Malaysia Economic Performance-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Malaysian Economic Performance for the period 2005-2014. Answer: Introduction This economy is located in Southern Asia and is ranked 3rd in terms of its size. The 1st two are Indonesia and Thailand. In the worlds rank, its ranked 36th largest. An analysis of the wealthy of Southern Asia based on GDP per capita, the result shows that it is still the 3rd richest economy. This is an economy of rapid economic growth. Worldbank.org (2017) pointed out that this economy in an upper-middle income and that it is highly open. They also noted that growth and development commission has noted Malaysia to be among the thirteen economies that have recorded an annual growth rate of over 7% for many years. The economy has performed well in the past 25 years and have pushed its poverty level to the ground. The economy can be argued to nearly eliminating the existence of poverty which is a major issue for both the developing and developed economies. The population of Malaysia was 26,477,000 in 2005 compared to 30,709,000; this is from the data obtained from the International Mon etary Fund (IMF) (2017). This economy has an industrialized market economy that is new, open and state-oriented. It is highly competitive with improved easiness of doing business; it is ranked 14th in the world. Heritage.org (2017) argued that the competitiveness of this economy is accelerated by economic reforms. Regulatory adjustment have been undergone in the financial sector which include lowering the limits imposed earlier on financial subsectors foreign ownership. Malaysia is a major trading economy. Its imports and exports combined accounts for 134% of its total GDP. The biggest market for Malaysian export is Singapore at 13.6% of its total exports followed closely by China at 12.6%. Tin and rubber were the natural raw material initially produced in this economy dated 1970s, but the economy have diversified to be a leading producer of electrical appliances, parts and components, natural gas,and palm oil. Production Output Performance Analysis GDP Brezina (2012) defined GDP as the monetary value of goods and services a nation produced in a given period (usually a year). Basically it is a sum of everything that was bought for money during the given period. Its components are; governments expenditure be it on investment or other activities, consumption expenditure for everything bought by a consumer, investment expenditure, and the net export. The measurement is dome annually. This measure helps in measuring economic performance as the comparison of an annual GDP and the previous years gives the economic growth rate. GDP is normally calculated in nominal terms (current prices), but in some cases at constant prices (real GDP); this is when inflation changes are taken care of (Amadeo, 2017). The base year for the Malaysian real GDP on the past years is 2010. Malaysia Real GDP Growth Rate Growth rate is the change in the size of the economy recorded from one quarter to another (Kwak, 2009). It tells us how the size of the economy has changed. The economy could either expand or it can shrink. Constant prices is also used in the estimation of real GDP growth rate. In this case, the comparison is done on taking the real GDP instead of the nominal GDP. Growth rate is an important measure of economic performance as it helps the policy makers in understanding the actual performance of the economy. The concept of real GDP growth may result in making uninformed decision and real GDP may increase but no record of significant economic growth. Fig: Malaysia real GDP growth rate For the period 2005 to 2014, the Malaysian economy has had a good real GDP growth rate. From the diagram it can be deducted that for 9 years the growth rate was above 4.5%. It was only on a single year (2009) when this economys real GDP growth rate was on its lowest level; the negative record was made during the 2009 global financial crisis. The trend for Malaysian real GDP growth rate is positive. From 2005 to 2007, the rate was rising; it rose from 4.976% to 6.299% during this period. There was a fall from 6.299% in 2007 to 4.832% in 2008 before the negative record of 2009. This indicates that the impacts of 2009 GFC started in 2008. The recovery from the GFC was fast and rapid; it is in 2010 when Malaysia record of growth rate was the highest of the 10 years (7.528%). Although the growth rate for the following years were lower, the 2014 performance was high. This is an indicator that the growth rate will continue improving. Malaysia Real GDP per Capita GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the countrys GDP by its population. It is thus a measure of how much each person contributes to GDP. The greater the GDP per capita, the higher the standards of living (Viswanathan, 2017). An economy with high living standards is taken to be of better economic performance. Fig: Malaysia Real GDP per Capita Key: Series 2 Australia The trend for Malaysian real GDP per capita is positive. Observation from the graph above (Series 3) shows that this value has gone up year after year. The only period this economy experienced a fall in GDP per capital was from 2008 to 2009, but it has been on the rise since then. Series 2 represents the GDP per capita for Australia. The comparison with Malaysia shows that, Australian living standards in greater. In facts it is more than twice that of Malaysia. The trend for Australian GDP per capital is also positive. However, the fact that Malaysians living under poverty is less than 1% and that for Australia is on a higher proportion, the GDP per capital is not a good estimator of living standards. Governments Measures GDP The