Animal Farm/V for Vendetta Essay

In many great texts concerning the politics, it can be observed that the context in which the piece was created greatly influences the ways in which values and themes are presented and the form in which it is produced. Major ground shaking events have the power to transform paradigms of individuals and whole societies, and in turn morph and influence the themes a text created in the same time period implores. Warner Brother’s 2005 film â€Å"V for Vendetta† and George Orwell’s 1945 novelette â€Å"Animal Farm† both deal with concepts present in the political climates of their times and the problems associated with them; the cost of apathy towards injustice, propaganda and its influence, and the crippling aspect of fear. The representation of the themes present in the two texts contrast and compare in many ways due to the diversity in the contexts under which each was created and the universal continuity of the themes present. Read more: Us constitution tyranny essay Orwell’s 1945 text was created at the end of the Russian social revolution that left the once optimistic Russian people in tatters and under the boot of a brutal fascist regime, while the Hollywood movie was created post 9/11 in a time where people turned to their government for protection from unknown threats, willing to sacrifice their liberty for safety. It was situated in a future dystopia as opposed to Animal Farm’s historical setting and warned of what could be the outcome of choosing to blindly follow the neo-conservative politics of film’s time such as Bush’s and Thatcher’s parties. Both texts make political statements that are influenced by the historical and personal context of their creation and contrast and compare greatly in form and values. Primarily, the theme of apathy, and the cost of silence is explored similarly in the two cross-generational texts. Written after the solemn failure of socialism when applied to a practical setting, Orwell pessimistically recounts the outcome of the apathy that Russian citizens expressed in the face of blatant corruption in his fable, â€Å"Animal Farm†. Orwell’s novel is written in the form of an allegory, which recounts the events of the Russian revolution as though it took place on a British farm, and uses various types  of animals to symbolize the different classes of the soviet union (Molly the horse represents the bourgeoisie, Boxer, the proletariats). Animal farm sets out to become a utopia where â€Å"all animals are equal†; working together under the inspiration of a Marxist boar named major (who represents the revolutionary leader Lenin), the animals drive out their human oppressors in a violent rebellion. The pigs take power on the farm due to their à ¢â‚¬Å"superior knowledge† and leadership qualities. Though as the pigs become corrupted by their power, it soon becomes clear to the animals smart enough to comprehend the concept of corruption, that things aren’t as they should be. They become aware of the pig’s greed; they hoard food that should be shared evenly amongst all animals, they twist the truth to better suit their political motives, and they change the constitution of animal farm without public consent. Few animals possess the ability to comprehend that the pigs do not wish to help the public, and Benjamin the donkey comes to be the most prominent advocate for apathy in the novelette. He is one of the smartest animals on the farm and is not fooled for a second by any of the pig’s ruses that work so effectively on the others. He remains neutral to any conflict seen in animal farm; when the hens stage a coup to stand up against their oppression and are subsequently executed, not a word of protest is spoken, and when asked for his opinion on any debate only replies â€Å"donkeys live a long time† to cryptically cynical way of saying â€Å"it all ends up the same†. Benjamin is passive to any change whether it is good or bad; in the honeymoon phase of the revolution in which the pigs express plans for equality and freedom for all, he remains sceptical. He is cynical to any positive outcome as he has believes only that the cycle of power and corruption will repeat its elf, as it has in the past. His silence in the face of the pig’s corruption is broken only at the novel’s climax as his friend Boxer is driven off to the â€Å"knackers† in a truck the other animals believe to be transporting him to the vet. â€Å"Fools! Fools!† he shouts furiously, â€Å"Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?† The animals can’t read the writing of course, but Benjamin could all along, as he could read Animal Farm’s constitution being changed overnight. Benjamin saw the dark path that the revolution was taking and in its early phases had the ability to turn it around. But the apathy he showed landed all of animal farm manipulated and trapped in a position where resistance  was futile and the pigs could rule with an iron fist. Benjamin was cynical with his belief that â€Å"Life would go on as it had always gone on – that is, badly† but in the same way he was a realist, as in the end of animal farm things di d continue as they always had – badly. It is questionable whether Animal Farm’s revolution, and the revolution of its allegory counterpart would have reached a different outcome in Benjamin, and those smart enough to sense the corruption had discarded their apathy and made their awareness known. V for Vendetta similarly deals with the concept of public apathy in the face of social injustice. Set in a future dystopian England, where a totalitarian government has come to power and dominates all aspects of their citizen’s lives, the film’s protagonist â€Å"V† addresses the masses to stir guilt and inspiration in the hearts of the masses in a public service announcement. On a velvet backdrop to the sound of a nationalistic anthem, he speaks powerfully in a direct mid shot behind a podium to enforce the power of his speech. He outlines the myriad of problems plaguing England in an uncensored speech the likes of which many people in London hadn’t heard since the rise of the Norsefire party, and after asking the rhetorical question of â€Å"How did this happen?† answers â€Å"truth be told†¦if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror†. V blames the oppressed for letting themselves reach their situation with hopes for gaining order in a world of instability. V for Vendetta’s dystopian London fell to the control of the â€Å"Norsefire† dictatorship by letting itself sacrifice liberty in hopes of safety from unknown threats. The context in which V for Vendetta was created is reflected in the film; a wave of neo-conservative politics had embraced the U.S and Britain under the Bush and Thatcher governments, and it could be seen that post 9/11, xenophobia and prejudice had started to consume and fear monger in society. The film warns of the dark outcome that could eventuate if the populous chose to give in to their fear of the unknown and sacrifice free will for a stable yet domineering establishment. Although diverse in contexts, Animal Farm and V for Vendetta approach the issue of apathy and silence similarly. They both criticise the concept by the portrayal of extremely negative outcomes that lead to create oppressive  dystopias, devoid of free will and justice. Furthermore, Animal Farm and V for Vendetta both deal with the political concepts of