Understanding Abuse

Recent periods of social progress and development have seen many concepts and constructs receive widespread attention to what can be described as negative behaviours and one concept and area in particular to receive this attention is abuse. Any response to find a solution to a problem whilst remaining effective and appropriate can experience various complications as there can be an inability to provide a clear and detailed definition of what it actually constitutes, provision of evidence that remains compelling and substantial and taking on board the cultural, social and political considerations and factors that are relevant to the society pertinent to the discussion will receive complications. This lack of clearness in its debate has led to the development of additional descriptions alongside abuse such as psychological maltreatment (Garbino, Guttman&Seeley, 1986), further confusing the issue and its resolution but in spite of this confusion their has been much learned from what attempts have been made in the exploration and analysis of abuse and this discussion will try to identify different types of abuse,expain why particular groups or individuals may be vulnerable ,its differing contexts,risk factors associated and ensure the impact of cultural and social factors on the range of abuse is analysed thoroughly. Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar† (Samuel Griswold Goodrich) Abuse is a term that relates itself to any deliberate calculated damaging or deteremental behaviour purposefully used to damage or harm an individual or group and can occur when a person misuses ormistreats another group or individual without any interest in their worth,dignity or well-being. It can be seen as a behaviour where the abuser is interested in the exertion of power and control over the individual and be prepared to manipulate or exploit the individual involved into submission or obedience to their will. In recent decades it has been described in various forms but the main categories to contemplate are Physical,Emotional,Sexual and neglectful and a recently highlighted phenomena of Institutional abuse,that has led to greater awareness and debate. Physical abuse was the earliest form of abuse thought to have come under public consideration in the 1960’s and was believed to be linked to child abuse until child sexual cases started to come to prominence with the Cleveland cases in 1987(Corby,B,Child abuse,1993,p86) and has been defined as â€Å"hitting,shaking,throwing,poisoning,burning or scalding,drowning,suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of or deliberately causes the ill-health to a child they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using terms such as fictitious illness by proxy or â€Å"Munchausen Syndrome by proxy†(Dept of Health,1995:5). This definition can be seen to as quite specific but does not provide any suggestions as to when such actions are deemed grave to authorise intervention and prevention of such behaviours and although it has various forms it can be the most visible, having damaging and long lasting effects. Emotional abuse and neglect has been defined according to the Dept of Health as â€Å"the persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development†(Dept of Health,1999:5-6) and relates itself to malicious †parental behaviour that damages a child’s self-esteem,degrades a sense of achievement,diminishes a sense of belonging and stands in the way of healthy,vigorous and happy development. Emotional abuse has been described as an overtly rejecting behaviour of carers on the one hand or as passive neglect on the other†(Iwaniec,D,Child care in Practice,1994). As a separate form of abuse it was only recognised by legislation in the United Kingdom in the 1980’s although it did receive recognition in the United States since 1977. Attempts have been made to define emotional abuse and neglect in a general way and five damaging behaviours have been levelled by Garbino,Guttman and Seeley(1986) as rejecting,isolating,terrorising,ignoring and corrupting with these actions being a concerted attack by an adult on a child’s development of self and social competence only being described as overtly abusive,painful and developmentally and cognitively damaging. Such behaviour can be seen as an act of commission or omission occuring â€Å"when meaningful adults are unable to provide necessary nuturance,stimulation,encouragement and protection to the child at various stages of development which inhibits his optimal functioning†(Whiting,1976). Sexual abuse in relation to children has been described as â€Å"involving,forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activites whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activites may involve physical contact,including penetrative(e. g rape or buggery) and non-penetrative acts. They may also include non-contact activites such as involving children in looking at or in the production of pornographic material,or watching sexual activites or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways†(Dept of Health,1996,6). This description of sexual abuse specifies that sexual abuse may not necessarily involve physical contact although there can be many other areas to be included when involving a definition such as what is the relation of the perpetrator of such acts and the definition put forward by Glasser and Frosh seems to be more comprehensive â€Å"Any child below the age of consent may be deemed to have been sexually abused when a sexually mature person has by design or by neglect of their usual societal or specific responsibilities in relation to the child,engaged or permitted the engagement of that child in any activity of a sexual nature which is intended to lead to the sexual gratification of the sexually mature person†(Glasser and Frosh,1988,5). This definition pertains to whether or not it involves genital or physical contact and whether or not there is a discernable harmful outcome in the short term. Child sexual abuse is a highly difficult problem and is far more commonplace than previously thought and also affects older as well as younger children(MacFarlane&Waterman,1986) although their is a greater degree of seriousness among practitioners about the urgency of intervention to protect children from such abuse. Another form of abuse that has received prominence in recent years is Institutional abuse that mainly involved children living in residential care including being under the care of a local authority with one case that rose to prominence being the Pindown Inquiry in 1991 concerning the use of a system referred to as Pindown in children’s homes in Staffordshire England. The Inquiry outlined how methods of controlling children involved techniques that could be construed as sensory deprivation and solitary confinement, were used over a large period of time under the approval of the management of Staffordshire Social Services being only described as brutal in there approach. In the following years a glut of cases came to the fore and the Department of Health responded by instigating a general inquiry in the state of residential care that came to be known as the Utting report 1991,that provided a view on the conflicting sides in care homes good and bad and making a note of the need for greater vigilance and the development of greater measures to protect the safety of children in such places of care. In situations where abuse occurs different groups and individuals can be more vulnerable to abuse than others and the need for greater research into these cases will only help to develop a better understanding of abuse and its forms.. One grouping where abuse has gained significance and shown how a group can be more vulnerable is amongst elderly individuals in domiciliary and residential settings as â€Å"behind closed doors† can be more difficult to combat as contact between victims and services can be extremely limited. Elder abuse has probably been placed in the background in its significance to such abuse as child abuse but any form of abuse is not to be tolerated as each individual has a significant sense of worth and uniqueness in life though elder abuse is often an ignored and hidden problem in society as â€Å"The voice of older people is rarely heard by those who have responsibility for commissioning,regulating and inspecting services†(Fitzgerald,G,Action for Elder Abuse). In 2000 the Dept issued guidance(No Secrets) on the protection of vulnerable adults from abuse defining a vulnerable person as one â€Å"who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability,age or illness and who is or may be unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation†(No Secrets,paras2. 5-2. 6) and although this definition was not restricted to older people it has received criticism as it appeared to exclude those individuals who do not require community care but with no standard definition of Elder abuse in the United kingdom as the term has been imported from the United States one commonly used definition is â€Å"a single or repeated act of inappropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person†(House of Commons Health Commitee,Elder Abuse,Volume 1,2004,P5). Abuse exists when a lack of care from one person towards another is present in a relationship and the thought of predicting abuse or neglect is appealing because of its ability to be preventative and adults have a sense or obligation of care in may respects of life being held to be trustworthy in the application of that duty but the more responsible the relationship the higher the chance of abuse that can exist and parental care is one context that can be seen as the primary type of relationship where abuse can occur and what does or does not be held to be adequate care can be important when making decisions about the likelihood of abuse occurring. With the Childrens Act 1989 not giving any firm statement of intent on what can be deemed adequate care and broad ideas on what care should involve such as physical and emotional responses,health,protection and cognitive behavioural development, research and evidence can be crucial in reviewing contexts and the suggestion that particular c hildren can be determined for abuse with researchers interested in the dynamics of why particular children are susceptible. Predicting abuse by observing maternal responses to new born babies is an important feature of child protection with children who are seen as not wanted or the â€Å"wrong sex† by their parents at a greater risk(Roberts ,1980) but many parents often carry into life unresolved issues from their own childhood or present circumstances that have a substantial impact on their ability to form deep and lasting relationships with their children,†The undermining effect of a difficult child on parental functioning will be lessened when the parent has an abundance of personal psychological resources ,conversely an easy to rear child can compensate for limited personal resources on the part of the parent on maintaining parental effectiveness†(Belsky&Vondra,1989,188), therefore solid connections to parent or primary care giver is essential to the child’s development and growth. Parents who experience substance abuse,domestic violence or mental health issues can provide risk factors or damaging environments where children can be open to abuse and although not all parents with these experiences can be a risk to their children,their ability to provide adequate care can be limited and damaging. Substance misuse can result in a parents ability to erform basic parenting tasks(Kroll,2004) and be generative of chaotic environments and has come to focus in many families that are under child protection enquiries even during pregnancy and early development. Mental illness can also be seen as another factor relating to abuse ranging from a parents depression to psychotic or delusional violence that can result in fatal cases. The risks can be seen as greater if the parent shows hostility or aggression towards the child,ultimately becoming a target with many children taking on a caring role themselves as parenting can be in conflict and opposition. Another factor co-exis ting and overlapping with the factors previously discussed is domestic violence. Domestic violence is common and is seen usually in the context of the male exerting power over a female and a form of controlling behaviour with violence beginning even during pregnancy increasing in severity leading to a effect on emotional and psychosocial development. With a child being witness to such behaviour anxiety and stress can result in the childs having long term effect even when physical violence is not present. So although factors can emphasise a disposition to abuse the truth is never that clear and no single event or outcome can be determined and the likelihood is that factors such as those discussed are part of a complex context and set of circumstances beginning even long before the child is involved. Social factors can also have considerable effect on abuse and links have been made between male unemployment and the physical abuse of children(Gillham,1998) and the Department of Health has also conducted its own studies finding that 95 percent of children on protection registers are from poor families(Dept of Health,1995) with children from lower economic environments more likely to be abused(Lawson,2000),nevertheless it has been argued that child abuse cuts across all social class with lower classes more susceptible to come under government investigation because of their need for more government resources with this in mind â€Å"Child abuse is strongly related to class, inequality and poverty both in terms of prevelance and severity†¦ olving the problem requires a realignment of social policy which recognises the necessity of tackling the social,economic and cultural conditions associated with the abuse†(Parton,1985,175-176) â€Å"Abuse in the form of violence against women is a normal feature of patriarcial relations. It is a major vehicle that men use in controlling women,as such it is the norm not an aberration. The widespread incidence of child sexual abuse reveals the extent to which men are prepared to wield sexual violence as a major weapon in asserting their authority over women† (Dominelli,1986,p12) Abuse can be seen as a product of a particular culture and child rearing practices are different from time to place being influenced by religion,class,sexuality etc. Culturally approved practices â€Å"such as isolating infants and small children in rooms or beds of their own at night,making them wait for readily available food or allowing them to cry without immediate attending to their needs or desires would be at odds with the child rearing philosophies of most of the cultures discussed†(Korbin,1981,p4) need to be taken into consideration when defining are certain acts abusive but that does not mean that these ideas are not to be challenged. In the vast majority of abuse cases children or women can be seen to the victim and women have been subjected to horrendous acts and ordeals through out many cultures. The challenging of old ideas as an example can be seen in the context of the rape of women in Zimbabwe being traditionally remedied by the arrangement of the perpetrator to the victim in marriage. This act can be seen as seriously and psychologically wicked in its practice but it is an example of where outside support for change can b e directed. Other cultural practices such as circumsion and clitoridectomy should be seen as widely abusive acts (Finkelhor&Korbin,1988) and as all abuse is seen in the context of power over the victim rape is another practice especially in the context of war,with the idea of dehumanising the victims leaving a state of fear,anger and hate having long term effects individually and collectively. Being able to differentiate between culturally normative and abusive behaviour without the fear of being seen as racist or stereotypical in approach can result in the protection of abusive individuals and many cases have seen elements of the failure to protect, such examples have included Tyra Henry(Lambeth,1987),Ailee Labonte(Newham Area child protection committee,2002) and Victoria Climbie(Laming,2003),so culture can be a significant factor in how abuse operates and is defined. â€Å"No one ever became depraved with suddenness† (Juvenal,AD c-60-c130) To conclude, further study and research needs to be paid into abuse, its characteristics and manifestations and greater clarification needs to be sought in many areas and inquiry within the context of abuse, peer relationships and the way they are experienced and handled having implications in how individuals relate to others in life as â€Å"Contemporaries increasingly seek one another as the primary sources of support, security and intimacy†(Mueller&Silverman,1989,p583) so many factors need to be taken into account when in discussion but as stated earlier abuse is seen as the act of power over another individual or group so the last words belong to the great Carl Jung in that â€Å"Where love reigns ,there is no will to power and where power is all pervading,Love is absent. The one is but the shadow of the other† (Carl Gustav Jung ,1917,Gesammelte Werke,Vol. 7,Zurich,Rascheter-Verlag)

