Within this assignment the writer will outline the main roles and responsibilities of a social worker

Within this assignment the writer will outline the main roles and responsibilities of a social worker within this family. Legal and policy principles will be discussed, practical and appropriate theories and research studies will be included and finally, the discussion of oppression and how it may be affecting this family will also be included. The writer will begin by giving a definition of social work, quoted from the British Association Of Social Workers (BASW). The Association has adopted the following definition of social work issued by the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Schools of Social Work. It applies to social work practitioners and educators in every region and country in the world. â€Å"The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (2001)†. Stephanie is a single mother of two young children. At this present time in her life she is finding things difficult. Stephanie left school at the age of sixteen and shortly after leaving school she became pregnant with her first child, Naomi, who is now six years old. When Naomi was two years old, Stephanie left home and moved into a council flat of her own close by to her mother and two elder sisters. Stephanie's relationship with these members of her family is not particularly good. Stephanie's mother and sisters believe that Stephanie's partner Paul is a burden on her. Paul, who works unsociable hours as a taxi driver, claims to be living at home with his parents. However, this is not the case, as he spends most of his time at Stephanie's flat. Paul may spend time at Stephanie's flat but he does not spend any quality time with Stephanie or their children. Stephanie has become depressed over the last six months. She resents having to look after the children on her own and she also feels isolated. Stephanie has asked the Area Office for help as her income support book has been taken off her because the D.S.S. beliefs that she is cohabiting. Stephanie's second child, Christopher, is 18 months old and he has regular visits from a health visitor. The health visitor is worried about Christopher's development and weight gain. As regards Naomi, her school teacher has noticed a deterioration in her behaviour and is worried about Naomi appearing upset, tired and subdued. Naomi has come to school feeling hungry and dressed inappropriately. The social worker's role in planning an assessment is to plan for the assessment and, in order to account for the complexity of the task should gather and record information in a systematic and precise way, checking information with the children and parents. Where there are differences over information these should be recorded and strengths and difficulties should be acknowledged. The assessment should be child-centred and therefore the impact of the situation on the child must be clearly identified. (Parker, J. & Bradley, G. 2005 Page 20) The roles and responsibilities of social work are mostly decided by a legal policy framework. These policies may change to accommodate new issues in society. Principles should be acknowledged on what actions to take (See Appendix 1). If Naomi and Christopher will benefit from enrolment in a day care centre and certain needs will be met by this action, then the paramountcy principle will steer the social worker towards encouraging Stephanie to enrol them. To ignore the children's needs would be legally and ethically negligent (Dickson. D, page 10). The assessment will involve the social worker having an open mind and communicating with Stephanie on a level in which she understands, not using jargon that may confuse her. Any information gathered from Stephanie should be relevant to the case. All information gathered will always be monitored and recorded, everything that is being done will be explained to Stephanie as clients have the right to know what is happening at all times throughout the process (see Appendix 2). In any assessment as a social worker your own personal beliefs, values and biases must always be acknowledged, and also the impact your approach will have on the way the assessment is carried out (Parker, J. & Bradley, G. 2005 Page 7). Stephanie will be encouraged to make decisions and the social worker will promote her independence and assist her in understanding and exercising her rights as this will affect her and her families' future. Stephanie's personal views, values and beliefs should always be respected as she is an individual and has to be treated as one at all times. It is important to be open, honest and explicit with Stephanie throughout the procedure. If Stephanie knows that she can relay and depend on you, this will help in building confidence in your relationship with her. Stephanie should always be told if you are not going to be available and tell her why for example if you have other commitments for that particular time. As a Social worker, you must attempt to create and maintain the trust and confidence of Stephanie. It will be made clear to Stephanie that any information relating to the children that will cause harm or danger to them will be reported to an appropriate authority. Any complaints from Stephanie will be taken seriously and passed on to an appropriate person. The social worker will follow a risk assessment policy and procedure to assess whether Stephanie presents a risk to her children (Dickson D. pages 91-94). In making an assessment on behalf of Stephanie, the ‘assessment triangle' (see Appendix 3) and the ‘helping cycle' will both be used (see Appendix 4). In working with Stephanie on this case the social worker must take full responsibility for any actions carried out on behalf of Stephanie whether they are right or wrong (see appendix 5). It is important as a trainee social worker to know the importance of planning and tuning in for an assessment. Each case dealt with will be different to other cases. A key element of tuning in is â€Å"preparatory empathy†. This will involve putting yourself into Stephanie's shoes, feeling what she is feeling, looking at the situation from her point of view. For example, Stephanie may be feeling depressed and helpless as a result of isolation. Financial worries may cause her to feel resentful towards Paul as he is no help to her and the children. Does she feel unable to cope as a single parent and feel that she is a bad mother (Dickson D. p17)? As the social worker has a certain power they may be able to intervene. The D.S.S. can be contacted and Stephanie can apply for an emergency payment from them until the situation is resolved. If Stephanie's money is cut this could lead to more situations arising such as rent and electricity bills not getting paid as Stephanie will not be able to afford these. This will then cause further problems for Stephanie and the children. Stephanie may become more depressed and her parenting may be affected, and the children's needs could suffer. In planning an initial assessment it will be necessary to visit Stephanie and the children. Then it will be necessary to have a discussion with Stephanie and Paul and observe their living situation focusing on the three aspects of the assessment triangle; child's developmental needs, parenting capacity, family and environmental factors. Then it is necessary to explain the Departments policy of supporting children and families to stay together (Parker. J, and Bradley. G, 2005 page 21). In the assessment of Naomi and Christopher, both of the children's development of progress will be examined, in relation to each child's age and stage of development. There must be an understanding of what the children need to achieve successfully at each stage of their development, in order to ensure that they will both have the opportunity to achieve their full potential(DOH Frame Work Assessment 1999 page 18). Providing a range of services from a multi-disciplinary team requires a high degree of co-operation and co-ordination from the professionals involved. It is to be noted that central to the whole process should be the needs and wishes of the service user. The team will include not only the professionals but also Stephanie and her family. Therefore, Stephanie's involvement and participation in her social and health care provision is taken to be fundamental. The legal definition of need is set out in article 17 of the Children's (NI) Order (1995). The Children's Order states that a child is in need if, he or she is unlikely to achieve or maintain or to have an opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services (www.opsi.gov.uk). The Children's (NI) Order article 17 (1995) is based on a clean and consistent set of principles designed with the common aim of promoting the welfare of children, the rights of parents exercising their responsibilities towards their children and the duty of the state to intervene to promote and protect the welfare of children in need or at risk. The principles of the Children Order NI 1995 can be seen at www.opsi.gov.uk. As a student social worker it is necessary to adhere to the legislation put in place. Assessment is an ongoing process, in which the client participates, the purpose of which is to understand people in relation to their environment; it is the basis for planning what needs to be done to maintain, improve or bring about change in the person, the environment or both (Coulshed V, p.21). The Assessment framework will be used to assess Stephanie's case. Good assessment is crucial for the well-being of the children and the family. It has to be noted that the welfare of the children is paramount at all times. The assessment triangle will be looked at for both of the children. The first dimension of the triangle is The Child's Developmental Needs. There are seven areas in this dimension. The first area to be examined is health. Both Naomi and Christopher's health is an issue as this relates to their development as well as their physical and mental well-being. Genetic factors can be taken into consideration on health issues. As Stephanie is suffering with depression, she may not realise that the children are not receiving an adequate diet and as a result of this their health can suffer. Then there is education. This covers the children's cognitive development, which begins at birth. It includes playing and interacting with other children, access to books, to acquire a range of skills and interests, to experience success and achievement. An adult should be involved in the education of Naomi and Christopher. Stephanie should encourage her children to learn in different ways. Emotional needs and development are the concerns by appropriate responses demonstrated in the children's feelings and actions. As Naomi's teacher has noticed a change in behaviour, this will be looked at. Christopher's development will also be looked at because the health visitor has noticed that he is not developing as well as he should be. The identity of the children may affected if Stephanie's depression continues. The identity is related to how the children view themselves and their feelings of acceptance by the family and society will have an impact on this. Family and Social Relationships includes having a good relationship with parents and siblings. The children are at a young age but this may be taken into consideration as it may have an affect on them in developing relationships in later life. Their Social Presentation will be looked at, as Naomi's behaviour has deteriorated and she is also dressed inappropriately. The final area to be examined is Self Care Skills. If Naomi sees that there is something wrong with her mother, she might begin to take over some parental roles. She may be very young but she would be capable of doing things such as dressing herself and her little brother (Frame Work Assessment page 19). The next dimension of the triangle is the Parenting Capacity. Is Stephanie providing Basic Care, which includes providing for the children's physical and appropriate medical needs? Are the children receiving food, warmth, shelter, clean and appropriate clothing and adequate personal hygiene? (See Appendix 6) Is Stephanie Ensuring Safety for the children? This can mean in the home and elsewhere, for instance, crossing roads. Are the children receiving Emotional Warmth? Stephanie may not be capable of this because she is suffering with depression. She may not realise it, but at times she may not respond to the children's needs. Physical contact such as giving the children a hug can demonstrate emotional warmth. Are the children receiving Stimulation from their parents? If Paul is not spending any time with the children and Stephanie is feeling low, this will have an effect on their stimulation. The children should be in a routine and be encouraged with different tasks such as schoolwork; this will facilitate them both to meet challenges, which they will face in life. Guidance and Boundaries enable children to regulate their own emotions and behaviour. Are Stephanie and Paul preparing their children for the development of later life when they will need to know what's right and what's wrong? Self-values' and conscience are learnt through this process. If the children have no emotional support there is a danger that normal rules and boundaries within the family could break down. There is a risk of children's schoolwork and behaviour suffering as a result of the situation not being resolved quickly (Frame Work Assessment page 21). The final stage of the assessment triangle that has to be looked at is the Family and Environmental Factors. The writer will begin by examining Family History and Functioning. The children's inheritance includes both genetic and psycho-social factors. Family functioning is influenced by who is living in the house. At this stage we have to look at the fact of Paul being there. Is it doing more harm than good? Wider family members such as Stephanie's mother and sisters may be helpful in getting Stephanie back on track. It could be beneficial for all of them to come together and have a discussion about the current situation. Is the Housing adequate for the family? If Stephanie's money has been cut, will she be able to keep the home warm for the children? Is the house clean? Employment is another issue. Is Paul's pattern of work suitable? Would it be possible for Stephanie to get employment? Both these questions have an impact on the children. Income, is there enough income to provide basic needs for the children? Stephanie's benefits have been cut, this will have a major impact on the family? Will Paul help out? What are the financial difficulties that will affect the children? Families Social Integration. Stephanie feels isolated. This is not good for any of the family as she is the main carer. Stephanie should be encouraged to take up a hobby or night class. This will develop her confidence and it will have an impact on the children. The social worker should give Stephanie information on Community Resources i.e what is available for the family in the community such as play groups, mother and toddler groups, summer schemes, education learning centres, family centres. Local groups such as STEER and Gingerbread may be able to help and advise the family. From this assessment it is clear that Stephanie is at secondary level 2 of the Table For Guidance On Thresholds For Intervention For Services For Children In Need (See Appendix 7). We have to work with Stephanie now and prevent her from reaching level 3 (Frame Work Assessment page 24). We can work with a multidisciplinary team to resolve any issues that have developed. To oppress a person is to treat them in a very harsh and unfair way and cause them to feel anxious or distressed, (a definition from the Oxford Dictionary). As a result of this family living in poverty they will be oppressed. This will have a high impact on all of the family and also cause different problems. The family may be stigmatised. Teachers in Naomi's school may have labeled Stephanie as being an unfit parent without knowing any of the facts about her situation. Where is the poverty coming from and what is the reason that this family is living in poverty? There are many reasons for poverty to occur within families. Because Stephanie is female she may be discriminated against when trying to gain employment. She may have little or no education. The question has to be asked if she was employed would she be provided with childcare? All aspects have to be looked at and must be taken into consideration when Stephanie is looking at herself as a person and parent (Thompson, N. 2001). As Stephanie is not working, Paul is the main earner for the family but he is not providing for them in such a way that they can live without money worries. Paul is also claiming to be living at his parents house, so he is not taking any responsibility for the income of the family. Stephanie is the one that does everything in the household and paying the bills is a major role. Stephanie's strengths and weaknesses could be looked at and developed. Stephanie may have the capability of returning to education and getting some qualifications, which would enable her to gain employment. With the help of her mother and sisters she could develop her confidence and this will also play a major part on reducing her depression. Stephanie may be taking medication for her depression but the social worker can look at other methods of treatment such as cognitive therapy. Stephanie has to look at her relationship with Paul and ask herself if she is doing the right thing for her children by letting him stay in their home. Stephanies' mother would like to see Paul out of her daughters life which is not possible as he has a right to see his children, but she can encourage Stephanie and support her if this is what it takes.

