Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Chapter1 exercise for managerial decision modeling Essay

Multiple Choice Questions: Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Which of the following is most likely a population as opposed to a sample? a) respondents to a newspaper survey. b) the first 5 students completing an assignment. c) every third person to arrive at the bank. d) registered voters in a county. D 2. Which of the following is most likely a parameter as opposed to a statistic? a) The average score of the first five students completing an assignment. b) The proportion of females registered to vote in a county. c) The average height of people randomly selected from a database. d) The proportion of trucks stopped yesterday that were cited for bad brakes. D 3. To monitor campus security, the campus police office is taking a survey of the number of students in a parking lot each 30 minutes of a 24-hour period with the goal of determining when patrols of the lot would serve the most students. If X is the number of students in the lot each period of time, then X is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a statistic. B 4. Researchers are concerned that the weight of the average American school child is increasing implying, among other things, that children’s clothing should be manufactured and marketed in larger sizes. If X is the weight of school children sampled in a nationwide study, then X is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a parameter. C 5. The classification of student major (accounting, economics, management, marketing, other) is an example of a) a categorical random variable. b) a discrete random variable. c) a continuous random variable. d) a parameter. A 6. You have collected data on the approximate retail price (in $) and the energy cost per year (in $) of 15 refrigerators. Which of the following is the best for presenting the data? a) A bar chart b) A scatter plot c) A histogram d) A time series plot A 7. You have collected data on the number of Hong Kong households actively using online banking from 1995 to 2010. Which of the following is the best for presenting the data? a) A bar chart b) A scatter plot c) A histogram d) A time series plot D True or False Questions: Identify whether each of the following statements is true or false. 1. When constructing a frequency distribution, classes should be selected so that they are of equal width. T 2. A histogram can have gaps between the bars, whereas bar charts cannot have gaps. F 3. Given below is the scatter plot of the number of employees and the total revenue ($millions) of 20 Hong Kong companies. There appears to be a positive relationship between total revenue and the number of employees.T // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Research Preliminaries Essay

This course is a brief overview about research design that is intended to cover the basics of designing and implementing a scientific study. Although this course will address every step of the research process, it is by no means exhaustive and is no substitute for a college level course in research methodology, nor is it a substitute for an experienced research advisor. Choosing a Topic For a researcher to choose a topic for a project, it is important to consider a broad area of inquiry and interest. This may be as broad as â€Å"global eye health† or â€Å"personality psychology,† but it should be an area that is of interest to the researcher. However, a broad area is useful only at the beginning of a research plan. Within a broader topic of inquiry, each researcher must begin narrowing the field into a few subtopics that are of greater specificity and detail. For example, a researcher may be interested in â€Å"global eye health,† but could focus more specifically on â€Å"proper eye care and how it affects individuals.† Although this topic is still too broad for a research project, it is more focused and can be further specified into a coherent project. Literature Review The literature review should be conducted early in the research process, directly after you choose a topic. A literature review can bring clarity and focus to your research problem and broaden your knowledge base in your research area. The literature review is crucial because an important responsibility in research is to add to a body of knowledge and to compare your findings with others. The procedure is simple: search the literature in your area of interest, review the selected studies, and develop a theoretical framework for your own study What makes a good research question? Not all research questions are good ones—in other words, not all questions can be answered through qualitative and quantitative research methodology. A good research question needs to: 1. â€Å"Make sense†: In other words, you must clearly define your terms using known definitions outlined in the literature. For example, a poor research question would be: How do people’s lives improve after surgery? Not only does this research question fail to specify the study population, it contains the vague term â€Å"improve†. The researcher must specify what he/she means by this term—does it involve a physical improvement or rather an improvement in mental state? The more specific your research question, the better. 2. Address an important and relevant issue: Scientific research is done to increase knowledge, not simply for a single researcher’s personal satisfaction. Whatever question the researcher sets out to solve must have some beneficial implications. A good research question will also always have relevance to the time, place, and population of the study. Not already have been done: A good research study will be novel. This means that there will be some new aspect of the study that has never before been examined. In fact, not only is replication a good way to get a research methodology, it is how science is supposed to advance knowledge. When replicating a pervious study, it is best to add or change one or two things to increase the novelty of the research. 3. Be â€Å"operationalizable†: Oftentimes, beginning researchers pose questions that cannot be operationalized, or assessed methodologically with research instruments. From the example above, the idea of life improvement could be operationalized by a Quality of Life survey—a well known and validated research tool. In general, the more abstract the idea, the harder it is to operationalize. 4. Be within a reasonable scope: A good research project will be manageable in depth and breadth. The scope will depend on the amount of time and the availability of resources you have for your study. In general, the more focused the research question the more likely it will be a successful project. For example, a study that seeks to identify the prevalence eye disease in a specific village is more likely to succeed than a comparable study that seeks to identify eye disease prevalence in the world population. Qualitative and Quantitative Studies Not all research projects require study measures. Some research simply involves observing the results of events in the field and drawing conclusions based on a theoretical framework. Others may involve analyzing data from clinics or other institutions, using statistics and reasoning to find patterns that may have important implications. However, many projects involve direct contact with participants, using an operationalized definition of a phenomenon. These projects require well-designed measures in order to be considered valid. There are two broad categories of research: quantitative and qualitative. A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; the information is gathered through the use of variables or measured on qualitative measurement scales, and if analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation or problem without quantifying it. Qualitative studies tend to be more â€Å"in-depth†, focusing on a smaller population but probing deeper into a given problem. This research is often associated with focus groups, interviews or surveys and seeks to answer open-ended questions. Thematic and content analysis are two methods used to analyze qualitative data. Disciplines such as anthropology, history, and sociology are more inclined towards a qualitative approach. On the other hand, quantitative studies often use standardized measures, numerical values, have larger sample sizes, and analyze data using statistical programs. A study is classified as quantitative if the researcher seeks to quantify the variation in a phenomenon and if information is gathered using quantitative variables. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, and advantages and disadvantages. Disciplines such as epidemiology, economics and public health are more inclined towards quantitative research. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a suggested explanation for an observed relationship or a causal prediction about a relationship among several variables. Every research project is based on a hypothesis, which generally begins with a specific question. A hypothesis takes the operationalized definition of the factors to produce a clear prediction of the causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in the statement. The independent variable is a factor that the researcher can control or manipulate (whether or not a person receives basic eye care services), and a dependent variable is a factor that the researcher cannot manipulate, but instead varies in relation to the independent variable (the economic productivity of the individual). For example, a hypothesis might be â€Å"We predict that if nearsighted participants are provided with corrective lenses that bring their vision to 20/20, they will earn more money per week on average over the course of three months than nearsighted participants who did not receive corrective lenses.† When formulating a hypothesis, it is important not to try to â€Å"prove† that the hypothesis is true. Instead, one should seek to find evidence that it is not true.

Invasion of Privacy by Employee Monitoring Essay

Employee monitoring has been a serious controversial issue in the modern workplaces besides its necessity. There are many technological surveillance methods are being used today, and it does not only monitor the quantity of work but the quality. Many employers believe that the monitoring helps to increase productivity and customer service activity and control and keep the business in an ideal, stable shape. They sometimes use it to determine one’s promotions and pay decisions as well as to reinforce disciplinary actions. However, what about employee’s privacy? Do employers think that the current monitoring situation is really fair to their employees? Lots of employers use different types of monitoring methods including computer monitoring, video surveillance, investigators, undercover operatives, spying, eavesdropping, wiretapping, and electronic mail and voice mail. All these methods are derived from high technology have made it so easy for those who are monitoring to overstep the boundaries from business information to private information. Many computer programs allow employers to access and monitor employee’s activities such as e-mail communication, keyboard activity, and website visiting history. A frequently debated issue is whether an employer has the right to read and check employee e-mail and voice messages. One recent survey shows that more than 73% of companies search or read employee files, e-mail messages, web connections, and other networking communication technology (Shelly & Vermaat, 2011, p. 590). Another data shows 25% of them have fired employees for misusing communication technology. The problem is that currently, there is no privacy laws exist relating to employee e-mail even though several lawsuits have been filed for many years against employers because many people believe that such internal employee communications should be private. (Slobovnik and Stuart 144-160) Another method of surveillance that is commonly used in a workplace is video recording. This is the most effective form of monitoring yet. However, there are restrictions regarding the legality of using this form. It is defined as illegal if there is audible recording along with the images in the tape. Employees must know that they are being recorded, and most of all, images should not be taken in any undesignated area such as restrooms. In fact, there are some benefits from video surveillance, including increased safety on the job, deter employees from stealing, promote good behavior, and can be used as evidence of a crime. However, video surveillance also can create a false sense of security and a decrease in morale. Imagine if someone is watching where you go and what you do. You might think as if this is not a human workplace but more like a prison. It is absolutely a privacy invasion for employees. The most recent invention of technological surveillance is a Smartcard. One statistic says that 53% of U. S. companies are using Smartcard, and the numbers are increasing rapidly. It simply controls employees’ physical activities within the company; it allows company to track every personal activity from using cell phones to visiting information. Invasion of privacy is a growing concern among employees. â€Å"Electronic monitoring without informing employees that it is taking place is no different than spying. Monitoring is a supervisory tool, not a tool for employee surveillance (CSE, 2006). Monitoring is a simple way of invading employee’s privacy. For example, computer data banks, telephone and video monitoring, active badges, and other monitoring techniques make the private lives of workers easier to delve into without detection (Mishra, J. M; Crampton, S. M 1998). Employers can maintain the productivity and accuracy of their employees without invading their personal lives by using motivation methods. Punishments should be followed for those who break the company’s policy. However, employers also have to protect their employees’ right as a human being.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Entrepreneurship. Validity of Claim in Emerging Markets and Assignment

Entrepreneurship. Validity of Claim in Emerging Markets and Stakeholder contribution in making Claim Realizable - Assignment Example The market itself has also been a focus of discussion to identify key conditions and factors that make businesses succeed on emerging markets. Getting to the later part of the series of lessons, there was focus on the role that various non-governmental agencies play in emerging markets to ensure that businesses operating in these markets experience success. As Dr. Yunu makes this all important claim of how each person is a potential entrepreneur, the various ideas developed over the weeks can be summed up in reasoning with Dr. Yunu. In this integration paper, two major issues are discussed. The first is the potential that the statement of Dr. Yunu has in becoming a reality in emerging markets, and the level to which various stakeholders have played their role in facilitating entrepreneurship and Dr. Yunu’s idea. Validity of Claim in Emerging Markets Generally, there has been a realization that most people who are entrepreneurs in various emerging markets, particularly in N-11 countries are not people who are world acclaimed entrepreneurs with records of setting up blooming and flourishing multinational companies around the globe. Considering various business plans, it would be noticed that most of these entrepreneurs are ordinary degree holders in various subject areas, with some kind of zeal to succeed (Dib, da Rocha and da Silva, 2010). In relation to the statement of Dr. Yunu therefore, it can be said that as far as emerging markets are concerned, there is a huge level of possibility of the claims to be reality. Having said this however, lessons from previous weeks’ discussions on leadership qualities would also bring in a word of caution that as much as all people would want to attempt to be entrepreneurs, it is important that efforts are made on the need to learn and acquaint oneself with key leadership and entrepreneurship skills when operating in an emerging market (Naude and Rossouw, 2010). The fact that most emerging markets are not very developed must not be a reason or a cause for entrepreneurs to overlook the kind of competition they can present their businesses with. Stakeholder contribution in making Claim Realizable The weeks gone have also been very useful in understanding the roles that governments and other stakeholders such as nongovernmental organization have to play and have been playing in various emerging markets. As far as governments are concerned, a lot have been said as criticism against their actions and efforts so far. For example, most governments in emerging markets, particularly the Brazilian government has been criticized for doing virtually nothing to too little in ensuring that the form of support it gives to young entrepreneurs, especially those coming from foreign countries are financial support (Cahn, 2008). Meanwhile, as much as the other forms of support are important and relevant, even Dr. Yunu admits that financial constraints remain the most challenging obstacle to most young entrep reneurs who would have wanted to make the advocacy of his claim a reality by opening businesses in emerging markets. Currently, the commonest forms of support that exist for various entrepreneurs come in the form of political and environmental support as against economic support (Thukral et al, 2008). For the example, the likelihood that an entrepreneur will face opposition in the opening of a new venture in an emerging market such as Brazil is highly unlikely. But except one is an indigenous or local entrepreneur, the possibility of receiving support from the government is almost zero. The reason this is so is that government sees

