Management 300 Study Guid free essay sample

Innovative management for turbulent times Daft Chap 5 Managing ethics and social responsibility Daft Chap 9 Managerial decision making Daft Chap 19 Managing quality and performance OM Chap 7 Process selection, design and analysis OM Chap 12 Managing Inventories OM Chap 18 Project management II Cautions Final exam includes 50 multiple-choice questions, covering both concepts and calculations. †¢ 1-2 bonus question will be given in the format of problem solving. †¢ This study guide pinpoints the major contents of the final exam. It is NOT a comprehensive list of problems on the exam. †¢ Please bring a copy of â€Å"Standard Normal Distribution Table† (posted online in the same folder) †¢ Please bring your own scantron Form F-289-PAR-L (Note: the same as that of Exam II) †¢ Don’t forget to bring your calculator to the exam. The use of lectronic devices will be strictly prohibited III Key concepts and models Daft Chapter 1 Innovative Management for Turbulent Times †¢ The four management functions- planning, organizing, leading, controlling †¢ Planning- identifying goals for future organizational performance and deciding on the tasks and use of resources to attain them , organizing-assigning responsibility for task accomplishment leading-using influence to motivate employees and controlling- monitoring activities and making corrections Effectiveness-the degree to which the organization achieves a stated goal efficiency- the amount of resources used to produce a desired level of output †¢ Conceptual skills- cognitive ability to see the organization as a whole and the relationship amongst its parts , human skills- managers ability to work with and through with other people and work effectively as part of a group technical skills – understanding and proficiency in the performance of a specific task . We will write a custom essay sample on Management 300 Study Guid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Management levels in the organizational hierarchy- Top managers- gt; moddle managers -gt; first line managers Functional managers= responsible for a department that performs a functional task (actg/fin) versus general managers= responsible for several departments that perform different functions such as the manager at macys/ ford factory †¢ Manager roles: ( ROLE def: set of expectations for ones behavior informational=activities used to maintain and develop an information network, monitoring , dissiminating, spokesperson to communicate information interpersonal= acting as a figurehead, leader, and liason ecisional= entrepreneur , disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator †¢ 10 manager roles = monitor, disseminator and spokesperons ( informational role figurehead, leader, and lisaion ( interpersonal entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator ( decisional Daft Chapter 5 Ethics and Social Responsibility. Domain of codified law,= legal standard domain of ethics= social standard, domain of free choice= personal standard Utilitarian approach= ethical decision making says that ethical choice is one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number †¢ Individualism approach= actions are ethical when they promote the individuals’ best long-term interests, because with everyone pursuing self-interest, the greater good is served †¢ Moral rights approach= ethical decisions are those that best maintain the fundamental rights of people affected by them Justice approach: distributive= different treatment of individuals not be based on arbitrary characteristic /procedural= rules should be clearly stated and consistently and impartially reinforces compensatory = individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible, and individuals should not be held responsible for matters over which they have no controls Virtue ethics approach= moral beh avior stems from personal virtues. If manager develops good character traits and learns to overcome negative traits, he or she will make ethical decisions based on personal virtues. Practical approach= sidesteps debates about what is right, good, or just, and bases decisions on prevailing standards of the profession and the larger society, taking the interests of all stakeholders into account. Stage of moral development: preconvention= individuals are concerned with external rewards and punishments and obey authority to avoid detrimental personal consequences conventional- people learn to conform to the expectations of good behavior as defined by fam/colleagues/society, leadership style is one that encourages interpersonal relationships and cooperation post conventional (principled) = individuals guided by internal set of values based on universal principles of justice and right and will even disobey rules or laws that violate these principles Stakeholder= any group within or outside and organization that has a stake in the organizations performance. key stakeholders= shareholders, employees, customers, and suppliers. †¢ Four criteria of corporate social re sponsibility= economic responsibility-gt; legal responsibility -gt; ethical responsibility-gt; discretionary responsibility. Ethical structures( thics committee= group of executives appointed to oversee company ethics, provides ruling on questionable ethical issues chief ethics officer= company executive that oversees all the aspects of ethics an legal compliance ethics training – help employees deal with ethical questions and translate values stated in code of ethics into everyday behavior Daft Chapter 9 Managerial Decision Making Programed = one made in response to a situation that has occurred often enough to enable managers to develop decision rules that can be applied in the future nonprogramed decisions= one made in response to a situation that is unique , poorly defined and largely unstructured , has important consequences for the organization. Decision