Perfect Competition Essay

The spectrum of market structures varies diversely from highly competitive markets where there are a large number of buyers and sellers, each of whom having little or no power to alter the market price to a situation of pure monopoly where a market or an industry consists of one single supplier who enjoys considerable control over the market price, unless specific restrictions are placed directly by the government. A market structure such as the Chicken Meat Industry can be deemed as â€Å"Perfect Competition (PC)† as it fulfills the following mentioned assumptions: 1. There are many producers in the economy as mentioned in the question.   2. Each individual firm in the market is a Price Taker- the firms cannot control the price of chicken being sold in the market instead they have to simply accept the designated going market rate as the price of their product. This happens due to two major characteristics of Perfect Competition: a. As there are a large number of suppliers, each of them has a relatively small share of the overall market. As a result, these individual firms are unable to affect price by directly bringing about a change in its own supply because by assumption, each firm is small in size b. Due to the enormous competition faced by each firm, no single firm can increase the price that it charges above the price charged by the other firms in the market without losing business caused by a large substitution effect away from that firm 3. All firms produce identical goods, as in the case of Chicken Meat Industry where the product i.e. chicken is homogenous. The characteristics of chicken do not vary much from supplier to supplier as a result they are substitutes for each other. 4. Buyers are perfectly aware of the nature and quality of chicken being sold to them as well as being well informed about the price being charged by each seller. 5. All firms, present and future, are assumed to have equal access to all factors of production as well as any advancement in technology in the production process. 6. The chicken meat industry is characterized by freedom of entry and exit. There are no barriers to entry or exit of firms in long run as a result the present the market will always be open to competition from new entrants. 7. â€Å"No externalities in production and consumption so that there is no divergence between private and social costs and benefits†. (tutor2u.net) Market Analysis Short Run We know that Economic Profit is the difference between the Total Revenue (TR) and Total Cost (TC) where TC consists of both explicit and implicit costs. As Opportunity costs are the next best alternative forgone, a chicken meat supplier can have can have a significant accounting profit with little to no economic profit. In the Short Run, economic profits for individual chicken meat suppliers depend on the position of their Average Total Cost curves. (investopedia.com) In the short run the equilibrium market price, P1 is determined by the interaction between market demand and supply. This price is taken by each of the firms as their selling price which in turn is constant for each unit sold. Therefore, the AR curve also becomes the Marginal Revenue curve (MR). We know, a firm maximizes profits when marginal revenue = marginal cost, therefore the profit-maximizing output for a given firm is Q1. The firm sells Q1 at price P1. Because the ruling market price is greater than the Average Total Cost (P>AC), the firm will make positive economic profit as indicated by the shaded area below.

Evaluate the recommendation to provide a tax system with a neutral Assignment

Evaluate the recommendation to provide a tax system with a neutral treatment of life-cycle savings for the vast majority of taxpayers (as described in chapter 13) - Assignment Example In order to restore the health of the treasury and the public finances, the government revised the tax structure which aimed at increasing the tax receipts from the public in UK. The income tax, national insurance taxes, value-added tax and the corporation taxes are the largest contributors to the tax receipts of the government (James, 2009, p.74). Thus the modification of the tax structure of UK has implications for the household savings and has affected the life cycle savings of the households. On the same lines, a new higher income rate of 50% has been announced for individuals with income level over 1.47 billion pounds. The tax structure has also removed the income tax personal allowance in order to make for increased payment of taxes by the government. The tax rates for National Insurance have also been increased by 1%. In order to reduce the impacts on the low earning class of people, the threshold for the national insurance have been increased. The tax structure has also aboli shed the reduced rate of value-added taxes that apply to the selected goods and services offered by the producers. The review of the current tax system in UK revealed that the tax structure is costly and not uniform in terms of lifecycle savings of the individuals. The current tax structure urges the individuals and the households to spend earlier in their lives rather than waiting for the later stages. The current tax system has been reviewed to find that it would lead to rising inflation rates in the economy. The current tax system of UK has been reviewed to find that there are varying tax rates of 40%, 50% and 60% for people belonging to various income brackets. The increases in the income tax, national insurance tax, reduction of personal income tax allowance are measures that could excessively reduce the income levels of the economy and could also lead to higher rates of unemployment. Therefore, it has been

The Positive and Negative Effects of Outsourcing Research Paper

The Positive and Negative Effects of Outsourcing - Research Paper Example However, outsourcing impact on the economy is widely debated in order to ascertain its inevitability or otherwise. In American society, the debate has not lasted as yet and both sides have some solid evidence to favor their arguments. Although the argument that denies the inevitability of phenomenon claims it to be a major cause of unemployment in America, the positive impact of outsourcing on the economy cannot be rejected altogether. As a matter of fact, there is a fair amount of subjectivity in the questions like where, when and how outsourcing should be employed and the detrimental effects of outsourcing on US job market are a reality but another reality is the importance of these outsourcing companies to the US economy. Although cost is the key factor while making a decision of outsourcing, it must also be a strategic decision at the same time. A strategic decision takes into account the capabilities of company's resources, challenges at hand, benefits and key factors that favor outsourcing. The strategic outsourcing prevents the outsourcing of goods, services, and labor that are critically important to the function of the company. At the same time, strategic outsourcing can take into account the expected impact of an outsourcing decision on a national economy. The establishment of a separate formal Officials authority might be a good idea to evolve a regulating mechanism and to strike a balance in outsourcing decisions. Nevertheless, purging it all together is not an option.   Pacing with rapid changes in business dimensions has become a demanding challenge for business leaders in diminishing geographical limitations. Technology in general and cutting-edge communications in particular drastically redefines business operations in terms of resources. The globalization has vast and vivid repercussions on business domains and business leaders have to be very knowledgeable and current on prevailing trends in human resources, purchases, and supplies to manage these effects in their specific domain. The globalization of businesses and advancement in technologies to support these global business operations have reduced the geographical limitation of engaging low cost human and material resources while managing supplies of products produced overseas in the spur of the moment they are required by the businesses. Today, the stage is all set for businesses to engage low-cost resources through outsourcing; a concept that can considerably slash the production and service costs while targeting the profit maximization. Companies all over the world are now striving hard to reduce the cost of their products or services by efficient management of resources, purchases, and supplies. Jacques1 defines, â€Å"Outsourcing means more than just the purchase of raw materials and standardized intermediate goods. It can be defined as a long-term, result oriented partnership of company with an external provider for activities that would otherwise have been pe rformed in-house.†Ã‚  Ã‚  

