Philosophy of life Essay

The meaning of life, defined by Victor E. Frankl, is the will to find your meaning in life. It is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. He believes that if you are approached with the question of â€Å"what is the meaning of my life† or in this case, â€Å"life is meaningless,† then you should reverse the question to that person asking the question. For example: What are you bringing to me? What are you as an individual contributing to this life? This forces the person in question to take a look at themselves and to ultimately be responsible. Frankl says that if you are a responsible member of society than the meaning of life transcends from yourself rather from your own psyche. He also says that if we for some reason cannot find meaning within ourselves it has to be from some outside source. This is referred to as service. And an example of this is love. Victor Frankl describes three ways in which we can discover the meaning of life; Creating work-doing a deed, experiencing something-someone, and by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. There are several reasons why a person could be feeling that their life is meaningless or has no meaning. According to Victor Frankl these reasons could be existential frustration, existential vacuum, and the meaning of suffering. Frankl breaks down the meaning of existential frustration as so, it can be referred to as existence itself ? the specifically mode of being, the meaning of existence, and striving to find concrete meaning in personal existence, which is the will to meaning. Existence itself, in simpler terms is just existing and the human mode itself. The meaning of existence is the question in which we often ask ourselves; Why are we here? When we strive to find concrete meaning in personal existence, we are looking for the personal meaning for existence. Basically what Frankl is saying is that when we are dealing wit the existential frustration we are looking for given meaning that isn’t there. (There is no meaning). On the other hand there is the existential vacuum, which is when you cannot find meaning in your life. Frankl says that the existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in the state of boredom. It’s when you feel that you have no structure in your life, no one telling you what to do, your not learning anything, and basically your not doing anything with your life. Because of this you’re going to become a conformist or a totalitarian, which is either doing what everyone else does or doing what people tell you to do. You’re not thinking for yourself. You’re also going to become bored. In the state of boredom the person can start to see life as meaningless, esp. the person questioning the meaning of their life. They start to question themselves and wonder what their purpose and meaning of their life is. This boredom can be a result of condition called Sunday Neurosis. Sunday Neurosis takes place when a person has worked hard all week long or for many days on end. (We know this as a result of tension; it’s what drives us and keeps us going. It promotes meaning and gives us goals. It is not the same as stress, because stress is an overabundance of tension. ) Then a day comes along when you have nothing planned, nothing going on and you don’t know what to do with yourself. Therefore boredom results and when there is boredom there is no meaning. And when there is no meaning we fill that emptiness with negative things, like money, power, and pleasure, basically we get into trouble. The meaning of suffering is another reason why a person might be questioning the meaning of their life. Frankl says that one of the basic aspects of logotherapy that mans main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but to see the meaning of his life. This is why man is willing to suffer in order to find a meaning for his life. But he also says that suffering is not necessary to find meaning in life. Although suffering is inevitably unavoidable, and if it was it would be meaningful to remove it, because it wouldn’t make much sense not to do so. Another aspect about suffering is that it stops being suffering the moment we find meaning in it. Now that possible reasons for why a person may be feeling that their life has no meaning has been addressed, here are some possible solutions that Frankl might suggest. Once the person has discovered why their life is meaningless they need to rediscover their meaning that they lost. They could ask themselves a question like, what was I born with and what is the greater meaning in that? Because it is believed that you’re born with a meaning that every single person on this Earth is born with a meaning. Life doesn’t owe you anything. Basically you’re the responsible one for all the stuff you put out into the world during your life. Another thing that he might talk about is what the person does everyday. If they aren’t doing anything with their life he might suggest them getting involved with something to help create tension. Since tension drives us and pushes us to reach our goals, it helps give us meaning. Frankl also sees responsible-ness as the essence of human existence. He says that everyman has a specific, unique job in life that he is too fulfill an that no one else can do this or replace this one person in the same way. â€Å"As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Each man is questioned by life and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; he can only respond be being responsible. † Frankl also says, † Live as if were living already for the second time, and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you were about to act now! † If it was me taking this person, sitting them down, after analyzing what could have caused this sense of unmeaning in their life, I would look at the options of how to find meaning. I agree with Frankl when he talks about meaning as tension and responsibility. I also agree with him when he discusses his views on how everyone is born with meaning and that everyone has a set occupation or vocation on life. I believe that everyone is unique in his or her own way. Therefore why should everyone’s lives be the same and have the same meaning. They don’t. We are born with meaning and we have to find that meaning through our actions and our drive to live life and our interactions with the people and the things around us. Usually when I am presented with material in school I tend to form my opinion by looking at both sides if an issue, because there are usually two sides to every story. But by looking at Frankl and examining what he has to say about the meaning of life, suffering, love, frustration, boredom, tension, etc, I have rally gained a lot of knowledge that almost is common sense. If you sit and take the time to read the material through thoroughly you can see exactly where he is coming from. He’ll take a difficult situation, such as suffering, and turn it completely around. As far as suffering goes I try to do the same thing, in a way. When Mark Felice died last October it crushed me. But I tried to look at the positive side and say well, his suffering is over and he was here to teach us how to live to be stronger and better people. Through our suffering, over the loss of his life, we ended his suffering. This is kind of what Frankl does, he turns things around and makes you view things from a different perspective. I like his way of thinking because it’s not always something that I would think of off the top of my head. Overall, I enjoyed the book although it was difficult at times to read, but I think I gained knowledge from it and see different ways to look at things now.

Legaliza of Medical Marijuana

Assignment 2 Write your outline for your research paper by filling out the following template. Outline – Topic: Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Medical Purposes Introduction: Thesis Statement: Medical marijuana should be legalized but in the strict control of the doctor. Paragraph 1: PRO 1 Idea(s) to be developed: marijuana can relieve certain types of pain. Evidence/Examples: The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS.Source(s) used: Joycelyn Elders, Mar. 26, 2004 Paragraph 2: PRO 2 Idea(s) to be developed: It's a matter between doctors and patients. Evidence/Examples:If doctors believe that it does help, and will be useful to the patient, they have the right to appoint it! Source(s) used: Aug. 9, 2007 – Dennis Kucinich Paragraph 3: PRO 3 Idea(s) to be developed: Marijuana clearly has medicinal value. Evidence/Examples: Thousands of seriously ill Americans have been able to determine that for themselves, albeit illegally. Source(s) used: 1999 – Lyn NofzigerParagraph 4: PRO 4 Idea(s) to be developed: Study of marijuana . Evidence/Examples: I have found in my study of these patients that cannabis is really a safe, effective and non-toxic alternative to many standard medications. There is no such thing as an overdose. Source(s) used: Nov. 17, 2005 – Philip Denney, MD Paragraph 5: PRO 5 Idea(s) to be developed: Cannabis is remarkably safe. Evidence/Examples: Although not harmless, it is surely less toxic than most of the conventional medicines it could replace if it were legally available.Source(s) used: 1 oct. 2007 – Lester Grinspoon, MD Paragraph 6: CON 1 Idea(s) to be presented: It is addictive. Refutation :Marijuana is not the safe drug portrayed by the marijuana lobby. It is addictive; it adversely affects the immune system; leads to the use of other drugs such as cocaine; is linked to cas es of cancer; causes respiratory diseases, mental disorders, including psychosis, depression, panic attacks, hallucinations†¦ Source(s) used:Oct. 1, 2004 – Janet Lapey, MD

Yonanas Competitive Trends

Competitive Trends Each of these companies share a common target market with Yonana’s. This target market is a middle-aged adult who is trying to eat healthy, exercise more, and live an easier more efficient life. Product Competitors: Blendtec Blendtec is a company out of Orem, Utah that specializes in blending. They strive to achieve new and better ways of building machines that improve the quality of life as well as set new standards1. They started a YouTube channel called Will It Blend, which features their blenders blending up items such as IPhones, IPads, marbles, and even fun items such as a vuvuzela.Their blenders are extremely expensive, but are claimed to be the best blenders in the world. They range from 384. 95 all the way up to a hefty 1034. 95. You can find these blenders in-stores at Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Their online retailers include blendtec. com, amazon. com, QVC. com, and everythingkitchens. com. The parent company of Blen dtec is K-Tec who is a private company and does not release financial information. Magic BulletThe magic bullet is brought to you by Homeland Houseware, which specializes in creating household appliances that make life easier2. Homeland Houseware is a division of Alchemy Worldwide, which is a private company and does not release financial information4. The magic bullet is used a handheld product chopper, whether you’re chopping onions for dinner, or fruit for an in-between meal snack. The price range on magic bullets vary from 49. 99 to 65. 99 depending on where you are shopping.The stores that the magic bullet can be found in are Macy’s, Target, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Online retailers include buythebullet. com, amazon. com, buy. com, and QVC. com. Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream Makers Cuisinart is a company based out of Stamford, Connecticut. They were founded in 1971 and are owned by Conair6. They claim that innovative culinary tools are their signature 3. They hold many prestigious design awards for many different types of items. They carry 4 different models of their frozen yogurt and ice cream makers.The prices range from 59. 95 to 299. 00 depending on which model is chosen. Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream Makers can be found in stores at Kohl’s, Lowe’s, and Target. Their online retailers include Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Belk, Bloomingdales, Cooking. com, JCP, Sears, Macy’s, HSN, and many more. Zoku Zoku is a private group of individuals who like to design things that again, make life easier. Their competitive advantage is that they have intelligent designing and engineering. Their patented Quick Pop Maker freezes different flavors of juice into a Popsicle.They have 10 different product categories, which include the Quick Pop Maker, Duo Pop maker, Zoku tools, Zoku storage, recipe books, sets of Zoku sticks, and a few others. Their online retailers include Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, Newegg, and Wa lmart. The prices of their Quick Pop Maker range from 24. 95 to 49. 95 depending on where you shop. JJ Snack Foods JJ Snack Foods is a public manufacturing company out of Pennsauken, New Jersey. They are sold in snack bars and food stands in chain and department stores, as well as convenience and discount stores.The products they sell are Pretzels, ICEE frozen treats, churros, funnel cakes, cookies, Italian ice, and frozen juice bars made from real fruit. JJ Snack Foods is a competitor because they take sales away from Healthy Foods with the sale of their frozen juice bars. They were founded in 1971. This company posts quarterly annual reports on their website and grossed a quarterly amount of 23,326. 00 from April 2012-June 20128. They also post annual reports, in which states that total sales for 2011 were 744,071. 009.

