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Long Way Gone Study Guide Essay

1.What does Ishmael say the war is about? Ishmael says nothing regarding the reasons for the war, or what each side was battling for, or ...

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Health Care At Australi Industry Overview - 997 Words

INTRODUCTION Aged Care in Australia – Industry Overview Population ageing require more health care services. Australian Aged care system is comprises of public, private and community institutions that provide services to old people. The Australian aged care system is globally recognised for high quality services, regulations, government funding and co-operation between government, community and service providers. Aged care services in Australia available to people, both in the form of residential services and home based services (The Australian trade commission 2015). Residential care is provided at the aged care facility, it is provided to those people who need high care. It provides living†¦show more content†¦In recent years, the number of residential care places has increased; this is just because of increase the provision by profit providers, especially in major cities. Economic opportunities and challenges of this industry in future:- This section will outline the opportunities and challenges facing a firm in aged care Industry by using Population, Productivity and Participation, which are key drives of economic growth. Table 1. Population Projection ( Millions) Age range 2014-2015 2054-2055 0-14 4.5 6.9 15-64 15.8 23.8 65-84 3.1 7.0 85 and over 0.5 1.9 Total 23.9 39.7 1. POPULATION According to Intergenerational report (2015), Australia’s population will grow and change over next 40 years. There will be increase in population of old people and less number of young people in coming future. Table1. Shows that there will be increase in total population and people aged 65 above will more than double as compared to current period. Table 2. Life expectancy ( Years) Male 91.5 95.1 Female 93.6 96.6 Above table shows the increase in life expectancy of male and female in next 40 years. Expansion in aged care services and places There will be more demand for aged care

