Advatages of using java programing language Essay

Advatages of using java programing language - Essay Example As such, several computer program languages were developed around that time. Although Java is similar to C++, it has some advantages over C++, such as simplicity. Java can create large applications for one or more computers and can also be used to create applets, which are useful when it comes to creating Web pages. In fact, Java has "exceptional opportunities when it comes to the Web development in terms of simplicity of implementation and speed of execution of the final product" (Masovic et al., 2012). Java is also free and easy to download from the Internet. It would be very difficult to use Java codes that had great effects on computers (Harold, 1997). The advantages of using Java are that it is easy to learn, object-oriented and platform-oriented. The first Java design was meant to be easy to use (Masovic et al., 2012). C++ was developed before Java and as such was used as a guide for Java. Although C++ is very similar to Java, improvements were made in the original design. Chan ges in two components, memory allocation and garbage collection, had contributed greatly to present the simplicity of Java design so that users did not need to worry about the memory. Other characteristics of Java that led to its simplicity were cross-platform compatibility, no cost, portability, and easy to learn (Pravica, 1999). Also, Java is easy to compile and write compared to other programming languages (McKell, 1998). Programmers find that writing Java codes is much easier than other computer languages. For example, many programming experts had realized that shipping C code has, on average, one bug per 55 lines of code (Harold, 1997). Java’s grammar is simple but very similar to C+ and C++. This is a great advantage when networking occurs between several computers. It means that different and distinct programs can run at the same time from different computers in order to carry out a task. (Choudhari, 2012) The designers included automatic memory allocation in Java, whi le in C++ the programmer must allocate the size of the memory. The programmer must also collect the garbage, but in Java the garbage is collected automatically. Java programs can be written once and then run anywhere through the use of an interface (McKell, 1998). The interface is a one class inheritance scheme instead of a multiple inheritance programs that represent the object-oriented program. Object-orientation refers to the ability of a program to simulate real life. The garbage or deleted icons are represented by an icon that mirrors real life usage; for financial usage a mortgage can be considered as an object. Java was intentionally designed as an object-oriented program in order to avoid problems that often become complex when solving inheritance issues in C++. Furthermore, Java allows creation modular programs and reusable code for frequent usage (McKell, 1998). Applets are small modular language applications that can be constructed from Java and are mini-applications that allow a viewer to see animations on a Web page. Interactions between a user and a Web page, such as making short calculations or other types of simple tasks, can be accomplished with Applets. JavaBeans is another component that makes programming easier. JavaBeans can string reusable components together with only a minimum amount of written code (Choudhari, 2012). Java is virtually integrated on almost every operating system and browser because it has platform independence. The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) executes the code of the platform. The JVM is the component that "enforces security policies so that boundaries are in place for what Java can and cannot do; Java runs on all

Radical And Liberal Theories Of Inequality Essay Example for Free

Radical And Liberal Theories Of Inequality Essay Social inequality (as a general philosophical and social concept including, before all economic inequalities along with the modern racial and gender issues of disparity) has always been a characteristic feature of human society therefore it is not surprising that majority of ancient and contemporary social philosophers are involved into discussion of how the inequality came to be and what can be done to reduce it. As usually there is no single opinion on the issue. There is an attitude that inequality is an ingrained feature of our social structure so any attempts to reduce or eliminate it are self-defeating. Still there is another opinion: inequality emerged on a certain stage of development of human society when one group of people took advantage of all other people and captured the source of welfare – material goods. It is not yet clear which one is true. The problem of social inequality has a long tradition of analysis; at least since the times of Aristotle, the existence of social disparity appeared a key problem for democratic theory and practice. Nowadays several major philosophical paradigms study the nature of inequality, i.e.: conservative, liberal, and radical; each of them has different vision of the problem (Conservative†¦ 2004). We will focus on liberal and radical visions of the problem and contrast their approaches to view the problem. Libertarian approach before all concentrates on freedoms and social rights of individuals as the members of common society. The approach focuses on people and, contrasting radical outlooks of the problem could be described as the â€Å"individualistic† one. Radical approach, speaking critically, is a â€Å"collectivistic† paradigm that put a focus on social classes instead of people. Liberalists, in their turn, stay on the premises that everyone is before all an individual, and that all individuals have inalienable social rights guaranteed by the society (Kidder et al, 2004). The central value of liberalistic theory is, therewith, inborn freedom of people. Liberals believe that people are able to change their social status themselves and become prosperous in this life. Radicals, on the contrary observe people as foredoomed creature who can’t leave the measures of their social class. As a result, they could become equally treated only through revolutionary changes. Capitalists, observing radical philosophy of social inequality, use all resources available to make the rest of the society equal; therewith, capitalists appear the primary enemies of social inequality who victimize the average people. Liberals never expressed such radical ideas; instead they believe that it’s rather the role of capitalists and government to establish a welfare society. The core differences between liberal and radical approaches, comparing and contrasting ideas of Marx (Avineri, 1968) and Weber (1958), lie in their vision of the fundamentals of social inequality. While Marx stayed on the material premises and some objective reasons that people can’t change, Weber believed in people’s rationality and knowledge that help them to achieve social equality themselves. Weber’s ideas of liberalism are close to the vision of people from protestant religion perspective, while Marx’s ideals are, admittedly, closer to orthodox Christianity. The serious difference between radicals and liberals lies in their vision of key aspects of social inequality origin. Radical philosophers develop a theory of social classes where material aspect is considered to be the key one in people’s social inequality. While liberals believe that relatively few people are unequally treated in the modern welfare societies, radical philosophers and Marx (Avineri, 1968) first of all state that the inequality is to be observed in a wider context, first of all as a disparity between major social classes. Marx outlined five social formations; inequality did not exist in the first and the fifth formation. All people were equal during the epoch of Primitive Communism but gradually the situation changed. Asiatic or Ancient formation (slavery), Feudalism and Capitalism – other three formations – were based upon different modes of production and were characterized by great inequalities. Liberals don’t support the idea of social classes in which radical philosopher believe so blindly. Instead, they believe that the roots of social inequality lie simply in unequal share of commonwealth during the previous time periods. This unequal distribution is, as liberal philosophers believe, the principle factor in the emergence of social inequality. One of the first liberal philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1993; p. 84) exploring the problem