The Political Objectives of International Trade Research Paper - 1

The Political Objectives of International Trade - Research Paper Example Pushing aside the philosophical exception to buying regionally, it is very difficult to decipher what products are manufactured partially, mostly, or entirely from any one specific region. In most cases, raw materials are gathered here, assembled there, and shipped via a third entity to an entirely new location for packaging. The item is sold and the funds deposited in a completely different location which invests the money in an endless array of regions providing myriad avenues of revenue for untold amounts of regions. Buy from, for example, A bumper sticker that suggests â€Å"Be American. Buy American.†, might be manufactured in the USA with imported glue from Chile, ink from Jamaica, and paper from China. If, after the purchase, one is dissatisfied with the product, a toll-free Hotline for consumers is routed to India, Russia, or Hong Kong. The difficulty of deciding what has been completely and entirely manufactured, represented, transported, and supported is like finding a needle in a haystack. After reading the Chapter, my viewpoint hasn’t changed much from price and quality. I found the polling interesting â€Å"2/3 supported trade restrictions† (pg. 135). ... g paid to US and European farmers allowing them to sell crops on the world market at reduced prices driving down prices of commodities in developing nations (pg. 142). The impression I have is US farmers are paid to ‘not grow’ crops for availability on the world market since the number of crops produced if all US farmers did grow crops, would dramatically overwhelm the markets and drive developing nations out of business for good. The most effective use of government subsidies is not from the US, but from China who pays subsidies for their companies on imported oil driving the price of gasoline to record numbers. The problem, it appears, is dissecting information from neutral informants. The book includes a secondary â€Å"Supporting† position about a ‘Conservative’ misstep; â€Å"George W. Bush†. Each side seems to have an agenda and wishes to persuade, albeit subtlety, towards their particular point of view. All three sides-Left, Right, Centr al-seem to persuade instead of informing. It is difficult to see the unvarnished truth about International Trade from any writer. Each writer seems to have a polar objective. The political objectives of International Trade are the reason Trade is mired in the grey area for understanding. Political considerations outweigh most logical directives towards â€Å"common sense† free trade and/or their restrictions. The book even muddies the Trade waters even further by proclaiming â€Å"List† an economic icon with regard to Trade. The list is referenced as suggesting a Country that cannot produce ‘X’ amount for export should get out of the business of that particular export ‘X’. At the same time, the book vilifies Europe and the USA-as examples-of dominating and controlling the market with respect to crops and commodities.     

International Human Resources, Human Resources System of Apple(Mac) Co Essay

International Human Resources, Human Resources System of Apple(Mac) Co - Essay Example At last the conclusion has articulated the findings about the human resource management system in Apple. American culture put emphasis on the individual initiatives and achievements (Communicaid, American Culture – Key Concepts and Values). Self independence and confidence are highly recognised and appreciated in the working places where most of the businesses are carried out autonomously. The position of a person in The USA society is mostly influenced by his or her own achievement rather than his or her age or social status. So in advertisement for job vacancies, the USA companies can attract more qualified people by simply putting emphasis on their individual growth and remunerations. The people in USA are mostly task centred and they prefer communication to be the exchange of facts, specific information and individual opinions. So to attract more people it is better to give some quantitative figures regarding growth, remuneration for the respective position. Apart from that, it would be great if the company can put its economical and financial state in quantitative and specific qualitative data. This transparent communication would be helpful for the potential candidates to fetch the required data for the company; and hence the proper communication with the prospective employees would help to attract, recruit and select the candidates. In United States the organisations need to communicate with a clear and transparent note, so that they raise enough trust in the prospective human resource pool. Some times these direct and straight forward communications are inappropriately interpreted by the people coming from different other regions and who are not much accusto med to this kind of explicit communication (Communicaid, American Culture – Key Concepts and Values). The American business culture is based on the concept of equal opportunity for

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Research paper - Essay Example Therefore, the given paper will examine some of the public and official responses, as well as some of the most important applications on human cloning, and its potential promises. Firstly, the two major cloning techniques will be analyzed in order to understand what cloning involves, and clarify the meaning of the term itself. Secondly, various opinions about the issues, moral and ethical problems it evokes will be presented and analyzed in order to clarify the fact that cloning is not actually immoral or unethical, as many prefer to claim. Cell mass division is the only technique that has been used on human beings. It was first used to multiply human embryos in October 1993, by Robert Stillman and Jerry Hall at George Washington Medical Center (Stock, 2000). They cloned human embryos by splitting early two- to eight-cell embryos into single embryo cells. Each embryo cell will grow up to create a distinct individual, completely separated from the other embryo cells. Therefore, cloning using the cell mass division does not produce copies of an individual. It only produces one more individual with the same genotype. We should never forget that cloning will only produce twins with the same genotype which means that each individual will be a distinct person. This technique is based on the idea that nuclei from cells derived from an adult could be reprogrammed, or that the full genetic complement of such a cell could be reactivated well into the chronological life of the cell. To date, there has been only a single reported case of cloning using this technique on a higher animal. It is important to recognize that this procedure has a great number of important applications in research. One of these applications is to clone genetically engineered animals to produce large quantities of powerful pharmacological agents or to produce

Marx on Alienation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marx on Alienation - Essay Example According to the study findings  Hegel’s â€Å"spirit† represents totality of human life activity but which is always in contradiction with what it has itself produced, and which confronts it as something alien hence for him, â€Å"labor is the essence of man†. The problem is that Hegel only recognizes mental labor since men are thinking beings. On the other hand, Marx believes the essence of man is material labor and alienation results from man’s relationship with the products of his labor. Marx recognizes four kinds of alienation: alienation from product of his work; alienation from the activity of production leading to ‘loss of self’; from his species-being and alienation from other men.This paper will discuss these forms of alienation as depicted by  Ã‚   Marx and gaining insights from Hegel’s philosophy which forms the basis of Marx’s work. The paper will also evaluate which of his ideas are valuable and which are not gi ving reasons why. The Hegel’s concept of alienation from which Marx borrows from is based on man as a self-conscious being. That is, man knows the existence of other things but he does not relate to them objectively but only in the abstract form since they are just imagined things of philosophical mind which according to Hegel is â€Å"nothing but the alienated world-mind thinking within the bounds of its self-alienation†. Man’s products in this case, are products of abstract mind (mental labor) and man is equated to self-consciousness. This self-consciousness is his alienation.  

Zillow Revolution in Realty Estate Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Zillow Revolution in Realty Estate - Case Study Example Zillow has 2.3% market shares with 4 million visitors per month. It uses Web 2.0 business model of Google and Network Television. Zillow makes money by the way of selling eyeballs and not by selling homes to buyers. On July 18th, 2006, Zillow landed a big deal with Yahoo to serve as a data point on Yahoo's real estate and search sites.[www.crunchbase.com] Moreover, Legg Mason Capital Management has invested $30 Millions in Zillow.com towards expansion of staff of 155 employees which includes 20 person national advertising sales team. In addition to Legg Mason, other institutions that have invested in Zillow.com are put down in the following table. From the above table it is evident that the corporate companies at a huge level are continuously funded Zillow.com. Zillow has stated that it is a media company and generates revenue from online advertising; however, it also holds real estate brokerage licenses in certain states. With such huge amount of funding, zillow has launched new features like Neighbourhood's, Discussions, and Personalized Home Page to foster social network to catch up with Trulia. It is evident from the above data that most of the online realtors are established much before than Zillow. Founded in 1973, Zillow gives a stiff competition to Realtor.com, whereas others are marginal ahead or behind. Just within a span of year, Zillow has been ranked 669th website most visited by the US citizens. Whereas, RE/MAX which has been founded much before Zillow is lagging behind at 740th whereas Trulia which started in 2005 is ranked at 1,160. Zillow captures eyeballs through advertisements for its earnings, which has made it successful in just 18 months from its launching period, has got 4.4 million unique users in the country, by August 2007. [http://moneycentral.msn.com] Zillow competes with Trulia, HomeGain, HouseValues, PropertyShark.com, RealEstate.com, Redfin, and others. It can be said that Zillow is facing competition from Google too. Because Google has the best keyword search, while latter has home search. Google is looking to solve the problems of local search, vertical search and personalized search. Zillow is the answer to local search, vertical search and personalized search. Real estate agents, who are concerned that their role may be diminished as more people rely on Zillow, statethat the site does not give an accurate reflection and that other factors must be taken into consideration in buying or selling a home. Realtors with specific market knowledge are more likely to know specific factors affecting the sale of a home such as the overall condition of the home, domestic issues such as divorce, job transfer pressures. Consumers have continued to rapidly change their behavior in the last 5

Explaining governmental organizational structure Essay - 1

Explaining governmental organizational structure - Essay Example   unlike others, which speak for a single type of activity, it represents the men and women in the state’s government aviation agencies, who serve the public interests.  It comprises of highly qualified professionals in the aviation industry who collaborate with the federal government in the improvement and preservation of the safest and most efficient aviation system in the world. Others group include Aviation Advocacy Group, which advocates for the welfare of the air travelers. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is in charge of codifying principles as well methods of air navigation, internationally. It promotes the planning and growth of global air transport to ascertain safe and systematic growth (The Federal Transit Association, 2012). The Agricultural Aviation Association, for instance, Aerial Agricultural Association encourages agricultural industry based on pilots, staffs, and operators and the search for the best practices in the industry. Airline Groups and Associations works as watchdogs of the industry and provides advice to passengers on their rights and education materials that are published, for instance, Airline Public Relations Organization, AIRETS, and Air Transport Users Council. Airport Groups and Associations comprise of the airport management professionals (The Federal Transit Association, 2012). It was formed to compare operating performances and determine the best practices for the industry. The Airship and Ballooning Group and Association promote all matters relating to airships in magazines, books, and papers. It encourages research work on the airship. Flight Attendance Group comprises of flight attendants and retirees who come together to promote best practices of flight attendance and support charitable organizations. Gliding organizations promote the design and construction of sailplanes, which improves performance and safety (The Federal Transit Association, 2012). Medical Organizations help the air medical

New poduct for WALKERS CRISPS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

