Certificate program & education

My employment in the field of education may be coincidental but is probably attributable to my quest for learning and advancing knowledge in all aspects of my life. Additionally, I believe in the notion that no matter what a businessman’s product is, this person is definitely in the education business.To succeed, the individual must constantly educate his customers on the many advantages of doing business with him, train them on how to use the product efficiently as well as effectively and therefore make never-ending improvement in their lives. It is against this background that I would wish to apply for an admission to University of Colorado to pursue a Certificate in Leadership Studies.My decision to settle for this certificate program was mainly informed by several reasons. Firstly, a teacher is definitely a leader and the program would help me expand my knowledge in leadership skills. This knowledge, I believe, would be helpful in my Junior Reserve Officer’s Trainin g Corps (JROTC) classes.The certificate would complement the values of citizenship, service to my country, personal responsibility as well as accomplishments, the very virtues that the JROTC program wishes to instill into every American through teaching which is my career.Additionally, I believe in the process of continuous evaluation, improving on my weak areas and carrying on the desirable virtues for the sake of my country and humanity at large, which I in turn pass over to my students. With the dynamic nature of education, I take it as my responsibility to be abreast with the most current knowledge.Leadership Studies and other related courses such as Conflict Resolution Management are therefore becoming increasingly important, more so for those in social responsibilities. In this bid, the University of Colorado’s Certificate Program would make me a better teacher by equipping me with more knowledge and leadership skills that are inclined towards my career as a teacher.Tho ugh I have a degree in Business Administration, I must say that the future looks bright although I have not reached the epic. I would wish to purse a Masters in Education after this certificate. This would career-wise place me in a better position and I would even be better equipped to serve humanity at a position which is much higher.In addition, it would ensure an increased remuneration and package that would transform both to my personal growth as well as that of my family. As such, a certificate in Leadership Studies would form a good foundation for a Masters as all are inclined towards the field of education and would also be part of my greater continuous improvement personal policy.My decision for a certificate in Leadership Studies at Colorado University was further informed by a critical analysis based on accruing costs and benefits. Apart from the great reputation that the University of Colorado holds in the world of Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, I was loo king a local university that could offer me a Certificate that carries international recognition, and at a pocket friendly price.Whether on distance learning mode or otherwise, to me, Colorado university appeared as the most viable option, more so for a veteran like me.Moreover, I consider education as the asset that does not build dreams but also ensures their realization. It is the asset that that rekindles hope, as through it, a bright future is foreseen. Irrespective of age, education turns a weak person to an energetic one while confidence within an individual is built through educational accomplishments. Through education, one not only understands themselves but also discovers their potential, grabs opportunities and is therefore able to pursue success into its greatest heights.  As a conclusion, I wish to make a worthy contribution to my life and humanity at large, and only through education can I secure the chance to do so. It also bears noting that through this certificat e, I wish to open up my mind and expand my horizons in all aspects, and this remains my objective as I place my application for consideration into admission to Colorado University.

