Cable Modems in the Workplace :: Internet Cable Modem Essays

Cable Modems in the Workplace Until recently, small businesses could not afford T-1 service to connect to the network. The recent advent of cable modems has provided a cheaper alternative to this problem. Cable operators have primarily targeted consumers in their initial cable modem rollouts. Multiple System Operators (MSOs) are now selling higher priced broadband Internet services to the corporate customer. The question is, does cable modem technology provide the optimum service for a medium sized company that is dependent on the Internet for data computing and research? To answer this question, we have to evaluate the price, bandwidth, and reliability in the business network. One significant factor that separates cable modem technology from other telephone networks is its ability to share bandwidth on the network. This characteristic is both an advantage and disadvantage for cable modems. The advantage is that cable modem users have the ability to use as much bandwidth as possible when it is available. The disadvantage resides in network congestion. When the user needs the bandwidth for a large file download or upload, it is not guaranteed the bandwidth. Lack of guaranteed bandwidth and modem reliability is the biggest concern that most companies have with cable modems. Yes, it is cheap, but can it perform? In the past, the reliability rate was 50% to 60% because of improper equipment and technology. (Schuman, Now playing:, 1999) More recently, upgrades of the cable system has allowed close to 98% cable modem reliability. Reliability is also dependent upon the number of users the cable company has hooked up to the cable node. If too many users are connected to the same node, there will be degradation in throughput. The cable company claims 30 Mbps downstream data transfer, but sharing often makes it more like 1.5 Mbps. (ZDNET, Cable Modems:, 1999) The quality cable companies like TCI, mitigates the uneasiness about reliability and questionable throughput by providing guaranteed upstream bandwidth, and excellent technical support. The reliability and congestion issues all seem to be problems of the past with the current upgrad es and service quality improvements made by the cable company. The big advantage that attracts many businesses is the low monthly fees compared to T-1 lines. A traditional T-1 line will cost at least $1,000 per month, where as TCI cable company charges $249 per month for 256 Kbps upstream connection.

Guy Fawkes Essay -- essays research papers

Fawkes Guy, was one of the greatest conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot. Fawkes, pronounced fawks Guy, English conspirator, born in York. A protestant by birth, he became a Roman Catholic after the marriage of his widowed mother to a man of Catholic background and sympathies(Miller 578). In 1593 he enlisted in the Spanish Army in Flanders and in 1596 participated in the capture of the city of Calais by the Spanish in their war with Henry IV of France. He became implicated with Thomas Winter and others in the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament as protest against the anti-Roman Catholic laws.This paper will demonstrate the life of Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was born on 13th April, 1570. Guy Fawkes was the only son of Edward Fawkes of York and his wife Edith Blake of Cambridge. Followed by Guy Fawkes’ birth, Edith had given birth to daughter Anne Fawkes on 3rd October 1568, but the infant lived a mere seven weeks, being buried on 14th November of the same year. Two other sisters were born followed by Anne, another Anne, who later married Henry Kilburns in Scotton on 12th October1572, and Elizabeth, who later married William Dickenson also in Scotton on 27th May 1594. Edward Fawkes who was advocate of the consistory court of the Archbishop of York. On his mother’s side, he was descended from the Harrington family who were eminent merchants and Alderman of York.In 1605, Guy Fawkes(also known as Guido), and a group of conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament to k...