New poduct for WALKERS CRISPS - Essay Example When the company started, its first flavours released to the market were cheese and onion flavours. Currently, Walkers has introduced very many types of flavours in the potato crisps produced and this has attracted a lot of customers who appreciate the different tastes that come in the different flavours. Due to its vast numbers in its customers, Walkers has proved to be a company that can accommodate the introduction of new products. Therefore, I propose introduction of Walkers Fresh Juice production and sale. Despite the beverages sold in the PepsiCo. Inc, the company does not produce fresh juice. With its huge acres of land for farming potatoes for the manufacture of crisps, I feel this company can use part of that land to grow fruits that can be used to make the fresh juice. For a company that is currently aiming to produce and sell healthy foodstuff, it is my strong belief that making fresh juice for sale will serve this purpose while attracting a great number of customers who are already loyal to Walker’s crisps company. It is also part of PepsiCo’s mission, to be the global company for production of consumer products that will produce the best foods and beverages. (BOONE et al 2011). One of the growing trends in the United Kingdom in food production is the desire by the consumers to have healthy and safe snacks. According to recent studies and research projects, it has been noted that a high number of people are much interested in natural and healthy drinks and also foods. An example is how fat content and even salt has been reduced in the manufacture of some snacks so as to respond to the issues that have been raised concerning health.( GREAT BRITAIN 2004). This trend has been accelerated by the government of the United Kingdom, when it put strict regulations in labelling of nutritional value of foods and beverages as a measure of controlling obesity in the country. In this market, there has been a lot of emphasis to the manufacturers to use

How Current Issues Affect Our Economy Essay Example for Free

How Current Issues Affect Our Economy Essay It has been a common notion that current issues affect a country’s economy. Particularly, in the U. S. , issues such as election, war, and immigration are often pointed out to cause the economy to rise or fall. Also, there is a speculation tying up the economy with the prices of stocks, in that the rise in the prices indicates an improving economy and vice versa. Although existing studies have not established a sure claim that current issues truly affect the economy (Socioeconomic Foundation Website), we can point out reasons how such issues can make the economy rise or fall. First, let us consider how elections can improve or pull down our economy. As what we may hear during election periods, the success of our economy is somehow dependent on whoever wins. On the one hand, if the incumbent government stays in power, the economy, with all its budget appropriations, would be sustained. Therefore, there is a tendency that our economy could maintain its present status and there would be no fear of decline. On the other hand, if a new regime takes over, a new set of budget will be proposed, and there could be an economic recession, which could eventually lead to some losses. In the same way, war can affect the economy in two ways. It can have positive implications, as well as negative ones. On the positive side, involvement in war could make a country more powerful and prominent. In addition, it promises future alliances, which assure us of additional areas for investment. As such, the countrys power and territory widens, and this leads to developing trust of other nations on the countrys stability. This development of trust to the U. S. power could later mean more investments and alliances. On the negative side, involvement in war could also imply a lot of drawbacks. For instance, recipient countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan receive a funding of USD 1. 3 billion for their infrastructure, community action, and other local projects. As such, involvement in war could lead to economic slur or upsurge. Aside from election and involvement in war, immigration is another issue affecting the US economy. As Croddy Hayes (2007) note, the issue of illegal or unauthorized immigration has existed for the last thirty years. Illegal immigrants include all people who have been overstaying in the country, and those without proper documentation. While some of them may have jobs to support themselves and their family, a lot of these people do not have a livelihood and literally rely on what the US government can provide. Specifically, the government spends for their childrens education in public schools, medical benefits, and other projects that they benefit from such as infrastructure, telecommunication, etc. Similarly, these people contribute in depleting the countrys natural resources, and utilize energy, water, and air. Another issue that may be affecting the U. S. economy is the problem with HIV victims. As the fight against AIDS continues, the government keeps on spending a lot of money to discover the cure for the said disease. This also implies that as the cure for AIDS has not been found, the government will continue its effort to allocate some of its budget to inventions and researches. References Croddy, Marshall and Hayes, Bill.â€Å"Current Issues of Immigration, 2007. † 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2008 http://www. crf-usa. org/immigration/Current_Issues_of_Immigration_2007. pdf. . â€Å"Key Aspects of Socionomic Theory. † Socioeconomic Foundation. Retrieved 5 February 2008 http://www. socionomics. org/about/key_aspects. htm#contents. Lancaster, Carol. â€Å"U. S. Foreign Economic Aid in 2008: Winners and Losers in President Bushs Proposed Budget. † Retrieved 4 February 2008 http://blogs. cgdev. org/globaldevelopment/2007/02/us_foreign_economic_aid_in_200. php.

The Gediminas Castle Essay Example for Free

The Gediminas Castle Essay The funicular is 71m long and will take you 40m high. The angle is said to be 36 degrees. Opening hours 10.00 19.00 all year round. Tickets: up and down adults 3Lt, pensioners and school children 2Lt up OR down adults 2 Lt, pensioners and school children 1Lt The so called Upper Castle, or Gediminas Castle, was built at the beginning of the 14th century on the site of an earlier wooden one. A century later it was rebuilt and strenghtened. Along with the Lower Castle (now gone) and the defensive wall it formed a powerful defensive system. But slowly itlost its importance and after the damage caused in the war with Russia in 1655, it was left unrebuilt. After the World War II the best surviving tower was restored. It now houses a museum and an observa- tion platform. The museum is open: May Sept 10.00 19.00 whole week Oct April Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 to 17.00. Entrance fee 5Ltl for adults, pensioners and school children 2Ltl. To the east of the tower are the ruins of the ducal palace. The Gediminas Tower is an important historic symbol of the city of Vilnius and of Lithuania. It is the only remaining part of the Upper Castle. The first wooden fortifications were built by Gediminas the Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There is historic evidence of a castle being located at the top of Gediminas Hill since the early 14th century. The original castle was made of wood and there is uncertaintainty around when exactly the stone castle was built. Originally the castle was built to protect the city of Vilnius from invaders and gave a great vantage point ove the city and surrounding countryside. Over the centuries the city of Vilnius was attacked five times but the castle was never successfully taken. It was only in the 17th century, during the war with Moscow, did the castle finally succumb to foreign invasion when  it was nearly completely destroyed. Recently, parts of the castle have been restored, but access to the interior of the castle is still not possible for visitors. Fairly easy walk (assuming youre wearing good walking shoes) up Gedeminas Hill allows for wonderful views of Vilnius. The orange-red roofs of old town spread out below, while taller modern buildings can be seen in the distance, a reminder that Vilnius is both a historical site and modern, living city. At the top of the hill stands the remains of the Upper Castle, built in the 15th century. Inside the tower is a museum detailing some of the citys history. Climb to the top of the tower for even better views of the city below. For a change of pace, take the funicular down to the bottom of the hill when youre ready to leave. Its a fun ride, and quick! The first timber castle was built on Castle Mount by Grand Duke Gediminas around 1320. It was replaced by a brick one in the second half of the 14th century, which had to be re-built by Grand Duke Vytautas after a fire in 1419. The castle served the Polish kings as a bell foundry and a jail and, later, as King Sigismund Augusts library. In 1655 it was conquered by the Muscovites, which was the start of its gradual decline. The only remaining part of it at present is just one tower which houses the Museum of the Castle. From its top you can admire the panorama of Vilnius. Unfortunately, we could only see the castle from below. There were no signposts to the funicular and it was getting too late for us to attempt a walk. The pictures of the panorama of the town were taken by my friend on her stay in Vilnius. All Lithuanians know a legend about establishment of Vilnius city. It was the beginning of 14th century when Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas stopped for an overnight near confluence of Neris and Vilnele rivers. That night he dreamt an iron wolf howling on a hill. In the morning his soothsayer Lizdeika explained his dream as a sign for him to build here a city as it will become a well known and widely resounded in all over the World. Gediminas ordered to pour a mound at the same place he slept. On the hill there a castle was built, the predecessor for the nowadays Gediminas castle. According to archeological researches, the hill where Gediminas castle stands nowadays was already inhabited in a Neolithic period. In 11-13th centuries a wooden castle here stood. The same as Vilnius city, it was mentioned in 1323 for the first time. For more than 250 years since 1315, when a dynasty of GediminaiÄ iai ruled the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the complex of Vilnius castles served as a solid defensive structure. The complex included the Bottom castle, the Upper castle and the Skew castle. The Bottom castle extended in a territory of a few hectares. It stood at the same place where now the Vilnius Cathedral stands. It looked as a separate city as it included a school, an arsenal, stables, living buildings, a cathedral. However, it finally vanished in 1800. The newly built Palace of Grand Dukes of Lithuania nowadays symbolizes the former Bottom Castle. The Skew castle stood on the Skew hill, the same one which nowadays is known as the Bleak hill where a monument called â€Å"Three Crosses† is erected. The Skew castle was burnt in 1390 by German Order. Remains of the Upper castle are still standing on Gediminas hill. This castle is also called Gediminas castle. There were times when it was one of the most important political centers in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There is also a tower of Gediminas castle located which can be seen well from any place in Vilnius Old Town. The tower nowadays serves as a museum, an observation square and a symbol of Vilnius and the whole Lithuania. The museum located in the tower of Gediminas castle is a part of National museum of Lithuania. There is an exposition called â€Å"Guns and an iconography of the castle† exposed. Visitors can get acquainted with models of the complex of Vilnius castles, historical weaponry and iconography of the old Vilnius. Tourists can climb up the Gediminas hill themselves in order to visit the castle and the tower or they can use an elevator working there daily. Marvelous views of Vilnius city open from the top of the Gediminas hill. Some people, especially youth, like settling on a spacious stone fence here and watch the city life from above. It is an impressive place where young fellows like to take their girlfriends, city guides always include this destination to tours around Vilnius, the hill is often visited by schoolchildren excursions and separate tourists. The only inconvenience about the place is that you must be on time to get down the hill in order  not to be locked in the hill territory. The hill is not available to climb up all day long.

