Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1795 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/09/17 Category Analytics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? 1. In my opinion, Southwest should not save low-numbered boarding cards for its most frequent fliers. First of all, that would go against the idea of having simplicity in its operations systems. If Southwest reserved their low number boarding cards for its most frequent fliers, the airline would run into complications with customer seating preferences or disagreements. This would cause the established simple system of Southwest to be ineffective if certain exceptions would be made for frequent fliers. Not only does Southwest stand for simplicity but also egalitarianism. It would be contradictory for Southwest Airlines to stand for equality while at the same time offering preferential treatment to its most frequent fliers. In order to continue to be â€Å"the best short-haul, no-nonsense, low-fills utilitarian airline† Southwest should not implement saving low-numbered boarding cards for their frequent fliers. A tradeoff for this egalitarian mentality is the loss of those frequent fliers who feel that their loyalty should be rewarded for preferential treatment. Airlines that offer first-class and business class seats have the potential to lure away customers who feel that an important requirement to them remaining loyal is to be given first priority in seats. Many customers would rather pay extra in order to get better treatment in compensation for the money they invest in flying frequently. If Southwest begins to reserve low numbers for their frequent fliers, they might end up not only experiencing a decrease in efficiency when it comes to boarding, but complaints from customers who chose Southwest strictly due to their â€Å"first come first serve policy†. . In my opinion, Southwest should allow frequent fliers to take the next available flight with an empty seat versus having these customers wait for the next available flight within the same fare class. My decision is based upon the fact that an empty seat is already a sunk cost, a nd that way frequent fliers could be rewarded for their loyalty without having to go against their egalitarian mindset. It would also be more efficient in the sense that a flight has to depart despite the fact that not all their seats have been sold. Lastly, customers who had missed their flight would not have to wait extra for an appropriate flight which matches their fare, which could in-turn reduce the amount of complaints the airline experiences about restricted fares preventing them in reusing their ticket. If Southwest begins to allow their frequent fliers to go sit in an empty seat, they could gain a competitive advantage against those airlines that impose service charges on top of letting passengers use their ticket on a later flight. 3. Southwest Airlines have a vast amount of sources, which contribute to their competitive advantage. Firstly, Southwest is more affordable because they brand themselves as a short-haul airline. By only offering short-duration flight time s, Southwest Airlines are able to cut many of their service costs, an example being the absence of meals. Southwest chooses to fly to locations with smaller airports, giving them the competitive advantage of reduced congestion, reduced traffic delays and an increased convenience for customers who needed to fly to smaller towns remote from big international airports. All these factors allow Southwest to have the competitive advantage of having the lowest operating expenses per available seat miles. By flying one type of aircraft, Southwest is able to lower training costs for maintenance and flight crews. This gives the airline the competitive advantage of developing an increased knowledge about the technical difficulties that may occur with this specific model of aircraft, along with being able to maximize the utilization of the aircraft. By flying point-to –point as opposed to hubs, Southwest is able to minimize the issue of constantly connecting their flights. This giv es the airline the competitive advantage of needing the use of reservation systems to coordinate smaller cities and hub cities. By framing their operations strategy on how race cars are serviced and fueled, Southwest was able to reduce their turnaround time by 50%, giving them the competitive advantage of having their turnaround time to be 30 minutes faster than the industry average. A â€Å"first come first serve† basis seating system gives the airline a competitive advantage regarding the efficiency of pre-boarding and boarding procedures. This way complications arising in seating are eliminated which allows for quicker departure time. Low-employee turnover has given Southwest the competitive advantage of allowing employees to build a relationship with passengers who fly frequently and saving costs of training programs. In addition, low-employee turnover has given Southwest the competitive advantage of securing a sense of trust with their employees, which increases work productivity by their employees wanting to work harder to the best of their ability and focusing on the shared sense of commitment Southwest enforces in its policy. This allows employees to enhance the overall operation by being able to share responsibilities and functions among one another, giving Southwest the competitive advantage of their employees being multi-functional, which lowers the cost which arises from having to employ people to undertake specific operations. The rapid rewards program gives Southwest the competitive advantage of giving their customers a fueled incentive to continue to fly with Southwest to receive free tickets and flights, which allows them to profit on sales with a smaller chance of seats remaining empty. As the leading airline with the fewest customer complaints, Southwest continues to be the nation’s leading and largest low fare airline, making a net income of 176 while many of its competitors came out in the minuses. 4. The economic imp ortance of frequent fliers can be partly determined by Exhibit 2 Operating Data for 2000. In this table it is evident that Southwest Airlines, compared to some of its rival airlines, is able to operate at a profit, even though the rest of the airlines in Southwest’s category (Alaska, America West, USAir) are at a loss. This might be due to being able to keep their faithful â€Å"frequent fliers† through their Rapid Rewards. Out of America West, American, TWA, Continental, Northwest, US Airways, Alaska, and Delta, Southwest Airlines has outperformed their competition in the number of customer complaints, winning at least two Triple Crown Awards. Using this data, it is evident that Southwest holds their passengers, especially their frequent fliers as their top priority, and after analyzing the data it can be seen that Southwest customers are happy and content with the services received from the airline. Customer loyalty through the frequent flier program is the foc us that Southwest tries to operate under. If Southwest didn’t have frequent fliers, they would have to make up for revenue in another profit area, which would most likely raise ticket prices which would compromise their current operating strategy and the basis on which they were established, which is to be a ‘no frill airline’ Without frequent fliers, they would have to offer more ‘frills’ which would cause operations to be more costly. In my opinion, the frequent flier segment constitutes for those who create profit for Southwest, since hey are the largest group of customers who fly the short-duration flights of Southwest the most frequently. By measuring the number of times versus the number of miles one travels, Southwest Airlines gives passengers greater incentive to become frequent fliers by offering a generous and flexible program. By offering such possibilities as transferring a free ticket to another person and allowing a person to fly for fr ee in the frequent flier program, it can be concluded that Southwest places a high economic importance on their frequent fliers, who is the segment that contributes a significant amount to both revenue and profit. The fact that Southwest is the only airline that has managed to operate with a double digit net income, it can be said that frequent fliers, the largest consumer segment within Southwest, contribute substantially and have great weight on the airline when it comes to their revenue and profit and attribute greatly to the notion of customer loyalty. 5. Service firms, especially those in the hospitality and recreational industries offer tiered or differentiated service to customers. By differentiated or tiered service, it is meant that different levels of service are offered to the customer based on their unique needs and their willingness to pay. With tiered differentiation, firms give higher paying customers precedence over other customers. Tiered or differentiated ser vice allows firms to identify the level of value in the different customer tiers and then correctly match a firm’s capabilities to meet the level of expected customer profitability. Instances where I advocate that firms offer tiered or differentiated service to its customers are industries such as hotel/hospitality, recreational (ex: casino), the airline industry and the night -life industry (ex: clubs). These are all service industries in which it is evident that the customer segments are varied in rank, especially in terms of financial standing. To illustrate with the examples mentioned, may pay extra to receive room service and a hotel suite looking over the city while others pay extra at the casino for a casino host to cater to their needs. For others business and first class flying is worth it to get the detailed service and the comfortable relaxation seating while others choose to pay extra to go VIP at a club because they are secured a table which offers privacy from the rest of the crowd. These are all examples of how value-added benefits are worth of paying the extra bucks to some consumer segments. It is important to treat higher paying customers exclusively and with great attention paid to detail, because these are the customers, which create profit for the firm. If the service is above the minimal treatment and these customer segments see that they are receiving value for their dollar, they tend to return and become loyal to the firm. According to Insurance and Technology â€Å"the rewards of differentiated service flow from first fully understanding where added value can be created and then applying appropriate operational design and technologies to create that value† Therefore the guidelines I propose firms use in making the decision to offer differentiated services is the following: 1. Segment the customers of the firm in regards to their financial standing, the services offered and the added value that is important to each identified segment 2. Based on the results, order the customer segments into categories which identify which customers would be willing to pay more based on the services of the firm which create added-value 3. Create and tailor specific service processes to match the added-value requirements of the firm’s most profitable customer segments 4. Use technologies and operations, which enhance the efficiency of the value-added service processes to ensure quality and consistency Works Cited Discher, Steve. â€Å"Not All Customers Are Equal: The Case for DifferentiatedService†. Customer Insight/Business Intelligence. insurancetech. com. Insurance and Technology. 22 May 2009. Web. 23 Jan 2010. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines" essay for you Create order