propaganda and exploitation in similar ways although hailing from diverse time periods. Animal Farm sees the corruption of an idyllic utopia into and oppressive dictatorship, in which the animals are exploited by their pig oppressors, and influenced strongly by their convincing propaganda. The novel once again aligns itself with factual events that occurred in the midst of the Russian revolution and symbolises them respectively. In the novel, Squealer is â€Å"a brilliant talker† with â€Å"the ability to turn black into white†. The pigs utilize squealer’s persuasive talents to convince the rest of the animals of Napoleons benevolence, justify their monopolization of the farm, and turn Snowball into a public enemy that could be pinned with all of the farm’s failures. Squealer uses the memory and intelligence of the animals against them to exploit them by reinforcing a series of convincing lies, and instilling a powerful maxim; â€Å"four legs good, two legs bad†, in the minds of the less intelligent animals, that could be used as a chant to drown out any logical argument. Squealer’s character corresponds with the Russian newspaper, â€Å"Pravda† which at the time held the power to turn black into white the same way as the pig. George Orwell is making a statement on the power of language to exploit and manipulate the masses in the form of propaganda, and warns us to be critical of political media in light of the events from his life. Similarly, V for Vendetta comments on the media’s power to sway the opinions of the public, and the ways in which governments use it to influence citizens. V for Vendetta is based in a society where free speech is non-existent and censorship washes over all aspects of the media. The single minded force of the media, represented by the bold and domineering â€Å"Voice of London†, allows the government to impose only one â€Å"truth† on the public; only one perspective to any event so that it is the only one to believe. After V’s first November 5th bombing and hijacking of the television station in order to instil hope for a revolution in the populous, Sutler’s government begins to twist and re-fabricate the entire event to make it appear as though V were a terrorist meaning to harm the public. Using  emotive and connotative language; â€Å"A psychotic terrorist†, â€Å"Attacked unarmed civilians†, â€Å"to spread a message of hate†, to attach fear and stigma to the vigilante, whilst glorifying the police force; â€Å"during this heroic raid the terrorist was shot and killed† to inspire loyalty and pride in citizens. The propaganda aims to turn public the public opinion from anarchy to fear and in turn compliance. V for Vendetta was composed at a time in which xenophobia allowed politicians to blame many faults on â€Å"Terrorists† typically associated with people of Muslim belief. The labelling of someone that the government believes to be a social deviant as a â€Å"terrorist† was a solution to political issues, and this can be seen reflectively in V for Vendetta. Both texts, written in entirely different contexts, deal with the issue of propaganda and manipulation, and have been strongly influenced by historical examples of gov ernment use of these political tools. Both texts in their respective contexts suggest that fear incapacitates the masses from revolting against oppression. They suggest that fear cripples the hearts and wills of those it dominates, and convinces it’s victims that nothing is worth fighting for. Animal farm reflects the tyrannical reign of Joseph Stalin, Russia’s communist dictator that controlled his people through a network of fear tactics that among many things entailed the murder of millions of civilians he believed to be â€Å"enemies of the state†. In the Russian revolution, the oppressed became the oppressors; Stalin’s government rose to power on a just and fair cause, but sullied it by becoming an oppressive dictatorship, hardly different to the one that the people primarily fought to escape from. In Animal Farm, violence and the fear of violence bends the animals of the farm into submission; Napoleon orders the mass execution of those conspiring against him, and by its end â€Å"the ai r was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones†. It is ironic that things seem to be just as bad on animal farm as they were in the days of jones, yet Squealer’s propaganda still continues to loom the omnipresent fear of the farmer’s return over their heads as if to say; â€Å"No matter how bad things get, they could never be as bad as they were,† and continually states the rhetorical question â€Å"surely you wouldn’t want jones to come back?†. The Fear of Jones’s return keeps the animals of the farm in submission, and once discarded the animals become  capable of great deeds. Major’s speech inspires and motivates the animals to stand up to their oppressor, by morphing their fear into fury. He does this by declaring that once Benjamin becomes too old he will be sent to the â€Å"knackers†. Orwell criticises fear’s power to cripple and paralyse and suggests that once discarded, people become capable of great feats of justice. Animal Farm expresses the representation o f fear and its ability to cripple by aligning it with the contextual events of the Russian revolution. V for Vendetta addresses the concept of fear and violence in a very similar way in its representation of the totalitarian state of England under the â€Å"Norsefire† party. In light of recent events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the film details an alternate timeline in which the western world has let governments turn their fear of the unknown against them, and let them unwittingly sacrifice their liberty for promises of stability and freedom. The â€Å"Norsefire† government uses threats of terrorism and disease to reduce the populace into a state of fear, and convince them that they â€Å"need† the government in order to protect them from the outside world, when in fact all they want is absolute power. An example of the Norsefire government’s use of fear to manipulate the public is when they feel their power slipping away in favour of the masked revolutionary â€Å"V† High Chancellor Sutler says â€Å"what we need right now is a clear messag e to the people of this country this message must be read in every newpaper heard on every radio and seen on every television, I want everyone to realize how close we stand to the edge of oblivion. I want every man woman and child to know how close we are to chaos. I want everyone to remember why the need us!† The message resounds with a series of dreamatic television reports showing the chaos of the outside world, water shortage, civil war, disease. The reports however fail to influence public opinion, as they have already been convinced by V that the government will lie excessively to prove their points. V for Vendetta’s representation of the governments use of fear tactics to attempt to persuade public opinions and elude from real issues resonates with political ploys used to convince the public of the threat of terrorism in the early 2000’s by the Bush and Thatcher governments. When support from the public was needed to justify the invasion of Iraq, they used the media to fear monger and persuade the masses. The contexts of animal farm and V for Vendetta deal  similarly with the issue of fear and it’s use by governments to coerce the public.

