Hydrologic measurement locations are commonly sparse over large areas, and far away from the control center (i. e. , tens or hundreds of kilometers).Sensor nodes must have a peer-to-peer connection with the control center. Sensors 2012, 12 4215 In general, these, sometimes opposing, requirements are dif? cult to be satis? ed by existing developed solutions. For example, multiple sensor readings and long-range communication are high power-consumption tasks, which diminish battery lifetime. For instance, many existing wireless solutions for agriculture applications (e. g. , [9–11]) use a set of tens or hundreds of motes, which collaborate to gather dense data in a small area. Motes have low consumption, but they pr ovide limited sensor interfaces, and short-range communication.On the other hand, several hydrologic and meteorologic applications have been implemented with a few wireless datalogger stations, which individually obtain multi-sensor data in a few sparse locations over a large area (e. g. , [5,12–14]). These dataloggers permit high computing and long-range communication. However, they have an excessive investment cost and a high consumption that may be, in the long-term, unsustainable. This paper describes the design, development, and deployment of a real-time monitoring system for hydrological applications.The paper is focused on the description in detail of our wireless datalogger device, so-called DatalogV1 [15], which combines the low consumption of motes and the reliable communication of most powerful multi-sensor datalogger stations in order to satisfy the requirements of ? ood warning system scenarios. The DatalogV1 provides automatic monitoring and long-term autonomy i n sparse points over large areas. To demonstrate the goodness of the DatalogV1 design, we deployed a monitoring network in the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed, in Southern Spain. The severity of ? ash ? ods in the Rambla del o Albuj? n has caused important environmental and economic damages over the last years. Accordingly, the o wireless monitoring network is intended to provide real-time accurate hydrologic information to support an operational model-based ? ood warning system. This is an excellent test to asses the DatalogV1 performance and success in a real case scenario. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces the context of environmental monitoring and ? ood warning systems. Section 3 depicts our hydrologic monitoring scenario.Section 4 presents the design of DatalogV1 hardware. Section 5 shows the implementation of DatalogV1 software. Section 6 describes the architecture developed for remote hydrologic monitoring. Section 7 describes the deploym ent of the monitoring network in the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed. Section 8 shows the results o obtained regarding power consumption and data collection. Section 9 provides concluding remarks. 2. Environmental Monitoring Environmental monitoring is the most popular application for sensor networks. At present, sensor networks have been applied for a number of applications as, e. . , soil moisture monitoring [16], solar radiation mapping [17], aquatic monitoring [18], glacial control and climate change [19], forest ? re alarm [20], landscape ? ooding alarm [21], and forecasting in rivers [22]. The ability to place autonomous and low cost nodes in large harsh environments without communication infrastructure enables accurate data collection directly observed from interest areas. With sensor networks, environmental data can be observed and collected in real-time, and used for forecasting upcoming phenomena and sending prompt warnings if required.Sensors 2012, 12 2. 1. Model-Based Floo d Warning System Context 4216 The developed sensor network was incorporated within the context of a model-based ? ood warning system in the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed. A model-based ? ood warning system, for mitigating the o effects of ? ooding on life and property, incorporates a catchment model based on observed/forecasted rainfall and telemetered observations of hydrologic state variables at various locations within the catchment area. Generally, observed variables are ? ow and/or water level in channels.Also, other variables such as soil moisture and piezometric levels may be of interest, depending on the watershed response. Real-time updating of the ? ood forecasting involves the continual adaptation of the model state variables, outputs and parameters, so that the forecasts for various times into the future are based on the latest available information and are optimized, in some sense, to minimize the forecasting errors (e. g. , [23]). This is the process of data assimilati on. Implementation of environmental sensor networks for data assimilation within model-based ? ood warning systems involves complex engineering and system challenges.These systems must withstand the event of interest in real-time, remain functional over long time periods when no events occur, cover large geographical regions of interest to the event, and support the variety of sensor types needed to detect the phenomenon [8]. 