Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts to Improve Quality Essay

Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts to Improve Quality Outcomes and Control Cost - Essay Example The model aims at soliciting the input of patients on the support and education they need to make decisions and participate in their individual care. It is therefore an innovative approach used to healthcare planning, delivery and evaluation. The concept can be implemented in any healthcare setting. However, its implementation in the current healthcare system has a lot of potential impacts and many healthcare providers struggle with how to actualize the concept into the daily business of caring for patients and their families. Potential impact of Patient-Centered Concept on the current health system’s finances According to Lorig (2002), the concept of patient-Centered care can impact positively on the business metrics of the current health system like finances, safety, satisfaction, quality and market share. Overall, the model reduces the costs of providing patient care and it is associated with increased efficiency of care. This is mainly seen in terms of reduced number of re ferrals and reduced diagnostic tests. Increased patient participation during visits by healthcare providers reduces their anxiety and perceived need for investigations/diagnostic tests and referrals. However, there could also be a need to increase the financial resources in some hospitals and increased their levels of staffing to match with the level of staffing required to provide continuity of care. Despite these costs of education, support and other interventions, there is usually a general resource utilization leading to a positive financial result. Generally, the model is associated with improved patient satisfaction and improved health status and this has the potential of increasing the demand for services offered by the heath system (Stewart et al, 2000). This can be equated with high sales because of increased market share and the end result of this is increased profits. The model is not about technological innovations or renovations and the acquisition of new equipment. Ins tead, it is mainly about kindness, compassion, empathy and attitude all of which are completely free and their provision require the hiring of new staff. It entails a maximization of the interactions with patients at the current staffing levels present in the current health system. The exact areas of the budget that may be impacted There are two main areas of the health system budget that are impacted by patient-centered care are expenses for referrals and diagnostic tests. As noted above, increased patient participation during visits by healthcare providers reduces their anxiety and perceived need for investigations/diagnostic tests and referrals. Reduced referrals and diagnostic tests mean reduced costs per unit for the health system. For example, it is cheaper both for the family and the health system to attend to a patient at home than maintaining the same patient in hospital. Cost/benefit analysis that would be helpful in assessing this trend One of the ways to achieve a cost/b enefit analysis for assessing this trend is assessing the overall costs of managing long-term illnesses verses patient outcomes. For example, if the costs of managing such long-term diseases have reduced while at the same time, the survival rates have been increased and mortality rates reduced, then is the model is good. Impact on the structure of health systems and organizational dynamics Effective patient-centered care requires a shift of the current healt

Functional Areas of Business Essay Example for Free

Functional Areas of Business Essay Functional Areas of Business In an organization, there are many functional areas of a business. These functional areas include management, law, human resource management, leadership, accounting, finance, economics, research and statistics, operations management, marketing, and strategic planning. A manager’s role is never the same in these functional areas. Within the paper, the writer will analyze the role of a manager with the functional areas of business. Management and Law Managers have to ensure the business success; this is how management comes into play. Management has to use his or her human capital effectively, and efficiently to accomplish daily task within an organization. Human capital is also the organizational most important resource because employees can make a business successful. Managers need to ensure that a job is design properly, and when setting goals for employees are they reachable. Rewards are another part of how managers can get employees to complete his or her job in an efficient manner. In order for a business to function in today’s society, a manager has to ensure that the business is in compliance with the state, and federal laws. If a business operates in an international market, then the business also has international laws and regulations to follow. According to University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module (2014), â€Å"business law also helps managers safeguard the firm’s intellectual property and resolve situations when they arise† (para, Law). Human Resource Management and Leadership Human resource management in numerous organizations is the foundation of that business. One such role is ensuring that the right candidate acquires the job. Managers also use this to develop employee’s skills by training him or her properly, and ensure that employees wages are correct. Managers also evaluate employees on his or her performance, and give disciplinary actions to correct the situation. Within this functional area, a manager also offers the employee benefits that the business has to offer (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). Not everyone can pose leadership qualities; however leadership qualities can be trained. In this functional area, a manager may inspire, and motivate his or her employees; this helps employees achieve the company’s goals. Not all leaders are managers; however, leaders can assist managers with handling conflict, and power struggles with the company when they occur (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). Accounting and Finance One may believe that accounting and finance are the same; there are differences between the two. According to the online dictionary (2014), accounting is â€Å"the theory and system of setting up, maintaining, and auditing the books of a firm† (Accounting). Accounting has two parts, financial accounting, and managerial accounting. Managerial accounting involves managers viewing income statements and balance sheets. The information from the accounting and finance statement assists managers with making a sound decision on behalf of the company. These decisions may include how the company will spend for the future, if the company can afford to employ new employee, and how to budget for upcoming ventures (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). One of the most essential parts of an organization is the constant acquisition of fixed earnings. In order for any business to grow and thrive, it is necessary that the business acquire assets. Managers within the company will have different choices on how to make these decisions. When dealing with a company’s international market and finance a manager also influences new ventures that the company may be taking (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). Economics, Research and Statistics Economics is the study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services within countries and individual firms† (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). Mangers use economics to increase the company’s profit and to understand the market conditions; these conditions include recession, and depression. Managers use this information to determine what factors need to be viewed and understand before entering into a new market especially the international market. The research portion is information is collected from a person, and statistics is use to understand that data. Managers use this information to gain insight to the business. A manager can understand the consumption of a product, how often it is consume, and the usage time frame associated with the products. All the above information assists managers with knowing when to continue using these products, and when to modify productivity in the future (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). Operations Management and Marketing Operations management ties into research and statistics. Operations management is how managers use the information they have received and interpret the data to determine the products that consumers use most, the seasons in which these products have the highest sale. As previously stated, this information helps managers determine when to produce the product, or if the product should be pulled off the market (University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module, 2014). According to the business dictionary (2014) marketing is, â€Å" the management process through which goods and services move concept to the consumer† (Marketing). Marketing uses different strategies that offer consumer products. One method of finding out what the consumer desire is the â€Å"push versus pull† promotional strategy (Eveleth, D. M. , Liesz, T. J. , 2011). Managers identify what products the consumers need and want, and try to create a decent image and campaign to launch that brand to the public. Strategic Planning Strategic planning involves creating and implementing creative ideas that will apply to the company’s goal. Strategic planning is the last step that draws all the functional areas of business together. According to University of Phoenix MBA Overview Module (2014), â€Å"managers use strategic planning and implementation to bring all aspects of the firm together† (para, Strategic Planning). These include economics, marketing, and finance to guarantee the business success. Conclusion In an organization, there are many functional areas of a business. These functional areas include management, law, human resource management, leadership, accounting, finance, economics, research and statistics, operations management, marketing, and strategic planning. A manager’s role is never the same in these functional areas. Within this paper, the writer has analyzed the role of a manager with the functional areas of business.