London Ambulance Service Failure

The London Ambulance fiasco ? The London Ambulance Service (LAS) Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system failed dramatically on October 26th 1992 shortly after it was introduced: †¢ †¢ †¢ The system could not cope with the load placed on it by normal use; The response to emergency calls was several hours; Ambulance communications failed and ambulances were lost from the system. ? A series of errors were made in the procurement, design, implementation, and introduction of the system.  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 1 London Ambulance Service ? ? Managed by South West Thames Regional Health Authority. Largest ambulance service in the world (LAS inquiry report) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Covers geographical area of over 600 square miles Resident population of 6. 8 million people (greater during daytime, especially central London); Carries over 5,000 patients every day; 2,000-2,500 calls received daily, of which 1,3001,600 are emergency calls.  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 2 Computer-aided despatch systems ? Provide one or more of the following: †¢ †¢ †¢ Call taking; Resource identification; Resource mobilisation; Ambulance resource management. CAD software & hardware; Gazetteer and mapping software; Communications interface (RIFS). Radio system; Mobile data terminals (MDTs); Automatic vehicle location system (AVLS). ? Consist of: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 3 T he manual system to be replaced ? Call taking †¢ Recorded on form; location identified in map book; forms sent to central collection point on conveyor belt; Form collected; passed onto resource allocator depending on region; duplicates identified. Resource allocator decides on which resource to be mobilised; recorded on form and passed to dispatcher; Dispatcher telephones relevant ambulance station, or passes mobilisation instructions to radio operator if ambulance already on road; ? Resource identification †¢ ? Resource mobilisation †¢ ? Whole process meant to take < 3 minutes. Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 4  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Concept/design of the CAD system ? Existing systems dismissed as inadequate and impossible to modify to meet LAS’s needs †¢ Intended functionality â€Å"greater than available from any existing system†. To consist of Computer Aided Dispatch; Computer map display; Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS); Must integrate with existing MDTs and RIFS (Radio Interface System). Near 100% accuracy and reliability of technology; Absolute cooperation from all parties including CAC staff and ambulance crews. ? Desired system: †¢ †¢ ? Success dependent upon: †¢ †¢  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 5 Problems: Procurement (i) ? Contract had to be put out to open tender †¢ Regulations emphasis is on best price; 35 companies expressed interest in providing all or part of the system †¢ Most raised concerns over the proposed timetable of less than 1 year until full implementation. ? Previous Arthur Andersen report largely ignored †¢ †¢ Recommended budget of ? 1. 5M and 19 month timetable for packaged solution. Both estimates to be significantly increased if packaged solution not available; Report never shown to new Director of S upport Services. ? Only 1 out of 17 proposals met all of the project team’s requirements, including budget of ? 1. 5M. Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 6 Ian Sommerville 2004 Problems: Procurement (ii) ? Successful consortium †¢ †¢ †¢ Apricot, Systems Options (SO), Datatrak; bid at ? 937k was ? 700k cheaper than the nearest bid; SO’s quote for the CAD development was only ? 35k †¢ Their previous development experience for the emergency services was only for administrative systems. Ambiguity over lead contractor. Systems manager: Career ambulance man, not an IT professional, already told that he was to make way for a properly qualified systems manager; Analyst: Contractor with 5 years experience working with LAS. ? 2 key members of evaluation team: †¢ †¢  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 7 Problems: Project management ? Lead contractor responsible †¢ †¢ Meant to be SO, but they quickly became snowed under, so LAS became more responsible by default; No relevant experience at LAS or SO. ? ? Concerns raised at project meeting not followed-up. SO regularly late in delivering software †¢ Often also of suspect quality, with software changes put through ‘on the fly’. ? ? Formal, independent QA did not exist at any stage throughout the CAD system development. Meanwhile, various technical components of the system are failing regularly, and deadlines missed. Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 8  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Problems: Human resources & training (i) ? ? ? ? ? Generally positive attitude to the introduction of new technology. Ambiguity over consultation of ambulance crews for development of original requirements. Circumstantial evidence of resistance by crews to Datatrak equipment, and deliberate misleading of the system. Large gap between when crews and CAC staff were trained and implementation of the system. Inability of the CAC and ambulance staff to appreciate each others’ role †¢ Exacerbated by separate training sessions. Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 9  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Problems: Human resources & training (ii) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Poor industrial relations. Management ‘fear of failure’. CAD system seen as solution to management’s desire to reduce ‘outdated’ working practices. System allocated nearest resource, regardless of originating station. System removed flexibility in resource allocation. Lack of voice contact exacerbated â€Å"them and us†. Technical problems reduced confidence in the system for ambulance crews and CAC staff.  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 10 System problems Need for near perfect information †¢ Without accurate knowledge of vehicle locations and status, the system could not allocate optimum resources. There were numerous possible reasons for incorrect information being passed back to the system. Numerous technical problems with the system, including: †¢ Failure to identify all duplic ated calls; †¢ Lack of prioritisation of exception messages; †¢ Exception messages and awaiting attention queues scroll off top of screen. ? Poor interface between crews, MDTs & the system †¢ ? Unreliability, slowness and operator interface †¢  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 11 Configuration changes ? Implementation of the system on 26 October involved a number of significant changes to CAC operation, in particular: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Re-configuring the control room; Installing more CAD terminals and RIFS screens; No paper backup system; Physically separating resource allocators from radio operators and exception rectifiers; Going ‘pan London’ rather than operating in 3 divisions; Using only the system proposed resource allocations; Allowing some call takers to allocate resources; Separate allocators for different call sources. Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 12 So, what happened? ? ? Changes to CAC operation made it extremely difficult for staff to intervene and correct the system. As a consequence, the system rapidly knew the correct location and status of fewer and fewer vehicles, leading to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Po or, duplicated and delayed allocations; A build up of exception messages and the awaiting attention list; A slow up of the system as the messages and lists built up; An increased number of call backs and hence delays in telephone answering.  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 13 Why did it fail? ? Technically, the system did not fail on October 26th †¢ †¢ Response times did become unacceptable, but overall the system did what it had been designed to do! Failed 3 weeks later due to a program error – this was a memory leak where allocated memory was not completely released. Management; Union; System manager; Government. ? It depends who you ask! †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 14 Lessons learned ? Inquiry report makes detailed recommendations for future development of the LAS CAD system, including: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Focus on repairing reputation of CAD within the service; Increasing sense of ‘ownership’ for all stakeholders; They still believe that a technological solution is required; Development process must allow fully for consultation, quality assurance, testing, training; Management and staff must have total, demonstrable, confidence in the reliability of the system; Any new system should be introduced in a stepwise approach.  ©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering Case Studies Slide 15