of inequality came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a natural state of human beings; instead he claimed that people were born equal but voluntarily bonded themselves into the society that was evil in itself. As a result, apologists of this approach see the problem of emerged inequality as arising from societies where individuals were not listened to or treated equally. Standing on this ground, liberal philosophers criticize unlimited acquisitiveness as sheer greed, and do not agree that the market should be the arbiter of all values. As far as liberalists stay on the principles of equal freedoms and opportunities they criticize the permanent system of welfare distribution amidst the society. The fundamentals of liberal approach to social inequality could be described, in fact, as the civilized and humane ideals where all people possess individual freedom, moral and physical autonomy social equality, a set of inalienable human rights (i.e.: to life, to express own thoughts and opinions, religious worship etc), due process at law), private property, democratic participation etc. Individual rights and freedoms are therewith are at the top of liberals’ value scale. Liberals believe in democracy as the best way of human existence and states’ development and vote for equal opportunities for all people. They, however, don’t support the necessity of regimes’ changes as the radicals’ do. Radical philosophers, in their turn, vote for immediate and rapid changes of the society. At the same time, radical philosophers vote for rapid changes of society’s norms and traditions through revolutions. There lies the major though implicit difference between both approaches as liberals first of all want to fit unequally treated people to the standards of the others, radicals, on the contrary insist that the top of society must be pulled down and treated unequally. As a result, radicals don’t suggest a clear solution of inequality eliminating because in their model one social class shifts another while inequality isn’t reduced at all (the former USSR could serve here a good illustration). Liberals and radicals also differ in the vision of ideal society, while first one support regulated and humane capitalism, radical philosophers believe in socialistic society where are people have equal rights. This idea, however, turned to be utopist one judging from the USSR collapse example. Dislike radical philosophers, liberals observing Kidder (2004) never vote for the rapid and all-round changes in the society in order to reduce or eliminate inequality. Instead, they suggest the remedies for those, who became unequal in this society through no fault of their own. Therewith, liberalism as a philosophical and political system is targeted to defend people from any abuses by authorities or other people. To achieve relative social equality liberals suggest various social programs, labor units, reduction of taxes for those who are in need of such alterations. Liberalists, dislike radical philosophers, believing in the role of society and a state as a self-regulating mechanism that is helpful for every its member. In order to achieve this objective, the government is to regulate somehow market relations to protect public interests. Apologists of liberal approach believe that government can indeed play a constructive role in the society and don’t insist on its elimination as the radicals do. In a word, liberals want both business and government to be more responsible and responsive to the public interest. That’s achieved through corporate social responsibility and governmental regulation of businesses. Radical philosophers and politicians (Kidder, 2004) never presume the idea that a government or a state could abolish social inequality. Instead, only the unequally treated people could do this through revolutionary changes in the society having wiped out a ruling class and capitalists. The language of the radicals tends not to â€Å"convert† but to â€Å"repel† most people. Radicals, therewith, call for some drastic and fundamental changes in the economy including nationalization instead of private property, complete governmental regulation instead of partial intervention and equation of all salaries instead of mixed approach. Do you think American society is open now? Traditionally, American society is believed to be the most free and democratic one in the world. Comparing with the other states, even the democratic ones, we come to the conclusion that American society is quite open nowadays: that mean that all people are born equal and are provided with equal conditions for their life and development. At the same time American as probably no other society could guarantee its people the same financial welfare. Instead, provision of people with equal rights make them responsible for own social and financial development. At the same time, American society is not deprived of several serious drawbacks that slow down building of a completely open society. It’s first of all social discrimination and derogatory stereotypes that dominate over the minds of million Americans; protectionism and some other forms of inequalities that, however, tend to lessen in the modern society. REFERENCES: Avineri, S. The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx. Cambridge University Press, 1968. Conservative, Liberal, Radical Economic Philosophies (2004). Online article retrieved July 13, 2004 from http://www.tc.umn.edu/~smith097/articles/C.3.htm T. et al (2004). World Views on Inequality: Where Did It Come From and What Can We Do? Online article retrieved July 13, 2004 from http:/www.earlham.edu/~pls/ Rousseau, J.-J. The Social Contrast and The Discourses. [Translated by G.D.H. Cole]. London: David Campbell Publishers Ltd., 1993. Weber, M. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Talcott Parsons. New York: Charles Scribners Sons.

Advance Communications Systems Gsm Information Technology Essay

Advance Communications Systems Gsm Information Technology Essay In Telecommunications Applications, cellular is the fastest and very demanding Technology. Today, It is representing a continuous increasing percentage of all telephone subscriptions around the globe. GSM is the most popular standard for mobile telephony systems. It is estimated that around 80% of worldwide mobile market uses this standard. Currently there are about 4 Billion cellular subscribers around the world. GSM differs from its previous technologies in that both signalling and speech channels are digital. Thus GSM is considered as 2nd Generation (2G). Definition: Global system for mobile communication (GSM) is a globally accepted standard for digital cellular communication. GSM is the name of a standardization group established in 1982 to create a common European mobile telephone standard that would formulate specifications for a pan-European mobile cellular radio system operating at 900 MHz. It is estimated that many countries outside of Europe will join the GSM partnership. The GSM family of technologies has provided the world with mobile communications since 1991. In over twenty years of development, GSM has been continually enhanced to provide platforms that deliver an increasingly broad range of mobile services as demand grows. Where the industry started with plain voice calls, it now has a powerful platform capable of supporting mobile broadband and multimedia services. GSM is now used in 219 countries and territories serving more than three billion people and providing travellers with access to mobile services wherever they go. GSM An open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services EDGE An open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services HSPA An open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services GPRS A  very widely deployed wireless data service, available now with most GSM networks 3G/WCDMA The air interface for one of the International Telecommunications Unions family of third-generation mobile communications systems LTE Designed to be backwards-compatible with GSM and HSPA, Long Term Evolution incorporates MIMO in combination with OFDMA GSM Roaming The ability for a customer to make  and receive calls, send  and receive data, or access other services when travelling outside the coverage area of their home network IMB A technology, defined as a part of the 3GPP Rel. 8 standard, which enables spectrally-efficient delivery of Broadcast services using TDD radio techniques. 