Smart Netphone Case Study free essay sample

Case study: Smart’s Netphone  © VisionMobile 2011 1 Case study: Smart’s Netphone About VisionMobile VisionMobile is an industry analysis and strategy firm. We offer research reports, executive workshops and strategy at the crossroads of telecoms innovation and software economics. VisionMobile Ltd. 90 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9RZ +44 845 003 8742 www. visionmobile. com/blog Follow us: @visionmobile About the sponsor This case study is sponsored by Red Bend Software, a key partner behind the launch of the Smart Netphone. VisionMobile has retained full editorial control of this study. License Copyright  © VisionMobile 2011. All rights reserved. Feedback? For comments, feedback and more information: [emailprotected] com Disclaimer VisionMobile believes the statements contained in this publication to be based upon information that we consider reliable, but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Opinions expressed are current opinions as of the date appearing on this publication only and the information, including the opinions contained herein, are subject to change without notice. We will write a custom essay sample on Smart Netphone Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Use of this publication by any third party for whatever purpose should not and does not absolve such third party from using due diligence in verifying the publication’s contents. VisionMobile disclaims all implied warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. VisionMobile, its affiliates and representatives shall have no liability for any direct, incidental, special, or consequential damages or lost profits, if any, suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made, or not made, or actions taken, or not taken, based on this publication. Also by VisionMobile Mobile Industry Atlas | 4th Edition The complete map of the mobile industry landscape, mapping 1,350+ companies across 85+ market sectors. Available in wallchart and PDF format. www. visionmobile. com/maps Contents Key takeaways The Smart Netphone Behind the scenes: the making of Netphone Building on WAC technology Short tail strategy The agile telco: What other operators can learn from Smart 3 4 5 7 8 8  © VisionMobile 2011 2 Case study: Smart’s Netphone Key takeaways Smart Communications operates in a 99% pre-paid market with average revenues per user (ARPU) of only $4. Yet, it offers one of the most sophisticated service portfolios across most global operators. Offered services include mobile payments, streaming TV and a maps service. The Netphone is a bold attempt by Smart to bring smart devices and services to the mass market. The initial Netphone device is a rebranded, revamped ZTE Blade projected to launch in July, 2011, priced at an expected 120 -$140. From 2012, the Netphone will expand to feature phones at lower price points. The Netphone features a range of operator-developed apps, including prepaid balance check, unified chat, sender-pays email, connected address book, global directory, social radio, and Smart Money. The phone also comes bundled with applications from local service brands with whom Smart has established revenue share agreements for Netphone-initiated transactions. The Netphone represents a major effort for the operator, involving an internal team of 300 staff, plus tens of business partners across six countries. It aims to increase service usage in the mass market, and generate additional revenues by enabling partner transactions, such as shopping and food ordering. The Netphone uses a software update technology that can update the platform and applications continually over the air. Such updates allow the operator and its business partners to extend service reach and reduce development costs. The differential update technology reduces network bandwidth usage during updates. When it ships in July, the Netphone is expected to be the first phone that builds on the WAC (Wholesale Applications Community) specifications. On top of the WAC runtime, Smart has added its own Looking Glass technology for advanced device and network integration. In developing the Netphone, Smart has used an ‘agile’ development process. Rather than following the traditional RFI/RFQ ‘waterfall’ software procurement process, Smart has established joint operational and RD teams with its suppliers . The teams iterate continuously on the Netphone applications through three-month cycles of development, testing and user feedback. Initial rollout goals are modest, with Smart planning to sell 200,000 Netphones by the end of 2011, with plans to address the mass-market with sub-$100 phones in 2012. We believe that Smart’s Netphone offers three important lessons for the operator community. First, Smart has focused on its core services (messaging, address book, and mobile money), leaving all other applications to business partners. Second, rather than use the traditional RFI/RFQ software procurement process, Smart has pursued an ‘agile’ development process with three-month develop-learn-fix cycles. Third, over-theair software updates mean new services can reach Smart’s entire base of deployed Netphones faster.  © VisionMobile 2011 3 Case study: Smart’s Netphone Smart Communications: sophisticated services in an unsophisticated market Smart Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT (the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company). PLDT is the leading fixed line telecoms provider in the Philippines, having been established for over 80 years. As the wireless division of PLDT, Smart Communications has 46M wireless subscriptions, which puts Smart within the top-20 operators globally by number of subscribers. In the Philippines, Smart has just over 50% market share. It competes with Global and Sun Cellular in a market that’s nearing saturation, with 88% mobile penetration at the end of 2010. Smart has a record of service innovation that is akin to what operators in North America and Europe have achieved in more developed markets. Smart has one of the widest service portfolios among global mobile operators, including mobile payments, mobile banking, money transfer, mobile streaming TV, maps, push email and propositions for niche segments (e. g. MomsClub). Data services currently make up just over 50% of Smart revenues, as of Q1 2011, with the majority coming from the one billion SMS texts being sent each day. Smart Money, a service that allows users to pay for goods by transferring money from their bank account, was launched in 2001, and counts more than 8. million customers. However, like many operators in developing economies, Smart is in a low-ARPU, prepaid market. Some 99% of Smart subscriptions are pre-paid, with the blended, pre-paid ARPU reported at just 169 pesos ($3. 