A Review On Fleet Management Systems Information Technology Essay

A Review On Fleet Management Systems Information Technology Essay Management system of companys vehicles fleet with the help of commercial motor vehicles such as cars, vans, and trucks constitutes fleet management. The word fleet here refers to vehicle and a range of functions such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telemetric (taking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health safety management. The companies whose businesses are based on transportation are helped by this system in a no of ways as: Removing or minimize the risks associated vehicle investment. Improving efficiency and productivity. Reducing overall costs of transportation and staff. In house fleet management department or an outsourced fleet management provided deal with these functions. Automatic vehicle locating tracking (AVLT) system Automatic vehicle locating tracking (AVLT) is a system through which the position of the vehicle can be located easily at any place in the earth at any point of time at any weather also with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). Usage: This navigational system is commonly used in: Public Transport Many company management system like Fleet management Inventory management Logistic management etc. It also helps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in service as well as cost. Types of technology used: This system uses different technologies for functioning e.g. RFID technology, GIS-GPS based technology. Global positioning system (GPS) The space based global navigation satellite system providing reliable location and time information in all weather and at anytime and anywhere on or near the earth when and where there is an unobstructed line of sight to 4 or more GPS satellite called global positioning system (GPS). This system established in 1973. It was created and realized by U.S department of defense (DOD) and is maintained by U.S government originally run with 24 satellites. It was established to overcome limitations of previous navigation system. Anyone with GPS receiver can freely access it. Usage: Today GPS is taken as a dual-use technology having applications both in military project originally. For commerce and scientific uses tracking and surveillance it has become a widely used and useful tool. Banking, mobile phone operations, control of power grids and other every activity are facilitated by GPSs accurate timing. Because of this system efficient, safe, economic and accurate work is being performed by farmers, surveyors, geologists and others. There are three basic components: absolute location, relative movement and time transfer that are used in civilian applications. Surveying: Surveyors use absolute locations to make maps and determine property boundaries Map-making used by both civilian and military cartographers use GPS extensively. Navigation Navigators digitally precise velocity and orientation measurements are valued by navigator. Cellular telephony: GPS/cellular position detection for  mobile emergency calls  and other applications. Tectonics: direct fault motion measurement in  earthquakes is enabled by GPS. Disaster relief/emergency services: To know location and timing capabilities. GPS is used by these services. GPS tours: content to display; for instance, information about an approaching point of interest is displayed is determined by location. Geofencing:  Vehicle tracking systems, person tracking systems, and  pet tracking  systems use GPS to locate a vehicle, person, or pet. These devices attach to the vehicle, person, or the pet collar. The application provides 24/7 tracking and mobile or Internet updates should the tracker leave a designated area. Recreation: geocaching,  geodashing,  GPS drawing  and  way marking GPS Aircraft Tracking Geotagging: For purposes such as photographs and creating map overlays location coordinates are applied to digital object and other documents respectively. However there are only few GPS enabled digital camera. How GPS works: GPS consists of three parts: space segment, control segment User segment. The space and control segments are developed, maintained and operated by U.S Air Force. Each GPS receiver uses to calculate its three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus the current time using broadcasted from space through GPS satellite. A master control station, an alternate master control station, and a host of dedicated and shared ground antennas and monitor stations constitute control segment. Geographical Information System (GIS) Any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to location is called Geographical Information System (GIS). It is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology. Google is the most common example which consist data and captured image of locations and shows corresponding location on user screen for which longitude latitude are mentioned. USAGE: cartography,   remote sensing,   land surveying, public utility  management   natural resource management geography urban planning   emergency management   navigation   Localized search engines. Working of Automatic Vehicle Locating Tracking (AVLT) System The system uses computer technology for primarily for tracking vehicles, freight system and automobiles. The information about real-time position of vehicle to a control system is passed on through signals send out by tracking device already attached to vehicle. Among several techniques available for determining the position and transmitting it, the selection of technique to be actually used depends upon the requirements. The position information is stored in a device for a specific period, which could be anything from a few seconds to some minutes. The information is send out by device either in the raw form (electronic signals) or as processed information. Transit agencies often use AVLT systems in combination with computer-aided dispatch, mobile data terminals and emergency alarms for improving