What Is Happiness?

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on What Is Happiness?. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality What Is Happiness? paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in What Is Happiness?, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your What Is Happiness? paper at affordable prices!

"Pain is what we feel when our soul touches evil. Happiness is what we feel when our soul touches love!" That's a from a book by James McBride. Happiness is more than just being "content". Being "content" is a more settled, a passive feeling, maybe like after one has just eaten a large meal. Life feels good, life feels just right, you wish things could just stay that way. Happiness is a more active feeling, a vibrant joy that sings and dances inside you. Something we want to share with the world around us, and the people we care about. Often what we feel is contentment though, and not happiness.

Happiness is short-lived. That rush of energy is hard to maintain. We can get happy over the minute things in life. Like when a friend says hi, when we get something new. The happiness stays for but a minute though, and what we have left, if we are still feeling positive, is contentment.

The pursuit of happiness is in fact, useless. Its a losing battle because there is nothing to keep us permanently happy. When the friend goes away, when we tire of the toy, we fall back to contentment. Happiness leaves like a bird in the winter. Just leaving us to try to predict the date of its next arrival.

Whats wrong with just being content? Nothing, essentially, except that for some reason, we associate it with laziness, and we just start moping around kind of feeling satisfied. That's the mistake in our way of thinking. Happiness is available to me each moment of every day, it's a gift, and all I have to do is open it up. That's what I try to do on a daily basis. I try sharing a smile, playing with my nieces and nephews, hearing or telling good jokes, there are several opportunities to experience genuine happiness on a daily basis, and for most of my life, I missed them. Just because I thought I had to go find it. I would care less what anybody thought or did about anything. It wasn't until I became happy with myself that I started to spread happiness everywhere else, and I learned what real happiness was.

Online writing services offer help on What Is Happiness? on What Is Happiness? will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis

If you order your cheap essays from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis paper at affordable prices with writing help service!

Why Hong Kong?

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research is to show and explain the comparative country risk analysis between the nations of Hong Kong and Chile. The findings of this research are to compare and evaluate the economic and political factors that affect the business environment of these two counties. The main purpose of this document is to illustrate why Hong Kong is better place to invest, compared to another country.

Hong Kong

Essay help on Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis

Hong Kong Country Profile

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on July 1, 17. Five years later, it remains the worlds freest economy, tenth-largest trading entity, and ninth-largest banking center. Hong Kongs standard of living exceeds that of Great Britain ($4,506 vs. $,41). The economy has been built on Hong Kongs status as a major trading port and financial center for East Asia. In particular, Hong Kong is renowned for its rule of law, lack of trade barriers, and low taxes. Despite a robust 10.5 percent GDP growth rate in 000, a drop in U.S. economic growth affected Hong Kong seriously and a concomitant fall-off in U.S. imports, with GDP growth collapsing to 0.1 percent in 001. The SAR was hit hard by the regional downturn of 17-8 and the US-led slowdown of 001-0. GDP growth will pick up again when external demand recovers, but the last five years have exposed economic shortcomings. The first is an over-reliance on the property sector for official revenue. This issue has attracted attention since the property price bubble burst in 17, leaving the government with a structural fiscal deficit. The second is rapid infrastructure development in China, which some fear risks sidelining the SAR. In response, officials are seeking to strengthen Hong Kong?s role as an entrep�t, focusing on financial services, logistics, tourism, and producer and professional services.

Hong Kong Country Risk

COUNTRY VIEW

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Overall Overall Political Economic Economic Liquidity

rating score risk policy risk structure risk Risk

March B B A B A

February B B B B A

Short-term risk event

Failure to bring about an improvement in the fiscal position?the deficit rose to the equivalent of 5.5% of GDP in 00/0?could prompt renewed speculation over the future of the fixed link between the Hong Kong and US dollars.

Political risk

The passing of laws that prohibit acts of ?treason, secession, sedition and subversion? against the Chinese state, even if less draconian than initially feared, will impinge upon the freedom of expression in Hong Kong. The creeping erosion of Hong Kong?s autonomy could damage investor confidence.

Foreign trade

Hong Kong levies virtually no import tariffs or duties and is considered a duty-free port. It also does not maintain anti-dumping or countervailing duties legislation or import quotas. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, some excise duties are charged on four groups of commodities [including] hydrocarbon oil, liquors, methyl alcohol and tobacco. Overall, there are very few barriers to imports in Hong Kong, which has one of the worlds most accessible markets. It is an important market for U.S. exports and consumes U.S. manufactured and agricultural goods at a higher rate per capita than most of the worlds other economies.

Business environment ranking summary

Value of index() Global rank() Regional rank()

18-00 00-07 18-00 00-07 18-00 00-07

8.4 8.47 5 11 1

() Out of 10. () Out of 60 countries. () Out of 16 countries Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Economic outlook

Strong growth in re-exports will drive GDP growth of .7% in 00 and 4% in 004. However, consumer price deflation will persist in 00-04, as consumer and business confidence remains fragile. The current-account surplus will remain large in 00 (equivalent to 8.7% of GDP) because import growth is held back by weak domestic demand, but it is expected to narrow in 004 as stronger domestic demand boosts imports.

Debt outlook

Hong Kong?s total external debt is forecast to grow from around US$4.5bn (0.% of GDP) in 00 to US$60.bn (4.% of GDP) in 004, as private companies borrow in order to finance expanded operations in mainland China. The debt-service ratio will be low in 00-04, averaging just over .5%.

Economic forecast summary (Table 1)

00 00 004

Real GDP (% change) . .7 4.0

Consumer prices (% change; av) -.0 -1.5 -0.8

Exchange rate HK$US$ (av) 7.80 7.80 7.80

Current account (US$ m)

Goods exports fob 01,71 7,787 46,606

Goods imports fob -07,100 -,10 -54,47

Trade balance -5,8 -4,4 -7,741

Current-account balance 1,66 14,064 1,14

Current-account balance (% of GDP) 8.6 8.7 7.4

External financing (US$ m)

Financing balance ,74 ,44 7,886

Total debt 4,447 56,404 60,44

Total debt service 7,457 8,08 ,05

Debt-service ratio, paid (%) .6 .5 .6

Chile

Chile Country Profile

Chile has been a model of economic reform for Latin America since the beginning of the 180sa record of success that is due in large measure to a trade policy of unilateral liberalization coupled with an almost uniform tariff rate. Yet President Ricardo Lagos, who took office in March 000, has promoted a reversal of labor deregulation and spending restraint. Recently, Chile?s government approved long-promised labor legislation in September 001, adding significantly to the burden of doing business in Chile. Also, the tax on reinvested corporate profits rose from 15 percent to 16 percent, and will increase to 17 percent in 004. The tax increase will finance a cut in personal taxes to stimulate consumption. These two measures raise the cost of investment in Chile and will undermine prospects for lower unemployment, currently at percent; they also cast doubt on whether Chile will remain a model of reform for the rest of Latin America. The Lagos administration has committed to imposing a structural budget surplus rule of 1 percent of GDP but is struggling to keep its commitment. Chile recently signed a free trade agreement with the European Union, which now awaits ratification in Congress, and is engaged in trade negotiations with the United States. In addition, the low economic growth of the past five years, averaging .5 percent per year, prompted a meeting between representatives of the public and private sectors to elaborate a pro-growth agenda, which has yet to be introduced in Congress. Chiles fiscal burden of government score is 0.5 point better this year; however, both its government intervention and regulation scores are 1 point worse. As a result, Chiles overall score is 0.15 point worse this year, causing Chile to be classified as a mostly free economy.

Chile Country Risk

COUNTRY VIEW

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Overall Overall Political Economic Economic Liquidity

rating score risk policy risk structure risk Risk

September B 1 A A C A

June B A A C A

Short-term risk event

A deterioration in crisis-hit Mercosur would have a negative impact on Chiles already volatile currency.

Political Risk

Although the ruling Concertacion and the opposition Alianza por Chile (the Alianza) coalitions have reverted to traditional consensus politics, the president, Ricardo Lagos, will use political polarisation in an attempt to stem the rise of Joaquin Lavin, the likely presidential candidate for the Alianza in 005. Nevertheless, the Partido Democrata Cristiano (PDC) constituent of Concertacion will maintain a moderating influence on government political strategy. Despite a wider than previously forecast fiscal deficit for 00, fiscal policy remains cautious.

Foreign trade

On January 1, 00, according to the U.S. Trade Representative, the government reduced the flat tariff rate of 8 percent on most products to 7 percent. Chile has by far the best tariff regime in its region; however, its tariffs are still high by global standards. On some agricultural goods, such as wheat, vegetable oils, and sugar, Chile applies duties on top of the existing tariff rate, and this can increase the effective tariff rate dramatically. The U.S. Trade Representative reports that due to low international wheat prices in 1 and 000, this system led to applied import duties as high as 0 percent, well above Chiles WTO bound rate. In May 001, the price band was temporarily lowered until March 00. Since agriculture is one of the most important export sectors, barriers on agricultural products distort trade significantly. If the price band increases after March 00, Chiles trade policy score could worsen in future editions of the Index.

Business environment ranking summary

Value of index() Global rank() Regional rank()

18-00 00-07 18-00 00-07 18-00 00-07

7.1 7.4 0 0 1 1

() Out of 10. () Out of 60 countries. () Out of 8 countries Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela

Economic outlook

GDP growth will weaken to .4% in 00, but should recover in 00 as confidence in both the domestic and global economies improves. Inflation is expected to remain within the -4% range set by the Central Bank. The current-account deficit will be manageable in the forecast period.