The Screwtape Letters and Subjective Relativism

The Screwtape letters was written by C. S. Lewis in 1942. In this book, C. S. Lewis used 31 letters from a senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew to describe how to corrupt a person’s soul. The most important idea is that when lower the standard of self-regulation step by step with subjective relativism, the self-regulation will be too low without any awareness, which means the victim does not even know his spirit was corrupted and he always think what he did is right. The key point is that subjective relativism, view that an action is morally right if a person approves of it, would be dangerous.When comparing this theory with the management environment in workplace, the situations are surprisingly similar. If a manager controls a big company or organization with subjective relativism-â€Å"all depends on the situation with settings†-the standard of the company or organization would be lowed step by step and finally out of control. As a result, managers don’t lik e a relativism management environment; they always use universalism or even absolutism to manage the systems. Subjective relativism is considered dangerous for a management system, and other people’s money, anonymity, and subjective relativism is a deadly combination.However, subjective relativism is not the core reason that makes the management system fail. Sometimes, it can benefit the management system. A New Examination of boiling frogs: we know where we are The boiling frog is a wide known story which is also very similar with the story of Screwtape. When putting a frog in a pot with boiling water in it, the frog will jump out of the pot immediately. However, when it was put in a pot of cold water and the pot was slowly heated, the frog would be boiled alive and die in the pot.However, this story is proved not true recently. According to Fast Company (2006), J. Debra Hofman did a new examination of the boiling frogs. â€Å"We placed Frog A into a pot of cold water and a pplied moderate heat. At 4. 20 seconds, it safely exited the pot with a leap of 24 centimeters. We then placed Frog B into a pot of lukewarm water and applied moderate heat. At 1. 57 seconds, it safely exited the pot with a leap of 57 centimeters. † Hofman commented, â€Å"The change myth assumes a very narrow view of people.If frogs can do it, people definitely can. † Just like the story of boiling frogs, the system doesn’t really out of control with subjective relativism. Relativism holds that there are no absolute moral principles, but the rules that truly guide them in each situation are to be â€Å"determined by their relation to something else: the willing of customs or culture of the group, or the desires of the workmates. † Gibb, J. R. (1991). Subjectivism means that â€Å"the sole source of knowledge or authority is in the perception of the individual. (Lisa Newton, 1995) When combining subjectivism and relativism, each person is his/her own auth ority in the business life, and is the source of his/her own guide. On this reasoning, each person has the right to decide on all matters of what is right and wrong. Subjective relativism can only lead people to do as they want, and the rules which guide them is depends on the environment, which means the relationships with others around them are the core reason why they change. For instance, in the story of Screwtape letters, the true way of corrupting a person’s soul is the so called â€Å"influence of others†, not subjective relativism.Self-awareness can’t be lowed, what is changing is relationship with others. According to subjective relativism, what's right for the employees may not be necessarily right for the company. However, the feeling of right or wrong is directly linked to the feeling of right or wrong from the group he/she lived in. As a result, when a manager is able to affect the employees by delivering his/her idea and value to the workplace (a g roup where employees are in), subjective relativism can benefit the company. Universalism vs.Relativism: Small business is perfectly fitful for relativism system Another quite different judgment system is universalism. Universalism and relativism are always compared in a national view point. â€Å"Universalism holds that more â€Å"primitive† cultures will eventually evolve to have the same system of law and rights as Western cultures. Cultural relativists hold an opposite, but similarly rigid viewpoint, that a traditional culture is unchangeable. In universalism, an individual is a social unit, possessing inalienable rights, and driven by the pursuit of self-interest.In the cultural relativist model, a community is the basic social unit. Concepts such as individualism, freedom of choice, and equality are absent. It is recognized that the community always comes first. †(Clemens N. Nathan, 2009) however, when talking about business systems, these concepts are a little b it different. Universalism refers to a system with â€Å"common rules with similar settings†, which means the system has the exactly same rules for all the employees. Looking at the top 100 multinational corporations, they are all using universalism. Universalism is needed today more than ever, especially in multinational corporations. â€Å"(David C. Wyld, 2011) As the world is becoming a smaller place because of globalization and Internet, universalism makes more sense in dealing with multinational issues. It can help the company to develop not only the standard of work environment, but also the reputation of the corporations. However, when focus on the most rapidly developing type of companies, small businesses, universalism seems too general and unfriendly to the employees. Even though subjective relativism has great problems and has a potential for abuse the employees, universalism in its current state is not the ideal solution† Wole Soyinka (2008). Subjective Rel ativism can help the employees to be more interested in the work and maximize the innovation of them. Besides, managers are able to control the company since it just have relatively small amount of employees that they won’t be abused. Subjective Relativism in New Economy The new economy is  commonly  believed to start from the late 1990s, as computer and Internet was developing worldwide. Companies in the new economy are heavily involved in the  internet and biotech industries, but the ripple effects of new technologies has spread out to  all other industries as well†(Investopedia,2012) The networked organizations need a different kind of control. Employees are highly empowered. They can get access to as many works and customers as they can. Besides, employees are highly educated today, sometime they have really good ideas about what companies should do to improve. In this way, managers should be more careful when controlling the management system, and common ru les with similar settings are not enough.Subjective relativism is more powerful in encouraging employees. The system gives the employees to be able to choose what they think is right to do, and the rules are relatively different but fit for each employee. â€Å"There is no logical connection between what you have a right to do and the right thing to do; but there is a psychological temptation to move from one to the other. Let's say that again: In logic, there is no connection between â€Å"You have the right to think what you like,† and â€Å"Anything you happen to like to think is right. You have the right, after all, to contradict yourself; you have all the right in the world to think that â€Å"2+2=5. † That doesn't make it correct. But psychologically, once you have told me that no one has the right to correct me when I claim certain sorts of opinions; you certainly seem to have told me that any such opinions are right, or at least as right as opinions can be. à ¢â‚¬  As Lisa Newton (1998) said, with subjective relativism, empowered employees are able to show their opinions and discuss those opinions together with out shame. Meanwhile, managers can communicate with his group much better and active.However, a big concern is that subjective relativism really has a potential for abuse the employees, so it would be a big challenge for managers to use this method. One suggestion is to combine the subjective relativism with universalism. That is, using the universalism in the company or corporation, but authorizes some division managers to use subjective relativism among the most excellent groups. In this way, companies can not only gain the benefit from universalism system, but also maximize the efficiency of the most excellent employees. References David C.Wyld(2011) Southeastern Louisiana University in Philosophy, March 17, 2011,Rethieved from: http://socyberty. com/philosophy/the-top-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-ethical-universalism-an-a nalysis-of-how-what-is-right-and-wrong-transcends-most-cultures-societies-and-religions/#ixzz2BNEPJbOP Fast Company (2006) Next Time, What Say We Boil a Consultant†. Fast Company Issue 01. October 1995. Retrieved from http://www. fastcompany. com/26455/next-time-what-say-we-boil-consultant Gibb, J. R. (1991) Trust: A New Vision of Human, Relationships for Business, Family and Personal Living. North Hollywood, CA: Newcastle Publishing Company. 991. Investopedia (2012) New Economy. Buzz Word-economy. Retrieved from: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/n/neweconomy. asp#ixzz2BMsc3J3c Lisa Newton (1998a) Subjective Relativism as a Challenge to Ethics. Doing Good and Avoiding Evil Part I. Principles and Reasoning Lisa Newton (1998b) Moral Commitments and the Discipline of Ethics. Doing Good and Avoiding Evil Part I. Principles and Reasoning Neumann Nathan (2009) the Changing Face of Religion and Human Rights by Clemens Wole Soyinka(2008) â€Å"The AVOIDABLE TRAP of CULTURAL RELATI VISM†, on the occasion of the second edition of the Geneva

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 49

Assignment Example For example, students can be unwilling to participate if classroom conditions are poor or teaching methods are ineffective. c) Personality dimension will be measured using degree of participation and knowledge of the need to share with others. Learning environment dimension will be measured using knowledge of the impact of classroom and school conditions on participation, as well as the extent to which students, parents or teachers will go to protect this dimension. d) Operationalization of participation is a vital issue in the social science because it touches on the content validity of research frameworks and the accuracy of all variables. Lack of conceptual agreement makes participation an ambiguous idea in research, and this ambiguity complicates the direction of evidence-based research in enhancing participation. For this study, a quantitative survey design was selected to help achieve the objectives of the study. The conditions for this research include the use of simple random sampling. The simple random sample will be used to test the hypothesis by focusing on a specific number of people (n). The sample will also have to consist of a specific number of people (n). The final condition is that all possible samples of (n) objects share the same probability scale. The importance of these conditions is that they provide a consistent basis on which to conduct the research. Simple random sampling will allow me to employ statistical techniques to analyze sample results and test the hypotheses to the maximum. For example, given a random sample, I can use statistical methods to determine a confidence interval in the sample mean and use it to test the hypotheses. Ethical considerations involved maintaining the confidentiality of feedback obtained. Additionally, prior consent was obtained from all th e respondents to conduct the research; all respondents were informed about the research and what it would