passenger services, in real-time passenger information, automatic passenger counters and automated fare payment  systems. Purposes like automatic stop announcements, automated destination signs, monitoring vehicle components and prioritizing traffic signals can also use AVLT system for functioning. Diagram below illustrates representative working of GPS based AVLT system. Advantages of AVLT The AVLT has the following advantages: AVLT is used by Transit agencies for enhancing optimum utilization of fleet and reducing fuel consumption, labor and capital costs. It helps in improving adherence to schedule and accessing passenger information. Availability of plenty of data enables easier management of transit systems which further accounts for increase in net efficiency and productivity of the systems. Along with increase in operational efficiency, AVL systems ability to predict bus arrival timings in real time also enhances customer service, thus making increased customer service and satisfaction as the greatest benefit of AVL. The analysis of service performance in real time as well as chronologically, enabling system planning and emergency repairs is enabled by Supplementary technologies like automatic passenger counters. A direct link between AVL and increased ridership and revenues is shown in study conducted in 2003. Productivity enhanced- more trips, capital savings due to the ability to better utilize vehicles, maintenance costs reduced and thus general reduction of cost per vehicle Better adherence to schedule, accuracy in monitoring and coordination More number of users and higher user loyalty Need for supervisors and manual  data  entry reduced Ability to control operations and driver performance improved Off-route vehicles are tracked effectively. Improved communication network between drivers, supervisors, operators and other staff. Radio messages are lost in less numbers. Capabilities to inform passengers of bus arrival times improve the quality of service and help the travelers to take better decisions complaints from customers are reduced and thus need for customer information personnel these steps improve overall image of the transit agency The data is more accurate and complete and thus the agency is able to schedule and plan better Preparation time for schedule as well as number of staff required can be reduced. Better bus stop placement Better  security  for driver as well as travelers by enabling faster location of vehicles and response to accidents Better operational decisions towards detours due to sudden developments like bad weather, roadway closings and accidents COSTS FOR AVLT For the on-board device and the control center procurement, installation and software are included in the costs of AVLT. The costs of AVL also include labor costs concerning maintenance and new staff to operate the systems. Depending on the size, number of components and the sophistication of the system AVL systems are available at different prices. Today, there are wide ranges of AVL system models available. The simplest and basic models possess features like GPS/ DGPS AVL that have computerized dispatching, mobile data terminals and silent alarms. Models with highly sophisticated features are also available. For large fleet that needs similar features, as the cost of the central monitoring system is distributed over a larger number of vehicles, these systems workout to be cheaper ones. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review paper is to make a thorough study on: 1 . A review on where AVLT is being used. 2. Name of different service providers of AVLT in India 3. How this useful technology AVLT has helped Indian companies (Citing example of some Indian companies) 4. Effectiveness and trends of AVLT in Indian market 5. The difficulties faced to implement AVLT in large scale. A Review on Where AVLT is being used Transit agencies use AVLT to enhance optimum utilization of fleet and reduce fuel consumption, labor and capital costs. AVLT helps to improve adherence to schedule and access passenger information. With AVL, more data is available and this makes it easier to manage transit systems. The net efficiency and productivity of the systems thus increases. According to Kent Stable, Marketing Manager, Chameleon Direct are suppliers of GPS vehicle tracking systems Vehicle tracking devices can save your business significant amounts of money by providing you with information about inefficient practices that you would not easily be able to find out by any other means. Many problems associated with multi fleet businesses can be ironed out very swiftly when you have the right information. Track and monitor your entire fleets movements with the Automatic Vehicle Location System. An easy to install, implement, and cost efficient solution. Know exactly where your vehicles have been, where they ´re headed, and how fast.- (an advertisement given by Vodafone, India on all time real fleet management system ) Use of AVLT in India abroad Vehicle tracking system in India  is mainly used in transport industry that keeps a real-time track of all vehicles in the fleet. Though there are various GPS software and hardware developing  companies  in India working for tracking solutions, however, its application is not all that popular as in other countries like USA, Japan, Malaysia etc. which regulates the whole GPS network. In India it is mostly used in Indian transport and logistics industry and not much personal vehicle tracking eg. Delhi Transport Corporation , Meru Cabs. In a call-taxi operation, tracking the location of each available taxi in real-time is extremely critical. It would not be possible to scale up beyond 200-300 taxis with manual tracking, with the use of walkie-talkies or mobile phones. Hence we have opted for technology that is scalable for thousands of taxis, and is a highly successful model in countries like Singapore -MERU CABS Freight forwarding Logistic service providers are now increasingly adopting vehicle-tracking