Friday, December 13, 2019

Performance Appraisal and Employee Motivation Free Essays

1. 1. INTRODUCTION: Organization is run and steered by people. We will write a custom essay sample on Performance Appraisal and Employee Motivation or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is through people that goals are set and objectives are realized. Today’s working culture demands a great deal of commitment and effort from the employees, who in turn naturally expect a great deal more from their employers. The development of much more participative style of management in many organizations is a positive step towards meeting such heightened expectations. This participative style can be expressed in a variety of practical ways. For e. g. work teams, quality circles, and of course regular performance appraisals. The performance of the organization is dependent on sum total of the performance of its employees. Thus the success of the organization will, therefore depend on its ability to measure accurately the performance of its members and use it objectively to optimize them as a vital resources. Performance can be measured by some combination of quantity, quality, time and cost. Performance thus refers to the degree of accomplishment of the tasks that make up an individual job. It indicates how well an individual is fulfilling the job demands. And on the other hand success of any organization can almost always be tracked back to the level of motivation among its employees to whom its success can be accredited to, without a doubt. Motivation is must for the employees, because it converts ability to work into will to work or in other words contributes to high level of performance. Presence of effective motivational policies in the company leads to job satisfaction and consequent benefits of higher commitment and loyalty. Keeping in mind the growing attrition rates and the employee dissatisfaction among the employees, the HR professionals are approaching and using the performance appraisal as a fuel to motivate employees. The latest trend being followed by the HR professionals is to use the performance appraisal and review process as a motivating mechanism. Various surveys and studies have testified the relationship between performance review, pay and motivation. Other than the traditional goal of accessing the performance of the employees, Performance appraisals and reviews can be used as a tool to reinforce the desired behavior and competent performance of the employees. Performance appraisal can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivation and satisfaction for better as well as for worse. Performance appraisal provides employees with recognition for their work efforts. The power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there is evidence that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to no recognition at all. One of the most motivating factors for the employees, in the performance appraisal processes is to receive a fair an accurate assessment of their performance. Inaccurate evaluation is one reason because of which most employees dead going through performance appraisal. An employee always expects his appraiser to recognize and appreciate his achievements, support him to overcome the problems and failures. The discrepancies and the inaccuracies in the performance review can demotivate the employees, even if there has been an increase in the salary. Such inaccuracy can kill the innovating and risk taking enthusiasm and spirit in the employees. Similarly, inaccurate reviews with no hike in compensation can increase the attrition rate in the organization, forcing the employees to look out for other options. An employee prefers an accurate performance review with no increase in the salary over inaccurate performance review with an increase in salary. Employees, who receive both accuracy and a pay increase during their performance review, are likely to be the most motivated. Therefore, performance appraisal (review and its consequence in the form of compensation adjustments) has the potential of motivating employees and increase their job satisfaction. Inaccurate performance review + Increase in salary Decreased Motivation Accurate Performance Review + No Increase in salary Decreased Motivation Accurate Performance Review + Increase in salary Increase in motivation If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee that in the organization is genuinely interested in their individual performance and development. This alone can have a positive influence on the employee motivation, sense of worth, commitment and belonging. The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognition shouldn’t be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizations might be greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular performance appraisal, at least, is a good start. In an organization it is necessary to measure the performance of their employees and success of any organization can almost always be tracked back to the level of motivation among its employees. So the study was done to measure the impact of motivation after performance appraisal. 1. 2. NEED OF THE STUDY: Performance appraisal is the important aspect in the organization to evaluate the employee performance. It is needed for an organization to take decision regarding salary revision, confirmation, promotion, transfer and demotion. It gives feedback information about the level of achievement and behavior of subordinate. This information helps to review the performance of the subordinate, rectifying performance deficiencies and setting new standards of work, if necessary. It provides information which helps to council the subordinate. It also helps in understanding the employee work culture, involvement and satisfaction. It helps to diagnose the deficiencies in employee regarding skill, knowledge, determine training and development needs and to prescribe the means for employee growth. It has many other uses in the human resource management, namely, determination of the training and development needs of the personnel, creating organizational effectiveness, cross functional transfers, job enrichment exercises, and so on. For all this to happen, it is essential that the performance appraisal system should suite the organizational culture and is in alignment with other human resource systems in operation in the organization. The main purpose of conducting appraisals is to identify and removing factors responsible for employee’s discontent would motivate them for better work performance. This study gives the clear picture regarding the appraisal system regarding the appraisal system and its impact on motivation. 1. 3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY: The scope of the study is to understand that the performance appraisal system and employee motivation activities provided by the organization make any changes or improvement in the performance of employees. Satisfied employees are the asset of the organization. This study helps the organization to understand to what extend the employees are satisfied with the present performance appraisal system and employee motivation prevailing in the organization. On the basis of that the organization makes necessary changes in the existing system. This will help the organization to improve the overall performance. This study will enable to understand the positive and negative aspects of performance appraisal system and employee motivation 1. 4 . OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: Objectives of the study have been divided into primary and secondary objectives. Primary objective: * To study whether the employees are motivated with the performance appraisal system. Secondary objective: * To know whether the employees are given proper feedback regarding their performance. * To understand the rating methods used for performance appraisal. * To understand the superior and employee relationship. * To provide suggestions for improvement, if any. * To study about performance effect on employee motivation. * To know he factors that motivates the employees. * To study the employees opinion about the performance appraisal system. 1. 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: This area deals with the research design, data collection methods, sampling techniques used; field work carried out by the researcher and also explains the tools used for the data analysis and interpretation. Research design A Research Design is a logical and systematic plan prepared for directing a research study. It specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology and the techniques adopted for achieving the objectives. It is a planned structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and constitutes the blue print for the collection, representation and analysis of data. In short, it is the logical and systematic plan prepared for directing the research study. A good research design should consist of, * Clear statement of research design. * Procedure and techniques to be followed for gathering information. * Population to be studied. * Methods to be used in processing and analyzing data. Type of research The type of research done is descriptive research. Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of this research is description of state of affairs, as it exists at present. It is very simple and more specific. The main feature of this type of research is that the researcher has no control over the variables. He can only report what has happened or what is happening. The descriptive research is a fact finding investigation with adequate interpretation. The descriptive study aims at identifying the various characteristics of a problem under study. How to cite Performance Appraisal and Employee Motivation, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Leadership for Luxury Hotel of Melbourne †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Leadership for Luxury Hotel of Melbourne. Answer: Introduction Leadership is one of the most effective qualities of a person which is either gifted or is achieved after a prolonged period of hard work. Leadership in business refers to the capability of the management of the company to bring out the best performance out of the people to meet the goals of the business organization by taking difficult challenges and make sure that the organization can outperform the other rivals of the market easily. As said earlier the leadership abilities of the people or a niche group of people in the organization helps to motivate the employees which leads to a positive growth of the organization as well as lead to the overall development of the person. The following report is based on successful leadership capability based on a certain case. The general manager of an automobile company has been allotted the responsibility to provide a set of luxury cars for a new luxury hotel of Melbourne. The manager has a huge responsibility of forming a new team of able emp loyees who will be under him and will be involved in the implementation of the project. Training Employees Training the employees involved in the project is the first priority of the manager in charge of the entire project[1]. If the automobile company signs the agreement with the new hotel to provide a set of luxury cars of different brands on lease to the hotel. The luxury brands will be selected based on a number of different factors like the performance, fuel efficiency, carbon emissions and most importantly the amount of comfort that these cars will provide. The employees would be trained under expert guidance of the car manufacturing companies. The employees will also be trained with the maintenance of the cars as well. The different training programs will be helpful for the employees to provide a great service to the hotel. The employees can also deliver some useful training to the drivers and the people who will be in charge of the cars in the hotels[2]. The management of the company must also formulate a specific set of rules that are needed to decide on the financial aspects, risk aspects as well as the work place health and safety measures. The finance manager of the company has to decide on the amount of money needed to finance the total project. He must also calculate an approximate amount for the maintenance and service of these cars. On the other hand the management must also formulate a risk management policy in case these cars suffer any form, of temporary or permanent damage. All the cars must be insured by the company so that such damages do not turn into huge losses for the company. Thus they are well protected against any case of safety violation. The model codes of practice in the WHS Legislation are practical guides to achieve the standards of health and safety to protect the workers from any kind of risk that are associated with the workplace. Therefore it is mandatory for the company to ensure the safety of the emplo yees working under this project and make sure that the employees are well protected. This in turn will increase the employee loyalty and can help the organization to deliver better services to the clients. Meeting Minutes Objective of the Meeting- Discussion of the new Bid Location- Conference room Date- 6/11/2017 President of the Meeting- CEO of the automobile company Time- 3 PM Attendees- Managers Basic considerations and preparation of the bid Responsible Person Time General Manager 20 minutes Financial considerations Finance Manager 30 minutes Costs involved in sales and revenue Sales Manager 20 minutes After sales considerations After Sales Manager 15 minutes RESPONSIBLE PERSON ROLES General Manager Preparing a competitive bid Finance Manager Projecting a achievable finance budget Sales Manager Amount involved in the sales of the car After Sales Manager Projecting an approximate service and maintenance cost GAP Analysis STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE CURRENT STANDINGS DEFICIENCY ACTION PLAN 1. To Supply the Hotel with the best in class cars within a stipulated period After winning the bid Earlier acquisitions were slow which led to delays Establishing an efficient team and ensuring meeting the deadline 2. Proper maintenance and service of the Cars after its supply Skilled automotive engineer ensures the proper service of the cars None SMART Analysis Specific-The goal of the management is to ensure smooth delivery of the cars to the hotel Measurable- The amount of cars supplied and the total cost involved along with the total charge for the lease must be well known to both the parties. The goals set by the organization must be measurable and performed in a simple yet efficient way. Achievable- The managers in charge of the project, the workers as well as the stakeholders are provided with achievable targets to make sure that the project is carried out smoothly. Relevant- It is highly recommended that the goals that are set up by the manager must be set out by the values and needs of the managers. The managers are in constant communication with the management of the hotel to make sure that the deal is signed with the best possible goals. Time Bound- The goal of the project can also be completed within the fixed time of the project. Key Performance Indicators General Manager- The performance of the General manger must be measured on the following grounds namely; Customer Satisfaction Employee Satisfaction Financial Performance Index Internal Process Quality Sales Manager- The key performance indicator to be used by a sales manager is; Increase in the contact Rate Customer Acquisition Rates Sales volume per location Satisfaction rate of the employees Present Rate of client engagement Finance Manager- The key performance indicator to be used by a finance manager includes; Gross Profit from the transaction with the hotel Return on Investment Earnings before interest and taxes Current Ratio Net Earnings from the financial deal Automotive Engineer- The KPI that must be used by the automotive engineer is; Knowledge of maintaining the luxury cars Performance index Proper service and maintenance of the cars Workshop Manager- The KPI that must be used by the workshop managers includes; Human Resource Management Workshop Management Communication between the parties involved Proper Knowledge of the parking of the cars After Sales Manager- The KPI that must be used by the After Sales Manager are; Total revenue from leasing out the cars Measuring the results of the sales Operational objectives determination Issues of KPI The common issues that were identified during the project were; Timing can be inappropriate monthly and quarterly basis reports were not submitted The inspection of cars must be systematic Duties were assigned to too many individuals and when problem raised there could be dilemma as to who would solve it. The company will be maintaining a weekly report which has to be submitted before the managers and approved. An inspection team will be there to inspect the facilities and will also provide necessary changes or requirements to properly maintain the cars. The duties will be assigned to a small group of individuals and each and every person duty will be specified. Communication Policy and Procedure The management team of the automobile company will establish a separate communication plan that has to be approved by both the organization and the hotel to ensure a smooth professional relation with such a deal[3]. The new policy will ensure that all the management committee members, staffs, people related with the implementation and integration of the following deal will be accurately informed about each and every relevant activities, policies and other issues to be enable them to be as effective and sure about their role. The management of both the companies must provide information using different options like; Social Media Policies Notice Boards E mail Notices Electronic diary The managers of both the company and the hotel should be in constant touch with each other through telephones or e-mails and should be well informed about any new developments. Such a proper communication plan will be helpful for the hotel to use and maintain the cars easily. Instructions on Project Tasks Task Responsible Person Due date Car Supply Sales Manager 2 Month prior to the winning of the bid Car Maintenance After Sales Manager Time when problem arises and service after every 1 months Collection of Lease Amount Finance Manager 1 Year after leasing out the cars to the hotel Objective of the Meeting- Discussion of the new Communication Policy Location- Conference room Date- 6/12/2017 President of the Meeting- Project in charge Time- 3 PM Attendees- Managers and Members Basic considerations and preparation of the Communications Policy Responsible Person Roles General Manager Execution of the Project Member 1 Communicating the policy to the members Member 2 Incorporating all the details of the policy Other Members Keeping an update on the developments Meeting Minutes Objective of the Meeting- Discussion of the new Bid Location- Conference room Date- 20/12/2017 President of the Meeting- Project in Charge Time- 3 PM Attendees- Managers and the project members Basic considerations and preparation of the bid Responsible Person Time Project in Charge 20 minutes Communication Policy Project in charge 20 minutes Costs involved in sales and revenue Sales Manager 15 minutes Maintenance and Service Consideration After Sales Manager 15 minutes Corrective Action Policy The first choice of every supervisor must take a disciplinary action to modify the behavior of an employee and must also determine the seriousness of the situation and if they feel must terminate the employee immediately. The supervisor in charge of the team must take corrective action whenever the need arises[4]. Personal Contribution Plan The personal contribution plan will be set up by the project in charge to make sure that every employee and persons involved in the project gets a fair amount of return at the completition of the project successfully. References Chekwa, Charles, et al. "AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP ON BUSINESS ETHICS: EMPIRICAL STUDY."International Journal Of Business Public Administration11.1 (2014). Choi, Seung-Il, and Dong-Il Kim. "A Study on The Effect Business Performance of Leadership on Global Corporate."Journal of Digital Convergence12.10 (2014): 191-199. Choi, Seung-Il, and Dong-Il Kim. "A Study on The Effect Business Performance of Leadership on Global Corporate."Journal of Digital Convergence12.10 (2014): 191-199. Nahavandi, Afsaneh.The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson, 2016. Pruzan, Peter, et al.Leading with wisdom: Spiritual-based leadership in business. Routledge, 2017. Storey, John, Jean Hartley, and Jean-Louis Denis, eds.The Routledge Companion to Leadership. Taylor Francis, 2016.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