Ethnic Diversity at Workplace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethnic Diversity at Workplace - Research Paper Example It has both negative and positive impact on organizational output. Globalization of businesses has made this an issue in higher extent in the organizations. Conflicts among the employees in terms of emotional attributes are the negative impact of ethnic diversity whereas access of diversified skills of workers is one of positive impacts of it (Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007, p.529). Historical overview of a research related to the ethnic diversity at workplace After conducting the research, it is discovered that diversity in employees was very important in ensuring that the business is successful. The most interesting thing in the interview relates to some of the regulations in the Buddhist society. Key learning from the study is that the implementation of ethnic diversity in the workplace ensures that the business uses all the resources available to reach new markets. Therefore, the aspect of diversity is unique and enhances productivity among the employees. Rationale of choosing the ethnic diversity at workplace Ethnic diversity is one major characteristics of workplace. ... Effect of ethnic diversity in group activity is in high extent because people from different region or even different countries work together in group assignments or projects (Bar, Niessen & Ruenzi, 2007, p.2). Therefore, all belongs to different ethnicity and their culture, behavior, attitude and the way they work are different. Conflicts in the group activity rise from the ethnic diversity among the employees (Karsten, 2006, p.224). Though the organizations get access to diversified skills and competencies of ethnic diversified expertise but conflicts among the workers in their way of working, sometimes affect not only overall performance of a group but also overall organizational performance and growth. Many organizations are not able to find out this impact of ethnic diversity and their strategic decisions do not consider this issue (Jesus, Hughes, Johnston & Jooh, 2006, p.7). Therefore, this study has high extent of rationality and motivation behind the study is to evaluate the impact of ethnic diversity in Ministry of Air Defense in Saudi Arabia. Supporting Research There have been many researches on this major issue of business done by empirical researchers. Individual or group of researchers and human resource analysts have been studied on several multinational and domestic companies to find out the extent of positive and negative impact of ethnic diversity on performance of workforce. One supporting research of this study is leadership, employment and direction survey done by a group of researcher and leaded by Miriam Bell. Objective of this research was to evaluate the benefit of ethnic diversity in Australian workforce (Bell, 2012, p.1). Findings from relevant empirical studies There are

Theory of Dispute Resolution - Essay Case Study

Theory of Dispute Resolution - Case Study Example According to the law of supply of goods and services, there are certain implied terms during the transfer of goods from the transferor to the transferee, most important being that the goods transferred are of good quality and fitness. This means that the transferor of goods has the obligation to ensure that all the goods transferred to the transferee are of satisfactory quality, and therefore, will perform their desired functions without fail. Thus according to this law, the transfer of faulty goods from the seller to the buyer is an offense. According to the facts of this case, Frontway Clutches Ltd. Sold repair parts to Mr. Conn, who is a garage owner, which turned out to be faulty, and thus inappropriate to fulfill their intended purpose. Consequently, he bears the responsibility of compensating the other party, namely Mr. McScrooge. However, the facts under this case are complicated by the fact that the substance or the commodity under dispute is unavailable for examination, whic h is an essential step towards proving the inappropriateness of the commodities supplied by Frontway Clutches Ltd. While Frontway Clutches Ltd. could be required to compensate Mr. ... McScrooge’s van, then he might bear the responsibility. Additionally, the burden of responsibility would even be bigger for the supplier, if the supplier was aware that the clutches that were sold to Mr. Conn were faulty. Therefore, while the substance of this case would majorly revolve around the quality and fitness of the commodity sold, the law would also be interested in discovering the intentions and the awareness of the parties involved in the sale and fixation of the car clutch. Liabilities of the parties involved Mr. Conn is the ultimate center of conflict, in this case, considering that he is the one responsible for fixing the clutch that failed in Mr. McScrooge van, while on the other hand, he had received the clutch from Frontway Clutches Ltd., without suspecting that the clutches had any problem.  

How is the theme of friendship developed in merchant of Venice Essay

How is the theme of friendship developed in merchant of Venice - Essay Example Friendship between Antonio and Bassanio is both deep and complex. Male friendship is usually formed in the course of life when men share particular experiences, for example, helping each other in difficult situations. In friendship, each person is willing to sacrifice his life to help his friend, and this makes the bonds even stronger. In The Merchant of Venice, the nature of friendship between Antonio and Bassanio is different. Indeed, it is possible to say that it seems to be one-sided with Antonio being a better and more devoted comrade. From the very first scene, the audience gets to know that all Antonio worries about is not his business, which is at stake, but his friend Bassanio. It is even possible to say that Antonio is in love with his friend; perhaps, he is jealous, and this is what causes his melancholy. While critics still argue on the issue of Antonio’s affection to Bassanio, the fact remains that Antonio cares about his friend more than Bassanio cares about him. Bassanio, in his turn, seems to take advantage of such affection. The matter is that he is used to live outside of his means and always relies on Antonio to give him money. As Shakespeare puts it into Bassanio words, â€Å"To you, Antonio, / I owe the most, in money and in love, / And from your love I have a warranty / To unburden all my plots and purposes / How to get clear of all the debts I owe† (I. I. 132-136). Apart from financing all the plans and affairs Bassanio has, Antonio also chooses to support his friend in quite an unusual way so that Bassanio is happy. In particular, despite the fact that all the assets Antonio has are spread out, he does not give up an idea to secure happiness of Bassanio. He goes to his enemy Shylock and agrees â€Å"seal unto this bond†, to give one pound of his flesh if he cannot pay off the debt (I. I. 169). At the same time, Bassanio tries to be a good friend as well. He remembers whom he owes his happiness and

What Is Authenticity In The Era Of Digital Technology Research Paper

What Is Authenticity In The Era Of Digital Technology - Research Paper Example Communication in the present age also known as digital communication is not one by which information is shared between two people as it is only reflective of exchange of data. Cellular phones which were seldom seen only a few years back are now seen everywhere providing excellent means of facilitated communication between people and the Internet has also played a revolutionary role in helping people access anything in the world through only a few clicks. Research has repeatedly stressed that teen involvement in different types of electronic activities like chatting either via cellular phones or the internet has increased to such an extent that the youth presently has become extremely obsessive with using various communicative media. Burge’s research is worth mentioning here as it deals with highlighting how people in relationships engage in emotional communication via different media like the internet, cellular phones, and visual texts. This research is based on contemplating how technology influences the coordination between two people in a relationship. For this purpose, people’s behavior when they interact via communicative media is observed and later assessed with the help of their internal experiences. The purpose of this research paper is also to evaluate the relationship between technology and communication in an attempt to answer the bigger question of what is authenticity in the present digital age. Just like the Industrial revolution brought about an immense change in the lives of workers, the technology also in the present age has totally changed the way of communication. It has enormously changed the way people communicate with each other and even impacted their emotions. This is because â€Å"sociological, psycholinguistic, and interpersonal studies suggest that people have non-information related goals in moment to moment interaction† (Clark, cited in Burge). Non-information related goals refer to the desire to convey or communicate emotion which becomes especially important when people engage in close bonding. The researchers debating on the subject of authenticity in the present era of digital technology often carry research to find out if â€Å"current communication technologies support a full range of communication activities and purposes, most notably the communication of emotion?† (Burge). The need to realize the impact produced by different communicativ e media on the communication of emotions should be acknowledged by everyone. It is argued that authenticity is constrained by digital communication as this form of communication does not support a wide range of communication purposes like conveying emotions. This is because people increasingly fake their true identities when communicating via Internet mediums like Facebook or MySpace because they feel insecure about sharing their real feelings otherwise. Not only that teenagers have become addicted to using IMs to communicate with each other, research has it that â€Å"many companies have found that employees benefit from text-based interactions as a result of introducing instant messaging systems into the workplace† (Erickson and Kellogg, cited in Burge). Such changed pattern of communication thanks to the widespread use of mobile phones and the internet has led to the development of a new way of building relationships. The concept of online dating is just one product of thi s new pattern of technology influenced communication. People in the old age had to practically meet somewhere or write letters to each other to further relationship as a way of getting to know each other. This all changed with the advent of technology because now people enjoy the limitless freedom of communicating with each other though they may be separated by thousands of miles. There are limitless opportunities now available to

Drug Use at Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drug Use at Workplace - Essay Example Additionally, the "meth" epidemic really was not properly categorized at all. Actually, the issue is the use of stimulants, not so much crystal meth. Meth use takes a terrible toll on the mind and body of the user. The devastating physical effects of using this extremely addicting drug range from mildly debilitating to severely incapacitating and potentially lethal. Common side effects for using meth include facial disfigurement, rotting teeth (meth mouth), anorexia, body tremors, convulsions, high blood pressure, and seizures. But it is the destructive psychological and neurological effects on the addict that make meth an issue for the entire workplace. Even short-term meth use can cause severe mood swings, depression, paranoia, and emotional instability in the user, increasing the potential for violence in the workplace. Americans are working harder and longer, and now some people are turning to drugs for a quick boost--with dire consequences. Drugs in the workplace may not be a new phenomenon, but there's a new poison taking precedence: Workplace methamphetamine abuse rose 68 percent in 2003. Meth use and stimulus amphetamine injestion can cause serious damage to employees and the overall work environment. While high on meth, employees may think they're in control, but it's a false sense of security. Employees are not completely aware of their environment and are apt to have more on-the-job accidents. Signs of meth addiction include dizziness, irritability, sudden weight loss, inability to get along with co-workers or supervisors, and a possible tendency toward violence. b) What are the tangible benefits of resolving the problem Sadly, the article does not speak to solving the problem. Rather it readily admits that researchers haven't a clue as to how to treat meth addiction. My own independent research indicates the rampant effects of methamphetamine addiction at work. Clearly there are no tangible benefits to the employer. Tragically, it appears that the main benefit is to protect the workplace from the addict. 4) Describe and evaluate any solutions provided in the article. The article did not offer any solutions at all. It readily admits that there is a paucity of information available on how to treat this latest epidemic in the world of drug

