Chicano Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chicano - Essay Example These people belonged to the poorest families in rural areas of Mexico, and did not had any identity in the society, used the term Chicano during the Civil rights Movement in order to amalgamate themselves so that they can be recognized by the world. Chicano descendents reflected distinctive culture of Mexican Americans (Arturo, pp. 197-208). The natives speaking slang language with different pronunciations mocked these people, which was an insult for them. The basis of Chicano was contradictory, as the pronunciation and spelling of Spanish language revolutionized causing discrepancy in differentiating between Chicano and Mexicano, but it was apparent that the word Chicano did not have any effect from this language change. The dual identity of Chicanos entails that these people have neither U.S. origin nor they reflect the Mexican society. This combination of customs of both the nations makes them strive for their acceptance into the American society while retaining their Mexican tra ditions and practices (Arturo, pp. 41-55). A culture reflects the traditions, beliefs, practices, customs, and lifestyles of any society or race. Likewise, Chicano also pertain a diversified culture (Isabel, pp. 63-67). The aspects of Chicano culture are mainly literature, arts, and music. ... 47-61). The people of Chicano possess a very simple yet a colorful lifestyle. The life of Chicanos does not characterize by technology; therefore, they depend upon natural resources to acquire information. These people have poor housing and do not have the access to health facilities. Because of the cultural restrictions, Chicanos have to marry a person of opposite sex within the same race (Isabel, pp. 23-38). They have a strong family relationship, where members are interdependent, and elders are open to suggestions from youngster. Chicano cuisine is famous for its dishes that are very delicious due to inclusion of variety of chilies in it. The basic sources of food such as beans, corn, and peppers are present in huge quantities in their food. The people consume simple, healthy, balanced, and short meals on specific times during the day. Life, death, family bonding, and religious practices are of prime importance to them. They are strong followers of Catholics and those who do not a bide by the obligations, have to face strict consequences. They believe that their religion gives them power to survive through the crises they come across, in their lives (Isabel, pp. 47-61). The idea of death for Chicanos is unlike the concept of death for any other faith as they have a pleasing relation with the dead. Spanish and Catholic have an immense influence on the concept of death for Chicanos. The traditions and practices include a wide variety of celebrations, amongst which the most significant event celebrated by the people of Chicanos is the ‘Day of the Dead’ (Johnston & Winter, pp. 10-14). It resembles the festival of Halloween, celebrated by Americans but the difference

International Management Research Paper Essay Example for Free

International Management Research Paper Essay Assessing the Environment As we look to take our business, International Jean Company, into the ever expanding global market, it’s important that we choose locations that are going to fit our needs. This location selection cannot just be random, nor can it be done hastily. Our time learning how to be International Managers have taught us that only through careful research into many topics like the Environment, the Geography and Climate, the Culture, and Communication, can we really have the information necessary to make an informed decision. Therefore, we began to look at Denmark, and extensively researched the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that lay before us here. Denmark is a small country with a population of just over 5 million inhabitants. It has achieved a remarkable degree of economic success over the last 50 years or so. With GDP per head of around $56,000 the country ranks fifth in the world and ahead of both Japan and Germany in terms of purchasing power. This remarkable economic success has been achieved by the Danes thanks, in no small measure, to their pragmatic business style.(1) According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, it has the most efficient distribution system, the best labor regulations, and the second highest GDP per person. According to Forbes.com, Denmark is the best country to do business in. The Danish economys mix of low inflation and low unemployment along with emphasis on entrepreneurship and lower taxes make Denmark an attractive company to business investors and entrepreneurs. These qualities combined with high marks for innovation and technological savvy lift Denmark to the top of the business worl d. Denmark is a country that is filled with many small and medium sized, independently owned businesses. Compared to the rest of the European Union, Denmark has a significantly less amount of large corporations, with the exception of Spain. They are known for their top quality production standards. Danish companies tend to concentrate on highly specialized products with a high margin production and rely more on product innovation and design instead of improvements in production technology and price competitiveness. Many small and medium sized companies are able to have major control over their market because they base themselves in small towns and rely on relationships with the community. This makes it difficult for large corporations to take their market share. Although Denmark has a significant amount of independent businesses that support its economy, it is highly dependent on foreign trade and international cooperation. Denmark is made up of a highly developed infrastructure, an advanced telecommunications system and a well-educated and stable workforce. Throughout all relevant levels of the workforce, English is spoken and written at an exceptionally good level. This is a very beneficial factor to the role that Denmark plays in the global market. Geographically, Denmark is in the perfect position for international trade. It is in the center of the Scandinavian countries and has easy access to the Northern and Eastern European countries. International surveys show that Denmark has top ratings in transportation, in all modes, energy, communications, and distribution systems. It is also highly rated in product quality, organizational quality, customer relations, credibility, and social responsibility. Denmark’s legal system is very similar to those of other European countries. Foreign business men may find some difficulty in legalities due to the use of civil law system and statutory law. Unlike the common law system used in countries such as the US, the Danish courts are not limited to the strict lettering of the law, but instead the purpose of the statute. This interpretation is also applied to private agreements. Compared to other countries, lobbying of the government is not as common and not as organized as in other countries. Usually, trade bodies will bring up issues to the government instead of individual persons or companies. The most common forms of companies used in Denmark are Public Limited Companies and Private Limited Companies. Denmark is known for having a high tax rate although when taking to account other costs of doing business (wages, benefits, cost of living, etc.) it balances out. The Danish tax regime relies heavily on direct taxes, such as taxes from labor, but there is little to no dependence on indirect taxes, such as social security and contributions from employers. Managing Interdependence Denmark is a significant player in the global market when it comes to social responsibility and ethics. It has the lowest rate of corruption of any other countries in the European Union. It also has very strict government regulations and very beneficial reasons to be socially responsible. Since the 1970’s, Danish environmental law has developed as part of public, private and European Community law. The National Agency for Environmental Protection, the National Forest and Nature Agency and the Department of Planning all make up the Ministry of the Environment. The have local and regional councils which are elected by the public and are responsible for environmental and planning procedures that conform to local wishes. Denmark is one of the few countries that have several kinds of green fees and green taxes. This is to motivate companies to use cleaner technologies, resource management, and/or environmental audit and management schemes. In 2008, Danish parliament passed a bill that forces large corporations to report on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their annual report. The Danish companies that have engaged in CSR have reported that it has had a positive effect on the companies. They claim that while it is flexible, it does bring up some legal burdens on them. It is the belief of the Danish government that the legal requirement marks the starting point for increased reporting on CSR, and in the forthcoming years the government intends to encourage progress and improvement of Danish businesses’ CSR work and reporting. Upon this laws implementation, 1100 companies were required to report CSR on their next annual reports. According to the 2009 reports, 89% of the required companies complied and 3% did not comply (8% complied by default because of being a subsidiary of a company that complied). The most common form of CSR among Danish companies related to environmental and climate issues. According to International Management, by Helen Deresky, Denmark is tied for the number one spot for the country with the least amount of corruption. This is because the Danish culture has a much more direct approach to business practices. They prefer openness and honesty, which sometimes seems rude to foreigners. It is clear to see that Denmark is ahead of almost all other countries in being Socially Responsible and having sound business ethics. For a new company, good ethics and social responsibility can be a make-it or break-it issue for a company. In one aspect, these issues can cost the company money. When just beginning, you should try to get your costs to be as low as possible. On the other hand, being viewed as an ethical company and by being socially responsible you improve the image and branding of the company. That will give the public a better perception of the company and can increase the demand for your product. Fortunately, in Denmark, only large companies are legally required to report their activities relating to social responsibility. While it would be a smart choice to make, not having to spend money on social responsibility during the beginning phases of the company will allow ease for penetrating the market and will allow us to be more socially responsible in the future. Overall, Denmark’s cost of doing business is about the same, if not lower than other countries, and the benefits of doing business in that country are much more significant. As long as our company helps locals and abides by their cultures and their rules, then the company should be very successful. Understanding the Role of Culture Before we can truly consider starting our business in Denmark, we need to understand the culture of the area. The viability of the economy, the labor market, the work environment, are all crucial to our success overseas. Taking the time to build a cultural profile of Denmark can help International Jean understand how to transition our business, and our expatriates to a very new experience. We begin our cultural profile by looking at the Government and Economic systems of Denmark. The politics of Denmark could best be described as a â€Å"Social Democracy† Though they do have a constitutional monarchy, like England it is a mostly ceremonial position. Elections occur democratically, similar to the United States without the Electoral College, which leads to a more direct representation of democracy. There are very low levels of corruption, not just in Denmark but in the entirety of the surrounding Nordic countries. As far as picking a market to operate out of, Denmark is a very excellent selection. Denmark has a prosperous, well-developed mixed market economy, ranking 16th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita. They use the Nordic Model, which is a version of what is traditionally called a â€Å"welfare state† The Nordic Model differs from other welfare states with an emphasis on maximizing labor force participation, promoting wage and gender equality, and a large amount of wealth distribution. A so called â€Å"welfare state† goes hand in hand with wealth distribution, citizens can count on monetary support during periods of unemployment and on welfare. The redistribution of wealth goes towards many societal needs, which will be explained further. Furthering supporting our transition, Denmark features low barriers to free trade, as well as little product market regulation. In fact, according to OECD rankings, Denmark has one of the highest ratings as far as product market freedom is concerned. We will be able to easily enter into this market, and will have a lot of freedom in regards to product selection, as well as advertising and marketing. This plays into the next few sections of our cultural profile: Kinship and attitudes towards leisure and recreation. Denmark, similar to most of the Nordic region, is one of the most liberal nations in Europe. They have an open attitude towards sex, nudity, and freedom of expression. As you walk around cities in Denmark, you can find advertising that features risquà © situations, and even cursing. The people of Denmark tend to have a darker sense of humor than what we’re acclimated to here in the United States, and often find ways to poke fun even at traditionally somber topics like death. Though we should be careful of how we utilize humor, both in our advertisements and in our work environment. Though good natured, citizens here tend to intensely dislike any joking at the expense of Denmark and its culture, particularly from outsiders. They are very proud of their country, and their family units reflect this. Families in Denmark are traditionally tight, well-knit units, who enjoy a good quality of life. They tend to live a relaxed lifestyle with a focus on family and friends. Bicycles are one of the predominant ways to travel around, especially in bigger cities like Copenhagen. We come to a big difference between the United States and Denmark, in terms of the attitude towards work. Whereas most Americans â€Å"work to live†, in Denmark the opposite is true. The Danish are taught from an early age to choose a profession that they would enjoy working, as opposed to a job taken out of financial necessity. This is reflected on Denmark’s scores in G.L.O.B.E/ Hofstede cultural dimension rankings in â€Å"masculinity†, which are very low, as well as â€Å"Uncertainty Avoidance† also being low. This is partly due to the fact that most of the labor market is a part of Trade Unions, as of 2008 Denmark had 67.6% labor union density. There is a partnership between employers, trade unions and the government, whereby these social partners negotiate the terms to regulating the workplace among themselves, rather than the terms being imposed by law. As we transition, we will need to make contact with these unions, and work closely with them to come up with rules and regulations for International Jeans that work for the native population. Another workplace difference is in the amount of work per week and the vacation time allotted. The Danish work an average of 37 hours a week, generally calling it a day around 4pm local time. Expatriates should be made aware that the Danish are not impressed with managers that work 50-60 hours a week. As mentioned previously, they believe in a balance between work and life, and would view those who worked considerably more hours to be less efficient at their jobs. In the United States, there are no laws concerning paid vacations or time off. To contrast, in Denmark paid time off is actually mandated by law. The Danish usually receive a minimum of 5 weeks of vacation, plus national holidays. These are factors we need to consider when hiring local workers. Other characteristics of the Danish work environment include high job mobility, as employees and managers are encouraged to take risks and make decisions that a more conservative American manager might not make. In general, Danish company activities are less structured and less formal, which is reflected again by the low score in the â€Å"Uncertainty Avoidance† category. There is a low level of Assertiveness on the Hofstede scale, as the strength of unions and the desire of the Danish to care about their work come together to make a highly productive and group oriented workplace. We would do well to hire a lot of local talent immediately. We mentioned the large amount of wealth distribution earlier. Denmark ranks highly on the Collectivism scale. Being a social welfare economy, much of that money is poured into both the Educational system as well as Healthcare. The Danish education system provides access to primary school, secondary school and higher education. All university education in Denmark is free; there are no tuition fees to enroll in courses. Danish universities and other higher education institutions offer international students a range of opportunities for obtaining an internationally recognized qualification in Denmark, and many classes are taught in English. Our company should take advantage of this when looking to hire. In addition to free education, there is also Universal Healthcare for all Danish citizens, paid primarily by taxes. Denmark spends 9.8% of GDP on healthcare. The life expectancy in Denmark is 78.6 years, and there is one doctor for every 294 persons in Denmark. It should be noted, that these social services also leads to a high tax rate for Danish citizens, hovering near 48-49% Communicating Across Cultures As we work towards bringing International Jean Co. to Denmark, we need to be aware of the similarities and differences in the way our two countries communicate. The characteristics of that communication, and the interplay between American expatriates and Danish locals will determine how well our new company will function as an overseas entity. We will begin by looking at native language, as well as the amount of English saturation in Denmark. The native language of Denmark is Danish, with other regional languages such as Faroese, Greenlandic, and German officially recognized. In selecting expatriates, we should look to be choosing managers that are able to speak Danish, or willing to quickly learn. However, we shouldn’t feel like the ability to speak the language is mandatory for expatriates. One of the great aspects of setting up our business in Denmark is that there is a very high proportion of Danish citizens who speak English. In the educational system, it is taught as the primary foreign language. English will be spoken and written well by all relevant levels of the workforce. This is further demonstrated by the fact that many commercials and advertisements, as well as trademarks, are used directly in Denmark without translation. The people of Denmark are, generally speaking, friendly but blunt in their speech with one another. Concerning Hofstede dimensions, they rank very highly in the â€Å"Humane† category. They tend to shy away from confrontation, so our expatriates are going to need to tread softly when it comes to moment of direct communication regarding mistakes or problems. Direct debate is encouraged, but keeping confrontational phrasing out of it is important. The Danish tend to be very plain speaking when communicating, which can be mistaken for rudeness in other cultures. Our managers need to be aware of this, so they know that they aren’t necessarily being insulted when talking about work issues. Like the United States, Denmark is a â€Å"low-context† culture. They tend to be direct and explicit when communicating among one another, and tend not to rely on non-verbal communication. They prefer to have direct conversations, either by phone or face-to-face, though increasingly more electronic communication has taken over. Also like the United States, Denmark is also considered a â€Å"low-contact† culture. They prefer a minimum of an arm’s length of personal space, and do not enjoy overly aggressive physical contact. Body language is very restricted, which can make interpreting responses and feedback difficult. Time is another major factor that we as Americans have in common with Denmark. The Danish follow a monochronic time system, which is more linear in structure as compared to polychronic time. Those practicing monochromic time, such as the Danish, tend to complete tasks one at a time as well as adhere to a stricter schedule. We also share similar views on proxemics, or proximity. The Danish see larger offices and more space as reflective of having more power and esteem. The United States and Denmark have a surprising amount of similarities in how we communicate, both in regards to interpersonal communication as well as in a work environment. This should greatly aid International Jean Co. in a smooth transition from the United States to Denmark. Cross-Cultural Negotiation and Decision Making The Negotiation Process: Danish people of business are usually very experienced in interacting and doing business with visitors from other cultures. They pride themselves on their Danish culture and tend to sometimes not be very open to information or assistance from the outside. Similar to many other countries, people of Denmark shake hands upon meeting. This is also the case when departing. It is good to familiarize yourself with the Danish culture before going in full steam. The Danish official language resembles Swedish and Norwegian, and shares a few commonalities with German, but DO NOT remark or even assume that they are similar. Most businessmen and women in Denmark speak English well, but it is recommended to stay away from using jargon and slang. Danes like to leave space between themselves when interacting, so be aware of other’s personal space and try not to be too touchy-feely. They usually speak in quiet, gentle tones and interrupting is considered rude. Danes usually do not openly show their emotions. Come well prepared! The Danes are meticulous when it comes to analyzing information and proposals. Know your information and bring in copies for your Danish counterpart to examine. Everything should be well organized and do not steer off topic; straight and to the point. Business relationships are often only fairly important in the country, and are typically not a needed requirement for initial business interactions. Just like your goal is to get to know one’s contacts in a host country and build mutual trust before embarking on business discussion and transaction, your counterpart is also trying to learn about you. Danes are cautious and appear to be reserved and proceed slow. Once the trust is well known, there will be a sense of allegiance to you as a respected business partner. Denmark is a democratic and understanding country. It can be cohesive to criticize other people or systems. Bosses are expected to be team leaders rather than private decision-makers. In the country’s business culture, the respect a person takes pleasure in depends mainly on his or her achievements. Well-liked personal traits include individual initiative, knowledge, and expertise. To the Danes, negotiation is a joint problem solving process and the buyer and seller in a deal are equal partners. The primary negotiation style is cooperative and they believe in the concept win-win. It is strongly advisable to avoid any open disagreement and to remain calm, friendly, patient, and determined. The Danish believe in information sharing as a way to build trust with their counterparts but this doesn’t mean that they are going to say everything. A good part of the communication may be in writing, which Danes often prefer. They move through things rather quick and are less observant over detail. They strive to conclude negotiations quickly but this does not mean they will readily accept unfavorable terms. Danes do not like bargaining or haggling such that they do not appreciate aggressive sales techniques. They do prefer negotiating in a straightforward and honest style and may use pressure techniques. When persuading your counterpart avoid aggressive tactics and negotiating with the Danish. If confronted, they will not shy away, but this is almost guaranteed to deteriorate your bargaining position rather than strengthen it. It can also eliminate your relationship. Although a verbal agreement can be considered binding and will most likely be kept, do not consider them final. Only a contract that is signed by the two parties makes up a binding agreement. Written contracts are a serious matter in Denmark. It is best to keep them concise without including too many legalistic details. Signing the contract not only shows your commitment but a strong confirmation of your Danish partners’ commitment also. Works Cited Brunson, Winnon â€Å"Cultural Perspective: A Year in Denmark† 2008 http://blogs.denmark.dk/winnon â€Å"Danish Communication Styles† 2012 http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Danish-Business-Communication-Style.html â€Å"ET Ã…R I KØBENHAVN: FOLKESUNDHED OG KULTUR† 2011 http://brunsonw.wordpress.com/tag/denmark-and-u-s-cultural-differences â€Å"The Monarchy today† – The Danish Monarchy 16, June 2012 kongehuset.dk â€Å"ETLA: The Nordic Model† http://www.etla.fi/files/1892_the_nordic_model_complete.pdf â€Å"The Nordic Model† Nordic Labour Journal: In Focus. 2001 http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/i-fokus/in-focus-2001/the-nordic-model â€Å"Business Negotiations in Denmark† http://www.danishnet.com/info.php/business/negotiation-76.html â€Å"Business Etiquette in Denmark† http://www.danishnet.com/info.php/business/meeting-etiquette-38.html â€Å"Negotiating International Business The Negotiator’s Reference Guide to 50 Countries Around the World† Katz, Lothar. 2007 www.globalnegotiationresources.com/cou/Denmark.pdf â€Å"Doing Business in Denmark† Kroman, Reumart. 11 February, 2005. www.mittlerer-niederhein.ihk.de/media/upload/ihk/imap//daenemark_doing_business_050211