National Intervention Week Proclamation Essays - Drug Rehabilitation

National Intervention Week Proclamation NATIONAL INTERVENTION WEEK PROCLAMATION In April 1997, Paul J. Peloquin, Sr. , a professional interventionist and trainer had a vision to make the American Public more aware of the intervention process which over the last 25 years has proven to help untold thousands break through the denial of their addictions. In the mid 1960s Dr. Vernon Johnson founded the Johnson's Institute and Intervention Process, which people would use for many decades to come. Betty Ford wrote a letter to Dr. Johnson thanking him for the intervention process, for it had helped her; as it has helped so many others. Intervention in itself will become the modality of the future in assisting people to realize the denial of the addiction before it totally destroys the individual and the families of the people affected by the disease. This in turn will save billions of tax dollars in medical expenses. As stated in the National Drug Control Strategy of 1998 (a ten year plan) Goal 3, Objective 1... Support and promote effective, efficient, and accessible drug treatment, ensuring the development of a system that is responsive to emerging trends in drug abuse. Furthermore, Objective 3... Promote national adoption of drug-free workplace programs that emphasize a comprehensive program that includes: drug testing, education, prevention, and INTERVENTION. The American Board of Certified Interventionists, Inc. Founded by Paul J. Peloquin, Sr. Ph.D. has gained the support of Governors and Congressmen. It is the belief that awareness and education will keep the American Public thinking and talking about addiction and the problems it causes. This in turn will convey to the individuals that truly need help, but are preoccupied with their addiction and cannot see their denial without the assistance of others, hence intervention . Moving into the next millennium with the knowledge to stop or interrupt the addiction process sends an important message to Americans and people around the world that, ? we as a people? are not allowing life-threatening problems to conquer our loved ones without taking an educated stand on the issues. Governor Fob James, Jr. and Congressman Joe Scarborough have endorsed the National Intervention Week as a well-needed proclamation to bring attention to the process to make millions aware of what is available to them to help others. It is time for the President of this great Nation to support the proclamation by endorsing National Intervention Week (19 April through 23 April) as a time for healing and new beginnings for those in need. Paul J. Peloquin, Sr. Ph.D Founder and President American Board of Certified Interventionists, Inc Bibliography: The American Board of Certified Interventionists,Inc. Vernon Johnsons; How to get someone help" Florida Coalition on Drug Education, Prevention, Intervention, Inc.