Negative Influences Of Social Networking Sites On The Youth

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Principles Of Microeconomics A Sample of Economics Solution

Questions: 1. For the pizza seller whose marginal, average variable and average total cost curves are shown in the diagram What is the profit-maximising level of output and how much profit will this producer earn if the price of pizza is $1.18 per slice? 2. Think about the demand for the three popular game consoles: XBox, PS3, and Wii. Using supply and demand diagrams to illustrate your answers, what is the effect on the demand for XBox games or the quantity demanded of XBox games (other things remaining the same) as a result of the following: a. The price of an XBox falls? b. The prices of a PS3 and a Wii fall? c. Programmers who write code for XBox games become more costly to hire? 3. Kim can produce 40 pies or 400 cakes an hour. Liam can produce 100 pies or 200 cakes an hour. a. If Kim and Liam spend 30 minutes of each hour producing pies and 30 minutes producing cakes, how many pies and cakes does each of them produce? b. Who has a comparative advantage in producing pies, and in producing cakes? c. If Kim and Liam specialise and trade, what is the highest price of a pie at which Kim and Liam would agree to trade pies and cakes? What are the gains from trade? Answers: 1. Here at quantity 435, the price is greater than average total cost, which implies that the firm is making profit. At quantity 260, the price is just equal to average total cost. Hence the profit maximizing output is 435 slices. PROFIT= Total revenue (TR)-Total Cost (TC) We find FC : TC= 260*1.18=306.8, AVC= 0.69*260=176.8 ... FC= 306.8-176.8= $130 TR FOR 260 SLICES= 1.18*260= 306.8 Profit= 306.8-30.8= 0 Now for 435 slices: TR= P*Q= 1.18*435= $513.3 TC=FC+VC At output 435 slices, average variable cost (AVC) = $0.77/ slice; VC= AVC*Q= 0.77*435= $334.95 Now, TC for 435 slices= 130+334.95= $464.95 Profit= TR-TC= 513.3-464.95= $48.35 Hence we get higher profit for 435 slices, which makes it the profit maximizing output. The firm earns $48.35 profit. 2. (a) If the price of Xbox falls, then the demand for it rises. The demand curve shifts upward from D0 to D1, with rise in equilibrium quantity Q0 to Q1. (b) As prices of PS3 and Wii falls, the demand for Xbox decreases, and D0 shifts downward to D1. Quantity falls from Q0 to Q1. (c) As the programmers become costly to hire, the cost of producing Xbox games increases, which makes producers decrease supply of Xbox games, hence the supply curve shifts from S0 to S1, so the market equilibrium now shifts to E1 with lower equilibrium output and higher prices. 3. (a) Kim produces 20 pies and 200 cakes whereas Liam produces 50 pies and 100 cakes when given 30mins for each. (b) Liam has comparative advantage in producing pies with a lower opportunity cost of 200/100=2 cakes for baking 1 pie compared to Kims 400/40=10 cakes. Whereas Kim has a comparative advantage in baking cakes with lower opportunity cost of 40/400=1/10 pie per cake compared to Liams 100/200=1/2 pie. (c) In trade Liam sells pies to Kim for cakes at a maximum price of 10 cakes per pie, whereas Kim sells cakes to Liam for pies at a price of 0.5 pies per cake. Each trading at their opportunity costs.As the trade takes place, total production of pies and cakes increase which is the gains from trade. References: Mankiw, G 2007, Economics: principles and applications, Cengage learning, New Delhi Varian, H 2010, Intermediate economics, East west press, New Delhi

Romeo And Juliet Love Essays (184 words) - , Term Papers

Romeo And Juliet Love In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, there are several themes. One theme deals with "eye love" versus "heart love". Eye love is loving someone at first sight because of their personal appearance. Heart loving is loving someone for who they are, regardless of appearance. Another theme of this play is fate and its hands in their lives. Heart love versus eye love is one theme. This is seen through Romeo's two female loves during the play. Romeo was in love with Rosalind at the beginning of the play even though she did not return the feelings. This is heart love. Romeo's love for Juliet is eye love. He fell for Juliet without knowing her. When Friar Laurence asked Romeo about this, he said his love for Rosalind was wrong because she didn't return it, and that his love for Juliet was right because she returned the feelings. Fate is another theme in the play. Fate is when everything is predetermined. Fate is inevitable. This is seen through both Romeo and Juliet. Anytime something goes wrong, they quickly blame it on fate or "the stars". They never stopped to think it could be themselves doing it.

Language Barrier in Educational Mobility and Exchange

Communism in china essays

Communism in china essays To say that the Chinese Communist revolution is a non-Western revolution is more than a clich. That revolution has been primarily directed, not like the French Revolution but against alien Western influences that approached the level of domination and drastically altered China's traditional relationship with the world. Hence the Chinese Communist attitude toward China's traditional past is selectively critical, but by no means totally hostile. The Chinese Communist revolution, and the foreign policy of the regime to which it has given rise, have several roots, each of which is embedded in the past more deeply than one would tend to expect of a movement seemingly The Chinese superiority complex institutionalized in their tributary system was justified by any standards less advanced or efficient than those of the modern West. China developed an elaborate and effective political system resting on a remarkable cultural unity, the latter in turn being due mainly to the general acceptance of a common, although difficult, written language and a common set of ethical and social values, known as Confucianism. Traditional china had neither the knowledge nor the power that would have been necessary to cope with the superior science, technology, economic organization, and military force that expanding West brought to bear on it. The general sense of national weakness and humiliation was rendered still keener by a unique phenomenon, the modernization of Japan and its rise to great power status. Japan's success threw China's failure into The Japanese performance contributed to the discrediting and collapse of China's imperial system, but it did little to make things easier for the subsequent successor. The Republic was never able to achieve territorial and national unity in the face of bad communications and the widespread diffusion of modern ar...

Stem cell research and why it should have more funding Paper

Stem cell and why it should have more funding - Research Paper Example The decision was affirmed by President Bush but recently most of the restrictions were lifted by President Obama. I think that although majority of the people present all around the world do not support the research on the embryonic stem cells, it should still be funded by the Federal because of the potential health benefits related to it, opportunity for lifting the regulation for ethical research and also for the purpose of defining human beings (Stem Cell Research). The wide range of perspectives that are being used for the stem cells are constantly improving the wellbeing and health of the people. In the treatment of stem cells, the undifferentiated cells are programmed in a way that they form specific type of cells that can be later on transplanted to the afflicted area of the body. Stem cells can be used for treating afflictions such as the injuries related to the spinal cord, burns, strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (Murnaghan). Stem cell is also being used for drug testing. Different untested drugs are first used on the stem cells, which later develop into different target tissues before directly using it on human beings. This improves safety and saves the precious lives of human beings. The transplantation of organs that are formed from the stem cells would eradicate the need of human donors. Embryonic stem cell is considered to be the most promising one because it is undifferentiated and it can easily develop into the targeted tissue. As stem cells has the ability to form specific cells; therefore they have the greatest potential for the treating some major ailments in future. One of the recent developments in the researches related to stem cells is creation of the induced pluripotent cells, which are considered to be the adult cells that become undifferentiated after a series of different treatments.