Mobile Phones a a health hazard Essay

These days the Technology is increasing so much that we all people are dependent on the machines which many engineers have made. These entire software machines are not always useful in your lives but on the other hand are dangerous and hazardous. The attraction towards all this things can be an addiction which will in future never be removed from our body. The mobile phones is one of the inventions. The students studying in schools are finding this gadget inseparable from them. A few schools are allowing the students to carry their mobile phones with them. I believe that this is not right. While the teachers in the schools are teaching, the students are busy on their phones and not giving attention about what their teacher is teaching. Excess usage of mobile phones can reduce our level of concentration and focus because of which we might not perform well in our exams. As this being a habit can never be given up and I can prove it with an example of my daily routine. I have been noticing this in my school and also in many other places that whenever people have gone on a holiday with their family so as to remove their tension and stress. But they are not able to as the whole time during their vacation also they are busy with their office work, or the regular social networking sites and applications. Vacation is meant to be relaxing with your family and friends instead of being on the screen the whole day. As I had said that mobile phones are sometimes dangerous and hazardous because they emit the radioactive waves which can effect on our brains and also cause us cancer. If we talk on phones two or three hours a day it will cause cancer which can be harmful to our health. But the most dangerous incident that happens because of mobile phones is while driving or crossing a road. As the government had made a rule that we all people are not allowed to talk on the phone while driving but most of the citizens do not follow this rule. There are many incidents on the Mumbai roads. There was a person talking on his phone while crossing the roads, and met with an accident and he came under a bus. The mobile phones could be our best friend and useful gadgets when we use it in need like Emergency or to pass on information about our whereabouts to our parents when we are late to reach home.

Amp Financial Company of Australia and New Zealand

This research study analyzes the business of the AMP Financial Company and also evaluates their financial data (Kelly et al., 2016). In the recent days, the AMP Financial Company leads the entire wealth management industry in Australia and New Zealand. The AMP Financial Company helps their customers by providing them financial advice, superannuation services for the business of their customers, retirement income, investments on individual products, life insurance, income protection, etc. The most important business significance of this AMP financial company is to provide services to their customers regarding all banking issues such as income protection, financial advice, selection procedure of banking products, investments in share, property, fixed interest and multi-asset funds, etc. For the AMP financial company their main motto is to understand the customer needs and provide them a good quality service which leads to their satisfaction (Buckless & Krawczyk, 2016). The AMP financia l company mainly helps the other business firms by researching the financial factors which help the firm to develop and improved in future. By accepting the advice and service of AMP financial company the business firms can able to get a better quality product at reasonable price and also can able to improve the standard of their firms. By analyzing the financial data the AMP financial company helps those business firms to maintain a good reputation and corporate image within the market and also helps them to gain a high level of profitability (Abhayawansa, & Guthrie, 2014). The AMP financial company also helps the government through paying revenue on profit and all types of service taxes. In this research study, the researchers want to expand the knowledge which is related to the study of the business procedure and about the financial information of the AMP Financial Company (Chan & Ryan, 2013). By the help of literature review, different literature sources and theories are reviewed for collecting the useful data or information about the research topic. By reviewing that literature the researchers can able to make a better quality research study through which a clear idea about the topic can be derived easily. The research study will undergo various terms that will help in detail explanation of the selected topic (Yang, 2012). In the recent days, there are several numbers of financial institutions which are operating throughout every country. The AMP Financial Company have to follow three numbers of general observations about the literature review before discussing the individual approaches towards the development of the financial system of the company. Firstly, it be comes more necessary to review the literature with extra caution. The recommendations within the study suggest that the countries should also need to introduce some improvement and development and also adopt innovative ideas within their organization (Berk et al. 2013). Secondly, the literature reflects that the donors and the governments have followed an approach which leads to the supply of finance and can able to emphasize the rate of increase of supply and also reduce the rate of loan cost in some specific sectors (Ghasemy et al. 2016). Thirdly the final observation is the donors and the governments have also shied away from the using of the private sectors for providing financial services to those specific sectors. The worth extant in the finance sector is described as per to the character of the financial transaction. In the recent times, the financial sectors are seriously observing contest where Latest Corporation are entering daily (Gattorna, 2016). The AMP Financial Compan y fundamentally describes surroundings where difficulties of the customers are interwoven beside with the services of the organization. Deliver worth to the organization also explain the service that delivers value to the customers (Keneley, 2016). As per Williamson, concerns of the organizations is associated with the customers’ requirements which help in better business activities and also brings a better level of sustainability to the organization. The resource-advantage theory describes the combination of the heterogeneous resources and the heterogeneous demand of the consumers. The capital of an organization can be financial, material, legal, human-based, organizational-based, informational and relational (Oh et al., 2013). As per recognition of the individuality present inside the association, main emphasis needs to be specified so that it can out hit competitor firm as well as draw clientele based on that source. At the time of adopting resource-advance theory, the org anization should try to use the competitive advantage of the company to become the leading financial company and enjoy the greater number of customers compared to their competitor organizations. According to the study of this research process, the researchers found some research question which clears the queries to arise at the time of studying that research paper. The main research questions for analyzing the problems and opportunities of the AMP Financial company are as follows – 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is the fundamental problem? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is the relationship between the issue and the company? 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why is it important to overcome the problem? 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How the company planned to tackle the problem? 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How the company planned to broadcast their results? 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the cash flow is a flow of cash to the shareholders or the company? 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is there having any reduction of value or cost of the fixed assets of the company? 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the annual net income of the company can able to made that year or it only become a number? 10.   Is the book value become the best proxy to the share values? 11.   Is it become possible for the AMP financial company to have positive net income which never distributes the dividends in the postponement of payments? 12.   Is it better for the company to purchase shares and assets of other company?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   13.   How is the optimal capital structure calculated? By the help of investigate method, the investigator tried to identify the most suitable research apparatus and techniques for studying the business procedure and the financial activities in the AMP Financial Company and can able to make a better quality research study. Research methodology is defined as the explanation of the process which is undertaken at the time of studying the research topic (Durocher et al., 2015). By the help of these research techniques, the researchers can able to analyze the collected financial data which help to understand the feedback of the respondents in a better way. The researchers generally analyze the financial statement of the company for revealing the importance of those items which is included in the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account. According to Macmillan and Kennedy, Financial Performance is a type of scientific process by the help of which the researchers can able to evaluate the financial strength and profitability of any type of busi ness firms (Yap et al, 2014). Financial performance is actually a snapshot through which the researchers can able to determine the efficiency and ability of the company to survive within the market. By the help of the financial performance, the position of the company within the market can also be determined. Financial Performance is actually the blueprint of all those financial affairs which takes place in the organization (Bazley et al., 2013). Basically, Financial Performance is that medium through which any organization can able to evaluate the entire management performance within the organization. The key aim of the financial performance of a financial statement for the profit and loss account and Balance Sheet of a company is to diagnose the productivity, profitability, activity, liquidity and the financial condition of the business firm (Shaw, 2016). The main objective of the business is to earn satisfactory returns on that funds which are invested within the business. Each and every individual research study has their own frame of times which allows the researcher to arrange their research activities throughout the whole research process. According to Bernard, the Gantt chart is a type of research tool by the help of which the researchers can able to make a list of the task according to the time which is taken by the researcher at the time of the study the whole research process. classification of secondary information sources Preparing interview/survey, ethics form Conclusion as well as recommendations In the table of Gantt chart, the researcher points out the most important tasks which are required to emphasis at that time when the research is conducted. Gantt chart also helps the researchers to understand the status of that particular research study. The research process is a procedure through which the entire research work is taking place. The research process of any research study takes place through certain steps (Bunney & Therry, 2013). In this research study, the researchers want to analyze the financial activities of the AMP Financial Company. Therefore, for determining the financial activities of the AMP Financial Company the researcher follows the following steps – Step 1: At first, the researchers determine the need for the research of the financial performance of the company Step 2: After that they to identify and define the problems Step 3: Then the researchers should establish the objectives of the research study on that particular topic Step 4: After establishing the research objectives the researchers should prepare a research design Step 5: After that, the researchers should able to identify the sources from where the data are collected and also can able to determine the types of information which are collected from various sources. Step 6: Then the researchers determine the process or methods through which they can able to access the data. Step 7: In the next step, the researchers prepares the forms and make a design for collecting the data Step 8: Then the researchers determine the size of the sample and make a plan for the sample collection process regarding the factors which can affect t the sample. Step 9: After that, the researchers collect the data Step: 10 Then they analyze the data critically Step 11: At last, the researchers prepare the whole research paper properly and present it. The data collection process in a realistic sense will permit the investigator in experience different types of public and also help the researchers to improve their interaction skills. By the help of the study of research concepts, the researchers can able to gain knowledge about the process of data collection and also help the researchers to analyze the financial performance of the AMP Financial Company in future (Horngren et al., 2013). The researchers adopt or select the data gathering process depending on the character and types of data collected and according to the topic of the research study. The Data collection process adds value to the research quality by enlarging the platform of knowledge. By the help of data collection process, the researchers can able to collect two types of data. The two types of data are 1) primary data and 2) secondary data. The primary data are those data which are collected by the researchers directly from the environment at the time of conducting t he research process. By the help of main data, the researchers can able to gather the most relevant facts and information though it takes enough time, as it is a long procedure in contrast to secondary data. Whereas, the secondary data are guided on the basis that comprises the online and offline source of data. There are two types of data which are analyzed by the researchers at the time of conducting the research study. The two kinds of data are – 1) Qualitative data and 2) Quantitative data. The research study is more inclined towards the outcomes related to the value due to which the customers can able to obtain a better realization and satisfaction and also can able to serve a better quality of utility as well. After reviewing the financial statement of the AMP Financial Company, the researchers determine the five-year financial summary of the AMP Financial Company. In this research study, the researchers can able to analyze the business and financial performance of the AMP Financial Company. The most important business significance of this AMP financial company is to provide services to their customers regarding all banking issues such as income protection, financial advice, selection procedure of banking products, investments in share, etc. The resources of an organization can be financial, physical, legal, human-based, organizational-based, informational and relational. As per recognition of the individuality present inside the organization, main emphasis needs to be known so that it can out hit competitor firms as well as draw clientele based on that source. The AMP financial company mainly helps the other business firms by researching the financial factors which help the firm to develop and improved in future. By the help of this research study, everybody can able to get a clear idea about the financial performance of the AMP Financial Comp any.   Horngren, C.T., Sundem, G.L., Schatzberg, J.O. and Burgstahler, D., 2013.Introduction to management accounting. Pearson Higher Ed. Bunney, D. and Therry, L., 2013. Employability skills in the Master of Professional Accounting: One school’s journey.  eCULTURE,  3(1), p.3. Shaw, T.M., 2016. The Question of Financial Career Paths: Which Graduate Program and/or Professional Certification Leads to the Greatest Income and Level of Satisfaction Based on a Survey of Professionals working within the Accounting/Finance Fields?. Bazley, M., Hancock, P., Fisher, C., Lovell, A., Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P., 2013.  Financial Accounting: An Integrated. Thomson Pty Ltd, South Melbourne. Yap, C., Ryan, S. and Yong, J., 2014. Challenges facing professional accounting education in a commercialised education sector.  Accounting Education,  23(6), pp.562-581. Yang, Q., 2012.  An investigation of the factors that influence Chinese students to do a Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) program in New Zealand  (Doctoral dissertation, Auckland University of Technology). Buckless, F. and Krawczyk, K., 2016. The relation of student engagement and other admission metrics to Master of Accounting student performance.Accounting Education, pp.1-15. Chan, H.T. and Ryan, S., 2013. Challenging stereotypes: International accounting students in Australia.  Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing,  9(2), p.169. Durocher, S., Gendron, Y. and Picard, C.F., 2015. Waves of Global Standardization: Small Practitioners' Resilience and Intra-Professional Fragmentation within the Accounting Profession.  Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory,  35(1), pp.65-88. Oh, C.H., Park, J.H. and Ghauri, P.N., 2013. Doing right, investing right: Socially responsible investing and shareholder activism in the financial sector.  Business Horizons,  56(6), pp.703-714. Abhayawansa, S. and Guthrie, J., 2014. Importance of intellectual capital information: a study of Australian analyst reports.  Australian Accounting Review,  24(1), pp.66-83. Keneley, M.J., 2016. The breakdown of the workplace ‘family’and the rise of personnel management within an Australian financial institution 1950–1980.Business History, pp.1-18. Gattorna, J., 2016.  Dynamic supply chain alignment: a new business model for peak performance in enterprise supply chains across all geographies. CRC Press. Kelly, G., Delaney, D., Chai, G. and Mohamed, S., 2016. Optimising local council's return on investment from annual pavement rehabilitation budgets through targeting of the average pavement condition index.  Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition),  3(5), pp.465-474. Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., Harford, J., Ford, G., Mollica, V. and Finch, N., 2013.Fundamentals of corporate finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Ghasemy, M., Hussin, S. and Daud, M.A.K.M., 2016. Academic leadership capability framework: a comparison of its compatibility and applicability in Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia.  Asia Pacific Education Review,  17(2), pp.217-233.

