Saturday, August 31, 2019

An Individual Detailed Analysis on the Style, Editing Techniques Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography in the Film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

An individual detailed analysis on the style, editing techniques Mise-en-scene and cinematography in the film â€Å"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind†. Michael Gondry’s Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (2004) is not your typical Hollywood rom-com. Its cinematic style is very original and by far out of the ordinary for its genre. The use of techniques and the way the film is produced is the reason why it is so memorable. The non-linear narrative is based around a middle-aged guy who falls in love with a woman, who, after a while into their relationship decides to erase every single memory and feeling towards him.The story is told in flashbacks that slowly reveal the time and space the couple spent together and all the events that made up their relationship. Silvey states that â€Å"The innovative use of narrative, mise en scene, cinematography, editing and the soundtrack in the film all serve to convey the tenderness, confusion, miscommunication, pain and hope that accompany romantic endeavours. † [SILVEY 2009: 139]. I will be discussing and critically analyzing the exact same concepts as above in my argument and how they contribute to such a stylistic storyline. I will also be comparing techniques used in this film to such ones in other films.Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is a mind-blowing story about a man called Joel Barish who finds himself in a life-changing situation when he accidentally discovers that his long-term girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski has undergone a brain procedure which erases someone from the mind, in this case clementine erases Joel from her memory, leaving her with no memories what so ever of him. He decides the best way to cure his broken heart is to undergo the same process and erase Clementine for good. But as his memory loss commences he finds himself trapped in his own memories, watching them as they disappear.Half way through he realizes he no longer wants to erase Clementine and tries his ver y best to keep hold of his living memories. The style of editing in Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is undoubtedly the most recognizable aspect that separates this film from a ‘normal' love story. It has the typical love narrative moments but the way it is pieced together with its innovative narrative style is what puts it at a whole new level of originality. The film begins just like any other straightforward storyline would, but as the film continues it becomes clear to the audience that it is a non-linear narrative.For the first couple of scenes the film doesn't give away any signs that it is beginning with the end of the film as their are no use of flashbacks or unusual techniques involved, but when Joel goes to sleep you realize that he is watching himself in his own dream, like he is having a flashback of himself talking to his neighbour about valentines day just hours after he had gone to sleep. He seems anxious and uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, es pecially when his neighbour mentions Clementine’s name.This is the point where you start to realize that the film is possibly in a non-linear narrative as his neighbour mentioned Clementine being Joel's girlfriend but the audience have only seen the couple together as friends and at the start of their friendship. From then on the film is told in flashbacks from the memory of Joel Barish' mind as he makes the decision to have the same procedure as Clementine did. As he watches his memories of Clementine fade away he realizes he is still in love with her and no longer wants to erase her so he tries everything he can to stop the procedure and keep the memories alive.The story of Joel and Clementine is then told through Joel’s memory erasing but it feels as if the story is being told backwards as each memory fades away. Objects, locations and people just disappear in front of Joel’s and the audience’s eyes. The editing in the film makes the storyline more com plex then it actually is. As Silvey writes â€Å"It plays a crucial part in the construction of the circular narrative† [SILVEY 2009: 1]. The misleading techniques used when Joel’s memories start to disappear give the audience an understanding of the confusion and frustration that Joel is going through.There are plenty of examples of continuity editing in Eternal sunshine, both temporal and spatial are used. Discontinuity is used throughout the memory erasing scenes with the deliberate use of ellipsis as Joel relives his memories in flashbacks. Some of the shots from Joel’s memories are put together in a montage edit; this is another example of discontinuity editing. There are multiple uses of crosscutting in the film, which is when there are a series of shots that keep cutting back and forth from one shot to another shot, this occurs in a lot of the flashback scenes.Also there are several jump cuts, which brakes the †continuity edit† as in order to achieve a smooth and non-noticeable cut from one shot to another the camera must move 30 degrees or more to attain the continuity in the movement of shots. But a jump cut is deliberately shot without using the 30-degree rule. Therefore when you put the shots together they make a â€Å"jump† affect and it brakes up the continuity of the edit. In this case, Gondry intentionally directed the crosscutting and jump cuts in order to express Joel’s reactions to the procedure.At the beginning of the film the editing picks up a rhythm and runs smoothly, giving a perfect example of continuity editing, but as the film goes on it begins to switch between continuity and discontinuity as the edit balances out the changes between reality and the distorted memories. There are a variety of editing techniques that are used in the film, the use of Jump cuts, fast paced scenes and the different varieties of camera angels give a real sense of Joel’s life. The purpose of the variatio n and different techniques is to deliver the feelings of emotion, confusing, frustration and regret that Joel is experiencing in his memory loss.The memory erasing begins with Joel’s most recent memory spent with Clementine; it then works its way backwards ending with his memory of when he very first met Clementine. There are slight uses of special effects in each memory loss scene as everything in the memory disappears. Joel is watching all the objects and people around him dissolve in front of his eyes. Some scenes are sped up in the edit and some are slowed down and certain shots are reversed. The use of light and sound are two main sources that build up the scenes to make them look as if Joel is experiencing something out of the ordinary.When a memory of him and Clementine begins to be erased, it gets darker and there are spotlights that focus on Joel and Clementine. The sound is very disturbing and almost irritating but this is done on purpose to describe how frustrating the process is for the characters and how uncomfortable the experience is for Joel, just like it is for the audience to hear the sound and watch the fast cut scenes. The eye-line match technique is frequently used when Joel moves from one memory to another, as he is constantly moving from different events he has to re-focus and this is when the eye-line technique is used.The scene where Joel is chasing after Clementine in his car after they have an argument was a big give away to the non-linear structure as at the beginning of the film you see Joel approach his car in the morning where he notices the damage in which he then leaves a â€Å"thank you! † note on his neighbour’s car to suggest that his neighbour did it, but in actual fact it was Clementine who created the damage but due to his memory erasing he cant remember as this scene is actually the morning after his procedure. The structure of the edit in the car scene isn’t very straightforward and discontin uous, which may confuse viewers slightly.You see Joel climb into his car and reverse away from the bollard that Clementine parked up against, chasing after her in the car as she walks along the street alone. He then stops and follows after Clementine on foot but as he runs after her the tracking shot of him is slowed down and then confusingly he is no longer running towards her and ends up in front of his smashed car at the other end of the street that he parked it at. He stops in confusion and turns around to see Clementine walking the opposite direction, so he beings to follow her again.The cinematography in this scene is very realistic, it is hand held which would have been carried out with a stead-cam, Director of photography Ellen Kuras mentions in â€Å"forget me not† by John Pavlus what Gondry wanted â€Å"In one of the scenes, he wanted me to shake the camera so we could see it was a handheld effect in camera, as opposed to a locked-off superimposition effect or doub le exposure. † [PAVLUS 2004: 1] The movement of shots makes the scene more realistic rather then having static shots. The purpose of this is to make the audience feel they are involved in the scene rather then just sat there watching it.The style of cinematography in the film is very similar to the techniques that would be employed to produce a documentary. There is a lot of hand held camera work involved and the camera angles and shots have the documentary feel to them. The changes in focus are noticeable and in this case intentional as Gondry directs this style of camera work to give it that documentary feel. Use of pull-focus from one character to another is often seen in this film, for example Clementine is stood in the foreground and Joel is stood in the background as the camera pull-focuses from Clementine onto Joel.Particular shots are out of focus such as objects and people in front of Joel, the reason for this is to show the distortion and deterioration of Joelâ€℠¢s memory. Crane shots are used in the scene where Joel is left alone on the iced over lake, he is looking up at the sky whilst pleading for the procedure to end. This high long shot signifies how little Joel is compared to everything around him, and how impossible it is for him to call the procedure off by simply shouting into the sky. It also signifies how alone he feels, being left behind when everything around him is dying.As Corrigan says â€Å"In any film, from the most realistic to the most theatrical, there are specific properties of the mise-en-scene at which to direct your attention. † [CORRIGAN 2010: 54]. This quote from the book ‘A short guide to writing about film’ gives a precise example of the way the mise-en-scene contributes to this film. The mise-en-scene plays a big significance to the story and characters in eternal sunshine; the effort and thought put into the sets is so complex. The film relies on the imaginative use of mise-en-scene to unfo ld the story bit by bit.The thought behind this is to the balance between the real world of reality and the dream world. Although Joel is experiencing real life memories, he is also asleep, therefore all the random scenes which don’t completely make sense is the â€Å"dream world† balancing out with reality because in your dreams you experience real life situations but often with the occasional random events which lead to a completely different subject and it throws you off track. And that is exactly what Joel is experiencing whilst re-living his memories.The most memorable scenes and uses of mise-en-scene were the snowy beach scene where Joel and Clementine end up in their double bed together. This scene is so dream like with it being on a beach in the middle of winter, with snow covering every inch of the shore and just them two led there in their double bed in the middle of this isolated location is definitely something you wouldn’t come across on a normal da y, therefore it is another dream like situation and a very significant scene. The scene where Joel and Clementine rush into Dr. Howard Mierzwaik’s office is extremely surreal. It’s the type of thing that would pop up in a dream. The scene is dark and the only light is a shinning bright spotlight on positioned on each character. The camera is eye-lined positioned in front of Joel and Clementine following them into Dr. Mierzwaik’s office. This is an example of the use of an eye-match edit, when Joel reaches the office he looks at something off screen, then the shot changes to what he is looking at which is Dr. Mierzwaik sat at his desk.As Joel begins to discuss that he no longer wants the procedure to continue to Dr. Mierzwaik colleagues at the surgery appear and their facial features are non-existent. All you see is a plain face with nothing on it. Joel begins to freak out and you can understand the terror he is feeling. The darkness of the scene and the small co nfined room that it is set in provides the viewers with a sense of how Joel is feeling, a definite atmosphere of being trapped and the thought of knowing that there is no escaping the process.Every scene in this film is so detailed, built to its individuality and pieced together with such original editing techniques, which is why each scene is gratifying to watch because the amount of creativity that Gondry has put into it all. This film is very unpredictable; it goes from one scene to a completely different scene when you least expect it. As you sit and watch this movie you feel so engaged with the story and the characters and personally The reason behind this is all down to its style and filmic techniques.This quote by Timothy Corrigan illustrates this: â€Å"In a movie, it is the camera that eventually films a mise-en-scene: when you watch a movie, you see not only the settings, actors, lighting but all these elements as they are recorded and then projected. † [CORRIGAN 20 10: 61] what Corrigan is saying is that cinematic practices make the most integral contributions to the construction of a film and Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind serves as an exceptional example of this.BibliographyCORRIGAN, Timothy. 2010. A short guide to writing about film. Seventh Edition. New York. PAVLUS, John. 2004. â€Å"Forget me not†. American Cinematographer. [online] Available at: http://www. theasc. com/magazine/april04/cover/index. html [accessed 2010] SILVEY, Vivien. 2008. ‘Not your average love story: film techniques in Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'. Screen education. [online] Available at: http://gateway. proquest. com/openurl? url_ver=Z39. 88-2004;res_dat=xri:iipa:;rft_dat=xri:iipa:article:fulltext:iipa00527918 [accessed 2010].

