Princely Jets (Pvt.) Ltd. the Air Ambulance Written Analysis of a Case

Princely Jets (Pvt. ) Ltd. – The Air Ambulance| Written Analysis of a Case| Mariam Soomro, Sharmain Malik, Syed Zainul Islam & Farooq Tirmizi| Introduction This paper will be referring to the case study â€Å"Princely Jets (Pvt. ) Ltd. – The Air Ambulance†. It will discuss at length the issues brought out in the case which concern the new Air Ambulance service that Akbar Group of Companies is planning to launch. This paper asserts that Akbar Group should go ahead with the launch of the new service at the proposed price US$ 750 monthly membership and an hourly rate of usage of US$2500. The paper will attempt to justify the pricing strategy and discuss the mix of promotion tools that they should make use of. Overview The Akbar Group has a diverse group of companies with their operations being divided into two major categories: the aviation division and the commercial division. They started operations in Pakistan in 2005 with Princely Jets (Pvt. ) Limited with their first private charter jet services. They offered private jet services on an adhoc as well as on a scheduled flight basis with an objective of making the private jet charter experience simple, comfortable, enjoyable and unique. They launched in Karachi and later on expanded their services to Islamabad in 2006. By 2008 they had a fleet of 6 aircrafts. They had an average growth rate of 15% and a return on investment of 3%. Their aviation division also included being the General Sales Agents for twelve international airlines; they were representatives of Amadeus; and they offered travel agency services under the name Princely Travels and Citilink. Their commercial division included allied businesses such as the distribution of Nike and United Parcel Services (UPS). They also had exclusive distribution of travel insurance for the American Insurance Group. Akbar Group also introduced many global businesses in Pakistan such as McDonalds, The Princeton Review and LMVH Watches and Jewelry. Market Situation and Competitive Scenario Pakistan suffers from a host of problems such as political and social unrest. The rate of political protests, traffic accidents, criminal assaults and terrorist attacks has increased significantly. There is a constant need for transportation of victims for emergency needs. There have been many instances where the patient never makes it to the medical facility in time because of traffic jams. There are a sufficient number of medical rescue teams that provide ambulance services such as Askari Aviation, Edhi Foundation and Chhipa Ambulances, but none that provided specialized air ambulance services. The Akbar Group identified this gap in the market and decided to offer an Air Ambulance service to cater to this unmet need. It was easy for them to cater to this need as it would be a natural extension of their aviation services that they provided through Princely Jets. They had an existing clientele from their Princely Jet services who they could target for the same specialized air ambulance services. Segmentation and Target Market The Akbar Group chose to segment the market using two techniques: Psychographic and Demographic. Psychographic: They wanted to target affluent customers who would be â€Å"willing to provide insurance for this value added medical facility not only for their personal use but also for the use of company employees†. Demographic: The target market identified for the air ambulance service included corporate entities such as multinational and large national companies, banks, embassies, governmental agencies and some high net worth individuals. Marketing Mix Product/ Service The Akbar Group proposed the following with their Air Ambulance Services: * Transportation of physicians and specialists to remote areas * Inter-hospital transfer of patients requiring specialist’s treatment and immediate attention * Quick transportation of blood and human vital organs * Medical and other assistance to companies and organizations in remote areas of the country. They wished to start off their operations with a pilot project in Karachi and later on proceed to other parts of the country. In the Karachi region they planned to provide their services within a radius of 125 nautical miles (225 land miles). The justification behind this radius was that they wanted to transport the patient to the nearest medical facility within a maximum of 90 minutes. They planned to offer air ambulance services with two fully equipment helicopters with multiple seating and at least two patient beds. They would have on board a fully trained paramedic team including a doctor, state-of-the-art medical equipment, life saving and emergency medicines, oxygen and blood transfusion capabilities. The air ambulance aimed to offer a smooth transition of the patient from the helicopter to the emergency room. Financially Viability As seen from the expected revenue above, after the first year this project will generate a profit stream which will make this a viable project. The Air Ambulance project is suitable for a country like Pakistan where one sees in Exhibit 9A and Exhibit 9B that there is a high requirement for such services. To support this one should also look at Exhibit 12 to see the number of people that are in need of such services and have no other alternative. Pricing The two pronged strategy that is being offered by Mr. Ghouse is feasible since targeted market segment pays little importance to prices. They consider the value of the services. Therefore, as they are willing to pay these prices for business purposes; then they will be more than willing to pay for medical services. The prices suggested will be divided into 3 categories for three different customer divisions as the following: Corporate customer- These are the companies mentioned in Exhibit 3. They will be offered a yearly package that will contain 37 hours that they can use at any hour. It can be used by any member of the corporation with the approval of HR. * Private Customer- These will be those individuals who are operating private companies that have steady cash flow. They will be familiar with Princely Jets (PVT) LTD. services; hence it will be relatively easy to convince them to utilize The Air Ambulance services for themselves. * Hospitals- A yearly contract will be signed with hospitals as mentioned in Exhibit 11B; this will provide an additional service which can be provided by leading medical institutions, which