Sunday, July 28, 2019

My single father Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My single father - Essay Example When I was nineteen, I came across one such situation. I always had strained relations with my father. We never got along very well. I felt that my father despised me. Anything and everything that I did was an insult and problem to him. He never wanted to listen to me or look at me. We never had a normal relationship that a child has with his father. 26th November 2010, my grandfather passed away. It was a dull, gloomy and a lonely day for me. I was inside my hostel when my younger brother called me and informed me that our grandfather had passed away. I had to leave for my father’s house so I drove hurriedly. I came along with a bouquet in my hand. It was the first time in my whole life when I saw tears in my father’s eyes – he was just like a helpless person. Never had I seen my father so stressed, depressed, and aggressed. I went into the room where my grandfather slept still and silent and beside his corpse was my father sitting stunned. I entered in and plac ed the flowers near my grandfather’s corpse upon which my father looked towards me. I could see helplessness in his eyes. My dad held me by the arms and pulled me towards himself and hugged me tightly as if he did not want to leave me ever again. The day passed and my grandfather was finally buried in the graveyard. My father forced me to stay the night at his house. Later that night I was unable to sleep so I came out of my room and went outside. I sat on a bench. Approximately 5 minutes might have passed and my father came out and joined me. He had two mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. He came and sat beside me. He handed me a mug and said that he still remembers that I loved hot chocolate. He kept one of his hands on my shoulder and it felt like he was not my father but a very dear friend of mine. He told me that he was sorry for happened in my childhood. He gave me a very valuable lesson that I can never forget. That night it seemed like my father had changed his stance from a father to a friend. He told me that there were thousands of things that he wanted to tell my grandfather but could not share with his father. He told me that when he saw his dead father he wanted to complain his heart out to him but he could not as it was useless and pointless. He told me that his father always treated him the way he treated me. He did not intend to do so but his experiences as a child made him a heartless man. But today he had realized that it was useless because of the damage it had caused to a father-son relationship: It was completely futile. He realized that his young days were over but ruining my days will do no advantage to him. He told me stay as I had not seen him since a long time. He assured me that we will live like a happy family. After all, I was one of the few close people alive; my mother and grandparents had already passed away. I could see that my father had realized what had been done wrong. It was time for me to understand and make things better between us. This day has been a memorable one, not because I had lost my grad father but because I had revived one of the most valued accords – one’s relationship with his father. I realized that my father loved me and he had brought me up very well despite his hard

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Problem Formulation and Identification Paper Essay - 1

Problem Formulation and Identification Paper - Essay Example bable due to start-up financial constraints and approval difficulties from FDA, Chao faced reality; he opted to first enter the generic drug making industry where costs are lower and risks on FDA approval, lower. This decision was made after finding out in Chao’s research that though the generic drugs industry yielded lower margins compared to its branded counterpart they were able to gain handsome income. Watson’s finances were insufficient to operate the company in its early days. With this problem, Chao had displayed another of his quality in solving the problem, by persistently finding a method that works. After failed attempts to acquire funding from banks and other orthodox financial sources, instead of he decided to tap the Taiwanese community in his area for monetary aid. With Chao’s leadership, the company was also able to point out alternative opportunities that could eventually solve its problem. Knowing that he cannot squarely compete, Watson seized the market niche where his competitors had dared not to tap because of low margin. With the unique operating stratagem implemented by its founder and CEO, the company was able to capitalize on the territories that are untapped by its competitors in its early years to generate sales. By producing generic drugs these low margin niche drug markets, Watson Pharmaceuticals was able become pioneers in them. As profits went in, the company had again inked out another problem, how to make the company grow. This propelled them to product innovation, to improve the status quo by finding ideas that will make their products more effective and sellable. Watson had successfully gained the exclusive right to produce additional 17 generic products. This surged Watson’s profits even further. Having sufficient money to expand further, Watson Pharmaceuticals acquired other pharmaceutical companies that will extend their market reach. The company was able to incorporate 9 subsidiaries to its empire. Watson

Friday, July 26, 2019

Transaction Cost Economics and Evolutionary Theories. Compare and Essay

Transaction Cost Economics and Evolutionary Theories. Compare and Contrast. (See Assignment Criteria) - Essay Example Management accounting is concerned in identification and provision of financial and economic information to managers within the organisation to enable them make proper decisions, maintain control over business operations, monitor budgets and profit performance and direct the organisation to success in the future.1 Management accounting is crucial for planning and the process of problem solving such as determining the most cost effective method of production, it is also important in that it involves the development of budgets that help in the forecasting on future production cost and levels of production and profits. Management accounting involves the preparation of budgets that aid in planning, coordination of the activities of various departments, budgets provide a means of communicating the organisations goals and plans, they act as motivation tools and they act as a tool of control where actual and activities are compared with the budget and any deviations are investigated and corrective actions undertaken. Transaction cost economics studies organisations in a way that different institutional arrangements are considered alternative ways of organising economic activities.3Transaction cost economics explains why certain transactions are associated with a certain form of organisation whereas other transactions are associated with other forms of organisation; specific institutional arrangements are chosen to govern specific transactions because they offer distinct sets of control devices which other forms do not offer, therefore institutional forms differ in their ability to solve problems and the form of control they offer.4 Evolutionary theory also referred to as the old institutional economics as Foss (1994) defined it, this theory tends to investigate the possibility of transforming the already existing structures of organisations, therefore the evolutionary theory observes organisation forms as having emerged from the already existing

Thursday, July 25, 2019

UN and UNOMIR in Rewanda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UN and UNOMIR in Rewanda - Essay Example Moreover, the machinations of war are extremely complex and what constitutes excessive force in one situation differs from another. The spectrum is so broad that therein also lays the problem of having a definitive framework for the crime of aggression, further compounded by the broad discretion of Article 39 of the Charter, enabling the UN to take necessary measures to restore international peace and security. In turn this has become central as a justification for UN peace building initiatives post armed conflict (Pritchard, 2001). Furthermore, the complex nature of conflict and changing nature of warfare within the cotemporary international framework has raised questions as to which organ of the UN is most suitable for the process of restructuring post conflict (Zervaki, 2008). This also raises the issues of legitimacy of their presence in such territories, the implications of such operations for management of conflicts around the globe and military occupation. In the post Cold War international framework, there was an increasing amount of recommendations for the UN to become involved in peacekeeping, which has fuelled debate as to the legitimacy of their presence and efficacy of such peacekeeping measures. A prime example is the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which was intended to help enforce the Arusha Accords of 4 August 1993 and in turn facilitate the peace process between the Hutus and the Tutsis. However, the UNAMIR is well documented as having failed in its mission to maintain and restore peace in Rwanda. The UN and UNAMIR failure in Rwandan has perpetuated the debate regarding the legitimate boundaries and efficacy of the UN’s role in post conflict situations. With regard to the failure in Rwanda, this is exemplified by the controversial firsthand account of General Romeo Dallaire’s â€Å"Shake Hands with the Devil† (2003), which provides a graphic

Essay quiz Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Quiz - Essay Example In broadest possible terms, metaphysics traditionally tries to answer a couple of basic questions: What is out there in the realms of the unknown? What is the nature of that unknown or how does it look like? A philosopher generally tries to answer these questions for general people and broaden their view about the world; for example, possibilities, cause and effect, time and space, object and their properties, and also existence. Ontology is the central branch of metaphysics that investigates the basic categories of being and their relations. Cosmetology is the other branch of metaphysics that studies the origin, nature, dynamics and fundamental structure of the universe (Capaldi, 1997). Sometimes epistemology is also considered as a central branch of metaphysics. However, it is not confirmed. As far as the â€Å"Sceptical Doubts† is concerned, there are two thinking styles or types of knowledge. Those are matters of fact and the relations of ideas. Hume believed human knowledge is either necessary or contingent. Secondly, it is an ultimate truth that there should be relations between ideas. Thirdly, matters of fact are considered as contingent truth. The inherent logical contingency does not allow inductive predictions and statements of matters of fact to amount to knowledge (Capaldi, 1997). To prove this point, Hume states that the sun will surely rise tomorrow like it does every day, and it would be absurd to think that sun will not rise the next day. With this alternative concept, metaphysics can serve as a foundation for the nature of reality but not as such for reality directly. Metaphysics offers most basic accounts that are related to the nature of things like what they are and not of things like how they are. As a step to answer the first question – we need to first differentiate between the two ways in which a statement

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Techniques for data analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Techniques for data analysis - Essay Example Investment bank regulation differs in different nations. World trade is conducted within the balance of exchange rates. â€Å"Exchange rates play a vital role in a country's trade, which is critical to most free market economies in the world (Investopedia, 2010). The higher the value of Figure 1 Investment Banking the currency, the higher the cost of a country’s exports and the lower the cost of imports (Investopedia, 2010). Conversely, as a country’s currency decreases in value, the asking price for its exports also decreases. 1.1 Kingdom Holding Company; Saudi Arabia The financial history of Saudi Arabia is an interesting topic. Historians agree that the currency of the Mecca was adopted by Saudi Arabia by 1935. In 1926, the Saudi Hollandi Bank was formed as a part of the Netherlands Trading Company and acted as the money center for Saudi Arabia. In 1952, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency was formed and became the ‘treasury’ for Saudi Arabia. The halala appeared in in the late 1960s and developed as a denomination in ghirsh or riyal. The ABN is the holder for many Middle Eastern financial agencies including Riyadh, Jubail, Makkah, and Hofuf. In 1980, The Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) was created to obtain profits through investments in several different financial sectors. Headquartered in the Kingdom Centre of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, KHC is owned and managed by Prince Al-Waleed bin Tala. KHC is a publicly traded investment company listed on the Tadawul Stock Exchange. This paper is a study of four recent events of the Kingdom Holding Company as well as an analysis of the company’s financial data. According to the company website, the Kingdom Holding Company has a primary interest in ‘high performance global brands and strategic regional interests’ (KHC, 2013). The many financial investments of KHC include 360buy, Twitter, and Four Seasons. The four investment events to be analyzed in this study are: a) January 08, 2011 - The Signing of a contract that initiates the construction of the Jeddah Tower Project with Bin Laden Group for 4.6 billion Saudi Arabian Riyals b) September 29, 2011 - After several negotiations to acquire a part of Zain Groups with telecommunications company Batelco, the Kingdom Batelco Consortium announced that it will not proceed with making a binding offer to acquire Zain Groups 25% stake in Zain KSA. c) December 19, 2011 - HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, and Kingdom Holding Company announced a combined investment of $300 Million in Twitter for more than 3% share of the company. d) February 29, 2012 - Kingdom Holding Company announced the purchase of ‘Kingdom Oasis’ The purpose of the study is to find relationship between the events and abnormalities in the rates. Exchange rate values are a reflection of the mentality of the government, the investors, and the commonwealth of a country. Any indicators, variables or determinants of exchange rate movements can be linked to at least one, if not all three of these groups. Exchange rate volatility is expensive because fluctuations suggest instability. It suggests impending inflation or a rise in interest rates. Whether either of the events will actually happen does not matter. Just thinking they will is sufficient to stop investors from investing and consumers to stop spending. Inflation, interest rates

