History Context of China’s Modern History

History is vital in the development of a country. China is one of the countries with a rich account of historical events. These include the Chinese Civil War, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Great Famine. I am fascinated by China’s Great Famine––largest ever recorded famine in human history––that transpired between 1959 and 1961. The famine had caused the death of about 30 million Chinese citizens due to extreme starvation. Encyclopedia of Population describes the famine as â€Å"massive institutional and policy changes which accompanied the Great Leap Forward were the key factors in the famine. † Mao Zedong, a distinguished Chinese leader, had this wild dream to make China’s economy soar quickly. He planned to surpass Britain’s achievement on iron and steel production. So he ordered millions of peasants to join the iron and steel production workforce instead of working in their fields. My grandfather, who had experienced that period said, â€Å"I was ordered to mine local deposits of iron ore and limestone while my brother was ordered to smelt metal instead of farming. † My grandfather said that people then were eating tree peels and roots. Those efforts toward industrialization resulted to decreased agricultural activities that eventually triggered the spread of famine.

Interest groups in the U.S. politics Essay

The United States is a democratic country, which supports non-violent political and social movements, seeking different improvements in the U. S. domestic and international policies. That is to say, the requirements of interest groups are not always met, because whereas various types of interest groups are acknowledged, there still exist those factions, which have narrow social base and whose political presentation is limited in scope, as a rule, to financial interests of their members. For instance, the sugar lobbies (such as SIG) represent the opinion of 10, 000 -15,000 farmers, who call for the restriction of import of sugar and for the special social programs for sugar farmers. Such factions are usually intended as those with narrow interests and their founders and members lobby these interests in special moments and periods, when the atmosphere becomes more conductive for promotion –for instance, when they find out that the imported sugar does not fir into the international quality standards, or before the elections (Elhauge, 2002). Special interest groups are usually distinguished from â€Å"constituency-representing organizations, which have a broad social base, address a wide range of issues, and balance members’ interests with a strong commitment to the commonwealth† (Etzioni, 1990, p. 172). These organizations might pursue such non-financial interests as those related to social status, value issues in addition to financial ones, for instance the Urban League represents the interests of urban residents and seek environmental, social and political changes in large cities. â€Å"While the public views interest groups as threatening pluralistic democracy, the conventional wisdom of political science has seen them as beneficial† (ibid). In fact, it is possible to assume from the present situation, that the most beneficial activity is related to the constituency-representation. Furthermore, special interest groups are likely to bring problems to larger factions, due to dynamic interactions between political parties, movements and non-profit organizations. Small factions pursuing narrow goals are also more likely to use ‘black PR’ technologies, directed to changing public attitudes towards certain political parties and either to increase or to decrease loyalty rates. On the other hand, the eradication of small ‘narrowly-specialized’ factions is neither possible nor useful, as the statement that competing factions (Mcwilliams, 1988) are likely to reduce each other, is valid only for small groups, whose interests are temporary. On the contrary, constituency-representing organizations are more likely to produce long-term programs including political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of human life. â€Å"The balance between interest groups and the shared polity is maintained most effectively when the pro-community forces rise up, but not higher than, the level they are able to contain but not suppress interest groups† (Mcwilliams, 1988, A9). Moreover, the role of factions is viewed in the context of the historical development of the United States. Over the last three decades, the American political institutions have become less integrated, and the power of factions has increased. On the other hand, due to the growth of their number, it is much more difficult nowadays to maintain the balance between the main political course and the consent between the state and narrower interest groups (Etzioni, 1990). It would be also important to mention the functions of interest groups. First of all they serve as a supplementary force that intensifies the public opinion representation, especially during the electoral process. Moreover, they make the political process more receptive comparing to the electoral process, which is intended as a domination of majorities, while factions are more likely to have goals, which are cohesive with the main wishes of social and national minorities; and thus they serve as a mediating force standing between the person and the state. Interest groups are known to improve the disproportionate separation of the legislative and the executive branches, because their propositions of legislative changes are logically supplemented by similar propositions for the executive branch. Another important cultural function is associated with the growth of political consciousness and political culture as well as the amount of political information in media, which represents a number of standpoints. At all times interest groups and political parties served an indicator of public consciousness and diversity as well as intensified political antagonism, especially in the most critical periods: for instance, during the Vietnamese military invasion, Carter’s position were actually weakened by interest groups, including the most peaceful youth movements, dissatisfied with the resolution of Iranian hostage crisis. As a rule, interest groups arise in the most conductive atmosphere (liberal or democratic regime), in which human rights and freedoms are declared. Political, economic and social factions can originate from professional unions or leagues (like social workers’ professional organization), which seek to represent the opinions of their professional group or their customers’ viewpoint (for instance, social workers nowadays initiate law enforcement and the adoption of certain legal acts as well as get directly involved in lobbyist activities). The discontent with government policies is another important recondition for the arousal of an interest group: political activity is actually determined by the existing economic and social policies, so it’s easy to predict, for instance, the activation of industrial unions, when under the pressure of ecological groups, the U. S. government or certain local authorities put additional taxation on enterprises, dealing with toxic substances or with oil and natural gas. It is also important to note that interest groups will exist as long as the democratic system exists, because it is impossible to satisfy the needs of the whole society with respect to its diversity. Consequently, those concerns, which have already been satisfied, are likely to be replaced by new demands. This means, human needs are immeasurable and never-ending, whereas material resources are limited, so the U. S. government today can provide only partial gratification of political claims. Furthermore, the issue of representation is also quite contradictory: on the one hand, the growth of diversity among political parties signifies positive dynamics in this sense, on the other hand, due to the increase of public consciousness, the diversity in worldviews has grown disproportionably to the number of existing factions, so that even small groups (families, local communities) seek social or economic support, but in this case we cannot speak about true representation, since their influence is insufficient to initiate the changes at legislative or executive levels. The representation of each citizen’s interests is a utopia, as at the present time only large (more than 100,000 members) interest groups can achieve representation, can be heard, if speaking figuratively. Furthermore, it is important to note that the complete representation is inhibited by the demands of the epoch, to which self-respecting factions are supposed to adjust. For instance, the ISN movement, whose leaders several years ago (in 2000-2001) called for the changes in the U. S.immigration policy and were representing the viewpoints of national and ethnic minorities, who live and work in the country (Elhauge, 2002), has changed its directions and now are trying to create more constructive basis for the U. S. foreign policy. On the one hand, it is associated with the events of September 11, which were close followed by the violations of Muslim minorities’ human rights. On the other hand, political changes forced this faction to make a more profound inquiry into the current state of affairs and to find the most acute concerns of the society. Similar dynamics can be noticed in a number of special and constituency-representing interest groups which removed irrelevant concerns and posed new questions, such as those related to women’s rights, ethnic minorities’ human rights, social security and intellectual property. As one can assume, certain interests remain overlooked or underrepresented, whereas the most ‘fashionable’ sociopolitical trends (gender equality) are overstated and therefore prioritized. Works cited 1) Elhauge, E. Does interest group theory justify more intrusive judicial review? Yale Law Journal, 2002, Vol. 110 2) Etzioni, A. Special interest groups versus constituency representation: Research in social movements. Conflict and Change, 1990, Vol. 8. 3) Mcwilliams, R. The best and the worst of public interest groups; from lifting up the poor to shaking down the elderly, Washington Monthly, March 1988, Vol. 20.