will have customers who are willing to avail on a one off basis. The cost that is charged by the hospital will be left to its discretion. Pricing Method The pricing strategy will differ from segment to segment. The private customer will be charged a slightly higher price as he will be less likely to require services on a regular basis. Whereas corporate customers and hospitals will be charged a slightly lower price since they will be purchasing bulk services and are more likely to want greater flight hours. Therefore, higher revenue can be generated from these institutes through variable costs. The above methodology is simply a proposal. However, this project is definitely viable. If we consider the pricing that Princely Jets is exploring; the following comes to mind: Premium Pricing Princely Jets is going to be fulfilling the needs of a niche market. As stated earlier, pricing is not an influencing factor in the decision to purchase. For these high profile consumers, the ambience, the service environment and the quality will be perceived as of worth. It is about how vital the customer is made to feel during the entire journey. It is the flexibility offered, the uniqueness in treatment and of course, the fact that each flight is personalized for the client. They will be willing to pay for a superior air solution over others which are designed to give greater benefits. It is these intangibles that justify the premium pricing strategy. Also as it is the pioneer in its category, it can enjoy the benefit of being a price setter in the industry. Specialized Service Air ambulance services have high operational costs. The specialized nature of these air rescue services limits the ability to compete on the basis of cost. Therefore, marketing is directed towards high net individuals, corporations and governmental agencies that prefer other factors. Customized Air Solution Princely Jets is going to fabricate each flight with accordance to the needs of the client. From the point of destination to the point of food being catered; every small aspect will be planned in order to serve the punter in question. Heritage Akbar Group of Companies is bringing this premium service in and has over 100 years of experience in the aviation industry. This facet can be utilized to position Princely Jets air ambulance services in the consumer’s mind and be used to build brand equity. Placement Princely Jets launched from Karachi in 2005 and had expanded to Islamabad by 2006. It designed a 4000 square yard hangar with a high tech maintenance workshop for supportive services. Also to add benefits and value to their service, Princely Jets had its own airport lounge in Karachi. It was dedicated to Princely Jets customers. Promotion Viral Marketing This strategy played well for the luxurious travel Princely Jets offered. It appeared to be promising for air ambulance services as well. Within the narrowed boundaries of this niche market, if the trend of air ambulance services spreads like wildfire, targeted customers will be drawn into its usage. Word of mouth Word of mouth communication remains to be the most effective and popular marketing tool. As it is recommended from person to person, a level of trust is involved. That by itself will build to service credibility and reliance. Relationship marketing Given the infrequent nature of this service, Princely Jets will have to be persistent in building and sustain its clientele. It should focus on the longevity of end user relationships and continue to remain in touch with them. They will likely own personal, intricate consumer information such as birthdays, anniversaries etc and can perform diminutive gestures such as sending a birthday card across to remind the consumer that Princely Jets remembers them and is thinking of them. That will add to value in terms of positioning in the customer’s mind. Direct Marketing This may prove to be a successful strategy for the air ambulance sector. Sending brochures, flyers, personalized posters to the consumers would build a personal connection. An even better alternative is to send customized letters to them on a monthly or biweekly basis to build brand recall and to make Princely Jets the preferred carrier. Another way to differentiate itself is to offer to show the helicopter to exclusive clientele. These strategies are recommended to Mr. Ghouse as they will prove to be the most effectual and valuable. However, an aggressive online marketing campaign to compliment the above tactics will be better. Mr. Ghouse should draw up an integrated marketing communication plan that has the consistent message of safety, security and comfort and is conveyed accurately.

Dynamics Of Rebellion Essay Essays

Dynamics Of Rebellion Essay Essays Dynamics Of Rebellion Essay Essay Dynamics Of Rebellion Essay Essay When the Seven Years’ War ( 1756 – 1763 ) ended. England accumulated a considerable fiscal debt and sought to decide this job every bit fast as possible. Prime Minister George Grenville and his authorities reasoned that the debt had to be partially decreased at the disbursal of the Colonies which were held responsible for it by many politicians in London ( Nesnay â€Å"The Stamp Act ) . One of the proposed options to raise the necessary gross was the debut of the stamp responsibilities. a jurisprudence which would necessitate a governmental cast on all of import functionary documents and paperss to do them lawfully acceptable ( Nesnay â€Å"The Stamp Act ) . Grenville determined that this revenue enhancement had to be levied to keep English military personnels in America that were supposed to continue public order at that place. But the settlers saw no demand in the British standing ground forces of 10 thousand work forces in America in clip of peace and believed it was stationed on their dirt to maintain them under control ( Elson â€Å"History of the United States of America† ) . At first. Grenville requested the colonial assemblies to come up with a better mechanism to raise the gross from the Colonies than his stamp revenue enhancement jurisprudence. But as alternatively of suggesting an alternate method most colonial assemblies expressed strong resistance to the proposed revenue enhancement jurisprudence. the Stamp Act was passed in March. 