Overworked and Underpaid: The Life of a Servant Essay

$2. 85 cannot even buy one gallon of regular gas, who could imagine that that is my hourly wage. Waitresses and housekeepers are stereotypically female roles, however, people are unaware of what’s behind the smile. My jobs as a housekeeper and waitress are both tough because of the lack of pay, customer service, and dirtiness. Some jobs really don’t get the amount of pay they deserve; both housekeeping and serving would fall into this category. In Wisconsin, minimum wage of a server is less than half of standard minimum wage. Not all people are bad tippers, but it’s hard not to get discouraged when you’re making mediocre money and receiving, at best, a forty to sixty dollar paycheck every two weeks. After a slow night, a party of ten walked in just minutes before the kitchen closed. Needing money for school, I took the group, not knowing how demanding they would be. After waiting on them hand and foot, bending over backwards to give them great service, their bill amounted to over two hundred thirty dollars. As I collected their bill, they informed me of how great of an experience they had and how well of a job I had done. Upon counting the money, I found that they had left me a measly twenty five dollars for all of the effort I put in. When you go out with a bigger group to a restaurant, naturally you tip twenty percent because of the extra work it takes to wait on you. I don’t find this a problem considering the minimum amount to tip a waitress is fifteen percent, according to sources. Housekeepers, however, work at a higher pay, but not much above the minimum wage, which isn’t nearly enough compensation, considering what they have to deal with. Unlike waitressing, housekeeping requires longer hours, and more strenuous work. On average, I had ten to fifteen rooms a shift, and on top of that, at least two large loads of linens to fold. Upon receiving my paychecks, I was always disappointed at the small amount left over after taxes and other deductions. There was one instance, however, that I found twenty dollars in an empty room. Underneath it was a note saying, â€Å"Thank you! † Even though this was a rare occurrence, it was always nice knowing the recognition some of the tenants gave us for our hard work. But how much is enough? This leads me to customer service, which is a privilege, not a right. Smile and bring the customers whatever they need† the general advice given from many business owners in the service industry. This is much easier said than done. Ninety-nine percent of the people I wait on are pleasant, but there have been a handful of incidents where I had to bite my tongue in order to refrain from yelling, or even worse, quitting. A common misconception from unsatisfied restaurant customers is that the server prepares the food—our sole job is to submit a ticket to the kitchen staff what food you need so it can be served in a timely manner. I waitress at a bar and grill right on Main Street in my hometown. It receives more business from local and non-local patrons than other restaurants in the area. In reality, our kitchen is not nearly big enough to keep up with our outside patio and inside tables in the summer. There was an instance this summer during Friday night fish fry where we were completely slammed. Upon greeting my customers, I informed them there would be a wait on pizzas—seeing as that was a hot commodity for the evening. That table decided that they would wait, ordered a pizza, and wait they did. They continuously asked when their food was out during the course of their visit and grew more and more mad the more they asked. I was able to get out the food right before they almost left without even eating, they were rude to me the whole time, only because of how long the food took. Not recognizing that this was not at all my fault, they decided that it would be appropriate to not even leave me a dime on their seventy-five dollar bill. I was astonished at how inconsiderate and rude some people could be when the time of the service of the food had nothing to do with me. On the other hand, customer service can be very rewarding as well. When I house kept, I had the pleasure of making someone’s whole day by giving them a clean space to reside in. One time a toddler requested a toothbrush because he forgot his. Upon returning with his toothbrush he was so polite and just made my whole day. More times than not, customer service can be rewarding, but there’s always a little dirtiness in every job. If you thought dirty described your household or the dishes in your kitchen sink, you have no idea unless you’ve worked in a restaurant or in housekeeping. As a server, you handle hundreds of peoples’ dishes, and even more disgusting silverware, but that’s not even the tip of the iceberg; there are many other dirty situations you encounter while on the job. Over this past Labor Day weekend, in the midst of a dinner rush, a patron of the restaurant, had a little too much to drink and couldn’t get his dinner of brandy manhattans to the garbage or nearby bathroom, but instead all over my shoes. This is not the first or last time I will clean up vomit, I’m sure of it. As a housekeeper, you get a glimpse of how people live. Unfortunately, it’s the side behind closed doors that’s not such a privilege to see. I could write a book about all of the disgusting things I saw in these absolutely disastrous rooms. One weekend there was a wedding party in town, and man did they like to party. I walked into the room and the linens were the least of my worries, I had to pick used condoms off the bed and vomit from the floor. Disgusted beyond belief I was, and that feeling doesn’t include the numerous amounts of clogged toilets I had to clean†¦I don’t tend to do well with feces. This demonstrates a few different examples of why workers in these lines are underpaid, underappreciated, and unsanitary (at times). Sometimes, I really wonder if the small amount of pay, tears and stress from undeserving customers, and risk of disease (need I remind you of the condoms) is all worth it. However, then I remember that I could be unemployed and realize that I would definitely rather work. So if you’ve learned anything after reading this paper, remember to tip your service workers well, they usually always deserve it.