Friday, August 30, 2019

Case Study on Tupperware Essay

1.0 Introduction In this report I will be analyzing a case study on Tupperware. I will be identifying the main problems faced by Tupperware and recommending solutions that could be used to help Tupperware. Tupperware was developed in the 1940’s by Earl Tupper. They consisted of various types of plastic containers used in households to contain food and keep it airtight. As innovative as the product was it was not an instant hit. The target market was woman and they were not buying the product and this meant that a different approach had to be taken in order to induce sales and get the product known. This led to the beginning of the Tupperware party as a sales tool. The Tupperware party was a gathering of women mainly housewives who came together to socialize but with Tupperware available for sale. This proved to be a useful sales technique. In the 1950’s the product was a perfect fit for women most being full-time homemakers which allowed them to be able pack food and  leftovers for long periods of time. However since Tupperware was not sold in the stores in meant that women and housewives alike had to had to attend Tupperware parties in order to purchase them. In the 60’s and 70’s Tupperware sales increased dramatically. This was because the lifestyle of most women at the time suited a product like Tupperware, also coupled with the Tupperware parties which were a huge hit in the era. In the 80’s there was a there was a decline in sales, this according to the Tupperware ladies, may have been due to increase in divorces, childless, women being single and more independent. Tupperware maintains a reasonable market share internationally but has since seen a decline in both market share and sales domestically and struggles to find appropriate marketing strategies to implement. 2.0 S.W.O.T Analysis A SWOT analysis is an analytical method, which is used to identify and categorize significant internal factors (i.e. strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (i.e. opportunities and threats) an organization faces. I will be looking at the SWOT analysis for Tupperware and using it to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that Tupperware have. 2.1 Strengths – Tupperware had a new innovative product at the time. – Tupperware at the time had a specific target market i.e. Housewives. – Tupperware was a perfect fit for the 1950’s due to many women being homemakers – Tupperware parties were the only way to buy the products making them exclusive to other businesses. – Tupperware used their parties as a form of promotion by having games and giving out gifts. – Tupperware has high customer loyalty – Between the 1950’s and 1970’s Tupperware was highly profitable 2.2 Weaknesses – Tupperware has not been able to preserve a way of life. – Tupperware was a new and unknown product so when it came out there was no interest in it. – Tupperware could only be sold at Tupperware parties unlike other competitive products that were being sold in stores. 2.3 Opportunities – In the past Tupperware could have sold their products in stores rather than just Tupperware parties. – Increase profitability by increasing marketing and advertising. – Increase domestic sales of Tupperware 2.4 Threats – Competition from other companies like Rubbermaid. – Changing environment and lifestyle. 3.0 The 5 p’s of the Marketing Mix for Tupperware The 5 p’s of the Marketing mix that I will be looking at in relation to Tupperware include product, promotion, price, place, people. 3.1 Product Tupperware consists of various types of plastic containers used in households to contain food and keep it airtight. Tupperware products were innovative when they came out. The quality of the product is said to be high and very effective in its use. The availability of Tupperware products was limited as you could only buy them from the Tupperware parties. 3.2 Promotion Tupperware was promoted through the Tupperware parties that were held in different locations. This was their main form of promotion. In the Tupperware parties they also used social events, like games, were they gave gifts in order to increase awareness of the product. Tupperware also used Tupperware ladies to market their products directly to the customers. 3.3 Price Tupperware products according to loyal customers are â€Å"high in quality and a  price to match†. So Tupperware products are expensive. 3.4 Place Tupperware products can only be bought at Tupperware parties. Any returns would have to be done in person. 3.5 People The people who were involved in the marketing, sales and customer service of Tupperware were the Tupperware ladies and dealers. 4.0Marketing Solutions and Recommendations In terms of the actual product, customers felt that it was of high quality and had the features and usability expected, therefore it may not be necessary to change or improve these things. However brand image can be increased by advertising and marketing. Availability of the product and customer service can be improved by employing more Tupperware ladies and dealers. Tupperware already used Tupperware parties as a form of promoting both the products and party itself. I think Tupperware could improve their branding and public relations by increasing advertising and marketing campaigns that directly target the intended customers. Tupperware products even though of high quality are expensive. Tupperware could increase customer loyalty by reducing prices and introducing promotional campaigns that make the products more affordable. Tupperware can also help customers by introducing discounts, payment methods and free value added incentives. Tupperware can improve customer service and support by increasing the number of Tupperware ladies and dealers. Tupperware can also widen their scope by creating different channels or mediums that can help increase awareness, brand imaging, increase profits and customer loyalty. Finally I think Tupperware should increase the number of dedicated Tupperware ladies and dealers. This can be done by increasing the level of training which will increase the level of skill that the Tupperware ladies and dealers have. This will increase the number of Tupperware parties available which will increase sales and profits. Customer loyalty will also increase as direct customer service increases. 5.0 Conclusion As shown in the report I have analyzed and identified areas that have problems within Tupperware and I believe that I have shown that certain solution can be implemented in order to help increase sale, profits, customer loyalty and the overall service provided by Tupperware. 6.0 References Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C., Lucas, B. A., Schrembri, S., & Niinnen, O. (2012). Marketing Principles: Asia Pacific Edition. (1st ed.). South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2013). Foundations of Marketing (5th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Environmental Studies Essays – Environmental Management Systems