E Learning And Its Influence

E Learning And Its Influence ABSTRACT The current focus with all the educationists is to ensure that technology is used effectively to address various issues with problems related to student motivation, participation, absenteeism, drop-outs and gender bias, performance to name a few. Using technology in Science education is no exception to this. In fact nurturing an inquiring mind and a scientific temper in students has always been the aim of education across the world. This paper is to review the different e-learning techniques and their impact on professional education Keywords: Technology and e-learning 1 Introduction: Online data has revolutionized many of the ways we receive and use information these days. The availability of online resources has changed everything from finding a new house to reading the newspaper to purchasing plane tickets, and as a result has disrupted established structures. Internet technologies have also present challenge to established telecommunications companies. Lots of blogs, social networking sites, and interactive online games have created new modes for interaction between students and teachers. Digital technology makes informative content easier to find, to access, to manipulate and remix. Virtual web based environments for teachers now enable them to seek help from other teachers, locally, nationally, or globally in solving their day to day educational issues classroom problems, sharing lesson plans and materials, interacting with experts in particular fields, planning collaborative curriculum development projects. 2 E-learning an introduction To infuse technology into learning, in the early years of the program, the institutions have focused on getting teachers ready for an environment where every student has at least one technology device at their fingertips. Between cell phones, laptops and slates, students are coming to school already equipped to learn differently. The digital tools are engaging and motivating to students and teachers are excited about the changes they are seeing. The one-to-one computing environment actually personalizes the educational experience for students. Teachers are able to customize learning, designing targeted activities focused on a childs strengths and weaknesses. The virtual environment lends itself to a blended approach to teaching and the ability to collaborate with other teachers to create assignments that connect curriculums so that learning is more meaningful and relevant. 2.1 The Significance of E-learning : In todays times there is an important view that organizations form on the investments in human capital and enterprise IT systems with enterprise success metrics such as revenue, profitability, knowledge measurement, retention, and talent attraction. Therefore, there is no doubt that e-learning provides a foundation for performance monitoring that makes those correlations between people and learning technologies possible. The benefits of e-learning are as follows One focused on the needs and interests of individuals who are linked to competency and accomplishment. The other more closely aligned with the needs of the enterprise, tied to true business results. Learning is a deeply personal act that is facilitated when learning experiences are relevant, reliable, and engaging. During those early days of e-learning, we learned the hard way that simply building a learning system that could be accessed over the Internet did not guarantee that people would have much need for, or interest in, the courses and programs, regardless of the provider. We learned that shoveling courseware online did not provide anyone faculty, students, or administrators with an online experience that was much more than tedious electronic page-turning. Sometimes we learned the hard way that doing learning unto others could quickly de-motivate and disengage the very people we had hoped to serve. Therefore, technology engages learners by structuring and organizing information, by displaying and demonstrating procedures and operations. It can help make a learning experience more memorable and can help relate new information to that which is already known. 2.2 Education for everyone: When technology and learning will be together, it will solve many of the problems faced by India by creating a complete education system for every student, young or old, rich or poor, urban or rural. Because of the following reasons †¢ Technology and Learning can enable education that is not anymore limited to a particular region or age group. †¢ It will be learning anything, anytime, and anywhere from multiple authorities from the comfort of your home, village, town, city from any web-enabled device. †¢ It will lend a helping hand in the process of identification of brilliant global students living in villages of India, based on their ability to interact within an intelligent e-learning environment. 2.3 Internet usage and web-based education: Web-based courseware is not merely an electronic duplicate of the original course material. It represents a new type of educational materials which takes full advantage of the emerging Web and multimedia technologies in order to achieve an effective yet enjoyable learning process. These, complex concepts are introduced in innovative ways. Full linking to vast resources available worldwide introduces new levels of value to the courseware. A Web-based course is envisioned as a dynamically-evolving resource that will prove beneficial to both students and instructors alike. That is, a Web-based course is developed through the efforts of a team of professionals with a complementary range of skills, as opposed to classical course design, which is typically developed by faculty alone. 2.4 learning in a group : An online lecture or presentation of teaching material published on the Net becomes accessible to many learners. The most common technology for this communications was the electronic bulletin board (BBS) and electronic mail discussion lists where course notes were given with read-only access for students. Since the extensive implementation of interactive WWW technologies in the distribution of educational information, various forms of courses on the WWW have become common. WWW technologies have made it possible for materials on the Net to be published with ease. Other learners can thus become the source of information for the learner. 2.3 Creating a new educational platform: One of the first areas that requires change is education perception of technology as it relates to its mission. For the past decade, most attempts to use technology in higher education have been very haphazard: systems have been designed only to automate existing processes, computers have been thought of as strictly computational devices, and desktop workstations have not accomplished much more than replacing the typewriter and the adding machine. Today, however, technology is creating a new educational platform and is reconfiguring the way a student learns. It can be Interaction between the students and professors in the educational process Interaction between the students and professors while searching for information on the Net Joint activities of professors and administration. Students joint research projects. 3 Types of E-learning: E-learning is emerging as a solution for delivering online, hybrid, and synchronous learning regardless of physical location, time of day, or choice of digital reception/distribution device. E-learning programs are implemented in the following ways: 3.1 Virtual classroom: This model of e-learning continues to be the most familiar analogue for building e-learning programs. The intention of virtual classrooms is to extend the structure and services that accompany formal education programs from the campus or learning center to learners, wherever they are located. The virtual classroom is for learners who may be pursuing a distance education degree made up entirely of online lessons, and it may include campus-based courses, where students join in from a variety of on- and off-campus locations-in a real-time class session via the Internet. 3.2 Online learning: This model of e-learning revolves around its dependence on courseware, delivered over the Internet to learners at a variety of locations where the primary interaction between the learner and the experiences of their learning occur via Networked Computer Technology. 3.3 Rapid e-learning: This is a direct response to e-learning products that made it hard for nontechnical subject matter experts and learners to contribute and make use of multimedia learning content to the knowledge base. 3.4 Mobile learning: This type of learning builds on the availability of ubiquitous networks and portable digital devices, including laptop computers, PDAs, game consoles, MP3 players, and mobile phones, and it takes advantage of place-independent flexibility that comes from working away from the desktop. Mobile learning provides the opportunity to connect informal learning experiences that occur naturally throughout the day with formal learning experiences. Common tools for producing mobile learning content include Flash Professional, Flash Media Server, and Flash Lite. 3.5 Interactive group learning: The key premise for science education has been to involve young minds in activities that arouse curiosity, generate interest in research, invention and innovation. Learning based on understanding is essential to innovation and creativity. Finding answers to the question WHY leads to WHAT and HOW, which takes one on a path of discovery and understanding. Interactive Group Learning provides immense possibilities for achieving this. Observing, Discussing, Exploring, Problem Solving, Doing and Creating with your peers, not only makes the process fun but also nurtures teamwork and collaboration. Building hypothesis and validating them as a team ensures that children can handle all types of real-life situations as well. 4 Fundamental Ingredients 4.1 For Building Virtual Learning Solutions: In the Adobe world, common tools used for constructing virtual classrooms include such applications as Adobe Acrobat ® 8, Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional (formerly known as Macromedia ® Breeze ® Meeting), Adobe Presenter 6 (formerly Breeze Presenter), and Adobe Captivate 2. 4.2 For Building Online Learning Solutions: Adobe tools, which have long been the de facto standard for creating interactive digital learning content, include such familiar products as Flash ®, Dreamweaver ®, Photoshop ®, Illustrator ®, Adobe Premiere ®, Adobe Contributeâ„ ¢ and Adobe Captivate, to name a few. The rising trend of integrating dynamic, modular learning content-learning objects-in face-to-face and e-learning programs alike is expected to drive greater demand for solutions built on Adobe Flex ® and Adobe LiveCycle ® platforms. Greater interoperability with industry leading LMS platforms extends integration of Acrobat Connect Professional. 4.2 For Building Rapid Learning Solutions: Rapid e-learning uses tools such as Adobe Captivate 2 and Adobe Presenter 6 to reduce the time it takes to produce rich, engaging Flash learning content, while allowing more non-technical contributors, including subject matter experts (SMEs) and students, to share their SCORM and AICC conformant Adobe Captivate learning objects as a stand-alone Flash movie or as an element of a multimedia portfolio that can be securely shared within an Adobe PDF document. 4.3 For Building Mobile Learning Solutions: From specialized content creation tools such as FrameMaker ® to Adobe Acrobat and all of the Adobe Creative Suite ® and Adobe Studio tools, to server products such as ColdFusion ® and those for creating rich Internet applications with Flex and LiveCycle, Adobe tools are a fundamental ingredient for building e-learning solutions that respond to any and all e-learning deployment models. It is important to understand that all solutions for e-learning are all based upon creating and extending rich, retentive, engaging learning experiences that connect learners with instructors, other learners, and rich learning content assets regardless of physical location. Therefore, e-learning and technology mediation, play a significant role and we need to stand up and realize the value that rich, engaging content creation, distribution, and management tools contribute to the experience of rich, effective e-learning programs enables new levels of engagement and participation among all learning stakeholders 5 E-learning Contents 5.1 Content which enables active and constructive learning: Content that enables active and constructive learning focuses on exploration. The user interacts with the content, explores objects in the defined environment, observes effects of the exploration and concludes from the experience. For example, explaining phenomena like Eclipses. What is the basic concept behind eclipses, how do they occur, are some of the questions that fascinate every student. Imagine, getting an interactive learning aid, where you can form shadows and explain the formation of eclipses. Simulations like these will not only explain but prove to be a powerful teaching aid. Relate this to the real life coverage in television and the understanding is complete. 5.2 Content which redefines interactivity : Interactivity is not about clicking the mouse and exploring data on the computer screen, but is about making a meaningful learning experience for the user and class. Content can be explored with the help of a mouse, but it also has to bring context to learning. It has to provide for observation, correlation and conclusion. Presentation and design of the content should ensure that by viewing and exploring it, the class gets interactive. 5.3 Concept based content versus syllabus-mapped content: Computer based instruction is a reality all over the world and India is no exception. Governments across are keen to create and develop content mapped to their syllabus. There are two important considerations here: a) whether the content covers all the concepts and b) whether the content is culture specific. 5.4 Designing computer-based teaching learning aids: A variety of teaching-learning strategies can be used while designing content. Listed below are a few key ones: Active Learning These strategies focus on exploration. Users can explore content and construct interpretations. Constructive Learning Strategies that bring context to learning as students begin from a point of already existing personal experience, knowledge or interests. Cooperative Learning Strategies that take advantage of and build upon   shared individual knowledge. The possibilities of using technology and computer-based teaching learning materials in the science classroom are immense. The need is for professional educators to be actively involved with instructional designers and multimedia experts in the creation of this content. The need is for teachers to participate in the process and act as facilitators. This will ensure that we expand the resources for teaching and learning in the science classroom beyond imagination.  Ã‚  Ã‚   6 Challenges and opportunities: Major changes have occurred in the world economy, in particular with regard to the information-bearing technologies. These demand the attention of governments for education and for human resource development. While the last two decades have seen considerable growth in education and training, the world still suffers from intolerable inequalities at the international level and sometimes within nations. Low quality and insufficient relevance are other concerns. At the root is often the problem of financing adequate provision, and of outdated structures for education and training. This is giving rise to contradictory situations where those who have the greatest need of them like rural communities, illiterate populations or even entire countries who do not have access to the tools which would enable them to become full-fledged members of the knowledge society. For the student/learner digital learning means increased access and flexibility as well as the combination of work and education. It may also mean a more learner-centered approach, enrichment, higher quality and new ways of interaction. For employers it offers high quality and usually cost effective professional development in the workplace. It allows upgrading of skills, increased productivity and development of a new learning culture. In addition, it means sharing of costs, of training time, and increased portability of training. 7 Impression on Student Learning: How does one evaluate the nature and depth of the learning that takes place in any environment? Students performances provide some clues. A complex chain of thinking skills fuels the process of presenting a science project. These skills include mastering fair-testing concepts, applying them in order to craft new hypotheses, and designing ways to test them. Students use prior knowledge and then interpret, implement, analyze, and evaluate it to create a new product. We can share the learning experiences by taking the following steps †¢ Video interviews with the early-adopter teachers regarding their experiences †¢ Video clips of student-teacher interactions †¢ Screenshots and multimedia submissions of student work, including e-portfolios †¢ Text documents delineating the rationale for using a technology-enhanced methodology †¢ Footage of teachers relating how they overcame initial resistance to technology-rich learning environments. 8 Future Trends of Learning object: An interesting future trend could be the use of Learning Objects in school education. Creating computer-based learning materials iscostly and time consuming. Syllabi are updated and upgraded every five years. Learning objects will not only prove to be cost effective, but will empower the teacher totally, giving them total independence to create multimedia content of their own choice. Learning Objects in this context are digital entities in the form of animations and graphics supported with voice-over and text. Traditional multimedia gave the teacher a pre-structured sequence of frames within the unit. In this solution the lesson is divided into different components of animations with voice-overs and text, graphics with voice-over and text and only text. 9 Conclusion: It has been shown that the use of the Internet in the sphere of organization and management of education leads to the increase of education accessibility on a global scale, and may lead to the growth of economic efficiency of an educational institutions activity. Taking the huge scale of the Internet into account, the creation of mechanisms designed for effective navigation of the Internet, and the collection, analysis, exchange and distribution of information for the specific use of education acquires great importance. Therefore it is suggested that we should Integrate Digital Learning Objects in the Classroom if we want to be the leaders in education industry because it is the need of the hour. We can recommend the following point for effective classroom learning Create an e-learning course. Use technology to revolutionizing your teaching. Give your institute a digital Identity. Implement new age education methodology.