Intelligent Campus Using Rfid

chapter 1 introduction 1. 1GENERAL With the increasing denial of time and space the RFID technology is gaining momentum day by day. RFID is a source of identification of individuals and unique products. The budding technology RFID proves to threaten even the cloning technique, through the chip insertion. New ways of improving the existing RFID technology are being found and implemented. This advancement of RFID technology is looked beyond the security purposes. 1. 2 PRESENT SCENARIO Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a general term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of unique serial number) of an object wirelessly, using radio waves. RFID technologies are grouped under the more generic Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). The RFID technology is used only in security, tagging goods, inventory purposes. Since the RFID technology is not well established in India, the introduction of new methodology in the field of RFID will indeed enhance the use of RFID technology in various areas of science and technology. . 3 PROBLEM An individual should be allocated to maintain registers in all places and appointment of staffs for coordinating with students in all occasions. The ID card can be duplicated even thought it has some other advancement which will be used in rare occasions. 1. 4 SOLUTION The best solution to the above problem is to develop a single RFID tag that can be used inside the college campus. Each and every RFID tag holds a particular number and it is integrated with the id cards of each and every individuals. The RFID tag reader can be fixed anywhere in campus and it is used to collect the information about the tag location. The collected data can be sent to centralized server to handle that information. Another added advantage is that the ID cards can’t be duplicated. This has several advantages and it is a time saving one for the institution, students and staff members. 1. 5 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIRED The hardware required is: 1) Personal computer. 2) RS 232. 3) Reader. 4) Power supply unit. 5) IR transmitter and receiver pair. 6) Buzzer. 7) LCD. 8) Tags. The software required is: 1) AVR studio 3. 5. 2) Visual studio 6. 0. 1. 6 BLOCK DIAGRAM Figure 1. 1 block diagram of intelligent campus using RFID CHAPTER 2 RFID system 2. 1 INTRODUCTION Radio Frequency Identification or RFID refers to the set of technologies that use radio waves for identifying objects or people. The RFID system is used to identify individual objects or things in the environment which can be monitored through use of wireless technology. RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to remotely store and retrieve data. In other words, it is a combined term with RF and ID where RF means a wireless communication technology and ID means identification information of tag. So it is said that RFID is theoretically a wireless networking technology to transmit identification information stored at an electronic memory space. 2. 2 COMPONENTS OF RFID SYSTEM: ? An RFID device (transponder or tag), that contains data about an item. ? An antenna used to transmit the RF signals between the reader and the RFID devices. ? An RF transceiver that generates the RF signals. A reader that receives RF transmissions from an RFID device and passes the data to the host system for processing. Figure 2. 1: RFID SYSTEM 2. 3 GENERIC RFID TAG ARCHITECTURE The tag contains circuit to both rectify DC power from the incoming RF signal as well as to detect and extract the information modulated on the signal. The antenna load is a controlled resistance that changes the impedance of the dipole, enabling the backscatter. The tag IC is mounted on a carrier known as a strap and subsequently bonded to the antenna to form the fully assembled tag. The chip itself is very small, enabled by modem CMOS technology. The mounting of the die on a carrier has been made very inexpensive and capable of large volume by either flip-flop or by other innovative technique such as the Alien Technologies Fluidic self Assembly process. [pic] Figure 2. 2: Basic Tag IC Architecture 2. 4 Components of a tag The major components of the tag are 1) Microchip. 2) Antenna. 2. 4. 1 Microchip Microchip is electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit. The microchip used in a HF tag is a contact less read/ write passive RFID device that is optimized for 13. 56 MHz RF carrier signal. The device needs an external LC resonant circuit for wireless communication with the interrogator. The device is powered remotely by rectifying an RF signal that is transmitted from the interrogator and transmits or updates its contents from memory-based on commands from interrogator. 2. 4. 2 Antenna The antenna emits the radio signal to activate the tag and reading and writing data to it. Antennas are the conduits between the tag and the transceiver, which controls the system data acquisition and communication. Antennas are available in a variety of shapes and sizes; they can be built in a door frame to receive tag data from persons or things. The electromagnetic field produced by an antenna can be constantly present when multiple tags are expected continuously. If constant interrogation is not required, the field can be activated by the sensor device. 2. 5 rfid readers RFID reader is like any other device that can be connected to a PC Or might be in built like an external or internal modem. The RFID reader can be powered by a power source using an adapter †Reader† or †Interrogator†, a device that is able to locate and activate tags so that the information that has been programmed onto the tag is transmitted back to the reader and subsequently to interface computing systems. The information that is received by the reader is then passed to the backend computing system to initiate the events, transactions, workflows, etc. Not only do reader locate activate and receive transmissions from RFID tags, a reader has the ability of sending data back to read/write capable tag in order to append or replace data. Readers exist that can also scan bar codes in environments where both bar codes and RFID are used. 2. 6 COMPONENTS OF A READER The reader has the following main components: ? Transmitter and Receiver ? Microprocessor ? Memory ? I/O channels for external sensors, actuators and annunciators ? Controller ? Communication interface ? Power. [pic] Figure 2. 3: BLOCK diagram of a reader 2. 6. 1 TRANSMITTER The reader’s transmitter is used to transmit AC power and the clock cycle via antennas to the tags in its read zone. This is part of the transceiver unit, the component responsible for sending the reader signal to the surrounding environment and receiving tag responses back via the reader antennas. The antenna ports of reader are connecting to its transceiver component. One reader antenna can be attached to each such antenna port. Receiver receives analog signals from the tag via the reader antenna. It then sends the signals to reader microprocessor, where it is converted to its equivalent digital form. 2. 6. 2 MICROPROCESSOR This component is responsible for implementing the reader protocol to communicate with compatible tags. It performs decoding and error checking of the analog signal from the receiver. In addition, the microprocessor might contain custom logic for doing low level filtering and processing of read tag data. 2. 6. 3 MEMORY Memory is used for storing data such as the reader configuration parameters and list of tag reads. Depending on the memory size, however, a limit applies as to how many such tag reads can be stored at one time. If the connection remains down for an extended period with the reader reading tags during this downtime, this limit might be exceeded an part of the stored data lost. 2. 6. 4 I/O channels Readers do not have to be turned on for reading tags at all time. A sensor of some sort, such as a motion or light sensor, detects the presence of tagged objects in the readers read zone. This sensor can then set the reader on to read this tag. Similarly, this component also allows the reader to provide local output depending on some condition via an annunciators or an actuator. 2. 6. 6 CONTROLLER A controller is an entity that allows an external entity, either a human or a computer program, to communicate with and control a reader’s function and to control annunciators and actuators associated with the reader. . 6. 7 COMMUNICATION INTERFACE The communication interface component provides the communication instructions to a reader that allows it to interact with external entities, via a controller to transfers its stored data and to accept commands and send back the corresponding responses. 2. 6. 8 POWER This component supplies power to the reader component. The power sources g enerally provided to this component through a power cord connected to an appropriate external electrical outlet. 2. 7 COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A READER AND A TAG Depending on the tag type, the communication between the reader and a tag can be one of the following: †¢ Modulated backscatter †¢ Transmitter type †¢ Transponder type The area between a reader antenna and one full wave length of the RF wave emitted by the antenna is called near field. The area beyond one full wavelength of the RF wave emitted from a reader antenna is called far field. Passive rfid systems operating in LF and HF use near field communication, whereas those in UHF and microwave frequencies use far field communication. The signal strength in near field communication attenuates as the cube of the distance from the reader antenna. In far field, it attenuates as square of the distance from the reader antenna. 2. 7. 1 MODULATED BACK SCATTER Modulated backscatter communication applies to passive as well as to semi active tags. In This type of communication, the reader sends out a continuous wave (CW) RF signal containing ac power and clock signal to the tag at carrier frequency. Through physical coupling, the antennas supplies power to the microchip. About 1. 2v are generally necessary to energize the tag microchip for reading microchips. For writing, the microchip usually needs to draw about 2. 2v from the reader signal. The microchip now modulates or breaks up the input signal in to a sequence of on and off patterns that represents its data and transmits it back. When the reader receives this modulated signal, it decodes the pattern and obtains the data. Thus, in modulated backscatter communication, the reader always â€Å"talks† first, followed by the tag. A tag using this scheme cannot communicate at all in the absence of a reader because it depends totally on the reader’s power to transmit its data. pic] Figure 2. 4: backscatter communication 2. 7. 2 TRANSMITTER TYPE This type of communication applies to active tags only. In this type of communication, the tag broadcasts its message to the environment in regular intervals irrespective of the presence or absence of a reader. Therefore, in this type of communication, the tag always â€Å"talks† first rather than the reader. [pic] Figure 2. 5: T RANSMITTER communication 3. 4. 3 TRANSPONDER TYPE In this type of communication, the tag goes to a â€Å"sleep† or in to dormant stage in the absence of interrogation from a reader. In this stage, the tag might periodically send a message to check any reader is listening to it. When a reader receives such a query message, it can instruct the tag to â€Å"wake up† or end the dormant stage. When the tag receives this command from the reader, it exits its current state and starts to act as a transmitter tag again. The tag data is sent only the reader specially asks. [pic] Figure 2. 6: TRANSPONDER communication chapter 3 microcontroller 3. 1 INTRODUCTION The hardware includes the following components: ? Atmega162 (micro controller). ? Power supply. ? In system programming. ? Buzzer. Liquid crystal display. ? Reset. ? Max 232. 3. 2 Hardware details of ATMEGA162 controller Utilizes the AVR – RSIC architecture. 3. 2. 1 Features ? High-performance and Low-power Advanced RISC Architecture. ? Most single clock execution. ? 32 x 8 general purpose working registers. ? Fully static operation. ? On chip 2 cycle multiplier. ? Up to 16 MIPS throughput at 16 MHz. ? 131 powerful instructions. 3. 2. 2 Non-volatile Program and Data Memories ? 16K Bytes of In-System Self-programmable Flash. ? Endurance: 10,000 Write/Erase Cycles. ? 512 Bytes EEPROM. ? 1K Bytes Internal SRAM. Up to 64K Bytes Optional External Memory Space. ? Programming Lock for Flash program and EEPROM data Security. 3. 2. 3 Peripheral Features ? Two 8-bit Timer/Counters with Separate Modes. ? Two 16-bit Timer/Counters with Separate Compare Modes, and Capture Modes. ? Real Time Counter with Separate Oscillator. ? Six PWM Channels. ? Dual Programmable Serial USARTs. ? Master/Slave SPI Serial Interface. ? Programmable Watchdog Timer with Separate On-chip Oscillator. ? On-chip Analog Comparator. ? External and internal interrupt sources. 3. 2. 4 SPECIFICATION ? Low power high speed CMOS process technology. Fully static operation. ? Power consumption at 4 MHz, 3v, 25c. ? Active: 3. 0 MA. 3. 2. 5 Special Microcontroller Features ? Power-on Reset and Programmable Brown-out Detection. ? Internal Calibrated RC Oscillator. ? External and Internal Interrupt Sources. ? Five Sleep Modes: Idle, Power-save, Power-down, Standby, and Extended Standby. 3. 2. 6 I/O and Packages ? 35 Programmable I/O Lines. ? 40-pin PDIP, 44-lead TQFP, and 44-pad MLF. 3. 2. 7 Operating Voltages ? 1. 8 – 5. 5V for ATmega162V. ? 2. 7 – 5. 5V for ATmega162. 3. 2. 8 Speed Grades ? 0 – 8 MHz for ATmega162V. ? 0 – 16 MHz for ATmega162. 3. ATMEGA162 architectural overview The ATmega162 is a low-power CMOS 8-bit microcontroller based on the AVR enhanced RISC architecture. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the ATmega162 achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz allowing the system designer to optimize power consumption versus processing speed. The AVR core combines a rich instruction set with 32 general purpose working registers. All the 32 registers are directly connected to the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), allowing two independent registers to be accessed in one single instruction executed in one clock cycle. . 3. 