Advances in technology Essay

This world goes through a lot of changes as time goes on. Changes in technology can make a brighter future for individuals. Because of advances in technology, this world is becoming more efficient and saving us money in the long-run with fuel, electricity, communication, etc. The social lifestyle of an individual involves technology in some way. Technology has become a necessity in these modern days and it is going to become more advanced as time goes on. With these advances in technology, the social lifestyles of individuals can be simpler. Technology moves our world forward into a new and advanced era. Without technology, we would all be stuck in the same time as our ancestors. Technology is a very good thing for people anywhere and everywhere, no matter how old, it helps us in every aspect of our daily lives, and it is a thing that cannot be lived without. Technology has many branches and levels, from cell phones to the internet and even for medical purposes. However, cell phones and the internet have taken the main role in changing our society. I find it truly amazing that a person from China is able to talk to a person from the United States, all through the internet. Programs such as facebook make finding an old childhood friend extremely easy, all that is to be done is type in their name. The advantages of technology include better health facilities due to increased disease diagnosis using technology and faster as well as more accurate business results and solutions through technology. Technology has also enabled the automation of manual work thus saving time and money. It has boosted the entertainment through games and computer programs as well as increase in economy growth due to faster and easier business. Without technology in our lives, our world we be a very different place. Not only does technology provide us with a new and improved way to communicate, is gives us new and exciting ways to research and get ideas out to the world faster. Technology is only going to get better and better as each day progresses and with the appropriate efforts and integrating it into the classroom will enhance education forever. Our advance in technology has and always will be a good thing that will always benefit our world. People’s lives are becoming simpler.

Histroy of English Language Essay

History of English language will explain, why learning English as a second language is difficult without proper instruction, even though basic components are same. Throughout its history English has been influenced by the varieties of language. Living languages never remain static. Every language is the product of change and continues to change as long as it is spoken. Only dead languages like Latin or Sanskrit change no longer, since no one speaks them now. The changes, while they do occur are gradual and slow and hence almost imperceptible. Over a span of centuries, however, their cumulative effect is appreciable. Shakespeare English is difficult for modern readers; Chaucer’s is almost is incomprehensible without formal instruction. The History of the English language: The origin During the Roman invasion, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. English belongs, in all its stages, to the Indo European family of languages, formerly called Indo-Germanic, and still earlier Aryan. Indo European is the name given to the set of linguistic forms from which nearly all European languages as well as those of Persia and very large part of India can be shewn to descend. The historians have used the word Indo-European because it merely suggests that the languages it comprises cover most of the Europe and India mark the length of its confines. The predominance and pioneering s of the position of the German Philologist English is one of the most important languages in the world today. More the an 350 million people in Great Britain are native speakers. In addition 150 million non-native speakers of English are there. English however is not spoken by large number of people in the world . Chinese, for instance spoken by more than 880 million people in China alone. Among the western languages English has the advantage in numbers. Spanish in spoken by about 210 million people. Russian is spoken about 200 million people Portuguese is spoken about 105 million people etc . Importance of a language is associated with political role played by the nations using it and their influence in the international affairs. Several reasons may be adduced for current importance and popularity of English. Historically the colonial expansion of the British Empire over which the sun never sets, was responsible for the imposition of the English on aspiring natives. Even after achieving independence many countries like Nigeria, India, Ghana continue to use English as official language for several reasons. The nature of the English language and its tolerance to change has made it very popular. One of the major assets of the English language is the mixed character or its vocabulary. English being the Germanic descent has many words from the Germanic languages viz, German Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Scandinavian, Swedish, Norwegian. It also shares a large number of words with the European languages derived from Latin viz,French Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Hence English seems very familiar to anyone who speaks a Germanic and Roman language. Instead of making new words chiefly by the combination of existing elements, English has shown the marked tendency to go outside its own linguistic resources and borrow from other languages. These words have been so well assimilated into English the no one ever remembers or recognizes that they have been borrowed. Any etymological dictionary will show that English has borrowed from almost every language of the world; Hebrew Arabic Hindi Tamil,Malay,WestAfrica,Chinese,Brazil etc. This is the reason why we call English a cosmopolitan vocabulary which is an asset to any language which seeks to attain international use. Modern linguists therefore accept the dynamic nature of language. One of their axioms is that there are no pure forms of language, for language, for languages keep changing all the time. If English had remained pure over the centuries, we should still be speaking the language of Chaucer. Throughout the history, the English language has accepted with comparative equanimity words from other languages with which it has been in contact. There have been periods in which speakers and writers have indulged in large-scale use of foreign words. In general, most people will agree that the foreign contribution to English has been useful. Some languages avoid as far as possible the use of alien terms; instead they substitute new words made up of native elements. English however, has always accepted foreign words. Many hundreds of words of non-English origin are now part and parcel of the English vocabulary, indistinguishable from the native stock except to those with some knowledge of etymology. Of all the world languages, English has probably the vocabulary which is the most copious, heterogeneous and varied, at the same time this also one of the reason that learning English as second language becomes difficult. All the people, with whom its speakers have come in contact during more than thirteen centuries of its growth, have left permanent marks on the language. Some of the contacts have been deep and lasting like Greek, French and Latin. A study of the history of the English language, therefore, unfolds the panorama of English history-both social and political. With an empire over which sun never sets, the English language has been particularly open to foreign influences. The Romans with whom the ancient Germanic tribes had dealings, the Romanized Britons, the Latin fathers of the church who were once eagerly studied the Danish and Norwegian invaders, the Norman French conquerors, the revival of ancient Latin and Greek classics at Renaissance, the Italian artists and men of letters of the 16th century the colonizing nations of the same century—all these have made their contributions to the English language. Arab mathematicians from Spain have enriched the language: so have American Redskins and Indian sepoys. The Italianate Englishman of Queen Elizabeth’s time of whom Shakespeare made fun and famous writers like Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift have left something of value in the English word—hoard. It is no doubt, that such statement might fairly be made about other language and their history; but what stands out so remarkably about English is the abundance, the unparalleled variety and the length of the time during which foreign influences have been effective. Further, no other language has so much copious and heterogeneous material. In historical linguistics the contribution of particular foreign language to another is referred to as borrowing . In common parlance, ‘borrowing’ means getting something form somebody on the understanding that it is to be returned. Luckily, this definition does not apply to words which are borrowed, never to be returned. Linguists wonder whether ‘stealing’ might be a more appropriate term for this phenomenon. As Haugen says† The borrowing takes place without the lender’s consent or even awareness and the borrower is under no obligation to repay the loan. One might as well call it stealing, were it is not the owner is deprived of nothing and feels no urge to recover his goods. The process might be called adoption, for the speaker does adopt element from a second language into its own. Even though English language has adopted variety of languages into it, the basic structure of the English language has not changed. English language’s basic structure is, it has fixed word order. Due to more than two hundred years of English rule, Tamil has borrowed copiously from English. Now these words are not recognized as foreign at all. One hears an uneducated Tamil speaker use words like office school, ticket, gate, bus etc. In fact, practically no one remembers the Tamil equivalent of these words. The problem arises for the second language learners only when they were asked to use the language or reproducing it. Tamil is Dravidian language spoken by more than 65 million people. It is the official language of Tamil nadu state in India and one of the official languages of Srilanka also. Large Tamil-speaking communities also reside in South Africa,Singapore, Malaysia and the other Indian ocean islands. The earliest Tamil inscriptions dates from 200B. C. The literature in the language have a 2,000-year history. There are 247 letters in the Tamil alphabet. The 247 letters in the Tamil alphabet can be divided into 12 vowels 18 consonants, 216 vowel consonants and 1 special letter. The vowel consonants are formed by combining the vowel letters and consonants letters. The vowel-consonants letters also have long and short sounds. The History of English is divided into three ages. Old English, Middle English and Modern English. There are 26 letters and 44 sounds, in that there 6 pure vowels and 18 diphthongs and 20 consonants in English language. Compared to Tamil language English has less number of letters ,but ironically language that has 247 letters(Tamil) has limited in terms of vocabulary, but English language that has 26 letters has million words. According THE HINDU newspaper which published an article duirng 2006, The department of Tamil language in the University of Madras has benn revising, enlarging and updating the Tamil lexicon. During 1924-39, the University of Madras had Published the Tamil Lexicon in seven volumes comprising 124,405 entries. Such a dictionary was pioneering venture in the pre-independence period. Prof. Vaiyapuri Pillai had played a huge role in the complication and publication. There have been persistent demands for updating and expanding the lexicon. The many social, political and technological changes in the six-decade period have direct bearing on the Tamil language. It is in this background that the Department of Tamil language of the Madras University had out forth its plan to revise enlarge and update the lexicon. The present Tamil lexicon, under preparation ,will come out in 10 volumes, comprising atleast 500,000 entries ,will be bilingual in nature and at the same time render the meaning chronologically. On top of the vast difference in the number of letters in their alphabet, the Tamil language also differs in many grammatical items compared to the English language. The earliest period of English was formerly called as ANGLO SAXON. The history of English language is divided into three main periods . They are old English (from earliest writings till 1100) Middle English extends from about 1100A. D- 1450A. D, from 1450A. D till date its Modern English. The English language is spoken or read by the largest number of people in the world, for historical, political and economic reasons. First and foremost feature of English language is its extraordinary receptive and adaptable heterogeneousness-the varied ease and readiness with which it has taken to itself material from almost everywhere in the world and has made the new elements of language its own. Throughout its history English has accepted with equinamity words from other languages with which it has been in contact. Foreign elements with ease and assimilated them all to its character. Though it is copiousness of vocabulary is outstanding. A second outstanding characteristic of English is simplicity of inflexion-the ease with which it indicates the relationship of words in a sentence with only the minimum of change in their shapes or variation of endings. A third quality of English is its relatively fixed-word order. An inflected language like Latin or Russian can afford to be fairly free in the arrangement of its words, since the inflexions show clearly the proper relationship in the sentence and ambiguity is unlikely. Of all world languages, English has probably the vocabulary which is most copious, heterogeneous and varied. All the peoples with whom its speakers have come into contact during more than thirteen centuries of the growth, have left permanent marks on the language. Some of the contacts have been deep and lasting like those of ancient Rome and France. Others have been casual like those of Spain or Czechoslovakia. During the Roman invasion, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. While the Roman soldiers in town used Latin, the Britons in the countryside spoke Celtic. Later this was replaced by English. The history of the English language in Britain begins with the settlement of the Angels, Saxons and Jutes in Brtian. These three tribes came from the plains near Schelswing Holstein in North Germany. They had to encounter varying degrees of hostility from the Celts. For mutual protection the tribes combined into small kingdoms. The most important among these were: Northumbria, Mercia. East Anglia, Wessex, Sussex, Essex and Kent. Under King Alfred Wessex enjoyed the leadership in learning. The English language of today reflects many centuries of developments. The political and social history of England has exerted a considerable impact on the language. The Christianizing of Britain in 597 brought English into contact with Latin civilization and many Latin words were added to the English vocabulary. Then the Scandinavian invasion resulted in considerable two people and their languages. For two centuries after the Norman Conquest English remained the language of the lower classes. When English once more gained importance, it had been considerably changed from what it was in 1066. In a similar way the Hundred Years’ War, the rise of an important middle class, the Renaissance the development of the British empire, the growth of commerce and industry, science and literature have all contributed to make the English language what it is today. In short the English language reflects in its entire development the political, social and cultural history of the English people.