Will Environmental Management Systems and associates Environmental Reporting enterprises aid the construct ofSustainable Development in application?The International Organization forStandardization ( ISO ) is a federation of non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) created to lucubrate and better international criterions. The ISO initiallycreated general direction criterions ( the ISO 9000 Series ) for organizationsand industries that acknowledged the value of a systematic attack tomanagement. However, as economic growing and the environment have frequently been inconflict with one and other ( and industries today face many political, socialand economic force per unit areas to better their environmental public presentation – Gale, 1996 ) the ISO further developed the 14000 Series, which applied the same managementsystem as the 9000 Series to companies ‘ environmental issues ( The LexingtonGroup, 2005: 5 ) . The rules behind the ISO 14000 Series apply to any organisation, public or private, whose activities, merchandises or services interact straight or indirectly with the environment ( The Lexington Group, 2005 ) . The ISO 14000 Series rapidly becametheenvironmental policy criterion for companies to follow, and since its constitution in 1996 1000s of organisations have adopted the Environmental Management Systems ( EMSs ) . EMSs are used in the public and private spheres, at all graduated tables, from national to local authorities, and from big multi-national corporations to little in private owned concerns. This essay will discourse if, and towhat extent, EMSs ( and specifically the Environmental Reporting subordinate ) will help the construct of sustainable development in application. This essay isstructured as follows: foremost, it discusses the most of import of the ISO 14000standards, the EMS ; 2nd, it considers another ISO 14000 constituent, Environmental Reporting ; 3rd, it analyses and considers the variables andapplication of sustainable development ; 4th, it turns to a few instance studiesto exemplify how EMSs work in pattern ; and eventually, it draws some conclusionsabout how effectual these criterions are in helping the construct of sustainabledevelopment. Environmental Management Systems As discussed in the Introduction, the ISO 14000 Series was developed to use the ISO ‘s widely recognizedmanagement systems to a company ‘s environmental issues ( The Lexington Group,2005 ) . The EMS, or ISO standard 14001, rapidly became the internationallyrecognized model for environmental direction, measuring, rating andauditing ( GreenBiz, 2005: 1 ) . To name a few illustrations, the duties ofthe EMS include: making a elaborate environmental policy for an organisation, analyzing the environmental impact of its merchandises, activities and services, set uping environmental aims, helping the organisation in meetingits legal and regulative demands, supplying preparation to employees, andoverseeing the company ‘s auditing process. The EMS meets international criterions, but is tailored to specific operations, leting companies to command the environmental impact of their activities, merchandises, and services ( GreenBiz, 2005: 1 ) . Though an organisation could, ofcourse, set up these really guidelines and parametric quantities themselves, companiesoften find that ISO 14001 adherencehelps to run into the ever-increasingenvironmental criterions and concerns of the planetary market place ( GreenBiz,2005:1 ) . Other likely benefits for a company efficaciously implementing an EMSare legion and include, among others: . a more effectual and systematic attack to pull offing itsinteractions with the environment ( The Lexington Group, 2005 ) ; . bettering cost-effectiveness ( by salvaging the money and staff timenecessary to pull off environmental personal businesss independently – The Lexington Group,2005, every bit good as by bettering efficiency and in bend cut downing the costs ofenergy, stuffs, all right and punishments – Morrow and Rondinelli, 2002:162 ) ; . leting companies to convey their environmental policies moreeffectively to neighboring communities and other stakeholders ( The LexingtonGroup, 2005 ) ; . and bettering their image and pulling clients through theestablishment of a strong image of corporate duty ( Morrow andRondinelli, 2002: 163 ) . All of these benefits, of class, increase the likeliness that companies will assist lend to sustainabledevelopment. However, the cost and benefits of an EMS ( and in bend, theprobability that the EMS will play a function in sustainable development ) fluctuateconsiderably depending on a scope of standards. These might include: the type oforganization, its bingeco-efficiency, the organisation ‘s possible environmental impacts or hazards, the extent towhich a company antecedently implemented facets of environmental sustainability, and the premium placed on sustainability by the organisation ‘s stakeholders andcustomers ( The Lexington Group, 2005 ) . Whilst this subdivision has outlined EMSs and their possible beneifts, the undermentioned subdivision will discourse Environmental Reporting, its association and influence on EMS, and its part to the sustainable development of organisations. Environmental Coverage Corporate coverage is an essentialcomponent of concern direction. It is defined as the voluntary publicpresentation of information about an organisation ‘s non-financial public presentation -environmental, societal and economic – over a specified period, normally afinancial twelvemonth ( Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005: 1 ) . These can bemade public in a assortment of ways, including as a stand-alone papers, on a companywebsite, or as a constituent of an Annual Report ( Department of Environment andHeritage, 2005 ) . An Environmental Report is a cardinal constituent of the ISO 14000 Series, and an indispensable measure to increasing transparence and, as a consequence, answerability in a company ‘s environmental patterns ( Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005 ) . The pattern of Environmental Reporting is going more common because of force per unit area from stakeholders, every bit good as a general public demand for increased openness on environmental issues ( Kolk, 1999 ) . Further, some states have now begun to enforce legal duties on houses to bring forth Environmental Reports ( Kolk, 1999 ) . A Corporate Environmental Report ( CER ) is, in kernel, a agencies to leaving a company ‘s environmental performance.Arguably, the most of import map of the CER is to let the organizationto evaluate its observation of the environmental policies, ends and objectivesset out in its EMS ( United Nations Environment Programme, 2005 ) . It is alsoused to: exhibit a company ‘s EMS and corporate duty ; show tokey stakeholders, every bit good as to clients, that it is following with theirdemands ; assist a company path its ain advancement and place internal strengthand failings ( United Nations Environment Programme, 2005 ) ; and measure itscurrent public presentation and put farther hereafter ends. The general social demand for increased transparence on environmental issues, and in bend environmental coverage, is exemplified by the fact that the most complete studies are published by industries with hapless or controversial public images, i.e. , the chemical or lumber industries ( Davis-Walling and Batterman, 1997 ) . In so long as there is objectivityand honestness, environmental coverage can be conducted either internally orexternally ( Rice, 2005 ) . Undeniably, for environmental coverage to beworthwhile, it must be believable, and there is increasing force per unit area from twospecific waies to verify environmental studies: foremost, there is asignificant move from environmental statements and purposes to quantified, comparable, verifiable, and even verified information ( Kolk, 1999: 225 ) ; andsecond, the demand of independent, third-party confirmation andcertification as an about expected component of every worthwhile attempt ( Rice, 2005: 1 ) . Though Environmental Reporting hasa large function to play in helping the long-run sustainability of an organisation, it is however a procedure plagued with jobs. Research seems to indicatethat environmental coverage is typically lacking and non of a standard tosatisfy the information demands of assorted categories of study readers ( Deegan andRankin, 1999 ) . An independent survey of the environmental studies of the Fortune50 houses found that none provided information that was sufficient forcomprehensive or comparative analyses of environmental public presentation ( Davis-Walling and Batterman, 1997: 1432 ) . Research suggests that one of thebiggest jobs is that a company can get down its environmental reportingwhenever it wants, and that this frequently leads to dissatisfactory consequences. Environmental Reporting, so, typically comes before the EMS, and could therefore merely act as a statement ofobjectives, and non the researched and analysed study on the achievement ofenvironmental aims under an EMS that it ‘s meant to be. To be practicaland effective ( and non merely a statement of environmental policies ) environmental coverage should truly be developed farther along theimplementation of the ISO 14000 Series. Additionally, it should be a continuousprocess, and referred back to once more and once more in an effort to consolidate theEMS and efficaciously analyze the companies ‘ advancement. This chronology supports the ISOspecification that organisations seekuninterruptedbetterment: bycontinually describing, as opposed to supplying a one-off initial study, organisations can repeatedly measure and accommodate their EMS. In kernel, it isimportant to underscore that the CER is a agency to environmental betterment andgreater answerability, non an terminal in itself ( United Nations EnvironmentProgramme, 2005: 1 ) . Consideration of the variables and application of Sustainable Development The term ‘Sustainable Development'was foremost used in 1987 inOur Common Future, besides known as theBrundtland Report of the United Nations ‘ Commission on Environment andDevelopment ( WCED ) . The definition offered by the Brundtland Report is stillthe most normally used today, and describes Sustainable Development merely, andarguably mistily, as development that meets the demands of the present withoutcompromising the ability of future coevalss to run into their demands ( WCED, 1987:43 ) . Sustainability is frequently regarded as the ‘buzz-word ‘ of development policy in the 21stCentury. Indeed, as The Economist competently stated: No 1 in their right head is against ‘sustainable development ‘ . Everyone thinks it would be terrific if there were less poorness, less pollution, less disease, less war, less corruptness ( 2002 ) . As an umbrella-term, its WCED definition has been instrumental in making a consensus, but less helpful in making and sketching a model for its accomplishment. Presently, there are in the part of 70 different definitions for Sustainable Development, and each allows organisations to construe the term in whatever manner they see fit. For that ground, EMS and Environmental Reporting are particularly of import for giving public and private administrations likewise, from a national to a local degree, the standardized model necessary non merely for showing their committedness to the pattern of sustainability, but for doing progress towards its existent accomplishment. As mentioned in the Introduction, economic growing and the environment are frequently regarded as being at odds, andthe ISO 14000 Standards are peculiarly of import for assisting organizationsand industry to make their coveted degree of sustainability, and to incorporatethe environment into their general model. Determining an EMS is anorganization ‘s first, and most critical measure in set uping what itsenvironmental facets are, and how it is traveling to cover with them. That said, any organisation can develop an EMS, and though it is an of import startingpoint, it proves small about an organisation ‘s sustainability in and ofitself. Environmental Reporting is hence indispensable non merely to move as the company ‘s ain environmental audit, but to show to stakeholders and society that they are so carry oning themselves in a sustainable mode. Furthermore, accomplishing sustainability is a complicated and long-run ( if non lasting ) procedure ; Environmental Reporting allows a company non merely to measure its achievements, but besides the chance to re-evaluate its mark. The undermentioned subdivision outlines some instance surveies of how organisations have used EMS and Environmental Reporting to minimise their environmental impact. Case Studies This subdivision will show a fewcase surveies to exemplify the value of EMSs and Environmental Reporting. Eachcase survey has been selected to demo scope in the pertinence of thestandards every bit good as to show their usage in both the populace and privatesectors. Solid Waste Management Division, Department of Public Works. Berkeley, California, USA. Description The Solid Waste Management Divisionis Berkeley ‘s municipal waste aggregation and disposal installation. It collectsplant dust, garbage and recycling from about 40,000 residential andcommercial belongingss, every bit good as runing a transportation station, anoil-recycling terminal, and a slump and buy-back recycling Centre. The SolidWaste Management System decided to implement an EMS ( affecting approximately 25 per centum of their 102 employees ) for a assortment of grounds, including: improving thefacility ‘s environmental public presentation, every bit good as employees participation inthis betterment ; doing the peculiar division consistent with the City'soverall environmental rules ; the EMS ‘ value as a marketing/publicrelations tool ; the decrease of costs ; and eventually, an increased competitiveadvantage. Decisions Through implementing an EMS, theSolid Waste Management Division was able to jointly find whatenvironmental impacts the installation had, or might hold in the hereafter. These werethen ranked and ends set to decrease the environmental impact of the facility.These included: extinguishing 98 per cent of dust atoms, cut downing theelectricity used by 250Kwh yearly, bettering the control of hazardousmaterials brought into the site by 75 per cent, adding three mailings per yearto enhance consumer engagement in recycling aggregation, cut downing waterconsumption by 25 per cent, and cut downing figure of pickups scheduled to reducefuel ingestion and emanations. Some of the direct benefits andcontributions to Sustainable Development have been: a decrease in airpollution for the full City of Berkeley ; deriving regard and bettercooperation from the Department of Public Works, including budget alterations ; andconsultation by other City of Berkeley Departments and other Solid Wastepractices all over the United States. Additionally, carry oning an EnvironmentalReport to find the effects of the EMS allowed the installation non merely to hum betterments that it had already made, but to analyze them and put newtargets such as: revising the occupation descriptions, rerouting to cut down the numberof stat mis covered each twenty-four hours, and implementing a new dust suppression system. Beacon Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, United Kingdom. Description One facet of the Beacon Council'sEnvironmental Reporting System is a to the full computerised monitoring andtargeting ( M & A ; T ) system for measuring public presentation at all 600 of theirbuildings. Datas from all public-service corporation suppliers ( including electricity, gas, coal, oil, biomass, and H2O ) are recorded in the specializer system. These are thenmonitored and benchmarked against national public presentation, and make the abilityto instigate disciplinary action to better public presentation. Decisions As reported by the Beacon Council, the M & A ; T system carries out the undermentioned maps: sets energy marks andmonitors public presentation ; sets energy budgets and controls expenditure ; validatesand verifies measures and recovers overcharges ; and proctors and reduces CO2emissions. The continual coverage of the M & A ; T system has been critical in itsconstant monitoring and improving of the Beacon Council ‘s environmentalsustainability. Gillepsie Decals, Inc. Wilsonville, Oregon, USA. Description Gillepsie Decals, Inc. is a40-employee screen-printing company in Oregon. To develop an EMS, the companytook the undermentioned stairss: foremost, it developed its environmental policy ; 2nd, it identified the company ‘s environmental facets and so ranked them in orderof importance ; and 3rd, it set out environmental ends and developed programsto achieve them. Decisions The company made a figure ofimprovements and took important stairss towards accomplishing environmentalsustainability. Two notable illustrations are: one, they reduced the sum ofwaste ink by developing criterions for ink commixture, and a computing machine record ofcolours and mixes for repetition occupations ; and two, they reduced their H2O use by requestinginformation from other companies on their H2O recycling systems, bypurchasing bottled imbibing H2O for employees ( and thereby bettering employeespirits ) ; and by put ining low-flush lavatory theoretical accounts. Gillespie ‘s have stated their committedness to uninterrupted environmental betterment, and have decided to develop other environmental facets in the hereafter. It is ill-defined whether Gillespie ‘s carried out Environmental Reporting, but it is evident that this procedure would be utile for both corroborating the environmental betterments already made, and finding what remains to be done to accomplish the coveted degree of sustainability. Decision EMS and Environmental Reportingwill so assistance in the construct of Sustainable Development in application. TheCase Studies in the old subdivision demonstrated some of the positive resultsof an organisation ‘s execution of an EMS. All three illustrations illustratedhow an EMS, and Environmental Reporting, contribute to the improvedenvironmental public presentation of the establishments in inquiry. The Gillespie CaseStudy was a really small-scale illustration of EMS that demonstrated how the systemcould work even for a little company. Furthermore, the first two instance surveies surely are a presentation of how the EMS and Environmental Reporting can lend to more than merely their establishments environmental public presentation. In the Berkeley illustration, it showed non merely how an EMS can lend to Sustainable Development for the individual establishment, but besides how this affects the metropolis as a whole, and can act upon similar establishments nation- ( or even world- ) broad. The Beacon Council Case Study is a utile illustration of how EMS can do non merely environmental sense, but fiscal sense as good. The first two illustrations besides servedto exemplify what a critical constituent Environmental Reporting truly is. Theyvalidated Rice ‘s line of concluding that for an EMS to be effectual, theEnvironmental Reporting non merely has to happen, but occur continuously.Environmental Reporting demands to be pushed farther down the time-line of theISO 14000 Series, and be something that occurs after the EMS has beenimplemented ( so it acts non merely as a statement of aims but as an actualreport ) , and on a continual footing because sustainability it non a one-off andsimple accomplishment. The Gillespie illustration is hence a utile illustration of how EMS can be effectual, but without consistent re-evaluation and uninterrupted coverage, the first set of alterations are improbable to be followed by another set. If this is the instance, an organisation ‘s environmental public presentation will at best remain dead, but more likely diminution, alternatively of continuously bettering. This will surely non help the construct of Sustainable Development in application. EMS and Environmental Reporting arenot, nevertheless, the Panacea for Sustainable Development. Reviews of thestandards that are proffered merely because they do non vouch SustainableDevelopment are contrary, and hazard throwing out the babe with the bathwater, or rejecting the indispensable with the unessential. EMS and EnvironmentalReporting are instead two individual parts of a possible solution with an infinitenumber of constituents. They should be seen, and valued, as such. Plants Cited Berkeley, City of ( 2005 )Solid Waste Management Division, Department of Public WorksCase Study, available from Eco-efficiency is the primary manner in which concerns can lend to theconcept of sustainable developmentThe vision of eco-efficiency is merely toproduce more from less. Reducing waste and pollution, and utilizing fewer energyand natural stuffs is evidently good for the environment. It is alsoself-evidently good for concern because it cuts companies ‘ costs, excerptsfrom the Bulleting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development ( The Lexington Group, 2005: 6 ) .