Monday, November 25, 2019

buy custom Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program essay

buy custom Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program essay Breastfeeding rate among low income women in Chicago are much low than those in the high income population. Most of these women in the low income areas in Chicago stop breastfeeding after a very short duration that is below six month period (WHO, 2003). Breastfeeding peer counseling encourages and support pregnant mothers and breastfeeding mothers. It is done by currently breastfeeding mothers and those who have done so in the past. These mothers must be well informed about the importance of breast milk to the infant. It includes individual counseling and mother to mother support groups. These groups undergo specific training to acquire knowledge and skills about breastfeeding and may work in informal group, visit other women in their homes, clinic and hospitals. Pear support includes education about breastfeeding, psycho-emotional support, help solving problems pertaining breastfeeding and encouragement Breastfeeding is very crucial and beneficial to infants because it make them grow healthy because b mreast milk contains a lot of nutrients that increase body immunity that protects infants against some common childhood illnesses and infections. It protects an infant against inflammatory, autoimmune and malignant diseases thus impacting a longer term immune function. It also protects mother health because it minimizes chances of getting breast cancer. Therefore, women who dont have health problems should try to breastfeed their children for at least the first six month of life but women with infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, active tuberculosis should not breastfeed because they will transmit infectious agents to the infants (Howard, et al., 1999). Human breast milk has various immunological active compounds e.g. antimicrobial enzymes, leukocytes, and immunoglobulin. On top of that it contains tolerance promoting substances such as fatty acids, platelet activating factors interleukin-10. Once a child is born, it does not have a very strong immune system and the breast milk is the one that strengthens the immune system of the baby which makes it very essential to new born babies (Howard, et al., 1999). Background To implement effective breastfeeding peer counseling, one should have clear understanding of the targeted group of which in this case is low income mothers in Chicago IL place. One should know their attitude in terms of how they perceive breastfeeding process and how they do it. Also challenges faced by this women and how to minimize them should be well highlighted. Again, in planning process, one should identify the key stakeholders and facilities available that will help to make this project effective and efficient. Breastfeeding peer counseling do have great impact because it educate other women about the breastfeeding benefits and encourage one another to use appropriate measures such as prolonged breastfeeding and necessary items such as nutritious food to make it effective and beneficial to both mothers and children. It includes people who promote breastfeeding, facilitators, breastfeeding researchers and analysts. Chicago IL community should be analyzed to identify their core values and norms pertaining breastfeeding. It will also help to understand their attitudes, occupation and interaction and relationship. This is to enable implementers to know appropriate strategy to follow to achieve the desired objective. Attitude about breastfeeding has changed due to womens role transformation in recent decades. Ninety one married women recruited during childbirth education classes in the Chicago metropolitan area survey, shows that most of the women developed positive attitude towards breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Due to low income earned, Chicago women fail to access enough nutritious food rich of ions and calcium that help them produce quality and quantity breast milk. Therefore, they stop breastfeeding at an early weaning. On top of that, they are not capable of acquiring hospital based breastfeeding services because is too much expensive for them. Again they are not in the position to manage infectious diseases associated with poor breast feeding ways. These diseases include influenza, asthma and diarrhea. Majority spend a lot of time in work place trying to gather enough for the family leaving their infants unattended. This is because they earn low wages and therefore they have to work overtime in order to raise enough to sustain their families. Alternatively they have to do more than one job per day to boost their surplus. Therefore, No much free time left for breastfeeding infants hence poor growth and development. Peer pressure also interferes with breastfeeding whereby they advocate for early weaning. This has been like a code of conduct where every woman observes it. They believe that, if they prolong breastfeeding they end up getting old faster while young. Again they fear breastfeeding in the public areas because they consider it indecent. Sometimes, they are denied the right to breastfeed in working place by their employers Low income women in Chicago are not well informed about the importance of prolonged breastfeeding and the possible problems that may arise if not well done. This is as a result of low level of education attainment because of low income that cannot cater for education expenses. Also they fail to understand about the health impacts to their children and to themselves such as low immune system and breast cancer respectively. Aims and objectives The main aims and objectives of this study on Breastfeeding peer Counseling Program is to be able to encourage breastfeeding among all the among low income women, Chicago, IL, and the promotion of the awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding by educating, advocating, facilitating and supporting the breastfeeding services. The among low income women, Chicago, IL, could choose to breastfeed their babies until they reach the age of 6 months and then after that, they would then continue giving the baby complimentary foods. The overview of Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program (BPC) The Breastfeeding Peer counselor Program (BPC) is a program which is intended to target a population which is composed of low income women in Chicago hospital (Baby friendly support). This program is all about mothers helping mothers because the peer counselors of the program are mothers who have the experience of breastfeeding experience and knowledge and are out to help other mothers into the importance of breastfeeding their babies up to the age of about 6 months when the baby is old enough to be given complementary foods. These peer counselors are highly skilled since one has to have the minimum requirements to qualify to be a Breastfeeding Peer counselor. The peer counselors of the program are mothers who have completed their high school certificate and have been trained in breastfeeding management where the peer counselor has to attend 30 hours classroom training from the program coordinator on breast anatomy, physiology, social factors, counseling techniques, and breastfeeding management. The peer counselor should have scored a score of about 85% and above on all the written exams that they are presented to during the training and also have a working experience of about 3-6 months of working with a qualified peer counselor. And to ensure that the peer counselor is well informed on the breastfeeding management, she should have at least 1 hour of continuing education and also work for at least 20 hours per week. With the help of the BPC program, all the pregnant women can be able to get ready to breastfeed their babies once they are born. The pregnant women would be given counseling sessions on the importance of breastfeeding their babies and with this knowledge, they can know how breast milk is very essential to a baby. Through the program, the pregnant mothers will be able express all their thoughts and views on breastfeeding where the fearful mothers will be helped in overcoming their fears on breastfeeding so that they can be able to start it off with no fears. The BPC program is very essential to a pregnant woman because it can help in the solving and the prevention of common problems. Some mothers worry too much and it makes their problems to become very complicated. With the help of these peer counselors, they can help the situation by referring the mother to a lactating specialist or Health Care Providers. The breastfeeding peer counselors play a very important role in the BPC program because they offer breastfeeding support and share all the information that they have on breastfeeding. The BPC program has support group meetings where very many breastfeeding mothers can meet and the peer counselors are always available to every breastfeeding mother and the pregnant women. The Breastfeeding Peer Counselor can help a breastfeeding mother to be able to make a good choice concerning the breastfeeding of her baby and they are there to assist the mother with all the support regarding the decision that she has undertaken. The Breastfeeding Peer Counselor can help on how to hold the baby when breastfeeding, can help the working mothers on how to make a breastfeeding plan so that the mother can also continue to work when still breastfeeding the baby, and they provide a 24 hour support when needed since they are there to listen to all the concerns of the worried mothers. Stakeholders Key stakeholders should be identified in Chicago in order to facilitate collaborative environment that will enhance effective and efficient implementation of breastfeeding peer counseling program. These include non-hospital breastfeeding group in Chicago, like for example the La Leche League which is the best known breastfeeding support group in the world. It was initiated by groups of moms in Chicago with an aim of supporting volunteers leader to run local groups for pregnant mother and lactating women .They held several meetings to discuss about different parenting ways e.g. sleeping duration, nutritious food, relationship and mothers discipline pertaining breastfeeding. The Abiyamo Omo Society at UIC Medical Center (Chicago, IL) is focused on supporting all breastfeeding mothers and to enhance natural parenting. They also offer knitting skills to mothers to enable them earn some incme that is later used for purchasing nutritious food. Other non- hospital breastfeeding supporting groups include: Kick sprout at Family Grounds Cafe (Chicago, IL near Lincoln and Addison), New Mother New Baby (Northbrook, IL), Breastfeeding USA Chapter, Lake County-Baby Me, Be By Baby (Chicago, IL Lincoln and Roscoe). Also implementers should link with hospital based breast feeding support group such as: Adventists Hinsdale Hospital, Centegras Family Birth centers which also offer free breastfeeding support, Little company of Mary Hospital that offers new mothers an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences, Sherman Hospital and St. Alexius Medical Center. These groups will take part in breastfeeding research and come up with possible solutions that can be used to enhance effective breastfeeding peer counseling in Chicago. Again they will help to mobilize Chicago mothers and other supportive group to work together in disseminating information about the importance of breast milk to the infants and how long infants should be breastfed. In order to enhance effective implementation of breastfeeding peer counseling program, community members must be involved. They must participate right from the grassroots level where it pertains planning, strategizing, implementing evaluating, organizing and managing the program to enhance sustainability. As a result, even new generation will benefit from this projects accomplishment such as increased awareness, positive attitude towards breastfeeding and breastfeeding services support. Men from different families should also participate in order to encourage their wives to breastfeed their children for at least 6 months duration. Again they will be informed about the most needed items that will help mother produce nutritive and plenty breast milk for their infants Local health agents should be included to improve enthusiasm among breastfeeding peer counseling and coordination. This is done through disseminating important information pertaining breastfeeding such as breastfeeding referral places, nutritious information, breastfeeding problem and how it can be eradicated. Again they will help in creating awareness to all low income earners in Chicago using the most affordable and accessible communication channels such as telephone method Furthermore, national leaders such as senates, local leaders such as chief, religious leaders such as bishops, experts such as data analysts, professionals such as facilitators and accountants, doctors and business managers should be involved too in implementing this project. They will help to mobilize people and resources leading to high achievement and collaboration. Also, they provide financial support to acquire necessary facilities and resources needed in implementing the project. Government should also be involved to promote good environmental condition for business operation through taxation and enforcement of desirable policies that favor breastfeeding peer counseling process. It gives incentives that empower women economically making them able to access nutritive food and breastfeeding services that improves breast milk quality suitable for infant growth and development Implementers should fully understand enacted breastfeeding laws in order to comply with the legal system requirement. For example Illinois has enacted several breastfeeding laws such as: breastfeeding is not a public indecency, authorizing public information campaign, providing for program in WIC for lactation support and accommodation for employed mothers who are breastfeeding. Key Questions Cook county Hospital 1980s report shows that, women involved in peer group discussion and education session breastfeed longer than those who did not participate in it. It is very clear that peer counseling has been found effective and beneficial to all women including low income earners in Chicago. Peer support has been used successfully by low income earners and is perceived vital for breaking down existing barriers within women social network among women of low income earners and middle income women because it promotes collaboration and participation. Breastfeeding peer counseling has been of great help to women because large number of low income women have responded positively. The outcome shows that 84% of peer counseled women have initiated proper breastfeeding method leading to low infant mortality rate.85% of mothers who started peer counselors received great help and support to alleviate breastfeeding problem. About 66% of low income women in Chicago who received breastfeeding services from the peer counselor plan to breastfeed beyond six months and 33% decided to go beyond twelve months, which is a whole year breastfeeding. This is because peer counseling have persuaded them to do so through educating them about breastfeeding techniques, importance and nutritious knowledge. Surveys shows that, low income women in Chicago received individual peer counseling which made them to breastfeed at one to three months postpartum than those who received only routine breastfeeding support