Critique of Robert Jastrow's Toward an Intelligence Beyond Man's Essay

Critique of Robert Jastrow's Toward an Intelligence Beyond Man's - Essay Example For instance, industrialization has created the need for computerized gadgets that will enhance efficiency in production of goods and delivery of services. This implies that the emerging electronic devices are not only transforming individual lives, but also the modern day workplaces. The main point underlying the urge for Robert to write the article was to highlight the significance of the intelligence of computer which grows at a fantastic rate. The author argues that computers outsmart humans in some roles and can even outperform people in some cases such as when quick decisions are needed in times of crisis. In other words, computers imitate life and get more complex as days go by and the imitation becomes more evident and better. Although human beings are still in control, the power of computers is growing exponentially and has increased eight times since 1946. On the other hand, the human intelligence is growing at a relatively slower rate (Jastrow 207). This point of view supports the authors claim that the computers are likely to outsmart humans at some point. In another perspective, there is a remarkable symbiotic relationship or some degree of partnership between man and computers. They depend on one another for survival. However, the partnership is ant icipated to last only for a short period of time. This is because the intelligence of computers grows consistently without any limit while human intelligence seems to have attained its peak. The author’s perception of the relationship between man and computers could be bearing some degree of integrity and accuracy (Jastrow 207). For instance, it is true that the computer intelligence is growing at a faster rate. However, it is has no accuracy to claim â€Å"human intelligence is stagnant† (Jastrow 207). In essence, it is worth noting that computers do not escalate their stages of evolution in their own capacity. It is the same humans whose intelligence

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Nuclear Fuel Cycle - Research Paper Example This paper discusses about the various stages of the nuclear cycle and the safety aspects present in it. Nuclear energy is a part of the world’s Energy mix. The nuclear fuel cycle is the series of different stages that lead to the production of Power from the Uranium in the nuclear power reactors. A secure and adequate supply of energy is required for the world and that is promised by the Nuclear power systems. The nuclear fuel cycle starts with the extraction of the raw materials from the earth. The process of conversion of the raw material into the primary fuel is the next step, followed by the production of the energy from the source. The spent fuel and the final waste are processed, conditioned and recycled to derive more energy form the fuel. Finally the spent fuel is disposed as waste into the geosphere. The spent fuel has the greater chance for emitting the radiations; hence utmost care should be taken for the proper disposal. The production of energy from nuclear fuels is increasing because of the amount of energy that uranium can produce (1 gram of nuclear fuel produces 9 x 10 13 joules of energy) and also from the reliability of the source and the recyclability of the fuel. For long term sustainable energy production, nuclear fuel is the best source. (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Trends on the nuclear fuel cycle). The cost for the power plants are very high, but when compared to the other power sources, the availability of the raw material land the future scope is more for this technology. The OECD Nuclear energy agency has given the various activities that together make up the fuel cycle as follows: 1. The mining and milling of Uranium. 2. Uranium refining and followed by the conversion to uranium hexafluoride. 3. Enriching the Uranium. 4. Fuel fabrication. 5. The reactor operation 6. Storage of the spent fuel. 7. Reprocessing of the spent fuel. 8. Decommissioning nuclear

Refeeding syndrome Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Refeeding syndrome - Annotated Bibliography Example The Press Ganey scores prior to POD service implementation were extremely low. Since implementation, scores have risen. However, we believe that with small improvements, the survey scores on the POD service floors have the potential to increase dramatically. Imagine this, you are lying in a hospital bed in pain and are unable to ambulate. All of a sudden, you hear a knock on the door, â€Å"Nutrition and dining services, may I enter your room?† You respond- â€Å"yes†. You are greeted by a smile and warm â€Å"Hello Mr. Kiley, right?†you respond â€Å"yes, that’s me†, â€Å"I just need to confirm your date of birth† â€Å"05/22/87†,   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Thank you, how are you doing today?, my name is Angelica, I will be your personal dining associate for this afternoon. I am here to go over your menu selections for today. I see you haven’t filled out your menu and I wanted to make sure your lunch is exactly what you would wanted. Today’s specials for lunch include veal parmesan and meatloaf with mushroom gravy. Veal parmesan is a lightly breaded veal cutlet topped with marinara sauce & mozzarella cheese served with a side of al dente rotini pasta and sliced zucchini. The second option is savory meatloaf topped with mushroom gravy, a warm baked potato and fresh cut green beans. If you are not interested in the specials, we also offer menu alternatives.† You place your order but before the dining associate leaves the room, she says â€Å"here is my card, with my name and the nutrition and dining services number, if you need anything during your stay, please do not hesitate to call.† Before you know it, your lunch is right in front of you with exactly what you ordered. â€Å"Here is your lunch for today, is there anything else I can get for you? Do you need any help setting up your tray?† You may be asking yourself right now â€Å"how can customer service like this be implemented at North Shore University Hospital?† or maybe â€Å"why isn’t

EDUCATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

EDUCATION - Essay Example Online education is the solution for students who want to enroll in a prestigious university, but could not, because of distance, time and the complexity involved in balancing other relevant responsibilities. Through online education, a student with various roles as a professional, mother, or part-time worker, could enjoy the benefits of convenience through accessing course modules at their most accessible time. Further, one could exercise skills in time management to prioritize diverse social responsibilities as a family member or an employee, in addition to being an active and collaboratively participating student. Interaction with colleagues and instructors are eminently made easy. Concurrently, online education assists students through multidimensional support systems such as video conferencing options, sending correspondences through emails, accessing online library, and counseling services through the university’s live support site, among others. The unlimited support sy stems provided by online education is truly a remarkable advantage that is readily available to those who opt for this innovative technological breakthrough.

