How Employee Motivation Effects an Organization Essay

In the following paper I will identify what employee motivation is, why it is important, who it is important to, and how it affects the workforce as a whole. I will also touch on the subjects of whose job it is to motivate, the benefits of motivation and what actually motivates employees. Through out my research I have discovered many different theories and opinions as of to what â€Å"effective motivation† is, and how it is to be applied in the work setting. This is the result of my findings. The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that’s easier said than done! In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership. There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will drink only if it’s thirsty – so is with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the ‘ivory tower’ they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus. Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed. Allow me to ask a very simple question: Are you really happy with your job? Or is it just a way to pay the bills? If so, you are not alone. In fact, half of all employees only put enough effort into their jobs, to keep their jobs. 70% of employees are less motivated today than they used to be, and another 80% could perform significantly better if they wanted to. What does all this mean you ask? It means people are unhappy at work, and many overlook the importance of a fulfilling work life. Not only is it important for employees to be content, their happiness is important to their employers as well. Disgruntled employees perform considerably poorly compared to content ones. Motivated employees work more efficiently, producing better products or services in less time. Whereas unmotivated employees waste time and generally take longer to accomplish the tasks assigned. When employees are motivated, they invest time, effort and brain power into producing the best products or services possible. They take pride in their work, meaning they will give a company a better name out in the market simply by producing a superior product. Unmotivated employees, on the other hand, will put in the bare minimum effort resulting in poor customer service and low quality products. Improved productivity and higher quality services and products equal monetary gains for an organization, possibly freeing funds to be used as benefits for employees or company improvements. If employees are motivated, a company will be able to retain more of them. Every time they hire a new employee, they have to invest time getting that person up to speed on the job requirements, integrating that person into the workforce and figuring out exactly how that new person can contribute. Existing employees have a wealth of knowledge about the company and how projects work. They are also already accustomed to working with the other employees at the facility. By retaining employees, an organization can save money and time. Employees that are motivated are happy; smiling is contagious, which leads to a better work environment. Companies these days are offering interesting, sometimes even outrageous benefits to keep their staff motivated. Some offer great health plans, a 401k-retirement plan, or extra vacation time. Others have company parties, picnics and other rally-boosting events. Some companies take their staff out to movie premieres; some engage in go-carting to create a fun atmosphere. Sure, it’s nice to have a company parking spot, your cellular phone bills paid, and free lunch Fridays, but these types of benefits are better at attracting and retaining employees. A free lunch will not magically create a healthy work environment. However, these morale boosters can be steps on the road to motivated employees. The question employers are trying to figure out is, if benefits keep employees happy, then what makes them productive? The problem is that employers lose focus of the difference between high morale and motivation. I am not saying to get rid of the benefits, but get rid of other behaviors that hold employees back. These behaviors vary from company to company, but we all know what they are. Office politics, unclear expectations and being criticized instead of receiving constructive feedback are all things we hate and that hinder our progress. Things like appreciation and taking pride in your work, as well as social interaction and fun in your work, are all contributors to motivation. Personally, I would rather work in an environment where there are no politics, employers are honest with their employees and have nothing to hide, and are committed to the overall productivity of the firm. Here is a list of items that are considered to be detrimental to employee motivation: * Create an atmosphere full of company politics. * Develop unclear expectations regarding your employees’ performance. Create a lot of unnecessary rules for employees to follow. * Plan unproductive meetings for employees to attend. * Withhold information critical for employees to perform their work. * Provide criticism instead of constructive feedback. * Tolerate poor performance so your high performing employees feel taken advantage of. * Treat employees unfairly. * Underutilize the capability of your employees. While some of those are worse than others, they will vary across companies and individuals. Any company that actually makes an effort to rid themselves of these annoyances is on the right track. It just goes to show that it does not take a lot of money to tap into an employee’s natural ability. Here are some active measures companies can take to motivate: * If your employees do routine work, add some fun and variety to their routine. * Provide employees with input and choice in how they do their work. * Encourage responsibility and leadership opportunities within your company. * Promote social interaction and teamwork between employees. * Tolerate learning errors by avoiding harsh criticism. * Promote job ownership. * Develop goals and challenges for all employees. Provide lots of encouragement. * Make appreciation part of your repertoire. * Develop measurement that shows performance increase. With the rapidly changing competitive environment, key employees are becoming younger and with a variety of skills and accomplishments. This means that if they are unhappy with their work environment, they are more than willing to move on. For employers, the speed of business is such that employees that join their company learn so much and become so valuable that employers need to do whatever it takes to keep them content.

Psychoanalysis and Transference

It is common for people to transfer feelings from their parents to their partners or children (i. e. , cross-generational entanglements). For instance, one could mistrust somebody who resembles an ex-spouse in manners, voice, or external appearance, or be overly compliant to someone who resembles a childhood friend. In The Psychology of the Transference, Carl Jung states that within the transference dyad both participants typically experience a variety of opposites, that in love and in psychological growth, the key to success is the ability to endure the tension of the opposites without abandoning the process, and that this tension allows one to grow and to transform. Only in a personally or socially harmful context can transference be described as a pathological issue. A modern, social-cognitive perspective on transference, explains how it can occur in everyday life. When people meet a new person that reminds them of someone else, they unconsciously infer that the new person has traits similar to the person previously known. This perspective has generated a wealth of research that illuminated how people tend to repeat relationship patterns from the past in the present. High-profile serial killers often transfer unresolved rage toward previous love or hate-objects onto â€Å"surrogates,† or individuals resembling or otherwise calling to mind the original object of that hate. In the instance of Ted Bundy, he repeatedly killed brunette women who reminded him of a previous girlfriend with whom he had become infatuated, but who had ended the relationship, leaving Ted rejected and pathologically rageful. This notwithstanding, Bundy's behaviours could be considered pathological insofar as he may have had Narcissistic or Antisocial personality disorder. If so, normal transference mechanisms can not be held causative of his homicidal behavior. Sigmund Freud held that transference plays a large role in male homosexuality. In The Ego and the Id, he claimed that eroticism between males can be an outcome of a â€Å"[psychically] non-economic† hostility, which is unconsciously subverted into love and sexual attraction. There is, however, no empirical evidence for Freud's viewpoint, and this hypothesis of the development of homosexuality, and the belief that it can be treated or cured by psychoanalysis, has been discredited. Transference and countertransference during psychotherapy In a therapy context, transference refers to redirection of a patient's feelings for a significant person to the therapist. Transference is often manifested as an erotic attraction towards a therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such as rage, hatred, mistrust, parentification, extreme dependence, or even placing the therapist in a god-like or guru status. When Freud initially encountered transference in his therapy with patients, he thought he was encountering patient resistance, as he recognized the phenomenon when a patient refused to participate in a session of free association. But what he learned was that the analysis of the transference was actually the work that needed to be done: â€Å"the transference, which, whether affectionate or hostile, seemed in every case to constitute the greatest threat to the treatment, becomes its best tool†. The focus in psychodynamic psychotherapy is, in large part, the therapist and patient recognizing the transference relationship and exploring the relationship's meaning. Since the transference between patient and therapist happens on an unconscious level, psychodynamic therapists who are largely concerned with a patient's unconscious material use the transference to reveal unresolved conflicts patients have with childhood figures. Countertransference[11] is defined as redirection of a therapist's feelings toward a patient, or more generally, as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a patient. A therapist's attunement to their own countertransference is nearly as critical as understanding the transference. Not only does this help therapists regulate their emotions in the therapeutic relationship, but it also gives therapists valuable insight into what patients are attempting to elicit in them. For example, a therapist who is sexually attracted to a patient must understand the countertransference aspect (if any) of the attraction, and look at how the patient might be eliciting this attraction. Once any countertransference aspect has been identified, the therapist can ask the patient what his or her feelings are toward the therapist, and can explore how those feelings relate to unconscious motivations, desires, or fears. Another contrasting perspective on transference and countertransference is offered in Classical Adlerian psychotherapy. Rather than using the patient's transference strategically in therapy, the positive or negative transference is diplomatically pointed out and explained as an obstacle to cooperation and improvement. For the therapist, any signs of countertransference would suggest that his or her own personal training analysis needs to be continued to overcome these tendencies.

Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort Essay

Within the context of theory illustrates a demanding yet creative shaping of plans, structured requirements, and prediction of a provisional, determined, and systematic sight of phenomena (Chinn, 2011). Nursing theory is a crucial function within the nursing practice. Theories afford nurses with the distinctive facets that are in encompassed within patient care and the nursing profession. Clarification of practice governance, and expectations are also integrated within contextual framework of nursing theory. It bestows various manners to acquire data, examine and study, and foresee the practice of nursing and the outcomes of patient care (Parker, 2010). Kolcaba’s middle range theory of comfort captivated my interest because my impression of comfort curtails that of positive patient outcomes. Comfort is not solitary to just physical ailments, but emotional and psychological measures in addition. Throughout my experiences and years as bedside registered nurse, I can attest that patient requests stem largely from the factor of being made comfortable. As stated above, this not only embraces physical comfort, but something unassuming as a comforting touch or positive attitude to render the positive outcome and a content patient. Absorbing how theory influences practice has been an impediment that I have recently overcame. I was unmindful that certain situations and decision making were reinforced through the use of theory. Examination of the importance of nursing theories, more in depth review of Kolcaba’s theory of comfort, and theory of comfort in nursing practice, education, and research will be reviewed further. Importance of Nursing Theories Separately from the governance of practice and foundation for the practice of nursing, theories furthermore propounds opportunities for nurses in the sense of practical application. Measurable changes and enrichment of the profession occur when nursing theories are incorporated into practice. The benefits of having a defined frame of theory in nursing produces superior patient care, heightened professional repute for nurses, progressed interaction among nurses, and direction for exploration of the practice and education. Theories also illustrate the quality of the nursing profession, and serves as a reservoir of knowledge with the examination of the essential requirements of patients and necessary interventions. In addition, specialized rationales are provided. Succeeding medical doctors orders are not exclusively to the context of nursing care. Nursing care incorporates not only a compassionate attitude but passion for care of patients. The caring component of nursing cannot be measured, rather dissected through theory within the clarification of what nurses do. Systemically this is all supported through abundant theories and theorist. The nursing profession emphasizes on holistic care which is defined as treatment of the whole person. Within this skill is the admittance of problems that are biomedical but also opportune clarification of the well-being and health of a human that introduces added indicators of disease that are non-visualized (Powers, 2011). Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort The origination of Kolcaba’s theory of comfort stemmed was first established in the 1900’s. Founder, Katherine Kolcaba, concluded that for a positive patient outcome to accomplished, comfort is a crucial obligation. Katherine organized a representation for exploring, analyzing, and gauging the care of the patient. Historically, she believed that the product of the profession of nursing is comfort. According to Kolcaba (2010), comfort is achieved in a few diverse ways to include transcendence, relief, and ease. Transcendence represents the aptitude to overcome the lack of comfort sensed by patients through their awareness to cease. Patients are able to rise above their challenges. For example, a post-operative below the knee amputee patient may experience great physical pain from the surgery as well as psychological trauma from the intervention. Pushing forward to regain strength and independence would be an instance of transcendence. Relief constitutes any ordered analgesic medication that can be given to the patient or  non-pharmacologic interventions such as distraction or repositioning. This structure of comfort is experienced as relief. Anxiety reducing measures such as anxiolytics or inducing expression through conversation or other forms of communication can be facilitated. These actions can be constituted as placing the patient at ease. In my day to day professional practice experiences, I come across different situations where comfort may be the only measure to take in a particular patients care. Pharmacological therapy interventions are important for adequate relief, but non-pharmacological interventions are just as imperative. A simple caring touch and tone conditions the patient to an enhanced state. This particular theory affords nurses a better comprehension and obligation to comfort in the practice setting. Nurse are the forefront of healthcare. We have the ability to promptly identify the demands the needs of the patient. Kolcaba’s theory of comfort conforms into the nursing metaparadigm with relation to the three concepts presented: transcendence, relief, and ease. There is a clear consensus about the concepts which includes health, nursing, person, and environment of the metaparadigm. Kolcaba elaborated on the four various experience backgrounds that comfort is achieved. These include environmental, physical, social, and psychospiritual (Kolcaba, 2010). Theory of comfort in nursing practice, education, and research Kolcaba’s theory of comfort guides research in assorted ways. It challenges the nurse to examine the correlation among holistic interventions and different comfort measures. It also imposes a contention between comfort and â€Å"health seeking behaviors†. If the product is positive, than it enhances future endeavors and postulates additional motivators to provide comfort. Institutional outcomes are also examined (Koehn, 2000). References Chinn, P.L., & Kramer, M.K. (2011). Integrated theory and knowledge of development in nursing (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier Koehn, M. (2000) Alternative and complementary therapies for labor and birth: an application of Kolcaba’s theory of holistic comfort. Holistic Nursing Practice. 15(1):66-77 Kolcaba, K. (1992). Holistic comfort: Operationalizing the constructs as a nurse-sensitiveOutcome. Advances in Nursing Science, 15(1), 1-10, p. 6. Kolcaba, K. (1994) A theory of holistic comfort for nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 19: 1178-1184 Kolcaba, K. & DiMarco, M.A. (2005) Comfort theory and its application to pediatric nursing. Pediatric Nursing, 31(3), 187-194 Parker, M.E., & Smith, M.C. (2010), Nursing theories and nursing practice (3rd ed.) Philadelphia, P.A.: F.A. Davis Company Powers, B.A., & Knapp, T.R. (2011). Dictionary of nursing theory and research (4th ed.). York: Springer Publisher Company