9 USD) in Q1 2011. Overall wireless revenues for Q1 2011 were 21 billion pesos ($486 million). Faced with decreasing ARPU in a competitive market, Smart has embarked on a handset-led strategy to increase its revenues by bringing over-the- top services to the mass market of pre-paid customers. The Smart Netphone The Smart Netphone presents a new series of mobile phones and tablets developed by Smart, aimed at bringing smart devices and services to the mass market. The first device expected to launch in July, 2011 is a rebranded, revamped ZTE Blade. This is the same handset that has been rebranded by Orange UK as the San Francisco and priced at 99 GBP (around $160) without contract, and not dissimilar to the Vodafone Smart handset by Huawei priced at 90 EUR (around $130). Although Smart has not announced pricing, we expect its Netphones to target image-conscious, affluent Filipinos willing to spend an estimated $120-$140. VisionMobile 2011 4 Case study: Smart’s Netphone Smart plans to launch flagship aspirational handsets in 2011, followed by devices across a wider spectrum of price points in 2012. Given that 70% of phones sold in the Philippines are priced below the $100 mark, this is the critical price point that Netphones will have to hit. â€Å"[The Netphone] is a strategic move to define what you do after voice and text. † Orlando B. Vea Chief Operating Adviser Smart Communications A full line-up of Netphones will launch on Android 2. (Froyo) handsets from ZTE and Huawei, with feature phone handsets to follow at lower price points. The phone follows widget specifications from the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) initiative, in addition to Smart’s Looking Glass technology stack, described later. The Netphone comes with a suite of widget-like applications on the phone’s home screen that provide access to Smart and partner services: Balance Check for prepaid users, which comprise 99% of Smart’s subscription base Unified Chat, allowing users to message their contacts with emoticons and video animations. Chat integrates with Yahoo Messenger and Facebook Sender Pays Email, which follows the SMS cost paradigm, but adds richer emoticons and video expressions to the messages Connected Address Book, which integrates the user’s address book with Gmail and Facebook contacts Global Directory, which integrates local Yellow Pages, and lists all users who use the Netphone (subject to privacy settings) Social radio, which lets users share an FM station with a friend and tune into it in parallel Smart Money, a service that allows users to pay for goods directly from their bank account or credit card Emergency app, which offers one button calling to a doctor or other contact that can be assigned by the user Partner apps like Jollibee (the number one fast-food chain in the Philippines), which allows users to browse the food menu, check out special offers, and order and pay for food delivery, directly from their phone. Behind the scenes: the making of Netphone The Netphone is not just an experiment for Smart. â€Å"It’s a strategic move to define what you do after voice and text,† according to Orlando B. Vea, Smart Communications’ chief operating adviser, and founding member of the company. The Netphone represents a major effort for the operator, with a team 300 staff developing the phone series over the last 18 months, together with an array of tens of partners across six countries.  © VisionMobile 2011 5 Case study: Smart’s Netphone As a phone series, the Netphone hits several firsts: it’s the first phone to be based on WAC widget specifications (see next section); it’s the first fully customized handset from a mobile operator in an emerging economy; and, along with the Orange San Francisco and Vodafone Smart, it’s one of the first attempts to sell smartphones to prepaid users. Since the concept phase almost two years ago, the Netphone series has had several design goals: Besides increasing own service revenues, the Netphone generates revenues by enabling partner transactions. For example, Smart gets a percentage of the revenue from every Jollibee fast food delivery transaction. a price point that customers can afford; around 70% of the phones in the Philippines are priced under $100 ease of use; the phone had to be extremely easy to use, appealing to voice and text users accustomed to feature phone menus services bundled; the Netphone had to come pre-bundled with communication and partner services that differentiated the phone the phone series had to support Smart’s evolving service strategy, rather than just the services included at handset launch The Netphone has been designed with tangible revenue goals as well. Besides increasing own service revenues for Smart, the Netphone generates revenues by enabling partner transactions. For example, Smart gets a percentage of the revenue from every Jollibee fast food delivery transaction. In designing the Netphone, Smart knew it faced a formidable challenge. In the Philippines, the average lifespan of a phone is five years compared to three years in Indonesia and around six months for a high-end Android phone. That meant that Smart needed to come up with an evolving consumer proposition that stays relevant and fresh over time. Smart’s design team knew that offering an inexpensive data phone was not enough. They needed to build on existing usage paradigms beyond voice and text. The Netphone uses the address book as a cornerstone for connecting into social