1 features OF ATMEGA162 The 16K bytes of In-System Programmable Flash with Read-While-Write capabilities, 512 bytes EEPROM, 1K bytes SRAM, an external memory interface, 35 general purpose I/O lines, 32 general purpose working registers, a JTAG interface for Boundary-scan, On-chip Debugging support and programming, four flexible Timer/Counters with compare modes, internal and external interrupts, two serial programmable USARTs, a programmable Watchdog Timer with Internal Oscillator, an SPI serial port, and five software selectable power saving modes. The fast-access Register File contains 32 x 8-bit general purpose working registers with a single clock cycle access time. This allows single-cycle Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) operation. In a typical ALU operation, two operands are output from the Register File, the operation is executed, and the result is stored back in the Register File – in one clock cycle. Six of the 32 registers can be used as three 16-bit indirect addresses register pointers for Data Space addressing – enabling efficient address calculations. One of these address pointers can also be used as an address pointer for look up tables in Flash Program memory. These added function registers are the 16-bit X-, Y-, and Z-register, described later in this section. The ALU supports arithmetic and logic operations between registers or between a constant and a register. Single register operations can also be executed in the ALU. After an arithmetic operation, the Status Register is updated to reflect information about the result of the operation. [pic] Figure 3. 1: BLOCK Diagram. Program flow is provided by conditional and unconditional jump and call instructions, able to directly address the whole address space. Most AVR instructions have a single 16-bit word format. Every program memory address contains a 16 or 32-bit instruction. [pic] Figure 3. 2: BLOCK Diagram of the AVR Architecture Program Flash memory space is divided in two sections, the Boot Program section and the Application Program section. Both sections have dedicated Lock bits for write and read/write protection. The SPM instruction that writes into the Application Flash memory section must reside in the Boot Program section. During interrupts and subroutine calls, the return address Program Counter (PC) is stored on the Stack. The Stack is effectively allocated in the general data SRAM, and consequently the Stack size is only limited by the total SRAM size and the usage of the SRAM. All user programs must initialize the SP in the reset routine (before subroutines or interrupts are executed). [pic] Figure 3. 3: Data Memory Map 3. 3. 2 ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit The high-performance AVR ALU operates in direct connection with all the 32 general purpose working registers. Within a single clock cycle, arithmetic operations between general purpose registers or between a register and an immediate are executed. The ALU operations are divided into three main categories – arithmetic, logical, and bit-functions. 3. 3. 3 Status Register The Status Register contains information about the result of the most recently executed arithmetic instruction. This information can be used for altering program flow in order to perform conditional operations. Status Register format [pic] Bit 7 – I: Global Interrupt Enable: The Global Interrupt Enable bit must be set for the interrupts to be enabled. The individual interrupt enable control is then performed in separate control registers. If the Global Interrupt Enable Register is cleared, none of the interrupts are enabled independent of the individual interrupt enable settings. The I-bit is cleared by hardware after an interrupt has occurred, and is set by the RETI instruction to enable subsequent interrupts. Bit 6 – T: Bit Copy Storage: The Bit Copy instructions BLD (Bit Load) and BST (Bit Store) use the T bit as source or destination for the operated bit. Bit 5 – H: Half Carry Flag: The Half Carry Flag H indicates a half carry in some arithmetic operations. Half Carry is useful in BCD arithmetic. Bit 4 – S: Sign Bit, S = N. V: The S-bit is always an exclusive or between the Negative Flag N and the Two’s Complement Overflow Flag V. Bit 3 – V: Two’s Complement Overflow Flag: The Two’s Complement Overflow Flag V supports two’s complement arithmetic. Bit 2 – N: Negative Flag: The Negative Flag N indicates a negative result in an arithmetic or logic operation. Bit 1 – Z: Zero Flag: The Zero Flag Z indicates a zero result in an arithmetic or logic operation. Bit 0 – C: Carry Flag: The Carry Flag C indicates a carry in an arithmetic or logic operation. 3. 3. 4 Stack Pointer The Stack is mainly used for storing temporary data, for storing local variables and for storing return addresses after interrupts and subroutine calls. The Stack Pointer Register always points to the top of the Stack. The Stack Pointer points to the data SRAM Stack area where the Subroutine and Interrupt Stacks are located. This Stack space in the data SRAM must be defined by the program before any subroutine calls are executed or interrupts are enabled. Stack Pointer FORMAT pic] The Stack Pointer is incremented by one when data is popped from the Stack with the POP instruction, and it is incremented by two when data is popped from the Stack with return from subroutine RET or return from interrupt RETI. The AVR Stack Pointer is implemented as two 8-bit registers in the I/O space. The number of bits actually used is implementation dependent. 3. 3. 5 Reset and Interrupt Handling The AVR provi des several different interrupt sources. These interrupts and the separate Reset Vector each have a separate program vector in the program memory space. All interrupts are assigned individual enable bits which must be written logic one together with the Global Interrupt Enable bit in the Status Register in order to enable the interrupt. There are basically two types of interrupts. The first type is triggered by an event that sets the Interrupt Flag. For these interrupts, the Program Counter is vectored to the actual Interrupt Vector in order to execute the interrupt handling routine, and hardware clears the corresponding Interrupt Flag. Interrupt Flags can also be cleared by writing a logic one to the flag bit position(s) to be cleared. If an interrupt condition occurs while the corresponding interrupt enable bit is cleared, the Interrupt Flag will be set and remembered until the interrupt is enabled, or the flag is cleared by software. The second type of interrupts will trigger as long as the interrupt condition is present. These interrupts do not necessarily have Interrupt Flags. If the interrupt condition disappears before the interrupt is enabled, the interrupt will not be triggered. 3. 3. 6 In-System Reprogrammable Flash Program Memory The ATmega162 contains 16K bytes On-chip In-System Reprogrammable Flash memory for program storage. Since all AVR instructions are 16 or 32 bits wide, the Flash is organized as 8K x 16. For software security, the Flash Program memory space is divided into two sections, Boot Program section and Application Program section. [pic] Figure 3. 4 Programmable Memory Map The Flash memory has an endurance of at least 10,000 write/erase cycles. The ATmega162 Program Counter (PC) is 13 bits wide, thus addressing the 8K program memory locations. 3. 4 EEPROM Data Memory The ATmega162 contains 512 bytes of data EEPROM memory. It is organized as a separate data space, in which single bytes can be read and written. The EEPROM has an endurance of at least 100,000 write/erase cycles. The access between the EEPROM and the CPU is described in the following, specifying the EEPROM Address Registers, the EEPROM Data Register, and the EEPROM Control Register. 3. 4. 1 EEPROM Read/Write Access The EEPROM Access Registers are accessible in the I/O space. A self timing function, however, lets the user software detect when the next byte can be written. If the user code contains instructions that write the EEPROM, some precautions must be taken. In heavily filtered power supplies, VCC is likely to rise or fall slowly on Power-up/down. This causes the device for some period of time to run at a voltage lower than specified as minimum for the clock frequency used. In order to prevent unintentional EEPROM writes, a specific write procedure must be followed. The EEPROM Address Register [pic] Bits 15. 9 – Res: Reserved Bits These bits are reserved bits in the ATmega162 and will always read as zero. Bits 8. 0 – EEAR8. 0: EEPROM Address The EEPROM Address Registers – EEARH and EEARL specify the EEPROM address in the 512 bytes EEPROM space. The EEPROM data bytes are addressed linearly between 0 and 511. The initial value of EEAR is undefined. A proper value must be written before the EEPROM may be accessed. The EEPROM Data Register –EEDR [pic] Bits 7. 0 – EEDR7. 0: EEPROM Data For the EEPROM write operation, the EEDR Register contains the data to be written to the EEPROM in the address given by the EEAR Register. For the EEPROM read operation, the EEDR contains the data read out from the EEPROM at the address given by EEAR. The EEPROM Control Register – EECR [pic] Bits 7. 4 – Res: Reserved Bits These bits are reserved bits in the ATmega162 and will always read as zero. Bit 3 – EERIE: EEPROM Ready Interrupt Enable Writing EERIE to one enables the EEPROM Ready Interrupt if the I bit in SREG is set. Writing EERIE to zero disables the interrupt. The EEPROM Ready interrupt generates a constant interrupt when EEWE is cleared. Bit 2 – EEMWE: EEPROM Master Write Enable The EEMWE bit determines whether setting EEWE to one cause the EEPROM to be written. When EEMWE is set, setting EEWE within four clock cycles will write data to the EEPROM at the selected address. If EEMWE is zero, setting EEWE will have no effect. When EEMWE has been written to one by software, hardware clears the bit to zero after four clock cycles. See the description of the EEWE bit for an EEPROM write procedure. Bit 1 – EEWE: EEPROM Write Enable The EEPROM Write Enable signal EEWE is the write strobe to the EEPROM. When address and data are correctly set up, the EEWE bit must be written to one to write the value into the EEPROM. The EEMWE bit must be written to one before a logical one is written to EEWE; otherwise no EEPROM write takes place. The following procedure should be followed when writing the EEPROM (the order of steps 3 and 4 is not essential): 1. Wait until EEWE becomes zero. 2. Wait until SPMEN in SPMCR becomes zero. 3. Write new EEPROM address to EEAR (optional). 4. Write new EEPROM data to EEDR (optional). 5. Write a logical one to the EEMWE bit while writing a zero to EEWE in EECR. 6. Within four clock cycles after setting EEMWE, write a logical one to EEWE. The EEPROM can not be programmed during a CPU write to the Flash memory. The software must check that the Flash programming is completed before initiating a new EEPROM write. Step 2 is only relevant if the software contains a Boot Loader allowing the CPU to program the Flash. If the Flash is never being updated by the CPU, step 2 can be omitted. Caution: An interrupt between step 5 and step 6 will make the write cycle fail, since the EEPROM Master Write Enable will time-out. If an interrupt routine accessing the EEPROM is interrupting another EEPROM access, the EEAR or EEDR Register will be modified, causing the interrupted EEPROM access to fail. It is recommended to have the Global Interrupt Flag cleared during all the steps to avoid these problems. When the write access time has elapsed, the EEWE bit is cleared by hardware. The user software can poll this bit and wait for a zero before writing the next byte. When EEWE has been set, the CPU is halted for two cycles before the next instruction is executed. Bit 0 – EERE: EEPROM Read Enable The EEPROM Read Enable Signal EERE is the read strobe to the EEPROM. When the correct address is set up in the EEAR Register, the EERE bit must be written to a logic one to trigger the EEPROM read. The EEPROM read access takes one instruction, and the requested data is available immediately. When the EEPROM is read, the CPU is halted for four cycles before the next instruction is executed. The user should poll the EEWE bit before starting the read operation. If a write operation is in progress, it is neither possible to read the EEPROM, nor to change the EEAR Register. 3. 5 Timing External memory devices have various timing requirements. It is important to consider the timing specification of the external memory device before selecting the wait-state. The most important parameters are the access time for the external memory in conjunction with the set-up requirement of the ATmega162. [pic] Figure 3. 5: External Data Memory Cycles without Wait-state. 3. 6 Crystal Oscillator XTAL1 and XTAL2 are input and output, respectively, of an inverting amplifier which can be configured for use as an On-chip Oscillator. Either a quartz crystal or a ceramic resonator may be used. C1 and C2 should always be equal for both crystals and resonators. The optimal value of the capacitors depends on the crystal or resonator in use, the amount of stray capacitance, and the electromagnetic noise of the environment. The Oscillator can operate in four different modes, each optimized for a specific frequency range. [pic] Figure 3. 6: Crystal Oscillator Connections 3. 6. 1 Low-frequency Crystal Oscillator The Low-frequency Crystal Oscillator must be selected by setting the CKSEL Fuses to â€Å"0100†, â€Å"0101†, â€Å"0110† or â€Å"0111†. The crystal should be connected as shown in Figure. If CKSEL equals â€Å"0110† or â€Å"0111†, the internal capacitors on XTAL1 and XTAL2 are enabled, thereby removing the need for external capacitors. The internal capacitors have a nominal value of 10 pF. When this Oscillator is selected, start-up times are determined by the SUT Fuses (real time-out from Reset) and CKSEL0 (number of clock cycles) as shown in below tables [pic] Table 4. 1 Start-up DELAYS from Reset when Low-frequency Crystal Oscillator is selected . 7 Watchdog Timer If the Watchdog Timer is not needed in the application, this module should be turned off. If the Watchdog Timer is enabled, it will be enabled in all sleep modes, and hence, always consume power. In the deeper sleep modes, this will contribute significantly to the total current consumption. Chapter 4 Intelligent campus using rfid 4. 1 INTRODUCTION This project describes about the efficient used of RFID technology around us, it also describes about the use of both hardware and software. In addition we also focus on monitoring every individual inside the campus. 4. 2 Basic setup [pic]Figure 4. 1 basic setup The basic external setup for the project is shown in figure 8. 1. The HF reader is connected to microcontroller through RS-232 cable and the IR pairs are connected to the port pins of microcontroller. The microcontroller is then connected to the host computer (server) through RS-232 cable. The detailed explanation of the blocks are given below 4. 3 PERIPHERALS 4. 3. 