especially middle income earner because it was much accessible and affordable to them. It is the role of the implementer to know the causes of breastfeeding problem and suggest alternative ways of alleviating it. Some women are denied right to breastfeed in work place by the managers because they argue that they are wasting too much working hours (James Lessen, 2009). Therefore, women are forced to stop breastfeeding their infants before the completion of at least six month. Also place of worship has denied mothers right to breastfeed because they consider it holy and it should be used to worship God only. Culture has been another factor that interferes with breastfeeding in Chicago area. Majority have inclined too much to cultural norms and behaviors which limit the breastfeeding period. This is because of static attitudes they uphold instead of adapting the modern ways of doing things and illiteracy level whereby they are not educated about breast milk content and how it is important to the infants because it boost body immunity, intelligence, growth and development. Breastfeeding research is very low among low income earners in Chicago because is beyond their ability. First they lack enough resources in terms of funds, research tools and equipment and skilled personnel. Secondly they lack motivation and support from the government. Therefore much of the important information about breast milk remains hidden leading to poor growth and development of infants. In order to lessen this problem a lot needs to be done which include; Low income women should be encouraged to help one another through fundraising to enable young women access breastfeeding hospital service, prenatal education and breastfeeding teaching. More so it will enable mothers to access nutritious food that contributes to production of nutritive breast milk leading to healthy growth and development of infants. Awareness should be created to inform women breastfeeding benefits and negative impacts that might arise if appropriate breastfeeding precautions are not put into consideration. For instance, breast milk contains tolerance and anti-immune compounds that reduce the rate of asthma to the infants. Failure to do that, infants become susceptible to asthma and allergic diseases. Competent Facilitators are also needed to gather the most pressing needs of the young mothers. He must be able to hold healthy discussion with the groups of women to here every ones opinion and views. Also he should have ability to promote efficient and effective strategy to be followed to come to consensus. As a result women learn a lot from one another pertaining breastfeeding and they develop strong and healthy relationship hence promoting peer counseling. Licensed dietitians and registered nurses should be used to disseminate nutritious information to all people in Chicago IL. This can be achieved through guidance and counseling, campaigns, public assembly, media, posters, interviews and discussion forums. Also they can be used to distribute food supplements that contain nutrients, vitamins, proteins, ions, calcium, magnesium that enhance wholesome production of breast milk. Formulation, implementation and reinforcement of laws pertaining breastfeeding should be enacted. For example Breastfeeding women should have a right to breastfeed everywhere and at any time which includes worship places, public place e.g. market place and work place. Managers should give women more time for breastfeeding because it is important to both mothers and infants. Failure to this, justice should be enhanced through the court of law. Workplace Act that provides break time for nursing mothers should be observed. Also an employer should provide room More women income generating projects should be initiated to empower women and make them financial stable to afford nutritious food (Mitra, et al., 2004). For example, knitting projects that enable low income earner generate more income that would be enough to cater for the family requirement including healthful food. Once more, they would have ability to access breastfeeding services. Also they can be encouraged to initiate women cooperative groups which will help in disseminating information about breastfeeding and giving guidance and counseling to all women in Chicago. Knowledge should be imparted to Chicago mothers about the benefits of breastfeeding. They should know that, breastfeeding protects children against Diarrhea. Survey shows that, children less than twelve months have low incident of acute diarrhea diseases during the time they were being breastfed than children bottle fed. In addition, breastfeeding protect infants from hemophilic influenza (Mitra, et al., 2004). The breastfeeding mothers and the pregnant women should be aware that breastfeeding enhance vaccine response by increasing the high rate of humeral immune. Breastfed children contains high level of antibodies thus shows better serum and secretory responses to perioral and parenteral vaccines than the formula fed Women should be informed that breastfeeding enhance child development and intelligent. Well breastfed children have high IQ level and cognitive development than formula fed infants. They also develop socially in terms of psychomotor and social capability. Human milk transfer immunities to the external mucosal of intestine and also to the respiratory tract of the infants. The acquired immunity compound is particularly important in the early neonatal period before immune matures. Mothers milk protects newborns from Herpes simplex virus 11 contamination Infectious mothers should also be guided not to breastfeed especially when they are infected with HIV (James Lessen, 2009). Study Design Participants must be recruited prenatally at Hospitals and must have the required criteria which specify that women must be at least 18 years old, come from low income women class, is a resident of Chicago area, they are available for telephone follow up, they must be considering breastfeeding their infants and not yet enrolled in the peer counseling program. This is done to enhance detailed information concerning infant breastfeeding so as to know what needed to be done to eradicate negative attitude towards breastfeeding among low income women in Chicago. Participants of approximately about 200 mothers need to be randomized to either control group or the intervention group using computer software programs such as (SPSS, Version 10, SPSS Inc., Chicago, ILL). Cases should be entered into data file weekly and SPSS randomly selected approximately 50%. The selected case should be assigned to the intervention group which include; prenatal home visit, perinatal visit, 3 postpartum home visit and telephone contact as needed which were to be conducted at 1, 3, 6 months. After delivery, medical record should be reviewed to ensure that postpartum inclusion criteria are met which include; healthy full term singleton, absence of congenital anomalies and no maternal history of human immunodeficiency virus. Key Processing Measures Participant should be interviewed in the language of their choice i.e. English or Spanish by the field researchers or coordinators. Recruitment, demographic and infant feeding data should be collected too. Also participant should be interviewed regarding infant feeding methods, sources of prenatal and perinatal breastfeeding education and demographic details. In addition to this, medical record should be reviewed to know the number of infant mortality rate and breastfeeding recorded details. Participants can be interviewed monthly via telephone to obtain maximum information of 6 month postpartum on infant feeding practices Implementation of breastfeeding peer counseling is not that smooth because is associated with barriers and challenges that face implementers. Some of these challenges include: Conflict among counselors and coordinators. Some sponsors agencies may demand more wages and salaries to help in peer counseling activities. Other disagree on appropriate method to use, some prefer home to home visit, clinic visit and other prefer telephone Services Financial constraint is another challenge because peer counseling require funds so as to make if effective and efficient. This is because peer support group need to be trained first to enable them give quality and quantity information about breastfeeding. They need to be trained about breastfeeding management, infant growth and development, nutrition, counseling technique and criteria for making hospital referrals e.g. referral to International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCL) in both individual and group settings. Peer counselors are supposed to be trained and be clinically monitored or overseen by professional in lactation management which include physician with specific training in skilled lactation care, nurses, IBCLC and nutritionist Poor coordination and interaction is another challenge because in order to enhance effective and efficient implementation of breastfeeding project, there must be health link and collaboration with other groups. A lot of effort is required to sustain collaboration among; low income women, Hartford Hospitals, Hispanic Health Council and with the university of Connecticuts Family Nutrition Program. It makes it so difficult to deliver Perinatal peer support to low income women in Chicago. The fathers role was also to be considered in terms of their performance, involvement, support, and attitude. The fathers are assumed to be very supportive to the breastfeeding mother by encouraging the mother to breastfeed the baby until the baby is 6 months of age. This can make the mothers get the motivation to breastfeed their babies since they can also get support from home. Impacts and Results Peer counselors have helped low income mothers to understand the tips for how to breastfeed comfortably and discreetly even in public place such as public market. It has made low income women to gain courage of breastfeeding their children even when they are in the groups of people. It has promoted good and close relationship between mother and the infants because breastfeeding mothers have learned important ways of staying close to their babies after work and after school. Again mother have known various ways of producing plenty and nutritious breast milk for their infant thus they cannot stay for long without breastfeeding hence close relationship with their children. They have acquired a lot of ideas on how to obtain breastfeeding information and support from referral places, family and friends. As a result strong bond have been formed that link low income women with hospital based breastfeeding programs, university based nutritious programs and even community based breastfeeding institutions. They have acquired ways to get good start with breastfeeding unlike before. Immediately after birth, nurses do provide written information pertaining proper breastfeeding ways (Howard, et al., 1999). Yet again they receive immediate breastfeeding support from the peer counselor who guide on the procedure to be followed on breastfeeding action. They have known ways of making plenty of breast milk for their babies through taking in nutritious food. These nutritive food increase immunity system to the infant thus prevent chances of getting sick. Again wholesome breast milk facilitates healthy growth and development of infants (Howard, et al., 1999). On the other hand, there is a very great negative impact to women who fail to breastfeed their children as required. They become prone of various cancers diseases such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer. This is because lack of breastfeeding leads to formation of cramps in the breast resulting to inflammation and death of body cells and tissues thus breast cancer. According the World Health Organization (2003), children who were not breastfed have high tendency of contracting non communicable disease such as diabetes mellitus, leukemia and lymphoma. More so they have high rate of crohns disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac diseases. As a result this interferes with child growth and development (James Lessen, 2009). Short period of breastfeeding involve another crucial risk of recurrent respiratory infections and otitis media. Limitations Most of the hospital population does not reflect the general population of the low-income women of Chicago, IL. And the birth weight of the babies was also a factor which was supposed to be considered because some babies who were born underweight had to be placed in the specialized nurseries where breastfeeding was a problem (Mitra, et al., 2004). Funding has been a major problem in the effective implementation of the BPC program since a lot of money is required so as to fund all the activities by the Peers counselors which include the funding for the phone call follow ups, the Peers training programs in many hospitals so as to recruit as many peer counselors as possible. There has been a problem when it comes to the funding. Loss to follow-up appointments by the breastfeeding mothers has also been another problem which has hindered the implementation of the BPC program. This has been so because some of the breastfeeding mothers have not been positive towards the follow-up appointments since they end up not turning up for the counseling sessions that they are scheduled for which makes it very inconveniencing to the peers counselors. Other mothers are arrogant and ignorant which makes the work of the peer counselors to be very difficult because when they are contacted through the telephones, some of them ignore the phone calls, while others end up telling likes about their not making for a counseling session which has been a discouraging factor to many peer counselors. Understaffing is a major problem in most of the government funded hospitals in Chicago where the staffs there were overworked quite a lot therefore ending up neglecting the breastfeeding mothers who had breastfeeding issues (Mitra, et al., 2004). Due to this understaffing of the personnel, the staff lacked the support and the training facilities and most of the staff in the hospital did not have set job responsibilities. The government of Chicago should initiate many campaigns so as to be able to sensitize and create awareness about the importance of breastfeeding to both mother and the infants. For the mothers they should know that this is one way of preventing breast cancer thus they will minimize medical expenses incurred to treat it. In addition infants obtain enough nutrients that help them to grow healthy, strong and with high level of immunity (James Lessen, 2009). Project and programs should be initiated to provide nutritious food for the mothers in order to increase the level of nutrients and ions in the breast milk that helps the infants to grow healthy. These programs include lactation support services that provide nutrition programs to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. It also include payment for breast pumps, breast shields, supply of registered nurses, licensed dietitians and any person who has completed a lactation management training program. The BPC would work effectively because all the Breastfeeding Peer Counselors are role models and they provide the women with enough confidence because they also share their backgrounds since they were also mothers who have also breastfed their babies up to 6 months. The importance of the BPC program should be made known to all the hospital staff in Chicago, IL. Buy custom Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program essay