networks and partner services, as well as for chatting and texting. Smart lined up several partners to realize the Netphone concept, including ZTE and Huawei (handsets), Qualcomm (Android chipset platform), IBM, Oracle, Huawei (back-end integration) and Red Bend Software (software management over the air). According to Smart, a key design decision has been using a software update technology that allows the Netphone platform and applications to be updated continually over the air (OTA). With the OTA update technology, Smart can minimize the runtime age of the WACbased platform runtime, ensuring that its Netphone applications run on the latest version of the platform. This addresses a common challenge faced by mobile application developers, who must port new applications to older runtimes. For example, about 25% of active Android handsets run on platform versions that are more VisionMobile 2011 6 Case study: Smart’s Netphone than 18 months out of date, according to Google data released in May 2011. Similarly, 20% of existing Apple 3GS devices ha d not yet been upgraded to the latest platform version two months after the introduction of iOS4, according to app analytics firm Localytics. In the case of the Netphone, the runtime is updated continuously across the life of the device. Computational delta technology is used to deliver updates that are a fraction of the size of full application or widget packages. The OTA update technology is similar to firmware over the air (FOTA) updating, but works at a component level. Thus, it allows OEMs to decouple their own applications and user experience from the underlying Android firmware base, which opens the door to agile differentiation on Android by both OEMs and network operators. Note that the same over-the-air update technology can be used across incremental runtime updates, Netphone application updates, as well as the entire Android-based firmware. Moreover, the OTA software management solution allows Smart and its partners to target the entire installed base of Netphones, by remotely installing applications posthandset-launch rather than waiting for users to discover these applications on their own. Updates can be also scheduled during quiet periods, so that they don’t clog the network. Building on WAC technology The Netphone series includes the first phones based on specifications defined by the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). Launched in February 2010, WAC is a cross-operator initiative aiming to develop a cross-device platform and app store framework to drive operator services. Since its foundation, WAC has amassed 34 operator members and 39 other partners, bringing in a total of over $10 million in annual funding. Smart has a seat on the board of directors of WAC, alongside Vodafone, ATT, China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo and other major telcos. The Netphone represents an important breakthrough for an industry initiative that has been criticized for its slow device rollout. For Smart, WAC represents an industry-endorsed software platform on top of which its partners can build HTML-based applications (also known as widgets). Moreover, widgets are familiar to a broad base of web developers, who are accustomed to HTML or JavaScript development. On top of the WAC widget specifications, Smart has layered its Looking Glass, a device and network technology umbrella that implements the array of Smart services on the Netphone. On the device side, Looking Glass includes technology that WAC does not yet cover, such as over-the-air software updating (based on OMA DM SCOMO standard) and additional access into device capabilities like FM radio. On the network side, the Looking Glass technology umbrella provides access into Smart’s services, such as connected address book, advanced messaging, email integration, location-based services and Smart Money. Smart’s network APIs extend the GSMA One API specifications by adding XMPP for advanced messaging, billing payment, and SIMencrypted (DUKPT) transactions.  © VisionMobile 2011 7 Case study: Smart’s Netphone Short tail strategy Smart is an atypical innovator—a top-20 mobile operator in a region dominated by prepaid subscribers. Rather than take the conventional route of long-tail apps on Android, Smart’s app strategy has three tiers: 1. ‘Massively relevant’ services such as voice and emotive messaging, which Netphone has developed in-house An RFP or waterfall development process clearly wouldn’t work here. † Alex Ibasco Chief Innovation Officer Smart Communications 2. ‘Significantly relevant’ services s uch as food, healthcare and media, where Netphone apps are developed by leading brands in the Philippines market 3. ‘Uniquely relevant’ services, where Smart is planning to adopt a long tail strategy open to all web developers With the launch of the Netphone, Smart has invested heavily in its own ‘massively relevant’ services as well as ‘significantly relevant’ services from business partners. â€Å"We are partnering with established businesses in the Philippines that have existing brand relationships to end users. The Netphone becomes a platform from which those partners can reach the Filipino consumer, and from which Filipinos can interact with their favourite brands,† according to Alex Ibasco, chief innovation officer at Smart. The agile telco: What other operators can learn from Smart Many telcos have ventured into the world of handset software to deliver their own services and differentiated user experience. The most well-known examples are Vodafone (Live! , VFX, VSCL, 360), Orange, Verizon and, of course, DoCoMo. Smart also has had a tradition of developing services in-house, including Smart Money and its own airtime pre-loading solution. Yet, Smart has taken a different approach from most operators. That approach offers three important lessons for the operator community. First, rather than deploying own-brand services exclusively, the operator has focused squarely on business partners with established consumer brands. It has allowed brands to deliver local consumer differentiation, and to share revenue on transactions. In so