Techno Music :: essays research papers

Techno Electronic music has been around since the late 60's and is now a very popular type of music among many poeple. My favorite genre of electronic music is Techno. Techno is a hard edge driven dance music that contains electronic sounds, high-energy, and a rhythmic beat. The sounds can range from simple beats of a drum to TV and movie dialogue or siren screams. Around 1986, there was a scene in Detroit which began spinning a futuristic kind of music. The DJ's began experimenting with electronic music and playing it in their clubs. This type of music slowly gained popularity and developed its own sub-genres and underground fan base. The term techno has been used in order to describe many kinds of electronic music. The first type of techno that was developed was loosely called Minimal Techno or Detroit. It was just a simple rhythm with a small number of eletronic sounds. In my personal opinion, this is not an interesting genre. Although minimal techno was the true budding point of Techno I always thought is was boing compared to other more advanced music that is now available. I would compare it with the relation between a string quartet against the power of a big orchestra. The next sub-genre is my favorite. Trance is one of the most popular style of Techno at large parties. Trance all started in Germany in the beginning of the nineties at a party called "Age of Love", where DJ Sakin played the first trance song ever: "Protect Your Mind". It was a huge hit and helped trance become one of the most popular forms of techno. The beats in Trance music tend to be louder than in other genres, which makes the music "hotter". The bass often fluxuates between high and low sounds mixed with a dreamy and spacy sound. To be more specific trance music contains many drum climaxes and wavy sounds. Trance music also branched into it's own sub-genres such as Goa. Goa is similar to trance only more psychedelic. It uses more trippy sounds and wibbly noises layered on each other. Harder versions of techno are kown as Hardcore. Hardcore is aggressive, frenzied, occasionally abrasive, and generally sounds like chaos. About 1992, hardcore evolved in two directions; darkside and happy hardcore. Darkside was more evil sounding and had extremely hard base. In happy hardcore the speed was turned up, cheesey pianos were added, and happy vocals.