Market Outlooks Simbrand

PRACTICE ROUND European demand is already at a good level. The annual demand growth is estimated to be between 30 and 100% annually, depending on the segment. In the Asian market the demand level currently is low, but the growth is expected to be even higher than in Europe. In both Europe and Asia the growth will be fastest during the next couple of years, after which the growth is likely to slow down. In any case, the consensus among analysts is that the growth rates will be positive for several years to come. The high-end segments in both the consumer and company segments play a major role in the first years. Later on, with market penetration, the low-end segments might well dominate the sales volumes. Because PDAs are still rather unfamiliar products especially among low-end segments, and since the companies are new and thus unknown, it is important to think carefully about advertising and channel investment decisions. Advertising and channel investments have a long-term effect on demand and therefore, it might be rather risky to neglect these areas of the marketing mix completely. Finally, the group’s financial officers as well as executives of the production company have emphasized the importance of accurate sales forecasts. Budgets are useless if forecasted sales are far from reality, which usually decreases the quality of decisions significantly. In addition, production facilities’ output is preliminarily planned according to the forecasts. Large adjustments required in case of poor forecasts result in increased unit costs. ROUND 1 European demand is already at a good level. The annual demand growth is estimated to be between 30 and 100% annually, depending on the segment. In the Asian market the demand level currently is low, but the growth is expected to be even higher than in Europe. In both Europe and Asia the growth will be fastest during the next couple of years, after which the growth is likely to slow down. In any case, the consensus among analysts is that the growth rates will be positive for several years to come. The high-end segments in both the consumer and company segments play a major role in the first years. Later on, with market penetration, the low-end segments might well dominate the sales volumes. Because PDAs are still rather unfamiliar products especially among low-end segments, and since the companies are new and thus unknown, it is important to think carefully about advertising and channel investment decisions. Advertising and channel investments have a long-term effect on demand and therefore, it might be rather risky to neglect these areas of the marketing mix completely. Finally, the group’s financial officers as well as executives of the production company have emphasized the importance of accurate sales forecasts. Budgets are useless if forecasted sales are far from reality, which usually decreases the quality of decisions significantly. In addition, production facilities’ output is preliminarily planned according to the forecasts. Large adjustments required in case of poor forecasts result in increased unit costs. ROUND 2 The total sales of PDAs in Europe are expected to grow hundreds of %. Growth will be fastest among the low-end segments. However, the price elasticity of these segments is rather high and thus the availability of cheaper models with reasonable features has a significant impact on the realized growth. The demand growth estimates for Asia seem even more promising than for Europe. In Asia, the market is still clearly dominated by high-end segments. By offering new high-tech models the companies can create more demand. Competence indices started to grow from the starting point of 100 but some analysts are waiting to see products with compactness and battery life ranging in between 105 – 110 this year. However, the production line cost of 3. 5 Mâ‚ ¬ is high considering the rather small size of the markets at the moment. This will certainly limit the enthusiasm in launching new models with nice new features. On the other hand, using the latest technology, that the R&D investments in the previous period have created, decreases the risk that products become obsolete rapidly. Therefore, new advanced products brought to markets now might turn out to be very successful in the long run. If companies decide to launch new products, they have to be sure that their products are not too close to each other in terms of features. Similarity causes the products to cannibalize each other. The financial market is turning cautious and more risk averse. The interest rates for start-ups are skyrocketing to two-digit figures. Companies are hit as soon as they run out of equity. ROUND 3 The adoption of PDAs is still accelerating in both market areas. Most analysts forecast that the stage of rapid growth is going to last for at least a couple of years, but later on the proportional growth will probably decrease. In addition, Asian growth figures are estimated to be constantly bigger than the European ones. PDA markets in Asia have undergone significant structural changes as low-end segments have gained a foothold in a relatively short period. What is more, it seems that the growth of low-end segments is mainly attributable to the areas associated with the lowest standard of living in the world. Companies are able to produce the same products they offered last year at a lower cost. This is partly due to economies of scale. In addition, lower costs are a result of knowledge improvements, i. e. as competence indices increase the earlier models can be produced more efficiently. Even though the low-end segments have become more and more important, companies cannot afford to cut R&D investments considerably. High-end segments are willing to pay more for innovative models and as a result they are going to be important especially in monetary terms in the future. The size of new PDAs is already very reasonable. Nowadays, the typical frontal area of a high-end device is largely covered by the display and further decreases in size will probably not be appreciated as much as previously. The components have also been pushed to very small sizes. As a result of rapidly growing PDA markets, the economies of scale factor has been decreasing the unit costs along with the increase in the technological know-how resulting from the R&D efforts. Interest rates remain at high levels. Therefore, interest payments might become a significant burden for highly leveraged companies. ROUND 4 As estimated in the previous period, the PDA markets in both continents continue to grow rapidly. Due to the vast population in Eastern Asia, the Asian households should grow to be the biggest segment even in global terms at the end of this period. However, the high price sensitivity of the segment will probably lead to low unit margins resulting in high growth at the expense of profit margins. Moreover, the high-end segments seem to be rather saturated and the increase in sales is about to stall to the level of repurchases. The differences in the Asian segments seem to continue