Accidental And Malicious Association: Wireless Networking

Accidental And Malicious Association: Wireless Networking Wireless network is a wireless communication between two interconnect nodes without the use of wires. Mobility lifts the requirement for a fixed point of connection to the network which allows users to move physically while using their devices. Mobiles computers such as laptops computer and personal digital assistants (PDAs), are the growing sector in computer industry 1. Wireless networks have many uses. A common is the portable office. Wireless networks are the common, both for organisations and individuals. Many notebooks computer have wireless card that allow connecting to a wireless network. However, wireless networking has many security issues, wireless has fewer physical assets to protect but at the same time there is no locked door on the airwaves so it is far easy to hack 2. Therefore, hacker found wireless network much more easily to break into. Wireless Security Wireless technology users security threat has been increased as the service become more popular. There are numbers of security threats with the current wireless protocols and encryption methods has been grown due to the carelessness and ignorance of the users and at corporate IT levels. Cracking has become easier with user-friendly Windows or Linux-based tool due to the easily availability on the web at no charge. Types of unauthorised access 1. Accidental association Violation of the security of a corporate network can come from a number of different methods. One of these referred to as accidental association. When a user turns on a computer and it latches on to a wireless network or wireless access point of a neighbouring firms overlapping network, the user may not even know that this is occurred. However this is the breach in security in that proprietary firm information is exposed and now there could exist a link from one company to the other and there might be a chance when a data is been transferred within a firm it can be at a risk and its integrity might have been compromised. 2. Malicious association Malicious association are when wireless network of a company is accessed by a wireless device such as cracking laptop instead of a company access point (AP). These types of laptops are known as soft APs. When thief gained accessed to the wireless network they can steal password or can plant a Trojans. 3. Ad-hoc networks Ad-hoc networks can pose a security threats, this network are defined as peer to peer networks between wireless computers which do not have an access point between them. Ad-hoc networks provide a bridge into other networks. In a company network environment its provided a bridge into other organisation network through unsecured ad-hoc connection. Ad-hoc network are defaults setting in most version of Microsoft Windows, it is turned on unless explicitly disable. There are basically two types of Bridging in Ad-hoc network. A direct bridge and a indirect bridge, direct bridge is created by a user who configure a bridge between two connections whereas indirect bridge has two security hazards. The first hazards is that important company data is been obtained via the secured network on the users end node computer drive, which exposed to discovery via the unsecured Ad-hoc network. The second hazards is that a virus was placed on the users computer via the unsecured Ad-hoc connection which make way to the company secured network. 4. Identity theft (MAC spoofing) When a hacker is able to listen into network traffic and identify the MAC address of a computer is called MAC spoofing. Some program has the sniffing capability which combines software that permits a computer to pretend it has any address that the hacker wished for. Wireless network system allow MAC filtering to some extend so that only authorised with specific MAC IDs can only access the network. When the wireless device is switch off or is off the air then only MAC filtering is effective. Any wireless devices (802.11) on the air transmit its unencrypted MAC address, which required no specific equipment or software to detect it. With any 802.11 receiver such as laptop and a freeware packet analyser can get the MAC address of any transmitting 802.11 device within range. In a company network where most of the wireless devices are on the air, MAC filtering provides security only to prevent unauthorised connection to the company infrastructure and does nothing to prevent a direct attack. 5. Man-in-the middle attacks. In this type of attack, attacker incites computers to log into a computer which is set up as a soft AP (Access point). After this hacker connects to a real Access point through another wireless device which maintains a steady flow of traffic through the transparent hacking computer to the real network which provide hacker to sniff the traffic. This attack usually disrupt the real connection and reconnecting with the hackers soft AP, these attacks are enhanced by software such as LANjack and AIRjack. Online books http://books.google.com/books?id=Ic6Ai8Y7LoACprintsec=frontcoverdq=wireless+networkshl=enei=UpbQTOfLF4HIswbozazNCAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=true date 2/11/10 http://books.google.com/books?id=XO5VjslHLasCprintsec=frontcoverdq=wireless+securityhl=enei=fZ3QTOSpAYORswbMurzNCAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=true date 2/11/10

Essay --

The narrator of The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man was born to a â€Å"colored† mother and white father. This combination of his identity led him to encounter many internal and external challenges. Physically he appeared white, so he experienced being able to â€Å"pass† as both â€Å"colored† or white whenever he wished. Being able do such a thing, the narrator struggled with racial boundaries. He embodied almost every permutation, intentional or unintentional, of the experience when encountering various racial (white and â€Å"colored†) communities, eventually deciding to pass as white at the end of the novel. Due to cowardice, instead of representing his race, he suppressed the African-American part of his identity and destroyed his chances of achieving true contentedness and self-awareness. â€Å"Passing† was a common theme seen in many novels that came to relevance during the Harlem Renaissance. This phenomenon dealt with the impermeability of racial boundaries when a person with any amount of African-American blood was considered â€Å"colored†Ã¢â‚¬ . The narrator dealt with this complicated aspect of his life through innumerable experiences while being a part of white and â€Å"colored† communities. Although his mother was â€Å"colored†, his father, who was absent during his childhood, was a white man. In spite of of his â€Å"colored† roots, the narrator had the advantage of outwardly appearing white, thus being able to pass as a white man whenever he desired. He often considered his meaningful African-American origin, but typically resorted to associating with the white race: eventually suppressing the â€Å"colored† element of his identity completely. The narrator was unaware of his â€Å"colored† origin early on in his life. He was observant of his surroundings, but never... ...ith the â€Å"colored† people: he chose to disassociate. The narrator of The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man decided not to fight for racial equality in America for his fellow African-American, or even for himself, but rather conformed with the white majority thus selecting the uncomplicated path: the path that would lead him to security and safety in the years to come. After struggling with his identity in the white and African-American community as a â€Å"colored† man who could pass as white, he decided to discard his â€Å"colored† roots and stick with his white origin. By doing such a thing, he was able to live a simple, respectful, and safe life, but he abandoned a very significant part of his identity. He felt slight remorse towards the end of the novel, but self-interest held more importance to him than embracing the cultural heritage of the African-American community.

How first Love Is Represented By Different Artists :: essays research papers

How "First Love" is Represented by Different Artists First love is represented in different ways by different artists in their writings according to their own experiences. Different artists experience different things when they are growing up and their first loves are not always the opposite sex. Some felt the love from their parents was the most important, when they were young, others felt the love of their lovers was the most important. But no matter who the other person or persons were that influenced the artist as their first love, all of the artists' first loves were equally important. First loves are important to most artists, no matter how, when or who. How first loves impacted the artists play a significant role in determining the lives of the artists and their topics of writing. In Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays," Hayden writes about his father and the abandonment his family showed him even though he worked so hard to provide for them. Hayden writes, "†¦cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday blaze. No one ever thanked him" (590). Most artists observe the fact that they did not know of their first loves and do not realize their mistakes with their first loves until they are grown up and are writing about it. It probably provides them with a good topic to start writing about in the first place. The lack of realization seems to be a powerful motivator in the lives of these artists. All of the artists in the readings seem to have gone through a period of lack of realization before wising up to what their experiences with their first loves meant. They probably did not know that their first loves were their first loves until later in their lives. In the case of Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke, it took them their whole adolescent years to realize who their first loves were. But no matter how long or how they realized it, most of the artists were impacted greatly by their first loves or they would not devote their writing to it. When artists realize their first loves differs greatly also. Some realize very quickly who, or what their first loves are, and some do not realize for a very long time. In A.E. Houseman's "When I Was One and Twenty," Houseman writes about his ignorance toward his first love. He writes about how ignorant he was toward the whole situation and how relatively quickly he realized that he should not have been overwhelmed by the whole experience. Houseman writes, "Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away†¦.

The Role of Media Bias in American Society Essay -- Media News Reporti

The Role of Media Bias in American Society One of the major problems in the American media today is non-objective reporting which is also known as bias. This has been a trend since the early 1980?s and is very alarming for American citizens who watch the news for truth and honest reporting. Not only has bias been a problem in the broadcast media of ABC, NBC, and CBS, but it has also been a problem in mainstream newspapers such as The New York Times, The Sun, and The Boston Globe. For years, these media outlets have built their reputations on truth and now the trend is to lean left and not tell the whole story. Evidence of this has become very prominent in war coverage and election bias. Bias in the media is a big issue and causes lots of problems throughout the public such as losing trust in a once great source for news, people going elsewhere for information, being ill-informed, and leading to a low voter turnout. Public trust in the media has seen a significant drop since the media has started editorializing stories instead of reporting objectively. The media, which has dominated the American landscape as the number one news source for so long, has become complacent with their place in society. Media has become part of conglomerations consisting or television, newspapers, and movie companies all under on major corporation. Larger corporations which have started to buy out the original companies are more in it for the money leaving the news portion of the company up to the editors. Leaving editing to the editors can possibly lead to a large bias that will sway the public?s opinion when it comes to elections, policy making, and a lack of being a watchdog for the two major political parties. Editors who make th... ...ongressman, Senators, Governors, in some states, judges, and on national election days when they vote for the next president of the United States. Works Cited: Cooper, S. D. (Jan 2005). Bringing Some Clarity to the Media Bias Debate. Review of Communication. 5 (1), 81. Cunningham, B. (Sep/Oct 2004). Our Readers, Ourselves. Columbia Journalism Review. 43 (3), 64. Kelliher, L. (Mar/Apr 2004). Fox Watch: MoveOn.org members take bias watching into their living rooms. Columbia Journalism Review. 42 (6), 8. Kohut, A. (Mar/Apr 2002). Listen Up Bias Mongers! The Audience Doesn?t Agree. Columbia Journalism Review. 40 (6), 68. McGowan, W. (1995, April). Left Out? Does a co-dependent relationship exist between the liberal media and the Democratic Party keep both of them off the road to recovery? American Journalism Review. 17 (3), 40.