2. GSM Network The GSM technical specifications define the different entities that form the GSM network by defining their functions and interface requirements. The GSM network can be divided into four main parts: The Mobile Station (MS). The Base Station Subsystem (BSS). The Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS). The Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS). The architecture of the GSM network is presented in figure 1. 3. GSM Network Operations GSM network architecture: There are four main areas of GSM Network: Mobile station (MS) Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS) Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS) Base-station subsystem (BSS) Simplified GSM Network Architecture Mobile station Mobile stations (MS) are also widely known as mobile equipment (ME), cell or mobile phones. This is the part of a GSM cellular network which is used and operated by user. The size of mobile phone In recent years is becoming more and more smaller whereas the level of functionality has greatly increased. The two basic element of mobile phone are the hardware and the SIM. The main element of the mobile phone is hardware which includes the display, case, battery.Another important element of the Mobile are the electronics which are used to generate the signal, and process the data receiver and to be transmitted. International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is installed in the phone at manufacture and cannot be changed. The network can check whether the mobile has been reported as stolen with its IMEI while the registration of the phone. The network determines the identity of the user with The SIM or Subscriber Identity Module. The SIM includes variety of information including a number known as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) The GSM network subsystem contains a variety of different elements. This is the element of GSM which provides the main control and interfacing for the whole mobile network. NSS is also known as the core network and includes the following elements: Authentication Centre Home Location Register SMS Gateway Visitor Location Register Equipment Identity Register Gateway Mobile Switching Centre Mobile Switching services Centre Base Station Subsystem (BSS) The system used to communicate with other mobiles on a network is called Base Station Subsystem (BSS) section . It consists of two elements: Base Station Controller Base Transceiver Station Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS) Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS) is used to control and monitor the overall GSM network and is connected to components of the NSS and the BSC.It is also used to control the traffic load of the BSS. As the subscriber population increases with the resulted number of BS, some of the maintenance tasks are transferred to the BTS, thus it allows savings in the cost of ownership of the system. Each interface between the different elements of the GSM network is defined in the GSM structure. This facilitates the information interchanges can take place and also that network elements from different manufacturers can be used. Development of GSM Air Interface is the key elements of the development of the GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications. Elements including the modulation, GSM slot structure, burst structure and the like were all devised to provide the optimum performance. Modulation format is an important development of the GSM standard , the way in which the system is time division multiplexed, which provides a considerable impact on the performance of the system as a whole. For example, the modulation format for the GSM air interface and battery life are directly associated and the time division format adopted enabled the cellphone handset costs to be considerably reduced as detailed later. Reference: http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/windows-mobile-platform/articles/14286.aspx#ixzz0hoQeU6uY 4. GSM Advantages Disadvantages GSM Advantages GSM is grown-up means this development means a more constant network with healthy features. Fewer signal fall inside buildings. Ability to use repeaters. Talk-time is generally advanced in GSM phones due to the pulse nature of transmission. The availability of Subscriber Identity Modules allows users to switch networks and handsets. GSM covers almost all parts of the world so international roaming is not a problem. The subscriber can enjoy the broadest international coverage. It is possible with the GSM roaming service. Good coverage indoors on 850/900 MHz. Repeaters possible. Very good due to simple protocol, good coverage and mature, power-efficient chipsets. Some More Advantages most popular Communication Mobile, wireless communication, support for voice and data services. Total mobility International access, chip-card enables use of access points of different providers. Worldwide connectivity One number, the network handles every location. High capacity Better frequency efficiency, smaller cells, and more customers per cell. High transmission quality High audio quality and reliability for wireless. Disadvantages of GSM Pulse nature of TDMA transmission used in 2G interferes with some electronics, especially confident audio amplifiers. 3G uses W-CDMA now. Intellectual property is concentrated among a few industry participants, creating barriers to entry for new entrants and limiting competition among phone manufacturers. GSM has a permanent maximum cell site range of 35 km, which is imposed by technical limitations. GSM has some disadvantages when compared to some of the newer mobile network technologies. GSM is known as a second-generation system. Third-generation systems feature higher data transfer rates. Higher transfer rates allow better call quality and additional services such as high-quality streaming video and high-speed Internet capabilities. Evolution from 2G to 3G 2G networks were built mainly for voice data and slow transmission. Due to fast changes in user expectation, they do not gather todays wireless needs. Cellular mobile telecommunications networks are being upgraded to use 3G technologies from 1999 to 2010. Japan was the first country to introduce 3G nationally. How is 3G different from 2G and 4G While 2G stands for second-generation wireless telephone technology, 1G networks used are analog, 2G networks are digital and 3G (third-generation) technology is used to enhance mobile phone standards. 3G helps to simultaneously transfer both voice data (a telephone call) and non-voice data (such as downloading information, exchanging e-mail, and instant messaging. The highlight of 3G is video telephony. 4G technology stands to be the future standard of wireless devices. 5. GSM Applications: 1. GSM-R: (Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway) GSM-R is the latest technology for railway communications based on International wireless communications standards. The GSM-R system is based on GSM and EIRENE-MORANE specifications and it guarantee at 350 mph without any data loss in communication. GSM-R is one part of  ERTMS  (European Rail Traffic Management System) which is composed of: GSM-R. ETCS  (European Train Control System). Frequency band GSM-R uses a specific  frequency band in Europe, which is as follows: 876  MHz 880  MHz: used for data transmission (uplink) 921  MHz 925  MHz: used for data reception (downlink) Channel spacing is 200  kHz. GSM-R occupied a lower extension of GSM 900  MHz frequencies (890  MHz 915  MHz range for transmission and 935  MHz 960  MHz range for reception), as per 3GPP TS 05.05 V8.20.0 (2005-11). In  China  GSM-R occupied a 4  MHz wide range of the E-GSM band (900  MHz-GSM). GSM-R uses GSM-R allows the services and applications for mobile communications in many domains: Transmission of Long Line Public Address (LLPA) announcements to remote stations down the line Control and protection (Automatic Train Control/ETCS) and  ERTMS) Communication between train driver and regulation centre, Communication of on-board working people Information sending for  ETCS Communication between  train stations,  classification yard  and  rail tracks 2. GSM for Disaster Management: GSM Technology is being used for prevention in disasters. Many cellular companies offer charity disaster relief services to the effected areas. The response program is an initiative to make sure that the communications are going on during disasters. The response team is made up of volunteers and telecom engineers who bring their equipments and the whole Mini-GSM system. Basically this is an entire Portable Mobile Network so that the effected people can have contact with the other people around the world. As we have seen in Haiti Earthquake disaster. 