system for better fleet management and timely service. The system can continuously monitor shipment location and so can direct the drivers directly in case of any change of plan. Fleet managers can keep an eye on all activities of workers, vehicle over speed, route deviation etc. The driver in turn can access emergency service incase of sickness, accident or vehicle breakdown. All in turn supports money and time management, resulting better customer service. Acoording to Dr.Vinod N.Sambrani, (Institute of Management Studies Kuvempu University, Karnataka) and Dr. M. S. Subhas (Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka) Route analysis helps managers to generate the most efficient route (best route / shortest route) that the vehicle should take between the company and it supply chain link. Alternative routes can also be generated and analyzed. Alternative routes help in rerouting of the supplies in case of problems (either man -made or natural on one route.) The best example of application of AVLT in freight forwarding is the popular logistic and courier company Federal Express(FedEx) totally depends on AVLT system . Emergency Management system Emergency management system is now a days getting is popularity in India . Health Management Research Institute (HMRI ) Hyderabad runs an emergency ambulance system (108) through AVLT to give customer proper service and reach at the emergency place within 30minites of the occurance of any accidents. Call centers In commercial vehicle segments the taxi operators of various call centers are now using vehicle-tracking system for better information access.   However, its application is in its infant stage in India and if adequate steps are taken in bringing the cost of hardware and software low then it can be used for tracking personal vehicle, farming (tractor), tourist buses, security and emergency vehicle etc. Again Government needs to cut down the restriction imposed upon the availability of digital maps for commercial use and this will encourage software industry in developing cost-effective tracking solutions. Though, sales of both commercial and passenger vehicles are growing but price of tracking service is very high and this is the key issue in Indian market. Hence, its important for market participants to reduce prices of GPS chips and other products in order to attract more and more users. As far as  Indian vehicle tracking  and navigation market is concerned the recent association of India with Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) will act as a catalyst in the improvement of vehicle tracking system. This will give an advantage in managing traffic, roadways and ports and also as an important tool for police and security agency to track stolen vehicles. Hence, in near future there is large prospect for the utility of vehicle tracking system in India, which can revolutionize the way we are communicating. Companies in India using AVLT in Fleet Management SAIL ( Steel Authority of India) : SAIL , Indias one of the top 10 public sector company in terms of turnover , uses AVLT for their Fleet Management system to optimize the routes, real time functionalities like tracking , reporting , controlling , monitoring , emergency situation handling etc. DTC(Delhi Transport Corporation) : DTC is one of the largest city road transport undertaking in India. It has a fleet of around 15000 vehicle carrying on the business on passenger transport on 800 routes from 33 depots all over Delhi with product mix comprising of City Intercity services. Meru Cab Services: One of the famous call taxi service in India, totally manages their fleets through AVLT .Locating the clients pick up and drop point , finding the shortest route and also monitoring the drivers performance and fuel efficiency in all the cases AVLT provides the solution. Maruti Udyog Limited: Maruti the leader in Indian automobile industry for two decades also uses AVLT system for their fleet management system .Tracking the inventory , supply and monitoring etc is done by AVLT system Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) : AVLT system is used to track the total fleet management . All the new buses have this GIS -GPS based navigation facility. Garbage Truck Monitoring (Swachcha Bangalore ) is another project taken by Bangalore Government with AVLT technology. EMRI HMRI 108 Service , Hyderabad : Emergency Management system and Health Management Research Institute of Hyderabad has launched 108 Ambulance services . They promises to reach any specific location within the 30min of the causalities. They fully depend on the AVLT system and totally manages their fleets. The Goa Government has also started this facility recently. Companies Providing Fleet Management services in India (Cities in India where GIS based vehicle tracking systems are used) The companies providing these services are as follows: Vodafone Telecom Services Airtel Telecom Services Albireo Telematics Pvt Ltd TriCAD Design Consultants (P) Ltd. Vajra Infratech Aayur Technology Solution Adhyan Techno Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solutions Private Limited CERT InfoTrack Clay Telematics Pvt. Ltd. Dhanus Digi m-Track Digitrack Eagleeye India effiKC Findnsecure Geo Edge Private Limited Indtrack Solutions INEN Solutions P Ltd Intergrated Digital Info Services Limited Invendis Technologies iWate Systems MahaVentures Next Gen Technologies Noble Integrated Solutions Nucleus Microsystems Omatics Remedy Software Systems Pvt. Ltd. Rilapp Network SATCOP India Sattvah Embedded Technologies (P) Ltd Smart Signals Pvt. Ltd. Symbioun Solutions Limited Traccia Traxis India Pvt. Ltd. CASE STUDIES OF DIFFERENT COMPANIES USING AVLT 1.Fleet Management System adopted by Maruti Maruti Udyog Limited has been the market leader in Indian Automobile Industry from the past two decades. MUL launched a service named N2N Fleet To facilitate the sales of MUL cars using the relationship management approach through Leasing and Fleet Management as two