Flexibility facilitates innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Flexibility facilitates innovation - Essay Example A great deal of attention has been given to the psychological research on the personality of highly creative people in comparison to the less creative people. Positive characteristics are deemed to be related to high creativity. Research has unveiled that the sensation- seeking trait, in terms of preference for new and different experiences and readiness to incur risk in order to experience such, leads to spontaneous flexibility (Georgsdottir, 2004: p 168: pag 2). Flexibility on the level of personality can further be reflected in the ability of creative individuals to merge opposite or conflicting traits. The dimension of cognitive style gives disparity between the explorers as individuals who demonstrate spontaneous flexibility in providing solutions to problems, and the assimilators as individuals who tackle problems in a rule- bound and more rigid way (2004: p 168: pag 3). It may be more advantageous and profitable to employ a universal processing style during commencement of a project, in order to identify the importance of novice merchandise in the marketplace, or to collect information from varied sources (Georgsdottir, 2004: p 169: pag 3). On the other hand, during the more content- based explanation of specific merchandise, after generation of an idea, processing locally is of great assistance. Creativity is a product of integration between an individual and cultural environment. Flexibility is a major characteristic of organizational culture. When the organizational structure is rigid with hierarchical model, corporate flexibility is low and managers make conservative decisions while desisting from risky procedures and thus suffocate creativity (Georgsdottir, 2004: p 170: pag 2). Adaptive flexibility in definition is the ability to conform to fresh methods and strategies to solve a problem because of failure in old methods, or redefining a problem so as to obtain an original solution (Georgsdottir, 2004: p 167: pag 2). The ability to

Prevention against African American Male Drop outs in high school Research Paper

Prevention against African American Male Drop outs in high school - Research Paper Example Education, therefore, remains an important tool by which many persons become empowered and the social, economic and private well-being of the people in particular country increases. A high rate of drop-outs in a country decreases the number of qualified citizens from varied backgrounds who eventually enter the political and professional ranks that make significant public policy decisions. Educating students and equipping them to become responsible, knowledgeable, socially skilled and contributing citizens should be a mission for every school. The fact that very many students never complete their high school studies has a deep and a broad impact on the long-term economic goals of U.S. The education department in U.S, the NCES (National Center for education statistics) states that the central income of people of ages eighteen to sixty-seven who had not finished high school was estimated around twenty-five thousand in 2009. Currently, a significant section of the same population is beli eved to remain in poverty while a global scale of competitiveness of the American struggle lags behind.A certain percentage of the number of students enrolled in private or public high schools in a particular year demonstrate this. For example, four percent of the total number of students enrolled in high school both in public and private school in the year 2008 left school before their second year was completed. An equivalent number of students drop out of school before the completion of their high school course.... There was not a significant difference on the year 2009 event for the rates of drop outs for both females and males. With respect to age, twenty to twenty four years aged students are more affected than the fifteen to seventeen aged students. A big question lies on the event of school drop outs with respect to why a greater percentage is made for the African American students. Although dropping out from school has been a disaster which strikes many students indiscriminatevely, the African American students are found to be greatly absorbed in the ruin. This poses a question which seeks to find out WHY or to determine the reasons behind this issue of school drop outs. This document is meant to determine the problems associated with school drop outs with respect to the African American boy child. The African American boys are greatly affected with this event since they are found to be the most affected with dropping out of school. According to researches, there are some associated reaso ns behind the problem of dropping out from school in America. This has been determined by carrying out many researches relevant to the problem. The research has been conducted through the use of certain qualitative and quantitative research methods. On the quantitative analysis, the paper describes the expected number of school drop outs in America. This includes carrying out an estimated or actual numbers of the school dropouts with respect to the race, color and age. As it has been depicted earlier, there are some varied percentages of the students who drop out of school in America. This has been analyzed with accordance to race and age. Broken down by race, the rates of the estimated event drop outs were recorded