3. Remote monitoring applications using GSM Telemetry Remote Tank Level Monitoring Wireless Remote Monitoring for Pumps Leakage detection in Tanks Automated Condition Monitoring Remote communications to PLC using GSM Telemetry GSM Odometer (Mileage Management System) GSM odometer is such a device used to facilitate fleet administration of vehicles. This will report all necessary information about the vehicle through E-mail or mobile SMS. This device is based on GSM modem with embedded software. This is concept is called Mileage management System. This is a very useful technology for those organizations which need vehicle administration on daily basis. This system is fully compatible with your vehicle and central control room. GSM odometer also reports the following information: The total number of working hours of the vehicles Speed profiles of the vehicles Tracking using GSM location service Benefits of Mileage Management System: It provides very accurate mileage information of the vehicle. Easy vehicle service recall. Better customer services. Less process time 70 to 80% reduction in cost for daily fleet administration. Correct invoicing, information about the mileage may easily be integrated into the fleet owners billing and administration Enhanced Security Mobile Application Security: The mobile users around the globe are steadily increasing and hopefully will continue to grow more rapid in future. Openess offers benefits to the customers, device management and operators. But on the other habd oppenness also chanllenges the security risks and malicious applications. Therefore security is the key concern for the mobile and communications industry. GSM Association Mobile Application Security Initiative identified the need of security applications across mobile operating systems to reduce the malware while facilitating the users. The challenge for mobbile applications are many. Some are included which are: Proactively protect mobile users from fraud and malicious applications Assure quality and accountability of mobile applications Maintain trust in mobile platforms (and avoid similar problems in the Internet world) Secure existing and future business Protect operators against costs originating from malicious applications Facilitate certification processes to reduce barriers for developers Ensure consistency across different OS platforms and operators. 6. GSM Security and Encryption Description of GSM Security Features Security in GSM consists of the following aspects: subscriber identity authentication, subscriber identity confidentiality, signaling data confidentiality, and user data confidentiality. The subscriber is uniquely identified by the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). This information, along with the individual subscriber authentication key (Ki), constitutes sensitive identification credentials analogous to the Electronic Serial Number (ESN) in analog systems such as AMPS and TACS. The design of the GSM authentication and encryption schemes is such that this sensitive information is never transmitted over the radio channel. Rather, a challenge-response mechanism is used to perform authentication. The actual conversations are encrypted using a temporary, randomly generated ciphering key (Kc). The MS identifies itself by means of the Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI), which is issued by the network and may be changed periodically (i.e. during hand-offs) for additi onal security. Signal and Data Confidentiality The SIM contains the ciphering key generating algorithm (A8) which is used to produce the 64-bit ciphering key (Kc). The ciphering key is computed by applying the same random number (RAND) used in the authentication process to the ciphering key generating algorithm (A8) with the individual subscriber authentication key (Ki). As will be shown in later sections, the ciphering key (Kc) is used to encrypt and decrypt the data between the MS and BS. An additional level of security is provided by having the means to change the ciphering key, making the system more resistant to eavesdropping. The ciphering key may be changed at regular intervals as required by network design and security considerations. Figure 6 below shows the calculation of the ciphering key (Kc). Subscriber Identity Confidentiality To ensure subscriber identity confidentiality, the Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) is used. The TMSI is sent to the mobile station after the authentication and encryption procedures have taken place. The mobile station responds by confirming reception of the TMSI. The TMSI is valid in the location area in which it was issued. For communications outside the location area, the Location Area Identification (LAI) is necessary in addition to the TMSI. The TMSI allocation/reallocation process is shown in Figure 8 below. 7. ADVANCEMENT IN THE GSM TECHNOLOGY: 1. INTERNET MOBILE SERVICES: IMS has been an major discovery by the 3GPP LTE concepts being introduced in the GSM mobile phones as its architecture is constantly being developed and more number of mobile service providers are implementing it to deliver services such as MMS and INTERNET. Because of this rapid advancement in the IMS technology is soon going to replace the traditional technologies used few years. Applying an IMS technology to an wireless mobile network is not an complex procedure as it only requires the mobile operators to possess the IMS core, Application servers and customer service to take care of the needs of the users. The IMS can be modified upon the 2G and 3G mobiles as well because the mobile operators want to globalise this technology by migrating it from AMERICA to different places across the globe and making it fully commercial by 2008. Mobile networks have become an major trend in carrying out all the IP operations as this will enable a mobile device to have both Mobile and fixed broadb and services and hence increasing the efficiency of the services. 2. VOIP OVER CELLULAR NETWORKS: VOIP has been an major interest and an advancement in the mobile industry as it is currently being implemented in almost 85% of the mobile across the globe and hence it is an globally accepted standard for the GSM mobiles as it is going to match the standards of the IMS multimedia Telephony in the 3GPP technology and it will give rise to many services such as Internet and MMS servicesd on the handset. The growth of the VOIP has been a huge success because it is constantly trying to eliminate the concept of voice over the wi-fi and many operators are trying to develope the VOIP in an better way to decerase the operational costs and to launch few new services such as Push to Talk and intergrated mashups for the 3g mobiles. 3. GSM operation onboard aircraft: GSM technology allows the air passengers to use their mobile phones to talk during the flight and the passengers are permitted to have incoming and outgoing calls and send and receive the text messages via SMS by the means of GPRS technology and the mobile phones are fitted with network access which have an on board network to allow the passengers to call but will be charged with an roaming cost of making calls. The frequency what we are assigning here is in the 1800hz bandwidth and it is generally lower than 900 mhz to avoid the ground interference. ARCHITECTURE: The LTE 3GPP concept is been used in the GSM onboard system , since the connectivity of the mobile phones in the plane is normally through the GSM standards which is being developed by the 3GPP networks. 8. CONCLUSION: Hence the technical advancements in the GSM Technology is going to be more feasible because the GSM service onboard is perhaps the best mode of advancement in the GSM technology because it is capable of delivering swervices over the flight where it effectively manages the On board system on the plane and the aviation industry is really benifited by bthis move of Mobile technology which can benifit the aviation industry also. To ensure subscriber identity confidentiality, the Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) is used. The TMSI is sent to the mobile station after the authentication and encryption procedures have taken place. The mobile station responds by confirming reception of the TMSI. The TMSI is valid in the location area in which it was issued. For communications outside the location area, the Location Area Identification (LAI) is necessary in addition to the TMSI. The TMSI allocation/reallocation process is shown in Figure 8 below.