Graphic Organizer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Graphic Organizer - Assignment Example Object knowledge is far more important that world knowledge, and must be the focus of education, the primary emphasis on the curriculum must first be Greek, Latin and Grammar, wherein the learning of object knowledge will be facilitated properly (Chandra, Chandra and Sharma 46) The primary aim of education is for the natural development of the child’s abilities and powers, education is also primarily for survival, curriculum must be designed according to the four different stages in life (infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth), learning must be derived not primarily orally, but from self-experience and doing (Chandra, Chandra and Sharma 79) Education is the primary means for the social continuity of the life of citizens in a society, education is a necessity on order for society to move forward, is a proponent of the idea of Educational Progressivism, opposed authoritarian approach to modern education   Founder of Montessori method, formulated a new pedagogy wherein there would be instruction for 3 year old age groups, children are viewed as competent learners deserved to be taught, child observation is to be the basis of curriculum development, especially in a controlled environment   Theorized the banking concept of education, advocate for a critical pedagogy wherein students and ;earners must use education as a ground for freedom and liberation, and not for the preservation of status

Self evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Self evaluation - Essay Example Therefore, before I began writing my personal narrative, I had decided on what I wanted to write. I stuck to my original topic and wrote the narrative to the end while. I knew altering the topic midway the essay would complicate the narrative. Changing the essay midway would make the narrative lose its intended meaning of informing the readers the importance of having caring friends. Additionally, altering the topic would make readers find difficulties understanding how Hallie impacted in my life. As I created my essay, I encountered some few problems here and there. The most noted problem was coming up with a topic. As I have already explicated, I have lots of things to write about; thus, choosing one became problematic. However, after thinking widely, I decided to write about my experience in Italy with Hallie. Another problem was the lack of enough time to write my essay. Writing an essay is a lengthy process which requires time, failure of which may make one produce papers that are weak and lacks strong argument. In as much as the time was limited, I still managed to organize my thoughts to produce an exciting piece of work. There are two essential changes that I made while revising my work. The first change involved incorporating additional situations of dialogue in my essay. I added more instances of dialogue so that the readers could have the true feeling of what happened that day. Dialogue helped in advancing the story, developing characters, and moving the plot. In this way, the narrative was more appealing to the readers. Secondly, I also changed the last sentence of the essay. I decided to use a proverb since proverbs emphasize themes. Therefore, by concluding my essay with an adage, I wanted the readers to understand the meaning and importance of friendship. In conclusion, I enjoyed writing my essay, and I was proud to include the part that explicated how I

Corporate Finance. Pharmaceutical Companies Essay

Corporate Finance. Pharmaceutical Companies - Essay Example the public is advice to adopt the changes introduced by the companies. Such measure has resulted in competition, and since then onwards the companies have attempted to topple the interests of their rival companies through proactive assessment of the market. The case of Robin Hood is similar to an individual trapped in the market complications, and these complications are emergent i.e. based upon socio-economic-political scenario. The implementation of the successful projects is essential for the development and the progress organization. The Robin Hood has been successful in the implementation of the comprehensive plans i.e. strategic drift, aimed at the performance and production enhancement, along with the incorporation of the latest technological applications into the product. The success is possible through the implementation of the result-oriented project management techniques; this requires the active and vigilant involvement and contribution of the upper management. The comprehensive strategy requires the identification of the areas which require enhancement and modification to ensure the success implementation of the project, beside the management has to quantify the project contributions. Robin Hood has to realize that he has to expand the operation of his unit, sticking to the traditional activity will never restrict the access to emerging avenues, which lead to the non-detrimental increment of funds. Robin Hood must realize that the success of the installation of the project is achievable through successful collaboration and implementation of the well-designed systems of communication. In the case of former, the coordination plays a crucial and determining role, and every success is attributed to the team efforts and the responsible authority, therefore the acknowledgement practices are widely common and practiced in this case. However, in the case of latter practice, the focus is converged on the communication techniques and their effectiveness. This is with reference to this specific case, the element of ideas and designs are paramount for the existence and survival of the unit. Robin Hood lacks experience, but has vision, not only that but he also has the ability to critically and analytical evaluate the scope of the project i.e. designing capabilities to handle for the situation. His suggestion for the imposition of taxes supports the fact that design and ideas are critical for the success than experience. Option No. 03 - Pharmaceutical Companies In the case of pharmaceutical companies, the company never has the authority to introduce a certain product on its own; rather the production of the pharmaceutical company is based upon consent of the research laboratories, followed by the market assessment. The pharmacy business is not there to facilitate the aspirations of the public through introduction of commercial products, rather the business of the pharmaceutical company is itself extremely responsible and has to driven not through forces of motivation, rather the business is accelerated through need assessment of the public. The pharmaceutical business has to fulfil the requirements of the market with the consent of the research institutions, it never has the permission to evolve the public, and make them

The socio-cultural context of two works of architecture from different Essay

The socio-cultural context of two works of architecture from different periods - Essay Example Castles were primarily created to accommodate royalty and dignitaries. Palaces symbolized elaborate and extravagant living, excluding any form of warfare. 1 In the structure, castles have features common to most other castles. Keeps, moats, arrow slits and gatehouses are all common in castle architecture. The features were designed to aid fighters in case of enemy troops surround the castle. A palace incorporates architectural specifications that add to the beauty of the home. Palaces are made to the taste of the owner who lives within it. There are no structural commonalities between palaces. What exists in palaces are design techniques incorporated to make the home more appealing and beautiful to the owner and the community.2 Castles are built out of various materials. All castles have thick walls made of bricks or stones. In the early times, castles were built of timber logs. Castles were constructed in areas where the chief or king could have the influence over people. This was done to enable them have control over resources.3 Palaces had more elaborate materials than castles. Palaces comprised of marbles for the floor and walls, gold as trimming and tiles for decoration. Palaces since the early years represent expressions of financial wealth. This is further characterized by building them in areas of natural beauty or in city centers where people can see them. To date, some palaces and castles are resided by their original owners, members of their family, king, queen, or a government leader. Castles and palaces that are not in use are used for social activities like museums and hotels. Palaces and museums are historical points of

Turkle and Belkin on Human Suffering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Turkle and Belkin on Human Suffering - Essay Example People get strange experience when they are favored, but they would criticize the event when it is not in their favor. When my sibling is to act as a source of cure to my problem, I would be positive towards the decision: â€Å"In the case of technological advance, for instance, when parents opt for test tube babies, medicine had achieved the level of creating children conceived in-vitro; later it turned out that their child could be a possible donor, this was a surprise and incurred a lot of criticism as they did not believe that human being would be born just to be used as a spare part† (Belkin 04). Ethically, saving life is far better and should not be termed as using a human being as a spare part. As a donor, you may assist to restore life for someone who had lost hope completely. However, with the technological advancement, assisting through donation has negligible effects on the donor due to the high technology involved in carrying out the procedure. Despite criticism fr om other organizations and scientists, it is not ethical for them. Belkin reiterated that it is human to do everything to save lives through donation; hence, the donation of embryo parts was not prejudiced as malpractice despite the ethical aspects involved (Belkin 06). Just as a scientific laboratory researchers struggled through hurricane with risk for their lives aiming at saving lives of other people, the story of Henry and Molly became a successful breakthrough in the scientific view of life that can continue without medical services and assistance. According to the article, the young girl underwent a lot of tribulations, for instance, having unbalanced limbs, being deaf on one ear, and also having malfunctions in the heart (Belkin 07). Due to the doctor’s observation, she was whisked from her parents, Lisa and Jack. However, just the couple went through hard times, Laurie and Allen also faced tough times as they struggled to salvage lives at their early 30’s. The y managed to get good medical support from doctors through the use of computers; Laurie was employed by nonprofit making organization, while Allen worked with computers. Through the expertise that Allen had, they managed to find a doctor online who could help with the issues of their illnesses (Belkin 10). Technology is used both for leisure and curative, for instance, as Belkin states, a lot of research was carried out through technology to salvage life, especially to cure long term illnesses that could only be managed with stop-gap solutions, so that the patient lives longer. We get informed by Belkin that â€Å"by 1982 patients suffering from Franconia are likely to survive on provision of lower dose of chemotherapeutic drug referred to as Cytoxan†. However, many women, described in the article, resorted to abortion in case the children were not healthy; this follows numerous cases of sickness from complicated diseases. To some extent, â€Å"they were getting older as the ir children got sicker as time continued running† (Belkin 104). However, the article states that the younger the patient is during organ transplantation, the better the chances of survival. As in the case of a child, most of the body parts are still under construction and development, hence, they have high chances of survival during and after operations. This is essential to the children whose transplant cases were diagnosed at an early age. In addition, the article

Social origins of evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social origins of evil - Essay Example Without showing what environments will inevitably lead to evil acts, however, the experiments retained very little external validity, outside of showing that given the right set of powers and responsibilities, â€Å"normal† human beings will commit evil acts. In trying to determine the nature and origins of evil acts, sociologists try to explain and determine the social prerequisites for evil acts, rather than trying to utilize the individual characteristics (with its environmental interaction) in its explanation. Based on research in sociology, the most explanatorily useful theory of the origin of evil acts is tied to the theory of bureaucracy, along with concepts like â€Å"authorization† and â€Å"McDonaldization†. Together, these observations into contemporary Western life may help explain the social origins of evil for the past half-century. Ritzer (2007) introduces Max Weber’s theory of rationality as a primer to his talk on bureaucracy and the conce pt of McDonaldization. To Weber, rationality meant â€Å"that the search by people for the optimum means to a given end is shaped by rules, regulations, and larger social structures† (p. 23). The rise of institutions, and institutional power, represented the crux of formal rationality and, as it continues today, bureaucracy is designed to have many advantages over other mechanisms of power. For Weber at least, bureaucracy is the most efficient structure for handling a vast number of tasks. Additionally, bureaucracy relies on the quantification of facts as much as possible to inject objectivity into issues of process and, for that reason, bureaucracies and bureaucratic policies are highly predictable due to the rigidity of the procedures they put into place. Because of all these facts, bureaucracies by definition remove as much power as possible for individuals and place that power within the hands of the organization, such that individuals are not left to make subjective deci sions. In this way, individuals are removed from the actual moral consequences of their decision-making. This fact is significant when looking at the role of bureaucracies in the origins of evil. Ritzer goes on to define a number of dimensions of McDonaldization. â€Å"McDonaldization† is Ritzer’s neologism for the formalization of structures and procedures in modern life. More specifically, a number of advantages to society define McDonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control, which coincide with the advantages that Weber defined as belonging to bureaucracy. Efficiency, for Ritzer, is the optimum method for achieving a goal. McDonald’s cuts the number of steps in a process of food production down to an optimum point, such that its customers enjoy the convenience of its products and the price at which they are provided. McDonald’s offers calculability, or the emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products and services provided to customers (Ritzer, 2007, p. 12). Because sizes are universal between McDonald’s locations, customers who have a favorite meal at one location can travel to any other location, order the same meal, and be guaranteed that the meal will be roughly the same size. McDonald’s offers predictability: a set of policies and procedures that all of its restaurants follow closely. Lastly, McDonald’s removes the power from individuals by transferring control to nonhuman technology. Like on the Ford assembly line, individual