Line Follower Robot

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM| EE2G – Design Report| THE GREAT EGG RACE| | | 25. 01. 2012| Table of Contents Appendix3 The Group Contract3 Introduction4 Literature Review4 History of mobile robots:4 The history of the line-following robots:5 Ongoing a most advanced projects on line-following robots or line-following based robots:5 Aims:6 Objectives:6 Requirements:6 System Decomposition7 Group Management Structure9 Name of the Robot9 Mechanical Design10 Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice10 Option 110 Option 211Review of the Frame12 Review of the Wheels12 Final Design13 Electronic Design14 Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice14 The Control Unit:14 The chosen microcontroller and the reasons: PIC16F64815 Stepper Motors Unit:16 The Driver Unit16 Software Design18 Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice18 Odd or even number of sensors18 The Number of Sensors18 The shape in which the sensors are put together18 The angle of t he V19 How does the program work? 19 Time Management plan22 Risk Assessment24Very possible, low cost and manageable risks24 The plans we have specifically come up with for the Robot project25 Components Wish List26 Conclusion28 References29 Appendix The Group Contract As a group, EGM had one target, to bring life to ICKI. This would not happen but with cooperation and hard work. By signing this contract you declare: * EGM will do the tasks they are responsible for by the internal deadline decided. * If EGM had any problems fulfilling any of their responsibilities they should inform the group leader in advance. EGM should back up all their group mates in unexpected and hard situations. * EGM should trust their group mates for their capability of doing their own responsibilities however this does not mean that they cannot say their opinion and ideas. * As the work break down has been decided when the entire group have been together, EGM is not allowed to complain about the inconsisten cy in the work division among the members of the group. * In any case when all the group members cannot get to agree on one subject they will have to count votes.If they tie they will have to ask a person’s opinion every group member trusts. (Or they can flip a coin alternatively. ) * If EGM wants to change any of the plans, they should discuss it with the rest of the group first. They are not allowed to accept doing something and do it in their own way without a group agreement. * EGM is responsible for attending all the group meetings unless they have a convincing reason not doing so. If any of the group members disobeys any of the statements above, the rest of the group has the right to reduce their mark upon agreement.Delaram SharifiZhanar Samayeva Hedieh Ekhlasi Xun Liu Introduction The purpose of this initial report is to survey the created plan made in order to accomplish the given Robot Project. This project is given to entire second year and the purpose of the projec t is to design and construct an autonomous robot that should follow the dark line track on a light background. First there is an overview on the line follower robots in literature review , The aims, objectives and requirements will follow the review. Literature ReviewThe line-following robots are classified under the â€Å"Mobile Robots†. Mobile Robots are the robots which do not have a fixed base; they can move around and do not physically stand at one location. These kinds of robots are fairly important as it is stated in this part of the article from Wikipedia’s Mobile robot is stated below: â€Å"Mobile robots are the focus of a great deal of current research and almost every major university has one or more labs that focus on mobile robot research. Mobile robots are also found in industry, military and security environments.They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to perform certain tasks like vacuum, gardening and some other common household t asks. † History of mobile robots: The first mobile robots were built during the World War II with the main purpose of producing flying bombs and radars. The next generations would follow a light source, determine if there are any obstacles and plug in themselves when their battery was low and according to the needs they would have different functions and made huge improvements in the progress so that they cover a very wide range of features.Line-following robots which are the main subject of this project are classified as â€Å"Land or Home Wheeled† robots. It is necessary to be said that the technology is far more advanced now that the robots with human like or animal like legs to provide mobility rather than legs exist. The technology has gone as far as making intelligent human-like robot (Androids), with a variety of capabilities such as speaking, voice recognition, face recognition, human like movements, dancing and singing.The purposes behind these projects are com ing from a variety of backgrounds as well such as: Household robot which can undertakes any of a house holds maid’s duties and science fiction movie productions. The pioneer countries in Android are Japan, Korea, the US, the UK and Iran. The information above are to show how advance the technology has gone in mobile robots but since the aims set for this project require very much lower level of understanding the mobile robots, this subject will not be discussed further. The history of the line-following robots:The designs of the first line-follower robot in 1960 was basically built for the purpose of getting controlled from earth while it is on the moon using a camera on it for processing images and video which has been unsuccessful. At 1970 the robot ended up following a high contrast white line under controlled lighting conditions at a speed of about 0. 8 mph which is pretty different to this robot projectsince we have more advanced programming equipment and processors, the robot of ours uses sensors rather than the video cameras to use less process. The main aim is thoroughly different too.The fist line-following robot was followed by more commercial used robots for which could do vacuuming and cleaning the floor. They used sensors to get the objects out of their way which is the method in which this project’s robot will determine its track, using sensors. Ongoing a most advanced projects on line-following robots or line-following based robots: The most advanced of the line followers according to the Wikipedia, DARPA website, Kiva systems and spec -minder website are : â€Å"DARPA Urban Grand Challenge, with six vehicles autonomously completing a complex course involving manned vehicles and obstacles.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Kiva Systems  clever robots proliferate in distribution operations; these smart shelving units sort themselves according to the popularity of their contents. The Tug becomes a popular means for hospitals to move large cabinets of st ock from place to place. † â€Å"The  Speci-Minder  with Motivity begins carrying blood and other patient samples from nurses' stations to various labs. â€Å" â€Å"Seekur, the first widely available, non-military outdoor service robot, pulls a 3-ton vehicle across a parking lot  , drives autonomously indoors and begins learning how to navigate itself outside. â€Å"Boston Dynamics released video footage of a new generation  BigDog  able to walk on icy terrain and recover its balance when kicked from the side. † The mentioned robots are very advanced using not only basic reflective switch sensors but also cameras to detect whatever their purpose is. Since this project requires simple solution to make the robot built fast and work fast these could not very much help in the process of building the robot. According to the websites and also reports available on the internet, every university which does computer science or electrical engineering has got some ki nd of robot project and mainly line followers.The specific specifications are moderately different but in all projects the main purpose is practicing an actual project in real life and knowing how to use simple and quick circuit design, program and implementation. The MINI Line follower robot for example has the most similar specifications to this project. The robot needs to follow a line powering up by a battery with size limitations. Kerman, Judith B. (1991). Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 0-87972-509-5. Perkowitz, Sidney (2004). Digital People: From Bionic Humans to Androids. Joseph Henry Press. ISBN 0-309-09619-7. Shelde, Per (1993). Androids, Humanoids, and Other Science Fiction Monsters: Science and Soul in Science Fiction Films. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-7930-1. http://www. stanford. edu/~learne st/cart. htm http://www. richardvannoy. info/building-a-line-following-robot. pdf http://ikalogic. com/proj_mini_line_folower. php ttp://online. physics. uiuc. edu/courses/phys405/P405_Projects/Fall2005/Robot_project_jaseung_. pdf http://nereus. mech. ntua. gr/pdf_ps/aim11. pdf Aims: * To design and construct an autonomous robot * The robot to be completed on time * To build the robot with its maximum speed * Build the robot with all the possibilities to win the race Objectives: * To come up with the ideas * To work as a team. Review and practice the skills of teamwork * To get experience of systems engineering * Improve electronic and mechanical practical design skillsRequirements: * The robot must follow the line a) The line is 50mm wide b) The line is 10m long c) The line is black on white background d) The line has maximum corners of 900 e) The line is horizontal * The robot must move forward * The robot must carry an egg a) The mass of egg is 25gr (approx. ) b) The size of egg is 5cm x 3cm (approx. ) System Decomposition System is an organized, purposeful structure regarded as a whole and consisting of interrelated and interdependent elements such as components, entities, factors, members, or parts.According to the Robot Project, the robot itself is the system, as it is consists of different subsystems, while the subsystems made of the components. Being more related to the Robot, it can be explained as the Mechanical, Electronic and Software Designs are the main subsystems, while the elements of each subsystem is defined as the components. The figure below shows the Robot system decomposition for better explanation: Figure [ 1 ]- The System Decomposition for the robot Group Management Structure During the meetings the work allocations between group members were discussed.The works as mechanical, electronic, programming, report, DVD film and logbook were divided between each in the group. To give one work division per group member means to put a big respon sibility on him, as every part has a big amount of not easy work to be done, and it can cause the difficulty in understanding the job that will lead to uncertainty. So every part has two members to work on it, and every group member has 3 jobs to be done by the end of the project and the work allocations are as followings: * Team Leader : Delaram Sharifi * Mechanical: Zhanar ; Hedieh Electronic: Xun ; Delaram * Programming: Delaram ; Hedieh * Reports: Zhanar ; Hedieh * DVD Film: Xun ; Zhanar * Logbook: Delaram ; Xun Name of the Robot The first thing was done by group is creating the name for the future robot. This process made the group to be more opened, close-knit, and creative, as well as the process helped to improve the team working. A lot of options we considered, but the main aim of giving the name was to create something that can reflect all of the group members in one name. So the final choice made by the group is the name ICKI.It stands by the countries of the each group m ember which are Iran, China, Kazakhstan, and Iran again. Mechanical Design Mechanical design for the robot presents many challenges and its main idea is to make it simple and affordable. The mechanical design of autonomous robot is including: * Robot’s Wheels. They are one of the most important assemblies of the mechanical platform. * Robot’s Frame. This frame is mechanical platform of robot and due to the frame all the parts are hold together * Motors. To control the speed and direction of the robot. * Sensors. To detect the direction.Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice During one of the meetings there are two options of mechanical design were discussed. Two group members responsible for the design presented their ideas to the group with all the aspects, advantages and disadvantages. The option as followings: Option 1 The first option was presented as the robot with the round shape. Then the robot would have 2 wheels by the left and right sides, 2 motors, line with 5 sensors in the front and the frame of HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene), i. e. plastic. Figure 2-Round Shape Option 2The second option is to make more traditional, the rectangular one. The rectangular robot with the frame and base of Aluminum or HDPE, with 2 wheels on the sides and with the â€Å"V† shape line sensors and the skid on the front. The skid will help to control the balance. Figure 3-Rectangular Shape After presenting the options of the mechanical design for the robot some advantages and disadvantages were written for each of the option that helped the group to choose the right one. During the discussion of the design, three things were considered: capacity, light weight and low to the ground.As long as two motors are used for the construction of the robot and each motor can take one wheel, the neediness in wheels is just for two. So two wheels connected to the motors at the back of the robot is enough to control the rout and the skid connec ted to the sensor board in the front can help the autonomous robot control the balance. The robot’s size is to be about 12cm to 14 cm and 4 cm is for the wheels. Review of the Frame The frame is the basic structure to which everything should be attached and Aluminum and HDPE were considered as the frame.First of all, Aluminum is strong, light, and easy to cut and drill while HDPE is the same light, strong, easy to shape and cut but also the cheap one. In comparison, HDPE has a very low thermal conductivity, and a higher strength to weight ratio than Aluminum. Review of the Wheels All the group members agreed that the large diameter wheels give the robot low torque but high velocity and if the motors strong enough then the wheels with larger diameter better to use. The speed of the robot depends on the size of the wheels and it is good to have them between 1cm and 2 cm.Here are some advantages and disadvantages of the first and second options that were made during the discussi ons on the meetings: | First OptionThe Round Shape| Second OptionThe Rectangular Shape| Advantages| * Beautiful, unusual design * HDPE frame | * HDPE frame * The front skid * â€Å"V† shape line sensors * Compact| Disadvantages| * Distance between wheels and sensors is not enough to make turns right after the sensor is detected * Not enough of space for circuit board, 2 motors and sensors, that makes the design not compact| * Usual Design| Table [ 1 ] Advantages and Disadvantages for the design optionsFinal Design Taking into account all the reviews made and the table of advantages and disadvantages the decision was made is to choose the second option of the mechanical design, and to change some nuances as to use HDPE for the frame together with the â€Å"V† shape line sensors (also see Software Design) and add a spoon in the middle between the wheels that is the best position to keep the balance for an egg. So the final result would look like: Figure 4-Final Design El ectronic Design The Circuit is consisted of 5 units. Sensors are acting as the input. The control unit controls every component in the circuit.The driver provides enough power for the stepper motor to move the robot. The Power supply powers up the whole circuit. Sensors Control Unit Driver Stepper Motors Power Supply Figure 5-Block Diagram Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice The Control Unit: AVR/PIC/8051 8051: an old but very popular controller. The older 8051s are kind of slow: 12 clocks per instruction. Newer 8051s have 6 clocks per instruction up to 1 clock per instruction. The selection of low pin count devices is a bit limited. Most 8051s have an external memory bus that makes it easy to add memory and peripherals.CISC has free C compiler. PIC: Slightly less old than the 8051. PICs are popular with both industrial developers and hobbyists alike due to their low cost, wide availability, large user base, extensive collection of application notes, availabil ity of low cost or free development tools, and serial programming (and re-programming with flash memory) capability. AVR: The newest architecture by about 20 years. Designed for a pipeline, so has a very good clocks/instruction. Good range of devices: small and cheap with fairly high performance. It is very C friendly because of the RISC. Comparison:Selections: AVR=PIC;8051; Price: AVR=8051;PIC; For beginners: 8051;PIC;AVR; C language: AVR=PIC;8051; Anti-interference: AVR=PIC;8051; Final Choice We have used PIC in a few experiments, so we are familiar with it. Moreover, in university we just have equipment for program the PIC, so we decided to use the PIC. The chosen microcontroller and the reasons: PIC16F648 The PIC16F84 was chosen for its small size, easy reprogram ability and interrupts it is clocked at 4 MHZ by a ceramic resonator and it can be even powered by 4 AA rechargeable batteries (Very low consumption).These same batteries power the motors. This is usually not recommende d since surges in motor current can affect the processors operation, but with decoupling caps in place and the watchdog timer being used in the software no problems were experienced. The watchdog could reset the processor if it went stupid before you could ever see it act up. After all, we considered the number of inputs and outputs. The inputs are number of sensors we have which is 7, and outputs are motors. So PIC16F648 which we have used several times has enough bit (8-bit PORTA, 8-bit PORTB). Stepper Motors Unit:Servo motor/Stepper motor Servo motor: A servomotor (servo) is an electromechanical device in which an electrical input determines the position of the armature of a motor. Servos are used extensively in robotics and radio-controlled cars, airplanes, and boats. Stepper motor: A stepper motor (or step motor) is a brushless DC electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor's position can be controlled precisely without any feedback me chanism (an open-loop controller), as long as the motor is carefully sized to the application. Comparison:Both types of motors offer similar opportunities for precise positioning, but they differ in a number of ways. Servomotors require analogue feedback control systems of some type. Typically, this involves a potentiometer to provide feedback about the rotor position, and some mix of circuitry to drive a current through the motor inversely proportional to the difference between the desired position and the current position Final Choice: Servo motor needs complex analogue feedback circuits. And we have used stepper motor before. However stepper motor will be given to us, so we chose stepper motor. The Driver UnitL298&L297/L293D A motor controller is a device or group of devices that serves to govern in some predetermined manner the performance of an electric motor. [1] A motor controller might include a manual or automatic means for starting and stopping the motor, selecting forward or reverse rotation, selecting and regulating the speed, regulating or limiting the torque, and protecting against overloads and faults. Three ways to drive a stepper motor: Use a transistor to drive each coil. But It was a little awkward to wire up the circuit – board space. Also, it requires 4 pins on the PIC to drive the motor.Use a driver array packaged in an IC. Don't forget to wire in the protection diodes! (i. e. SAA1027, L298, L293D) Use a specialized stepper motor driver chip. It would save on board space, and pin usage. As the price of stepper motor drive chip is very expensive and 4 transistors to drive each coil may make the board a mass. So we choose stepper motor driver IC. L298 has current capacity of 2A compared to 0. 6 A of a L293D. L293D’s package is not suitable for attaching a good heat sink; practically you can’t use it above 16V without frying it. L298 on the other hand works happily at 16V without a heat sink, so we choose L298.And in the datasheet we find out that it’s better to combine L298 with L297. * It needs to be considered that regarding to the temperature power supply is going to add to the circuit a heat sink needs to be included in the board otherwise it would melt. Software Design Technical Options, Critical Review and Final Design Choice The software to be used in order to program the pic CCS C Compiler, as it is the well-known software for the group. This software was used to do experiment laboratories for EE2A course and to use CCS C Compiler to program the robot will be more than adequate and helpful.Odd or even number of sensors Both odd and even numbers are possible to use, the group has chosen the odd to increase the accuracy and make the code more understandable and clear. As it will be explained how the program works, it will be clear how they both can be used. The Number of Sensors * 3: The program would work, but not accurate enough. All turns, no matter large or small will be reacted t he same. * 7: Again, the program will work, but needs far too much extra effort, increases the time of processing the data and makes the code very complicated. 5: Is a perfectly fine number, will give the opportunity to detect the turns in two different stages so that the robot can make the turns soon enough and with more accuracy. The shape in which the sensors are put together * An upside down V: Where the middle sensor is in the front, followed by two sensors, wider from each other in the back and followed by another two sensors, wider at the very back. This will not work because the turn is detected by the wider sensors later than the right time for to move to be taken from the robot. This method may be accurate but would not help the robot being fast. line: Where all the sensors are at the same level. This method is better than the latter but still will not make the robot to detect the larger turns sooner in order to make the reaction at the right time. * V: The middle sensor i s at the very back corner, two sensors with a wider distance comes next and the last two, again wider at the front. This method makes the robot understand the large angles sooner with the outer sensors, so that the robot will start turning sooner than the smaller angles which are detected by the middle sensors. The angle of the VThe angle should not be too small, because the robot will start the turns too early, and it should not be very wide because then it would not make any difference from the flat shape. This is to be experienced during the testing process but the decided angle at this time is 120 degrees. How does the program work? As it has been explained before, there are 5 sensors to be used in the robot. The recognition of the turns has been explained in 4 figures below. The green circles represent the sensors which have detected the black line and the red circles represent the sensors which have detected the white surface.The green circle is the logic â€Å"1† and t he red is the logic â€Å"0†. Normal positions of the sensors In this situation, when only the middle sensor detects the black line, the robot moves straight forward without any turns. The logic is â€Å"00100† 2. 5 cm Figure 4- The normal position of the sensors More than 50? turns including the 90? : When the turn is more than 50 degrees, the outer sensor feels the turn sooner than the middle sensor, so that the robot will start turning earlier, or if decided faster as well. The logic is â€Å"00101†. Figure 5-The more than 50? turns.It also needs to be said that if the large turns are happening for a very little while (for less than 4. 5 cm), the middle sensor will sense the turn first so that the robot would not change the direction to fast and get out of control. Less than 50? turn: When the turn is more than 50? , the middle sensor feels the turn first, so that the robot starts turning at a reasonable time to manage the turn. The logic is â€Å"00110† Figure 6-The less than 50? turns Approximately 50 degrees turns: At this situation, both middle and outer sensor feel the turn at the same time.The logic is â€Å"00111†. Figure 7- ? 50 ? Time Management plan Due to EE2G1 module, students have learnt how to manage their time in given projects using the graphs, charts and tables. Here is the Gantt chart that consists of two tables. The first one helps to analyze what tasks has to be done, when it has to be started and what amount of time is given and also gives the information about each task, if it is sequential or parallel. Task| Earliest Start (week)| Length (week)| Type| Dependent on†¦| A. High Level analysis| Week 0| 1 week| Sequential| | B.Selection of Mechanical Design and Components| Week 1| 1 week| Sequential| A| C. Detailed Analysis of Electronics for Robot| Week 1| 1 week| Sequential| A| D. Mechanical Design| Week 2| 2 weeks| Sequential| B| E. Circuit Design| Week 2| 2 weeks| Sequential| C| F. Build Mechanic s| Week 4| 2 weeks| Sequential| D| G. Build Circuit| Week 4| 1 weeks| Sequential| E| H. Construction| Week 6| 1 week| Sequential| F, G| I. Programming| Week 3| 3-4 weeks| Parallel| D, E, F, G, H, | J. Testing| Week 7| 4 weeks| Sequential| H, I| K. Demonstration| Week 11| -| Sequential| J|Table 1 – Gantt Table Summarizing the first table, information should be transferred to the chart. The chart helps visualize all the given tasks and the time given to accomplish them. Week| 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| (1) A. High Level Analysis| (1) B. Selection Of Mechanical Design and Components| (1) C. Detailed Analysis of Electronics for Robot| (2) D.Mechanical Design| (2) E. Circuit Design| (2) F. Build Mechanics| (1) G. Build Circuit| (1) H.Construction| (3-4) I. Programming| (4-5) J. Testing| DEMONSTRATION| Chart 1 – Gantt Chart Risk Assessment As everything else, this project has its own risks and possibility of troubles. We cannot stop the problems from happen ing, but we can consider the ways we would manage if they have happened.There are different types of problems which may occur, some with large possibility but manageable damage, some with very little possibility but disastrous damages. The group has come with some ideas about these risks and how to manage them which are as follows: Very possible, low cost and manageable risks Burning the electrical components such as the PIC or the power sources: 1. Keeping good care of the more expensive components, putting them in a position which brings the possibility of the damage to the least possible. 2.Having alternatives for each component, more for the cheap and more burnable ones, less for the more expensive and least burnable ones. Losing the documents, programs or components: 1. Taking good care of where the materials are saved or put, possibly write the places down or share with other group mates in case for memory loss. 2. Having a photo of each page of the written documents, copies o f the electronic stuff on different places, and having a list for the components we have to pack every time. The A plan’s failure : 1. Having a plan Bs and Plan Cs for all the Plan As. . Plan Bs can be for a change in the A plan, but plan Cs are completely different methods in case the whole plan has been a whole of a lot of rubbish. 3. Having the responsible person ready for the plans when the failure comes so that the change can be quick and easy. Running out of time: 1. Having someone responsible for the plans to go as it has been decided in the time management plan, taking care of even slight late results to prevent the sum of smalls becoming a huge delay. 2. Stopping panic attacks or they will cause more delay. 3.Keeping everything simple and tidy in order to make the trouble shooting faster and easier. The plans we have specifically come up with for the Robot project 1. Taking good care of the PIC, having alternatives for all the components. 2. Saving the programs on me mory sticks, computer and email. 3. Keeping pictures of the critical pages of the log book. 4. Having an alternative way of programming for the line detecting bits. 5. Having some options for the components available in case the robot doesn’t work out with them. 6. Having a map of the circuit with all the explanations about wiring and connections. . Keeping the actual circuit nice and tidy, the wires low and the colors right. Components Wish List According to the design decisions, the list of components needed for the project can be made. There are some basic components required in order to accomplish the mechanical, electrical and software design of the robot, such as: * HDPE for the frame and chassis * 2 wheels * 1 skid * 2 DC stepper motors * Sensors * Circuit board * Capacitors, resistors, Diodes, Transistors (referring to the main components) * Microcontroller * LED’s Every group is provided with 40 ? n order to buy the components needed. The table below shows the approximate price estimations: Wheels| ? 2-3| PIC16F648 (2)| ? 4| Sensors (5)| ? 5| HDPE plastic| ? 10| LED’s| ? 5| Screw Box| ? 2| Resistors| ? 2| Capacitors| ? 2| Skid| ? 2-3| Heat Sink| ? 3| Conclusion This project is not only for making line follower race robot but it is also a great and realistic practice for group work and project management. This is a hard challenge and is only possible to manage with co-operation, hard work, motivation and enthusiasm. Each individual member learns how to cope with different opinions and ideas.They learn to be tolerant and do not let anything personal get involved in the work since this may ruin the friendly environment among the group members. By doing this project a lot of skills will be developed such as: * Group work * Time management and working by deadlines * Work break down in equal amount among group members * Decision making * Risk management * Budget management * Working with time limit and in stressful conditions * Starting a project from scratch, developing ideas and making improvements * Undertaking risks and responsibilities * Keeping good and reliable documentation Keeping motivation and encouragement among the group live or dead By the end of this project we will have done a complete project management plan and implementation. We will know how to face troubles and problems and hopefully this is going to be a great memory of how we learnt to manage a real project in practice. References Online Documents: * BASIC ROBOT MECHANICS TUTORIALS, (2005-1012). Society of Robots. Retrieved from http://www. societyofrobots. com/mechanicsbasics. shtml * Priyank PatilDepartment of Information Technology S. W. Nawawi, M. N. Ahmad, J. H.S Osman (2008). â€Å"Real-Time Control of a Two Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Mobile Robot * http://forum. pololu. com/ * * Ooi, Rich Chi (2003). â€Å"Balancing a Two-Wheeled Autonomous Robot†. University of Western Australia. Thesis B. Mechatronics Engineering. * Ong, Yin Chee; Abidin, M. S. B (2006). â€Å"Design and Development of Two Wheeled Autonomous Balancing Robot†, Center for Artificial Intell. ; Robotic (CAIRO), University Technology Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. 4th Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD 2006), Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA, 27-28 June, 2006. Vivien Coelho; Stanley Liew; Karl Stol; Guangyu Liu (2008). â€Å"Development of a Mobile Two-Wheel Balancing Platform for Autonomous Applications†. Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Auckland. 15th International conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice (M2VIP08), 2-4 Dec 2008, Auckland, New-Zealand. * Jose Miranda (2009), â€Å"Application of Kalman Filtering and PID Control for Direct Inverted Pendulum Control†. Master Thesis, California State University, Chico Spring 2009. * R. Hollis, â€Å"BallBots,† Scientific American, October 2006.Retrieved February 4, 2009. Available at the World Wide Web: http://www. sciam. com/article. cfm? id=ballbots * Pakdaman, M. ; Sanaatiyan, M. M. (2009), â€Å"Design and Implementation of Line Follower Robot,† Computer and Electrical Engineering, 2009. ICCEE '09. Second International Conference on , vol. 2, no. , pp. 585-590, 28-30 Dec. 2009 * Priyank Patil (2010), â€Å"AVR Line Following Robot,† Department of Information Technology K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering Mumbai, India. Retrieved Mar 5, 2010. Available at: http://www. kmitl. ac. th/~kswichit/ROBOT/Follower. pdf * Swope Design.Inc. , â€Å"Balancing Robots Made Easy†, Available at: http:// www. Balbots. com, 2004. * Miller Peter (2008), â€Å"Building a Two Wheeled Balancing Robot†, University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Engineering and Surveying. Retrieved Nov 18, 2009. Available at: http://eprints. usq. edu. au/6168/ ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Each Group Member [ 3 ]. Statements can be added to this contract upon the entire group’s agreement [ 4 ]. Mobile Robot, Wikipedia website: [http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mobile_robot] [ 5 ]. http://ikalogic. com/proj_mini_line_folower. php