1765 and was due to travel into consequence in the Colonies on November 1 of the same twelvemonth ( Elson â€Å"History of the United States of America† ) . Colonial response When the intelligence of the act reached America. it was received with a storm of indignation and protests throughout the Colonies. The settlers explained their outrage by the fact that England had no right to enforce revenue enhancements on them without their consent and because they were non represented in the decision-making procedure. A particular missive was circulated to all the Colonies in which its writers called for a general Congress that would be held in the fall â€Å"Page # 2† of 1765. As a consequence. the representatives of nine Colonies held the Stamp Act Congress in New York while the other four Colonies expressed their support for its declarations. The Congress criticized London’s policies. questioned its right to enforce revenue enhancements on the Colonies. challenged its power to implement the new jurisprudence. and issued a Declaration of Rights. Its participants besides signed a request to the King and Parliament of England and called them to revoke the Stamp Act which they believed was unjust and prejudiced ( Elson â€Å"History of the United States of America† ) . Meanwhile. as November 1. 1765 was nearing. the Colonies showed their finding to oppose the Stamp Act. Riots broke out and legion meetings were organized in many American metropoliss. Governors and freshly appointed cast distributers shortly realized that it was impossible and even unsafe to seek to implement the new jurisprudence. Most distributers eventually refused to have the boxes of casts that had merely arrived from England ( Elson â€Å"History of the United States of America† ) . The general rebellion was masterminded by several freshly founded organisations. the most celebrated among which was â€Å"The Sons of Liberty† . It was formed in the summer of 1765 of 1000s of work forces who chose the policy of bullying of royal functionaries and were determined to take the ferocious rabble to protect the rights of the Colonies. Businessmens besides vowed to boycott English goods until the Stamp Act was repealed ( Elson â€Å"History of the United States of America† ) . Rioting in Massachusetts In Boston. Andrew Oliver. who was designated as cast distributer for Massachusetts. was faced with the same troubles as stamp distributers in other topographic points. Local townsfolk hanged him in image which they left in a street. Some neighbours tried to take the image but were intimidated by the rioters into maintaining off from it. At foremost. the bulk of members of the City Council did non take the affair earnestly. Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard â€Å"Page # 3† requested that the Sheriff direct his officers to take the image. However. it turned out that taking down the image would set the lives of officers in danger as the crowd was emboldened to assail them ( Bernard â€Å"Stamp Act Riot. 1765† ) . At the afternoon meeting of the Council. most of its members decided to give up any efforts to take down the image. Some believed that it could be done after the crowd cooled down. But others suggested that the public violence was to be taken earnestly due to the fact that the bulk of townsfolks were involved in it. So they suggested that as they had no existent support. they should make nil about the image as it would merely exasperate the crowd and unnecessarily put their lives in danger ( Bernard â€Å"Stamp Act Riot. 1765† ) . By the terminal of the twenty-four hours. the rabble brought the image to the Town House. went to a edifice that had been erected by Mr. Oliver. and destroyed it in a few proceedingss. After that. they headed for Mr. Oliver’s abode where they foremost beheaded and so fire the image. Mr. Oliver had sent his household off and with a twosome of his friends remained in his house at that minute. After holding burnt the image. the crowd decided to assail the house. They demolished the fencing. broke some Windowss. and so entered the house merely to happen out that Mr. Oliver had fled off. Infuriated. the rabble declared that they were traveling to happen the cast distributer and kill him. They so headed for the two neighbouring houses to look into whether Mr. Oliver was concealing at that place. He was so in one of those houses. but a gentleman told them that Mr. Oliver had merely fled to the Castle. No 1 doubted that if the townsfolk had found Mr. Oliver at that place. they would surely hold murdered him ( Bernard â€Å"Stamp Act Riot. 1765† ) . By midnight. the Sheriff and his officers went to Mr. Oliver’s house with the purpose of carrying the townsfolk to scatter. But the rioters began to hurtle rocks at them and they had no pick but to withdraw. And it was non until after midnight that the crowd dispersed and the town became quieter ( Bernard â€Å"Stamp Act Riot. 1765† ) . â€Å"Page # 4† Uprising in New York The most terrific public violences occurred in New York where Cadwallader Colden. the Governor. tried to implement the Stamp Act and in expectancy of the rebellion ordered to beef up Fort George and had its cannon pointed at the town. He expected the townsfolk to acquire intimidated and disperse. but by presenting such steps he merely farther infuriated them ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . Colden was so ferocious that he was ready to fire on the townsfolk every bit shortly as they came closer to the gate of the garrison. But the Sons of Liberty got wind if his purpose and alternatively of ramping the garrison they sent a missive to Colden and warned him that they would hang him if he gave the order to fire on the townsfolk. Terrified. Colden had no pick but to hold back from any aggression against the rioters ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . A few hours subsequently the Sons of Liberty demanded to manus over to them the boxes of casts that were kept in the garrison so that they could destruct them. Colden’s refusal to collaborate merely exasperated the townsfolk. who erected the gallows on the Broadway and. like in many other topographic points. hanged the Governor of New York in effigy ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . After that they seized Colden’s elegant manager. which was a symbol of his pride and power and after dragging it around the town. made a balefire and burned it every bit good as the image and other belongings from his house. The Governor and other officers did non make bold to interfere as they feared that it would trip a general slaughter that none of them would last ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . After holding burnt the image and the manager. the