A Strategy for Co-op Supermarket Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

A Strategy for Co-op Supermarket - Essay Example But even as outsourcing allows organizations to develop cost-efficiency; it increases certain issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility for the organizations. Outsourcing has to be properly managed since it raises ethical concerns such as the misuse of labor and the impact on the environment as pollution increases as a result of transportation. In this proposal, we attempt to present a strategy for Co-op Supermarket to develop an environmentally friendly approach while remaining competitive in terms of price and choice. Supply Chain Management and Ethics Before we proceed further, we first need to understand the concept of supply chain management and its relation to ethics. ‘Supply chain management has been defined as â€Å"the management of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers, distributors and customers to achieve greater customer value-added at less total cost† (Wilding, 2003). The term relationship within the context of supply chain managem ent is vital since it pertains to a relationship with not just the suppliers but also the customers. The customers demand that the supply chain management be ethically sound or else the organization runs the risk of losing its loyal customers. The concept of ethics in supply chain management was activated when BBC Panorama exposed the unethical supply chains of sports and clothing companies such as Nike and Gap. These companies hired under-aged Cambodians at minimum wages in order to keep down prices for the end users. However, the end users after realizing the real cause behind the low prices revolted and soon organization began to explore the concept of ethical supply chain management. Along with this issue, the issue of increased pollution as a result of outsourcing suppliers was raised. Though managers cannot control all aspects of the supply chain manager, they still are accountable for the issue and thus the responsibility lies with them. With respect to ethical supply chain m anagement, the concept of green supply chain management has emerged. Green supply chain management understands the environmental impact of the supply chain and takes steps to ensure that the negative impacts are kept to a minimum. For example, Wal-Mart introduced a new packaging scorecard for its suppliers including Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, and Walmart in order to reduce waste production (Basu and Wright, 2007). The Current Dilemma The biggest challenge that Co-op Supermarket is facing at this time, with regard to its supply chain management, is the lack of integration between its supply chain management and ethical policy. Currently, Co-op’s fashion products being sold in the supermarket are outsourced from China which raises the issue of pollution through increased transportation. Outsourcing may reduce costs for the organization but at the same time, it is increasing the impact on the environment. Since fashion products are basically innovative products, the organizatio n needs a responsive strategy in its supply chain management which is able to deal with the changing demands of the customers. When the fashion changes, demand for the products also change and thus the organization cannot hope to reduce transportation costs by shipping finished products in bulk.  

Cooperate recruitment and selection policies Essay

Cooperate recruitment and selection policies - Essay Example The strategy behind recruitment is to come up with a group of competent, skilled and experienced individuals. Another important aim is to cut on personnel cost. Employing inappropriate individuals is costly to the organization. In an organization, recruitment policy helps to establish the possible outcome prior to a successful recruitment process. The process involves looking into the position to be filled and determining the appropriate candidate to fill it. This will require proper outlined job description and person specification. In addition, organizations goals are analyzed. Recruiting process involves the following; preparation, by carefully examining recruitment. Secondly, decision is made on who will conduct the process. Thirdly, the employee is sourced using various ways which include, advertising the job position, using consultants and even online through the internet. Fourthly, organizations need to accomplish legislative obligations, and finally application methods to be used are determined before hand. Recruitment and selection process involves several considerations, which include; Organization to conduct appropriate planning and estimation to come up with the duties, which the candidate appointed to fill a position, will be required to perform. Secondly, the organization will come up with a group of individuals for the vacant positions in the organization by conducting recruitment process of internal or external candidates. Thirdly, each individual fills application forms. The fourth step is whereby different selection methods are applied in order to identify appropriate candidates. These methods include conducting various tests, investigating ones background, and using set psychological exams. Fifthly, the selected candidates meet the organization manager who is responsible for that particular job. Finally, the manager and other members of the organization conduct selection interviews. The manager will

Stolen Generation Essay Example for Free

Stolen Generation Essay The present day Australia is widely known as a beacon of multiculturalism. Every year, more and more immigrants are settling down in the country in a bid to seek better employment, education or even advance their quality of life in general. It is a policy that has strengthened the cultural development of the nation. Australias census in 2011, which is the official count of a population, reported that one in every four Australians is born overseas. This clearly demonstrates Australias vast idea of unity in diversity. Despite the movement of accepting multiculturalism into the nation, Australia is still involved in one of the biggest racial injustices in history by trying to breed out Aboriginal heritage from their land. Starting from the year 1910, the Australian government carries out actions to breed out the Aboriginal bloodline. They hoped to end the Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of the Aboriginal problem. In the early 20th century, a new policy started in which about 100,000 children were forcibly removed from their parents by the Australian government. This policy of removing children is infamously referred as the stolen generation, which this essay will be heavily based upon. Due to the vast amount of topics that Australias stolen generation covers, this essay will discuss how the Aborigines settled on Australian soil, the motives behind the stolen generation and attempts of reconciliation from the Australian governing bodies. Having lived in the land thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Aborigines are one of the most primeval settlers of the Australian land. However, the arrival of British captain James Cook in 1770 marked the beginning of the end for the native Australians, as he claimed the land to be in possession of his home country, ignoring the fact that the land was already densely populated. All indigenous rights are extinguished ever since as they have no British citizenship rights. Captain James Cook claims that the Aborigines had no laws towards the ownership of the land. Taking social Darwinism into account, this would be one of the major reasons on why the British has taken abrupt control over the Aborigines or why the  stolen generation is occurring. The theory of social Darwinism strongly believes that only the strong will survive. The Europeans saw themselves to be superior towards the Aborigines hence their ruthless move to gain control on the Australian acreage. This case is further validated when the power-hungry Europeans conquered the African continent. Various European countries colonized the African land in mid 1880s, leaving only Liberia and Ethiopia as the remaining independent countries. Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating also acknowledged that European settlers were the ones who were largely responsible for the injustices caused to the Aboriginal people during his speech in 1992. Dubbed as the Redfern speech, it was largely known as one of the most notorious in Australian history. Publicly expressed to a large number of Indigenous Australians, Paul Keating expressed culpability over how Aboriginal people were treated. The people thought that the Aborigines were to have a better life if they were to become more like them, and this policy led to an act of injustice which was referred earlier as the â€Å"stolen generation,† and the children with Aboriginal descendant were separated from their parents and were institutionalized in secluded camps. The mentality of the white society was that it would be the best decision to remove the children from their parent’s influences and abandon their former lifestyle. In almost every state and territory in Australia, the children were forced into labor and received little or no education. The girls did domestic chores such as cleaning along with cooking while the boys mainly worked as stockmen. They worked in unfit working conditions. Their food was unclean and was infested with maggots. Despite working from the early hours for seven days a week, the children were only rewarded with a small amount of money or even worse, they receive nothing at all. The children were physically abused for speaking Aboriginal language and those who were sent to prison for rebellious acts often committed suicide. More children were taken as they were not as resistant compared to the Aboriginal adults. These actions were tremendously exhibited in Phillip Noyces film called The Rabbit Proof Fence which was released in 2002. Receiving numerous accolades, the story follows 3 aboriginal girls- Molly, Daisy and Gracie who escaped from an institution after being forcibly removed from their families to be trained as domestic staffs. They travelled as far as 2,400 kilometers on foot, hoping to return to their home. The movie was adapted from a book of the same name which was written by Doris Pilkington in 1996. Most of these acts finally stopped when many people who were inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the USA, saw the poor conditions that the Aborigines were living in and decided to take acts about the problem. In the year 1967, they met up with the Aborigines and they took steps towards a fairer treatment and attempted to change how the natives were treated in society. The revolution took steps but it worked and settled in well. By 1990, large amount of the land were returned to the Aborigines and they were able to have rights towards an equal citizenship, along with the power to vote. Steps towards reconciliation continue to take place until today, although the past acts have created a lasting, negative feeling towards the locals. The governments have also played an instrumental role in these attempts of reconciliation. This was signaled by former prime minister Kevin Rudds apology in 2008 towards the native Australians for their profound grief, suffering and loss. Thousands of Aboriginal Australians gathered in Canberra to watch the historic event which was also televised around the nation. On February 2009, the Australian government established the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation which is designed to deal with the trauma of the Aboriginal people after the effects of the conducts of the stolen generation. Financial supports have also been generated by the governments. In 2012, they announced that a total of $35 million will be spent to assist healthcare for the native Australians. Another $28 million will also be shelled out to upgrade houses in the remote areas, enabling better accesses to transportation routes, medical centers among other essential services in the  particular areas. A total budget of $206 million has also been green-lighted to support the lives of over 18,000 Aboriginal Australians living in rural areas. The area of education has also been a key improvement towards the Aborigines. In the 2011 Australian census, about 27% of the native Australian population have completed year 12 or its equivalence, compared to 22% in the 2006 census and a mere 20% in the 2001 census. More Aboriginal people are also getting widespread recognition for their achievements in todays society. Widely known as one of the best female tennis players of all time, Evonne Goolagongs efforts has led her to 14 Grand Slam titles. A testament to her talent materialized in 1976 as she was named as the best female tennis player in the world. Numerous Aboriginal Australians have also been noted for their remarkable contributions to Australian politics. People such as Neville Bonner and Aden Ridgeway has been named as the first Indigenous Australians to be named as the senator of Queensland and the senator of New South Wales, respectively. Although there have been numerous reconciliation attempts by the governing bodies, the removal of Aboriginal children is still widespread throughout Australia. As of 2013, almost 14,000 children has been removed. The Australian government, however, has denied any accusations towards the matter. The reason why the Aborigines doesnt find it easy to forgive and forget alone is the reason why I think the Australians should say sorry to the Aborigines. Thus, I conclude that after numerous years of prejudices, I feel that these acts of injustices should be stopped. Numerous apology and reconciliation attempts for the injustices are desperately needed to set an example for the younger generation, to prove that Australia has a proud and forgiving historical legacy, not a cruel and prejudiced country as exhibited beforehand.