Districts of Dickens London Essay Example for Free

Districts of Dickens London Essay Charles Dickens was born on Friday 7th February 1812 at Portsmouth. His father John Dickens continually living beyond his means and then was finally imprisoned in 1824. 12 year old Charles was removed from school and sent to work in a factory the most terrible period of his life, this child hood poverty and adversity influenced dickens later views on social reform in a country in the throes of the industrial revolution. In the Victorian age queen Victoria was on the throne and reigned over an empire, we were seen as very strong and powerful. All the British people became very arrogant and we thought we were more superior to the rest of the world. In the workhouse north of London a young woman who has arrived in an exhausted conditions gives birth to a boy, and dies. Looked after over by the ill-natured Mrs Corney. Mr bumble, transfers him aged nine to the workhouse itself and he is set to work picking oakum. When Oliver causes some trouble by asking for some more food the authorities decide to put Oliver into the trade. He becomes apprenticed to Sowerberry, an undertaker. Another apprentice Noah Claypole insults Olivers dead mother, Oliver attacks him and is cruelly punished by the Sowerberrys. He runs away to London, and in Barnet he meets with a boy thief, Jack Dawkins, The Artful Dodger, a member of a pickpocket gang run by Fagin, a Jew. Oliver is horrified to see them pick pocket of an old gentleman, Mr Brownlow, at a book stall, runs away, and is captured and taken before a magistrates but the bookstall keeper has seen the true robbers. Oliver is taken to MR Brownlows house in Pentonville, where the housekeeper, Mrs Bedwin, nurses him through an illness. He is treated with kindness and affection for the first time in his life and is delighted. But Fagin plots to recapture him. He engages Bill Sikes, a brutal robber, and Nancy, his mistress, also a member of the gang, to bring Oliver back. Sikes takes Oliver by night to Chertsey to carry out a robbery on the house of a Mrs Maylie. When the alarm is given Sikes takes fright and escapes, and Oliver is shot and wounded. Mrs Maylie and her adopted niece, Rose, takes him in, and he settles with them, becoming a house hold favourite. Rose gets a serious illness. Mrs Maylies son, Harry arrives on her recovery and begs her to marry him. She refuses. During his good life with the maylies, Oliver catches glimpses of MONKS a sinister man who works with Fagin to try and recapture him. Nancy tells rose about Fagins and Monks conspiracy. Sikes, maddened by Nancys supposed treachery, rushes back to his own room, awakens her from sleep and clubs her to death. A police raid in which Fagin was arrested. Sikes attempts to escape across the roofs but falls and dies. Oliver returns to Mr Brownlow. Monks, otherwise Edward Leeford, is Olivers half brother. The provisions of fathers will leave money to Oliver on conditions that he maintains a spotless reputations, and for this reasons Monks has tried to keep the boy in Fagins gang in order to discredit him. Mr Brownlow then adopts Oliver. The structure of Oliver Twist is full of highs and lows because of the sequence of cliffhangers. The structure of the novel makes it more intriguing when Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist They were published in instalments, the effect of this made the novel more compelling and made the reader crave for more. The instalments lead to recaps to tie in the events, and the chapter titles worked as a summary of what was going to materialize in each chapter. Dickens narrative technique is known as the third person. The third person uses a narrator who watches over events, this helps Dickens to deepen the emotions for Oliver because he can describe everything that happens to him. London was seen as the place for work, money and dreams. But there was also a considerable high amount of poverty and hardship, Olivers grievance began in the workhouse and later having to thieve for Fagin in return for shelter and food. Crime doesnt pay, but crime was quite common because of the amount of adversity. Good triumphs over evil, Fagin, Bill Sikes and Monks are immoral and corrupt. Mr Brownlow Rose Maylie and Nancy were the trustworthy honest citizens. The moral of the the novel shows Fagin being tried and executed for his crimes, Bill Sikes was hunted down and he hung him self trying to escape from the law. Monks confessed to trying to discredit Oliver and has to sign over Olivers inheritance. This proves that crime doesnt pay! The London setting in Oliver Twist has distinct wealthy and deprived areas. Kennels over flowing, the noise of traffic increasing as you get nearer to the heart and the roads nearly ankle deep with filth and mire, are just some of the problems facing the poorer, slum districts of Dickens London. London is very important in the novel because Dickens uses the every day reality he witnessed to make a social comment about the rich and the poor areas. London is also viewed as a big adventure to the young Oliver and yet in Londons criminal world, dirty deeds take place in the dark, gloomy, dismal surroundings that Dickens describes and it is here in this place of dirty squalor that where all the bad behaviour fits. London is the key, which changes Oliver. His dark and bleak emotions match the locations and this is because of the grim surroundings. The cold, wet shelter less midnight streets of London is meant to make the reader feel depressed and sorry for Oliver and show you the reality of London. As Dickens saw it. The historical and cultural text of the novel tells the reader about the miserable reality. Dickens knew that many of his readers had a lack of sense of humour you can tell this by the way Dickens wrote because he included scenes of reality rather than humorous clips. Original readers would of reacted strongly to the setting and some found the descriptions unpleasant and too detailed. The links between crime and poverty are that in many cases people have to steel to live. Dickens showed the injustice between the wealthy and the poor, and how the poor were badly treated and living in slum housing Dickens also responded to this by saying that crime really does exists such as Jack Dawkins, Fagin, and Bill Sikes should be painted in all their wretchedness, in all their deformity and in all their squalid misery of their lives, to show them as they really are, for ever skulking uneasily through the dirtiest paths of life. When Oliver was young he lived in a workhouse, it was an extremely appalling and uncompromising place. The staff that ran the institute were ruthless, threatening and harsh. They treated the inmates badly and inadequately. They worked long hours, with little poor quality food. The staffs were more often than not corrupt eating and drinking luxuriously whilst the inmates starve.