Business Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business Research - Essay Example Hence this research might help in putting a full stop to the ongoing debate about the dynamics of customer loyalty and providing analysts and corporate office-holders a clear and utilizable understanding of the aspects of customer loyalty that are relevant to any organization’s fundamental orientation. Relevance of the Research Sustainability is without doubt the most popular buzzword in some of the largest academic and industrial circles of today. These circles include the energy industrial sector, life sciences and social welfare work among others (Wheeler, Colbert, and Freeman, 2003). However, relevant to the field of the researcher is the concept of sustainability of a corporation or an organization in its field or business environment. Quite obviously the medium any for-profit organization has to sustain itself in is most usually its ‘market’. There has been an abundance of research studies into the understanding and achievement of some degrees of market sust ainability. One of the largest factors affecting market sustainability of any business enterprise is said to be the identification of the customers of the enterprise to it. Hence customer loyalty is key in moving closer to the ideal of market sustainability. This research will look into how customers help the organizations by persisting with them, in terms of the different impetuses for persisting and their consequences for the organizations. While because of its scope the research will use for a model the furniture company IKEA, it is to be focused on the various aspects of customer loyalty in general. According to Dick and Basu (1994), customer loyalty is the single most important factor in determining the stability in an unstable market of any business. Because the target of the research unintentionally implies furthering the business fraternity’s efforts of building customer loyalty, it will hopefully be useful for, apart from students and business operators, inquisitive customers as well. Literature Review A review of the formal academic literature regarding the issue of customer loyalty found that while there was a lot of research into the causes and effects of customer loyalty in forms of comparative analyses, quantitative studies and case studies, all the studies seem to be targeting a specific facet of the broad phenomenon of customer loyalty. There is no major research that links holistically the various sources and types of customer loyalty to a corporation’s fortunes or studies the nature of the implications of each of the major forms of customer loyalty. But there are studies like Kuusik’s (2007) that take customer loyalty as a single metric instead of considering the forms and impacts of customer loyalty and investigate the sources of and factors affecting the said metric in good detail. However the most relevant published work with regard to this research proposal is a 2003 article by D. L. Duffy titled â€Å"Internal and e xternal factors which affect customer loyalty†, who realized that the contributing factors of customer loya

Discussion 2 Week 7 New Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion 2 Week 7 New - Assignment Example Even with cooperating firms, game theory helps in safeguarding their prospects from being taken advantage of regarding own prices viz-a-viz â€Å"added value." This is a strategy used by airlines to charge higher prices for seats to travel during peak seasons, during holidays and/or during certain yearly/crucial events to certain parts of the world, for instance, the Muslims’ travel to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. This pricing strategy often lowers the demand for the airlines tickets by limiting the number of those that can afford such expensive fares (Doganis, 2005). However, the strategy generally increases profits to such firms. In this strategy, customers are charged differently based on their willingness to pay viz-a-viz the extent of service offered. Travelling in First class seats cost usually costs more, double or multiple times the cost of other seats due to the added comfort like superior services and/or added special snacks/features (Belobaba, Odoni, & Barnhart, 2009). It is more a profit maximizing strategy than a demand related

Economic100 Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economic100 Analysis - Article Example The article sheds light on the increasing costs of business, implying that not only the apparent rise in coffee beans but also utilities, rent etc attribute to the hike in the prices. Keeping this in mind, the climate of business is not a favorable one, and this may have short term to middle term implications for other segments in the market as well. The objective of this analysis is to apply relevant economic concepts to this article and understand the fundamentals at work here. Economic Concepts There are a few key economic concepts which can be applied to explain the whole of things. Some of them include demand pull inflation, increase in aggregate demand, porter’s five forces etc. Particular focus will be laid on the implications of the existing context, given it persists and how it will hamper longer terms sales etc. Analysis The first economic concept which the article lays emphasis on is the fact that there has been an overall increase in the demand for coffee around th e world. We’ve seen that over the course of the last 3 decades, a lot of globalization has taken place, and in the process, there has been a lot of transference of good and services across borders. Coffee is one of those items which has found a market for itself wherever it has gone. Growing economies such as China and India have shown great promise in terms of demand for the products and this has only fueled the prices in an upward direction. When aggregate demand increases, it has to be followed by an increase in the aggregate supply in an equal magnitude otherwise the result is inflationary pressures in the economy. In the case of coffee, the demand has increased, but the supply has not been able to cope with the demand. Hence the result is demand pull inflation. As is seen in the diagram, increases in the aggregate demand will cause a movement along the curve, but if there are other variables altering, then this can trigger a shift of the curve all together. The inflation we refer to over here doesn’t imply that the whole economy is heating up, but rather just the coffee segment. However, inflation is something that cannot be sustained in this segment. The reason can be explained by Porter’s Five Force model. One of the key pillars of that model is the threat of a substitute. In the case of coffee, there are many substitutes readily available in the market. They can include tea, lattes, cappuccinos etc. The point is that price fluctuations are not sustainable in an industry such as this one. Moreover, the price sensitivity of this product is extremely high. Therefore, even the slightest fluctuations in price could trigger a decrease in supply for this product. Now the real debate starts here. The problem in prices arose due to an uncoordinated demand. However, what’s the trade-off between increasing prices and increasing consumer base? The answer to this question lies in the fact that no production line would like to see a decli ne in the demand for that particular good, however, it must be able to sustain the demand without increasing prices. If prices are pulled up due to these pressures, it implies that the demand cannot be sustained and eventually, the higher prices will lead to a decline in the demand and equilibrium will once again be attained on the previous level. When that happens, this cycle will repeat

E-Government Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 17000 words

E-Government Literature Review - Essay Example g political combine, but the government has to take care of the interest of its citizens in other countries or regions, undertake infrastructure developmental activities and frame policies for effective control on the affairs. One understanding of government is a notion of public social control, logically related to responsiveness in handling the affairs of the state (McGarrell et al. 1997). Indeed, government exits in different forms depending upon the acceptability within the territory. In establishing a working definition, the research contained herein takes on a pragmatic understanding of government; in the contextual frame of working government definitions, this understanding is a broad reaching approach. Influenced by Drapeau (2009), government is ultimately understood in five different ways: iii. Government as a Partner: Government is supposed to work towards developing the municipality, the state or the country by soliciting active support and cooperation of its citizens, organizations and like-minded political affiliations As government is composed of citizens, it is necessary to consider the nature of citizenship. Someone who is an authorized resident of a territory, state or country is termed as the citizen of that particular region. Respective government makes efforts to ensure distinctive rights and privileges for their citizens in order to make them happy and seek their active cooperation in nation building. For example, the UK government came out with the attempts to propose an â€Å"entitlement card† for its authorized citizens in order to relate the rights and entitlements of their citizenship. This is being done with the help of standard biometric identification cards for British citizens (Beynon-Davies, 2007). This indicates the kind of importance attached with being a citizen of the country. Today, we are living in the era of globalization, which is marked by freer movement of people across boundaries, in different states and countries.

Marketing Process Model by Robert J Dolan Dissertation

Marketing Process Model by Robert J Dolan - Dissertation Example Customer Acquisition 10 2.10. Customer Relation 10 2.11. Profits 11 3. Conclusion 11 References 13 Appendix 14 1. Introduction 1.1 Objective Current paper focuses on the examination of the various aspects of the Marketing Process Model, as developed by Robert Dolan in 1997. The effectiveness and the practical implications of the particular model are analyzed by referring to the literature that has been published in regard to the specific subject. 1.2 Methodology The literature related to the Marketing Process Model has been reviewed for identifying the elements and the role of the particular model. Effort has been made so that only academic journals are used, so that the credibility of findings is secured. 1.3 Limitations The value of marketing in enhancing business performance cannot be doubted. However, the choice of appropriate marketing strategy can be a challenging task for most marketers worldwide. Two are the key reasons for the above phenomenon: the continuous alteration of t he modern market and the lack of skills of individuals involved in the particular activities. The use of marketing models that have been widely used in the international market can help a firm to avoid failures, at least major ones, in regard to its marketing plans. From this point of view, the use of the Marketing Process Model could secure the growth of organizations operating in different sectors. However, not all aspects of the particular model have been carefully reviewed in the literature. Due to this fact, not all implications of the above model are known. This study could help to understand clearer the value of Marketing Process Model and to identify the model’s aspects that should be further studied. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Marketing Process: Initial Considerations Marketing process is a quite complex one. According to the literature published in this field, there are different approaches for promoting a product/ service in a particular market (Jaakkola et al. 2010 ). The Marketing Process Model, as suggested by Robert Dolan, can offer a series of advantages: a) it can employ a high range of methods/ approaches, increasing the chances for success, b) it is flexible and can be appropriately alternated for meeting the needs of the target market, c) it has been widely used in practice, a fact that increases its credibility (Jaakkola et al. 2010). The particular Model, also known as B2B model, can be effectively used in different sectors and under different market conditions (Jaakkola et al. 2010). 2.2. Strategic Marketing Strategic marketing is a term used in order to describe a series of activities that need to be developed in order for a particular product/ service to reach the target market successfully without failures, either in terms of cost or in terms of time (Kotler et al. 2009). The difference of strategic marketing, compared to the traditional marketing, is that the former is highly based on various theoretical models and different app roaches for achieving the target described above (Kotler et al. 2009). These approaches and theories are analyzed in the sections that follow. 2.3. Customers analysis 2.3.1. Needs In marketing, efforts have been made so that the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs theory is used. The particular model can ensure that consumer will be keep motivated in using a particular prod