The Future of Iptv and Ip-Video

ECE 6613: Broadband Access Networks The Future of IPTV and IP-Video Ji Hwan Kim Georgia Institute of Technology 325050 Georgia Tech Station Atlanta, GA 30332 Abstract— This paper describes the various IPTV architectures and components, which enables large-scale integration of current and future IPTV network. IPTV technologies are transforming how we perceive TV services today and global television industry as whole. However, there is pressing need for improvement on IPTV side to meet the Quality of Experience that is equal to or better than traditional TV services.In recent years, we have seen tremendous growth in Information Technology industry with the emergence of smart phone. Various new technologies are in its development to meet the demand of higher data rate, reliable data transfer, and readily available resources with distributed cloud servers to improve quality of service to the customers. With growing number of smart phone users, IPTV service has become ever more pop ular in telecommunication companies to provide streaming videos through the different new infrastructures.The biggest competitors in IPTV service in the U. S. are Verizon FioS (FTTP) and AT&T U-verse (FTTN) providing triple-play bundle service to the customer. In this paper, we are going to discuss IPTV service architecture difference of Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, Cable Company, and Netflix as well as current IPTV research and development to increase quality of experience through multicast and cloud computing. Also we will analyze some of the emerging IPTV application in the future. Key Words — Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, MulticastIntroduction Today’s IPTV services IPTV technologies are transforming how we perceive TV services today and global television industry as whole. It is a collection of modern technologies in computing, networking, and storage combined to deliver high quality television contents through IP network. It is be coming a platform which changing how we access information and entertainment. In recent years, we have seen tremendous growth in video and networking technologies with the emergence of smart phone.Various new technologies are in its development to meet the demand of higher data rate, reliable data transfer, and readily available resources, distributed cloud servers, to improve quality of service to the customers. The figure below [1] is an example of IPTV broadband network inside a home. [pic] Fig. 1. Diagram of IPTV Broadband Network Inside Home. With IPTV service, video contents are not only limited to the TV but can utilize in multiple platforms to enjoy video content anywhere, anytime, and anydevice.IPTV alter the way the customer consume video content like personal video recorders have done and lets customer have complete control of their entertainment experience to a next level. [pic] Fig. 2. U. S. Multichannel Video Subscriber Census Above is a figure of U. S. Multichannel Vi deo Subscriber Census by SNL Kagan [2]. In 2011, the cable industry lost 1. 8 million video subscribers whereas IPTV providers gained 1. 6 million. This shows that IPTV industry is gaining market share on video content provider and it is expected to grow even more.Cable TV delivers entire line-up of broadcast content channels all the time which requires huge amount of bandwidth being delivered all the time into the home and cable companies are moving toward IPTV delivery services to reduce bandwidth on their infrastructure. IPTV architecture is very different in that it only delivers the single channel that is requested by the consumer’s individual TV. Therefore, IPTV architecture can greatly reduce bandwidth by only providing specific request from the consumer at any given time [4]. [pic] Fig. 3.Expected Growth in IPTV subscribers. However, there is pressing need for improvement on IPTV side to meet the Quality of Experience that is equal to or better than traditional TV ser vices. To provide great quality of experience in IPTV requires almost no packet loss, delay variation of 200ms, and delivery of no more than one perceivable error during a two-hour movie. This constrains and requirements puts heavy burden on service provider to provide reliable and lossless IPTV to customers and requires video admission control. The paper is outlined as follows.In Section II, we overview the different IPTV system and architecture exist today and how service providers are planning to improve their IPTV infrastructure. In Section III we will discuss the multicast protocol in depth and current research from Cisco to deliver IPTV service with multicast protocol. In Section V, we will discuss some of the potential future application that can be seen in near future with IPTV service. IPTV System and architecture IPTV networks generate their video contents for transmission using many clustered components collectively called headends.There are three common types of IPTV hea dends to meet national, regional and local content distribution requirements. Super Headends (SHE) receives and digests content on the national level typically from satellites. After processing and encoding, the SHEs distribute the national content to video hub offices (VHO) over a core IP/MPLS network. VHOs aggregate national, regional, and local content with the on-demand services, and serve metropolitan areas with a population of between 100,000 to 500,000 homes.VHOs are connected to video switching offices (VSO) over metro aggregation networks. VSOs distributed the IPTV streams to the customer premises over access network. The IPTV architecture is shown in Figure. 4. [pic] Fig. 4. End-to-End IPTV Network Architecture. The most conventional transport technique for IPTV is to multicast UDP/IP packets with MPEG-2 video compression scheme. The newer standard video architectures use RTP protocol which can provide error repair and stream monitoring unlike UDP protocol.IPTV service hav e slower channel change time compare to CATV service provider since all the TV channels are broadcasted simultaneously whereas IPTV needs to request certain channel from the provider. IPTV zapping time is affected by several factors such as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) signaling delay of leaving and joining multicast group, MPEG decoding delay, program specific information (PSI) including program association table (PAT) and program map table (PMT) acquisition delay, random access point (RAP) delay, conditional access system (CAS) key acquisition delay, and de-jittering buffer delay in the STB [4].More detail of video admission control in IPTV multicast protocol will be discussed in Section III. IPTV service over a packet-switched network demands near zero packet loss and limited jitter. Thus, it is often necessary to enforce traffic management and admission control in IPTV network by sufficient provisioning and resource allocation [4]. More detail on resource allocation through retransmission server to improve IPTV will be discussed in Section III. Telco companies are embracing the IPTV technology since this will open up huge market share with Cable TV companies.Telco companies have been delivering packet-based IP traffic over their xDSL technology for many years and utilizing their existing technology to move to IPTV is a natural choice for them. However, there are great roadblocks to deploy IPTV over DSL which primarily concerned with quality of experience that is equal or better than traditional CATV. Below is the figure of IPTV infrastructure for Telco companies [1]. [pic] Fig. 5. Telco End-to-End IPTV Network Architecture. The primary difference in Telco companies’ architecture can be seen in red cloud shown in Fig. 5.Digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) is located in environmentally controlled vaults or huts. It is also called video ready access devices (VRAD), which is placed on lawns or easements or a common space in a partment building. DSLAM often serves 100 to 200 residential gateways (RGs) that are attached to the outside of a residence and various techniques are used to transport signal between DSLAM and RG. Very high-bit-rate DSL (VDSL) for copper and broadband passive optical network (BPON) and gigabit PON (GPON) for giber transport. This metro access segment uses a hub-and-spoke architecture [5].Cable companies have been utilizing Hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC), combine optical fibers and coaxial cables, network since early 1990s to provide broadband internet access over existing cable TV system and its been employed this protocol globally and Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is the international standard for developing equipment for HFC networks. Cable IPTV architecture is able to evolve from the traditional CATV with simple changes by adding few more components: cable modem (CM), cable modem termination system (CMTS), and a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM).The cable comp anies’ architecture is shown in the figure below. [pic] Fig. 6. Cable Company Network Architecture. The CMTS and CM can provide a bidirectional IP over DOCSIS transport in the HFC network. CMTS can provide media access control (MAC) and physical protocol layer (PHY) in a single device by integrate with DOCSIS however, cable industry is moving toward a modular CMTS (M-CMTS). M-CMTS separates MAC and PHY layers to improve the scalability of DOCSIS transport.The CMTS manages DOCSIS QAM switching and provides QoS over the DOCSIS channel as well as manages residential CMs by dynamically load-balancing CMs among DOCSIS downstream channels to optimize traffic flow. PCMM policy server in DOCSIS networks defines admission control QoS policies by using session managers to request and reserve bandwidth for CMTS to enforce these QoS policies. A. Verizon Fios In 2004, Verizon began deployment of its Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) access network. The initial deployment used the ITU-T G. 983 BPON standard and in 2007, Verizon began using equipment with the ITU-T G. 84 G-PON standard. Fig. 6 below is Verizon’s BPON FTTP architecture diagram describing the connection between Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and Optical Network Terminal (ONT). OLT provides interface between Core network with voice, data, and video signals and Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) boosts the [pic] Fig. 6. Verizon BPON FTTP architecture optical video signal. ONT performs the optical to electrical signal conversion and provide the data, voice, and video service to the subscriber. Wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) combines the three wavelengths onto a single fiber for transmission to the premises. 310nm wavelength is used for upstream traffic and for downstream, 1550nm (broadcast video) and 1490nm (data and voice) are being utilized. Fiber Distribution Hub (FDH) cabinet contains 1Ãâ€"32 passive optical splitters. Each subscriber is connected to a dedicated fiber between FHD and the premis es. BPON delivers 622 Mbps downstream and 155 Mbps upstream per PON for voice and data through ATM. FiOS provide over 600 channels between 50 to 870 MHz RF signal transmitted over the 1550nm wavelength. [pic] Fig. 7. Verizon FiOS RF spectrumGPON physical architecture is same as BPON however it provides significant improvements over BPON in bandwidth. GPON can provide 2. 5 Gbps downstream and 1. 2 Gbps upstream for data and voice and in addition, GPON have different transport by implementing Ethernet based protocol to transfer data instead of ATM. The comparison of BPON and GPON is shown in Table 1 below. [pic] Verizon uses Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology to provide data communication inside the resident. MoCA is installed in the ONT, Broadband Home Router, and set-top boxes and permits two-way IP data transmission over coax.By using MoCA, Verizon can reduce installation cost by using existing coax cable instead providing Ethernet cables to connect devices in the resi dent. [pic] Fig. 7. Verizon FiOS MoCA Verizon is using two main FTTP deployment schemes, the FTTP Overlay architecture and the FTTP Full Build. The [pic] Fig. 8. FTTP Overlay and Full Build Deployment Choice between two deployment scenarios is dependent on the specific deployment area and the likely take rates. In the FullBuild architecture, the fiber is deployed to each house and each subscriber gets an ONT together.In Overlay architecture, fiber is available to pass all homes and business in a distributed area but only a small percentage of homes and businesses are connected to and served with FTTP [7]. B. AT&T U-Verse In 2006, AT&T launched its U-Verse IPTV service (project lightspeed), comprising a national head-end and regional video-serving offices. AT&T offered over 300 channels in 11 cities through FTTN technology. AT&T utilizes copper pair to connect VRAD to Residential Gateway (RG) using xDSL technology. With U-verse, it can provide 25Mbps to home approximately 2500~4000 f eet away.By using MPEG-4 H. 264 compression technique, U-verse can provide 4 simultaneous TV stream (2HD and 2 SD TV), 2 VoIP and POTS service to the resident. Figure below is U-verse architecture. [pic] Fig. 9. U-verse FTTN Architecture The DSL technology at its beginning stages could only deliver 6 Mbps but now with ADSL2+ and VDSL, it can provide much higher bandwidth over a single copper pair. [pic] Fig. 10. xDSL technology. The various techniques are being implemented to improve the bandwidth and physical loop length capabilities of different DSL technologies.Bonding copper cable pairs can provide higher bandwidth by terminating 2 copper cable pairs together to act as 1 larger copper pair. ADSL2+ and VDSL is bonded together to provide higher bandwidth. VDSL can provide higher throughput than ADSL2+ however, it can only support short loop length. There is newest xDSL technology standard VHDSL2, which approved in February 2006, can provide bandwidth of 200 Mbit/s but maximum dist ance of 300 meters. xDSL technology goal is to provide VDSL speed with longer loop length [4]. The various different xDSL technology characteristics are shown in table below. TABLE 2. xDSL SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS. pic] AT&T typically uses mix of xDSL technologies to deliver broadband service to subscribers. Mainly ADSL2+ from the central office and VDSL2 from the VRAD through FTTN fiber based technology. C) Cable TV to IPTV Transition Cable companies are the largest subscription television service provider in the world and can easily integrate IPTV services to their existing infrastructure. In cable TV infrastructure, there are two main categories of digital video services: broadcast and on-demand Broadcast service defined as a service in which one copy of a program is sent to all subscriber in a broadcast manner.Broadcast services include : – Digital broadcast- Encoded/compressed