A Review Of Online Payment Systems

A Review Of Online Payment Systems CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In this Oligocene world, electronic ecommerce has grown explosively. According to Hof (2003), on 1994 with 6 million to 2003 which have approximately 40 million households in the United States alone made at least one consumer purchase from the internet, the advancements in computer technology and deregulation of financial markets especially in the payment system which for transfer money. Traditional payment systems are flexible instruments such as drafts, checks, credit card, debit cards, and documentary credit. Some payment systems had substantially a different appearance of payment that includes the credit mechanisms. Nowadays most of the users usually make the payment through electronic payment system. As we know Electronic Payment is a division of an e-commerce transaction offered through the internet for buying and selling goods or services and non-credit-card online payment systems. The appearance of e-commerce has created new financial needs that in many cases. Some of them using a way to fraud such as credit card fraud and subjected to more digital attacks. The awareness and knowledge about the electronic payment system are needed to prevent fraud to develop. An electronic payment system is needed for expiation for some information, goods and services, this information provided through the internet as a convenient form of payment for external goods and services on consumption of system resources, access to copyrighted materials and database searches (Clifford neuman,1999). Broadly electronic payment systems can be classified into two categories such as Online Payment Cards System and Electronic Banking Payment System. Each payment system has its advantages and disadvantages for the customers and merchants. These payment systems have numbers of requirements, example security, acceptability, convenience, cost, anonymity, control, and traceability (Sumanjeet, S., 2009). Electronic payment systems may be more expedient for international online business due to vary in credit card customer protection laws in different countries. The picture of e-banking in the United States is one of a wide variety of services used by a disparate number of consumers. Approximately 91 percent of United States households have a bank account and, of these, 93 percent have one or more Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) features associated with their accounts. In 2003, the number of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) transactions stood at 902 million per month, up slightly from 2002 (EFT Data Book, 2003). In addition, by 2003, the number of point-of-sale debit transactions stood at 495 million per month, up 21 percent from 2002, and the volume of electronic payments in the United States in 2003 exceeded that of checks for the first time (Jane M. Kolodinsky, 2004). While consumers may be willing to adopt e-banking technologies, they also want assurance that problems will be resolv ed and that some transactions will remain personal (Goldfarb, 2001; Financial Technology Bulletin, 2000). Nowadays the e-banking system also very common on internet, it works by their retail, credit union, and virtual bank by secure the website to carry out the financial transaction by customers. Some e-banking goods and services are still infancy and going innovations build through the internet growing rapidly as a marketplace for the exchange of both tangible and information goods and services. Besides online marketing and internet usage are growing to be more advanced. Paying is not definitely paper currency on the transaction, because the transaction going substituent with the electronic payment system or the card. Multitudinous payment mechanisms suitable for use in this marketplace are in several stages of development. This research projects scope is limited to electronic payment systems which focused on the needs of consumers. As in usually the case with payment innovations, the success of the smart card will depend on market circumstances and cooperation among the banks. The proper timing of the introduction may depend on consumer readiness to use the new system, which will itself be largely due to prior experience and innovativeness (Andreasen, 1991). The Numerous Payment Systems have been pervasion on the marketplace, the new system prepared to accept by better consumers. To the level that consumers have experience with previous systems, the responsiveness and information of a new payment system will be facilitated. Lastly , this research project is a key of understanding of consumer behaviour and their payment choices, and also the factors that influence the consumer choose to use e-payment. Moreover, this research project oration the usage of the electronic payment system provided a brief literature review on electronic payment and purpose to explain the determinants which affect the usage of users towards electronic payment system. 1.2 History of Electronic Payment System In late 1970s technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to promote e-commerce transactions, authorized to operate in order to promote, such as purchase orders or invoices for electronic business documents. In 1979, Michael Aldrich contrived a technique as e-commerce; the technique was about online shopping to allow consumers and business through online transaction processing to shop from home and to trade with other business. In 1980s the enlargement and receipt of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone. The first ATMs machines use of magnetically prearranged plastic, the money could not automatically withdraw from users accounts were off-line machines. So the customer would perhaps be apprehensively to let a machine handle their money. But the cards used an encoded magnetic strip, making them safe and reusable. Consequently, just the only customers with good credit history were able to use ATMs. Therefore nowadays the ATM industry Association states that there will 1 billion of users using this transaction in ATMs. Almost 80 percent belong to the private sectors (Commercial Union ATM, 2000). The process of conventional payment system and settlement involves a buyer-to-seller transfer of cash or payment information such as cheque and credit card. The actual settlement of payment takes place in the financial processing network. A cash payment requires a buyers withdrawals form his or her bank account, a transfer of cash to the seller, and the sellers deposit of payment to his or her account. Non-cash payment mechanisms are settled by adjustment such as crediting and debiting the appropriate accounts between banks based on the payment information conveyed via cheque or credit cards. Non-cash payment requires three separate elements. The buyer must have an agreed means of payment authorization and restructuring its bank to affect a transfer of funds. The sellers bank and buyers bank need an agreed method of exchange payment instructions. This is referred to as payment clearing (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). The process of electronic payment systems have been in operations since 1960s and have been expanding rapidly as well as growing in complexity. After the development of conventional payment system, Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) based payment system came into existence. It was first electronic based payment system, which does not depend on a central processing intermediary. An electronic fund transfer is a financial application of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which sends credit card numbers or electronic cheques via secured private networks between banks and major corporations. To use EFT to clear payments and settle accounts, an online payment service will need to add capabilities to process orders, accounts and receipts. But a landmark came in this direction with the development of digital currency. The nature of digital currency or electronic money mirrors that of paper money as a means of payment. As such, digital currency payment systems have the same advantages as paper c urrency payment, namely anonymity and convenience. 1.3 Problem of Statement Despite the rapid development of electronic payment systems, innovative services, but still faces some challenges. Business e-markets as herald fundamental changes in the source and the computer-assisted alternative to existing market arrangements for trading in practice (Malone et al., 1989). Areas of impact include online catalogues, multimedia mail, electronic payment, brokering services and collaborative engineering. Initial implementations of electronic commerce have focused on the provision of telecommunications-based infrastructure in support of Internet-oriented services and electronic payment systems (Kohala Coast, HI 2009). Electronic payment systems should offer at least as much confidentiality as traditional payment systems currently do. The goal of this requirement is that payment data should not be exploitable in order to obtain more precise or more comprehensive information about involved entities example payer profiles. Thus, confidentiality properties of electronic payment systems can be distinguished regarding which information they reveal to which parties. Confidentiality of payment information against other parties can be achieved by encrypting communication which is no specific property of payment systems. Note that confidentiality in electronic payment systems cannot prevent information flows which may happen outside an electronic payment system among involved parties for example by observing communication networks, or revealing data in further commercial interactions (Fiat, Naor 1990). Security are keys for the successful implementation of the payment system, electronic payment security has missed out on a lot of technical innovation improvements seen in other industries. But as levels of fraud continue to increase, so too will the cost to the consumer. If this problem is not addressed, credit cards and electronic payments may become an unviable option for consumers (Benjamin Graham, 2003). (Please add research questions before research objectives) 1.4 Research Objectives Basically, there are several objectives for this study. This research project carries the objectives are as the following: To determine the awareness level of electronic payment systems To identify the factor that influences the usage of e-payment systems. To determine the current usage level among usage and the application of the electronic payment system. 1.5 Significance of the Study The significance of the study is to study about the awareness of electronic payment system for university private student which is Multimedia University in Melaka. In this research will study on various independent variables affecting the awareness of electronic payment system for student which are personal factors, demographic factors and type of benefit whether can affect Melaka private university student on their awareness of usage of electronic payment system. Many people do not aware of the importance of electronic payment system to more easy complete on their financial transaction. Nowadays the computer enables us to access all the money in the world, even we carry a credit card we could around the world. Using the electronic payment system could let us enjoy much better life. Lastly, the significance of this study would definitely be in accordance with the objectives mentioned earlier. 1.6 Scope of the Study This research will focus on the awareness and usage of electronic payment system among Multimedia University students in Melaka campus. The assumption that can be made by survey conducted using random sample to obtain the primary data. Survey instrument is in questionnaires form. In order to achieve the objective of the study, the questionnaires question will be set based on research objective and hypotheses statement. It is to ensure that the data that had been collect are useful and can be analyzed. 1.7 Organisation of Research Project This study is divides into five chapters as follow: Chapter 1, Introduction, introduces general information of electronic payment system. It also covers the history of electronic payment system, problem statement, research objective, significance of the study, scope of the study and limitations of study. Chapter 2, Literature Review, presents the state of electronic payment instruments and type of credit card, debit card, electronic purse card and electronic banking. This chapter reviews how the previous researchers summarized the relationship between usage of electronic payment system with behavior and perception of users towards the electronic payment system. Chapter 3, Methodology is telling the method of investigation. This chapter describes the conceptual framework that as the basis for designing a questionnaire to conduct an empirical study. Chapter 4, Result and Discussion, after the survey is done, a discussion is conducted to verify the result obtained. Chapter 5, Conclusion and Recommendation, summarizes the main result and provides the contributions of the study. Recommendations and limitation are being provided.

Japan and America History and Culture Comparison

Japan and America History and Culture Comparison Janette B. Perez Comparing a Culture and its Education:Â  The Correlation of the Two: What Prevails? The United States of America is a country that is largely populated by immigrants, and the culture is heavily influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country. Culture could be defined as the characteristics and knowledge shared by a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Acculturation however, refers to the development between two or more different groups of people meeting and exchanging aspects of their culture. With time an individuals personality may transition based on the different variables that may be affecting it and that plays a pivotal role in acculturation. Would you say that being forced to change your lifestyle from one moment to the next affect your personality? During World War II, Japanese-Americans were evacuated and were forced out of their homes by the War Relocation Authority; having to live apart from what they knew could have changed some parts of the culture they ha d been brought up with, including their education. Although, each person may aspire different goals in regards to their education, during the World War II era, Japanese-Americans had to adapt to the conditions in the relocated facilities and the educational programs provided to them. Meanwhile many Japanese-Americans were also dealing with a clash of culture between these two countries. In this research paper, I will summarize and critique each article, one on the education systems of Japanese-American relocation centers during World War II and the other on the culture of Japanese-Americans and their acculturation to the United States; many conclusions can be obtained and compared from both of the articles mentioned that will proof whether there is any correlation between culture and instruction. To start off article one, keep this in mind: What is the difference between culture and acculturation? Furthermore, how are these related or can the two morph to form to make an individual transition into something new. Acculturation of Personality: A Three-Culture Study of Japanese, Japanese Americans, and European Americans This article begins with the question: Does an immigrants personality change when he or she moves from one culture to another? There is definitely an underlying idea in this sentence that will help us explore the remaining of the article (Gungor et al., 2012). Can culture shape the personality of a person or vice versa; can personalities be molded far enough to were the culture in a particular group of individuals becomes something entirely different or does it change only to a certain extent. To answer these questions a three-culture study between Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and European-Americans was conducted to show if there was any evidence that a strong-rooted culture like that of the Japanese immigrants could be influenced thus causing change in Japanese-Americans after being in contact with the American Culture and how it would differ. The researches chose to focus on Japanese-Americans because the personality patterns in their culture of origin (Japanese Culture) are very different to that of European-Americans showing obvious contrast if change occurs, for example, when compared on Big Five personality dimensions, higher levels of Openness to Experience, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and lower of Neuroticism have been found to characterize the personality patterns of mainstream European and North American societies as compared to those of Asian and African societies (Gungor et al. 2012) In order to establish credibility, participants were selected very carefully and included, 57 mono-cultural Japanese women (strong-rooted in their culture of origin), 40 Japanese-American women(first generation), and 60 European-American women (culture of destination). The examination showed the groups levels of the Big Five qualities mentioned. The differences and similarities between the three cultures were calculated and documented. It was concluded that over time through involvement and exposure to mainstream culture in the United States an immigrants personality seemed to become more American and less Japanese. Something to note about this research is that it is very well categorized from beginning to end with each paragraph containing a specific title explaining the questions this experiment is trying to find answers to, as well as how the method was performed. The article is structured to primarily help us better understand the dilemma faced by the authors, followed by their hypothesis in how the culture of origin of an immigrant can slowly transition into the culture of the location they are exposed to. Finally, it demonstrates the outline of the experiment, including how the participants were selected, why those conditions were chosen, the results of the study, how thee were calculated, and the translation of them followed with the physical evidence of the research. I believe that the authors made incredible points of focus that were explained thoroughly and supported with the results. Not only did they use the research that they conducted as the main source of evidence, but also backed-up there results with similar studies conducted by other scientists to proof that this experiment can have a broader audience and that the material is relevant and truthful. Overall, research was conducted well the specifications of the participants selected had to keep in mind the two cultures compared and see how it differed in three characterized individuals. To determine culture of origin fifty seven women were selected from Tokyo, Japan-through a survey this cultures Big Five was calculated into a number. On the other hand, sixty women from another metropolitan area were surveyed to portray the Big Five in European-American. The samples surveyed were targeted to be as close as possible in terms of age range, social status, and their contributing roles in soc iety in order to maximize comparability and find the acculturation factor (Gungor et al. 2012). In an effort to demonstrate that over time personalities change due to exposure to the mainstream culture (in this case European-American culture), the first generation Japanese-American subjects selected for the study were slightly older than the other two categorized groups; however, their social statuses and roles were kept very similar. The final results portrayed that in fact, there is a correlation between the time spent by Japanese-Americans, and the age at which they were exposed to a new destination and the American culture. This experiment concludes that culture of origin diminishes over time and culture of destination grows. Continuing into the second article, it is important to note the following: The decision to evacuate the entire Japanese-American community during World War II was unprecedented and executed quickly. In addition to being secluded from their homes and communities, how do these circumstances affect Japanese and Japanese-American daily lives, including their education. The Education of Japanese-Americans, 1942-1946 During World War II many events impacted the entire world and in the 1940s the United States of America was not the exception. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, would live in infamy. This attack fully propelled the United States into the ongoing world war. During the spring and summer of 1942, the United States executed, in a surprisingly short amount of time and without conflicting events, one of the largest controlled migrations in history. The operation was carried out by the United States Army and the War Relocation Authority. An estimated 120,000 people of Japanese descent were moved from their homes and placed into 10 wartime communities located in remote areas between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Mississippi River. It was estimated that two thirds of these individuals were American born while the remainder where alien immigrants. Works Cited Cullen, Catherine L. The Education of Japanese-Americans,1942-1946: The Fate of Democratic Reform.American Educational History Journal 38.1 (2011): 197-218. Gungor, D., M. H. Bornstein, J. De Leersnyder, L. Cote, E. Ceulemans, and B. Mesquita. Acculturation of Personality: A Three-Culture Study of Japanese, Japanese Americans, and European Americans.Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 44.5 (2012): 701-18. Web.