Malaysian government goal is to attain a high level of economic growth so as to rise to the level of world class developed economies. It has recognized some of the most important areas that drives its economic growth; one of such areas is on trade. As noted earlier, this economy is trade oriented and it contributes much to its GDP. There are many policies implementations that has been put into place to facilitate easiness of trading. Foreign investment has been improved by the elimination of the various national equity requirements. Trade freedom has been increased since the trade regime has been made relatively open. The government has prioritized improving its fiscal health as one of the measures to improve its economic growth; although this has exhibited a slow progress, it continues to be a priority. The government has an important goal of poverty eradication and thus has raised the tax on top individual income to 28%. This has enabled income redistribution. In turn, this has raised its GDP since lower poverty level has contributed to increased consumption of goods and services. This economy has proper policy measure to boost its economic growth rate since form the graph analysis of the real GDP growth rate it can be observed that every year the economy records a lower growth, it is followed by an improved rate the following year. Labour Market Analysis Unemployment Types There are several types of unemployment; one is the frictional unemployment experienced by those who quit jobs that are not satisfactory with an objective of getting employed elsewhere. This type may be voluntary and thus present in all economies. Second is the cyclical unemployment since there exist business cycles. Unemployment increases when businesses are performing poorly (Nash, 2017). Third is the structural unemployment resulting from technological advancements; new skills introduced in the market may not be held by all workers and thus those without them maybe laid off. Rather, the available job vacancies are not matching those held by those who are jobless. Lastly, the seasonal unemployment resulting from periodic production or changing climates. Unemployment Trend in Malaysia Fig: Unemployment in Malaysia Unlike many other world economies, Malaysian unemployment rate is on a negative trend. The rate was falling from 2005 to 2007, it rose slightly in 2008 and sharply in 2009. It continued falling in the following years until 2013 when the economy performed poorly; it rose slightly but fell to a very low level of 2.85% in 2014. The economy has been able to provide sufficient jobs owing to its fast growth rate. Government Measures Unemployment In order to improve the employment level which means lowering the unemployment rate, the Malaysian government has imposed various measures. One of them is by ensuring a fast growing economy. The achievement of this is by influencing its fiscal policies. In order to stimulate the economies to perform well and achieve expansion so as to employ additional labor, the government has lowered the corporate tax. This would mean that businesses would operate at a lower cost since corporate tax is part of their production costs. On the other hand, there has been an increased spending by the government which directly creates more jobs. The Malaysian government has also removed rigidity in the labor regulations by making them more flexible. Further, the government has ensured the absence of mandated minimum wages. Price Level Analysis Inflation Trend in Malaysia Baiden (2012) noted that the presence of inflation is when the average price level of goods and services in an economy rises rapidly. It is measured by the GDP deflator and the consumer price index. The purchasing power falls with the presence of inflation and thus it limits economic growth. Fig: Malaysia Inflation rate The Malaysian inflation rate is on a negative trend. The rate was on average very high in the periods before the 2009 GFC, but on average lower after the GFC. The inflation rate was very high in 2008 (5.429%), and lowest in 2009 (0.597%). This was a fast drop and thus the Malaysian economy measures of ensuring stable prices are effective. On average, the rate has been on the rise since the occurrence of the 2009 GFC. Causes of Inflation Inflation is caused by shortage of supply or an increased demand. At a lower supply, any increase in demand causes the supplier to raise the price (Moosa, 2014). Economists referred to this as demand-pull inflation. There are many factors that influence demand; increased income level or a reduced level of unemployment. At lower unemployment level, most people have jobs and thus they have income to demand goods and services. The other cause is based on the cost of raw materials; when the prices of raw materials rise, the producers are forced to push up the output prices. Economists referred to this as cost-push inflation. Government Measures Inflation Rao, Radhakrishna, Mishra Kata (2016) noted that the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs (KDPNHEP) checks and monitors the prices offered by traders to the consumers. This ensures that there is no increments in the prices for goods. The government introduced this ministry as a measure to contain inflation rate. Just in case there is a high inflation rate, the government employs the fiscal policies of tax rise and cutting of government spending, or rather the monetary policy of reduction in money supply or raising of interest rate. Conclusion For over 25 years this economy has experienced a growth rate of above 7 % and it is still forecasted to be sustained in the future owing to the continuing growth of its financial sector and also its competitiveness. Through improved easiness of going