programs are sent to a subscriber’s STB, where they are decoded/uncompressed for playbac k on a TV. All programs are transmitted regardless of which programs are currently watched by the customer – Switched digital video (SDV) – SDV is similar to digital broadcast but only requested programs are sent to a subscriber group. This group typically consists of all the subscribers served by HFC node which can serve range o 125 to 2000 subscribers. SDV is first two-way communication with subscriber for program selection.The digital broadcast architecture begins with the polling the content in the headend from satellite and terrestrial sources. The acquired content is generally forward to a multifunction media processing device performing following three functions: – Statmux – performs statistical time-devision multiplexing of real-time video content from various sources. – Groomer – adjust rates of content into a maximum bandwidth and limiting the rate of video burst – Splicer – inserts ads into programming breaks as need ed for a regional market. [pic]Fig. 11. CATV Architecture. The content is then forwarded across IP transport network to an IP-enabled quadrature amplitude modulator (QAM), where video content is encrypted and forward to STB for the customer. An out-of-band (OOB) channel provides the STB with basic tuning information, basic tuning information, decryption keys, software upgrade, and other communications. Switched Digital Video (SDV) was designed as a cost-effective method to expand bandwidth capacity in a way different than plant upgrades or better video compression method.Traditional digital broadcast sends all the channels into the HFC network but with SDV, programming terminates at the headend (VHO) or hub (VSO) and does not send channel unless it’s requested. When an SDV program is selected, tuning software in the receiver sends an upstream message and SDV session manager receives the quest and maps the program to a frequency within the allocated pool. If the program is alr eady being viewed within the same subscriber group, the task is as simple as reusing the existing session frequency information. On-Demand service is an interactive service where a requested video program is streamed to one subscriber.All on-demand content is encoded/compressed and stored on server to be received by individual subscriber’s request. On-demand services include following: – Video on demand- Content is stored on a server and subscriber views a list of titles and requests to view a specific title. The VOD system authorizes and streams the requested content to the requested user. – Network-based personal video record (nPVR) – this service is like home PVR except the content is on the service provider network. A subscriber uses the STB to record specific content to record and watches content at a user-chosen time which is same manner as VOD. pic] Fig. 12. Integrated Cable Video Service Architecture Cable IPTV architecture needs three newly added components to enable IPTV to their customers: Cable modem (CM), Cable Modem Termination system (CMTS), and a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM). [pic] Fig. 13. Cable IPTV Architecture The CMTS and CM provide a two-way IP over DOCSIS transport in the HFC network. Cable Companies are moving toward M-CMTS technology, which can separate, MAC and PHY layer to improve scalability of DOCSIS transport unlike traditional CMTS where both MAC and PHY layer in a single device.In order to utilize IPTV in Cable company network, IP STBs or other IPTV capable devices must be able to receive video over IP transport and remove network delay variation. Major Cable companies are finding hybrid STBs as attractive solution for IPTV. The Hybrid STB with an embedded cable modem can receive video from either IP path or traditional QAM/RF transport path, which is good strategy to migrate from traditional cable architecture to IPTV. Admission control in Cable IPTV can be applied to both the IP network from the vi deo source to the CMTS, and the HFC network between the QAM and the CM through PCMM policy server.Policy server in DOCSIS networks defines QoS policies for CMTS to enforce them. Admission control signaling can be categorized as off-path and on-path. Off-path is when the control path is different from the data path and on-path signaling traverses the data path for bandwidth requests that use the commonly selected Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). In order to provide better IPTV services to the customers, Cable industry must improve bandwidth efficiency in the last mile. The biggest recent innovation to optimize available bandwidth is SDV but additional solutions are becoming more important as cable company transition to IPTV service.QAM sharing holds great promise of improving bandwidth efficiency without the need of major change in their current infrastructure. However, there are several factors contribute to the bandwidth efficiency of QAM sharing: †¢ Even if SDV and VOD h ave the same peak hours, a viewer is likely to receive only one service at a time. †¢ The gain of QAM sharing comes from the statistical advantage of a bigger QAM pool, shared by two or more services. †¢ Differing peak hours of DOCSIS and video service contribute additional gains.For instance, the spectrum allocated for DOCSIS commercial services during the day may by reallocated for video services in the evening. Dynamic QAM sharing is being realized through new technologies and standards for the following reasons: †¢ The DOCSIS M-CMTS architecture, which separates the DOCSIS MAC and PHY protocol layers. This allows the PHY layer (specifically the QAMs) to be dynamically allocated and de-allocated. †¢ The recent emergence of universal QAMs, which can function as either MPEG video QAMs or DOCSIS QAMs. †¢ Standardization in edge QAM resource management. pic] Fig. 14. Dynamic QAM Sharing with M-CMTS Architecture ERMI specifies several interfaces to an edge res ource manager (ERM). The ERM is a plat- form that manages and leases QAM channel bandwidth for all applications: †¢ ERMI-1 is an interface for edge devices to register QAM channels to the ERM and notify the ERM of any QAM failures or state changes. †¢ ERMI-2 is an interface for the ERM to bind the QAM resources from an edge device to the resource allocation request. †¢ ERMI-3 is an interface for the M-CMTS core to allocate QAM-channel andwidth from the ERM. Variable bit rate (VBR) video provides considerable bit saving compared to constant bit rate (CBR) video. WITH VBR statistical multiplexing, Cable Company can save as much as 30 percent of bandwidth by just varying the output data per time segment. Recently, DOCSIS 3. 0 was release to compete with Telco companies FTTx deployment and it is redefined the communication between cable modem (CM) located at subscriber premises and cable modem termination system (CMTS) at cable service provider’s network headend. D OCSIS 3. are design to allow channel bonding to boost up network throughput and number of bonded channel is usually 4 or 8. With DOCSIS 3. 0 standard, it can provide 300 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload [8]. TABLE 3. DOCSIS 3. 0 Standards and Characteristics [pic] D) Netflix OTT IPTV System and Architecture Netflix is the leading provider of OTT on-demand internet video streaming in the US and Canada with more than 23 million subscribers. Netflix can stream out HD quality video with average bitrate of 3. 6 Mbps and it is single largest source of Internet traffic in the US by consuming 29. % of peak download traffic. [pic] Fig. 15. Netflix Architecture Designing large-scale network infrastructure to support fast growing video streaming platform with high availability and scalability is technically challenging. The Majority Netflix infrastructure used to be hosted in its own datacenter but recently resorted to the use of cloud services, Content Distribution Networks (CDNs), and other public computing services. Amazon AWS cloud is being utilized by replacing its in house IT infrastructure along with SimpleDB, S3 and Cassandra for file storage.Video streaming is distributed out of multiple content distributed networks (CDNs), UltraDNS, and a public DNS service is used as its authoritative DNS servers. Microsoft Silverlight is employed as the video playback platform for Netflix desktop users and Netflix manages to build its IPTV with little infrastructure of its own. †¢ Netflix data centers – Netflix uses its own IP address space for the host name www. netflix. com. This server primarily handles registration of new user accounts and captures payment information and redirect users to movies. etflix. com or signup. netflix. com. This server does not interact with the client when handling movie request and playback. †¢ Amazon Cloud service – Most of the Netflix servers are served from various Amazon cloud services and key functions are content ingestion, log recording/analysis, DRM, CDN routing, user sign-in, and mobile device support †¢ Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) – Netflix utilize multiple CDNs to deliver the video content to the subscriber. The encoded and DRM protected videos are stored in Amazon cloud and copied to CDNs.The three main CDNS are Akamai, LimeLight, and Level-3. These three servers provide same quality level content to all the subscribers. †¢ Player – Netflix employ Silver light to download, decode and play Netflix movies on desktop web browser. There are different players for mobile phones and other devices such as Wii, PS3, Xbox, Roku, etc. Netflix utilize Dynamic Streaming over HTTP (DASH) protocol for streaming. In DASH, each video is encoded at several different quality levels and is divided into small chunks. The client requests one video chunk at a time via HTTP.With each download, it measures the received bandwidth and runs a rate determination algorithm to deter mine the quality of the next chunk request. It allows the player to freely switch between different quality levels depending on the bandwidth of subscriber. TABLE 4. KEY NETFLIX HOSTNAME [pic] Netflix Client player have many functions to improve its performance and quality of experience (QOE). Netflix video streaming is controlled by instruction in a manifest file, which Silverlight client downloads. This metafile provides the DASH player metadata to conduct the adaptive video streaming capability.It is client-specific and generated according to each client’s playback and bandwidth capability. It is in XML format and contains several key pieces of information including list of the CDNs, location of trickplay data, video/audio chunk URLs for multiple quality level, and timing parameters such as time-out interval, polling interval and other data to provide QoE to users. Manifest files ranks CDNs to indicate which CDNS are preferred for content delivery. Trickplay is achieved by downloading a set of thumbnail images for periodic snapshot during network congestion [15]. IPTV multicasting protocolIn early IP networks, a packet could be sent either in unicast (single device) or broadcast (all devices). With multicast, single transmission for a group of devices is possible. Multicast transmissions enable efficient communication between groups of devices by allowing Data to be transmitted to a single multicast IP address and received by the group of interest. Multicast over IPTV network presents many challenges related to reservation of resource and maintaining quality of experience (QoE). Backbone can be built based on IP/MPLS and the routers can be enabled for multicast using IGMP protocols.Before going into detail of multicast protocol in IPTV, we will discuss multicast protocol in detail and how it can help IPTV through multicast mechanism. TABLE 5. IGMPV2 AND IGMPV3 MAJOR DIFFERENCE [pic] The IGMP was defined to allow a host computer to select a stream fro m a group of multicast streams a user request. Following is the basic functions IGMP protocol: †¢ Join: an IGMP host indicates that it wants to receive information from a multicast group to become a member. †¢ Leave: An IGMP host indicates that it no longer wishes to receive information from a multicast group. Query: An IGMP router can ask the hosts which groups they are member of. This is done to verify a JOIN/LEAVE request or to look for error conditions. Queries maybe be: o Specific Query: Asks whether the host is a member of a specific multicast group o General Query: Asks the host to indicate all groups that it belongs to †¢ Membership Report: an IGMP host tells the IGMP host what group it belongs to. This report can be either: o Solicit Membership Report: Sent in response to a QUERY o Unsolicited Membership Report: initiated by the client.In the IPTV network, each broadcast TV channel is an IP multicast group. The subscriber changes the channel by leaving one gr oup and joining a different group. IGMPv1 is not suitable for IPTV because it does not include an explicit â€Å"Leave† capability. The client will continue to receive all requested stream until the multicast router issues next query. The standard for IGMPv2 and IGMPv3 major difference is shown in Table 5. IGMPv2 supports Any Source Multicast (ASM) networks and which allows host to specify which multicast group it wishes to join.Most deployed IPTV clients supports IGMPv2. The Major enhancement in IGMPv3 is that it allows Support Specific Multicast (SSM). Host can specify the source address it wants to listen to. Here’s basic IGMP operation involving two devices: †¢ IGMP host (client or STB) – issues messages to join or leave a multicast group. The client also responds to queries from the multicast router. †¢ IGMP router – responds to the join and leave messages to determine if multicast groups should be forward out an interface. Periodic queries are used to discover from error conditions and verify requests.The IGMP router receives multicast groups either through the use of a multicast protocol such as PIM or static flooding. It is the termination point for IGMP messages and does not send any IGMP information to its upstream neighbors. [pic] Fig. 16. DSL Access Network IPTV Service In xDSL IPTV architecture, the subscriber initiates channel change requests and responds to status inquiries. The Routing Gateway (RG) at the subscriber’s site and DSLAM aggregate traffic from multiple subscribers in order to act on request from the STB.However, IGMP networks were not originally designed to have networking equipment between IGMP client and the IGMP routers. This creates some challenges to the multicast implementation: – Excessive multicast traffic: When delivering high bandwidth IPTV over broadband network, it is important to ensure that IPTV channels are forward only to those subscriber currently viewing them sinc e bandwidth is scarce. If the intermediate devices are unaware of IGMP flows then all multicast traffic is broadcast out all ports – Excessive IGMP traffic: Extra bandwidth is consumed as IGMP