1 I/O PORTS All AVR ports have true read-modify-write functionality when used as general digital I/O ports. This means that the direction of one port pin can be changed without unintentionally changing the direction of any other pin with the SBI and CBI instructions. Port A Port A is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port. Three I/O memory address locations are allocated for the Port A, one each for the Data Register – PORT A, SIB($IB($3B), Data Direction Register – DDRA, $1A($3A) and the Port A. Input Pins – PINA, $19($39). The Port A Input Pins address is read only, while the Data Register and the Data Direction Register are read/write. Port B Port B is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port. Three I/O memory address locations are allocated for the Port B, one each for the Data Register – PORT B, $18($38), Data Direction Register – DDRB, $17($37) and the Port B Input Pins – PINB, $16($36). The Port B Input Pins address is read only, while the Data Register and the Data Direction Register are read/write. Port C Port C is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port. Three I/O memory address locations are allocated for the Port C, one each for the Data Register – PORT C, $15($35), Data Direction Register – DDRC, $14($34) and the Port C Input Pins – PINC, $13($33) The Port C Input Pins address is read only, while the Data Register and the Data Direction Register are read/write. Port D Port D is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port. Three I/O memory address locations are allocated for the Port D, one each for the Data Register – PORT D, $12($32), Data Direction Register – DDRD, $11($31) and the Port D Input Pins – PIND, $10($30). The Port D Input Pins address is read only, while the Data Register and the Data Direction Register are read/write. 4. 4 USART (Universal Synchronous and Asynchronous serial Receiver and Transmitter): The Universal Synchronous and Asynchronous serial Receiver and Transmitter (USART) is a highly flexible serial communication device. The main features are: ? Asynchronous or Synchronous Operation ? Master or Slave Clocked Synchronous Operation ? Odd or Even Parity Generation and Parity Check Supported by Hardware ? Data Overrun Detection ? Framing Error Detection ? Three Separate Interrupts on TX Complete, TX Data Register Empty and RX Complete ? Multi-processor Communication Mode ? Double Speed Asynchronous Communication Mode The ATmega162 has two USARTs, USART0 and USART1. USART0 and USART1 have different I/O Registers. Portd0 is the receiver pin and portd1 is the transmitter pin. Here we are using IC MAX232 as a UART driver. [pic] Figure 4. 2 uart driver. 4. 4. 1 AVR UART – Compatibility The USART is fully compatible with the AVR UART regarding: ? Bit locations inside all USART Registers ? Baud Rate Generation ? Transmitter Operation ? Transmit Buffer Functionality ? Receiver Operation 4. 4. 2 USART Initialization The USART has to be initialized before any communication can take place. The initialization process normally consists of setting the baud rate, setting frame format and enabling the Transmitter or the Receiver depending on the usage. For interrupt driven USART operation, the Global Interrupt Flag should be cleared (and interrupts globally disabled) when doing the initialization. The TXC Flag can be used to check that the Transmitter has completed all transfers, and the RXC Flag can be used to check that there are no unread data in the receive buffer. 4. 5 SENSOR Sensors are the devices that are used to convert the physical parameter into signal that can be measured electrically and it can be easily given as an input to the microcontroller. The effectual sensor should have the following properties namely, ? Sensor should be sensitive to measured property. ? It should be insensitive to any other property. ? It should not influence any other property. An IR sensor is used. It uses IR LED as an IR transmitter, which emits IR rays in the wavelength of 940 nm and a phototransistor is used as IR receiver, which detects IR rays and the output comes in collector. If the receiver is receiving IR rays the output will be low otherwise output is high. The output of the receiver is given to the comparator chip LM393, which compares the receiver output with the prefixed voltage signal. The output of the comparator is given to microcontroller. [pic] Figure 4. 3 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF IR SENSOR 4. 5. 1 IR TRANSMITTER LED, a special type of semiconductor diode that has a pn junction acts as a transmitter. The wavelength and the color of the light depend on the band gap energy of the material forming pn junction. The materials used for a LED have a direct band gap energy corresponding to near IR, but Germanium and silicon are indirect band gap materials resulting in a non – radiative recombination. Hence does not emit light. The advantages of LED over incandescent sources are: ? Less costly Long life span ? Insensitive to vibration and shocks. 4. 5. 2 IR RECEIVER A phototransistor is used to detect the IR rays from the LED. It is a bi polar junction that is encased in a transparent case so that light can reach the base collector junction. The phototransistor works like a photodiode with a very high very high sensitivity for light, because the electrons that are gene rated by photons in the base collector junction are injected to base and amplified like a transistor. It has a slower response time than photodiode. [pic] Figure 4. 4 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF IR SENSOR 4. 5. 3COMPARATOR The comparator is a circuit which compares a signal voltage applied at one input of an op-amp with a known reference voltage at the other input. For an inverting comparator the reference voltage is applied to the (+) input and input is given to the (-) terminal. The common mode voltage range includes ground, and the differential input voltage equals power supply voltage. [pic] Figure 4. 5: PIN CONFIGURATION OF LM 393 4. 6 BUZZER It is a transducer which converts electrical signal to sound signal. Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain crystals to produce a voltage when subjected to mechanical stress. The effect is reversible (i. . ) crystals when subjected to external applied voltage can change shape by a small amount and the effect is of nanometers. [pic] Figure 4. 6 circuit diagram of buzzer 4. 7 RS-232C RS-232 stands for Recommend Standard number 232 and C is the latest revision of the standard. The serial ports on most computers use a subset of the RS-232C standard. [pic] Fig ure: 4. 7. RS-232 CONNECTOR 4. 7. 1 DB9 INFORMATION The DB9 connection has 9 pins which are each described in the below table. The illustration below is an example of the female serial connector, which would usually be located on the connector that would connect to the computer. 9 pin connector on a DTE device (PC connection) | |Pin No |Direction of the signal | |1 |Carrier(CD) ( from DCE) incoming signal from the modem | |2 |Received data (RD) incoming data from DCE | |3 |Transmit data (TD) outgoing data to a DCE | |4 |Data terminal ready (DTR) outgoing handshake signal | |5 |Signal ground common reference voltage | |6 |Data set ready (DSR) incoming handshaking signal | |7 |Request to send (RTS) outgoing flow control signal | |8 |Clear to send (CTS) incoming flow control signal | |9 |Ring indicator (RI) (from DCE) incoming signal from a modem | Table: 4. 1: DB9 connector DTE stands for Data Terminal Equipment, and DCE stands for Data Communications Equipment. These terms are used to indicate the pin-out for the connectors on a device and the direction of the signals on the pins The RS-232 standard states that DTE devices use a 9-pin male connector, and DCE devices use a 9-pin female connector. 4. 8 LCD LCD is an output device which is used to display a character or a text through microcontroller. So, the LCD is connected in the output port pins of microcontroller. A 2 line LCD display has totally 32 pins. 32 characters can be displayed in our LCD. [pic] Figure 4. 8: 16Ãâ€"2 LCD DISPLAY The starting address for the first line is $80 and for end address is $8F and for second line the starting address is $C0 and the end address is $CF. Pin no |Pin name |I/P or O/P |External connection |Function | |1 |VSS |– |Power supply |GND | |2 |VDD |– | |+5V | |3 |VO |– | |V lcd adjustment | |4 |RS |I/p |MPU |Register select signal | |5 |R/W |I/p |MPU |Read/write select signal | | | | | |Read-1; write-2. | |6 |E |I/p MPU |Operation enable signal | |7-10 |DB0-DB3 |I/p |MPU |Lower order lines | |11-14 |DB4-DB7 |I/p |MPU |Higher order lines | |15-16 |LED,,+,, |I/p |LED backlight power supply |LED,,+,, voltage | | |LED,,-,, | | |type : 4. 2V;Max: 4. 5V | | | | | |LED,,-,, : GND | Table 4. 2 discription of lcd terminals Chapter 5 VISUAL BASIC 5. 1 INTRODUCTION The Visual Basic language is quite powerful – if one can imagine a programming task; it can probably be accomplished using Visual Basic. Once the basics of Visual Basic are understood then one becomes productive. 5. 2 About Visual Basic The â€Å"Visual† part refers to the method used to create the graphical user interface (GUI), Rather than writing numerous lines of code to describe the appearance and location of interface elements, simply add pre built objects into place on screen. The â€Å"Basic† part refers to the BASIC (Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) language, a language used by more programmers. Visual Basic has evolved from the original BASIC languages and now contains several hundred statements, functions, and keywords, many of which relate directly to the Windows GUI. Beginners can create useful applications by learning just a few of the keywords, yet the power of the language allows professionals to accomplish anything that can be accomplished using any other Windows programming language. The Visual Basic programming language is not unique to Visual Basic. The Visual Basic programming system, Applications Edition included in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and many other Windows applications uses the same language. The Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VB Script) is a widely used scripting language and a subset of the Visual Basic language. The investment one makes in learning Visual Basic will carry over to many other areas. Whether the goal is to create a small utility for an individual, a work group a large enterprise-wide system, or even distributed applications spanning the globe via the Internet, Visual Basic has the required tools. 5. 3 ADVANTAGES ? Data Access features allow you to create databases, front-end applications, and scalable server-side components for most popular database formats, including Microsoft SQL Server and other enterprise-level databases. ? ActiveXTM Technologies allow you use the functionality provided by other applications, such as Microsoft Word Processor, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and other Windows applications. Even applications can be automated and objects can be created using the Professional or Enterprise editions of Visual Basic. ? Internet capabilities make it easy to provide access to documents and applications across the Internet or intranet from within the application, or to create Internet server applications. ? The finished application is a true. exe file that uses a Visual Basic Virtual Machine that you can freely distribute. 5. 4 Program description The front end is visual basic and this programming concept is chosen because it is more users friendly. The information or the status about the persons is displayed and the same can be stored in a database so that it can be accessed later. [pic] Figure 5. : output and database creation, checking form Chapter 6 conclusion RFID technology is a budding technology that is fast growing world wide. RFID proves to be cutting edge technology through its applications. This project moves a step ahead in RFID’s application and presents a new dimension to view through. This project proves to be entirely different and innovative of RFID technology with the existing components. Such an introduction of a new methodology in the RFID technology enhances its use and improves the present knowledge. The project â€Å"INTELLIGENT campus using RFID† will sure make a great difference in the present industrial applications of RFID. It will provide the ultimate solution for the problems that exists in various cases. This is a prototype of the proposed idea wherein the entire reason behind it is to provide a fully compact, covering larger distance. 6. 1 PROCESS EXPLANATION The various processes that take place during the working of the project are as follows: The RFID tag is a passive, high frequency device in which some unique data’s can be stared in the form of serial numbers known as ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE (EPC). Whenever the RFID tag comes in the field of a particular reader, the reader detects the tag and sends the detected information about the EPC to the microcontroller. ACTIVITY FLOWCHART Figure 6. 1: activity flow chart The received information will be fed into the microcontroller which compares the epc number to specific information’s about group of individuals. If the received information is already in the list, it will allow the user to enter inside the campus and also maintains a database for storing this information. The reader refreshes its data continuously checks after certain amount of time interval and when the RFID reader detects the absence of a tag it will remove the tag details from the list. The database can be created with the help of visual basic programming. [pic] Figure 6. 2: database creation of persons entering into the campus Whenever the tag enters into a specific location such as class rooms, library etc, the reader present in that location will detects the tag. Two IR transmitter – receiver pairs are used for the purpose of monitoring whether the person is entering the room or leaving the room. The IR rays interfering sequence is fed to the microcontroller and it is used for detecting the status of the person having that particular tag. The details or the status are also saved into database using visual basic coding. The databases can be shared in the network and it can be used for finding or monitoring each and every individual belonging to that campus. [pic] Figure 6. 3: database creation of persons entering into PARTICULAR LOCATION. The same can be used to find the individual location using search option. 6. 2 FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS The project could further be developed and enhanced in an effective way by suitable polarization RFID reader antennas and increasing the frequency range so that it would not only provide the solution for monitoring persons in a smaller area as mentioned in this model. The security can also be increased by replacing IR devices by some bio-metric ideas. ———————– 162- MICRO CONTROLLER LCD I/O P O R T S I/O P O R T S BUZZER IR 1 IR 2 USART USART PC RFID END CREATES A DATA BASE (In/Out) 1-2 OR 2-1 Yes No Interruption Occurred CHECHS FOR IR SIGNAL CREATES A DATA BASE (Present inside the campus) INFORMATION TRANSFER FROM RFID READER TO M162 Yes RFID TAG PRESENT No READER SIGNAL TRANSMIT START