Analyse how contrast between characters helped the author communicate an important message or idea

Mister Pip written by Lloyd Jones is a novel recounted by the protagonist Matilda. Set in 1990’s Bougainville, we see Matilda begin to question her Mother’s traditional idea’s about life as a civil war rages between the rebels and the Redskins in her homeland. Mr. Watts or â€Å"Pop eye† is given the role teaching the village children, being the only educated, and consequentially, white man left on the island. He begins reading Great Expectations to the children and Matilda finds herself becoming entranced in white civilisation. She gets immersed in the story of the white boy â€Å"Pip† living in London in the 1800’s, very much aware his story is in great contrast to her own. Matilda’s Mother has never been out of Bougainville, she knows little to nothing about the outside world and believes in traditional ideas, holding her ancestry and God dear to her. Through the course of the story we see contrast grow between Matilda and her Mother as their values and interests begin to change and set them apart from each other. We see these differences overcome however when the time comes to stand up for the other, the bond of unconditional love conquering all, the author communicating to us how powerful it can be. In the beginning of the novel we get the impression Matilda has never challenged her Mother’s values – her roots, her culture and the Bible. Matilda knows no other world apart from her own, never having been fully exposed to other cultures and ideas – â€Å"What I am about to tell results, I think, from our ignorance of the outside world†. Matilda becomes familiar with white civilisation when Mr. Watts begins reading the children Great Expectations, learning about the way of life in a culture that greatly differs from her own – â€Å"Mr. Watts had given us kids another piece of the world†. She becomes intrigued by Mr. Watts and immersed in the book, entranced by a white boy in the setting of 1840’s London â€Å"By the time Mr. Watts reached the end of chapter one, I felt like I had spoken to this boy Pip. This boy I couldn’t see to touch but knew by ear. I had found a new friend. † In contrast, Matilda’s Mother Dolores had never had such a positive introduction to white civilisation. The white world took her husband away from her – â€Å"The white men took my Father and her husband away† the white world brought war to her homeland by bringing in the Redskins â€Å"The white men were to blame for the blockade †, the white world took Mr. Watt’s wife, Grace away and gave her back in a state of madness. Dolores cannot see past the bad experiences she had with the white world to see that it could provide Matilda with a better future. The white world to Dolores is a damaging place she doesn’t want her beloved daughter to be part of. She doesn’t let Matilda’s obvious interest in it, as Dolores in contrast never had, stop her from protecting Matilda against it with all she has. She wants Matilda to be safe in the world she knows rather than lose her to a world she is ignorant of – â€Å"She didn’t want me to go deeper into that other world. She didn’t want to lose her Matilda to Victorian England†. Firstly Dolores tries to distract Matilda from the story of Great Expectations and Mr. Watts by trying to get her to learn the names of her ancestors by making Matilda write them out in the sand – â€Å"my mum’s response was to reach for our family history and pass on to me all that she knew. † Her ancestors are a very important part of Dolores’s life. It soon becomes clear they are not important to Matilda whereas Pip, an imaginary, yet very real boy in Matilda’s mind is – â€Å"I felt closer to him [Pip] than the names of those strangers she made me write in the sand† When Matilda writes Pip’s name alongside her ancestors Dolores becomes angry at what Matilda values – â€Å"She gave me a look of pure hate†, the plan to pull Matilda back actually pushes her further away, deepening the contrast between them. Dolores does not give up in a quest to do what is for Matilda’s own good. She continues to try and â€Å"save† her daughter, the power of unconditional love overcoming their even more obviously marked differences. Dolores then tries to impose her faith on Matilda in hope she will begin to value God over Great Expectations to lead her away from the white world. Dolores comes unannounced to Matilda’s class and tries to educate the children on the only thing she knows well: the importance of faith â€Å"she didn’t know anything outside what she knew from the bible† but as Mr. Watts ets further through the novel Pip becomes yet even more important to Matilda. Dolores never stops in trying to steer Matilda away from the white world. The world she knows barely anything about, the world she thinks is evil. Despite their ever-increasing differences Dolores will always continue to protect Matilda from what she believes is bad. We see the power of unconditional love shown again through Matilda and Dolores’s contrast when Matilda di scovers Great Expectations to have been stolen by her Mother. When Dolores hides Great Expectations much strife is caused. The Red Skins visit Matilda’s island, threatening to burn all of their possessions unless they give up â€Å"Pip† who is only a character from a book and cannot be given up. Because the book is not where it is supposed to be â€Å"Pip† cannot be explained. The redskins burn the whole villages’ possessions because Dolores fails to come forward and admit to what she had done in order to retrieve the book. Although Matilda’s Mother could not have expected such consequences to have arisen from what she had done, her aims in the first place were not respectable. Dolores goes too far in trying to lead Matilda away from the white world and hides the book more out of her resentment for Mr. Watts and her hatred of Matilda being interested in things she isn’t herself. After Matilda finds out what her Mother does she feels extremely betrayed considering the act petty and selfish – â€Å"There are no words for the feelings of betrayal I had at that time† but chooses not to give her Mother up. Her unconditional love for her Mother wins out over all other emotions, no matter how strong they are. The contrast between Matilda and Dolores ultimately results in a test of the unconditional love felt between them and the author uses Matilda’s decision to show us how very powerful it can be. As the book goes on and the war between the rebels and the Redskins continues to rage, Mr. Watts comes up with a plan for himself, Matilda and supposedly her Mother to leave the island and escape to the white world – â€Å"There is a boat coming on the night after the full moon†. He tells Matilda he will tell her Mum just before they leave- â€Å"Make no mistake, I intend to speak to Dolores. For now though it is just our secret†. Matilda doesn’t doubt Mr. Watts’s word and she presumes her late notification about the trip is because her Mother might give something away with her insolence towards the white way of life, stopping them from going at all – â€Å"I understood- without any need for Mr Watts to spell it out for me – my mum was a risk with that information†. Matilda begins to get excited and impatient to leave, but angry with Mr. Watt’s for leaving it so late to tell her Mum. She brings it up with him –â€Å"â€Å"have you spoken to my Mum Mr Watts? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ thats when I understood, or at least, I thought I did† when it is implied that Mr. Watts may have never been planning on telling Dolores Matilda immediately disregards her longing to go to the outside world, putting the love she has for her Mother first– â€Å"I will not go without my Mum†. She makes it clear that if her Mother wants to stay on the island or if she is not included in the plan, she will not go with Mr. Watts. Despite the fact Matilda wants very different things from her Mother at this point in the novel Matilda expresses automatic unconditional love for her, knowing straight away that the love she has for her is greater than her desire to live in the white world and be different. Matilda again puts the contrast between them aside, and if she can’t be with her Mother while experiencing the white world, she won’t go at all. At the end of the book when the redskins come to their island again Matilda’s Mother pays the ultimate price when she stands up for the memory of Mr. Watts after the redskins kill him. They ask if anyone witnessed his murder, as though daring anyone to say that it had happened. When Matilda’s Mother pays tribute to Mr. Watts and says â€Å"Sir, I saw your men chop up the white man. He is a good man. I am here as God’s witness†. It is a brave, selfless act that she knows will result in dire consequences. She is taken away, Matilda being made to follow soon after. She comes to find her Mother just having been raped – â€Å"When I came around the huts, my Mum was on the ground. A Redskin was on top of her†. The soldiers threaten to do the same to Matilda and Dolores immediately protects her daughter from them pleading â€Å"Please. Have Mercy. See. She is just a girl. She is my only girl. Please. I beg you. Not my darling Matilda†. Regardless of the growing contrast and tension between them Dolores displays the ultimate act of unconditional love, sacrificing herself to stop Matilda getting raped – â€Å"My life. I will give you my life [In return for Matilda not to get raped]†. Dolores puts Matilda’s innocence above her own life, showing she loves her on top of all things no matter how different or interested in the white world she has become. In conclusion we see many situations where the author has used contrast between Matilda and her Mother to communicate the idea of how powerful unconditional love can be. We see both characters put aside their differences to display unquestionable acts of love for the other. The fact that both are able to move on from the other’s contrast to themselves to put their wellbeing first shows that unconditional love between mother and daughter, when it calls for it, is no match for other emotions humans can get caught up with in life.