The Childrens Understanding of SVO Word Order Essay

The Childrens Understanding of SVO Word Order - Essay Example The first group is composed of French children who are 2 years of age and heard either high or low-frequency verb modeled in either SOV (subject-object-verb) or VSO (verb-subject-object) order. While the second group is likewise composed of French children who are 1 year older than the first group (3 years old) heard also either high or low-frequency verbs modeled in either SOV or VSO order. The said word orders were both ungrammatical. The experiment raises two fundamental questions such as 1) how do children perceive similarities between different lexical instantiations of related constructions and organize these into a network?; and 2) does a relative lack of similarity between related constructions affect the creation of a construction network? These said questions are addressed by the authors through replicating recent English weird word order production studies in French. To be specific, the authors intended to address five major questions: Primarily, the type of research being reviewed here is a causal research which appears to be the most appropriate to be done since the authors intend to find out the children’s understanding of SVO word order in French through hearing high or low-frequency verbs. Specifically, the authors used the randomized controlled trial. Again, the authors chose the most appropriate method since they intend to inject an intervention and measure the effect of that intervention. Moreover, the research method employed has always been the best one since this is the most well-recognized method that could lead the researchers to an objective answer to the current research questions (Foster 2001, p.21). More specifically, the authors used weird word order methodology (Akhtar 1999) through using verbs of different frequencies, to determine whether children's use of word order as a grammatical marker depends upon the frequency of the lexical items being ordered.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Economics - Essay Example A monopolist does not have to worry about any such retaliation due to imperfect competition. There are too many barriers of entry into a monopolistic market for new firms. The biggest barrier is that of economy. A monopolist is able to produce his product at a very low cost and it is not possible for the other producers to produce at such a low cost. The competitors are not able to invest in capital like the monopolist invests. The technology that is available to the monopolist is also not available to the competitors. Therefore, the monopolist lowers the price of his product at such a level at which other producers cannot survive. This way, the competitors are driven out of the competition. When this happens, the monopolist raises the price of his product at his desired level again. Another aspect of monopoly is the network effect. The product of the monopolist has no close substitutes. The new consumers also tend to use the monopolist’s product because it becomes a social no rm and a fashion. This is why the demand for his product is always likely to increase. This aspect also serves as a barrier of entry for new firms and as another incentive for monopolist to raise price. Patents and copyrights provide legal protection to a monopolist from competitors. Generally, a monopolist earns supernormal profit which means that the marginal revenue is lower than the price. The demand curve for the monopolist’s product is relatively inelastic. This means that any change in price does not affect the demand for the product. Monopoly is one of the rare scenarios in which the demand for the product is relatively inelastic. Normally, the price goes up in this case because it is very easy for the monopolist. In a competitive market, it is very hard to raise the price of the product because the competitors do not follow the new price. The demand for the product in perfect competition is perfectly elastic and there is no demand if a single firm raises its price. T here is no such case in monopoly. A monopolist has a great influence on the consumers. There are times when a monopolist has to face some retaliation from the consumers when he raises the price unreasonably. In order to deal with this situation, he uses his control on supply. He cuts the level of supply at his own will and it becomes hard for the consumers to get their hands on the monopolist’s product. When they do find the product, they are willing to pay the price asked by the monopolist. This way, the monopolist curbs the reaction of the public and earns real economic profit during the process. However, he does lose some of his customers in the process because the demand for his product is not perfectly elastic and some of the customers are no longer able to afford the product. His ability to control supply and affect the consumers is another barrier for his competitors. Another tactic for a monopolist to make high profit is price discrimination. He segregates the market into two parts. The consumers who need his product more or have an ability to pay more are charged high prices. The rest of the consumers are charged lower prices. Price discrimination works successfully and is profitable when the elasticity of demand of one market is different from that of the separated market. This way, the monopolist earns more profit from the market whose elasticity of de

What is Humaneering' Should this be the aim of Psychology Essay

What is Humaneering' Should this be the aim of Psychology - Essay Example d physiology should lead to as striking advances in â€Å"humaneering† during the twentieth century.† (The Psychology of Normal People (1940) p.24. ) Today, humaneering is managerial technology that integrates human- science-based knowledge concerning work into a new applied science. It is defined as â€Å"the application of biological, psychological and social science principles to the design, development, and operation of economical and efficient organizations, processes, and human work systems.† In comparison, engineering differs by its application of physical science principles to structures, equipment and machine-like processes.(www.pepitone.com/content/know-technology.asp )- duty to ‘change the world’. However, they are often highly critical of institutionalized social psychology. Many of them go further, by using their study of the discipline as a form of political activism to challenge oppression. You will generally find that the topics studied by critical social psychologists are ones concerned in some way with the abuse of power. Sometimes they specifically address issues of domination, exploitation and abuse. Examples include Wetherell and Potter’s (1992) study of racism, and According to psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods "to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings" (1985). Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, and prejudice. It is important to note that social psychology is not just about looking at social influences. Social perception and social interaction are also vital to understanding social behavior. While Plato referred to the idea of the "crowd mind" and concepts such as social loafing and social facilitation were introduced in

Qualitative Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Qualitative Analysis - Essay Example Compared to other developed countries Singapore has low tax rates with a very high per capita GDP globally. Singapore has a very innovative and stable economy which is merged with efficient economic planning under the Economic Development Board that helped to establish a free market. Singapore’s main exports include; chemicals, services and electronics which provide the main sources of revenue for the country. Most firms are registered as private Limited companies. The country experiences a very low supply of water with a limited arable land for agriculture. Moreover, Singapore has a port that is strategic enough to give it an edge over the neighboring countries that carries Entrepot trade. Most of its labor comes within the population which is owed to the efficient education policy in the country that produces skilled labor for the industries in the country. The Argentinean economy is dominated by agriculture, which contributes the largest percentage of the GDP. The country h as fair economic policies that aim at increasing the exports from the main productive sectors. The main natural resources that contribute immensely to the country’s economy are minerals such as zinc, lead, copper, tin, oil and natural gas, uranium, iron, manganese and lithium. The main agricultural products produced in the country include; grains and livestock products. The country does not have a free economy like that of Singapore hence its economy is not that well established. The industries operating in Argentina include: oil refinery, food processing, machinery and equipment, petrochemicals and textile industry. Most of the country’s exports are taken to Europe and Brazil which are the country’s main trading partners. The main sector which is Agriculture has recently shown a rapid recovery with an increasing industrial production which replicates that of its immediate neighbor Brazil. The tax revenues are slowly growing with the debt services reducing. Ther e is a probability of volatility in the financial markets due to the conflict that exist between the central bank and the federal government. Comparison of the Political Environment between Singapore and Argentina Singapore has one of the most efficient political and regulatory policies globally. According to the surveys conducted the country ranks 122 out of the 138 countries in terms of creating a conducive political environment for business. This is in connection with press freedom in regard to the World information technology report of 2011 (Huff 745). The uniqueness of Singapore’s political environment comes in the fact that the immigration rules and laws are not that strict compared to Argentina or any other country. There are very strong law enforcement agencies which make cases of political unrests rare and efficient for business operation. The country is controlled by very few political parties with the main political party being People’s Action Party. This st ability in terms of political party policies ensures effective business environment for the development of country. The government of Singapore also ensures free trade agreements and employment laws in industries where a majority of the foreigners are in the job market. The main countries that have set up businesses in the country include China, Europe and the United States. As such, most foreigners use this country as an avenue to establish and expand their businesses through a