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Analyse the ideology of motherhood represented in distributed imaging Dissertation

Analyse the ideology of motherhood represented in distributed imaging spaces such as Instagram - Dissertation Example This is because more and more people share their life events on the social networks regardless of the events being sad or happy, says (Kivran-Swaine et al, 2013:1-5). Through one’s social media account most people are able to follow one’s transition through the years from one’s teenaged life to adulthood. Motherhood is only the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother. It is also one of the most life altering events that can be experienced and is often represented in the social networks. Most social media users usually cover their social pages with pictures of their experiences of pregnancy, and motherhood accompanied by status updated of about their daily events as mothers. Kivran-Swaine goes on to say that the ways in which motherhood is represented and enacted on the social networks is usually very broad, and does not effectively account for the complex content in which motherhood is understood and performed using new communications technologies. M ost information presented on the social networks about motherhood usually give the idea that motherhood is full of happy moments; where the mothers are always smiling holding their bundles of joy and updating how happy and blessed they feel to be mothers. The ideology of motherhood in the social media is often one-sided. Section II: The theoretical concept of â€Å"workface† Kivran-Swaine comes up with a theoretical concept of ‘facework’ that she uses to analyze the ideology of motherhood in the social media. Facework functions as a critical mode of self presentation and self expression on the social media where mothers create their own â€Å"mommy face†, a social space where they can showcase their motherhood achievements and their various standards of motherhood with the rest of the world. There are a number of mothers who have shown a good use of their facework, whose social media activities have incorporated their experiences as mothers that are if the y have not completely changed to motherhood experiences only. A good example of new mothers who have incorporated their motherhood experi

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Devil Restaurant Essay Example for Free

The Devil Restaurant Essay 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Business Innovation Korean Bibimbap, a new restaurant that is featured by healthy Korean food aims to provide white-collar workers with convenient service and business leisure under the help of e-commerce and efficient management. The main characteristics of Korean Bibimbap is as follows. ââ€"  Korean Bibimbap is set up as a restaurant selling healthy Korean meal sets at an acceptable price. Nowadays white-collar workers are faced with a dilemma on where to have dinner. On the one hand, despite the cheapness of food in staff canteen, some white-collar workers have been fed up with its distastefulness. On the other hand, many white-collar workers also complain that they can’t afford the food in restaurant because of its high price. Combined with high stress and long time of work, such a dilemme now has contributed to many health problems in white-collar workers. Based on the analysis of this situation, Korean Bibimbap will provide healthy Korean food in varied prices and an agreeable environment for white-collar workers to enjoy. ââ€"  Following the trend of e-commerce, Korean Bibimbap will use a electronic system including website and integrated management system for prospect background. Customers can not only come to the real shop for dinner but also place order through the internet. It deserves to be mentioned that online order service is still at its primary stage of development in China. This system will bring as much convenience as possible to consumers and in return expand the business of Korean Bibimbap. 2. Mission and Vission Our first responsibility is to provide every customers healthy food at a fair price as well as the pleasure of eating. We will make sure that every consumer receives a warm welcome on walking in our restaurant. We value employee’s active efforts on bringing health as well as pleasure to customers, and on spreading healthy diet culture to the world. We would like to join hands to advance and retreat as one with the development of our restaurant. By working closely, we can pave the way for a better prospect of our restaurant. 1.3 Food Stucture As its name suggests, at the start-up stage the main food provided in my restaurant is Korean Bibimbap sets, varying in variety and price. Korean Bibimbap will use advanced equipments to prepare and store food material on large scale without affecting the flavor and nutrition of Korean Bibimbap. More over, some special snakes will also be offered as a complement to deversification of food. At the expansion phase, Korean Bibimbap will add more food lines to the menu list. 1.4 Market Analysis The restaurant market is a competitive market with low entry barriers, where new restaurants emerge rapidly and compete with the existing ones. Base on the SWOT analysis, a successful restaurant should have both distinctive food and high quality service at least. Besides, exposure to lage numbers of mobile population also accounts for the success of some famous restaurant. To take all these into consideration, Korean Bibimbap decides to target on white-collar workers in International Trade Center in Beijing. 5. Management The management team mainly comprises five parts: administrative department, marketing department, human resource department, financial department and purchasing department, each of which has its specific responsibilities. Periodically, Korean Bibimbap will have personnel training, especially for these senior managers and gradually establish a comprehensive training system. At the same time, Korean Bibimbap will strengthen and perfect information management system on different levels, so as to facilitate the smooth and efficient operation. 1.6 Financial Planning Total investment for the first year is one million, which comprises 0.7 million from partnerships and 0.3 million of bank loan. At the early stage, Korean Bibimbap has to pay regular interests to investors every month. At the second year, Korean Bibimbap will have paid off all the debts and continue to operate the business with acculmulated capital. 7. Risk Analysis Major problems may come from the potential pandemic outbreak, some irresistible natural factors, external large-scale maligant competition, management risk, financial risk and policy risk. In order to minimize the negative effects of potential problems and risks, Korean Bibimbap will have special training on relevent staff to improve their ability to predict and evade risks. 1.8 Conclusion In short, Korean Bibimbap is a restaurant combined with healthy food and advanced management, targeting on the white-collar workers. With the joint efforts of all staff, Korean Bibimbap will have a good market prospect and further development in the future. 2. Business Description 1. General Descriprion of the Business Korean Bibimbap is a new restaurant featured by health and convenience, aiming to provide white-collar workers with convenient service and business leisure under the help of e-commerce and efficient management. ââ€"  Target Consumers More often than not, white collar workers is more likely to eat out. For modern white-collar workers, they lay more emphasis on both convenience and nutrition. At the same time, they are also curious about exotic flavour and attach importance to deliciousness of food. They also don’t have too much economic problem, so medium priced Korean Bibimbap will not make them hesitate too much. ââ€"  Site Selection Because the target customers of Korean Bibimbap are white-collar workers, the location is finally decided as International Trade Center, which is known as one of the biggest office building areas. ââ€"  High Quality Services All the staff have to be energetic and enthusiastic young people, who will have united training course about providing good service and should be interested in, if not familiar with, Bibimbap culture. Various characteristic services will be offered from the customers entering Korean Bibimbap till their departure. Furthermore, Korean Bibimbap will provide convenient online reservation and take-away services. 2. Industry Background As a traditional industry, the restaurant industry has played important roles in the economic development. In the long term, the strong growth of restaurant industry will continue. There are two major reasons as follows: ââ€"  Although There are many restaurants in Beijing, the amount of people eating out is still a small proportion of the total population. With the further development of economy, there will be still great potential for new restaurant to win decent profits. ââ€"  From the perspective of demand, people will attach more importance to diversified, healthy and quality food. These demend will contribute to the further development of the restaurant industry. In coclusion, the restaurant market is a competitive market with low entry barriers, where new restaurants emerge rapidly and compete with the existing ones. However, there is still great space for new restaurants as long as operators make efforts to establish their own features and improve the quality of service. 3. Goals and Potential ââ€"  Vission To bring health and happiness to the world. ââ€"  Mission To bring health by providing delicious food; To bring happiness by providing better services. ââ€"  Core values Healthy Delicacy Our first responsibility is to provide every customers healthy food at a fair price as well as the pleasure of eating. Consumers First We will make sure that every consumer receives a warm welcome on walking in our restaurant. We measure our work against how much satisfaction our consumers get from our services. The satisfactory smile of customers will be our best encouragement forward. Enthusiasm and Dedication It is the enthusiasm and dedication of our employees that keeps our restaurant going and expanding. We value employee’s active efforts on bringing health as well as pleasure to customers, and on spreading healthy diet culture to the world. Teamwork We would like to join hands to advance and retreat as one with the development of our restaurant. By working closely, we can pave the way for a better prospect of our restaurant. 4. Uniqueness of Product The distinctive food of Korean Bibimbap is featured by its nutrition and convenience. On the one hand, Bibimbap is nutritious food with low calories, for the main ingredients of Bibimbap are various vegetables. Compared to KFC and other kind of cuisines, Bibimbap lays more emphasis on nutrition and health. According to latest study, Korean chilli paste can stimulate the palate of people and in some sense improve the immunity of people. On the other hand, Bibimbap is also a delicious and convenient food to be offered at a short time. While operating the business, we will prepare some ingredient in large numer beforehand and use special equipment to store them. As Korean Bibimbap becomes stronger, more food series will be added, like Korean barbecue, to the menu of restaurant.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Improving Personal Efficiency At Work And In Life Commerce Essay

