IBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IBM - Essay Example rless cars and the use of big data systems to understand and predict human behavior and human and other physical and social systems (Hewett et al., 1996; National Science Foundation, 2014; Sankar, 2012). At IBM the work on human-computer interaction is extensive and goes back through time, evidenced by the presence of academic and scientific studies dating back to at least the late 1990s with works such as those relating to determining the intention of humans to speak to computers in systems that are able to detect human language, for instance. The cues in this latter example are detected by computers not only through voice but also through visuals, indicating an ability on the part of the computer to interact with humans on the level of sight and voice (Cuetos and Neti, n.d.; Neti et al., n.d.). Elsewhere IBM makes use of other terms to discuss and evolve technologies that amount to variations of the same set of technologies related to HCI, and a standout term that IBM has come to u se of late is the term and concept of cognitive computing (IBM, 2015). An example of cognitive computing breakthroughs and projects that IBM has come to pursue of late is evolving the natural language processing capabilities of its computing systems, making use of Watson for instance as a model and a repository of what IBM has developed in this area. In Watson for instance, the test of effective HCI was its joining and winning a Jeopardy Challenge in the early part of 2011, besting some very tough human competition. This is an instance of HCI in IBM breaking ground to the extent that computing systems are able to match and surpass the cognitive capabilities of the most successful human contestants (IBM, 2015b). More pragmatic applications of HCI at IBM include using HCI advances to further the interaction between humans and business systems to improve productivity for instance, and to extend the advances to the management of systems of business IT (IBM, 2015c; Muller and Druin,

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Essay Example for Free

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Essay Module I Nature and scope of Management; evolution of management- Schools of management thought; F.W.Taylor and Henry Fayol; principles of management; management as a science and an art; management process. Folk management and its application in the modern era Evolution of management thought. Module II Functions of management- planning: planning premises; types of plan; planning process; Organization – Theories, types, importance, organization structure- Line and Staff functions Conflicts; centralization and decentralization; delegation; types, principles, elements, Coordination, Directing – Supervision, Communication. Module III Directing – motivation, leadership – Theories; importance – Controlling principles – Dynamics of Groups at work, work group behavoiur and productivity; work and motivation Manager vs. leader; leadership and motivation; leadership styles; theories of motivation. MBO: team creation and Management ; Module 1V Organizational learning and knowledge management Time management. Module V Management of Change – importance, objectives and methods – Role of leadership Transformational management. Books: 1. Koontz, H and Weihrich, H: Management, McGraw Hill Inc, New York, 1995. 2. Drucker, Peter, F: Management: Tasks, Responsibilities and Practices, Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2004. 3. Betman, Thomas S and Snell, Scott A.: Management: Competing in the New Era, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi 2003. 4. Dipak Kumar Bhattacharyya, Principles of Management: Text and Cases, Pearson, 2012 5. Stoner et al. Management, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, 1996. 6. Stephen P Robbins, and Mary Coulter, Management, Pearson, 2003. Pre requisite: DROPBOX ACCOUNT. Download Principles of management by F.W.Taylor from iBook and Read. EVERY ALTERNATE SESSION WILL CONTAIN PRESENTATION BY STUDENTS TO EVALUATE THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF PREVIOUS SESSIONS. SESSIONS Topics Methodology Outcome Remarks 1 Introduction; Two way study pattern; Exam and application level, Syllabus and recommended books Understand exam pattern, Evaluation pattern, Teaching Methodology. 2 Evolution of management BBC Interactive flash on Egyptian Pyramid construction, PPT Virtual difficulty and importance of management. 3 Nature and scope of Management Discussion based on previous session Virtual difficulty and importance of management. 4 to 6 Schools of management thought F.W.Taylor, PPT, Lectures and discussion F.W.Taylor ipad book , To Understand the real Application in Industry. 7 to 9 Henry Fayol; principles of management PPT, Lean bicycle factory software, Lectures and discussion To Understand the real Application in Industry. 10 Management as a science and an art Debate Incubate the thought process. 11-13 Folk management and its application in the modern era http://www.unesco.org/most/bpikreg.htm#asiapacific Explore, lecture, Assignment1: Identify folk management at local level and look it as a business opportunity. Explore the innovative folk management as an business opportunity 14 Functions of management VS Business Functions. Concept clarity through examples Understand the basic difference between the two terminologies. 15 to 17 Class test Module 1 Written examination Preparation for University exam 18 to 21 Planning: planning premises; types of plan; planning process Lecture and Assignment2: Prepare a plan to start up a small grocery store. Application of planning. 22 to 25 Organization – Theories, types, importance, organization structure- Line and Staff functions Conflicts; Ppt lecture and discussion Assignment3 Get an organization Structure of an existing firm and justify changes you will like to make Understanding Pros and cons of organization structure 26-27 Centralization and decentralization Domino’case study Application in real context 28-29 Delegation; types, principles, elements, Coordination, Hospital as an example Ppt lecture and discussion Application in real context 30-31 Directing – Supervision, Communication Lecture ppt example Understand the importance of relationship between subordinates 32-33 Directing – motivation, Ppt lecture and discussion Motivation theory and its application areas Applicability in Marketing and HR 34-36 Leadership – Theories; importance Ppt lecture and discussion Application of these theories 37-39 Class Test Module 2 Written examination Preparation for University exam 40-42 Controlling principles Why Controlling need? Understand the importance of Controlling 43-45 Dynamics of Groups at work, work group behaviour and productivity; work and motivation Ppt lecture and discussion and group based activities Realize the importance of team work 46-48 Manager vs. leader; leadership and motivation; leadership styles; theories of motivation. MBO: team creation and Management ; Ppt lecture and discussion and Debate on the best styles Understand Which type of style when and where to use 49 Organizational learning and knowledge management Time management. Ppt lecture and discussion Understand that it is a continuous lifelong process Class Test Module 3 Written examination Preparation for University exam 50-51 Management of Change – importance, objectives and methods – Ppt lecture and discussion Able to Tackle the change 52-53 Role of leadership Transformational management. Ppt lecture and discussion Understand Which type of style when and where to use 54-56 Class Test All Modules Written examination Preparation for University exam 57-60 Revision Individual presentation

Historical Development Of Radio And Recent Radios Media Essay

Historical Development Of Radio And Recent Radios Media Essay Since mid 1990s, with the liberalization of airwaves in Uganda, private radio FM stations have been mushrooming and have challenge the four decades of dominance of state radio. Majority of radios are located in big towns while a few at the countryside. Despite the increasing number of radio stations countrywide, womens access and participation has remained minimal. In war torn northern Uganda, The Department of International Development (DFID) built a community station radio station-Mega FM. Today it is highly revered for womens empowerment in the region than any other radio station. This is article is twofold. First, it seeks to explore the development of radio industry and the position of women in the ever growing radio industry today. Secondly, it highlights how an alternative radio, specifically Mega FM community radio is contributing to womens empowerment in Northern Uganda. In Andhra Pradesh, India, community radio is being used for womens empowerments. (Hindi 2010). In Haiti, The Haitian Womens Community Radio Network (REFRAKA) facilitates radio production on local community issues including womens voice (Bell, 2010). In Burkina Faso, Radio Pengdwendà © is sued for raising awareness and increasing womens participation in development Koala 2008. In Niger, The Bankilarà © radio station help in local mobilization of women. (Kohler 2008). Examples of womens driven initiatives like these are endless. They demonstrate womens determination for public sphere in different societies where their voices can be heard in development. While in some societies women have been able to set-up their own radios i.e. womens radios, others have not been successful in getting this space. Women still share radios with men but with greater womens involvement and participations. In Africa, according to African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) Report, the last two decades have seen significant growth in radio industry (AMDI 2006). These growths have been in both community radio and commercial radios. Commercial radios are situated in major cities and towns while community radios have mainly dominated countryside. According to sterling et al, [t]he number of community radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa has grown from 10 to more than 800 in the last 20 years. (Sterling et al 2007). This makes community radios the most effective form of communication in rural Africa. According to Sibanda, listenership is estimated above at 91.