products, Management Solution, Through tie ups with other service providers like insurance company, replacement car service provider, and manpower service provider MUL presented a common face to the end client with a whole gamut of services. End-to-end backups/solutions across the vehicles life like: Leasing, Maintenance, Convenience services and Remarketing are some of the key services being offered by MUL. CHALLENGES FACED MUL was in search of a B2B solution, a common platform for all the partners, clients and respective MUL departments. As this service included interaction and data exchange between multiple organizations therefore safety and security of data became a very important issue not only for MUL, but also for partners and customers. Strict performance criteria and tight deadlines were the other challenges involved in the project. THE SOLUTION After a very tough business process analysis the AVLT system was by a business solutions provider. The modular architecture was customized in such a way so that the diff users can use the system as per their requirements. Scalability, security and flexibility were most important issues that were taken account of. THE BENEFITS The AVLT system provided MSU with Complete monitoring capabilities for its fleet of vehicles, maintenance, insurance, accident, rescue, and remarketing. 2. The success story of Meru Cabs Meru the new call taxi service launched last year by V-Link Taxi Pvt. Ltd, has re established the belief that IT can be deployed in just about any field, and can lead to phenomenal gains. As it is rightly said, Technology does not drive change-it enables change. The same has been the case with V-Link Taxis Pvt. Ltd. There was a complete transformation in the way V link carried out its operations after deploying the GPS-based system to track the newly-launched fleet of cabs called Meru. This service was first started of from Mumbai. The Challenges Sharing the importance of the solution, Nilesh Sangoi, CTO, V-Link said, In a call-taxi operation, tracking the location of each available taxi in real-time is extremely critical. It would not be possible to scale up beyond 200-300 taxis with manual tracking, with the use of walkie-talkies or mobile phones. Hence we have opted for technology that is scalable for thousands of taxis, and is a highly successful model in countries like Singapore. The Solutions V-Link has deployed different technologies from a number of different firms in India and abroad, including Dubai and Singapore. We use high-end GPS and GPRS (general packet radio service) technology in our Maruti Esteem vehicles. The technology has been specially deployed to ensure that passengers receive a timely response and are picked up and dropped at their destinations without any unnecessary delay, reveals Nilesah Sangoi (Tech. Head of Meru Cabs) Our vision is to give urban commuters in India a world-class traveling experience, by using a technology that has evolved in developed countries over the past twenty years, adds Sangoi. Every cab is fitted with a GPS-based tracking device that facilitates in locating the taxi closest to a customer pick-up location. Customer addresses and other details are communicated back to the driver on the display screen via the GPS enabled display in the cab avoiding the use of outdated radio trunking (walkie-talkie) technology. Every cab also has a tamper proof digital fare meter. The control room gets regular feed about the distance traveled, fare and the location of each cab. Customers also get a printed copy of the fare receipt at the end of the trip. Each cab is fitted with communication terminal (MCT), which has a built-in GPS receiver, LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and GPRS connectivity, which facilitates two way communication with the control room. Our data centre hosts a set of communication servers, application servers, and database servers, which are in constant touch with each taxi through GPRS. The latitude and longitude information is plotted on a GIS (Geographical Information Systems) map for real-time tracking, says Sangoi. The Benefits: This GPS enabled technology empowers the customer to book a cab through phone internet and SMS, and the control room can track the cab nearest to the customers location enabling a significant reduction in the turnaround time. If any customer leaves nay belonging in the cab the customer can lodge a complaint about the item left behind and the cab can be located to trace the lost item and it will be returned to the customer. This Fleet Management system is also important from the point of view of the passengers safety, and can also be used to note the drivers performance. V-Link Taxis Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of the V-Link Group, a corporate fleet management services organization that is headquartered in Mumbai, and operates in five major cities-Mumbai, Delhi and NCR, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The company manages a fleet of over 5000 vehicles running an aggregate of more than 150,000 km a day. We have invested heavily in technology to provide best-in-class and highly reliable customer service. The investments are in line with the needs of todays competitive and swift-moving world, concludes Sangoi. In the future too, the organization aims to continuously upgrade its IT infrastructure to keep pace with the times. 