to be larger than the differences in the European segments. This holds for all the preferences. What is more, the price sensitivities of the Asian segments are very different. As the number of models available in the markets has increased, the design has become a more important determinant of demand. This trend is prevailing in Europe. Comprehensive market research carried out in Europe revealed a challenging matter related to avant-garde design. High-end segments seem to appreciate avant-garde even more than before. However, some of the low-end customers reacted rather negatively to the design. Interest rates are at the same level as in the previous round. ROUND 5 As estimated, the growth of demand for PDAs has decelerated in both market areas. The deceleration of growth will turn into negative figures in high-end segments. However, the demand of low-end segments in both Europe and Asia might still grow at the rate of 100 %. As demand growth among all segments has been above 70 % in the recent years, these pessimistic scenarios bring about new challenges for the management in the future. Advertising seems to have a bigger effect on consumer segments than on corporate segments. The consumers’ response to advertising is approximately twice the response of the corporate segments according to the latest consumer research reports. Central banks all over the world have decreased their steering rates in order to lessen the severity of a threatening recession. As a result the interest rate level has decreased significantly. Moreover, the companies in the industry are now financially sound. The risk premium in the rates is decreasing. ROUND 6 The stage of rapid growth seems to be over in both Europe and Asia. Demand for PDAs is still growing globally but the growth rates are far from what they used to be. What is more, the long-term forecasts show that demand growth is going to slow down continuously as the markets mature further. However, the total size of both markets is rather large as a result of the rapid growth in previous years. Therefore, companies with satisfactory market shares should be able to earn nice profits. The high-end segments seem to appreciate functions, perhaps more than expected. Therefore, an extensive set of functions is required from the most popular models. As a result, the importance of functions is expected to grow gradually among low-end segments as well. However, the cost of adding functions is estimated to increase as the demand for them increases globally and the specific components become scarce. Interest rates continue to decrease. However, the difference between current and last round’s level is not very significant. Excluding the function-specific components (digital camera lenses, headsets, 3G-technology etc. ), the material costs should decrease as the most important manufacturers have managed to increase production capacity considerably. ROUND 7 The total demand for PDAs is still growing globally. The industry has clearly reached a stage of maturity and as a result, a significant growth in sales can only be achieved by increasing market share. Since typical devices are now characterized by large displays and advanced multimedia features, improving battery life and saving electricity consumption have become more challenging. The state of the world economy is rather unchanged and the interest rates are at the previous round’s level ROUND 8 Total Global growth rate is about the turn into negative figures, the competition for market share is expected to intensify. The number of products available has increased in both markets and as a result, the risk of similar products cannibalizing each other has become very real. Therefore, companies that manage to find new and innovative combinations of features might sell lots of devices at good prices. The most important piece of news of this period relates to the components. New double-core technology introduced by the two biggest manufacturers is going to revolutionize the processing speed, size and power usage of the devices in the near future. Therefore, investments in R&D are expected to produce new competences more efficiently than ever before. What is more, the new components are cheaper to manufacture and as a result, production costs are expected to remain at the current level for the next few years and to decrease after this. Economies in Asia are growing rapidly after the recent recession and thus, the interest rates might increase slightly. However, there are still many uncertainties in the world’s economy, for example, high unemployment in the EU and skyrocketing debt levels in the USA. ROUND 9 Despite the expected economic upturn, unemployment is still at high levels in most of the European countries. In addition, both consumer and business confidence indices have reached a decade low. Mostly as a result of these economic factors, the aggregate demand of PDAs in Europe is estimated to decrease for the first time in history. Households are the only segment that is associated with growth in demand. However, the price level has a large effect on the development and the realized demand might be somewhat different from these forecasts. In Asia on the other hand, the rapid economic growth continues and as a result, according to the analysts, the demand for PDAs continues to grow. The new generation of components has rapidly replaced the old ones. Companies are expected to launch several new models with advanced features. According to recent market information, the high-end segments in Asia are highly appreciative of the latest technology. The component prices have decreased earlier than expected. The development is going to be reflected in the unit costs already in this period. Interest rates continue to increase mostly because of the favorable economic development in Asia. ROUND 10 As the markets have matured and competition has become ever tougher, especially in Europe market demand for PDA’s has substantially decreased. This put an increased emphasis on marketing, features and price of the product. The overall appreciation of entertainment and good looks is still strong among households as is security for the corporations. According to market analysts, the weak European market development will most likely continue next year and now would be the time to consolidate one’s market position especially in Asia. Even though Asian market development was better than in Europe they too are expected to decrease more drastically next year. Analysts also predict a further reduction in sales next year due to the fact that second hand products are expected to come available in masses. As the broader market becomes more stable, mainly due to the strict interest rate policies of the largest central banks, and as the size of PDA market decreases material prices reach a new low. The decrease in material and manufacturing prices partly offsets the decrease in sales figures. Central banks fearing market overheating in Asia have yet increased their interest rates creating some financial trouble for the highly levered companies.