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Discuss the differential roles of the left and the right hemispheres Essay

Discuss the differential roles of the left and the right hemispheres and individual differences in functional lateralisation - Essay Example Therefore men are more lateralized and women are considered to utilize both the hemispheres to a larger extent while performing various tasks. It is claimed that certain skills like spatial and mathematical capability improves with lateralization while women enjoy advantage for verbal test because they use both the hemispheres equally (Lee 2005 p.138). Despite gender differences, lateralisation also involves individual differences due to the difference in the composition of the brain cells. Hemispheric specialization is a classic dichotomy that suggests that the right hemisphere concerns visuo-spatial abilities and the left hemisphere is associated with linguistic abilities. However, this does not mean that the distribution of hemispheric functions does not make the right hemisphere irrelevant to language or the left hemisphere ignorant of processing non-linguistic data. Novelty-routinisation continuum is an approach that explains hemispheric specialization of functions that argues the basic reasons for the lateralisation of cerebral responsibilities. The theory proposes that the left hemisphere is crucial for the processing of routinised cognitive decisions and pre-existing representations and the right hemisphere is crucial for the processing of new cognitive situations that has no pre-existing strategies or codes. The traditional assumption thus becomes an extraordinary case of this basic principle (Malloy & Duffy 2001 p.83) The novelty routinisation approach gives emphasis to individual differences with the theory that the cognitive novelty of one may be a familiar concept to another that can be explained through a dynamic approach instead of a static theory that details hemispheric specialization or laterlisation. Hemispheric specialization tends to vary with individuals at varying stages of skill development. The dominance of left hemisphere is not uniformly strong for all factors of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Business Ethics Enron case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics Enron case - Essay Example It has dominated the business world in many divisions such as; natural resources, plastics, power, steel, broadband and principal investments. The men who were responsible of Enron’s demise were Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow. According to the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs Enron commited high risk accounting, and disclose too many information about their cashflow. They hid their loss to attract investors for them to keep investing in the company. No one in the company reveal the truth until the social analyst starts to do some research because some of its data just do not make sense and found out the fraud that Enron had been committing. The company can had been falsely registering profit with its value increasing at a dizzying figure of 10 billion to 65 billion. But these unfounded profits have its price as it adversely affected the lives of those who invested in the company because they never got their mon ey back. The fraudulent and unethical business practice of Enron can be traced back to its leadership. Leadership at Enron took a twisted turn when it became obsessed with increasing the value of its stock prices. Its sense of excellence also became crooked as reinforced and perpetuated by its leadership. It promoted a corporate culture of callousness when it arbitrarily ranked half of its employees as non-performer which it will eventually fire. The other half remaining may have remained in the company but adopted a corporate value system that is virulently greedy and fraudulent as promoted and reinforced by its leadership through its performance appraisals. The culture of a company is one of the basic aspect of an organization and often, its behaviors are often based on that corporate culture. At Enron, the company culture has a structure where they place the individuals who have a higher position at the upper level of the office, and ordinary workers who have less power in the co mpany occupy the ground level of the office. This company structure reflects that people who can better adapt with Enron’s unethical business practice will control most of the activites, and create a decision and others who cannot will be relegated as subordinates. This culture of giving too much power on people who are unethical promotes the culture of fraud in th eorganization where greed is encouraged and money became the central value of the organization that they no longer care about the environment as long they gain money. As a company Enron does not have positive control environment â€Å" the tone or culture of a firm the control environemnt sets the tone of organization, influencing its people†. (Hartman and Desjardin Pg. 539). In my point of view the negative control environment that Enron company sets it is to make their workers adapt with the situation of the company that they work 12 hours per day only thinking of how to make a billion profit to the compan y by doing fraudulent on the stakesholder. This practice alone of inducing employees to work all day long and forgo other aspects of their lives such as family and social lives is not healthy. Duty care does not also exist in its organizational structure. Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow does not apply the duty of care aspect to on their decision. â€Å"Duty of care involves the exercise of reasonalble care by board member... their management responsibilities and comply with the law†