Motivations for public sector organizations to move from traditional Essay

Motivations for public sector organizations to move from traditional procurement to eprocurement systems - Essay Example Private sector organisations have embraced information and communication technologies, including e-procurement. The motivation for doing so has largely been increased efficiency, contributing to the enhancement of business excellence, and cost effectiveness. Public sector organisations have, in comparison, lagged behind and, in general, have been slow in adopting ICT. Management scholars have blamed the said tardiness on the organisational structure of public sector forms but have, nevertheless, argued the incontrovertible imperatives of the public sector's embracing the said technologies (Dent, Chandler and Barry, 2004). Concurring with the stated, this research will argue in favour of the public sector's adoption of e-procurement as a strategy for enhancing organisational efficiency and for embracing cost-effectiveness. Management scholars have determined that public sector organisations are largely modelled after the traditional bureaucratic organisational structure, as influenced by Weber (Cane and Thurston, 2000; Dent, Chandler and Barry, 2004). The implication is that all of the four components of organisational structure-labour division, departmentalisation, span of control and scope of decision-making-are shaped by bureaucratic-traditionalist managerial theory. This, according to numerous management scholars, has only served to offset the capacity for flexible response to changing external conditions and has, in the long run, resulted in the formulation of mechanistic and atrophying organisations (Cane and Thurston, 2000; Flynn, 2002; Dent, Chandler and Barry, 2004). As explained by Flynn (2002) among others, labour division within the public sector organisation is invariably highly specialised. Task specialisations are clearly articulated and each employee has a specific set of job functions, clearly set out in his/her job description, which he/she must operate by (Bourn and Bourn, 1995; Flynn, 2002). While the advantages of specialisation and clearly articulated job descriptions are practically too numerous to articulate, the disadvantages are enormous. Certainly specialisation implies that employees are often matched to jobs according to their skill-sets and explicit job descriptions mean that employees always have a clear understanding of the tasks they are required to perform and know the boundaries of their professional responsibilities (Bourn and Bourn, 1995; Flynn, 2002; Mctavish, 2004). Excessive specialisation, however, as is often the case with private sector organisations means that employees cannot function beyond the parameters of t heir jobs and are devoid of the proactive, problem-solving skills which are deemed integral to contemporary organisational success (Bourn and Bourn, 1995; Flynn, 2002; Mctavish, 2004). Quite simply, employees are confined to the limits of the skills that they brought with them upon joining the organisation, and on which basis they were hired, and their job descriptions. As early as the 1960's, management

Social responsibility in finance decision making Essay - 2

Social responsibility in finance decision making - Essay Example cture, McDonalds focuses its attention to putting its customers, processes, and practices into place to better the society through better food, people that are more contented, a stronger community, and an improved planet. This report explores McDonalds’ Corporate Social Responsibility approach in finance decision making. McDonalds, the worlds foremost global food service trader, takes its environmental and social obligation to the society considerably seriously, considering the CSR strategies it partakes. The company consults with customers, suppliers, sustainability experts and socially responsible organizations to ensure that its CSR strategies are in lieu with the current century and societal goals. It collaborates with other organizations to develop global principles that support purchase of raw materials from verified sustainable sources. This paper explores McDonald’s practices, their harm to the society, and CSR initiatives it has taken to promote its corporate image. In as much as a company seeks to make profit in a sustainable approach, there are always times when they inflict harm on one or more of its stakeholders for profit making. McDonalds faces criticism for the level of nutrition in its food, which is largely high fat, high cholesterol, low fiber diet. It also receives criticism for the effects of advertisements on the minds of children, and the environmental effects of its restaurants on the environment. Considering McDonalds is among the world’s leading companies it has the financial and legal muscle to silence its critics and limits free speech against its operations (Blasio, 2008). Apart from that, workers claim exploitation in several instances, especially in branches comprised of underprivileged people. Workers receive low wages, and understaffing also occurs, as the company seeks to maximize on profits. Worst of all, its aggressive practices push several small food outlets out of business (Brazelton, Ellis, Macedo, Shader, and Suslow,

Creativity and mentall illness, is there a link Essay

Creativity and mentall illness, is there a link - Essay Example Creativity is defined in many ways by many people. Some people believe that it is the intellectual giftedness. Some others believe that though intelligence is required for creativity, it is not sufficient enough. Independence, fluency and flexibility were cited as the characteristics of creativity. (Waddell) All the intelligent people need not be creative, but all creative people are intelligent. Intelligence is only a part of creativity and in order to become a creative person one should have other qualities like great imaginative power. In fact personality may not have much importance in the life of a creative person. We have lots of examples in which genius persons who adopted crazy life styles. Creativity is the capacity to originate scientiï ¬ c discoveries, artistic works, technical inventions, or engage in political leadership, in a manner that achieves what is conventionally termed eminence (Dutton) Hard work is required for every creative work and hence the mental health has an important role in the making of a creative person. Mental health on the other hand is measured in terms of the social behavior of the person. Any unaccepted social behavior may be considered as the indications of some kind of mental problems. In a study conducted in out of the 291 assessed biographies of eminent males in music, art, writing, science, and political leadership, high rates of psychiatric disorders like depression and alcoholism in writers and artists were found. (Waddell) Kamala Das (Madhavikutty), one of the greatest creative writers from Kerala, India has been passed away recently and her life history is one of the best examples for our topic of â€Å"relation between mental health and creativity†. This writer was one of the all time great romantic writers not only in Malayalam but in English as well. Many of her literature works were translated to English and Arabic like many other languages. At

Does modernization theory adequately explain the levels of Assignment

Does modernization theory adequately explain the levels of socioeconomic growth in the developing world Support your answer with appropriate examples - Assignment Example tion theory thus takes into consideration the internal dynamics with a focus on cultural and social structures as well as adaptation of new and appropriate technology. This can be seen in the development of nations like china. Socio-economic growth on the other hand is the process of economic prosperity and social development in a society. It is a process that is elite-directed and concentrates power to produce growth trajectory in households’ living standards and culture. It is therefore measured by the indicators which include GDP, literacy, employment levels and life expectancy among others. Socio-economic growth can be impacted by changes that include: laws, ecological changes, new technology as well as changes that affect the physical environment (Baumgartner, Burns, & DeVille, 2014). Understanding these two terminologies, the essay thus holds the view that modernization theory adequately explains the levels of socioeconomic growth in the developing world. This essay will give an explanation as to why the above statement is correct supporting them with examples. It is correct to state that modernization theory adequately explains the levels of socioeconomic growth in the developing world. Let us decipher this, modernization theory focuses on internal factors within a country to be responsible for underdevelopment. These internal factors may include: literacy, the attitude of the populace, communication, infrastructure, agrarian structure, laws, among others. In this essay the listed internal factors will therefore be discussed one by one to understand their implication on socio-economic development of a country. In so doing, each of the factors will be evaluated in terms of their impact on the countries physical environment, ecological changes, technology and laws and subsequently their implication on a country’s GDP, literacy, employment levels and life expectancy among others. Modernization theory takes into consideration the internal dynamics with