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sibanda 2001; Sterling et al 2007). Womens ownership of the radio is estimated at 67.8%. In Uganda, since liberalization of airwaves in the mid 1990s, there have been mass waves of radio stations (Khamalwa 2006). There are over 150 radio stations countrywide (Nassanga 2007:4) To date, radios are now in almost all major towns in Uganda reaching all sections of people in the society. These radios have bridged the communication gap between the urban and rural, literate and poor, men and women. The rural poor and marginalized women are taking active in broadcasting. Radio is the main source of information for Ugandans with very high listenership. According to Khamalwa, who cited Intermedia Report of 2005 and Uganda Census Report 2002, he writes that: Listenership in Uganda is very high, with InterMedia estimating in 2005 that 100% of the population had listened to the radio in the past year, 92.8% in the past seven days, and 73.7% as recently as the day before (InterMedia, 2005).The 2002 census showed that about half of households (49.2%) in the country reported that word of mouth was their main source of information, followed by radio (47.8%). This is compared with less than 1% of households who reported the print media (newspapers and magazines) as their main source of information and 1% for TV (UBOS, 2002). (Khamalwa 2006:14) In Gulu, DFID, commissioned and built a new community radio station, Mega FM, to serve the rural war torn northern Uganda with information needs (Ibrahim, 2007). This station is operational since 2002 serving the marginalized communities of former ex-combatants, women and other sections of the population in northern Uganda due to over two decades of war between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and Lords Resistance Army (LRA). It broadcast in local languages with news and some occasional government and NGOs programmes in English. The radio uses different broadcasting formats to suit different audiences. It employs 45 people with some acting as full time while other works as part time staff (Otim 2007). The revenue for sustainability is majorly generated from NGO sponsored programmes and some commercial advertised by corporate companies. This radio is the most stable radio station in northern Uganda with powerful signal reaching as far as South Sudan and Democratic republic of Congo. This article is an attempt to show the history of radio broadcasting in Uganda and the position of women in the current fast growing broadcasting industry. It seeks to highlight the contributions of a community radio to womens empowerment in rural northern Uganda while challenging the role of other mainstream radios in the country. It illustrates the importance of alternative media for women as emphasized by feminist media scholars (Jallov 1992; Steiner 1992). This essay proceeds in several steps. First it traces the historical development of radio in Uganda from the colonial time to latest developments in the industry. Secondly, it seeks to show the position of women in radio industry in Uganda to understand womens portrayal, coverage and their participations. In the third section, I discuss several contributions of Mega FM community radio to womens empowerment in rural northern Uganda and finally highlight the challenges of community radios for womens empowerment in countryside nor thern Uganda. Growth and Development of radio in Uganda In 1937, a Committee on Broadcasting Services in the Colonies was set up by the British government. This committee was charged with the responsibility of investigating the role of broadcasting in the colonies (Chibita 2006: ). This committee recommended that radio broadcasting was to be instrumental not only, and perhaps not even primarily for the entertainment, but for the enlightenment of the population for their instructions in public health, agriculture, etc (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990:50). Acording to Chibita, it was until the 1940s, the British felt the need for communication more tha ever because they needed to explain it polcies, plans, programmes and intentions. It was by now clear that the print media could not carry out this roles. On recommendation of the Plymouth Report,The Uganda Broadacsting Servies was set up to cater for the interest of the colonial officials (Chibita June 2006:112). Kiwanuka-Tondo adds that this service was set up for major three reasons: Keep foreigners i nformed, mobilization and governance and public education (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990:54). These reasons are similar to one at the Gold Coast, the modern day Ghana (Head 1979). Therefore in 1954, the first radio named the Uganda Broadcasting Service set up by the British colonial government (Matovu March 1990, Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990). English became the dominant language on the station with a few Ugandan languages. (Chibita 2006; Chibita 2010; Matovu 1990). Indeed, radio was used by the governement as an information channel for the primary benefit of the British perosnnel in Uganda, the Asians, and the small but growing group of Uganda elite. (Matovu 1990:348). The radio remained under the control of colonial govenrment. According to Chibita, before independence, the colonial govenrment controlled the radio. She adds that: Under colonial rule the locals had little access to radio as a political space either as employees or participants in the programming. Apart from monopolizing the airwaves, the colonial government enacted or applied specific laws and statutory instruments including the Penal Code Act of 1950 which criminalized a wide range of media offences including defamation, publication of false news, sedition and embarrassing foreign princes and dignitaries. Inevitably, at the height of the independence struggle, the role of radio as a political space was limited (Chibita 2010 ) By 1957, Ugandan languages had started to dominate the station but they had very limited time on the air. 8 languages were incorporated into the programming (Chibita June 2006). The languages include: English, Luganda, 4Rs, Ateso, Lwo, Lugbara and Hindustani (see Chibita June 2006). The languges shows attempts at regional represnetationby the Bristih governement. For example, 4Rs, (Runyoro, Rutoro, Runakore and Rukiga) are langauges in western Uganda, Lwo is primarily Acholi Langi and Alur in the north while Ateso is primarily eastern and Luganda, the dominant language in the central region. Lungauges like Lugbara were incorprated because of their disticnt aspect. In 1957, a committee again set up to evaluate the broadcasting service in Uganda (Chibita 2006 Matovu 1990). This committee was led Gervase Harley Chibita 2006). The committee finding was came out in what came to be known: The Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Organization, Policy and Operation of the Governments Information Services. According to Matovu, this report underscored the relevance of broadcast services in the country. The report was also critical of the short broadcasting period in Uganda. Among the problems, It cited the lack of a more comprehensive news services as well as the low standard of translation and presentation over the microphone. Other criticisms were lack of sufficient programs reflecting the life, interests and culture of the African outside towns, insufficient attention to the needs of women listeners; and lack of diversity of views on current political affairs. The report also noted that local talent in many field was not being fully encouraged and developed. Also, little was being done to establish broadcasting as a patron of the arts. On the whole, the report summed up, the significance of many of the important elements in Ugandas life and society was not being adequately brought out in the programs. (Matovu 1990:349) Besides being critcal, It also made major recommendations on which the evolution of the Uganda Broadcasting services was to rely. It set up goals for the stations. Some of the recommendations included: Brodcasting in both English and Uganda local langaguges; proper prgramme content including information, education and entertainement; integration of local talent and music and drama; introduce broadcast in secondary schools and finally encourage use if English as a unifying langauge because if varity of Uganda langauges (Matovu 1990:349-350). In 1962, Uganda gained its independence. Uganda Broadcasting Service became a government broadcast station (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990). It was renamed Radio Uganda (Matovu 1990:350; Chibita 2010). Ugandan started getting access to the radio. Radio became a tool for national consolidation (Chibita 2010 ). Many different programmes and languages were added. By December 1962, Radio Uganda was bordacsting in 13 languages and the weekly total number of hours brodacst has risen from 19 hours in June to 112 in Decmeber 1962 (Matovu March 1990:351). There was no language policy guideline developed by the British for inclusion of the different languages. Chibita states that The Bristish Colonial governement did not have a written policy on language use in the media. She adds that in the post-independece years, The local langauge that got adpoted by state brodcaster came on board one by one, first basing on demographic consideration and later through political pressure (Chibita 2006:114). Due to increasing number of languages, broadcasts started on two channels .i.e. red channel and blue channel. The blue channel is for listeners who speak the Bantu language of the east, west, south and central regions. The red channel broadcasts to listeners who speak vernaculars from the north and north-east (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990:54). To increase coverage, four booster stations were set up in the four regions of Uganda to ensure countrywide coverage. These booster stations included Bobi in the north, Butebo in the east, Mawagga in the south and Kyeriba in the west (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990:54) This did not mean every person had access to the radio. It did not reach everyone since very few people could afford to own radio in the early post independence years. To complement radio Uganda, the first television station in Uganda was opened in 1963. This came to be called Uganda Television popularly referred to as UTV. This was a Black and White model. It was until 1975, that Idi Amin, a man known globally for his reign of terror in Uganda from 1971-1979, introduced the first coloured television in the face of Ugandans (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990). To enhance coverage, countrywide, The