Thursday, August 29, 2019

National Interests Vs Human Interests in Takastand Case Study

National Interests Vs Human Interests in Takastand - Case Study Example Here, the response of the entire world to the human interests issues of people in Takastand would play a major role. However, in planning the international conference it is important to first analyze the issues of Takastand. Case study reveals that the primary issue of the country is unnecessary political influence which has subsequently increased breach of human rights from the side of government officials. This paper aims to plan the international conference for the human security problems in State through following three steps: Economic: Economic stability and long term sustenance plays the most vital role in bringing peace and prosperity to a nation (Strauss-Kahn). This becomes even more significant when the state is facing various internal and external threats. Hence agenda of conference should be based upon the resolution that the residents of Takastand must be given equal employment and business opportunities. They must not be discriminated on the basis of ethical or religious background. Political: Currently the politics of Takastand are solely handled by one political party which is against the rules and regulations of democracy. Since this political party is also found to be supported by international criminal networks while enjoying complete authority over the police and military forces therefore it has started attacking the minorities and less influential social groups. These issues should be tackled through ensuring complete implementation of democracy by allowing different political parties to acquire same status in the national and provisional assemblies. Military: The issues pertaining to military in Takastand are actually associated with the super influential political party which not only discriminates people but it also practices illegitimate military control over them.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Individual Media Appraisal Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual Media Appraisal Report - Essay Example According to Mintel (2012), English wine has augmented in the market in the past few years. Also, UK wine consumers distinguish quality of English wine and think that it has improved. Moreover, purchasing English wines supports the local producers (Mintel, 2012). With the wide range of variety in English wines the producers known as the English Wine Producers (EWP) promote wines with the help of EWW i.e. English Wine Week (English Wine Week, 2013). It is a fact that EWW did not focus on attracting customers at large ground and this resulted in low awareness towards the growth of the industry. Digital marketing and poor idea communique resulted in a major setback to the EWW. The main media campaign objectives are To augment the awareness of EWW among UK consumers To increase the visitors and vineyard owners participation To improve database To improve communication media. 2. Appraisal of the media and schedule to be used for image and awareness media including reach of the target audi ence For maximum result of media awareness, our budget is divided into Digital Media Awareness and Traditional Media Awareness with a total of ?98,920.20. The breakdown is mentioned below. Traditional Media ?87,862.00 Digital Media ?11,058.20 Total ?98,920.20 The Media Awareness is justified in this section. Awareness Campaign is divided into magazine ads, social media campaign, email awareness marketing and poster media campaign. These are designed to raise awareness and generate direct response. Newspaper advertising is planned to function as a tool to increase awareness in general only. 2.1 Newspaper: Â   In this project advertising in newspaper is of utmost importance. It will help in raising participation of vineyard owners in the EWW. Also, it will make many people and local bodies aware of the events and importance of English Wine Week. The project plans to advertise a small size of ad space and run it repeatedly in The Sun newspaper. Also ads in the general news section for six weeks before the EWW will help in awareness, interest and participation of both EWP and UK based customers. This will include 5 mono ads SCC (Run of week) and 1 full-page coloured (run of week). The socioeconomic group ABs is more likely to get targeted with this media campaign than C1

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Effective Crisis Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Effective Crisis Communication - Research Paper Example More over, the paper discusses each step of crisis management plan in detail and how to best implement it. Another important factor emphasized in this paper of crisis management, which is often sidelined, is the image of the organization managing the crisis. Restoration of physical, properties and economical losses are possible, whereas restoration of damaged image of the organization is never possible. This paper studies the disaster sustained in Hurricane Irene in 2011 in terms of economic loss and loss of lives. The role of crisis communication that permeates each and every step of crisis management is explored. It is found that action is the best understandable and adorable language of crisis communication, wherein the stakeholders and victims play crucial role in evolving best salvation. Crises are for all and for ever. No community and no organization, public or private are immune from crises. (R. Ulmer et al, 2011). When effective communication modalities are adhered to during crises, the outlook on crises gets completely changed. Crises act as provider of opportunities with the potential to leave the organization stronger in some ways or other than it was before.(p.4). Developing a framework for performance indicators to measure and improve crisis communication preparedness is the need of the hour. Sensing the prodromes is not given its due weight age paving way to havoc via crises. The size and intensity of warning symptoms in many crises are in fact negligibly small. But the nature of those symptoms read the ill-fate to emerge. In an atmosphere of apparently strong administrational activities these tiny warning symptoms usually get submerged or unheard by the top brass. Paucity of frameworks, which ensure diligent monitoring of the performance indicators, is th e current plight in every organization. (Palttala P, 2012). Leveraging the knowledge of human performance technology (Hutchins H.M. et al, 2008) is to be widely established, since