Monday, November 18, 2019

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger - Essay Example A man, Reuben Land, through flashbacks remembers the events of his birth, the challenges, and his family, and narrates the story. He is the protagonist in the novel who instils faith and hope to the readers through his life story. This shifts to the present day, 1962, when the man has grown up and lives as a good man. A narration of these events in his life helps the readers to appreciate the maturation that occurred in his life (Robertson, 2013). This eventually helps in moulding him into the grown up good man that he is present. The novel illustrates how Reuben’s family goes through an extra length to ensure one of them, Davy, comes back to the light. Enger uses the first person point of view in his novel. This is because Reuben tells the narrative from his point of view of the events that occurred in his life. This starts with a flashback of his birth, how God revived him so that he could witness the miracles performed through his father. Through his narration, we learn abo ut his brother Davy, and his choices in life that led him to prison. Through Reuben, the readers find out the deal that his father made with God so that the former may die instead of Reuben. Readers are able to discern the occurrences in Reuben’s life through narration from both the young and adult Reuben. Symbolism and use of metaphors are also some of the literary elements employed by Enger in producing his work. Metaphors refer to the use of direct comparisons between ideas and characters. Examples of metaphors in Enger’s Peace like a river include the scene where Jeremiah’s actions are compared to that of God. Jeremiah blows air and life into a son, who is motionless and clay-like, just as God blew air into Adam whom He made from clay. A metaphor is also used when Mrs DeCuellas’ hair is described as black and woolly. Symbolism is evidenced in the character of Swede, Reuben’s sister (Enger, 2001). The novel starts as she works on her poem, and h er character develops with it. This portrays the growth of the Land’s family. Another symbolism is Reuben’s asthmatic condition. It symbolizes the challenges and burdens of life that must be met with strength and faith for one to succeed, just as Reuben did. His daily struggle with breathing and his continued effort in keeping alive denotes the persistence very much needed for success in day-to-day activities. Peace like a river also portrays the repetitive use of themes throughout the book. This is called a motif. The first motif in this novel is dreams. Enger displays the use of dreams by Reuben when in his terrible dream; he is crossing a shallow river. He also dreams about the skin bag, after which he wakes up to find Waltzer looking at him (Enger, 2001). Enger has used miracles in his novel a number of times. When Jeremiah commands Reuben, in the name of the living God to breathe, a miracle occurs. Another miracle is observed when Jeremiah paces at the edge of the water without falling. Other miracles occur in the novel including the never emptying bowl of soup, Reuben’s survival after the gunshot wound, and the healing of Holgren’s face among others. The theme of war is also used repetitively in the novel. The first instance is where Davy fights with and kills the two bullies. This paints the picture of war. Another instance where war theme is portrayed is in heaven when Reuben and his father encounter people singing a hymn where they march as if they are preparing for a war.  Ã‚  