Networking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Networking - Assignment Example Describe three different associations that you could network with to learn about jobs in sales and marketing. Research these associations and indicate when/where they meet; the contact information; and how to network within these groups. One organization which could serve as a network to learn about jobs in sales and marketing is the Sales & Marketing & Executives International, Inc. located at PO Box 1390 Sumas, WA 98295 USA and could be contacted through their official website: http://www.smei.org/. Their contact information is through this number: 312-893-0751; and as disclosed, they could be contacted through social media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln, YouTube, through blog, radio (Sales & Marketing & Executives International, Inc., 2012). ... Its contact information include: TEL: (703) 234-4098, FAX: (703) 435-4390 and their site disclosed the information on conferences and upcoming events where members could appropriately meet, as required (Association of Investment Management Sales Executives, 2013). Finally, the SMPS is located at 123 North Pitt Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314 with the following contact information: 800.292.7677 (Society for Marketing Professional Services, 2013). It listed the upcoming events where members and interested parties could meet with them at the indicated schedule and venue. One could therefore network with these groups through contacting them in their respective official websites, or through their contact information and other social networking sites, as indicated. How are networking and building connections essential skills to sales and marketing? Networking and building connections are essential skills to sales and marketing through the provision of crucial and relevant informati on that promulgates and perpetuate sales and marketing endeavors. Like the associations above mentioned, through these skills, interested parties or stakeholders of different organizations could forge alliances with member associations and groups to promote their endeavors, as required (Strategic Business Network, 2011). Relationships building and listening were seen as crucial elements to succeed in sales; in conjunction with sincerity, ethics, and asking (Michaels, 2011). As emphasized, â€Å"as Internet communication technology developed and more applications could be added to a social networking site, the number of features available to users increased drastically, adding to the sites' success† (EBSCO Host, 2013). Thus, organizations rely on social media to

Short anwser Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short anwser - Assignment Example 2. Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go through an experience like this? When people go through experiences like this it makes them feel less than human because this kind of treatment is usually only metered out to animals. As a result of this people feel humiliated and that they are not special. Of course the purpose of this is to weaken self-confidence. The act of a push-up is not too hard to do for a man with average or above average strength, but after some time it does weaken the prisoners physically. This is an important form of punishment because the prisoners need to feel pain in order to make them submissive to the guards. Other forms of punishment, like psychological or emotional, work well but a physical aspect also needs to be included. If I was a prisoner in this situation then I would have behaved well because I would know that I would get the special treatment. This type of incentive always works well because it makes people think that if they just toe the line then everything will be okay. I would not be worried about prisoner solidarity because I would be in there for myself and other people can take care of their own interests. 5. Most prisoners believed that the subjects selected to be guards were chosen because they were bigger than those who were made prisoners, but actually, there was no difference in the average height of the two groups. What do you think caused this misperception? After many days of psychological and physical submission, the guards appeared to look bigger than they actually were. This is because they had power over the prisoners, and this gives the guards confidence that shows in their actions and mannerisms. Their behavior was the same in that most people have a natural respect

Retention - Deciding to Act Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retention - Deciding to Act - Assignment Example In this context, it can be further mentioned that WWW does not have efficient skilled management team, which will be responsible for controlling the operational activities of the company. Furthermore, lack of proper management functioning is another cause for reduced focus upon proposed business projects. However, the company is paying more wages to attendants as compared to others, but still is unable to satisfy the attendants as per their job securities (Heneman, Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014; Catano, Wiesner & Hackett, 2013). Besides, the company is also facing a large numbers of problems relating to recruitment of employees, due to lack of proper and systematic recruitment process. Moreover, the company is not having a proper management functioning process that is also likely to have negative impact on growth and development in long run. The company does not having any segregation in its operational departments, which resulting to loss in business. Attendants are responsible for conducting advertising campaigns for promoting the company’s special products and services. In this regard, the attendants of the company are experiencing high work burden in comparison to their assign remuneration. Therefore, by evaluating all the problems that has been faced by the company it is indicated that turnover is not a major problem behind the huge loss of WWW. The actual problem is relating with the improper managerial function of the company (Catano, Wiesner & Hackett, 2013; Gusdorf, 2008). 2. Based on the provided case study, it can be identified that the problems faced by WWW Company can be mitigated by applying few effective strategies within the operational process. In order to mitigate the internal problems that have been experienced by the company, initially the managers had conducted an informal interview session for collecting all the complaints with respect to the attendant and other service providers. In the context of case of study, the

Capital Markets Midterm Questions and Solutions Essay Example for Free

Capital Markets Midterm Questions and Solutions Essay 2 percent for each question 1. Liquidity is the ease with which an asset can be exchanged for money 2. The concept of adverse selection helps to explain why the ï ¬ nancial system is heavily regulated 3. The Fed can inï ¬â€šuence the fed fund interest rate by selling T-bills, which ____reserves, thereby ____the federal fund rate. removes, raising 4. Standard Repos are very low risk loans 5. A 4-year bond pays an annual coupon of 3.5%. If the interest rate equals 2.75% per year, how much do you have to pay to buy the equivalent of a $1,000,000 bond face value? $10 0280 000 6. Unanticipated deï ¬â€šation implies a a decline in net worth, as price levels fall while debt burden remains unchanged. 7. What is the annualized discount rate on a Treasury bill that you purchase for $9,900 and that will mature in 91 days for $10,000? 3.96% 8. Moral hazard is a problem arising from only A and B of the above 9. A discount loan by the Fed to a bank causes a(n) ____ in reserves in the banking system and a(n) ____ in the monetary base. increase; increase 10. The standard deï ¬ nition of the shadow banking systemt includes money market funds, hedge funds, and pools of securitized assets Comprehensive Questions (30 percent) 6 percent for each question 1) The ï ¬ nancial system is important because it channels funds, reduces asymmetric information problems, provides an eï ¬Æ'cient payment system, and helps to manage risk. Explain the remaining functions that the ï ¬ nancial system performs. Besides these functions, the ï ¬ nancial system provides ways for invididuals to pool their resources. For instance, some investment projects generate a positive NPV, but require a large initial down payment. Dividing ownership into many individual shares provides an eï ¬Æ'cient way to pool individual resources in order to ï ¬ nance these investment projects. The ï ¬ nancial system also provides liquidity to market participants. This is important because corporations and individuals do not have the same time-horizon. Therefore, it would be very diï ¬Æ'cult for corporations to get long-term sources of funding without these liquidity services. Finally, the ï ¬ nancial system provides important information to ï ¬ nancial investors, corporate managers, and political leaders. This information is critical to improve the decision-making process. For instance, managers may use the information observed in the ï ¬ nancial system to compute the NPV of investment projects. 2) One of your friend tells you: The main function of the ï ¬ nancial system is to channel funds from lenders to borrowers. This function can be performed interchangeably by capital markets or ï ¬ nancial institutions. Do you agree? Why? It is true that both capital markets and ï ¬ nancial institutions are useful in channeling funds from lenders to borrowers. However, they diï ¬â‚¬er in a fundamental way. Contrary to capital markets, ï ¬ nancial institutions are extremely good at dealing with asymmetric information problems. This is due to the private nature of their activities. By avoiding free-riding, banks can bare the substantial costs of screening and monitoring borrowers. Therefore, corporations for which asymmetric information problems are substantial (e.g., small corporations), rely heavily on banks’ funding. If banks cut lending, as it was the case during the recent crisis, these companies do not have the option of receiving funding from capital makets, and must reduce their activities. Therefore, some of the functions performed by banks cannot be performed interchangeably by capital markets. 3) What is Quantitative Easing and how does it diï ¬â‚¬er from the standard tool used by the Fed to expand the monetary base? What was the stated purpose of Quantitative Easing? Quantitative Easing refers to the central bank’s policy of buying long-term securities, speciï ¬ cally mortgage-backed securities and 10—year Treasury bonds. This is diï ¬â‚¬erent from the standard approach used by the Fed. Traditionally, the Fed expands the monetary base by implementing an open-market purchase of T-bills. The stated purpose of Quantitative Easing was to decrease the yield of these long-term securities. From the viewpoint of borrowers, this decrease would help them get lower reï ¬ nancing conditions, thus easing pressure in these markets. From the viewpoint of lenders, this decrease in yield may render these securities less attractive. Therefore, lenders may be willing to start buying risky assets again, thus improving economic conditions. 4) One student argues: If more customers want to borrow funds at the prevailing interest rate, a ï ¬ nancial institution can easily increase its proï ¬ ts by raising interest rates on its loan. Is this statement true, false, uncertain? Explain your answer. The situation faced by the bank is the following: it has limited resources and sees a lot of clients willing to borrow money, creating excess demand. The statement above is uncertain. A priori, we might believe that if the bank increases the interest rate, it is able to eliminate this excess demand and generate additional proï ¬ ts (there would be an increase in both the proï ¬ t per loan and the quantity of loans). However, this reasoning assumes that the credit quality of the borrowers stays constant. This may not be true because raising the interest rate also increases adverse selection. To illustrate, consider the used-car market. If buyers observe an increase in the number of people interested in selling their cars, they may want to oï ¬â‚¬er a lower price. But a lower price gives incentive to the sellers of good cars to leave the market, leaving only sellers of lemons. As a result, the average quality of the cars purchased by buyers will decrease. A large part of the excess demand observed by the bank is driven by poor credit ï ¬ rms. After increasing the interest rate, the bank observes that these ï ¬ rms still agree to borrow, i.e., their poor credit quality should be charged an even higher interest rate. On the contrary, this higer interest rate may discourage good ï ¬ rms from borrowing from this bank because the loan becomes too expensive. As a result, the relative importance of bad ï ¬ rms over good ones increases, leading to a decrease in the average ï ¬ rm quality. This decrease in quality may lead to higher default rates and to a decrease in the bank’s proï ¬ t. 5) What is meant by a ï ¬â€šight to safety/liquidity? When does it occur? How can it trigger these negative spirals on the value of the banks’ balance sheet? A ï ¬â€šight to safety/liquidity commonly describes the behaviour of investors when they attempt to sell the risky/illiquid assets they hold in their portfolio and move towards safe/liquid assets. This ï ¬â€šight typically occurs in times of crisis when the investors’ willingness to take risks decreases signiï ¬ cantly. Since banks mostly hold risky and illiquid assets, these ï ¬â€šights to safety have a strong impact on their asset value. As their capital gets curtailed, their risk proï ¬ le increases, making investors and depositors more worried about the potential losses they may incur. Because these lenders give money on a short-term basis, they can quickly go to the bank and ask for their money back. Then, banks have to scramble for liquidity and sell their risky/illiquid assets. When many banks try to sell simultaneously, the price of these assets will go further down. For instance, suppose that in normal times, the bank would have to sell 15% of its assets to reimburse lenders. As many institutions sell simultaneously, the bank has to sell more than 15%. Observing these additional losses, investors and depositors may want to further reduce the amount they are willing to lend, aggravating the liquidity issues face by banks. Overall, these eï ¬â‚¬ects reinforce each other, creating a spiraling eï ¬â‚¬ect. Understanding Interest Rates (30 percent) 15 percent for question 1, 10 for question 2, and 5 for question 3 1) In February 2010, a column in the Wall Street Journal warns: Be wary of long-term bonds The risk of higher expected inï ¬â€šation is in due course. Longer-term bonds are the most at risk. Using the supply and demand analysis studied in class, plot a graph that clearly explains the eï ¬â‚¬ect of an increase in expected inï ¬â€šation on the bond price. Why are longer-term bonds more at risk? Explain whether your analysis would be diï ¬â‚¬erent if you were to examine the impact on the price of TIPS. Since the coupon rate paid by US government bonds is ï ¬ xed in nominal terms, news of higher expected inï ¬â€šation leads to a decrease in the real rate of return oï ¬â‚¬ered by these bonds. As a result, the demand curve moves to the left as investors want to invest their money in securities with better return prospects. In addition, the supply curve moves to the right as corporations can borrow at lower costs in real terms. Because of these two shifts, we observe a large excess supply of bonds at the initial interest level. This excess supply will lead to a decrease in the bond price and a increase in the interest rate until the new equilibrium is reached. This eï ¬â‚¬ect, called the Fisher eï ¬â‚¬ect, is shown in the graph below: The eï ¬â‚¬ect is likely to be stronger for long-term bonds because investors are stuck with ï ¬ xed nominal payments for a long-time period. As a result, the only way to be compensated for higher inï ¬â€šation during many years is to buy the bond at a suï ¬Æ'ciently low price today. Intuitively, we can capture this price sensitivity using duration, as we know that the duration of a long-term bond is above that of a short-term bond. The analysis would be completely diï ¬â‚¬erent for TIPS because their coupon payments adjust for changes in inï ¬â€šation. As a result, any news of future inï ¬â€šation simply means that the future coupon payments in nominal terms will be higher. As a result, the price is not sensitive to changes in expected inï ¬â€šation. 2) In the Financial Times in February 2011, Professor Siegel from the Wharton School talks about the decline in the real yield of TIPS: Recently, the yields on these bonds have collapsed to levels that would have been uninimaginable just a few years ago. Last October, the real yield on the US 10-year TIPS plunged to 36 basis points. Professor Siegel argues that an important factor driving this result is the increase in inï ¬â€šation risk. Why do US investors currently perceive that inï ¬â€šation risk is higher than usual? Explain why this increase in inï ¬â€šation risk can lead to (i) an increase in the demand for TIPS relative to bonds; and (ii) a decrease in the TIPS interest rate. There are two sources of concerns regarding future inï ¬â€šation. First, the central bank has greatly expanded its monetary base during the recent ï ¬ nancial crisis—at the end of 2009, its value was close to $2 trillion. For the moment, banks are not aggressively lending, implying that the growth rate of the monetary base is somewhat disconnected from that of the money supply. But failure from the Fed to reduce the monetary base as lending activity resumes may lead to higher inï ¬â€šation. Second, the ï ¬ scal position of the US government has deteriorated substantially over the past few years, leading to a downgrade of the credit rating attached to its bonds. If the future growth rate in the economy is not suï ¬Æ'ciently high and if the US government is not able to reduce deï ¬ cits, it may have no option but inï ¬â€šate the debt away. This will of course lead to higher inï ¬â€šation. Overall, these two issues create important uncertainty about the future path of inï ¬â€šation. Contrary to bonds, TIPS are protected against inï ¬â€šation. If there is higher inï ¬â€šation risk, bonds become riskier relative to TIPS. Using our supply and demand framework, the demand for bonds moves to the left, while the demand for TIPS moves to the right. At the initial price, there is an excess demand for TIPS, driving the TIPS price up and its interest rate down, consistent with Professor Siegel’s arguments. 3) Professor Siegel also argues that: As economic growth recovers and real rates rise, the price of TIPS will fall. Can you ï ¬ nd a simple explanation of this statement based on our supply and demand framework? Economic growth means that the business cycle is in an expanding phase. In this case, we can rely on the relation between business cycle expansions and the interest rate seen in class. First, the demand curve for bonds move to the right because of the wealth eï ¬â‚¬ect, as people have more money to invest in the capital market (bonds, stocks,). On the supply side, business cycle expansions are related to an increase in the ï ¬ rms’ expected proï ¬ tability. As a result, the supply curve moves to the right. Based on empirical evidence, the move of the supply curve tends to be more important than the one observed for the demand. At the initial level of interest rate, there is an excess supply, leading to an decrease in bond price, and an increase in the interest rate. This is consistent with the yield reaction discussed by Professor Siegel. Bond Market (20 percent) 5 percent for each question Consider the following bonds: Annual interest rate Maturity Annual coupon Price Duration Bond X 5% 8 years 3% 87.1 7.2 Bond Y 8% 3 years 3% 87.1 ? 1) One of your friends tells you: the fact that the price of these two bonds is the same is not consistent with theory. Without making any computation, explain whether you agree with your friend. Your friend is not right. These two bonds are both quoted below par value, because their respective yield to maturity is lower than the coupon rate. If these two bonds had the same maturity, the price of bond Y should be lower than the price of bond X because investors require a higher interest rate to hold bond Y. However, the maturity of bond Y is lower. Although the annual diï ¬â‚¬erential between the interest rate and the coupon rate is higher for bond Y, this diï ¬â‚¬erential has to be given during 3 years only. For bond X, the annual diï ¬â‚¬erential between the interest rate and the coupon rate is lower, but it has to be given during 8 years. In our case, these two eï ¬â‚¬ects (diï ¬â‚¬erent ratings and diï ¬â‚¬erent maturities) oï ¬â‚¬set each other and the two prices are exactly the same. The information shown in the table is therefore perfectly consistent with theory. 2) Compute the duration of bond Y and compare it with that of bond X. Is the diï ¬â‚¬erence consistent with theory?