Corruption between inmates and correction officers Term Paper

Corruption between inmates and correction officers - Term Paper Example Interestingly, there is no formal definition of correctional corruption. However, the penal codes define corrupt acts to be: acceptance of honorarium, bribery, accepting sexual favors and improper influence; but, they do not authoritatively describe what constitutes corrupt. Corruption is always evident as an abuse of power, whereby individuals presume that the use of power leads to the achievement of a purpose other than what it granted. In correctional facilities, there are instances of promotion or hiring of a less qualified staff based on their relation with the supervisor. Some of the inmates may receive preferential treatment from the security personnel on the grounds that they serve as house trustees. A group of inmates may be denied their civil rights or privileges because of their faith or religion (Souryal, 28). On the other hand, use of oppression is also a form of corruption that is evident in correctional facilities. A warden may pile up charges on an inmate or an office r, which they did not commit, because of ethnicity or race. In some instances, officers and inmates may experience physical abuses, which are permitted by others, due to their different lifestyles. In the prison context, there are three metrics which generally define corruption, that is, Acts of Misfeasance, Acts of Malfeasance and Acts of Nonfeasance. Acts of misfeasance are the illicit acts, which the correction officers are supposed to undertake, nonetheless, they willingly contravene for personal gain. These acts are more often than not committed by high-ranking officers in the correctional hierarchy or by outsiders, who are linked to the prison facility through professional or political appointment. Generally, acts of malfeasance are committed by prison officers at the middle or lower management levels. These acts involve acts of misconduct or criminal acts, which the officers intentionally commit in violation of agency rules and regulations and/or state laws (Souryal 29). Acts that are in this category are trafficking of contraband, embezzlement, extortion, official oppression and the exploitation of inmates or their families for goods, money or services. Lastly, acts of nonfeasance involve avoidance or omission knowingly committed by prison officers who are responsible for undertaking such acts. These acts are common in the correctional facility despite an officer’s rank. There are two types of nonfeasance: an officer ignoring a prisoner’s violations of the institutional laws and the failure to report other officers of misconduct as a repayment of an earlier favor or personal loyalty. Additionally, there are other metrics that can be used to measure corruption in correctional facilities, which are drawn from the Path-Driven Taxonomy of Corruption Metrics. It is composed of four metrics, which are: Political-Economic-Social (PES) metrics; Public Administration (PA) metrics; Citizen Engagement (CE) metrics and Cultural (CU) metrics. In the c orrectional facilities context, the PES metrics will examine the general conditions and draw a parallel between situations or events, which make the occurrence of corruption to be very high in the prevention stage. In addition, it will also measure the existence or insight of existence of corruption in the correctional facilities; its different units and partners in the detection stage of corruption. Furthermore, the metrics will also focus on the perceived or existent actions to fight

International standards on customs services Essay

International standards on customs services - Essay Example In addition, the customs offices that are not working in collaboration with the international community can create chaos in issues like intellectual property and patenting. Thus, the need to have international standards in customs services has been well understood by people. As a result, a large number of international regulatory bodies have taken birth. The very first one is World customs Organisation which represents more than 166 members. On 23 June 2005, all the members of WCO accepted the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. The Framework intends to provide supply chain security and facilitation at a global level in order to enhance certainty and predictability. Also, it ensures an integrated supply chain management for all modes of transport. This introduces a number of changes in the existing system. Firstly, it harmonises advanced electronic cargo information requirements on inbound, outbound and transit shipments. Also, according to the Framework, it is the sending nation’s customs administration that performs outbound cargo inspection instead of the receiving nation. Such inspections will adopt non-intrusive detection equipments like x-ray machines and radiation detectors. This ensures that a clearance can be made before the cargo reaches the destination (World Customs Organization, 200 7, p.6-7). Another one is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that deals with the global rules or trade between nations. This organisation works to see that trade is conducted smoothly, predictably and as freely as possible. The WTO usually covers goods, services and intellectual property. As nations become members of WTO, they have to disclose all the laws and regulations they have adopted. Then, the WTO committees will work to see that the WTO agreements are properly followed by the member nation. In

Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Basics Research Paper

Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Basics - Research Paper Example The paper throws light on the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as a well known buzzword nowadays. It is a new technology based communication or way of talking over the phone just round the corner. The main advantage of this technology is that it minimizes the costs that come with a customary phone line, as a minimum at this point of the game. Additionally, this is new communication technology framework that offers the savings of hundreds, or yet thousands of dollars for a number of people. In addition, someone who has utilized voice chat software would be aware of the latency concerns that propagate through some kind of data transfer comprising the internet. However, VoIP technology addresses the latency concerns through RTP, or real time communication protocol. This communication protocol guarantees that data packets are sent and received in a timely way. In addition, customary communication telephone network service providers are taking interest in presenting VoIP services also, with similar national businesses as AT&T and Verizon get high business revenue through the VoIP bandwagon. In this scenario, Vonage was one of the initial extensively recognized corporations to present VoIP communication based services, and is priced competitively by beginners to the marketplace. This paper will discuss technical areas and important features of VoIP technology based framework. This paper will also analyze the basic implications of VoIP technology and its possible evolution in future. ... So the technology that has brought modernism in our business and educational worlds as a minimum we need to look at its history (Rose India, 2009). Historically, this technology emerged in 1990 when internet phone was utilized using H.323 protocol in place of currently available common SIP protocol. Additionally, this communication software was extremely well known in the marketplace and through 1996. In this scenario Vocaltec had a success through IPO establishment. The place that SKYPE takes up in the marketplace was then occupied by Vocaltec. The weakness due to which this software got issues was the non-accessibility of high speed internet facility or broadband capability and a resulting reduced voice quality due to modems. The lower voice quality was inferior as compared to the usual phone calls (Rose India, 2009) and (Karapantazis & Pavlidou, 2009). In addition, the networking producers like that Cisco and Lucent soon became popular due to software applications that are able to route and switch the VoIP communication based packets traffic and consequently in the year 2000 VoIP technology based communication traffic accounted for 3 percent of the whole voice traffic in US. After that the year 2005 has seen all the important matters regarding VoIP traffic and thus clients are guaranteed of outstanding voice quality as well as continuous phone calls. Additionally, the benefit that was attained through this revolution that has been formulated out of sale of VoIP tools and equipment only in the year has been approximately $3 billion that reached up to $8.5 billion in 2008. The cause at the back of this amazing figure is small cost limitless calling plans and above all plenty of a variety of communication services and