Extended Kalman Filter Model for Gps and Indoor Positioning System

Extended Kalman Filter Model for GPS and Indoor Positioning System Long Kam-Kim Department of Telecommunications Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering HCM City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tuan Do-Hong Department of Telecommunications Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering HCM City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Abstract – Object positioning is an old subject. It’s being used more and more in many areas, especially in military, traffic, social security and civil services.The most popular positioning system in the world is Global Positioning System (GPS). However, GPS has limited degree of accuracy for low priority users. This paper proposes a solution for solving these limitations by using Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Moreover, GPS is almost invalid in indoor environments. The paper also introduces an indoor positioning system model based on GPS ideology and EKF algorithm. Beca use of the similarity in ideology, it’s easier for handoff procedure between outdoor and indoor environments and brings back the spatial continuous in positioning.The simulation results show that with the EKF, the accuracy of positioning is improved significantly in both outdoor and indoor environments. Keywords- GPS, Kalman filter, RFID, RSSI, EKF, indoor positioning. I. INTRODUCTION II. EKF MODEL FOR GPS Generally, Kalman algorithm is a group of mathematical equations described an efficient recurrence method for state estimation of process that it is optimal in the sense that it minimizes the estimated error covariance, when some presumed conditions are met [2]. EKF is an extension of Kalman filter for non-linear systems.A. Global Positioning System (GPS) In order to positioning, it requested that user’s receivers get signals from at least 4 GPS satellites. Distances between user and satellites are determined by using pseudorange code. At the same time, satellites an d receiver transmit a same pseudorange code. Because of propagation delay, signal received from satellites have phases delay than signal of receiver. By compared their phase, the distances can calculate. This method is called Time of Arrival (TOA). [1] B. Problem ExpressionPositioning based on GPS is affected by many noise sources, such as propagated errors, satellite and receiver caused errors, other errors from Selective Availability, dilution of precision, interference etc [1]. Several techniques are used to improve the accuracy of positioning in GPS, for example, DGPS (Differential GPS), Smart Antenna, Kalman Filter etc. This paper focuses on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) solution, in order to introduce one way to model GPS system and sources of error. Nowadays, positioning applications in indoor environment are being extended.Especially, it becomes necessary in tunnels, supper huge plants, very high buildings, etc. The paper introduces a kind of Indoor Positioning System based o n GPS’s ideology and using EKF algorithm to help this system improve the accuracy of positioning. Assume that GPS system is tracking a mobile object. It is a uniform speed motion in 3D space with attendance of random acceleration events. GPS receiver puts on object updates its position continuously. However, the location is affected by measurement noises and propagation noises.Therefore, the calculating position and the real position are different. In order to improve the accuracy of position, we use EKF to model system and noises so that it diminishes the effect of noises. C. Modeling of system Defining the sate vector of system as follow: ? RX ( n ) ? ? RY ( n ) ? ? ? ? RZ ( n ) ? X (n) = ? ? ? VX ( n ) ? ?VY ( n ) ? ? ? ?VZ ( n ) ? where RX(n),RY(n),RZ(n) are coordinates of user at nth sample, VX(n), VY(n), VZ(n)) are x, y, z – components of user’s velocity at nth sample.Following [3], the characteristic equations for system can be extended as RX(n+1) = RX(n) + VX(n)T + ax(n)T 2 RY(n+1) = RY(n) + VY(n)T + ay(n)T 2 RZ(n+1) = RZ(n) + VZ(n)T + az(n)T 2 VX(n+1) = VX(n) + ax(n)T VY(n+1) = VY(n) + ay(n)T VZ(n+1) = VZ(n) + az(n)T (1) (2) (3) (4) where VX(n), VY(n), VZ(n)) are x, y, z – components of user’s velocity at nth sample, bf = ? bu/? t, dPRi is called delta-pseudorange correlated with user and ith satellite. [4] In order to reducing effect of errors, the EKF is used to model state noise vectors and measurement noise vectors.After characteristic matrixes are calculated, EKF iteration loops are started. The EKF algorithm will calculate estimation of the state vector by minimizing the estimated error covariance (between estimated values and real values). D. Simulation results for outdoor-EKF GPS Data for simulation on Matlab7. 8. 0(R2009a) †¢ †¢ †¢ User’s initial velocity: (3,6,2) meters/second Sampling rate: 1000 samples/second Iteration steps: 500 Process noise vector: W = 5* NORMRND (0, 500, 3, 1) Pr ocess noise variance: Q = 50* eye (3) Measurement noise vector: V = 5 * NORMRND (0, 500, 2, 1) Measurement noise variance: R = 50 * eye (2) (5) (6) here ax(n), ay(n), az(n) represent acceleration events at nth sample ( it is referred to state noises or process noises). According to [4], User’s positions are determined base on distances between user and four satellites. PRi= +bu, i=1,2,3,4 (7) †¢ Fig. 1 shows the simulation results for Lagrange iteration and EKF iteration compared with the true position values. In geographic coordinates, PRi is the distance between the user and the ith satellite, (SXi,SYi,SZi) are coordinates of ith satellite, (RX,RY,RZ) are coordinates of the user; bu=c. t with t is receiver clock offset compared to GPS time and c is the speed of light.PRis are determined by GPS’s receiver. Coordinates of satellites are obtained by decoding satellite report, while (RX, RY, RZ) and bu are unknowns. With