making under certainty= a situation in which all the information the decision make needs is fully available risk= decision has clear cut goals and good information is available, but the future outcomes associated with each alternative are subject to chance. ncertainty = managers know which goals they want to achieve but information about alternatives and future events is incomplete ambiguity= condition In which the goals to be achieved or the problem to be solved is unclear, alternatives are difficult to define, and information about outcomes is unavailable †¢ Classical (normative) model= aka rational approach to decision making, based on assumption that managers should make logical decisions that are economically sensible and in the organization’s best economic interests. Model is normative. defines how a manager SHOULD make logical decisions and provides guidelines for reaching an ideal outcome †¢ Administrative (descriptive) model= includes concepts of bounded rationality and satificing and describes how managers make decisions in situation that are characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity †¢ Political model= considers debate, discussion, and coalition building within the organization Bounded rationality= people have the time and cognitive ability to process only a limited amount of information on which to base decisions †¢ Satisfying= choosing the first alternative that satisfies minimal decision criteria, regardless of whether better solutions are presumed to exist. Decision styles: directive= people who prefer simple, celar cut solutions to problems , quick decisions, rely on existing rules and procedures analytical= eople who consider complex solutions based on as much data as they can gather, best possible decision based on the information available conceptual= consider a broad amount of information however they are more socially orientated that those with analytical style (ie: Obama) and behavioral= adopted by managers with deep concern for others as individuals, talk to people one on one and understand feelings on problems. Concerned with personal development of others and make decisions that help others achieve their goals. Daft Chapter 19 Managerial Quality and Performance †¢ Organizational control- the systematic process through which managers regulate organizational activities to meet planned goals and standards of performance †¢ The balanced scorecard= comprehensive management control system that balances traditional financial measures with measured of customer service , internal business processes, and the organizations capacity for learning and growth. Four typical components of the balanced scorecard= financial, internal business processes, learning and growth, customers. †¢ Feedback control model= involves using feedback to determine whethe performance meets established standards. Includes establishing standards, measures performance, compare performance to standards, and make corrections as necessary. Expense budget,= outlines the anticipate and actual expenses for a responsibility center revenue budget= lists forecasted and actual revenues of the organization cash budget,= estimates receipts and expenditures of money on a daily or weekly basis to ensure that an organization has sufficient cash to meet its obligations capital budget= estimates receipts and expenditures of money on a daily or weekly basis to ensure that an organization has sufficient cash to meet its obligations †¢ Balance sheet= shows firms financial position with espect to assets and liabilities at a specific point in time †¢ Income statement= summarizes the firms financial performance for a given time interval †¢ Liquidity ratios (current ratio and quick ratio)= measures firms ability to meet its current debt obligations current ratio= current assets/ current liabilities †¢ Quick ratio = cash + acc receivable / current liabilities. Activity ratios (inventory turnover, conversion ratio) – measures organizations internal performance with respect to key activities defined by management inventory turnover= total assets/ average inventory onversion ratio = purchase orders/ customer inquiries †¢ Profitability ratios = describes the firms profits relative to a source of profits such as sales or assets. margin on sales= net income /sales return on total assets = net income/ total assets †¢ Gross profit= revenue – c. o. g. s. operating profit= gross profit – operating expenses net profit = operating profit- non operating income taxes †¢ Leverage ratios- describes the firms profits relative to a source of profits such as sales or assets †¢ Hierarchical versus decentralized control ierarchial = monitoring and influencing employee behavior through exntesive use of rules, policies, hierarchy of authority, writeen documentation, and other formal mechanisms decentralize control= organ ization fosters compliance with organizational controls through the use of organizational culture, group norms, and focus on goals rather than rules and precedures †¢ TQM= popular decentralized control philosophy where the entire org. nfused quality into every activity in a company through continuous improvement †¢ Quality circles= group of 6-12 employees who meet to discuss and solve problems affecting the quality of their work †¢ Benchmarking= continuous process of measuring products. , services, and practice against the toughest competitor †¢ Six sigma= highly ambitious quality standard that specifies a goal of no more than 3. defects per million parts, emphasized disciplined relentless pursuit of higher quality and lower costs. †¢ Reduced cycle time= steps take to complete a company process, improvement possible by focusing on improved responsiveness and acceleration of activities in shorter time †¢ Continuous improvement= KAIZEN, the implementation of large number of small incremental improvements in all aread of the organization on an ongoing basis.