Transition From Authoritian Rule In Argentina Essay Example for Free

Transition From Authoritian Rule In Argentina Essay The transition of governments between various systems of rule is an on-going and never-ending process.   Every geopolitical entity in the world is under some form of government, be it barbarian or advanced, and no two governmental systems function in exactly the same way.    The system of government used in a certain area, territory or country is highly dependant upon the experience of those governed with the systems of governments in place in the past.   Because of the unique occurrences in history, no two entities will experience periods of transition between various forms of government in exactly the same way. Even those countries that are geographically close and share similar histories will experience differing periods of transition.   Although great differences exist, however, many similarities can also be drawn between nations that are seemingly worlds apart.   After World War II, both Argentina and Brazil experienced periods of authoritarian rule.   Both nations came under authoritarian rule and later evolved from authoritarian rule in differing manners.   Therefore, through the practice of drawing contrasts and comparisons, it becomes apparent in what ways the current practice of democracy in Brazil and Argentina is different because of each country’s former experience with authoritarian rule. Introduction Although close geographically, Argentina and Brazil experienced vastly different evolutions in their form of governance in the period following World War II.   Because the similarity in the governmental history of Argentina and Brazil lies in their shared experience of authoritarian rule, it is important, first, to understand the ramifications of that form of government.   The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the term â€Å"authoritarian† by describing it as â€Å"of, relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people†.   (Merriam-Webster, 2007)   To interpret this definition within the bounds of the research question at hand, it is important to draw out two portions of that definition. First, consider the phrase â€Å"concentration of power†.   Unlike decentralized power that spreads rule amongst many, authoritarian rule places all power squarely upon the minority in power.   Next, the key phrase most important in defining â€Å"authoritarian† is that the concentrated power is held by â€Å"a leader or an elite†.   Again, this is the minority that holds a majority of the power.   Finally, consider the phrase that authoritarian rule is â€Å"not constitutionally responsible to the people†.   This could indicate that the government is not duly elected by the people through a constitutionally-defined format, or that once elected, there are no checks and balances by which a full accounting of activities can be demanded by the people. To further fully explore both similarities and differences in the affect of authoritarian rule on later rule, it is important to define the difference between democratization of a nation and liberalization of a nation, because both political processes affect populations in a vastly different manner.   According to Wikipedia, democratization â€Å"is the transition from an authoritarian or a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system†.   (Wikipedia, 2007)   In contrast, liberalization â€Å"refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy†.   (Wikipedia, 2007) It is possible, therefore, for democratization and liberalization to work hand in hand as a geopolitical entity transitions its form of government away from authoritarian rule, but it is not necessarily true that one requires the other.   For example, a country can simply relax its set governmental activities without actual changing its form of rule. Authors Guillermo ODonnell and Philippe C. Schmitter state in their work entitled â€Å"Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies† that â€Å"liberalization can exist without democratization†.   (O’Donnell Schmitter, 10)   But while liberalization does not necessarily need democratization, the authors go on to state that â€Å"in all experiences examined, the attainment of political democracy was preceded by a significant, if unsteady, liberalization†.   (O’Donnell Schmitter, 10)   Therefore, the true difference between liberalization and democratization must consider the influence one has upon the other. To understand the state of politics in South America today, one must first understand the basis from which it has evolved, and then its process for evolution.   This paper will first examine the varying forms of governance in Argentina and Brazil prior to authoritarian rule.   Next this paper will study how authoritarian rule came into being in Argentina and Brazil.   Further, this paper will explore how authoritarian rule in Argentina and Brazil gave way to other forms of governance.   And finally, the present-day political climate will be examined in both Argentina and Brazil, in light of the history from which both countries have evolved. Argentina vs. Brazil: Governance Prior to Authoritarian Rule   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Argentina and Brazil became independent nations in 1816 and 1822 respectively.   During this similar time period, Argentina separated from Spanish rule, while Brazil broke from the rule of the Portuguese.   Both countries, according to the CIA World Factbook, were both heavily influenced by European powers, both at their period of separation and to the present day.    In South America, Brazil is the largest nation, and currently the most populous.   Argentina’s political and societal history was largely shaped by Italian and Spanish immigrants that continued to stream in until the 1930s.   (CIA World Factbook, 2007)   The forms of government employed by Argentina and Brazil differed, however, after each nation was granted its independence and before the institution of authoritarian rule.   Both nations separated from countries with forms of government far different than they, themselves, would adopt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Author David Rock, in his work entitled Argentina in the Twentieth Century, explains that â€Å"the period between 1890 and 1930 in Argentina marked the rise to a position of national dominance of one of Argentinas leading political parties, the Unià ³n Cà ­vica Radical, or Radicalism†.   (Rock, 66)   Conservative rule in Argentina gave way to the rule of the Radical party in 1916, and it is that party that ruled until being overthrown in favor of an authoritarian government in 1930.    Rock states that â€Å"At one time it was thought simply that Radicalism was the political vehicle for the Argentine middle classes. However, more recently it has been shown that the partys origins are to be traced to a coalition between the middle classes and segments of the land-based elite†.   (Rock, 67)   A coalition between the middle classes thought to be the backbone of the Radical Party and the â€Å"land-based elite† is significant, because it was the â€Å"land-based elite† that were in rule as a conservative power both before the Radical party took control in 1916 and after it was overthrown in 1930.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite an apparent coalition between dissimilar factions, the CIA World Factbook reports that â€Å"up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentinas history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions†.   (CIA World Factbook, 2007)   This conflict refers both to the transfers of power in 1916 and 1930 as well as the strife that continued in the intervening period of fourteen years.   While the Radical party was in power, Argentina enjoyed a policy of free trade, allowing a strong exporting economy to develop and aiding in the financial development of the country. The tie between the middle-class bases and the â€Å"land-based elite† can be illustrated even in this policy of free trade, as Rock states that â€Å"this system was undermined by the inherent tendency of the primary export economy to concentrate economic power and opportunities narrowly in the hands of the landed groups and foreign capital†.   (Rock, 68)   Despite progress made in the advancement of the interests of Brazil during the period prior to 1930, the overall stability of the Radical party’s governance was shaky at best, and laid the ground work for transition to authoritarianism in 1930.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brazil employed a more representative form of government earlier on than Argentina, when a republic was established in 1889.   The republic of Brazil, formally named the Republic of the United States of Brazil by the constitution drafted and enacted in 1891, was lead by a constitutionally democratic government that employed a twist – unlike a traditional democracy, such as the United States, the original leaders during this period of time in Brazil were not elected popularly. Instead, power was seized during a coup d’etat and leaders were appointed.   Wikipedia develops the important point that during this period of time, the government of Brazil decentralized and â€Å"restored autonomy to the provinces†.   (Wikipedia, 2007) The major challenge to the ruling party of Brazil prior to 1930 was one of legitimacy: â€Å"how could an illegal, treasonous act (the coup d’etat) establish a legal political order?†Ã‚   (Wikipedia, 2007)   Unlike in Argentina, where a disparity between the â€Å"land-based elite† and those without land led to the government’s eventual overthrow, Brazil’s future can be seen by the fact that the rise of the Republic also led to the strengthening of the state-sponsored Army – the same Army that would precipitate the turn to authoritarian rule in the 1930s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although a Republic, albeit with initial leaders installed instead of elected, future Brazilian elections did not enjoy the popular support of the people as was seen elsewhere, notably Argentina.   As the road was traveled towards authoritarian rule, â€Å"throughout the 1920s, only between 2.3% and 3.4% of the total population voted.†Ã‚   (Wikipedia, 2007)   Hardly, then, a representative government, Brazil continued to struggle with the question of the legitimacy of its republic.   With that low participation recorded, any decisions made by the government feel to criticism and skepticism.   Although this question of legitimacy would ultimately hurt the concept of a constitutional democracy during that period of time, the Army continued to strengthen with its power checked only nominally by the government and the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Argentina and Brazil share similarities and differences in their history prior to the 1930s.   One notably similarity is the continued instability of government that ensued during the period prior to the transition to authoritarian rule.   This is tempered, however, by differing causes for instability; notably dissention between the ruling party and the landed, in Argentina, and the ruling part and military factions, in Brazil.   Like Argentina, Brazil enjoyed wealth through exportation during the period prior to 1930.   Unlike Argentina, however, Brazil failed to account for the agricultural needs of its own countrymen before exportation, and thus was forced to import many products.   These factors all lead to the laying of the path to authoritarianism.    Argentina vs. Brazil: How Authoritarian Governments Came into Power One of the leading exportation products of Brazil prior to 1930 was coffee.   After the crash of the American stock market in 1929, the Great Depression experienced in North American had a trickle-down affect on the economies of South America.   The prices paid for coffee, and thus the revenue gained from the exportation of coffee, was slashed by one third initially and later by two thirds.   With such a gross decline in profitability, the exportation economy as a whole was affected.   Any money held in reserve by the government to equalize pricing was tapped and emptied.   And thus, the country of Brazil was ripe for revolution.   (Wikipedia, 2007) Revolution came in 1930 when Getulio Dornelles Vargas came to power in a legitimate election gained through strategic alliances throughout Brazil.   A non-bloody revolution, the changeover was simply one of ideologies.   Vargas’ rule was to be one interim in nature – during his fifteen years in power, his rule gradually became less open and more repressive.   Wikipedia characterizes this change in his pattern of rule as â€Å"‘a legal hybrid’ between the regimes of Mussolinis Italy and Salazars Portuguese Estado Nà ´vo, copied repressive fascist tactics, and conveyed their same rejection of liberal capitalism, but attained power baring few indications of his future quasi-fascist polices†.   (Wikipedia, 2007}   While in power, Vargas thoroughly rejected the values of Communism – they were in direct contrast with his support of the landed elite – and instead espoused the fascist notions that would help to lock in and retain the power he had grown as the leader of Brazil. The decentralization that had occurred in Brazil before 1930 was gradually eroded, laying open the path to authoritarian rule.   The policies enacted by Vargas included the enactment of â€Å"one of the highest tariffs in the world and constructed a heavily regulated and increasingly centralized economy†.   (Rock, 16)   David Rock, in his work entitled Latin America in the 1940s, went on to outline that Brazil and nearby Argentina experienced changes in economies during the time of World War II, stating that â€Å"although they could no longer import capital goods and raw materials, the industrial producers of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and other countries managed to increase production†.   (Rock, 18)   As such, both Argentina and Brazil benefited by the demands of war.   The turn to authoritarianism between the two countries would differ, however, in the way in which military regimes lead to the transfer of power. Philippe Faucher, in his work entitled â€Å"Authoritarian Capitalism: Brazils Contemporary Economic and Political Development†, states that â€Å"when the dictatorship first came to power [in Brazil] it appeared that it would follow the same course as other military dictatorships†.   (Faucher, 11)   This was not to be the case, however.   Army strength built in Brazil for many years, both pre- and post-World War II.   But it would not be until 1964 that a military power decisively came to power in Brazil, many years after the start of rumblings in 1930.   In between, militaristic periods ensued, interspersed with periods of quasi-democratic rule. In 1964, Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, then Brazil’s Army Chief of Staff, came to power.   He skillfully dealt with challenges to his power by making many changes to the government, including removing long-serving governors and representatives and adding power to the presidency.   Although his intent was solely to limit challenges, he instead installed the groundwork for a military dictatorship.   Wikipedia states that his measures â€Å"provided the successor governments of Marshal Artur da Costa e Silva (1967–69) and General Emà ­lio Garrastazu Mà ©dici (1969–74) with a basis for authoritarian rule†.   (Wikipedia, 2007) Meanwhile, in Argentina, a coup d’etat was enacted, quite in contrast with the bloodless transitions of power in Brazil.   Authors Benjamin Most and Lynne Rienner, in their work entitled â€Å"Changing Authoritarian Rule and Public Policy in Argentina, 1930-1970†, state that the military coup of 1930 â€Å"ended middle-class rule in Argentina and reestablished the political domination of Argentinas conservative, export-oriented landed elites and their allies among the export-related industrialists.†Ã‚   (Most Rienner, 46) While Brazil bounced between authoritarian and quasi-democratic rule for more than three decades, Argentina entered a period, in 1930, of different forms of authoritarian government.   This period would last until the mid 1970s.   It is important to look at the variety of forms of authoritarianism that prevailed in Argentina during this 40 year period, as it is indicative of the basic needs and desires of the Argentinean population during that time. Most and Rienner, outlining another work of Guillermo O’Donnell, delineate that Argentina experienced periods of traditional authoritarian rule, populist authoritarian rule, non-dominant rule, and bureaucratic-authoritarian rule.   During those four periods, the dominant coalition was first export industrialists, then domestic industrialists, then non-dominant coalitions, and finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   more militaristic rule.   Interestingly, Most and Rienner, quoting O’Donnell, show the beginning of more militaristic rule in 1966, coinciding with Brazil’s own turn towards militaristic rule.   Although history shows the first strongly authoritarian rule in Brazil to have been military-affiliated, the comparison does not draw to Argentinean rule.    Instead, power couple Juan and Eva Peron, who would later be fictionalized and characterized in the stage and film productions of Evita, were the most noted rulers during authoritarian rule in Argentina.   Most and Rienner state that the populist coalition – an authoritarian government that sought to identify with the masses – was â€Å"mobilized and dominated† by Juan Peron.   Peron ruled until being overthrown by a militarily-influenced regime in 1955, shortly after terrible droughts affected the country and also shortly the death of his wife, Eva.   One can almost hear the strains of â€Å"Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina† when contemplating the fate of that nation after the change in regime in 1955. Instead, the period from 1955 until 1966 proved to be almost without notably occurrence, as no strong leadership emerged.   Although authoritarian rule lasted yet several decades longer, the instability begun in 1955 would begin the way out of authoritarian rule in Argentina.   Similarly, continued instability in Brazil would lead to the same, albeit later than the emergence of Argentina from authoritarian rule. Argentina vs. Brazil: How Authoritarian Governments Gave Way to Other Governance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Powerful to varying extents in Argentina and Brazil, the time nevertheless came for authoritarian rule to end in both countries.   Like their descent into and experience with authoritarian rule, Argentina and Brazil left behind the constraints of that form of government in varying manners and with varying levels of difficulty.   Indeed, the most marked difference in the changes in rule in Argentina and Brazil is the steps and timelines followed by each in the 1970s and 1980s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Authors Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan note the following in their work entitled â€Å"Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe†: â€Å"Brazil has experienced the most difficulty in consolidating democracy†.   (Linz Stepan, 166)   Linz and Stepan go on after that telling statement to breakdown a variables in Brazil that could have lead to its difficulty in transitioning, but arrive at the conclusion that those variables – including overwhelming debt and the affect of military rule – are not so significantly different than situations faced by other transitioning governments so as to set Brazil apart.    Instead, they arrive at a separate conclusion: that â€Å"the major distinctive problem in Brazil concerns our variable of the political economy of legitimacy†.   (Linz Stepan, 166)   As alluded to in the section dealing with Brazil’s governmental type dating to the beginning of the twentieth century, the largest stumbling block was one of legitimacy.   