A Night To Remember Essay examples -- essays research papers

The RMS Titanic; A Tragedy Based on Class. In April, 1912, the so called "unsinkable" Titanic set sail to New York. The great ship was as big as five city blocks, and weighed thousands and thousands of tons. Everyone who was everyone grabbed a room on the luxurious ship for the trip of a lifetime. On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg an sank into the icy depths of the North Atlantic. People were shocked at the news of the "unsinkable" Titanic sinking and this disbelief was due to the 19th Century’s reliance on science and industry to solve problems. When people set eyes on the most luxurious and biggest ship ever, they easily presumed it unsinkable. The Titanic, along with it’s size, had watertight doors and could keep afloat if four of it’s bottom compartments were fully flooded. So people safely assumed that they had overcame God’s power and that their great science and industry reigned supreme. This type of thought led to the quote, "God himself could not sink this ship!"(A Night to Remember p. 31) Other things that contributed to the reliance on science and industry were inventions in the Industrial Revolution, such as steam power. Steam power revolutionized transportation and brought about great changes to the dependability on ships such as Titanic, which used steam power. Also, during the Industrial Revolution, science was used to solve many problems and help out the birth of many great inventions. These inventions solv...

Alcohol Advertising and Youth – Paper

Alcohol Advertising and Youth Jessica SOC1001: Introduction to Sociology December 18, 2011 Alcohol Advertising and Youth Researchers are investigating alcohol advertisement and youth in today’s society because advertising is leading to positive beliefs about alcohol causing drinking to increase. This is a problem that needs serious attention and needs to be dealt with. National as well as state-level longitudinal studies in the United States have found that exposure to alcohol advertising in various venues – including broadcast, print, outdoor, point-ofpurchase and sporting events – can predict onset of drinking and heavier drinking among young people (Jernigan, Ostroff and Ross, 2005) Camy’s (2005) analyses rely on statistical sources and measurement concepts standard to the advertising media planning and research field, but to our knowledge rarely accessed by public health researchers. They are based on the merging of two sets of commercially available databases: occurrence tracking (for brand advertising) and audience estimates (for various demographic groups). (Jernigan, 2005) The data are calculated at the local market and national levels and are reported using the advertising industry standard measures of audience composition, gross impressions, and gross rating points. (Jernigan, 2005) In the journal, it states two compositions: Audience and magazines. Audience composition refers to the percentage of the audience that meets different demographic criteria. For instance, young people ages 12-20 are approximately 15% of US population aged 12 and above. (Jernigan, 2005) A magazine audience composition of more than 15% 1220-year-olds will be likely to create the situation where youth are more likely per capita to see the magazine than adults over 21 years, the legal drinking age in the United States. In analyzing magazine advertising alcoholic beverages in 2003, Camy found that young people aged 12-20 were exposed per capita to 48% more beer ads, 20% more distilled spirits ads, 92% more ads for â€Å"alcopops† and alcoholic lemonades such as Bacardi Silver and Smirnoff Ice, and 66% fewer wine ads than adults 21 and above (most likely because wine markets tend to appeal more to older adults) (Jernigan, 2005) Magazine advertisement was analyzed by gender. This analysis revealed that girls were far more overexposed compared to women of legal drinking age than boys were when compared to men of legal drinking age. Jernigan, 2005) Girls saw 68% more beer ads and 95% more ads for alcopops per capita than women, while boys saw 29% more beer ads and 37% more alcopops ads than men (Jernigan, 2005) Television – particularly national broadcast – offers advertisers less precision with which to reach their desired audiences than either magazines or radio. (Jernigan, 2005) Between 2001 and 2003, alcohol companies broadcast 761,347 product ads on US national and local broadcast and national cable television. Jernigan, 2005) On the internet, traffic to 55 alcohol company websites was tracked for CAMY. Many of these sites feature content such as video games, free music downloads or music videos, alcohol-themed sexy screensavers, and viral marketing. (Jernigan, 2005) In the last six months of 2003, the season of heaviest alcohol advertising (Jernigan, 2005). It is hard to think of a good solution because the advertising in going to be revealed and I believe that teens will view them because it is something â€Å"interesting†. A lot of youth view it as being a cool thing to see and advertising is going to be out there for all to see, read or hear. There could be a lot of solutions to try, but would any stick? That is the question. Personally, advertising is a terrible issue that really needs to be looked into deeply and taking very seriously because it is causing more harm every day. References Jernigan, David H. , Joshua Ostroff, and Craig Ross. â€Å"Alcohol Advertising and Youth. † Journal of Public Health Policy 23. 3 (2005): 312-25. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.

Disaster Planning: Public Health Role

After working through the project â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† I will admit that I have a new appreciation for the role of the public health nurse in the event of an emergency. The simulation helped me to understand the important role that the public health team. The plays in assisting the community during a disaster. Role of the Major Public Health Personnel Each of the major public health personnel, including the public health nurse, play a key role in keeping a disaster organized flowing smoothly.The key roles are the medical health director, agency incident commander, public information officer, liaison officer, operations chief, planning chief, logistics chief, finance and administration chief, and public health nurse. With the exception of the public health nurse, the positions are often filled by people who may not be specifically trained for the roles, however, have a general overview of what the specific role requires.Agency Incident Commander – The agen cy incident commander is responsible for making the assignments of each of the other roles. She/he will have a familiarity with the specific skill sets of each person who is eligible for a role and be able to use these skill sets appropriately with in each role to obtain the highest amount of effectiveness. The incident commander will have a broad overview of what the different areas are working on, and know how each role will work to benefit other roles within the big picture.The AIC oversees the development of the incident mission and key goals, and from this comes the development of an Incident Action Plan (IAP). The AIC is responsible for ensuring that the public health agency incident mission and goals are synchronous with those of the other responding agencies and jurisdictions. The person in this position will have natural leadership qualities such as reliable critical thinking and problem solving skills, ability to make a quick decision, flexibility, adaptability, and a broa d understanding of the area affected.Public Information Officer – The public information officer is the communication coordinator or spokesperson. This individual is responsible for assuring that appropriate information is provided to the public, governmental officials and collaborating agencies. The Public Information Officer also assures that the required information is provided to the public health agency staff, so that the message of the agency is consistent, and in synchrony with other agencies.This person needs to be proficient in gathering the correct data for the situation, organizing facts, preparing appropriate releases for the press and the public, should have good communication skills, the ability to think quickly before responding, and have a good working knowledge of correct policy and procedure, standards, and laws in the public health realm. Liaison Officer – The liaison officer interfaces with and coordinates all activities with external agencies.The L iaison Officer assures that external agencies that are working with the department of health are provided with the resources that are required, as well as assure that agency policies, procedures and sovereignty are respected. She will be a point of contact for other agency representatives, and will coordinate assistance from other agencies such as hospitals, counties, EMS and federal emergency management.She will be responsible for creating and maintaining a list of cooperating