Debt outlook

The expansion of the debt stock is slowing and Chiles debt profile remains healthy. The debt-service ratio will decline in the forecast period on the back of higher export earnings and lower debt repayments.

Economic forecast summary (Table )

00 00 004

Real GDP (% change) .8 .4 4.

Consumer prices (% change; av) .6 .1 .

Exchange rate Ps US$ (av) 66. 685.47 60.54

Current account (US$ m)

Goods exports fob 17,440 18, 0,87

Goods imports fob -15,877 -16,0 -18,601

Trade balance 1,56 ,11 ,6

Current-account balance -0 -0 -565

Current-account balance (% of GDP) -1.4 -1.4 -0.8

External financing (US$ m)

Financing balance -5,7 -4,84 -4,10

Total debt 7,5 ,17 41,47

Total debt service 6,486 4,40 4,716

Debt-service ratio, paid (%) 7.8 1.1 18.1

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The GDP is measures the value of a nations output of goods and services for some period of time, usually a year. GDP can increase for two distinct reasons. It can increase because more goods and services are being produced, or it can increase because prices of goods and services have risen. The economic forecast summary tables (tables 1 and ), revel in recent data that Hong Kong?s is much stronger in its GDP than is Chile. Chile?s GDP is clearly poor compared to Hong Kong?s. Hong Kong?s GDP is definitively very high, compared to Chile?s and to other nation?s and this fact is really proven through both, recent and historical economic data.

Conclusion

According to the findings of this research, both nations have advantages and disadvantages over their economic, political and business environment factors. Hence, it is very hard to say that these two nations (Hong Kong and Chile) are similar in their country risk structure. What is a fact is that Chile and Hong Kong are very different in most ideologies of economic expansion and development. Political and economic risks of both countries are definitively the driven forces that control and expand the business environment of each, but at the same time these forces are the power that removes barriers of foreign trade and investment of both nations. Chile?s foreign trade status is low, limited and pessimistic. During many years, Chile has been struggling a lot in improving and expanding its foreign trade rank, even nowadays. During the time, Chile?s trade barriers have been fixed and improved, but they still high by global standards. In other hand, Hong Kong?s foreign trade and investment barriers are highly much lower than Chile?s in terms of import tariffs, quotas, duties etc. In short, Hong Kong is better place to invest, relatively to Chile, because of its low level of protectionism.

References

Library References (UHD) Historical Economic Growth

Online Journals. Web sites

http//www.heritage.org/research/features/index/

http//home.aigonline.com/country_view/0,4605,16,00.html

http//www.econ.pncbank.com/cra.htm

Please note that this sample paper on Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom research papers on Hong Kong vs Chile.A comparative Country Risk Analysis will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from writing help service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Gothic furniture

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on gothic furniture. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality gothic furniture paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in gothic furniture, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your gothic furniture paper at affordable prices!

GOTHIC

The Gothic period, which came after the Byzantine and Romanesque age, was pushed by the growth and spread of Christianity in and around Europe. Furniture was a big part of peoples lives and they saw it as a way to express themselves. Gothic furniture was crude and heavy at first but later became decorative and lighter. The European crusaders helped introduce this change, and helped Europe to advance in their furniture styles. The general lines of the gothic style were heavy and based on church motives. Tall arches and very little furniture was the gothic style. The strictness of the churches demanded that furniture be proper and decorative rather than comfortable and cozy. Furniture from this age was often extremely heavy and most chests were often immovable. However the chest or hutch was probably one of the most popular pieces of furniture of the gothic age. These chests and hutches were used as benches or seats in the daytime but at night they were used as beds or couches. Hutches and trunks were also often used as storage bins for family articles so that when the family moved they could bring the chest with them. Pin hinges were often used to secure the roughly constructed tops. A very thick and wide piece of solid oak was used for the front and sides of the hutch. When chests and dressers became more common. It was at this time that the trestle table came into being, some even having drawers. Decorated armchairs were still only used in churches as seats for royalty or as choir stalls. X and triangle shaped chairs were also used in most churches. Throughout the gothic period, decorative furniture became more popular and it was beginning to be more comfortable. Probably the most notable floral pattern developed was the royal fleur-de-lis.

Oak was the most common wood used at this time, but in the late part of the Gothic period softwoods were introduced. Today, furniture of the Gothic design is mostly used in churches, but some families like to put gothic style furniture in their dining rooms, hunting lodges and summer homes. College papers on gothic furniture on gothic furniture will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Creating Together

If you order your cheap essays from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Creating Together. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Creating Together paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Creating Together, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Creating Together paper at affordable prices with writing help service!

Creating Together

In our daily lives, on our traveling path, we are always confronting obstacles and decisions that would affect the direction in which we are going. However, the ultimate end of a journey doesn't only depend on us, it is also influenced by people we encounter. Two novels, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver, had successfully drawn the main character's journey of life. Gatsby and Codi's lifestyles are totally different throughout both novels, but their journeys are similar in a way that they both affected by other characters they encounter on the way.

Gatsby became very wealthy, but he began life as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen. Even before Gatsby is introduced, it is hinted that he is out of the ordinary. The first evidence of this is when Nick says, "Gatsby turned out all right at the end" (GG 6). Nothing was known about Gatsby at the time and Nick is already saying Gatsby was okay. There's an air of mystery surrounding Gatsby. Everyone knows of him but no one knows who he really is or where he comes from.

When Gatsby was still James Gatz, be had a dream of leaving his life on the farm behind and becoming a part of the upper-class. Even Gatsby's father knew when he said, "If he'd lived, he'd of been a great man" (GG 176). According to Berman "That phrase "great man" is important and will be widely intertextual from 106 to 1. Greatness is not simply personal; it has public shape and consciousness" (11~1).

Cheap essay writers help on Creating Together essays

Gatsby's first real break in the outside world was when he met a wealthy yachtsman, Don Cody. Gatsby was seventeen at the time and had just left his life on the farm. "When Gatsby is seventeen years old, Don Cody comes sailing into his world"

(Lehan 4). It is Cody who showes Gatsby the ways of the world and develops Gatsby's appreciation for wealth. "[…] becomes Gatsby's image of the wealthy and successful man." (Bloom 8). "To young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world" (GG 106). Fitzgerald uses this quote to mark the point at which Gatsby encounters wealth and power for the first time, and also, he uses it to symbolize Gatsby's social standing and economic status. By comparing Gatsby's rowboat with Codi's luxurious yacht, Fitzgerald presents the idea that money and power translate into bigger and better things. The event is symbolic in that it illustrates Gatsby's perception that wealth is a necessity. By saying that he was "looking up" to "all the beauty and glamour in the world," Fitzgerald makes it evident that Gatsby idolized this lifestyle. Lehan concludes that "Once Gatsby begins to go about Don Cody's business in the realm that has replaced the frontier, he indeed goes in pursuit of meretricious beauty" (51).

After Gatsby was introduced to Daisy, she was the only thing that mattered to him. To Gatsby, Daisy's character is metaphor for his hope and dreams. However, she married Tom Buchanan, "[…] who is so wealthy that he could give her a $50,000 pearl necklace for a wedding present" (Lehan 106). The most significant difference between Tom and Gatsby was their economic and social standing in society. Tom was wealthy and powerful, and Gatsby was from a middle class Midwestern family with little money or prestige to their name. Gatsby dreams of one day reuniting with Daisy and recapturing the love he lost, and he accomplishes this by acquiring the wealth and social status, which he lacked five years before. Gatsby invites Tom and Daisy to one of his parties and to display his new position among society's elite, Gatsby says, "You must see the faces of many people you've heard about" (111). Gatsby also refers to Tom as "the polo player", implying that Tom is insignificant compared to the many "celebrities" present at the party (111). Daisy, however, is impressed by Gatsby's exorbitant amount of wealth, but "once Daisy comes to understand the source of Gatsby's money her interest in him is gone forever" says Lehan (57). Daisy was both the main cause of Gatsby's great wealth, and also the only cause of foolishness in his life.

If Don Cody is the first of Gatsby's new fathers then Meyer Wolfsheim is Gatsby's second father figure, according to Lehan (56). Gatsby's life between the war and when he's introduced in the book is quite vague. It is known that he at some point went into business with Meyer Wolfsheim who was very much involved in New York bootlegging and had possible connections with the Mafia. Wolfsheim claims to have made Gatsby the man that he was.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have almost nothing to do with Gatsby throughout the novel, but it is a coincidence that Gatsby had to end his life by this two characters. Towards the end, Gatsby wouldn't give up on Daisy. After the accident in which Daisy killed Mrs. Wilson, it was the end for her and Gatsby. And yet "He couldn't possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope […]" (GG 155). Daisy couldn't possibly face the fact that she might go to jail and she knew Gatsby would take her blame. Because of Tom's lie and Gatsby's willingness to accept the blame for Daisy, Gatsby had face death by a stranger, Wilson.