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Is the U.S. and U.N. doing all they can do to assist and protect the victims of FGM - Research Paper Example The United States, on the other hand, has also chipped in with funding and lobbying efforts to eradicate FGM. But these efforts have not been sufficient to significantly reduce the occurrence of FGM. The rest of this essay will foray into the successes and failures of the US and the UN in protecting victims of FGM and also in preventing it. The United Nations has brought up the issue of FGM under its broader program for women's health. In the United Nations assemblies in Vienna (1993), Cairo (1994) and Beijing (1995) women's issues were deliberated upon. Most nations of the world then committed themselves to act and promote healthy reproductive practices for women and also to upkeep the rights endowed them by the UNDHR. Also during these meetings, major UN agencies and programmes have pledged their support to Governments in meeting these commitments. (Germain, 1998, p.22) But when one looks at the United States' record on alleviating FGM globally, it has acted counter to United Natio n programmes. This detrimental tendency was especially acute during the Bush Presidency, where some of the the Republican party's Christian fundamentalist roots had an effect on the American government's policies. As early as the first month since his inauguration in 2001, Bush exerted pressure on humanitarian organizations across the world into downplaying abortion rights. Since his Administration's priorities were to promote Christian fundamentalist values, it took a reactionary approach to women's rights in general and their reproductive rights in particular. (Prescott, et, al., 1999, p.45) Since FGM falls under these categories, issues pertaining to it were either neglected or left unacknowledged. Since FGM is usually performed on babies and girls, the Bush Administration's hostile attitude to children's rights indirectly undermined progress on FGM awareness and prevention programs. For example, â€Å"He then stripped the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) of 12.5 percent of its budget , withheld $3 million from the World Health Organization's Human Reproduction Program and is now earmarking $33 million--almost exactly the amount he took away from the UNFPA--to augment domestic abstinence- until-marriage "sex-ed." He dispatched his emissaries to throw colossal tantrums at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and, most recently, the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, bringing all three negotiations to a near-halt over objections to no-brainer public health concepts like "consistent condom use" for HIV prevention and "safe abortion" where it is legal. Together, joined by the Vatican, these culture warriors fought to purge the world of comprehensive sex education for adolescents, restrict STD- prevention and contraceptive information to heterosexual married couples, and redefine "reproductive health services" to exclude legal abortion.† (Block, 2003, p.18) Hence, what we learn the American government, especially during the Bush reign, has acted in a manner that is counter-productive to the programs initiated by the United Nations. Since FGM is said to increase the chances of HIV infection, the American government's opposition to condom use (a position derived from its Christian fundamentalist allegiance) has not helped in controlling FGM occurrence. The American government's obsession with abortion issues and its insistence on abstinence