Through regime after regime, leader after leader, Brazil continued to experience a strong enough, popularly backed official to bring an aura of legitimacy to its government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A further stumbling block to Brazil in their quest to realize a democratic rule after the end of authoritarianism was the fact that historically, Brazil â€Å"had the least structured system of political parties†, in comparison to other South American countries studied.   (Linz Stepan, 167)   This lack of structure was clearly illustrated by the continual bouncing between authoritarian and non-authoritarian rule during the period following World War II. Because a coalition of any real strength failed to materialize to decisively lead Brazil out of the dark authoritarian rule and into the light of democracy, its transition period was prolonged.   Finally, Linz and Stepan note that the constitution put into place in the late nineteenth century proved again to be inadequate in light of the caste-like society in Brazil, where the disparity between the classes was stark.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The question remains, then, as to how Brazil eventually did cast aside authoritarian rule in favor of democratization.   The answer, it seems, resides in the differentiation of liberalization and democratization.   Linz and Stepan note that â€Å"the Brazilian transition from authoritarianism began†¦[in] 1974†¦[and]was not completed until†¦1990†.   (Linz Stepan, 167-168) Sixteen years of transition is demarcated by initial efforts made in 1974 by General Ernesto Geisel, who set out to institute â€Å"controlled liberalization† in order to aid the country in moving forward alongside South American neighbors then doing the same.   Although liberalization was first introduced in the mid-1970s, democratization did not catch up for quite awhile.   In the intervening years, many changes rocked Brazil, but a sign of true democratization was to come when in 1990, President Fernando Collor de Mello was directly and popularly elected by the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The movement of the people that made the direct and popular election of Mello possible in 1990 began in early 1984.   As was characteristic of the entire Brazilian transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, the period of time necessary to enact change was lengthy.   Linz and Stepan write that â€Å"from February to June 1984, Brazil experienced the most sustained and massive political movement in its history – the campaign for Directas Ja, or Direct Elections Now†.   (Linz Stepan, 168)    Although significant portions of both the political and civil realms in Brazil were in favor of a change to a system of direct elections, and although, in fact, no major group voiced opposition to direct elections, the wheels of democratization turned slowly.   The military regime then in place insisted upon exerting a final show of power, and thus the elections of 1985 – the first opportunity for a non-military government since 1964 – were still conducted by indirect vote.   More political drama ensued when the elected president died before assuming office, and his vice-president served at the displeasure of many.   Slow but not stopped, however, was the march towards full democracy, and so Mello was elected in 1990.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Linz and Stepan also spend significant time in analyzing the regime change from authoritarian rule to democracy in Argentina.   One of the first similarities noted was that Argentina emerged from authoritarian rule, similarly to Brazil, by shedding the remains of military rule.   While Brazil’s military rule uttered its dying gasp by blocking a direct election, Argentina saw a more-bloody grasp at remaining in power.   Indeed, Linz and Stepan write that â€Å"while the overall regime lacked the coherence of ideology and organization of a totalitarian regime, many of the military’s statements about the need to exterminate their enemies had a totalitarian edge†.   (Linz Stepan, 190)    In fact, more than â€Å"three hundred times more people per capita disappeared in Argentina than in Brazil†.   (Linz Stepan, 190)   While Brazil’s military may have created stumbling blocks, its leaders were at least working towards liberalization.   In contrast, Argentina’s military rulers wanted no part in that initiative and sought to control power by eliminating the competition.   A further contrast drawn by Linz and Stepan was that â€Å"the military never created parties or held elections as in Brazil†.   (Linz Stepan, 190)   Indeed, while the rule in Brazil was farsighted and thought out an eventual change in rule, the Argentinean model of military rule sought to hold tight to power for as long as possible without regard to the benefits that may be inherent in change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Linz and Stepan outline five consequences of the fact that the military held so tightly to power, and in fact was able to stay in power for a full eighteen months after their defeat.   First, the span of eighteen months between defeat and the secession of power meant â€Å"the possibility of revolutionary policies was precluded†.   (Linz Stepan, 192)   Second, although the military in its dying gasp held on to power far longer than anticipated, it was weakened by a fear of conflict caused internally.   This fear was rightfully backed by practicality – for any hope of power to remain, any internal division would be deadly. Third, the continued show of power by the military was rebutted when the incoming regime prosecuted military officers vigorously for human rights violations.   Fourth, the violence exhibited by the military against any adversaries tarnished any future hope of partnerships with the incoming democratic government.   And finally, the prosecution of military officers almost led to an undoing of the democratic process, as uprising after uprising by other military officers drew President Raul Alfonsin’s attention away from other critical issues and forced concessions that reflected poorly on a newly-democratic government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although tenuous at the start, the turmoil experienced in both Brazil and Argentina was weathered by the democratic governments so longed for during authoritarian rule.   Authors Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman offer insight as to why democratization was such an arduous process in Argentina and Brazil, saying that â€Å"in non-crisis circumstances, incumbent authoritarian leaders tend to enjoy greater leverage†.   (Haggard Kaufman, 78)   Obviously, the leverage for the authoritarian leaders in Argentina and Brazil suffered because crises did occur, including financial downfalls that caused the economies of both countries to suffer.   But perhaps those crises were in fact beneficial, in providing the impetus necessary for regime change to occur. Argentina vs. Brazil: Today’s Political Climate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In present-day Brazil, the CIA World Factbook lists the type of government as federative republic.   In fact, the formal name for the nation is the Federative Republic of Brazil.   The current constitution was enacted in 1988 towards the end of rule by the last non-directly elected ruler.   Interestingly, in a nation that once experienced dismal election turnout rates, voting is now required between the ages of 18 and 70, with the exception of military conscripts, who do not vote. Similarly to the United States, presidential elections are held now every four years.   On the economic front, a country once plagued by enough debt to threaten a complete collapse of government is now growing at a rate of 2.2% per year.   The Factbook quotes that while domestic and international economic shocks have affected the overall economy, the fact â€Å"that Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy.†Ã‚   (CIA World Factbook, 2007)   Each president elected since 1990 has introduced initiatives to further strengthen the economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To understand the full extent of where Brazil is politically today, one must first understand the type of government now in rule.   The basic tenet of a federative republic is that the popularly elected president is both the head of state and head of government.   The election of presidents and legislators is enabled by a multiparty system in a federative republic.   In current-day Brazil, this multiparty system is exhibited by the fact that more than one dozen political parties are currently represented in the legislature, and the president and vice-president were elected from separate political parties. Although the legislative and executive branches of the government work closely together, the judiciary is set apart.   In looking for a cause for this separation of the third wheel of government, it can be presumed that it is to ensure complete independence in the rulings handed down and that those rulings are not influenced by ruling members of the legislature or the president himself.   After so many years of military rule interspersed with weak quasi-democratic rule, it can be easily seen that the setting apart of the judiciary is a stabilizing move.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The present-day government of Argentina has developed similarly to that of Brazil.   In a slight departure, the CIA World Factbook lists Argentina as simply a republic instead of a federative republic.   More practically stated, Argentina is currently a representative democracy.   Unlike Brazil, the current constitution in Argentina was the one originally enacted in 1853; it has, however, been amended numerous times.   In a very similar electoral process to Brazil, presidential and vice presidential candidates are elected to four year terms.   Also similarly to Brazil, the president is both the head of state and head of government.   A final similarity is that voting is also compulsory for anyone above the age of 18.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The roots of today’s Argentinean government can be more clearly seen in the history of Argentina than can be traced in Brazil.   One of the two largest political parties in power today is the Radical Civic Union, which formerly ruled in Argentina from 1916-1930.   The efforts of this party and the popular support among the masses have sustained its power throughout more than a century from its founding in 1890 and its cause of supporting and enhancing the well-being of the middle class remains relevant in the current political climate.    The other of the two largest political parties also has a clear historical tie.   Called the Partido Justicialista, or Judicialist Party, the platform arose from the efforts of overthrown Juan Peron and his efforts â€Å"to expand the role of labor in the political process† during the 1940s.   (Wikipedia, 2007)   Once a country divided by vast differences in social classes, the two largest political parties now place utmost emphasis on the middle and working classes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brazil and Argentina both enjoy a bicameral legislature composed very similar to that of the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States of America.   In Brazil, the legislature is called the Congresso Nacional, or National Congress.   The two houses of legislature within are called the Senado Federal or Federal Senate, and the Camara dos Deputados or Chamber of Deputies.   The members of the Senate serve eight year terms, with one-third elected during the first four year election and two-thirds elected during the second four year election.   Three Senators are selected from each Federal district, totaling 81 altogether. The Chamber of Deputies are elected to four year terms and represent their Federal district proportionate to population, totaling 513 altogether.   The vast number of political parties represented in the Brazilian government is a sure sign of the people that they want to ensure representation for all – representation that was missing during period of authoritarian rule in Brazil’s history. The Argentinean legislative branch is set up and named in the same way as Brazil, with slight variances occurring in the number of representatives and length of terms..   The Senate of Argentina boasts 72 representatives elected to six-year terms, with one-third up for election every other year.   The Chamber of Deputies in Argentina counts 257 representatives who are elected to four year terms, with half up for election every other year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The judiciary, as mentioned prior, is set apart in terms of rule from the other two bodies of government in Brazil.   It is not quite so separate in Argentina.   In both countries, members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president for life and confirmed by the legislature.   In Brazil, however, life ends at 70; at that age, judges are mandatorily retired.   On key difference in the appointment of judges between Brazil and Argentina is that judges in Argentina can be deposed by the legislature; this is not the case in Brazil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A lasting legacy in Argentina is the current role of the military in overall society.   Having experienced gross tyranny under military rule for so many years and with bloodshed that affected such a wide population, there is understandable fear of an overly powerful military.   Therefore, the military is â€Å"firmly under civilian control†.   (Wikipedia, 2007)   Once a force that completely disregarded human rights and sought only to maintain the largest extent of power possible, the Argentinean military is now a greatly downsized force with only volunteer soldiers.   Conscription in the Argentinean military was abolished in 2001, further giving control to the civilian sector. The history of Brazil speaks more kindly to the rule of military forces, and as such, the influence of the military on the present-day democracy of Brazil is different from that experienced in Argentina.   Conscription in the Brazilian military is still compulsory; males between the ages of 21 and 45 must serve a term of between nine and twelve months, but can volunteer for this service as young as 17.   Women are also allowed and encouraged to serve in the armed forces of Brazil. At any given time, 33 million men and 38 million women are deemed fit for military service; only a small percentage of that actually serve at any given time.   This figure is roughly five times the number of men and women in Argentina considered fit for service.   Brazil also outspends Argentina in the upkeep of military forces by a ratio of two to one.   This may change in the future, however, as the continually stabilizing economy of Argentina launched what is called â€Å"plan 2000† in 2005 to make its forces more prepared for any needs the country requires.   (CIA World Factbook, 2007) Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By all appearances, the governments of Argentina and Brazil have successfully transitioned out of authoritarian rule and into democratic bodies.   This transition, as illustrated by the many examples of this paper, has not come easily or quickly.   Both nations experienced much strife in the twentieth century, which has carried on some levels into the twenty-first century.   In the end, however, the power of the people prevailed in both countries, and democracy changed from a fleeting form of government experienced only sporadically in the past to a strong form of rule which has a secure future. The future of both Argentina and Brazil is not pre-determined, however, any more than the various forms of rule in the past was pre-determined.   Instead, continued struggles will ensue as the democracies in place grow and age and are tested by circumstances yet unforeseen.   In Brazil, the democracy is still only just over twenty years old, and only a few years older in Argentina. By comparison, when the democracy of the United States of America was just over thirty years old, a war was being fought with the former mother-land in the War of 1812; when the democracy of the United States of America was just under 100 years old, a civil war was fought that proved to be the toughest challenge to the future of democracy ever though possible.   And yet the United States of American has prevailed with a democracy considered the strongest in the world. As the democracies of Brazil and Argentina age to thirty, forty, fifty and a hundred years old, challenges will arise to test legitimacy and strength of power.   However, Brazil and Argentina took a far different path to democracy than did the United States of America.   Because of the trials and turmoil already experienced through authoritarian rule, it is likely that the governments of Argentina and Brazil will be well-prepared to take on the challenges of the future. It is in looking forward that it becomes necessary to define one further term: that of foresight.   Foresight can be defined as using the lessons of the past with the realities of the present to plan for the future.   Both Brazil and Argentina are steeped in rich lessons of past forms of governmental rule; by remembering those histories and tempering them with current circumstances, the nations will be well-equipped to face the future.   Those futures will likely continue on different paths, however, based again on lessons and examples of the past.   Most importantly, the future of democracy, similarly to the current practice of democracy in Brazil and Argentina, will continue to differ because of each country’s former experience with authoritarian rule. References Argentina. (2007) CIA World Factbook   Retrieved electronically April 7, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html. Bruneau, T.C., Faucher, P. (Eds.). (1981). Authoritarian Capitalism: Brazil’s Contemporary Economic and Political Development. Boulder: Westview Press. Brazil. (2007). CIA World Factbook.   Retrieved electronically April 7, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html. Democratization. (2007).Wikipedia. Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Democratization. Haggard, S. Kaufman, R. (1999). The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions.   In â€Å"Transitions to Democracy†, ed. Lisa Anderson.   New York: Columbia University Press. History of Brazil, 1889-1930.   (2007). Wikipedia.   Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brazil_(1889-1930). History of Brazil, 1930-1945.   (2007). Wikipedia.   Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brazil_(1830-1945). History of Brazil, 1945-1964.   (2007). Wikipedia.   Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brazil_(1945-1964). Liberalization. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalization. Linz, J.J. Stepan, A. (1996). Problems of Democrative Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe.   Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary. (2007). Retrieved electronically on April 7, 2007 from http://www.webster.com/dictionary/. Most, B. A. (1991). Changing Authoritarian Rule and Public Policy in Argentina, 1930-1970. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. O’Donnell, G. Schmitter, P.C. (1986). Transition from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies.   Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Politics of Argentina. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved electronically April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_ Argentina. Politics of Brazil. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved electronically April 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Brazil. Rock, D. (Ed.). (1975). Argentina in the 20th Century. London: Gerald Duckworth Co. Ltd. Rock, D. (Ed.). (1994) Latin America in the 1940s: War and Postwar Transitions.  Berkeley: University of California Press.