Monday, August 26, 2019

Global Warming Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Warming - Case Study Example Still, it is even more ironic to acknowledge that though global warming is closely linked to Industrial Revolution, which added to human affluence, yet, global warming is surely poised to wrench out a heavy economic cost from both the developed and developing economies. The sad thing is that if one takes into consideration the places worst impacted by global warming, one realizes that it is the poorest and least developed of nations like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Honduras, Vietnam, Nicaragua, etc that are to bear the brunt of this imminent calamity of human making. Global warming is ravaging the developing world in the form of natural disasters like droughts and floods and the consequent epidemics, hunger and large scale human migration and poverty. The thing that needs to be feared is that such calamities and disasters are bound to get more pervasive and pan-global, if something is not urgently done to ameliorate the situation. Global warming is a challenge that needs a concerted and col lective global

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business from Essay - 1

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business from scratch, franchises, and existing businesses - Essay Example s include the freedom to implement one’s ideas to a large extent, aligning the investment and resource mobilization with market conditions rather than committing to rigid plans, and ease of entry and exit with minimum dependence on outsiders (Longenecker et al, 2011, pp.104-133). Disadvantages include high risk of venture failure due to lack of previous experience, making a wrong choice of product/service, and longer time needed to achieve physical and financial goals. Outright purchasing of an existing business denotes a medium risk and gives assured customer base and revenues from the start. This advantage is diluted if the unit has poor reputation for quality or ethical practices. While the experienced staff is an advantage, if there are unresolved industrial relations problems, the new owner has to solve them, which is not always easy. Also, it may not always be possible to identify hidden liabilities representing additional risks, which accrue to the new owner (ibid.). Taking out a franchise is a minimum risk option for new entrepreneurs since it provides the advantages of a new unit as well as a running business model. On the minus side, one has to depend on the parent company for all major decisions besides committing to pay initial fees and royalties. Profitability is reduced as a result of these limitations. One of IFA’s best features is the listing of several franchise options, complete with the preliminary information for analysis, negotiations and decision making. I have considered the option of Expedia ®CruiseShip Sales Center Franchise from IFA’s website for analysis (Franchise opportunities, IFA, 2012). This is an established company with a strong brand image and 150 franchises. With an initial investment of $9500 and total investment of up to $20,000, this business is within my reach (ExpediaFranchise, 2012). The business is related to travel and vacation for which the demand has always been good. Further, a franchisee can start operations

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Control Process in Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Control Process in Management - Research Paper Example The control process, in this case, can be described by use of the following steps; first, the management of united airlines makes establishes plans (Morden 156). In this cases, the united airline have a committee that is composed of members from the entire department in the organization. The committee is charged with the responsibility of formulating plans for the organizations. The committee formulates plans and set standards to achieve the objectives. The plan formulated by the committee must define the expected results and how results will be verified. Second, measurement of performance actual performance; in this case the management of united airlines measures the actual productivity obtain and this through the various method of performance appraisal. For example, in the year 2007, the actual sales from online booking ticket was 213,456 tickets. The organization a clear method of gathering and reporting tickets sold during the period.  The third step is comparing the actual performance achieved with the standards. This step compares the actual performance with the set standards, in this case, the managers of united airlines determine whether any deviations from the set standards are. In this steps the variation between the actual results and the set standard are determined. In the fourth step, the manager determines the action that should be taken where there are deviations from the set standards. This step is known as the† Take corrective actions† the manager determines the changes that should be taken if there is a ny, and how to implement those changes.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Economics - Essay Example The works by Prebisch (1947; 1949) and Singher (1950) attempted to explain economic growth based on the differences in products produced by different nations. The less developed nations according to these theories have to purchase the manufactured goods from the Northern nations at prices in excess of what of what they get for selling their primary goods (to the Northern nations). This ultimately adversely affects the economic growth of the less developed nations and thus they remain less developed (Todaro, 2003). These theories thus argue for promoting import-substituting policies for economic growth. Alternative theories by Harrod (1939) and advanced by Kregel (1980) capture the dynamics of economic growth by assuming that it is determined endogenously by the saving and investment decisions of firms. In this model, the growth rates put forward are actual, warranted and natural growth rates. Based on this approach, the long run growth rate is determined by the closed economy social saving rate rather than net exports. However, this model has been criticised for showing the possibility of unstable growth in a capitalist economy (Moudud, 2000). It has been shown that though there can be instability to some extent for the growth path, its extent is restricted by many endogenous factors in a capitalist economy (Moudud, 2000). 3. Conclusion In this essay, the discussion shows that low savings rate alone cannot explain the differences between developed and developing nations. By improving saving rates alone, developing nations cannot catch up with the West. Many other factors discussed above determine the differences between these nations. 1. Introduction The relationship between free trade and economic growth has been a topic of debate for the academicians and policy makers in the recent years. In this essay, the arguments for and against free trade are discussed. 2. Arguments for and Against Free Trade Greater availability of cheaper goods from abroad will lower t he domestic price level, since the consumption bundle used to compute broad inflation measures includes imported goods. The magnitude of this effect depends on the share of imports in the consumption bundle of the representative household.Also as the economy opens up the shocks to the price level due to the domestic farm sector; output fluctuations are likely to ease which may diminish the price fluctuations (Jin, 2000 etc). As per the Dutch disease hypothesis (Collier and Gunning, 1999) and the political economy models (Alesina and Perotti, 1994), trade openness can affect fiscal deficits through the instability of government revenue. First, countries with an outward-looking strategy have higher levels of competition, are less corrupt (Ades and Di Tella, 1999) and have higher fiscal balances and lower fiscal deficit. Second, trade openness increases income inequalities which enhances the demand of public goods (Alesina and Perotti, 1994) and, simultaneously, reduces the ability of governments to collect taxes. Third, trade policy could reduce government revenue in the short run (Bean, 1999), which could occur when increases in openness result from a reduction in tariffs. However, for a given level of tariffs, government revenue from taxes is an increasing function of trade openness. Thus, in the

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Gospel Essentials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gospel Essentials - Essay Example In the previous epochs He was thought to be the center of the Universe and literally everything was revolving around Him. With this regard one should also dwell on some characteristics that are attributed to God Who is perceived as â€Å"a being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions† (God, 2011). Indeed, one of the major aspects that should be mentioned in particular is His perfection: no other being in the Universe can be as perfect. God is also regarded as the Creator of everything (DiVincenzo, 2012). It is quite obvious that everything that exists in the world was created by Him. Prior to the beginning of all things, nothing existed but God. The process of creation is explained in detailed in the book of Genesis. Keeping this in mind, one might ask a legitimate question: if everything was created by God, is evil, death, suffering and other negative aspects of life created by Him as well? According to free will theodicy, it was, but for the purpose of greater good. Speaking of human nature, one should note two important aspects. On the one hand, it must be said that just like all other beings, humans were created; however, â€Å"God created mankind in His own image† (Genesis 1:27). On the other hand, due because Adam and Eve committed the Original Sin, they could no longer live in Eden. There are many opinions about purpose of human life. While some people suggest that there is not distinct purpose since life should be perceived as the greatest gift that a person can receive, others point out that humans were created to praise the Lord. That is why the purpose of the human life is to love the Creator and follow the guidelines that were designed by Him. If people chose not to do so, this causes a considerable number of problems in their lives. Indeed, when humans forget about God and focus on the visible world, with all its