system of equations (7) above, the root [RX,R Y,RZ,bu,] can be calculated by using Lagrange iteration [4]. However, measurement values PRi are affected by noises (measurement noises). Therefore the root of system of equations is not accuracy. After differentiating equations (7), we obtain dPRi = (RX ? SXi)? RX + (RY ? SYi)? RY + (RZ ? SZi)? RZ (RX ? SXi)2 + (RY ? SYi)2 + (RZ ? SZi)2 + ? bu = (RX ? SXi). VRX +(RY ? SYi). VRY +(RZ ?SZi). VRZ +bf PRi ? bu Figure 1. Simulate tracking User’s trajectory in outdoor environment (8) In Fig. 1, red curve simulates user’s motion,Green curve simulates calculated trajectory of user receiver without EKF, blue curve simulates calculated trajectory of user receiver in EKF model. Based on GPS’s ideology, this paper introduces an indoor positioning model using EKF, called Indoor-EKF GPS. Indoor-EKF GPS is hoped that it makes over easier with GPS, in such a way, we just use a handle equipment to keep the continuous positioning while moving between indooroutdoor environments.I n Fig. 3, an arranged system of equipments in space can be recognized as pseudo-satellites. Indoor spaces are complicated environments for wave propagation. Distances between user and pseudo-satellites cannot be determined using TOA technique like in outdoor GPS. Here, TOA technique is replaced by RSS (Received Signal Strength) technique. This technique measures the path loss and calculates the distance between source and receiver. Figure 2. Errors in outdoor positioning. Red points: positioning errors without EKF. Green points: positioning errors in EKF model.Comments on simulation results: †¢ The maximum error is about 5 meters in case using EKF model, whereas 25 meters in case without EKF. Trajectory of user receiver in EKF model is closer to trajectory of user’s motion than trajectory of user receiver without EKF. The average estimation error of EKF is very small than without EKF case. However, several points in curve are under suddenly changing errors. Figure 3. Ind oor positioning system. †¢ According to IEEE 802. 11 recommended channel model, the relation between free space path loss and distance d in breakpoint radius is given by [5] LFS(d) = L0 + 10? 1lg(d), 0 < d ? BP (9) †¢ According to the result, it shows that the positioning errors are reduced significantly. III. A. INDOOR POSITIONING SYSTEM where ? 1 is called distance-power-gradient up to breakpoint distance dBP, Lo represents the path loss in decibels at one meter distance. The overall path los for any distance is modeled as [5] Indoor-EKF GPS Recent years, indoor environment has been extended so that indoor positioning demands are extended, too. Furthermore, it becomes necessary in tunnels, supper huge plants, very high buildings etc, and giving convenient for absent minder when household equipments are positioning.However, GPS is almost invalid in indoor environment. The reason is that GPS signal has low power. Even GPS signal can be received, the error positioning of GP S is not appropriate with Indoor applications. ?LFS (d ) +W, d ? dBP ? L(d ) = ? ? d ? ?LFS (dBP ) +10? 2 lg ? d ? +W, d > dBP ? BP ? ? (10) where ? 2 is distance-power-gradient over break-point distance dBP. It’s required at least four distances form user to pseudosatellites are determined for calculating the user’s coordinates. Fig. 4 shows calculation process for user position. Figure 6. The second model. Figure 4. User’s coordinates calculation.B. In the next section, the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology will be used to implement this system. There are two implementation models: The first model: (Fig. 5) The RFID active chips are pseudo-satellites, and readers will be used as GPS’s receivers. Modeling of system Definition of the sate vector and the characteristic equations for system are similar with outdoor case above. However, because of difference on distances calculating method, equation (7) and equation (8) are not used here. This equation below is replaced equation (7) LPi=L0 + 10? lg (di) , i=1? 4 (11) here di is distance between user and ith pseudo-satellite, LPi is value of path loss on distance di. W appears as representative of noises and interferences. Here, we assume that it is Gaussian distribution, ? is distance-power-gradient (we have not examined its change yet. Here, we assume that it is constant). After differentiating equations (11), we obtain dLPi = Figure 5. The first model. 10? ( RX ? SRXi ). VX + ( RY ? SRYi). VY + ( RZ ? SRZi). VZ . ln10 di 2 + ? Wi , i=1,2,3,4 (12) The RFID active chips will transmit these data to readers: †¢ †¢ †¢ The chip’s coordinates (in local coordinates) and its identification.The nominal value of transmitting power. The parameters in IEEE 802. 11 that supporting to correct distance measurements in each specific environment. where (SXi,SYi,SZi) are coordinates of ith pseudo-satellite, (RX,RY,RZ)are coordinates of the user, VX, VY, VZ are x, y, z – components of user’s velocity, dLPi means the variation of path loss on distance di . We imply that the values are taken at nth sample. C. Simulation results for indoor-EKF GPS Data for simulation on Matlab7. 8. 0(R2009a) The second model: (Fig. 8) The RFID active chips will be attached to users. Users will move in space that arranged with RFID readers.These readers will be connected to data fusion center. This center will determine user’s coordinates and send the result to user’s receiver by other channel link. †¢ †¢ †¢ User’s initial velocity: (1,2,1) meters/second Sampling rate: 1000 samples/second Iteration steps: 500 Process noise vector: W = 5* NORMRND (0, 120, 3, 1) Process noise variance: Q = 50* eye (3) †¢ Measurement noise vector: V = 5 * NORMRND (0, 0. 4, 2, 1) Measurement noise variance: R = eye (8) This simulation was repeated 100 times. †¢ The maximum error is about 0. 5 meters in case using EKF model, wh ereas 4. 