rabble headed for the beautiful house of the city manager of New York and destroyed it puting fire to his rich library and many cherished plants of art. However. all these Acts of the Apostless did non pacify the townspeople’s choler as they failed to acquire clasp of the casts. The rabble sent another missive to Colden in which they threatened to â€Å"Page # 5† storm Fort George and kill all of its residents if he did non give up the boxes of casts to them. The Governor eventually agreed to hold the casts transported to the City Hall and the rioters neer harassed him once more ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . Moor. the new Governor of New York who arrived from England. at first besides believed that he could implement the Stamp Act and refused to accept any documents without the governmental casts on them. But he shortly realized the earnestness of the state of affairs and was forced to publically declare that he would non seek to implement the Stamp Act. All these grants were non adequate. though. and merchandisers and townsfolks were still angry and refused to purchase goods geting from England until the jurisprudence was repealed ( â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765† ) . Although Colden tried difficult to put to death the Stamp Act. he received no support from London and subsequently was even badly reprimanded by English Government for holding failed to implement the jurisprudence ( Nesnay â€Å"The Stamp Act ) . The abrogation London’s reaction to the rebellion in the Colonies was calm. The Government could non direct the ground forces to America to penalize the settlers and assist British functionaries execute the Stamp Act because it had no money. By 1766. it became obvious that the jurisprudence had brought more problem than net income. British merchandisers complained that they were fring a batch of money because the settlers were boycotting their goods. Parliament began to recognize that take a firm standing on the executing of the act would take to serious effects. So. when the bulk of Members of Parliament in both Houses voted for the abrogation of the Stamp Act. George III granted his consent on March 18. 1766 and the jurisprudence was officially repealed. As a consequence of the Stamp Act rebellion. the Colonies were winning and London was defeated. However. larger jobs between England and America were non solved and ended subsequently in civil war ( Nesnay â€Å"The Stamp Act ) . WORKS CITED: 1. Bernard. Francis. â€Å"Stamp Act Riot. 1765. † Prologue to Revolution: Beginnings and Documents on the Stamp Act Crisis. 1764-1766. Ed. Edmund S. Morgan. 1987. 2. Elson. Henry William. History of the United States of America. New York: the MacMillan Company. 1904. 224-231. 15 June 2008 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. usahistory. info/American-Revolution/Stamp-Act. hypertext markup language gt ; 3. Nesnay. Mary. â€Å"The Stamp Act. † April 2004. 15 June 2008 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. marynesnay. com/STAMPACT. pdf gt ; 4. â€Å"The Stamp-Act Riot of 1765. † 15 June 2008 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. accessgenealogy. com/african/nyriots/stamp_act_riot. htm gt ;

Fast Facts About Nova Scotia

Fast Facts About Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is one of the  founding provinces of Canada. Almost totally surrounded by water, Nova Scotia is made up of a mainland peninsula and Cape Breton Island, which is across the Canso Strait. It is one of only three Canadian maritime provinces located on the North Atlantic Coast of North America. The province of Nova Scotia is famous for its high tides, lobster, fish, blueberries, and apples. It is also known for an unusually high rate of shipwrecks on Sable Island.  The name Nova Scotia originates from Latin, meaning New Scotland. Geographical Location The province is bordered by the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south and east. Nova Scotia is connected to the province of New Brunswick on the west by the Chignecto Isthmus. And its the second-smallest of Canadas 10  provinces, larger only than Prince Edward Island.   During World War II, Halifax was a major North American port for trans-Atlantic convoys carrying munitions and supplies to Western Europe. Early History of Nova Scotia Numerous Triassic and Jurassic fossils have been found in Nova Scotia, making it a favorite research spot for paleontologists. When Europeans first landed on Nova Scotias shores in 1497, the region was inhabited by the indigenous Mikmaq people. It is believed the Mikmaq were there for 10,000 years before Europeans arrived, and there is some evidence that Norse sailors made it to Cape Breton well before anyone from France or England arrived. French colonists arrived in 1605 and established a permanent settlement that became known as Acadia. This was the first such settlement in what became Canada. Acadia and its capital Fort Royal saw several battles between the French and the British beginning in 1613. Nova Scotia was founded in 1621 to appeal to King James of Scotland as a territory for early Scottish settlers. The British conquered Fort Royal in 1710. In 1755, the British expelled most of the French population from Acadia. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 finally ended the fighting between the British and French with the British taking control of Cape Breton and eventually Quebec.   With the 1867 Canadian Confederation, Nova Scotia became one of Canadas four founding provinces. Population Although it is one of the more densely populated of Canadas provinces, Nova Scotias total area is only 20,400 square miles. Its population hovers just below 1 million people, and its capital city is Halifax. Most of Nova Scotia is English-speaking, with about 4 percent of its population speaking French. The French speakers are typically concentrated in the cities of Halifax, Digby, and Yarmouth.   Economy Coal mining has long been a significant part of life in Nova Scotia. The industry declined after the 1950s but began a comeback in the 1990s. Agriculture, particularly poultry and dairy farms, is another big part of the areas economy. Given its proximity to the ocean, it also makes sense that fishing is a major industry in Nova Scotia. It is one of the most productive fisheries along the Atlantic coastline, providing haddock, cod, scallops, and lobsters among its catches. Forestry and energy also  play big roles in Nova Scotias economy.