Cognitive Behavioral Theory Essay Example for Free

Cognitive Behavioral Theory Essay Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, problem-centered therapy that is used to address psychopathology within the individual (Beck, 1995). This model of therapy is used to address issues of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relational problems, and drug abuse, and can be utilized when working with individuals, as well as within group and family modalities. The core aspects of this therapy include collaboration and participation by the client, a strong alliance between therapist and client, and an initial focus on current problems and functioning (Beck, 1995). The theory of CBT emphasizes the relationship between the individual’s thoughts feelings and behaviors, which is seen as being the underlying cause of psychopathology in individuals. Therefore, this theory asserts that the identification, evaluation, and modification of one’s negative thoughts will lead to an improvement in one’s mood and behaviors (Beck, 1995). It is important to understand the concepts and theory from which CBT is based in order for it to be efficiently implemented in therapeutic work with individuals, groups, or families. While CBT is used to treat psychological disorders, this theory can be examined by looking at the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individual’s with an absence of psychopathology. Beck (1979) and Beck (1995) present the cognitive model in order to explain the theory of CBT. The cognitive model demonstrates that the emotions that an individual experiences and the behaviors that they exhibit are a result of their perception of a situation or event (Beck, 1995). When in any given situation, an individual’s immediate thought response is their automatic thought (Beck, 1995). These thoughts are an immediate evaluation of the situation, which in turn directly influence the feeling that a person has about the situation. Automatic thoughts are experienced by everyone and occur in the individual’s mind prior to reasoning. These thoughts occur swiftly and often times the individual may be unaware that they have occurred, being more observant of the emotion that they are feeling in the moment (Beck, 1995). Once an automatic thought occurs within the individual, it triggers a feeling, which in turn triggers the individual’s response, such as a behavior and/or physiological response. For example, after a young child begins to pick up his blocks to be put away, his mother rubs him on the back and gives him praise for his actions. His automatic thought may be, â€Å"I am good when I put away blocks,† triggering a feeling of confidence, an increased level of physical energy, and the behavior of putting away the remaining blocks. Automatic thoughts can be neutral, positive, or negative. We all have our own automatic thoughts as we move through our day-to-day lives and interact with others. In regards to individuals with psychological disorders, the cognitive model looks at how negative thoughts influence the individual’s feelings and behaviors (Beck, 1995). From a CBT lens, it is the negative automatic thoughts that an individual has that perpetuate symptoms of psychological disorders, the occurrence of negative mood, uncomfortable physiological responses, and maladaptive or inappropriate behaviors (Beck, 1995). While we all have moments of experiencing negative automatic thoughts, for those with psychological disorders, and more pervasive difficulties in living, negative thoughts are often experienced in situations that are neutral, producing negative feelings that lead to maladaptive behaviors or responses that would not typically be expected from the neutral situation (Beck, 1995). Aaron Beck presents theory of the cognitive model of how depression is rooted and perpetuated in individuals as a result of the interaction between negative automatic thoughts, feelings, and behavioral response. In this discussion, depression is conceptualized in terms of the cognitive triad, which describes three components of negative thinking of the depressed individual: the individual’s negative view of self, their negative view of the others and the world, and their negative view of the future (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). The cognitive triad is maintained via the remaining components of Beck’s cognitive model of depression, the individual’s schemas, or core beliefs, and the utilization of faulty thinking, or cognitive errors (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). Cognitive theory asserts that our automatic thoughts are rooted in our core belief system or cognitive schemas. Core beliefs begin to be developed early in life and are based on experiences that the individual has throughout their life. Because these beliefs are so grounded in how the individual views their life, others, and the world, and begin to be cultivated so early in development, they become a fundamental aspect of the individual, who considers them to be absolute truths (Beck, 1995). Core beliefs are deeply rooted in an individual, so much so that the individual may be unaware of the belief and how it influences their thoughts about themselves and the world. Each belief can have varying levels of presence within an individual’s day to day life, with some core beliefs remaining predominately dormant and only being activated in certain situations, while others may be frequently present in an individual’s thoughts (Beck, 1995). It is the individual’s cognitive schemas that allows for the categorization and evaluation of different experiences or situations (Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery, 1979). The core belief system maintains the way an individual experiences and thinks about a given situation (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). While everyone conceptualizes a given situation in their own way, each individual typically conceptualizes similar situations in a similar way based on their own core beliefs (Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery, 1979). Within a set of similar situations, the individual’s core beliefs trigger automatic thoughts, which in turn trigger the individual’s emotional and behavioral response. Over time, the individual’s responses to similar situations become more consistent, thereby causing the development of a routine response to these types of situations. As this consistently occurs, the schema connected to particular type of event is further developed and the individual’s assertion that the belief holds absolute truth is strengthened (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). Beck’s theory underlying CBT focuses on the idea that symptoms of depression, as well as those of other psychological disorders, are developed and maintained through to the individual’s negative core beliefs and triggered negative thoughts. In addition to the individual’s negative schemas, Beck’s theory states that the cognitive triad of negative cognitions of self, others, and future is further perpetuated through patterns of faulty thinking (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). There are a variety of faulty thinking mechanisms that are used by individual’s to support their automatic thoughts and core beliefs, even in light of contradictory evidence (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979). This type of thinking can be characterized as labeling, over generalizing, personalization, emotional reasoning, magnification or minimization, and all-or-nothing or impetrative thinking (Beck, 1995). These cognitive errors are often extreme and unrealistic ways in which the individual assesses and draws conclusions regarding their problems, which is then used to further support their negative belief system and automatic thoughts. CBT theory declares that the individual can learn to identify their automatic thoughts, thereby creating an avenue for changing the emotions, behaviors, and psychological responses to various situations. When utilizing CBT with a client, it is necessary for the therapist to conceptualize the individual’s presenting problems from the perspective of the cognitive model (Beck, 1995). This can be done through the work of gathering information regarding the individual’s current problems, diagnosis, and how the problems have been developed and maintained. As this information is collected, the CBT therapist begins to assess and identify the inaccurate and unhelpful thoughts connected to the problems, and the behaviors that are exhibited as a result of this thinking (Beck, 1995). As this is done, the therapist can then begin to guide the individual to identify, examine, and correct or modify the negative automatic thoughts, underlying core beliefs, and faulty thinking mechanisms that have sustained the presenting problems (Beck, 1995).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Home Alarm System: An analysis