5 meters in case without EKF.Trajectory of user receiver in EKF model is not closed to trajectory of user’s motion correlative with appreciably positioning error. However the error reduces very quickly by exponential curve. The average estimation error of EKF is very small than without EKF case. However, several points in curve are under suddenly changing errors. IV. CONCLUSION Fig. 7 shows the simulation results for Newton iteration and EKF iteration compared with the true position values. †¢ †¢ In positioning systems, the accuracy of positioning is very important. It must be appropriated with the positioning applications.The paper recommends one way to improve the accuracy of positioning using the EKF. The results of simulations show that the EKF reduce effect of noises on the accuracy of positioning significantly in both outdoor and indoor positioning systems. The Indoor-EKF GPS system is a suggestion model for the future indoor positioning. It is easy f or implementation and expansion, since RFID is very popular and cheap today. Moreover, the Indoor-EKF GPS system has the same structure with GPS system, wherefore the handle equipment can be designed to keep the continuous positioning while moving between indoor-outdoor environments.REFERENCES [1]. Ahmed EI-Rabbany, â€Å"Introduction to GPS†, Artech House, Inc, ISBN 1-58053-183-0, 2002, pp. 13-25,2741. [2]. Grey Welch and Gary Bishop, â€Å"An introduction to the Kalman filter†, Technical Report TR 95-041, 2001. [3]. Jorge Quijano, â€Å"Estimation of the position of a moving target using Extended Kalman Filter†,term paper for the class ECE 510 Statistical Signal Processing, winter 2006. [4]. James Bao-Yen TSui, â€Å"Fundamentals of Global Positioning System Receivers: A Software Approach†, John Wiley & Sons , Inc, ISBN 0-471-20054-9, 2000, pp. 9-15, 230-231. [5].Ahmad Hatami, â€Å"Application of Channel Modeling for Indoor Location Using TOA and RSSà ¢â‚¬ , PhD Thesis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2006, pp. 14-19. Figure 8. Errors in indoor positioning. Figure 7. Simulate tracking User’s trajectory in indoor environment. In Fig. 7, red curve simulates user’s motion, green curve simulates calculated trajectory of user receiver without EKF, blue curve simulates calculated trajectory of user receiver in EKF model. Red points: positioning errors without EKF. Green points: positioning errors in EKF model. Comments on simulation results:

Cold War History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cold War History - Research Paper Example The world quickly turned into polarized and bipolar. Fourth, two superpowers appeared in the world with military and economic power which gave them a significant advantage over the others. Plus, the interests of Western countries in different parts of the globe began to come up against the interests of the Soviet Union. The new political conditions, formed after World War II, were quickly understood by Churchill, who announced the new realia and called them the Cold War1. The defeat of such powerful monsters as Germany and Japan testified that the balance of power in the world was changed. The Allied forces of the Four Powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France occupied the territory of Germany and Austria in accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference. The political influence of the Soviet Union extended to Poland, part of Germany, occupied by Soviet forces, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania. Though the country was exhausted by war, it badly needed to recover economic and human resources, it still had the most powerful and experienced army of about 11 million soldiers2. On the other hand, the U.S. became the dominant global power after the Second World War, which has enormous economic, air, sea and nuclear power. As a result of the effective strategy the United States increased the gross national product by 1.7 times (excluding inflation) during the war and lost only 300 thousand soldiers. The U.S. dollar became the most stable currency and New York - the largest financial market in the world. The country quickly overcame inflation, raised wages and had the world’s highest productivity. Economic power of the United States, its industrial and financial expansion, contributed to the fact that the United States got the role of global hegemon3. Growing distrust among the former Allies led to the fact that the countries of Western Europe and the U.S. joined forces against the USSR. The Soviet Union, i n an effort to protect its borders, created a kind of a buffer of the countries which formed pro-Soviet government after the war. Thus, the world was divided into two camps: capitalist and socialist. Both established the so-called systems of collective security - military blocs. On 4 April 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty was signed and the world saw a new military organization - NATO, which included the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. In May, 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed as a countermeasure. It included (that year) Albania (later, in 1968, it denounced the pact), Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, USSR, Czechoslovakia. The polarization of the world was over4. The created coalitions, led by their leaders, began to struggle for influence in third world countries. One of the most memorable results of the Cold War is Arms Race Its start was related to atomic weapons. In 1945 the United States was the only nuclear power in the world. Hiroshima and Nagasaki got â€Å"i nformed† about that. That strategic superiority fostered the U.S. military begin to build a variety of plans of pre-emptive strikes on the Soviet Union. But the American monopoly on nuclear weapons remained only four years. In 1949 the USSR tested its first atomic bomb. This event was a real shock to the Western world and an important milestone of the Cold War.