The Berlin Blockade Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The Berlin Blockade - Research Paper Example During World War ii, Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union banded together to form the allied powers in order to fight and overcome Germany.   The war was brutal and left devastation in its wake.   After the war, the main question was what to do with conquered Germany.   The Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States convened at Potsdam in Berlin for a conference which lasted from 16 July until 2 August. 1945.   This was the third conference held by the allies after the war in which decisions were taken as how to restore Europe and deal with Germany.   The leaders who attended were: Stalin of the Soviet Union, Truman of the United States and Churchill of Britain who was replaced by Attlee who had become the new Prime Minister of Britain.   Already, the tension was displayed between the Soviet Union who practiced Communism and the Western powers who had adopted Capitalism.   The Potsdam Agreement was signed during the conference, which led to the cre ation of a four-power allied control council [ACC] to govern Germany.   The allied council was made up of Britain, The Soviet Union, The United States, and France.   They were each given a zone in Germany to govern.   Berlin, the capital of Germany, fell within the Soviet Union’s zone; fearing that The Soviet Union would gain an advantage by this, the other three powers insisted that Berlin is divided into four separate sections. The Soviet Union’s zone was mainly made up of fertile agricultural land that produced most of Germany’s food; while, the British and the United States’ zones were more industrial in nature and had to rely on foodstuff from The Soviet Union.   The allies planned to limit Germany’s industrial capacity in order to ensure that it would never again be able to achieve remilitarization.   Britain, who occupied the zone least capable of conducting agriculture, disagreed with this resolution and fought for a greater indus trial output by Germany, tightly controlled by the allies, so that Germany may become a major trading partner.   Due to the lack of an agreement on this matter, each country administered its zone as it saw fit.  

Music Education for Chinese Pupils Dissertation - 1

Music Education for Chinese Pupils - Dissertation Example Chinese music has evolved since ancient times under the influence of religious, philosophical and ideological doctrines (Reimer, 1989). In Confucian treatises the concept of the cosmological nature of the music was developed, its social and political role was highlighted. Music in Confucianism was regarded as one of the means of governance, as well as a significant factor in educating people and in achieving social harmony. According to the ideas of Taoism, the music was to facilitate the natural expression of psycho-emotional reactions of man, its fusion with nature. The school music education, which was developed during one of the most complex, saturated with global cataclysms, the period in the history of the country, gradually became a public system, marked by both significant achievements and serious shortcomings. Nowadays the assessments of achievements of challenges facing China’s school education are prerequisites for successful reform. Music became a compulsory subject in secondary schools of China in 1912. In accordance with the suggestions for the educational course of the country, made by Education Minister Tsai Yuanpey (1912), the role of arts education plays the significant role in shaping the personality, thus, particular attention should be paid to music teaching in secondary schools. This document determined a new status of the given subject. The lessons of music education ceased to be selective subject and moved into the category of compulsory in both junior and secondary schools (Mingyue, 1985). Further development of mus ic education in the Chinese school was influenced by the Movement of May 4, 1919, which was initiated by the university intelligentsia.

Compare and contrast the techniques used to discuss colonialism in Essay

Compare and contrast the techniques used to discuss colonialism in Jamaica Kincaids The Ugly Tourist and George Orwells Shooting an Elephant - Essay Example On the other hand, Orwell narrated a story of elephant, that symbolized the oppressed and enlightened about the advance effects of oppression to both the oppressed and oppressors. The article, Shooting an elephant is based in Burma whose colonialist where the British. The colonial rule lasted 124 years (1824-1948) from creation of Burma to its independence as a province in British India. The British had to ensure control of the Burmese people, thus they â€Å"trained the neighboring Indians to take over as civil servants. They also imposed British traditions on the Burmese and encouraged both Chinese and Indians to migrate to Burmese cities so as to profit from the new business opportunities† The British also colonized the Antiguans in the Caribbean whose inhabitants where mostly of African lineage, descendants of slaves brought to work in the sugarcane farms which were established by an Englishman, Codrington in 1684. In George Orwell’s article, he expresses the feeling of been unwanted by the natives and deemed them to be hostile or rather unfriendly, â€Å"as a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so† (Cohen 299). This is a clear indication that the locals despised him and his work and further shows that the colonialists’ were unwanted in the region. Baits were put in place to intimidate the colonialists in an effort to push them away. Orwell further shows the hostility when he says that the referee looked the other way when he was tripped in the football field by another Burman (Cohen 297). The theme of Racism is also emphasized in both works. Orwell refers to the natives as yellow men who always insulted their master while at a distance. The fact that there were insults, from a different skin colored individuals embraced racial discrimination, which ought to be two way. He also shows how the Buddhist stood at street corners jeering at the Europeans. As much as it

China and Globalization Essay Example for Free

China and Globalization Essay China’s rapid ascent as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies (Adornino Wilcox, 96) has triggered enormous attention among scholars interested not only in the political, economic and social underpinnings of its continued growth but also in the implications of its increased integration with the global economy. Indeed, an examination of the unique characteristic of China’s development and transition from a planned, centralized economy based on the socialist ideology to the liberal, open-market economy it is today strengthens the arguments in support of globalization. On the other hand, the impact of its liberalization and democratization on China’s poor also presents a critical view on the trade-offs of global integration. The stage for China’s entry into the global economy was clearly set by the transition from a closed, relatively self-sufficient economy which was crystallized in the post-Mao era under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in the Chinese Communist Party. In the late 1970s, the Party began instituting domestic economic and social reforms mirroring its abandonment of the socialist economy and ideology in favor of neoliberal economics. (Adormino Wilcox 96) Among the major reforms undertaken was the development and democratization of trade and markets, effectively allowing uncontrolled private ownership to the means of production, heretofore owned publicly, and the shift from a planned economy to a â€Å"market-oriented free trading system. † (Guan, 2001:118) Likewise, the Chinese government reduced state control and intervention in economic activities as it began to adopt an Open Door policy to attract foreign direct investment and facilitate the growth of China’s international trade. Thus, China became part of the global economy after economic liberalization and democratization. On the other hand, the country’s integration into the neoliberal world economic order has also been the subject of much criticism. Guan (2000) notes that the implementation of market reforms and China’s consequent integration drastically changed not only the country’s economic system but also important aspects of its social policy. (119) As a result of the shift to a free market economy, the State’s role in the provision of welfare and security for its citizens significantly diminished. For instance, food and price subsidies have been stopped and the poor are faced with the risks of unemployment. Likewise, Guan (2001) asserts that widening social inequality has also characterized modern China despite sustained economic growth and efforts at reforming social policy to provide safety nets for labor, agriculture, and other poor sectors. (243) Undoubtedly, knowledge of both the negative and positive aspects of liberalization informs the Chinese government’s attitude toward global economic integration. This is evident in the manner by which the state has controlled the pace of China’s integration with the international economy in order to preserve social stability. (Adornino Wilcox, 97; Yong Moore, 117) However, Yong and Moore (2004) attribute the State’s waryness of completely and totally embracing globalization to its fear of the inherent weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a globalized system that could jeopardize China’s â€Å"strategic outlook as an aspiring great power. † (117) China is thus effectively hindered from fully associating itself with the global economy due to its political identity as a socialist country and to the fact that the market reform has resulted into the further fragmentation of interests in Chinese society. Thus, it is in the most ironic sense that, as Adornino and Wilcox (2006) observe, the Chinese Communist Party legitimizes its rule and power through a flourishing capitalist economy. (100) The State is therefore careful of rushing headlong into a fully open, liberalized country since this would entail the further erosion of its power as â€Å"market reforms have increasingly devolved decision-making powers to producers and enterprise managers. † (Adornino Wilcox, 100) The further diffussion and decentralization of power threatens not only the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party but also endangers the country to social instability as the needs of its citizens become increasingly diverse and at the same time polarized between those benefitting from the market reform and those who have lost much because of it. (Adornino Wilcox, 100) China’s experience in globalization is arguably unique due to the government’s ambivalence in adopting a clearly Capitalist stance and ideology and the pressure created by the need for social equality. China’s integration to the global market is hampered by internal difficulties in aligning various political and economic interests. On the one hand, China’s economic restructuring has created a rapidly growing and expanding market and trading system integrated with the international economy. On the other hand, its government has to precariously balance competing interests in social and domestic policy, resolve the problems in social inequality, and at the same time reduce its involvement in economic activities as demanded by the free market economy. Thus, while the benefits of China’s rapidly growing economy is obvious for the elite, the host of political and social problems created in its wake also makes the majority of the Chinese people bear the brunt of the development from a clearly socialist path into an ambivalent capitalist society. Works Cited: Adormino, Giovanni and Wilcox, Russel G. â€Å"China: Between Social Stability and Market Integration. † China World Economy 14. 3(2006):95-108. Guan, Xin Ping. â€Å"China’s Social Policy: Reform and Development in the Context of Marketization and Globalization. † Social Policy and Administration 34. 1(2000):115-130. Guan, Xinping. â€Å"Globalization, Inequality, and Social Policy: China on the Treshold of Entry into the World Trade Organization. † Social Policy and Administration 35. 3(2001):242-257. Yong, Deng and Moore, Thomas G. â€Å"China Views Globalization: Toward a New Great Power Politics? † The Washington Quarterly 27. 3(2004):117-136.