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 7

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Gender and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Public finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Performance Management, Emotional Intelligence and Its Strategic Essay

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Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

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The African-American Juvenile Offenders Essay Example for Free

The African-American Juvenile Offenders Essay The African-American juvenile offenders are those who are usually held responsible of any chaos in a society. The notion that they are bad elements of the society won’t stop long as there are instances that they are the ones who are involved. Media through science and technology have paved the way for any news to spread like a fire in every corner of the world. Most often than not, especially the issue United States is going through, these African-Americans are in their top list, thinking that they can never keep up with the native Americans. Before going into the main topic, let us define what juvenile delinquency is. It is the behavior of a minor or those who are under 18 years of age that is against the law – these â€Å"juvenile delinquents† had violated the welfare of people in general in a given society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When these African-American juvenile offenders had committed acts that are unlawful, most probably they will be punished according to the set law of a society depending on the degree of the crime they had committed. The society always dictates how to punish juvenile offenders so does those who are not considered juvenile. There are social reforms for children in lieu to the juvenile justice-state-sanction, this aim to tap and solve the problems of juvenile which resulted to their anti-social behavior. For example in the United States, there are two cities that have been crowded with African-American juvenile offenders. There had been studies to solve this problem and how to better treat these juvenile offenders. It shows that African-American juvenile offenders are punished according to the damage they have caused. Thus it will reflect on the upbringing of these juvenile offenders. It is known that they are one of the underprivileged groups in the society. It shows that they live based on their own means without the major help of their parents. Their numbers are growing because most of them lack the chance of going to school and not knowing the benefits of family planning. They also can not keep up with the fast changing world and the advancement of technology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These are the reasons why these juvenile offenders needed to have a thorough attention to address their problems that have caused them to be offenders themselves. Reference:   Span, Christopher M. (2002). Educational and Social Reforms for African-American Juvenile Delinquents in 19th Century New York City and Philadelphia Retrieved January 08, 2007, 2007   from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3626/is_200207/ai_n9085485  Ã‚  Springer, David. (2004). Factors Predicting Treatment Retention among High-Risk Mexican American and African American Juvenile Offenders Retrieved January 08, 2007, 2007, from http://www.utexas.edu/research/cswr/nida/springerPage1.html

Proud to Be a Malaysian Essay Example for Free

Proud to Be a Malaysian Essay I am proud to be a Malaysian because of so many reasons. Firstly, Malaysia is surprisingly beautiful. We have beautiful islands and also the biggest caves in Southeast Asia. Not only that, Malaysia has the tallest twin tower in the world (KLCC). We also have the highest and the longest canopy walk in the world in more than 100 million years old of the tropical rain forest (Taman Negara). Forests are well preserved and the wildlife here is abundant with many protected endangered species. Besides that, Malaysia has modern and efficient public transportation with different types of train, taxis and the best airport in the world, KLIA. Our Malaysia Airlines won the Best Cabin Crew Awards a few times. Malaysians are really friendly and understanding. In my opinion, the most beautiful thing in Malaysia is our variety of culture, belief, and the scrumptious food. We are unique, as we can still get along well even though we’re a multi-racial and multi-cultural country. There are the indigenous tribes, Malays, Chinese and Indians but we get along like close siblings. We also have the freedom of religion and equality in education, which is good. There are also many languages spoken by all Malaysians, the famous one being ‘Manglish’ (Malay + English), and the most famous word being ‘lah’. Malaysia is really truly Asia because of its unity in diversity that can be seen in the various festival celebrations by all the races in Malaysia. Therefore, we have many public holidays, which I’m sure we all love. Also, these festive holidays are participated in by all Malaysians, we usually have open houses whereby everyone is invited to attend, regardless of their background. When it comes to food, there is no other place in the world that can be compared to Malaysian food. It is obvious as we have different races and 14 states where every state has its own specialities. The Malaysian food is so diverse and yummy that the main reason why I wouldn’t migrate to another country is because of the food here. Aside from the traditional sports like wau, gasing and sepak takraw, Malaysia takes part in popular sports such as bowling, badminton, football, hockey and squash. The world number one for badminton, Lee Chong Wei, is from Malaysia, so is the world number one for squash, Nicol David. Because of Malaysia’s location, it is free from natural disasters, the worst we experience is the annual flash floods during the monsoon seasons and also the earthquake tremors from neighbouring countries. Malaysia also has cheap petrol, which explains the number of cars people own here. Even though the government subsidises the cost of petrol here, we have the cheapest petrol rates in Asia. Malaysia may not be great, but Malaysia is my home, and thats more than enough of a reason to love it. Even if we can’t compare to other countries, â€Å"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush†.