doing, it has provided brands with an additional channel to consumers. Second, the operator has used an agile development process. Rather than set specifications in stone at the beginning of the project, Smart’s featured Netphone applications have been iterating continually through a cycle of development, testing and user feedback. Moreover, rather than use the traditional RFI/RFQ ‘waterfall’ software procurement process, Smart has established joint operational and RD teams with its many suppliers for Netphone, and has adapted the software specifications during the course of the Netphone project. The project has already cycled through four iterations, averaging once every 3 months. Another iteration is planned before launch. â€Å"An RFP or waterfall development process  © VisionMobile 2011 8 Case study: Smart’s Netphone clearly wouldn’t work here,† comments Ibasco, who has been a key proponent of the Netphone project since its inception. Third, the over-the-air software update mechanism allows Smart to deploy new features and updates throughout the lifetime of the device. It also allows Smart to extend its addressable market for new services to the entire base of deployed Netphones, not just the most recent line-up of handsets shipped. Initial rollout goals are modest, with Smart planning to sell 200,000 Netphones by the end of 2011. Assuming Smart can hit sub-$100 price points in early 2012, it has a chance to rapidly ramp up these volumes, and address a substantial portion of its 46M subscriptions base. For now, the operator community is looking at the Smart initiative with anticipation; Netphone marks the latest telco attempt at innovating in the era of software, by building on both the telco (WAC) and software (Android) worlds. .  © VisionMobile 2011 9 knowledge. passion. innovation.

Read This Before Applying to an Economics PhD Program

Read This Before Applying to an Economics PhD Program I recently wrote an article about the types of people who shouldnt pursue a Ph.D. in economics. Dont get me wrong, I love economics. Ive spent a majority of my adult life in the pursuit of knowledge in the field studying around the world and even teaching it at the university level. You may love studying economics, too, but a Ph.D. program is an entirely different beast that requires a very specific type of person and student. After my article was published, I received an email from a reader, who just happened to be a potential Ph.D. student.   This readers experience and insights into the economics Ph.D. program application process were so on point that I felt the need to share the insights. For those considering applying to a Ph.D. program in Economics, give this email a read. One Students Experience Applying to an Economics Ph.D. Program Thanks for the graduate school focus in your recent articles.  Three of the challenges you mentioned [in your recent article] really hit home: American students have a comparative disadvantage for selection compared to foreign students.The importance of math cannot be overstated.Reputation is a huge factor, especially that of your undergraduate program. I applied unsuccessfully to Ph.D. programs for two years before conceding that I might not be ready for them. Only one, Vanderbilt, gave me even a wait-list consideration. I was a little embarrassed at being shunned. My mathematics GRE was 780. I had graduated at the top of my class with a 4.0 GPA in my economics major and completed a statistics minor. I had two internships: one in research, one in public policy. And accomplished this all while working 30 hours a week to support me. It was a brutally hard couple of years. The Ph.D. departments I applied to and my undergraduate adviser all pointed out: I attended a small, regional public university, and our professors spent significant time with students to the detriment of their own publishing.Though I took a heavy load of statistics coursework, I only had two terms of calculus.I had never been published; not even in an undergraduate journal.I aimed for highly-ranked schools in the Midwest like Illinois, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington University in St. Louis, but neglected schools on the coasts, which might have seen me as a more diverse candidate. I also made what many considered a tactical error: I went to talk with the graduate programs before I applied. I was later told that this is a taboo and seen as schmoozing. I even talked at length with the director of one program. We ended up talking shop for two hours and he invited me to attend presentations and brown bags whenever I was in town. But soon I would learn that he would be ending his tenure to take a position at another college, and would no longer be involved in the approval process for that program. After going through these obstacles, some suggested I prove myself with a Masters Degree in Economics first. I had originally been told that many schools pick top candidates immediately after undergraduate, but this new advice made sense because departments commit considerable resources to their Ph.D. candidates and want to make sure their investment will survive first-year exams. With that path in mind, I found it interesting that so few departments offer a terminal Masters in Economic. Id say about half as many as those that offer only the terminal Ph.D. Fewer still offer an academic Masters - most of these are professional programs. Still, Im glad it gives me a chance to dig deeper into research and see if Im ready for Ph.D. research. My Response   This was such a great letter for many reasons. First, it was genuine. It wasnt a why didnt I get into a Ph.D. program rant, but a personal story told with thoughtful insights. In fact, my experience has been nearly identical, and I would encourage any undergraduate student considering pursuing a Ph.D. in economics to take this readers insights to heart. I, myself,  was in a Masters program (at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada) before I entered my Ph.D. program. Today, I must admit that I wouldnt have survived three months as a Ph.D. student had I not attempted an MA in Economics first.