Antisocial Behavior and Hypera essays

Antisocial Behavior and Hypera essays (ABH) Is it possible to detect Antisocial Behavior and Hyperactivity (ABH) problems in children at an early age? If so, what can be done to help these children become successfully educated adults? According to a journal in Education Early detection of Students with Antisocial Behavior and Hyperactivity Problems, dated August 2001, it is possible to detect ABH in young children before adulthood. If educators are able to detect the signs of ABH in students, then they will be able to get them the proper help they need in order for them to become successful students, which in turn gives them a bases for success in adulthood. There are several signs of ABH in young children. Some of the most apparent signs include persistent violations of normative behavior patterns, verbal and physical aggression, and coercive, defiant, non compliant behavior are some signs of ABH. Unfortunately these children are simply labeled trouble makers, and are often treated as delinquents rather then as children with a psychological disorder. Because they are simply dismissed with a label, they dont get the proper help they need and often end up dropping out of school in their first year of high school. As young children in school, students that suffer from ABH also show signs such as poor interpersonal skills, leading to rejection by their peers. As well as, limited problem solving skills, leading to academic under achievement, and a low rate of academic engaged time. Most of all, they suffer from serious attention problems. This, unfortunately, is all too commonly dismissed as, attention deficit disorder, rather than ABH. In order to determine whether ABH was able to be detected in children at an early age, a 5 year study was conducted in Southern California. 104 5th grade students, identified by a team of 3rd grade teachers from ...

International financil markts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

International financil markts - Essay Example Many of the investment management theories were found worthless in an investment climate which is characterized by innumerable number of investment opportunities with differing categories of risk. This has led the investors to think about collective investment to set off the risk from one investment with the return from another investment. This was formally called portfolio and many theories have been developed thereafter to facilitate portfolio management. This paper discusses some of the important concepts of modern portfolio management. The paper takes a descriptive approach where all the concepts are described in such a way how they are useful for investors. Investors always seek for an optimal investment portfolio where the returns are more and risk is less. This can be met through Portfolio Theory. The Theory helps in developing an optimal portfolio that will enable an investor to optimize market risk and generate more return from the business. Thus Portfolio theory is an approach to manage risk and return. The Theory has got much relevance in of financial management literature as many investors found them effective means of increasing the return at a given risk level. The theory is basically applied to the stock market and is based on the idea that there are basically two kinds of risk: (a) diversifiable or relevant risk (risk associated with events occurring in individual companies such as strikes, new marketing programs, lawsuits and new inventions (b) non diversifiable or market risk (risk associated with factors that affect all companies such as inflation, war and recession (Elton, 1999). The careful construction of portfolio of securities helps investors to reduce the diversifiable risk to zero and optimize the market risk. However the market risk cannot be eliminated as it is uncontrollable one. And to the investment managers it helps to meet the

Employee Retention as a challenging task for various organizations Dissertation

Employee Retention as a challenging task for various organizations - Dissertation Example From this research it is clear that employee retention has become a challenging task for various organizations. Organizations always prefer to retain the highly potential employees as they consider them to be an asset. The successful retention polices are always attached with the talent management approaches envisioned and designed to increase workplace productivity. Retaining and utilizing talent can be used to increase the workplace productivity. For this purpose, learning environment can be ensured by establishing the approaches such as gap and appreciative approach. The purpose of both approaches is to assess the current performance and potential of the employees. The organization faces issues such as job content and prospects. The majority of left employee believed that they it would be of no use to expect career growth and increase in pay and benefits. And others believed that it would be useless to continue providing services as their current employment job content did not mee t with their experience, qualification and expertise. Others were of the view that the management did not pay much and there would be lesser chances of growth in benefits. The management must take into account such causes. Importantly, the human resource personnel must develop job content appropriately resembling with the experience, qualification and expertise. The potential employees must be provided a job content copy and their approval must be sought. The management must provide a workplace environment in which the employees should remain optimistic about their career growth and development. They must consider themselves to be a part of the organization. For this, management must ensure appropriate remuneration, learning and development opportunities. Table of Content Content Page Number Project aim and objectives 1 Project plan and approaches 2 Literature review Introduction 4 Definition of Retention 4 Retention Factors for Employees 4 Learning and work Environment 6 Skill reco gnition 6 High Potential Employees 7 Training and Development 8 Talent 8 Summary 9 Critical Evaluation and Analysis of the Data 11 Discussion 17 Conclusion and Recommendations 19 References 22 Project aim and objectives Comprehending the major organizational