Lufthansa Austrian Airlines Takeover Essay Example for Free

Lufthansa Austrian Airlines Takeover Essay Taking a brief look on the economic development in Europe up to the year 2008 reveals high GDP growth rates and reminds us about the times of prosperity that we almost all so nostalgically recall. But Austrian Airlines have never seen any boom in revenues, profits and the number of transported passengers. This alone is a reason for big concern as airlines have never been a counter-cyclical business. If the company is unable to sustain itself in the times of prosperity what loss will they carry in the books in the times of economic downswing? Finding a powerful strategic partner seems like inevitable for the Austrian company. In 2008 Austrian Airlines was the 11th biggest airlines in Europe with 10,7 million passengers and 2,5â‚ ¬ billion in revenues. On the other side Lufthansa has 7 times more passengers and makes 10 times more money in revenues. Putting these two categories into relation shows how company? s size creates numerous benefits, particularly financial ones. In 2008 Austrian Airlines had revenue of 233â‚ ¬ per passenger while Lufthansa attained 357â‚ ¬ per passenger. Now it is obvious how size matters and that synergies create great cost-cutting potential and increase profitability. If Lufthansa manages to bring Austrian Airlines to its own level of profitability they would have EBIT of 140â‚ ¬ million if the expenses and passenger number stay on 2008 levels. Not to mention the strategic benefits of this acquisition, and probable Lufthansa? s ability to make use of synergy effects i. e. to cut costs and sell even more flight tickets thanks to wide-spread sales offices all over the world. Acquiring Austrian Airlines proves as lucrative for a Lufthansa if they transform the company and as a good deal for current shareholders who can count on even more losses if Austrian Airlines decide to pursue stand-alone strategy which means that they will eventually lose all the capital they put up . This simple analysis show why did consolidation wave in airlines industry pick up on speed. It really seems that main task for carriers is to get big as fast as they can or to face with a demise of their business. Immediate recapitalization of Austrian Airlines in the amount of 500â‚ ¬ million just supports above statement as even the biggest European airline would be unable to cover such a huge accumulated loss if it weren? t for the help of the Austrian government and the European Union. Lufthansa plans to take advantage of the Austrian Airlines? geographic location and their know-how and expertise in CEE and Middle East. After the fall of communism in Europe Austria has played a crucial role as a gateway to Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Austrian Airlines took its business one step further and established new core market in the Middle East. For an international company like Lufthansa Austrian Airlines represents a cornerstone in the expansion towards Middle Eastern and Asian markets. Austrian Airlines is a first mover in CEE and Middle East and a market leader with 61 destinations in the region whose expertise in the Eastern markets will be of a great use ones Lufthansa decides to go East more aggressively as Austrian Airlines will share their core competence with the group. Cutting overlapping flights and optimization of its joint offer and sales activities will improve Austrian Airlines business activity right away. Further developing of Austrian? s successful hub system at Vienna airport will also bring positive effects in the long run. Since Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines are old partners within the framework of the Star Alliance and they know each other very well integration in the Lufthansa Group should play out without major obstacles. Companies cooperated within the context of a bilateral joint venture for Austrian-German flight traffic as well as in the important foreign markets of Switzerland and Brussels. Even their technical services have been cooperating closely and that is also one of the reasons why Austrian executives have trust in Lufthansa and why did they choose exactly Lufthansa among 12 initial bidders. Companies expect to be able to exploit extensive synergies and assess these to amount to 40â‚ ¬ million in cost savings and additional revenues. Apart from all this, Lufthansa has assured Austrian Airlines that they will be granted extensive autonomy within the group and that they will preserve their Austrian identity which stands for quality and Austrian hospitality. Vienna will remain the hub of all flight operations, so that Austria will continue to feature very good international flight connections. Its central position in the heart of Europe made it easier for Lufthansa to grant them autonomy. No major downsizing of the fleet is planned which would be unthinkable if they wanted to pursue stand-alone strategy. On an organizational level, Austrian Airlines will operate as a profit center within the Lufthansa Group what represents a great incentive to get out of the red once and for all. As a part of Lufthansa Group Austrian Airlines will easier protect its position on the market if the recession hits the economy in 2009 because smaller carriers which are not supported by a strong corporate parent will struggle with insufficient resources and declining passenger numbers. As it will soon become apparent, Austrian Airlines shareholders, especially Republic of Austria, will sign a great deal if transaction proceeds. Keeping independence among the group, operating under its distinguishing identity while improving quality and profitability of its services sounds almost incredible for the company which could declare bankruptcy if it weren? t for its strategic partner. Considering current situation both sides could profit from the transaction. Moreover, the integration in the Lufthansa Group will provide Austrian Airlines with access to new passenger flows and enable them to more effectively build up international brand awareness and be Austrian ambassador all over the world which will strengthen their business model. Lufthansa? s worldwide presence, their size, lobbying power and relationship with gasoline sellers will be of great help to Austrian Airlines. In the light of the bleak economic prospect for 2009 Austrian Airlines can focus on their core business knowing that Lufthansa watches their back. This strategy could work well as Austrian Airlines received numerous awards in 2008 including the so-called â€Å"Oscars† of the industry and a first place ranking as the best airline in Europe according to a survey carried out by â€Å"Capital† magazine. Austrian Airlines have a reliability rate of over 99. % and is among top five most punctual carriers in Europe and could improve Lufthansa? s business model too by sharing their expertise. A fully restructured Austrian Airlines will be forced to become a thriving member of the Lufthansa Group once the company is aware that the Republic of Austria will not back them up if anything goes down the drain. Concerning a history of mutual cooperation between Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines executives in charge need to be particularly careful to avoid accusations of conflicting self-interest as these may arise due to close ties between two companies. Since there were 11 other bidders at the start and Lufthansa was chosen in the end both parties need to be adequately informed about all facts relevant to this transaction so that they can clearly explain why is this transaction undisputedly the best possible solution for both sides. Considering that Lufthansa is taking over a company which made huge losses in the past years and whose balance sheet reveals equity ratio of just 11% (which is appalling even for a bank) strategic rationale needs to be explained clearly and concisely together with all future advantages because otherwise someone could think acquisition is completely irrational. Even after the restructuring aid Austrian Airlines will remain highly indebted and Lufthansa? s executives have to justify their reasoning by outlining benefits. Transaction Overview After signing initial agreements (CA;LOI) which provide a foundation for any further steps, Framework Agreement is often cited in the underlying Voluntary Public Offer. Basic arrangements between parties should be outlined in the letter of intent and then once more stipulated in the Framework Agreement. The underlying Voluntary Public Takeover offer stipulates conditions precedent which are to be fulfilled before closing. From that reason they all represent potential deal-breakers since there is a possibility that some of them will not be fulfilled. According to Framework Agreement an extraordinary shareholders meeting will be called just before the closing of the Share Purchase Agreement so that recapitalization can be authorized, new supervisory board appointed and articles of association amended. In order to mitigate any negative impact of information leakage on the transaction Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines had signed a confidentiality agreement. Both parties are obliged to use confidential information just for the purposes of the ongoing transaction and will not disclose any information to the third parties in order not to bring any company in an unfavorable position. Letter of intent is a second important document signed which outlines Lufthansa? intentions and give an overview of the basic transaction, purchase price, determines break-up fee and division of costs incurred as well as court under which jurisdiction any disputes will be solved. For Lufthansa it is of extreme importance to include an exclusive dealing clause so that Austrian Airlines obliges to negotiate just with Lufthansa and no one else at the time. Since Lufthansa plans to take over a company in an extremely bad shape it would be inappropriate of Austrian Airlines not to bring in all their energy and foc us to close the deal. Letter of intention needs to include details about a stake purchase and subsequent mandatory public offer. The details of the purchase price (maximum 4,49â‚ ¬ per share) should also be included i. e. the price paid for the 41,56 % of shares held by Osterreichische Industrieholding AG which includes the details on the earn-out option (under which conditions will Lufthansa pay an amount of up to 162â‚ ¬ million depending on Austrian Airlines? future economic performance and on the outperformance of the Lufthansa? s share price). It should also stipulate the conditions of the offer given to a minor shareholders so that Lufthansa holds at least 75% of the permanent voting shares (without consideration of the treasury shares) in Austrian Airlines after the end of the initial acceptance period. Lufhansa? s intention to fully take over Austrian Airlines should be clearly pointed out particularly their wish to acquire 90% of all shares so that they can launch a squeeze-out. The important conditions precedent should be included in the Letter of Intent. Approval by the competent antitrust authorities in the European Union and other countries should be right away designated as â€Å"conditio sine qua non†. Approval of the restructuring aid is also deemed as extremely important and it should be stipulated in the Letter of Intent as 500â‚ ¬ million granted by the state of Austria and the European Union are absolutely necessary to compensate for the negative shareholder value of Austrian Airlines and make Lufthansa willing to take them over. Recapitalization will also further dilute the free float shareholders making it easier for Lufthansa to launch a squeeze-out procedure. Letter of intent should also arrange who bears the break-up cost in the case of a regulatory disapproval. This is seen as one of the major risk since Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines partly operate the same lines and consolidation would lead to a further concentration of power. Considering negative financial results of the Austrian Airlines letter of intent should already include frame of the future executive structure while definitive agreement should include exact top-management structure in the Austrian Airlines which will facilitate integration in the Lufthansa group and turn around the profitability. Since Shareholders Agreement of Austrian Airlines syndicate had already dealt with issue it might be a bit cumbersome renegotiating it. Letter of intent should also state that Lufthansa has no intention whatsoever to dismantle Austrian Airlines i. e. that brand, headquarters and route network favoring Austrian national interests will be kept. Lufthansa should try to avoid the matter of employment until the very end (final agreement) so that they are not bound by pre-signed clauses once they negotiate the final contract because restructuring of the Austrian Airlines is necessary by all means. Considering that Lufthansa is the biggest European airline company it the approval of antitrust authorities will not come smoothly. Second condition precedent, approval of 500â‚ ¬ million is not deemed as problematic as this pay-out coincides with Austrian national interests to preserve a national carrier which serves its interest. (Besides it wouldn? t make almost any sense for the European Union to grant the acquisition but rejects the aid. ) Acquiring Austrian Airlines will only increase Lufthansa? s size and market power. Holding such a dominant position could incite abusing it e. g. by charging unfair prices or refusing to innovate. This horizontal agreement will put competition in an unfavorable position but on the other hand Lufthansa can argue that consolidation in the European airline industry is inevitable. However, only consolidation will ensure survival of the European airlines in the long run, fragmented market structure leaves them susceptible to either bankruptcy or takeover by Asian od American airlines who are fortunately by law not allowed to be major shareholders. Since regulation is the real obstacle to consolidation alliances in Europe prevail. Unfavorable circumstance is also the fact that at the time of this pending transaction Lufthansa bought a big chunk of Brussels Air. The regulators will certainly not like that. Like in any deal representations and warranties play an important role as they typically make up the largest part of the share purchase agreement. They have an informational, protective and supportive role in the transaction . Austrian Airline? epresentations and warranties, coupled with the Lufthansa’s due diligence, enable Lufthansa to learn as much as possible about the business prior to signing the definitive acquisition agreement. Second, they are protective. This is crucial for Lufthansa who acquires highly indebted company which value without restructuring aid is negative. The seller’s representations and warranties provide mechanism for the Lufthansa to step back or possibly to renegotiate the terms of ac quisition. The second major feature of merger the agreement is the inclusion of various pre-closing covenants, or promises to do something or not do something during the period between the signing of the acquisition agreement and the closing. Generally, covenants should be absolute and Lufthansa? s goal is that none material changes take place until the closing and that business condition does not aggravate in any respect because if such events took place it would mean that they overpaid. The reasoning behind the indemnification is the same. One should emphasize the importance of reps and warranties relating to financial statements (compliance with accounting standards) , taxes and employees (manager contracts, severance terms and compensations) and no pending litigations which breech would surely threaten the envisaged transaction. The role of all above named provisions is risk minimization and these provision should also act as an incentive for a fair dealing.