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Media - Essay Example ty and wearable technology has had profound implications on communication, interpersonal interactions, security and privacy and healthcare services provisions. One of the key significance of the mobility and wearable technology has been the facilitation of communication and interpersonal interaction (Ling, 2008).The extent of interpersonal interaction and communication is no-longer dependent on the physical proximity between parties. Wearable and mobile technologies have led to real time flow of information and data through the internet and social platforms such as face books. Subsequently, this phenomenon has transformed information technology into the most vital resources of our time. Socially, mobile technologies have further accelerated the globalization of the entire universe. Information can be shared by everyone on the globe through the internet. Furthermore, the social context of the wearable and mobile technology has been extended to nontraditional spheres of information technology such as provisions of healthcare services especially in the management of chronic disease such as mHealth services. Wearable technologies have proved e ffective in the management of diabetes through transmission of alerts and medical feedback to doctors. Similarly, users of wearable of technologies have been primarily driven by digital devices empowering abilities. By wearing them, users are frequently encouraged to check their fitness status, interact more with friends and strangers and triggering of social changes. Culturally, the mobile and wearable technologies have had significant impact on users’ lifestyles trends. Foremost, wearable technologies such a Google Glass has been inherently integrated into dressing fashion of its users through their design into cloths and accessories. Also, mobile device and smart phones have become a necessity even for communities in the developing world with the invention of Mpesa for mobile money transfer in Kenya. Interactive

The break-up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The break-up - Essay Example This relationship leads to development of hilarious events in the couple’s life which generates good amount of laughter from the audience. Hence, even though the movie The Break-Up discards some regular genre conventions of a romantic/screwball comedy through its romantic setting, eccentric characters and humorous situations, it still fulfills the genre requirements of romantic/screwball comedy. Genre requirement Screwball comedy movies are the movies that are based on the hilarious situations that arise from the interactions or the encounters between the people who are ‘opposite’ to each other in various ways. For a film to be categorized in the genre of screwball comedy, it requires to have the clash of the ‘opposites’, humorous situations, eccentric characters, and a storyline involving romantic and comedy themes. The movie The Break-Up has all these aspects. Clash of the ‘opposites’ The movie The Break-Up tells the story of two charac ters, Gary and Brooke, whose romantic relationship starts to fall apart due to the unfulfilled expectations from each other. The two lead characters in the movie, Gary and Brooke, are completely opposite to each other. Their personalities, their choices, their lifestyle, etc. differ drammatically. For example, Brooke is a perfectionist and conscious about cleanliness. On the other hand, Gary is least bothered about cleanliness and has the habit of leaving his clothes, accessories and video game stuff all around the house. While Brooke is perfect in her dressing, weight and appearance, Gary is careless about his appearance and is overweight and dresses casually. The ‘opposite’ patterns are visible in their behavior also. Brooke is physically active and ambitious person while Gary is extremely lazy and has a laid back attitude. Brooke cares about emotional support while Gary is zero in emotional quotient. He spends most of his time playing his video game and is irresponsi ble about his duties in house and in the relationship. These differences in their personalities give a comic feel to the movie. There are many funny situations in the movie which arise due to incompatibility between Brooke and Gary. For example, when Brooke asks Gary to help her in arranging the table and complaints about bringing just three lemons when she had asked for twelve, he alludes to her art profession and says that Michelangelo ended up doing a masterpiece as he worked alone and did not ask anyone else to help. Also, he says that when he was making the sixteenth chapel, he did not ask other guys to help him saying that he did the first fifteen chapels and now he needs their help. Gary tries to suggest to Brooke that she is a super achiever and she does things perfect when she does it alone. On this comment, Brooke reminds him that it was not the ‘sixteenth’ chapel, but ‘Sistine’ chapel that Michelangelo painted. This generates a great laughter. Th e incident where Brooke asks him to bring twelve lemons to decorate a vase and he brings only three also generates laughter. Criticizing Gary for bringing just three lemons, she says that Michelangelo was able to do a perfect job because when he asked for twelve brushes, he was given twelve brushes and not three. This conversation shows that Gary has absolutely no knowledge about art and painting world, which is passion of Brooke’s life. This shows the conflict in their likings. Also, Gary feels that

Content of Tabloids and Sensationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Content of Tabloids and Sensationalism - Essay Example Stereotyping is very common in several communities especially towards women, minorities, physically or mentally challenged. As expressed in many tabloids, there are issues concerning attitudes towards persons and groups ‘cultures, the way of life, and their capabilities. Some myths and misconceptions about the minorities and the mentally or physically challenged persons are simply stereotypes (Deal, 2007). People tend to place people with disabilities, women, and the minorities in categories that undermine their natural capacities. For instance, notions such as people with disabilities are different from other human beings are issues of stereotyping. Some communities simply categorize such persons as ‘others’ and that any successful handicapped person or woman is superhuman. Other people consider people with disabilities as a source of sorrow to the family members and the community and think that the disability is kind of an illness. According to other forms of ste reotypes, people with disability are a menace to others and the society especially those with mental disability. The pictures of disability portray the minority and people with disability as social and cultural misfits who should not feature in the public. The other attitudes that are expressed in the tabloids concerning the minority groups, women, and the physically or the mentally challenged persons is discrimination. Discrimination is in several forms such the stigmatization of and negative attitudes towards the minority, women, and physically or mentally handicapped. Some depictions of people with mental illnesses in drama and entertainment give them a picture of persons without a normal life. Stigma is a mark of shame or degradation that can affect the psychological well-being of an individual. Stigma and discrimination may bring shame and distress to individuals and make them have low self-esteem. In fact, stigma is one of the greatest