Ethical Issues currently found in Education Research Paper

Ethical Issues currently found in Education - Research Paper Example Sexual misconduct in a school setting is a broad subject and basically defines unwelcome or unwanted sexual advances from teachers, lecturers, and administrators working in the school. In all educational institutions, the association between students and their teachers is central to the educational mission of the school’s administration. Various educational establishments have rules that stipulate that there should be no non-academic ties between students and teachers because they can affect the basic integrity of the academic relationship between students and teachers. Sexual relationships between students and teachers, even when they are consensual, tend to adversely affect both the student and teacher involved. The prohibition of sexual relationships in a school setting usually extends to include all people working within a school. For example, sexual relationships involving other workers in the school or between teachers are also prohibited. Moreover, the issue of sexual r elationships between teachers and students is what carries greater weight in public forums because it involves people who are empowered and people who are not empowered. There is a greater likelihood of teachers or lecturers taking advantage of their exalted positions within a school setting to procure sexual favors from less empowered students than the other way around. In addition, when there are sexual relationships between two teachers or other administration members, the relationships tends to have equal consequences for both parties- which is not the case for student-teacher sexual relationships. Many educational experts have stated that even when the student gives his or her consent to having a sexual relationship with the teacher involved, this is still a type of sexual harassment. This is because the relationship between the student and teachers can never be equal. Even if the student involved imagines that he or she is making an independent decision, this is just not the r eality. One of the reasons why many cases of sexual associations between teachers and students are not reported is because the student may not mention it to any adult. Usually, such stories are revealed when a student finds a reason to continue about the relationship. Educational institutions strive to protect their students from teachers who may threaten students with low marks or the possibility of failing examinations unless they provide sexual favors. Sexual relationships between students and teachers do not only affect the people involved in them. For example, if a teacher with a class of 50 students is having a relationship with one of his female students, the other students are likely to start resenting the female student in question because she may be the beneficiary of more favors than she is entitled to in an academic sense. The male students are particularly affected by this type of association because they tend to feel that there is nothing that they can do to be able to compete on the same level as the girls in the class; some of whom may choose to avail themselves to the teacher to get high marks. In the past, there were many societies in which sexual relationsh

The Corpse Bride Analysis with Final Cut Pro Essay Example for Free

The Corpse Bride Analysis with Final Cut Pro Essay Tim Burtons Corpse Bride is about a young man who accidentally marries a zombie bride. Victor Van Dort, and Victoria Everglot, are arranged to get marriage. After Victor ruins the wedding rehearsal, he ï ¬â€šees and practices in a forest near by, placing the wedding ring unintentional on a ï ¬ nger of a dead girl, who is now saying she is Victors wife. The Land of the Dead holds many bewilderments for Victor while he learns of Emilys past story and get to know one another better. Back at home with Victor away, Victorias parents decide to move forward and marry her to a newcomer in town named Lord Barkis Bittern. Soon after Victor is informed of Victorias impending marriage to Lord Barkis. Victor agrees to die for Emily for their marriage to be valid, after realizing he has lost Victoria. Victoria ï ¬ nds them both at a church and is followed by Lord Barkis. As Victor prepares to drink the cup of poison to kill himself, Emily has second thoughts, realizing she doing the same to Victoria that was done on to her, taking away her happiness. Lord Barkis intrudes, and Emily recognizes him as her former ï ¬ ancà © and murder. Lord Barkis tries to kidnap Victoria against her will, but Victor steps in to stop him. As Lord Barkis decided to leave he makes a speech and accidentally drinks a cup of poison that was meant for Victor. The dead drag the new arrival away for punishment. Emily backs out of her agreement with Victor, and sets him free to be with Victoria. Giving the wedding ring back to him, she steps into the moonlight, she transforms into hundreds of butterï ¬â€šies, leaving all to assume she found peace. I choose to do this paper on Tim Burtons Corpse Bride because I have always loved the colors, music, story, and even the characters. After all Emily went through she is still optimistic even in her afterlife. Victory fought through the whole movie for true love and in the end was rewarded. The characters do have ï ¬â€šaws but they are still enjoyable and relatable as well. This movie has amazing colors and lighting. Throughout the movie all the darks and lights are placed in the right spots to create a consistent mood. The characters also have so many shades of color to them. The music is just an added bonus to everything. Some of the songs fun and lively, while others are a bit more serious. Tim Burton always does a good job with his movies, and this one was no exception. While still enjoying all of the reason why I like this movie, I was watching out for all the transitions, cuts, color adjustments, and sound. Knowing that this ï ¬ lm was made by stop motion, made it a lot more interesting to experience. I know that there is only so much editing that can be contributed through a camera, while the rest must be from Final Cut. All the editing was done successfully, and if anything added more to the story and ï ¬ lm. Transitions were clean and nicely cut at appropriate spots. They were not a distraction nor did they interrupt the experience of the ï ¬ lm. The color was amazing, the darks were deep, the colors were pigmented. The editing on the contrast and saturation were perfect for the feel of the ï ¬ lm. The video and sound went very well together. I think that this was a huge factor in creating the ambience to this ï ¬ lm. The cute little features to this ï ¬ lm like how the sound goes with the ï ¬ lm was perfect. A good example is when Emily was playing the piano but her hand broke off and it continued to make the sounds of the keys with every little beat of the hand. Working this Final Cut I know how many options their are to decide between. They choose the right ones at the right time. They worked out every little detail, which Im sure took a while. Only doing a minute project took a few days, I could only imagine working on something that is two hours long. To think that this movie was created with a software that anyone has access too, and is easy enough to learn, is amazing. They did an amazing job on Corpse Bride and only inspires me as a student to reach farther and achieve higher. They successfully created a ï ¬ lm with a decent story line, amazing visuals with the use of colors, sound that enchanted the video, clean transitions from clip to clip and all together an enjoyable experience.