business, this economys economic performance is projected to continue rising. Through income redistribution, an economy achieves the objective of poverty eradication and subsequently raising the economys GDP. At very high poverty levels, most people in the economy do not have sufficient income to facilitate their consumption need and thus consumption which is a component of GDP remains low. The continued income growth and stability in the labor markets is expected to continue stimulating demand which is anchored to its economic growth. The growth of international trade has contributed to the expansion of the external sector which has made the Malaysian economys outlook to look more diversified. Although the economy was hit by the 2009 global financial crisis, there was a rapid recovery as from 2010 when on average, a growth rate of 5.7% annually was experienced. This was much higher than the average growth rate experienced between 2000 and 2008 after this economy recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis. There have been many policy measures behind the accelerated growth of this economy. Fiscal consolidation is one of the measures the Malaysian government has committed to in addition to the implementation of various reforms. It can thus be concluded that government intervention measures are the major reason for the improved growth of the Malaysian economy. Other economies may analyze the riskiness of the policies implemented in Malaysia and their effectiveness; if found effective, they should go ahead and implement them to promote their economic health. References Amadeo, K. (2017). What makes Real GDP so Incredibly Real? The Balance. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-real-gdp-how-to-calculate-it-vs-nominal-3306040. Baiden, J. (2012). Inflation Targeting: Why the value of money matters to you. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation. Brezina, C. (2012). Understanding the gross domestic product and the gross national product. New York, NY: Rosen Pub. Heritage.org. (2017). Malaysia Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption. Heritage.org. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.heritage.org/index/country/malaysia Imf.org. (2017). Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. Imf.org. Retrieved 11 August 2017, from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2005ey=2014scsm=1ssd=1sort=countryds=.br=1pr1.x=39pr1.y=13c=548s=NGDP_R%2CNGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPRPC%2CPCPI%2CPCPIPCH%2CLUR%2CLPgrp=0a=. Kwak, J. (2009). GDP Growth Rates for Beginners. Baselinescenario.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017, from https://baselinescenario.com/2009/04/30/gdp-growth-rates-for-beginners/. Moosa, A. (2014). Quantitative easing as a highway to hyperinflation. Singapore: World Scientific Pub. Co. Nash, J. (2017). Three Types of Unemployment: Cyclical, Frictional Structural. Study.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/three-types-of-unemployment-cyclical-frictional-structural.html. Rao, N., Radhakrishna, R., Mishra, R., Kata, V. (2016). Organized retailing and agri-business: implications of new supply chains on the Indian farm economy. New Delhi: Springer. Viswanathan, B. (2017). What is the meaning and significance of GDP per capita? Why does India have such a low GDP (nominal) per capita? Quora.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017, from https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-and-significance-of-GDP-per-capita-Why-does-India-have-such-a-low-GDP-nominal-per-capita Worldbank.org. (2017). Malaysia Overview. Worldbank.org. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malaysia/overview.

Okrent, Daniel. Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner (May 11, 2010)

The author explores the process of prohibition of the production, sale and even transportation of alcohol and any other intoxicating liquor in the United States. He explains how this prohibition came into effect. He says that the prohibition came through the eighteenth amendment to the American constitution whose cause was fueled by several movements among them being the famous anti-immigrant sentiment and temperance movement among others. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner (May 11, 2010) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He breaks down on the politics involved in this prohibition in the year 1919 till the enactment of the prohibition in the year that followed. The author is generally trying to put across the changes that took place after the prohibition was effected both in terms of culture and way of life. He explores the reaction of the ordina ry citizens where he asks and provides answers to this social experiment that seems not to be successful due to the outcomes witnessed like rise in gangster era. The author relied on the primary sources to obtain first hand information concerning this scenario. He collected this information from the ordinary American citizens to gauge their perception concerning prohibition that was effected following the eighteenth amendment to the constitution. However he also employed secondary works like the constitution review in explaining the amendments made to the constitution that prohibited any intoxicating liquor in United States. The sources were very appropriate to the main theme that the author was trying to put across following the fact that he wanted to explore the politics of prohibition and the consequences that followed. He had to get the information from the citizens themselves. Being a journalist, the author has demonstrated good skills on the use and analysis of various source s to explore the politics of prohibition. One example demonstrating good use of the sources is where he explores prohibition not only in terms of what was amended in the constitution but also applies this knowledge to relate prohibition to the earliest themes in the 20th century and traces its roots of emergence from ethnic, religious, social and political backgrounds. According to my own observation of the author’s ideas, I think he demonstrates some form of prejudice and bias. He terms the whole prohibition scenario as a failed social experiment. He says that many ordinary citizens did not respond positively following the enactment of this prohibition. Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In other words, the ordinary American citizens did not welcome the amendment. As much as the law enforcers expected positive outcomes in terms of culture and way of life, the opposite turned out as the outcome. According to my own assessment, this is a very interesting book in a way that it explores the process of change, enactment of change and the outcomes of change. As much as change is desirable, sometimes the more things are changed, the more they remain the same and this has been well demonstrated in this book where by banning of alcohol did not realize changes expected. Instead, things remained the same as before leading to a failed social experiment. This is a very useful book in this course as it teaches on prohibition and effects of change. In order to be successful in enacting new laws, the ordinary citizens play a vital role since they are the ones that determine the success of the change. This essay on Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner (May 11, 2010) was written and submitted by user ShinkoYamashiro to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Mephisto - Roman Einer Karriere

Mephisto - Roman Einer Karriere Klaus Mann: "‚žMephisto "‚“ Roman einer Karriere" 1. Entstehungsgeschichte 1.1 Der Autor Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann wurde am 18. November 1906 als ÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤ltester Sohn von Thomas und Katja Mann geboren. Seine Geschwister waren Erika, Golo, Monika, Elisabeth und Michael, die alle spÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤ter literarisch tÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤tig wurden. Um den Werdegang Klaus Manns besser verstehen zu kÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¶nnen ist es wichtig sich deutlich zu machen, dass sowohl sein Vater als auch sein Onkel bedeutende und erfolgreiche Schriftsteller ihrer Zeit waren. Dies sollte noch einen groÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Ÿen Einfluss auf sein spÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤teres Leben haben. Zuerst verlebte Klaus Mann allerdings eine recht glÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¼ckliche Kindheit, die von vielfachen Orts - und vor allem Schulwechseln geprÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤gt war. Sein Potential wurde allerdings bereits frÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¼h erkannt: So ÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¤uÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Ÿerte sich 1922 Paul Geheeb, Leiter des Internats SchloÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Ÿ Salem in einen Brief an Katja Mann: "‚žBei ihrem Sohn handelt es sich um einen ungewÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¶hnlich begabten und fein veranlagten Jungen, von dem aber keineswegs sicher steht, wohin seine Begabung ihn fÂÆ'ÂÆ'‚Â ¼hren wird."Deutsch: Mann, Klaus: Der fromme Tanz. Das Abenteu...

Authoritarian Leadership Style against the Democratic One Essay

Authoritarian Leadership Style against the Democratic One - Essay Example When I attended a particular seminar, the speaker requested the audience to create a group which is composed of ten (10) members. There were five (5) groups created at that time. The speaker, then, instructed all groups to present a play about a particular social problem. Since one of the members of our group was a member of the school’s theater guild, we then chose her to be our leader. Later on, we talked about the conduct of the play. During our practice, I did not expect the girl to be authoritative. She was not entertaining the comments and suggestions of the other group members. She wanted all of us to obey her commands and wishes as to the play’s conduct. Some of the group members were passive of her attitude but I and the rest were infuriated. I actually confronted the girl and told her to stop being bossy since the success of the play ultimately depends upon all our efforts. Nevertheless, the girl did not listen to my advice. As a result, our group presented a very bad performance. Robert Greenleaf actually considers being authoritative as a destructive leadership behavior (as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). The destructive character that is attached to this kind of conduct connotes that it is, in fact, bad and undesirable. Greenleaf cites that self-interest is the primary reason for the occurrence of this behavior (as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). According to him, a leader who is driven by self-interest aims to benefit himself or herself in every group endeavor at the expense of his or her followers, whose interest and needs are either disregarded or trampled upon (Greenleaf, as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). This kind of leader destroys the coordination and potency of the group. He or she will also emotionally strain his or her followers (Tepper, as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). This finding is in accord with what I had experienced.