Shakespeares Othello - Desdemona the Wonderful Essay -- Othello essay

Othello: Desdemona the Wonderful  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   The innocent and charming personality of the wife of the general in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello can hardly be rivaled – and yet she died the victim of a horrible murder. Let’s consider her case in this essay.    Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar in â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello† comment on the virtue within the innocent wife of the Moor, and how pain came into her life:    Desdemona is warmhearted, tender, faithful, and much in love with her husband. No thought is further from her mind than the infidelity that Iago suggests to Othello. The suspense of the play increases as we watch Iago subtly poison Othello’s mind and witness Desdemona’s bewilderment, despair, and ultimate death, and this suspense is retained until the last lines when the spectator is left to imagine the tortures awaiting Iago, who is dragged off the stage to judgment.(129)    Just how innocent is the heroine? Robert Di Yanni in â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue† examines the dialogue between Desdemona and Emilia, and finds that it reveals the former’s innocence:    In this dialogue we not only see and hear evidence of a radical difference of values, but we observe a striking difference of character. Desdemona’s innocence is underscored by her unwillingness to be unfaithful to her husband; her naivete, by her inability to believe in any woman’s infidelity. Emilia is willing to compromise her virtue and finds enough practical reasons to assure herself of its correctness. Her joking tone and bluntness also contrast with Desdemona’s solemnity and inability to name directly what she is referring to: adultery.(122)    Angela Pitt in â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tra... ...   Di Yanni, Robert. â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.   

Margaret (peggy) Timberlake Eaton Essays -- essays research papers

Margaret (Peggy) O’Neal (who preffered to be called Margaret) was born in 1799 in Washington DC. She was the daughter of William O’Neal, who owned a thriving boarding house and tavern called the Franklin House in that same town. It was frequented by senators, congressmen, and all politicians. She was the oldest of six children, growing up in the midst of our nation’s emerging political scene. She was always a favorite of the visitors to the Franklin House. She was sent to one of the best schools in Washington DC, where she studied English and French grammar, needlework and music. She also had quite a talent for dance, and was sent to private lessons, becoming a very good dancer. At the age of twelve, she danced for the First Lady Dolley Madison. Visitors of the Franklin House also commented on her piano playing skills. During Margaret’s teenage years, there were many rumors circulating about her romances. The stories included one of a suitor who swallowed poison after she refused to return his affections, one of her being briefly linked to the son of President Jefferson’s treasury secretary, and one of her botched elopement to a young aide of General Winfield Scott. As the story goes, she accidentally kicked over a flowerpot during her climb down from a bedroom window, which woke her father, who promptly dragged her back inside. When Jackson first met Margaret at the age of 24, he took an immediate liking to her. The tavern had been recommended to him by his close friend John Henry Eaton, who would later marry Miss O’Neal and cause quite a scandal. Jackson’s wife, when meeting Margaret a year later, was equally taken with her. Margaret married a navy purser named John Bowie Timberlake. They had three children together, one whom died while still an infant. When John was gone at sea, John Eaton entered the picture again, escorting Margaret on drives and to parties. The rumors flew around town of Margaret and Eaton’s supposed affair, and of her husband’s drunkenness. The people around town were all saying that the reason Timberlake kept sailing was to avoid his wife’s obvious philandering. Timberlake was soon reassigned to the Mediterranean squadron. The Mediterranean was very hot and contained few friendly ports in those days, making it a less than pleasant assignment. Timberlake died while in the Mediterranean, the official cause was pulmonary disease. ... .... It was common protocol that if two members of the cabinet resigned, the rest would do so out of courtesy in order to allow the president to reorganize his cabinet. With some resistance, all of the cabinet members resigned, allowing Jackson to rename the members and hopefully end the affair once and for all. The newspapers attributed the cabinet’s fall the Margaret Eaton, and everyone thought that Jackson had doomed any hope for reelection. Jackson was reelected, with Van Buren as a running mate. He quickly sent Eaton to the Florida territory, where he became governor. Two years later, Jackson appointed Eaton as the United States minister to Spain. Margaret and John thoroughly enjoyed their lives in Spain for a period of four years. John Eaton died in 1856, leaving Margaret a small fortune. She lived in Washington DC with her two daughters, both of whom married into high society. It seemed as though Margaret finally had the societal life and respect she had always wanted. She changed all of that when, at the age of 59, she married her granddaughter’s 19 year old dance tutor, Antonio Buchignani. A mere five years later, he ran off to Italy with her money and her granddaughter.

Language

To have another language is to possess a second soul. † said Charlemagne, which may sound like a clich © but is actually very accurate. I believe that learning a language expands our life views and provides us some significant opportunities. Firstly, I strongly believe that the language we learn directly affects our way of thinking as we start to think in that particular language.For example Turkish is my mother tongue and I am learning English as a second language, so I know that there s not exact translation for most of the words from Turkish to English. In this situation if I think like a Turkish, I will probably be misunderstood and cannot state my ideas clearly. So I have to think like an American when I am speaking English to appropriately express my thoughts. This way I will have a different way of thinking of a different culture and I can get to know that culture better.I think this experience ives me a second identity, and this second identity diversifies the way I l ook at the things as well as my knowledge. In other words, I become a different person than I was before I learned that particular language. The other benefit of learning a second language is obviously being able to communicate with many people. Especially when a person is learning a widely spoken language like English or Spanish, it becomes a lot easier to get to know other people from different countries nd cultures.Additionally learning foreign languages provides huge benefits when it comes to the career, as it is a necessity to know foreign languages to apply for a Job or to work abroad. In conclusion learning a new language will expand our knowledge of the world as we have the mentality of a foreign culture while speaking that language and we gain a second identity with that experience. And of course new languages provide us to get to know more people and contribute to our success.

Exponential Functions - How to Find the Starting Value

Exponential Functions - How to Find the Starting Value Exponential functions tell the stories of explosive change. The two types of exponential functions are exponential growth and exponential decay. Four variables - percent change, time, the amount at the beginning of the time period, and the amount at the end of the time period - play roles in exponential functions. This article focuses on how to find the amount at the beginning of the time period, a. Exponential Growth Exponential growth: the change that occurs when an original amount is increased by a consistent rate over a period of time Exponential Growth in Real Life: Values of home pricesValues of investmentsIncreased membership of a popular social networking site Heres an exponential growth function: y a(1 b)x y: Final amount remaining over a period of timea: The original amountx: TimeThe growth factor is (1 b).The variable, b, is percent change in decimal form. Exponential Decay Exponential decay: the change that occurs when an original amount is reduced by a consistent rate over a period of time Exponential Decay in Real Life: Decline of Newspaper ReadershipDecline of strokes in the U.S.Number of people remaining in a hurricane-stricken city Heres an exponential decay function: y a(1-b)x y: Final amount remaining after the decay over a period of timea: The original amountx: TimeThe decay factor is (1-b).The variable, b, is percent decrease in decimal form. Purpose of Finding the Original Amount Six years from now, perhaps you want to pursue an undergraduate degree at Dream University. With a $120,000 price tag, Dream University evokes financial night terrors. After sleepless nights, you, Mom, and Dad meet with a financial planner. Your parents bloodshot eyes clear up when the planner reveals an investment with an 8% growth rate that can help your family reach the $120,000 target. Study hard. If you and your parents invest $75,620.36 today, then Dream University will become your reality. How to Solve for the Original Amount of an Exponential Function This function describes the exponential growth of the investment: 120,000 a(1 .08)6 120,000: Final amount remaining after 6 years.08: Yearly growth rate6: The number of years for the investment to growa: The initial amount that your family invested Hint: Thanks to the symmetric property of equality, 120,000 a(1 .08)6 is the same as a(1 .08)6 120,000. (Symmetric property of equality: If 10 5 15, then 15 10 5.) If you prefer to rewrite the equation with the constant, 120,000, on the right of the equation, then do so. a(1 .08)6 120,000 Granted, the equation doesnt look like a linear equation (6a $120,000), but its solvable. Stick with it! a(1 .08)6 120,000 Be careful: Do not solve this exponential equation by dividing 120,000 by 6. Its a tempting math no-no. 1. Use Order of Operations to simplify. a(1 .08)6 120,000 a(1.08)6 120,000 (Parenthesis) a(1.586874323) 120,000 (Exponent) 2. Solve by Dividing a(1.586874323) 120,000 a(1.586874323)/(1.586874323) 120,000/(1.586874323) 1a 75,620.35523 a 75,620.35523 The original amount, or the amount that your family should invest, is approximately $75,620.36. 3. Freeze -youre not done yet. Use order of operations to check your answer. 120,000 a(1 .08)6 120,000 75,620.35523(1 .08)6 120,000 75,620.35523(1.08)6 (Parenthesis) 120,000 75,620.35523(1.586874323) (Exponent) 120,000 120,000 (Multiplication) Practice Exercises: Answers and Explanations Here are examples of how to solve for the original amount, given the exponential function: 84 a(1.31)7Use Order of Operations to simplify.84 a(1.31)7 (Parenthesis) 84 a(6.620626219) (Exponent)Divide to solve.84/6.620626219 a(6.620626219)/6.62062621912.68762157 1a12.68762157 aUse Order of Operations to check your answer.84 12.68762157(1.31)7 (Parenthesis)84 12.68762157(6.620626219) (Exponent)84 84 (Multiplication)a(1 -.65)3 56Use Order of Operations to simplify.a(.35)3 56 (Parenthesis)a(.042875) 56 (Exponent)Divide to solve.a(.042875)/.042875 56/.042875a 1,306.122449Use Order of Operations to check your answer.a(1 -.65)3 561,306.122449(.35)3 56 (Parenthesis)1,306.122449(.042875) 56 (Exponent)56 56 (Multiply)a(1 .10)5 100,000Use Order of Operations to simplify.a(1.10)5 100,000 (Parenthesis)a(1.61051) 100,000 (Exponent)Divide to solve.a(1.61051)/1.61051 100,000/1.61051a 62,092.13231Use Order of Operations to check your answer.62,092.13231(1 .10)5 100,00062,092.13231(1.10)5 100,000 (Parenthesis)62,092.13231(1.61051) 100,000 (Exponent)100,000 100,00 0 (Multiply) 8,200 a(1.20)15Use Order of Operations to simplify.8,200 a(1.20)15 (Exponent)8,200 a(15.40702157)Divide to solve.8,200/15.40702157 a(15.40702157)/15.40702157532.2248665 1a532.2248665 aUse Order of Operations to check your answer.8,200 532.2248665(1.20)158,200 532.2248665(15.40702157) (Exponent)8,200 8200 (Well, 8,199.9999...Just a bit of a rounding error.) (Multiply.)a(1 -.33)2 1,000Use Order of Operations to simplify.a(.67)2 1,000 (Parenthesis)a(.4489) 1,000 (Exponent)Divide to solve.a(.4489)/.4489 1,000/.44891a 2,227.667632a 2,227.667632Use Order of Operations to check your answer.2,227.667632(1 -.33)2 1,0002,227.667632(.67)2 1,000 (Parenthesis)2,227.667632(.4489) 1,000 (Exponent)1,000 1,000 (Multiply)a(.25)4 750Use Order of Operations to simplify.a(.00390625) 750 (Exponent)Divide to solve.a(.00390625)/00390625 750/.003906251a 192,000a 192,000Use Order of Operations to check your answer.192,000(.25)4 750192,000(.00390625) 750750 750