Business Disaster Recovery Plan

Business Disaster Recovery Plan DISASTER RECOVERY Business continuity programs are designed to keep a business up and running in the face of a disaster, but unfortunately, they dont always work. Sometimes, continuity controls fail or the sheer magnitude of a disaster overwhelms the organizations capacity to continue operations. Thats where disaster recovery begins. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity activities designed to restore a business to normal operations as quickly as possible following a disruption. The disaster recovery plan may include: 1. Immediate measures that get operations up and running again temporarily, but the disaster recovery effort is not finished until the organization is completely back to normal operations. 2. Initial Response following an Emergency disruption to an Organisation is designed to: Contain the damage caused by the disaster. Recover whatever capabilities that can be immediately restored. Include a variety of activities depending upon the nature of the disaster and may include activating an alternate processing facility, containing physical damage or calling in contractors to begin an emergency response. During a disaster recovery effort, the focus of most of the organization shifts from normal business activity to a concentrated effort to restore operations as quickly as possible. But before we go into detailed recovery plan, we need to consider risk assessment (RA) and business impact analysis (BIA) to identify the IT services that support the academy critical business activities. Which we will then establish the recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs). The recovery time objective, or RTO, is the targeted amount of time that it will take to restore a service to operation following a disruption. The organization must also think about the amount of data that it needs to restore as well. The recovery point objective, or RPO, is the maximum time from which data may be lost as the result of a disaster. Together, the RTO and RPO provide valuable information to disaster recovery planning. Before we explain more about the planning process we need to follow some strategies that will help us to make a proper planning process. The Disaster recovery strategies, ISO/IEC 27031, the global standard for IT disaster recovery, states, Strategies should define the approaches to implement the required resilience so that the principles of incident prevention, detection, response, recovery and restoration are put in place. Strategies define what you plan to do when responding to an incident, while plans describe how you will do it. Once you have identified your critical systems, RTOs, RPOs, as shown in the table below, we can formulate the disaster recovery strategies that is suitable to protect them. Critical systems RTO/RPO Threat Prevention strategy Response strategy Recovery strategy Account payable 4hrs/2hrs Server Failure Secure equipment room, backup server, UPS Switch over to backup server, validate UPS running Fix/replace primary server. fall back to primary server Building security 2hrs/2hrs Security systems destroyed Locate systems in secure area, UPS, install protective enclosures around sensor unit. Deploy guards at strategic points Obtain/install replacement units, sensors We have been able to modify strategy to planning process in this second table below; Critical systems Threat Response strategy Response action steps Recovery strategy Recovery action steps Account payable Server Failure Switch over to backup server, validate UPS running verify server is down, verify data has been backed up and is safe, test backup server, start switchover to alternate server. Fix/replace primary server, fall back to primary server. verify cause of server outage, obtain new server, install new server, test new server, fail systems back to new server. Security systems destroyed Deploy guards at strategic points Verify security system is down, verify security data has been backup and is safe, contact guard agencies to source on-site guards, define guard duties, brief guards on duties, provide communications devices for guards. Obtain/install replacement units, sensors verify cause of security system outage, contact supplier to get a replacement, test replacement system, test sensors, restart security systems. When developing your organisation Disaster recovery plans, we make sure to review the global standards ISO/IEC 24762 for disaster recovery and ISO/IEC 27035.This is a standard of requirements which deal with all aspects of information security within your organisation. This can vary from physical to intellectual to electronic security. You will establish what is critical to your business and how you therefore control and protect these aspects. http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-to-write-a-disaster-recovery-plan-and-define-disaster-recovery-strategies http://www.cqsltd.com/other-iso-certifications/iso-27001.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjw5M3GBRCTvpK4osqj4X4SJAABRJNC7bI7foCmSkHGTD9Zq4Q2Mu1emYpUEbahM7EaUDYv_RoCfXDw_wcB From a staffing perspective; This means that many employees will be working in temporary jobs that may be completely different from their normally assigned duties. Flexibility is key during a disaster response. Also, the organization should plan disaster responsibilities as much as possible in advance and provide employees with training that prepares them to do their part during disaster recovery. Communication is critical to disaster recovery efforts. Responders must have secure, reliable means to communicate with each other and with the organizations leadership. This communication includes ; the initial communication required to activate the disaster recovery process, even if the disaster occurs after normal business hours. It also includes regular status updates for both employees in the field and leadership and it should include ad hoc communications capabilities to meet tactical needs.

Senate Essay -- American History, The Confederation Congress

The Confederation Congress was plagued with problems, as the former colonies struggled to form a national identity. The lack of permanent physical location and united national government, led to problems of inaction, following the Revolutionary war. â€Å"Congress’s lack of power and frequent inability to act (often due to a lack of quorum or the need for a supermajority for certain decisions) demanded reform† (Wirls, p. 58). The founders agreed on the need for reform, opposing groups argued about the nature. Federalists argued for a strong national government, with few representatives, removed the day to day local political affairs. They desired a group of political elites, free to make decisions based on national interests. In order to promote an independent nature within the senate, Federalists advocated long terms, some advocating lifetime appointments. The anti-Federalists rejected the idea of permanent elite, instead promoting large numbers of repre sentatives, with small groups of political constituents. Rather than the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of society, anti-Federalists envisioned a kaleidoscope; representatives would personally reflect the interests of constituents. During the final constitutional plan for the U.S. Senate, a compromise was reached; anti-Federalist views were incorporated through the equal apportionment and appointment by states, Federalists insured independence in the senate by instituting staggered six year terms. Compromise between the Federalist and anti-Federalist was reached through a series of decisions, in no small part assisted by the fact that those against strengthening the Federal government were not present, â€Å"the formidable talents who were opposed to the project of fortifying the... ...emate concerning the national congress. With the rights of small states protected through equal representation in the senate, the convention was able to move forward in forming a strong national government with responsibilities and rights separate from the states. Federalists were able to protect the independence of the senate, through staggered six year terms and more stringent eligibility requirements than those for the House of Representatives. The eventual formation of a separate national capital insured the both physically as well as psychologically desired independence of the senate and congress. The members of both sides present shared a mutual understanding of the need for a senate in a stronger national system. The decisions which lead to the compromise resulted in the creation of a senate which included both Federalist and anti-Federalist views.

Gene Therapy and Cancer :: Genetics Science Technology Medical Essays

Gene Therapy and Cancer In 1997, an estimated 1.38 million Americans will be newly diagnosed with cancer (Blaese, 1997). The treatments available only cure half of them. Many new strategies, including gene therapy are in developmental stages for treating cancer. Nearly half of all gene therapy trials currently under way deal with cancer and experts believe a number of these applications will be in use within the next three to five years (Lyon, 1997). Cancer is considered a genetic disorder. Studies have identified a small number of genes that must be mutated to bring about development of cancer or maintain the growth of malignant cells (Klug, 1996). Two main properties of cancer are uncontrollable cell division and the ability to spread or metastasize. Both are results of genetic alterations. Mutations in the cells that lead to certain forms of cancer, can be identified as inherited in some families. In most cases, however, it is difficult to identify a simple pattern of inheritance. There are two ways to regulate cell division. One way is with tumor suppressor genes, which usually function to inactivate or repress cell division. These genes or their products or both, must be inactivated sporadically for cell division of take place. If they are permanently inactivated or lost through mutation, uncontrolled cell division occurs. Another way cell division is regulated is by proto-oncogenes, which usually promotes cell division also. These genes can be in an "on" or "off" mode and when in the "on" mode, cell division is promoted. When the genes or their products or both are inactivated, cell division is stopped. If they are permanently switched "on", cell regulation is stopped and tumor formation begins. Oncogenes are the mutant form of proto-oncogenes. An example of a transformation of a proto-oncogene to an oncogene is the p53 gene, which encodes a nuclear protein that acts as a transcription factor. The p53 gene is usually a tumor suppressor gene that controls passage of the cell from one phase of mitosis to another. The mutations in p53 gene are estimated to be associated with over half of all cancers. The most prevalent cause of death in cancer patients is metastasis, where cancer cells detach from the original tumor site and settle elsewhere in the body, to grow and divide producing another tumor. There are two kinds of tumors, benign and malignant. Benign tumors can be removed and usually do not return.

Coatings Specialist

Alex Kilos tit 32 years in the coatings industry, Alex Kilos has earned the right to be called a coatings specialist. In 1991, he retired from his position at Sees Australia, where he was responsible for evaluating coatings for offshore and pipeline application, writing specifications, performing failure analysis, and conducting maintenance coating surveys to structure the company's maintenance program. Since then, Kilos has munched a new career as a consultant for his company A Kilos Consulting Pity.Ltd. (Sale, Victoria). The scope of his work includes specification writing and reviewing, failure analysis, design and supervision of test programs, development and presentation of training programs, coating inspection, and coating surveys. W Training Applicators Kilobits current focus in his work is education. The Australian coatings industry is only Just beginning to understand the importance of qualified industrial coatings applicators, he says.Until recently, industrial applicators were an untrained group who had no recourse to a formal program of education. This situation was in stark contrast to that of house painters, says Kilos, who are re- 152/ Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings squired to undergo three-year apprenticeships before achieving qualification. When new, high performance coatings entered the Australian market, applicators were unprepared, says Kilos. As a result, Kilos headed the drive to develop the first