Gatsby's journey ends in a lonely and meaningless way. His death is cathartic because his dream is never satisfied. He could have never fulfilled a prosperous life living for a past love. When Daisy leaves with Tom, and Gatsby loses her, it is the death of his dreams. Gatsby's death is symbolic of the death of the dreams. If Mrs. George would not have come along to end his life, Gatsby would have killed himself. Everything he worked for and everything he did, he did for Daisy. Without her, his life was meaningless; however, he could have been a great man who would have "[…] helped build up the country" (GG 176). Because most of the people Gatsby encountered were bad influences, this is the only way his life could had ended. Don Cody and Meyer Wolfsheim affected Gatsby's idea of making money through illegal activities, and Daisy made Gatsby live in the past, he could never achieve the American Dream. If he never had met them, he might have had a better life and a better end of his journey.

Like Gatsby, Codi comes from an ordinary family, and had a normal childhood, except she lost her mother at age three. When her mother Alice passed away she took part of Homero with her. What she left was a misfit of time and circumstance; an emotionally distraught and distant man who attempted to resemble a father but veered more towards the tin man. Homero existed beyond his wife as only a page out of an instruction manual, the one with the caution statement. Homero's delicate heart decided that the only way to endure Alice's death was to flush any memory of her out of his fortified technical realm which throughout the novel becomes increasingly skewed. Kingsolver pushes home this idea by omitting Alice from any of Homero's frequent flashbacks which are usually mishaps from the past involving his daughters. These incidents are his only recollection of his daughters' estranged childhood in which he strained to create strong women out of confused, motherless children. Homer's fear of becoming attached to anything which reminded him of Alice resulted in an unorthodox childhood for Hallie and Codi. Homero was more of a baby sitter than a real father. Retaining only his technical aptitude after Alice died all he could do was providing his kids with orthopedic shoes and the correct medicine. When not fixing Codi or Hallie's present or future ailments, Homero took photographs of natural objects and slyly transformed them into man-made devices by doing what he seemed to be best at, distorting images.

Codi, similar to her father mentally, blocked out her past. Her childhood remained within her as only a series of stained and misplaced memories. Codi attempted to follow in her father's footprints, fixing every one of life's problems with an internal wrench. Homero is a metaphor for Codi's loss of memory and her attempt to find her past. By approaching life from behind this falsified image, Codi managed to distance herself from everything and everyone who could have hurt her. One aspect of life from which Codi was bred to be distanced is the past. As Codi grew older, she began wondering about her family's past. Homero basically told her they had no past. So with no past and no identity, Codi lived, searching for security and stability through a mother figure. Everywhere Codi went she managed to find a mother figure. Whether it be a man or a woman friend or even Hallie, Codi hid herself in other people's security. This search for stability is catalyzed by the lack of a mother in Codi's childhood. The lack of maternal instinct in Codi left her with no sense of direction, therefore; she searched aimlessly for years, for herself.

Codi is unable to become self-aware, because her dependency on her sister was so strong. A direct result of Codi's insecurities is the development of Hallie as a primary source of security. She is Codi's safe haven where she can escape when her problems become overwhelming or perplexing. Hallie is defined as her stability in this way. Hallie offers a blanket of protection from Codi's personal insecurities. Codi's dependence on Hallie as a haven from her feelings is evident in Codi's reaction to her old, high school friend Emelina. Emelina recalled Codi's childhood protests of killing chickens, but Codi said, "No, that was Hallie. She's the one that had such a soft heart. We've always been real different that way" (AD ). Codi's recollection of Hallie as the one who protested the death of the animals when in fact it was Codi, shows that Codi has no realization of her own cares and sensitivities because she projects them upon Hallie. Codi's inability to distinguish her individual feelings from Hallie's is because she continually projects them onto Hallie so she doesn't have to deal with them.

Hallie is a metaphor for a sense of direction and purpose. Hallie has knowledge of direction that seems to escape Codi. Hallie knows what she wants to do and what is necessary to attain it. Codi, however, drifts through life with no specific purpose. She maintains her existence anywhere that doesn't require any effort or emotional discomfort to her. Codi interprets Hallie's move to Nicaragua as an example of Hallie's keen sense of direction and her own lack of one. Codi doesn't see any future direction for herself. "[…] I had no mission beyond personal survival; it was nothing like Hallie's going to Nicaragua" (AD 107). Codi's lack of direction also stems from her dominant feelings of being an outsider. Codi has never felt accepted by any environment and she is constantly amazed by Hallie's instant ability to become comfortable. For example, she tells these feelings to Hallie in a letter expressing her admiration of Hallie at being able to be compatible with the environment surrounding her. "All I want is to be like you, to be brave, to walk into a country of chickens and land mines and call it home, and have it be home" (AD 00). However, she doesn't realize that it isn't her uneasiness with her environment but with herself that makes it difficult to be comfortable in any environment.

Codi's life since her fall from Grace is a long list of failures. But when she came back to her hometown, she finds herself busier that she expected. She meets Loyd Peregrina and they fall into an affair that threatens to turn serious. "Loyd is a fertile character, who has a profound understanding of how to carefully cultivate the fertile land" (Sparknotes). He drives her about neighboring reservations and takes her to some ancient Pueblo villages. She begins to see a difference between inhabiting the land and trying to conquer it. "To people who think of themselves as God's houseguest, American enterprise must seem arrogant beyond belief. Or stupid. A nation of amnesiacs, proceeding as if there were no other day but today" (AD 40).

Because Codi's education is a great help to their cause, Codi joins the Stitch and Bitch Club, and with Codi's help they set out to save the town from the mining company. As she becomes a part of the community effort to save the town, Codi begins to learn more about her own family's past, and gradually comes to understand that those women, twenty years before, were "[…] fifty mothers who'd been standing at the edges of my childhood, ready to make whatever contribution was needed at the time" (AD 8).

Hallie's departure in combination with Doc Homero's bout with Alzheimer's disease allows Codi an opportunity to confront her past and insecurities. After Hallie's death, Codi is able to retain Hallie's message of finding a direction and what purpose that direction should have. Hallie explains to Codi that "[…] the very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof" (AD ). This message allows Codi to find her direction and live it. She does this by coming to the realization that her lack of direction is from her innate feeling of not being accepted. The main criterion for acceptance in Grace according to Codi was to have been born with blue eyes. The legend of the town is that if you were born with blue eyes you were a descendent of the Gracela Sisters, after whom the town is named. Codi discovers childhood pictures which show that she was born with blue eyes. After discovering that she is part of the town's blue-eyed tradition, she feels a symbolic acceptance. She can then further pursue her personal direction by adhering to Hallie's advice. This direction is realized by the desire to remain in Grace. She stays in Grace to help the Stitch and Bitch Club protest against the environmental catastrophe they face. She is also able to accept the responsibility of her own stable career as a biology teacher and raise a family herself with respect from the people around her.

Codi expands her concept of family. She is able to feel an emotional attachment to the people of Grace and in particular to her boyfriend, Loyd Peregrina, an Apache who fathered Codi's miscarried baby. Codi began to discover an awareness of relationships and acceptance that made her secure within herself. She is now capable of identifying the immense love around her that includes Loyd, Emelina, her family, her students, and her fifty mothers from the Stitch and Bitch Club. Codi realizes the amount of support she has as a result of Hallie's funeral. All of the people who love Codi are present to share her grief. This enables her to feel an assurance of support. This sentiment is captured in the phrase, "[…] Whenever I thought I might fall or just cease to exist, the pressure of their shoulders held me there" (AD 7). Hallie's death allows Codi to redefine her ideological needs for a family. Codi is then able to settle down and conceive a child with Loyd.

Alice's early death causes the lack of a mother in Codi's childhood, and Homero's inability to make peace with the past confront Codi to fit in somewhere and to find a meaning for her life. Also, as long as Hallie is alive she is a safe haven for Codi to escape to when the truth of her personality becomes too apparent. But on the other hand, Alice, Homero, and Hallie are the great influences on Codi to find her identity and meaning of life. Especially Hallie might have taught Codi how to deal with insecurities and find a reason to live. Rudman says that "Siblings who grow up together learn each other's characteristics […]" (11). Even though she had many failures in her past, Codi truly grows up because of the people around her. Smiley states that "[…] her journey is a gesture, made to relieve her general sense of uselessness." Codi is able to find a direction in her life and she begins to establish a foundation for her future. She is able to secure a family, friends, a career, and an established place within Grace. According to Ryan, it is typical of Kingsolver's styles is that everyone in her books turns out to be good. (81)

We believe that our future is formed by us, and it is true that we create our own dream. However, as it has been shown in The Great Gatsby, and Animal Dreams, our life doesn't only depend on our decisions, it is also influenced by the people we encounter. The ultimate end of our journey could be as bad as Gatsby's, if we surround ourselves with bad influences. We could also find our meaning of life as Codi did, if we meet good people. Through these two novels, I realized that I can affect people around just me as I am influenced by people I encounter. Please note that this sample paper on Creating Together is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Creating Together, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom research papers on Creating Together will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from writing help service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport paper at affordable prices!

Introduction

Success starts with one most powerful asset ones brain. Strengthening this tool is paramount for success. As the premise states, "the role of the mind in sports performance is crucial for success…" It is important to acknowledge that successful athletic performance is a function of not only what the athlete does, but also what the athlete thinks. In turn, the ultimate athletic performance can only be realized when both the mind, through psychological training, and the body, through physiological and skills training, attain their fullest potential. Beggs (10) asserts "when an athlete goes out on the field, for a contest, he does not leave his mind tucked away in a locker with his shoes, his watch and his hat…the best athletes use almost every faculty of their minds when they go into a contest" (p 56).