Literature Review On Mobile Apps Information Technology Essay

Literature Review On Mobile Apps Information Technology Essay In order to achieve a competitive edge over competitors by investing into emerging ICTs and growing their international market, Mobile Construction Ltd is considering innovative ways of providing their service to global customers. As the Global Reach Manager, the CEO asked to explore the potential of delivery and retrieval service for enterprise-wide, on-demand mobile Apps. Also, the Global Reach manager needs to identify benefits and barriers of using mobile Apps, as well as strategy for effective use of existing Apps and development of new Apps. 2 Literature review on mobile Apps 2.1 Mobile Application Market Early mobile application solutions required enterprises to choose between cradle-based synchronization through a wire line network or a pure online wireless solution (PENTA group, 2010). However, Mobile applications are a rapidly rising segments of the international mobile market, which consist the software runs on a mobile device and performs certain tasks for the clients. Because of the various functions including user interface for basic telephone and messaging service as well as advanced services, mobile Apps are widely used by customs. Also, mobile Apps are a large and continuously growing market and served by an increasing number of mobile App developers, publishers and providers (the Mobile Marketing Association group, 2008). New research suggests that the global market for mobile applications will explode over next two years. Research has been done for Getjar, the worlds second biggest Apps store, said that the market will grow to $17.5bn (Â £12bn) in the next two years and downloads would rise from 7bn last year to 50bn by 2012 a 92% increase (BBC News, 2010). 2.2 Existing Mobile Applications For a technical aspect, mobile Apps can be divided by the runtime environment they are executed: Native platforms and operating systems, such as Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux. Mobile Web/browser runtimes, such as Webkit, Mozilla/Firefox, Opera Mini and RIM. Other managed platforms and virtual machines, such as Java/J2ME, BREW, FlashLite and Silverlight. (Mobile Marketing Association group, 2008) IPhone has acted as a revolution of global mobile phones. It has set a platform to develop all sorts of mobile Apps helping paint a better picture in mobile computing. The advantages of iPhone is that it is numerous with multi-touch interface, accelerometer, GPS, proximity sensor, dialer, sqlite3 database, OpenGL ES, Quartz, Encryption, Audio ,Game and Animation , Address book and Calendar including latest features of iPhone Gaming . Windows mobile application is the latest technology every mobile technique should process. This technology allows the user to browse the internet, send receive mails, check with schedules contacts, and prepare presentations, in short manage your whole business with the usage of your mobile. Android has been creating waves in the coming times with high technical interface in the mobile world. This latest innovation helps the publishers to deliver applications directly to the end user and easy downloads of applications can be achieved. The term BlackBerry has become the synonyms of the word Smart and Trendy. BlackBerry Smartphone are the worlds most desired integrated communication device. This brilliant application not only meets a single need of one person but the usage can extend to an entire enterprise be it a small scale or a huge industry. (Maadesigns.co.uk, 2010) 2.3 Infrastructure Cellular technology have largely expanded the frequency use of mobile phones, the first generation cellular mobile telephones developed by using incompatible analogue technologies while the second generation cellular mobile telephone and GMS was developed by using digital technology in 1980 (Gans G.S. et al, 2003). Over thirty years of mobile cellular networks advancements, data transmission over cellular systems has been major breakthrough in recent years. Third generation systems (3G) have been developed as new mobile cellular networks, which is known as IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telephony-2000) by ITU(Wiley J. Sons, 2005). 3G have met the single-user data rates requirement of the IMT-2000 on a technical level. However, it is limited 3G services in some areas such as video telephony (Agilent Technologies, 2008). ITU has received six candidate technology submissions for the global 4G mobile wireless broadband technology known as IMT-Advanced. And it is expected in October 2010 , the selected technologies to be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced to qualify as true 4G technologies (ITU, 2009). The south Korean government is already developing 5G access which may be ready soon after 4G service put into market, although 4G cellular wireless still waiting (MNM Media, 2009). Cloud computing is described as both a platform and type of application. As a platform, cloud computing can be physical machines or virtual machines dynamically servers as needed. Advanced cloud computing include other computing resources such as storage area networks (SANs), network equipment, firewall and other security devices. As a type of applications, cloud computing use large data centres and powerful servers host Web application and Web services since it can be extended accessible through the internet. It is said that anyone can access a cloud application with a suitable internet connection and a standard browser (IBM, 2007). Typically, it can divid cloud computing into three levels of service, which support virtualization and management of differing levels of the solution stack, offerings: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) (Oracle Corporation, 2009). 