TV boosters were set up in Mbale in the east, Soroti in the north-east, Lira in the north, Masaka in the south-west and Mbarara in the west (Kiwanuka-Tondo 1990:54-55). The television access was much harder. It was accessible to only a few privileged persons especially elite and government civil servants. It is important to note that the introduction of Radio Uganda and Uganda Television laid the foundation for development of the broadcast media in Uganda. From 1963, Ugandas politics started changing drastically. There was no clear demarcation between the central government and Buganda kingdom. When Apollo Milton Obote became the first prime minister of the Republic of Uganda, tension developed between the central government and Buganda kingdom because Kabaka of Buganda was accorded the the position of ceremonial president (Chibita 2010) at the time of Independence. The tension between the Republic and Buganda kingdom continued for a long time eventually culminating into what is often referred to as Uganda crisis of 1966. Obote abolished kingdoms and he went ahead to proclaim himself as the president of the Republic of Uganda. According to Kasozi et al, the [t]raditional rulers were deposed in 1966-1967 not through votes of their subjects but by decree;à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦endorsed by the members of parliament (Kasozi et all:59). Kabaka Mutesa was deported to UK. According to Chibita, Radio Uganda slowly mutated into a government mouthpiece that was used to denounce those perceived as opposition, who, needless to say, had little access to this channel. She adds that political programming gradually became highly unsafe so radio resorted to parroting government propaganda and patriotic songs. (Chibita 2010: ). This souring relation between the central government and Buganda kingdom greatly affected the development of a free media in Uganda. In 1971, Amin came to power through a military coup. He à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦seized power from President Milton Obote, the man who led Uganda to independence in 1962. (BBC). On assuming power, he reconstituted all the ministries and replaced them with his right hand men. The military became the centre of the government. He restructured the ministry of information by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦employing military people to head the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, hiring and firing editorial staff at will and interfering, sometimes physically, in editorial policy and content. (Chibita, 2010: ) The years in between saw Idi Amin kill journalists and nationalize newspapers, a reversal that . . . significantly limited the role that the media could play. (Tabaire 2007:194) This greatly affected the growth of media in Uganda. Only radio Uganda and Uganda Television operated but with firm grip on them by them by the dictatorial regime. When Idi Amin was deposed by the support of government of Tanzania in 1979 (Tabaire 2007), in 1980, Ugandans went to poll to elect their president. Former president, Obote, was again elected as the president although there are claims of rigging. His second term popular known as Obote was short-lived. Many observers including the incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, claims the elections was not free and fair. He formed the NRA and started a guerilla war against the then democratically elected government of Uganda but in 1985, Obote was toppled internally by his army man General Tito Lutwa Okello in a military coup. Obote for the second time was deposed by his own army leaders. Immediately, Okello urged all political and insurgent groups to support the new government, but the large NRA group refused to join. Peace talks occurred between the government and the NRA, but no agreement was ever reached.(Marblestone 2005) The prevailing political atmosphere and legal regime combined to make it impossible for Radio Uganda to serve as an arena that contributed meaningfully to political competition or participation.(Chibita, 2010: ). On January 26, 1986, Museveni seized power from General Okello (Borzello 2007, (Natukunda-Togboa 2008)). According to Batabaire, Museveni took the oath of office on 29 January 1986 promising that the occasion did not simply amount to another mere change of guard but a fundamental change. In the spirit of this statement, Musevenis NRM government has indeed allowed freedom of expression to a greater extent than previous Ugandan governments (Tabaire 2007:230). He was then been glorified for making significant improvement compared to the past regimes of Obote and Amin. There was libration of airwaves in 1990s. Kavuma remarks that Museveni à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was originally labeled one of a new breed of African leaders was because of media freedoms. Magazines and newspapers thrivedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and broadcast media were liberalised, leading to the creation, over the years, of more than 150 private radio and television stations (Kavuma 2010). In 1995, the new constitution of the Republic of Uga nda bestowed the freedom of speech on Ugandans (Constitution of Uganda 1995) This according to Tabaire earned president Museveni international praise for cultivating a relatively liberal media climate' (Tabaire Bernard 2007:204). There was a rise in private FM stations in Uganda. Radio Simba became the first private radio station in Kampala and Uganda. In 1994, Capital radio was again licensed. Later Sanyu FM emerged in 1995. All these were commercially driven radio stations. Radio Simba broadcast in Luganda while Capital and Sanyu are predominantly broadcast in English with only News in vernacular Luganda only. These first three private stations showed the way and in a decade the airwaves became so crowded. Each region started setting up a radio that would broadcast in its own languages. It worth noting that as several private radios emerged; the government owned Radio Uganda lost popularity due to attractive and more entertaining programme from private FMs. In 2005, the Ugandan two giant media houses: Uganda Television (UTV) and Radio Uganda were merged through the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act of 2004 and became into effective on November 16, 2005. (Chibita, 210: ). Women and radio in Uganda. After a decade and half of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1994 in China, it recommended among many things: increased participation and access to media for women, there have been little gains for women in the media? There is still: Little women participations and access of women to media. There is still continued imbalanced in media and stereotyped portrayal of women. In Africa, women still lag behind both decision making and participation in media programming. This paper surveys women access to radio in Uganda. It covers among other things: number of women in radio, women coverage, portrayal and participation and finally a snapshot of factors hindering women participations. In Uganda, there is inadequate data if not almost none on women in decision making and participation in the radio industry. Many surveys on the state of media in Uganda only illustrate: Radio as the most popular media in Uganda. It estimates radio access to be at 92%. It also shows radio is also the main source of information for most Uganda. Many show ownership of the radio stations. Some surveys also show the increasing popularity in community radios while some also highlights the competitions among commercial radios. None of these shows exhaustive data on womens access and participation in mushrooming radios in Uganda. However, according to Global Report of Women in Media in New Media conducted in the Eastern African countries of Ethiopia; Kenya; and Uganda; surprisingly, it shows Uganda has the highest proportion (42 percent) of women employees in media organizations (Kiage and Macakiage 2009:1) followed by Ethiopian and lastly, Kenya at 30% and 26 % respectively. The report shows gender segregation in three radio station in Uganda. It points out that The Central Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Uganda employs 12 female and 48 males. KFM, a Kampala based radio station affiliated to the Monitor News Papers of the Nation Media Group, it employs 11 female and 9 male and Radio Mama employs 23 female and 12 male. However the report does not show what the male and female employees do but it highlights that There is widespread shortage of women professionals at senior and executive level. Only about a third of positions in top management and senior management are women (Kiage and Macakiage 2009:2). The ab sence of women in top managerial positions makes it harder for women to participate effectively through expression and decision-making in media. According to Daisy Anne Namono, Board member of Uganda Television, There is a woman at the level of Deputy Managing Director at the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation and a few others at the level of Manager Radio or Editors. . . . The institutional structure does not allow effective participation of the Deputy Managing Director in decision making (UN Public Information 2009). This illustrates the challenges of women in the mainstream media in Uganda. The Coverage of women in Uganda is found to be very little (Nassanga 2002). According to Nassanga, citing Uganda Media Womens Associations baseline survey in 1994, women received 16% of the media coverage (Nassanga 2002). This coverage are agin concentrated on urban women or those who occupy significant position in society (Nassanga 2002). Women are potrayed as mothers and caretakers (Nassanga and Nattimba 1994). Nassanga argues that media often potray women as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦inept, loose, sex objects, and so on. Women were usually portrayed in traditional domestic roles, and in feminine occupations which involved caring or giving service. The few in professional jobs were often shown as social misfits, especially if they had marital problems. (Nassanga 2002), Mukama remarks that womenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are also invariably portrayed as brainless, dependent, indecisive, subservient and sport for mens pleasure. She adds that Educated working women activists are portrayed as audacious insu bordinate agitators, while those who opt to remain single are portrayed as prostitutes, social degenerates, and immoral beings