Control system for microgrid

Control system for microgrid Abstract In this study an example of a microgrid composed of diesel generator and two uninterruptable power supply systems is considered. This microgrid installed in the three buildings of the Tallinn University of Technology. This paper deals with how to implement a distributed control and monitoring system based on the Ethernet network in the microgrid. The paper describes a control strategy to implement both grid connected and islanded operation modes of the microgrid. Keywords Control system, diesel generator, microgrid Introduction Distributed generation (DG) is becoming an increasingly attractive approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to improve power system efficiency and reliability, and to relieve todays stress on power transmission and distribution infrastructure [1]. Distributed generation encompasses a wide range of prime mover technologies, such as internal combustion engines, gas turbines, microturbines, photovoltaic, fuel cells and windpower [32]. A better way to realize the emerging potential of DG is to take a system approach which views generation and associated loads as a microgrid [21]. Microgrid is a concept of defining the operation of distributed generation, in which different microsources operate as s single controllable system that provides power and heat to a cluster of loads in the local area [3], [8] [9]. A well designed microgrid should appear as an independent power system meeting the power quality and reliability requirements [3]. The primary goal of microgrid architectures is to significantly improve energy production and delivery to load customers, while facilitating a more stable electrical infrastructure with a measurable reduction in environmental emissions [10]. The most positive features of microgrids are the relatively short distances between generation and loads and low generation and distribution voltage level. The main function of a microgrid is to ensure stable operation during faults and various network disturbances. The microgrid is a promising concept in several fronts because it [18]: provides means to modernize todays power grids by making it more reliable, secure, efficient, and de-centralized; provides systematic approaches to utilize diverse and distributed energy sources for distributed generation; provides uninterruptible power supply functions; minimizes emissions and system losses. Despite many advantages of microgrid there remain many technical challenges and difficulties in this new power industry area. One of them is the design, acceptance, and availability of low-cost technologies for installing and using microgrids [4]. The increased deployment of power electronic devices in alternative energy sources within microgrids requires effective monitoring and control systems for safe and stable operation while achieving optimal utilization of different energy sources [35]. Microgeneration suffers from lack of experience, regulations and norms. Because of specific characteristics of microgrids, such as high implication of control components, large number of microsources with power electronic interfaces remains many difficulties in controlling of microgrids. Realization of complicated controlling processes in microgrids requires specific communication infrastructure and protocols. During the process of microgrid organization many questions concerning the protection and safety aspects emerge. Also, it is required to organize free access to the network and efficient allocation of network costs. The predominant existing distributed generation is based on an internal combustion engine driving an electric generator [36]. To investigate various aspects of integration of alternative energy sources such as conventional engine generators, this paper proposes a prototype of the microgrid for three academic buildings at the Tallinn University of Technology which consists of a diesel generator, and batteries storage with power electronic interface. The main goal of this work is to design an intelligent control system of the microgrid that is efficient enough to manage itself for power balance by making use of state of the art communication technology. Moreover, the aim of this paper is to describe the control strategy of the microgrid operation in both stagy state modes. This control system enables the microgrid system to balance the electric power demand and supply and to simultaneously control the state of power network. Microgrid Theoretical Background A microgrid is described as a small (several MW or less in scale) power system with three primary components: distributed generators with optional storage capacity, autonomous load centers, and system capability to operate interconnected with or islanded from the larger utility electrical grid [10], [11]-[13]. According to [39], [22], multiple facility microgrids span multiple buildings or structures, with loads typically ranging between 2MW and 5MW. Examples include campuses (medical, academic, municipal, etc), military bases, industrial and commercial complexes, and building residential developments. Microgrids include several basic components for operation [3], [4]. An example of a microgrid with is illustrated in Fig.1. Distributed Generation Distributed generation units [1] are small sources of energy located at or near the point of use. There are two basic classes of microsources; one is a DC source (fuel cells, photovoltaic cells, etc.), the other is a high frequency AC source (microturbines, reciprocating engine generators, wind generators), which needs to be rectified. An AC microgrid can be a single-phase or a three-phase system. It can be connected to low voltage or medium voltage power distribution networks. Storage Devices Distributed storage technologies are used in microgrid applications where the generation and loads of the microgrid cannot be exactly matched. Distributed storage provides a bridge in meeting the power and energy requirements of the microgrid. Distributed storage enhances microgrid systems overall performance in three ways. First, it stabilizes and permits DG units to run at a constant and stable output, despite load fluctuations. Second, it provides the ride through capability when there are dynamic variations of primary energy (such as those of sun, wind, and hydropower sources). Third, it permits DG to seamlessly operate as a dispatchable unit. Moreover, energy storage can benefit power systems by damping peak surges in electricity demand, countering momentary power disturbances, providing outage ridethrough while backup generators respond, and reserving energy for future demand. There are several forms of energy storage, such as the batteries, supercapacitors, and flywheels. Interconnection Switch The interconnection switch is the point of connection between the microgrid and the rest of the distribution system. New technologies in this area consolidate the various power and switching functions (power switching, protective relaying, metering, and communications) traditionally provided by relays, hardware, and other components at the utility interface into a single system with a digital signal processor. The interconnection switches are designed to meet grid interconnection standards. Control System The control system of a microgrid is designed to safely operate the system in grid-parallel and stand-alone modes. This system may be based on a central controller or imbedded as autonomous parts of each distributed generator. When the utility is disconnected, the control system must control the local voltage and frequency, provide (or absorb) the instantaneous real power difference between generation and loads, provide the difference between generated reactive power and the actual reactive power consumed by the load, and protect the internal microgrid. Structure of the Proposed Microgrid The microgrid installed in three buildings of the Tallinn University of Technology (TUT): Faculty of Power Engineering, TUT Library, School of Economics and Business Administration. Consequently, according to the classification given in [22], this power system can be defined as a multiple facility microgrid. Fig.2 illustrates the various components of the power system of the microgrid at TUT. The structure of the microgtid for the campuses of the TUT is proposed. Fig.3 shows a schematic of the power system. Microgrid systems targeted in this study are autonomous areas having the power demand of several kilowatts including a diesel generator, two uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems with batteries storage, and loads. They are connected to the power electronic interface forming local AC network with 230V, 50Hz. The diesel generator is used as the main distributed energy resource in this microgrid. It has a nominal power of 176kW/220kVA, voltage of 240V/400V and maximum current of 318A. This generator is connected to the AC bus via the automatic relay logic (ARL2). The ARL2 is continuously observing it both sides: the main grid and the microgrid. If there is a fault in the general grid, the ARL2 will disconnect the microgrid, creating an energetic island. The battery banks (E1 and E2) are used as the distributed energy storage devices in the microgrid to insure continuous supply of the local load. They are interfaced to the electrical network through the two UPS systems: UPS1 (160kVA), and UPS2 (240kVA). Hence, we can conclude that the microgrid has two main possible operation modes: grid-connected and islanded mode. Main customers of the microgrid are the computers and servers located in the laboratories and office rooms in the three buildings of TUT. The clients in the Library Building (computers) are interfaced to the electrical network using ARL1. In addition, four experimental loads (Experimental loads 1..4) are used that can be connected to the distributed shield located in the Laboratory of Electrical Drives. The nine intelligent sensors (P1..P9) assign these loads. Their task is to measure electrical power and energy parameters of the network, such as voltage, current, power, energy, power factor and transmit this information to the controller. The microgrid is connected to the general city electricity grid using two two-section transformer substations (6000kV/400kV) located in the Faculty of Power Engineering and the School of Economics and Business Administration Buildings. Description of the Control System Taking into account the configuration and features of the power network of the Tallinn University of Technology, the control system structure for the microgrid is designed with the following specifications: the balance of electric power demand and supply of power network are provided; both the steady state modes and the transient performance of the microgrid are achieved. A block diagram of the hierarchical control system which is based on the multiagent technology [40], [41], is demonstrated in Fig.4. The design of the control system can be divided into hardware and software. The control structure of the microgrid has three levels: Operator console and application server; Central controller (CC); Local controllers (LC) and measuring devices. Operator console is a computerized workstation with special software which comprises of supply and demand calculation units, monitoring units, control schemes and dispatching units. The function block diagram of the software is shown in Fig.5. The operator console heads the hierarchical control system. Its main goals of are: to keep track of the whole system by monitoring the status of the communication nodes and generating units; to collect data from the measuring devices; to calculate supply and demand of power; to visualize information received; to display the basic modes of the microgrid; and to transfer control commands to the central controller. Application server is designed for archiving data received from the measuring devices. The main interface between the operator console and others communication nodes of the microgrid control system is the central controller. It is the main responsible for the management of the microgrid. for the optimization of the microgrid operation. The central controller operates in real time. Its main functions are: connection and disconnection of the microgrid, the synchronization process, the detachment of loads. In addition, the aims of the central controller are: to collect information from the measuring devices; to transfer data from the operator console and the application server; to manage the power supply switches; and to transmit the control commands to the local controllers. Group of the local controllers are related to the third hierarchical control level. They include microsource controller that located in the distributed resources of the microgrid. It manages active