There has been much speculation on how to define motivation. One version explains it as 'an intervening process or an internal state of an organism that impels or drives it to action' (Reber 185, p454). Motivation is a broad subject and this report discusses the theory of achievement motivation.

Achievement motivation is a person's effort to succeed at a task, achieve excellence, persist in the face of failure, perform better than others and experience pride in accomplishments (Gill 186, Murray 18, citied in Gould and Weinberg 000). These motives that allow an athlete to achieve may be classed as intrinsic, extrinsic or amotivated. Intrinsic motivation arises in a person involved in an activity due to interest or personal satisfaction. A person is extrinsically motivated to achieve a reward or benefit in the outcome of said event, such as a trophy, money or fame, where these are perceived as desirable assets. Kowal and Fortier (000) stipulate that amotivation refers to lack of motivation with is no apparent intention to participate in an activity.

An athlete able to enter and maintain the desired 'intrinsic motivational' state outlined by Gill, Murray, Gould, Weinberg may give a distinct advantage during an athletes mental preparation, which is often an undervalued factor in success. Experience and practice typically lead to improvement, ergo the more experienced an athlete the more technical their mental preparation may be. Followers of the tai-chi martial art form are noted for their attention to mental preparation, and anecdotal evidence suggest that at elite levels of any competition or activity, preparation and will become the deciding factor.

A reasonable question is whether mental training is worth getting better at. Athletes spend a lot of time preparing for competition. Practices and fitness training are all about technical, tactical and physical preparation for competition. As a result, they become highly skilled in these areas. However, the ability to utilise this potential in competition depends largely on their mental skills, which unfortunately usually receive less attention and training.

The purpose of this study is to identify what role motivation plays in improving athlete performances, through psychology examination of three sportspeople and understanding how they improve their performance. The role of motivation and the problems associated with motivational levels affecting their performance will be outline and discussed. Observing the mental training and motivational methods used by these athletes will help to illustrate the factors that help athletes to succeed.Method

Participants

The subjects chosen for this study are three sportspeople who are Rugby League players. The individuals are from the same age group although each competes at a different level.

Subject 1 17-year-old first grade representative who started playing at the age of ten due to a lack of interest in his previous sport, which was soccer. He plays every Saturday just to keep fit and healthy.

Subject 0-year-old first grade representative who started playing at the age of 14 at school. He competes at the reserve grade level and plays for the Cronulla Sharks.

Subject 8-year-old first grade representative who plays for the Cronulla Sharks and has had an interest with the sport since the age of 7 when his parents placed him into a weekend activity sport with the local club.

Measure

In order to identify what effects the motivation levels, methodologies used and motivational problems encountered had in improving each individuals' performance, an interview and two surveys were jointly conducted. Survey 1 is a Mental Skills Profile and Survey is a Mental Training Checklist. The interview was designed to explore the athlete's background and views on Rugby League. The two surveys were used to identify the methodologies they chose and the motivation of the subjects to improve their performance.

Procedure

Firstly, permission was gained in order to conduct the interview with each interview after a brief discussion on the assignment. Secondly, the interview was conducted by direct contact with the three subjects at each individual's house on request. Finally, the two surveys were given to them to answer after interview. Results

Table 1, and summarise the results from the interview that gathered information relating to the athletes background, their view on rugby league. The main aim of conducting the interview was to investigate what do sportspeople do to improve their sports performance, how important do sportspeople view motivation with respect to performance and how do sportspeople deal with problems associated with motivation?

The results from Survey 1 outline the individual's attitude in any given situation regarding to the sport. It illustrates the athletes' mental state, whether it is positive or negative by allowing the athlete to nominate a set grade as outlined in the survey.

The results from Survey outline the athletes' mental state in any given situation. Subjects covered include; motivation, confidence, thought habits, focus and visualization.

Both the table and surveys illustrate and identify each athlete's motivation and the methodologies used by them to improve performance.

(Please refer to Appendix for full transcripts of interviews and surveys).Table 1 Summary of results obtained from the three interviews

Subject 1 Subject Subject

Define motivation Something that makes you want to do something. To be enthusiastic and driven to try and achieve your set goal. A positive mental attitude in a given situation or set of circumstances.

What is your prime motivation for participating in your chosen sport? I want to reach my short-term and long- term goals. I strive to be like my Rugby League hero, Peter Sterling. Recognition is really important to me. I want people to be able to see my skill and ability to play. I also set short-term goals. Winning and having the recognition of being one of the top players in Australia.I set short-term goals to achieve them.

How do you get motivated and remain motivated throughout the game? Verbally psyching myself up. My teammates and coach also encourage me Enthusiasm is vital. As an elite player, my mental state is my competitive advantage. Self-motivator's, which I have studied and practiced throughout my sporting life. Having the right frame of mind is critical.

What role do you feel motivation plays in relation to your performance? No real important role. I feel my performance and skill is what is important. It is very important, as we are basically all very competitive and elite. Motivation is what I focus on, as it will make me succeed. It plays the most important role in professional rugby, as we are all talented. The major difference is our motivation.

Table Summary of results obtained from the three interviews

Subject 1 Subject Subject

List the best things about Rugby League GirlsFightsMeeting new friends Performing wellWinningSatisfaction RecognitionFinalsMoney

List the worst things about Rugby League InjuriesTime wastageMissing social events InjuriesLosingTraining LosingInjuriesHard workout and training

How do you deal with these problems? Sometimes my friends and team- mates give me support. I'm Motivation from the coach and team- mates. Having a good attitude at all times. I also initiate a one-on-one session with my sport psychologist sometimes. Being enthusiastic no matter what. Believing in myself at all times and by being positive. My wife and coach are really good to talk too.

Do you use mental preparation? If so, list and explain. No, not really. Off course, you have too. I tend to focus on affirmation and imagery. I find that thinking of the moves I have learnt helps me in my confidence. You better believe it. Self-talk is a major one. It makes me believe in myself as I'm continually telling myself 'I can do it'. I also like the team to participate.

Table Summary of results obtained from the three interviews

Subject 1 Subject Subject

Are you always mentally prepared for a game? No. Well I try to be, as its vital for motivation and performance. We do our best. It is the biggest challenge as there are always external factors to consider. Our pep-up meetings at training and before the game help me focus.

Has lack of mental preparation ever affected your performance? Yes off course. I'm starting to realize that it is quite important. It's really common sense. Unfortunately, yes it has. I try and focus on always being mentally prepared however sometimes it's a difficult task to maintain. Sadly, there have been a few situations where my performance was not to my potential due to lack of mental preparation.

What do you do to improve your performance? Well I practice during training and I eat well. I focus on my self-esteem level and I also train hard and try to be enthusiastic. I do many things. I train hard, I eat well, I use self-motivators, which boost my confidence level.

Discussion

The importance of mental training increases at more elite levels. When athletes are young and just learning the technical, tactical and physical skills of a game, their learning curve is steep. A true example of this is Subject 1, however the athlete is not motivated and has no enthusiasm to succeed. Even though, there's a lot of room for improvement and he improve quickly. At elite levels, most players are approaching their performance ceiling and the learning curve slows down. This is a true example of Subject and . Consequently, teams are often similar in terms of technical, tactical and physical skills at this level. Everybody is good. If you're looking for an advantage over an opponent, mental training can be huge. The main reason is that not many opponents work conscientiously on this part of their game. So, developing strong mental skills can provide a major advantage. Both Subject and recognise the importance of motivation with respect to performance, and state that it is one of the most vital factors for their success.

Subject 1 clearly illustrates amotivation, which was earlier referred too as a lack of motivation with is no apparent intention to participate in an activity. The reason for his failure in performance is due to many reasons, one being the lack of mental preparation before a game. Graham states that, "How we feel before we compete has a lot to do with how we compete. Your optimal pre-competitive state is the mindset that has always been associated with excellent performances in your past. Said another way, it is the mindset you perform most effectively with. When preparing for competition, self-regulation involves understanding what your optimal pre-competitive state feels like, then using relaxation and visualization skills to get there."

In order for Subject 1 to improve his sport performance, he must focus on mental preparation prior to the game and training sessions. The Coach also has an important role in motivating and analyzing Subject 1's attitude in order to assist with other critical aspects such as confidence and concentration not only motivation.

Subject uses the technique of imagery, as he believes that it is crucial in Rugby League to have the right mental approach, to be successful. Cumming et al (001) expresses that, "Imagery exerts a beneficial effect on the acquisition and performance of a motor skill…Imagery has cognitive and motivational functions". In simplest terms, imagery can be likened to daydreaming. It is simply the process whereby an individual sees and feels pictures or images in the mind. Graham (000) states, "It also is a tool that elite athletes have been using for years to maximize their competitive

performance. Jean-Claude Killy, one of only two individuals to win three gold medals in alpine skiing in the same Olympics, reported that he always mentally went through each gate on the ski course, as he stood in the starting gate. Similarly, the great professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, reported that he never hit a golf ball until he visually saw himself hitting the ball in his mind. In fact, there would be few athletes competing at elite levels anywhere who would not use imagery systematically in both practice and competition".