Home Alarm System: An analysis Home burglaries and property trespassing is a common event; more than forty per one thousand households get robbed yearly. With the introduction of home alarm systems the rates of burglaries have dropped significantly for the past thirty years. Therefore, throughout the semester, we have been working on building a functional home alarm system using PIC microcontroller, a keypad, an LCD display and a magnetic sensor. Household burglary is defined as an illicit entry or attempted entry of a residence which usually involves theft. The illegal entry may be by force, such as breaking a window or slashing a screen, or may be without force by entering through an unlocked door or an open window. As long as the person entering has no legal right to be present in the structure a burglary has occurred. Furthermore, burglary is not only the entry of the house by itself; illegal entry of a garage or any other structure on the premises also represents household burglary. [12] Figure1.Home Burglary Statistics (2008-2011).Washington Post [Photograph].Retrieved from http://homesecurity.net/home-burglary-statistic/ The most common targets are residential houses. Those of them without security systems installed are about three times as likely to be broken into as homes with security systems installed. Moreover, the first place that the robber will search is usually the master bedroom because most people keep their valuables there. The preferred items to be stolen are cash, jewelry, electronic equipment, silver, guns and other items easy to put on the market. [8] Statistics showed that every 14.6 seconds, a burglary takes place in the United States and most of them occur between 10 am and 3 pm. Burglars spend an average of 8 to 12 minutes in your household. The residence owner can take the following safety measures such as: burglars search for homes that appear to be vacant; robbers want to waste no more than sixty seconds breaking into a home. [8] Points of Entry of Burglars: Figure2 .Burglary Facts and Statistics (2008). [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/burglary-facts-and-statistics-338161.html One survey in Pennsylvania showed that: 81 percent of residential intrusions occur through the first floor. 34 percent of burglars entered through the front door; 23 percent through a first-floor window; 22 percent through the back door; 9 percent through the garage; 4 percent entered through a basement; 4 percent through an unlocked entrance; 2 percent through a storage area; 2 percent entered anywhere on the second floor. [2] Definition of a Home Alarm System: A home alarm system is used as a defensive device to monitor all unwelcome events such as intrusion, glass breaking and mainly to avoid theft. It is also used to alert a user of a possible danger. It focuses on all of the accessible entry points of the house, so that the alarm will sound as soon as the intruder enters. Advantages: The most important advantage of the home alarm system is the security it offers from theft of costly things such as the jewelry, the television set, your pc, cell phones, and etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ causing massive financial problems. In addition, a home alarm system is necessary not just for the material possessions in your home but also increases protection on the family. Furthermore, a burglar may want to break the door of your house while barging in. You also might have to cope with broken windows, smashed furniture and other general damage. Making up for this damage will be expensive not just time wise but also requires great deal of effort since burglars these days are interested in expensive items. They search for important identifications such as your bank statements, passports, and credit cards, essentially whatever they get their hands on. The misuse of these documents will disturb your economic balance. [13] Therefore, it is recommended to install a home alarm system at your pl ace. Disadvantages: One of the main disadvantages and is mainly caused by a malfunction is the generation of a false alarm where it can be triggered accidentally and thus cause unnecessary inconvenience. Moreover, having children might cause a lock of the system by improper insertion of the password. Also, if you failed to insert the password in time, the alarm may be triggered. Some burglars are highly experienced and have the knowledge to disable the alarm, the phone lines, and the electricity leaving you helpless in a critical situation. How Does a Home Alarm System Operate? Sensors are the most vital part of the system; they act like the eyes and ears of a home alarm system by monitoring break in points and interior areas. The typical sensors, which are usually two magnets, are generally installed on doors and windows such that one magnet is connected to the door or window and the other is connected to the door or window frame. When the door or window is opened, one magnet is removed from the surrounding area of the other and the sensor registers that the door has been opened. More advanced home alarm systems may also contain vibration sensors to detect when glass has been broken by measuring the vibrations caused by the breakage. Also, many systems use motion sensors that compute the proximity of a rooms walls by producing infrared beams and measuring the time required for them to bounce back; if a beam comes back sooner than expected, it likely bounced off of a person and the sensor registers motion. [4] When the alarm system is installed, each sensor is registered with the control panel either through wires or wirelessly. The control panel also interfaces with keypads and other input devices used by the home owner to control the system. The control center keeps track of the status of the sensors and reports activity through LCD displays and other output devices. Moreover, when activity takes places, such as the opening of a window, the sensors report the activity to the control center and the center registers that a disturbance has occurred. In managed alarm systems, the control panel also checks the sensors to verify that they are still operational; if a sensor fails to reply, the center alerts the home owner of an out of order sensor. If the home owner activates the alarm system and the control center registers activity in the home, a signal is sent by the control to a buzzer, flashing lights or any other audiovisual alarm element. Types of Alarm Systems: Home burglar alarms normally include the following: Window and door sensors Motion detectors Main control panel Centrally located keypad Exterior security signs Hard-wired or wireless construction These systems are often centrally monitored by a security provider that alerts authorities of break-ins. Some of the more common systems that are included in many homes: Smoke alarm systems include smoke detectors, possibly strobe lights and hearing impaired features for seniors and hearing impaired home owners. Fire alarms include a series of smoke detectors, heat detectors and possibly an in-home sprinkler. One ignored aspect of your home security is your homes built in systems, such as heating and cooling and plumbing. Critical System Alarms include: Cooling and heating alarms have detection and monitoring devices that transmit information about your heating and cooling system often directly to a monitoring company. Flood and water alarm systems monitor your plumbing system where even small leaks can go unnoticed and result in thousands of dollars in repairs. [5] Types of Alarm Sensors: Alarm Sensors are essential elements of your home security system. A wide variety of security alarm sensors and detectors are available for use. It is obvious what most sensors do, so we will only describe the main ones used in a basic system. Contact Sensors: Most burglaries involve doors, either on entry or while leaving the house. So protecting all doors is a must. (Example: magnetic circuit breakers).Door contacts may be hardwired or wireless; hardwired contacts are usually buried in the doorframe, which is less obvious than wireless and are preferable. Window Contacts: Can be hardwired or wireless. Motion Sensors: Its the most essential and common form of protection. Passive infrared sensors: Detect motion by sensing a sudden change in heat. Dual-Tech motion detectors use two different technologies in the same unit: passive infrared and microwave. These devices are designed to avoid false alarms since both technologies must detect motion before setting off the alarm. Photoelectric Sensors: These sensors project a beam of light across a hall or doorway to detect motion and are triggered when a person passing through interrupts the beam. Glass Break Detectors: Usually mounted near windows to detect the specific high frequency sound of glass being shattered. They are usually installed on a wall opposite or adjacent to the protected glass and are effective within about 15 to 25. Smoke and Heat Detectors: Detect smoke and heat. [1] Chapter II: Our Home Alarm System Our Home Alarm System: Our projects main concern was to build a Home Alarm System using a PIC microcontroller. We started off our project by coding the Keypad, then LCD and the final touch was the sensor. We also added two types of buzzers: one to sound the alarm and the other as a key tone buzzer. The final result turned out to be the following: Figure3. Our Home Alarm System Materials Used: Cost: PIC16F877A 7$ 4X4 Keypad 2$ JHD 162A LCD 6$ 6V Alarm Buzzer 0.5$ Key tone Buzzer 0.5$ 4 MEGA Crystal Oscillator 5$ 3 Flashing LEDs 0.1$ 9 Resistors (10Kà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦, 470 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦, 1Kà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦) 0.1$ 18 Pico Capacitors 1$ Magnetic Sensor 2$ Input Voltage Wires 0.1$ Breadboard 3$ Total Cost: 27.3$ Process of Building: First of all the PIC: PIC is a family of Harvard architecture microcontrollers. The name PIC refers to Peripheral Interface Controller. They are popular with both professional developers and hobbyists alike due to their low cost, wide availability and large user base. The PIC has an overall of 40 pins. These pins include input/output ports such as PORTA, PORTB, PORTC, PORTD, PORTE and two Vdd ports for input voltage. The PIC architecture is characterized by its multiple attributes: Separate code and data spaces (Harvard architecture). A small number of fixed length instructions. Most instructions are single cycle execution, with one delay cycle on branches and skips. All RAM locations function as registers as both source and destination of math and other functions. A hardware stack for storing return addresses. Data space mapped CPU, port, and peripheral registers. The program counter is also mapped into the data space and writable. There is no distinction between memory space and register space because the RAM serves the job of both memory and registers, and it is usually just referred to as the register file. The keypad: This device is used to enter the password selected by the user and to arm or disarm the alarm by selecting the various profiles installed in the system. As you can see from our projects picture we used a 4 x 4 keypad, as instructed by Dr. Ayoubi we started off our project by working on the keypad and testing it on Proteus and on the PIC itself. The design of a 4 x 4 keypad can be approached by either adopting the serial or the parallel concept. The serial concept is tedious in terms of software effort, complex in circuitry and slow in response. However, it requires few interface lines. Meanwhile, the parallel concept on the other hand is less complex in circuitry, less software intensive and faster in response. Its concept also requires more interface lines, that is, 8 plus an interrupt line for a 4 by 4 keypad. [10] Our design for a functional keypad was the usage of an alternation of ports between inputs and outputs which is done by using the TRIS function. We started off by setting the first four ports of PORTB as the inputs and the latter four ports as the outputs. This is done by moving the binary literal 11110000 to the working registers and having the latter four ports pulled down by 10kà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ resistors. The first four ports are connected to the columns meanwhile the last four are connected to the rows. Moreover, as a justification for this reasoning is the fact that it is required to scan the columns for the pressed key and then scan the rows and the results will be decoded in a decoder telling us which button of the keypad was pressed. The main functionality of the keypad as mentioned earlier is to set the code. The alarm can be armed and disarmed with a standard four digit user code in our case. The master code is a step above a regular user code. It is used to unlock the system, as well as programming or erasing a regular user code. Theoretically it can also be used to bypass some sensors. The default password set during the design, which is also the installation code, is 1234. Most alarm companies use the same installer code for all of their installations, and the vast majority will never give their installer code to a customer, for obvious reasons. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): An LCD is a thin, flat electronic visual display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals (LCs). They are used in a wide range of applications, including computer monitors, television, instrument panels, etc. They are common in consumer devices such as clocks, watches, calculators, and telephones. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) offer several advantages over traditional cathode ray tube displays that make them ideal for several applications. Of course, LCDs are flat, and they use only a fraction of the power required by CRTs. They are easier to read and more pleasant to work with for long periods of time than most ordinary video monitors. It also has few disadvantages, such as limited view angle, brightness, and contrast, not to mention high manufacturing cost. As research continues, these limitations are slowly becoming less significant. [6] [11] [14] In our design, we used a 1k resistor to set the contrast at the LCD display. Sensor Used: The sensor used is the typical magnetic switch circuit breaker as shown in the figure below: Figure4. How Burglar Alarms Work. Retrieved from http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/burglar-alarm1.html A magnetic sensor is used to detect any changes as well as disturbances in a certain magnetic fields. In addition, when the magnets are separated it means we have an open circuit and when it is closed it acts like a short circuit. When the door is closed, the magnet pulls the metal switch close so the circuit is complete. Then, the current powers the relays electromagnet, so the buzzer circuit stays open. When you move the magnet by opening the door, the spring snaps the switch back into the open position. This cuts off the current and closes the relay, sounding the alarm. [7] Functionality of our system As soon as we connect the 5V power source the alarm greets us with a welcome message displayed on the LCD then asks us to provide the password. Once entered correctly the green LED flashes accepting the code. If the password entered was incorrect the red LED flashes and the system gives you two further chances to enter the correct password. If both remaining attempts failed the system will lock. The only way to unlock the system is by clicking the star key (*) for more than five seconds. This feature should be kept a secret between the user and the company otherwise anyone who knows it can unlock the system and keep trying to hack into it. The keypad should be installed next to the entry door because it is programmed with a time lag, to permit you to exit when leaving, and enter on arriving home, without activating the alarm. We have set a profile that gives you 20 seconds before leaving the house and the alarm starting. By clicking the (A) button on the keypad the counter starts giving you the amount of time to leave the house. If the magnets of the magnetic switch get separated, by the opening of a door or a window (depending on where it is installed), the internal invisible counter gives the user 15 seconds or 3 trials to set the password correctly or the alarm will go off. The alarm will remain firing until the password is set correctly. Furthermore, the option of changing the password is also available. In order to do so insert an incorrect password and the red LED flashes. While it is blinking click on the star button and wait until the yellow LED blinks and the LCD displays INSERT ADMIN PASS. In our system the administrator password is 5678. After inserting the correct administrator password the system will ask you to insert the new password then once again for confirmation. The administrator password however cannot be changed unless we change it in the code and download it again on the chip. Chapter III: Algorithm Design Block Diagrams: Figure5. Block Diagram showing how the system functions Figure6. Block Diagram showing how the keypad functions Proteus: Figure7. Our Design on Proteus Chapter IV: Conclusion References Conclusion: As we have seen in the graph Burglary rates figure7, the alarm system is becoming a must in modern day life in order to protect our valuables and the ones we care about. As we can see from the graph below, the rate of burglary is declining in 1981 that is when technology started evolving greatly and as we can see with time crime kept on decreasing. Figure7.Key Facts at a Glance (2011).Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/burg.cfm Figure8.Certified Security Systems (2010). Retrieved from http://certifiedsecuritysystems.com/crime-statistics.aspx In flow chart figure8, alarms are moderately effective (57%), 40% very effective, and 3% not effective as owners say. Alarm owners are very satisfied with price and value of security systems such that 74% excellent and good, 22% just okay, and 4% Poor and Terrible. In conclusion, comparing our cost to the prices on the market we can see that systems cost from 30$ to 200$ depending on the number of sensors, the ground it covers and its specifications. Therefore, we recommend each house owner to buy an alarm system because it is not very expensive and might save you the trouble and the inconvenience and the financial losses caused by a robbery. REFERENCE LIST [1] Alarm SensorsAre Essential and Primary Elements of Your Home Security System (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011 from http://www.home-security-action.co.uk/alarm-sensors.html [2] Burglary Facts and Statistics (2008).Retrieved January 19, 2011, from http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/burglary-facts-and-statistics-338161.html [3] Certified Security Systems (2010). Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://certifiedsecuritysystems.com/crime-statistics.aspx [4]Evans, K. (n.d.). How Does a Home Alarm System Operate? Retrieved January 18, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4568395_home-alarm-system-operate.html [5] From Burglar Alarms to Fire Alarms (2008-2011). Retrieved January 19, 2011 from http://homesecurity.net/security-alarms/ [6] Gowan, M. (2000). How it Works: LCD Monitors. Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/15112/how_it_works_lcd_monitors.html [7] Harris, T. (n.d.). How Burglar Alarms Work. Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/burglar-alarm1.html [8] Home Burglary Statistics (2008-2011).Washington Post. Retrieved January, 19, 2011, http://homesecurity.net/home-burglary-statistic/ [9] How Hard Wired Home Alarm Systems Its Add On Components Work! (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://www.top-home-security-info.com/home-alarm-systems.html [10] Interrupt Driven 44 Keypad (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011 from http://priorartdatabase.com/IPCOM/000005778 [11] Introduction to Liquid Crystal Displays (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011 from http://plc.cwru.edu/tutorial/enhanced/files/lcd/intro.htm [12] Key Facts at a Glance (2011).Retrieved January 19, 2011, from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/glance/burg.cfm [13] Krejcik, R. (2010). Advantages of a Home Alarm System. Retrieved January20, 2011 from http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/30563/271/Advantages-of-a-home- alarm-system.html [14] LCD (2011). Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/L/LCD.html