What are the effects if the government implement of Good-and-Services Essay

What are the effects if the government implement of Good-and-Services Tax (GST) in Hong Kong with the aim of broaden the tax base in Hong Kong - Essay Example Usually the problem arises because it is politically difficult to lower the demand for expenditure growth and to raise revenue to match government’s tendency to spend more and more. Almost all political systems, democracies included, have this problem. Fortunately for Hong Kong, the Basic Law provides a kind of constitutional limitation of budget deficits. According to professor William Baumol, â€Å"another reason that the public spending tend to rise faster than revenues stems from the fact that the most important component of public spending is civil service remuneration†(Fiscal Issues) Sometimes, volatility can mask what is essentially a structural issue. In a good year, when revenue increases, so does spending. In a bad year, however spending does not decrease when revenue does. If spending always grew to match growth in revenue, over time, spending would exceed revenue. This volatility is really structural imbalance between spending and revenue. Baumol further sta tes, â€Å"the rising share of public expenditure in GDP and the faster growth of recurrent spending over recurrent revenue are the main structural problems with the Hong Kong budget†(Fiscal Issue) In some countries – as for instance, most of the European countries – the reforms consists of a gradual process of adaptation. As a consequence the tax systems in operation in the 30 OECD member countries today are fundamentally different from those which operated in the mid-1980’s.

Analysis of the president campaign through market research possess Essay - 1

Analysis of the president campaign through market research possess - Essay Example In the process, they will also be able to choose the electors who will represent their respective states in the Electoral College. With just around 30 days left to the U.S presidential elections, it is important to analyze the presidential campaign of each of the main presidential contenders using a market research analysis process. This paper will also discuss the main voter constituencies as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each of the presidential candidate before finally predicting the winner. The primary objective of this market research analysis is to develop a logical interpretation of the data regarding the potential electoral victory of any of the two main presidential contenders in the forth coming elections. The analysis will also evaluate and measure the attitudes of voting behavior of the U.S population and finally use this analysis to predict the likely winner of the November 2012 presidential elections. The analysis of the presidential campaign using market research process was through a number of methods that sought to determine the opinion of both the U.S citizens and interested parties all over the world on the November 6 U.S presidential elections. One of the key methods used was online review of recent publications regarding the key issues of the forthcoming elections as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each of the top contenders. Another method that was employed was an analysis of the social media profiles of the two main candidates to provide important insights into what the voters and supporters are saying about them, as well as the likely key issues that may shape the forthcoming elections. The Twitter and Facebook account data of both president Obama and his top challenger Mitt Romney were closely followed and recorded as shown below (Summers 4). The data collected from both the social media analysis and the online literature review revealed a significant

Culturally Competent Nursing in an Ever Changing Diverse World Essay Example for Free

Culturally Competent Nursing in an Ever Changing Diverse World Essay In nursing and healthcare the issue of culture is more pronounced than anywhere else. This is because many people various ethnic, religious, racial and cultural backgrounds come forth to hospitals and healthcare centres in search of health solutions. Due to these cultural disparities, patients often fail to receive quality services because of practices that are lacking in cultural competence. Cultural competence in nursing and healthcare refers to the efficiency with which a healthcare provider is able to offer quality service in a cross-cultural setting thus enhancing the system’s or institution’s capacity to function in effective manners (Dolhun, E. P. et al 2003). Culture influences an individual’s values, perceptions, beliefs and opinions. It influences how patients respond to healthcare givers and the medication prescribed to them. Therefore it is very important that nurses and other medical practitioners seek to improve their awareness towards the issues raised by cultural diversity in order to improve on service delivery. This paper examines ways in which a nurse can be more culturally competent. It also examines the opportunities in the work place and nursing school that requires culturally focused health practices. Additionally the paper discusses the issues of self-assessment and client assessment that is geared towards the delivery of culturally competent health solutions. Importance of Culture to Nursing. The US is comprised of the most culturally diverse population. A big percentage of the world’s ethnic, religious and cultural groups are represented in this population. This has created a most unique opportunity as well as challenge to many organizations in the service delivery sector. This is because people from all cultures get ill at one point in time and they have to seek treatment. Nurses are thus presented with patients from very diverse cultural backgrounds. Culture influences how different people will respond to the different ways of health service delivery, interventions and treatment (Dolhun, E. P et al. 2003). It is therefore important for nurses to move towards achieving cultural competence in order to effectively deal with the challenges that come with the cultural reality. Because of the demographic situation in America service providers are under pressure to provide more culturally correct services. The nursing profession cannot be left behind and therefore the need to comply with the changing needs is overwhelming. Language limitations are also