Subject is very goal driven. He continually sets short-term goals in order for them to be reached, which assists in motivation, confidence and enthusiasm. In turn, this will assist him in reaching his ultimate long-term goals. This is a very efficient and effective technique, as by setting the short-term goals, and by achieving them, this is motivating him to keep a positive outlook on achieving his long-term goals. As it is stated that, "Goal setting is a hugely powerful technique that can yield strong returns in all areas of sport. At its simplest level, the process of setting goals and targets allows you to choose what you want to achieve in your sport" (Markland 1, p158). The athlete knowing what they want to achieve, are also aware of what they must concentrate on and improve, and what the distinctions are. Goal setting gives the athlete long-term vision and short-term motivation.

It would not be precise to state that motivation is the only factor, which affects sports performance. One has to consider other vital factors, as being a successful athlete involves a variety of different abilities and skills. A successful athlete will peak in his or her performance when they have captured the skill and capability of maintaining confidence, intensity, concentration and motivation. It is said that there is always room for improvement and that no one is perfect, this statement holds force throughout this report. Through further study and investigation, it would be suggested that one should focus on all the issues which affect an athletes performance, which will in turn give an in depth insight into athletic performance and success.References

Beggs, W.D.A (10). Goal setting in sport. In J.G. Jones and L. Hardy (Eds.), Stress and performance in sport (pp. 56-170). Chichester, UK John Wiley and Sons.

Brunstein, J. (1). Personal goals and subjective well-being A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1061-1070.

Cumming JL, Ste-Marie DM (001) The cognitive and motivational effects of imagery training A matter of perspective. Sports Psychologist Vol5() Sep 00176-88.

Gould, D Weinberg, RS (000) Foundations of Sport and Exercise Pathology (nd ed). United States of America human Kinetics.

Graham, T (000) Developing a mental and emotional edge. [Online]. Available http//www.usask.ca/sportmedsci/mental/edgesoccer.HTM [18 May 00].

Kowal, J Fortier, MS (000) Testing relationships from hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation using flow as a motivational consequence.

Markland D (1) Self-determination moderates the effects of perceived competence on intrinsic motivation in an exercise setting. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology Vol 1(4) Dec 151-61.

Reber, AS (185) The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. England Penguin Books.

Scanlan, T.K. and Lewthwaite, R. (186). Social psychological aspects of competition in male youth sport participants. Predictors of enjoyment. Journal of Sport Psychology, 8, 5-5.

Stated in the essay

Please note that this sample paper on Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Mental and Physical Preparation for Sport will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Invisible Man

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Invisible Man. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Invisible Man paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Invisible Man, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Invisible Man paper at affordable prices!

I was told to trace the metaphors of blindness in the novel Invisible Man by explaining the plot and thematic significance. There are many metaphors of blindness in this book starting from the Prologue to the Epilogue. I believe that Ralph Ellison was using these metaphors of blindness to show us how puzzled this young man was and how it affected him throughout his life.

In the Prologue, the narrator starts off by telling us that he is physically visible but he is invisible to his peers or society because he is black. He also tells us that his invisibility can be an advantage or disadvantage. Being invisible to society sometimes makes him think that he really is invisible. An advantage of being invisible is that he can use things and do things without people knowing the source. The narrator also shows us some invisibility by not telling us his name, I think this was very clever of the author to not revealing the name of the narrator; it kept the readers unsure of what it was. Many people have just given the narrator a name such as TIM (The Invisible Man) or I-Man just to give the narrator some type of identity. By being invisible, the narrator can also steal electricity from a power company, this allows him to have a presence but not be identified by the company.

In the Prologue, the narrator listens especially to Louis Armstrongs What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue. This song relates directly to Invisible Man on a thematic level, as it shows one of jazzs earliest ways to make an open view on the issue of racism.

In chapter 1, the narrator is also blinded when he has to fight in the battle royal just to read his speech to white lawyers. The boys in the ring are all blindfolded to where they can't see. They are instructed to fight each other and whoever wins will get extra money. The blindfolds also represent the boys own metaphorical blindness, they could not see that they were not just fighting for money; they were apart of entertainment to the white people. The narrator is blind in so many ways that he has not learned to see behind the mask or the real side of people.

College papers on Invisible Man on Invisible Man will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty

If you order your cheap custom essays from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty paper at affordable prices with writing help service!

In the novel Cal, the author Bernard Mac Laverty has used different settings to influence the reader to respond in certain ways to the ideas presented. The ideas that are raised in this short, but inspiring story are love, compassion, depression, truth, the dehumanisation of humans and the loss of innocence at war, fear and religious hate and finding ones own sanctuary from life's miseries. Maclaverty expresses these ideas very effectively throughout the novel and conjures certain emotional responses from the reader towards the ideas raised. He does this through the different settings in the novel such as the library, where we are introduced the ideas of love and innocence and then the abattoir where the reader is confronted with death and killing. The church, the derelict cottage and Cal Mc Luskey's are also settings used by Mac Laverty to influence the reader to respond to the ideas raised.

Throughout this novel we come across many locations where important events take place which in turn illustrate certain ideas discussed in the novel. On the first page we are introduced to the protagonist, Cal as he goes to visit his father Shamie at his work in the local abattoir. Mac Laverty has placed the first scene at the abattoir in order to demonstrate to the reader Cal's disgust at the smells, sights and sounds of killing and how they make him feel ill inside. This has raised the idea of killing and death and how it was a big part of Cal's life and most people living in Northern Ireland at the time. Mac Laverty describes this place of death as Cal sees it, "Men in white coats and baseball caps whistled and shouted as they moved between hanging carcasses…" "…the crack of the humane killer echoed round the glass roof.". These quotations give very negative connotations to the abattoir as the reader now begins to associate it with the death and killing happening in Northern Ireland. This setting has helped the author to shape the readers reaction towards the killing of animals and humans. The reader now sees the killings as callous, despite the so-called "humane killer" and shares Cal's attitude towards the abattoir.

Another idea that is raised through the setting of the abattoir is the dehumanisation of people at war, as the reader witnesses the way in which the workers go about their work, not noticing the pain, suffering and death that surrounds them, for instance in the text when Crilly, Cal's acquaintance who also works in the abattoir, sees Cal and stops work to sharpen his knives. The author has chosen to include this detail in the scene to show how blind humans can be to their own wrong doings and to also introduce the reader to the character of Crilly. The reader is now confronted with this man whom so casually sharpens his knives which he will no doubt later use to carve up a carcass, and negative connotations are given to Crilly as he becomes just another person caught up in the war, immune to the blood and the smell of the killing, because it had been a part of his life for so long. This makes the reader respond very negatively to the war between the IRA and the Protestants in Ireland, and how it can strip people of love and warmth, basically dehumanising them and the reader loses respect for that character. The idea of fear is well explored through this setting of the abattoir, through Cal's fear of death and killing, the reader can relate to Cal and feels pity for him because he has to live in a world where such things are more common place. Negative feelings from the reader are formed towards the abattoir and its sinister, and brutal purpose.

College papers on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty

The library where one of the main characters, Marcella Morton works is an extremely important setting in influence the readers response to the ideas of love and innocence. The fragile love that Cal has for Marcella is born in the library and the development of their relationship is mirrored through happenings in the library. The reader, from experience, relates the library to silence and reading, obtaining information and borrowing books. Through these associations the reader sees Cal's love for Marcella slowly growing as he goes into the library to observe her going about her work, to obtain information about her personality, her thinking and to admire her appearance. Also the fact that the library is such a quiet place where there is little speaking, the reader gets the feeling that Cal's love is very secret and forbidden, like a schoolyard crush. The reader responds to this idea of love with warmth, and also slight curiosity as it is made obvious that there is some significance about Marcella, "He studied her face, trying to read into it whether or not she was the Marcella". This quotation alerts the reader to the fact that there is something unique about this Marcella character and that somewhere in Cal's past he has encountered her.

Throughout the beginning of the novel Cal returns to the library a few times, almost as if he is stalking Marcella, his crush on her becoming more intense on each visit as she plagues his mind. It is important that the reader sees this loving, innocent and childish side of Cal, because later in the book, when we learn of his involvement in the killing of Marcella's husband Robert Morton, instead of feeling disgust and anger the reader feels sympathy for Cal, because we know he is not really a cold blooded killer. Instead we see Cal as the victim, we have seen him in love with a woman, childishly in love, carrying her shopping bags, taking up work on her property, just so he can be near her, and through this we see Cal's true innocence. The reader knows that he is not a killer, rather a victim of the pressures of IRA, and the inescapability of its sinister power over people. In one of Cal's later visits to the library he is contemplating taking out a book and searches for something that would not seem too easy and even the slightest bit intellectual to impress Marcella, and so the crush continues. The library has become a foundation for Cal's love for Marcella and the reader understands the importance of this love to Cal as it the one thing that has drawn him out of his misery, to actually think about someone other than himself for a change. Towards the end of the novel, Cal, and the reader learns of a plot to blow up the library, this not only signifies the impending doom of Cal and Marcella's relationship, as it has blossomed from the library which is now to be destroyed by the people Cal hate but is never the less is involved with, but also Cal's innocence, he is sick of the killing and the threatening and tells Crilly that he is not interested in being a part of the IRA any more. The idea of innocence, and how just because you do something wrong does not mean you should be branded an evil person for life, is highlighted through the setting of the library as it helps the reader to witness Cal's more endearing traits and the reader becomes very fond, if not sympathetic of this character, despite wrong doings.