Green Concept In Local Commercial Complex Environmental Sciences Essay

Green Concept In Local Commercial Complex Environmental Sciences Essay Construction industry is one of the most important industries in Malaysia. This is because construction industry has direct or indirect influence with other 142 industries such as material processing, mining, quarrying, machinery, manpower etc. It plays an important role in national economy as government always manipulate the construction industry to govern the local economy. As proven recently, the Tenth Malaysia Plans with planned duration of 5 years (2010-2015) are with some infrastructural facilities earmarked for development to facilitate the nations growth. One of the mega projects which the government had launched recently is the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) projects which worth a total around RM36.6 billion covering a 20 kilometers radius around the Kuala Lumpurs city center will carry two million passenger-trips per day when completed. Unfortunately, all the developments and constructions are the burden to the natural ecosystem. Sadly, construction industry is well known for its 3Ds which is dirty, dangerous and demanding. In the term of dirty, large amount of wastes both chemical and non-chemical or solid wastes are produced during the production of buildings. Undeniably, landfill is limited and improper waste management will cause serious pollutions to the environment affecting the health of the locals. Furthermore, enormous energy is wasted or loss through the envelope of the buildings. This increases the workload of the HVAC systems in the buildings as well as the demand for higher electricity consumption. As the demand of electricity increased, the power plants will have to generate more power to cope with the demand. In Malaysia, many of our power plants are still using coal as a source of energy. Burning coal is harmful to the environment. Thus, buildings with better envelope and more eco-friendly materials are needed to promote the sustainability of our mother nature. Research background It can no longer be disputed that the resources of this earth are finite, that its capacity to absorb our wastes is limited, that if we (as a species) want to survive, we cannot continue our ruthless exploitation of the environment (Szokolay, ed. 2008). Mondazzi (2005) stated that the world are realizing these impacts through the loss of open space, the shortage of water supplies, a growing dependence on energy and electricity from non-renewable resources, the decay of urban centers and attendant negative health impacts as suburbs continue to sprawl. Global warming is an emerging issue of international challenges. The green building movement has its roots in the energy crisis of the 1970s and the creative approaches to saving energy that came with it, including the use of active and passive solar design and tighter building envelopes. The rapid growth population has caused the rate of development around the globe. This has also helping the increment in the concentration of greenhouse gases. Buildings are some of the biggest energy consumers in the world, accounting for one-quarter to one-third of all energy use and a similar amount of greenhouse gas emissions (Wen Hong 2007). The global contribution from buildings towards energy consumption, both residential and commercial, has steadily increased reaching figures between 20% and 40% in developed countries, and has exceeded the other major sectors: industrial and transportation (Luis  Pà ©rez-Lombard 2007). From 1971 to 2004, the worlds total final energy consumption increased 87 percent, with an annual average growth rate of 1.9 percent (Wen Hong 2007). This statistic has brought the worlds attention about the energy crisis. The purpose of carry out this research is to improve the understanding in conserving energy in buildings. According to Sassi (2006), population growth and the raising of low living standards will require more resources, produce more waste and increase the impact on the natural environment. Buildings have lifespan of decades. Whatever buildings being built will always affects the next generations. The evidence for climate change is growing more alarming each year. The exceptionally hot summers such as those of 2003 and 2005 warned experts that the pace of this warming is faster than previously envisaged in their worst case scenarios (Sue, Davide and Fergus 2009). Problem Statement The first problem is the nature and use of our existing technology, which is largely inefficient, outdated, and even in some cases obsolete. In the United States alone, the building sector uses non-renewable and environmentally hazardous energy, emits 39 percent of all energy-related carbon dioxide, lacks the ability to retain its generated energy long enough to sustain indoor air quality levels, and fails in recycling and managing water and waste (Osman 2010). Whereas in Malaysia, construction industry is relying on the cheap foreign labours workforce from other countries such as Indonesia, Philippine and Vietnam. This causes the local companies to use foreign labours rather than high tech equipment which will maybe costs more. Victor Julee (2004, p. 391) stated that others have argued that mere mitigation of environmental impacts is not sustainable, and that new approaches are preferable, for example based on maintenance or even enhancement of ecosystem services. The scientific and technological knowledge base for green building is also limited, which is not surprising given the recent origin of the discipline (Eric 2010). Xiaoling, Liyin, Yuzhe, Guoyou (2011, p. 36) stated that financial cost is usually considered as the critical barriers for real estate developers who are hesitating whether to develop green real estate project or not. The energy aspects of environmental design and construction have been more thoroughly researched than other aspects, such as water conservation and reuse, recharging of groundwater, construction runoff control, the use of green building products, and indoor environmental quality (e.g., daylighting, ventilation, low emitting materials, and indoor chemical and pollutant source control) (John 2010). This may lead to the uncertainties that the developers or owners need to take which they may need to undergo some further research to implement green concept on buildings. Aim Objectives The aim of this study is to ascertain the benefits and challenges in implementation of green concept in local commercial complex and find out the strategic of implementation. The objectives of this study are as follow:- To find out the factors which drive the owners or developers to implement green concept To understand the benefits in implantation of green concept in commercial complex To understand the challenges in implementation of green concept in commercial complex To find out the strategic plan to overcome the challenges in implementation of green concept in commercial complex   To  outline the implementation plan or strategy  of green concept Scope of study The scope of this study is focused on the benefits of implementing green concept in Malaysias commercial complex and the challenges faced by the owners or developers, consultants and contractors in implementing green concept in commercial complex in Malaysia. Research Methodology Primary data Interview Interviews enable to provide detail information and personal opinion towards particular issues. Interviewees will be selected who are relevant to the research objectives and possess reasonable experience in the field. Series of questions will be asked during interview sessions with the parties who had involved in the construction and operation of commercial complex which include owners or developers, contractors, consultants and commercial complex managers. Questions for interviewees will be specific and set according to the research aim and objectives. Secondary data Literature Review Literature review is an important method because it provides wide range of information and further understanding which is relevant for this research topic in regards of its aim and objectives. The sources of literature review will be from books, articles, journals, thesis, and newspapers. These can be obtained from college library or public library. Other resources may obtain through the World Wide Web which includes emerald database and Wikipedia. This enable the overseas publications and studies can be easily obtained. Some of the useful data will be cited into this study as references. Chapter Outline of Dissertation Chapter 1 Introduction This chapter includes a background of research, problem statement, aim and objective, and scope of study. In addition, brief research methodology and research plan are also included in this chapter. Chapter 2 Literature Review Literature review presents a detail review and provides further understanding on the green building. It is usually referred and cited from various sources such as books, articles, journals and online database. Chapter 3 Research Methodology This chapter presents the details of methods which have been used to collect data and information to achieve the aim and objectives of this study. It also includes the rationale for the methodologies used. Chapter 4 Analysis and Discussion Analysis of data collected from the methods used in Chapter 3 is done in this chapter. The analysed data will be in the form of chart, histogram or graph with further explanations. Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter concludes the study in accordance with the aim and objectives of this study. Recommendations are made for encouraging future studies which are not completed in this study. References A list of sources which have been cited and quoted in this study is provided. The referencing format is based on the Harvard referencing system. Figure 1.: Research planResearch Plan Literature Review Introduction Western North California Green Building Council (2012) defines that green building, or sustainable design, is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment over the entire life cycle of the building. It is also known as energy optimisation. Studies carried out by experts and professionals around the world have indicated and proofed that buildings consumed the most energy compared to other sectors. Over the years, the energy consumption has been increased drastically. Studies have forecasted that energy consumption will be increased by an alarming percentage. According to Wen Hong, Chiang, Shapiro and Clifford (2007), the worlds final energy consumption is expected to increase 1.5 times from 2004 to 2030. In the develop countries, energy consumption has surged tremendously leading to global energy crisis. Those countries are mostly in South America, Asia , South-East Asia, and Middle-East. There are researches stated that buildings in China are one the most energy consumption in the world. Ksenia Chmutina (2010) stated that energy consumption per building in China is 2-3 times higher than that of the developed countries with similar climatic conditions and buildings are less comfortable as a result of poor thermal performance and too little insulation in most of Chinas buildings. In recent years, Asia (including South-East Asia) has the highest economic growth in the world but this comes with an adverse effect. A research conducted by Wen Hong et al (2007) shows that From 1971 to 2004, the worlds total final energy consumption increased 87 percent, with an annual average growth rate of 1.9 percent. Around 43 percent of the total increment was attributable to Asia, where final energy consumption increased 275 percent, with an average annual rate of 4.1 percent, more than twice as fast as the global average. Nowadays, most of the newly constructed commercial buildings are equipped with centralised energy management system or building automation system. This system controls everything from lighting to HVAC. They detect and eliminate waste, and enable the efficient use electricity resources (Iwayemi, Wan and Zhou, 2011). With the help of the energy management system, corporations and proprietors are able to save their money by paying less for the electric bills. Energy management system not only optimises the energy usage but it also maintains the comfort of the occupants. Energy management system is an integrated system which manages and controls multiple systems or elements in the buildings such as lifts, lighting, security system, HVAC system etc. Normally, energy management system is made up of a hierarchy structure comprises of 3 levels which are field level, automation level, management level. The lowest level of the hierarchy is the field level which consists of sensors and actuator s. These sensors and actuators are basically like ears, eyes and limbs of the system. They sense and deliver the information to the upper level of hierarchy. The second level will be the automation level which consists of direct digital controllers (DDC). These controllers provide accurate designated reactions or control according to the building activities using digital devices. The most upper level of the hierarchy is the management system level which is centralised digital controller. This level is acts as the brain of the whole system. It receives data and information from the sensors and the actuators, then process it. After that, the system decides what actions to be taken to facilitate the energy efficient of the whole building. Furthermore, the system not only able to control things but it also stores the data about the electricity consumption of each unit or component as reference for the building owner. It also detects the condition of components and reminds the owner wher e maintenance is needed for better energy efficiency. In providing better built environment, there are some benefits to the occupants. A research conducted by Steemers and Manchanda (2009) shows that low energy design can achieve some of the highest levels of occupant satisfaction provides clear evidence that can encourage building owners and designers to be more confident of strategies and technologies that are more energy efficient. Occupants may tend to work more efficiently and increase their productivity in the pleasant environment. Excessive artificial lighting may causes intense glare and illumination as it will disrupts the visual comforts and resulting the occupants fatigue as well as headache. Thus, maintaining comfortable illumination may helps to reduce the energy consumption and keeping the health of the occupants. One of the aspects in buildings which can save a substantial amount of energy is the artificial lighting. Artificial lighting which consume less energy or electricity might also tend to reduce heat gain by the indoor environment. Therefore it helps to reduce the workload of air-conditioning to maintain the indoor air temperature. About 40 per cent reduction in electricity consumption was achieved after the deployment of CFLs which depicts that efficient house lighting with CFLs will conserves significant electric energy for other purposes (Sule, Ajao and Ajimotokan and Garba, 2011). The use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) that utilize up to 75 per cent less energy or electricity than incandescent light bulbs, can last up to ten times longer (Sule et al., 2011). For the equivalent amount of brightness output (lumen), the CFLs consumes 3 to 4 times less energy than incandescent lamps. CFLs also last longer than incandescent light bulbs. The CFLs lifespan is at least 8 times longer than incandescent light bulbs. As a normal CFLs, it will last for six thousands to fifteen thousand hours and incandescent light bulbs only last for