Platos Symposium Essay -- Socrates Love Symposium Essays Plato

Plato's Symposium   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the meaning of love? What does love feel like? How does love come about? No one can truly explain it, yet somehow it's understood. In Plato's Symposium, a dinner party was held with the discussion of love as the main topic. Everyone was required to make a speech, an ode to Love, the spirit. The philosopher, Socrates gave his speech last, claiming that his speech was merely a repetition of what a wise woman named Diotima once told him. The speech was a powerful one, but before the night was over, a drunk Alcibiades entered. He was asked to make a eulogy for Love as well, but instead, talked about the nature of Socrates. The nature of Love and the nature of Socrates turned out to be extremely similar. In the Symposium, Socrates can be seen as the embodiment of Love itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The notion of love that was understood at the end of the Symposium came about gradually. It transformed from speaker to speaker over the course of the party, and could be compared to the whole process of understanding love that Socrates tried to explain in his own speech.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its complexity was attained by taking small steps in a larger direction. Diotima explained to Socrates, that to attain the deepest love, he had to follow a certain order.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Much like stepping up on the "rungs in a ladder"(211c), love's nature started small, with Phaedrus and Pausinas merely stating that there was good love and bad love. This was the first step, starting with "beautiful things"(211c) and making those things "reason for... ascent"(211c) up the proverbial ladder. Next Eryximachus' speech compared love's importance to that of medicine's. He used the "things of this world as rungs in a ladder"(211c). Aristophanes then gives love a comedic approach, breaking up the adulation. Agathon was next, and his speech showed how love affected people's minds. It created great poets, and spawned the practices of "hedonism, luxury, and sensualism"(197d). Agathon was last before Socrates, and the closest to Socrates' view. He was at the final steps of the deepest love, seeing the "beauty of people's activities"(211c) and of "intellectual endeavors"(211c).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Love, the spirit, was said to be the son of "Plenty and Poverty"(203c). One parent a polar opposite of the other, coming together to form the middle path named Love. The spirit Love was full of self-conflic... ...lings were not a eulogy for Love, they were personal opinions of his experiences with Socrates, and bluntly stated it. Although it must be taken into consideration that he was characterized as drunk while giving his speech, he reminded the party that the "truth comes from wine"(217e). Essentially, reassuring the reader that he is not in a condition to be making up lies. His description of Socrates' nature was similar to that of Socrates' own description of love's nature. However, Alcibiades was not at the party when Socrates made his speech, so there was no way could have used it to fashion a similar story of his own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates was regarded as the wisest man at the party. He could have given a "second-rate report"(215d) on love, as Alcibiades would have said, and "woman, man, or child"(215d) would have been "overwhelmed and spellbound"(215d). It was the effect Socrates had on people. Perhaps he was the embodiment of love? Even if his speech was fictional, he held a captivated audience of men who would have reveled in the chance to "lay"(219b) with the Socrates. Works Cited: Plato, and Robin Waterfield, trans. Symposium. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

History in Film :: Movie Film Movies History Essays

History in Film Introduction [1] Who owns history? When portraying a historical figure, specifically a female figure (of which there is a distinct lack due to either scarcity of existence or insufficiency of acknowledgment in society), film has a responsibility to accurately represent the historical figure whose reputation is at stake. As a medium relating past to present, film possesses the incredible capacity to take ownership of history; the director holds the key to making history real or reel. Film has the power to exalt or distort historical figures to fit the mold of present day ideals. Maria Luisa Bemberg, director of Yo, la Peor de Todas (I, the Worst of All), embraces history and film in an attempt to bring enlightenment to the public. However, this movie has yet to infiltrate mainstream western culture in the United States or abroad. In contrast, Luc Besson, director of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, manipulates the story of Joan of Arc to fit the demands of a culture that feeds on action-packed, blood-gushing movies. We will take a look at both these directors, the films, how the films present their characters, what manipulation in film does to influence people’s idea of the historical figures, and how the movies are created to fit present-day ideals. History of Directors and Film Intro [2] Herself involved in a field not known for women of her time, Argentinean director Maria Luisa Bemberg tackles the biography of Sor Juana Inà ©s de la Cruz, a narrative much like her own. Growing up during the 1920’s in upper-class Buenos Aires, Bemberg never acquired a high school or college diploma but received an informal education under the guidance of a governess. Surviving in an age in which men still held the dominant hand, Bemberg lived out the first three decades of her adult life a married woman raising four children and suppressing a lifelong dream of delving into film. But at the age of 56, after going through a divorce and becoming a grandmother, Bemberg caves in to the â€Å"curse of an inquiring mind† and creates films that document â€Å"women that are vertical, autonomous, independent, thoughtful, courageous† (Bemberg as quoted in Bach). After having her life’s path determined for her by her controlling father and after being st ifled by her older brothers, Bemberg is able to relate to Sor Juana’s struggle to find an open forum for her voice to be heard.

A Vast Improvement in Oneself

Many students today ask why they are so tired all the time. It also seems that people in college become more stressed out either because of grades or because of work. All people need to do is get the right amount of sleep, eating well, and exercise in order to feel better about themselves and feel good in general. This is not a short process. Most experts say that it takes about twelve weeks in order to see results. But, it is guaranteed that after that duration of time one will see a vast improvement in oneself. Sleep is something that most people take for granted. It is the one thing that people are willing to compromise even more then food or money. It is estimated that between 40 to 60 million Americans are sleep deprived. Different people can get by with different amounts of sleep. There are some that can survive the next day with only a few hours. Then there are always others who cannot be called after 9:00 because they need those good solid 10 hours. The average person actually needs anywhere from between 7-9 hours a night. Why does one need sleep? When human bodies do not get enough sleep they tend to lose strength, the immune system decreases, and there is an increase in blood pressure. As students, it can effect concentration, memory, logical reasoning, and ability to do math. Now that the problem is known here is how to fix it. Dr. Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, focuses on consistency. The body needs consistency. This can be fulfilled by simply going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every day. But, it is important to note that making up for lost sleep on the weekends is a big negative. It is preferable that if one likes to sleep on the weekends wake up at the same time Saturday and Sunday. When going to bed it should take about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. If a half-hour has gone by and one still is not asleep one should get up and do something relaxing (i. e. take a warm bath, read, watch TV, etc. ). Rita Mattson, a Certified Personal Trainer and Stress Management Counselor, makes the suggestion of drinking warm milk before retiring to bed because milk contains a high dosage of L-tryptophan which is a natural sedative. Sleep is just as important as any other part of taking good care of ones self. Another key aspect is nutrition. Nutrition is the main thing that keeps the body working. So, if one wants to keep the body working at a certain pace it needs to be fed. But, one needs to know the right foods. Think of the body as a car. People drive cars every day and some people are fast drivers who like to go above the speed limit and others are slower. Nevertheless, all cars need gas sooner or later. So, the owner of the car takes the car to the gas station and now he needs to make a decision on which type of gas to put into the car. He knows that he cannot use diesel because his car cannot run on diesel gas. The choices are now unleaded, super unleaded, or supreme unleaded. Every car driver knows that the better quality of the gas the better the car drives and performs. Bodies are the same way. Know not to use â€Å"diesel. † But, when it comes to the other â€Å"gases† one has to think what does the â€Å"car† need to perform its best. For that reason, there is the nutrition pyramid to tell us what our bodies need the most and the least of. It is important to incorporate refined carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables, and fruit to ones diet everyday to ensure that the body works. The body also needs some sugar and fat. Today, people focus on â€Å"non-fat† foods. Sometimes these are not good for the body because in order to make something natural fat-free you have to put in chemicals to alter the original make up of the food. Chemicals are difficult for you body to digest therefore in a case like this it is best to go natural. Another reason that one needs to eat some fat and sugar is because this is what the body burns when you exercise. Exercise is what â€Å"separates the boys from the men. † In other words this is the number one thing that must be done to maintain a healthy body. First, one needs to know their body and what their body can endure. That depends on age, weight, and current level of fitness. The last factor determines how fast ones body burns fat. Second, figure the basal metabolism rate (BMR). The formula for that, according to Margaret Deutsch, is for adult males: weight in pounds times 12; for females: weight in pounds times 11. Also, for every 10 years older than 20 one should lower the result by 2%. Next, understand that different programs work for different people. People tend to go by the fad when it comes to picking an exercise program. Do some shopping around to see which exercise is not only fit for you but also is something that you will enjoy. Aerobic exercise is an example. Aerobic exercise is exercise, which essentially uses aerobic pathways to provide energy to the muscles involved. It is sometimes called a â€Å"endurance exercise† which means that the heart rate is raised to 70 to 85% of your age predicted Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), and held at that point for a uninterrupted 20 to 30 minutes. Another example is weight-bearing exercises. This includes picking up weights that are a portion of your body weight. To remain in shape one does not have to do a lot of it but one should do some. It is important in any type of exercising to avoid injury to the body from stretching before exercising to wearing the correct clothing. Civilization tends to be aware of the former but ignore the latter. Sports bras are a common example of women hypocritingly exercising and at the same time injuring the body. Skin and ligaments (elastic connective tissue) provide a delicate support frame for the breasts that can be damaged by too much bouncing and stretching. There are two types of sports bras: compression bras and encapsulation, harness-type bras. The first works better for smaller breasted women because of the fit and the second tends to work better for larger women. When choosing the correct one for you take into account: the fit, how much support it is giving for the exercise that is going to be done, fabric (does it absorb moisture well), seams and stitching to avoid chaffing, and mobility. After taking all these into account one can be assured that he is well prepared for the exercise routine. In conclusion, all the factors mentioned above can lead to a less stressful life. Sleep can help the body relax to deal with everyday pressure. People who eat a diet low in refined carbohydrates, sugar and caffeine, and high in whole grains, have shown a greater ability to cope with stress as in contrast to those who consume the opposite. Exercise, as well, is a way to release stress and tension (i. e. running, kickboxing, stair stepping, etc. ). If one keeps all the factors in mind a healthier happier life can be achieved.