Ethnic and racial identity and adolescent Well-Being The WritePass Journal

Ethnic and racial identity and adolescent Well-Being Bibliography Ethnic and racial identity and adolescent Well-Being Identity is often termed as a way of thinking and analysing about oneself, which usually takes place during adolescence. However some studies have suggested that the development of identity starts with the infant’s discovery of self, which as a result continues throughout childhood. This then eventually becomes the main centre of attention during adolescence, which clearly indicates the importance of understanding ones identity. Similarly understanding the ethnic part of identity is also regarded as a vital task of self discovery. As to why adolescence during the process of understanding their identity they also begin exploring their culture as well as their ethnic background. This article analyses the empirical and theoretical literatures that notifies us about the development of a positive understanding of oneself, mentally as well as ethnically. This article also explores how exploring the ethnic identity affects the mental health of the adolescent. This article also reviews this specific area of study by including research on both behavioural and the psychological outcomes of the adolescent in regards to discrimination, their mental health and the relationship in the midst of the ethnic identity. However the authors have specifically paid more attention to the ethnic identity and the academic achievement of the adolescent. Since these two factors often tend to have a link according to some studies. Similarly this is what Phinney and Kohatsu (1997) have suggested, as they argued that the achievement of a positive ethnic identity can eventually lead to a higher self esteem, better relations with friends and family but more importantly better grades. As during early adolescents some adolescents may often tend to deny any form of interest in their cultural or racial background but they quickly however become more and more aware of it due to conflicts that maybe occurring between their subculture and the dominant culture. As a result of these conflicts  Ã‚   some adolescents begin to develop some form of understanding of their heritage and background. This new knowledge that the adolescent has gained as result can encourage a sense of pride and acknowledgment of their ethnic bac kground. An increase number of research has suggested that adolescents of colour, ethnic identity in actual fact plays a major role in healthy changes that occur in their lives. Rotheran and Phinney (1998) have similarly suggested that ethnic and racial attitudes among the majority of children seem to have come together by about the age of 10 years. According to Rotheran and Phinney (1998) this outlines how important it is to examine and analyse the role that ethnic identity plays in the development of early adolescents. Other research have found that among minorities, at about only one and a half have not explored their ethnicity, about one quarter have been involved in exploring it and finally about one quarter have explored it and were committed to an ethnic identity. Phinney (1992) analysed that the procedure of developing the identity were alike across the three minority groups that the research was based on however particular issues that the each group were facing were very different. As Phinney and Kohatsu (1997) also gathered that unlike most Caucasian adolescents, the minority adolescents feel that they are required to make the decision of what extent their racial or cultural background will be part of their identity. As painful issues regarding ways in which their subculture is identified in society can lead to racism or inequality. This very common during early adolescence where minority adolescents tend to show any interest in their racial or cultural background. Similarly for example a headscarf; this item is often seen as religious as well as a cultural garment where the individual may feel they need to adjust it in order to avoid isolation or discrimination. Instead they may wear a more acceptable head garment or clothing in order to fit in with everyone else. Society is becoming more multicultural and multiethnic and being part of an ethnic group has become an important part of personal identity for most adolescents. During this specific phase or stage in life the adolescents often faces physical and mental adjustments. Arguably this particular stage in life is often associated with substantial number of changes in one’s self. Erikson (1968) and Blos (1962, 1979) both suggested that adolescence is regarded as a major life stage in terms of the formation ones identity as well as the development of the social perspective of life. Erikson (1968) and Blos (1962, 1979) argued that in order for the adolescent to understand the social aspect of their identity they must receive community acceptance for their behaviour.   Erikson (1968) in particular discussed the role intergenerational socialization plays in society. Intergenerational socialization suggests the social interaction between members of different generations.   Erikson (1968) further added that society therefore is required to provide a shared values and interests. This is to prevent the clashing of different values and beliefs but instead this allows those members of different generations to have shared ideas on what norms, values and beliefs are. According to Rotheran and Phinney (1987), they defined ethnic identity as one’s sense of belonging to particular ethnic group. Rotheran and Phinney (1987) also added that becoming a member of a specific ethnic group can somewhat determine the perceptions, thoughts, feelings and attitudes of certain issues regarding society. Rosenthal and Feldman (1992) suggested that because the family equips the child with their first experience as members of a specific ethnic group, it is therefore evident that parent’s have some form of involvement in the adolescents understanding of ethnic identity. Similarly Rosenthal and Feldman (1992) argued that those adolescents, who are confronted with conflicts with their own ethnic identity, may have been facilitated from the parent’s difficulties with the process of accepting their own ethnic identity. With the increased ethnic diversity in society, adolescents as a result are now interacting across ethnic and racial lines within their schools and communities that are a making the differences amongst ethnicity more apparent. As one is more likely to identify how different another’s ethnic identity is. According to Maldonado (1975) ethnic self-identity is a term used to define the combination of race, self image and self concept. It is when one fully recognizes their ethnicity instead of the self image that is based on the views and prejudices of the larger society towards a specific ethnic group. Maldonado (1975) argued that ethnic identity forms from within rather than the stereotypical images society imposes on ethnic identities. However Maldonado (1975) did state that it is important to mention that the stereotypes that are formed by the large society on certain ethnic groups can be a positive addition to the adolescent’s sense of pride or shame regarding their own ethnicity. Maldonado (1975) also insisted that this stereotype formed by the larger society can be the basis for the adolescent recognizing why they are faced with identity conflicts. A number of researchers have modelled what the process of ethnic development includes. Many of these models of ethnic identity and racial identity developments have been based on the work of Erik Erikson (1968). According to Erikson (1968) during the fifth stage of his model, the adolescent’s identity development becomes the primary developmental task in others words the most important part of their development. During this specific time, Erikson (1968) argued that adolescent starts the process of self discovery in many aspects of their life regarding their future, their career, their religious and cultural identity but also their racial and ethnic identity. Whereas Marcia (1980) argued that one views their identity as a structure of beliefs or past experiences regarding their self.   According to Marcia (1980) the better developed the structure of the individual’s identity is, the more able they are in identifying their own strengths and weakness. However the less developed the structure of their identity is, the more confused the individual may seem about their own individuality from others in which instead they may have to rely on outer sources to assess themselves. Furthermore Marcia (1980) regarded identity as a dynamic, not a motionless psychological structure. The way the adolescent’s identity is arranged sets the stage for changes that will continue to occur throughout the adult years until one is content with their identity. Many researchers have disagreed on the use of the terms ethnicity and race. As Marshall (2002) stated that both ethnicity and race are related to one another. However Marshall (2002) argued that ethnicity and race extends further than what is visible amongst specific groups, as this also includes the social history that these groups of individuals have experienced themselves which is different to other groups. This is because for example Afro- American groups are also known for their social history, as most of their ancestors have been part of the slavery this is what is recognisable within their racial or ethnic group other than their skin colour. Some researchers simply refer ethnic identity as a shared view of the world, language, behaviour which can also be associated with the cultural and religious background.   Alba and Waters (1990) analysed that ethnicity is regarded for some as an important factor of identity, in particular those who are from ethnic groups of colour in comparison to those who are from European/ White American backgrounds. Bernal and Knight (1993) also viewed ethnic identity as way of referring to one’s ethnic group membership. Bernal and Knight (1993) observed that ethnic identity is an essential aspect to the way an adolescent views themselves.   In addition to this Bernal and Knight (1993) argued that the ethnic identity of the adolescent is also associated with the feeling of belonging somewhere. Although there is a clear link between ethnic identity and group membership, Cross (1991) examined ethnic identity as not being a categorical variable. However Cross (1991) suggested that ethnic identity is rather a complex, multidimensional construct that is different dependent on what group the adolescent is part of. Races and ethnicity often play significant roles in minority group members self concept since these terms interact with the way society views them as well as the privileges that comes with it.   According to Wakefield and Hudley (2005) those adolescents with unexamined ethnic identities have not explored their ethnic membership group and therefore have very little understanding of issues regarding ethnicity and identity. Although at some point many adolescents may move into finding and searching for their ethnic identity. Contrary to Wakefield and Hudley (2005), some research has shown some disagreement as to what contributes to the developmental progression that occurs during adolescences in regards to ethnic identity. As some argue that when an adolescent has encountered some form of racial or discriminative abuse, this shifts gradually from unexamined ethnic identity to searching for their ethnic identity. However other research suggests that adolescents who live in multicultural societies happen to mature socially and cognitively because they are becoming more aware of their ethnic backgrounds where they then form some kind of desire or interest of understanding it better. Guanipa-Ho and Talley (1991) have both also suggested that ethnic identity is a fundamental component of how an individual functions psychologically.   Since one’s ethnic identity and self identity has proven to be highly influential to their behaviour which is also directly linked to their personality as well as their mental health. Moreover those adolescents who come from ethnic minority backgrounds must develop a positive as well ethnic and racial identity, this is so that they are able to protect and defend themselves against any racial, prejudice and discriminative abuse that still remains in society today. This for example the Black Americans often are viewed by the rest of America as low achievers in schools or involved with crime for instance. However Phinney (1992) analysed that belonging to a certain ethnic minority group doesn’t necessarily predict how high or low one’s self esteem is, whereas it is that sense of belonging that contributes to one’s self esteem. To conclude with, all these different findings agree that a positive and strong ethnic identity contributes to a good mental healthy which also encourages academic achievement.   An increasing number of studies have all suggested that the ethnic identity process determines how well the adolescent does academically but it can also trigger a number of negative factors which includes having low self esteem, getting involved with crime or drugs etc. Overall this article clearly outlines why it is essential that schools promote and encourage same race as well as cross race peer relationships. This is important as adolescents today live in a very diverse and multicultural society so it is important that they are not only surrounded with those people who are from similar as well as different ethnic, in order to prevent discrimination and racism. Bibliography Erikson, E. (1968) ‘Identity: youth and crisis, New York: New York Times company. Phinney, J. (1992) ‘The multi-group Ethnic Identity Measure: A new scale for use with adolescents and you adults from diverse groups’, Journal of adolescent Research, 7, (1), 156-176 Wakefield, W.D Hudley, C. (2005) ‘African American male adolescents’ preferences in responding to racial discrimination: Effects of ethnic identity and situational influences’, Adolescence, 40 (1) 237-256 Phinney, J. Kohatsu, E.L.   (1997) ‘Ethnic and Racial identity development and Mental health, in Schulenberg, J Maggs, J Hurrelmann, K. (ed.) Health risks and Developmental Transitions during Adolescence, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The structure of Tourism Industry Essays