who sleep their way to the top. (Mukama 2002:147). According to Uganda Media Womens Association and Fredrich Ebert Siftung media report of 1998, findings show that: Women are perpetually stereotyped as domesticated, given to leisure, fashion and beauty interests. They are also invariably portrayed as brainless, dependent, indecisive, subservient and sports for mens leisure. Women are persistently objectified as mens possession. It adds that Educated working women are projected as audacious insubordinate agitators, while those who opt to remain single are portrayed as prostitutes, social degenerates, and immoral beings sleeping their way to the top. Those who hold high political or administrative positions are branded as incompetent and insufficient. They are ultimately demonised and isolated as irrational and inefficient. (UMWA FES 1998:11) Lewis and Boswell, citing Nassanga, the Ugandan mainstream media institutions are ruthlessly masculinist environments that wholly ignore gender-sensitive reporting, and practice extremely hostile forms of gender discrimination. (Lewsi Boswell 2002). As a reslut, mens dominance, Wanyeki argues that women à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do not have the means to express their own realities, debate their interpretations of those realities and engage in discussions about potential solutions with decision and policy makers (Wanyeki 2000:33). Ojiambo asserts that Mianstream meida has done very little to help women organisations and women at alrge demistify (this kind) of stereotypical thinking (Ojambo 1999:11). Conclusively, Nassanga points that in terms of types of media, radio was found to be accessible than print media to women (Nassanga 2002). Finally, on factors hindering entry in managerial position and participation and, several reasons are cited. Anyango cites negative portrayal and poor working condition (Anyango 2009:24). Nassanga see it as due to lack of gender policiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. and keeping women for special purpose reporting (Nassanga 2002). According to According to Anyango, Research findings indicate that the Ugandan patriarchal society places a lot of barriers in a womans career path thereby inhibiting professional advancement. Right from birth, it is written that societal norms, values and practices are inculcated into boys and girls such that the boy acquires knowledge and skills for self survival and independence. (Anyango 2009:25). Ojiambo mainstream are doing very little in to alleviate womens position (Ojambo 1999). Nassanga In sum, the reviewed works illustrates inadequacy of data and insights in Ugandas media on women. They reveal little coverage on women and the negative portrayal and several factors hindering women in achieving a gendered media in Uganda. However, not all negative. For example, Khamalwa claims that in the last five years, more women compared to men joined Journalism (Khamalwa 2006:13) According to Anyago, there has been womens improvement in media coverage due to affirmative action by the governement and aslo the rise of women like Action for Development (ACFODE) and Uganda Media Womens Association (UMWA) which have championed womens by advocating for positive portrayal and public education and sensitization (Anyango 2009). In Uganda, with the growth of alternative media especially community radio stations, there are avenue for women participations and expressions. In these stations, womens participate in programming. Women have enough space for voicing their concerns although they s till lack representation at managerial level. Further study is required to fully understand the women in radio industry, if meaningful gender balance is to be accrued in Ugandas radios and media. How is it then done with Mega FM community radios? Women are underrepresented in media content when compared to the 50% of the population which they constitute. In reality many more women work than we get to see or read about in media content. (Zoonen 1994:30) Towards contributions of Mega FM to womens empowerment There has been contestation about the status of Mega FM. This has generated a great deal of debate. One group argues that Mega FM is a community radio while others reject this proposition and claim that it not a community radio at all. A community radio by definition according to UNESCO is A community radio station is one that is operated in the community, for the community, about the community and by the community.  [1]  It adds that It serves a recognizable community; It encourages participatory democracy; It offers the opportunity to any member of the community to initiate communication and participate in program making, management and ownership of the station; It uses technology appropriate to the economic capability of the people, not that which leads to dependence on external sources; It is motivated by community well being, not commercial considerations, It promotes and improves problem solving.  [2]  Whatever their view points, Mega FM calls itself a community radio a nd has been revered for according space for womens participation in their programming. It employs and produces many women programmes than any radio station in northern Uganda. It has been awarded for participation of women and children.  [3]   David Okidi, the station manager: Our programming is based on the fact that we need to inform and entertain so even when we are informing we need to do so in a way that is very interesting. So, coming from a background of conflict, our kind of programming should not forget the fact that listeners are depressed and the programming should appeal to them.  [4]  Its programming is similar to womens community radio in Andhra Pradesh, India, where The radios team of reporters collect stories related to agriculture, education, health issues, womens empowerment.  [5]  Womens programmes are mainly pre-recorded and played as magazines. This is because of lack of access to telephone access by women. Besides recording, womens participations are still welcome through phone-in into on-air programmes and letters which are read on the stations. Contributions The power of community radio to mobilize groups and bring change to societies is well recognized.)  [6]   Community radios and constructive broadcasting: Mega FM promotes constructive communication for in northern Uganda. Their constructive broadcasting is shape by their understanding concerns and challenges in the community. Programme makers argue that they have wealth of reporters who constantly keep them informed in most community events. According to one radio presenter, doing a community programmes require understanding of the community.  [7]  One radio producer adds that our programming is not just about giving women platform to talk, it about involving them in programming and developing content while aiming at one outcome together.  [8]  This reflects through understanding of radio programming. Elisa et al believe that Using radio as a catalyst for social change and development requires thorough understanding of the principles of radio programming. Such principles include the importance of clearly identifying and defining the specific target audience, ensuring continuity o f radio programming and making certain that programmes have a strong, locally relevant message.  [9]  In this way Mega FM works to show positive portrayal of women while carefully highlighting the issues for public understanding and tackling issues that emerge within society. Programmes are tailored to moderated and tailored to meet needs. According to Dyere womens group leader, who is a regular on Mega FM, she notes that Mega FM deals with womens issues that emerge within our different places.  [10]  Additionally, another one woman adds that It does not seek to damage women but it reports in an honest, responsible way.

Hatred Against Work Essay -- Employment, Slavery

Throughout history, mankind has worked. Work is a physical effort made towards a purpose. Work has been done in all aspects and forms. Whether it was working on a farm, picking crops or working in office, analyzing data, different forms of work are done. Due to work, our society is able to enjoy unimaginable luxuries and the economy thrives off such success. However, work has altered mankind. Because of work, we have become slaves in our own society. Not only do we work long hours during our job, but we even have to sacrifice our own free time to work on other work related tasks. Such views can be illustrated through the works of Antler, an American poet. His poems, Factories Are Boxcars Full of Jews and Written After Learning Slaves in Ancient Greece and Rome Had 115 Holidays a Year demonstrate my views of how negatively work affects us. Work has altered our sensibilities, making us almost animals. Antler, who mainly wrote on nature and factories, develops such anti-work themes in both of his poems. Through just the first stanzas of both poems, he illustrates his views. Workers are "brainwashed robotzombies", "crucified their whole lives"(Written 9/ Factories 26). Every year, the number of workers increase but the "cells of urban hives" remain the same (Factories 1). The human spirit is killed each year by work. Were not creating loving boys and girls, but rather " better murder weapon", all in hopes of a higher standard of living (Written 4). "Work is a curse", changing men into beast. It is work that led to the murder of 6 million Jews, contributing in some way to the death of our planet. What "difference [is there] between [workers] and Nazis", if what Nazis did to the Jews is what workers in "factories are doing to the ... ...ing through society. In hopes of higher standards of living, we fall into a life of work, becoming "socialization lobotomies"(Written 10). Each day, we follow the same routine as brain-dead machines , going to work in the morning and returning at night. Society is not creating better individuals but rather better workers. Antler is a nonconformist, who despises the notion of work and factories. His inspiration come through the forest and rivers, where he spends nearly two months every year in the wilderness. His poems, Factories Are Boxcars Full of Jews and Written After Learning Slaves in Ancient Greece and Rome Had 115 Holidays a Year reflect such negative views about work. Work is a dark pit, which if someone falls into, there's no getting out. Work has done nothing more than brought misery on our planet and create the largest scale of slavery in history.