and personal factors contributing towards employee retention Highlighting the significant factors that directly or indirectly enhance the labour turnover rate Assessing workable strategies capable enough to diminish labour turnover rate Research Questions What factors contribute to employee retention? What are the major causes increasing labour turnover rate? What are the remedies to handle that labour turnover rate? How to ensure durable employee retention? Project plan and approach The primary approach method has been used to collect data for the paper. The primary research method is a research method used to collect firsthand information in order to entertain research aims and objectives along with research questions. Before going to embark upon the paper, the project aim and objectives were selected. The development of the project aim and objectives necessitated to begin the next step. In the next step, data was collected from the company. The primary data consists of employees left the organization along with their reasons mentioned in that sheet. For any project, the primary data is fundamentally important as it is evaluated subsequently in the light of the project aim and objectives. However, before going to begin evaluating that data, the portion of literature review was completed. The literature review provided the fundamental factors necessary for employee retention. The authentic and reliable sources were employed to acquire information for the literature review. The literature review was completed with a critical approach. After completing the literature review, the critical evaluation and analysis of the primary data was carried out. While critically analysing the primary data, multiple perspe ctive approach was used. The

Fallon Worldwide Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fallon Worldwide Change - Essay Example Again the company could face challenges to meet certain complex requirements which are related to global economies and more demanding clients. At that point of time management had to take initiative to create such an image in the market that the company was not changed. The acquisition was just a strategic move to achieve more percentage of growth in the market. Acquisition is such kind of corporate action which is a part of company’s growth strategy. It is beneficial for any two existing firm’s operations which are going to be merged through the acquisition procedure. Here in the mentioned case study, Publicist Group SA acquired Fallon and after the acquisition some impacts was observed within the organization. The impacts were both positive and negative by nature. Positive impacts are as follows. Stakeholder’s expectation will be increased for such kind of acquisition. They will expect that the company will achieve more percentage of growth from the acquisition. As a result, they will invest more amount of money in business and more amount of capital will be generated. Financial strength will also be increased (Karenfort, 2011). The risk taking ability will be improved by the companies. Market power also will be improved and company can achieve more market share through acquisition than the earlier days. Some entry barriers can be overcome due to the acquisition. Resources will be available in easier way. Expertise of both the companies can be shared and thus both the organization can get success in the market place. In the case study, Fallon got the success in the market for the above mentioned impacts and not only the agency got the success but also won several awards in the relevant field. Its interactive consulting group has become a full-fledged division only for the shared expertise between two companies (Doyle, 2005). Describing about the negative impacts this can be observed that Fallon may face integration problem because

Regenerative Battery For Human Electric Hybrid Bicycle Engineering Essay

Regenerative Battery For Human Electric Hybrid Bicycle Engineering Essay In this report, a proposed project, the human-electric hybrid bicycle, also known as Pedelec driven mainly by human pedalling force with additional assistance force from the battery powered electric motor that has a regenerative power feature during declining slopes. Introduction Automobiles have always been essential for people living in cities as a form of transportation to carry out their daily routine. According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, a staggering number of 77,609,901 cars and commercial vehicles were produced in the year 2010. A 25.8 percent change compare to the previous year (OICA, 2011). Based on a research report of the Fifth U.S. Climate Action Report, transportation activities contribute thirty-three percent of the worlds emission of carbon dioxide in 2007 and nearly up to sixty percent of emission came from the combustion of petroleum from personal transportation (U.S. Climate Action Report, 2010). Consequently, it is without doubt, cars are one of the major causes of global warming due to the emission of green house gasses. Currently, hybrid and electrical vehicles seems to be the preeminent solution to counter the problem that arises from petrol powered automobiles without eliminating its advantages. Ho wever, electrical powered vehicles have its own disadvantages as it requires a certain amount of charging time. On the other hand, electric bicycle are making huge waves among town communities because it is less strenuous compare to the standard bicycle, thus, enable users to travel longer distance without using much energy. Amount of time needed for charging still arises in electric bicycles. The Regenerative Battery for Pedelecs on declining terrains is able to solve the problem by enabling the user to automatically charge the bicycle battery during downhill slopes. Literature Review Electric bicycle, Hybrid Bicycle and Human-Electric Bicycles or Pedelecs have only recently become a worldwide phenomenon due to the rise in petroleum prices. The technology of these types of bicycles is still relative new and research popularity has merely beginning to rise in the past recent years. Therefore, there is lack of research papers and literature available in the area of hybrid or electric bicycle in scholarly journals or professional organization such as the IEEE. The following literature