The structure of Tourism Industry Essays The structure of Tourism Industry Essay The structure of Tourism Industry Essay Section 1 Introduction to the structure of Tourism Industry In this report, the structure of the current industry will be examined, according to Holloways model. According to Holloways there are four main sectors from both Private and Public Sector. They are Producers, Tour Operators and Brokers, Travel Agents and the Tourist (Holloway 1994:58) Producers Producers can exist from both Private and Public Sector. Public sector bodies tend to be particularly dominant in certain sectors of the attraction business, including museums, historic sites, galleries, theatres and leisure centers, for example. (Horner, S., Swarbrooke J., 1996: 280) Private Sector companies are particularly important players in certain sectors of the attraction business such as theme parks and industrial tourism (Horner, S., Swarbrooke J., 1996: 281) Producers consist of accommodation, carriers and man made attractions. Accommodation is, by a long way, the largest and most ubiquitous sub sector within the tourism economy. With few exceptions, tourists require a location where they can rest and revive during their travels through, or stay within, a tourism destination. (Cooper et all, 1998: 313) Transportation for tourism is an essential element of the tourist product in two ways: it is the means to reach the destination and it is necessary as a means of movement at the destination. Increasingly, as transport is viewed as part of leisure, the journey is at least as important as the destination itself. (Cooper et all, 1998: 271). Man made attractions, homes, ancient monuments, activity centres, theme parks and catering facilities are produced to serve tourists. Integration The term of integration is an economic concept to describe formal linking arrangements between one organization and another ( Cooper et all, 1998: 251) Vertical integration is the merging or acquisition of one organization with another or the development of a strategic alliance with another organization at a different level of the industry/distribution chain. It can be forward or backward vertical integration (Adopted from lecture notes) Horizontal integration is the merging of acquisition of one organization with another or the development of a strategic alliance with another organization on the same level of the chain of distribution or develops a new product which would become located on the same level(Adopted from lecture notes) Tourism has so much integration because of the benefits that can be obtained through integration and because tourism industry itself has highly competitive nature.First af all integration allows the added advantage of improved control over the quality of the product (Holloway 2002: 85) The benefits of the horizontal integration could be the expansion of the market share in existing markets, the reduction of levels of competition, the expansion into new markets provision of complementary products. Verticals integration benefits could be the control over access to and the cost of supplies and the control over distribution. Tourism as a service and its service product characteristics The four product characteristics are: * Intangibility * Perishability * Inseparability * Heterogeneity In Tourism, consumers often dont purchase products but services. It is difficult to use your senses to make a purchase decision because the service experience will be defined after the decision has been made. The service could be defined intangible when a customer receives a confirmation or a ticket by delivery after the purchase has been made. Also, sometimes in Tourism Industry, travelers make a decision according reputation. For example customers will obviously prefer the Holiday Inn instead of a guest house! The most intangible the product is, the greater interest for the marketing department to make as more as tangible they can. Perishability sometimes can lead to problems for many marketing departments in Tourism. The particular time when the customer is booking a ticket the service is manufactured at the same time as it is consumed. If the organizations staff is not present at the purchase time the opportunity is lost! Inseparability means that the customer often comes into direct contact with the services providers. If they dont do their job in a particular way in order to satisfy the customers needs, means a bad reputation to the organization. But also the opposite; the better the staff is the better reputation obtains. Finally, heterogeneity may cause problems but also to be a benefit for the organization. In a multi location hotel company one branch might be a bad reputation for the whole organization or a really good branch to save the reputation of the organisation. Nowadays the services of the Tourism Industry have changed in the way they are sold. Airline companies, train companies, travel agencies are selling their products on line through internet. The purchase of a ticket or a package holiday can be completed through internet. Introduction of Picnic Airways Picnic Airways is a privately well growing owned company, located within the transportation sector of the Tourism Industry. According to Holloways model, air, rail, sea and road transport are part of the carriers/transportation sector of the Industry. Section 2 Introduction Picnic Airways flies to five different destinations (Frankfurt, Munich, Parma, Pisa, Prague, and Rome. The expectations of the company is to expand its routes into Eastern Europe (Balkan Countries, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Yugoslavia). Some of these countries are going to join European Union such as, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Slovak Republic and Czech Republic. It would be useful to investigate the effect of these countries, which are going to join E.U., on Picnic Airways. There are many implications to operate the flights to these countries, externally (macro environment) and internally (micro environment). The Macro Environment The macro environment is made up of societal forces that can not be controlled by organisations. They can only try to anticipate them and respond to them as effectively as possible. (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996: 106) We are going to consider these factors by using a PESTLE analysis which refers to political, economical, socio cultural, technological, legal and environmental factors that affect Picnic Airways. Section 2.1 Political Issues Europe is clearly in a period of rapid political change, which is of great significance for the European tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996: 108). The European Commission affects tourism in a wide variety of ways EC Package Travel Directive * The activities of its directorate DG XXIII * Projects such as European Development Fund * EU campaigns, policy and strategy at a European Union level, such as, the Green Paper on Tourism Policy * The implementation of the single market * The deregulation and liberalization of air fares * And the single European currency. (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996:108). Section 2.2 Economic issues At the European level the key economic factors are increasingly those which are being influenced by the actions of the European Commission. They include: * Plans to abolish duty free sales between member states by the end of the decade(which is already implemented) * The idea of harmonizing sales taxes, both in terms of the rate and the goods and services on which they are levied * Deregulation and liberalization of markets that have been largely regulated by individual national governments, such as air travel. Also the single currency within the European Union. The tourist flows between member states, which have always been influenced by currency exchange rates. For example, the number of British visitors to France fell between 1992 and 1995 as the pound fell in value against the Franc fort from around 9.5 in summer 1992 to 7.40 in spring 1996. (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996:112). All these measures could be threat to airlines such Picnic Airways. Section 2.3 Sociological Issues These can be divided into several categories, namely: * Demographic factors, in other words, those concerned with population structure in terms of characteristics such as age, sex, religion, race, education and birth, death and fertility rates. * Social concerns crime, health and environmental issues * The emerge of distinctive subcultures within societies, that share certain values and perhaps characteristics as consumers. (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996:113). An AIDS epidemic threatens to explode in some of eastern Europes ex-Soviet bloc states if nothing is done to counter economic and social factors helping the disease to spread, a study said Wednesday. According to figures included in the report, HIV infection is running at 53.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Ukraine, 17.3 in Belarus, 12.9 in Poland and 10.8 in Moldova. Poverty and lack of social cohesion is rife in some countries in the region struggling to transform centrally planned structures into market-driven economies since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is not only economic reform which will determine the future, said the study. Social reform is essential, and this means addressing fundamental inequalities. (Agence France-Presse October 13, 1999) Alcohol consumption and psychosocial factors on health is being conducted in random samples of men and women aged 45-64 selected in Russia (city of Novosibirsk), Poland (2 districts of Krakow) and the Czech Republic (2 cities) three countries of Central and Eastern Europe undergoing rapid social and economic transition.(ucl.ac.uk/easteurope/hapiee.html) Section 2.4 Technological Issues Technological factors can be divided into several categories, namely: * Operational categories * Communication technologies * Transport technologies * Product technologies (Horner S., Swarbrooke J. 1996:118). Picnic Airways extended its number of aircraft from 4 to 8. That is a technological operational betterment of the company. As Picnic Airways is a low cost airline is better to relay on internet bookings like Easy Jet, because it is a good way to keep the costs low. Through Internet it will be the best way to attract passengers from Eastern Europe instead of branches in all the countries of Eastern Europe. Section 2.5 Legal Issues Legal issues include holiday entitlement health and safety issues, consumer protection and advertising. The Eastern European countries are of the poorest countries in Europe. The fact that they are going to be members of the European Union will improve the living standards the wages for the citizens. These countries will be conformed according to the EU law and regulations. Eastern Europe will be leaded to demand for tourism development. Section 2.6 Environmental Issues Environmental factor include issues like pollution and land use. The land use will be increased because of the new airports and the expansion of the old ones. The pollution will also be increased because of the fuels from aircrafts and air traffic Section 3 The Micro Environment To examine the Micro Environment, SWOT analysis will be useful. We are going to examine the Strengths the Weaknesses the Opportunities and the Threats that Picnic Airways face. As a basis for the companys planning further understanding of the organisations place within its market can be gained from a detailed consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of its current operations, and from scanning the various environment influences for threats and opportunities( Laws E., 1991:78) Section 3.1 Strengths Strengths are normally expressed as inherent current advantages, whether by earlier strategic decisions or historic good fortune. Strengths may exist in an organisations market / product portfolio and its operations in relation to competitors. Products with increasing shares of markets predicted to grow are obviously strengths. (Middleton V.T.C., Clarke J., 2001: 206) 1. Picnic Airways was able to attain considerable financial backing from financial investors. That means that the company will not face economical problem with purchasing new aircrafts, with employing more staff for aircrew and at the new destinations airports. Also there is not a problem for paying fees to the airports. 2. Hub airports like Heathrow and Gatwick are congested because host all airways companies. Picnic airways operates from East Midlands Airport which is uncontested and there will be no problem. Section 3.2 Weaknesses Weaknesses ranging ageing products in declining markets to surly customer contact staff, must also be clearly identified. Once identified, they may be subject to management action designed to minimize their impact or to remove them where possible. (Middleton V.T.C., Clarke J., 2001: 207) 1. Picnic Airways offers only a small number of destinations. Six destinations (Frankfurt, Munich, Parma, Pisa, Prague and Rome), only in three countries. 2. By operating the company from only one airport, East Midlands Airport, is limiting the potential market of customers. Section 3.3 Opportunities Opportunities in a marketing context may arise from elements of the business under direct control, such as a particular product or process, or a particular set of staff competencies. They may also arise from shifts in the external environment, which a firm may exploit. (Middleton V.T.C., Clarke J., 2001: 208) 1. Deregulation and liberalization of the skies would be an opportunity for Picnic airways because Eastern Europe will join the European Union in 2004. 2. Also the reduction in fuel prices constitutes an opportunity 3. New operational technologies, like smart cards are really vital for the company. Section 3.4 Threats Threats may be presented by internal elements within the businesss control or by external events such as exchange rate changes, rising oil prices or acts of international terrorism. (Middleton V.T.C., Clarke J., 2001: 208) 1. Due to the regulation and liberalization of the skies there will be an increased competition. 2. One of business biggest threats is the two other low cost airline companies, Easy Jet and Ryanair. These two companies would be able to drive away Picnic Airways because of the brand loyalty these companies have produced, if they would want to expand their business into the market of Eastern Europe. Section 4 Conclusion Concluding the findings of PESTLE and SWOT analysis it is worth for Picnic Airways to expand into the new market of Eastern Europe. It is a great opportunity because no famous airline company is established in Eastern Europe.

Life Span (Human Development)fe Span (Human Development) Essay

Life Span (Human Development)fe Span (Human Development) - Essay Example The basic theoretical issues in regard to this include: Issue 1: Is development active or reactive? Issue 2: Is development continuous or discontinuous? The mechanistic model believes that human development results from responses to stimuli, and the organismic model considers human development as a response that occurs from internal activeness. The five theoretical perspectives include psychoanalytic approach, learning theory, cognitive theory, contextual perspective, and evolutionary approach, which are further discussed in the following section (Chapter Two, n.d., pp.23-25). Cognitive developmental theories – This theory reflects on the development of reasoning and logical development of human beings from the time of their birth to infancy to the stage of adolescence. A key focus is concerned with the role that human culture and teaching processes have on human beings. Learning theories – This theory emphasizes on the theories that are learned by human beings over time, through observations and experiences clearing the understanding of individuals of values, expectancies, and goals. Cultural theory – This theory focuses on bringing out the culturally diverse world around human beings reflecting on the development of human beings that is based upon the guidance offered by the nature of culture. Social role theory – This theory emphasizes on the development of human beings in the context of social life. This determines the multiple social roles that human beings play in their lives over their development. Systems theory – This theory develops an understanding of the different elements in the system of human life that are interdependent on each other. Self-regulation and self-organization are guided by the behaviours of such elements. The debate of nature versus nature in relation to growth and development of human beings has been in

The impact of american TV series 'Gossip Girl' on young adult females Essay

The impact of american TV series 'Gossip Girl' on young adult females (consumerism, product placement, luxury lifestyle) - Essay Example The effort to induce positive perception in the consumers is so overwhelming that it has a tendency of affecting decisions of even the most knowledgeable buyers (Romeo, 2009, pp. 18-25). Television is a powerful medium that reaches billions of viewers on a daily basis (Turow, 2005, pp. 105-113). Trends introduced through this medium affect millions of young viewers on daily basis (Spalding, 2010). The same ambition is apparent inour targeted TV series Gossip Girl. The TV series is based on a best-selling series of novels written by Cecily von Ziegesar about rich families living on Upper Eastside in New York City. Although researches of Turow (2005, pp. 105-113) and Saplding (2010) illustrate how TV, especially sitcoms, affect behavior and preferences of consumers; Keum et al. (2004, pp. 372-391) present a different opinion by saying that media creates social consciousness and status consciousness which leads to spurring an awareness of the social responsibilities associated with cons uming and a pursuit of status-oriented lifestyles. This approach asserts that Gossip Girl also helped young women in becoming aware of latest fashion trends and also making informed decisions because of knowledge regarding substitutes of different products (Keum et al., 2004, pp. 372-391). Gossip Girl demonstrates lives of girls having strong liking for high-street brands which does not provide a reflection of a regular young girl. This research is intended to examine how young female adults are affected by TV shows like Gossip Girls and how the spending patterns and overall lifestyle of youth is affected by it globally (McRobbie, 2008, pp. 536-542). Similar TV series have been madewith the aim to inspire women and help them empower themselves howeverthese series have ultimately became tools of prestigious fashion brands for the purpose of targeting rather mature segment of women. Sex and the City is one of such series that transformed the fashion sense in women worldwide.Unlike regular TV series and sitcoms like Big Bang Theory having a waitress as a lead character and Two Broke Girls showing waitresses trying hard to make their ends meet, Gossip Girl has shown a diversion from regular girls’ persona to affluent and powerful outlook (Toffoletti, 2008, pp. 72-5) . Amongst young demographics, the most lucrative market segment is young, ready-to-spend, attention seeking teenage and adolescent girls (McRobbie, 2008, pp.534-37). With steady changes in consumer’s preferences, young females are always looking for the next big thing (McRobbie, 2008, pp. 534-536). It is observed that the pace of fashion brands launching new collections is much faster than it was some ten years ago. Although there can be various reasons for thatsuch as market competitionor increased consumer awareness, however, intention to capture major market share acts as a motivation for manufacturers to introduce new brands rather quickly (Hines, 20070.Surprisingly long females queue in lines to get their hands on the latest products which encourage companies to speed up their manufacturing and excessively use highly influential marketing campaigns such as ATL (above the line) and BTL (below the line) marketing techniques (Sands and Sands, 2012).In case of TV series, ATL activities are more effective as it involves use of search engines, social media and other media like TV, cinema, radio, newspaper etc. On the other hand, BTL activities include sales promotion strategies such as kiosk, email marketing etc. These techniques influence the buyer significantly and owning a product becomes a source of pride (Sands and Sands,