agencies, their representatives, and point of contacts, and keeping other agencies aware of the public health status within the given situation. The liaison officer will have a functional working relationship with other agencies and have good communication and organizational skills. Operations Chief – The Operations Chief carries out the specific tasks and objectives that the public health agency needs to do in order to accomplish the goals of the incident.In this section, the Incident Action Plan is a ctually executed. This person will have a working knowledge of what needs to be done, how to get it done, and who to send to complete the task. He will also identify additional issues and resources needed and make those requests to the appropriate people. Examples of Operations activities include distribution of vaccines, water or soil sampling, delivery of risk communication messages to the public and case investigation, to name a few.The skill set appropriate for this person is someone with leadership qualities such as critical thinking, direct communication, and the ability to multitask. Planning Chief – The planning chief position is used to organize data, make projections and forecasts about the event and report the information to the AIC. Where required, this person may engage in intelligence activities – which for public health may be gathering, analyzing and sharing incident information (some of which may be sensitive) with other agencies.Examples of intelligen ce activities may include analysis and projections regarding  epidemiological data about a bioterrorist event, risk assessments based on information reported by law enforcement or determination of toxic contamination levels in an environmental incident is responsible for knowing the status of all resources available during a disaster both personnel and equipment. They will know how to obtain these resources, be able to determine current situation and status of the event, making a plan to provide the community with the things that are needed during a disaster, and have contingency plans in case the initial plans are unable to be carried out.This person will have strong contacts throughout the community, a working knowledge of resources available and strong planning skills. Logistics Chief – The Logistics Chief provides the support to all other sections that have been activated in the public health agency so that the work can be accomplished. Logistics acquires and sets up th e things that are needed for Operations to get the job done. A logistics chief will have excellent organizational skills and good ties with the community.Finance and Administration Chief – The finance and administration chief has an essential role including assuring that a contractual and financial process is in place for emergency procurement of supplies, equipment, space and personnel; interpretation of human resource policies; tracking of fiscal resources that are expended during the response (so that costs can be recovered by the agency during the recovery phase of the event) and in some cases, assurance of availability of resources to address the physiological and psychological needs of the paid and volunteer agency personnel who are engaged in the response.Diligent work done by the Finance / Administration Chief during an emergency can serve to prevent a financial or human resource disaster after the event. This person will have a skill set and background in finance or bookkeeping. Public Health Nurse – The public health nurse’s role in a disaster is to assess medical health and safety needs of the community and implement interventions as soon as safely possible after the event.This may include assessing individual needs of community members for things such as appropriate shelter, medications, basic provisions, such as food and water, and assessing for overall coping and stress management skills within a household. As these needs are assessed the public health nurse may refer to other agencies for resources in assisting these community members. The public health nurse will also be involved in vaccine delivery as appropriate and treating basic emergencies as needed. Chain of Command for the Community Health NurseIn the simulation â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† the chain of command for the community health nurse began with reporting to the agency incident commander who reported to the public health director, who reported to the medical health director, who then reported to the operations chief for the county incident command system, who reported to the emergency operation center commander. This clear-cut chain of command makes it easy to get information up the chain to the appropriate people without the public health nurse having to relay information to multiple people. Available ResourcesResources available to the community health nurse to deal with situations outside her scope of practice included environmental health specialists to assist with inspections of restaurants available to reopen and inspections of housing before people returned home and help educate the public regarding the use of generators; law enforcement to assist with volatile situations, security and safety needs; hazmat and fire crews to assure safety of homes and businesses, and assist with cleanup efforts; public works to assure water safety, electrical safety, and assess for gas leaks are just a few of the resources available t o the public health nurse to assure that the community is safe throughout the event and healthy upon returning to their homes.Actions Taken During the Door-to-Door Interviews During the door-to-door interviews in the simulation, the community health nurse encountered Mr. Fugate, who did not have his blood pressure medications. This had the potential to be an emergency, had Mr. Fugate’s blood pressure been high, or had he been symptomatic. The simulation stated that Mr. Fugate could have stayed at home or gone to the shelter, according to the community health nurse.In this situation, even though his blood pressure came back at a reasonable reading at the moment, I believe Mr. Fugate would be best served at the shelter where his blood pressure and his general safety could be monitored until events after the storm could be better stabilized. Should Mr. Fugate, choose to stay at home, there is a risk that his blood pressure would spike to a much higher level at a time when he is alone, and unable to receive appropriate medical treatment in a timely fashion. This also increases his risk for issues such as stroke and falls. While we must respect the wishes of the patient, as nurses, we also can make strong recommendations to our patients using basic health facts and logic that will sometimes change their decisions.In the case of Mrs. Alvarez, who spoke Spanish only, the enclosed generator had the potential to be lethal to Mrs. Alvarez and her son. The immediate education regarding the ventilation of the generator was necessary to prevent a buildup of deadly gases. Had there not been anyone at the Alvarez his residence who spoke English, not having access to a translator could have been detrimental to their health as they would not have been a way to discuss the risks with Mrs. Alvarez. Having a plan in place for access to a translator in a time of the disaster is very important as education, such as this, may be necessary on the spot, as opposed to at a later time.In the case of Susan Fuhr, my main concern would have been a lack of coping skills and an immediate danger to herself and her child. In a disaster, many things can happen to cause an increase in stress levels. In a person who is already stressed, any one of the stressors may cause an already overloaded person to be pushed beyond their breaking point. This puts at risk everyone in their path for physical and verbal abuse. Susan Fuhr had the stressors of a young child, as well as caring for her mother-in-law to deal with before the storm. While a recommendation to go to the shelter would have provided her with food, shelter and water, sometimes the stress of being away from your home, especially when caring for others is more difficult to deal with.Assuring that the family had the essentials that they needed and that follow-up was arranged was imperative in this situation. In a disaster, many people are afraid that they will be a burden to others if they ask for help. In the cas e of Mr. Westlund, the chemical spill and cleanup without being educated about the proper ways to do this could be detrimental to Mr. Westlund’s health. Putting him in touch with the appropriate resources, such as the hazmat team, was imperative to assuring that the chemical spill was cleaned up properly, both for Mr. Westlund and the community. Assisting the Community in Coping The community health nurse provided education to each of these families appropriate to their situations.She acted as a coordinator and advocate to put them in touch with the appropriate resources as well as a collaborator, by listening and respecting their needs and wishes. Using these techniques