3. EMRI HMRI Emergency Management Research Institute and Health Management and Research Institute , Hyderabad took a revolutionary step in the history of Indians emergency and health management system .They managed to build up the fleet management so efficiently that anytime and anywhere e its an emergency (disaster) or health related problem , they will reach the certain place within minimum time after getting the call in 108 hotline number. Later GVK EMRI , Mumbai also followed the same steps The Challenges The first challenges faced was to establish the system widely .. They had to build up many centers throughout the state. They also had to build up an efficient call center and to establish an efficient fleet management system to diagnose the emergency point and detect the nearest location of the fleet (eg. Ambulance) and send the fleet to the destination accessing the shortest and efficient route. The Solution They took the IT service help from Satyam Technologies Limited (Currently known as Mahindra Satyam) and build up an efficient fleet management system .They established a module based system. The main module is called as MCC( Mission Control center ) which gets the first news about the emergency from the call center and then locate the nearest centers , fleet and shortest route that gives the fastest access to the destination . The Benefits This fleet management system not only changed the look out of the emergency management system in India but that also inspired other states to follow this path. The efficient and excellent service fetched many awards to EMRI HMRI. Like GVK EMRI bagged NASSCOM CNBC TV18 IT user Award 4. Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Delhi Transport Corporation is the one of the largest City Road Transport Undertaking in the India. It has a fleet of around 15,000 vehicles carrying on the business of passenger transport on 800 routes from 33 depots all over the state of Delhi with a product mix comprising of City and Inter-city services. The Challenges à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integration of GPS with GIS map of Delhi for tracking of vehicles on a real time basis with two way messaging including distress messaging between the vehicle and the control station. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring whether the scheduled route and the time tables of the buses are followed or not. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Automatic generation, collection, storage and retrieval and analysis of data information and thus eliminating the human related errors involved in collecting of such data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Building a dedicated integrated database employees, buses, bus routes etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using the GIS model as a support system for implementation of the transport policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Analysis of deviations from standard like schedule route, timing, Missing Bus stops, Punctuality factor etc. based on captured vehicle data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Enabling automatic bill generation for the buses. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quick dispatch of relief vehicles in case of breakdown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integration with the Delhi metro smart card. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working out realistic schedules according to traffic conditions based on speed of bus during different hours of the day and at different segments The Solution To accomplish the above-mentioned objectives challenges, CMC Ltd has developed an Automatic Fleet Management System incorporating its DGPS based Automatic Vehicle Tracking and Management system (AVTMS). CMC Designed, Developed and Implemented the Automatic Fleet Management System that include Vehicle Tracking System, Application software for billing, Operational Transportation Model for scheduling of buses and integration of Smart Card Reader with the Vehicle Tracking System, provision for Real Time Passenger Information System to Delhi Transport Corporation. The AFMS system is currently operational from two depots for 200 buses since last two years. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ GPS based tracker unit installed on 200 buses belonging to 2 depots à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring from a Central Control Station for both the depots simultaneously à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Solar based Database Server, AVTMS server, Communication Server à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Display of vehicles at Workstation using ARC Info suite and VC++ based application software à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Established two way messaging system between buses the central control room. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public Mobile Radio Trunking System (Wireless Communication network) for collecting data from buses. Area of coverage is 1500 square kms. The Benefits Verification and Validation of GIS data of Delhi procured from a GIS data vendor, with the help of GPS in both standalone and differential mode. This is to ensure that the data is in required co-ordinate system. Real time trials were conducted after the buses were installed with the GPS devices to ensure the integrity of the data. Additional custom data as required in the project were collected by conducting extensive field surveys and were encoded in the map of Delhi for facilitation. GIS data was integrated with the turntables containing all the relevant information about various junctions. Application and customization of the of the screen of the reports and queries of the GIS data includes all the info about the buses and other fleets. 5. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) In 1997, BMTC was spun off from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation(Ksrtc) in order to focus exclusively on Bangalores rapidly expanding transit needs. The Bangalore Transport Service became Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the colour scheme was changed from Red to a Blue and White combination.BMTC remains a division of KSRTC. The Challenges Integration of GPS with GIS map of Bangalore for tracking of vehicles on a real time basis with two way messaging including distress messaging between the vehicle and the control station. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring whether the scheduled route and the time tables of the buses are followed or not. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Automatic generation, collection, storage and retrieval and analysis of data information and thus eliminating the human related errors involved in collecting of such data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Building a dedicated integrated database employees, buses, bus routes etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using the GIS model as a support system for implementation of the transport policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Analysis of deviations from standard like schedule route, timing, Missing Bus stops, Punctuality factor etc. based on captured vehicle data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Enabling automatic bill generation for the buses. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quick dispatch of relief vehicles in case of breakdown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working out realistic schedules according to traffic conditions based on speed of bus during different hours of the day and at different segments. Providing Real time information to the passengers . The Solution To accomplish the above-mentio

Dance Essay -- essays research papers

It has been observed by a pensive and inquisitive mind that most people in this world view their surroundings as though they were merely glancing at the cover of a glossy magazine while hurriedly exiting a supermarket: people tend to look quickly, figure out the general concept of the magazine issue, and then proceed to neatly tuck away the memory of that magazine cover in their mind as they trot on down the check out isle. They never pick up the journal, never thoroughly read the articles contained within that shiny bit of paper, never really understand what is going on inside of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This depiction of the overwhelming tendency of individuals to formulate opinions of people, places and things solely based on a casual observance of their outward appearance stirred up great emotion in my heart. I am a 21 year old woman who has put herself through college by working as an entertainer at an upscale Chicago gentleman’s club. I realized recently that I myself was only superficially aware of what it truly means to patronize or to be employed by a gentleman’s club. Of course, I was aware of the fact that on the most basic level, a pricey gentleman’s club provides a wealthy and extravagant individual with a venue where he can comfortably indulge in the finest champagnes and scotches while basking in the bubbly personalities and beautiful bodies of paid entertainers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I decided to study the inner workings of a gentleman’s club and to write about the effect that working in such an environment would have on women employed by such a club. As I delved deeper into my research, I realized that I could not fairly describe the effect that working in the adult entertainment industry would have on women because I didn’t fully understand the service that was actually being provided by â€Å"entertainers.† Simply put, we entertainers make our living by receiving money from men in exchange for spending time with them, and usually in exchange for stripping off our clothes for them. But what else are we really selling that would inspire a man who is not allowed to touch us (therefore gaining no physical pleasure from the woman whom he commissions to dance for him) to pay in excess of four hundred dollars an hour for our company ? What exactly are exotic dancers selling ? Through extensive research, I have come to realize that s... ...tertainment industry. It has also given me a new sense of what exotic dancers are actually â€Å"selling† at work. Sadly, they are selling far more than a quick exotic dance: many times, they are selling their values and their self respect as well. I have deviated in my thinking that exotic dancing was a positive experience for most women. Clearly, the research that I have studied has given me adequate reason to believe that dancing is damaging to the mental health of many women. Despite such evidence, I myself feel that I am one of the lucky few who has been able to use her occupation to greatly benefit her life. By dancing, I have been able to finance my education, to live on my own and to set up my work schedule in such a way that I am able to put a great effort into my studies. Realistically speaking, it is doubtful that I would have had the means to accomplish all the things that I have had I not chosen to dance. Although I have never been â€Å"caught up† in the negative spiral that so many young women find themselves trapped in, I definitely have become more sensitive to the plight of many young women who develop emotional problems as they work in the adult entertainment industry.

Beautiful Boy and Tweak Essay

Reading two different accounts of the story of a drug addict allows much room for comparison between the two. In the case of David and Nic Sheff’s books, I was surprised at how much similarity there was between the two; they agreed on most points and there was no striking discontinuity in their stories. There is, however, a significant difference in the perspectives from which the two are told. Naturally, Nic, as the addict son, takes on a more self-centered view. In David’s book it is clear that Nic’s addiction is the one central driving force in their family life, especially in David’s daily life. In Nic’s book, however, his relationship with his father and the rest of his family is only one of the several focal points of the book; Nic is also preoccupied with girlfriends, friends, and his sponsor. David Sheff’s book is a very self-reflecting account. He is constantly analyzing the past, the decisions he’s made with Nic, and putting it all together in a desperate attempt to find answers to his son’s downfall. He struggles with a constant mental conflict: â€Å"What did I do wrong?