Psychological Survival †Cohen and Taylor Essay

1) Aim of the study Obtain a phenomenological picture of long term imprisonment i.e. the analysis of the every day life of long term prisoners. The smooth patterning of every day life is the result of social interactions and learning about routines and the different domains of life. But some situations are outside the routines (death, sense of self or world view threatened). Disturbed orderliness brings meaning of life into question and often individuals rely on a different domain. Long term prisoners cannot do this. Theirs is a life in cold storage. Psychologically hard to deal with life outside. Some people go in when 20 and don’t leave before they’re 40, so a lot has gone on in everyday life and they’ve missed it. 2) Cohen and Taylor not really interested in the crime committed and the moral issues behind it. They are just interested in how prison affects this group of people. Society has been taken away from these people. Some of the people are well known, but they put aside what these people have been convicted on, they just want to know about their psychological survival. 3) Life inside Metaphor of a submarine: Impregnability, empty, claustrophobic, lifeless, bland no natural light, TV cameras. Things we take for granted in normal life, sociability and privacy, are not there. Not many friends you can have or choose to have. Relationships between guards and prisoners, maybe from a similar social backgrounds, have a lot to talk about. In the E-wing case there was a very pronounced geographical divide, north and south. Prisoners have a public profile outside, quite famous and it sets them aside from the guards. A sense of celebrity in some of the prisoners. This creates a division between guards and prisoners. New power dynamic. Not only hard to create and maintain relationships inside hard to do so with the external world. The prisoners were more worried about getting letters rather than receiving them. No physical contact, e.g. members of your family. Not allowed to talk about conditions in the prison maybe that is why they wanted to get their stories heard with Cohen and Taylor. Isolating experience. 5) different people fulfil different social roles. Obviously there was a small pool in prison. One friend had to fulfil many different roles, which made friendship very strong and intense. Some people were moved constantly and losing your one friend can be traumatic. Intensity of relationships and falling out, which will have an impact on the group and on you. No privacy no time. Can’t develop intimacy with other people. Constantly surrounded by others. Interactions regulated within the group to make sure nobody got harmed. 6) time means different things. For us it’s a resource. Living the present they don’t face or think of the 20 years ahead. Marking time in different ways: mood, seasons, unusual markers. Make time pass faster: body building, university courses, etc. promise of a visit. 8 weeks visit for e.g. 7) deterioration obsessive concern about their physical and psychological condition. 8) history of riots, rebellions and security. Cohen and Taylor interested in solidarity. The resentment towards guards held the group together, helped with bonding. Fight back together. 9) authority and unity different situations lead to different types of solidarity 10) fighting back 11) different criminal careers lead to different ways of psychological survival. Notes from a lecture and seminar on Psychological Survival.