Evaluation of Rosenbergs self-esteem scale

Evaluation of Rosenbergs self-esteem scale Psychological tests are tools used to measure differences between individuals or between the same individual under different circumstances. A psychological test is an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior. Before a test is released, researchers have to check its reliability and validity. By the term reliability it is meant consistency of scores obtained by the same person on different occasions. Validity of a test means that it actually measures what is meant to measure. Validity of a test tells the researcher what the test is measuring. In this study, Rosenbergs Self esteem scale is examined thoroughly by first looking at what self esteem is and how it is measured. The conceptualization of self esteem as a phenomenological construct seems to be linked with its measurement. There is plethora of research on the measurement of self esteem and some studies have shown that Rosenbergs scale is valid and reliable for some samples but others find that because self esteem is an unstable characteristic its measurement cannot be reliable. Difficulties in defining self esteem are also linked to its methodological issues as some researchers define self esteem as evaluative and others as descriptive. Problems of measuring a construct like self esteem are identified in this study as well as research on what population Rosenbergs self esteem scale is found to be valid and reliable is encountered. Self esteem promotes behaviors, goals and gives individuals a sense of worth. Some theories suggest that self esteem is a basic human need or motivation. Maslows theory of hierarchy of needs included self esteem by describing two different types of esteem; the need for respect from others and the need for self respect. Without fulfillment of self esteem individuals, according to Maslow could not obtain self actualization. Robson (1989) defined self esteem as the sense of contentment and acceptance that results from a persons appraisal of ones own worth, attractiveness, competence and ability to satisfy ones aspirations. (Columbus, 2006) Rosenberg and social learning theorists defined self esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth. These definitions have been applied to global and specific self esteem, meaning that global is an individuals overall evaluation of himself and specific on a facet of the self such as academic competence. This is one of the problems of self report measurements. It looks at what the individual perceives of himself. If an individual perceives himself as competent then the test will result that the person has high self esteem regardless of how competent he really is. Rosenbergs self esteem scale is an attempt to achieve a measure of global self esteem. There is research evidence that this scale is useful for getting a global sense of how a person feels about himself and is a good predictor of other measures of mental health such as depression and anxiety. Unfortunately research shows that it is not such a good predictor for specific domains like academic ability. Self report is one of the most used methods for gathering information on children and adults and its consistent with theoretical concepts of how to obtain information about oneself. Of course, its not without its drawbacks. There are issues on how accessible this information is in the memory, the situations or contexts a person is when they are answering and other factors that might influence how one answers questions about himself. As mentioned earlier cognitive and affective processes are involved in how information is processed through the memory and how its retrieved at a particular moment. A method for finding reliability is based on the consistency of responses to all items in the test. Due to the cognitive and affective processes, there are biases such as self-deception that occur when accessing information. The context and the emotional state where someone is asked to answer self report questionnaire on self esteem involves the situational factors that might influence responds about the self. If for example, someone is asked to answer about his self esteem after getting a promotion it will elicit his response to feel better with himself thus with more self esteem. Self presentation also impedes a persons belief about himself as he might want to be perceived by the researchers as someone with self esteem. It is important to know if individuals are responding honestly as social desirability is a factor tha t alters feelings. These factors may be biasing the responses they are giving. Rosenbergs self esteem scale is a ten item scale that asks individuals to rate themselves using four categories (strongly agree to strongly disagree) on statements regarding their sense of self worth or confidence. The scale is perhaps the most famous and widely used measure of self esteem. It is used with children and adults and is considered to be reliable and valid measure of self esteem. The SES has been validated for use with substance abusers and other clinical groups, and is regularly used in treatment outcome studies. The scale has been validated for use with both male and female adolescent, adult and elderly populations. It has been used with francophone populations but studies about other cultural groups are debateful. That might be the case because of the fact that the concept of self is highly dependent on verbal behavior and social norms in each society. The complexity of the concept as well as the lack of theoretical agreement and empirical data has resulted in acceptin g a general definition of self esteem, which is mirrored in the broad use of Rosenbergs self esteem scale. (Columbus, 2006) Although Rosenbergs self esteem scale has excellent psychometric properties it constitutes a unidimensional scale that does not capture the complexity of self esteem. Unidimensional scales are useful for gathering information on general mental health of individuals. There are a lot of scales that measure aspects of self esteem. Researchers should use measures that are specific to the issue they are investigating whether it is a global sense of self worth or specific evaluation of competencies across a wide spectrum of behaviors. There are allot of studies examining Rosenbergs self esteem scale and their results vary. An important condition influencing the size of a reliability coefficient is the nature of the group on which reliability is measured. A study that examined further support for multidimensionality within the Rosenberg self-esteem scale suggested that Tafarodi and Swann (1995) had another perspective on the relationship of Rosenbergs self esteem scale and the concept of global esteem. They thought that global self esteem is comprised by two separate and different concepts; self competence and self liking. A study examining the psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self esteem scale in Chinese acute coronary syndrome patients (2006) suggest that the RSES has been found associated with depression. The RSES has also been widely used to gain insight into a diverse range of areas of substantive psychological interest including aspects of gender (Huyck, 1991), aggression and family dynamics (Haj-Yahia, 2001), perfectionism (Stumpf Parker, 2000) and neuroticism (Pullman Allik, 2000). Self esteem is found to be related to basic dimensions of personality as individuals with high self esteem tend to score high on extraversion, agreeableness and openness to experience. A more complex issue is the relation of self esteem and narcissism, as they have been found to correlate. The RSES has been found to correlate well with tests of self concept (Beck, Steer, Epstein, Brown, 1990) thus supporting the construct validity of the instrument. Rosenbergs self esteem scale has been translated into a l ot of languages and is used in diverse populations. One such example is the translation and validation of the Rosenberg self esteem scale in Spanish. The study consisted of the translation, adaption and analysis of the psychometric properties of the scale in a sample of university students. The results showed that the scale presents a unifactorial structure with good levels of internal consistency and stability. Test- retest correlation was good, supporting the reliability of the scale. A recent study (2009) examining the Psychometric Properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in African American Single Mothers shows that the scale can be released to other cultural groups. The purpose of this study was because self-esteem has been identified as an important factor in the mental health of African American women. African American women unfortunately experience multiple oppressions related to both racism and sexism, which has an impact on the formation and maintenance of self-esteem. Women with this kind of background, and especially single mothers with low income are correlated with poor self-esteem (Jackson, 2003) The RSE Scale showed adequate internal consistency with an alpha coefficient of .83. Two factors that accounted for a total of 54.7% of the variance were extracted. Self-esteem showed a strong negative relationship with both depressive symptoms and negative thinking. This study provides support for the internal consistency of the RSE Scale and partial su pport for its construct validity in this population. The RSE appears to represent a bidimensional construct of self-esteem for African American women, with the cultural influences of racial esteem and the rejection of negative stereotypes forming a separate and distinct aspect of this concept. As seen above, there is empirical evidence that shows that socioeconomic status plays role in self esteem scores. It is very weakly correlated to self esteem but it seems that wealthy individuals have a bit more self esteem than working class individuals. Researchers who study self esteem generally assume that its a stable trait that predicts future behavior. Research indicates that although self esteem levels can be temporarily elevated or depressed in everyday life studies show the stability of self esteem across years. Test retest is a method for finding the reliability of test scores by repeating the identical test on a second occasion. Test retest correlation of self esteem is comparable to those found for more basic dimensions of personality such as extraversion or neuroticism. There has been research on the stability of self esteem and it seems that it is high in childhood, falls in adolescence and increases during adulthood. A study made in 2006 by Quilty Oakman Risko suggest that although Rosenbergs self esteem scale was developed as a global self esteem factor, there is mixed support for its unifactorial structure. Many investigation of the structure of the scale used factor analysis. Factor analysis was developed as a mean of identifying psychological traits and is used for analyzing the interrelationships of behavior data. Hensley and Roberts (1976) found that an exploratory factor analysis of the scale results in two factors, consisting of the positively and negatively worded items which reflected an underlying response set. A study looking at the norms and construct validity of RSES in Canada suggests that Kaplan and Pokomey (1976) found that while there was a strong unitary factor in the scale, research showed a two factor solution with positively worded items and negatively worded items. These factors were called defense of individual self worth and self derogation accordingly. In 1990 another s tudy looked into the two factor structure of Rosenbergs self esteem scale and studied 1,700 adults in the USA and found the same results. They also argued that the scale can be regarded psychometrically coherent with a unitary structure. These findings indicate that the RSES is a reliable and potentially valid scale for use with Canadian high school students of all ages (Bagley Bolitho Bertrand ,1997) Another study compared Rosenbergs self esteem scale with Coppersmiths self esteem inventory with people with eating disorders. Researchers wanted to see which test would fit best in measuring self esteem so they measured the validity of both tests. The study found that Rosenbergs self esteem scale had better construct and convergence validity than the Coppersmith self esteem inventory at the particular sample. It is obvious that reliability and validity in some samples might not be granted. Reliability is the consistency of scored obtained by the same sample when they are reexamined with the same test on different occasions. Test reliability indicates the extent to which individual differences in test scores are attributable to true differences in the characteristics under consideration and the extent to which they are attributable to chance errors. When the differences are not true they are called error variance and this is a possibility when measuring self esteem. The researcher would have to test the correlation coefficient of two sets of scores. As we can see from studies mentioned when researching the self, the methodological issues are difficult. The researchers should examine each tests reliability and validity before releasing it to the public. The problems of measuring a construct like self-esteem apply on nearly all of the studies that measure elements of the personality. Some researchers assume that phenomena that occur at the cognitive level will be manifested by behaviors that can be observed and measured. Other researchers suggest that behaviors should not be used to measure personality traits because we are unable to determine what cognitive processes might be affecting that trait. They argue that constructs like self-esteem should not be studied because there is no clear way to measure them or even know if you are measuring the right thing. As the majority of the theories suggest, individuals develop their self and self-concept through social interaction. There may be some innate cognitive process that is modified by social interaction or just social interaction, but either way people display behaviors and express opinions about who they are, from a very young age. For this reason it is important that psychologists be able to study and measure this phenomenon. Future work needs to address the issues of theory, definition, and methodology that have remained unresolved across the centuries. A consensus on these issues will lead to better measurement and a better understanding of how self-esteem influences the mental health and behavior of individuals.