3 Opportunities for mobile Apps in construction The PENTA team (2010) insists that the construction industry is a mobile workforce, which comprised of a range of companies with self-performing Electrical and Mechanical contractors to Engineering and Construction firms to specialty concrete and plumbing. Mobile phone is the most convenient device to deliver mobile Apps, particularly for emerging because of it is a daily used device. The most use mobile Apps in construction industry are calculation, drawing, management, measurement and video records which are based on variety of software. 3.1Calculation It is quite normal for using smart phones as calculators in different areas. In construction industry, calculations can be used anywhere, such as, material supply, finance calculation, dynamic calculation, structure calculation and calculation in measurement and design. Generally speaking, the calculation in construction industry is not too complicate, therefore it is convenient to install calculation software for smart phones in order to get emergency result and check and calculate. Currently, there are several kinds of mobile apps such as Construction advantage calculator 2.0, AFHTech RC Columns and Beams 1.0.0 and PocketStatics 2.01. 3.2 Drawing Nowadays the architecture drawing is mainly based on computers, by using powerful design software architects can get the most accurate and clear drawings. Smart phone can also works as minicomputer for architecture drawing by using related software to check the original drawing and do some changes. Also, the architects can create the sketch work and get design ideas in record time without leaving the clients. Furthermore, they can use massage function of smart phones to send their works or ideas to the company. Power CAD Site Master CE 1 has been welcomed by construction workers for years. 3.3 Management Computer is used by construction manager and builder to get technological solutions of scheduling and delivery the construction process efficiently. Also, site managers and builders use computer to manage contracts, manage delivery, record construction process and manage and record risk happened in construction process. Since, site manager and builders cannot get computers anywhere, it is quite convenient for them to use smart phones with mobile Apps to check and complete their works, particularly in emergency situation. The popular Apps for construction management are Construction Manager 2.5 and Penta Mobile Field Reporting. 3.4 Measurement Instead of big and heavy measurement equipment for construction measurement work, smart phone with mobile Apps can work well for the measurement task. By using GPS function of smart phones, you will not lose or cannot find the construction site. Also, mobile Apps can make smart phones work as plumb, to get horizontal, vertical and spirit level measuring. Most popular Apps are Kais Bubble Level.Net 2.2 and Plumb-bob. 3.5 Camera record Camera record is a powerful App for smart phones using in construction area. It can take pictures and videos for the visible construction information such as gather site information, get risk information, record construction process, store property information and so on. The Apps can get literature record works together with camera can make the construction information more clear and visible. Also, it will make video conference on mobile phone become more and more popular. 4 Infrastructure/system requirements As mobile phone needs the infrastructures to support it works, the quality of infrastructure/system requirements is deeply related to the quality of mobile Apps service. The infrastructure/system requirements is summarized as: good network to support data requirement, developed device to support the Apps works, high speed operation platform to support the Apps work well. 4.1 Network Signal quality is almost the most important factor which effects the mobile communication and mobile Apps works. Since 3G network is the most popular wireless network for Mobile Apps, the majority of developed countries have been developed the communication technologies. Current mobile Apps are mainly produced based on 3G network system, and there are lots of limitation and restrict on improvement of Mobile Apps because of the limitation of data transmission. Therefore, it seems that it is impossible to widely develop the video transmission Apps at this moment. 4G system may make it possible for widely developed the Apps in construction areas when it become commercial used. 4.2 Device The mobile phone device is known as the hardware to apply Mobile Apps. The processor is the heart of Mobile device which must quick enough to support the calculation speed. As well, the battery is required powerful enough to support the mobile phone works long time. The screen and keyboard need to convenient for the use of Mobile Apps in construction area. The hard drive or storage space need to enlarge for video or files to store and the run of systems and mobile Apps. The newest Apple iPhone 3GS with 32 G storage space which can record clear video about one day on theory, however, the battery can just support the video process less than 3 hours. 4.3 Operation system Operation system is the platform of mobile Apps software and many mobile Apps software are produced based on the operation systems. For example, the operation system requirement of calculation Apps such as Construction advantage calculator 2.0, AFHTech RC Columns and Beams 1.0.0 and PocketStatics 2.01 is Windows Mobile 2003. Currently, the most popular smart phone operation systems are Apple OS, RIM Black Berry OS, Symbian OS, Android OS and Microsoft Mobile OS. The diversity of operation systems creates trouble for mobile Apps work well under different operation systems. The adaptability of mobile Apps and operation system should be improved because of the difference of the operation systems. 5 Implementation Strategy Since 4G system will make mobile Apps more powerful and more convenient, smart phones will play more and more important roles in construction industry. The implementation strategy on mobile Apps which used in construction will be created based on 4G system. Because of the 4G system can enhance peak data rates to support advanced services and applications and the targets of 4G system are established as 100 Mbps for high and 1 Gbps for low mobility (Agilent Technologies, 2008). Thus, by developing the existing mobile Apps in construction areas, it can create the implementation strategy based on 4G system can focus on e-business, video conference and GPS measurement. 