Employee At Will Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employee At Will - Research Paper Example re, it cannot allow any of its employees to endanger or compromise the lives of its employees or its customers through show of certain symptoms and behavior that are characteristic of using marijuana medical or otherwise. The labor laws provide for employee protection as well as maintenance of workplace safety by the employers. By having an employee working in this company who uses marijuana, the company would be breaking the labor laws mentioned above (United States Department of Labor, 2014). We however admit that there are questions we should have asked Mr. Casis before termination of his employment. One of these questions is how long he has been using the medical marijuana and what time he has been using it. He other questions that should have been asked should be what the side effects he experiences when he used this drug and how long they usually last. He should be asked to document evidence of his use of the drug as well as how often he uses it. All these should have been compared with his workplace performance and behavior since he first started using the drug to collect enough evidence that he is a risk factor to the well-being and safety of the employees and customers. The termination of Mr. Casias employment was rather sudden, rushed and unjustified. The correct channels normally used before an employee is fired were never used. The first question to ask the employer was what how they got to know about his use of medical marijuana which was prescribed by his physicians and employee health records are rather confidential. The other is on what evidence they had of his use of the drug. Did Mr. Casis portray any erratic behavior or other negative symptoms normally associated with the use of marijuana medical or otherwise? If so, what is the evidence of that behavior and how did the behavior affect his performance at work. Before any employee is fired he needs to have breached workplace code of performance and in this case, Wal-Mart did not provide the

Human rights in armed conflict and the relationship between Essay

Human rights in armed conflict and the relationship between international criminal law and international use of force, and the r - Essay Example This paper will examine the legal framework within which the human rights of individuals and territorial rights of nations around the world is critically examined. The paper will examine the research question, the reconciliation of national sovereignty and non-intervention with humanitarian intervention to preserve human rights. To this end, the research will examine the position of national sovereignty and the prevention of military intervention as posited by UN law against humanitarian interventions. This will involve a critique of international laws and the prevention of military intervention. The limits of military intervention in areas like humanitarian intervention and the right to protect as defined in international law and its justification for intervention. International Law Against Interventions The United Nations was formed in 1945 as a response to the large scale human rights violations and destruction that came with World War II1. The primary essence of the UN was to ens ure that nations were created and structured in a way and manner that they would serve the real and true interests of the citizens and people it serves, not interest groups and individuals who had selfish interests. The United Nations came up with different views and different efforts to prevent foreign aggression and international wars that could potentially destroy nations and cause large-scale wars and destruction. This was done through the formation of the UN charter that created a context of a â€Å"family of nations† that were required to deal with issues and matters according to universal standards preserved by the United Nations which became the basis for international law and the foundation of international relations2. One of the approaches for achieving international peace was through a system of guaranteeing the rights of different nations around the world. This way, there was the guarantee that foreign nations could not just invade weaker nations as it was in the two World Wars. The two World Wars and other wars that created major regional and continental destabilization like the Napoleonic wars were because nations rose up against other nations. So the UN found it necessary to create laws that were meant to negate and prevent other nations from attaching others. Some of the core rules and core regulations of the UN were integrated into the UN Charter. The UN Charter was meant to create the framework for the regulation of nations. Thus, Article 1 of the UN Charter set the preamble of the United Nations, its composition and values. However, Article 2 moved to set out the core and fundamental principles that defined the UN. Article 2(4) of the UN stated explicitly that: â€Å"All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations†3 This article indicates that the UN renders international aggression by one nation against another through the use of force as illegal. This is because the UN needed a framework to define the interactions of nations. Hence, the article makes it illegal and wrong for any nation to rise against another through military force or violence. Another angle through which Article 2(4) can be critiqued is on the grounds of preserving the territorial sovereignty of

Growing online gambling industry and its effects socially, Research Paper

Growing online gambling industry and its effects socially, economically - Research Paper Example Instant messaging has replaced the meet-and-greet sessions that were always held as part of family tradition (Powers 45). To add salt to an injury, the most socially revered types of gaming, gambling, was introduced into the virtual world. People were allowed to take their gambling into the virtual world with loads of money at stake and with addiction becoming a key concern amongst several social researchers (Gainsbury 21). The internet then led to an increase in the number of gambling options that an individual could ascribe to with each improvement making betting more lucrative and enticing to people. Research shows that approximately 8 million people participated in online gambling in the year 2001 with the exponential growth expected to hit a higher percentile in the forthcoming years (Shaffer and Hall 169). Despite a myriad of legislations being passed, gambling has become a lucrative business with more people joining and more side effects being felt by those who are around the players. The report herein will seek to identify any social and economic side effects that have resulted with the continued growth of online gambling in the world and what legislations have been put in place to check such increases. To start with, gambling is defined as the waging of money or anything that may of material value based on an event and its outcome. It requires one to bet and thus forfeit the placed bet in case the outcome of the event is on the contrary. The main intent of all those placing their bets is to win with the stakes depending on how the outcome is. Thus, the fact that it has been allowed to go on by the increasing number of laws and betting sites on gambling, means that it has been accepted as a legal way of doing things and has to be conducted according to the gaming rules (Powers 50). The internet brought about the virtual connectivity of each player and made it easier for people to gamble from closed doors and in the comfort of their own homes. It has