Cal's home, where he lives with his father, his mother and brother having passed away years before is an important setting is raising the ideas of religious hatred, the decaying of family relationships and fear, as these are all issues Cal and his father Shamie have to deal with in day to day life in their home. The author has chosen to make Cal and Shamie live as the only Catholic residents on a Protestant estate to highlight their differences the environment they live in, almost like aliens. Because of the ongoing religious battle between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the reader knows that tis is a particularly precarious situation that they are in and the danger they face is displayed quite early in the novel when they receive a threat in the form of a small note reading GET OUT YOU FENYAN SCUM OR WE'LL BURN YOU OUT. THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER. UVF. This highly threatening note shocks the reader, as a home is supposed to be a sanctuary, not a death bed, and the fear that something might happen soon the pair is evoked. If Cal and his father had been living in a safe estate with other Catholics, there would not be any anxiety from the reader and no immediate sympathy. This setting forces the reader to see the danger in which Cal and Shamie are living and the reader responds very negatively towards the idea of religious hate and the fact that it can turn civilised humans into irrational killers. The fact that this threat is actually carried out and the house is burnt is leaves the reader utterly bewildered that some people would want to remove such innocent and harmless people from their home. The burning down of the McCluskey's house marks the beginning of the end for Cal and his father. Their last pillar of strength, the family home has been destroyed, and this symbolises the destruction of their hope and especially Shamie's will to live as his mental condition deteriorates and he slides into severe depression.

The reader is left feeling total sympathy for Cal and Shamie, they are seen as victims of the immoral violence and vindictiveness of the Protestant fanatics. This leads to the idea of fear, the fear that Shamie especially feels in his own home as he states in the text, "Isn't it a terrible thing…that those bastards have us whispering in our own house." After the pair receives the threat that they are to be burned out they start some kind of practiced routine that it seems that they have been through many times before, suggesting they live in constant fear and danger of an attack. The reader finds this very hard to relate to as the closest we come to this routine is locking out doors at night. Shamie and Cal however, are making sure they have a gun at the ready, Cal checks he has a weapon under his bed and that his shoes are ready to be put on should he have to leave in a hurry. They also have a blanket and supply of water in the bath should they have to put out any fires during the night. The reader responds to this idea with total disbelief that these poor people should have to whisper in their own home and be prepared to be attacked in the middle of the night. This kind of fear is unimaginable for the reader and in turn the reader feels extreme sympathy for Cal and his father, as they are imprisoned in their own home.

Cal's house also helps to discuss the idea of the decaying of family relationships. As a result of the burning down of the McCluskey's house, and years of depression and not communicating with each other the relationship between Shamie and Cal is destroyed. The first evidence of this is when Cal returns to find his home burning and when he sees his father sitting pathetically on a chair with a rug wrapped around him, instead of hugging and crying with relief that they have found themselves both alive after the attack they merely shake hands like stranger, the reader even learns that Cal was frightened that Shamie would try and kiss him in front of everyone. It shocks the reader that Cal would have such a stupid and rather cruel thought on his mind instead of a feeling of love towards his father and relief that he didn't perish with the house. The burning down of the house signifies the end of any chance that Cal and his father had to mend their relationship. Their understanding of each other and any will to save their relationship was burnt in the fire and so Cal uses this time to break away from his father and to try and find his own way of tackling his life and his guilt.

The Catholic Church that Cal attends during the novel is also a very important setting as it poses as a "safe house" where Cal can retreat to and feel at peace, as it states in the text, "He liked this time. It was a time of comfort, of hearing but not listening. The noise of the words kept him from thinking his own black thoughts and yet the words themselves were not interesting enough to make him think of them. He was in a kind if warm limbo." Quotations such as these lead the reader to believe that Cal found not only physical safety in the church, but also a sense of emotional safety from his own depressing thoughts and fears. The words "warm limbo" remind the reader almost of a mother's womb, a sanctuary where the baby is kept warm and safe, not having to think about any thing, to fear anything. The church opens the reader's minds to the idea that even in Cal's terrible life of constant fear and depression he can still find a place where he can drift away into safety and comfort, however, the reader begins to feel anger towards religion, because in fact it is the Catholic AND the Protestant religions that have caused Cal his problems, he is supposedly fighting in the name of this almighty religion, when it actually is the cause of the suffering of many Irish people. The reader becomes very confused as to why Cal can find sanctuary in a place that condones and even promotes the thoughtless killing of innocent people and the intense hatred among so called good Christians. The Church has turned not only Catholic against Protestant, but also Catholic against Catholic and Protestant against Protestant. During the novel Cal remembers his mother and her devotion to the church, " She went to mass and communion every morning and each night she made them say the family rosary before the table was cleared." This shows to the reader the extent that people went for their religion and somewhat explains the fanaticism is witnessed throughout the novel. A love for ones God however does not mean that one can kill in their name.

The derelict cottage on the Morton property, that Cal finds himself living in during the novel, helps in persuading the reader to respond to the ideas of depression and guilt with sympathy towards Cal as he goes through many ups and downs, and lives in general limbo for about 6 weeks. It is here in this small broken down cottage that Cal attempts to rebuild his life and become part of Marcella's. The simpleness of the life Cal leads while living in this cottage lulls him into a sense of false security, in this self-imposed prison he tries to undo all the pain he has caused Marcella and her family. The author has tried to introduce the idea of depression and guilt through this cottage, as Cal is living on the Morton's farm he is forced to face Marcella every day and the reality that he will never be able to have a life with her. Cal tries to face his guilt over Robert Morton's death by spending time with Marcella and her daughter Lucy, he starts to imagine himself as a husband for Marcella and a father for Lucy and lives in this fantasy world knowing all along that in the end the truth will have to come out and the past is something that can never be erased. This underlying truth that Cal must face makes the reader feel such sympathy for him, throughout the novel the reader has seen Cal punishing himself wether it be through swearing at himself, "merde, Crotte de Vache" or the love bites he gives himself late in his bed. This constant self flagellation is a forewarning to the reader that Cal is never going to be able to be at peace no matter how much he is punishes himself, because deep inside he feels only someone else will be able to punish him sufficiently enough for his crime. While Cal's time in the Cottage runs into weeks, and it seems that he is quite at peace with himself, the reader knows that Cal is digging a hole for himself, getting attached to someone he can never have, and a life he will never lead. The reader sees the depression that Cal sinks into, he has tried to escape his past, but the explosion made by the cow stepping on a mine is the timely reminder that this fantasy life, even in this idyllic location, a beautiful old farm, is not real and he must face the reality that there is still killing going on, and that he still has a father who is very ill, and all his worries about pressure from Crilly and Skeffington to stick with The Cause are still lurking in the back of his mind. This sets Cal back into his depression and his longing for someone to make him face his crime and set him free of his guilt returns. The reader responds to this guilt and depression that Cal feels with such sympathy because the reader, unlike Marcella, knows of Cal's true innocence, that he not a killer as she will probably think him when she find out his deed. The reader finds it hard to deal with the fact that Cal has to live with so much pain inside him, scarred form the past and unable to ever lead a peaceful and truly happy life.

This novel Cal by Bernard Maclaverty opens the readers' minds to the many depressing issues that surround the fighting and hatred between the Catholics and Protestants living in Northern Ireland. However more importantly Maclaverty has discussed the ideas of love, compassion, the dehumanisation of people at war, religious hate and finding ones own sanctuary from life's miseries. He has done this through many techniques but has used different settings throughout the novel especially well to communicate these ideas and to encourage different responses form the reader. After reading Cal, the reader is left feeling disillusioned, sad, and sympathetic towards the protagonist Cal. Living in such a peaceful and tolerant society like Australia it is hard to imagine the hardships and injustices that happens every day to normal people fighting for the simple religious rights that most others around the world enjoy and expect. Please note that this sample paper on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty, we are here to assist you. Your cheap research papers on Cal, By Bernard Mac Laverty will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from writing help service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Short Message Service: What, How and Where?

If you order your cheap term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Short Message Service: What, How and Where?. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Short Message Service: What, How and Where? paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Short Message Service: What, How and Where?, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Short Message Service: What, How and Where? paper at affordable prices with writing help service!

Introduction

Short message service is a mechanism of delivery of short messages over the mobile networks. It is a store and forward way of transmitting messages to and from mobiles. The message (text only) from the sending mobile is stored in a central short message center (SMS) which then forwards it to the destination mobile. This means that in the case that the recipient is not available, the short message is stored and can be sent later. Each short message can be no longer than 160 characters. These characters can be text (alphanumeric) or binary Non-Text Short messages. An interesting feature of SMS is return receipts. This means that the sender, if wishes, can get a small message notifying if the short message was delivered to the intended recipient. Since SMS used signaling channel as opposed to dedicated channels, these messages can be sent/received simultaneously with the voice/data/fax service over a GSM network. SMS supports national and international roaming. This means that you can send short messages to any other GSM mobile user around the world. With the PCS networks based on all the three technologies, GSM, CDMA and TDMA supporting SMS, SMS is more or less a universal mobile data service.

à Note The actual limit of size of SMS is 160 characters if Latin alphabets are used. If non-Latin alphabets like Chinese or Arabic are used, the limit is 70 characters.

How does SMS work

Write my paper on Short Message Service: What, How and Where? for me

The figure below shows a typical organization of network elements in a GSM network supporting SMS.