Wireless Sensor Networks

1. Introduction The increasing interest in wireless sensor networks can be promptly understood simply by thinking about what they essentially are: a large number of small sensing self-powered nodes which gather information or detect special events and communicate in a wireless fashion, with the end goal of handing their processed data to a base station. Sensing, processing and communication are three key elements whose combination in one tiny device gives rise to a vast number of applications [A1], [A2]. Sensor networks provide endless opportunities, but at the same time pose formidable challenges, uch as the fact that energy is a scarce and usually non-renewable resource. However, recent advances in low power VLSI, embedded computing, communication hardware, and in general, the convergence of computing and communications, are making this emerging technology a reality [A3]. Likewise, advances in nanotechnology and Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are pushing toward networks of tiny distributed sensors and actuators. 2. Applications of Sensor Networks Possible applications of sensor networks are of interest to the most diverse fields. Environmental monitoring, warfare, child education, surveillance, micro-surgery, and griculture are only a few examples [A4]. Through joint efforts of the University of California at Berkeley and the College of the Atlantic, environmental monitoring is carried out off the coast of Maine on Great Duck Island by means of a network of Berkeley motes equipped with various sensors [B6]. The nodes send their data to a base station which makes them available on the Internet. Since habitat monitoring is rather sensitive to human presence, the deployment of a sensor network provides a noninvasive approach and a remarkable degree of granularity in data acquisition [B7]. The same idea lies behind thePods project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa [B8], where environmental data (air temperature, light, wind, relative humidity and rain fall) are gathered by a network of weather sensors embedded in the communication units deployed in the South-West Rift Zone in Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A major concern of the researchers was in this case camouflaging the sensors to make them invisible to curious tourists. In Princeton’s Zebranet Project [B9], a dynamic sensor network has been created by attaching special collars equipped with a low-power GPS system to the necks of zebras to onitor their moves and their behavior. Since the network is designed to operate in an infrastructure-free environment, peer-to-peer swaps of information are used to produce redundant databases so that researchers only have to encounter a few zebras in order to collect the data. Sensor networks can also be used to monitor and study natural phenomena which intrinsically discourage human presence, such as hurricanes and forest fires. Joint efforts between Harvard University, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of North Carolina have recently led to the deployment of a wireless sensor etwork to monitor eruptions at Volcan Tungurahua, an active volcano in central Ecuador. A network of Berkeley motes monitored infrasonic signals during eruptions, and data were transmitted over a 9 km wireless link to a base station at the volcano observatory [B10]. Intel’s Wireless Vineyard [B11] is an example of using ubiquitous computing for agricultural monitoring. In this application, the network is expected not only to collect and interpret data, but also to use such data to make decisions aimed at detecting the presence of parasites and enabling the use of the appropriate kind of insecticide.Data collection relies on data mules, small devices carried by people (or dogs) that communicate with the nodes and collect data. In this project, the attention is shifted from reliable information collection to active decisionmaking based on acquired data. Just as they can be used to monitor nat ure, sensor networks can likewise be used to monitor human behavior. In the Smart Kindergarten project at UCLA [B12], wirelessly-networked, sensor-enhanced toys and other classroom objects supervise the learning process of children and allow unobtrusive monitoring by the teacher. Medical research and healthcare can greatly benefit rom sensor networks: vital sign monitoring and accident recognition are the most natural applications. An important issue is the care of the elderly, especially if they are affected by cognitive decline: a network of sensors and actuators could monitor them and even assist them in their daily routine. Smart appliances could help them organize their lives by reminding them of their meals and medications. Sensors can be used to capture vital signs from patients in real-time and relay the data to handheld computers carried by medical personnel, and wearable sensor nodes can store patient data such as identification, history, and treatments.With these ideas in mind, Harvard University is cooperating with the School of Medicine at Boston University to develop CodeBlue, an infrastructure designed to support wireless medical sensors, PDAs, PCs, and other devices that may be used to monitor and treat patients in various medical scenarios [B13]. On the hardware side, the research team has Martin Haenggi is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; Fax +1 574 631 4393; [email  protected]@nd. edu. Daniele Puccinelli is also with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. reated Vital Dust, a set of devices based on the MICA21 sensor node platform (one of the most popular members of the Berkeley motes family), which collect heart rate, oxygen saturation, and EKG data and relay them over a medium-range (100 m) wireless network to a PDA [B14]. Interactions between sensor networks and humans are already judged controversial. The US has recently app roved the use of a radio-frequency implantable device (VeriChip) on humans, whose intended application is accessing the medical records of a patient in an emergency. Potential future repercussions of this decision have been discussed in the media.An interesting application to civil engineering is the idea of Smart Buildings: wireless sensor and actuator networks integrated within buildings could allow distributed monitoring and control, improving living conditions and reducing the energy consumption, for instance by controlling temperature and air flow. Military applications are plentiful. An intriguing example is DARPA’s self-healing minefield [B15], a selforganizing sensor network where peer-to-peer communication between anti-tank mines is used to respond to attacks and redistribute the mines in order to heal breaches, complicating the progress of enemy troops.Urban warfare is another application that distributed sensing lends itself to. An ensemble of nodes could be deploy ed in a urban landscape to detect chemical attacks, or track enemy movements. PinPtr is an ad hoc acoustic sensor network for sniper localization developed at Vanderbilt University [B16]. The network detects the muzzle blast and the acoustic shock wave that originate from the sound of gunfire. The arrival times of the acoustic events at different sensor nodes are used to estimate the position of the sniper and send it to the base station with a special data aggregation and routing service.Going back to peaceful applications, efforts are underway at Carnegie Mellon University and Intel for the design of IrisNet (Internet-scale Resource-Intensive Sensor Network Services) [B17], an architecture for a worldwide sensor web based on common computing hardware such as Internet-connected PCs and low-cost sensing hardware such as webcams. The network interface of a PC indeed senses the virtual environment of a LAN or the Internet rather than a physical environment; with an architecture based on the concept of a distributed database [B18], this hardware can be orchestrated into a global sensor system hat responds to queries from users. 3. Characteristic Features of Sensor Networks In ad hoc networks, wireless nodes self-organize into an infrastructureless network with a dynamic topology. Sensor networks (such as the one in Figure 1) share these traits, but also have several distinguishing features. The number of nodes in a typical sensor network is much higher than in a typical ad hoc network, and dense deployments are often desired to ensure coverage and connectivity; for these reasons, sensor network hardware must be cheap. Nodes typically have stringent energy limitations, which make them more failure-prone. They are enerally assumed to be stationary, but their relatively frequent breakdowns and the volatile nature of the wireless channel nonetheless result in a variable network topology. Ideally, sensor network hardware should be power-efficient, small, inexpensive, and reliable in order to maximize network lifetime, add flexibility, facilitate data collection and minimize the need for maintenance. Lifetime Lifetime is extremely critical for most applications, and its primary limiting factor is the energy consumption of the nodes, which need to be self-powering. Although it is often assumed that the transmit power associated with acket transmission accounts for the lion’s share of power consumption, sensing, signal processing and even hardware operation in standby mode consume a consistent amount of power as well [C19], [C20]. In some applications, extra power is needed for macro-scale actuation. Many researchers suggest that energy consumption could be reduced by considering the existing interdependencies between individual layers in the network protocol stack. Routing and channel access protocols, for instance, could greatly benefit from an information exchange with the physical layer. At the physical layer, benefits can be obtained wi th ower radio duty cycles and dynamic modulation scaling (varying the constellation size to minimize energy expenditure THIRD QUARTER 2005 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 21 External Infrastructure Gateway Base Station Sensing Nodes Figure 1. A generic sensor network with a two-tiered archi1 tecture. See Section 5 for a hardware overview. [D35]). Using low-power modi for the processor or disabling the radio is generally advantageous, even though periodically turning a subsystem on and off may be more costly than always keeping it on. Techniques aimed at reducing the idle mode leakage current in CMOS-based rocessors are also noteworthy [D36]. Medium Access Control (MAC) solutions have a direct impact on energy consumption, as some of the primary causes of energy waste are found at the MAC layer: collisions, control packet overhead and idle listening. Powersaving forward error control techniques are not easy to implement due to the high amount of computing power that they require a nd the fact that long packets are normally not practical. Energy-efficient routing should avoid the loss of a node due to battery depletion. Many proposed protocols tend to minimize energy consumption on forwarding aths, but if some nodes happen to be located on most forwarding paths (e. g. , close to the base station), their lifetime will be reduced. Flexibility Sensor networks should be scalable, and they should be able to dynamically adapt to changes in node density and topology, like in the case of the self-healing minefields. In surveillance applications, most nodes may remain quiescent as long as nothing interesting happens. However, they must be able to respond to special events that the network intends to study with some degree of granularity. In a self-healing minefield, a number of sensing mines ay sleep as long as none of their peers explodes, but need to quickly become operational in the case of an enemy attack. Response time is also very critical in control applications (sensor/actuator networks) in which the network is to provide a delay-guaranteed service. Untethered systems need to self-configure and adapt to different conditions. Sensor networks should also be robust to changes in their topology, for instance due to the failure of individual nodes. In particular, connectivity and coverage should always be guaranteed. Connectivity is achieved if the base station can be reached from any node.Coverage can be seen as a measure of quality of service in a sensor network [C23], as it defines how well a particular area can be observed by a network and characterizes the probability of detection of geographically constrained phenomena or events. Complete coverage is particularly important for surveillance applications. Maintenance The only desired form of maintenance in a sensor network is the complete or partial update of the program code in the sensor nodes over the wireless channel. All sensor nodes should be updated, and the restrictions on the size of the new code should be the same as in the case of wired programming.Packet loss must be accounted for and should not impede correct reprogramming. The portion of code always running in the node to guarantee reprogramming support should have a small footprint, and updating procedures should only cause a brief interruption of the normal operation of the node [C24]. The functioning of the network as a whole should not be endangered by unavoidable failures of single nodes, which may occur for a number of reasons, from battery depletion to unpredictable external events, and may either be independent or spatially correlated [C25]. Faulttolerance is particularly crucial as ongoing maintenance s rarely an option in sensor network applications. Self-configuring nodes are necessary to allow the deployment process to run smoothly without human interaction, which should in principle be limited to placing nodes into a given geographical area. It is not desirable to have humans configure node s for habitat monitoring and destructively interfere with wildlife in the process, or configure nodes for urban warfare monitoring in a hostile environment. The nodes should be able to assess the quality of the network deployment and indicate any problems that may arise, as well as adjust to hanging environmental conditions by automatic reconfiguration. Location awareness is important for selfconfiguration and has definite advantages in terms of routing [C26] and security. Time synchronization [C27] is advantageous in promoting cooperation among nodes, such as data fusion, channel access, coordination of sleep modi, or security-related interaction. Data Collection Data collection is related to network connectivity and coverage. An interesting solution is the use of ubiquitous mobile agents that randomly move around to gather data bridging sensor nodes and access points, whimsically named dataMULEs (Mobile Ubiquitous LAN Extensions) in [C28]. The predictable mobility of the data sink can be used to save power [C29], as nodes can learn its schedule. A similar concept has been implemented in Intel’s Wireless Vineyard. It is often the case that all data are relayed to a base station, but this form of centralized data collection may shorten network lifetime. Relaying data to a data sink causes non-uniform power consumption patterns that may overburden forwarding nodes [C21]. This is particularly harsh on nodes providing end links to base stations, which may end up relaying traffic coming from all ther nodes, thus forming a critical bottleneck for network throughput [A4], [C22], as shown in Figure 2. An interesting technique is clustering [C30]: nodes team up to form clusters and transmit their information to their cluster heads, which fuse the data and forward it to a 22 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE THIRD QUARTER 2005 sink. Fewer packets are transmitted, and a uniform energy consumption pattern may be achieved by periodic re-clustering. Data redundancy is minimized, as the aggregation process fuses strongly correlated measurements. Many applications require that queries be sent to sensing nodes.This is true, for example, whenever the goal is gathering data regarding a particular area where various sensors have been deployed. This is the rationale behind looking at a sensor network as a database [C31]. A sensor network should be able to protect itself and its data from external attacks, but the severe limitations of lower-end sensor node hardware make security a true challenge. Typical encryption schemes, for instance, require large amounts of memory that are unavailable in sensor nodes. Data confidentiality should be preserved by encrypting data with a secret key shared with the intended receiver. Data integrity should be ensured to revent unauthorized data alteration. An authenticated broadcast must allow the verification of the legitimacy of data and their sender. In a number of commercial applications, a serious disservice to the user of a sensor network is compromising data availability (denial of service), which can be achieved by sleep-deprivation torture [C33]: batteries may be drained by continuous service requests or demands for legitimate but intensive tasks [C34], preventing the node from entering sleep modi. 4. Hardware Design Issues In a generic sensor node (Figure 3), we can identify a power module, a communication block, a processing unit ith internal and/or external memory, and a module for sensing and actuation. Power Using stored energy or harvesting energy from the outside world are the two options for the power module. Energy storage may be achieved with the use of batteries or alternative devices such as fuel cells or miniaturized heat engines, whereas energy-scavenging opportunities [D37] are provided by solar power, vibrations, acoustic noise, and piezoelectric effects [D38]. The vast majority of the existing commercial and research platforms relies on batteries, which dominate the no de size. Primary (nonrechargeable) batteries are often chosen, predominantlyAA, AAA and coin-type. Alkaline batteries offer a high energy density at a cheap price, offset by a non-flat discharge, a large physical size with respect to a typical sensor node, and a shelf life of only 5 years. Voltage regulation could in principle be employed, but its high inefficiency and large quiescent current consumption call for the use of components that can deal with large variations in the supply voltage [A5]. Lithium cells are very compact and boast a flat discharge curve. Secondary (rechargeable) batteries are typically not desirable, as they offer a lower energy density and a higher cost, not to mention the fact that in most pplications recharging is simply not practical. Fuel cells [D39] are rechargeable electrochemical energy- conversion devices where electricity and heat are produced as long as hydrogen is supplied to react with oxygen. Pollution is minimal, as water is the main byproduct of the reaction. The potential of fuel cells for energy storage and power delivery is much higher than the one of traditional battery technologies, but the fact that they require hydrogen complicates their application. Using renewable energy and scavenging techniques is an interesting alternative. Communication Most sensor networks use radio communication, even if lternative solutions are offered by laser and infrared. Nearly all radio-based platforms use COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) components. Popular choices include the TR1000 from RFM (used in the MICA motes) and the CC1000 from Chipcon (chosen for the MICA2 platform). More recent solutions use industry standards like IEEE 802. 15. 4 (MICAz and Telos motes with CC2420 from Chipcon) or pseudo-standards like Bluetooth. Typically, the transmit power ranges between ? 25 dBm and 10 dBm, while the receiver sensitivity can be as good as ? 