review evaluates on eleven scholarly journals to elucidate the technology involved in developing electric, Hybrid or Pedelecs bicycles and its performance characteristics. Among the eleven journals included, a report by Muetze and Tan (2007) gave a detailed and organized report based on the characterization of electric bicycle, both theoretically and experimentally. The report includes as well the requirements of different performances ideal for electric bicycles and obstacles faced to endorse it. Regulations and safety factors for electrics bicycles in countries such as Japan, Europe, China and United States are outlined. Research was done to discover the advantages and disadvantages of technical performances for different part type of the bicycles such as the assist type, motor, motor assembly, motor placement, throttle and battery type. The report also includes a power over speed graph collected from results collected with different parameters such as the influence of weight, influence of the slope and influence of wind. Results gathered from the report is able to provide a guideline for developing an electric bicycle suitable for the market trend a nd improve the performances of electric bicycles for future developments. While the assessment on the performance of electric bicycle is essential, energy management too must be given consideration. Morchin (1998) identifies the energy consumed by electric bicycle and emission of green houses gasses can be reduced by two methods. Such aspects can be achieved by optimizing the ratings of the battery and engine while delivering power output by each source under expected driving conditions (Morchin, 1998). In the report, an on-board energy manager was mounted on an electric bicycle to track the energy level in the battery and effectively divide loads between the battery and the engine. The Langranges theorem was used to calculate the energy consumed under affecting parameters of air drag, hill slopes and friction. However, the study done only applies to electric powered bicycles and not for hybrid bicycles or Pedelecs. Research can be done to extend for various types of bicycles and different type of terrains. The term hybrid used in the paper is rather misle ading because the paper focuses on fully electric bicycle while the term hybrid bicycle often refers a bicycle that runs on both petroleum gas and electricity or human pedal force with a battery powered motor. In a related research on power management in electric assisted bicycle, Brand and Ertugrul (2007) examines and discover that an in-hub direct drive located on the front wheel of the bicycle could give better performance by electric braking and stable manoeuvring. Furthermore, the report conducted experiments on 17 riders from different categories. All riders are evenly divided based on gender, weight, age, regular and irregular cyclist. The report is comprehensive and able to substantiate the effectiveness of the in-hub direct drive. Additionally , the report concentrate on evaluating riding conditions of various type of rider group to determine the optimum power requirement and does no focuses on designing an alternative for electric bicycles. It is noted in the report that aerodynamic streamlining and development of a high efficiency inverter can be a further developed from the report. Most of the study done about electric bicycles revolves around the battery storage system. Solutions may compromise of electric regeneration (Liu et al., 2008); (Somchaiwong Ponglangka, 2006), or petroleum-electric bicycle (Nagendran Senthil, 2010);(Xiong, et al., 2010) . Liu, et al., (2008) designed four regenerative braking strategies by turning mechanical energy into electrical energy to extend the battery life-span. Matlab and Simulink were used to create a model of the electric bike and the four proposed regenerative braking strategies. The four braking control strategies are Most Feedback Power (MFP), Most System Efficiency (MSE), Fixed Torque Control Strategy (FTC) and Fixed Feedback Current Control (FFC) (Liu, et al., 2008). Clear description and illustration were given on all the four purposed strategies. The report illustrates theoretically using computer simulations and there were no prototype build or practical experiment conducted with bicycle users. Alternatively, Somchaiwong and Ponglangka (2006) proposed a regenerative power control system to solve the increment of cycle speed of motor that are redundant for example, during a downhill path. The research experiments on the relationship between the voltages supplied and motor speed. The result shows that if the cycle motor runs on the specific speed requirement, the motor would in turn generate a specific output voltage. Another prevalent solution battery problems faced in electric bicycles are petroleum-electric hybrid bicycles. Nagendran and Senthil (2010) proposed a Hybrid Bicycle with Three Speed Transmission System to solve problems faces in current electric bicycles. The purposed idea of the hybrid bicycle runs on both electric and petroleum to recharge the bicycles battery storage system. An added feature to the purposed idea is a three speed gear for effective control the speed of the motor and IC (Internal Combustion) engine. The bicycle runs like an ordinary electric bicycle on Phase One. When the battery storage system is depleted, the motor would then runs on the internal combustion engine. A Change Over is installed to connect and disconnects the motor from the IC engine or vice-versa. A shaft coupler is used to connect the chain drive while a chain drive is used to obtain balance of the bicycle. The research does not illustrate the practical construction of the three speed transmission system. In a related topic, Liu, et al., designed a LPG (Liqufied Petroleum Gas) electric hybrid bicycle that is able to run on fully engine driven, fully electric motor driven or hybrid mode. Due to space limitation in the bicycle a four-stroke spark ignition LPG engine power system is introduced in the research. The gasoline engine was modified into a LPG engine by increasing the compression ratio, enlarging the spark advance angle and increasing the ignition energy. The research also includes the design of the transmission system and control system of the hybrid bicycle. A prototype of the