seven hundred fifty hours to one thousands hours. Another factor which will affect the energy consumption of buildings will be the management and organisation. Some office buildings and hotels maintain indoor temperatures as low as 18 to 20 degrees centigrade when the comfortable temperature is about 24 degrees centigrade (Chan, 2004). Many of the occupants in those buildings are wearing jackets and using USB heaters to keep them warm. To maintain such low indoor temperature, HVAC system will consumes a lot of energy and needs frequent maintenance as well. Basically, energy consumed to maintain such low temperature will be just wasted for nothing. Many office buildings do not switch off the HVAC during lunch hour which mean that the HVAC is operating for the furniture but not occupants. Other than HVAC, lighting inside the buildings also takes up a large portion in overall buildings consumption. Many buildings are not designed to optimise the use of natural lighting. Therefore, those buildings need a lot of artificial lighting to il luminate the indoor environment and increase the electricity consumption. In the other hand, large area of the artificial lighting are switched on for just a few occupants in the offices. This situation is more or less similar to the HVAC system where the energy is consumed for nothing. Despite how little amount energy needed to operate the HVAC system, it will not able to use the energy efficiently if the building envelope is not properly insulated. Insufficient airtight building envelope causes the warm or cool air may leak through. This will influence the comfort of occupants and greatly increases the workloads of HVAC system and therefore increases the consumption of energy. High thermal transmittance of the materials used for building envelope will causes the heat transfers from the buildings to the surrounding causing severe heat loss inside the buildings. A research conducted by VanBronkhorst, Persily and Emrnerich (2005) shows that infiltration accounts for roughly 15% of the heating load in all office buildings nationwide, and a higher percentage be recently constructed buildings. Thus, the buildings must be insulated sufficiently and provide good air -tightness to prevent the leakage of heat without noticing. However, the thermal insulation of buildings ca n be improved by using several low thermal conductivity materials such as aerated concrete blocks, fiberglass polyurethane and aluminium foil. The windows for most of the buildings in Malaysia are having high thermal transmittance and it is one of the major causes where the heat disperses through the windows. There are methods to be made to solve this problem. The windows can be tinted and double glazed to lower the thermal conductivity of the windows. Building orientation also plays an important role in energy efficient buildings. It affects the energy required for HVAC system. This is because solar radiation will heat up the buildings envelope faster such as walls, doors and windows. This means that higher solar radiation causes the HVAC system to consume higher energy to maintain the indoor air temperature. Building orientation is act like the natural shelter to prevent direct sunlight and solar radiation which will increase the heating rate of building envelope and causes over illumination to the indoor environment. Over illumination will affects the visual comfort of the occupants. As a result, occupants may easily fatigue and suffer from headache. Another reason associated with building orientation will be the ventilation effects which are the natural winds or seasonal winds. The Energy Commission building or the ST Diamond building in Malaysia is one of the greenest buildings in the world. The sides of the building are 25 ° tilted from vertical to prevent direct sunlight and excessive sunlight. The tilted and tinted glazing allows comfortable glare free light to be reflected into the building from the landscape. Around 50% of the entire building area is illuminated by daylight. Furthermore, the building is sustainable as it is installed with 1930m2 of photovoltaic solar panels which will produce around 280,000 kWh annually. Issues and barriers on Green Buildings In the context of green concept, there are some arguments and issues relating to health and environment. Some materials used in lamps, such as mercury, are toxic to the environment and must be handled carefully. Large amounts of mercury pose serious health risks to neurological disorders and birth defects but with lesser amounts of mercury, it will cause the lamp to fail, reduce the luminance of lamp and shorten the lifespan of the lamp. In designing and constructing the energy efficient buildings, construction costs for the buildings will be much higher compared to the normal buildings. This is because energy efficient or low-energy buildings need better designs and construction methods to increase and control the amount of natural lighting to illuminate into the buildings. In the other hand, low-energy buildings need additional materials or better materials to be built in concerning to reduce the thermal transmittance of the buildings. Developers may not have the capital to build such energy efficient buildings. If they are able to do so, the rental will also increased, thus the costs will just transfer to the occupants or consumers. This will increase the financial burden of the occupants of the buildings. Many people presume that the green building is inevitably costs more or less profitable compare to normal building. Halliday (2008) stated that it is also reasonable to assume that the innovation requited has a cost implication of time, planning, risk and enhanced information requirements, so inevitably innovators will be penalise and their profit margins reduced when put in direct competition with non-eco-friendly building. Developers and owners will always consider and look into the details in implementing new green technology. Uncertainties in new technology may hold back the implementation of the technology. Duda (2009) stated that overall the largest barrier facing the implementation of green facades is perceived financial risk associated with event beyond the control of the owner or unexpected due to lack of examples and research. This means that we may need more local green buildings as evidence to convince local developers or owners and also as guideline for them. Lastly, there is lack of policy and standards for green building. Policy makers often wait until something undesirable or catastrophic happens before we implement controls and policy to resolve the issue (Duda, 2009). In Malaysia, we are having this problem too. We have GBI to evaluate green building but we dont have a specific policy and standards to govern the green building. There is Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) for normal building construction but there are no green building codes or standards in Malaysia. Without these standards and policy, developers and owners are not bound to comply them. Government Initiatives in Malaysia In Malaysia, government had firstly built the low-energy office building (MECW, Putrajaya) in 2001 with integrated energy efficient design and showcased the building to illustrate the benefits of it to the public. The MECW building saves RM600,000 per annum in electric bill. Normal buildings consume around 250 kWh/m2 every year while MECW building only consumes 114 kWh/m2 every year. Malaysias government also built the Energy Commission Building in 2005. This building has a unique diamond shape which is purposely designed for reducing the thermal heat gain from sunlight. The sides of the building are 25 degree tilted from vertical to prevent excessive solar radiation and sunlight shine into the building. The tilted and tinted glazing allows comfortable glare free light to be reflected into the building from the surrounding landscape. The authorities in Malaysia are proposing regulations and policies on the effort of energy efficient in Malaysias construction industry to improve the surrounding environment and reduce the demand growth rate of electricity. The regulations and policies will not only benefit the environment but the nation economics as well. With the reduced demand growth rate of electricity, the government does not need to build more power stations and facing time constraints on the development of sustainable energy. Designing Green Building Having a green building, it must be well designed in term of sustainability and environmentally friendly. Designing a green building is not an easy task. It need to consider the elements and components which will help to reduce the carbon footprint and energy consumption such materials used, the life cycle of the building and the natural lighting. These elements and components are the key ingredients for a green and sustainable building. Generally, the green building designers must consider the following 3 principles:- Connectivity: design to reinforce the relationship between the project, the site, the community, and the ecology. Make minimal changes to the natural functioning. Reinforce and steward those natural characteristics specific to the place (Williams, 2007). Indigenous: design with and for what has been resident and sustainable on the site for centuries (Williams, 2007). Long life, loose fit: design for future generations while reflecting past generations (Williams, 2007). Materials used for green building must be of low carbon footprint during its manufacturing process and throughout its whole life cycle. Designers should take into consideration that the sizes and shapes of the materials or components to be used. This is because the cutting and operations on the site may affect the wastages of the materials. As the wastages reduced, the construction costs also reduced and profits will increase. With the current computer modelling technology, Building Information Modelling or BIM, Autodesks Ecotect and Green Building Studio are now gaining popularity around the globe to help the designers in carbon assessment of the buildings. This would promote the green concept designs to be a more consistently meet the target of the owners without over-design or under-design. It is recommended to divert the buildings into components and modules, then manufacture it offsite. This is also known as prefabrication. Currently in Malaysia, manufacturing of buildings components offsite is getting more and more popular, especially in city area such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang. This is because delivery of concrete from cities outskirt has a time limitation. If the concrete trucks stuck in a traffic jam more than the permissible duration, the concrete will harden. Furthermore, prefabrication can improve quality, reduce wastage and reduce construction costs. Components and modules manufactured in factories have high consistency in size and ease the quality checking process. Repetitive components and modules with high consistency of size simply mean that the factories will arrange the cuttings or moulding and allocate their resources more effectively, so that the wastage is minimal. In addition, prefabrication also reduces the construction activities and time on proje ct site. With shorter time on site, it also reduces the exposure of incomplete works to the weather. This may actually helps to slow down the corrosions of building materials such as steel bars and paint. Hence, it reduces the probability of rejected works and redo of works which will increase the costs of construction and wastages. Why buildings need to be green? In economic point of view, energy efficiency is defined as the ability to generate the same economic output with less energy input (The Aspen Institute, 2009). In conjunction, it also conserves the environment by reducing the carbon footprint caused by conventional energy production. There are some undeniable benefits which the green buildings can provide, which are:- Enhance biodiversity not use materials form threatened species or environments and improve natural habitats where possible through appropriate planting and water use (Halliday, 2008). Reduce wastages not consume a disproportionate amount of resources, including money and land during material sourcing, construction, use of use or disposal; not cause unnecessary waste of energy, water or materials due to short life, poor design, inefficiency, or less than ideal construction and manufacturing procedures. Buildings have to be affordable, manageable and maintainable in use (Halliday, 2008). Minimise pollution create minimum dependence on polluting products and materials, management practices, energy, power and forms of transport (Halliday, 2008). Create healthy environments enhance living, leisure and work environments; and not endanger the health of the builders or occupants, or any other parties, through exposure to pollutants, the use of toxic materials or providing host environments to harmful organisms (Halliday, 2008). Reduce operating costs as the building is well design in term of building tightness and use of natural lighting, it would actually help to reduce the amount of the electric bills. Green buildings not only bring benefits to the environment but also the financial profits as well as the health and comfort of the occupants. In the context of oil price hiking, countries and corporations should be more concern about their financial and economical profitability, for instance it also slows down the electricity demand growth and the global warming effect. C:UsersShingDocumentsAssignment (adv. diploma)Project DissertationAttachmentsIMG_0286.JPG (Source: Halliday, 2008, Sustainable Construction, adopted from Shorrock and Henderson, 1990) Figure 2.: Potential reduction in CO2 Factors which drive the Green Building Hiking of energy price In these recent years, global oil price is volatile. As the worlds demand on energy is keep increasing, the supply will become more sacred and the prices to produce energy will also go up. This is because the energy industry will need more resources, bigger plants and better equipment to produce more power. In Malaysia, energy generation is still relying a lot on non-renewable resources which are fossil fuel, natural gas, coal, and petroleum. These resources are subjected to global economy effects which mean the prices fluctuate as the global prices. Undeniably, the electricity costs in most countries also fluctuate over time as these resources prices. C:UsersShingDocumentsAssignment (adv. diploma)Project DissertationAttachmentsMsia energy production.jpg (Source: IEA, 2011) Figure 2.: Energy production in Malaysia Higher market value and cost effective There are numbers of studies were carried out regarding the value of green buildings. Czech Green Building Council (CZGBC, 2012) stated that commercial building with environmental certification in the UK is sold at about 38 % higher price than a comparable non-sustainable building. Other studies from Germany and Switzerland show that a house or apartment in a high energy standard or with certification can be sold in the market by up to 17 % higher price than a conventional project (CZGBC, 2012). In conjunction, United State Green Building Council (USBGC, 2011) also stated that building sale prices for energy efficient buildings are as much as 10% higher per square foot than conventional buildings. An upfront investment of 2% in green building design, on average, results in life cycle savings of 20% of the total construction costs more than ten times the initial investment (USBGC, 2011). Furthermore, tenants who choose to rent the green commercial buildings have their own reasons. The following figure shows the reasons and statistics. Sour