5.1 E- business With the high speed data transfer speed, the mobile Apps for E-business can be developed. The construction companies can receive and send out their contracts immediately after the decision making. Also, the companies can negotiate the contracts price and amend their contracts without delay by mobile Apps. The construction managers can manage the contract by mobile Apps easily, by the wireless with their company computers. Furthermore, the implemented E-business Apps allow construction managers to get the detail information of their clients, material suppliers and their employees. Thus, it is quite necessary to implement E-business in construction organizations. 5.2 Video transmission 4G system can offer high data delivery speed which allows video conference and video transmission as mobile Apps more frequent and more effective. During the 3G period, it can also using video transmission though smart phones, however, the video transfer speed and quality is so poor that it cannot for widely use in construction area. This situation will be totally changed during 4G period when high speed data transfer can enable video conference and video record transmission during different stakeholders in construction organization. Also, video transmission can be developed as distance guidance programme, when the risk happens the recorded video can be transferred to the professional group who communication by video conference with smart phones, also they can guide the construction workers to solved the problems by video conference. Therefore, video transmission will share a large market of mobile Apps in construction area. 5.3 GPS measurement GPS measurement is frequently used in construction area, particularly in highway construction and energy supply line construction. The original GPS equipments is big and heavy to carry, it mean the mobility of GPS equipments are poor. It can implement the mobile phone to replace the GPS equipments as measurement tools through the mobile Apps. Currently it can use GPS Apps in smart phone for location guides. Since the smart phone is quite convenient to carry and it can work as plump equipment with mobile Apps, it is essential to implement the Apps work together with GPS Apps and developed new GPS measurement Apps. Also, Infrared measurements can be used as measurement apps in mobile phone. 6 Benefits and Barriers The benefits and barriers of the mobile Apps in construction areas are difficult indentified sometimes. However, it can general get the benefits and barriers factors for using mobile Apps in construction areas. 6.1 Benefits The benefits of using mobile Apps in construction areas cannot calculation by how many pounds or dollars, since you cannot evaluate the apps used during emergency. Generally, the benefits of using mobile Apps can be defined as saving transport fees and dealing with emergency. 6.1.1 Saving transport fees Mobile Apps are used for connecting with the construction company groups in different areas. Transport fees are saved since mobile Apps can take the roles of many function tools such as camera, pump and professional calculator and so on. As well, the mobile can used as camera, many managers are not necessary to get site visit in order to acquaint the construction site. 6.1.2 Dealing with emergency Many emergencies happened in construction area need professional tool to deal with; however, mobile phone with the Apps in construction area can act as the professional tools sometimes. There are huge benefits of mobile phone Apps used for emergency, which cannot measured by money. 6.2 Barriers Since it needs to develop mobile Apps for enterprise-wide and on-demand mobile service delivery, the network coverage level in different countries has great gap and the internet security problems cannot solved will be the main barriers. 6.2.1 Unbalanced Network coverage Because the unbalanced economic and technology development of the world, the developed countries such as the UK, the US and the EU countries have already complete their 3G network coverage a decades before, however, the developing countries such as China has just begin the coverage project of 3G network. The developed countries plan to develop 4G network coverage since 2012, but for the developing countries may be need another decade. 6.2.2 Security problems Using wireless connection in transferring information from construction site to the main office and having that information stored in mobile memory, the security is a big issue which is concerned by many construction organizations. The stolen of mobile device, the leak of commercial secret and the attack by hacker, all these problems will cased the lost of company benefits. Thus, it is quite essential to solve the security problems in mobile Apps. 7 New Apps Development The aim of the development this new Apps is offering the full service delivery for construction companies globally. The idea of the new App based on 4G system and cloud computing used in construction area, thus the name of the new App is cloud computing construction programme. 7.1 Cloud computing construction programme (CCCP) Cloud computing construction programme (CCCP) is an idea of new mobile Apps in construction area. The programme will developed based on 4G system, which requires high data transfer speed. The functions of the new App will contain commercial management, GPS measurement, video record and transmission, architecture drawing and risk management. Considering the compatibility of different functions Apps work in one programme, it is planned to divide the programme into small function programmes. The structure of the programme is showed as figure 7.1. C:Documents and SettingsxuweiweiDesktop11.jpg Figure 7.1 Cloud computing construction programme structure 7.2 Cloud Computing Since the CCCP is a big programme for smart phone device and operation system, it is considering the new App will use cloud computing to share the capitation and run speed by the Internet. Because of the App can share the Internet as part of processor, the hardware requirements of smart phones to run the new App will be greatly reduced. Also, by using advanced cloud computing to support the new App, it can share other computing resources and data centres and powerful servers host Web. Although this App is support by cloud computing, cloud computing is totally separate from the operational system of the mobile device. In this programme cloud computing is used both as Apps and platform. Conclusion The use of mobile Apps in construction organizations has great benefits and advantages. Also, there are many barriers for develop mobile Apps for enterprise-wide, on-demand mobile service delivery and retrieval. However, the barriers of mobile Apps in construction area will be less and less because of the development of mobile network coverage and mobile phone device development.