Mathematical description of OFDM

Mathematical description of OFDM When we talk about the Mathematical description of OFDM then we cannot neglect the following mathematical treatments: The Fourier transform The use of the Fast Fourier Transform in OFDM The guard interval and its implementation As we have discussed above that a large number of narrowband carriers which are spaced close to each other in frequency domain are transmitted by OFDM. The modern digital technique that is used in the OFDM is FFT i-e Fast Fourier transform (FFT) and due to the use of FFT it reduces the number of modulators and demodulators both at the receiver and transmitter side. Fig. 4 Examples of OFDM spectrum (a) a single subchannel, (b) 5 carriers At the central frequency of each subchannel, there is no crosstalk from other subchannels. Mathematically, each carrier can be described as a complex wave: (1) sc(t) = the real part of original signal. Ac(t) = the Amplitude f c(t) = Phase of carrier (t)= symbol duration period Ac(t) and f c(t) use to fluctuate on symbol by symbol basis. Parameter values are constant over (t). As we know that OFDM posses many carriers. So the complex signals ss(t) is represented as: (2) where This is of course a continuous signal. If we consider the waveforms of each component of the signal over one symbol period, then the variables Ac(t) and f c(t) take on fixed values, which depend on the frequency of that particular carrier, and so can be rewritten: If the signal is sampled using a sampling frequency of 1/T, then the resulting signal is represented by: (3) At this point, we have restricted the time over which we analyse the signal to N samples. It is convenient to sample over the period of one data symbol. Thus we have a relationship: t =NT If we now simplify eqn. 3, without a loss of generality by letting w 0=0, then the signal becomes: (4) Now Eq. 4 can be compared with the general form of the inverse Fourier transform: (5) In eq. 4, the function is no more than a definition of the signal in the sampled frequency domain, and s(kT) is the time domain representation. Eqns. 4 and 5 are equivalent if: (6) This is the same condition that was required for orthogonality (see Importance of orthogonality). Thus, one consequence of maintaining orthogonality is that the OFDM signal can be defined by using Fourier transform procedures. The Fourier transform Fourier transform actually relate events in time domain to events in frequency domain. There are different version of FFT which are used according to requirement of different sort of work The conventional transform provide the relation of continuous signals. Note that Continuous signals are not limited in both time and frequency domain. Though, it is better to sample the signal so that the signal processing becomes simpler. But it lead to an aliasing when we sample the signals with infinite spectrum and the processing of signals which are not time limited can lead to another problem that is referred to as space storage. DFT (discrete Fourier transforms) is use to overcome the above problem of signal processing. The original definition of DFT reveals that the time waves have to repeat frequently and similarly frequency spectrum repeat frequently in frequency domain. Basically in DFT the signals can be sampled in time domain as well as in frequency domain. The Fourier transform is the process in which the signal represented in the time domain transformed in frequency domain, while the reverse process uses IFT which is the inverse Fourier transform. The use of the Fast Fourier Transform in OFDM The main reason that the OFDM technique has taken a long time to become a prominence has been practical. It has been difficult to generate such a signal, and even harder to receive and demodulate the signal. The hardware solution, which makes use of multiple modulators and demodulators, was somewhat impractical for use in the civil systems. The ability to define the signal in the frequency domain, in software on VLSI processors, and to generate the signal using the inverse Fourier transform is the key to its current popularity. The use of the reverse process in the receiver is essential if cheap and reliable receivers are to be readily available. Although the original proposals were made a long time ago [Weinstein and Ebert], it has taken some time for technology to catch up. At the transmitter, the signal is defined in the frequency domain. It is a sampled digital signal, and it is defined such that the discrete Fourier spectrum exists only at discrete frequencies. Each OFDM carrier corresponds to one element of this discrete Fourier spectrum. The amplitudes and phases of the carriers depend on the data to be transmitted. The data transitions are synchronised at the carriers, and can be processed together, symbol by symbol (Fig. 5). Fig. 5 Block diagram of an OFDM system using FFT, pilot PN sequence and a guard bit insertion [Zou and Wu] The definition of the (N-point) discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is: (DFT) (7) and the (N-point) inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT): (IDFT) (8) A natural consequence of this method is that it allows us to generate carriers that are orthogonal. The members of an orthogonal set are linearly independent. Consider a data sequence (d0, d1, d2, †¦, dN-1), where each dn is a complex number dn=an+jbn. (an, bn= ± 1 for QPSK, an, bn= ± 1,  ± 3 for 16QAM, †¦ ) k=0,1,2, †¦, N-1 (9) where fn=n/(ND T), tk=kD t and D t is an arbitrarily chosen symbol duration of the serial data sequence dn. The real part of the vector D has components k=0,1,..,N-1 (10) If these components are applied to a low-pass filter at time intervals D t, a signal is obtained that closely approximates the frequency division multiplexed signal (11) Fig. 5 illustrates the process of a typical FFT-based OFDM system. The incoming serial data is first converted form serial to parallel and grouped into x bits each to form a complex number. The number x determines the signal constellation of the corresponding subcarrier, such as 16 QAM or 32QAM. The complex numbers are modulated in a baseband fashion by the inverse FFT (IFFT) and converted back to serial data for transmission. A guard interval is inserted between symbols to avoid intersymbol interference (ISI) caused by multipath distortion. The discrete symbols are converted to analog and low-pass filtered for RF upconversion. The receiver performs the inverse process of the transmitter. One-tap equalizer is used to correct channel distortion. The tap-coefficients of the filter are calculated based on the channel information. Fig. 6 Example of the power spectral density of the OFDM signal with a guard interval D = TS/4 (number of carriers N=32) [Alard and Lassalle] Fig 4a shows the spectrum of an OFDM subchannel and Fig. 4b and Fig. 6 present composite OFDM spectrum. By carefully selecting the carrier spacing, the OFDM signal spectrum can be made flat and the orthogonality among the subchannels can be guaranteed. The guard interval and its implementation The orthogonality of subchannels in OFDM can be maintained and individual subchannels can be completely separated by the FFT at the receiver when there are no intersymbol interference (ISI) and intercarrier interference (ICI) introduced by transmission channel distortion. In practice these conditions can not be obtained. Since the spectra of an OFDM signal is not strictly band limited (sinc(f) function), linear distortion such as multipath cause each subchannel to spread energy into the adjacent channels and consequently cause ISI. A simple solution is to increase symbol duration or the number of carriers so that distortion becomes insignificant. However, this method may be difficult to implement in terms of carrier stability, Doppler shift, FFT size and latency. Fig. 7 The effect on the timing tolerance of adding a guard interval. With a guard interval included in the signal, the tolerance on timing the samples is considerably more relaxed. Fig. 8 Example of the guard interval. Each symbol is made up of two parts. The whole signal is contained in the active symbol (shown highlighted for the symbol M) The last part of which (shown in bold) is also repeated at the start of the symbol and is called the guard interval One way to prevent ISI is to create a cyclically extended guard interval (Fig. 7, 8), where each OFDM symbol is preceded by a periodic extension of the signal itself. The total symbol duration is Ttotal=Tg+T, where Tg is the guard interval and T is the useful symbol duration. When the guard interval is longer than the channel impulse response (Fig. 3), or the multipath delay, the ISI can be eliminated. However, the ICI, or in-band fading, still exists. The ratio of the guard interval to useful symbol duration is application-dependent. Since the insertion of guard interval will reduce data throughput, Tg is usually less than T/4. The reasons to use a cyclic prefix for the guard interval are: to maintain the receiver carrier synchronization ; some signals instead of a long silence must always be transmitted; cyclic convolution can still be applied between the OFDM signal and the channel response to model the transmission system. http://www.wirelesscommunication.nl/reference/chaptr05/ofdm/ofdmqual.htm Multipath Challenges In an OFDM-based WLAN architecture, as well as many other wireless systems, multipath distortion is a key challenge. This distortion occurs at a receiver when objects in the environment reflect a part of the transmitted signal energy. Figure 2 illustrates one such multipath scenario from a WLAN environment. Figure 2: Multipath reflections, such as those shown here, create ISI problems in OFDM receiver designs. Click here for larger version of Figure 1b Multipath reflected signals arrive at the receiver with different amplitudes, different phases, and different time delays. Depending on the relative phase change between reflected paths, individual frequency components will add constructively and destructively. Consequently, a filter representing the multipath channel shapes the frequency domain of the received signal. In other words, the receiver may see some frequencies in the transmitted signal that are attenuated and others that have a relative gain. In the time domain, the receiver sees multiple copies of the signal with different time delays. The time difference between two paths often means that different symbols will overlap or smear into each other and create inter-symbol interference (ISI). Thus, designers building WLAN architectures must deal with distortion in the demodulator. Recall that OFDM relies on multiple narrowband subcarriers. In multipath environments, the subcarriers located at frequencies attenuated by multipath will be received with lower signal strength. The lower signal strength leads to an increased error rate for the bits transmitted on these weakened subcarriers. Fortunately for most multipath environments, this only affects a small number of subcarriers and therefore only increases the error rate on a portion of the transmitted data stream. Furthermore, the robustness of OFDM in multipath can be dramatically improved with interleaving and error correction coding. Lets look at error correction and interleaving in more detail. Error Correction and Interleaving Error correcting coding builds redundancy into the transmitted data stream. This redundancy allows bits that are in error or even missing to be corrected. The simplest example would be to simply repeat the information bits. This is known as a repetition code and, while the repetition code is simple in structure, more sophisticated forms of redundancy are typically used since they can achieve a higher level of error correction. For OFDM, error correction coding means that a portion of each information bit is carried on a number of subcarriers; thus, if any of these subcarriers has been weakened, the information bit can still arrive intact. Interleaving is the other mechanism used in OFDM system to combat the increased error rate on the weakened subcarriers. Interleaving is a deterministic process that changes the order of transmitted bits. For OFDM systems, this means that bits that were adjacent in time are transmitted on subcarriers that are spaced out in frequency. Thus errors generated on weakened subcarriers are spread out in time, i.e. a few long bursts of errors are converted into many short bursts. Error correcting codes then correct the resulting short bursts of errors. OR for guard interval Handling ISI The time-domain counter part of the multipath is the ISI or smearing of one symbol into the next. OFDM gracefully handles this type of multipath distortion by adding a guard interval to each symbol. This guard interval is typically a cyclic or periodic extension of the basic OFDM symbol. In other words, it looks like the rest of the symbol, but conveys no new information. Since no new information is conveyed, the receiver can ignore the guard interval and still be able to separate and decode the subcarriers. When the guard interval is designed to be longer than any smearing due to the multipath channel, the receiver is able to eliminate ISI distortion by discarding the unneeded guard interval. Hence, ISI is removed with virtually no added receiver complexity. It is important to note that discarding the guard interval does have an impact on the noise performance since it reduces the amount of energy available at the receiver for channel symbol decoding. In addition, it reduces the data rate since no new information is contained in the added guard interval. Thus a good system design will make the guard interval as short as possible while maintaining sufficient multipath protection. Why dont single carrier systems also use a guard interval? Single carrier systems could remove ISI by adding a guard interval between each symbol. However, this has a much more severe impact on the data rate for single carrier systems than it does for OFDM. Since OFDM uses a bundle of narrowband subcarriers, it obtains high data rates with a relatively long symbol period because the frequency width of the subcarrier is inversely proportional to the symbol duration. Consequently, adding a short guard interval has little impact on the data rate. Single carrier systems with bandwidths equivalent to OFDM must use much shorter duration symbols. Hence adding a guard interval equal to the channel smearing has a much greater impact on data rate. http://www.commsdesign.com/design_corner/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16504605 As we know that cyclic prefix is used to restore the orthogonality and preserve ISI, but the question that arises is that how the orthogonality destroyed between the subcarriers and how cyclic prefix restore the orthogonality. [1] [2] The orthogonality between subcarriers is destroyed due to the channel dispersion whenever the signal is transmitted over a channel and this cause ICI and due to the longer delay ISI occur among the OFDM symbols which are in sequence. [1] Further more there is no any interference in uncorrupted OFDM signal when they are demodulated but when we talk about the time dispersive channel the OFDM subcarriers lost there orthogonality. The main cause behind this is that the demodulator correlation interval for one path will overlap with the symbol boundary of a different path as show in the figure [ ] [ 2] Fig. 4.11 16QAM constellation We will see that this makes equalization in the receiver very simple. If multipath exceeds the CP, then constellation points in the modulation is distorted. As can be seen from Fig. 4.11, when multipath delay exceeds the CP, the subcarriers are not guaranteed to be orthogonal anymore, since modulation points may fall into anywhere in the respective contour. As delay spread gets more severe, the radius of the contour enlarges and crosses the other contours. Hence, this causes error. The CP is utilized in the guard period between successive blocks and constructed by the cyclic extension of the OFDM symbol over a period Ï„ : (4.3) The required criteria is that Ï„ is chosen bigger than channel length Ï„h so as not to experience an ISI. The CP requires more transmit energy and reduces the bit rate to (Nb/NT +Ï„ ), where b is the bits that a subcarrier can transmit. The CP converts a discrete time linear convolution into a discrete time circular convolution. Thus, transmitted data can be modeled as a circular convolution between the channel impulse response and the transmitted data block, which in the frequency domain is a pointwise multiplication of DFT samples. Then received signal becomes Where (4.5) Hence, kth subcarrier now has a channel component Hk, which is the fourier transform of h(t) at the frequency fk. The OFDM symbol is sampled (t = nT and fk = k/NT) in the receiver and demodulated with an FFT. Consequently, the received data has the following form yk = Hk xk, k = 0, . . . ,N −1. (4.6) The received actual data can be retrieved with N parallel one-tap equalizers. One-tap equalizer simply uses the estimated channel ( ˆHk) components and use it to retrieve estimated ˆ xk as follows (4.7) Also note that the spectrum of OFDM decays slowly. This causes spectrum leakage to neighboring bands. Pulse shaping is used to change the spectral shape by either commonly used raised cosine time window or passing through a filter. An OFDM system design considers setting the guard interval (Ï„ ) as well as the symbol time (T) and FFT size with respect to desired bit rate B and given tolerable delay spread. The guard interval is selected according to delay spread, and typically it is 2–4 times the root-mean-squared delay spread with respect to chosen coding and modulation. Symbol time is set with respect to guard time and it is desirable to select much larger than the guard time since the loss in SNR in the guard time is compensated. Symbol time as we know determines the subcarrier spacing ( fb = 1/T). Number of subcarriers N is found with respect to desired bit rate, since total number of bits (bT ) to carry in one symbol is found with B/(T +Ï„ ) and selected coding and modulation determines the number of bits (b) in one subcarrier. Hence, the number of subcarriers is N = bT /b. For instance, b is two for 16QAM with rate 1/2. The required bandwidth (W) is then N âˆâ€" fb. Alternatively, this method is reversed to find out the symbol time starting from the given bandwidth. OR Cyclic-prefix insertion As I m talking about the time dispersive channel I want to include that in time dispersive channel the subcarrier not only have inter symbol interference within them but they also posses interference between them. As we know that in case of time dispersive channel the frequency-selective channel frequency response is equivalent to time dispersion on the radio channel. There are two reasons of orthogonality between OFDM subcarriers. Due to frequency-domain separation. The specific frequency-domain structure of each subcarrier. Even if the frequency-domain channel is constant over a bandwidth corresponding to the main lobe of an OFDM subcarrier and only the subcarrier side lobes are corrupted due to the radio-channel frequency selectivity, the orthogonality between subcarriers will be lost with inter-subcarrier interference as a consequence. Due to the relatively large side lobes of each OFDM subcarrier, already a relatively limited amount of time dispersion or, equivalently, a relatively modest radio-channel frequency selectivity may cause non-negligible interference between subcarriers. Time dispersion and corresponding received-signal timing Figure 9 Time dispersion and corresponding received-signal timing. To deal with this problem and to make an OFDM signal truly insensitive to time dispersion on the radio channel, so-called cyclic-prefix insertion is typically used in case of OFDM transmission. As illustrated in Figure 10, cyclic-prefix insertion implies that the last part of the OFDM symbol is copied and inserted at the beginning of the OFDM symbol. Cyclic-prefix insertion thus increases the length of the OFDM symbol from Tu to Tu +TCP, where TCP is the length of the cyclic prefix, with a corresponding reduction in the OFDM symbol rate as a consequence. As illustrated in the lower part of Figure 10, if the correlation at the receiver side is still only carried out over a time interval Tu =1/∆f , subcarrier orthogonality will then be preserved also in case of a time-dispersive channel, as long as the span of the time dispersion is shorter than the cyclic-prefix length. Cyclic-prefix insertion Figure 10. Cyclic-prefix insertion Cyclic-prefix insertion is beneficial in the sense that it makes an OFDM signal insensitive to time dispersion as long as the span of the time dispersion does not exceed the length of the cyclic prefix. The drawback of cyclic-prefix insertion is that only a fraction Tu /( Tu +TCP) of the received signal power is actually utilized by the OFDM demodulator, implying a corresponding power loss in the demodulation. In addition to this power loss, cyclic-prefix insertion also implies a corresponding loss in terms of bandwidth as the OFDM symbol rate is reduced without a corresponding reduction in the overall signal bandwidth. One way to reduce the relative overhead due to cyclic-prefix insertion is to reduce the subcarrier spacing ∆f , with a corresponding increase in the symbol time Tu as a consequence. http://wirelesscafe.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/ofdm-as-downlink-transmission-scheme-for-lte/