Country Lovers Essay Example for Free

Country Lovers Essay A story of forbidden love on a South African farm, one child nothing more than a farm worker, as the other one prepares for boarding school. Both ignorant to the color of their skins, all they knew they were best friends playing together until they grew up and then it was not allowed. But when Paulus turns fifteen and goes to school things start to change he begins to realize the difference between boys and girls, and then the consequences behind his actions, but then it’s too late to turn back. What drew me into this story was the title country lovers, and then the forbidden love on a South African farm I wanted to see what it was about, curios to know if it was about two people of different races falling in love, creating racial relationships in a place that forbid it. And that was exactly what it was, two kids playing together as kids, a boy white and girl black, everyday playing on his father’s farm. What I couldn’t understand was why they were able to play as kids but not be able to socialize when they got older. If it was because of racial boundaries, why not keep them apart even when they are kids, then it wouldn’t be so confusing. The literary term and concept that best describes they way I am feeling about this would be Imagination because it expresses how the author was feeling about racial differences and allows the reader to feel what the author is writing about. I am using the Reader – Response approach to analyze my story because it asks you to connect with the literature, and find a personal link or imaginative entry into a story. And that is what this author makes you do. While reading this story I had a lot of different emotions like why did he change when he went to school, but when he came home he was with thebedi. Even though he met people at school whose family’s was prosperous famer’s? He still was bringing gifts to thebedi, she making gifts for him and both lying about where they came from and why. They had been sneaking around for months, so when she was eighteen and the farmer’s son was nineteen he left for veterinary college, Njabulo’s parents asked Thebedi’s parents to marry their son and they agreed on it, not telling Paulus or Njabulo that she might be pregnant. When the baby was born looked nothing like Njabulo, but he still was going to take care of her as if she was his own. This would be Satire because he should feel anger but instead he is willing to take care of her. My thinking didn’t change because in that time that’s what happens when two different races mix and have children, I just thank god it’s not like that now to the extreme it was then. Because I love people for who they are not because of where they come from. Because of the author’s background growing up in South Africa I can understand why she feels this way, they have different traditions and beliefs. This was a very good story; I enjoyed reading it and feeling what they were going through.