Improving Personal Efficiency At Work And In Life Commerce Essay The author of this paper is an engineering professional, who applies science (in the engineering inquiring system) to the real world during his work (Van Gigch, 2006). Organizations are continuously exploring methods to eliminate waste to lower the production cost and increase efficiency. This concept has evolved from a Two Bin System to a kanban System and most recently to a Toyota Production System (Hill, 2005). The author is intrigued by this organizational idea of reducing waste and increasing efficiency. He would like to apply the similar concept to increase personal productivity and efficiency at work and in his personal life. The proposed action plan intends to improve personal efficiency of the author at work and in life. The author deals with a variety of activities and tasks in his personal and work life during the day. These activities and tasks can vary from a simplest activity, such as starting a car ten minutes before departing for work, to solving a complex at work such as why a fastener broke during the assembly, and to writing a research paper for school. The phenomenon of friction is well known in a manufacturing industry. The usual engineering definition of friction is the resistance to relative motion of contacting bodies (Booser, 1983, p. 31). Magnitude of friction is usually expressed as a coefficient of friction ( µ), which is the ratio of the force F required to initiate or sustain relative tangential motion to the normal N which presses the two surfaces together. Thus  µ = F/N (Booser, 1983 p. 31). The right amount of friction is needed for two components to work efficiently and minimize wear. The same concept can be applied in work and life to improve personal efficiency. This action plan will develop a strategy to lower (balance) the friction in order to improve personal efficiency. Progress is becoming skilled consists largely in eliminating the useless (Laird, 1952, p.32). Productivity conceptually has two dimensions: efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is the level and quality of obtained from the amount of resources available (Smith, 1995). Competent performance defines efficiency doing something and doing something right (Smith, 1995. p. 7). The author will be exploring methods to produce a greater quantity with higher quality with the same amount of resources to improve his efficiency. The way in which the provider meets needs and demands of objectives defines effectiveness. A productivity plan is an action plan designed to achieve the twin goals of efficiency and effectiveness (Smith, 1995). Effectiveness relates to the extent to which the provider meets the needs and demands of the objectives. Improving productivity is a multi-faceted concept, which is linked with the achieving the goals efficiently and effectively. A productivity initiative is more than the statement of a set of goals; it is a plan to foster the achievement of those goals. It is an action plan designed to allow the system to get from here to there. (xxxx, xxxx) Productivity = f (efficiency, effectiveness) (Smith, 1995) The author has analyzed through the journaling activities during the course of Strategic Management of Human Resources that Personal Efficiency (PE) is affected by several factors. These factors are goal setting, communication style, negotiation and collaboration skills, art of persuasion, procrastination, locus of control, motivation, behavior and attitude, stress and burnout, influence, power authority, personal temperament, and networking. (Nelson, 2006) Assessment The author has gone through several self assessment exercises to identify his weaknesses and strengths. The author leads a busy personal and work life, thus it is important for the author to be efficient. The author will look at several factors to improve upon his Personal Efficiency within this action plan. The author agrees with Edmund and Morris (2000) that having too much information which uses up too much of their time, causes to feel stressed which, in turn, affects our decision making (Karlsson, 2006, page number) further, The extreme development of natural material resources and their conservation in paralleled by a pitiable neglect of human mental resources (Laird, 1952, p. 1). The development in information technology has provided the author with various planning tools such as a personal computer, blackberry, palm organizer, and Microsoft outlook express, but not necessarily all of these additional aids have improved his efficiency. Within this action plan, the author will develop a plan to understand the utility level of available aids. Action Plan The author used a competency card tally sheet to analyze and assess his competencies. Timely Decision Making, Organizing and Priority Setting are the three competencies on which the author will focus. The author will use goal setting techniques and decision making models to improve upon stated timely decision making, organizing, and priority setting competencies. The author will use performance measurement system (PMS) to evaluate performance of accomplishment. The action plan will use a sequential process. First, data will be collected, second the data will be organized, and third an action plan will be formed, fourth the action plan will be executed. Finally, the process will be reviewed and reanalyzed periodically. Goal Setting A goal is a measurable accomplishment to be achieved within a specified time and under specific time constraints (Rouillard, 2002 p.4). The goal setting offers motivation and a tool for performance measurement (Griffen et al, 2009). The author will use SMART approach for goal setting. The author understands that the goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic and that they should be subject to deadlines. The author will set challenging goals which require effort, yet still be attainable (Griffen et al, 2009). The author will use a sequential process to set goals. First, he will brainstorm all the goals by writing them down on a notebook, those he would like to attain in his life. Second, he will categorize these goals by the time limit he would like to them achieved. The goals will be categorized by month, six months, one year, two years, five years, and ten years. After analysis author may find that some of the initial goals are thoughts and need not be classifie d as goals. The goals will be further analyze for acceptance of author. Next, the plan for accomplishment of all the goals will be set. The progress of each goal will be reviewed periodically. Daily goals will be reviewed daily, monthly goals will be reviewed weekly, semi-annual goals will be reviewed monthly, annual goals will be reviewed quarterly and bi-annual goals, five years. During the review, if it is found that a goal was not achieved within the time allocated than it will be analyzed for the reasons. The analysis will help the author to understand the reasons for failure to make necessary improvements. The analysis will provide information whether the author lacked the resources to accomplish the goal(s), or whether there was an uncertain event that occurred during the period. If analysis presented that the author lacked the resources than reevaluation of the resources will be done. If analysis presented that there was an uncertain event occurrence during the period than t he author will reevaluate the deadline for the goal(s). (Griffen et al, 2009). Procrastination has always been a factor for the poor performance for the author. There are times when decisions are made very rapidly and at other times they take much longer. Procrastination increases stress and uncertainty (Griffen et al, 2009).The purpose of developing timely decision making skills is to be able to make the best possible decision with the information available (Gowin, 1917). Decision Making Model Temperament analysis from the book identified the author as an ESTJ personality type, where E stands for extrovert, S for sensing, T for thinking and J for judging. The T, or Thinking personality most often makes decisions based on logic and optimization. This style of decision making fits with rational model of decision making. There are constraints in relation to available time and information which prohibit practicing a rational decision making model. (Griffen et al, 2009)The author will use a decision support system to understand how to use an alternative decision making model. Herbert Simon suggested that there are limits to how rational a decision maker can actually be. (Nelson et al, 2006, p. 319). The objective is to find acceptability and effectiveness in the results. This decision orders classification forms the basis for the decision alignment framework(Scherpereel, 2005 PAGE NUMBER). Bounded rationality model can be an alternative choice for the author to develop a heuristics approach for decision making. The author will list and evaluate alternatives to select a good enough alternative to make the decision timely.(xxxx). To understand the likely consequences of decisions, the author will analyze the importance of individual factors and choose the best course of action. It is the alignment of decision problem characterization (or primal elements) with available approaches (or dual elements) that determine the adequacy and efficacy of a decision (Scherpereel, 2005 Page Number). The following steps will be used to develop timely decision making competency. The author will define the goal and assign a deadline to achieve the goals. He will record the activities in a log book to track the time spend on each activity. The log book will also be used to create matrix to design the decision support system. The author will practice the timely decision making with smaller tasks to create a habit of making decisions on time. Motor habits, or habits of doing, are all that many people include as habits in their thinking (Leird, 1952, p.44). Form the habit of sticking to a job until it is done (Leird, 1952, p.177). An example of this task would be starting the car in the morning ten minutes before heading to work in winter. The author will monitor this activity through the log book until this activity becomes a programmed decision making. He will develop an evaluation system to understand pro and cons of decisions. After identifying the pro and cons of the making the decisions, he will apply the strategy to make the decisions. If you really want to increase your mental efficiency do these things, do not just read them (Leird, 1952, p.35). The author will continuously read scholarly material and consult with an expert on his decision making competency. Decision Support System The author will develop a decision support system (DSS) to improve upon timely decision making competency. G. Mallach (1994) stated that The Decision Support System (DSS) is a system whose purpose is to provide knowledge with information on which to base informed decisions (Chong, 2001. p. 1). Decision Support System generates information used to support a decision (Chong, 2001. p. 1). Next, the author will use cognitive maps (CM) as a tool to develop the decision support system. In a Cognitive Map, concepts are connected with lines, arrows, and blocks. The information in blocks represents concepts (cn) in the problem domain and the line will represent the causal relationships within the concepts. The causal relationship can be positive or negative. In the case of a positive relationship, an increase or decrease in the cause variable shows the effect variable moving in the same direction. In a negative relationship, the cause concept causes the effect concept to move in the opposite direction (Chong, 2001). Need groceries T1 Total time available on weekend T5 Car needs oil change T2 Finish SMHR action plan T3 Meeting friends in evening T4 + 1.50 hr + .50 hr + 15.00 hr + 2.0 hr Figure 1.1: Cognitive map showing activities on the weekend (Chong, 2001) Figure 1.1 shows a cognitive map to illustrate tasks those need to be completed and leisure time planned for the weekend. Figure 1.1 also shows an incident which was not the part of planning. This cognitive map (CM) is drawn to identify the utilization on available time on the weekend efficiently and effectively. Each activity has given identification e.g. need groceries is identified as T1(Chong, 2001). After the CM is created, it is transformed from a diagram to a matrix. Fist, the diagram is translated to an N x N matrix (where N is the number of activities used in the map). Then, the rows and columns in the matrix are labeled with domain concepts (Chong, 2001). After drawing the CM, the map undergoes a diagram-to-matrix transformation. The process begins with the creation of an N x N matrix where N is the number of activities used in the map. The rows and columns in the matrix are labeled with domain concepts. (xxxx, Page Number) T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.50 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.00 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Fig 1.2: Matrix for the Cognitive Map on Fig 1.1 The fig. 1.2 shows a matrix of the information transferred from the cognitive map shown in fig. 1.1. The matrix shows the entry at row i, column j is the signed degree to which the activity (the source concept) influences (Chong, 2001, p. 3). When there is not relationship with an activity (Ti) to another activity (Tj) the value zero is inserted for the relationship. E.g. the activity T1 has no relationship with T2 on the cognitive map thus matrix has a zero entry for that relationship whereas activity T1 to T5 has a relationship that it will take 1.5 hour from the weekend thus it is given a 1.5 entry. The same concept (c) will be used throughout for information transformation from cognitive map to matrix. The author will be able adapt to this model after few practices (Chong, 2001). The summation of the activities will tell the author whether he was able to utilize the available time for the weekend effectively. For example, the sum of the matrix in the example shown on fig 1.2 is 19.0. The author had 2.0 hours allocated for leisure time from the total 19.0 hours available for the weekend. The summation calculation from the matrix shows that the author used 19.0 hours to accomplish all the activities. Thus he was able utilize the available time over the weekend effectively. The author will use the similar method for more complex problems (Lettieri et al, 2008). The author will make cognitive maps for one concept every week. This information will be made into a matrix as illustrated above. The information will be compiled into another matrix once the concept (tasks within the concept) is completed. The simple calculation for summation will be used to identify the efficiency of the proposed matrix to the actual matrix. Figure 1.2 shows the relationship between two matrixes before and after the completion of concept (Chong, 2001). T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.50 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.00 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 T2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .50 T3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.50 T4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 T5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Before After Fig 1.3: Matrix for before and after completion of the concept The summation calculation for the proposed matrix before the concept is completed is 19.00 hours whereas 18.00 hours for the matrix after concept is completed (Corral, 2008). This calculation provides the author with information for making future decisions as related to the activities defined with the illustrated concept (c1). The concept (c1) illustrates a very simple activity such as buying groceries as well as the complex activity of writing an action plan for the study course. The decisions the author faces can range from simple, with established programmed rule to complex decisions which require creative solutions (Chong, 2001). Most important is to identify the measures of efficiency and effectiveness based on the stated goals and objectives (Locke et al, 1981). The author assumes that in some cases it may be necessary to begin with new data collection for the appropriate measures. Finally, the productivity improvement process calls for new strategies to be developed for improving and monitoring productivity. Such strategies should be based on the goals and objectives first extrapolated (Griffen et al, 2009). Work and life balance Dr. Adam Butler, a psychology professor, suggested in his research that individuals should avoid preoccupation with work while at home (2010). The author will practice Dr. Butlers suggestion including finding challenges and learning opportunities outside of work and relaxation to enjoy leisure time. The author will also execute a plan to exercise regularly. These activities will help the author to balance life and work to become more efficient. Summary Productivity is the function of efficiency and effectiveness. The author has developed this action plan to improve his personal efficiency by using various decision making models, goal setting and motivation techniques. He will also use decision support systems, cognitive maps, and a strategy for work and life balance to improve his personal efficiency. The author has analyzed his competencies by using competency card tally sheet and other several self assessment tools taught during the course of Strategic Management of Human Resources. The sequential process action plan will be reviewed and reanalyzed periodically.