According to Hegel, how does the modern state actualize freedom Essay

According to Hegel, how does the modern state actualize freedom - Essay Example It also attempts to look carefully into the various prospects of the concept of freedom relevant for a modern state as well as the modern individual, and tries to find out if today’s individuals are contented with what Hegel provides in his explanation of freedom in the context of the modern state. Hegel’s view of freedom is closely associated with the broader prospects of human life. According to Hegel, human life is characterised by freedom, liberty and rights. In this context, freedom and rights are entailed by a sense of responsibility that provides the community a stable context in which morality and creativity can be expressed freely. Further, this sense of responsibility acknowledges the needs (not wants) of the people within a society. This responsibility is assigned to the state. If the needs of the people are not acknowledged by the state, it simply indicates that the freedom of these people is constrained. This is the fundamental cause of revolutions occurred in societies. Hegel in Section 258 in the Preface of Philosophy of Right mentions that it is the state in which â€Å"freedom attains its highest right†¦[It] has the highest right over the individual, whose highest duty in turn is to be a member of the state.† (Wood, 1991) Thus, the contexts of duties and rights are very essential to understand the concept of freedom in a state. While relating freedom of individuals with the duties of the state, Hegel states that it is the responsibility of the state to secure and protect property and personal freedom of individuals who are members of it. With its caprice, accident and myriad realities, the state can be conceived as â€Å"the ethical whole and the actualisation of freedom.† (Wood, 1991) Hegel further simplifies the concept of freedom by stating that the state embodies freedom of individuals by recognising and developing their personal individuality as well as particular interests. This individuality takes

San diego pension crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

San diego pension crisis - Research Paper Example This was a bad precedent that would set a devastating trend way into the future. Successive local governments would use the pension funds for other purposes when the economy started to slow down. To give an example, in 2002 when the city government was unable to give pay raises to employees, the city offered increases in pension of 25 percent. This was done despite the fact that the city’s cash contributions into the pension fund had lowered. It was under this corrupt scheme that the City Council promised to increase the pension benefits provided a plan that allowed the city reduce funding to the pension kitty was approved by the retirement board which is controlled by the labor union and city employees. Despite warnings issued by Diann Shipione, who was a trustee of the pension board, the underfunding was approved. Diann warned that the plan would in the long run bankrupt the city. A private attorney who represented the board also indicated that the plan was most likely illeg al. Mayor Dick Murphy, who was running for re-election in 2004, denied allegations that the city had serious financial problems at a time when deficit in the pension fund was close to hitting one billion dollars. Murphy was forced to resign later due to the pension scandal. In January 2006, seven people were indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud. These included the former pension systems director and the staff attorney. It is believed that this system of dipping into the pension funds was also emulated by other cities but its effects in San Diego were extreme. Recent efforts by Mayor Jerry Sanders to develop measures to salvage the pension situation have been met with resistance from different circles. The ballot measure which was proposed by the mayor and councilman Kevin Faulconer was put under a lot of scrutiny. The proposal would have overhauled the retirement benefits for the city workers. It was met by heavy criticism from both sides of the political divide. Councilman Carl DeMaio who developed another separate proposal on how to deal with the pension issue was one of the most vocal critics of the mayor’s proposal. He is at one time quoted to have referred to the mayor’s proposal as a toothless tiger (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†). He reiterated that the proposal did not comprehensively deal with the pension problems that the city faced. The proposal if approved would have introduced strict measures of conducting new hires for public safety jobs. It would also have eliminated guaranteed pensions for new hires and replaced this with 401(k) s (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†). The suggestion that guaranteed pensions for firefighters, police officers and lifeguards was not supported by politicians. Other leaders of unions especially those whose members were to be affected also vowed to rally their members to oppose the proposal. Frank De Clercq who heads the firefighters union in San Diego projected that if implemented ideals of the proposal will lead to challenges during recruitment into the affected jobs (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†).This is because people will be reluctant to risk their lives in jobs that do not guarantee their well being after retirement. He further added that firefighters risked their lives on a daily basis in order to save the lives of others (Gustafson, â€Å"San Diego Pension†). Jay Goldstone, who is the chief operating officer of the city, was of the opinion that a lot of savings were to be made

Consumer Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Responsibility - Essay Example Moreover, consumers are morally responsible for poor working conditions in factories. When consumers demand reduction in price, factories respond by cutting down operational and maintenance cost. This cost is very important for it allows factories provide the good working environment for their workers and dormitories as in the case of the suppliers firm in China, Wal-Mart. Moreover, consumers are morally responsible for poor working conditions in factories. When consumers demand reduction in price, factories respond by cutting down operational and maintenance cost. This cost is very important for it allows factories provide the good working environment for their workers and dormitories as in the case of the suppliers firm in China, Wal-Mart. Another harm the consumers are thought to bring his the employment of workers and employers of under-aged workers. When consumers press for low costs, in order to save more, supplier responds by developing strategies that will cut down on operati onal cost. One of these "strategies" is to lay off workers. Another option is to hire workers at a cheaper cost and this can only happen if the company employs customers close to the legal age but the true fact is that these workers have not attained the legal age to work.  In the Rama Plaza tragedy, consumer contributed a great percentage. Though society blamed the government, builders, and the factory owners for poorly maintaining the plaza, consumer demand for clothes at low prices, was a major contributing factor.

San diego pension crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

San diego pension crisis - Research Paper Example This was a bad precedent that would set a devastating trend way into the future. Successive local governments would use the pension funds for other purposes when the economy started to slow down. To give an example, in 2002 when the city government was unable to give pay raises to employees, the city offered increases in pension of 25 percent. This was done despite the fact that the city’s cash contributions into the pension fund had lowered. It was under this corrupt scheme that the City Council promised to increase the pension benefits provided a plan that allowed the city reduce funding to the pension kitty was approved by the retirement board which is controlled by the labor union and city employees. Despite warnings issued by Diann Shipione, who was a trustee of the pension board, the underfunding was approved. Diann warned that the plan would in the long run bankrupt the city. A private attorney who represented the board also indicated that the plan was most likely illeg al. Mayor Dick Murphy, who was running for re-election in 2004, denied allegations that the city had serious financial problems at a time when deficit in the pension fund was close to hitting one billion dollars. Murphy was forced to resign later due to the pension scandal. In January 2006, seven people were indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud. These included the former pension systems director and the staff attorney. It is believed that this system of dipping into the pension funds was also emulated by other cities but its effects in San Diego were extreme. Recent efforts by Mayor Jerry Sanders to develop measures to salvage the pension situation have been met with resistance from different circles. The ballot measure which was proposed by the mayor and councilman Kevin Faulconer was put under a lot of scrutiny. The proposal would have overhauled the retirement benefits for the city workers. It was met by heavy criticism from both sides of the political divide. Councilman Carl DeMaio who developed another separate proposal on how to deal with the pension issue was one of the most vocal critics of the mayor’s proposal. He is at one time quoted to have referred to the mayor’s proposal as a toothless tiger (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†). He reiterated that the proposal did not comprehensively deal with the pension problems that the city faced. The proposal if approved would have introduced strict measures of conducting new hires for public safety jobs. It would also have eliminated guaranteed pensions for new hires and replaced this with 401(k) s (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†). The suggestion that guaranteed pensions for firefighters, police officers and lifeguards was not supported by politicians. Other leaders of unions especially those whose members were to be affected also vowed to rally their members to oppose the proposal. Frank De Clercq who heads the firefighters union in San Diego projected that if implemented ideals of the proposal will lead to challenges during recruitment into the affected jobs (Gustafson, â€Å"Critics Say†).This is because people will be reluctant to risk their lives in jobs that do not guarantee their well being after retirement. He further added that firefighters risked their lives on a daily basis in order to save the lives of others (Gustafson, â€Å"San Diego Pension†). Jay Goldstone, who is the chief operating officer of the city, was of the opinion that a lot of savings were to be made

Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Cause and Effect - Essay Example However, there is also an underlying anxiety about entering a new and unfamiliar world full of new challenges; and a hint of doubt about one’s ability to manage so many new challenges. Suddenly being pitched from the comfort of familiarity into a bewildering world inhabited by people from different cultures and communities – a world full of innumerable choices and temptations could be daunting. Another factor to be considered is that parents too are proud of the achievements of their youngster and getting ready to give him/her more freedom albeit with a touch of anxiety. Under these circumstances, living with parents during one’s college years can have many benefits both for the parents as well as the student. A student on the threshold of college life looks forward to an exciting new phase of independence and new and varied experiences. However, transition from high school to college could be tough; considering that one suddenly is looked upon as a responsible adult. However the freedom one has from strict parental control can be very welcome. Yet, freedom brings with it the weight of responsibility too when one has to take the consequences of one’s actions. Juggling finances and striking the right balance between academics and the hectic social and co-curricular activities, and yet making time to focus on studies in order to get good grades, cannot be easy. The sudden exposure to new people, who may be from varied cultures and backgrounds, new ways of learning when one cannot depend on notes given by teachers, and a different social and cultural life, can be overwhelming. Choosing new friends with common interests and adding others who can aid in your personal development are exciting and fun but can drain one physically and emotionally. Hence having the familiarity of family to comeback to everyday can be a huge relief. One can get gradually acclimatized to new responsibilities and a new social and academic culture while still

Early River Civilizations Essay Example for Free

Early River Civilizations Essay Ancient river civilizations in the Mediterranean as well as Central and South America denote some of the world’s first civilizations. The Phoenician’s civilization was founded in what is now Lebanon, Syria, and parts of northern Africa, the Chavin society developed around modern day Peru where the Mosna and huachescsa rivers merge. The Phoenician civilization created their society around 1100 B. C. E and the Chavin civilization was established around from 900 B. C. E. The Phoenician and the Chavin showed many similarities and differences in the aspects of technological advancements, economics, and social behavior. The Chavin and the Phoenician displayed more differences than similarities because of their immensely different lands. The Phoenician and the Chavin both are famous for their innovations that left an impact on the world. However the way they impacted the world was different. The Chavin were very innovative people especially in architecture and metallurgy. They created systems to carry water great distances, and were able to use the water to irrigate their crops. They also used their architectural abilities to avoid certain underground temples from being flooded by creating canals to act as a drainage system. The Chavin also were some of the first to melt metals for soldering and gold work. The Phoenicians on the other hand left a much different legacy for the world. As opposed to the irrigation and metallurgy the Phoenicians were the first to use letters for writing records instead of images. The Phoenician alphabet did not have any vowels but it eventually was incorporated into the Greek alphabet, and Roman alphabet which was adapted to multiple languages, such as English. Economically, the Phoenicians were in much better shape than the Chavin. The Chavin were by no means in bad shape, but the Phoenicians excelled at economics. The port city of Tyre, prospered greatly because the Phoenicians traveled by sea exporting- wood, wine, fish, and fabrics/color dyes, which led to the Phoenician society growing quite wealthy. The Chavin on the other hand, did not export goods via the sea, they instead invested in transportation, creating paths and bridges over rivers in order for them to be able to trade their main export-llama meat. The social aspects of the two river civilizations were more dissimilar than most aspects of life. The chavin people domesticated llamas and used them in as many was as they could, mostly for travel and trade. They also created many great religious centers and were very artistic, creating thorough paintings and sculptures. At Chavin, shamans were the ones who had divine connections and authority in the civilization while the Phoenicians had kings to rule them. Another major difference is that the Phoenicians, in their small region, used alliances with larger civilizations like Persia to maintain freedom while the Chavin had surrounding societies admired the Chavin and even tried to mimic their ways. The ancient river civilizations, Chavin and Phoenician display many similarties and differences in their technological advancements, economics, and social behaviors. Because the Phoenicians traveled by the seas and had port cities they excelled more financially while the Chavin were more innovative. The Phoenicians created an alphabet while the Chavin domesticated animals, created irrigation, and worked metallurgy. Phoenicians exported many goods and became rich and the Chavin traveled on manmade paths to trade llama meat. Shamans influenced the Chavin and kings ruled the Phoenicians. . Due to their greatly different locations the two ancient river civilizations exhibited more differences than similarities.