and reactive power production levels at the diesel generator. Moreover, the microsource controller is responsible for the maintaining desired steady-state and dynamic performance of the power network. The other local controllers are located in the two UPS systems. Their main goals are to provide management of charge of the batteries storage. Measuring process Information required by the proposed monitoring and control system is voltage, current, power, energy, and power factor measurements. Real-time information is acquired through the intelligent measuring devices located at the output of the energy source, at the input of each loads, and at the both UPS systems. In this system, Allen-Bradley Powermonitor 3000 [25] is used to measure these instantaneous values. It implements real-time power monitoring with 50 ms selectable update rate. Such operating information is displayed in real-time for monitoring and energy management purposes. Communication network A communication infrastructure is needed between the central controller and the local controllers [23]. The short geographical span of the microgrid may aid establishing a communication infrastructure using low-cost communications. The adoption of standard protocols and open technologies allows designing and developing modular solutions using off-the-shelf, low-cost, widely available, and fully supported hardware and software components. At the present time, many low cost microcontrollers include at least an Ethernet controller, standalone cheap controllers are also available. The main advantages of using Ethernet are: the transition from a centralized control to a distributed control; wiring reduction no need for point to point connections. This solution provides flexibility and scalability for low-cost implementations. Taking these into account, the Ethernet industrial protocol has been chosen in this microgrid as communication network for data transfer for all those control units. The amount of data to be exchanged between network controllers includes mainly messages containing set-points to LC, information requests sent by the MGCC to LC about active and reactive powers, and voltage levels and messages to control microgrid switches. The LC is responsible of collecting local information from the attached energy resource and takes some real-time decisions based on the control algorithm. The communication network of the control system is illustrated in Fig.6. Every communication node has to get registered to the master server. The node sends its information to the master server through diverse communication channel. Furthermore, this topology provides an opportunity for immediate control center access via remote consoles and web based laptops for necessary actions to be taken. To include new generation resources or storage devices in a flexible manner into the microgrid, multi-agent technologies [40] might be applied. The proposed hierarchical control scheme provides a flexible platform to make high level decisions. Control Strategy of Operation of the Microgrid A microgrid may operate either connected to the main grid or disconnected from it. There are two steady states of operation, grid-connected (Mode-G) and islanded (Mode-I). Furthermore, there are two transient modes of operation, transfer from Mode-G to Mode-I and transfer from Mode-I to Mode-G. The key issue of the control is how to maintain the voltage and frequency stability of the microgrid [20]. Grid-connected mode In the grid-connected operation mode, the main function of a DG unit is to control the output real and reactive power. The real and reactive power generated by a DG can be controlled through current or voltage regulation, thus the DG output power control schemes can be generally categorized as current-based and voltage-based power flow control [43]. During Mode-G operation, the voltage and frequency of the microgrid is set by the main grid. The aim of the uninterruptible power supply systems is to obtain energy backup as much as possible, so during Mode-G operation, the main grid, the microgrid or both of them, will charge the batteries [20]. In grid-connected mode the balance between the generation and the consumption as well as the control of the parameters of the system is guaranteed by the utility grid. Thus, generators are regulated with the criterion of optimized economic exploitation of the installation [23]. Concerning the programmable generator, the objective of the control is to optimize the microgrid performance. Islanded mode The MG operates autonomously, in a similar way to physical islands, when the disconnection from the main grid occurs [37]. When the grid is not present, the ARL2 disconnects the microgrid from the grid, starting the autonomous operation. The instant at which the intentional islanding occurs must be detected in order to the inverter changes between grid-connected to intentional island modes. The detection is achieved using an algorithm described in [23]. When the main distribution network is faulted, the fault current will flow into the main grid from the microgrid continuously. At the same time, the circuit breaker of microgrid should detect the frequency and voltage-drop, and open in time, which makes the microgrid disconnect automatically from the main grid and change to islanded operation mode. Diesel generator should adopt the reasonable control strategies to ensure the stability of frequency and voltage in microgrid [42]. While switched from Mode-G to Mode-I, the UPS system operates in voltage control mode, is setting the voltage and frequency of the microgrid through absorbing or releasing energy. In islanded mode, due to the unavailability of the utility grid, two requirements must be fulfilled: the power balance between the generation and the consumption and the control of the main parameters of the installation (voltage amplitude and frequency). In synchronous islanded mode this reference is the same as the grid voltage. This mode is also called synchronization mode and it is the mode that necessarily precedes a reconnection with the grid. The control system is responsible for assuring the power balance. In case of energy excess the management system can limit the output power of the diesel generators power in order to avoid the operation in extremely inefficient low power generation modes. On the contrary, if all the available power is not enough to feed the local loads, the management system will detach non-critical loads. The control system is voltage controlled and it regulates the main parameters of the system. The UPS systems sets the voltage and frequency of the islanded microgrid and maintains them within acceptable limits by injecting or absorbing active power and reactive power as required. As soon as the presence of mains is detected, the microgrid control system uses feedback information from the mains voltage to adjust the energy storage unit voltage and frequency control loops to synchronize the microgrid voltage with the main voltage of the main grid. Transition from Grid-Connected to Islanded Mode There are various islanding detection methods proposed for DG systems [44]. As mentioned above, there is a different control strategy when the laboratory-scale microgrid system operates in Mode-G or Mode-I. If there is a transition between these two modes, the control mode of the battery inverter will change. A switching circuit, as shown in Fig.7, is designed to realize this transition [20]. A load-voltage control strategy proposed by [23] is employed to provide the operation of the microgrid. Disconnection of the microgrid from the grid can be provoked by many causes, like unsatisfactory grid voltage (in terms of amplitude or waveform) or even economic aspects related to power price. In order to monitor grid voltage characteristics a Voltage monitoring module is required. This module measures continuously the rms grid voltage comparing it with a preestablished threshold value. When any of the phase voltages goes down the threshold value (0.9 pu in this case) the detection signal is activated. If 20 ms after the first detection this signal is still activated the microgrid must be disconnected from the utility grid and it must pass to islanded operation mode, otherwise the microgrid will remain connected to the utility grid. This way unnecessary islandings are avoided and selectivity is respected. A 20 ms time window has been chosen after verifying through experimental tests and standards [47] that a personal computer (which is considered as the most critical residential lo ad in this microgrid) is not affected by a 20 ms voltage interruption. As soon as the microgrid is disconnected from the grid, the programmable generator controller passes from a power control mode to a voltage control mode. Microgrid power consumption is also continuously measured in order to detach non-critical loads if there is no enough local available power. In addition if consumption or generation conditions are modified and it becomes possible to feed all the local loads, non-critical loads will be reconnected. Transition from Islanded to Grid-Connected Mode When the grid-disconnection cause disappears, the transition from islanded to grid-connected mode can be started. To avoid hard transients in the reconnection, the diesel generator has to be synchronized with the grid voltage [23]. The DG is operated in synchronous island mode until both systems are synchronized. Once the voltage in the DG is synchronized with the utility voltage, the DG is reconnected to the grid and the controller will pass from voltage control mode to current control mode. When the microgrid is working in islanded mode, and the ARL2 detects that the voltage outside the microgrid (in the grid) is stable and fault-free, we have to resynchronize the microgrid to the frequency, amplitude and phase of the grid, in order to reconnect seamlessly the microgrid. If the grid-disconnection cause disappears and the gridvoltage fulfills the desired requirements, the transition from islanded to grid-connected mode can be started. The grid voltage conditions will be again monitored by the Voltage monitoring module. This way if the grid voltage exceeds the threshold value the detection signal is deactivated. If 20 ms after the first detection the detection signal is still deactivated it means that utility grid has returned back to normal operating conditions and the microgrid can reconnect to the grid. However, before the reconnection, the microgrid has to be synchronized with the grid voltage in order to avoid hard transients in the reconnection. To do so, the microgrid operates in synchronous islanded mode during 100 ms with the aim of decoupling the reference variation and the physical grid reconnection transients. In this operating mode the voltage in the microgrid is set to the characteristics of the grid voltage, frequency and phase. Once the voltage in the microgrid is synchronized with the utility voltage the microgrid can be reconnected to the grid and the programmable generator controller will pass from a voltage control mode to a power control mode. In the same way if non-critical loads are detached they are also reconnected. In the presence of unplanned events like faults, microgrid separation from the MV network must occur as fast as possible. However, the switching transient will have great impact on microgrid dynamics. The microgrid functionalities as well as its control methods depend on the mode of operation [23]: Islanding of the MG can take place by unplanned events like faults in the MVnetwork or by planned actions like maintenance requirements. In this case, the local generation profile of theMG can be modified in order to reduce the imbalance between local load and generation and reduce the disconnection transient [48]. Conclusions In this paper the microgrid system installed at the Tallinn University of Technology, has been presented. The microgrid includes a diesel generator, batteries storage with power electronic interface. The architecture of the microgrid for the Tallinn University of Technology and a control system structure for the microgrid were proposed. Design of a control and monitoring system for a microgrid is presented in this paper. A hierarchical control scheme is proposed. This will enhance the reliability and stability of the microgrid on one end and will make microgrid an easy to use product on the other. Acknowledgement This paper was supported by the Project DAR8130 Doctoral School of Energy and Geotechnology II. References A.M.Borbely,J.F.Krieder, Distributed generation: the power paradigm for the new millennium, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2001, 388p. 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Evaluate Student Satisfaction With Different Course Modules Nursing Essay