Fictional story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fictional story - Essay Example Since he looked hopeless and pathetic, the Holmes were happy that he could help them with some homework. They hoped to keep him so that they could also send him for errands and leave them at home looking after the kids. â€Å"How much will you be paying me for the responsibilities?† asked John, â€Å"we do not have to pay you, that will compensate for the accommodation and food that we will be giving you.† Upon hearing this, John was annoyed. He started complaining and even almost insulted the Holmes for their lack of concern for him. It took the intervention of Julieta, a woman who personally knew John in the village. Since he had no other place to go, he had to accept the deal with the Holmes. Life at the Holmes was a bit challenging. He was forced to wake up early and slept late. Although he did not spend not even a cent of his savings, he did not earn anything except food and accommodation benefit. This infuriated John and made him confront the Holmes on the second day, â€Å"This is too unfair! I have to leave you alone with your pathetic offers.† John had started imagining that everything would work out well for him and that he no longer needed Holmes’ help. He even accused the Holmes of misusing him and vowed to sue them by the end of the week. This is despite the fact that he had personally agreed to the initial deal of staying with them and doing what the family does for no pay. Outside the Holmes, life was not as he had expected. It reminded him of his school days when he solely depended on his peers. When he was in class five, he had entered into a peer gang that taught him many ‘skills’ including what he referred to as ‘taking what others had misplaced.’ The only thing that kept John away from stealing is the memory of his late father who had died while John was twelve. John had not seen his father since birth and only spent three months with him before his death. As his mother had earlier narrated to

Enhancing IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks Essay Example for Free

Enhancing IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks Essay Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless network is a very important standard especially today that wireless technologies are very popular due to its effectiveness and usefulness. However, the standard supports the use of omni-directional antenna which radiates and receives signals in all directions that does not support spatial reuse and does not have high capacity and gain. Research studies show the benefits and advantages of using directional antennas instead of omni-directional antenna in wireless networks. Spatial reuse and high capacity are both very important especially today that the wireless networks are increasingly deployed due to the demand and needs of the users. But, as mentioned, IEEE 802.11 supports the utilisation of omni-directional antenna and not of directional antenna, thus to be able for directional antenna to be at its optimal use, the IEEE 802.11 protocols must be amended to be able to address problems associated with the use of directional antenna. Directional antenna or directivity of an antenna can be created using antenna elements that are combined to form an array. Smart antennas which are becoming popular today have achieved directivity due to the techniques employs with it. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to technological development in data and telecommunications during the past years, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) of the United States developed standards and guidelines to ensure orderly transfer of information between two or more data communication systems using different equipment with different needs. Standards and protocols are useful in ensuring that equipments such as computers, mobile phones, and communication devices from different manufacturers and providers have established compatibility and interoperability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, due to rapid technological development and introduction of newer technologies brought about by the increasing demands and needs of users, some standards are needed to be enhanced and improved. This is because as newer technologies are created, more and more data are needed to be transmitted requiring more capacity for the existing infrastructures. If standards and protocols are not improved, existing communication infrastructures will only have limited capacity causing serious problems such as interference and slow speed. People nowadays always demand for real-time communication of various data such as video, audio, pictures and multimedia. Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most innovative technologies today has been the wireless communication technology. Wireless technology encompasses the use of television and radio, mobile phones, wireless internet connection and computing system which are all very important for communication needs, eliminating the need for cables and wires and making possible the communication even in the remotest areas as along as there is available signal. WLANs increased the degree of mobility which are not possible using the conventional local area networks. In mobile phone communication alone, development has been tremendous that from analogue to GSM, now comes the 3G and 4G mobile systems. In the internet technology, connections have developed from ISDN to dial-up to DSL and now Wireless LAN which is very popular today. Communication between computers and mobile phones are also now possible with the GPRS technology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These technologies are primarily intended for easy and real-time communication brought about by fast-paced lifestyle of people and also because of globalization. Mobile data and communications have become important for personal, professional, and business use. Because there are so many manufacturers and service providers from different locations, and also because of the popularity of these technologies, the IEEE developed the IEEE 802.11 which is a standard particularly intended for Wireless Local Area Networks. However, as WLAN experienced development and are improved, the IEEE 802.11 is also needed to be enhanced to be able for WLANs to be at their optimum performance. Additionally, because of the many uses and demands for WLAN, it has been increasing deployed causing interference between transmissions. Interference in data communications is a serious problem for it caused delay of transmission and alterations or distortion of signals that caused unreliable, unclear and error in messages received. The use of directional antenna is a well known method to reduce interference