ICT in The Local Community Essay

I will be report I will be writing about how ICT has an affect on my local community which is Bradford, West Yorkshire. I will also include the good things and the bad about each part of ICT as it is used by the local community and laws that effect the way things are done in the local community. Booking tickets on-line. You can book tickets online for many events but the most popular is booking for the Alhambra theatre in Bradford. People often go to the Alhambra to see live shows that range from comedies to dramas and being able to book a ticket online is useful for many people in the local community. To book a ticket on-line is easy just follow the instructions on the site, here is an example: The good points about it are that to book a ticket the community doesn’t even have to move from their seat, and they can also take their time choosing when and what they want to see. The bad points about this is that the local community’s request might not go through although they have thought it has, or the system of the theatre may have gone down and then in that case they have to go to the theatre themselves. There is also a lack of human contact and they can only book into an area and not a specific seat, there also maybe a charge for tickets booked on-line and a further charge if you would like them posted to a home in the community. Another bad point is that the site may not be secure from credit card fraud. I think it could be improved by a confirmation being sent to their e-mail address so you know whether or not your booking has gone through. You can also book a ticket over the phone which is a little harder because rather than taking your time as on the web, The good points about booking a ticket over the phone is that time can be saved even if anyone in the community doesn’t own a computer. There are also some bad points for the local community about booking online and they are: they have to give credit card details over the phone and other people may be listening in to take your details without permission, although you are talking to someone there is still a lack of contact, you can book your ticket for most Bradford theatres like the Alhambra in Bradford city centre and the Imax cinema also in Bradford city centre at the times of Monday – Saturday 9:00am – 8:00pm except Thursday 11:00am – 8:00pm, one final thing is that they have to be clear on what they want to see and when they want to see it. There are always a variety of shows on at these popular places. People can be reassured when it comes to give out there personal details over the net because of the Data Protection Act, this law stops the Alhambra giving out any information about the customer purchasing a ticket over the net. This law is effective because it reassures people that any infor mation given out will be safe and stops credit card fraud. ICT in Libraries The library in Bradford uses ICT a lot of the time. They use it for booking books in and out of the library where they have a quick find system which allows them to locate any book whether it is in their department or another. Bradford Central library is the most popular library in Bradford and it has 8 floors each with 1 or 2 hone lines. They also have internet access which can be use by the local community. This is where the internet code of practice comes into play here, it is an agreement that protects internet users. This isn’t really effective because it is an agreement not a law. People still pay a small fee to register with this practice although there is no need to. The library also has access to other ICT appliances on all floors of the library which can be used by the puff called James by the public any time during opening hours. They also have bigger screen with bigger text which meet the needs of the visually impaired. Software packages available are: Word 2000, Excel 2000, Publisher 2000 and Power Point 2000. To get these programs the library has to be licensed which it is otherwise they would be breaking a Copyright Law called Software Copyright Laws which came into force in the year 1988. This law states that software can not be used if it is not registered. The Computer misuse act also comes in to consideration here because this law states that unauthorised access to computer programs or data is an offence. This also protects the library from hackers, hacking into their computers. This law is not really effective because there have been so few prosecutions because many organisations dislike to admit their security procedures have been breached. There are also 2 lifts installed in the library which help the disabled people get from floor to floor and also to help move large quantities of books or other things. The good points for the local community are that when you ring up you can go directly to the place you need to be rather than having to be transferred through the phone lines. Staff is always available if you should have a problem on the PCs. If you need somewhere quiet to come and do some work then you can do it here. There are also bigger screens if you are visually impaired which are extremely useful not just for the visually impaired but also for any detail which needs to be done. They also have a kurzweil personal reader which is the name of a cassette player which recognizes words on the screen and reads them which is ideal for a blind person There also some bad points to the libraries and they are that the library is not always open so you can’t go on them any time you like. There is a set amount of time you are on the PCs so if you have a large amount of work that needs to be done you may have to make several visits if you also need to do research at the same time. I think ways that this could be improved are a bigger variety of brail printers throughout the library and more cassette players so they do not have to keep going to the top floor just to get access to one. Traffic lights All traffic lights use ICT, some have sensors on them and some have timers. There is a variety of technology which is used to detect whether a car has arrived at an intersection ranging from lasers to rubber hoses filled with compressed air. The most common is an inductive loop which is a coil of wire embedded in to the road. There is an example of laser traffic lights on Hammestrasse junction on Valley Parade. The good points about this are that it reduces the build up of traffic around junctions. The bad points about this are that some may get vandalised and when there is too much traffic the lights are always changing and that leads to build up on one side of the lights and there will not be as much on the other. Also these are good for pedestrians because they have the advantage, when the button is pressed the lights change within 30 seconds. The bad points however are that if there is loads of traffic, lights are constantly changing which can be a pain if you are in a rush. Also if you are the only car at one point of the junction and many at another the green light will stay with the majority of the traffic so you could be waiting there for up to 5 minutes. There are also some lights on Wakefield Road near the end of Lister Avenue and those are in between 2 schools, which are BCCC and Lower Fields Primary, these are extremely useful for the many kids that use them many times throughout the year. These light work on a timer so even though there may not be any pedestrians there vehicles will have to stop anyway which can be stressful because it is on a main road.