110 dBm. THIRD QUARTER 2005 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 23 Base Station Critical Nodes F igure 2.A uniform energy consumption pattern should avoid the depletion of the resources of nodes located in the vicinities of the base station. Communication Hardware Power Sensors (? Actuators) ADC Memory Processor Figure 3. Anatomy of a generic sensor node. Spread spectrum techniques increase the channel reliability and the noise tolerance by spreading the signal over a wide range of frequencies. Frequency hopping (FH) is a spread spectrum technique used by Bluetooth: the carrier frequency changes 1600 times per second on the basis of a pseudo-random algorithm. However, channel synchronization, hopping sequence search, and the high data rate ncrease power consumption; this is one of the strongest caveats when using Bluetooth in sensor network nodes. In Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), communication is carried out on a single carrier frequency. The signal is multiplied by a higher rate pseudo-random sequence and thus spread over a wide frequency range (typical DSSS radios h ave spreading factors between 15 and 100). Ultra Wide Band (UWB) is of great interest for sensor networks since it meets some of their main requirements. UWB is a particular carrier-free spread spectrum technique where the RF signal is spread over a spectrum as large as several GHz.This implies that UWB signals look like noise to conventional radios. Such signals are produced using baseband pulses (for instance, Gaussian monopulses) whose length ranges from 100 ps to 1 ns, and baseband transmission is generally carried out by means of pulse position modulation (PPM). Modulation and demodulation are indeed extremely cheap. UWB provides built-in ranging capabilities (a wideband signal allows a good time resolution and therefore a good location accuracy) [D40], allows a very low power consumption, and performs well in the presence of multipath fading. Radios with relatively low bit-rates (up to 100 kbps) re advantageous in terms of power consumption. In most sensor networks, high data rates are not needed, even though they allow shorter transmission times thus permitting lower duty cycles and alleviating channel access contention. It is also desirable for a radio to quickly switch from a sleep mode to an operational mode. Optical transceivers such as lasers offer a strong power advantage, mainly due to their high directionality and the fact that only baseband processing is required. Also, security is intrinsically guaranteed (intercepted signals are altered). However, the need for a line of sight and recise localization makes this option impractical for most applications. Processing and Computing Although low-power FPGAs might become a viable option in the near future [D41], microcontrollers (MCUs) are now the primary choice for processing in sensor nodes. The key metric in the selection of an MCU is power consumption. Sleep modi deserve special attention, as in many applications low duty cycles are essential for lifetime extension. Just as in the case of the rad io module, a fast wake-up time is important. Most CPUs used in lower-end sensor nodes have clock speeds of a few MHz. The memory requirements depend on the pplication and the network topology: data storage is not critical if data are often relayed to a base station. Berkeley motes, UCLA’s Medusa MK-2 and ETHZ’s BTnodes use low-cost Atmel AVR 8-bit RISC microcontrollers which consume about 1500 pJ/instruction. More sophisticated platforms, such as the Intel iMote and Rockwell WINS nodes, use Intel StrongArm/XScale 32-bit processors. Sensing The high sampling rates of modern digital sensors are usually not needed in sensor networks. The power efficiency of sensors and their turn-on and turn-off time are much more important. Additional issues are the physical ize of the sensing hardware, fabrication, and assembly compatibility with other components of the system. Packaging requirements come into play, for instance, with chemical sensors which require contact with the envi ronment [D42]. Using a microcontroller with an onchip analog comparator is another energy-saving technique which allows the node to avoid sampling values falling outside a certain range [D43]. The ADC which complements analog sensors is particularly critical, as its resolution has a direct impact on energy consumption. Fortunately, typical sensor network applications do not have stringent resolution requirements.Micromachining techniques have allowed the miniaturization of many types of sensors. Performance does decrease with sensor size, but for many sensor network applications size matters much more than accuracy. Standard integrated circuits may also be used as temperature sensors (e. g. , using the temperaturedependence of subthreshold MOSFETs and pn junctions) or light intensity transducers (e. g. , using photodiodes or phototransistors) [D44]. Nanosensors can offer promising solutions for biological and chemical sensors while concurrently meeting the most ambitious miniaturiza tion needs. 5. Existing Hardware PlatformsBerkeley motes, made commercially available by Crossbow, are by all means the best known sensor node hardware implementation, used by more than 100 research organizations. They consist of an embedded microcontroller, low-power radio, and a small memory, and they are powered by two AA batteries. MICA and MICA2 are the most successful families of Berkeley motes. The MICA2 platform, whose layout is shown in Figure 4, is equipped with an Atmel ATmega128L and has a CC1000 transceiver. A 51-pin expansion connector is available to interface sensors (commercial sensor boards designed for this specific platform are available).Since the MCU is to handle 24 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE THIRD QUARTER 2005 medium access and baseband processing, a fine-grained event-driven real-time operating system (TinyOS) has been implemented to specifically address the concurrency and resource management needs of sensor nodes. For applications that require a bet ter form factor, the circular MICA2Dot can be used: it has most of the resources of MICA2, but is only 2. 5 cm in diameter. Berkeley motes up to the MICA2 generation cannot interface with other wireless- enabled devices [E47]. However, the newer generations MICAz and Telos support IEEE 802. 15. , which is part of the 802. 15 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) standard being developed by IEEE. At this point, these devices represent a very good solution for generic sensing nodes, even though their unit cost is still relatively high (about $100–$200). The proliferation of different lowerend hardware platforms within the Berkeley mote family has recently led to the development of a new version of TinyOS which introduces a flexible hardware abstraction architecture to simplify multi-platform support [E48]. Tables 1 and 2 show an overview of the radio transceivers and the microcontrollers most commonly used in xisting hardware platforms; an overview of the key features of the pl atforms is provided in Table 3. Intel has designed its own iMote [E49] to implement various improvements over available mote designs, such as increased CPU processing power, increased main memory size for on-board computing and improved radio reliability. In the iMote, a powerful ARM7TDMI core is complemented by a large main memory and non-volatile storage area; on the radio side, Bluetooth has been chosen. Various platforms have been developed for the use of Berkeley motes in mobile sensor networks to enable investigations into controlled mobility, which facilitates eployment and network repair and provides possibilities for the implementation of energy-harvesting. UCLA’s RoboMote [E50], Notre Dame’s MicaBot [E51] and UC Berkeley’s CotsBots [E52] are examples of efforts in this direction. UCLA’s Medusa MK-2 sensor nodes [E53], developed for the Smart Kindergarten project, expand Berkeley motes with a second microcontroller. An on-board power management a nd tracking unit monitors power consumption within the different subsystems and selectively powers down unused parts of the node. UCLA has also developed iBadge [E54], a wearable sensor node with sufficient computational power to process the sensed data.Built around an ATMega128L and a DSP, it features a Localization Unit designed to estimate the position of iBadge in a room based on the presence of special nodes of known location attached to the ceilings. In the context of the EYES project (a joint effort among several European institutions) custom nodes [E55], [C24] have been developed to test and demonstrate energy-efficient networking algorithms. On the software side, a proprietary operating system, PEEROS (Preemptive EYES Real Time Operating System), has been implemented. The Smart-Its project has investigated the possibility of embedding computational power into objects, leading o the creation of three hardware platforms: DIY Smartits, Particle Computers and BTnodes. The DIY S mart-its [E56] have been developed in the UK at Lancaster University; their modular design is based on a core board that provides processing and communication and can be extended with add-on boards. A typical setup of Smart-its consists of one or more sensing nodes that broadcast their data to a base station which consists of a standard core board connected to the serial port of a PC. Simplicity and extensibility are the key features of this platform, which has been developed for the creation of Smart Objects.An interesting application is the Weight Table: four load cells placed underneath a coffee table form a Wheatstone bridge and are connected to a DIY node that observes load changes, determines event types like placement and removal of objects or a person moving a finger across the surface, and also retrieves the position of an object by correlating the values of the individual load cells after the event type (removed or placed) has been recognized [E57]. Particle Computers have been developed at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Similarly to the DIY platform, the Particle Smart-its are based on a core board quipped with a Microchip PIC; they are optimized for energy efficiency, scalable communication and small scale (17 mm ? 30 mm). Particles communicate in an ad hoc fashion: as two Particles come close to one another, THIRD QUARTER 2005 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 25 Oscillator 7. 3728-MHz DS2401P Silicon Serial No. Antenna Connector Connector LEDs Battery Connection 32. 768-kHz Oscillator 14. 7456-MHz Oscillator ATMEL ATMega 128L CPU CC1000 Transceiver ATMEL AT45DB041 Data Flash Figure 4. Layout of the MICA2 platform. they are able to talk. Additionally, if Particles come near a gateway device, they can be connected to Internet-enabled evices and access services and information on the Internet as well as provide information [E58]. The BTnode hardware from ETHZ [E47] is based on an Atmel ATmega128L microcontroller and a Bluetooth module. Altho ugh advertised as a low-power technology, Bluetooth has a relatively high power consumption, as discussed before. It also has long connection setup times and a lower degree of freedom with respect to possible network topologies. On the other hand, it ensures interoperability between different devices, enables application development through a standardized interface, and offers a significantly higher bandwidth (about 1 Mbps) ompared to many low-power radios (about 50 Kbps). Moreover, Bluetooth support means that COTS hardware can be used to create a gateway between a sensor network and an external network (e. g. , the Internet), as opposed to more costly proprietary solutions [E59]. MIT is working on the ? AMPS (? -Adaptive Multidomain Power-aware Sensors) project, which explores energy-efficiency constraints and key issues such as selfconfiguration, reconfigurability, and flexibility. A first prototype has been designed with COTS components: three stackable boards (processing, radio and power) and an ptional extension module. The energy dissipation of this microsensor node is reduced through a variety of poweraware design techniques [D45] including fine-grain shutdown of inactive components, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling of the processor core, and adjustable radio transmission power based on the required range. Dynamic voltage scaling is a technique used for active power management where the supply voltage and clock frequency of the processor are regulated depending on the computational load, which can vary significantly based on the operational mode [D36], [C20]. The main oal of second generation ? AMPS is clearly stated in [D46] as breaking the 100 ? W average power barrier. Another interesting MIT project is the Pushpin computing system [E60], whose goal is the modelling, testing, and deployment of distributed peer-to-peer sensor networks consisting of many identical nodes. The pushpins are 18 mm ? 18 mm modular devices with a power substrate, an in frared communication module, a processing module (Cygnal C8051F016) and an expansion module (e. g. , for sensors); they are powered by direct contact between the power substrate and layered conductive sheets. 26 MCU Max.Freq. [MHz] Memory Data Size [bits] ADC [bits] Architecture AT90LS8535 (Atmel) 4 8 kB Flash, 512B EEPROM, 512B SRAM 8 10 AVR ATMega128L (Atmel) 8 128 kB Flash, 4 kB EEPROM, 4 kB SRAM 8 10 AVR AT91FR4081 (Atmel) 33 136 kB On-Chip SRAM, 8 Mb Flash 32 — Based on ARM core (ARM7TDMI) MSP430F149 (TI) 8 60 kB + 256B Flash, 2 kB RAM 16 12 Von Neumann C8051F016 (Cygnal) 25 2304B RAM, 32 kB Flash 8 10 Harvard 8051 PIC18F6720 (Microchip) 25 128 kB Flash, 3840B SRAM, 1 kB EEPROM 8 10 Harvard PIC18F252 (Microchip) 40 32 K Flash, 1536B RAM, 256B EEPROM 8 10 Harvard StrongARM SA-1110 (Intel) 133 — 32 — ARM v. 4PXA255 (Intel) 400 32 kB Instruction Cache, 32 kB Data 32 — ARM v. 5TE Cache, 2 kB Mini Data Cache Table 2. Microcontrollers used in sensor node p latforms. Radio (Manufacturer) Band [MHz] Max. Data Rate [kbps] Sensit. [dBm] Notes TR1000 (RFM) 916. 5 115. 2 ? 106 OOK/ASK TR1001 (RFM) 868. 35 115. 2 ? 106 OOK/ASK CC1000 (Chipcon) 300–1,000 76. 8 ? 110 FSK, ? 20 to 10 dBm CC2420 (Chipcon) 2,400 250 ? 94 OQPSK, ? 24 to 0 dBm, IEEE 802. 15. 4, DSSS BiM2 (Radiometrix) 433. 92 64 ? 93 9XStream (MaxStream) 902–928 20 ? 114 FHSS Table 1. Radios used in sensor node platforms. IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE THIRD QUARTER 2005MIT has also built Tribble (Tactile reactive interface built by linked elements), a spherical robot wrapped by a wired skinlike sensor network designed to emulate the functionalities of biological skin [E61]. Tribble’s surface is divided into 32 patches with a Pushpin processing module and an array of sensors and actuators. At Lancaster University, surfaces provide power and network connectivity in the Pin&Play project. Network nodes come in different form factors, but all share the Pin&Play connector, a custom component that allows physical connection and networking through conductive sheets which re embedded in surfaces such as a wall or a bulletin board [E62]. Pin&Play falls in between wired and wireless technologies as it provides network access and power across 2D surfaces. Wall-mounted objects are especially suited to be augmented to become Pin&Play objects. In a demonstration, a wall switch was augmented and freely placed anywhere on a wall with a Pin&Play surface as wallpaper. For applications which do not call for the minimization of power consumption, high-end nodes are available. Rockwellis WINS nodes and Sensoria’s WINS 3. 0 Wireless Sensing Platform are equipped with more powerful rocessors and radio systems. The embedded PC modules based on widely supported standards PC/104 and PC/104-plus feature Pentium processors; moreover, PC/104 peripherals include digital I/O devices, sensors and actuators, and PC-104 products support almost all PC software. PFU Systems’ Plug-N-Run products, which feature Pentium processors, also belong to this category. They offer the capabilities of PCs and the size of a sensor node, but lack built-in communication hardware. COTS components or lower-end nodes may be used in this sense [C32]. Research is underway toward the creation of sensor nodes that are more capable than the motes, yet maller and more power-efficient than higher-end nodes. Simple yet effective gateway devices are the MIB programming boards from Crossbow, which bridge networks of Berkeley motes with a PC (to which they interface using the serial port or Ethernet). In the case of Telos motes, any generic node (i. e. , any Telos mote) can act as a gateway, as it may be connected to the USB port of a PC and bridge it to the network. Of course, more powerful gateway devices are also available. Crossbow’s Stargate is a powerful embedded computing platform (running Linux) with enhanced communication and sensor signal process ing capabilities based n Intel PXA255, the same X-Scale processor that forms the core of Sensoria WINS 3. 0 nodes. Stargate has a connector for Berkeley motes, may be bridged to a PC via Ethernet or 802. 11, and includes built-in Bluetooth support. 6. Closing Remarks Sensor networks offer countless challenges, but their versatility and their broad range of applications are eliciting more and more interest from the research community as well as from industry. Sensor networks have the potential of triggering the next revolution in information technology. The challenges in terms of circuits and systems re numerous: the development of low-power communication hardware, low-power microcontrollers, MEMSbased sensors and actuators, efficient AD conversion, and energy-scavenging devices is necessary to enhance the potential and the performance of sensor networks. System integration is another major challenge that sensor networks offer to the circuits and systems research community. We believ e that CAS can and should have a significant impact in this emerging, exciting area. 27 Platform CPU Comm. External Memory Power Supply WesC (UCB) AT90LS8535 TR1000 32 kB Flash Lithium Battery MICA (UCB, Xbow) ATMega128L TR1000 512 kB Flash AAMICA2 (UCB, Xbow) ATMega128L CC1000 512 kB Flash AA MICA2Dot (UCB, Xbow) ATMega128L CC1000 512 kB Flash Lithium Battery MICAz (UCB, Xbow) ATMega128L CC2420 512 kB Flash AA Telos (Moteiv) MSP430F149 CC2420 512 kB Flash AA iMote (Intel) ARM7TDMI Core Bluetooth 64 kB SRAM, 512 kB Flash AA Medusa MK-2 (UCLA) ATMega103L TR1000 4 Mb Flash Rechargeable Lithium Ion AT91FR4081 iBadge (UCLA) ATMega128L Bluetooth, TR1000 4 Mb Flash Rechargeable Lithium Ion DIY (Lancaster University) PIC18F252 BiM2 64 Kb FRAM AAA, Lithium, Rechargeable Particle (TH) PIC18F6720 RFM TR1001 32 kB EEPROM AAA or Lithium Coin Battery or RechargeableBT Nodes (ETHZ) ATMega128L Bluetooth, CC1000 244 kB SRAM AA ZebraNet (Princeton) MSP430F149 9XStream 4 Mb Flash Lithium Ion Pushpin (MIT) C8051F016 Infrared — Power Substrate WINS 3. 0 (Sensoria) PXA255 802. 11b 64 MB SDRAM, 32 MB + 1 GB Flash Batteries Table 3. Hardware features of various platforms. THIRD QUARTER 2005 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE Acknowledgments The support of NSF (grants ECS 03-29766 and CAREER CNS 04-47869) is gratefully acknowledged. References General References [A1] I. F. Akyildiz, W. Su, Y. Sankarasubramaniam, and E. Cayirci, â€Å"A survey on sensor networks,† in IEEE Communications Magazine, pp. 02–114, Aug. 2002. [A2] L. B. Ruiz, L. H. A. Correia, L. F. M. Vieira, D. F. Macedo, E. F. Nakamura, C. M. S. Figueiredo, M. A. M. Vieira, E. H. B. Maia, D. Camara, A. A. F. Loureiro, J. M. S. Nogueira, D. C. da Silva Jr. , and A. O. Fernandes, â€Å"Architectures for wireless sensor networks (In Portuguese),† in Proceedings of the 22nd Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks (SBRC’04), Gramado, Brazil, pp. 167–218, May 2004. Tutorial. ISBN: 85-8 8442-82-5. [A3] C. Y. Chong and S. P. Kumar, â€Å"Sensor networks: Evolution, opportunities, and challenges,† in IEEE Proceedings, pp. 1247–1254, Aug. 003. [A4] M. 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Thiele, â€Å"Prototyping sensor network applications with BTnodes,† in IEEE European Workshop on Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN’04), Berlin, Germany, Jan. 2004. [E60] J. Lifton, D. Seetharam, M. Broxton, and J. Paradiso, â€Å"Pushpin computing system overview: A platform for distributed, embedded, ubiquitous sensor networks,† in Proceedings of the Pervasive Computing Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 2002. [E61] J. A. Paradiso, J. Lifton, and M. Broxton, â€Å"Sensate media—multimodal electronic skins as dense sensor networks,† BT Technology Journal, vol. 2, pp. 32â€⠀œ44, Oct. 2004. [E62] K. V. Laerhoven, N. Villar, and H. -W. Gellersen, â€Å"Pin&Mix: When Pins Become Interaction Components. . . ,† in Physical Interaction (PI03)— Workshop on Real World User Interfaces†Ã¢â‚¬â€Mobile HCI Conference, Udine, Italy, Sept. 2003. Daniele Puccinelli received a Laurea degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy, in 2001. After spending two years in industry, he joined the graduate program in Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, and received an M. S. Degree in 2005. He is currently working toward his Ph. D. degree.His research has focused on cross-layer approaches to wireless sensor network protocol design, with an emphasis on the interaction between the physical and the network layer. Martin Haenggi received the Dipl. Ing. (M. Sc. ) degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) in 1995. In 1995, he joined the Signal and Information Process ing Laboratory at ETHZ as a Teaching and Research Assistant. In 1996 he earned the Dipl. NDS ETH (post-diploma) degree in information technology, and in 1999, he completed his Ph. D. thesis on the analysis, design, and optimization of ellular neural networks. After a postdoctoral year at the Electronics Research Laboratory at the University of California in Berkeley, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame as an assistant professor in January 2001. For both his M. Sc. and his Ph. D. theses, he was awarded the ETH medal, and he received an NSF CAREER award in 2005. For 2005/06, he is a CAS Distinguished Lecturer. His scientific interests include networking and wireless communications, with an emphasis on ad hoc and sensor networks. THIRD QUARTER 2005 IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 29