The Fetch Execute Cycle Computer Science Essay

The Fetch Execute Cycle Computer Science Essay Within this report about Computer Hardware, the report will cover the main concepts of computer hardware. Within this report there will be information about the main concepts of a computer system also. These main concepts will include Processors, Memory (Primary and Secondary), Input and output devices under the user types and networking, and support elements that will help the overall performance of a computer. Processors are parts of the computer that heart and brain of every computer, as it allows the processing of data in the computer system as well as the allowing instructions to be stored onto memory. The processor communicates with all the components of the computer. It mostly helps with the hardware, memory, and RAM of the computer or laptop CPU The CPU or central Processing unit is the most important and without the CPU the system would not be about to process anything. The Primary usage of the CPU is when instructions for the computer are created. Instructions are taken to decode a number of data types from programs. The CPU has to implement 4 basic functions during the fetch execute cycle; these are Fetch, Decode, Execute and Store (Hubapges, 2012). Fetch-execute cycle The Fetch-execute cycle is the sequence that the CPU gets an instruction from a certain program memory, decodes the incoming message and carries out that certain request. (Rob Williams, (2006) p52-54). Each of the instructions has an address, and the processor takes the address from something called the program counter. The program counter is in charge for tracking what instructions the CPU should execute. In basic teams instructions from memory being tracked (Hubpages (2012). The Following are the stages from inside a Fetch-execute Cycle Decode Once the CPU fetches the instructions, decodes the instruction, and then strips it down so that it can be easily executed (Complete PC Pedia. 2010). However some CPUs understand different types of instructions. For Example Assembly codes must be decoded into binary instructions. (Hubpages, 2012). Execution -After the decoding has been executed, memory is needed for data to be performed. For example a command to print is given when the first instruction has reached the CPU. Store after the execution, the CPU writes the results onto the main memory or on a register. The CPU must then give some feedback after execution. Then output data is written to the memory.Made in a presentation owned by De Montfort University, copyright them. To the right is a diagram that shows the basic stages of the fetch-execute cycle Shane Preece. (2008) Registers Whenever the processors execute instructions, data is temporarily stored in local memory locations of 8-64 bits called registers. The type processor the machine owns depends on the overall number of registers which can vary from ten to many hundreds and even thousands. There are many types of registers but the main ones are listed below. Accumulator register which stores arithmetic operations, as well as logical one; Status register holds system status indicators such as overflow; Instruction register contains the current instruction being processed; Ordinal counter contains addresses of the next instruction; (Kioskea.net. (N/A)) Examples of other Processors Microprocessor: A microprocessor is a circuit that has been integrated on a tiny silicon chip that contains millions of tiny switches on/out, known as transistors. These are laid along microscopic lines that store or manipulate data. These circuits copy data in patterns, and these patterns that can be programmed by software to help the machine do many useful tasks. (Belarus network. (2009).) Graphics processing unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit is somewhat like the CPU (Central Processing Unit). GPU is a single-chip processor. While the CPU acts like the brain of the system, the GPU is primarily used for the computing 3D functions. For example lighting effects, object transformations, and 3D motion. (TechTerms.com. (2012)) Memory Memory is split into two parts. Primary and Secondary Primary memory is one of the most important parts of a computer. The processors inside the computer stores and retrieves information from the memory and is accessed by the CPU in a random order making RAM or random access memory. So any location of this memory can be accessed by the CPU to store or read. Random Access Memory, or RAM, is the most common under the major types of Semiconductor memory. RAM has the ability to both read data from memory and also is able to write new data into memory really easy and incredibly fast. Both reading and writing is done via electrical signals. However RAM is classed a volatile. This is when the memory is deleted when there is no power resulting in the loss of data. Leading to RAM used only as temporary storage. RAM also has two different types being DRAM and SRAM. (William Stallings (2006). 148-149.) DRAM or Dynamic memory is made with cells that hold data as charge on capacitors. The showing of charge in is the binary code of 1 or 0 when present or absent. DRAM is used in main memory. (William Stallings (2006). 148-149.) SRAM or static random access memory is made up of 1000s of flip-flop circuits. While SRAM is the much fastest between the two, it is the most expensive of read-write memory. The SRAM is the fastest on-chip cache memory. Also compared to DRAM, it is low power consuming and is brilliant for battery-powered portable machines. SRAM is used in cache memory. (Rob Williams (2006). p121.) ROM Read only memory contains patterns of data that cannot be edited or changed. ROM is classed as non-volatile, meaning no power supply is needed in order to maintain the bit values in the memory. ROM is what it is, read only, cannot be changed or rewritten. One of the best things about ROM is that all the data or program is always located in the main memory and it will never be needed to be loaded into some form of secondary storage device. (William Stallings (2006). 148-149.) Cache Memory Cache Memory lies between main memory and CPU. The Cache memory is random access memory that the computers microprocessor can access more quickly than its RAM. When the microprocessor processes data, firstly it takes a look in the  cache  memory and if it finds the data there. (Kioskea.net. (N/A)). Cache memory is local memory that causes waiting times for information stored in the RAM (Random Access Memory). This overall effects the speed performance of the computers main memory making it slower than that of the processor, but at the same time are certain types of memory is faster, but has greatly increased costs. Cache memory is sometimes put into levels of closeness or accessibility to the microprocessor. An example of a cache level is L1 cache; this is on the same chip as the microprocessor, or L2 is usually a separate static RAM (SRAM) chip. The main RAM is usually a dynamic RAM (DRAM) chip. (SearchStorage (2000)). Cache also reduces the latency time of memory when transferring information. When the processor is in operation, L1 cache can interface with L2 controllers to transfer information Also the L2 cache interfaces with the RAM (level three caches) to allow transfers. (Kioskea.net. (N/A)). Virtual Memory Virtual memory today is now very common, as virtual memory can be located in all types computers and operating systems. Virtual memory can even be found in the smallest microprocessor to the largest supercomputer. However Virtual Memory is not real, physical memory, as it is a type of storage space so large that programmers do not need to edit the programs or documents in way shape or form. Whenever the content of a program is loaded the amount of a local memory is changed. (Peter J.Denning. (1996). p213-216.) Secondary memory Secondary is the slowest and cheapest form of memory that money can buy. It stores the data permanently unless it is erased however itt cannot be processed directly by the CPU so it must be manually copied from primary storage. Secondary Memory can include types such as magnetic disks, optical disks and sometimes magnetic tapes. WikiAnswers. (2012). Magnetic disks Magnetic disks are data that is encoded on disks. This enables the user the ability to store information on a magnetic disk as many times as you want as well as erase it. Examples are Hard Drives and Floppy Disks First is the floppy disk : One of the first types of secondary memory, floppy disks consists of a typical 5 ¼-inch floppy disk that can hold 360Kb or 1.2MB. However 3 ½-inches normally store 720Kb, 1.2MB or 1.44MB of data. Webopedia. (2012). The Hard disk is the most common secondary data as they are used in almost every computer system as they provide A LOT of data for the operating system, files, music and games that you want to store on the machine. Hard disks can store from 20MB to more than 200GB. Hard disks are also 10 to 100 times faster than floppy disks. Webopedia. (2012). Removable cartridge hard disks encased in a metal or plastic cartridge, so you can remove them just like a floppy disk. Removable cartridges are very fast, though usually not as fast as fixed hard disks. Optical disks Optical disks record data by burning microscopic holes in the surface of the disk with a laser. To read the disk, another laser beam shines on the disk and detects the