Gothic literature Essay

In response to the question â€Å"is gothic literature purely escapist? † considering Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Walpole’s novel The Castle of Ontranto, which is recognized as pretty much establishing the genre, the answer is yes. Castle of Ontranto Brief Plot summary The plot of Castle begins full tilt as Conrad, son of Manfred of house Otranto, is crushed by a giant helmet on his wedding day, also his birthday. Because of the marriage’s political connections, Manfred decides to divorce his wife, Hippolita, and marry Conrad’s betrothed, Isabella. Amid speculations about an â€Å"ancient prophecy† claiming â€Å"That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it,† Manfred’s second union is disrupted by a series of supernatural events involving many oversized limbs, ghosts, mysterious blood, and a true prince (Wikipedia). Castle of Ontranto represents the quintessential Gothic story. It created the genre. Key examples of this can be seen as follows: 1 Note: that Gothic literature is escapist through the use of contrasting specific elements to create conflict and draw the attention of the reader. (the main themes most common in these two novels are: horror vs romance, good vs evil, and the element of mystery basically the known vs the unknown. ) The Castle of Ontranto opens with the line â€Å"Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda (chp1). † This is a very fantastic scenario from the main character being a Prince to the daughter being a beautiful eighteen year old virgin in an era when many women in prestigious families were married off by the age of 14. The author goes on to point out how the son Conrad three years younger than Matilda is ugly sickly frail and pale. The act of immediately contrasting Conrad’s ugly sickliness with Matilda’s beauty and pure virginity, significantly defines the gothic genre, which is literally defined as â€Å"an important genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. † -Another important contrast other than horror and romance is good and evil. This can be seen in Walpole’s novel through the differences in the characters. The Castle of Otranto† revolves around a curse that has been placed upon the family of Manfred, ruler of the principality of Otranto. The curse is slightly ill defined, but apparently threatens the end of Manfred’s rule and destruction of his family. Manfred is a greedy man who plots and schemes to outwit this curse. He is clearly the villain of the novel and contrasts strongly with the three leading women, Hippolita his wife, Matilda his daughter and Isabella the intended wife of his son. These women represent the forces of good throughout the novel. NOTE: Heroines in gothic books as well as in contemporary horror is a common theme a major example of this being emphasized in Northanger abbey can be seen when Austen says, â€Å"Chapter 1 – But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventfuly lives. † (page 9) NOTE: examples of Romance as a theme in Northanger Abbey â€Å"Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. † Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey â€Å"In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes. â€Å" Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, 1818