† His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll, to the point where he suffered from a massive hemorrhage. David’s view of the progression of Nic’s addiction reflects the Social Learning Theories and Psychoanalytical explanations of American drug use. At first, David views the onset of Nic’s addiction as a cause of some childhood lifestyle factors he lived through (such as the divorce). Later on, however, David realizes that there are thousands of teenagers who are reeled into the dark world of drugs and do not necessarily come from traumatic backgrounds; that these two things are not always directly linked. They are simply reinforced by others, usually drug-using friends, regardless of how they were raised. Ronald Akers built on this idea of operant conditioning by pointing out that drug-using behavior is reinforced socially more than physiologically. This is exactly what happened to Nic as he surrounded himself more and more with friends and girlfriends who induced his addiction. As evident as it may have seemed, it took David a while to shift his focus from reflecting on the past to what was quickly making Nic’s situation worse. Nic, on the other hand, is not very psychoanalytic about his addiction.  David has hope for his son, while Nic has very little hope for himself. While telling his story, David is trying to discover and unveil what led to all of this misery in his family. He longs to find answers and causations for all of it. Nic, on the other hand, doesn’t focus on the â€Å"why.† Although he has moments where he confesses he never thought he would turn out this way, he doesn’t spend much time dwelling on what led him to his addiction. Instead, Nic just tells his story and focuses on the very near future. This is typical of an addict’s mentality. Each day is so unsure and unstable that they can’t manage to plan more than one or two days ahead. The deeper he sinks into his addiction, the more surprised he is to find that he wakes up alive each day. Rather than fight it, Nic accepts the fact that he is a hardcore addict and that his life will never be the same. It took his father a much longer time to realize this and fully accept it. I was genuinely shocked at how honest Nic is throughout the whole book while telling his story. He admits that his parents are forcing him to go into a treatment center and that he has â€Å"fucked everything up beyond repair.† Most addicts make themselves seem like the victim and leave out a lot of information about their bad habits. Nic openly shares everything, even his darkest moments of intoxication and suicidal depression. He looks for ways to support the high demands of his druggie lifestyle and makes the necessary amends, even if it means stealing from his own family while they are desperately trying to help him. Nic’s selfishness, however, turns into feelings of deep guilt toward the end on the book when he is on the road to recovery and with his two parents. When his mind clears up, he realizes how badly he has torn everyone apart, especially his mom and dad. These emotional realizations are part of his recovery. David, however, experiences the exact opposite. At the early stages of his son’s addiction, he dedicated all his time and energy to the matter, to the point where he forgot about his own health and happiness. As Nic’s addiction progressed, David shifted focus to himself and stopped obsessing over everything that had to do with his son’s addiction. David’s road to recovery meant almost the exact opposite of Nic’s: dedicating more time and energy to himself rather than taking others into primary  consideration. David Sheff tells his family’s story from the very early happy days and takes his readers all the way through Nic’s descent into his darkest moments, while Tweak begins with Nic already deep into his addiction. Nic Sheff’s Tweak is the dark counterpoint to Beautiful Boy. The elder writer’s grief-filled memoir glows dimly like a distant planet of despair, while the son’s account of the same events burns like an angry Mars.

Mrs Pollifax essays

Mrs Pollifax essays The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax is one of my favorite books of all times! An old, brittle woman in the CIA has to sneak eight forged passports into Bulgaria, and get out as fast as possible without being suspicious. But even before this fairly easy assignment starts, trouble begins to arise.Before she had ever touched the airplane, she met a group of young people leaving to Bulgaria too. She began to talk to a young man by the name of Philip Trenda, who was noticeably upset that a man by the name of Nikki had forced him into going. After their chat, Mrs.Pollifax and the group loaded the plane. On the way to Sofia, Bulgaria, the airplane made a special stop for General Ignatov to get on the plane.When they landed, the Bulgarian Secret police took him away from his group. One of the girls in the group had seen Mrs. Pollifax talk to Phil. Her name was Debby. When she arrived to the city, Mrs. Pollifax was supposed to go to a jacket shop, ask for an imaginary sheepskin jacket. What Mrs. Pollifax thought that now she would do is give the hat to Tsanko and go back to the US. But the CIA had a man to pay off named Radev. The counterfeit money was sewn in the jacket and then they would just switch the jackets and be done with Radev. Mrs. Pollifax didn't know about Radev, so when he came to steal it at night 3 times, she or Debby, who had joined her, had beaten him up so badly that he couldn't steal the jacket. after she had delivered the hat to the underground she changed her plans and went north of Sofia. While driving, she had noticed that someone had cut her breaks. The car was heading toward a cliff, so Mrs. Pollifax had just crashed the car into a tree right on the edge. Afterward, Debby had heard on the news that Phil was being released from prison and was returning to the US. It sounded like good news but as it turned out, it was a plan by new Chief of the Secret Police, General Ignatov. The General was ransoming P...

Feature article on Billy Elliot directed by Stephen Daldry.