design was developed and several tests were conducted on city traffic conditions. While most studies focuses on a single bicycle type such as electric bicycle or Pedelecs, Indulal Nair (2007) incorporates both types of bicycle and the implementation of Fuzzy Logic as a control system. The bicycle runs on three different modes, Manual Mode, Power Mode and Automatic Mode. Manual Mode works like an ordinary where pedalling is required with no extra assistance. Power Mode fully runs on electricity and does not require any paddling while Automatic Mode provides electric assistance on top of manual pedalling. Fuzzy Logic is implemented to provide comfortable riding and sufficient drive assistance under any conditions. After the completion of the design, arrays of inputs were fed to the Fuzzy Logic Controller using Matlab Simulation to study the outputs. Results from the simulation found that the performance of the system over various conditions were acceptable. The research states that the design can be further extended into larger vehicles. To optimize the potential of battery storage system, Sousa, et al., (2007) developed an electronic converter powered by two type power supplies, the battery and super capacitors. Batteries are the primary storage while capacitors are used to avoid deep discharging of the battery and as a backup storage. In this research, supercapacitors are used instead and can able to serve as a primary storage source. The developed system was built on the electric bicycle and results were gathered. A decision circuit is needed because the design is capable in increasing the autonomy of electric vehicles to avoid high current peak and fast discharges of the batteries. The research open doors for future work such as improving power circuit to increase efficiency and analyse the autonomy by altering the role of the battery and supercapacitor. Coates and Charkey (2002) states that batteries testing on Sealed Nickel-Zinc Batteries are conducted for electric bicycle applications because it provides the s ame amount of energy with half the weight compare to the standard lead-acid batteries. Hsu,et al., (2011) poses a solution to provide comfort and safety measure in different types of Pedelecs riding environment while optimizing the performance of the battery. The quality of riding conditions can be improved by overcoming three forces of nature, air drag, friction and hill drag. The key to the solution is the pedalling power and total power of the required power should be constant and sufficient additional power is provided to overcome any of the three forces. The design is also able to solve instability problem in Pedelecs when the motor abruptly occurs by keeping the instantaneous acceleration of the assisted power be kept within the Safety Zone and Comfort Zone. Real environment simulation scenarios were conducted on different road types and pedal force in urban areas. Results confirms the design has better energy utilization compare to existing conventional and delta learning rule based assisted power methods. The report provides room for further research on solving the method to automatically adjust the motor to the different type of physical conditions of the riders. After the evaluation of all the eleven journals, it can be concluded that most of the journals focuses on solving the problems currently faced by electric bicycle that provide insufficient energy in the battery storage and insufficient power assistance. There are ample room for further development on electric bicycles and Pedelecs because it technology is relatively new. Further research done on this area would benefit societies living in urban area to be used as a form of environmental friendly transportation as opposed to conventional cars and motorcycles. Problem Statement Based on previous research done on electric bicycles, most studies concur that the depletion of petroleum and the rise in the emission of greenhouse gasses are the factor that contribute to the advancement of electric bicycles (Brand Ertugrul, 2007; Hsu, et al., 2011; Indulal Nair, 2007; Morchin, 1998; Nagendran Senthil, 2010; Sousa, et al., 2007; Xiong, et al., 2010). In spite of this, there are still plenty of room for further development and enhancement in the area of electrical bicycles. The battery storage system incorporated in electric bicycles provides insufficient energy for long distance travels and does not carry self-charging capabilities (Coates Charkey, 2002; Nagendran Senthil, 2010). Electric assisted bicycles or Pedelecs confront problems such as an abrupt driving force when the motor is triggered (Hsu, et al., 2011). Project Background The project focuses on improving the overall performance of electric assisted bicycle or Pedelecs. Since there is a demand on electric bicycles, it would be beneficial for society and business organization to enrol the development of Pedelecs. In a report by Time News, most electric bicycles run on lead-acid batteries and are unsuitable for the rising requirements of daily transportation (Ramsy, 2009). Numerous solutions were established by various engineers and organizations to counter these problems. Some researchers focus on the regeneration of electricity from external sources (Somchaiwong Ponglangka, 2006; Xiong, et al., 2010). While some concentrate on using distinctive forms of power management (Brand Ertugrul, 2007; Hsu, et al., 2011; Morchin, 1998; Nagendran Senthil, 2010). For the proposed Regenerative Battery for Pedelecs project, it confronts both of these methods to solve the battery problems that arise from conventional electrical bicycle. In addition to replacing ca rs to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses, the regenerative power during a declining gradient reduces the dependency on electricity. The generation of electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPP) indirectly affect the environment. For instance, the construction of Hydroelectric Plant requires large areas particularly in remote areas and substantial quantities of fossil fuels are used to power up machineries (McKinney, et al., 2007). The natural habitat, home to both flora and fauna would be destroyed in the process. The proposed regenerative power is designed to reduce the power consumption in the battery storage while providing