and to increase the range and capacity of wireless networks (Zhu et al, 2005). However, the IEEE 802.11 is not designed for the use of directional antennas. This project which is focused on the enhancement of the IEEE 802.11 using directional antennas and multiple receivers is important to be able to determine in-depth what improvement and advantages can directional antennas and multi-receivers can contribute to the current IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks standard. Literature Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This part of this proposal reviews literatures that describe the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard in details to be able to determine the needs for the enhancement of the standard. The literature review also provides earlier research about the functions and advantages of directional antennas This review is a brief discussion providing an overview of the detailed review of literatures that will be provided in the chapters of the research study. 3.1. The IEEE 802.11 Wireless Network Standard   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aside from promoting interoperability, the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless network was created to deliver services that were previously found only in wired networks but have been found out to be possible using wireless networks; to achieve high throughput; for highly reliable data delivery; and for continuous network connection (Ergen, 2002). As a standard, the IEEE 802.11 established the network architecture, components, type of equipments and set of services offered that must be complied with by wireless network administrators and providers. These are also known as the physical layer and that IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard provides a number of physical layer options in terms of data rates, modulation types and spreading spectrum techniques (Ergen, 2002). This means that the medium, the path that the signal transmitted and received via the WLAN, the range, location, frequency to be used and the type of antenna to be used are all determined by the IEEE 802.11 standard. IEEE 802.11 does not only specify the physical layer characteristics but also the link layer protocol for medium access in broadcast channels (Dham, 2003). The medium access control protocol is designed for the specified physical layer characteristics thus any changes made in the physical layer also requires significant alterations in the MAC protocol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The MAC layer of the standard defines two different access modes: the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and the Point Coordination Function (PCF) (Xu Saadawi, 2003). DCF is a mechanism which is a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance. The standard allows the use of a basic access method or an optional handshake which is done by exchanging Request to Send (RTS) and Clear to Send (CTS) messages which are also the frame sent from the source to the destination and an acknowledgement from the destination that the frame was received correctly (Erger, 2005). These frames or control packets contain the proposed duration of data transmission while nodes or stations within the vicinity of communicating nodes overhear either of these control packets and suspend transmission for this proposed duration (Choudhury et al, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This process unable the nodes or devices to communicate directly with all other devices and for a wireless device to be able to transmit and receive at the same time thus the IEEE 802.11 MAC implements a network allocation vector (NAV) which is a value that indicates to a station the amount of time that remains before the medium becomes available (Erger, 2005).   With this standard, directional antenna is obviously not utilised because in using directional antennas, it is possible to carry out multiple transmissions in the same neighbourhood provided that the beamwidth of the directional transmissions is not very large (Choudhury et al, 2002). 3.2. The Directional Antenna   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An antenna is one or more electrical conductors of a specific length that transmits radio waves generated by a transmitter or that collects radio waves at the receiver (Frenzel, 1994). It is a basic component of every wireless networks, thus it must be chosen carefully depending on how it will be used. WLAN commonly used omni-directional antenna which allows for transmission and reception of messages in any direction (Frenzel, 1994) which is commonly used in wireless internet connections and wireless telecommunications. However, because the transmitted signal is exposed in any direction, interference with other signal has been a problem. In search for the solution with the problem of interference, various research (Dham, 2003; Zhu et al, 2005; Choudhury et al, 2002) have been focused on the use of directional antenna in WLANs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The primary advantage of directional antenna is that it eliminates interference from other signals being received from all directions except the direction of the desired signal (Frenzel, 1994). It was found out that the use of directional antenna for transmission gives the highest capacity, allows spectrum reuse, and provides range extension (Zhu et al, 2005). At the receiver, the antenna is pointed directly at the station to be received thus rejecting signals from transmitters in all other directions (Frenzel, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another advantage of directional antenna over omni-directional is that there is greater efficiency of power transmission while when omni-directional antenna is used at the transmitter side the transmitted power goes off in all directions wasting a significant amount of power (Frenzel, 1994). It is argued that all messages should be sent in directional mode to take advantage of this gain (Zhu et al, 2005). Choudhury et al (2002) conducted a study and proposed a protocol that exploits the benefits of using directional antenna namely spatial reuse and higher transmission range. On the other hand, the use of directional antenna also poses some problems such as higher collision probability. That is, as space is segmented and the carrier is reused with directional antennas, the amount of MAC information required for conflict-free transmission increases (Zhu et al, 2005). Because the current IEEE 802.11 standard does not support spatial reuse, several problems may occur when directional antennas are used without changing the modifying the existing protocol. Collision occurs due to the deafness of the nodes as these nodes are immersed