Feature article on Billy Elliot directed by Stephen Daldry. Decisions, decisions...From Coal Dust Into a Lake of SwansA year 12 student, examines various worlds of Billy Elliot.All in all, we all have to make decisions. They are either straightforward or challenging. One of my hardest decisions was coming to Australia. As a child I remember my grandmother telling me stories. Even though I was little, I listened to them and understood them. They took me to a completely different world. It was always my childhood escape. I still remember all the stories, which still inspire me to make those choices I made meaningful.Every society has different views on whether or not children are allowed to make decisions by themselves. Billy Elliot is drifting between a variety of worlds. He lived in a world where his future was decided for him. Like his father and an older brother, he was growing up to become a coalminer, just as everyone in his hometown, Everington.Singer Britney Spears was one of the best selling ...This world is a bit mature for an 11 year old boy, but it expresses Billy responsibility. This world initiates the audience to empathise with protagonist, and I, as an audience, keep living through the struggles of his dancing world.Stephen Daldry has created an excellent film representing our elective "Into The World". The director clearly highlights different paths, decisions and choices that are available in the changing worlds. One of the most challenging decisions that Billy had to make - is to choose between ballet and his 'chosen path'. Billy chooses ballet. He sees the work that the coal miners do and he understands that its hard. In the opening scene there is a close up of trembling hands as the carefully place a record on an old-fashioned turntable. This establishing shot offers a recruiting motif of dance and music. The...

The Effect Of Contingent Music To Premature Infants Essay

The Effect Of Contingent Music To Premature Infants - Essay Example Those with health complications are subjected to painful and stressful medical procedures necessary for survival. Both the complications and the interventions are highly correlated with increased impairment in neurological development (Creasey, Jarvis, Myers, Markowitz, & Kerkering, 1993; Karmel, Gardner, & Magnano, 1991). The long-term neurological implications of premature birth are problematic, but fortunately the brain continues to develop throughout life and some damaged neurological networks can be overcome by nurturing and carefully structured learning opportunities (Benes, 1994). To this point, research with premature infants in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) has primarily focused on medical procedures for survival and on nurturing techniques such as reducing environmental stimuli, non-nutritive sucking, and touch (Dieter & Emory, 1997). During medical treatment, the infant is often physically restrained by equipment. Additionally, treatments and nourishment are often scheduled with regard to health priorities, rather than with regard to the infant's desire for food or attention. The detrimental implications of lack of opportunity to experience normal post-birth cause/effect relationships at this stage of development have recently been lamented (Dieter & Emory, 1997). The infant's sucking ability is a critical behavior for both survival and neurological development. Sucking is the first rhythmic behavior in which the infant engages, and it is theorized to contribute to neurological development by facilitating internally regulated rhythms (Goff, 1985). Time spent in non-nutritive sucking has been observed in third trimester fetuses. Unfortunately, medical and environmental constraints often inhibit non-nutritive sucking... To this point, research with premature infants in the newborn intensive care unit has primarily focused on medical procedures for survival and on nurturing techniques such as reducing environmental stimuli, nonnutritive sucking, and touch. During medical treatment, the infant is often physically restrained by equipment. Additionally, treatments and nourishment are often scheduled with regard to health priorities, rather than with regard to the infant's desire for food or attention. The detrimental implications of the lack of opportunity to experience normal post-birth cause/effect relationships at this stage of development have recently been lamented. The infant's sucking ability is a critical behavior for both survival and neurological development. Sucking is the first rhythmic behavior in which the infant engages, and it is theorized to contribute to neurological development by facilitating internally regulated rhythms. Time spent in non-nutritive sucking has been observed in third -trimester fetuses. Unfortunately, medical and environmental constraints often inhibit non-nutritive sucking opportunities, as very premature infants are undergoing the third trimester of what would have been "fatal" development in the NICU. When non-nutritive sucking opportunities are encouraged in the NICU, development of the premature infant is enhanced. The coordinated suck-swallow-breathe response, which develops in the 34th week of gestation, is a precursor to nutritive sucking ability and nipple feeding.

Spartacus (1960) The Epic Hero Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Spartacus (1960) The Epic Hero - Movie Review Example He also refuses to rape Varinia when she was sent in his cell to entertain him. The film is certainly a product of great work from Stanley Kubrick. The graphic nature of the scenes and the ability to use slow motion especially when Spartacus trains in the arena to be a gladiator is one of the scenes that bring out the director’s technical abilities. High sound quality, especially the scene where Senator Marcus Licinius Crassus addresses the gladiators (Joanna 2). The themes of the callous nature of slavery and the desire for freedom are demonstrated where women are forced into sexual activities, and men are forced to fight to their death, including with their friends. This compels Spartacus and the rest of the slaves to rebel and fight their way out. The manner in which ancient Rome is portrayed by Spartacus is authentic. There is a lot of historical evidence suggesting the injustices of slavery and sexual exploitation in the empire. The director, as well as the screenwriters, used an accurate portrayal of ancient Rome, with instances of exaggeration to make the film more