Business Research Method – Volkswagen.Doc

I. Rational II. Situational Analysis III. Theoretical background IV. Conceptual Model V. Research Design VI. Sources I. Rational: According to James R. Healey (2011), reporter for USA Today, customers have lost confidence in Volkswagen’s quality. Volkswagen has been subjected to a real loss in the perception of its customers regarding its cars quality. This situation results mainly from a quality problem. In fact, according to Marty Padgett (May 14, 2007), for the website  www. thecarconnection. om: â€Å"The CEO of Volkswagen of America admits the company generated a lot of ‘venom’ with the massive quality problems it experienced earlier this decade. † This position is emphasized by a Hallmark representative who observed: â€Å"Volkswagen representatives point out that the company's scores are improving, which is true. But so is almost everyone else's. Shame on us that we haven't moved up the ranking. † Volkswagen had difficulty recognizing the pr oblem as evinced by Trahan’s 2010 position on this matter. He was effectively thinking that the brand did better that it got credit for.Nevertheless, according to James R. Healey (2011), for USA Today, the company now seems to be taking the problem seriously since the beginning of 2011. â€Å"We have some trouble in IQS that we have to fix† remarked Trahan earlier this year. In the 2011 IQS, Volkswagen owners reported an average of 131 problems per 100 cars, putting the company into a tie with Mini for 29th  among 32 brands. The best was Lexus at 73/100, and the worst was Dodge at 137/100. Volkswagen’s score in 2010 was slightly worse than Dodge’s in 2011 at 135/100. That said, the company is still struggling to improve his score.According to the 2010 IQS report, Volkswagen score was only slightly worse than the 2011 one, with 135 problems per 100 cars. Historically, Volkswagen has been known for the quality of its cars; quality is measured by a carâ₠¬â„¢s reliability and its ability to make life easier for owners. To improve Volkswagen’s IQS score and thus reverse the trend in the US, the brand should reevaluate its quality standards that originally established its reputation. By doing so, Volkswagen could maintain its leading position in Europe while improving its market share in the US. This could enable the company to remain the most profitable automotive brand.What position should Volkswagen take on the current quality situation? What are the causes of such loss? What departments should Volkswagen restructure to avoid the quality problems? II. Situational Analysis: The brand has always been known for its reliable cars. Jason Chavis (2010), contributor for the website www. ehow. com, easily stressed it out by reminding that, throughout the eighties and the early nineties, Volkswagen was plagued by a number of quality control issues, particularly in its American market. This resulted in a new goal for the company. Volk swagen wanted people to know that driving was fun again.The famous â€Å"die deutsche Qualitat† motto results from this. Nevertheless, things have changed; the quality of Volkswagen products is recently decreasing. The Volkswagen Annual Report 2010 made obvious that Volkswagen does not really realize that its Quality Assurance is not as reliable as it used to be. The report clearly explains that the aim of Volkswagen is â€Å"to secure a pole position in terms of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty†. The problem is that Volkswagen needs to do more than securing a pole position. Volkswagen needs to reach this position. For instance, the J. D. Power – a ebsite providing consumers information by using consumer satisfaction data collected to help them in their buying decisions – and Associates 2011 Initial Quality Survey illustrates this situation quite well: Volkswagen reports 131 problems per 100 vehicles. This is very close to the last one, Dodge, with 137. To make a good comparison, Lexus is first with 73 problems per 100 vehicles. This situation is stressed by the fact that people seem not to trust Volkswagen anymore. As we can easily see in the Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey, Volkswagen has received one of the worst ratings.The results are given in a chart on wich figures are aggregates, reflecting a brand's total perception level across seven areas. Volkswagen received one of the worst ratings, with an overall score of only 19. To compare, the lowest rating is given to Isuzu with 2 and the best rating is for Toyota with 147. Volkswagen does effectively not seem to have the image it used to have: the image of all German car manufacturers. Nevertheless, despite all these problems, the German car manufacturer’s Annual Report 2010 shows the willingness of the brand to keep the customers in the heart of the its decision.Although, Volkswagen says in this report that its competitive advantages are not secu red through product quality and appeal alone. The brand reminds the theory following which customers’ loyalty to a specific brand is also influenced by the quality of service they receive. After-sales and customer service in the Volkswagen Group focuses primarily on establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with customers and partners worldwide. Its aim is to captivate customers with their outstanding commitment to good service combined with Volkswagen’s high quality standards.But, as explained before, these standards are not that high. In fact, the current situation is that customers do not trust Volkswagen quality as they used to. This is due to a lot of reported quality problems. Nevertheless the brand has now taken into account this issue and now understands that it has to enhance the quality of their cars. According to www. businessdictionary. com, the brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme and is authen ticated through the consumers’ direct experience.To summarize the situation, the downswing in the perception of Volkswagen brand image is due to the last part of this definition. The company has failed to make the consumers enjoy the experience of having a Volkswagen car. As explained before, this is mainly due to the high number of problems experienced by consumers. In order to improve their brand image, the company has to improve its IQS score, which would prove to the consumer that Volkswagen cars are as reliable as they used to be, which would consequently improve the company’s brand image. III.Theoretical background: According to Narasimhan, Ram, Mendez and David (2001) and the Wacker Theory (1989) on quality and evaluative judgment  «Product’s improved quality will take several periods of good performance before customers will recognize its performance as being related to quality†. This means that customers’ point of view regarding brandsâ⠂¬â„¢ quality will not change overnight. It will takes time to prove them that things have changed because customers are more and more dubious and because it takes time to have feedbacks concerning quality.That said quality is not the only factor when it comes to purchasing a car. Indeed, according to Nadia Huitzilin Jimenez Torres (October 2007) from the Universidad de Burgos  «Consumer purchasing decisions relating to foreign products are influenced by economic, psychological and sociological factors ». a. The economic factor: According to the neoclassical school of thought, consumers are rational. They make buying decisions toward getting the most out of everything. They just take into factor the economy of use, convenience, efficiency in use, dependability in use and finally improvement in earnings.Nevertheless in practice, these elements aren’t the only ones used or often poorly applied. Indeed, psychological and sociological factors are also used when making a buyin g decision. b. The psychological factor: Psychological factors affect the way consumers think and behave while making a buying decision. For example some consumers do compulsive purchases because of their mood, which often are completely irrational. According to Black, Donald W. (2007), Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) is characterized by excessive shopping cognitions and buying behavior that leads to distress or impairment. . The sociological factor: This factor is highly important for companies for whom brand image result from reputation. In fact many consumers from all around the world base their buying decision upon stereotypes. Sander Gilman (1985) argued that stereotypes are representations that are not accurate, but a projection of one to another. According to this definition the fact that many people believe that â€Å"Germans make good products† is a stereotype. This phenomenon might result to a biased representation of a product quality.A company can benefit from th e good image of another brand because they both are from the same country. This proves that the county’s reputation helps consumers to discriminate between firms and products they are not familiar with. Consumers can also be influenced by social factor. One can buy a product from the same brand his idol or friends wear because he wants to look like him or them. This is also true with word of mouth, which makes people like or dislike products. As we have seen many factors influence the perception of quality.This diagram summarizes the steps that a consumer follow when analyzing a brand’s quality: [pic] The reputation results from the level of advertising and the brand’s reputation. Added to the perceived monetary price and the consumer’s perceived features of the good, it results to the consumer perceived quality of the product. IV. Conceptual model : [pic] Hypothesis: 1. The more adapted the communication message, the greater the brand ______image is 2. T he better the reputation, the greater the brand image is 3.The better the anterior experience with the product, the greater ______the brand image is 4. The better the media planning, the greater the brand image is V. Research Design a. Nature of proof: A correlational study seems the most adapted in this situation. This will allow us to delineate the important variables associated with the problem. These variables are the communication, the reputation, the customer’s anterior experience. We want to know how the potential and the already granted customers think of Volkswagen. It is now obvious that the study will be a descriptive one. . Unit of analysis: We want to know how many of the population would be interested in buying a Volkswagen car, depending on their opinion about the brand. Thus, we decided to stratify our sample in three groups: country, sex and age. c. Sampling: Stratified sample: [pic] d. Interference of the researcher As the study is a correlational one, this will take place in the same natural environment in which employees normally function, thus in noncontrived settings. Moreover, this kind of study is conducted with minimal interference of the researcher, such as manipulation of variables.According to all these elements, we clearly face a field experiment. e. Source of data & data collection methods: In order to get the most accurate sources, the sources that matched as good as possible, we will use primary data. To collect them, we have prepared one interview, one questionnaire and two observations. The first one, the interview, deals with the variable of the communication; the second one, the questionnaire, is taking care of the reputation; the two last ones deal with the previous experience of customers and the communication. f.Managerial implications: g. Gantt-chart: 1. The more adapted the communication message, the greater the brand image is. Interview : 1) Age / Sex / Nationality / Occupation 2) Do you currently own a Volkswag en  ? If yes  : Why have you bought one  ? If no  : have you own one in the past  ? – If yes  : Why have you changed  ? – If no : Why  ? 