flows are broadcast to across the network.A single STB IGMP request can result in responses from thousands of IGMP peer clients. – Excessive time to Leave a group: With small spare bandwidth in broadband networks, Leave request often must be processed before additional join request can be served. To mitigate above challenges, several techniques are proposed and developed in intermediary devices: Local Replication, Proxy routing, Proxy Reporting, and Immediate Leave. Local replication, IGMP snooping from DSLAM, allows DSLAM to inspect incoming IGMP Join and Leave request and take appropriate action.If the channel being requested to view is already being received at the DSLAM, it will replicate the stream and forward to the subscriber. The DSLAM builds a table to track which channe l are being forwarded to each port. [pic] Fig. 17. DSLAM with IGMP Snooping Proxy routing works by allowing intermediate device (DSLAM) takes active role of terminating all IGMP flows. This makes DSLAM to act as IGMP host and responds to all incoming requests. DSLAM will recreate the IGMP request and use its own IP address as source.The major benefit of proxy routing is scaling since router is not aware of individual subscribers. [pic] Fig. 18. IGMP Proxy Routing Proxy Reporting reduces the number of IGMP packets flowing across the network by selectively dropping IGMP packets that are not need to be forwarded. The Proxy Reporting can be subdivided to two categories: Query Suppression and Report Suppression. Query Suppression reduces traffic between the DSLAM and the subscriber premises by having the DSLAM intercept and respond to IGMP queries sent by the router.DSLAM will never send a specific query to any clients and forward general queries only to those client receiving at least o ne multicast group. [pic] Fig. 19. Query Suppression. Report Suppression reduces traffic from DSLAM to the router by having DSLAM aggregate the response. The DSLAM can intercept IGMP reports coming from STB and forwards a summarized version to the IGMP router only when it is necessary. There are two categories of reports. Unsolicited membership reports are forward when first subscriber joins a multicast group or last subscriber leaves a multicast group.This tells router to begin or stop sending channel to this DSLAM. Solicited membership reports are forward once per multicast group. The DSLAM will aggregate multiple responses together into a single membership report to save bandwidth. [pic] Fig. 20. Report Suppression Immediate leave alleviate IPTV challenge to change channel rapidly. The standard IGMP Leave operation for channel change is as follow: – The STB sends a request to leave one multicast group – Router responds by issuing Membership Query to confirm the requ est. The STB responds with a Membership Report which does not include the multicast group By implementing immediate leave, STB can leave the multicast group by just simply sending a request to leave one multicast group [16]. [pic] Fig. 21. Standard IGMP Leave and Immediate Leave. The emerging IPTV deployments utilize Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) in order to deliver media content. Unlike UDP, RTP protocol can provide sequence numbers to maintain packet ordering and detect losses, and timing information to determine network delay and synchronize timing between senders and receivers.RTP control protocol maintains session state between senders and receivers and report sender and receiver statistics bi-directionally [17]. The rapid acquisition is illustrated in the Fig 22 flow diagram below. [pic] Fig. 22. Rapid Acquisition Flow Diagram 1) The RTP receiver sends a Multicast Leave message to its upstream multicast router to leave the current multicast session and end the currently v iewed channel. 2) The RTP receiver sends a feedback message to the feedback target asking for rapid acquisition for the session it wants to join. In this feedback message, the RTP receiver can specify its specific requirements. ) The retransmission server receives the feedback message and decides whether or not to accept the request. If the retransmission server accepts the request, it sends a message to the RTP receiver that describes the burst that the retransmission server will generate and send, including the indication when the RTP receiver should join the new multicast session. The unicast burst stream consists of retransmission of a specific block of packets which will allow the RTP receiver to begin displaying video without waiting for a certain random access point to arrive in the multicast flow.If the retransmission server denies the request, it informs the RTP receiver immediately. 4) If the retransmission server accepts the request, it transmits the unicast burst data an d any additional message(s) needed to carry the key information about the new channel. The key information is used to prime the decoder inside the IPTV STB so that it can start decoding sooner. The unicast burst continues at a higher than natural rate until the unicast burst catches up with the real-time multicast flow. The sustainable burst rate depends on the access network link characteristics. ) At the appropriate moment (as indicated or computed from the burst parameters), the RTP receiver joins the new multicast session by sending a Multicast Join message to its upstream multicast router. 6) The RTP receiver starts receiving the multicast flow and completes the rapid acquisition. The STB will not join multicast session immediately with rapid acquisition since there would not be enough available left over on the access link. By utilizing unicast burst sent from the retransmission server o catch up with the multicast flow in a reasonable amount of time before joining to multicas t group allows faster channel switching capability rather than joining multicast group immediately [18]. Cloud Computing service in IPTV IPTV videos can be delivered to subscribers through various different network structures. For many years, Proxy servers have been utilized to decrease network traffic and delays through high speed and robust connection. Telco companies are looking for ways to keep service calls rejections to minimum through cloud service for on-demand IPTV service. Figure below shows on-demand IPTV service for cloud architecture. pic] Fig. 23. On-demand IPTV cloud services Video can be streamed from any of the virtual servers by load balancing among server and handle peak loads by avoid overload to achieve continuous, high utilization levels of servers. Virtual servers can provide low cost computing resources. The Virtual server acts like a dedicated server but it co-reside on a single physical machines acting as multiple physical dedicated server. However, if too many virtual servers reside on the single physical machine, services may face problem due to scarce computing resource per virtual server.Virtual storage through cloud computing allow easy share of resources among themselves. Physical storage is virtualized into virtual disk, which allows storage consolidation across heterogeneous vendors and protocols, enabled by dynamically growing and shrinking of storage through live migration, in the enterprise storage area network to be used by applications [22]. F uture application of IPTV The key to differentiating IPTV from traditional TV service of VOD and Network-based personal video record (nPVR) is the real-time interactive application and social TV.With FTTx or Gigabit Ethernet providing more bandwidth in broadband network allows new killer application to maximize the value of the IPTV service. A) SayUTV SayUTV service allows users’ participation into TV sports, discussion, variety show, and so on. SayUTV allow mixing their vide o and sources into provider’s content to allow maximum interactive and customize IPTV content. The subscriber can click participation button on SayUTV GUI. After service provider or host of the content allows his/her participation, the subscriber’s audio and video content is mixed into program’s content.All the viewer of the content can view the participant’s image and voice. [pic] Fig. 26. SayUTV Service System Architecture SayUTV service divides the role of users into three major roles: †¢ Controller – who creates a service session and has a control over that session. †¢ Participants – who joins the session and contributes his/her own multimedia content. †¢ Simple Viewer – who enjoys this service in a passive way [pic] Fig. 27. SayUTV Implementation. SayUTV is an advanced IPTV service, which combined with bidirectional multimedia communication technologies allowing interactive user-participation [20].B) IPTV Interacti ve Online Shopping In order for IPTV service provider to maximize the profit from IPTV service require smart ad insertion based on customers’ preference. TV series and sports media are well known for effective product advertisement aid. Apparels worn by a main actress of TV series or MVP sports athletes have greater potential for larger sales than conventional display by online shopping website. In order to provide customer’s shopping craving while watching TV series or sports event is to add additional information to the product description field such as TV series name, and character or athletes name.This will allow customers place some tags on that particular product through watching particular TV series or service provider can collect customers’ preference based on content and insert smart ad targeting each subscriber. [pic] Fig. 28. Shopperama Service Screen in Korea Shopperama is OTT provider in Korea providing series, which have broadcasted through a TV st ation, online along with smart ad insertion. The apparels worn by main actors and products inside the episode are displayed in a synchronized manner with video content as shown in Fig 25.This allows customer to shop for products very easily while watching TV series and reduce customer’s burden of trying to find particular product [21]. To improve interactive online shopping with IPTV service still needs many enhancements to fully flourish in E-business model. Behavior targeting content to users is estimate to be 20 billion dollar industry and in order for IPTV interactive online shopping to gain market share requires smart integration of cross layer platforms. C) Final Remarks With IPTV service deployment, Cable Company is afraid of cord-cutting case.The IPTV service is gaining popularity amongst consumer and there are many opportunities for new killer application to integrate with IPTV service. In this paper, we described current IPTV architecture in the market and presented recent efforts to improve IPTV technology. Emerging IPTV mobile systems are also gaining a lot of attention and consumer trends demonstrate that IPTV will continue to be in demand. Acknowledgment I would like to thank Prof. G K Chang for giving me an opportunity to work on this topic and learn more about multicast protocol to provide IPTV service.I was able to learn more about IPTV architecture and current trend in network research in video streaming protocol. References 1] â€Å"IPTV and the Future of Video Services† [online] Available: http://www. employees. org/~acbegen/files/IPTV_Tutorial_CCNC_2010_abegen. pdf 2] â€Å"U. S. Multichannel Subscriber Update and Geographic Analysis,† white paper, SNL Kagan, Dec. 2012. 3] Ali C. Begen, â€Å"Error control for IPTV over xDSL networks,† in Proc. IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conf. (CCNC), Special Session on IPTV Technologies and Applications, Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 008 4] A. Yarali and A. Cherry, †Å"Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). † In TELCON 2005 2005 IEEE Region 10, 2005, pp. 1-6. 5] Doverspike, R. ; Guangzhi Li; Oikonomou, K. N. ; Ramakrishnan, K. K. ; Sinha, R. K. ; Dongmei Wang; Chase, C. ; , â€Å"Designing a Reliable IPTV Network,† Internet Computing, IEEE , vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 15-22, May-June 2009 6] Finn, J. ; , â€Å"PON Technology in the Verizon Network,† Global Telecommunications Conference, 2008. IEEE GLOBECOM 2008. IEEE , vol. , no. , pp. 1-5, Nov. 30 2008-Dec. 4 2008 doi: 10. 1109/GLOCOM. 008. ECP. 1076 7] M. Abrams, P. C. Becker, Y. Fujimoto, V. O’Byrne, and D. Piehler,â€Å"FTTP deployments in the United States and Japan—Equipment choices and service provider imperatives,† J. Lightw. Technol. , vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 236–246, Jan. 2005. 8] CableLabs, â€Å"Modular CMTS Interfaces,† http://www. cablemodem. com/specifications/m-cmts. html 9] CableLabs, â€Å"Data Over Cable Service Interface Specificatio n,† http://cablemodem. com/ 10] CableLabs PacketCable, â€Å"PacketCable Multimedia Specification,†2005. 11] CableLabs, â€Å"Modular CMTS Interfaces,† ttp://www. cablemodem. com/specifications/m-cmts. html 12] CableLabs, â€Å"DOCSIS 3. 0 Interface Specification,† 2007. 13] CableLabs, â€Å"DOCSIS M-CMTS Downstream External PHYInterface Specification,† 2007. 14] Vasudevan, S. V. ; Xiaomei Liu; Kollmansberger, K. ; , â€Å"IPTV Systems, Standards and Architectures: Part II – IPTV Architectures for Cable Systems: An Evolutionary Approach,† Communications Magazine, IEEE , vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 102-109, May 2008 15] Adhikari, V. K. ; Yang Guo; Fang Hao; Varvello, M. ; Hilt, V. ; Steiner, M. Zhi-Li Zhang; , â€Å"Unreeling netflix: Understanding and improving multi-CDN movie delivery,† INFOCOM, 2012 Proceedings IEEE , vol. , no. , pp. 1620-1628, 25-30 March 2012 16] â€Å"Introduction to IGMP for IPTV Networks,† White Paper, Ju niper Network. , 2007 17] RFC 3550, â€Å"RTP: A transport protocol for real-time applications. † [Online]. Available: http://www. ietf. org/rfc/rfc3550. tx 18] Mignon, M. ; Bouckhout, K. ; Gahm, J. ; Begen, A. C. ; , â€Å"Scaling server-based channel-change acceleration to millions of IPTV subscribers,† Packet Video Workshop (PV), 2012 19th International , vol. no. , pp. 107-112, 10-11 May 2012 doi: 10. 1109/PV. 2012. 6229721 19] Phooi Yee Lau; Sungkwon Park; Joonhee Yoon; Joohan Lee; , â€Å"Pay-as-you-use on-demand cloud service: An IPTV case,† Electronics and Information Engineering (ICEIE), 2010 International Conference On , vol. 1, no. , pp. V1-272-V1-276, 1-3 Aug. 2010 20] Park, I. K. ; Seung Hun Oh; Sim Kwon Yoon; Ho Young Song; , â€Å"An implementation of user-participated interactive IPTV service system,† Consumer Electronics, 2008. ISCE 2008. IEEE International Symposium on , vol. no. , pp. 1-3, 14-16 April 2008 21] Jonghoon Chun; , â€Å"In teracitve Online Shopping Innovation,† Computers, Networks, Systems and Industrial Engineering (CNSI), 2011 First ACIS/JNU International Conference on , vol. , no. , pp. 104, 23-25 May 2011 22] Phooi Yee Lau; Sungkwon Park; Joonhee Yoon; Joohan Lee; , â€Å"Pay-as-you-use on-demand cloud service: An IPTV case,† Electronics and Information Engineering (ICEIE), 2010 International Conference On , vol. 1, no. , pp. V1-272-V1-276, 1-3 Aug. 2010