The Petrov essays

The Petrov essays In the early 1950s Australia was rocked by the largest spy scandal in its history. In April 1954, a Soviet operative called Vladimir Petrov defected to Australia. His wife Evdokia followed him soon thereafter. It was an instant news sensation worldwide. What made it even more appealing as a news item was the fact that Evdokia Petrov was forcibly removed from the custody of Soviet field agents by Australian security forces, causing an uproar in both Australia and the Soviet Union. The loss of Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov caused serious damaged to the operational ability of the KGB, as both defectors were specialists in encryption/decryption and knew Soviet codes very well. The Petrovs were given false identities and lived out the rest of their lives in Australia. Vladimir Petrov was born in 1907 to a family of peasants living in Siberia. His working life began as a blacksmiths apprentice in 1919. Soon thereafter, he joined the Communist Youth Movement (Komsomol) and finished high school under the system of Soviet indoctrination. In 1930, the young Vladimir Petrov joined the Soviet Navy, but was recalled to Moscow in 1933 and allowed to enlist in the OGPU (later renamed as the KGB) . He began serving in China in 1937, however he returned less than a year later to work in the cipher section of the OGPU as director. By 1943 Vladimir Petrov was a Major. He was sent to neutral Sweden, where he immediately set about creating a spy network, operating out of the Soviet Embassy (located in Stockholm). Following the conclusion of the war, Petrov returned to the KGB head quarters, where he spent the next several years until he received a new assignment: he was to be a consul (effectively spy-master) in the Soviet Embassy in Canberra. His assignment was to create a full-scale spy ring in Australia and then to wage an espionage campaign against the country. His wife (Evdokia Petrov), a cipher clerk, came with him to Australia. Howe ...

Multilingual Create a Secondary Language Profile on LinkedIn®

Multilingual Create a Secondary Language Profile on LinkedIn ® Are you bilingual or multilingual? The general rule on LinkedIn ® is that you may only have one profile; having multiple profiles is a violation of the Terms of Service that could get you booted off the site. However, there is one exception to that rule: the Secondary Language Profile. As of January 2013, over 64% of LinkedIn ® members are located outside of the US. Because such a large portion of users are multilingual and interested in connecting with people both inside and outside of English-speaking countries, LinkedIn ®Ã‚   allows users to set up additional LinkedIn ® profiles that cater to secondary languages. LinkedIn ® supports the following languages: English | Czech | Danish | Dutch | French| German | Indonesian | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Malay | Norwegian | Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Russian| Spanish | Swedish| Tagalog | Turkish Click here for a list of languages supported by LinkedIn ® mobile applications. NOTE: You cannot change the default language of your profile once youve set it up in a particular language. Its recommended that you set up a secondary language profile instead. Creating a Profile in Another Language To create a profile in another language, go to your Profile page and click the down arrow to the right of your Edit Profile button. Select Create profile in another language:    Choose your language from the dropdown menu:    Youll also want to update your Professional Headline. Then click Create Profile. The language you select will determine the default language for your profile display and also the language in which you will receive messages from the LinkedIn Corporation. Content and messages will always be displayed in the language in which they are written. LinkedIn ® does not translate content or messages for you, so you will need to go through each section and update all necessary fields. Remember to save each section before continuing onto the next. When a member signs in to LinkedIn ® and views your profile, they will see it in the language you chose when you set up your account; or, if you have multiple profiles in several languages, viewers will see the one most relevant to them. The viewer has the ability to choose from your language profiles by selecting one from the dropdown menu underneath your profile photo.    All of your language profiles will show up in search engines and have their own URL. You can also delete a secondary language profile by select the language from this dropdown list. Just select Delete this profile link and click Delete. Let me know if this article was useful to you! Also note that the inspiration for this topic came from a question submitted by one of my readers so please do contribute your ideas if you have them! Finally, a Bonus Tip on Secondary Language Profiles has been added to the 7th Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile coming soon!

Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power Essay

Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power - Essay Example On looking at the precision and detail Leonardo and other artists afforded his portraits, it is evident that what they were drawing was not merely portraits but ‘reality’ as it were. The artist’s attention to detail shows the modern person how life was during the time (Tinagli88). At the point, the portraits were supposed to be three-quarter so that the sitter could lock their eyes with the painter in a way that signified dialogue. It was believed that the eyes were the instrument through which love was communicated yet a few of the most celebrated portraits did not lock eyes with the viewer. Portrait Ginevra de’ Benci did not lock eyes with the beholder in spite of her being a renowned poet and hailed for her work which preached love. In his documentation, Leonardo wrote that he understood the conventions of beauty as depicted in poetry and believed that a painter yields, even more, power over men’s mind as in his work, he could draw a portrait that a man can fall in love too. The painting may not even depict a living person. In his argument, Leonardo is right to state that the paintings had power over the mind of men. Mostly, the eyes were believed to communicate love. In such a case, if the person received a portrait of a woman whose eyes were locked to those of the beholder, then there is no doubt the beholder would have translated the images to mean that the person loved them. In conclusion, there are many changes that have occurred in artistry since the Renaissance.

Idea of the Third World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Idea of the Third World - Essay Example The term ‘third world’ is in real meaning a derogatory term used to describe these developing countries. The only ‘advantage’ that this term can get is ‘aid’ from the West. History has shown that in the past these so-called ‘third world’ countries were exploited, and completely stripped of their wealth by their colonial rulers, the very countries which now refer them as ‘underdeveloped’. As Irogbe, speaking about these colonial rulers comments â€Å"They did not hesitate to create and finance political parties in opposition to real nationalist ones†¦ used various other means to make sure that they handed over to those who would continue with the colonial policies in the nominally independent countries†¦Thus, a crucial problem of underdevelopment is that in this process of dependency there is a convergence of interest between the local or internal bourgeois and the external capitalist oligarchies†. All t hese nefarious dealings often made the development of these newly formed countries very slow and an uphill task. The word ‘third world’ until today, carries a picture of malnourished, non-whites living in abject poverty, which is not true anymore. Countries like China, India, and much more from the so called ‘third world front’ have put their economies in a strong position and are fast progressing to catch up with ‘developed world’. They are touted as the future powers and are in the process of taking charge of modern day world economy. Thus, we find the term ‘third world’ does not carry much meaning now, especially with the dissolution of USSR.

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist Research Paper

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist - Research Paper Example The invasive context in which the monster in The Exorcist (1973) has manifested represents the ways in which biological changes occur without the will of an individual. Regan is not under her own control, but is controlled by forces within her body that she cannot escape. No one can control what is happening to her. The priest, a representation of the male dominant gender, has no true power over the changes that are occurring within the little girl. He is flummoxed by the changes and is impotent in stopping what is happening to her. However, the male figure is still charged with saving the girl from her own spill of identity, the demon representing the psychological and physical changes that she cannot control and will set her life on a new course in which she must navigate the newness.According to Davies, human beings are fascinated by monsters because they most often have elements of explanation that real life does not often provide. As well, the ’paradox of horror’ c an be explained in terms of the ’disowned self’, the parts of the mind that a person may not want to own or acknowledge. The monster represents â€Å"the struggle between oppressive social norms and our repressed desires†, creating a tangible link between the parts of the self that cannot be expressed and the parts of the biological development that cannot be denied (330). The identity is often complicated by physical changes and manifestations of mental desires that are beyond the direct control of the self.