3) Have you ever seen a Volkswagen advertisement  ? If yes  : on which media did you see it  ? Do you remember it well  ? Do you remember what was the message communicated during the advert  ? If yes : Did you feel concern by it ?Do you think there could be a better ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccmessage (open question) ccccccccccccccccc Did that make you want to own one  (open question  : why  ? ) ? If no  : for what reason do you think you have never seen one  ? What did you think about Volkswagen 5 years ago ? [pic] Observing 1. Observation of the number of returns in the selected country 2. Number of person who has replaced their Volkswagen by another Volkswagen VI. Sources: – Marty Padgett (May 14, 2007), VW Focused on Prices, Quality, http://www. thecarconnection. com/news/1014959_vw-focus ed-on-prices-quality; James R. Healey (2011), VW: We know you're nervous, but our quality is improving http://content. usatoday. com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/vw-quality-problems-warranty-costs–/1 – Jason Chavis (2010), History of the Volkswagen Brand http://www. ehow. com/facts_4966661_history-volkswagen-brand. html – The Volkswagen Annual Report (2010), http://www. volkswagenag. com/content/vwcorp/content/en/homepage. html – Syvetril Perryman (2011), J. D. Power Associates 2011 Initial Quality Survey http://businesscenter. jdpower. com/news/pressrelease. aspx? ID=2011089 Consumer Reports' 2011 (January 2011), Car Brand Perception Survey http://www. consumerreports. org/cro/cars/new-cars/news/2011/01/2011-car-brand-perception-survey/overview/index. htm – Narasimhan, Ram, Mendez, David (2001), Wacker Theory (1989), Strategic aspects of quality: A theoretical analysishttp://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qa3796/is_200101/ai_n8943712/? tag=co ntent;col1 – Nadia Huitzilin Jimenez Torres (October 2007), The purchase of foreign products: The role of firm’s country-of-origin reputation, consumer ethnocentrism, animosity and trust http://www3. va. es/empresa/uploads/dt_13_07. pdf – Sander L. Gilman (1985), Difference and pathology: stereotypes of sexuality, race and madness – Black, Donald W. (February 2007), A review of compulsive buying disorder http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1805733/? tool=pmcentrez – Uma Sekaran & Roger Bougie (2009), Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach – Janine Frauendorf (2006), Customer processes in business-to-business service transactions

Smart materials

The primary characteristic of a â€Å"smart material† is that it has the ability to respond to external stimuli in a technically useful and technically controlled way. The words â€Å"technically useful† and â€Å"technically controlled† are emphasized since all materials respond to external stimuli of some sort or other (as a simple example, all materials respond to temperature by changing their volume), however, to be considered a â€Å"smart material† the response must be one that is useful in an engineering application.Thus, any discussion of smart materials must include a consideration of the application of these materials. Animals and plants could be considered as consisting of a large number of smart materials, however, the scope of this article will be restricted to inorganic and organic materials that are used in a more traditional engineering sense. ) The term smart material often also has a historical context, only being applied to relatively ne w materials. For example, consider the simple bimetallic strip.Bimetallic strips have been around for centuries and consist of two metals Joined so that the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion causes the strip to bend in response to a change in temperature. This can be used, eg, to open or close a echanical valve or electrical circuit. The stimuli may either be provided by the natural environment or engineered into a structure that the material is part of. However, bimetallic strips are often not thought of as smart materials because they have been around and used for a long time.Smart materials are also often characterized by the fact that they transform energy from one mode to another, eg, from electrical energy to mechanical energy. Smart materials are also often incorporated in so-called Smart Structures, which are structures that, as well as being the structural support of a building or vehicle, also have a further function. For example, a load-bearing structure that also measures the load that it is carrying is an example of a smart structure. 2.Classification Schemes How a material is considered or classified depends to some extent on the scientific or technical discipline that is considering the material. For example, a material scientist is interested in the internal structure and how this may change under the influence of an external stimulus, whereas an application engineer may be more concerned with the function of the material and what it can be used for. 2. 1 . Classification According to Function. Smart materials can be classified according to the intended primary function, eg, as a sensor, actuator, or energy generator.Piezoelectric material is an example of a class of smart materials that can be used in all three of these functions. When subjected to stress these materials generate an electrical voltage that can be used as a response signal and also to generate power. Alternatively, when subjected to a voltage these materials ge nerate a mechanical stress. The interchangeable nature of stimulus and response is a common, but not universal, characteristic ot 1 Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Copyright John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. vol. O smart materials. Materials that exhibit this interchangeable nature are often good candidates for smart structures with minimal external support requirements: one smart material both sensing and generating power and also capable of providing a mechanical or other response. Active Sensing Materials. The primary action of these materials is to transform one form of energy to another form of energy for, in most cases, a further device or material used to then generate a response. Active sensing materials may often be used to generate energy.For example, the voltage developed by electric polarization of a material can be used to accumulate charge, and the solar cell both detects the presence of incident light and generates a significant voltage and current. Passive Sensing Materials. These materials have a passive response to external stimuli, ie, do not transform an energy source to another energy. Thus these devices need an external source of power to operate. They are not really â€Å"smart†, but are included here for completeness since they do appear as sensors in larger smart systems.An example of a passive response is a change in electrical conductivity due o, eg, a change in pH of a solution. Actuating Materials. The primary function is to transform one form of energy to another form as a response to some external stimuli and to perform an action. 2. 2. Classification According to Smartness. Another possible classification is according to the degree of independence of operation that the smart material needs to operate in a smart structure. In this case, materials that require the least external support (eg, external power or processing capability) being considered smarter.A common example of a totally independen t smart material is that used in photochromic sunglasses. In this case, the energy required to drive the response, darkening of the sunglasses is provided directly by the stimulus, the incident light. 2. 3. Classification According to Material Properties. A further way to look at smart materials is to consider the primary physical-chemical property of the material that is used in smart applications. This is particularly useful in studying and understanding the operation of smart materials.Crystal Structure Modification. A number of classes of smart materials have crystal structural properties that can be used directly for smart actuating or sensing applications. These include materials that undergo a crystallographic phase change (eg, shape memory alloys), materials that have an electrical polarization natural to the crystal structure that responds to external stress (eg, piezoelectric materials) and materials that undergo realignment ot internal domains, such as electro- and magnet ostrictive materials.Energy Absorption-Emission. This includes materials that absorb incident energy by an internal excitation process (eg, promotion of electrons, on absorption of a photon, to a higher energy band). These often have a de-excitation process that involves the emission of energy. Examples include semiconductor devices as light sensors and energy harvesting devices. Macroscopic Ordering. Includes (generally) mixtures of materials where the large scale ordering of the particles in the mixture induces a change in properties of the mixture.Examples include electro- and magnetorheological fluids, 3 where an applied field induces particles in the fluid to align resulting in a change in viscosity. The Liquid Crystal Display can also be considered in this category. Chemical Interaction. Includes materials with sensitized surfaces that interact with target chemical or biological species. Examples include conducting polymers with functional groups that bind to chemical species and change the resistance of the