The Scope And Limitation Of The Study An Example

The Scope And Limitation Of The Study An Example The current traditional help desk mechanisms used in UUM-CAS postgraduate help desk department at UUM are no longer enough to support the increase of the interactions between the users and the technical support employees because There is no standard and organized process for handling the users requests. This paper proposes a technical support system that can help students, staff and even lecturers at UUM Postgraduate CAS department to freely interact with the customer service employees by sending their requests and inquiries through a web-based help desk system. In the other side, this proposed system will also increase the productivity of the employees of the customer service department since each specific ticket or problem will received by a specific group of the technical support employees. In order to achieve that , we are going to use a problem tracking technique . This technique will enable the users (students, staff or lecturer) to send their inquiries to the proper person in the customer service department. Also this technique will aim to track the problem or ticket of the users until it gets their direction to the proper person of the customer service employees who will try to solve it within a convenient time. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background Nowadays, a technical support service plays a main role in a Universitys ability to assist their students , staff and lecturers who really need some information and technical support guides. In the meanwhile , Educational institutions face the challenge of providing technical support to faculty, staff, and students for answering their questions and responding to their inquiries and problems with a suitable solutions and within a convenient time. (Cruess, 2002 and Niedzwiecki Peterson, 2002). Moreover, The main goal of customer service is to provide better overall service to the customer when they contact the customer service employees, either through email, or a phone call. We want to make sure that everyone is satisfied with the first answer they receive with a correct solution in a timely manner. We want to be proactive and resolve as many issues as we can before the customer even notices that something may have gone wrong. The customer should notice an improvement in the turnarou nd time when a help request is submitted, as well as a reduction in the number of times they have to ask for help until he/she gets the solution. (Schauer Thompson, 2004). This proposed study will make an enhancement in the current technical support mechanism used by the UUM Postgraduate technical support department. It will be conducted based on Problem Tracking Technique which help to ensure consistent and quality support, track the information and problems that come into the Help Desk and assign or forward the problems to the appropriate workgroup and follow-up to make sure the problems were corrected. Problem statement Previously, by using the traditional help desk tools, the web interface was just a simple interface with an engine for generating an e-mail to our support staff. When an e-mail is sent to the [emailprotected] for example, different staff will receive it. This sometimes resulted in duplication of work since multiple people could work on the same ticket or email, or no one would handle it since some groups would assume other groups or individuals would be handling a certain email. There was no standard and organized process for handling the users requests. Sometimes no one responded right away and other times multiple people did, showing that we were not very coordinated. The same thing happens when using a traditional phone call as a tool of communicating with the customer service (Schauer Thompson, 2004). Also Recently, there have been increasing number of interactions between users and customer service employees online. Therefore employees must take great deal of time to process in quiries from customers through the Internet (Iwai, Iida, Akiyoshi Komoda, 2010). In this research we are going to concentrate on the UUM Postgraduate CAS department to be as a domain of our study. In the meanwhile, students, staff and lecturers at UUM Postgraduate CAS department have always been able to submit problem reports via e-mail, or by phone. That is still true, but the question is : How effective is the use of these tools? In fact , The current campus help desk has become the hub of support with the many spokes of user services centered on it (Cruess, 2002). Students, staff and lectures do not have to be waited and passed on from one technical support employee to another until they get the answer of their problem or inquiry. In addition, once the student sends his/her problem to the help desk department by email , it will take long time until it gets solved. Because the ticket will not send immediately to the proper person that he/she is aware of the problem that has already been sent .In this case, the number of times that they have to ask for help will increase . As a consequence, and based on the points that we mentioned previously, we proposed a web-based help desk system that can be used as a bridge between the users (students, staff, lecturer) and the technical support employee at UUM Postgraduate CAS department. In order to provide consistent and quality support to the students, staff and lecturers. In the proposed system we are going to use a problem tracking technique to track the information and problems that come from the customers into the Help Desk. In addition, assign or forward the problems to the appropriate workgroup and make sure that the problems are solved. Research Questions Based on the problem statement mentioned before, the following questions are constructed: What are the Limitations of the current UUM Postgraduate CAS help desk system? What are the techniques that we are going to use during the developing stage of the prototype of Postgraduate UUM help desk system? How can we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system? Research Objectives The main objective of this study is to enhance the current technical support of UUM Postgraduate department by developing an organized and significant web-based technical support system based on a problem tracking technique. In order To achieve this main objective, some sub-objectives can be formulated: To identify limitations of the current help desk system. To design and develop a prototype web-based help desk system based on problem tracking technique. To evaluate the prototype web-based help desk system based on problem tracking technique among the users. Significance of the study The proposed model will provide a significant and flexible way of communicating between the customer service at UUM and their users. Here are some significant and beneficial achievements that the proposed system is expected to provide: The system can assist the students in postgraduate department to find the solutions for routine questions through FAQ part and manage its requests by using problem tracking technique. The system will help the university to build a strong relationship with their students. Increase the productivity of the employees at work and provide faster and more convenient services to their students, staff or lecturers. All the users requests will directly send to the proper department of the customer service for finding a solution instead of sending all requests to one customer service department and then this department will try to find the suitable person who can answer the incoming request, and here we waste the time. Thus, we expect from this system to enhance the previous customer services tools and make it more effective and organized. Scope and limitation of the study This study will focus on developing a web-based help desk system using a problem tracking technique for Postgraduate UUM-CAS department at UUM. This system will let users (staff, students or lecturers) to freely interact with the technical support employees who have the ability to answer all problems related to the postgraduate services provided by the UUM-CAS. In addition, UUM-CAS postgraduate students can navigate FAQ section which contains a groups of frequently asked questions that are related to UUM-CAS Postgraduate department at UUM and they can find their problem or inquiry there. Moreover, the proposed system will help the students, lecturers, and staff at UUM-CAS postgraduate department to see the latest UUM-CAS postgraduate news and articles added by the technical support employees. The prototype to be developed is based on problem tracking technique. Organization Of The Report This report consists of six chapters which will cover the designing and the developing online help desk system for UUM-CAS postgraduate department at UUM. Here is an overview of the content of each presented chapter: Chapter One: this chapter introduces the problem, gives an overview about the study and describes the needs of help desk systems in the educational sectors. This chapter also discusses the scope of the study, the significance of the study and its objectives. Chapter Two: this chapter covers the literature review which is the previous related works that been done before. Moreover, this chapter represents relevant information for understanding the study more. Chapter Three: this chapter explains the details of the selected methodology that we are going to use in the project. Chapter Four: this chapter discusses about the prototype development and the implementation of the online help desk system for UUM-CAS postgraduate department at UUM. Chapter Five: this chapter discusses the evaluation process of the proposed help desk system. Chapter Six: this chapter discusses the conclusion, recommendations and future works to improve this study. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction This chapter discusses the relevant help desk researches that had been done before by researchers. Moreover, this chapter presents the current techniques used by UUM-CAS technical support department also it presents the techniques that we are going to use in the proposed study including problem tracking technique. In addition , it discusses the previous researches that had been done before using this techniques. Definition of Online Help Desk System Online Helpdesk as defined by Donna Knapp in a Guide to Customer Service Skill and Helpdesk Professional is a single point of contact within a company for managing customers problem and request and providing solution oriented support services (Knapp, 2009). Online help desk is also define a Help Desk as a formal organization that provides support functions to users of the companys product, services, or technology (Wooten, 2001). Another definition has been defined by Albin who said Technical support is a service. Its about assisting pertaining to technology, especially regarding computers. It is also has to do with providing acceptable, effective and efficient resolutions(Albin, 2002). As a consequence, Helpdesk is usually known as a department within a company that responds to users technical questions or inquires. Background of Online Help Desk Often the term Helpdesk is used for internal support within the organization or for external support groups. Educational Institutions need to provide high quality of customer service and support to respond to the users inquires and problems within a convenient time . A well designed Help Desk product should have the ability for the support customer to be part of the solution by offering a searchable knowledge base of common support issues and questions and a way for customers/users to easily create their own support tickets. With a web based interface, most users are able to navigate simple web forms with fairly high success rates to submit a trouble ticket or find answers to frequently asked questions or common problems. The helpdesk is responsible for bringing an organizations resources together in order to provide its customers with quality support and service (Czengel, 2001 and Vanderlip, 2004). Thus, to be able to choose the right techniques and to use them effectively in the he lp desk system, you have to understand what customers want. Knowing this will help you make sense of the techniques youll be looking at (Bacal, 2005). Benefits of Online Help Desk System Web-based support offers an extremely wide variety of benefits. These will vary depending on factors such as the generation of the support site, the tools employed, the profile of the customer base, the services offered, and so on. Benefits typically originate from two aspects of support: Self-service Single source access The benefits of self-service On a Web-based support site, self-service refers to all information, functions, and services that customers can take advantage of on their own, without having to contact a support representative. Users might view or download information or seminars, search for solutions in a knowledge base, download a software upgrade, or check on the progress of their support log. The primary benefit of self-service is the ability to offer customers some form of support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These extended hours of support come at no additional cost. The self-service functions you offer on your site would be available around the clock. Another significant benefit of self-service is the reduction in calls to the staffed support area. This means the more calls you are able to divert from your support area to your Web-based support site, the more benefits you will gain. This can achieved by specifying FAQ part in the system which contains the most frequently asked questions which eat up mo st of technical support employees time (Czengel, 2001). The Benefits of Single Source Access A Web-based support site that contains documents such as Knowledge base, FAQs, News, and so onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This documents will provide users with a single source access to the service provided by the institute or the organization. Implementing Online Helpdesk System, management can have a single point of contact with the users and resolve their problems (Czengel, 2001). In addition to the two benefits that we have mentioned before there are some other important benefits of using Online Helpdesk Systems and they are as follows: Improved help desk service quality as all inquiries or problems are immediately taken action timely identification, diagnosis and resolution of problem Improved user or customer satisfaction. Providing existing users or customers with knowledge and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) concerning the educational institutions services. 