The US Policy of Marshall Aid Essay Example for Free

The US Policy of Marshall Aid Essay Assess the view that the US Policy of Marshall Aid was motivated mainly by the altruistic desire to help the economic recovery of Europe. Following advice from U.S General Marshall, Marshall Aid was introduced to Europe in 1947. Some argue this policy was motivated mainly through altruistic desire to help the economic reconstruction of Europe; however the four interpretations dismiss this argument, focusing on the need to boost capitalism, preventing communism. The main reasons for Marshall Aids introduction were political and economic, not altruistic. The theory that Marshall Aid was mainly motivated through altruism isnt credibly acknowledged in any interpretation. Judt acknowledges altruism in his interpretation by stating aid was offered to all European countries, without distinction and Enthusiastic American New Dealers had urged upon European colleagues virtues of freer trade, international collaboration and inter-state integration, however he dismisses altruism and argues other influences had great significance, aid was part of a program to reform the European economy as a whole; Europe would need to collaborate in planning and confer.with each other. Enthusiastic American New Dealers supported aid through their own self-interests, not altruistic desire. Balfour, McCauley and Gaddis fail to acknowledge altruism in their arguments, supporting Judts dismissal. However Europe was devastated following the war and Marshall Aid had reduced the problem, so altruism was not completely absent. America lacked any altruistic desire to help Russia. Fear of Soviet domination and the spread of communism was key to the introduction of aid in the first place, this is argued in each interpretation, adding credibility to each view. Gaddis argues the immediate psychological benefits produced by economic assistance would halt the spread of communism. However in contrast to Gaddis, Judt draws focus to productivity missions funded by the Marshall Plan in his interpretation, which brought thousands of managers, technicians and trade unionists the U.S to study the American way of business. There is evidence to make this a credible argument as it ties in with revisionist theory that America intended to use Marshall Aid as a form of economic imperialism to asset their authority over Europe. Gaddis concedes Russia refusing aid would strain relationships, enabling the U.S to seize the geopolitical and moral initiative in the emerging Cold War, thus strengthening Judts argument that aid favou red American interests as well as containing communism. Balfour suggests a main objective of the Marshall Plan was to win the mouths and minds of the West European peoples so as to prevent them from turning Communist, again focusing on Americas fear of communism. This meant boosting capitalism, which was being resuscitated and given a prosperity highly alluring to countries on the fringes of the USSR, to encourage Cominform nations to denounce communism, a fairly forceful argument acknowledged by each interpretation. Judt implies aid was part of a programme to reform the European economy and is correct when stating Stalin and Molotovs suspicions of the terms Marshall was proposing being quite incompatible with the closed Soviet economy. Neither the US or USSR were prepared to accept each others economic system, Judt again references the differing ideologies and argues that as well as reducing Soviet influence, boosting capitalism and encouraging free trade would have the desired effect of containing communism. Further evidence to make thi s a credible argument is within Balfours interpretation, Molotov viewed aid as an attempt by American capitalists to capture additional markets. In contrast to Balfour and Judt who focus on differing ideologies as a key motivation, the counter revisionist argument that Marshall Aid was motivated by U.S self-interest re-emerges in McCauleys interpretation, an expanding European market would take more U.S goods. Nations accepting aid would be open to U.S markets, the incentive of viable trading partners which would in turn avoid depression, as Molotov believed. Americas need for a viable trade partner is expressed further by Gaddis, arguing that economic assistance would provide immediate psychological benefits and material ones that would reduce this trend where goods and capital could move freely, boosting capitalism. Introducing Marshall Aid would solve two problems by containing communism and providing a badly needed trade partner for America, adding credibility to the two arguments. Balfours interpretation also focuses on economic factors as the main motivation behind Marshall Aid, which could be used to turn countries to capitalism and recover the position which had been lost between 1944 and 1947, despite the fact Balfour implies that Eastern Europe was not a market for the West, Molotovs belief supports Balfours argument. McCauleys interpretation also focuses on economic recovery; containing a speech by John Foster Dulles, putting the future of Germany in the context of the economic unity of Europe rather than the Potsdam view of Germany as an economic entity. German recovery would lead to production of industrial and capital goods so vital to Europes earnings, and would open up the German market for other European manufacturers, hence the link to re-establishing inter-European trade1. McCauleys argument that small economic units in a divided Europe could not prosper and Europe had to unite.to provide a market large enough to justify modern mass-production techniques, suggests that in order for the European economy to strengthen, and win the mouths and minds of the West European peoples as Balfour argues, Europe must collaborate. This posed serious problems European political ideologies varied, some countries would have problems working together. European collapse would be a disaster for America too, and revival in Germany was key to re-establishing European economies, further validating McCauleys argument on the importance of economic recovery. Opportunities would open up for other European manufacturers as a result of industrial revival in Germany. Washington believed that reestablishment of multilateral trade was key to boosting the economy, the protective device of aid intended European countries to switch from the bilateral to the multilateral as soon as possible. McCauley references the benefits of multilateral collaboration throughout his interpretation, strengthening Judts argument that economic reasons were the main motivation behind Marshall Aid. The subsequent boom led to an economic divide as obvious as the political one, with the rich West and poor East. European markets had exceeded pre-war levels of production and income by the 1950s, reducing