polymer, and antigen coatings on microbalance mass detectors. Indicator chemicals that change color with, eg, pH, are another form of chemical sensor. . Smart Materials Overview Table 1 is a summary ofa number of materials that can be used in smart applications, ‘e, classified as to function. The following sections consider a number of these materials in more detail. Some sections deal with a particular type of smart material, whereas others deal with a class of material types. Inevitably, there are verlaps between these two, however, consideration of smart materials in this way is beneficial since, as discussed above, the view of the subject is colored by the point of view of the discussion.Smart materials include such a wide range of materials and possibilities it is worthwhile viewing the subject from a number of angles. The following is not an exhaustive list of smart materials, but serves as examples of the more common smart materials. Man y of the materials in Table 1 can be described as â€Å"responsive† rather than truly smart, ie, these materials can form one part of a smart system, either the sensor or ctuator, but require another responsive material for the actuator or sensor, respectively, to make up a complete smart system.Only a few materials, eg, the photochromic sunglasses mentioned in the section classification schemes, are both sensor and actuator. Even materials that can be used as an actuator and sensor often cannot be engineered to perform both functions effectively at the same time. Thus, most smart materials are used in combinations to form smart systems. An example of a possible system is an antivibration device that uses a piezoelectric sensor to detect the vibration and a magnetorheological fluid as the damper.The reterence section includes a number ot Internet web sites tor turtner practical information and as examples of the use and current availability of some smart materials. A number o f these references are to commercial web sites as useful sites regarding the application and maturity of some of the technologies, but this in no way is an implied endorsement of the particular companies. 4. Piezoelectric and Related Phenomena Piezoelectric materials are materials that exhibit a linear relationship between electric and mechanical variables.The electric polarization is proportional to the mechanical stress. Piezoelectric materials are â€Å"two-way'; (a) they convert mechanical stress into an electric field (Fig. la), and this effect is employed in piezoelectric sensors; (b) application of an electric field produces a mechanical 4 stress (Fig. 1b, c), and this behavior is utilized in actuator and power generator- harvesting devices. Only materials with an electrically poled, anisotropic crystal stucture can form piezoelectrics; ‘e, there must be an intrinsic electric field maintained in a particular direction throughout the material.Thus the material must be p yroelectric. A feature of a pyroelectric material is the disappearance of this pontaneous electric field above the Curie point temperature. Piezoelectric devices are formed by raising the material above the Curie point temperature and then cooling in the presence of a strong electric field. The common term for this action is to say that the material is â€Å"poled† in the presence of the electric field. This results in partial or complete alignment of the spontaneous electric field within the material. A related material property is the ferroelectric effect.All ferroelectric materials are necessarily both pyroelectric and piezoelectric. The ferroelectric effect is the electric olarization brought about by the complete or partial realignment of the spontaneous polarization resulting in a static electric field at the surfaces of the materials. (But note, a net field is not normally detected because the surface charge is rapidly neutralized by ambient charged particles. ) There are two principal types of materials that can function as piezoelectrics: the ceramics and polymers. 1 .Ceramics: The most widely used materials are the piezoceramics based on the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) formations, mixed sodium and potassium niobates, lithium niobate, and quartz. The advantages of these piezoceramics are that they have a high piezoelectric activity and they can be fabricated in many different shapes. 2. Polymers: Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, is the most widely used polymer piezoelectric material. It has the advantages over ceramic devices of flexibility, formability and can be simply cut to shape. Polymer piezoelectric materials have lower authority (force and displacement) than ceramic devices.The PVDF structure is a good example of the spontaneous electric field seen in these types of material (Fig. A limitation of piezoelectric materials is that they exhibit small dimensional changes but with high applied force). Composite structures consisting of a le ngth of piezoelectric bonded to a nonpiezoelectric substrate can be used to convert the lateral change in dimension of the piezoelectric to a bending force. In this way, larger actuation strokes can be achieved. Piezoelectric materials are used in many different types of sensing and actuating devices and also for power harvesting.Examples include Sensors: vibration, sound, accelerometers, pressure, ultrasonics, strain, power generation. Actuators: print heads, vibration suppression, speakers and buzzers, spark generators, ultrasonic ransducers, micropositioning and translation. Electrical components: filters and resonators. 5 5. Shape Memory Alloys and Polymers Metal shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibit the properties of pseudo-elasticity and the shape memory effect. These alloys undergo thermomechanical changes passing from a martensitic phase at low temperature to an austenitic phase at higher temperature (Fig. a). 5. 1 . Shape Memory Effect. In the martensite phase, the alloy is so fter and easily manipulated through large strains with a little change in stress, ie, it can be easily deformed. As the temperature of the alloy is increased above the critical transformation) temperature, it changes into the austentic phase. In the austentic phase, the alloy regains its high strength and high modulus and also reverts back to its original shape. Thus a SMA can be formed into shape above the transformation temperature, cooled below the transformation temperature, and formed into different shape.On heating, the SMA will revert to the shape that it was formed into above the transformation temperature (Fig. 3b). 5. 2. Pseudo-Elasticity. This occurs when the alloy is completely composed of austenite (‘e, the temperature is above the transformation temperature). If the temperature is kept constant and the material is loaded, then at some point there will be a transformation to the martensite phase simply due to loading. The load is absorbed by deformation of the sof ter martensite phase, but upon unloading the martensite starts to transform back into austenite and the materials springs back into its original shape (Fig. c). Shape memory alloys (SMAs) can be divided into three functional groups: one-way SMAs, two-way SMAs, and magnetically controlled SMAs. The magnetically controlled SMAS show great potential as actuator materials for smart tructures because they could provide rapid strokes with large amplitudes under precise control. The most extensively used conventional shape memory alloys are the nickel-titanium, copper-zinc-aluminium, and copper- aluminium-nickel alloys. Due to their low cost, iron-based shape memory alloys are becoming more popular in smart structure applications.Iron-manganese- silicon steels alloyed with chromium, nickel, and cobalt, and iron-manganese- silicon steels alloyed with nitrogen all fit into this category. As previously mentioned, the nickel-titanium alloys have been the most widely used shape memory alloys. T his family of nickel-titanium alloys is known as Nitinol (Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Laboratory in honor of the place where this material behavior was first observed). Nitinol can be used in robotics actuators and micromanipulators that simulate human muscle motion.The ability of Nitinol to exert a smooth, controlled force when activated is an advantage of this material family. SMAS have been used for military, medical, safety, and robotics applications. Specific usages include hydraulic lines, medical tweezers, anchors for attaching tendons to bones, eyeglass frames, control of hot house windows, underwire brassieres, and ntiscalding valves used in water taps, and shower heads. 5. 3. Shape Memory Polymers. Shape memory polymers (SMP) are polymers (polyurethane based thermoplastics) that can be heated (above the glass transition temperature), deformed, and cooled to retain the deformed 6 shape.Upon heating above the transition temperature, the material softens and returns to the shape that it had prior to deformation. Advantages of SMPs over metallic SMAS include light weight, high recoverable strains (up to 400%), injection moulding (to form complex shapes), low cost and SMPs have shape recovery temperatures selectable between A30 and 708C. The SMAs, however, have superior force characteristics and can operate at higher temperatures. 6. Electrostrictive Materials Electrostrictive materials are materials that exhibit a quadratic relationship between mechanical stress and an applied electric polarization (Fig. ). Electrostriction can occur in any material. Whenever an electric field is applied, the induced charges in the material attract each other resulting in a compressive force. This attraction is independent of the sign of the electric field. The strain in the material lies along the axis of the induced polarization, which is preferably the direction of the applied lectric field. Electrostriction is a small effect and, in contrast to piezoelectric mater ials, electrostrictive materials show a large effect near the Curie temperature, especially for ferroelectric substances, such as members of the perovskite family.Typical electrostrictive materials include such compounds as lead manganese niobate:lead titanate (PMN:PT) and lead lanthanium zirconate titanate (PLZT). Electrostriction is used in actuators for accurate and fine positioning. Electrostrictive translators are less stable than piezoelectric devices with greater sensitivity to temperature. The one advantage they offer is lower hysteresis than piezoelectric materials at temperatures typically >1 7. Magnetostrictive Materials The same type of material response as that seen in electrostrictive materials discussed above can be observed when the stimulus is a magnetic field.Shape changes are the largest in ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic solids. The repositioning of domain walls that occur when these solids are placed in magnetic field leads to hysteresis between magnetization an d an applied magnetic field. All of these effects disappear when the ferromagnetic material is heated above its Curie temperature. Ferrimagnetic materials have macroscopic properties similar to ferromagnetics; however, their microscopic properties are different. The magnetic dipoles of a ferromagnetic solid are aligned parallel to each other; whereas in a ferrimagnetic the alignment can be either parallel or in other directions.Materials that have shown a response to a magnetic stimuli are primarily inorganic: alloys of iron, nickel, and cobalt doped with rare earths. TERFENOLD, an alloy of terbium, dysprosium, and iron, TbxDy1 †¦xFey with x between 0. 