H.264 Video Streaming System on Embedded Platform

H.264 Video Streaming System on Embedded Platform ABSTRACT The adoption of technological products like digital television and video conferencing has made video streaming an active research area. This report presents the integration of a video streamer module into a baseline H.264/AVC encoder running a TMSDM6446EVM embedded platform. The main objective of this project is to achieve real-time streaming of the baseline H.264/AVC video over a local area network (LAN) which is a part of the surveillance video system. The encoding of baseline H.264/AVC and the hardware components of the platform are first discussed. Various streaming protocols are studied in order to implement the video streamer on the DM6446 board. The multi-threaded application encoder program is used to encode raw video frames into H.264/AVC format onto a file. For the video streaming, open source Live555 MediaServer was used to stream video data to a remote VLC client over LAN. Initially, file streaming was implemented from PC to PC. Upon successfully implementation on PC, the video streamer was ported to the board. The steps involved in porting the Live555 application were also described in the report. Both unicast and multicast file streaming were implemented in the video streamer. Due to the problems of file streaming, the live streaming approach was adopted. Several methodologies were discussed in integrating the video streamer and the encoder program. Modification was made both the encoder program and the Live555 application to achieve live streaming of H.264/AVC video. Results of both file and live streaming will be shown in this report. The implemented video streamer module will be used as a base module of the video surveillance system. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Background Significant breakthroughs have been made over the last few years in the area of digital video compression technologies. As such applications making use of these technologies have also become prevalent and continue to be of active research topics today. For example, digital television and video conferencing are some of the applications that are now commonly encountered in our daily lives. One application of interest here is to make use of the technologies to implement a video camera surveillance system which can enhance the security of consumers business and home environment. In typical surveillance systems, the captured video is sent over a cable networks to be monitored and stored at remote stations. As the captured raw video contains large amount of data, it will be of advantage to first compress the data by using a compression technique before it is transferred over the network. One such compression technique that is suitable for this type of application is the H.264 coding standard. H.264 coding is better than the other coding technique for video streaming as it is more robust to data losses and coding efficiency, which are important factors when streaming is performed over a shared Local Area Network. As there is an increasing acceptance of H.264 coding and the availability of high computing power embedded systems, digital video surveillance system based on H.264 on embedded platform is hence a feasible and a potentially more cost-effective system. Implementing a H.264 video streaming system on an embedded platform is a logical extension of video surveillance systems which are still typical implemented using high computing power stations (e.g. PC). In a embedded version, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) forms the core of the embedded system and executes the intensive signal processing algorithm. Current embedded systems typical also include network features which enable the implementation of data streaming applications. To facilitate data streaming, a number of network protocol standards have also being defined, and are currently used for digital video applications. 1.2. Objective and Scope The objective of this final year project is to implement a video surveillance system based on the H.264 coding standard running on an embedded platform. Such a system contains extensive scopes of functionalities and would require extensive amount of development time if implemented from scratch. Hence this project is to focus on the data streaming aspect of a video surveillance system. After some initial investigation and experimentation, it is decided to confine the main scope of the project to developing a live streaming H.264 based video system running on a DM6446 EVM development platform. The breakdown of the work to be progressive performed are then identified as follows: 1. Familiarization of open source live555 streaming media server Due to the complexity of implementing the various standard protocols needed for multimedia streaming, the live555 media server program is used as a base to implement the streaming of the H.264.based video data. 2. Streaming of stored H.264 file over the network The live555 is then modified to support streaming of raw encoded H.264 file from the DM6446 EVM board over the network. Knowledge of H.264 coding standard is necessary in order to parse the file stream before streaming over the network. 3. Modifying a demo version of an encoder program and integrating it together with live555 to achieve live streaming The demo encoder was modified to send encoded video data to the Live555 program which would do the necessary packetization to be streamed over the network. Since data is passed from one process to another, various inter-process communication techniques were studied and used in this project. 1.3. Resources The resources used for this project are as follows: 1. DM6446 (DaVinciâ„ ¢) Evaluation Module 2. SWANN C500 Professional CCTV Camera Solution 400 TV Lines CCD Color Camera 3. LCD Display 4. IR Remote Control 5. TI Davinci demo version of MontaVista Linux Pro v4.0 6. A Personal Workstation with Centos v5.0 7. VLC player v.0.9.8a as client 8. Open source live555 program (downloaded from www.live555.com) The system setup of this project is shown below: 1.4. Report Organization This report consists of 7 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the motivation behind embedded video streaming system and defines the scope of the project. Chapter 2 illustrates the video literature review of the H.264/AVC video coding technique and the various streaming protocols which are to be implemented in the project. Chapter 3 explains the hardware literature review of the platform being used in the project. The architecture, memory management, inter-process communication and the software tools are also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 4 explains the execution of the encoder program of the DM6446EVM board. The interaction of the various threads in this multi-threaded application is also discussed to fully understand the encoder program. Chapter 5 gives an overview of the Live555 MediaServer which is used as a base to implement the video streamer module on the board. Adding support to unicast and multicast streaming, porting of live555 to the board and receiving video stream on remote VCL client are explained in this chapter. Chapter 6 explains the limitations of file streaming and moving towards live streaming system. Various integration methodologies and modification to both encoder program and live555 program are shown as well. Chapters 7 summarize the implementation results of file and live streaming, analysis the performance of these results. Chapter 8 gives the conclusion by stating the current limitation and problems, scope for future implementation. Chapter 2: Video Literature Review 2.1. H.264/AVC Video Codec Overview H.264 is the most advanced and latest video coding technique. Although there are many video coding schemes like H.26x and MPEG, H.264/AVC made many improvements and tools for coding efficiency and error resiliency. This chapter briefly will discuss the network aspect of the video coding technique. It will also cover error resiliency needed for transmission of video data over the network. For a more detailed explanation of the H.264/AVC, refer to appendix A. 2.1.1. Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) The aim of the NAL is to ensure that the data coming from the VCL layer is â€Å"network worthy† so that the data can be used for numerous systems. NAL facilitates the mapping of H.264/AVC VCL data for different transport layers such as: * RTP/IP real-time streaming over wired and wireless mediums * Different storage file formats such as MP4, MMS, AVI and etc. The concepts of NAL and error robustness techniques of the H.264/AVC will be discussed in the following parts of the report. NAL Units The encoded data from the VCL are packed into NAL units. A NAL unit represents a packet which makes up of a certain number of bytes. The first byte of the NAL unit is called the header byte which indicates the data type of the NAL unit. The remaining bytes make up the payload data of the NAL unit. The NAL unit structure allows provision for different transport systems namely packet-oriented and bit stream-oriented. To cater for bit stream-oriented transport systems like MPEG-2, the NAL units are organized into byte stream format. These units are prefixed by a specific start code prefix of three bytes which is namely 0x000001. The start code prefix indicates and the start of each NAL units and hence defining the boundaries of the units. For packet-oriented transport systems, the encoded video data are transported via packets defined by transport protocols. Hence, the boundaries of the NAL units are known without having to include start code prefix byte. The details of packetization of NAL units will be discussed in later sections of the report. NAL units are further categorized into two types: * VCL unit: comprises of encoded video data  · Non-VCL unit: comprises of additional information like parameter sets which is the important header information. Also contains supplementary enhancement information (SEI) which contains the timing information and other data which increases the usability of the decoded video signal. Access units A group of NAL units which adhere to a certain form is called a access unit. When one access unit is decoded, one decoded picture is formed. In the table 1 below, the functions of the NAL units derived from the access units are explained. Data/Error robustness techniques H.264/AVC has several techniques to mitigate error/data loss which is an essential quality when it comes to streaming applications. The techniques are as follows:  · Parameter sets: contains information that is being applied to large number of VCL NAL units. It comprises of two kinds of parameter sets: Sequence Parameter set (SPS) : Information pertaining to sequence of encoded picture Picture Parameter Set (PPS) : Information pertaining to one or more individual pictures The above mentioned parameters hardly changes and hence it need not be transmitted repeatedly and saves overhead. The parameter sets can be sent â€Å"in-band† which is carried in the same channel as the VCL NAL units. It can also be sent â€Å"out-of-band† using reliable transport protocol. Therefore, it enhances the resiliency towards data and error loss.  · Flexible Macroblock Ordering (FMO) FMO maps the macroblocks to different slice groups. In the event of any slice group loss, missing data is masked up by interpolating from the other slice groups.  · Redundancy Slices (RS) Redundant representation of the picture can be stored in the redundant slices. If the loss of the original slice occurs, the decoder can make use of the redundant slices to recover the original slice. These techniques introduced in the H.264/AVC makes the codec more robust and resilient towards data and error loss. 2.1.2. Profiles and Levels A profile of a codec is defined as the set of features identified to meet a certain specifications of intended applications For the H.264/AVC codec, it is defined as a set of features identified to generate a conforming bit stream. A level is imposes restrictions on some key parameters of the bit stream. In H.264/AVC, there are three profiles namely: Baseline, Main and Extended. 5 shows the relationship between these profiles. The Baseline profile is most likely to be used by network cameras and encoders as it requires limited computing resources. It is quite ideal to make use of this profile to support real-time streaming applications in a embedded platform. 2.2. Overview of Video Streaming In previous systems, accessing video data across network exploit the ‘download and play approach. In this approach, the client had to wait until the whole video data is downloaded to the media player before play out begins. To combat the long initial play out delay, the concept of streaming was introduced. Streaming allows the client to play out the earlier part of the video data whilst still transferring the remaining part of the video data. The major advantage of the streaming concept is that the video data need not be stored in the clients computer as compared to the traditional ‘download and play approach. This reduces the long initial play out delay experienced by the client. Streaming adopts the traditional client/server model. The client connects to the listening server and request for video data. The server sends video data over to the client for play out of video data. 2.2.1. Types of Streaming There are three different types of streaming video data. They are pre-recorded/ file streaming, live/real-time streaming and interactive streaming. * Pre-recorded/live streaming: The encoded video is stored into a file and the system streams the file over the network. A major overhead is that there is a long initial play out delay (10-15s) experienced by the client. * Live/real-time streaming: The encoded video is streamed over the network directly without being stored into a file. The initial play out delay reduces. Consideration must be taken to ensure that play out rate does not exceed sending rate which may result in jerky the picture. On the other hand, if the sending rate is too slow, the packets arriving at the client may be dropped, causing in a freezing the picture. The timing requirement for the end-to-end delay is more stringent in this scenario. * Interactive streaming: Like live streaming, the video is streamed directly over the network. It responds to users control input such as rewind, pause, stop, play and forward the particular video stream. The system should respond in accordance to those inputs by the user. In this project, both pre-recorded and live streaming are implemented. Some functionality of interactive streaming controls like stop and play are also part of the system. 2.2.2. Video Streaming System modules Video Source The intent of the video source is to capture the raw video sequence. The CCTV camera is used as the video source in this project. Most cameras are of analogue inputs and these inputs are connected to the encoding station via video connections. This project makes use of only one video source due to the limitation of the video connections on the encoding station. The raw video sequence is then passed onto the encoding station. Encoding Station The aim of the encoding station digitized and encodes the raw video sequence into the desired format. In the actual system, the encoding is done by the DM6446 board into the H.264/AVC format. Since the hardware encoding is CPU intensive, this forms the bottleneck of the whole streaming system. The H.264 video is passed onto the video streamer server module of the system. Video Streaming and WebServer The role of the video streaming server is to packetize the H.264/AVC to be streamed over the network. It serves the requests from individual clients. It needs to support the total bandwidth requirements of the particular video stream requested by clients. WebServer offers a URL link which connects to the video streaming server. For this project, the video streaming server module is embedded inside DM6446 board and it is serves every individual clients requests. Video Player The video player acts a client connecting to and requesting video data from the video streaming server. Once the video data is received, the video player buffers the data for a while and then begins play out of data. The video player used for this project is the VideoLAN (VLC) Player. It has the relevant H.264/AVC codec so that it can decode and play the H264/AVC video data. 2.2.3. Unicast VS Multicast There are two key delivery techniques employed by streaming media distribution. Unicast transmission is the sending of data to one particular network destination host over a packet switched network. It establishes two way point-to-point connection between client and server. The client communicates directly with the server via this connection. The drawback is that every connection receives a separate video stream which uses up network bandwidth rapidly. Multicast transmission is the sending of only one copy of data via the network so that many clients can receive simultaneously. In video streaming, it is more cost effective to send single copy of video data over the network so as to conserve the network bandwidth. Since multicast is not connection oriented, the clients cannot control the streams that they can receive. In this project, unicast transmission is used to stream encoded video over the network. The client connects directly to the DM6446 board where it gets the encoded video data. The project can easily be extended to multicast transmission. 2.3. Streaming Protocols When streaming video content over a network, a number of network protocols are used. These protocols are well defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society (IS) and documented in Request for Comments (RFC) documents. These standards are adopted by many developers today. In this project, the same standards are also employed in order to successfully stream H.264/AVC content over a simple Local Area Network (LAN). The following sections will discuss about the various protocols that are studied in the course of this project. 2.3.1. Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) The most commonly used application layer protocol is RTSP. RTSP acts a control protocol to media streaming servers. It establishes connection between two end points of the system and control media sessions. Clients issue VCR-like commands like play and pause to facilitate the control of real-time playback of media streams from the servers. However, this protocol is not involved in the transport of the media stream over the network. For this project, RTSP version 1.0 is used. RTSP States Like the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), it contains several methods. They are OPTIONS, DESCRIBE, SETUP, PLAY, PAUSE, RECORD and TEARDOWN. These commands are sent by using the RTSP URL. The default port number used in this protocol is 554. An example of such as URL is: rtsp://  · OPTIONS: An OPTIONS request returns the types of request that the server will accept. An example of the request is: OPTIONS rtsp://155.69.148.136:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 1rn User-agent: VLC media Player The CSeq parameter keeps track of the number of request send to the server and it is incremented every time a new request is issued. The User-agent refers to the client making the request. * DESCRIBE: This method gets the presentation or the media object identified in the request URL from the server. An example of such a request: DESCRIBE rtsp://155.69.148.138:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 2rn Accept: application/sdprn User agent: VLC media Player The Accept header is used to describe the formats understood by the client. All the initialization of the media resource must be present in the DESCRIBE method that it describes.  · SETUP: This method will specify the mode of transport mechanism to be used for the media stream. A typical example is: SETUP rtsp://155.69.148.138:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 3rn Transport: RTP/AVP; unicast; client_port = 1200-1201 User agent: VLC media Player The Transport header specifies the transport mechanism to be used. In this case, real-time transport protocol is used in a unicast manner. The relevant client port number is also reflected and it is selected randomly by the server. Since RTSP is a stateful protocol, a session is created upon successful acknowledgement to this method.  · PLAY: This method request the server to start sending the data via the transport mechanism stated in the SETUP method. The URL is the same as the other methods except for: Session: 6 Range: npt= 0.000- rn The Session header specifies the unique session id. This is important as server may establish various sessions and this keep tracks of them. The Range header positions play time to the beginning and plays till the end of the range. * PAUSE: This method informs the server to pause sending of the media stream. Once the PAUSE request is sent, the range header will capture the position at which the media stream is paused. When a PLAY request is sent again, the client will resume playing from the current position of the media stream as specified in the range header. RSTP Status Codes Whenever the client sends a request message to the server, the server forms a equivalent response message to be sent to the client. The response codes are similar to HTTP as they are both in ASCII text. They are as follows: 200: OK 301: Redirection 405: Method Not Allowed 451: Parameter Not Understood 454: Session Not Found 457: Invalid Range 461: Unsupported Transport 462: Destination Unreachable These are some of the RTSP status codes. There are many others but the codes mentioned above are of importance in the context of this project. 2.3.2. Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) RTP is a defined packet structure which is used for transporting media stream over the network. It is a transport layer protocol but developers view it as a application layer protocol stack. This protocol facilitates jitter compensation and detection of incorrect sequence arrival of data which is common for transmission over IP network. For the transmission of media data over the network, it is important that packets arrive in a timely manner as it is loss tolerant but not delay tolerant. Due to the high latency of Transmission Control Protocol in establishing connections, RTP is often built on top of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). RTP also supports multicast transmission of data. RTP is also a stateful protocol as a session is established before data can be packed into the RTP packet and sent over the network. The session contains the IP address of the destination and port number of the RTP which is usually an even number. The following section will explain about the packet structure of RTP which is used for transmission. RTP Packet Structure The below shows a RTP packet header which is appended in front of the media data.s The minimum size of the RTP header is 12 bytes.. Optional extension information may be present after the header information. The fields of the header are:  · V: (2 bits) to indicate the version number of the protocol. Version used in this project is 2.  · P (Padding): (1 bit) to indicate if there padding which can be used for encryption algorithm  · X (Extension): (1 bit) to indicate if there is extension information between header and payload data.  · CC (CSRC Count) : (4 bits) indicates the number of CSRC identifiers  · M (Marker): (1 bit) used by application to indicate data has specific relevance in the perspective of the application. The setting for M bit marks the end of video data in this project  · PT (Payload Type): (7 bits) to indicate the type of payload data carried by the packet. H.264 is used for this project  · Sequence number: (16 bits) incremented by one for every RTP packet. It is used to detect packet loss and out of sequence packet arrival. Based on this information, application can take appropriate action to correct them.  · Time Stamp: (32 bits) receivers use this information to play samples at correct intervals of time. Each stream has independent time stamps.  · SSRC: (32 bits) it unique identifies source of the stream.  · CSRC: sources of a stream from different sources are enumerated according to its source IDs. This project does not involve the use of Extension field in the packet header and hence will not be explained in this report. Once this header information is appended to the payload data, the packet is sent over the network to the client to be played. The table below summarizes the payload types of RTP and highlighted region is of interest in this project. Table 2: Payload Types of RTP Packets 2.3.3. RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) RTCP is a sister protocol which is used in conjunction with the RTP. It provides out-of-band statistical and control information to the RTP session. This provides certain Quality of Service (QoS) for transmission of video data over the network. The primary functions of the RTCP are: * To gather statistical information about the quality aspect of the media stream during a RTP session. This data is sent to the session media source and its participants. The source can exploit this information for adaptive media encoding and detect transmission errors. * It provides canonical end point identifiers (CNAME) to all its session participants. It allows unique identification of end points across different application instances and serves as a third party monitoring tool. * It also sends RTCP reports to all its session participants. By doing so, the traffic bandwidth increases proportionally. In order to avoid congestion, RTCP has bandwidth management techniques to only use 5% of the total session bandwidth. RTCP statistical data is sent odd numbered ports. For instance, if RTP port number is 196, then RTCP will use the 197 as its port number. There is no default port number assigned to RTCP. RTCP Message Types RTCP sends several types of packets different from RTP packets. They are sender report, receiver report, source description and bye.  · Sender Report (SR): Sent periodically by senders to report the transmission and reception statistics of RTP packets sent in a period of time. It also includes the senders SSRC and senders packet count information. The timestamp of the RTP packet is also sent to allow the receiver to synchronize the RTP packets. The bandwidth required for SR is 25% of RTCP bandwidth.  · Receiver Report (RR): It reports the QoS to other receivers and senders. Information like highest sequence number received, inter arrival jitter of RTP packets and fraction of packets loss further explains the QoS of the transmitted media streams. The bandwidth required for RR is 75% of the RTCP bandwidth.  · Source Description (SDES): Sends the CNAME to its session participants. Additional information like name, address of the owner of the source can also be sent.  · End of Participation (BYE): The source sends a BYE message to indicate that it is shutting down the stream. It serves as an announcement that a particular end point is leaving the conference. Further RTCP Consideration This protocol is important to ensure that QoS standards are achieved. The acceptable frequencies of these reports are less than one minute. In major application, the frequency may increase as RTCP bandwidth control mechanism. Then, the statistical reporting on the quality of the media stream becomes inaccurate. Since there are no long delays introduced between the reports in this project, the RTCP is adopted to incorporate a certain level of QoS on streaming H.264/AVC video over embedded platform. 2.3.4. Session Description Protocol (SDP) The Session Description Protocol is a standard to describe streaming media initialization parameters. These initializations describe the sessions for session announcement, session invitation and parameter negotiation. This protocol can be used together with RTSP. In the previous sections of this chapter, SDP is used in the DESCRIBE state of RTSP to get sessions media initialization parameters. SDP is scalable to include different media types and formats. SDP Syntax The session is described by attribute/value pairs. The syntax of SDP are summarized in the below. In this project, the use of SDP is important in streaming as the client is VLC Media Player. If the streaming is done via RTSP, then VLC expects a sdp description from the server in order to setup the session and facilitate the playback of the streaming media. Chapter 3: Hardware Literature Review 3.1. Introduction to Texas Instrument DM6446EVM DavinciTM The development of this project based on the DM6446EVM board. It is necessary to understand the hardware and software aspects of this board. The DM6446 board has a ARM processor operating at a clock speed up to 300MHz and a C64x Digital Signal Processor operating at a clock speed of up to 600MHz. 3.1.1. Key Features of DM6446 The key features that are shown in the above are: * 1 video port which supports composite of S video * 4 video DAC outputs: component, RGB, composite * 256 MB of DDR2 DRAM * UART, Media Card interface (SD, xD, SM, MS ,MMC Cards) * 16 MB of non-volatile Flash Memory, 64 MB NAND Flash, 4 MB SRAM * USB2 interface * 10/100 MBS Ethernet interface * Configurable boot load options * IR Remote Interface, real time clock via MSP430 3.1.2. DM6446EVM Architecture The architecture of the DM6446 board is organized into several subsystems. By knowing the architecture of the DM6446, the developer can then design and built his application module on the boards underlining architecture. The shows that DM6446 has three subsystems which are connected to the underlying hardware peripherals. This provides a decoupled architecture which allows the developers to implement his applications on a particular subsystem without having to modify the other subsystems. Some of subsystems are discussed in the next sections. ARM Subsystem The ARM subsystem is responsible for the master control of the DM6446 board. It handles the system-level initializations, configurations, user interface, connectivity functions and control of DSP subsystems. The ARM has a larger program memory space and better context switching capabilities and hence it is more suited to handle complex and multi tasks of the system. DSP Subsystem The DSP subsystem is mainly the encoding the raw captured video frames into the desired format. It performs several number crunching operations in order to achieve the desired compression technique. It works together with the Video Imaging Coprocessor to compress the video frames. Video Imaging Coprocessor (VICP) The VICP is a signal processing library which contains various software algorithms that execute on VICP hardware accelerator. It helps the DSP by taking over computation of varied intensive tasks. Since hardware implementation of number cru H.264 Video Streaming System on Embedded Platform H.264 Video Streaming System on Embedded Platform ABSTRACT The adoption of technological products like digital television and video conferencing has made video streaming an active research area. This report presents the integration of a video streamer module into a baseline H.264/AVC encoder running a TMSDM6446EVM embedded platform. The main objective of this project is to achieve real-time streaming of the baseline H.264/AVC video over a local area network (LAN) which is a part of the surveillance video system. The encoding of baseline H.264/AVC and the hardware components of the platform are first discussed. Various streaming protocols are studied in order to implement the video streamer on the DM6446 board. The multi-threaded application encoder program is used to encode raw video frames into H.264/AVC format onto a file. For the video streaming, open source Live555 MediaServer was used to stream video data to a remote VLC client over LAN. Initially, file streaming was implemented from PC to PC. Upon successfully implementation on PC, the video streamer was ported to the board. The steps involved in porting the Live555 application were also described in the report. Both unicast and multicast file streaming were implemented in the video streamer. Due to the problems of file streaming, the live streaming approach was adopted. Several methodologies were discussed in integrating the video streamer and the encoder program. Modification was made both the encoder program and the Live555 application to achieve live streaming of H.264/AVC video. Results of both file and live streaming will be shown in this report. The implemented video streamer module will be used as a base module of the video surveillance system. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Background Significant breakthroughs have been made over the last few years in the area of digital video compression technologies. As such applications making use of these technologies have also become prevalent and continue to be of active research topics today. For example, digital television and video conferencing are some of the applications that are now commonly encountered in our daily lives. One application of interest here is to make use of the technologies to implement a video camera surveillance system which can enhance the security of consumers business and home environment. In typical surveillance systems, the captured video is sent over a cable networks to be monitored and stored at remote stations. As the captured raw video contains large amount of data, it will be of advantage to first compress the data by using a compression technique before it is transferred over the network. One such compression technique that is suitable for this type of application is the H.264 coding standard. H.264 coding is better than the other coding technique for video streaming as it is more robust to data losses and coding efficiency, which are important factors when streaming is performed over a shared Local Area Network. As there is an increasing acceptance of H.264 coding and the availability of high computing power embedded systems, digital video surveillance system based on H.264 on embedded platform is hence a feasible and a potentially more cost-effective system. Implementing a H.264 video streaming system on an embedded platform is a logical extension of video surveillance systems which are still typical implemented using high computing power stations (e.g. PC). In a embedded version, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) forms the core of the embedded system and executes the intensive signal processing algorithm. Current embedded systems typical also include network features which enable the implementation of data streaming applications. To facilitate data streaming, a number of network protocol standards have also being defined, and are currently used for digital video applications. 1.2. Objective and Scope The objective of this final year project is to implement a video surveillance system based on the H.264 coding standard running on an embedded platform. Such a system contains extensive scopes of functionalities and would require extensive amount of development time if implemented from scratch. Hence this project is to focus on the data streaming aspect of a video surveillance system. After some initial investigation and experimentation, it is decided to confine the main scope of the project to developing a live streaming H.264 based video system running on a DM6446 EVM development platform. The breakdown of the work to be progressive performed are then identified as follows: 1. Familiarization of open source live555 streaming media server Due to the complexity of implementing the various standard protocols needed for multimedia streaming, the live555 media server program is used as a base to implement the streaming of the H.264.based video data. 2. Streaming of stored H.264 file over the network The live555 is then modified to support streaming of raw encoded H.264 file from the DM6446 EVM board over the network. Knowledge of H.264 coding standard is necessary in order to parse the file stream before streaming over the network. 3. Modifying a demo version of an encoder program and integrating it together with live555 to achieve live streaming The demo encoder was modified to send encoded video data to the Live555 program which would do the necessary packetization to be streamed over the network. Since data is passed from one process to another, various inter-process communication techniques were studied and used in this project. 1.3. Resources The resources used for this project are as follows: 1. DM6446 (DaVinciâ„ ¢) Evaluation Module 2. SWANN C500 Professional CCTV Camera Solution 400 TV Lines CCD Color Camera 3. LCD Display 4. IR Remote Control 5. TI Davinci demo version of MontaVista Linux Pro v4.0 6. A Personal Workstation with Centos v5.0 7. VLC player v.0.9.8a as client 8. Open source live555 program (downloaded from www.live555.com) The system setup of this project is shown below: 1.4. Report Organization This report consists of 7 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the motivation behind embedded video streaming system and defines the scope of the project. Chapter 2 illustrates the video literature review of the H.264/AVC video coding technique and the various streaming protocols which are to be implemented in the project. Chapter 3 explains the hardware literature review of the platform being used in the project. The architecture, memory management, inter-process communication and the software tools are also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 4 explains the execution of the encoder program of the DM6446EVM board. The interaction of the various threads in this multi-threaded application is also discussed to fully understand the encoder program. Chapter 5 gives an overview of the Live555 MediaServer which is used as a base to implement the video streamer module on the board. Adding support to unicast and multicast streaming, porting of live555 to the board and receiving video stream on remote VCL client are explained in this chapter. Chapter 6 explains the limitations of file streaming and moving towards live streaming system. Various integration methodologies and modification to both encoder program and live555 program are shown as well. Chapters 7 summarize the implementation results of file and live streaming, analysis the performance of these results. Chapter 8 gives the conclusion by stating the current limitation and problems, scope for future implementation. Chapter 2: Video Literature Review 2.1. H.264/AVC Video Codec Overview H.264 is the most advanced and latest video coding technique. Although there are many video coding schemes like H.26x and MPEG, H.264/AVC made many improvements and tools for coding efficiency and error resiliency. This chapter briefly will discuss the network aspect of the video coding technique. It will also cover error resiliency needed for transmission of video data over the network. For a more detailed explanation of the H.264/AVC, refer to appendix A. 2.1.1. Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) The aim of the NAL is to ensure that the data coming from the VCL layer is â€Å"network worthy† so that the data can be used for numerous systems. NAL facilitates the mapping of H.264/AVC VCL data for different transport layers such as: * RTP/IP real-time streaming over wired and wireless mediums * Different storage file formats such as MP4, MMS, AVI and etc. The concepts of NAL and error robustness techniques of the H.264/AVC will be discussed in the following parts of the report. NAL Units The encoded data from the VCL are packed into NAL units. A NAL unit represents a packet which makes up of a certain number of bytes. The first byte of the NAL unit is called the header byte which indicates the data type of the NAL unit. The remaining bytes make up the payload data of the NAL unit. The NAL unit structure allows provision for different transport systems namely packet-oriented and bit stream-oriented. To cater for bit stream-oriented transport systems like MPEG-2, the NAL units are organized into byte stream format. These units are prefixed by a specific start code prefix of three bytes which is namely 0x000001. The start code prefix indicates and the start of each NAL units and hence defining the boundaries of the units. For packet-oriented transport systems, the encoded video data are transported via packets defined by transport protocols. Hence, the boundaries of the NAL units are known without having to include start code prefix byte. The details of packetization of NAL units will be discussed in later sections of the report. NAL units are further categorized into two types: * VCL unit: comprises of encoded video data  · Non-VCL unit: comprises of additional information like parameter sets which is the important header information. Also contains supplementary enhancement information (SEI) which contains the timing information and other data which increases the usability of the decoded video signal. Access units A group of NAL units which adhere to a certain form is called a access unit. When one access unit is decoded, one decoded picture is formed. In the table 1 below, the functions of the NAL units derived from the access units are explained. Data/Error robustness techniques H.264/AVC has several techniques to mitigate error/data loss which is an essential quality when it comes to streaming applications. The techniques are as follows:  · Parameter sets: contains information that is being applied to large number of VCL NAL units. It comprises of two kinds of parameter sets: Sequence Parameter set (SPS) : Information pertaining to sequence of encoded picture Picture Parameter Set (PPS) : Information pertaining to one or more individual pictures The above mentioned parameters hardly changes and hence it need not be transmitted repeatedly and saves overhead. The parameter sets can be sent â€Å"in-band† which is carried in the same channel as the VCL NAL units. It can also be sent â€Å"out-of-band† using reliable transport protocol. Therefore, it enhances the resiliency towards data and error loss.  · Flexible Macroblock Ordering (FMO) FMO maps the macroblocks to different slice groups. In the event of any slice group loss, missing data is masked up by interpolating from the other slice groups.  · Redundancy Slices (RS) Redundant representation of the picture can be stored in the redundant slices. If the loss of the original slice occurs, the decoder can make use of the redundant slices to recover the original slice. These techniques introduced in the H.264/AVC makes the codec more robust and resilient towards data and error loss. 2.1.2. Profiles and Levels A profile of a codec is defined as the set of features identified to meet a certain specifications of intended applications For the H.264/AVC codec, it is defined as a set of features identified to generate a conforming bit stream. A level is imposes restrictions on some key parameters of the bit stream. In H.264/AVC, there are three profiles namely: Baseline, Main and Extended. 5 shows the relationship between these profiles. The Baseline profile is most likely to be used by network cameras and encoders as it requires limited computing resources. It is quite ideal to make use of this profile to support real-time streaming applications in a embedded platform. 2.2. Overview of Video Streaming In previous systems, accessing video data across network exploit the ‘download and play approach. In this approach, the client had to wait until the whole video data is downloaded to the media player before play out begins. To combat the long initial play out delay, the concept of streaming was introduced. Streaming allows the client to play out the earlier part of the video data whilst still transferring the remaining part of the video data. The major advantage of the streaming concept is that the video data need not be stored in the clients computer as compared to the traditional ‘download and play approach. This reduces the long initial play out delay experienced by the client. Streaming adopts the traditional client/server model. The client connects to the listening server and request for video data. The server sends video data over to the client for play out of video data. 2.2.1. Types of Streaming There are three different types of streaming video data. They are pre-recorded/ file streaming, live/real-time streaming and interactive streaming. * Pre-recorded/live streaming: The encoded video is stored into a file and the system streams the file over the network. A major overhead is that there is a long initial play out delay (10-15s) experienced by the client. * Live/real-time streaming: The encoded video is streamed over the network directly without being stored into a file. The initial play out delay reduces. Consideration must be taken to ensure that play out rate does not exceed sending rate which may result in jerky the picture. On the other hand, if the sending rate is too slow, the packets arriving at the client may be dropped, causing in a freezing the picture. The timing requirement for the end-to-end delay is more stringent in this scenario. * Interactive streaming: Like live streaming, the video is streamed directly over the network. It responds to users control input such as rewind, pause, stop, play and forward the particular video stream. The system should respond in accordance to those inputs by the user. In this project, both pre-recorded and live streaming are implemented. Some functionality of interactive streaming controls like stop and play are also part of the system. 2.2.2. Video Streaming System modules Video Source The intent of the video source is to capture the raw video sequence. The CCTV camera is used as the video source in this project. Most cameras are of analogue inputs and these inputs are connected to the encoding station via video connections. This project makes use of only one video source due to the limitation of the video connections on the encoding station. The raw video sequence is then passed onto the encoding station. Encoding Station The aim of the encoding station digitized and encodes the raw video sequence into the desired format. In the actual system, the encoding is done by the DM6446 board into the H.264/AVC format. Since the hardware encoding is CPU intensive, this forms the bottleneck of the whole streaming system. The H.264 video is passed onto the video streamer server module of the system. Video Streaming and WebServer The role of the video streaming server is to packetize the H.264/AVC to be streamed over the network. It serves the requests from individual clients. It needs to support the total bandwidth requirements of the particular video stream requested by clients. WebServer offers a URL link which connects to the video streaming server. For this project, the video streaming server module is embedded inside DM6446 board and it is serves every individual clients requests. Video Player The video player acts a client connecting to and requesting video data from the video streaming server. Once the video data is received, the video player buffers the data for a while and then begins play out of data. The video player used for this project is the VideoLAN (VLC) Player. It has the relevant H.264/AVC codec so that it can decode and play the H264/AVC video data. 2.2.3. Unicast VS Multicast There are two key delivery techniques employed by streaming media distribution. Unicast transmission is the sending of data to one particular network destination host over a packet switched network. It establishes two way point-to-point connection between client and server. The client communicates directly with the server via this connection. The drawback is that every connection receives a separate video stream which uses up network bandwidth rapidly. Multicast transmission is the sending of only one copy of data via the network so that many clients can receive simultaneously. In video streaming, it is more cost effective to send single copy of video data over the network so as to conserve the network bandwidth. Since multicast is not connection oriented, the clients cannot control the streams that they can receive. In this project, unicast transmission is used to stream encoded video over the network. The client connects directly to the DM6446 board where it gets the encoded video data. The project can easily be extended to multicast transmission. 2.3. Streaming Protocols When streaming video content over a network, a number of network protocols are used. These protocols are well defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society (IS) and documented in Request for Comments (RFC) documents. These standards are adopted by many developers today. In this project, the same standards are also employed in order to successfully stream H.264/AVC content over a simple Local Area Network (LAN). The following sections will discuss about the various protocols that are studied in the course of this project. 2.3.1. Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) The most commonly used application layer protocol is RTSP. RTSP acts a control protocol to media streaming servers. It establishes connection between two end points of the system and control media sessions. Clients issue VCR-like commands like play and pause to facilitate the control of real-time playback of media streams from the servers. However, this protocol is not involved in the transport of the media stream over the network. For this project, RTSP version 1.0 is used. RTSP States Like the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), it contains several methods. They are OPTIONS, DESCRIBE, SETUP, PLAY, PAUSE, RECORD and TEARDOWN. These commands are sent by using the RTSP URL. The default port number used in this protocol is 554. An example of such as URL is: rtsp://  · OPTIONS: An OPTIONS request returns the types of request that the server will accept. An example of the request is: OPTIONS rtsp://155.69.148.136:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 1rn User-agent: VLC media Player The CSeq parameter keeps track of the number of request send to the server and it is incremented every time a new request is issued. The User-agent refers to the client making the request. * DESCRIBE: This method gets the presentation or the media object identified in the request URL from the server. An example of such a request: DESCRIBE rtsp://155.69.148.138:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 2rn Accept: application/sdprn User agent: VLC media Player The Accept header is used to describe the formats understood by the client. All the initialization of the media resource must be present in the DESCRIBE method that it describes.  · SETUP: This method will specify the mode of transport mechanism to be used for the media stream. A typical example is: SETUP rtsp://155.69.148.138:554/test.264 RTSP/1.0 CSeq: 3rn Transport: RTP/AVP; unicast; client_port = 1200-1201 User agent: VLC media Player The Transport header specifies the transport mechanism to be used. In this case, real-time transport protocol is used in a unicast manner. The relevant client port number is also reflected and it is selected randomly by the server. Since RTSP is a stateful protocol, a session is created upon successful acknowledgement to this method.  · PLAY: This method request the server to start sending the data via the transport mechanism stated in the SETUP method. The URL is the same as the other methods except for: Session: 6 Range: npt= 0.000- rn The Session header specifies the unique session id. This is important as server may establish various sessions and this keep tracks of them. The Range header positions play time to the beginning and plays till the end of the range. * PAUSE: This method informs the server to pause sending of the media stream. Once the PAUSE request is sent, the range header will capture the position at which the media stream is paused. When a PLAY request is sent again, the client will resume playing from the current position of the media stream as specified in the range header. RSTP Status Codes Whenever the client sends a request message to the server, the server forms a equivalent response message to be sent to the client. The response codes are similar to HTTP as they are both in ASCII text. They are as follows: 200: OK 301: Redirection 405: Method Not Allowed 451: Parameter Not Understood 454: Session Not Found 457: Invalid Range 461: Unsupported Transport 462: Destination Unreachable These are some of the RTSP status codes. There are many others but the codes mentioned above are of importance in the context of this project. 2.3.2. Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) RTP is a defined packet structure which is used for transporting media stream over the network. It is a transport layer protocol but developers view it as a application layer protocol stack. This protocol facilitates jitter compensation and detection of incorrect sequence arrival of data which is common for transmission over IP network. For the transmission of media data over the network, it is important that packets arrive in a timely manner as it is loss tolerant but not delay tolerant. Due to the high latency of Transmission Control Protocol in establishing connections, RTP is often built on top of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). RTP also supports multicast transmission of data. RTP is also a stateful protocol as a session is established before data can be packed into the RTP packet and sent over the network. The session contains the IP address of the destination and port number of the RTP which is usually an even number. The following section will explain about the packet structure of RTP which is used for transmission. RTP Packet Structure The below shows a RTP packet header which is appended in front of the media data.s The minimum size of the RTP header is 12 bytes.. Optional extension information may be present after the header information. The fields of the header are:  · V: (2 bits) to indicate the version number of the protocol. Version used in this project is 2.  · P (Padding): (1 bit) to indicate if there padding which can be used for encryption algorithm  · X (Extension): (1 bit) to indicate if there is extension information between header and payload data.  · CC (CSRC Count) : (4 bits) indicates the number of CSRC identifiers  · M (Marker): (1 bit) used by application to indicate data has specific relevance in the perspective of the application. The setting for M bit marks the end of video data in this project  · PT (Payload Type): (7 bits) to indicate the type of payload data carried by the packet. H.264 is used for this project  · Sequence number: (16 bits) incremented by one for every RTP packet. It is used to detect packet loss and out of sequence packet arrival. Based on this information, application can take appropriate action to correct them.  · Time Stamp: (32 bits) receivers use this information to play samples at correct intervals of time. Each stream has independent time stamps.  · SSRC: (32 bits) it unique identifies source of the stream.  · CSRC: sources of a stream from different sources are enumerated according to its source IDs. This project does not involve the use of Extension field in the packet header and hence will not be explained in this report. Once this header information is appended to the payload data, the packet is sent over the network to the client to be played. The table below summarizes the payload types of RTP and highlighted region is of interest in this project. Table 2: Payload Types of RTP Packets 2.3.3. RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) RTCP is a sister protocol which is used in conjunction with the RTP. It provides out-of-band statistical and control information to the RTP session. This provides certain Quality of Service (QoS) for transmission of video data over the network. The primary functions of the RTCP are: * To gather statistical information about the quality aspect of the media stream during a RTP session. This data is sent to the session media source and its participants. The source can exploit this information for adaptive media encoding and detect transmission errors. * It provides canonical end point identifiers (CNAME) to all its session participants. It allows unique identification of end points across different application instances and serves as a third party monitoring tool. * It also sends RTCP reports to all its session participants. By doing so, the traffic bandwidth increases proportionally. In order to avoid congestion, RTCP has bandwidth management techniques to only use 5% of the total session bandwidth. RTCP statistical data is sent odd numbered ports. For instance, if RTP port number is 196, then RTCP will use the 197 as its port number. There is no default port number assigned to RTCP. RTCP Message Types RTCP sends several types of packets different from RTP packets. They are sender report, receiver report, source description and bye.  · Sender Report (SR): Sent periodically by senders to report the transmission and reception statistics of RTP packets sent in a period of time. It also includes the senders SSRC and senders packet count information. The timestamp of the RTP packet is also sent to allow the receiver to synchronize the RTP packets. The bandwidth required for SR is 25% of RTCP bandwidth.  · Receiver Report (RR): It reports the QoS to other receivers and senders. Information like highest sequence number received, inter arrival jitter of RTP packets and fraction of packets loss further explains the QoS of the transmitted media streams. The bandwidth required for RR is 75% of the RTCP bandwidth.  · Source Description (SDES): Sends the CNAME to its session participants. Additional information like name, address of the owner of the source can also be sent.  · End of Participation (BYE): The source sends a BYE message to indicate that it is shutting down the stream. It serves as an announcement that a particular end point is leaving the conference. Further RTCP Consideration This protocol is important to ensure that QoS standards are achieved. The acceptable frequencies of these reports are less than one minute. In major application, the frequency may increase as RTCP bandwidth control mechanism. Then, the statistical reporting on the quality of the media stream becomes inaccurate. Since there are no long delays introduced between the reports in this project, the RTCP is adopted to incorporate a certain level of QoS on streaming H.264/AVC video over embedded platform. 2.3.4. Session Description Protocol (SDP) The Session Description Protocol is a standard to describe streaming media initialization parameters. These initializations describe the sessions for session announcement, session invitation and parameter negotiation. This protocol can be used together with RTSP. In the previous sections of this chapter, SDP is used in the DESCRIBE state of RTSP to get sessions media initialization parameters. SDP is scalable to include different media types and formats. SDP Syntax The session is described by attribute/value pairs. The syntax of SDP are summarized in the below. In this project, the use of SDP is important in streaming as the client is VLC Media Player. If the streaming is done via RTSP, then VLC expects a sdp description from the server in order to setup the session and facilitate the playback of the streaming media. Chapter 3: Hardware Literature Review 3.1. Introduction to Texas Instrument DM6446EVM DavinciTM The development of this project based on the DM6446EVM board. It is necessary to understand the hardware and software aspects of this board. The DM6446 board has a ARM processor operating at a clock speed up to 300MHz and a C64x Digital Signal Processor operating at a clock speed of up to 600MHz. 3.1.1. Key Features of DM6446 The key features that are shown in the above are: * 1 video port which supports composite of S video * 4 video DAC outputs: component, RGB, composite * 256 MB of DDR2 DRAM * UART, Media Card interface (SD, xD, SM, MS ,MMC Cards) * 16 MB of non-volatile Flash Memory, 64 MB NAND Flash, 4 MB SRAM * USB2 interface * 10/100 MBS Ethernet interface * Configurable boot load options * IR Remote Interface, real time clock via MSP430 3.1.2. DM6446EVM Architecture The architecture of the DM6446 board is organized into several subsystems. By knowing the architecture of the DM6446, the developer can then design and built his application module on the boards underlining architecture. The shows that DM6446 has three subsystems which are connected to the underlying hardware peripherals. This provides a decoupled architecture which allows the developers to implement his applications on a particular subsystem without having to modify the other subsystems. Some of subsystems are discussed in the next sections. ARM Subsystem The ARM subsystem is responsible for the master control of the DM6446 board. It handles the system-level initializations, configurations, user interface, connectivity functions and control of DSP subsystems. The ARM has a larger program memory space and better context switching capabilities and hence it is more suited to handle complex and multi tasks of the system. DSP Subsystem The DSP subsystem is mainly the encoding the raw captured video frames into the desired format. It performs several number crunching operations in order to achieve the desired compression technique. It works together with the Video Imaging Coprocessor to compress the video frames. Video Imaging Coprocessor (VICP) The VICP is a signal processing library which contains various software algorithms that execute on VICP hardware accelerator. It helps the DSP by taking over computation of varied intensive tasks. Since hardware implementation of number cru