holes by changes in the reflection pattern. Webopedia. (2012). CD-ROM : Most optical disks are read-only. When you purchase them, they are already filled with data. You can read the data from a CD-ROM, but you cannot modify, delete, or write new data. Webopedia. (2012). Input and Output elements The input and output devices are another important part for a computer system. Devices you use will depend on what kind of data needs to be inputted onto the machine then a output will be produced of the results. This certain output can be displayed via a computer screen, printed page, and even the audio. Input and output elements can be either for the user or network. Below are some of the main input elements for the user Keyboard A keyboard is one of the most common parts of a computer system that is used to enter text into the computer and display it to the screen. The keyboard can also be used to type commands, such as an on-screen menu using a mouse. Plus most keyboards these days are not just used for typing text, but also most now have numeric keypad, editing keys and a row of function keys along the top. UNM-LA. (2004). Mouse A mouse is by far the most common pointing input device for computers. With the working mechanics of a ball on its underside that rolls on a flat surface causes the pointer on the screen to move. The mouse allows you to reposition the pointer on the screen that shows where the next interaction with the computer can take place. The cursor can also be moved by pressing different keyboard keys. N/A. (N/A). Scanners Scanners are special devices that copy images from a hardcopy source and then copys it to the screen making a digital copy. It works by the image being converted to numerically and sent to the computer for very colour weather it is light or dark. Scanners normally scan graphic pages however they can be used to scan text pages using the OCR or Optical Character Recognition. UNM-LA. (2004). Types of Screens Cathode ray tube or CRT monitors display text and graphics are some of the most common used today. Another type of screen flat panel display usually uses an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen to display output from the computer. A flat display often seen on watches and calculators. LCD screens are used on laptop computers. Some LCDs are monochrome, but colour screens are popular. Some laptop screens are nearing CRTs in resolution quality. N/A. (N/A). Trackball Trackballs are like a mouse variation that is used to play video games. The trackball is basically an upside-down mouse-you roll the ball directly with your hand. N/A. (N/A) Below are some of the main output elements for the user Printers Today the most common printer would have to be ink jet printer as they produce for hardcopy output. These printers print a on the page by spraying ink to the page. However these printers need a lot of ink. Also a common printer is laser printers. These printers produce some of the best kind of image quality. NM-LA. (2004). Speakers Computers Speakers produce output via sound also, from very basic beeps, to some of the best sounds via game sound effects or music. Basic sounds may be on the motherboard, but high quality audio are from speakers that output from a PC which can be inserted to in a expansion slot,. UNM-LA. (2004). Networking inputs and outputs Modems Modems use data communications via a dial-up or broadband connection that allows computers to exchange data. The normal telephone modem offers communication rates from 300-56000bps. For a modem, it contains two different types of translators. The first is the Modulator which transmits digital signals out down the phone line in analogue form. While the demodulator receives analogue signals from the phone line and converts them back into digital form. Rob Williams (2006) Hub A hub is one of the most basic networking devices, which can connect ma number of computers or network devices together. Unlike a network router, network hubs have no routing tables where they can send information and broadcasts. Most hubs can detect basic network problems such as collisions, however if there is multiple ports being used, the risk of security risks can increase. With hubs, they serve as central connection points for local area networks (LANs). Also there are not just box hubs, but USB ones as well. Computer Hope. (2012) Support Elements Support elements for a computer are to help the computer system. This can be classed as performance aiding such as increasing the computers performance, elements such as making the computer not suffer from a system failure due to overheating and even elements that help support the whole computer by keeping it protected or helping it work. 1. The use of support elements below are elements that transfer information between components Buses A system bus is a special set of physical connections such as cables, which are shared by multiple hardware components in order to communicate with each other The purpose of system buses is to reduce the number of pathways that are needed for communication between computers components, by carrying out all communications over a single data channel. Below is a diagram of a bus and it shows how a simple bus change can be put into place to make the flow of data simple and not complex., compared to the one on the left. . (Kioskea.net. (n/a)) schematic diagram of a bus A system bus is sorted by the amount of information that is transmitted, which is shown in bits. For example a 32-wire ribbon cable can transmit 32 bits in parallel. While the speed of the bus speed is called frequency and shown as Hertz which is the number of data packets sent or received per second. This is known as a cycle. (Kioskea.net. (n/a)) System Buses are split up into three distinct groups. They are Data, Address and Control. Data buses are normally 32 bits wide but can be increased to bits of 64 Address buses are 32 bits but will require more space soon Control bus- about 15 lines responsible for starting and stopping activities (Rob Williams( 2006)(p56-59) Fiber Cable Fiber optic cable are cables that are made of a very clear glass tube that transmits light to and from a system. Light will travel down the tube in a straight line. The light jumps off of the mirrors in the wire and is directed back into the fiber optic core to continue its journey along the cable. Michelle Miley. (1999). The next type of support elements are to put power in and take excess power out The power supply is hands down the most vital part of any computer system. The power supply converts the AC or alternating current from your home to the direct current or DC. In a PC or personal computer, the power supply is a large metal box usually found in a corner of the case with or next to the fans. The power supply is visible from the back as it contains the power-cord receptacle and the cooling fan. Gary Brown. (1998). Fans One of the main components in a compute is a fan. An example of this can be found in the CPU as there is a CPU fan. Fans are one of the most effective ways to cool down the computers processor and protect the computer from overheating and damaging the system. The CPU fan actively cools the processor by bringing in cooler air. Also cooling fans are available in a many of sizes. The CPUs cooling fans are attached directly to the top of the CPU, and works together with an aluminium heat sink fan. They cool down the CPU and reduce the amount of hot air from circulating around in the computer case. Heat sink An aluminium heat sink fan is a cooling device that draws heat away from the computers components into its large surface area to transfer cooler. This cooling device works at the same time as everything else in the computer. NMB. (2010). The next types are support elements to hold and support the components The Case The computer case can be the aluminum, steel and/or plastic shell that protects all of the computers components. Computer Cases are built to support a certain sets of hardware, in other words not all motherboards, optical drives or other hardware may be compatible with a particular computer case as the size maybe incompatible. Some computer cases come with power supplies or other essential hardware preinstalled. Motherboard A motherboard holds all the main elements of the computer or laptop together. Located on the motherboard, the CPU must be matched a slot in the motherboard so that it may fit into the motherboards sockets. The Motherboard allows the communication of electrical signals to pass through the computer. Without it the computer would be nothing more than an empty shell. Conclusion In conclusion, this report has cover the main attributes of computer hardware being the processor, memory, Input and output elements and support elements. The processor is the brain of the computer and the CPU or central processing unit is the main type of processor in front of the microprocessor and the CPU uses the fetch-execute cycle. While memory covered primary and secondary. Primary being main memory accessed by the CPU and examples are RAM, ROM, Registers and cache. Secondary is stored information, and examples are Optical and Magnetic. While Input/output elements include Keyboards, mouses, screens, printers (user) and Modems and HUBs (network). Also support elements are system buses, cables, power supplies, cases and motherboards that help the performance of the machine.