Autonomy in an Neural Network †Pyschology Essay

Autonomy in an Neural Network – Pyschology Essay Free Online Research Papers Autonomy in an Neural Network Pyschology Essay The idea of creating artificial intelligent life is not a new concept but rather one that dates back to the end of the sixteenth century. Inventors fashioned mechanical constructs deemed â€Å"automata† for the purposes of entertaining the wealthy (Jones, n.d.). Many of these hydraulic devices were constructed to simulate human and animal behaviours with the ultimate goal of creating artificial people as in the story of Pinocchio. Although they succeeded in making the machines perform simple tasks such as writing a limited number of phrases, their science and technology were woefully underdeveloped for the task of creating something with the cognitive faculties of an animal, let alone a human being (Jones, n.d.). Skipping ahead to the 21st century finds scientists in a situation not far removed from their predecessors. Although there have been enormous strides in the field of human psychology, scientists are still quite a ways off from creating an autonomous agent that can think and learn for itself. The main goal of those working in the field of artificial intelligence is the simulation of an artificial brain. The â€Å"easiest† way to do this is to model one based on the human brain. After all, we know that it works, that it’s capabl e of learning, and that as part of a whole it results in a being that is self aware and intelligent. The first step in this task is to understand how the brain works. The human brain consists of 1012 neurons and which serve almost all the functions of the human brain (Reingold, n.d.). They are the information carriers and are responsible for all of our cognitive functions. They consist of a cell body called the soma and usually have two stem like extensions, the dendrites and the axon. Information is transmitted from the axon to the dendrite across the synaptic cleft whenever the neuron is excited to the point of firing, called an action potential (Klerfors, 1998) . These action potentials then propagate from neuron to neuron causing the neuron that they are connected to, to either excite or inhibit itself (Reingold, n.d.). In the case of excitation, a firing perceived from a connected neuron will cause it to make itself ready for an action potential of its own, while an inhibitory neuron will be less likely to fire (Reingold, n.d.). Action potentials are all or none and only convey the information that a specific neuron has fired. The grou pings and connections between neurons are what is referred to as a neural network. A neural network typically consists of three layers. The first layer is the â€Å"input layer† which is connected to the sensory organs, and which provides data for the next layer. Connected to these initial neurons are a multitude of neurons in what is called the â€Å"hidden layer†. The purpose of these neurons is to identify the input data and render it into meaningful information that the brain can understand, which is then passed to the â€Å"output layer† (Klerfors, 1998). There are three fundamental concepts necessary for understanding the relationships between neurons in a neural network. The first of these, connection strength, refers to how strongly one neuron influences those neurons connected to it. Because this connection strength can vary enormously it is thought that it is here that all information in the brain is stored. The second concept refers to the excitation/inhibition distinction between neurons. This refers to the whether a neuron will cause an excitatory or inhibitory response in a neighbouring neuron, and as a result the magnitude of the response will vary with the connection strength. The final component is the transfer function of the neuron. The transfer function describes how a neuron’s firing rate varies with the input it receives (Reingold, n.d.). It is from these three components that it will be determined how much of the activation value is passed on to the next node. Artificial neural nets were created based on the aforementioned principles and were constructed to simulate the brain as similarly as possible through software run on computers. Although neural nets are parallel processors the only way to get them to run is to create them on programs that run through serial computers. While this process sacrifices the speed of parallel processors, it still mimics the fundamental properties of the neural network. As with biological neurons, the data holders in artificial neural nets come from the connection strengths between individual neurons and are referred to as weights. These weights are located in the hidden layer of a network and are given a value between –1 and +1. These values refer to how much activity from a connecting neuron is required to trigger an artificial action potential. Each node sums the activation values it receives, arrives at its own activation value, and then passes that along to the next nodes in the network (a fter modifying its activation level according to its transfer function (Reingold, n.d.). The neurons in an artificial neural network work in the same way as biological ones with input coming in one end, passing through a middle computational layer, and then exiting through the output layer. The actual physical set up of the network was the simple part for scientists while difficulty came from harnessing its power. For a system to be fully autonomous it must be able to learn without outside support and be able to adapt to its environment. This type of learning is referred to as unsupervised learning (Klerfors, 1998). In unsupervised learning the weights in an artificial neural net start off randomized. What this means is that any data sent through the system will be outputted as randomized values. In order to produce meaningful information from this the system must teach itself to recognize the information, remember it and produce an appropriate response. Because the system is to be self sufficient it must do this on its own through the internal adjustment of its weights (Reingold, n.d.). As stated before, an artificial neural network begins in a randomized state where the values of the weights do not represent anything. As data is sent through the system the output layer sends the data back to input layer to rework the information into something a little more representational of the original info. This process that the artificial neural network goes through is not something that can be done in one, ten, or even a hundred runs, but rather can take up to as many as forty thousand runs to gen erate proper data. Looking at it from this perspective it is difficult to understand how anything can get done, but when one understands that information is passed from neuron to neuron at an average speed of 268mph it seems a little more feasible (Klerfors, 1998). Because an artificial neural network that learns through unsupervised learning begins as a randomized â€Å"clean slate† it requires two things to function properly. One of these is a large data set to learn from. In order to function properly it must teach itself and it does this by using old confirmed data sets. By using old data sets both the inputs and desired outputs are known so when the info given to the network it can learn for itself by putting in the old inputs and comparing and adjusting its own weights to bring its own outputs in line with those of the data set (Want to try Neural Nets?, n.d.). Again, this procedure does not occur through a few trials, but rather in trials numbering in the tens of thousands. The second, and most important, component necessary for an artificial neural network to function properly is its learning algorithm. This refers the mathematical software that runs in the hidden layer and dictates exactly how the weights should respond to a specific target input (Klerfors, 1998). Although there currently exist many differing kinds of algorithms most share in common one of a few different learning laws. The learning laws are the backbone of the algorithm and can be seen as its dna, as it gives instructions on how the mathematics should be performed. Although the learning laws themselves seem to be constructed in greater abundance by scientists, there are three main laws for unsupervised learning. One of the first ones constructed by Donald Hebb and consequently became know as Hebb’s rule. Heb’s rule states that if a neuron receives an input from another neuron, and if both are highly active (mathematically have the same sign), the weight between the neurons should be strengthened. This corresponds to the physiological findings in the brain that greater activation between connected neurons results in easier activations (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Similar to Hebb’s rules i s Hopfields Law which distinguishes itself by specifying that magnitude of the strengthening and weakening in said neurons. It states that if the desired output and the input are both active or both inactive, increment the connection weight by the learning rate, otherwise decrement the weight by the learning rate (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). The third and final rule Kohonen’s learning law, developed by Teuvo Kohonen, was also inspired by learning in biological systems. In this procedure, the processing elements compete for the opportunity to learn, or update their weights. The processing element with the largest output is declared the winner and has the capability of inhibiting its competitors as well as exciting its neighbors. Only the winner is permitted an output, and only the winner plus its neighbors are allowed to adjust their connection weights (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Although there are many more learning laws out there, th ese three are considered to be the ones upon which the others are based. As with the learning laws there are a multitude of algorithms being developed. These algorithms, also known as seen as the genetic makeup, are constructed and based on the application they are to work with. Although many have been developed, the most successful ones include; Kohonen Self Organizing Features Maps, Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory, and Fukushima’s Neogcognitron. The basic premise of the Self Organizing Feature Map is that of a feature detector. It is based on competitive learning in a topology-preserving map that can be adjusted to represent the nature of the inputs (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). In the SOFM, neurons located physically next to each other will respond to inputs that are also next to one another, which in turn allows for lateral inhibition and excitation. What this means is that if a target neuron is activated, all of its immediate neighbours will also become activated but to a lesser degree (Kaski, 1997). This provides a way to avoid totally unlearned neurons and it helps enhance certain topological property which should be preserved in the feature mapping. In every following cycle in which that same target neuron is still activated the size of the neighbourhood decreases, thereby precisely mapping the feature in question (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). The Neocognitron is an algorithm developed by Fukushima in an attempt to construct a neural network architecture based explicitly on knowledge about real brains (Neocognitron, n.d.). It is considered to be the most complex neural network architecture ever developed, and is also the most limited in its capabilities. The Neocognitron was developed to recognize handwriting and convert it to digital signals (Neocognitron, n.d.). The reason for its complexity comes from the immense variation in various persons handwriting style, and as a result it was necessary to make to algorithm as robust as possible. The design of the Neocognitron came from extensive study of the human visual system. Neuropsychological studies have shown that there are relatively few cells that receive input directly from the retina and that they are limited in function. Studies have shown that the local relationships between input neurons in the retina are topologically preserved in the organization of the neural pathways (Neocognitron, n.d.). Although mathematically-free information on how the neocognitron actually works is sparse, it is assumed that when a handwriting sample is presented to the neural network it attempts to locate the boundaries of the individual letters and match the patterns to similar ones stored in memory. When the samples are not very similar to the target letters in the database the neural net must approximate the unconfirmed features to confirmed ones and then probabilistically determine a correct output. Unlike the previous two algorithms, Adaptive Resonance Theory was not developed for a specific task so much as it was developed to deal with a fundamental concern with artificial neural networks in general. Developed by Stephen Grossberg and Gail Carpenter, ART was designed to deal with the stability-plasticity dilemma (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The stability-plasticity dilemma was a learning instability problem suffered by neural networks whereby scientists and programmers were unsure as to how a neural network would know when to apply its existing knowledge in regards to new inputs, or when it would be required to actually learn and adopt the new inputs as â€Å"learning material† (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The weights which have captured some knowledge in the past continue to change as new knowledge comes in. There is therefore a danger of losing the old knowledge with time. The weights have to be flexible enough to accommodate the new knowledge but not so much so as to lose the old (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The adaptive Resonance Theory deals with this problem by accepting input and classifying it into a category depending on the stored pattern it resembles most. Once the pattern is located, it is trained to resemble the input. If however the input does not match any stored pattern within a given range, then a new category is created by storing a new pattern similar to the input. Because of this, no stored pattern is ever modified unless it matches the input vector within a given fault range(Grossberg’s, n.d.). Because of this new method the ART has both stability, in that it can remember and recognize patterns, but it also has plasticity in that it can learn new material without forgetting the old. The original ART, known as ART1, only performed unsupervised learning in regards to binary input but the newly developed ART2 has been modified to handle both digital and analog (fuzzy) inputs (Grossbergâ€⠄¢s, n.d.). The emergence and continued development of unsupervised learning in Artificial Neural Networks is an important backbone to the development of true autonomous artificial intelligence. The human mind is itself the self contained seat of our consciousness and it is from its own evolutionary development that humans have reached the heights that they have. Because of this it makes complete sense that the easiest way to create and alien intelligence would be to understand our own physiology and then model it after ourselves. However, it is my belief that the current artificial neural networks that we have are but a child’s step towards our ultimate goal. It is difficult for me to believe that who we are is made up solely the firing of electronic impulses that travel from synapse to synapse. Although I don’t dispute that it is an integral part of our cognitive processes, it just seems too basic. What role then do our hormones and neurotransmitters play in regards to our cognitive faculties? I believe that in order for us to begin to learn about what makes us tick we need to have a larger crisper picture. The different topographic regions of the brain cater to various processing and cognitive functions, and it is the interaction between the different electrical and chemical action potentials and the various regions of the brain that gives us the ability to grow, learn, create, and think. Once we understand more of ourselves we will be in a better position to apply that knowledge and give birth to something in our likeness. References 1. Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node170.html 2. Artificial Neural Networks. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from gc.ssr.upm.es/inves/neural/ann1/unsupmodels/unsupmodels.html 3. Artificial Neural Networks Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from dacs.dtic.mil/techs/neural/neural5.html#RTFToC17 4. Grossbergs Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from icsi.berkeley.edu/~jagota/NCS/VOL1/P3_html/node27.html 5. Jones, Stephen. Neural Networks and the Computational Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from culture.com.au/brain_proj/neur_net.htm 6. Kaski, S. Data exploration using self-organizing maps. (1997). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from cis.hut.fi/~sami/thesis/node18.html#SECTION00074000000000000000 7. Klerfors, Daniel. Artificial Neural Networks. (November 1998). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from http://hem.hj.se/~de96klda/NeuralNetworks.htm#2.2.3%20Learning 8. Neocognitron. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node225.html 9. Reingold, Eyal, and Nightingale, Johnathan. Artificial Intelligence Tutorial Review. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from http://psych.utoronto.ca/~reingold/courses/ai/ 10. Self-Organizing Feature Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from nd.com/models/sofm.htm 11. Want to Try Neural Nets?. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23rd, from zsolutions.com/soyou.htm Research Papers on Autonomy in an Neural Network - Pyschology EssayBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfGenetic EngineeringIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperStandardized TestingThe Project Managment Office SystemThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is ArtThe Spring and AutumnCapital Punishment

The Bicycle Theif essays

The Bicycle Theif essays "The Bicycle Thief" is a deeply moving neo-realist study of post-War Italy which depicts one mans loss of faith and his struggle to maintain personal dignity in poverty and bureaucratic indifference. Antonio Ricci is a bill-poster whose bicycle, essential for his job, is stolen by a thief. Joined by his son Bruno, Antonio vainly searches for his bike, eventually resorting to the humiliation of theft himself. Throughout this paper, I will attempt to trace the character through "The Bicycle Thief." The film opens with a montage of early morning urban activities ending on a crowd of unemployed laborers clamoring for work. Sitting to the side is Antonio Ricci. Beaten down by despair, he has lost the energy to fight. His spirits are lifted, however, when his name is called out for a job. Invigorated, he damns poverty. His joy however, is fleeting, employment depends on one condition that he owns a bicycle. To provide for his family, Antonio long ago pawned his bicycle and now, in one day, he raise the price of the pawn ticket. Not knowing where he will get the money, he turns to his wife Maria. In their stark home, the only thing left to pawn is a remnant of her dowry and the familys last vestige of comfort the bed sheets. Bravely, Maria strips the bed and begins to wash the linens. At the pawn shop, it becomes evident that the Riccis misery is not unique. Their sheets are added to a mountain of small white bundles, and Antonio reclaims his bicycle from the rack of hundreds Delighted by the prospect of a good fortune, the couple happily ride away. Antonio picks up his instructions for the following morning and Maria stops by to see Signora Santona, a medium who predicted that Antonio would find a job. He gently scolds his wife for her superstitions, but Maria holds firm to her belief in the womans psychic ...