Introduction to the Development of Travel + Tourism

1. Changing Socio-Economic Circumstances:- The first changes in socio-economic circumstances were when the industrial revolution took place. People were moving from the rural countryside into the bigger towns and cities to find regular employment in the factories, mills and mines. All over England work places were shutting down for a week (wakes week this was called). They were taking a paid holiday which was the first big break for most of the working population. People suddenly had an increase in leisure time to do more things with their family and friends; this is because the working hours in a week were dramatically cut from around 45+ to sometimes below 40. The raise in wages meant that more people could do things and go places further a field. They took weekend breaks and short holidays more often as well and also they had budgeting for a week's holiday which they could plan ahead for and get the time off through their employers. By the 1960's there was a huge rise in teen holidays, these holidays were very popular with people between the ages of 18-30. It became part of culture for young people to go off abroad on new package deal holidays. They would go out drinking and after a night in a pub or bar they would go back to their hotel rooms with a young girl and have ‘no-strings attached' sex. They would usually go on holiday for the sole reason of drinking and having sex all week. 2. Technological Developments Public transport was vital part in how and where people took their holidays. Mainly in the 1940's and early 50's, people used the railway to get to holiday resorts like Blackpool, they would travel mainly from places of work like Manchester, Liverpool, Blackburn etc. By the mid 1950's the car was becoming more of a major role in public transport and many people took to driving further away than the original holiday resorts of Blackpool, Scarborough, Brighton etc. They travelled to places like Cornwall and Dorset. Some people even braved going abroad to places like Belgium, Holland and France which was unheard of in those days. They drove to big ports like Dover or Ramsgate and caught a ferry across to Europe. The invention of the jet engine then came along and people discovered holidays in the Mediterranean where the weather was always guaranteed to be hot and sunny. People took to going abroad a lot more because of the jet engine and its power to travel further than anything before that. Lastly and most recently became the use of electronic booking and air traffic control so more planes can come and go from an airport more frequently than ever before. The internet is now the easiest, fastest and sometimes cheapest place to book holidays from. It can be done in a matter of minutes. 3. Product Development and Innovation People in Britain only started going on holiday in the 1860's. The only place they could go to was holiday resorts by the sea like Blackpool, Scarborough etc. If it rained they had to try and entertain their children outside somewhere because they weren't allowed back to there holiday flats until the evening. A great innovation was brought into light in the 1950's by a man called Billy Butlin. It was a holiday camp where there was entertainment all week whether indoors because of the rain or outdoors in the sun. Everyone went there year in year out and thousands of people enjoyed a great time every week it was open. Package holidays were the next big thing to come along. Holidays abroad were all fully paid for including flights. When you got there you didn't have to do anything but relax and enjoy the weather. The hotel cooked food and laid on meals for you and did everything. This was why it's called a ‘package holiday'. 4. Changing Needs, Expectation and Fashions Annual holidays became fashion throughout Briton. Everyone had to take a holiday as the holiday pay act came into use it was far more acceptable for people to go away. It became a culture and it still is a culture for most people in Britain. People often go on more than one holiday a year now, to places further abroad than the Mediterranean. Some people enjoy actually taking a year out of work or education to go and explore the traditions of places in Europe. Whereas most people like just relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and having a good time.

Competition Is Healthy.