another issue of concern in attaining cultural competence. Ethical Factor One ethical principle that guides nurses in their endeavour to provide culturally appropriate care is the appreciating that everyone regardless of their cultural persuasion is entitled to receive quality health care. Cultural differences can influence the caregiver’s prejudices and bias towards a patient (Galanti G. A. 1997). In a similar way a patient can misconstrue the caregiver’s actions and words. This can serve to lower the quality of care given to this particular patient. Professional ethics require that there be no form of discrimination in the provision of health care but in a situation where there is prejudice on either party, then the quality of care is compromised. Similarly what is considered ethical may have serious consequences when viewed from a cultural context. A fitting example is when the doctor feels obliged to divulge some information to a patient or a certain member of the family, because in some cultures it is believed that giving certain information to a sick person is unacceptable, the doctors ‘ethical’ actions may be viewed in very bad light Nurse’s responsibility Nurses are usually supposed to care for the general well being of a patient, they ought to be able to understand and empathize with the patient in order to cater for their physical and emotional needs. On an individual level, a nurse has a responsibility to learn the practices that are in accordance to cultural competence. It is important that nurses should have an attitude that goes further than just learning acceptable cultural behaviours. Nurses must be motivated by compassion to the patients and driven by moral responsibility (Tervalon M. Murray-Garcia J. 1998). This allows them to display a genuine concern and is thus motivated to internalize harmonious attitudes towards achieving cultural competence. In a hospital setting a nurse is required to be able to anticipate the issues that may arise due to cultural disparities and lack of proficiency in certain languages. They are also to understand the others’ points of view as well as appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of these points of view. In addition to this, respecting the cultural differences is key to the ability to provide culturally appropriate care. Since the issues raised by cultural diversity are multi-faceted in nature, they require a holistic approach that calls for a total overhaul in the nurses’ ways of thinking. There is no one culture that is the standard of what is good or bad and therefore an open mind is important as nurses move towards delivering health care that exemplifies cultural competence. Achieving this kind of competence is only possible if one comes to self-awareness and recognizes their own values, beliefs, opinions, prejudices and biases (Dolhun, E. P. 2003). From here, they can be able to understand how they respond to different points of view from other. Inorder to come to self-awareness one needs to examine their own cultural and environmental backgrounds. An underlying ethnocentricity is part most people where one is protective and to an extent defensive when it comes to cultural differences (Switzer, G. E et al 1998). However in the nursing practice each nurse should be flexible and work towards developing skills of responding to varied cultural settings and situations. Nursing Schools Similarly in nursing schools one is required to meet most of the aforementioned standards. In addition to that communication skills are developed in school. Learning to communicate effectively in a cultural context entails being open-minded, respectful and shunning any form of prejudice or bias (Robins, L. et al 1998). It is a great opportunity to learn form and about other cultures. Other communication skills that are essential are listening skills that enable one to establish a rapport with the others. Language skills also play an important role in communication and as such each student nurse has a responsibility to learn other languages. Ofcourse it is not possible to learn all the languages there are but one can do their best and that is what is required of them. In the same way nurses should have skills that would enable them to assess the patient in a cultural context. This would entail finding out as much detail on the patient as possible. It would help to understand their ethnic background, socio-economic class, religion, age group and other social entities that they identify with. Learning about their experiences could also aid in establishing biases. Impact of culture on health care In the year 2010 more than 45% of all patients in the US will come from minority cultures. This is due to immigration that is the greatest contributor to the cultural diversity (Tervalon M. Murray-Garcia J. 1998). The health sector has realized the reality of these facts and medical practitioners are now given incentives to encourage them to take up learning on cultural diversity. This is changing the entire medical profession. Many initiatives have been put in place in order to bridge health differences that exist between minority groups and the white Americans. The existence of cultural difference may impact negatively on the care given. Cultural factor do affect the response to the different methods of treatment and diagnosis. Some ideas are perceived differently in different cultures and in some extreme cases family members can react in ways that may seem bizarre in the western world. Conclusion The issue of culture is increasingly attaining great importance with the ever-changing cultural mixture. The provision of healthcare is now taking cognizance of the effects of culture on the delivery of these vital services. It has been realized that cultural differences have been an impact on the quality of care given. Nurses and other medical practitioner are now under increased pressure to attain cultural competence in order to achieve high standards of quality. This paper opines the achievement of an all round cultural competence is a long journey. It will take a collective as well as an individual effort to achieve. Nurses have a personal responsibility to seek to understand the cultural factor. Additionally each one of them needs to appreciate their moral duty to seek self-awareness inorder to understand their own behaviour in response to other people with a differing opinion. Respect and a non-judgemental attitude are important if one is to overcome the ethnocentricity that is part of every human being. This awareness cultivates interest and inquiry. Once this point has been reached cultural differences will be viewed as learning opportunities that will spur personal growth. Reference Dolhun, E. P. Munoz, C. and Grumbach, K. (2003). Cross-cultural education in U. S. medical schools: Development of an assessment tool. Academic Medicine. Galanti G. A. (1997). Caring for Patients from Different Cultures: Case studies from American hospitals. 