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act - Assignment Example This information is then used to assess the patient's condition, diagnose an illness, as well as impair, prevent or treat a disease. CLIA certified laboratories work in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a means to assure that Medicare payments meet the standards and cost guidelines set by the appropriate government agency. While CLIA is a mandatory component of Medicare, it "applies to all providers rendering clinical laboratory services, whether or not Medicare claims are filed" (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2006, p.2). In addition, CLIA has provisions for an accreditation process as well as an educational procedure. In this way, NGOs, state, and federal agencies can participate in an ongoing review conducted by CMS, the center for all services. Numerous tests have been waived by the CMS as so "simple and accurate that there is little risk of error [even] if the test is performed incorrectly" (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2006, p.2). Facilities that wish to perform waived tests must pay a $150 biennial fee and must apply for a Certificate of Waiver. "These laboratories are not routinely inspected; however they may be inspected as part of a complaint investigation or on a random basis to determine whether or not only waived tests are being performed" (CLIA waived and PPM tests defined, 2009). In addition, the tests "pose no reasonable risk of harm to the patient if the test is performed incorrectly" and/or "are cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for home use" (CLIA waived and PPM tests defined, 2009). The original list contained eight waived tests, but recently the list has been significantly expanded. Tests that are CLIA waived include "ovulation tests that make use of visual color comparisons" (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). This would include home pregnancy tests. The list also includes "blood glucose using FDA-cleared monitoring instruments", which are the automated testing devices often used by diabetics to monitor their blood sugar level (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). In all events, tests, and devices, the user must strictly adhere to the manufacture's instructions in regards to the use, reading, and interpretation of the results. If a test is not currently listed, "the manufacturer of the test would have to apply for a certification of waiver from CMS" (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). In this way, CLIA is able to stay abreast of new technologies and medical advancements. 3.) What are the other levels of laboratory services and what is the process to have your lab certified Test methods are categorized into three distinct levels based on the complexity of the method. There is the Waived Complexity Level, which requires no regular inspection. In addition, there is the Moderate/High Complexity level, which requires the physician or laboratory to complete an Application for Certification. The comprehensive application includes a "description of laboratory to include name and number of tests performed annually, methodologies for each test, [and] personnel qualifications" (Moderate Complexity Testing Overview, 2004). In addition, the

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Essay

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Strength of the Brand - Essay Example The importance of price in purchase decisions puts an emphasis on the relationship between the price of a purchased item and its quality (Mesak, 1979). Among the most attention-grabbing is the sales promotion of Nike golf Thailand used for their Driver and golf clubs. This was also the event Driver SQ series was introduced in 2006. The approach was to reduce the cost of the item in a short period of time. For demonstration, when the company promotes new product, which is done once every year, the price that kicks off at roughly four hundred dollars ($400) to six hundred dollars ($600), which is about 13, 000-20, 000 Thai Baht will hold a price of just about $250 (approximately 8, 000 Thai Baht) six months later. Then towards the end of the promotion, it will fasten to a price of $120 at the least, which is around 5, 000 Thai Baht. January 2002 came into the vastly competitive golf club industry of $1.5 billion. Nike is relying on its sound brand image as well as its deep pockets to vie in commerce where companies are inclusive of rigorous technologies (Gabrielle et al, 2002) when golf became popular and demands begin to escalate. Companies subsequently changed mode of production to mass production by means of shifting production processes to China with the intention of decreasing the costs (Anderson, 2008). Owing to the formidable marketing strategy as well as the production mode which is being used by Nike golf in promoting their merchandise, items of Nike golf are virtually offered in all golf shops throughout the world. They are able to distribute merchandises through dealers on every country and that particular dealer ought to employ their own strategy or technique in advertising their products. Hence, the Thailand Nike golf sales promotion which is being applied for their SQ driver series is distinctive from other sales promotion used by dealers from other countries

Sexual attraction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sexual attraction - Research Paper Example Human sexuality has many aspects related to physiology and psychology. Biological or physiological aspects of sexuality are related to the continuity of human generation in the world. Without sexual relationship, it is impossible to sustain the generations by living things. Nature has given the sexual attraction to all the living things in order to sustain their species on earth. Psychological aspects of sexuality are related to the relaxation of mental stress. Sexual relationship is one way for the living things to release their emotional energies. Sex is a divine thing given to all living things by nature. It should be used for constructive things rather than destructive things. Sex related crimes and abuses are increasing day by day everywhere in the world. Even small children were sexually abused by elders in the current century. The total unawareness of sexuality and sexual relationship is leading to such abuses. People are engaged in sexual abuses because of the emotional dominance over their wisdom. Diana Russell has reported from his studies that in a sample of 930 women she has studied, 38% has been sexually abused before the age of eighteen (Hastings, p.20) The adolescent period is a stage in which infatuation dominates all other wisdom. People at this stage may not know much about the good and evil. They will act based on their physiological and psychological needs. Barriers may not have any place during this period and they often engage in sexual relationships without thinking twice. Much of the human sexual attraction is related to the physical attractiveness. The appearance of a person is interpreted by the senses which decide whether that person is suitable or not for sexual relationships. It is important for everybody to know about the meaning of sexuality and the importance of sexual relationships in order to sustain a healthy life. This paper briefly explains sexual attraction and its consequences. Selection of the life partner is

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act - Assignment Example This information is then used to assess the patient's condition, diagnose an illness, as well as impair, prevent or treat a disease. CLIA certified laboratories work in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a means to assure that Medicare payments meet the standards and cost guidelines set by the appropriate government agency. While CLIA is a mandatory component of Medicare, it "applies to all providers rendering clinical laboratory services, whether or not Medicare claims are filed" (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2006, p.2). In addition, CLIA has provisions for an accreditation process as well as an educational procedure. In this way, NGOs, state, and federal agencies can participate in an ongoing review conducted by CMS, the center for all services. Numerous tests have been waived by the CMS as so "simple and accurate that there is little risk of error [even] if the test is performed incorrectly" (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2006, p.2). Facilities that wish to perform waived tests must pay a $150 biennial fee and must apply for a Certificate of Waiver. "These laboratories are not routinely inspected; however they may be inspected as part of a complaint investigation or on a random basis to determine whether or not only waived tests are being performed" (CLIA waived and PPM tests defined, 2009). In addition, the tests "pose no reasonable risk of harm to the patient if the test is performed incorrectly" and/or "are cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for home use" (CLIA waived and PPM tests defined, 2009). The original list contained eight waived tests, but recently the list has been significantly expanded. Tests that are CLIA waived include "ovulation tests that make use of visual color comparisons" (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). This would include home pregnancy tests. The list also includes "blood glucose using FDA-cleared monitoring instruments", which are the automated testing devices often used by diabetics to monitor their blood sugar level (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). In all events, tests, and devices, the user must strictly adhere to the manufacture's instructions in regards to the use, reading, and interpretation of the results. If a test is not currently listed, "the manufacturer of the test would have to apply for a certification of waiver from CMS" (Is the Test You Need CLIA Waived, 2009). In this way, CLIA is able to stay abreast of new technologies and medical advancements. 3.) What are the other levels of laboratory services and what is the process to have your lab certified Test methods are categorized into three distinct levels based on the complexity of the method. There is the Waived Complexity Level, which requires no regular inspection. In addition, there is the Moderate/High Complexity level, which requires the physician or laboratory to complete an Application for Certification. The comprehensive application includes a "description of laboratory to include name and number of tests performed annually, methodologies for each test, [and] personnel qualifications" (Moderate Complexity Testing Overview, 2004). In addition, the

Sexual attraction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sexual attraction - Research Paper Example Human sexuality has many aspects related to physiology and psychology. Biological or physiological aspects of sexuality are related to the continuity of human generation in the world. Without sexual relationship, it is impossible to sustain the generations by living things. Nature has given the sexual attraction to all the living things in order to sustain their species on earth. Psychological aspects of sexuality are related to the relaxation of mental stress. Sexual relationship is one way for the living things to release their emotional energies. Sex is a divine thing given to all living things by nature. It should be used for constructive things rather than destructive things. Sex related crimes and abuses are increasing day by day everywhere in the world. Even small children were sexually abused by elders in the current century. The total unawareness of sexuality and sexual relationship is leading to such abuses. People are engaged in sexual abuses because of the emotional dominance over their wisdom. Diana Russell has reported from his studies that in a sample of 930 women she has studied, 38% has been sexually abused before the age of eighteen (Hastings, p.20) The adolescent period is a stage in which infatuation dominates all other wisdom. People at this stage may not know much about the good and evil. They will act based on their physiological and psychological needs. Barriers may not have any place during this period and they often engage in sexual relationships without thinking twice. Much of the human sexual attraction is related to the physical attractiveness. The appearance of a person is interpreted by the senses which decide whether that person is suitable or not for sexual relationships. It is important for everybody to know about the meaning of sexuality and the importance of sexual relationships in order to sustain a healthy life. This paper briefly explains sexual attraction and its consequences. Selection of the life partner is