Light Emitting Diode | Dissertation

Light Emitting Diode | Dissertation Introduction Alight-emitting diode(LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across thevisible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. When a light-emitting diodeis forward biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is calledelectroluminescenceand thecolorof the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in area (less than 1mm2), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern.LEDs present manyadvantagesover incandescent light sources includinglower energy consumption, longerlifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise current andheat managementthan compactfluorescent lampsources of comparable output. Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as replacements foraviation lighting,automotive lighting(particularly brake lamps, turn signals and indicators) as well as intraffic signals. The compact size, the possibility of narrow bandwidth, switching speed, and extreme reliability of LEDs has allowed new text and video displays and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology.InfraredLEDs are also used in theremote controlunits of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances. History Discoveries and early devices Green electroluminescence from a point contact on a crystal ofSiCrecreatesH. J. Rounds original experiment from 1907. Electroluminescenceas a phenomenon was discovered in 1907 by the British experimenterH. J. RoundofMarconi Labs, using a crystal ofsilicon carbideand acats-whisker detector.RussianOleg Vladimirovich Losevreported on the creation of a first LED in 1927.His research was distributed in Russian, German and British scientific journals, but no practical use was made of the discovery for several decades. Rubin Braunstein of theRadio Corporation of Americareported on infrared emission fromgallium arsenide(GaAs) and other semiconductor alloys in 1955.Braunstein observed infrared emission generated by simple diode structures usinggallium antimonide(GaSb), GaAs,indium phosphide(InP), andsilicon-germanium(SiGe) alloys at room temperature and at 77kelvin. In 1961, American experimenters Robert Biard and Gary Pittman working atTexas Instruments,found that GaAs emitted infrared radiation when electric current was applied and received the patent for the infrared LED. The first practical visible-spectrum (red) LED was developed in 1962 byNick Holonyak Jr., while working atGeneral Electric Company.Holonyak is seen as the father of the light-emitting diode.M. George Craford,a former graduate student of Holonyak, invented the first yellow LED and improved the brightness of red and red-orange LEDs by a factor of ten in 1972. In 1976, T.P. Pearsall created the first high-brightness, high efficiency LEDs for optical fiber telecommunications by inventing new semiconductor materials specifically adapted to optical fiber transmission wavelengths. Until 1968, visible and infrared LEDs were extremely costly, on the order of US $200 per unit, and so had little practical use.TheMonsanto Companywas the first organization to mass-produce visible LEDs, using gallium arsenide phosphide in 1968 to produce red LEDs suitable for indicators. Hewlett Packard(HP) introduced LEDs in 1968, initially using GaAsP supplied by Monsanto. The technology proved to have major uses for alphanumeric displays and was integrated into HPs early handheld calculators. In the 1970s commercially successful LED devices at fewer than five cents each were produced by Fairchild Optoelectronics. These devices employed compound semiconductor chips fabricated with theplanar processinvented by Dr. Jean Hoerni atFairchild Semiconductor.The combination of planar processing for chip fabrication and innovative packaging methods enabled the team at Fairchild led by optoelectronics pioneer Thomas Brandt to achieve the needed cost reductions. These methods continue to be u sed by LED producers. History Of LEDs and LED Technology Light Emitting Diode (LED) Light Emitting Diode (LED) is essentially a PN junction semiconductor diode that emits a monochromatic (single color) light when operated in a forward biased direction. The basic structure of an LED consists of the die or light emitting semiconductor material, a lead frame where the die is actually placed, and the encapsulation epoxy which surrounds and protects the die (Figure 1). The first commercially usable LEDs were developed in the 1960s by combining three primary elements: gallium, arsenic and phosphorus (GaAsP) to obtain a 655nm red light source. Although the luminous intensity was very low with brightness levels of approximately 1-10mcd @ 20mA, they still found use in a variety of applications, primarily as indicators. Following GaAsP, GaP, or gallium phosphide, red LEDs were developed. These devices were found to exhibit very high quantum efficiencies, however, they played only a minor role in the growth of new applications for LEDs. This was due to two reasons: First, the 700nm wavelength emission is in a spectral region where the sensitivity level of the human eye is very low (Figure 2) and therefore, it does not appear to be very bright even though the efficiency is high (the human eye is most responsive to yellow-green light). Second, this high efficiency is only achieved at low currents. As the current increases, the efficiency decreases. This pr oves to be a disadvantage to users such as outdoor message sign manufacturers who typically multiplex their LEDs at high currents to achieve brightness levels similar to that of DC continuous operation. As a result, GaP red LEDs are currently used in only a limited number of applications. As LED technology progressed through the 1970s, additional colors and wavelengths became available. The most common materials were GaP green and red, GaAsP orange or high efficiency red and GaAsP yellow, all of which are still used today (Table3). The trend towards more practical applications was also beginning to develop. LEDs were found in such products as calculators, digital watches and test equipment. Although the reliability of LEDs has always been superior to that of incandescent, neon etc., the failure rate of early devices was much higher than current technology now achieves. This was due in part to the actual component assembly that was primarily manual in nature. Individual operators performed such tasks as dispensing epoxy, placing the die into position, and mixing epoxy all by hand. This resulted in defects such as epoxy slop which caused VF (forward voltage) and VR (reverse voltage) leakage or even shorting of the PN junction. In addition, the growth methods and materia ls used were not as refined as they are today. High numbers of defects in the crystal, substrate and epitaxial layers resulted in reduced efficiency and shorter device lifetimes. Gallium Aluminum Arsenide It wasnt until the 1980s when a new material, GaAlAs (gallium aluminum arsenide) was developed, that a rapid growth in the use ofLEDsbegan to occur. GaAlAs technology provided superior performance over previously availableLEDs. The brightness was over 10 times greater than standardLEDsdue to increased efficiency and multi-layer, heterojunction type structures. The voltage required for operation was lower resulting in a total power savings. TheLEDscould also be easily pulsed or multiplexed. This allowed their use in variable message and outdoor signs.LEDswere also designed into such applications as bar code scanners, fiber optic data transmission systems, and medical equipment. Although this was a major breakthrough inLEDtechnology, there were still significant drawbacks to GaAlAs material. First, it was only available in a red 660nm wavelength. Second, the light output degradation of GaAlAs is greater than that of standard technology. It has long been a misconception withLEDsthat lig ht output will decrease by 50% after 100,000 hours of operation. In fact, some GaAlAsLEDsmay decrease by 50% after only 50,000 -70,000 hours of operation. This is especially true in high temperature and/or high humidity environments. Also during this time, yellow, green and orange saw only a minor improvement in brightness and efficiency which was primarily due to improvements in crystal growth and optics design. The basic structure of the material remained relatively unchanged. To overcome these difficult issues new technology was needed.LEDdesigners turned to laser diode technology for solutions. In parallel with the rapid developments inLEDtechnology, laser diode technology had also been making progress. In the late 1980s laser diodes with output in the visible spectrum began to be commercially produced for applications such as bar code readers, measurement and alignment systems and next generation storage systems.LEDdesigners looked to using similar techniques to produce high brightness and high reliabilityLEDs. This led to the development of InGaAlP (Indium Gallium Aluminum Phosphide) visibleLEDs. The use of InGaAlP as the luminescent material allowed flexibility in the design ofLEDoutput color simply by adjusting the size of the energy band gap. Thus, green, yellow, orange and redLEDsall could be produced using the same basic technology. Additionally, light output degradation of InGaAlP material is significantly improved even at elevated temperature an d humidity. Current Developments of LED Technology InGaAlPLEDstook a further leap in brightness with a new development by Toshiba, a leading manufacturer ofLEDs. Toshiba, using the MOCVD (Metal Oxide Chemical Vapor Deposition) growth process, was able to produce a device structure that reflected 90% or more of the generated light traveling from the active layer to the substrate back as useful light output (Figure 4). This allowed for an almost two-fold increase in theLEDluminance over conventional devices.LEDperformance was further improved by introducing a current blocking layer into theLEDstructure (Figure 5). This blocking layer essentially channels the current through the device to achieve better device efficiency. As a result of these developments, much of the growth forLEDsin the 1990s will be concentrated in three main areas: The first is in traffic control devices such as stop lights, pedestrian signals, barricade lights and road hazard signs. The second is in variable message signs such as the one located in Times Square New York which displays commodities, news and other information. The third concentration would be in automotive applications. The visibleLEDhas come a long way since its introduction almost 30 years ago and has yet to show any signs of slowing down. A BlueLED, which has only recently become available in production quantities, will result in an entire generation of new applications. BlueLEDsbecause of their high photon energies (>2.5eV) and relatively low eye sensitivity have always been difficult to manufacture. In addition the technology necessary to fabricate theseLEDsis very different and far less advanced than standardLEDmaterials. The blueLEDsavailable today consist of GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide) construction with brightness levels in excess of 1000mcd @ 20mA for GaN devices. Since blue is one of the primary colors, (the other two being red and green), full color solid stateLEDsigns, TVs etc. will soon become commercially available. Full colorLEDsigns have already been manufactured on a small prototype basis, however, due to the high price of blueLEDs, it is still not practical on a large scale. Other applications for blueLEDsinclude medical diagnostic equipment and photolithography. LED Colors It is also possible to produce other colors using the same basic GaN technology and growth processes. For example, a high brightness green (approximately 500nm)LEDhas been developed that is currently being evaluated for use as a replacement to the green bulb in traffic lights. Other colors including purple and white are also possible. With the recent introduction of blueLEDs, it is now possible to produce white by selectively combining the proper combination of red, green and blue light. This process however, requires sophisticated software and hardware design to implement. In addition, the brightness level is low and the overall light output of each RGB die being used degrades at a different rate resulting in an eventual color unbalance. Another approach being taken to achieve white light output, is to use a phosphor layer (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) on the surface of a blueLED. In summary,LEDshave gone from infancy to adolescence and are experiencing some of the most rapid market growth of their lifetime. By using InGaAlP material with MOCVD as the growth process, combined with efficient delivery of generated light and efficient use of injected current, some of the brightest, most efficient and most reliableLEDsare now available. This technology together with other novelLEDstructures will ensure wide application ofLEDs. New developments in the blue spectrum and on white light output will also guarantee the continued increase in applications of these economical light sources. Practical use The first commercial LEDs were commonly used as replacements forincandescentandneonindicator lamps, and inseven-segment displays,first in expensive equipment such as laboratory and electronics test equipment, then later in such appliances as TVs, radios, telephones, calculators, and even watches (see list ofsignal uses). These red LEDs were bright enough only for use as indicators, as the light output was not enough to illuminate an area. Readouts in calculators were so small that plastic lenses were built over each digit to make them legible. Later, other colors grew widely available and also appeared in appliances and equipment. As LED materials technology grew more advanced, light output rose, while maintaining efficiency and reliability at acceptable levels. The invention and development of the high power white light LED led to use for illumination, which is fast replacing incandescent and fluorescent lighting. (see list ofillumination applications). Most LEDs were made in the ve ry