helps to calm the fears of the residents of the community by helping them feel more prepared through education, know that there needs and wishes are important and will be respected by those providing help to them, and by acting as an advocate, they are reassured that someone cares about their situation and wa nts to help them in this time of need. Disaster Nursing-How Can I Help As a nurse in the community, whether working in the public health realm or another sector, it is our instinct to go where they need is.One of the first things that you can do to help in the situation of the disaster is to be preregistered with an organization that is known to provide first responder assistance such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or local disaster teams. Even though the areas we are needed are rarely the areas of our expertise, extra bodies and extra hands are always welcome in a disaster. For those that work in areas such as hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers, checking in with your employer to see where help is needed is always appropriate. As a nurse, I worked through Hurricane Ike in September 2008 as it hit the Texas coastline and wreaked havoc on the city of Houston and surrounding communities. Even though I was in management at the time, I worked 58 hours straight through the hurricane coordinating nursing staff, caring for patients, and doing whatever needed done.This meant that, along with normal nursing duties, I made sandwiches, I cleaned beds, I removed red bags with patient waste inside, I assisted in putting out small fires, and I coordinated a move of the nursery when water started leaking through the ceiling. None of these was my regular duty, however, they were things that needed done at that moment. I believe the biggest service in any disaster for nursing personnel is to first be prepared for the disasters that can happen in your area; have a plan for your own family that can include being separated from them; know how you will get to the area you could be working in should a disaster occur in; and once you’re  there, be willing to do what needs to be done, even if it’s outside your comfort zone.Being a nurse during a disaster can be stressful and exciting all at the same time. It will make you think outside the box to so lve situations in new and different ways. Critical thinking and problem solving are taken to a whole new level during a disaster. Nursing of this type will boost confidence and test endurance as the nurse often works with little sleep, little food, and stress surrounding her. I will also say that nursing during a disaster is some of the most rewarding nursing I have ever done, and as crazy as it will sound to the rest of the world, nurses will always run in as everyone else runs out. It’s just who we are Disaster Planning: Public Health Role After working through the project â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† I will admit that I have a new appreciation for the role of the public health nurse in the event of an emergency. The simulation helped me to understand the important role that the public health team. The plays in assisting the community during a disaster. Role of the Major Public Health Personnel Each of the major public health personnel, including the public health nurse, play a key role in keeping a disaster organized flowing smoothly.The key roles are the medical health director, agency incident commander, public information officer, liaison officer, operations chief, planning chief, logistics chief, finance and administration chief, and public health nurse. With the exception of the public health nurse, the positions are often filled by people who may not be specifically trained for the roles, however, have a general overview of what the specific role requires.Agency Incident Commander – The agen cy incident commander is responsible for making the assignments of each of the other roles. She/he will have a familiarity with the specific skill sets of each person who is eligible for a role and be able to use these skill sets appropriately with in each role to obtain the highest amount of effectiveness. The incident commander will have a broad overview of what the different areas are working on, and know how each role will work to benefit other roles within the big picture.The AIC oversees the development of the incident mission and key goals, and from this comes the development of an Incident Action Plan (IAP). The AIC is responsible for ensuring that the public health agency incident mission and goals are synchronous with those of the other responding agencies and jurisdictions. The person in this position will have natural leadership qualities such as reliable critical thinking and problem solving skills, ability to make a quick decision, flexibility, adaptability, and a broa d understanding of the area affected.Public Information Officer – The public information officer is the communication coordinator or spokesperson. This individual is responsible for assuring that appropriate information is provided to the public, governmental officials and collaborating agencies. The Public Information Officer also assures that the required information is provided to the public health agency staff, so that the message of the agency is consistent, and in synchrony with other agencies.This person needs to be proficient in gathering the correct data for the situation, organizing facts, preparing appropriate releases for the press and the public, should have good communication skills, the ability to think quickly before responding, and have a good working knowledge of correct policy and procedure, standards, and laws in the public health realm. Liaison Officer – The liaison officer interfaces with and coordinates all activities with external agencies.The L iaison Officer assures that external agencies that are working with the department of health are provided with the resources that are required, as well as assure that agency policies, procedures and sovereignty are respected. She will be a point of contact for other agency representatives, and will coordinate assistance from other agencies such as hospitals, counties, EMS and federal emergency management.She will be responsible for creating and maintaining a list of cooperating agencies, their representatives, and point of contacts, and keeping other agencies aware of the public health status within the given situation. The liaison officer will have a functional working relationship with other agencies and have good communication and organizational skills. Operations Chief – The Operations Chief carries out the specific tasks and objectives that the public health agency needs to do in order to accomplish the goals of the incident.In this section, the Incident Action Plan is a ctually executed. This person will have a working knowledge of what needs to be done, how to get it done, and who to send to complete the task. He will also identify additional issues and resources needed and make those requests to the appropriate people. Examples of Operations activities include distribution of vaccines, water or soil sampling, delivery of risk communication messages to the public and case investigation, to name a few.The skill set appropriate for this person is someone with leadership qualities such as critical thinking, direct communication, and the ability to multitask. Planning Chief – The planning chief position is used to organize data, make projections and forecasts about the event and report the information to the AIC. Where required, this person may engage in intelligence activities – which for public health may be gathering, analyzing and sharing incident information (some of which may be sensitive) with other agencies.Examples of intelligen ce activities may include analysis and projections regarding  epidemiological data about a bioterrorist event, risk assessments based on information reported by law enforcement or determination of toxic contamination levels in an environmental incident is responsible for knowing the status of all resources available during a disaster both personnel and equipment. They will know how to obtain these resources, be able to determine current situation and status of the event, making a plan to provide the community with the things that are needed during a disaster, and have contingency plans in case the initial plans are unable to be carried out.This person will have strong contacts throughout the community, a working knowledge of resources available and strong planning skills. Logistics Chief – The Logistics Chief provides the support to all other sections that have been activated in the public health agency so that the work can be accomplished. Logistics acquires and sets up th e things that are needed for Operations to get the job done. A logistics chief will have excellent organizational skills and good ties with the community.Finance and Administration Chief – The finance and administration chief has an essential role including assuring that a contractual and financial process is in place