the influence of the communists and verifying Ryans argument that Marshall Aid would negate the appeal of communism. The West had no incentive to turn communist now it was booming. All four interpretations agree Marshall Aid would gain popularity if it would have a negative impact on communism. Gaddis outlines the greatest threat to the West wasnt military intervention, rather the risk that hunger, poverty and despair might cause Europeans to vote their own communists into office, who would obediently serve Moscows wishes, this is a credible argument because communism was benefitting with many European economies bankrupt Soviet domination was a real danger. Gaddis further acknowledges the U.S knew they had to intervene as the communists were an electoral threat throughout Europe especially France and Italy. Ryan agrees, arguing that Communism was perceived to thrive on fear, desperation and chaos, summing up the state of Europe in 1945, and aid would in part negate the appeal of the left.2 McCauley furthers the anti-communism view; by linking it to anti-Communism the concept would be very popular in the USA and Balfour backs this up, stating funds required for aid would never have been approved by Congress unless a considerable amount of emphasis had been laid on the danger of communism in Europe, and on the significance of US aid as a protective device. He also suggests the threat would have to be exaggerated to gain enough support, however Soviet domination was already a serious threat to the West, there was no need to exaggerate its severity. Judt agrees with Balfour, arguing that because aid would be confined to the West, with Greece and Turkey being honorary West Europeans, it undoubtedly made it easier for Truman to secure passage of the ERP through Congress. Judt has acknowledged aid was offered without distinction and Ryan implies Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Ukraine were willing participants, but ultimately, Stalin pressured them into withdrawing3,.Gaddis also acknowledges Russia would not accept such aid or allow its satellites to, which is a credible argument because Stalin feared U.S economic domination, believing economic integration with the West would threaten Soviet control over Eastern Europe. Judt also focuses on the fact Stalin and Molotov were of course suspicious. Stalin had felt betrayed by the West during the war and he lacked trust, which is justifiable. Gaddis further acknowledges this, even though the Marshall Plan didnt yet distinguish the areas of Europe under Soviet control, the thinking behind it certainly did. Deputy Minister Vyshinsky argued the US was attempting to impose its will on other independent states, doing little to reduce Soviet tension. Despite several Cominform states being willing participants in desperate need of help and Judts argument that Russian sentiments were not widely shared elsewhere, aid was refused with Stalins persuasion, which strained relationships according to Gaddis. The four interpretations agree the U.S aimed to use European desperation for aid to boost capitalism. Judts view that aid was offered without distinction is challenged by Kunz, arguing that the State Department knew that Congress would never approve aid for Russia fear of Soviet domination was a key motivation for aid in the first place which validates Kunzs argument who adds that fortunately Stalin never called the bluff4. Russian acceptance would have caused problems as the Marshall Plan was based on the assumption that Russia would decline aid. McCauley implies European Governments were required to plan ahead and calculate future investment needs and to negotiate and confer with each other to aid economic reconstruction. There are numerous examples to validate McCauleys argument. By cooperating, economies would benefit. During the years of aid, countries in receipt experienced economic growth of between 15-25%. Without cooperation, this would not have been possible. McCauley further argues the German economy would improve as Frances desperate need for German reparations would be replaced by U.S credits, solving the French problem. Versailles had previously crippled Germany, and with German recovery important to revitalising Europe, it was vital to avoid a repeat despite Stalins wishes. The marrying of French and German economies would reduce French fears of German economic power. France would know if German expansionism posed a threat as the two were cooperating; they feared a future offensive due to geographical location. Judt focuses on the Americans whod blocked any return to the temptations of the interwar economy, and by encouraging Europe to cooperate, prevented future European conflict and promoted trust and reacceptance of Germany. American desire for a peaceful, united Europe expresses a degree of altruism. Balfour in his interpretation draws focus to an underlying military reason for the Marshall Plan; it later came to be given a more military significance, intending to recreate the military power of Western Europe. Britain and France could resume their roles as Great Powers allowing them to provide armies which would be strong enough, and backed by American atomic weapons in order to recover the position which had been lost by force. However the other arguments do not acknowledge militarism which severely undermines the credibility of this view. Britain and France received significant aid, revitalizing their economies, however no further military action took place in Europe. However Balfour goes on to concede that other events had greater significance, such as differing ideologies and fear of communism. Since Truman didnt want war in election year, these two factors combined dismiss this view. Several motivational factors were involved in implementing the Marshall Plan. A plan to boost capitalism, argued by Balfour, the economic concerns argued by Judt, and argued by McCauley and Gaddis to be interlinked with political concerns, along with hints of militarism and altruism. However, Gaddis argument that the US was following a political grand strategy through economic means, and the interlinking economic concerns established by McCauley reference the greatest motivational theory, along with the differing ideologies between U.S and USSR, implied by Judt and Balfour. The Marshall Plan wasnt motivated through altruistic desire to help Europe, despite Churchills statement that it was the most unsordid act in history5 1 How successful was the Marshall Plan? Scott Newton, History Today (2000) 2 David Ryan, The United States and Europe in the Twentieth Century (2003) 3 David Ryan, The United States and Europe in the Twentieth Century (2003) 4 The Marshall Plan reconsidered: A complex of Motives Diane Kunz (1997) p162, 9pgs 5 The American Past, A Study of American History. Joseph Conlin (2009) p. 724