3. Hydrological Monitoring and Forecasting in the Rambla del Albuj? n Watershed o The Rambla del Albuj? n watershed (650 km2 ) is the main drainage catchment in the Campo de o Cartagena basin, in Southern Spain (see Figure 1). The main channel in the watershed is 40 km long and ? ows into the Mar Menor; one of the big coastal lagoons in the Mediterranean (135 km2 ).The Campo de Cartagena basin is an area with semiarid Mediterranean climate, where the average temperature ranges from 14 o C to 17 o C, mean potential evapotranspiration is 890 mm yr–1 and me an precipitation is 350 mm yr–1 . Most rainfall comes in short-time storm events, and the watershed hydrologic response is highly complex and non-uniform. Previous studies have shown the complex ? ash-? ood response of the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed o and the importance of spatially distributed observation for adequate forecasting (e. g. , [2]). Also, for ? ooding evaluations, stage gauges provide an advantage over ? w gauges that the observations remain unbiased when ? ow goes out of banks, in which case the validness of calibrated rating curves (stage-? ow relationships) is prevented. In this sense, remotely-sensed information (from aerial photography and/or satellites) is appealing as it contains much more spatial information than typical stage gauge networks in operational watersheds. Accordingly, recent studies are evaluating the potential of aerial photography and remotely sensed (from satellites) synthetic aperture radar to provide measurements over large areas of w ater levels and ? od extents in lakes and rivers (e. g. , TerraSAR-X or COSMO-Skymed constellations [24]). However, the current low temporal frequency of satellite acquisitions relative to gauging station sampling indicates that remote sensing still does not represent a viable replacement strategy for data assimilation into model-based forecasts [25]. Also, before the ? ow goes out of banks, the accuracy of standard stage gauges is higher than that provided by airborne information, which is key for early warnings.Thus, if economically viable, a spatially distributed network of stage gauges remains the best option to capture the observations required to feed the forecasting and data assimilation processes. Sensors 2012, 12 4217 At the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed, we implemented a hydrological monitoring system consisting o on a network of stage gauges located at eight critical junction points between major tributaries. The monitoring locations were carefully chosen in order to achi eve effective water level monitoring during ? ood events and a reliable model-based forecasting system.Figure 1 shows the selected locations which are far away (? 50 km) from the control center at the University of Murcia, to the North of the watershed. In this area, an existing phone infrastructure enables the communication among the server in the control center and the DatalogV1s in the ? eld. The DatalogV1s must be autonomous only with batteries, because no power source exists in the monitoring area and solar panels are frequently stolen or vandalized. In the following sections, we describe the design and development of the DatalogV1 to provide remote data gathering of the water stage in channels during ? ods. Figure 1. Deployment scenario. The embedded image shows the location of the Rambla del Albuj? n watershed at the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The violet line describes the o watershed boundary drawn on a digital terrain model (DTM). Within the watershed, the main cha nnel network is shown in blue, and labeled squares indicate deployed gauge locations. Sensors 2012, 12 4. Design of DatalogV1 Hardware 4218 The DatalogV1’s design was developed to address the requirements of the described application. The block diagram of DatalogV1 is illustrated in Figure 2(a).The critical components are a low-power microcontroller ( µC) module that supervises the DatalogV1’s operation, multiple sensor interfaces (Pulse, SDI-12, RS-485, Analog) that enable to take measurements from different kinds of sensor devices, and a GPRS module for long-distance communication with the control center. Moreover, two communication modules (USB and Bluetooth) enable the in-situ interactions via a laptop. All electronic components and a battery are mounted in