common 5mm T1 ¾ and 3mm T1 packages, but with rising power output, it has grown increasingly necessary to shed excess heat to maintain reliability,so more complex packages have been adapted for efficient heat dissipation. Packages for state-of-the-arthigh power LEDsbear little resemblance to early LEDs. Continuing development The first high-brightness blue LED was demonstrated byShuji NakamuraofNichia Corporationand was based onInGaNborrowing on critical developments inGaNnucleation on sapphire substrates and the demonstration of p-type doping of GaN which were developed byIsamu Akasakiand H. Amano inNagoya. In 1995,Alberto Barbieriat theCardiff UniversityLaboratory (GB) investigated the efficiency and reliability of high-brightness LEDs and demonstrated a very impressive result by using a transparent contact made ofindium tin oxide(ITO) on (AlGaInP/GaAs) LED. The existence of blue LEDs and high efficiency LEDs quickly led to the development of the firstwhite LED, which employed aY3Al5O12:Ce, or YAG, phosphor coating to mix yellow (down-converted) light with blue to produce light that appears white. Nakamura was awarded the 2006Millennium Technology Prizefor his invention. The development of LED technology has caused their efficiency and light output torise exponentially, with a doubling occurring about every 36 months since the 1960s, in a way similar toMoores law. The advances are generally attributed to the parallel development of other semiconductor technologies and advances in optics and material science. This trend is normally calledHaitzs Lawafter Dr. Roland Haitz. In February 2008, 300lumensof visible light per wattluminous efficacy(not per electrical watt) and warm-light emission was achieved by usingnanocrystals. In 2009, a process for growing gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs on silicon has been reported.Epitaxycosts could be reduced by up to 90% using six-inch silicon wafers instead of two-inch sapphire wafers. Illustration of Haitzs Law. Light output per LED as a function of production year, note the logarithmic scale on the vertical axis Technology Physics The LED consists of a chip of semiconducting materialdopedwith impurities to create ap-n junction. As in other diodes, current flows easily from the p-side, oranode, to the n-side, orcathode, but not in the reverse direction. Charge-carriers—electronsandholes—flow into the junction fromelectrodeswith different voltages. When an electron meets a hole, it falls into a lowerenergy level, and releasesenergyin the form of a photon. Thewavelengthof the light emitted, and thus its color depends on theband gapenergy of the materials forming thep-n junction. Insiliconor germaniumdiodes, the electrons and holes recombine by anon-radiative transitionwhich produces no optical emission, because these are indirect band gapmaterials. The materials used for the LED have adirect band gapwith energies corresponding to near-infrared, visible or near-ultraviolet light. LED development began with infrared and red devices made withgallium arsenide. Advances inmaterials sciencehave enabled making devices with ever-shorter wavelengths, emitting light in a variety of colors. LEDs are usually built on an n-type substrate, with an electrode attached to the p-type layer deposited on its surface. P-type substrates, while less common, occur as well. Many commercial LEDs, especially GaN/InGaN, also usesapphiresubstrate. Most materials used for LED production have very highrefractive indices. This means that much light will be reflected back into the material at the material/air surface interface. Thus,light extraction in LEDsis an important aspect of LED production, subject to much research and development. The inner workings of an LED I-V diagram for adiode. An LED will begin to emit light when the on-voltageis exceeded. Typical on voltages are 2-3volts. Refractive Index Idealized example of light emission cones in a semiconductor, for a single point-source emission zone. The left illustration is for a fully translucent wafer, while the right illustration shows the half-cones formed when the bottom layer is fully opaque. The light is actually emitted equally in all directions from the point-source, so the areas between the cones shows the large amount of trapped light energy that is wasted as heat. The light emission cones of a real LED wafer are far more complex than a single point-source light emission. Typically the light emission zone is a 2D plane between the wafers. Across this 2D plane, there is effectively a separate set of emission cones for every atom. Drawing the billions of overlapping cones is impossible, so this is a simplified diagram showing the extents of all the emission cones combined. The larger side cones are clipped to show the interior features and reduce image complexity; they would extend to the opposite edges of the 2D emission plane. Bare uncoated semiconductors such assiliconexhibit a very highrefractive indexrelative to open air, which prevents passage of photons at sharp angles relative to the air-contacting surface of the semiconductor. This property affects both the light-emission efficiency of LEDs as well as the light-absorption efficiency ofphotovoltaic cells. The refractive index of silicon is 4.24, while air is 1.00002926. Generally a flat-surfaced uncoated LED semiconductor chip will only emit light perpendicular to the semiconductors surface, and a few degrees to the side, in a cone shape referred to as thelight cone,cone of light,or theescape cone.The maximumangle of incidenceis referred to as thecritical angle. When this angle is exceeded photons no longer penetrate the semiconductor, but are instead reflected both internally inside the semiconductor crystal, and externally off the surface of the crystal as if it were amirror. Internal reflectionscan escape through other crystalline faces, if the incidence angle is low enough and the crystal is sufficiently transparent to not re-absorb the photon emission. But for a simple square LED with 90-degree angled surfaces on all sides, the faces all act as equal angle mirrors. In this case the light cannot escape and is lost as waste heat in the crystal. A convoluted chip surface with angledfacetssimilar to a jewel orfresnel lenscan increase light output by allowing light to be emitted perpendicular to the chip surface while far to the sides of the photon emission point. The ideal shape of a semiconductor with maximum light output would be amicrospherewith the photon emission occurring at the exact center, with electrodes penetrating to the center to contact at the emission point. All light rays emanating from the center would be perpendicular to the entire surface of the sphere, resulting in no internal reflections. A hemispherical semiconductor would also work, with the flat back-surface serving as a mirror to back-scattered photons. Transition coatings Many LED semiconductor chips arepottedin clear or colored molded plastic shells. The plastic shell has three purposes: 1. Mounting the semiconductor chip in devices is easier to accomplish. 2. The tiny fragile electrical wiring is physically supported and protected from damage 3. The plastic acts as a refractive intermediary between the relatively high-index semiconductor and low-index open air. The third feature helps to boost the light emission from the semiconductor by acting as a diffusing lens, allowing light to be emitted at a much higher angle of incidence from the light cone, than the bare chip is able to emit alone. Efficiency and operational parameters Typical indicator LEDs are designed to operate with no more than 30-60mWof electrical power. Around 1999,Philips Lumiledsintroduced power LEDs capable of continuous use at oneW. These LEDs used much larger semiconductor die sizes to handle the large power inputs. Also, the semiconductor dies were mounted onto metal slugs to allow for heat removal from the LED die. One of the key advantages of LED-based lighting is its high efficacy,[dubious-discuss]as measured by its light output per unit power input. White LEDs quickly matched and overtook the efficacy of standard incandescent lighting systems. In 2002, Lumileds made five-watt LEDs available with aluminous efficacyof 18-22 lumens per watt (lm/W). For comparison, a conventional 60-100 Wincandescent light bulbemits around 15 lm/W, and standardfluorescent lightsemit up to 100 lm/W. A recurring problem is that efficacy falls sharply with rising current. This effect is known asdroopand effectively limits the light output of a given LED, raising heating more than light output for higher current. In September 2003, a new type of blue LED was demonstrated by the companyCree Inc.to provide 24mW at 20milliamperes(mA). This produced a commercially packaged white light giving 65 lm/W at 20 mA, becoming the brightest white LED commercially available at the time, and more than four times as efficient as standard incandescents. In 2006, they demonstrated a prototype with a record white LED luminous efficacy of 131 lm/W at 20 mA. Also,Seoul Semiconductorplans for 135 lm/W by 2007 and 145 lm/W by 2008,which would be nearing an order of magnitude improvement over standard incandescents and better than even standard fluorescents.Nichia Corporationhas developed a white LED with luminous efficacy of 150 lm/W at a forward current of 20 mA. Practical general lighting needs high-power LEDs, of one watt or more. Typical operating currents for such devices begin at 350 mA. Note that these efficiencies are for the LED chip only, held at low temperature in a lab. Lighting works at higher temperature and with drive circuit losses, so efficiencies are much lower.United States Department of Energy(DOE) testing of commercial LED lamps designed to replace incandescent lamps orCFLsshowed that average efficacy was still about 46 lm/W in 2009 (tested performance ranged from 17lm/W to 79lm/W). Cree issued a press release on February 3, 2010 about a laboratory prototype LED achieving 208 lumens per watt at room temperature. The correlatedcolor temperaturewas reported to be 4579K. Lifetime and failure Main article:List of LED failure modes Solid state devices such as LEDs are subject to very limitedwear and tearif operated at low currents and at low temperatures. Many of the LEDs made in the 1970s and 1980s are still in service today. Typical lifetimes quoted are 25,000 to 100,000 hours but heat and current settings can extend or shorten this time significantly. The most common symptom of LED (anddiode laser) failure is the gradual lowering of light output and loss of efficiency. Sudden failures, although rare, can occur as well. Early red LEDs were notable for their short lifetime. With the development of high-power LEDs the devices are subjected to higherjunction temperaturesand higher current densities than traditional devices. This causes stress on the material and may cause early light-output degradation. To quantitatively classify lifetime in a standardized manner it has been suggested to use the terms L75 and L50 which is the time it will take a given LED to reach 75% and 50% light output respectively. Like other lighting devices, LED performance is temperature dependent. Most manufacturers published ratings of LEDs are for an operating temperature of 25 °C. LEDs used outdoors, such as traffic signals or in-pavement signal lights, and that are utilized in climates where the temperature within the luminaire gets very hot, could result in low signal intensities or even failure. LED light output actually rises at colder temperatures (leveling off depending on type at around −30C). Consequently, LED technology may be a good replacement in uses such as supermarket freezer lightingand will last longer than other technologies. Because LEDs emit less heat than incandescent bulbs, they are an energy-efficient technology for uses such as freezers. However, because they emit little heat, ice and snow may build up on the LED luminaire in colder climates.This lack of waste heat generation has been observed to cause sometimes significant problems with street traffic signals and airport runway lighting in snow-prone areas, although some research has been done to try to develop heat sink technologies to transfer heat to other areas of the luminaire. Ultraviolet and blue LEDs BlueLEDs. Blue LEDs are based on the wideband gapsemiconductors GaN (gallium nitride) andInGaN(indium gallium nitride). They can be added to existing red and green LEDs to produce the impression of white light, though white LEDs today rarely use this principle. The first blue LEDs were made in 1971 by Jacques Pankove (inventor of the gallium nitride LED) atRCA Laboratories.These devices had too little light output to be of much practical use. In August of 1989, Cree Inc. introduced the first commercially available blue LED.In the late 1980s, key breakthroughs in GaNepitaxialgrowth andp-typedoping ushered in the modern era of GaN-based optoelectronic devices. Building upon this foundation, in 1993 high brightness blue LEDs were demonstrated. By the late 1990s, blue LEDs had become widely available. They have an active region consisting of one or more InGaNquantum wellssandwiched between thicker layers of GaN, called cladding layers. By varying the relative InN-GaN fraction in the InGaN quantum wells, the light emission can be varied from violet to amber. AlGaNaluminium gallium nitrideof varying AlN fraction can be used to manufacture the cladding and quantum well layers for ultraviolet LEDs, but these devices have not yet reached the level of efficiency and technological maturity of the InGaN-GaN blue/green devices. If the active quantum well layers are GaN, instead of alloyed InGaN or AlGaN, the device will emit near-ultraviolet light with wavelengths around 350-370nm. Green LEDs manufactured from the InGaN-GaN system are far more efficient and brighter than green LEDs produced with non-nitride material systems. With nitrides containing aluminium, most oftenAlGaNandAlGaInN, even shorter wavelengths are achievable. Ultraviolet LEDs in a range of wavelengths are becoming available on the market. Near-UV emitters at wavelengths around 375-395nm are already