2nd ed. University of Philadelphia Press. Philadelphia, PA. Riddick S. (1998). Improving access for limited English-speaking consumers: A review of strategies in health care settings. J Health Care Poor Underserved. Supp vol 9: Robins, L. S. Alexander, G. L. , Wolf, F. M. , Fantone, J. C. , Davis, W. K. (1998). Development and evaluation of an instrument to assess medical students cultural attitudes. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, Switzer, G. E. Scholle, S. H. , Johnson, B. A. , Kelleher, K. J. (1998). The Client Cultural Competence Inventory: An instrument for assessing cultural competence in behavioral managed care organizations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, Tervalon M. Murray-Garcia J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. J Health Care Poor Underserved.

Pro Assisted Suicide Essay -- Death With Dignity euthanasia

Death With Dignity Today, American society is obsessed with the young and successful and their endless pursuit of beauty, fame, and fortune. People are bombarded with images of youth in movies, music, and ads for ordinary items such as toothpaste. Advertisers create the illusion that people can forever defer death by plastering ?anti-aging? across drugstore aisles to sell their products. In the search for eternal youth, people become desensitized to the importance of life?s inevitable end. Every day, countless people quietly pass away after long and painful struggles with terminal illnesses, and their loved ones are often reduced to helpless observers. Terminally ill patients are not merely a statistic; they are mothers, fathers, children, friends, and lovers who leave behind many distraught loved ones in death. By continuing to prohibit assisted suicide, the law denies many terminally ill patients the peaceful death they desire. Instead, patients must waste away slowly and endure constant pain, unless they have powerful and expensive medications to dull their senses. However, no amount of medication can remedy emotional pain, and patients sometime feel helpless and alone because death is their only release from suffering (Girsh 3). The law cannot rightfully ignore the special circumstances of terminal illnesses and deny people a dignified death simply because they retain brain function. Terminally ill patients need an option to prevent spending their final days, months, or years painfully deteriorating as they approach their inevitable deaths. Throughout the controversy, the public has focused on moral aspects of assisted suicide and overlooked the fact that one form has already been in practice for nine ye... ...situation of terminally ill patients over their personal convictions and abolish the boundaries keeping them from having a peaceful end to their lives. Works Cited ?2-to-1 Majorities Continue to Support Rights to Both Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide.? The Harris Poll 9 January 2002 Death with Dignity National Center. 2006. 27 March 2006 . Girsh, Faye. ?Patients Should Be Given More Control Over Their Deaths.? USA Today March 2000. Levinson, Sanford. ?Assisted Suicide Should be Legalized.? The Nation 21 July 1997. Oregon Department of Human Services Report, 1994-1005. Oregon Department of Human Services. 2006. 27 March 2006 ?Physician Assisted Suicide: Legislative Statute.? Oregon Department of Human Services. 2006. 21 March 2006 . Pro Assisted Suicide Essay -- Death With Dignity euthanasia Death With Dignity Today, American society is obsessed with the young and successful and their endless pursuit of beauty, fame, and fortune. People are bombarded with images of youth in movies, music, and ads for ordinary items such as toothpaste. Advertisers create the illusion that people can forever defer death by plastering ?anti-aging? across drugstore aisles to sell their products. In the search for eternal youth, people become desensitized to the importance of life?s inevitable end. Every day, countless people quietly pass away after long and painful struggles with terminal illnesses, and their loved ones are often reduced to helpless observers. Terminally ill patients are not merely a statistic; they are mothers, fathers, children, friends, and lovers who leave behind many distraught loved ones in death. By continuing to prohibit assisted suicide, the law denies many terminally ill patients the peaceful death they desire. Instead, patients must waste away slowly and endure constant pain, unless they have powerful and expensive medications to dull their senses. However, no amount of medication can remedy emotional pain, and patients sometime feel helpless and alone because death is their only release from suffering (Girsh 3). The law cannot rightfully ignore the special circumstances of terminal illnesses and deny people a dignified death simply because they retain brain function. Terminally ill patients need an option to prevent spending their final days, months, or years painfully deteriorating as they approach their inevitable deaths. Throughout the controversy, the public has focused on moral aspects of assisted suicide and overlooked the fact that one form has already been in practice for nine ye... ...situation of terminally ill patients over their personal convictions and abolish the boundaries keeping them from having a peaceful end to their lives. Works Cited ?2-to-1 Majorities Continue to Support Rights to Both Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide.? The Harris Poll 9 January 2002 Death with Dignity National Center. 2006. 27 March 2006 . Girsh, Faye. ?Patients Should Be Given More Control Over Their Deaths.? USA Today March 2000. Levinson, Sanford. ?Assisted Suicide Should be Legalized.? The Nation 21 July 1997. Oregon Department of Human Services Report, 1994-1005. Oregon Department of Human Services. 2006. 27 March 2006 ?Physician Assisted Suicide: Legislative Statute.? Oregon Department of Human Services. 2006. 21 March 2006 .