Cronbachs Alpha Reliability Analysis Psychology Essay

Cronbachs Alpha Reliability Analysis Psychology Essay Scale measurement is an important element in survey. The survey in this study involved 3 sections, which are section A, section B and section C. Nominal scale was used in survey section A, and ordinal scale was used in survey section B and C. Nominal scale is scale that labels the items rather than scales it (Howell, 2009). It includes male or female and yes or no. Normally it brings no meaning. Ordinal scale is simple rank model. The objects, individuals or events are categorized. It is known as ranked data as the ranking is ordered from highest to lowest or smallest to biggest (Jackson, 2011). Section A was created to gather the socio-demographic characteristics of respondent such as gender, ages, location of study in the UTAR and education level. Figure 3.1 Select your Gender: Male Female There were five dimensions in Section B which contained 20 statements to measure the independent variables. The sequence of these dimensions was social influence, environmental concern, environmental attitude and self-image. In the Section C are contained 5 statements to measure the dependent variable which was green purchasing behavior. In this research, 5-point likert scale is used (5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neutral, 2=disagree and 1= strongly disagree). A 5-point Likert scale is good enough as increase in scale may confuse respondents (Hair, Bush Ortinau, 2003). Likert scale can achieve high degree of validity and reliability (Sarantakos, 1993; cited by Kronberg, 2011). Figure 3.2 3.7 Data Processing After all data had been collected from a sample of the target respondents, data processing is the next step to ensure the data in the standard of quality and complete. 3.7.1 Checking The first step of data processing is to check on questionnaire before it has been distributed. Hence it can reduce the unqualified data such as typing error, inconsistent questions and incomplete content. Therefore, the mistakes can be detected and corrected in advance. In addition, the questionnaire has been passed to our supervisor to double check. Collected data needs to be checked whether the feedback from target respondents are valid for the research. Pilot test has been used to test the reliability and accuracy of the questionnaires. The objective of data checking is to ensure the questionnaires are in quality and completeness. In this stage the grammar error corrections will be done. 3.7.2 Editing Editing is a process of examining the collected raw data to detect errors and omissions in the information returned by the respondents of the research, and to correct the data when possible. 3.7.3 Coding The next process is data coding which involves assigning a number to the participants response so that the data can be entered into a database. The code includes an indication of the column position (field) and data record. For example, the five point likert scale of variable, strongly disagree codes as 1 and strongly agree codes as 5. This coding is simplifying storage of data with digit codes and easier for categorizing when used SPSS software. 3.7.4 Transcribing Transcribing data is a process that transferring coded data from questionnaires or coding sheet into disks or computers for analyzing purpose. The data will pre-check to ensure the data is error free. When the data is transferred in SPSS software, it can be used for the research and generate the accuracy analysis from the questionnaire. 3.8 Data Analysis The raw data collected in research will be further analyzed by statistical method. After the questionnaires were returned to the researcher, the data were recorded and entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which was uploaded into Predictive Analysis Software (PASW, previously known as The Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS) for more detailed statistical analysis. PASW is a good first statistical package for people who want to perform quantitative research in social science because it is easy to use (Cheah, 2009). In this study, the analysis utilized were descriptive statistics which included frequency distribution, measure of central tendency and measure of dispersion, Cronbachs Alpha Reliability Analysis, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. 3.8.1 Descriptive Analysis Descriptive analysis is used in the research to transform the raw data to a way that is meaningful (Zikmund, 2002). It may include graph, bar, pie chart, or any number that use to describe that raw data. It helps the researchers to summarize the study variables (Parasuraman, Grewal Krishnan, 2004). So that researchers can get to know the results and make interpretation based on descriptive statistics. 3.8.1.1 Reliability Test Reliability refers to dependency or consistency, which indicates that the same things is repeated or recurs under the identical conditions. The reliability of a measure shows the degree to which the measure is without bias (error free) and hence offers consistent measurement across time and across different items in the instrument (Sekaran, 2000). A reliable measure would show the stability and consistency with which the instrument measures the concept and help to access the goodness of a measure. According to Sekaran (2000), a measure with reliability less than 0.6 is considered poor, it should be at least 0.70 or above. The most widely used method to measure reliability is Cronbachs alpha. Cronbachs alpha is used for multipoint-scaled items (items in the scale are at least internal in nature). Generally, Cronbachs alpha will increase when the correlations between the items increase. Alpha value can take values between negative infinity and 1, although only positive values make sense (Cheah, 2009). The value of Cronbachs alpha should be at least 0.6 to be accepted, and the ideal value is 0.7 or above. 3.8.2 Descriptive statistics Descriptive studies are quite frequently undertaken in education institutions to learn about and describe the characteristics of a group of students, such examples as the age and years of education in an education institution. There are three types of measures used in descriptive statistics: frequency distribution and measures of central of tendency and measures of dispersion or variability. Researcher was able to find the frequencies, percentages and determine the mean and standard deviation for the variables in the questionnaires by using descriptive statistics. To understand the use of measurement terms, frequency distribution plays a critical role. According to Leech et al. (2005), frequency distribution is a tally or count of the number of times each score on a single variable occurs. The use of frequency distribution is to show the number of responses to each value of a variable. Normally, variable name, frequency counts for each value of the variable and cumulative percentages for each value related to a variable are shown by a frequency distribution. The distribution is said to be approximately normally distributed when there are small numbers of scores for the low and high values and most scores are for the middle values. The mean is the arithmetic average of a set of data. Typically, the data shows some degree of central tendency with the most responses distributed close to the mean value (Hair, Money, Samouel and Page, 2007). The mean is said to be a robust measure of central tendency as in most instances, it is not sensitive to data values being added or deleted (Hair et al., 2007). According to Joseph et al. (2007), standard deviation describes the spread or variability of the sample distribution values from the mean, and is perhaps the most valuable index of dispersion. 3.8.3 Cronbachs alpha reliability analysis As mentioned earlier, the most commonly type of measurement of internal consistency reliability used is Cronbachs coefficient alpha. When there are several Likert-type items that are summed, alpha is used to make a composite score or summated scale. According to Leech et al. (2005), alpha is based on the mean or average correlation of each item in the scale with every other item. 3.8.2 Inferential Analysis Inferential analysis refers to data analysis which is used to test specific hypothesis (Parasuraman et al., 2004). According to Greer Kolbe (2003), inferential statistics include drawing conclusions from information obtained in the data. 3.8.4 Pearson correlation analysis Sekaran (2003) stated that when the researcher interested in defines the important variables associated with the problem, the study is called correlation study. For example, correlation studies can be undertaken to find out whether any relationship between gender and income level exists? If yes, positive or negative relationship? The index ranges in value from -1 to +1, with zero indicating absolutely no relation between two variables. This coefficient indicates the degree that low or high scores on one variable tend to go to with low or high scores on another variable. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between the independent variables (social influence, environmental concern, environmental attitude and concern for self-image in environmental protection) and dependent variable (green purchasing behavior). 3.8.5 Multiple regression analysis Multiple regression is a widely used statistical technique in sociology. The result of multiple regression can generate two things (Neuman, 2009). First, a measure called R-squared (R2) in the result can tell how well a set of variables explain a dependent variable. In other word, it shows the accuracy of predicting the dependent variable based on the information about the independent variables. For example, an R2 of .50 means that knowing the independent variables improve the accuracy of predicting the dependent variable by 50 percent (Neuman, 2009). The second thing generated by multiple regression is the measurement of the direction and size of the effect of each independent variable on a dependent variable (Neuman, 2009). For instance, the way how five independent or controlling variables simultaneously affect a dependent variable, with all the variables controlling the effects of one another can be seen by researcher. According to Neuman (2009), a standardized regression coefficient is used to measure the effect on the dependent variable. It is similar to a correlation coefficient (Neuman, 2009). A high standardized regression coefficient indicates a strong relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable. 3.9 Chapter Summary Research methodology is important as it can help researcher to systematically resolve the research problem. In this chapter, research framework and hypotheses are clarified. The other sections of this chapter include data sources, sampling design, data collection and data analysis.