Competition: Good or Bad? Competition is something that everyone has experienced in his or her life; it is human nature. In school, students compete with classmates to finish first or to make better grades. In a workplace, colleagues compete to receive promotions and raises. In the business world, companies compete to create the top products. Competition is a part of everyday life, and it is healthy. It helps people to improve, it leads to better products and results, and it promotes growth. Competition helps people to improve.For someone to win, someone else has to lose. If a person views loss with a positive attitude, they can use that as a way to learn from their mistakes and try harder. By taking the competition out of it, it will take away a reason for a person to improve. Communism is a real example of what happens when society erases competition. Communist countries treat their people equally, and there are no social classes. The State owns everything; the people own nothing e xcept for the clothes on their back. This results in people being less goal oriented.Why work hard for something when in the end, they will earn nothing? Competition leads to better products and results. Competition between companies often leads to more options, lower prices, and better quality of products. It is good in the marketplace not only for businesses, but consumers as well. It benefits businesses by driving companies to be more creative and to make improvements. It benefits customers by keeping the prices low and the quality of the products high. Apple and Android are examples of two competing companies.Both sell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. They are constantly trying to better their products in creative and new ways in order to sell them. As a result, consumers have more options to choose from. Competition promotes growth. Without competition and rivals, I would not have taken the chances or learned the lessons that I have. One of my favorite quotes come s from Vince Lombardi, a former football player and coach for the Green Bay Packers. He said, â€Å"Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to is. † This quote drove me to better myself in school.Before, I was careless about my grades and I waited until the last minute to do everything, but after applying that quote to my life, I am more conscientious about my grades and college. The satisfaction of getting a higher grade on a test than someone else definitely motivates me to keep working as hard as I possibly can. Many people believe that competition is bad because it leads to a focus on winning at all costs. They also believe that competition lowers self-esteem because someone has to lose. In some cases, this may be true.However, competition must be kept in perspective. It cannot get carried away with the idea of needing to win. Competition is healthy and can produce excellence, even when a person loses, but it must be kept under control. Competition helps people to be tter themselves, leads to better products and results, and promotes growth. Competition is a force that drives people to succeed. Without it, it would be harder to motivate people. When kept in perspective, competition is an amazing way to achieve goals, and it can bring out the strongest in a person.

China's economic discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

China's economic discussion - Assignment Example It has taken many decades for Chinese companies to compete on a national and global stage, but an increasingly educated workforce has helped to contribute to this. Before, the working Chinese population was not highly educated and thus could not perform technology intensive jobs. Another thing that MNCs will have to watch out for is labor shortages. Because of China’s one-child policy in the 1970’s and 80’s, there will be fewer young workers available for jobs in the future. In addition to this, labor costs will rise as the standard of living increases in China. As Chinese workers are becoming more skilled, they will demand pay that appropriately matches their skills. Finally, MNCs will need to change their focus to countryside Chinese cities, which are expected to experience huge growth in the not too distant future. Many MNCs are based in major cities in the eastern part of China, but this area has already experienced major

Team Effectiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Effectiveness - Essay Example Companies that utilize teamwork have a greater chance of achieving work synergy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the topic of team effectiveness and team performance. The video Bridge’s Story – A Teamwork Aniboom Animation tells the story of a rabbit that thought he could survive on his own without the help of the other animals in the forest (Hoang, 2011). Instead of applying teamwork this rabbit was a destructive force to the other members of his habitat. He played with the food of the ants, harassed the birds, and destroyed the bridge the turtle was building for the animals to cross. The rabbit found out when he was drowning in the river that he needed a helping hand. This rabbit realized by working as a team with the other animals he could accomplish more than he ever would as a loner. The second video, The Power of Teamwork, discusses the importance of teamwork by focusing on the work performed by the Blue Angels pilots (Beare, McMillan, 2013). Share values are the foundation of good teamwork. It is imperative for a team to align its mission, vision, and its actions. The team has to be the priority of all members who must sacrifice their self-interest in order to achieve team goals. The use of teamwork must be present at all times within an organization. A good effective leader is able to lead others by example. A good leader identifies each team member’s strength to take advantage of them and improve performance and productivity in the workplace. Trust is an important element of teamwork. Trust can be defined as the belief that someone is good, reliable, honest, and effective (Merriam-webster, 2013). Achieving peak performance should be the objective of all teams. Synergy occurs when common people align their objectives (Beare, et al., 2013). Good communication is also an important factor that leads to team success. Communication in the workplace is of utter importance towards achieving the goals of a company. Managers that wan t for employees to work together as a cohesive team unit must build a bond of trust with the workers by effectively communicating with them. Teamwork without communication does not work. To effectively guide the actions of a team its leader has to maintain the lines of communication open at all times. Improper communication within a team can cause the employees to feel tensions and anxiety (Gluck, 2013). There are different strategies that the person in charge of a team can use to improve communication. For instance programming weekly meetings between the team members to openly discuss any issues anyone is facing is a good way to foster communication. A second strategy that can be used to improve communication within a team is to implement a feedback system. A third way to improve communication in a team is by practicing active listening. Active listening skills can help a person improve their productivity, their ability to listen, persuade, and negotiate with others (Mindtools, 201 3). There are common characteristics that effective teams share. Some of the characteristics of effective teams include common purpose and goals, interested in own processes, continually listen to each other, differences shared freely, identify and resolve conflicts, roles are balanced, trust, and commitment towards performance (Drexel, 2013). Effective teams must work together towards accomplishing common goals. A team member that is not focused on the goals of the team becomes a liability. Team members must