E-commerce :: essays research papers

Business and the Internet The past several years have marked a time which is comparable to the coming of television and the radio. The Internet has grown from a simple way to send messages to and from two different computers with different operating systems, known as the beginning of E-Mail, to a way to sell and buy products just like in the tangible world. This article explains that the Internet or Web must be reckoned in dog years, because the pace of change is so fast that one year on the Internet is like seven years in any other medium. Fifteen million households connected to the "Net" can be a large market for any business willing and ready to scoop it up. By the year 2000, the projection is that North America will have 38 million online households, one third of all households. The reasoning, or thesis, of the article is the question of whether the Web should be used for information purposes, or for a new marketplace in this expanding goldmine of information. The potential for businesses is enormous. Fifteen million people is a very large consumer marketplace. Consumers are not the only ones "surfing" around for info. Businesses also focus on other companies to sell their products. General Electric sold machine and appliance parts using a new business to business technology called "extranet". GE used its successful "extranet" to roll in 1996 online sales of one billion dollars. Another very successful type of business on the net is the coming of services backed by research, such as discount stock trading, including e.Schwab and a Web-only company called E*Trade. Travel services have been very promising because the transactions can be supported by extensive computer databases of useful information. The Web is particularly effective at selling services backed by research. The reasoning behind the financial services taking up the Web is the fact that they are backed up by extensive research. The main worry with the Web and its growth is the concern of false information and crackpot theories masquerading as facts. The Web is flooded with many different kinds of businesses and "personal" Web pages which could mislead the consumer into believing false information. The only way to combat this problem is to trust "brand name" business and services. The only way to tell if you can trust a site or business is to have previous interaction with this company. As the web expands and the number of "companies" grows, brand names that are known will become progressively more important. E-commerce :: essays research papers Business and the Internet The past several years have marked a time which is comparable to the coming of television and the radio. The Internet has grown from a simple way to send messages to and from two different computers with different operating systems, known as the beginning of E-Mail, to a way to sell and buy products just like in the tangible world. This article explains that the Internet or Web must be reckoned in dog years, because the pace of change is so fast that one year on the Internet is like seven years in any other medium. Fifteen million households connected to the "Net" can be a large market for any business willing and ready to scoop it up. By the year 2000, the projection is that North America will have 38 million online households, one third of all households. The reasoning, or thesis, of the article is the question of whether the Web should be used for information purposes, or for a new marketplace in this expanding goldmine of information. The potential for businesses is enormous. Fifteen million people is a very large consumer marketplace. Consumers are not the only ones "surfing" around for info. Businesses also focus on other companies to sell their products. General Electric sold machine and appliance parts using a new business to business technology called "extranet". GE used its successful "extranet" to roll in 1996 online sales of one billion dollars. Another very successful type of business on the net is the coming of services backed by research, such as discount stock trading, including e.Schwab and a Web-only company called E*Trade. Travel services have been very promising because the transactions can be supported by extensive computer databases of useful information. The Web is particularly effective at selling services backed by research. The reasoning behind the financial services taking up the Web is the fact that they are backed up by extensive research. The main worry with the Web and its growth is the concern of false information and crackpot theories masquerading as facts. The Web is flooded with many different kinds of businesses and "personal" Web pages which could mislead the consumer into believing false information. The only way to combat this problem is to trust "brand name" business and services. The only way to tell if you can trust a site or business is to have previous interaction with this company. As the web expands and the number of "companies" grows, brand names that are known will become progressively more important.

A Brief History of Tahiti Essay -- World History Essays

Like much of the colonial world, Tahiti and its surrounding islands were subject to the intense brutality and domination of European imperialism. The native people were manipulated, their culture was eradicated, and their freedom was greatly limited as both the French and the British struggled for control over the Polynesian’s 65 inhabitable islands. What makes Tahiti distinctive from the colonial world, though, is the lack of violence commonly associated with independence movements. Instead, Tahiti’s progression from a colony to a territory of limited independence has been, for the most part, rather peaceful due to the area’s unique history and geography. The area known as French Polynesia is spread out across 2,000,000 miles of the South Pacific Ocean. Though, this number in many cases is deceiving due to the fact that only about 6,500 of those miles are land. Tahiti is the largest of the Polynesian’s 118 islands, containing a land mass greater than 1,667 square miles. It is also the area’s most populous region, consisting of nearly 150,000 citizens. The first Europeans arrived in Tahiti in 1767. A year later, the island was claimed for France by explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville. The French, though, were slow to exert their control over the region and, in their absence, other colonial powers, most notably the British, were able to establish dominance. In 1797, the members of the London Missionary Society arrived on the island. Over the next twenty years, these missionaries developed close ties with the Pomares, Tahiti’s most powerful ruling family. Through domination and manipulation, the British missionaries used the Pomares’ influence to eradicate many of the native traditions,... .../historydates.asp> Tahiti. 1995-2002. 12 Nov. 2002. â€Å"Tahiti and French Polynesia: A look at the history and culture of French Polynesia† Tahiti Explorer. 1994-2002. 12 Nov. 2002. â€Å"Tahiti and Its Islands: The History† Tahiti Explorer. 1994-2002. 12 Nov. 2002. Links This link brings its reader to a timeline of dates regarding the history of Tahiti and Polynesia. This link brings its reader to a website designed for tourists. It contains various information about Tahiti. This link brings its reader to a basic website containing historical facts and tourism information regarding Tahiti.