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property can be instrumental to the value of any business. The ability to protect a business or an individuals ideas, inventions and original processes is something that is considered essential to many establishments, particularly those that rely on innovative ideas and products as their unique selling point. Intellectual property rights span a wide range of situations and products, although the most common rights are designs, copyright, patents and trade marks. Each of these intellectual property rights aims to protect a different area of invention. Copyright protects works such as art or music; design protects the physical appearance of a product; trade marks protect the way in which a trader separates himself from his competitors; and patents protect the method by which a product is technically made up and functions. This latter category of intellectual property right can cause considerable difficulty to those applying for protection and those attempting to enforce existing rights. Technology and the associated functions are changing constantly and often being tweaked or altered to meet a new requirement. At what point does this become patentable and distinct from the original technology? This requirement to be innovative in some way is the subject of much debate. Determining when that extra step results in a new protectable technological item is the key to ensuring that the correct items are offered protection. Courts have grappled with the relevant issues in determining whether or not a patent should be protected and when an attack on validity should be successful. Throughout the years, various tests have been forwarded by the courts; however, consistency in relation to obviousness and the concept of novelty and invention have proved particularly troublesome and are often hotly debated in court proceedings. Elements of Patent Law Before determining the way in which the courts deal with the issues surrounding obviousness and novelty, it is first important to gain an understanding of what must be established in order to establish a valid patent, successfully. The basic definition of what is patentable is contained in Section 1(1) of the Patent Act 1977 (the Act). This Act states that in order to be patentable the invention must be new, must involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application. The Act then goes on to consider each of these requirements, in more detail. Section 2 deals with the requirement that the invention is new. This requirement is commonly referred to as the novelty requirement. Section 2(1) states that for an invention to be novel or new it must not form part of the state of the art. Section 2(2) goes on to consider what state of the art actually encompasses. It defines state of the art as any matter (i.e. product, process, etc. ) that has previously been made available to the public by either a written or oral description. Simply put, if the invention has already been made available to the public, it is not going to be eligible for patent protection. When determining whether or not an invention is new or novel, the issue of whether or not it has been made available to the public will become central. The invention, in order to be considered in the public domain, must have been disclosed to at least one member of the public, who could if he wished use the information freely and the disclosure had to be sufficiently enabling. Sufficiently enabling means that the information contained must be such that someone who has a reasonable level of skill in the area to which the invention relates would be able to implement and make use of the disclosure. The disclosure must be in relation to one document (or one document with several others interlinked) and cannot simply be disclosure obtained from a mosaic of documents. There are exceptions to this rule in relation to disclosure that allow a patent still to be established where the disclosure has been made within six months of the patent application and has been done in confidence. Pulling these factors together, it is clear that the need for novelty insists on the patent being completely new and innovative. Although, based on the mosaic rule, the collection of previous documents and information to create a new invention will not be barred from receiving patent protection. The Issue of Novelty From looking at the above breakdown of what an individual has to prove in order to establish a valid patent, it is clear to see that the issue of novelty is central to most patent decisions. The Section 2 requirement for novelty contained in the Act is a corresponding provision of Articles 54 and 55 of the European Patents Convention (1973) (EPC). As a general rule, an invention is not novel if the amalgamation of features has already been anticipated in a previous disclosure. This point was considered in detail in the case of SmithKline Beecham Plcs Patent [2006] RPC 10. In this case, it was held that for there to have been that degree of anticipation, there must firstly have been a disclosure and there must secondly have been the element of enablement. That is, based on the disclosure, the suitably skilled individual receiving the details of the process would have been able to replicate the process disclosed. Pulling together both of these elements will allow the court to decide whether or not the patent before them is novel or not. Let us first consider the element of disclosure. When it comes to determining whether or not the specific invention has been previously disclosed, the question is not whether the prior disclosure was for an item of similar utility, i.e. it does not necessarily have to solve exactly the same problem as the current invention. In deciding this matter, courts have stated that in order to be a conflicting patent, the situation previously disclosed must be so close to the new invention that the utility gained by the new invention would be a practical certainty. This suggests that in order to establish a valid objection to a patent application on the basis of a prior disclosure, it would have to be shown that the prior invention was inextricably linked in terms of function to the new invention. Therefore, even if something similar has been previously disclosed, provided it is not close with the degree of inevitability that is required, the patent application will not necessarily fail on the basis of not being novel. A general disclosure of a possible process does not impact on the novelty of an invention; however, where there is a series of processes, each individual process could be the reason for a future patent application failing, due to lack of novelty. Secondly, there is the element of enablement. This means that whatever has been disclosed must be sufficient for a person, skilled in the relevant art, to copy or replicate the process or invention. This enablement provision should be thought of separately to the disclosure, as in the case of disclosure the information must be sufficient for a skilled individual to understand the disclosure. For the purpose of enablement, the skilled person must be capable of actually utilising or at least trying to utilise the relevant invention. When it comes to determining whether or not the invention is novel, therefore, several issues need to be considered. It is not simply a matter of determining if something similar has ever been made public. It must have been made public with sufficient clarity as to allow the invention to have been understood and put into effect by another third party. The patent, therefore, in order to gain protection, must offer a solution to a situation that has not been possible to achieve before and not simply a fanciful possibility of a solution given enough further experimentation. As stated in the case of General Tire Rubber Co. v Firestone Tyre Rubber Co. Ltd, the disclosure must contain clear and unmistakable directions to do what the patentee claims to have invented. Pharmaceutical Application The pharmaceutical industry as a whole has been one of the most litigated and dynamic areas in relation to the test of novelty. The recent case of Actavis UK Limited v Merck Co. Inc changed the way in which UK courts look at the test of novelty in relation to medical products. Prior to the Actavis case, it was thought that a new dosage or way of taking a particular drug could not be seen as novel; this has now been reversed by the Court of Appeal. In this case, it was held that a new regime for taking medicine could constitute a novel invention for the purpose of obtaining a valid patent. Furthermore, the court dealt with the issue of obviousness, stating that it had to be obvious at the date of priority, not before or after, to defeat the patent, on this basis. The leading case of Merrell Dow v. Norton and Penn, commonly referred to as the Terfenadine decision, held that when looking at a pharmaceutical process the definition of new had to be applied to the actual processes and not to a new result or outcome. In this case, it was held that although Merrell had discovered a new reaction from Terfenadine, it was not novel as the composition had previously been disclosed to the public (albeit not for that specific purpose). This produces an interesting position. Based on this judgment, it would seem that whether or not the process or invention produces a solution for a previously unsolvable issue is irrelevant; the issue is whether the actual matter itself has been disclosed. The focus of the test is on the physical items and not on the resulting outcome. Bearing this decision in mind and the way in which the courts have chosen to deal with pharmaceutical claims, it would seem impossible to conclude that the issue of patentability is based purely on finding a solution for a technical problem that could not be solved before. Obviousness This leads us on to consider how important the actual resulting process or invention is to the determination of whether or not it is patentable. Aside from the requirement of novelty, the process or invention must involve and innovative step. This has been interpreted to mean that the invention would not be obvious to someone skilled in the art when presented with the relevant matter. One of the ways in which this test has been interpreted is to consider whether or not it fills a gap in the market, thus becoming an immediate business success. If this is the case, it is more likely that the invention would be seen as non-obvious and, therefore, patentable. The requirement for this inventive step is contained in Section 3 of the Act. Deciding on what exactly is obvious and what is not has been a matter for the courts. In the case of Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd, the main test for obviousness was laid down and remains the starting point for judges when deciding whether or not the invention is obvious. It was held that the court should take a four stage approach. Firstly, it should look at the inventive step itself in isolation, i.e. separating it from any supplementary aspects of the invention. Secondly, once the court is clear what the inventive step in question actually is, it should put itself in the position of the common person, skilled in the relevant art with the knowledge that was available at the date of priority. Thirdly, the court needs to consider the difference between what is known by the common man and what the invention professes to display. Finally, the court needs to determine whethe r the step between what is known and the invention would have been obvious to the common man. For example, in the case of Sabaf SpA v. MFI Furniture Centres Limited and others, the House of Lords considered the issue of whether the gas burner in question was obvious. In this case, the argument that Sabaf was presenting to the court was that its patent for a gas burner had been infringed. The respondents (MFI and others) claimed that they were using a new invention as it was, in fact, the combination of two inventions that had generated their specific gas burner. The crucial point here was that it was not possible to take two existing inventions and put them together to establish a new invention, where this new invention would be the obvious product of the two original inventions. The test for being obvious seems to be reasonably wide with the court requiring a definite inventive step and not simply a natural progression, even if the natural progression is novel. Conclusions The area of patent law and, in particular, determining whether or not an invention is novel and / or obvious is by no means clear. The courts take a very individual approach to each case as it is presented to them based on the individual facts. Despite this, it seems that both elements, i.e. novelty and obviousness, remain instrumental. It is not true to say that provided an invention is novel it does not matter whether or not it is obvious. The courts have widened their view of obviousness but not so far as to remove it entirely. Therefore, if the patent in front of the court fails the test of obviousness and a person skilled in that specific area could have also established the invention it would fail, regardless of how novel the invention turns out to be. 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