rechargeable power supply at the same time. The regenerative power incorporated in the design would be able to solve issues relating to the insufficient power in the battery storage system. It would be able to expand the life cycle of the battery for longer distance travels. Most electric bicycles owners today complain that electric bicycles do no t provide sufficient power assistance. The latest Pedelecs today has power-assistance during hill climbing or on irregular surface roads to provide the additional boost without having the rider to exert much force. However, Hsu,et al., (2011) states that there are insufficient power assist to overcome three forces, air drag, friction and hill drag. Air drag and friction does not require much power compare to hill drag. The motor of the power assist provides enough force to overcome hill drag, friction or air drag while the pedalling power by the rider remains constant. This would be enable riders to conserve energy for longer riding. Most seniors find that conventional bicycles are strenuous and dangerous. Therefore, some seniors would rather stay in the comfort of their homes without getting much exercise and fresh air. Pedalecs would be able to encourage seniors to overcome their fear towards conventional bicycles. In urban town areas, getting out buying some groceries would sometimes be a hassle especially if the grocery shop is not within walking distance. Most people today would rather drive their car out to buy some fruits and vegetables or to fetch the daily newspaper. It is a very unhealthy habit that began to manifest among the town citizens. Little did they know that getting fresh air by cycling or taking a daily stroll would improve the well-being of the person and reduces health risk such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. According to a Congressional Report, less than one trip in one hundred percent is by bicycle (Congress, 2002). The report also mentioned that frequent bike trips would also cure the addiction of smokers and alcoholics. Regenerative braking in electric bicycles is gaining popularity too. The Panasonic Vivi RX 10-S features a braking system that recharges a 10AH Li-ion secondary batter located next to rear wheel of the bicycle (Toto, 2008). Liu, et al., (2008) mentioned that braking control can be used to convert mechanical energy to electric energy by improving battery life-span. Using the same theory, the proposed design is able to make use of hilly areas to generate electricity. Since no energy is needed for bicycle going downhill, the bicycle still moves downwards due to the forces of gravity. For certain cases, with the regenerative power, braking is not required because the regenerator is able to reduce the speed of the overall bicycle while going downhill. Methodology The scope of this research is divided into five stages. The time scope of the project is expected to be completed in 9 months. Research At the beginning of the Final Year Project, intensive research on the area of electric bicycles must be done before designing of the project takes place. Research would be an explanatory research in the beginning to obtain an overview on the research area and to discover alternatives to the research objective. Evaluation on other research papers done to identify the new developments in technology and rooms for further studies is noted. Solutions can be developed by acknowledging the problem faced by the society today. Qualitative Research such as surveys and Questionnaires can be conducted to identify the current problem faced for further development. This is important because the success of a product is determined by meeting the demand of society today. Brainstorming sessions are required after the collected data is evaluated to determine the feasibility of the project and to acquire various alternatives to the problem. This stage is expected to complete within a month. Design The designing process takes place after the evaluation of the collected data is finalised. A basic concept should be achieved at this stage. All the knowledge on mechanics, electronics and programming is required to design the proposed idea. Computer simulations are to be use to design and test the feasibility of the idea. Autodesk Inventor can be used to construct the framework and provide a visual overview of the bicycle. Matlab and Labview can be used in the programming development of the regenerative power system. Computer simulations are used before the construction of the bicycle to virtually simulating the design while reducing unnecessary expenditure. This stage is expected to complete in 2 months. Implementation The implementation stage involves building the prototype based on the finalized design. A conventional bicycle is required as the main structure of the design. Motor, Lithium Ion Battery and Transmission System is needed to modify the bicycle into an electrical-assisted bicycle. Torque Sensors, Slope Sensors or Tilt Sensors are installed to sense when the motor is needed. The Slope or Tilt Sensors can be replaced by Apple Application known as Gyroscope for an extra appealing feature. Additional hardware such as a state-of-charge indicator, power tab hub and throttle switch can be added later on. This stage is expected to complete in 3 months. Testing The testing phase involves the practical assessment on the now fully built bicycle. Various tests would be performed to determine the performance of the entire system. Two types of testing can be conducted, laboratory testing and field testing. Laboratory testing involves a set of variables such as power, efficiency, cycle speed, life-span of the rechargeable battery and the motor. For field testing, a laptop with a PCMIA card is incorporated to the system to acquire the data. The testing would involve around twenty volunteers from different age group, gender, weight and physical fitness level. All volunteers have to go through a predetermine path with different type of terrain in an urban area. The laptop is used to record data such as pedalling torque, bicycle speed and applied power. The data collected is to be used to evaluate the performance of the system. A set of feedback forms could be given out at the end of the testing to gauge the satisfactory level of each volunteer towar ds the system. This stage is