cheap and often encountered, for example, asblack lightlamp replacements for inspection of anti-counterfeitingUV watermarks in some documents and paper currencies. Shorter wavelength diodes, while substantially more expensive, are commercially available for wavelengths down to 247nm.As the photosensitivity of microorganisms approximately matches the absorption spectrum ofDNA, with a peak at about 260nm, UV LED emitting at 250-270nm are to be expected in prospective disinfection and sterilization devices. Recent research has shown that commercially available UVA LEDs (365nm) are already effective disinfection and sterilization devices. Deep-UV wavelengths were obtained in laboratories usingaluminium nitride(210nm),boron nitride(215nm)anddiamond(235nm). White light There are two primary ways of producing high intensity white-light using LEDs. One is to use individual LEDs that emit threeprimary colors—red, green, and blue—and then mix all the colors to form white light. The other is to use a phosphor material to convert monochromatic light from a blue or UV LED to broad-spectrum white light, much in the same way a fluorescent light bulb works. Due tometamerism, it is possible to have quite different spectra that appear white. RGB systems Combined spectral curves for blue, yellow-green, and high brightness red solid-state semiconductor LEDs.FWHMspectral bandwidth is approximately 24-27 nm for all three colors. White lightcan be formed by mixing differently colored lights, the most common method is to usered, green and blue(RGB). Hence the Care Of Diabetic Foot: How To Prevent Amputation Care Of Diabetic Foot: How To Prevent Amputation Introduction Diabetes mellitus is defined as a metabolic disorder characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia with metabolism disturbances in carbohydrate, protein and fat because of defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both (SIGN 2010). Diabetes mellitus is one of the main causes of increasing morbidity and mortality in Scotland and worldwide every years (SIGN 2010). Diabetes leads to several problems that begins with many of symptoms and debility on the short term and ending with a wide complications such as blindness, renal failure and amputation. Furthermore, diabetes has a significant impact on increasing the mortality and premature death from cardiovascular disease such as stroke and myocardial infarction (Massi-Benedetti 2002). Globally, the international diabetes federation (IDF) estimated the number of adults (between 20 79 years) with diabetes mellitus disease in 2010 around 285 million in seven regions of the IDF, and estimated the percent of adults with diabetes in 2010 in Europe 8.6%, United Kingdom 4.9%, United States of America 12.3% and similarly at both Jordan and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 7.5% (IDF Diabetes Atlas 2010). And to the same years, the IDF estimated that the number of deaths due to diabetes mellitus is approximately 3.9 million deaths annually which represents 6.8% of all total global mortality (IDF 2009) . Moreover the number of people who have diabetes were approximately 39 million in 2007 and the expected gradual increase 439 million in 2030 (IDF 2009).Furthermore, in another study the IDF estimated that 23 million years of life are lost due to disability, decrease quality of life and reduce lifespan of person as a result of complications related to diabetes (Egede and Ellis, 2010). T he cost of treating and preventing diabetes globally in 2007 was approximately $ 232 billion, this number is expected to increase to over $300 billion in 2025 (Egede and Ellis, 2010). The United State of America spent in 2002 around $132 billion on diabetes (Egede 2006), and spent around $10.9 billion in 2001 on treating diabetic foot ulceration and amputations (Gordois et al. 2003). Also, The United Kingdom spent in 2001 approximately 5% of the total National Health Service (NHS) expenditure ( £3 billion) on diabetes mellitus (Wild et al. 2004). The Diabetic foot complications cost the United Kingdom approximately  £252 million each year (Adam et al. 2003). Every 30 seconds a lower extremity is lost in patients with diabetes due to amputation in the world (IDF 2009). Additionally, around 5% of European population suffer from Type 2 diabetes mellitus (IDF Diabetes Atlas 2007). India was the country with the highest numbers of patients with diabetes mellitus in Asia (Wild et al. 2004). The complications of diabetes remain very common in the developing countries such as diabetic foot and amputations (IDF 2005) the same as other developing countries in the world. Boulton et al (2005) identified that there are several factors that contribute to the increase complications and incidence of diabetic foot; these include late discovery of the disease and diabetic foot complications; the presence of catalysts such as neuropathy and high infected complications helps, moreover, deficiencies in podiatry service in most countries, barefoot gait which is common in some cultures and some of social beliefs and cultural traditions which are still in control of some communities and drives patients with diabetes to use and to depended on traditional healers, village elders and alternative medicine for treating themselves . In Sub-Saharan Africa, which contains 33 countries from the list of 50 poorest countries in the world; these countries are facing a significant increase in the rate of diabetes during the next twenty years (Wild et al. 2004). Diabetic foot complications are a major cause of increasing public health problem, leading cause of admissions to hospitals, amputation and increased mortality rate in diabetic patients (Zulfiqarali and Lennox, 2005). The main reasons leading to increase rate of diabetic foot in Africa were the frequency of neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease, unhygienic conditions, poverty, barefoot gait and inappropriate foot wear, low income, urbanisation, frequent co-existing HIV infection, and cultural beliefs and incorrect practices (Boulton et al. 2005). Risk of developing foot ulcers during lifetime of diabetes patient is approximately as high as 25 % (Singh et al. 2005). The International Diabetes Foundation confirmed that awareness regarding foot complications must be increased between diabetic patients because of its positive impact on personal, social, medical, and economic costs (Boulton 2004). Implementing screening, educational, and treatment programs globally in every area of the world was the biggest challenge facing the Global Diabetes Community (Boulton et al. 2005). A diabetic patient faces many problems caused by diabetic foot such as pain, morbidity and substantial economic consequences. The infection rate by diabetic foot differs between developing and developed countries and between European countries. Globally 25%-90% of all amputations were caused by diabetes (Boulton et al. 2005). The cost of treating diabetic foot ulcers was affected by the implementations of some interventions to prevent the development of foot ulcers, care strategies to heal ulcers or wound to prevent inflammation and amputation, shorten period of wound healing, and by frequent care necessary for disability after amputation (Tennvall and Apelqvist, 2004). In Europe and North America 7-20% from of the total expenditure is spent on diabetes and more precisely on the diabetic foot care (Boulton et al. 2005). In a Swedish prospective study it was estimated that diabetic patient with foot ulcers cost around 37% of the total costs on foot ulcers care until healed without amputation but if the patient needs amputation the inpatient care will cost up to 65% of the total costs, and also costs around 45% of the total costs using topical treatment of wounds but this percentage changes to 13% in patients with amputation (Boulton et al. 2005). The economic costs of minor lower limb amputation (foot level) such as toes around $43,800 and for main lower limb amputation (above ankle) such as all foot around $66,215, of which 77% of the costs comes post-amputation (Boulton et al. 2005). Applying foot-care services such as screening, education, treatment can effectively the rate of amputation among diabetes patients (Boulton et al. 2005). Furthermore, treatment of diabetic patients with or without diabetic foot according to the present management guidelines would result in enhanced survival and significantly reduced number of diabetic foot complications. Furthermore, it leads to significant reduction of up to 25-40% from the total economic costs of treating ulceration and amputation (Ortegon et al. 2004). Also, the adherence of diabetes patient to education and treatment is very important, effective and playing important role to prevent diabetes complication and improvement of patient health (Boulton et al. 2005). Aims and objectives Aims: To create more awareness of diabetic foot complication and foot care. To promote foot health in individual with diabetes and minimise the risk of foot complication. To identify major causes that lead to foot ulcers and how to prevent them. To inform people with diabetes about the actions and measures they can take to prevent occurrence of foot complications, provide diabetes self care education and encourage patients to change their behaviours to enhance foot hygiene and appropriate foot wear. To inform patients how to look after their wounds or ulcers. To reduce risk of lower extremity complication and amputation between diabetic patients. To try and improve the flow of information and intervention between patients and health care specialists. To enhance communication between diabetic patients and multidisciplinary care team. Objectives: Educate diabetic patient about good foot hygiene, diabetes risk factors, wound care, and about appropriate foot wear. Provide education about foot care by regular monitoring identification and early detection of ulcers, determination of risk factors such as (Neuropathy, Ischemia, Deformity, Callus, Oedema). Educate patient about the risk factors that can are increase diabetic foot complications such as poor fittings shoes, smoking, obesity, blood pressure, high lipids, aging and positive history to ulcers or amputation. Educate patient about proper footwear, nails care and wound care. Outcomes: Patient will have good circulation to feet. Patient will identify and take action when injury occurs. Patient will know how to take care of his feet. Patient will be able to determine the risk factors to diabetes ulceration and lower limb amputation. Patient will identify and select appropriate foot wear. Patient will be able to identify the importance of wound care, early detection of ulcers, good diet and exercise, regular monitoring and assessment of foot, adjust the level of sugar in the blood and stop smoking. Interventions Worldwide, 3.2 million deaths reported in relation to diabetes complications every year, also one in twenty deaths in the world due to diabetes resulting in 8700 deaths daily, this is equivalent to 6 deaths every minute (Unwin and Marlin, 2004). Study was estimated incidence of foot ulcers each year to diabetes patient around 2-6%, a prevalence of 3-8%, also estimated recurrence rates of ulcers within 5 years approximately 50-70%, the average of healing ulcers of 11-14weeks and the rates of incident of amputation after a one year estimated by 15%. However, the cost of diabetic foot include direct costs related to foot complications and also indirect costs related to loss of productivity, patient and family economic costs and loss of quality of life (Boulton et al. 2005). In a prospective study following up patients after foot ulcer healing, explained the return ulceration rates to patient after 1 years was 34%, at 3 years was 61% and at 5 years 70%. The diabetic patients with recurre nt ulcers, the highest costs were for hospitalise care, social services, and self care in home (Boulton et al. 2005). Diabetic foot complications are very common worldwide; it leads to social, political and economic impacts on society, patients and their families (Boulton et al. 2005). When Paul Brand was asked to suggest a recommendation to reduce amputations and foot complications in diabetes patient to the US Department of Health conference, most of the attendees were probably expecting an answer of both either promoting vascular surgery or modern medications, but they were surprised to hear that his answer was the recommendation to encourage health care professionals and caregivers to remove patients shoes, socks and after that examine and assess feet, many countries in the world ignored these recommendations. Although, the assessment of foot does not require expensive equipment for example a tuning fork, pin, tendon hammer and 10g monofilament these are cheap and suffice(Boulton 2004; Singh et al. 2005). The education should be focused on the diabetic patients with high risk feet. Furthermore, when planning an educational programme the caregivers should not forget that many patients donated are unable to understand what neuropathy, nephropathy, ischemia or risks of foot ulcers means (Vileikyte et al. 2004). Because of that the education should be simple, easy to understand by patients and suitable for the culture and social background of the patient (Boulton et al. 2005). First: Risk Factors One amputation occurs every 30 seconds worldwide between diabetic patients (Bakker et al. 2005). Approximately 15% of diabetic patients develop foot ulcers (Edmonds 2008). Amputation occurs more with diabetes patient than patient without diabetes (SIGN 2010). Three main pathologies factors must be met for the beginning and stimulation development of diabetic foot complications: neuropath, ischemia and infection. Furthermore, People with diabetes mellitus are higher to develop lower limb amputation between 15-46 times more than people without diabetes mellitus (Wilson 2005). Neuropathy is the most frequent and common complications in diabetic patients. It affects around 50% from all diabetic patients (Wilson 2005). The danger lies in the loss of protective sensation to pain, thus patient feel or recognise the pain or