Blown to Bits Essay

Technology has rapidly advanced, affecting standards on privacy, telecommunications, and criminal law. Every day, we encounter unexpected consequences of data flows that could not have happened a few years ago. Due to the bits explosion, the world changed very suddenly. Almost everything is stored in a computer somewhere. Court records, grocery purchases, precious family photos, radio programs†¦ It is all being reduced to zeroes and ones – â€Å"bits.† The bits are stashed on disks of home computers and in the data centers of big corporations and government agencies. The disks can hold so many bits that there is no need to pick and choose what gets remembered. So much disk storage is being produced every year that it could be used to record a page of information, every minute or two, about you and every other human being on earth. Once something is on a computer, it can replicate and move around the world in a heartbeat. Making a million perfect copies takes but an instant – copy of things we want everyone in the world to see, and also copies of things that weren’t meant to be copied at all. Due to instantaneous transfers, some data leak. Credit card records are supposed to stay locked up in a data warehouse, but escape into the hands of identity thieves. And we sometimes give information away just because we get something back for doing so. A company will give you free phone calls to anywhere in the world—if you don’t mind watching ads for the products its computers hear you talking about. The book presents 7 ‘koans’ or principles regarding the bits and the effect of it on humanity. Koan 1: Even though your computer seems to present pictures, texts, songs, and videos, they are all composed of bits. Everything that’s digital are ruled by bits. Even as we speak, bits are flying through the airwaves by our phones. Koan 2: Every copy made by a computer is perfect. The era of books  being handwritten oftentimes resulting to mistakes, has now been closed by digital explosion. And even though these machines do fail as long as the bits have been communicated, the probability of error of the bits is so slim. Koan 3: Vast as world-wide data storage is today, five years from now it will be ten times as large. Yet the information explosion means, paradoxically, the loss of information that is not online. Outdated software and information not stored in the computer are usually assumed as inexistent. Koan 4: The speed of a computer is usually measured by the number of basic operations, such as additions, that can be performed in one second. The fastest computers available in the early 1940s could perform about five operations per second. The fastest today can perform about a trillion. Koan 5: Exponential growth is actually smooth and steady; it just takes very little time to pass from unnoticeable change to highly visible. In the rapidly changing world of bits, it pays to notice even small changes, and to do something about them. Koan 6: Data stored will all be kept forever, unless there are policies to get rid of it. The Internet consists of millions of interconnected computers; once data gets out, there is no getting it back. Victims of identity theft experience daily the distress of having to remove misinformation from the record. It seems never to go away. Koan 7: In the bits world, in which messages flow instantaneously, it sometimes seems that distance doesn’t matter at all. The instantaneous communication of massive amounts of information has created the misimpression that there is a place called â€Å"Cyberspace,† a land without frontiers where all the world’s people can be interconnected as though they were residents of the same small town. The book introduces two basic morals. The first is that information technology is inherently neither good nor bad—it can be used for good or ill, to free us or to shackle us. Second, new technology brings social change, and change comes with both risks and opportunities. Any technology can be used for good or ill. Nuclear reactions create electric power and weapons of mass destruction. The same encryption technology that makes it possible for you to email your friends with confidence that no eavesdropper will be able to decipher your message also makes it possible for terrorists to plan their attacks undiscovered. The key to managing the ethical and moral consequences of technology while nourishing economic growth is to regulate the use of technology without  banning or restricting its creation.