in only one direction. And because of this deafness, the transmitting nodes will send RTS packets repeatedly which is a waste of bandwidth (Zhu et al, 2005). The research study conducted by Zhu et al (2005) focused on solving the problems caused by the spatial reuse which is higher collision probability and proposed a protocol called sectorised 802.11 MAC protocol. These two studies along with the other studies serve as the framework of this research. To create an antenna with directivity and gain, two or more antenna elements are combined to form what is known as an array (Frenzel, 1994). Antenna array has the capability of spatial signal separation and could radiate frequency energy towards a desired receiver with narrow beamwidth and null towards an interfering terminal to reduce the negative impact of multi-path and co-channel interference (Zhou, 2006). Phased array antenna systems are an example of an array. Phased array antennas consist of an array of antenna elements connected by a feeder or adder network arranged so that their individual signals combine to provide maximum gain in one direction while minimising it in other directions (Dham, 2003). There is also what is called smart antenna which is consist of multiple antenna elements arranged in a special configuration and connected through complex weights (Zhou, 2006). Smart antenna Switched beam and adaptive array antenna are the two major categories of smart antenna. Switched beam is the simplest smart antenna with a number of fixed beams in predetermined directions at the antenna site (Zhou, 2006). Adaptive array on the other hand uses a complex signal processing algorithm to continuously detect multi-path and interference among desired signal (Zhou, 2006). The studies about the applications of smart antennas in wireless networks are also related and will be useful in the completion of this research study.   Zhou (2006) added that a smart antenna can be applied to all current major wireless protocols and industrial standards to achieve higher system capacity, larger network coverage and higher data rate thus smart antenna must be further investigated to determine what it can contribute to the enhancement of IEEE 802.11 with directional antennas. Aims and Objectives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conducting any research, it is important that definite sets of objectives are present.   These objectives will serve as the researcher’s guide in conducting the data gathering, data analysis and conclusion formulation. The primary objective of the research is to provide a protocol designed for the utilisation of directional antennas in wireless local area networks. Such protocol is proposed to be used in the deployment of WLAN using directional antennas thus it includes some amendments on the original standards, architecture, and physical layer. However, this general aim is an umbrella objective that would dictate the general path that the research will take. Within this umbrella objective are the specific aims of the research that will allow the researcher to touch the important aspects of the topic. These specific aims are the following: To identify the problems associated with the current protocols to determine the necessary adjustments or enhancement that are needed to be done; To determine the characteristics of directional antennas and what it can contribute to improve the capabilities of the wireless local area networks; To evaluate the advantages of having multiple receivers in wireless local area networks; To investigate on the differences of the current protocol and the proposed protocol and determine the limitations of the latter; and To test the effectiveness of the proposed standard. Intellectual Challenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most intellectual challenge on this research is the proposal itself. The IEEE 802.11 is developed by reliable engineers and to propose an enhancement for this standard is a big challenge thus the research study should be based on reliable data. The proposed protocol should also be tested on using a prototype and accurate calculations to ensure that the outcome of the studies is viable. Research Program 6.1 Research Methodology The method of collecting data for the dissertation will be composed of two methodologies. The first methodology is review of related literature or secondary sources.   Reviewing earlier studies and other related literature would allow the researcher to become familiar with the already accepted theories and statements pertaining to the topic. The sources should be from technical books, journals, earlier theses and published articles technical organisations such as the IEEE. The second methodology would be surveys and personal interviews. Technical professionals like engineers and technicians from different communication network companies and Internet service providers (ISP) will be surveyed using questionnaires that include questions that will determine the problems encountered with WLAN particularly with the use of the antennas they currently utilise, the solutions they are implementing and the improvement they would like to suggest and impose with the current standards. It is important that the views of these people be collected since they are the ones who are immersed in the realities of the WLAN conditions. They will be able to provide insights that will help the researcher in evaluating the current IEEE standard. This study will be using the descriptive research method where the general part of the paper will be dedicated to the description of the subject in question. Descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (Creswell, 1994). It is also concerned with relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing. In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (Creswell, 1994). The use of the descriptive method also suggests that the research will be focusing on obtaining qualitative data. Qualitative research is an umbrella that refers to various research traditions and strategies. The research will be carried out systematically. First, the researcher needs to review previous literature about the topic. This will allow the research the researcher to become familiar with what is already known about the topic. This will also allow the researcher to formulate the appropriate questionnaire that will be able to extract the most useful data. After the questionnaires have been completed, the researcher will have to tally the results and compare it with the findings of previous studies. If the finding of the research is the same as the findings of previous studies then the research can be supported by the findings of previous studies. On the other hand, if the findings of the research do not agree with past studies then the researcher must look back on previous studies to check if the findings of the studies are supported by other findings. This will ensure that the results of the research are not isolated and have been tested by other researches. 