Hiring In-Laws: A Bad Idea :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Hiring In-Laws: A Bad Idea Many successful small businesses have been ruined by bringing in-laws in to the family business. As these in-laws struggle to establish a voice in the company, meaning well, they often wind up destroying them. As the owner of the family business, it is your job to avoid situations that could hurt or hinder your business. In this case you should assume a few often overlooked points:  When approaching your business, never think of it in terms of one happy family.  Never assume that in-laws will be grateful to benefit from the opportunities the business offers. Rather, they often feel guilty and incompetent thinking they would have never gotten the job if they weren't family.  Even in-laws with terrific ideas for the company will disrupt the business, the family, or both.  In-laws will struggle from day one to try to prove themselves to you. Even at family outings they will often engage in business talk to promote their worthiness and creativity. The O'Shea Family Business To further illustrate the risks of hiring in-laws into a business we will use a real life example, the O’Shea family. The O’Shea family business was fairly simple. They owned a clothing manufacturing company that made camouflage apparel. They were contracted suppliers of clothing to the military since the business opened its doors during World War II. Daniel O'Shea, the company president, was earning a "comfortable living" in 1970 when began making plans to select his successor. His two daughters had no interest in the day-to-day operations of the company. As a result his decision to choose his son, a levelheaded recent M.B.A., was easy. His name was Sean. Sean knew the business very well, and the company grew from his good business sense. He was young and energetic, helping the company to increase profits almost 50% in his first 2 years while at the helm. This meant bigger monthly checks for the family members, and no one argued against that. The business be gan to grow and so did the need for personnel. Sean made a big mistake only 5 years into his career. With the insistence of one of his sisters, he hired an in-law. It was against his better judgement, but he figured he could place him in a job were the family ties would not cause any problems.

Perennialism and Essentialism

I have been put to the challenge to develop my beliefs about education. Education is very important to me. I will make sure that I try to push my children to continue their education until they can’t go anymore. The sky is the limit. I ask myself important questions every day. What kind of teacher do I want to be? I want to have a positive influence and a strong teaching strategy. Everybody have their ideal teaching strategy and their goals of being a teacher. For this philosophical essay I have studied 4 philosophies. The 4 philosophies were perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and social Reconstructionism.When I took the assessment I scored a 19 on essentialism, I assume that I believe in this belief strongly. The next highest was the Perennialism where I scored an 18 in. For Progressivism I scored a 14 and finally I scored a 15 in social Reconstructionism. Essentialism suggests that a critical core of information exists that all people should possess. Schools should e mphasize basic skills and academic subjects, and students should master these subjects. A curriculum that emphasizes reading, writing, and a deep understanding of math is consistent with essentialism.Essentialism and perennialism share the same view that knowledge and understanding are preeminent. Essentialism emphasizes knowledge and skills whereas perennialism emphasis on universal truths thought his study of classical literature. Their emphases are practical and usable knowledge the essentialist curriculum is more likely to change than the perennialism curriculum. As the world changes teachers preparation programs place increases emphasis on working effectively with education. Perennialism means that one should teach things that one deems to be everlasting pertinence to all people everywhere.It’s believe that the most important topic develop a person. Since details of the fact change these cannot be the most important things. So, principles not facts or taught. So instead of teaching about techniques or machines, they teach about humans first and workers second and Liberal topics first not vocational topics. Perennialism is good ways teach in my opinion. It has been used for generations and has been working. I believe is better for a student to learn about the evolution of humans than the man made things or techniques.A particular strategy with modern perennialists is to teach scientific reasoning, not facts. Teacher illustrated reasoning with original accounts of famous experiments and it give students a human side to science. Perennialism and essentialism have similarities. Perennialism focuses on personal development first, while essentialism focuses on essential skills. Both philosophies of education are both teacher centered, as opposed to progressivism. Teachers who teach with perennialism are is the sense the authors of the western masterpieces themselves, and these teacher may be opened up more to student criticism.Permanence is more real tha n change and human nature remains essentially the he same no matter the culture. Also, the good life is more fit for a women and man to live and remain essential the same. The moral principles of perennialism remain the same; hence the education that men receive should remain essentially the same. An educational goal for perennialism is to train the intellect whereas the essentialism acquires the basic skills needed to function in today’s world. The curriculum for the essentialism is to essential knowledge a basic skill.The curriculum for the perennialism is to focus on enduring ideas. The teaching methods for the perennialism is to lecture; question and discuss. The essentialism is the same but they practice and feedback. The learning environment for essentialism is it will be high structure strong focus on essential knowledge and skills. The perennialism is also the same but they are strongly structured on academic work. The Perennialism frequently takes assessments and rec eives feedbacks. The essentialism does frequent objective and performance assessments and feedbacks.

Outline of Marijuanna

Outline for Persuasive Paper I. Thesis: Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. a. Preview statement: Legalizing marijuana has been successful in other countries and once our government understands and believes in the use of marijuana it will destroy the black market in the US. II. There are many pros of legalizing the use of marijuana. b. Health i. Marijuana is one of the most beneficial and therapeutically active substances known to man. ii. â€Å"Medical Marijuana for pain and Depression. † Disabled World . Disabled-World. Com, 1 1 2008. Web. 6 Feb 2013. . c. Economy iii. If pot was to be legalized the US could be savings up to $2 billion to $10 billion of tax payer money on law enforcement. â€Å"If drugs like marijuana became decriminalized, the prison industry would lose a large chunk of its business. † iv. Benson, Johnathan. â€Å"Hundreds of Economists Agree Marijuana Legalization Could Save U. S Taxpayers $13. 7 Billion Per Year . † Nation of Change. NationofChange. com, 22 4 2012. Web. 26 Feb 2013. . III. Many people can come up with cons of legalizing marijuana. d. Stepping Stones v. Keeping marijuana illegal makes it that much more difficult for someone to get addicted to it and be tempted to try out other, stronger drugs. vi. Gupta, Sourabh. â€Å"Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana. † Buzzle. Buzzle. com, 10 2 2013. Web. 27 Feb 2013. . e. Increase in Consumption vii. one of the greatest worries that comes with the legalization of

National Parks: a Double Edged Sword?