Evaluate Student Satisfaction With Different Course Modules Nursing Essay To define the drivers of student opinions and satisfaction, one needs to initially understand the role of student in an educational setting in terms of academic life. Educational institutions worldwide use the form of satisfaction questionnaires to investigate student views, therefore this is the student satisfaction measurement conducted for masters programme (MSc International Business Management) to develop the programme and to improve the student satisfaction levels. According to Kotler, the rapid development in education industry, significant increases in colleges and universities and demographic shift in the population may force the universities to think about the role of student satisfaction for their strategic improvement and survival in the competitive education industry (Kotler Fox, 1995). According to (Crawford,1991) in UK Higher Education (HE) institutions students were considered to be primary customers of a university even before they were liable for payment of fees as direct recipients to service provided by a one year masters degree programme made up of number of modules at each level. So it confirms the status of students as customers and there is scope in this evaluation to include students experiences rather than limiting it only to assessment of quality of teaching and learning (Aldridge Rowley, 1998) According to statistics which indicates that more than 40 % of all entrants leave higher education without earning a degree, 75% of the students drop out in first two years of college and more recent 46.2% of freshmen do not graduate from college (Kara DE shields, 2004) So based on statistics we can see how important for university administrators and researchers to focus their attentions on service quality which gives rise to student satisfaction for better chance to compete Satisfying the students to retain them is important for educational universities. It might be argued that dissatisfied students may slash back on number of courses or drop out of university completely. The main aim of the study is to critically analyse the student satisfaction levels and quality dimensions in assessing the MSc International Business Management (IBM) programme. 1.1 Background of the Industry: Liverpool John Moores University have 180 years of experiences in delivering high quality superior educational services and have 24,000 students plus 4500 oversees students of which 4100 are pursuing their post graduation education. Since the majority of the student are pursuing their under graduate education and only 17% student are post graduate or masters education there is a chance that post graduate student may be left dissatisfied. To measure the satisfaction level there is a need of undertaking a research it offers full range of post graduate and under graduate programs, of which MSc International Business Management is one which is recently launched in the year 2009 so total eight students were enrolled in the first batch September intake. It is a post graduate program to provide theoretical and practical perspective on International Business Management issues, to enhance students potential with in todays dynamic behavior environment. This program has been designed to develop , achieve aims and objectives by integrating skills and academic knowledge with case studies taken from real world situation it has a range of assessment methods selected to be appropriate to what is being taught, and designed as far as possible to reflect the real-world tasks. These include written reports, individual reflection, class tests, group presentations, and dissertation. The analytical nature of the programme, particularly at the Research project stage, will require students to investigate a business or management problem that require independent research and the synthesis of acquired knowledge and data to address the problem (www.ljmu.ac.uk). The main intention is to critically appraise the student satisfaction levels, service quality and the development of the programme. 1.2 Problem Statement: As IBM is newly introduced programme in LJMU the student expectations are not up to level of satisfaction due to lack of in sufficient students enrolled in this programme and the tuition fees is also high and the time tables arranged were not up to satisfaction due to work life balance with studies and students part time jobs author want to critically analyze the student satisfaction quality levels in new course. 1.3 Research Aim: The main aim of the research is to critically appraise student satisfaction levels in MSc International Business Management (IBM), service quality measurement and to develop the programme at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). 1.4 Research Objectives: To investigate and evaluate student satisfaction with course modules of perceived program quality To investigate and evaluate student satisfaction with perceived quality of life with academic facilities and support To investigate the perceived quality of outcomes To propose recommendations to improve student satisfaction levels 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review is a concise step by step guide to conducting a literature search (Ridley, 2008). 2.1 Student Satisfaction: According to (Danielson, 1998) student satisfaction refers to the attraction, pride, or positive feeling that students develop towards the program. But according to Kotler and Clarke (1987) defines satisfaction as a state felt by person who has experience performance that fulfils his or her expectation. According to (Stike, 1984) suggested that level of students positive feeling is associated with students being able to find adequate resources to meet their academic and social interests. But according to previous studies shows that students who report positive academic and social experiences expressed greater satisfaction with overall college experience. Interaction between faculty members and students is also a factor affecting student satisfaction in academic experiences (Tinto, 1993) which implies sufficient and positive faculty student interaction will contribute to overall student satisfaction (Danielson, 1998). The most student satisfaction studies focuses on perspective of customer oriented, researchers facing the problem of creating standard definition for student satisfaction which provides a basic need of theory to be selected and modified so that it can explain the meaning of student satisfaction. Even though there is a high risk involved in marketing place of higher education, there is a new moral prerogative that students have become customers as fees payers (Tuition Fees) which has a reasonable demand that their views be heard and acted upon (William,2002). 2.2 Service Quality in Higher Education: Quality may be defined as idea that quality has to be judged on assessment of user or consumer of the service. The focus on quality in services in this research is a broad aspect particularly service in higher education as it plays a key role in improving its services throughout the globe were urged to operate more commercially, quality been identified as core ingredient to success. Owlia Aspinwall (1996) pointed out that in order to measure quality, characteristics of quality need to be identified first. Whereas Cheng Tam (1997) emphasizes importance of defining characteristics of quality for measurement of education process. Zhao (2003) proposed the quality of a university online education to be evaluated from stand point of its course effectiveness, academic satisfaction and student satisfaction. But Devinder and Datta (2003) argue that organizations which want to deliver quality program and services to students must be concerned with every aspect of student experiences and support on campus. Quality in education not only includes lecturers, note taking and guidance but also includes student experience while interacting with various non academic personal components in university. Jones Suh (2000) concludes that transaction specific satisfaction influences overall satisfaction, repurchase retention. In fact students also found to place great importance degree acceptance and university reputation in selection of university and the course program (Chun, 2005). By taking different views into consideration the definition and dimensions of quality, researchers vary in measurement standards as they measure service quality used customer satisfaction as indicator for quality. 2.3 Conceptual Service Quality Models in Higher Education: From the past decades various service quality models were used and practised to cover the aspects of conventional services to latest web services, so total 19 service models were used so as quality management of higher education was handled differently from manufacturing industries. Popular service quality models were practised by business world. E.g: TQM has been applied to schools and universities in U.K and U.S.A According to (Chua, 2004) a model called SERVQUAL was used to measure the quality in education which is a well known fact that service quality is influenced by attitude and behaviour of a service customer. There are three methods available to measure the service quality in education First method adapts the SERVQUAL instrument second uses methods for assessing the quality of teaching and learning and the third method for assessing quality of the total experience. SERVQUAL is the well know tool to measure the satisfaction and the perception on the service quality. But according to (Jabnoun Al-saad, 2004) SERVQUAL is based on 5 quality dimensions which includes Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. So it is best used for 5 point Likert scale to measure the student satisfaction and improve their satisfaction levels and development of the program. 3. METHODOLOGY According to (Kumar, 2005) methodology refers to the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to the area of investigation. The research is beneficial in two ways that is to maintain the whole research controlled, unbiased and straight forward and secondly to ensure that the audience conviction will be that the script is accurate and convincing. Research is seeking through methodological processes that adds to ones own body of knowledge and to that of others, by discovery of nontrivial facts and insight (Sharp, Peters and Howard, 2002) and have different layers and acknowledged as Research Process Onion and it is illustrated in Appendix (4), which consists of research philosophy, research approach, In order to improve the quality of the research (Saunders, Adrian Thornhill, 2003) explain that the research processes research strategies, time horizons and finally data collection methods 3.1 Research Approach: A research hypothesis refers to a pattern or a model for research. It involves the philosophy of research, practices of research, preferences of practices and beliefs and identification of research questions (Denscombe, 2010). According to (Leedy Ormrod, 2001) methodology is just an operating frame work within which the facts are placed so that they can be accurately measured, observed and interpreted, thereby find a solution. It is something that people undertake in order to find out new things in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge. The research must be developed in such a way that it is able to make out and get all the key information which will help finding result for the research conducted. To be able to ascertain the aims of the research, it was envisaged mixed methods research design. According to Creswell Plano Clark (2007) mixed method research design is a procedure for collecting, analyzing and mixing both qualitative and quantitative research methods in a single study to understand the research problem. By assessing both outcomes of qualitative and quantitative process we can develop a complex picture of social phenomenon (Greene Caracelli, 1997). The researcher uses Triangulation mixed methods design (Jick, 1979) in order to gathers both qualitative and quantitative data, analyzes both datasets separately, compares the results from the analysis of both datasets, and makes an interpretation as to whether the results support or contradict each other. Qualitative approaches to data collection, analysis and report writing differ from then traditional, quantitative approaches. Use of purposeful sampling, collection of open ended data, analysis of text or pictures, representation of information in figures and tables, and personal interpretation of the findings all inform qualitative procedures (Creswell, Research