Friday, November 15, 2019

Change Management In Sony Pictures Management Essay

Change Management In Sony Pictures Management Essay In 2008 Amy Pascal (Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Chairman, Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment) and Michael Lynton (Chairman CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment) engaged The Energy Project as a part of an effort to create a culture in which employees felt energetic and excited about coming to work every day. Beginning with the senior team, our facilitators delivered our curriculum to some 500 managers and leaders. More than 90% said it has helped them bring more energy to work every day. Almost 88% felt that it has made them more focused and productive. We trained more than a dozen Sony internal facilitators to deliver our work, and by April 2010, some version of our curriculum will have been delivered to all 5500 Sony Pictures employees around the world.   In the midst of a severe recession, and a dramatic industry-wide decline in DVD sales, Sony expects to record one of its most profitable years ever in the fiscal year ending March 2009.   TABLE OF CONTENTS INDEX PAGE NO. Introductionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Literature review Change Why change management Discussion of Change Management Theoriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Plan Do Check Act Lewins Freeze Phases Issues to Changeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Implementation of Change Managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Transformation in Sony pictures Overcoming resistance in employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Sustaining changeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conclusionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Referencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Appendixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. INTRODUCTION Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) was formerly known as Columbia pictures entertainment, headquartered in Culver City, CALIFORNIA. The company was founded in 1987 and it was renamed Sony pictures entertainment in 1991. It is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPEs global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. The companys slogan is Sony like no other. SPE recorded total sales of $7.6 billion for fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. Key people of SONY PICTURES are Howard Stringer (Chairman, President and CEO of  Sony Corporation),Michael Lynton (Chairman CEO, Sony Pictures Ente rtainment),Amy Pascal (Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Chairman, Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment), Jeff Blake (Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment). Sony Pictures Plaza in Culver City, California LITERATURE REVIEW CHANGE: Change is all around us in different types and categories; it can be brought by us or can come in any way to us. Change is the way through which future enters your life. Future is coming fast; we cannot predict but only react when we face it. Steven Kerr Why change management? Changes can come yourself or it can come in ways that give you little choice about its what, when, and how. Fighting against change slows it down or diverts it, but it wont stop it however. If you wish to succeed in this rapidly changing new world you must learn to look on change as a friend one who presents you with an opportunity for growth and improvement. The rate of change in  todays world  is constantly increasing. Everything that exists is getting old, wearing out and should be replaced. Revolutionary technologies, consolidation, well-funded new competition, unpredictable customers, and a quickening in the pace of change hurled unfamiliar conditions at management. Realities of Todays  World   The magnitude of todays environmental, competitive, and global market change is unprecedented. Its a very interesting and exciting world, but its also volatile and chaotic: Volatility  describes the economys rate of change: extremely fast, with explosive upsurges and sudden downturns. Chaos  describes the direction of the economys changes: were not sure exactly where were headed, but we are swinging between the various alternatives at a very high speed. To cope with an unpredictable world you must build an enormous amount of flexibility into your organization. While you cannot predict the future, you can get a handle on  trends, which is a way to take advantage of change and convert risks into  opportunities. DISCUSSION OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT THEORIES Plan Do Check Act   Plan, Do, Check, Act is a cycle of activities designed to drive continuous improvement. Initially implemented in manufacturing, it has broad applicability in business. First developed by Walter Shewhart, it was popularized by Edwards Deming. It originated in the 1920s with the eminent statistics expert Mr. Walter A. Shewhart, who introduced the concept of PLAN, DO and SEE. The late Total Quality Management (TQM) guru and renowned statistician W. Edwards Deming modified the Shewhart cycle as: PLAN, DO, STUDY, and ACT.PDCA  (plan-do-check-act) is a four-step problem-solving process typically used in  business process improvement. It is also called as Shewhart cycle, Deming cycle, PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT),PDCA (PLAN DO CHECK ACT). It reduced error rate during implementation the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle in manufacturing.This Act is useful for change management. The PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement. PLAN: Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output. By making the expected output the focus, it differs from other techniques in that the completeness and accuracy of the  specification is also part of the improvement. PROCEDURE- Recognize an opportunity and plan a change. DO: Implement the new processes. Often on a small scale if possible. PROCEDURE- Executes the plan, taking small steps in controlled circumstances. CHECK: Measure the new processes and compare the results against the expected results to ascertain any differences. PROCEDURE- Review the test, analyze the results and identify what youve learned. ACT: Analyse the differences to determine their cause. Each will be part of either one or more of the P-D-C-A steps. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvement. When a pass through these four steps does not result in the need to improve, refine the scope to which PDCA is applied until there is a plan that involves improvement. PROCEDURE- Take action to standardize or improve the process. Benefits of the PDCA cycle: daily routine management-for the individual and/or the team, problem-solving process, project management, continuous development, vendor development, human resources development, new product development, and process trials Lewins Freeze Phases- In the early 20th century, the psychologist Kurt Lewin developed the model known as Lewins Freeze Phases and which still forms the underlying basis of many change management theories models and strategies for managing change. His model suggests that change involves a move from one static state via a state of activity to another static status quo -and all this via a three-stage process of managing change: unfreezing, changing and re-freezing. Unfreezing: Faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation, the individual or group becomes aware of a need to change. Changing: The situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour are explored and tested. Refreezing: Application of new behaviour is evaluated, and if reinforcing, adopted in figure 1 summarizes the steps and processes involved in planned change through action research. Action research is depicted as a cyclical process of change. Figure Kurt Lewins change model recognizes that people derive a strong sense of identity to from their environment. It also recognizes that they like the safety, comfort and feeling of control within their environment. ISSUE TO CHANGE Our CEO, Tony Schwartz first met with Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) co-CEOs, Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, in the summer of 2007. Pascal and Lynton saw the work of the Energy Project as a way to bring to life their vision of making Sony the most desirable studio to work for and of building a culture of high engagement. Initially, Tony worked with Lynton and Pascal and their team of 17 direct reports. The initial focus was on how they managed their own energy individually, and as an intact team. This senior group found our curriculum sufficiently valuable that they asked to brong it to the top 500 executives, all vice president or above.   A 2007 Towers Perrin survey of nearly 90,000 employees worldwide, for instance, found that only 21% felt fully engaged at work and nearly 40% were disenchanted or disengaged. That negativity has a direct impact on the bottom line. Towers Perrin found that companies with low levels of employee engagement had a 33% annual decline in operating income and an 11% annual decline in earnings growth. Those with high engagement, on the other hand, reported a 19% increase in operating income and 28% growth in earnings per share. Nearly a decade ago, the Energy Project, the company I head, began to address work performance and the problem of employee disengagement. We still believe that enduring organizational change is possible only if individuals alter their attitudes and behaviors first.  Weve come to understand that its not possible to generate lasting cultural change without deeply involving an organizations senior leadership. IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT Once people understand how their supply of available energy is influenced by the choices they make, they can learn new strategies that increase the fuel in their tanks and boost their productivity.      They include practices such as shutting down your e-mail for a couple of hours during the day, so you can tackle important or complex tasks without distracting interruptions, or taking a daily 3  PM  walk to get an emotional and mental breather. Two fundamental shifts-   We encouraged Sony to make two fundamental shifts in the way it manages employees. We also created a three -day version of a new way of working that included a renewal day that provided participants with specific techniques to improve the quality, quantity and focus of their energy. This day featured individual consults with a nutritionist, exercise physiologist and massage therapist as well as group circuit training, yoga and meditation. Group coaching was offered during the 3 day sessions and then on twice more two and four weeks after the end of the session. The purpose of the coaching was to support the participants in successfully launching and sustaining the rituals they built once they had returned to the challenges of their daily life. Tony continued to work with Pascal and Lynton a senior team on a quarterly basis throughout 2008 to help them model the behaviors they learned and to drive the work down through their own teams. TRANSFORMATION IN SONY PICTURES Sony pictures went through a transformation in order to embrace energy building and renewing rituals at all levels. Out of the 3000 employees of the 6300 employees of Sony have gone through the energy management program. This summer 1700 more will be covered from Europe, Singapore, and Latin America. OVERCOMING RESISTANCE IN EMPLOYEE The reaction of the program has been overwhelmingly positive. 88% of the participants say, it has made them more focused and productive. Some 90% of them reported that as a result of the work, they began bringing higher levels of energy to work every day. 84% say they feel better and are able to manage their jobs demands and are more engaged at work. Sonys leaders believe that these changes have helped boost the companys performance. E.g. in spite of recession also Sony pictures had its most profitable year ever in 2008 and one of its highest revenue years in 2009. SUSTAINING CHANGE For sustaining change of the Sony Pictures, there are some important points which must keep in mind. These are as under: Employee should be highly engaged. Employee should be friendly. High performance culture. As a leader, you have myriad opportunities to set the right context for your employees to replenish their energy. Its all about providing examples for others and creating a safe environment. DOS AND DONTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURAL CHANGE Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things. -Peter Drucker STRATEGIES OF A POSITIVE CHANGE So that Sony pictures can progress. Conclusion CHANGE STARTS AT THE TOP AND BEGINS ON DAY 1. REAL CHANGE HAPPENS AT THE BOTTOM. IN ORDER TO CHANGE OTHERS FIRST YOU SHOULD YOURSELF AS LYNTON AND PASCAL DID. E.Q IS ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS TOWARDS POSITIVE BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE WHICH ULTIMATELY LEADS TO THE GOAL OF A SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT. STRONG CULTURAL VALUES ACTS AS A MAGNET IN THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY WHICH BINDS AN EMPLOYEE IRRESPECTIVE OF THE EXTERNAL FACTORS LIKE RECESSION OR ECONOMY.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Paule Marshall :: essays papers

Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Paule Marshall Alice Walker, through her essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens", and Paule Marshall, in "Poets In The Kitchen", both write about the African-American women of the past and how these women have had an impact on their writing. Walker and Marshall write about an identity they have found with these women because of their exposure to the African culture. These women were searching for independence and freedom. Walker expresses independence as found in the creative spirit, and Marshall finds it through the spoken word. Walker and Marshall celebrate these women's lives and they see them as inspirations to become black women writers. Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" embodies some aspects that are found in Walker's and Marshall's essays. Delia, the main character, has an identity that is found through her hard work and spirituality. She also finds her freedom and independence in her home. It is essential to first analyze Walker's and Marshall's essays through each of the themes of identity, independence, and inspiration, respectively. Then these themes will be drawn out of Hurston's work to show the similarity between each of these writers' works. Walker and Marshall write about an identity that they have found with African-American women of the past. They both refer to great writers such as Zora Neale Hurston or Phillis Wheatley. But more importantly, they connect themselves to their ancestors. The see that their writings can be identified with what the unknown African-American women of the past longed to say but they did not have the freedom to do so. They both admire many literary greats such as Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, and Jane Austen, but they appreciate these authors' works more than they can identify with them. Walker's and Marshall's identification is related to the African-American culture that they have been exposed to throughout their lives. Walker states that: Therefore we must pull out of ourselves and look at and identify with our lives the living creativity some of our great-grandmothers were not allowed to know. I stress some of them because it is well-known that the majority of our great-grandmothers knew without even "knowing" it, the reality of their spirituality, even if they didn't recognize it beyond what happened in the singing at church (Walker, 1996: 2318-2319). Walker delves into the subconscious and ever-present spirituality that is found in African-American women and she believes that it is important to identify with this.

Monday, November 11, 2019

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