Case Study: Wheelworks

Running head: Case Study: Wheelworks Case Study: Wheelworks Principle of Management After analyzing Wheelworks’ compensation and benefits structure, I have found that this organization meets every need demanded by its employees and motivates them in every level. When it comes to needs and motivations, there are two commonly used theories that explain each step. One of the most commonly used theories to explain the levels of needs and motivators is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The other commonly used theory when explaining levels of needs and motivations is Herzberg’s Two  Factor Theory.Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Starting at the bottom with physiological needs and moving upwards to safety, love/belongings, esteem, and eventually reaching self-actualization, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often shown as a five level pyramid. Wheelworks meet its employee’s first need, Physiological needs, just by paying them a salary. When Wheelworks pays its employees, it allows each employee to buy food, water, and pay for a shelter and clothing to maintain a constant body temperature.This first need on Maslow's hierarchy of needs is essential and without it, humans would not be able to survive. Wheelworks meet Maslow second need, safety, by providing its employees with benefits such as health insurance, bonuses, and 401k plans. Because of the plans that Wheelworks offer its employees, areas such as financial security and health and well being are covered. Love and belongings, the third level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is also covered by Wheelworks. Humans need to feel that they belong and are loved.Due to the positive atmosphere that Wheelworks offers, its employees feel loved and like they belong to the group. Due to this, Wheelworks also meets Maslow’s third need. The forth level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is esteem. Wheelworks also cover this level by recognizing its employees for its qualities. By recognizing each of its employee†™s qualities, Wheelworks helps them build a stronger self-esteem and self-respect, covering the forth Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The fifth nd last level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is self-actualization. This level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been already reached by Wheelworks employees because of their love for the sport of cycling. Many of Wheelworks employees are highly educated and have better opportunities in other companies, but their love for cycling keeps them working at Wheelworks helping them reach Maslow’s need of self- actualization. Herzberg’s Two  Factor Theory Unlike Maslow's five level hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s theory has only focuses in two factors.Herzberg believed that there is a two-step approach to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction. These two steps are the hygiene factors and the motivator factors. Hygiene factors consist of the need to for a business to avoid unpleasantness at work. † If these fac tors are considered inadequate by employees, then they can cause dissatisfaction with work  Ã¢â‚¬Å"(tutor2u. net). Wheelworks meet the hygiene factor by providing a good salary, pleasant work environment, and health and 401k plans.These factors are not taken in account when one measures satisfaction, but the absence of these will cause dissatisfaction. The motivator factor is based on an individual's need for personal growth. Wheelworks meet this factor by recognizing its employee’s qualities, challenging them, and giving them responsibilities. By doing this, Wheelworks employees stay motivated achieving above-average performance and effort. Number One Motivator Having a passion for the sport of cycling has become Wheelworks’ employees’ number one motivator.Many times, one would think that salary, health benefits, and good working conditions would rank high when it comes to job motivation, but without love of the work itself, all of these benefits would not be enough to motivate one’s employees. The main reason Wheelworks’ employees perform above-average and put an extra effort to do the job better is because their love for the sport of cycling. As long as Wheelworks provide its employees with the hygiene and motivator factors, its employees will stay motivated. Financial RewardsEven though that passion for the sport of cycling has become Wheelworks’ employees’ number one motivator, financial rewards also helps motivate them. One of the many ways that Wheelworks motivates its employees financially is by paying them the highest possible wage. By doing this, Wheelworks makes sure that its employees are well paid motivating them to stay within the company. Another method that Wheelworks uses to financially reward its employees is by offering vacation and sick pay, 401k, profit chairing, and health plan.By offering these benefits, Wheelworks ensures that its employees feel well taken care of resulting in a motivat ed staff. The last financial reward that Wheelworks uses to motivate its employees is giving them seasonal bonuses. Each bonus is subject to how good the company does during the season. Due to this, each employee is motivated to improve its performance which will eventually result in a bigger bonus. Commission One of the best strategies that Wheelworks has used to motivate its sale persons, but yet, maintain a superior customer services is giving seasonal bonuses instead of commission.Due to this strategy, Wheelworks customers receives a superior customer crevice and do not feel pressured to buy an expensive bike. This strategy also improves team work instead of having a constant competition among team members. Even though this strategy has worked greatly for Wheelworks, it could be improved. One way Wheelworks could improve its number of units sold is by giving a reward to the person that averages more units sold per hour in a week. For example, the person that averages the most un its sold per week could choose one day to leave early and get paid for the whole day.Rewards like this one could significantly increase the number of units sold increasing the yearly revenue of Wheelworks. Works Cited (n. d. ). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from tutor2u. net: http://tutor2u. net/business/people/motivation_theory_herzberg. asp Janet A. Simons, D. B. (1987). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from honolulu. hawaii. edu: http://honolulu. hawaii. edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/maslow. htm W. Griffin, R. (2007). Management. Houghton Mifflin. Wheelworks_part1. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from