National Parks: A Double Edged Sword? Justin Pearly Environmental History Prof. Mark Bishop Newell Tuesday July 21, 2009 Pearly 1 Few places can match the sheer diversity of wildlife and culture that exists in the country’s national park system. Humans, with the future in mind, have â€Å"set aside† these beautiful sites of wonder and awe. But at what cost? Do national parks end up being good and bad at the same time? Our national parks are a supposed to be a natural treasure. Here the unspoiled grandeur and beauty of nature can be appreciated in its most pristine form. However, the amount of people that are visiting these parks has risen to levels that threaten the very beauty and well-being of these paradises. Its now seems apparent that there is a price to pay for allowing humans into an area that did not have many humans before. To understand the present state of the nation’s parks, and ultimately their entire future, it is crucial to first look back at the past. The first national park was Yellowstone National Park. This sprawling park contains such amazing geological and biological sites that it had been considered a national park long before it was ever officially named one. Its combination of diverse wildlife, and geologic features such as, waterfalls, canyons, geysers, and hot springs made it obvious to any who had experienced it, that this was a place that should be preserved just the way it was. That was why in 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant made it officially the world’s first national park. The only problem being, it was a completely unique creation, the first of its kind. This means that all ground that they covered would be new. Due to inconsistencies with the way national parks were being governed, and the fact that there were was no central governing body for national parks Congress created a Pearly 2 National Park Service that would operate within jurisdiction of the Secretary of the interior. Signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916, the National Park Service Organic Act created the National Park Service which put the country’s national parks in its jurisdiction. Wendy Hart Beckman in her book entitled â€Å"National Parks in Crisis: Debating the Issues,† states that, â€Å"The Organic Act said the National Park Service’s purpose was to ‘promote and regulate the use of the†¦ national parks†¦ which purpose is to conserve scenery and the natural historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. † When trying to unravel the ethics and issues concerning the parks one must keep referring back to this original mission statement. The purpose of national parks is to enjoy the scenery and to leave it unchanged for future generations. However, this statement seems somewhat contradictory, when considering the fact that most national parks are areas that did not have native humans for much of their history. One of the first things to consider about this complex issue is: Why do people want to go there in the first place? Why is it important to them? The first and most obvious reason to let people into our national parks is for their own personal enjoyment. People derive a great deal of pleasure out of leaving their boring, monotonous urban and suburban lives behind even if it is for just a weekend, or merely an evening. People in cites often lead sedentary lifestyles, and need to get outside in a natural setting even if it is just to walk. Some people might even think the air in these preserves tastes fresher! People get a taste of what the earth was like before humans were there. These Pearly 3 can be places of relaxing or exercising. Have a you ever scaled a thousand foot mountain? Hiking can be quite exhilarating. Parents can, in effect, introduce the next generation of conservationists to these areas. Children that have grown up with these sites in their hearts will never forget how incredibly important they are. People becoming informed and interested in nature is one of the most important functions of a national park besides the preservation of the actual land itself. Even without any previous interactions with nature, or any history or knowledge of the place that you are going to you may find and enjoyment to be effortless. When people witness something with their own eyes, it is very different from looking at a picture, or reading about something in a textbook. There is a definitive advantage to experiencing things in person. Subtleties stand out. All five senses can be invoked. People who are not familiar with this kind of beauty are usually particularly awestruck. A memory is formed which is nearly impossible to erase or change (although one’s perspective of the event can change). Every time one person gets hooked on nature, that person will usually try to their share its grandeur with other people. People who appreciate that wonderful wilderness will then go out of their way to help conserve it. There is also a secondary effect in addition to making the individual feel good. Whether or not a reverence for nature existed before their encounters with these sacred sanctuaries does not matter at the point that people start to care about these wonderlands. All that matters then is that people who have visited and enjoyed themselves now feel like they have a vested interest in the parks. Now that they have traveled through the park, they feel the weight of responsibility for their actions. They also realize that everything they do, can produce an effect which, were they not there, never would have occurred. The more Pearly 4 aware and informed people are, the better the decisions they tend to make. There is even an organization called â€Å"Leave No Trace, Inc. † which tries to inform visitors of ways they can reduce the amount of impact on the ecosystem during visits. The group has even compiled a list of seven â€Å"principles† that can help people lessen their impact on the land. 1. Travel and camp on durable surfaces 2. Leave what you find 3. Plan ahead and prepare 4. Dispose of waste properly 5. Minimize campfire impacts 6. Respect Wildlife 7. Be considerate of other visitors While all these principles sound nice on paper, the amount that people adhere to them, and how effective they can be in reducing our footprint remains to be seen. When discussing the concept of â€Å"leaving not trace† one must begin to wonder about the impact of human travel. Even a foot-trail through a park is altering the natural landscape. The question of how much altering of the landscape is acceptable is not an easy one. It has led to intense debate for over a century. Roads are one of the most obvious signs of human interference. While providing a route for visitors to come and enjoy the parks, they also obscure the natural landscape. I think most would agree that a road cutting through even the most pristine wilderness takes Pearly 5 something away from it. So, the parks need people, and people need roads. Or do they? A rather extreme solution might be to restrict road building all together. Access to areas could be achieved by a more â€Å"green† method such a bicycles, or walking. There is also a major issue of dam building. Many a heated debate has occurred when discussing dam building. There are few things that alter the natural landscape like a dam. One would think that national parks would be free from man made structures such as dams. However this is not the case. For example in the 1930’s the federal Bureau of Reclamation proposed putting a dam in Dinosaur National Monument’s Echo Canyon. The purpose of this would be create a clean source of electricity using the power of the water flowing over the dam that would be built. While many of the locals upstream from the dam liked the prospect of water in their dry canyon, they would be flooding one of the greatest fossil sites of the Jurassic. Let’s consider the interaction between people and animals. This has been a long and curious story. With the intention of making the park safer for visitors, park staff have, in the past, killed animals that were deemed a nuisance. This includes predatory animals such as wolf or bear, but also includes herbivores such as the elk. And while it is no longer legal for anyone to kill these animals, we have accepted a very shaky truce with them. Humans entering parks are told specifically not to feed the animals. It is a warning that is not heeded as much as it needs to be. When wild animals are fed by humans they get conditioned to expect food from them. Therefore, they are more likely to come around humans hoping for food. This can be very dangerous! While wild animals can seem cute Pearly 6 and harmless they rarely are (harmless of course). Even something seemingly docile like a white-tailed deer can become aggressive and do severe damage, especially to an unsuspecting human. People frequently fail to realize that wild animals are just that; wild. Wild translates into unpredictable. I’m sure I could get more than a few circus performers to agree with me. The irony of this whole situation is the greatest asset to national parks also happens to be their greatest downfall, Humans, while having the potential to create on a monumental level, also have a similar capacity for destruction. Even more confusing is that fact that the opinions of people on both sides of these issue have well founded, and very convincing arguments. National parks are an important part of American history and need to be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. Debate is good in the sense that any publicity is good publicity. As long as people feel strongly on both sides we are more likely to reach some sort of compromise. Pearly 7 Bibliography De Voto, Bernard. â€Å"Shall we let them ruin our national parks? † Saturday Evening Post, July 22, 1950. Chittenden, Hiram Martin. The Yellowstone National Park Beckman, Wendy Hart. National Parks in Crisis: Debating the Issues (Berkley Heights: Enslow, 2004) Wendy Hart Beckman, National Parks in Crisis: Debating the Issues (Berkley Heights: Enslow, 2004) Beckman 18, 19 Beckman 65-68 Beckman 19, 20 Beckman 14, 15, 53

“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson

The book â€Å"The Devil in the White City† by Erik Larson describes peculiarities of Chicago life in the Gilded Age. It was the time of industrial growth and development of materialism and political corruption. The government wasn’t bothering of checking corruption in financial and political institutions. I think that â€Å"The Devil in the White City† is one of the most interesting and exciting books which has excellently captured the image of the Gilded Age.Nevertheless, the book is not simple as it may seem at the first glance, because the author has managed to combine positive shifts in architectural design and industry with horrible murders committed by serial killer. The book is shocking and thought-provoking. The author challenges traditional ideas and viewpoints offering real picture of what the Gilded Age was in the history. The work is non-fiction and from the very first pages the author introduces two men who are considered to have affected the legend ary World’s Fair in 1893 – Daniel Burnham and Herman Webster Mudgett.Larson describes Burnham as successful architect with credible reputation and experience in building the fair. The author follows him from the very first steps in his career when he was unsuccessful apprentice who had failed to enter Yale and Harvard. In the image of Daniel the author tries to show the audience the way Daniel has created his famous architectural exposition. Larson introduces Herman Webster Mudgett as opposition to Daniel Burnham to shows that there is good and evil. Neither good nor evil can exist without counter-side. Herman Mudgett uses the alias Dr. H. H. Holmes to lure innocent victims with his wit and charm.Actually, Dr. Holms is series killer who sees an excellent opportunity to kill people by attracting them into his ‘castle’ – mysterious hotel. Dr. Holms manages to hypnotize women and to gain their trust and admiration by promising them financial support an d chance to see the whole world. As a result, women are simply vanishing. The most shocking thing is that Dr. Holmes sells their skeletons to universities. Dr. Holmes is a brilliant psychologist. For example, when he sees that people are suspicious he tries to use his charisma and to persuade that he doesn’t know where women are. Firstly it may seem that it is Dr.Holms who is to be labeled ‘Devil in the City’. In the images of Burnham and Dr. Holmes the author shows skillfully that beauty co-exists with ugliness and good co-exists with evil. No period in the history can be marked as good or bad as there are always positive and negative moments. Interestingly, Larson defines these two characters as ‘artists’ providing two different viewpoints towards the World’s Fair. Larson believes that these different perspectives are equally important as they â€Å"embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized the rush of America towards the twentieth century†.(p. xi) Burnham and Dr. Holms are representatives of Chicago in the end of the 1800s. Through their images the author shows how the city looks like from negative and positive sides. Actually, the author is willing to show that his book is about eternal battle between good and evil. However, there are no winners and losers. There is only one devil in the city. Larson takes readers into the minds of cunning killer and skillful architect, though he doesn’t explain who the devil in the city is. This question remains uncertain.The Gilded Age is a matter of particular interest for Erik Larson. In the book he supports his theory in several ways. Actually, book’s chapters provide different perspectives and viewpoints as life in Chicago was dubious in those times. Larson describes perspectives of Burnham and Dr. Holmes stressing that they are equally important to the city’s representation. Burnham is representation of pride and glory, whereas Dr. Holmes represents the dark side of Chicago’s life. Larson argues that World’s Fair plays important role for Chicago and other US cities.For example, he writes that Paris organized an exposition which â€Å"showed off France’s self-proclaimed superiority in art, manufacturing, science, and engineering†. (pxxi) Similar role World’s Fair has played in America. Eiffel Tower was something people had never seen before. And Burnham becomes obsessive with idea to create his own Eiffel Tower. In those times Chicago was extremely dirty town and Daniel decided to change it by changing his way of thinking. The author views in Daniel the chance for improvement and development. Consequently, Dr. Holmes is representative of corrupt side of the city.He is the embodiment of scandal affairs and shady politicians. Dr. Holms is viewed as darkness in the city of lights and joyful hopes. Dr. Holms seems to represent the Gilded Age as, on the one hand, he is smart, char ming and wealthy, and, on the other hand, he is bloodthirsty and wicked. At the end of the novel Larson compares perspectives of Dr. Holms and Daniel Burnham uniting different aspects of Chicago. Burnham and Dr. Holms are different people, but they share similar goals. They are both viewed as architects. Burnham is willing to create something new and to challenge traditional viewpoints, whereas Dr.Holms sets the background for killing. The author â€Å"found it so marvellously strange that both these men should be operating at the same time in history, within blocks of each other, both creating powerful legacies, one of brilliance and energy, the other of sorrow and darkness†. (p. xi) Larson believes that there is no other way to portray the Gilded Age and to show main driving forces in 1893. He shows that technical advances are combined with unimaginable evil. I think that the author is very convincing in his portraying the realities of Chicago life as he doesn’t repr esent only one side.Instead, he encompasses both perspectives. To understand Chicago better one has to look at the city through the eyes of dark devil and white angel. Despite the fact that all events are not real, it seems that the whole book is a true event. Erik Larson has done brilliant job representing all events of the fair in such a way that it is hardly possible to dispute them. However, the book is shocking when the author deepens in details concerning Dr. Holmes and his victims. Nevertheless, every white city has its dark evil.