6.2 Schedule The Gantt chart below shows the schedule of activities involved in conducting the research study. Activity Date 1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month 4th Month Data Gathering/Survey, Personal Interview             Review of earlier studies and related literature/ Analysis of data collected             Writing of the First Draft             Development, Testing, Analysis, Evaluation and Documentation             Revision of the study             Formulation of the conclusion             Completion of Writing             Printing and binding of documents             Submission                Deliverables   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research study will be organised as follows: A chapter describing the IEEE 802.11 A chapter describing the antenna used in WLAN and the problems using non-directional antennas A chapter describing the analysis of the problems A chapter that presents the data collected and the analyses of those data A chapter for the proposed solutions and the methods for testing the solutions A chapter that serves as documentations of the testing, calculations involved and evaluation of the proposed solutions Resources   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As already mentioned, this research study is highly technical nature thus resources must be from reliable sources such as the IEEE itself that developed the standard that will be enhanced and the Association for Computing Machinery which is an organisation that publishes reliable sources about computing and related technology. ACM also has a digital library where various literatures can be accessed. The World Wide Web is also be used as a source where different latest articles and journals can be found. University and public libraries will also be used where books that discuss the basic concepts of the subject and topics involved can be found. The researcher will need the cooperation of technical professionals, technicians and engineers whose personal knowledge will be needed as they answer the survey questionnaires. The researcher will also need to collaborate with an ISP or a network company to test the proposed standard, determining its effectiveness as well as its shortcomings. References: Choudhury, R., Yang, X., Ramanathan, R., and Vaidya, N. (2002) Using Directional Antennas for Medium Access Control in Ad Hoc Networks, MOBICOM’02, ACM: Georgia, USA Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Dham, Vikram (2003) Link Establishment in Ad Hoc Networks Using Smart Antennas Thesis in Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University retrieved online on December 13, 2006 http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05072003-180228/unrestricted/etd.pdf Erger, Mustafa (2002) IEEE 802.11 Tutorial, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California Berkeley, Retrieved online on Dec. 13, 2006   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~ergen/docs/ieee.pdf Frenzel, Louis (1994) Communication Electronics 2nd edition, Glencoe Macmillan/McGraw-Hill: Singapore Xu, Shugong Saadawi, Tarek (2003) Does IEEE 802.11 MAC Protocol Work Well in Multi-hop Wireless Ad Hoc Networks? Dept. of Electrical Engineering, City University of New York retrieved online on December 13, 2006   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://academic.csuohio.edu/yuc/mobile03/0415-xu.pdf   Zhu, Chenxi, Nadeem, Tamer and Agre, Jonathan (2005) Enhancing 802.11 Wireless Networks with Directional Antenna and Multiple Receivers, Fujitsu Laboratories of America, retrieved online on December 13, 2006 http://www.flacp.fujitsulabs.com/TM-PCR-TM-21.pdf Zhou, Hao (2006) The Improvements in Ad Hoc Routing and Network Performance with Directional Antennas, Department of Electrical and Communications Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, Retrieved online on December 13, 2006   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://lib.tkk.fi/Dipl/2006/urn007316.pdf

Camera Phones and Invasion of Privacy Essay -- Exploratory Essays Rese

Camera Phones and Invasion of Privacy    â€Å"New technology has†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.placed all of us in an electronic fishbowl in which our habits, tastes and activities are watched and recorded.† as told by Simson Garfinkel (Ojeda). In the 21st century it is easy to awe people with new technology. Take two popular gadgets, merge them into a single point-and-click device, and then watch the world go nuts over it. This is a fact that will never change. Technology in this world is growing every day and there are products being discovered every moment to satisfy the needs of the consumer or make their living more luxurious. Camera mobile phones are only a recent invention but they sure have the world going gaga over them already. Technology threatens privacy, but who doesn’t like technology? The teenagers of this generation are crazy behind new technologies of any kind such as a good music system for their rooms or good mobile phones with many features. Any such products within their reach will be in their hands in no time. All of these things are good, but in a way they are dangerous and threaten privacy. For instance if we do have a music system with a lot of wattage pumping out of it, the neighbor will surely come running after you because it threatens his or her privacy. In the same way, the mobile phones also have so many features; that some or the other feature might not be safe to use for the privacy of the public like a phone with an integrated digital camera. Although concept of introducing a digital camera in a mobile phone is a recent discovery, people today enjoy the luxury of this concept day in and day out all over the world. It may seem that a camera phone would be no different than having a cell phone and a camera, but in truth, ... ... crackdown on camera phones.† BBC News. 20 July 2004. 16 November 2004 . * Batista, Elisa.   â€Å"New Privacy Menace: Cell Phones?† Wired News. 17 February 2003.   16 November 2004 .   * Belson, Ken. â€Å"When Etiquette Isn't Enough, a Cell phone Cone of Silence.† New York Times. 7 November 2004:page 2. Week In Review Desk.   * Hamilton, Anita. â€Å"CAMERA PHONES.† Time. 2003. 16 November 2004 .   * Harvey, Fiona. â€Å"Camera Phones, Privacy Concerns Not Clicking.† Los Angeles Times. 3 November 2003:A19. Business. * Napolitano, Jo. â€Å" Hold It Right There, And Drop That Camera.† New York Times. 11 December 2003:Circuits.   * Ojeda, Auriana. Civil Liberties Text. Green heaven Press, 2004.