The SMC (Short Message Center) is the entity, which does the job of store and forward of messages to and from the mobile station. The SME (Short Message Entity), which can be located in the fixed network or a mobile station, receives and sends short messages.

The SMS GWMS (SMS gateway MSC) is a gateway MSC that can also receive short messages. The gateway MSC is a mobile network's point of contact with other networks. On receiving the short message from the short message center, GMSC uses the SS7 network to interrogate the current position of the mobile station form the HLR, the home location register.

HLR is the main database in a mobile network. It holds information of the subscription profile of the mobile and also about the routing information for the subscriber, i.e. the area (covered by a MSC) where the mobile is currently situated. The GMSC is thus able to pass on the message to the correct MSC.

MSC (Mobile Switching Center) is the entity in a GSM network, which does the job of switching connections between mobile stations or between mobile stations and the fixed network.

A VLR (Visitor Location Register) corresponds to each MSC and contains temporary information about the mobile, information like mobile identification and the cell (or a group of cells) where the mobile is currently situated. Using information form the VLR the MSC is able to switch the information (short message) to the corresponding BSS (Base Station System, BSC + BTS's), which transmits the short message to the mobile. The BSS consists of transceivers, which send and receive information over the air interface, to and from the mobile station. This information is passed over the signaling channels so the mobile can receive messages even if a voice or data call is going on.

To use the Short Message Service, users need the relevant subscriptions and hardware, specifically

Ø A subscription to a mobile telephone network that supports SMS

Ø Use of SMS must be enabled for that user (automatic access to the SMS is given by some mobile network operators, others charge a monthly subscription and require a specific opt-in to use the service)

Ø A mobile phone that supports SMS

Ø Knowledge of how to send or read a short message using their specific model of mobile phone

Ø Destination to send a short message to, or receive a message from. This is usually another mobile phone but may be a fax machine, PC or Internet address.

Applications

Some of the common applications of SMS are

· Exchanging small messages like See you at 8.0 tonight at xyz. SMS is particularly suited for these kinds of short messages because SMS is much cheaper than calling some one and giving the same message. Calling some one to give the same message would invariably take more time and hence more cost.

· Many operators offer e-mail service over SMS. Every user is assigned an e-mail address at signup and any message delivered to that email is converted to short messages and delivered to the mobile.

· It is possible to send e-mail messages (less than 160 characters) from a mobile phone to any e-mail address via SMS.

· Information services like news, weather, entertainment and stock prices etc. can be availed just by sending a keyword like NEWS, WEATH etc to the short message center number.

· SMS can be used by the network operators to provide services like balance enquiry in case of prepaid cards using SMS.

· Mobile chatting is one more hot application of SMS

· SMS can be used to notify users that they have received new voice-mail or fax messages.

· It provides an alternative to alphanumeric paging services

· Using SIM-Toolkit, now a part of GSM specifications, SMS can be used to have on the air activation of features. By sending codes embedded in short messages from the server network operators can remotely provision the users wireless terminal

· Internet e-mail alerts.

· Downloading new ring tones.

Limitations of SMS

There is no doubt that SMS has been very popular. The figures in the section above support this. What is more interesting to observe is that this popularity has been in spite of many limitations of SMS. Many of these limitations are the driving force behind the developments and initiatives being taken in the field of short messaging. Some of the limitations of SMS are

· Messages are plain vanilla in nature. You can only send simple text messages. There is no scope for any graphics or audio.

However

As mentioned in the next section EMS would help fill this gap.

· The messages are limited by size. An SMS message can't exceed 160 characters. (BTW this limitation is due to the limitation in the MAP protocol in GSM) In case of longer e-mails or information service messages like news, the messages need to broken down into more than one message. The need to break the messages into several smaller segments could make SMS comparatively costlier in comparison to GPRS (for the same kind of service). Also, This doesn't look very appealing on a mobile device!

However

MMS (talked about later) would remove the limitation of small messages

· The limitation of easy input mechanisms in mobile devices makes it very uncomfortable sending messages larger than even 5-6 words.

However

Predictive text input algorithms implemented in a mobile phone can greatly help. Voice recognition systems can further help ease the situation

· SMS operators use many proprietary protocols and application developers need to implement different interfaces for making their applications work with different SMS centers. X.5 is used as a popular protocol for connecting with SMS centers.

· SMS protocol data units as defined in GSM 0.40 are also not very efficient. The various header fields in the PDU are fixed which puts a constraint on the scenarios that can be indicated. G specifications are being looked up to look and address these constraints.

· Data rate and latency. GPRS and USSD provide better data rates and lower latency compared to SMS. This is because SMS uses the slow signaling channel, which is used for many other things also in GSM.

However

MMS will use data channels and hence higher rates and lower latency.

· The store and forward nature of SMS, though useful in many applications makes SMS not very suitable for WAP

Initiatives and future developments

SMS is a first generation GSM service. As described in the previous section, SMS has some inherent limitations. The majority of these are to do with the fact that SMS is plain vanilla in nature. Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) is a mechanism by which you can send a comparatively richer message that are combination of text, simple melodies, pictures (simple, black and white) and animations to an EMS compliant handset. The service is very much based on the existing SMS. It basically extends the User Data Header (UDH) in SMS (UDH makes it possible to include binary information in the message header) and infact needs no upgrade to the network infrastructure. The handsets however need to be EMS compliant. The first EMS handsets should be available by mid of 001.

à In EMS there are 10 different predefined sounds including low and high chimes and chords, Ding, TaDa, Claps, Drum and Notify.

à EMS standards are a part of rd Generation Partnership Project (GPP) technical specification G TS .040, Technical realization of the Short Message Service (SMS)

The next step in the evolution of SMS, which requires substantial changes in the network infrastructure, is the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) that allows a combination of text, sounds, images and video. MMS will support pictures and interactive video. It will be possible, for example, to send mobile greeting cards and visiting cards using MMS. MMS uses standardized protocols like WAP, MExE and SMTP. While EMS requires content reformatting for mobile devices, there is no such requirement for MMS. Theoretically MMS may run on any bearer service, but practically it would require GPRS or G bearer services before it starts appearing. AS opposed to SMS, MMS needs a dedicated channel. It would also require new network elements like Multimedia Messaging Relays, MMS Server and MMS User Databases. While MMS trials have been planned in mid 001, the first MMS compliant handsets are expected to hit the market only in end 00. MMS is being standardized by the GPP

à According to GPP standards MMS is a new service, which has no direct equivalent in the previous ETSI/GSM world or in the fixed network world.

SMS, WAP, and GPRS?

Where does SMS go with services like WAP and GPRS? Well, The first thing to understand is that SMS is a bearer service. It is a mechanism of sending short messages. WAP provides the user with services and protocols that can be used on top of SMS. With the increased use of WAP, the SMS traffic in networks should see considerable increase.

GPRS, on the other hand, is a packet based data service that provides much higher throughput. Unlike SMS, it provides a real time data bearer. The users always stay connected to the network. But GPRS and SMS don't really compete with each other in the real sense. The costs involved in sending small messages for an end user in case of SMS are expected to be lower than that in GPRS (packet data) service because the responsibility for sending the message to the recipient in case of SMS lies entirely on the short message center as opposed to the user in GPRS. In GPRS there is no concept of storage. Confirmation of delivery is a unique feature of SMS because of the very nature of short message service. Simultaneous transmission with GSM voice, data, and fax services is another distinguishing characteristic of SMS.

True, GPRS will be a much better option to use for services like WAP, but the availability of GPRS and GPRS-compliant handsets will take some time to pickup. Also, SMS needs no special network elements and handsets. It is something that almost every mobile user has and can use to send messages to any other mobile user without worrying about the capabilities of that mobile and its network!

Conclusions

SMS, because of its very nature has unique advantages that other non-voice services do not have. It provides a very convenient method of exchanging small bits of information between mobile users. The reasons for the enormous popularity of SMS have been the fact that this mechanism of sending and receiving messages not only saves time but costs less as well. In many situations one is relatively much more comfortable sending a message via SMS than talking over phone. With new information services and unique value added services being used by the operators the popularity of SMS is increasing further. SMS is also uniquely positioned as a very attractive advertisement medium. SMS should no longer be treated as a value added service in mobile networks. SMS is not only providing a useful mechanism for a host of innovative services over mobile networks but it acting as a point of entry for new data services like WAP in mobile networks.

Abbreviations

SMTP Simple Mail Transport Protocol

MexE Mobile station application execution environment

WAP Wireless Application Protocol

GPRS General Packet Radio Service

GPP Third Generation Partnership Program

MAP Mobile Application Part

TDMA Time division multiple access

CDMA Code division multiple access

An Introduction to the Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS)

Ø The Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) is the ability to send ring tones and operator logos and other simple visual messages to EMS capable handsets and additionally the ability to send and receive a combination of simple media such as melodies, pictures, sounds, animations, modified text and standard text as an integrated message for display on an EMS compliant handset.

Ø The Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) is a standard developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (GPP) to embrace and extend the ability to send ringtones and operator logos and other simple visual messages to EMS capable handsets and additionally the ability to send and receive a combination of simple media such as melodies, pictures, sounds, animations, modified text and standard text as an integrated message for display on an EMS compliant handset. There are many different potential combinations of these media. For example, when an exclamation mark appears in the enhanced message, a melody could be played. A simple black and white image could be displayed along with some text and this sound effect. As such, EMS has two main applications person-to-person messaging and phone personalization.