expected to complete in 2 months. Report Report writing is to be conducted at the end of all the four stages. The scope and design process in building the system are to be complied. The data collected are tabulated in graph and figures to illustrate the outcomes. This stage is expected to complete within month. Limitations There is some limitation that would be encountered in the process of implementing the system. Budget constrain would be a factor due to the costly hardware needed to construct the bicycle. A full-size prototype is more appropriate because a smaller-scale prototype would not be serving its purpose. In a newspaper report by The Star, due to safety issues, electric bicycles may be taken off the road if the Cabinet accepts a recommendation from the Transport Ministry (Kong, 2011). If the amendment of banning electric bicycle is implemented throughout the country; it may also affect the field-testing of the system. Research Objectives This study embarks on the following objectives: To produce an environmental friendly transportation as an alternative to petrol consumption cars To solve instability issues involving the abrupt acceleration when the motor is turned on To provide an alternative regenerative power on declining slopes to lengthen the life-span of the battery storage system To improve the overall performance to Pedelecs that are available in the market today To design a form of transportation for suitable in dense populated urban areas Research Question What are the current impact on the environment and ways to solve the problem? What are the current issues faced by electric bicycle? What addition or alternative regenerative power can be installed to conventional electric bicycles? What can be done to appeal to the market segment to buy the product? How to solve issues involving unhealthy habits of the society by relying on cars for short distance travels? Significance of the Project The proposed regenerative bicycle would be able to serve as a stepping stone for further development on electric assisted bicycles. Studies by other researches can be done by referring of the design system used and the data collected. Limitations and problems identified can be solved by future research. The proposed design hopes to significantly reduce the emission of greenhouses gasses emitted by petrol driven cars. If the design meets the demands of the society, manufactures would start producing more electrical assisted-bicycle which in return, reduces the market price of the system to reach out to all segments of the society. Expected Results The expected outcome of this project is to successfully develop a working actual size electrical assist bicycle prototype capable of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy. From the project, novel theories can be established that would indirectly benefit other areas of sciences. Furthermore, the theories presented would lead to implementation for future potential applications. The tabulations of data collected from the project is to also encourage potential researchers especially budget constrain researchers to engage in the area of electric powered vehicles. A stable handling electrical assisted bicycle is expected to be built to provide safe and comfortable riding experience. In return, physically fit or unphysical fit riders would be able to fill the joy of riding a bicycle for travelling or recreational use. The design and technology incorporated in the project is expected to appeal to the society and provide as an alternative to cars and motorcycles. This would direct ly reduce carbon footprint and slower the process of global warming.

The Decameron Essay -- Italy Italian Literature Giovanni Boccaccio Ess

The Decameron BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI Born in 1313, Giovanni Boccaccio is one of the greatest figures in Italian Literature. He was born in Paris, France by a French woman who remains unknown, but on many occasion he speaks very highly of her. His father is an Italian; they are part of the middle class. As for their professional status, they were Merchants / Bankers. Although, Bocaccio was born out of wedlock, his father legitimized him and took him to his house, provided him with a family and a good education. In 1340 Boccaccio moved to Florence where he meets Petrarch in 1350, his mentor. He began study Greek and Roman Classics. During 1339 to 1351 he writes The Decameron one of the most noted and readable book in all literature. It is believed that he completes the first draft of The Decameron before he met Petrarch in 1350. Somehow the meeting with Petrarch changed Boccaccio’s Literature development. What he admires the most about Petrarch is his scholar and the humanist. With such influence Boccaccio withdraw from writing about romance, and preferably writes in Latin. He was an ambassador to different mission; Boccaccio did some community work while he was intensely involved in literature and his school activity. After traveling in different part of Europe, Boccaccio returns to Certaldo where he becomes very sick. In the fall of 1374 he receives the terrible news from Petrach’s son-in-law, to let him know that his best friend passed. He was devastated, became depressed and died the following year. SUMMARY OF FOURTH DAY, FIFTH STORY This love story is about a rich, young girl that falls in love with a young man of a low social status. Ellisabetta is young, beautiful and lives in Mess... ...l of this just to keep a secret that ends up coming out anyway. This just proves the old saying, "What is done in the dark will come to light." Cottino-Jones sums up love and the community in this story in her book. She says, "the lovers in this books are constantly faced with violence, death and isolation when their affairs come into conflict with society’s rigid behavior codes "(Cottino-Jones, 79). Lack of communication and social factors made everyone in the story unhappy or dead. WORKS CITED Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Translated by Mark Musa & Peter Bondanella. Penguin-Mentor, 1982. Cottino-James, Marga. Order From Chaos: Social & Aesthetic Harmonies In Boccaccio’s Decameron. Washington D. C.: University Press, 1982. Decameron Web. http://www.Brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/dweb.shtml. (1999, July 6).