Design, 2003) Qualitative research lacks internal validity; qualitative analysis is not designed with an end goal of generalising to large group of population of people, times and settings (Charles Robert, 2009). Whereas the process involved in Quantitative methods are of collecting, analyzing, interpreting and writing the results of study. Specific methods exist in both survey and experimental research that relate to the sample and population, specifying the strategy of inquiry, collecting and analysing data, presenting the results, making an interpretation, and writing the research in a manner consistent with a survey or experimental study(Charles Robert, 2009). According to Hammersely and Martyn (1989) qualitative data analysis should not be viewed as a distinct stage in research but then it continues throughout the research from problem formulation to final writing up. The data that is being analyzed should not only be made of primary data collected from field work but also the relevant secondary data should be taken into account. This meaning is true for any analysis either qualitative or quantitative. The data analysis consists of three elements data reduction, displaying the data and drawing the conclusion and these are the same for any research (Miles and Huberman, 1994). For finding meaningful data in the gathered information surely the process of analyzation must include interpretation but not just techniques. Although there are similarities between different types of analysis it should be recognized that the selection of the analyzation technique depends on the type of research being done. 3.1.1 Data Collection: As (Morse Richards, 2002) point out, the volume of data that qualitative researchers must manager is enormous. Researchers tell stories of drowning in data of stacking piles of data in their basements, or of not being able to use their dining room table for several months while the process of analysis in ongoing. The clear explained in a detail way please refer Appendix (5). 4. METHODS The following methods and procedures will be used to collect data for Quantitative Analysis Qualitative Analysis 4.1 Quantitative Analysis: 4.1.1 Questionnaire Survey: 4.1.2 Questionnaire Design: Questionnaire provides a more structured approach to gathering data for quantitative analysis. It is a series of written question for which the respondent provides answers. A well defined questionnaire motivation the respondent to provide complete and accurate information (Sharp, Peters Howard, 2002). The survey questionnaire should not be viewed as a standalone tool. Along with questionnaire there is field work rewards for the respondents and communication aids, all of which are important components of the questionnaire process. The strength of closed questions is that they are quick to complete and analysis; the weakness is that the data obtained may be very superficial. Open questions allow the possibility of asking deeper questions and obtaining unanticipated perspective on an issue, but the corresponding weakness is that completion and analysis can be difficult and time consuming (Smith, Thorpe Lowe, 2006) 4.1.3 Sample selection: Sample selection is sub-group of population which is taken to represent the entire population. Most important feature of a sample is it is representative and displaying similar characteristics to the population as a whole they may be totally random or may be stratified to ensure that there are sufficient cases from each category example male/female students, different faculties, levels, modes of study. A purposive sample is the one where the researcher deliberately selects cases which are considered to be representative or relevant (Creswell J.W, 2008) In this instance the target population is that of those students enrolled on the post graduation MSc IBM program at LJMU and the sample population will be selected from this group. Quantitative analysis conducted for students in MSc International Business Management(IBM) by using 5 point Likert scale statements were presented to students they agree or disagree with in them on five point scale from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree and then total numerical value can be calculated using response. It consists of total 50 questions one through eight were concerned with gathering demographic data. Question 9 to 20 focused on Course content Assessment. Question 21 to 30 focused on Facilities. Question 31 to 40 focused on Lecturer Faculty. Question 41 to 50 focused on Social Activities Student support 4.1.4 Questionnaire Collection: The Questionnaires will be handed out within university to all the MSC IBM students to complete questionnaire. Complete questionnaire will be collected and then all information from questionnaires is imported and coded in to SPSS. Since the time scale is involved we will design the survey is survey monkey and also send the web page link via email. Statistical package for analysis and hypothesis were tested using analysis of variance that is ANOVA which is used to uncover the effects of independent variables on an interval dependent variable. This procedure employs the statistic (F) to test the statistical significance of the differences among the obtained means of two or more random samples from the given population where statistic (F) is a ratio, which if sufficiently larger than 1, indicates that the observed differences among the obtained means are statistically significant. It is important to note here, however the samples were not random, which reduces the generalization of our results. 4.2 Qualitative Analysis: Qualitative analysis was conducted on group of four students in MSc International Business Management (IBM) at LJMU based on Sample selection, Interviews, Interview preparation and setting and analyzing the interview. 4.2.1 Sample Selection: This piece of research will be carried by interviewing the students of MSc IBM group management. Total there were 25 students enrolled for this program out of 25 a group of four students were selected for interview process. Prior to the interview the organization permissions will be sorted and their ethical considerations will be abided and held confidential in the course of research. 4.2.2 Interviews: The author will carry out an interview with group of four students will be interviewed and data will be collected regarding the factors what they feel that are responsible for organization success and so on. The researcher will carry on a semi-structured interview where the researcher has a list of questions or fairly specific topics to be covered. Questions may not follow on the way outlined on the schedule. Questions that are not included on the list may be asked as they pick on things said by the interviewers. 4.2.3 Interview Preparation and Setting: As individual will design the questions as per the literature review because as he is the student representative for MSc IBM program in order to identify the appropriate questions. Prior to the interview pilot interviews will be done. The questions will be reviewed by experienced people as what is straight forward to you as the investigator may be baffling to another person not fully in the picture. Sometimes you are too close to something and others can be more objective (Wragg.E.C, 1978). The Interviewer will inform the participants before the date of interview and requests them to arrange a comfortable location for the interview. The interview will be a one-to-one interview. The answers will be recorded in a camcorder borrowed from the university. 4.2.4 Analyzing the Interview: All the interviewed information will be loaded into the computer and saved in RTF so that it can be loaded into the (QSRNvivo) where it can be analyzed. Then the necessary nodes will be developed by the individual and formulated to generate the necessary themes. 4.3 Instrument Reliability and Validity: A goal of good research is to have measures that are reliable several factors can result in unreliable data. To determine the form of reliability, the researcher test at two different times to same participants at a sufficient time interval. Validity means that the individuals scores from an instrument which enables the researcher to draw attention about conclusion. In quantitative analysis the questionnaire was designed by using survey monkey software tool through web services. Questions added to the survey were directly derived from existing literature pertaining to student satisfaction and course program evaluation because this survey was designed significantly to adapt the technology used in web based courses, the researcher performed a reliability analysis after data collection phase. The researcher will use an interval scale of a parametric test and he shall code words in numbers and further the program will examine the information and it will generate complex statistical resul ts in a reliable way. Utilising a t-test analysis for the questionnaires, an evaluation of means (gender and age) will be done. A value of p The data was examined according to statistical assumptions by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. In order to examine linearity, several bivariate scatter plots were generated and examined which reveals abnormalities between variables due to instrument being a Likert scale. The Pearson correlative coefficient was examined to correlation matrix in order to determine multi co linearity. In order to this pilot studies were performed in order to establish reliability and validity of the instrument. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to subtract factors relevant to student satisfaction to examine construct validity of satisfaction survey which includes Demographic data, Course content Assessment, Facilities, Lecturer Faculty, Social activities student support 5. RESEARCH SUITABILITY The researcher has software background from Computer Science Engineering and is currently pursuing his Masters in MSc International Business Management (IBM) at Liverpool john Moores university. Since author is doing research on the same university where he is studying and he is the student representative for that program with his experience as a student he is well known about students opinions and suggestions, so it makes him easier to collect all the required information and in taking interviews and having questionnaire with students .Author have knowledge in research as he done coursework as a part of study where he collected some statistical data .Author also feels that SUPERVISOR is the key resource to the success of research he wants to take guidelines of supervisor and keep in contact with supervisor physically or via mails. Through the self experiences of author by all his observations about student satisfaction and quality of studies in LJMU he feels that definitely this is an interesting area. 6. TIME SCALE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT A draft of the project plan is showed in the appendix. The time taken by the research will be determined by the cross sectional time horizon i.e., the research will be based on the information gathered in a short period from group of students in LJMU. Coming to the resources required, all the travelling expenses will be beared by the researcher himself and the survey and questionnaire is carried out in university from group of people. The time line of the project starts on the 15th of June 2010 and goes through the various steps involved such as the literature review, the quantitative and qualitative research involving interviews, the collection and analysis of the data regarding the cases studied, report preparation, meeting with the supervisor and finally leading to the submission which has been set tentatively to the first week of December. The time factor is going to be the most important and decisive factor determining the execution of the dissertation 7. ETHICAL ISSUES Please refer appendix (1). 8. RESEARCH ORGINALITY There are very limited amount of researches available in this topic with concept of student satisfaction and development of the MSc International Business Management (IBM) program at LJMU University, researcher being a student representative research has a potential opportunity to provide a new view in student satisfaction which examines different dimensions in the Service Quality, satisfaction levels. More over this research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Researcher feels that this research can provide the problems in MSc International Management program, satisfaction levels and the development of the program. 9. PROTOCOL Please refer appendix (2). 10. Bibliography