FGM: Female Genital Mutilation Must be Outlawed Worldwide Essay

Female Genital Mutilation, shortened to FGM in most medical texts, is â€Å"collective name given to several different traditional practices that involve the cutting of female genitals.† FGM is a common cultural practice in many parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia that was established hundreds of years ago. There are many different types of FGM, ranging from clitoridectomy, to cutting and infibulations (Skaine 7). Even though these procedures are accepted in the areas they are practiced, FGM has become a human rights discussion resurfacing in recent years because the procedures serve no purpose. Female Genital Mutilation is an unethical practice that should be outlawed throughout the entire world. FGM, specifically infibulation, is believed to have started in Arabia and then spread to Africa through a well-established trade route. FGM has never been considered a hygienic practice because most of the procedures make hygiene more difficult (Pieters). The sole purpose of FGM is to make sexual contact unsatisfactory for the woman, no matter what the motive is. Some girls go through FGM procedures at a young age to calm their fathers’ nerves and others undergo the procedures so she won’t stray from her husband. In Egypt, 97 percent of women have undergone a Female Circumcision procedure sometime in their lives while only 82 percent approve of it. An Indonesian study showed that midwives performed from about 68 to 88 percent of all procedures (Skaine 42). Most of the time, girls that receive a Female Circumcision don’t even get a chance to voice their opinions because they are too young when the procedure is performed. While Female Genital Mutilation procedures serve their purpose, to take away sexual satisfaction, every advers... ...problem is viewed by the public. According to the Womankind Worldwide organization, in order to achieve the abolition of FGM two things must happen: â€Å"FGM needs to be firmly [placed] on national governments’ agendas and there must be clear laws specifically criminalizing FGM† (Womankind Worldwide 32). Until those two things happen, Female Genital Mutilation will continue to be a worldwide concern. Developed nations must help the countries â€Å"lagging behind† to smooth the progress of eradicating FGM (Skaine 79). The frequency of genital cutting in individual countries makes the practice seem irrelevant in many parts of the world; however the practice is a worldwide human rights concern. A person’s body should not be deformed, unless for hygienic or medical reasons, without the individual’s permission therefore any form of Female Genital Mutilation should not take place.

The Versatility of the Hemp Plant :: Hemp

The Versatility of the Hemp Plant The hemp plant shows its unique versatility by having many uses in industry. Hemp has many distinct benefits over its counterparts in industry today. Hemp usage would result in a cleaner and more efficient industry. One use of hemp in industry is as a fiber. The process of converting hemp into a fiber is quite simple, and is easy to do. The stalk of the hemp plant has two parts, called the bast and the hurd. Workers can weave the fiber (bast) of the hemp plant into almost any kind of cloth. It is very durable. In fact, the first Levi's blue jeans were made out of hemp for just this reason. Compared with all the other natural fibers available, hemp is more suitable for a large number of applications. It is easy to harvest hemp for fiber. A field of closely spaced hemp is allowed to grow until the leaves fall off. They then cut down the hemp and it lies in the field for some time washed by the rain. They turn it over once to expose both sides of the stalk evenly. During this time, the hurd softens up and it returns many minerals to the soil. They call this process `retting,' and after this step is complete, they bring the stalks to a machine that separates the bast and the hurd. They can then weave the bast. The cloth that hemp makes may be a little less soft than cotton, (though there are also special kinds of hemp, or ways to grow or treat hemp, that can produce a soft cloth) but it is much stronger and longer lasting. Hemp requires little fertilizer, and grows well almost everywhere. It also resists pests, so it uses little pesticides. Hemp puts down deep roots, which is good for the soil. When the leaves drop off the hemp plant, it returns minerals and nitrogen to the soil. Hemp has been grown on the same soil for twenty years in a row without any noticeable depletion of the soil. Using less fertilizer and agricultural chemicals is good for two reasons. First, it costs less and requires less effort. Second, many agricultural chemicals are dangerous and can co ntaminate the environment-the less we have to use, the better. Another industrial use for hemp is in victuals. Hemp seed is a highly nutritious source of protein and essential fatty oils.

Essay --

There are two different views on the connection that is found between consumption and environmental policy. The first major connection is the ignorance of buying something that at first seems like it will help out people in so many ways, but ends up hurting the environment in the long run after changes and a changing culture, cars for example (Book Review: The Shadow of Consumption, 1). The other connection that could be made is the connection between researching products and how they are produced and what the companies do with the byproduct after the product has been made. This connection can seem like a strong connection than the ignorant connect because there is a whole other level of research and understanding that goes into understanding the environment and the policies that are changed by the production process. Environmental and energy policies can play a significant yet small role in the incrementalism in policy making. Environmental policies and new plans often cost money and time that the government cannot fully give to a specific area that may be affected. Charles Lindblom discusses that how the best solution will not always be selected, but that incrementalism is common for larger policies that have a high level of salience and a low level of conflict, since these are more easy to agree upon and change quickly, example airline safety. Environmental policies have a low level and salience and a low level of conflict which causes the policies to get pushed back and often reviewed and not changed because of funding that can be offered. The connection that is created between incrementalism and environmental policy has been changed and improved over time but the actual changes are not implemented because of the prio... ...nges that may have once been a regulation, but that still effects the environment. Other larger plants and companies are beginning to change the way that they take care of certain waste products because they have been brought into the public light and some groups have begun to campaign against the larger companies that are dealing with the regulations. The environmental push that is being created is affected by the ‘race to the bottom† even though regulations may be decreased the problem is already out in the public so it seems that since there used to be such stringent laws. The increased competition that can be created by the companies which are similar plays into interest groups. State policies are changing the way that larger companies are dealing with the environment as well as aiding in the improving the environment after there has been major damage done.

The Future of Iptv and Ip-Video

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