an IP65 waterproof box to protect from harsh weather conditions, as shown by Figure 2(b).The DatalogV1’s design is balanced between low-power consumption for long-lifetime, and computational capability for multi-sensor reading and long-range communication. The hardware design of these components is described in the next subsections. Figure 2. Two different views of the DatalogV1. (a) Block diagram showing the main components. (b) The electronic components and the battery are mounted on a IP65 protection box. SDI-12 Interface RS-485 Interface Pulse Counters Analog Inputs Power Connector DC/DC Converter GPRS Module Linear Regulator Battery Connector Linear RegulatorMosfet Switch  µC DC/DC Converter Pulse Counters Bluetooth Module RS-485 Interface USB Module Battery Connector Power Connector Analogic Inputs SDI-12 Connector GPRS Module Bluetooth Module USB Module  µC (a) (b) 4. 1. Design of Microcontroller Module The circuit schematic of the microcontroller module is shown in Figure 3. The central part of the schematic represents the low-power 8-bits microcontroller (PIC18LF8722) manufactured by Microchip. The PIC18F8722 operating to 3. 3 V is ideal for low power applications ( n anoWatts) with 120 nW sleep mode and 25  µW active mode.It provides high processing speed (40 MHz) with a large 256 KB RAM memory. A 12 MB data? ash memory is included for local storage of sensor data. The top-left portion of the schematic (IC3) shows a security mechanism to avoid microcontroller blockage in case that available energy is not enough. Thus the microcontroller resets when there is less than 2. 4 V. The center-left part of the schematic contains the crystal oscillator setting to 11 MHz. (OSC1/OSC2 tags). The oscillator provides a precise clock signal to stabilize frequencies for sensor readings and data transmissions. Sensors 2012, 12 Figure 3.Circuit schematic of the microcontroller module. The center portion is the microcontroller used to control DatalogV1 operation, and the center-left is the crystal oscillator used for setting the clock. 4219 4. 2. Design of Sensor Interfaces DatalogV1 provides multi-sensor interfaces to take readings from a wide set of hydrologic instruments. Its sensor interfaces are two pulse counters, two digital connectors (RS-485 and SDI-12), and eight analog inputs. Each pulse counter reads from a tipping-bucket rain gauge (pluviometer) which generates a discrete electrical signal for every amount of accumulated rainfall.Digital interfaces supply power to and read measurements from instruments, which can themselves include some degree of computational capability. Analog connectors enable the reading of simple instruments which modify the supplying voltages to return voltage values proportional to the physical observed variables. These multiple interfaces are compatible with the most of hydrological sensor devices in the market. Pulse-counters typically connect to rain-gauge devices. The standard rain gauge collects the precipitation into a small container. Every time the container is ? led and emptied, it generates a electric pulse. According to the number of pulses and the size of the container, DatalogV1 estimates t he precipitation without requiring power supply. Sensors 2012, 12 4220 For each digital interface, DatalogV1 can supply and read multiple sensors. Both RS-485 and SDI-12 interfaces consist of three electronic wires for data, ground and supplying voltage. The RS-485 is a standard serial communication for long distance and noisy environments. In addition, the SDI-12 is a serial data interface at 1,200 baud designed for low-power sensors.Using serial protocols, DatalogV1 can directly obtain the physical measurements. The analog inputs allow to read 8 differential sensors, 16 single-ended sensors, or a combination of both options. A differential connection comprises four electronic wires acting as voltage-supplier, ground, positive-voltage, and negative-voltage, while a single-end connection contains two electronic wires for supplying-voltage and positive-voltage. The main difference between differential and single-ended is the way to obtain the voltage value. In single-ended, the volta ge value is the difference between the positive voltage and the ground at 0 V.However, single-ended connections are sensitive to electrical noise errors, which are solved by differential connections. Because twisting wires together will ensure that any noise picked up will be the same for each wire, the voltage value in differential inputs is the difference between the positive and negative voltages. Figure 4. Circuit schematic of analog interfaces. (a) Selector of analog connections to plugged-in sensors, (b) ADC converter from output voltage to digital data. (a) (b) To obtain the measurements of