for emergency procurement of supplies, equipment, space and personnel; interpretation of human resource policies; tracking of fiscal resources that are expended during the response (so that costs can be recovered by the agency during the recovery phase of the event) and in some cases, assurance of availability of resources to address the physiological and psychological needs of the paid and volunteer agency personnel who are engaged in the response.Diligent work done by the Finance / Administration Chief during an emergency can serve to prevent a financial or human resource disaster after the event. This person will have a skill set and background in finance or bookkeeping. Public Health Nurse – The public health nurse’s role in a disaster is to assess medical health and safety needs of the community and implement interventions as soon as safely possible after the event.This may include assessing individual needs of community members for things such as appropriate shelter, medications, basic provisions, such as food and water, and assessing for overall coping and stress management skills within a household. As these needs are assessed the public health nurse may refer to other agencies for resources in assisting these community members. The public health nurse will also be involved in vaccine delivery as appropriate and treating basic emergencies as needed.Chain of Command for the Community Health NurseIn the simulation â€Å"Disaster in Franklin County,† the chain of command for the community health nurse began with reporting to the agency incident commander who reported to the public health director, who reported to the medical health director, who then reported to the operations chief for the county incident command system, who reported to the emergency operation center commander. This clear-cut chain of command makes it easy to get information up the chain to the appropriate people without the public health nurse having to relay information to multiple people.Available ResourcesResources available to the community health nurse to deal with situations outside her scope of practice included environmental health specialists to assist with inspections of restaurants available to reopen and inspections of housing before people returned home and help educate the public regarding the use of generators; law enforcement to assist with volatile situations, security and safety needs; hazmat and fire crews to assure safety of homes and businesses, and assist with cleanup efforts; public works to assure water safety, electrical safety, and assess for gas leaks are just a few of the resources available to the public health nurse to assure that the community is safe throughout the event and healthy upon returning to their homes.Actions Taken During the Door-to-Door Interviews During the door-to-door interviews in the simulation, the community health nurse encountered Mr. Fugate, who did not have his blood pressure medications. This had the potential to be an emergency, had Mr. Fugate’s blood pressure been high, or had he been symptomatic. The simulation stated that Mr. Fugate could have stayed at home or gone to the shelter, according to the community health nurse.In this situation, even though his blood pressure came back at a reasonable reading at the moment, I believe Mr. Fugate would be best served at the shelter where his blood pressure and his general safety could be monitored until events after the storm could be better stabilized. Should Mr. Fugate, choose to stay at home, there is a risk that his blood pressure would spike to a much higher level at a time when he is al one, and unable to receive appropriate medical treatment in a timely fashion. This also increases his risk for issues such as stroke and falls. While we must respect the wishes of the patient, as nurses, we also can make strong recommendations to our patients using basic health facts and logic that will sometimes change their decisions.In the case of Mrs. Alvarez, who spoke Spanish only, the enclosed generator had the potential to be lethal to Mrs. Alvarez and her son. The immediate education regarding the ventilation of the generator was necessary to prevent a buildup of deadly gases. Had there not been anyone at the Alvarez his residence who spoke English, not having access to a translator could have been detrimental to their health as they would not have been a way to discuss the risks with Mrs. Alvarez. Having a plan in place for access to a translator in a time of the disaster is very important as education, such as this, may be necessary on the spot, as opposed to at a later t ime.In the case of Susan Fuhr, my main concern would have been a lack of coping skills and an immediate danger to herself and her child. In a disaster, many things can happen to cause an increase in stress levels. In a person who is already stressed, any one of the stressors may cause an already overloaded person to be pushed beyond their breaking point. This puts at risk everyone in their path for physical and verbal abuse. Susan Fuhr had the stressors of a young child, as well as caring for her mother-in-law to deal with before the storm. While a recommendation to go to the shelter would have provided her with food, shelter and water, sometimes the stress of being away from your home, especially when caring for others is more difficult to deal with.Assuring that the family had the essentials that they needed and that follow-up was arranged was imperative in this situation. In a disaster, many people are afraid that they will be a burden to others if they ask for help. In the case of Mr. Westlund, the chemical spill and cleanup without being educated about the proper ways to do this could be detrimental to Mr. Westlund’s health. Putting him in touch with the appropriate resources, such as the hazmat team, was imperative to assuring that the chemical spill was cleaned up properly, both for Mr. Westlund and the community. Assisting the Community in Coping The community health nurse provided education to each of these families appropriate to their situations.She acted as a coordinator and advocate to put them in touch with the appropriate resources as well as a collaborator, by listening and respecting their needs and wishes. Using these techniques helps to calm the fears of the residents of the community by helping them feel more prepared through education, know that there needs and wishes are important and will be respected by those providing help to them, and by acting as an advocate, they are reassured that someone cares about their situation and want s to help them in this time of need. Disaster Nursing-How Can I Help As a nurse in the community, whether working in the public health realm or another sector, it is our instinct to go where they need is.One of the first things that you can do to help in the situation of the disaster is to be preregistered with an organization that is known to provide first responder assistance such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or local disaster teams. Even though the areas we are needed are rarely the areas of our expertise, extra bodies and extra hands are always welcome in a disaster. For those that work in areas such as hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers, checking in with your employer to see where help is needed is always appropriate. As a nurse, I worked through Hurricane Ike in September 2008 as it hit the Texas coastline and wreaked havoc on the city of Houston and surrounding communities. Even though I was in management at the time, I worked 58 hours straight through t he hurricane coordinating nursing staff, caring for patients, and doing whatever needed done.This meant that, along with normal nursing duties, I made sandwiches, I cleaned beds, I removed red bags with patient waste inside, I assisted in putting out small fires, and I coordinated a move of the nursery when water started leaking through the ceiling. None of these was my regular duty, however, they were things that needed done at that moment. I believe the biggest service in any disaster for nursing personnel is to first be prepared for the disasters that can happen in your area; have a plan for your own family that can include being separated from them; know how you will get to the area you could be working in should a disaster occur in; and once you’rethere, be willing to do what needs to be done, even if it’s outside your comfort zone. Being a nurse during a disaster can be stressful and exciting all at the same time. It will make you think outside the box to solve s ituations in new and different ways. Critical thinking and problem solving are taken to a whole new level during a disaster. Nursing of this type will boost confidence and test endurance as the nurse often works with little sleep, little food, and stress surrounding her. I will also say that nursing during a disaster is some of the most rewarding nursing I have ever done, and as crazy as it will sound to the rest of the world, nurses will always run in as everyone else runs out. It’s just who we are.