any discomfort in the lower extremity (Urbancic-Rovan, 2005). Ischaemia is four times more common in people with diabetes than in people without diabetes. Some of the factors that lead to increased occurrence of ischaemia were smoking, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. Usually it develops gradually and slowly in diabetic patients, but in the end leads to a severe decrease in arterial perfusion and results in compromising vascular supply of the skin, and most often leads to a minor or major trauma in the lower extremity (Wilson 2005). Ischaemia and neuropathy are mostly associated together in diabetic patient (Edmonds and Foster, 2005) Infection of wound or ulcers in diabetes patient is the main reason for admission to hospital, and also increasing the incidence of amputation, when the infection is associated with neuropathy and ischaemia it leads to higher incidence of infection without pain, furthermore, leads to the loss of some of the inflammatory response such as increased temperature and white blood cell count (Wilson 2005). Additionally risk factors identified by (Urbancic-Rovan, 2005) that can effect diabetes patient and lead to ulceration and lower extremity amputation includes: Foot deformity because of motor neuropathy and muscle atrophy. Callus growth and formation. Disability in joint mobility. Reduced metabolic control leading to impaired wound or ulcer healing. Positive history to foot ulcer or lower limb amputation. Autonomic neuropathy that leads to gradually decreased sweating and dry fissured skin in foot. Obesity. Retinopathy. Inappropriate footwear. Smoking. Older people. Socioeconomic status. Interventions: Early detection and screening in addition to appropriate management of these ulcers can lead to preventing up to 85% of amputation (Edmonds and Foster, 2005). To provide effective treatment and management the patient should know and understand the major causes and risk factors for ulceration and amputation, meticulous treatment plan and should have frequent routine screening (Wilson 2005). Moreover, regular screening and assessment for feet of diabetes patient give the patient the opportunity of up to 99.6% to keep his feet free from ulcerations (follow up at 1.7 years) and were 83 times less probable to incident ulcers than the high- risk group (SIGN 2010). Teaching patients about the metabolic management, such as the control of blood glucose by regular diet, exercise, insulin and medication to protect neurological function. Patient should be educated on how to treat blood pressure, high lipids and should be encouraged to stop smoking to preserve cardiovascular function, prevent the occurrences of ischemia and enhance blood supply to lower extremity (Edmonds 2008). Encourage diabetic patient to daily foot examination and inspection, full monitoring of his feet by specialist diabetes doctor or nurse every 4 months and full screening and examination test every 6 month (Michael et al. 2005). All diabetes patients when diagnosed with diabetes mellitus should be educated and encouraged to be screen and examine his foot regularly or at least annually to detect any risk factors for foot ulcers as early as possible (Edmonds 2008). And to assess their risk of beginning a foot ulcer complication (SIGN 2010). patients should be screened for the main risk factors which include: Neuropathy, which is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus and begins to produce primitive signs that emerge within 5 years of the onset of the disease (Hampton 2006). The neuropathy can be assessed by the use simple techniques such as 10g monofilament to assess pressure sensation in patient. On the other hand, the use of vibration perception threshold by using a neurothesiometer to assess patients (Edmonds 2008). Because the vibration perception threshold is more sensitive than the 10g monofilament especially in persons at risk for foot ulcers (Miranda-Palma et al. 2005). Ischaemia assessed by palpation of the dorsalis pedis or posterior tibial pulse, if it cannot be felt it is unlikely that there is significant ischaemia. So the significant factor indicating ischaemia is the reduced Doppler arterial waveform. But the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommended that the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) should be measured for all diabetic patient especially patients above 50 years of age (Edmonds 2008). Faglia et al (2005) showed in his study that 21% of the occurrence of peripheral arterial disease was indicated by a low ABPI in recently diagnosed diabetic patients. Deformity such as claw toes, pes cavus, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, hammer toe, Charcot foot and nail deformities; these deformities lead to bony prominences and causes high mechanical pressures on the skin surface, thus leads to ulceration, especially in the absence of protective pain sensation and feeling, and when wearing inappropriate shoes. Thus any diabetes patient, who has any deformities, should be educated how to care for his feet (Edmonds 2008). Callus and Oedema: the presence of callus leads to ulceration because of the high pressure and friction on it. Also the oedema is the main factor causing ulceration, and often produced when patient is wearing inappropriate and poorly fitting shoes (Edmonds 2008). Diabetic patient should be educated about signs of infection. Swelling, redness and hotness, all of this are present with signs of systemic infections. Patient must visit a medical clinic immediately (Michael et al. 2005). Second: Foot care Diabetic foot complications are common complications between United Kingdome populations, according to statistics, 23-42% related to neuropathy, 9-23% vascular disease and 5-7% foot ulceration (SIGN 2010). Diabetic foot care guideline is very important and should be the main part of basic diabetic patient education programs and workshops (Michael et al. 2005). Interventions: Diabetes patient and caregivers nurses or physician should be taught the nail cutting techniques (Michael et al. 2005). Nails of diabetes patient should be cut when they are softer and flexible, therefore, the patient should cut his nails after a bath or shower; the patient should never try to cut the whole nail as one piece, cut out the corner of the nail or more down the sides of nail (Edmonds 2008). Patient should be educated to use the soft brush to clean about the nails and if the nails become thick, the nails care should be performed by a professional nurse or physician (Michael et al. 2005). Patient education regarding foot hygiene, nail care, general assessment of foot care and patient should know when and how to ask for help when having any symptoms, problems or any suspicions around his foot (Wilson 2005). Encourage patient to wear natural fibre socks, it is better to be white to simply detect any derange or bleeding from foot (Michael et al. 2005). Footwear may reduce the rate of amputation by 50% when it is used perfectly (Bloomgarden 2008). Footwear (shoes) should be padded with soft leather from the inside and have a broad rounded toes, with an elevated toe box, the heels must be low to prevent excessive pressure on toes, and they must be the appropriate size to prevent movement and friction within the shoe (Edmonds 2008). If the diabetic patient has any deformity in his foot it should be detected early and appropriate shoes selected before any complication occurs. The diabetes foot wear included to three main types: Sensible shoes it is used to protect diabetic patient with partial loss of sensation (low risk to develop foot ulceration). Readymade stock shoes it is used to patient who has few deformities, neuroischaemic feet and that needs to be protected almost all the time (moderate risk to develop foot ulceration). Customized shoes it is made specifically for patients with deformities and contains appropriate insoles to relieve pressure on the foot (Edmonds 2008). The custom-built footwear should be used to decrease callus severity and reduce ulcer repetition (SIGN 2010). Diabetic patient who have lost protective sensation and cannot feel normally in lower extremity should be protecting their feet from any mechanical, thermal, chimerical injury because of that they should be encouraged to develop a habit of regularly examining and inspecting their feet to detect any problem or complication early. In addition should be educated about type 2 diabetes to protect themselves as far as possible to avoid the occurrence of any injury (Edmonds 2008). If patient have lost their sensation in the lower extremity, recurring trauma, limited joint mobility, poor healing and have ischaemia in lower limb, all of this lead to increased incidence of ulceration and in addition amputation (Bloomgarden 2008). Should educate diabetic patients how to prevent dry skin to prevent ulceration, by applying emollient or lotion such as E45 cream on a daily basis (Reckitt Benckiser, Slough) or Calmurid cream (Galderma, Watford) (Edmonds 2008). Patient should be encouraged to use daily oil, lotion and lanolin cream to prevent dryness of skin (Michael et al. 2005). If patients have callus they should be educated not to cut their callus or use any product to remove it. Also the callus should be removed gradually by podiatrist to prevent ulceration (Edmonds 2008). Patient should not use any removers to remove corns or callus (Michael et al. 2005). The podiatrist can reduce effectively the number and size of foot calluses and enhance self care (SIGN 2010). Should be encouraged to do path to his foot daily with mild soap to promote blood circulation. Furthermore, patient should dry the feet carefully and use lambs wool between the toes if the skin stays moist or become macerated (Michael et al. 2005). The occurrence of foot wounds is 2-7% per year among diabetes patient (Bloomgarden 2008). Also the patient and caregivers should be educated about sterile dressings technique, the dressing should be covering all wound or ulcers to prevent infection, protect patient foot from any trauma, and promote wound healing (Edmonds 2008). Patient with wound or ulcers should be frequently assessed and inspected specially if the patient has lost protective pain sensation to early detect any development of complications or problems, because of this the dressing should be characterized by: uncomplicated and speed lifting, The ability to walk by without any trouble or suffering disintegration, good ability to monitor and evaluate the secretions and abscess (Edmonds 2008). Action plan: Agreed strategy for foot care such as protocol or guideline driven care of the patient. Involvement of a multidisciplinary foot team to include: diabetic nurse specialist, podiatrist, vascular and orthopaedic surgeon, diabetes physician, orthotist and radiologist. Education for staff and all caregivers looking after the feet of diabetic patients. Establishment and enhancement of good communication between the diabetic patient and multidisciplinary foot team and the primary medical doctor. Reinforcement using appropriate foot wears. Encouragement of diabetic patients to effectively liaising with the podiatrist. Maintain wound care by using appropriate and sterile dressings. Encouragement of community nurses to educate people, especially about diabetes mellitus, diet, insulin, diabetes medication and the risk of complications. Activate discussion groups and workshops for patients with diabetes in primary medical centres. Facilitating the knowledge, skill and human resources for the promotion of diabetes self care. Conclusion and recommendations Diabetes mellitus is defined as a metabolic disorder characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia with metabolism disturbances in carbohydrate, protein and fat because of defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both (SIGN 2010). Approximately 39 million person in 2007 diagnosed with diabetes and an expected gradual increase to 439 million in 2030 (IDF 2009). The diabetes Cost in 2007 worldwide was approximately $ 232 billion and expected to increase to over $300 billion in 2025 (Egede and Ellis, 2010). Every 30 seconds, a lower extremity is lost to diabetes due to amputation in the world (IDF 2009). Diabetic foot complications very common worldwide, also leads to big social, political and economic impacts to both society and to the patient and their families. Paul Brand, suggest a real recommendation to reducing amputations and foot complications to the US Department of Health conference that is to encourage multidisciplinary foot team to remove patients shoes, socks and after that examine and assessment patient feet. The diabetic foot is a significant healthcare problem worldwide and inadequate appropriate therapy may lead to the spread of serious complications such as amputation, disability and increase morbidity and mortality rate each year globally. Therefore, careful monitoring, regular assessment, patient education and education for the specialist team caring for diabetic foot ulcers are very important and significant. Furthermore, early detection and specialized treatment of any risk factors plays significant part to prevent foot complications and reducing the amputation rate. Diabetes leads to dramatically increased risk of diabetic foot and amputation, but available evidence based guidelines or protocols that this risk may be significantly reduced by effective screening and intervention. The multidisciplinary foot team should screen all diabetic patients regularly to early detect those at risk for foot ulceration and this screening should include all risk factors and all assessment procedure. Educating patients and caregivers about foot care and risk factors, full examination every 6 month or at least annually, appropriate footwear, daily self foot examination, wound care, smoking cessation, control of blood glucose level, activation of community nurses, enhance communication between diabetic patient and multidisciplinary foot team. All of these measures should be applied and adhered by patient firstly, and by all caregivers secondly to reduce diabetic foot complication and prevent amputation.