27 and 0. 30 and y between 1. 90 and 1. 95, is the most effective magnetostrictive material and has been escribed as the â€Å"200 lb† gorilla of magnetostrictive materials. The name TERFENOL is an acronym for two of the elements present in the alloy and NOL refers to the Naval Ordinance Laboratory where this type 7 of mat erial behavior was developed.Magnetostriction occurs at its fullest potential in crystalline materials. Cost still appears to be one of the hindrances to magnetostrictive materials becoming commercially important. Piezoelectric materials are generally more compact and require less energy to operate than magnetostrictive materials. Magnetostrictive materials (‘e, TERFENOL-D) are useful where high force, igh power, and a long stroke are required or where the high drive voltages typical of the piezoelectric materials cannot be tolerated. 8.Electro- and Magnetorheological Materials Electrorheological and magnetorheological materials are fluids that exhibit a dramatic change in viscosity with an applied electric or magnetic field. The fluid can change from a thick oily consistency to virtually a solid substance within a millisecond. There are a wide assortment of electrorheological and magnetorheological fluids, which are usually a uniform dispersion or suspension of particles with in a fluid. A typical example of an electrorheological fluid is a mixture of cornstarch in a silicone oil. The mechanism of how electrorheological fluids work is simple.When there is no electric field the particles in the fluid are distributed randomly and are free to move in the fluid. In an applied electric field the particles orient themselves in ?ber-like structures (fibrils) that are much harder to move and impede the flow of the fluid, dramatically increasing the viscosity of the fluid-particle mixture (Fig. 5). Typical magnetorheological fluids consist of tiny iron particles uspended in oil and have a similar behavior to the electrorheological fluids except initiated by the application of a magnetic field. 8. 1 . Electrorheological Materials.Electrorheological fluids are nonNewtonian fluids, ‘e, the relationship between shear stress and strain rate is nonlinear. The changes in viscous properties of electrorheological fluids are only obtained at relatively high electric fields, in the order of 1 kV/mm. The practical applications of electrorheological fluids center around their abilities to transfer shear stresses and of acting as a variable damping material in an electric field. They have been demonstrated in shock absorbers, brake systems, clutches, vibration damping, control valves, and actuators.An illustrative application of electrorheological fluids is their use as a smart space material. In this application, a single-link flexible-beam was constructed in a sandwich confguration with ER fluids distributed along its length. When the beam is to be rapidly moved back and forth, the ER fluid is not energized, providing flexibility during the transient response period of the maneuver (for speed). At the end point of the maneuver the beam is made rigid (for stability). . 2. Magnetorheological Materials.Magnetorheological fluids are the magnetic equivalent of electrorheological fluids. An advantage over the ER fluids is that high voltages are not req uired to actuate the MR fluids. These fluids are under development for use in shock absorbers, vibration damping, exercise equipment and surface polishing of machine parts. 8 9. Photoresponsive and Sensitive Materials There are several different types of material families that exhibit different types of light transmission-absorption or other responses to a stimulus.These include lectrochromism (a change in color as a function of an electrical field); thermochromism (color change with heat); photochromic materials (reversible lightsensitive materials); photographic materials (irreversible light-sensitive materials); photostrictive materials (shape changes due to light usually caused by changes in electronic structure); fluorescence (emission of light (photons) at a different wavelength to the incident light).An interesting material with both electro- and thermochromism behavior, V02, was evaluated for a smart window application. Materials are being developed to exhibit both photochro mic and photographic ehaviors and one such system is based on a substituted indolinospirobenzopyrene embedded in a polystyrene matrix. This system acts as a photochromic system at low exposure in the ultraviolet (uv) range and at high exposure it functions as a photographic system. The image can be devisualized by heat and can be restored many times witn uv irradiation.Another interesting application is the use ot polymers that fluoresce or change color in the presence of particular metal ions. This is being tested as a corrosion sensor with optical fibers coated with an appropriate polymer r with the polymer incorporated in a composite structure. The system is optically excited and the presence of light at the fluorescence wavelength indicates metal ions (and thus corrosion). Thermochromic materials find use in security devices and in thermal mapping applications.All semiconductor materials exhibit an electrical response to incident light due to the electron absorption of photons, of sufficient energy, and promotion of the electrons to the conduction band (change in resistance) and across doping gradients, as in diodes (generation of current and voltage) in solar cells. Of particular interest in this rea is the development of non-silicon systems, which may results in cheap, flexible, robust, and easy to transport and deploy solar energy collectors. 0. Chemical and Biochemically Sensitive Materials The most widely known classes of chemically sensitive materials are the pHsensitive materials that include the acids, bases, and indicators. The most interesting of these for smart applications are the indicators. These materials change colors as a function of pH and are usually totally reversible. Indicators have also been used in the development of novel chemical indicating systems.Devices based on the ermeability of organic vapors through polymeric films or porous polymeric plugs, and subsequent reaction with an indicator, are used for monitoring the condition of time and/or temperature sensitive items, eg, pharmaceutics, foods and other perishables. The system is activated by crushing the vial releasing the volatile component, which then slowly permeates through the film reacting with the indicator to give a visible color change. This change is 9 dependent on both time and temperature.Other examples of pH-sensitive materials include the smart hydrogels and smart polymers (see below in EAPs). There is increasing interest in the detection of other chemicals, particularly in the detection of chemical warfare agents, environmentally noxious chemicals, and the control and monitoring of (engine) emissions. Semiconductor film sensors based on metal oxides (eg, Sn02, ZnO, Ti02, W03) are used to measure the concentration of toxic and flammable gases.These devices operate at several hundreds of degrees and a chemical reaction between the gas and the metal oxide changes the electrical conductivity of the oxide. The conductivity is a function of the t emperature and gas concentration. Higher temperature devices (to $10008C) have been demonstrated using Sic and SrTi03 systems. At low temperatures, the gases interact with the metal oxide by a chemisorption mechanism. The chemically adsorbed particles receive a partial charge and the opposite charge is made available to the oxide as a tree electron to increase its conductivity.Metal oxide sensors (MOS) are finding applications in the automotive industry monitoring the composition of exhaust gases. Many actions in organic systems are governed by highly selective reactions that are in effect molecular recognition mechanisms. The molecules responsible for these rocesses are highly selective in the molecules that they bind to (‘e, recognize) and can be used in engineered devices as sensors. An example of this is coating piezoelectric material with a selective material and then detecting the increase in mass of the coating as the target molecule binds to the coating.Being organic i n nature means that a wide range of ways to modify these molecules are available, eg, light stimulated regions that change their fluorescence frequency in the presence of the target molecule. Conducting polymers can also be tailored to respond (by a change in resistance) to ifferent chemicals. In this case, the response is rather broad (ie, not very selective), however, systems have been developed with a number of polymers treated to react to different types of chemicals to obtain â€Å"fingerprints† that are specific to particular chemicals.These systems generally have a limited lifetime and increasing the life and stability of the conducting polymers is the main challenge facing their acceptance as sensors. A novel proposal for chemical detection is the use of molecularly imprinted plastics (MIPs). In this case, target molecules are imbedded in a (porous) plastic matrix that is pplied to some sensing-transducer device. The target molecule is then dissolved away leaving a ph ysical imprint in the plastic matrix.On exposure to the molecule in a gas or liquid the physical imprints left in the plastic are selective for the target molecule and collect it, altering the properties (eg, mass) of the plastic. 1 1 . Electroactive Polymers (Actuators) An electroactive polymer (EAP) is a polymer that exhibits a response to an applied electrical stimulation and often also develops an electrical response to a mechanical stimulation. Some of these materials have been touched on in previous sections.