Discipline and Improve Students Behaviour in Classroom Education Essay

The problem of how best to discipline and improve students’ behaviour in classroom is of permanent interest. This review is oriented to searching different methodologies concerning students’ behaviour in classrooms, teachers’ discipline strategies and behavioural management. Different points of view and different examples for appropriate behaviour have been discussed referring to the topic. The sources reviewed present different solutions. This paper examines also the classroom environment and its relation to successful behaviour implementation. The first paragraphs give different definitions conversant with behaviour and discipline according to the authors’ view. The continuation of the literature review is presented by different approaches and strategies concerning a good behavioural management. This elaboration sets out some of the arguments and recommendations which are discussed in more detail. Charles C. M. submits several definitions corresponding to behaviour: Behaviour refers to everything that people do. Misbehaviour is behaviour that is not appropriate to the setting or situation in which it occurs. Discipline†¦ are strategies, procedures, and structures that teachers use to support a positive learning environment. Behaviour management is a science that puts an accent on what teachers have to do to prevent misbehaviour (Charles 1). Students’ behaviour depends on several factors such as traditions, demographic settings, economic resources, family, experiences, and more. Some authors have made important contributions in managing classroom discipline related the twentieth century. Jacob Kounin (1971), one of them, reports that appropriate student behaviour can be maintained through classroom organization, lesson management, and approach to individual students. Rudolf Dreikurs (1972) on the other hand emphasizes the desire to belong as a primary need of students in school. He identifies types of misbehaviour and gives ideas about how to make students feel a part of the class or group (p. 63). William Glasser (1986) shows another view, making a case that the behaviour of someone else cannot be controlled. He reckons that everybody can only control his own behaviour. Personally I support this idea that we must control ourselves. According to the opinion of the other authors, Linda Albert’s, Barbara Coloroso’s, Nelson and Lott’s a good discipline in the classroom can be achieved through Belonging, Cooperation, and Self-Control. A similar idea of classroom management is also presented by Rackel C. F who declares that the teachers, considered it was necessary, â€Å"to develop students’ sense of belonging to the school† (p. 1071) The author supports the opinion of the significance of a good school climate and tells that it might be precondition for facilitating positive youth development (Rackel C. F 1071). In order to attain to a good classroom atmosphere there is a need of growing positive relationship between students and teachers, motivation the students’ participation and clear rules to control classroom discipline (Rackel C. F 1072). In addition these above-mentioned views can be defined as a positive outlook as regards to improving the classroom management. Another point of view inside the subject of managing discipline is through active student involvement and through pragmatic Classroom management (Charles, C. M. 2007, p. 7). Discipline through raising student responsibility is also positively oriented approach for classroom management. The three principles that improve behaviour presented in the article â€Å"Self-assessment of understanding† are positivity, choice, and reflection (Charles, C. M. 12). There the author explains the principles meaning. He states that being positive means being a motivator. When students have opportunity to share their choices they can present themselves with a good behaviour. â€Å"Asking students questions that encourage them to reflect on their behaviour can help them to change behaviour† (Charles 14). Rebecca Giallo and Emma Little (2003, p. 22) from RMIT University Australia give their comments also on classroom behaviour management. They claim that confidence is one of the most important characteristic that influence teachers’ effectiveness in classroom management. Giallo and Little (2003, 22) based on the previous statement of Evans & Tribble accept that less confident teachers seem more vulnerable to stressful classrooms. They maintain the theory that the classroom stress is a reason for giving up a teacher’s career. In school the stress can be overcome through involving of drastic measures concerning managing a good discipline. One of the most popular strategy for solving behaviour problems is punishment. By reason of the popularity of the subject in the field of education, many experts have written articles and books as well as given lectures on discipline and punishment. Anne Catey based on Dreikur’s words considers that there is no need of using punishment in class. Based on Catey’s words kids need to have a chance they can share their ideas in the class (1). This is the best way to â€Å"smooth, productive functioning in schools† (Charles, C. M, 1999). Anne Catey from Cumberland High School gets an interview from several teachers in Illinois district about their discipline practices. She accepts the suggestion given by Lawrence as mentioning that, â€Å"very effective technique is a brief conference, either in the hallway or after class, with the misbehaving student† (Punishment, 1). Anne Catey has her own techniques for classroom management. She disagrees with Lawrence viewing about humour as one of the bad strategies for effective discipline and believes that using of humour can be effective if done without abasing the students (Punishment, 1). In this way she gives each one a bit of individual attention. When some of her students are a bit distracted on one task, talking to friends instead of reading Catey says, â€Å"Since I always assume the best of my students, I assume the noise I hear is students reading aloud or discussing their novels. However, it’s time to read silently now instead of reading aloud† (Punishment, 1). This sounds as a good strategy but personally I disclaim this thesis. This doesn’t work all the time. I am trying to be strict with my students and according to this the pupils have to observe the rules in my classes. That doesn’t mean that I admit the severe punishment but rarely the stern warnings. I agree with the following techniques used by Anne Catey (2001) to modify behaviour including giving â€Å"zeroes for incomplete, inappropriate, and/or missing work and taking points off at the end of a quarter for lack of participation and/or poor listening†. As expected, these methods are effective for some of the pupils but not for the others. Related to the above-mentioned topic it could be noticed some of the classroom discipline strategies utilized in Australia, China and Israel. On the basis of elaborated research in these countries some psychologists and school principals (Xing Qui, Shlomo Romi, 2005) conclude that Chinese teachers appear less punitive and aggressive than do those in Israel or Australia. Australian classrooms are presented as having least discussion and recognition and most punishment. In Australia (Lewis, 2005) as concerned to the study the teachers are characterized by two distinct discipline styles. The first of these is called â€Å"Coercive† discipline and comprises punishment and aggression (yelling in anger, sarcasm group punishments, tc). The second style, comprising discussion, hints, recognition, involvement and Punishment, is called â€Å"Relationship based discipline† (Lewis 7). Coercive discipline according to the above-mentioned authors means the teacher’s behaviour is such as â€Å"shouting all the time, unfairly blaming students, picking on kids, and being rude, to stimulate student resistance and subsequent misbehaviour† (Lewis, Ramon 2). The importance of classroom discipline arises not only from students’ behaviour and learning as outlined above. It depends also on the role of the teacher. Sometimes it is obvious that teachers are not be able to manage students’ classroom discipline and it can result in stress. So,â€Å"classroom discipline is a cohesion of teacher stress† (Lewis 3). Chan (1998), reports on the stressors of over 400 teachers in Hong Kong, claims that student behaviour management rates as the second most significant factor stressing teachers. In the article Teachers’ Classroom discipline several strategies have been presented for improving classroom management. They are Punishing (move students’ seats, detention), Rewarding (rewards, praises), Involvement in decision-making (decides with the class what should happen to students who misbehave), Hinting, Discussion and Aggression. Another strategy for improving discipline in class is conducting questionnaires between the students. It is an appropriate approach for defining students’ opinion about behaviour problems. In each Chinese and Israeli school a random sample of classes at all year levels have been selected. As a research assistant administered questionnaires to these classes their teachers completed their questionnaires (Yakov J. Katz 7). In comparison to all of the mentioned countries the model in China is a little different in that students support use of all strategies except Aggression and Punishment. Based on the conducted research the only strategy to range within a country by more than 2 ranks is Punishment, which ranks as the most common strategy in Australia, and the fourth and fifth most commonly used strategy in Israel and China. The author, Xing Qui generalises that, â€Å"there is not more Punishment at the level 7-12. Classroom discipline techniques showed that students in China, compared to those in Australia or Israel, report less usage of Punishment and Aggression and greater use of Discussion and the other positive strategies. At the end of their article â€Å"Teachers’ classroom discipline and Student Misbehaviour in Australia, China and Israel â€Å"(p. 14) the authors recommend that teachers need to work harder to gain quality relationships with difficult students. What I have drawn from reviewing literature so far is that teachers are able to use different techniques for enhancing classroom management in their profession. After making a thorough survey on the above-mentioned issue I would like calmly to express my position. It is harder for the teacher to keep the student focused on any frontal instruction. That’s why as with all classroom management practices, the teachers should adapt what they like to their classroom, taking into consideration the age, ethnicity, and personality of the class as a group, and of them as teachers. Much of the disruptive behaviour in the classroom can be alleviated before they become serious discipline problems. Such behaviours can be reduced by the teacher’s ability to employ effective organizational practices. These skills are individual for each teacher. The lecturer should become familiar with school policies concerning acceptable student behaviour and disciplinary procedures. Establishing rules to guide the behaviour of students is also important. Once these standards are set up the teachers have to stick to them. I agree with the authors who prefer involving the positive approach in behaviour management. But I also accept that some situations are more complicated than the others and in this case the teachers must take drastic measures against inappropriate students’ behaviour.