the physical variables, output voltages are processed using three main hardware components: multiplexer, ampli? r, and ADC converter. Two multiplexers MC74HC4051D from Motorola company enable to select the output voltage of a speci? c analog sensor (Figure 4(a)). Each multiplexer contains 3 control pins CA0, CA1, and CA2 to choose an output voltage among 16 possibilities. The selected outp ut voltage is ampli? ed for preserving high effective resolution. DatalogV1 uses an AD8622 ampli? er, manufactured by Analog Devices, that provides high current precision, low noise, and low power operation. The pre-con? gured ampli? cation depends on the output range Sensors 2012, 12 4221 of the selected sensor.Finally, the ampli? ed output signal is converted to a digital value through an Analog-Digital Converter (ADC), as shown by Figure 4(b). DatalogV1 contains a 13-bit ADC MCP3302, manufactured by Microchip, that provides high precision and resolution. This ? exible design provides full compatibility with presumably all kind of available sensors for hydrologic use. 4. 3. Design of GPRS Communication Module A GPRS module is used to transmit monitoring data from DatalogV1 to the control center. Figure 5 shows the GPRS module implementing all functions for wireless communications. Figure 5.Circuit schematic of the GPRS module. The center portion is the GPRS module used to control the long-distance communication, and the top-left portion is the SIM card connection. The top-left part of the circuit shows the connection of SIM phone-cards according to the manufacturer speci? cation. The bottom-left shows a uFL coaxial connector to the wireless antenna. We chose a Wavecom Q2686 chip, which is connected to the microcontroller via an USART interface (CS-USART). The Wavecom Q2686 contains a programmable 256 KB SRAM memory and includes a ARM9 32-bit processor at 104 MHz.This Q2686 chip makes possible to join a GSM/GPRS base-station and receive/send data reliably in quad-band communications on the 800, 900, 1,800 and 1,900 MHz Sensors 2012, 12 4222 bands. Also, the chip makes it easy to upgrade to 3G when needed. This GPRS module enables long-distance UDP/IP communications through cellular radio networks. 4. 4. Design of Power Module The power module consists of two power sources and three regulable mechanism to provide a secure supply of electronics components. The main energy source is a 12 V DC battery of 7,000 mAh power capacity which can be rechargeable using an optional solar panel.To adapt the input tension of the solar panel (17–20 V) to a lower tension (12–15 V) to supply the battery, we use a commutated DC/DC regulator in step-down mode, as shown by Figure 6(a). The microcontroller turns on the DC/DC regulator when it detects that the battery has a low level according to a pre-established threshold. Three circuits guarantee stable energy levels for battery, solar-panel, and sensors, as shown by Figure 6(b). The circuits of battery and solar-panel include security mechanisms to avoid a too low power level input to the sensors.For this, the circuit of sensors is used, before readings are taken, to check if the power supply is stable as to obtain an accurate measurement. Figure 6. Circuit schematic of the battery, solar-panel, and power-control modules. (a) Battery and solar modules, (b) secure power control for battery, so lar panel, and sensor. (a) (b) Figure 7. Circuit schematic of the power supply module. (a) Power supply for GPRS, sensors, and ADC converter, (b) power supply for microcontroller. (a) (b) To reduce the power consumption, DatalogV1 keeps almost all electrical components deactivated, such as GPRS, sensors, and ADC.Only the microcontroller circuit is always supplied at 3. 3 V Sensors 2012, 12 4223 (Figure 7(a)) through a linear regulator LM2936 from National Semiconductor with ultra-low current in the stand-by mode. This LM2936 regulator features low drop-out voltage (50 mA) to minimize power losses. Also, this circuit includes a diode (D10) to provide a security power to protect the microcontroller and all board at most 5 V. When it is necessary, the microcontroller supplies independently the electrical components using two DC/DC converters, two linear regulators and a MOSFET switch (Figure 7(b)).Concretely to supply sensors, a DC/DC converter and the MOSFET switch is combined to crea te a adjustable commutation cell. The design of the commutation cell includes high-power isolated chips in order to reduce interferences. At the same time, it has a good linearity and load regulation characteristics, and allows to establish the voltage supply between 3 V and 10 V. The chosen MOSFET is a FDC6330L, manufactured by Fairchild Semiconductor, which provides high performance for extremely low on-resistance (