24-hour availability which means that the system is available always to receive the problems or inquiries from the users at any time and in any day. Troubleshooting features gives users or customers the ability to solve many support problems on their own. This tool provides the users or customer with an easy way of connecting with the technical support employees and within a convenient time. Serves as a tool for tracking and recording helpdesk inquiries, which provides a knowledge base of resolutions to previous calls concerning similar issues. The Potential Pitfalls of Web-based Support The potential pitfalls in Web-based support come from poor planning and implementation. A site that offers little actual value to the customers or users, no matter how visually perfect it is, is worthless. Sites that are difficult to navigate, that contain out-of-date information, that do not offer help for the most common problems, that are designed at too advanced or too simple a level for the customer base they support all fall into the worthless category. You can spend a fortune on support tools, but if you havent done a thorough job in planning and implementation, your support site will fail and you will get no payback on what you invested. Customers/users will go to alternatives such as telephone support, and getting them back to the Internet would be difficult (Czengel, 2001). Web-Based Application Web application known as an online communication services that client can access through their computer or handheld devices, this communication can be optimized via network support such as the Internet or an intranet (Grove, 2009). Problem Tracking Technique There are many researches had been done before using a Problem Tracking Technique. This technique had been used in order to improve the efficiency of using help desk systems by the users. One of the research that had been already done is a help desk system that had proposed for The Information Technology Services Department in North Dakota State University . The system allows them to track problems by assigned person, assigned group, for a specific user and many other ways. They can generate ad hoc reports to analyze problems that have occurred over a set period of time or by department as needed. Thus, For a help desk to be effective and efficient, it needs to have a proper set of tools. These tools are used to manage the incoming calls, monitor servers and network connections, track problems as they enter the help desk and are transferred to other support units, being able to view the end users screen, documentation, training and many others. User Part Once the user did not find the solution of his /her problem in the FAQ part, he/she is going to use the ticketing system which is one of the system functionality. The user will create a new ticket and include his/her inquiry or problem within this ticket. The process of creating new ticket includes several steps. At the beginning the customers must choose the section that the faced problem belongs to. For example students fees section or registration section. After that, the customer will enter his/her personal information and he can specify a priority to his/her ticket for example urgent or normal .The customer can attach a file with his/her ticket in order to explain his/her problem more (Edwards, 2010 and Kayako, 2009). Technical support employees part After the user completes the process of sending his/her ticket to the suitable group of the technical support employees, here comes the role of technical support employees to respond to this ticket .Each ticket has a status which can be Open, Waiting for reply or Closed .Once the user creates his/her new ticket and sends it to the technical support employees, the status of his/her ticket will be automatically Open since it is a new ticket. Thats mean it needs a reply from the technical support employees. After one of the technical support employees replies this ticket, he/she will change the status of this ticket to be Waiting for reply which means the ticket has been replied by the suitable technical support employee and its status now is Waiting the user to send another reply if the first answer that he/she already got is not clear enough. Suppose that the customer needs more explanation or more details about his/her problem, then after he/she got the reply from the customer servic e, the user can change the status of this ticket from Waiting for reply to be Open and send it again with his/her new inquiry to the customer service employees. The status of the ticket will automatically become closed after a period of time called DUE which is specified by the administrator of the system and it is defined as the maximum time that the ticket will be remained in case of waiting for a response from the user. That means after the expiration of this time, the status of the ticket will be closed. After this time called DUE the ticket will be closed and it will become as a read-only ticket from the side of users. In other words, the problem has been solved and does not need any reply anymore. The last thing that we want to indicate that imagine that a user has sent a ticket to the technical support employees through the system and lets answer this question: what will happen if the ticket still in the queue of the tickets queue without any answers from any technical suppor t employee? In fact this case is the worst case that it might make the user in the status of waiting for reply through unlimited time. In order to handle this problem, In the proposed system there is a part for administrators which enable the help desk managers or administrators to monitor and manage the process of ticketing system. They can view the tickets that no one has answer it and assign it to the suitable technical support employee. (Edwards, 2010; Schauer Thompson, 2004; and Kayako, 2009). Building up FAQ Building up FAQ is also an important task of help desk. The purpose of building up the FAQ is to reduce the number of inquiries that come from users. Users can browse the FAQ pages and clear up their unfamiliar matters before they send emails or tickets to the help desk employees. Help desk employees also can analyze inquiry records, construct questions and add them to the FAQ part. For example, if the help desk employees see that there are questions that come out from users several times, then they can simply organize these questions by added them to the proper group of FAQ section so the users can find it there before they send a new question which is already exists at FAQ section (Iwai, Iida, Akiyoshi Komoda, 2010 and Kayako, 2009). UUM-CAS help desk mechanisms In the meanwhile, the current technical support mechanisms used by UUM-CAS postgraduate technical support department are still limited to phone call and email as a way of communicating between users and the technical support employees. Generally, the disadvantages of using this current techniques are divided into two parts based on email or phone call. The first part of disadvantages are the problems of using phone call as a tool of providing the technical support service. The first problem of using the phone call is that the technical support employees are not always the same who answer the phone. Which means, every time you talk to different technical support employee, you should explain your problem again and again until you get the solution of your problem. The second issue of using a phone call is the wasted time that the user should wait since he/she may pass on from one technical support employee to another until he/she gets the answer of his/her problem or inquiry. The third issue appears during the registration time while the pressure on the technical support center is more comparison to other time and especially on using phone call. At that time, the user should wait on the phone until he/she can talk to the customer service employees since the phone is busy. From the other side, there are some issues comes from using the email as a way of interacting between the users and the customer service employees. First of all, it takes long time from the customer service employees side until they solve the issues since the problem will not be received from the proper technical support employee who has an infrastructure about the problem that had been sent by the users. The second thing is multiple people could work on the same email or no one would handle it since some customer service employees will assume that other employees would handle it. Thus, and as we can see there is no standard and organized way of handling with the users inquiries and problems. Chapter Summary The analysis of literature review had broadened the scope of Online Helpdesk issues. The information and findings collected form this chapter is used as a guidance to develop the Online Helpdesk system. By reviewing the UUM-CAS postgraduate help desk case study, we can conclude that helpdesk system plays an important role in the educational institutions. This chapter has also demonstrated the importance of helpdesk system in the context of UUM-CAS postgraduate help desk department. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction This chapter discusses the adopted methodology which applied to achieve the objectives of the study in designing and developing the proposed web-based help desk system for UUM-CAS help desk department. Research Methodology Research methodology plays a very important role to proceed and carry out with the whole all research study. Moreover, it is very important to choose the suitable methodology for your study in order to achieve the objectives of the study. In general, a lot of studies that had been done before use the research methodology to achieve many purposes such as gathering data and information, development and evaluation (Refsdal, 2008 Schmuller, 2002). Besides that, Research methodology step makes us fully awareness about the requirements of our study and the problem statement of the research. Thus, The methodology of this research the we are going to apply is based on the five general research steps that are proposed by Vaishnavi Kuechler. These steps includes the awareness of problems, suggestions, development, evaluation, and the conclusion of the research as they are illustrated in the Figure 3.1. The awareness of problems In this step, some important information had been gathered about the current problems and limitations of using the current traditional help desk mechanisms at UUM-CAS help desk department. This can be achieved by interviewing the students, lectures, and staff to see what are the disadvantages of using the current customer service in order to overcome it. Moreover, we can use some beneficial instruments such as questionnaire. In addition, we can collect some information from some related work that had been done before by other researchers. Thus, This step aims to identify the problems and come out with a significant and more organized solution. Suggestions The second step of the methodology of this research is to suggest building a web-based application based on problem tracking technique in order to enhance the current technical support tools used by UUM-CAS help desk department. In this phase, some flow charts and some Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams will be used to design the proposed prototype. The Figure 3.2 illustrates briefly the technical support operation of the proposed system: Figure 3.2: Diagram explains the proposed system Design Pattern Design patterns describe how objects communicate without become entangled in each others data models and methods. Keeping this separation has always been an objective of good OO programming, and if you have been trying to keep objects minding their own business, you are probably using some of the common design patterns already (Cooper, 2002). Why Design Pattern? Why do we need to use design pattern? Nowadays computers programs is becoming more complicated, for this reason it is important to have a way of making building software easier and less complexity. For example, SQL Server and Oracle are become the most common databases used in the meanwhile . Lets imagine that we are working in a software company and we already developed a costly system using SQL Server database and because of a certain reason the company wants to change its database server into Oracle. Does that mean we want to ignore everything has been built and start building our new system from scratch? The answer is no of course. By using a design pattern we will be able to build a system which rebuilding ability exists. As a result, we just need to change the part of code which deals with SQL Server with Oracle one. Design pattern has divided the system into layer each layer has its own job starting from the View layer and ending with the database layer and the figure 3.4 belo w is really express what i just mentioned. If we ignore using design pattern in our system , then our system simply will miss the usability technique. As the figure 3.5 shows that we should not ignore the Business tier and dealing directly with the data tier if we do so then it is hard to make changes in the application. Thus, In this case and if we want to change in one place, then we should change in many other places that are related to the change instead of make the changes in one place by using the organized design patterns. To explain how does the design pattern technique work, lets take the following scenario : Once the system has started, it will collect some configurations from configuration file about the connection string of the database and the name of Business Logic Layer DLL (BLL). That means the connection with the database will not establish until the business layer successfully retrieved the configuration from the configuration file. Business Logic Layer is responsible for retrieves data from the data layer, so the business logic layer plays the role of mediator between presentation layer and database layer. IDAL (Interface Data Access Layer) is an interface that we just need to deal with it regardless the type of database that the system works with. Hardware Requirements Of The System Since the proposed system is a web-based application, so to run the system on the web environment we need a web application server that can handle the requests that come from the users of the proposed help desk system. In addition to the web server, To run the system on the web server, it has to have the minimum hardware characteristics that enable the web server from installing dot net features such as dot net framework which is necessary to run the application on the web server smoothly and successfully. Software Requirements Of The System As we mentioned in the hardware requirements of the system, we need to install the dot net framework on the web server since the developing environment of the proposed system is Microsoft Visual Studio and this framework is necessary to run the application successfully on the server. Besides that, a web browser application is necessary to be installed which is the middle tool that will make the connection with the system application which is running on the server side. User Requirements Of The System Generally, The user of the proposed system is divided into three categories. That is, UUM users (student and lecturer), technical support employee, and administrator. Each group of the system has its role based on its authority of using the system. Since the proposed system consists of three parts ( User, Technical support employee, Administrator) , each group of the users can use the suitable part based on their authority. UUM users can use the user part of the system to submit the problems as a tickets to the customer service employees. In addition, they can see the latest news and articles added by the customer service employees and download the files that are related to UUM-CAS. While the technical support employees are responsible to respond to the tickets that come from the user part, in addition to manage the articles, news and download sections in the user part. The last part is the administrator which is responsible to manage the technical support part throw adding new group in addition to manage the technical support employees. Development A software development process is a process to build a software product or to enhance an existing one. Moreover, the Development stage of the research methodology is the most significant stage in our study since it represents the answer o