Ø New phones supporting EMS are needed. Support for EMS is widespread amongst terminal manufacturers such as Ericsson, Alcatel, Siemens and Motorola.

Ø However, network modifications to support EMS are minimized. Extending the use of the long established and widely used User Data Header (UDH) common in SMS has standardized the Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). The UDH makes it possible to include binary data in a normal short message prior the text message itself. EMS is an enhancement to SMS but is very similar to SMS in terms of using the store and forward SMS Centers, the signaling channel and the like to realize EMS. EMS has little or no impact on today's SMS Centers. The introduction of EMS should be totally transparent to SMS Centers since they already support the User Data Header. This is a key advantage to EMS- the fact that network operators need make no additional investments to SMS Centers or network infrastructure providing their networks already support binary 8 bit messaging and unless EMS message volumes mean investment in new SMS Center capacity. The principal modification to existing SMS Centers would be in the case that mobile network operators wanted to charge differently for EMS- in such a case, the SMS Center would need to record the relevant technical values and generate Call Detail Records for billing purposes accordingly. Some network operators have indeed started investigating whether they can change their charging policy for EMS compared with SMS. They would like to charge for one enhanced message, instead of several SMS. One EMS can be made up of several short messages.

Ø Initially, EMS will be like smart messaging in terms of user trends. In other words, people will use websites and premium rate services to request a ring tone or operator logo for their phone. In such cases, how many other EMS capable phones that are out there is largely irrelevant- all that matters is that the individual wants to participate in the whole cool ringtones services world. In the later stages, as EMS devices ship from several vendors in large volumes, EMS transactions will start to involve person-to-person messaging, like SMS. People will use the ability to add simple media extensions to EMS as a means to send more creative and interesting text messages to each other. This later person-to-person capability is what EMS was originally designed for, unlike Smart Messaging that only supports the forwarding of picture messages from phone to phone.

Ø The sender of an enhanced message composes the message on their EMS compliant device. The EMS user who decides when or where to insert other media such as pictures or sounds can enter text. In practice, it will be challenging to design an intuitive user interface for enhanced message composition from a handset, which may only be able to store a few basic images. Some handset vendors believe that the majority of the enhanced messages will be created directly in the phones because nowadays, even the low-end phones have relatively large displays. Early indicators are however that the picture editors in EMS phones are difficult to use, hence composition of enhanced messages is likely to therefore be principally something that is driven from Internet sites.

Ø If an enhanced message is sent to a handset that does not support EMS there might well be a problem because EMS messages may be binary encoded and legacy phones might fail to display those EMS messages at all. In the case of an alternate textual representation of EMS data and corresponding user data headers, the message would show garbage text fragments making no sense to the recipient. This is exactly what happens when you send a Nokia smart message to a non-Nokia handset today. Non-binary EMS messages sent to a non-EMS handset (e.g. EMS messages containing text formatting but not pictures or animations) may well be displayed as plain text, depending on handset vendor implementations. The current GPP standards do not currently require non-EMS handsets to implement filters that help render incoming EMS as normal text messages. This example also illustrates the need for an intelligent converter that helps to represent a message with enhanced text formatting in a way suitable for legacy, non-EMS handsets.

What is WAP?

Motorola, Nokia, Ericsson and the US software company Phone.com (formerly Unwired Planet) were the initial partners that teamed up to develop and deploy the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). WAP is an attempt to define the standard for how content from the Internet is filtered for mobile communications. WAP was developed because content is now readily available on the Internet, and there needs to be a way of making it easily available to mobile terminals. One of the reasons why the mobile industry has got so excited about WAP is because it combines two of the fastest growing industries wireless and the Internet.

The Wireless Application Protocol is a protocol designed for use with · Any existing or planned wireless service such as SMS, Circuit Switched Data, Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)· Any mobile network standard such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobiles (GSM), or Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS)

The Wireless Application Protocol incorporates a relatively simple micro-browser into the mobile phone. As such, WAP's requirement for only limited resources on the mobile phone makes it suitable for today's standard small screened handsets. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is designed to add value-added services by putting the intelligence in the WAP servers whilst adding just a micro-browser to the mobile phones themselves. Microbrowser-based services and applications reside temporarily on servers, not permanently in phones. The Wireless Application Protocol is aimed at turning a mass-market mobile phone into a network-based smartphone.

The Wireless Application Protocol embraces and extends the previously conceived and developed wireless data protocols such as the technology developed by Phone.com (formerly Unwired Planet) and Nokia's Smart Messaging.

This technology has been incorporated into WAP- and renamed using some of the many WAP-related acronyms such as WMLS, WTP and WSP. Someone with a WAP-compliant phone uses the in-built micro-browser to make a request in for information or service. This request is passed to a WAP Gateway that then retrieves the information from a Internet server either in standard HTML format or preferably directly prepared for wireless terminals using Wireless Markup Language (WML). If the content being retrieved is in HTML format, a filter in the Wireless Application Protocol Server may try to translate it into WML. The requested information is then sent from the WAP Gateway to the WAP client, using whatever mobile network bearer service is available and most appropriate.

The rhetoric about the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has finally given way to the reality as mobile network operators have realized that there is little money to be made or competitive advantage to be gained from WAP today - everyone (and we mean everyone) is doing it - and very few are doing it with any impact or innovation (everyone is doing the same tired services we have seen before and all through Internet portals

Somehow WAP, a mere protocol, a means to an end, got elevated it into an end in itself. Many IT companies, financial analysts, advertising agencies and web design agencies were sucked into the whole full Mobile Internet access myth and over-promised and under-delivered The lessons from WAP do not bode well for the mobile data revolution that we all anticipate. Lots of people have been misled and lots of claims have been exaggerated but no real damage has been done. We will get to the Mobile Internet but need to be full and frank in making people clear of the current limitations of mobile devices.

The mobile communications industry itself should have known better but then data is a new thing and everyone was looking for a way to make it successful to get Circuit Switched Data traffic up and make information services a success finally. Some pundits are joking that the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) really should be renamed Where Are the Phones! Network operators and retailers are finding it hard to get large volumes of working WAP phones.

Unfortunately, mention of customers has been neglected in the whole WAP story - the phones, tariffs, service configuration and provisioning, service access and all other elements of the value chain have been disregarded. For example

· It is very difficult to configure WAP phones for new WAP services, with 0 or so different parameters needing to be entered to gain access to a WAP service. Only the Nokia 7110 can be programmed over the air to take the burden of WAP service configuration away from the user. This is described in details for the Nokia 7110 and Motorola L series in the new edition of Data on WAP, published by Mobile Streams in December 1. Many operators are working with phone manufacturers to receive their WAP phones with their WAP Gateway settings preprogrammed.· WAP is a protocol that runs on top of an underlying bearer. None of the existing GSM bearers for WAP - the Short Message Service (SMS), Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD) and Circuit Switched Data (CSD) are optimized for WAP. The forthcoming General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) with its immediacy and packet transport and new tariffing models is a more ideal bearer. The TDMA standards body designed a new bearer called GUTS especially for use with WAP services.· WAP services are expected to be expensive to use since the tendency is to be on-line for a long Circuit Switched Data (CSD) call since features such as interactivity and selection of more information are used by the end user. It takes several short messages to send one piece of information through WAP. Without specific tariff initiatives, there are likely to be some bill-shocked and surprised WAP users when they see their mobile phone bill for the first time after starting using WAP, even if their user experience was good.· The WAP standard is incomplete, with key elements such as Push (proactive sending of information to mobile devices) and wireless telephony (updating address reports and the like) not yet standardized (they will be standardized in WAP 1., due for standardization in late 1 and first implementation in Spring 000). Proprietary push protocols from the likes of Phone.com could complicate implementation of Push.· There are many WAP Gateway vendors out there competing against each other with largely the same standardized product. This has led to consolidation such as the pending acquisition of APiON by Phone.com.· Other protocols such as SIM Application Toolkit and Mobile Station Application Execution Environment (MExE) are respectively already widely supported or designed to supercede WAP. It will be interesting to see how all these protocols handle convergence with the forthcoming new open Internet standard XML.

It might have been better to wait until WAP 1. and GPRS are implemented before launching WAP services commercially. Plans for updating the WAP 1.1 phones that are now being sold to WAP 1. are unclear. Have these issues even been considered? We think we know why customers have been ignored by the WAP Forum having attended the proceedings at the WAP Forums meeting in London in the summer of 1. The WAP Forum is divided into Experts Groups who sit around and discuss arcane technical details in mind numbing detail. You might think that the Marketing Experts Group would be interested in customers and keeping the proceedings customer centric but no, it turns out that all they are interested in is how many press articles have been written about WAP. We didnt hear the word customer once during the proceedings.

We certainly think that WAP WILL BE important to enable the smooth transition from one bearer to another such as the migration of existing applications to GPRS. We are certainly at a crossroads in mobile communications as we move from voice to non-voice centric services. We have a lot to learn from WAP and other services. Within 18 months, all new mobile phones will support WAP, but how many subscribers will there be?Please note that this sample paper on Short Message Service: What, How and Where? is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Short Message Service: What, How and Where?, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college papers on Short Message Service: What, How and Where? will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from writing help service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!