Free Color Purple Essays: Celie and Albert :: Color Purple Essays

Celie and Albert in The Color Purple  Ã‚      The relationship between Celie and Albert went through many changes throughout this novel. Albert, or Mr._________, was a man who seem to be a person who was very angry, powerful and hateful. His father was a man who believed that love was not the point while trying to find a good wife, obedience was. The woman didn't have to be attractive, rich or one who was in love, all she had to do was cook, clean and tend to the children. Albert was taught that this was the way to an successful life. Albert feel in love with Shug, they did not marry. Mr.____ was controlled by his father even as an adult. His father wouldn't allow his son to marry Shug. His father didn't want him to actually love, because he never loved himself. Albert married a woman his father approved of, and he treated her how his father taught him to. Margret cooked, cleaned and tended to the children. After his father took shug away from him, he hated his father, but was so controlled by him that he could never stand up to his father. She later died and left behind a house to be cleaned, cooking to be done and children who needed to be tended to. He fell in love again with Nettie, but she was not allowed to marry him. Albert was forced to find a quick replacement for Margret. So instead he married Celie. He beat her not only because of the angry towards his father, but also because she was neither Shug nor Nettie. In the marriage of Celie and Albert there was no love or devotion. They were just stuck with the other. Celie married Albert because her step father told her too and Albert married because he wanted a full time maid. They just went one day to the next with Albert giving the orders and Celie carrying out these orders. It was like boss and employ, except Celie was anything but rewarded for carrying out the orders. The women in those days were thought as something that a man owned. Once the women was his he was to do what he pleased with it. Celie was thought of as a item that Albert purchased, like cattle, and once he had purchased her she was his and no one else's.

Government and Politics - The War in Iraq and the Bush Administration E

The War in Iraq and the Bush Administration My great, but imperialist nation is at war again. And it's the hottest reality TV program ever conceived! I find it interesting that protestors in Chicago marched on the home of the ad exec responsible for the new "Army of One" campaign. The people on the street, or in the streets as is the case here, know how false that message is and they're taking matters into their own hands. In "Masters of War," Bob Dylan attempted to put a face on the enemy next door. Today, in this time of instant and often wireless communication, we not only have the face, we have all the digits that go with that face and the ability to direct an activist movement at this "target" within hours, if not minutes. Welcome to the hyperlinked Internet Age, an age of honesty and sharing for the common good. I've got CNN on in the other room and from time to time I feel the need to see what they are entertaining the viewers with. Explosions! Explosions make for great TV, as Hollywood continues to prove. The other thing CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and CNBC are overwhelming...

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Fifteen

Klaus screamed, a scream that reminded Bonnie of ancient predators, of the sabertooth cat and the bull mammoth. Blood frothed out of his mouth along with the scream, turning that handsome face into a twisted mask of fury. His hands scrabbled at his back, trying to get a grip on the white ash stake and pull it out. But it was buried too deep. The throw had been a good one. â€Å"Damon,† Bonnie whispered. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, framed by oak trees. As she watched, he took a step toward Klaus, and then another; lithe stalking steps filled with deadly purpose. And he was angry. Bonnie would have run from the look on his face if her muscles hadn't been frozen. She had never seen such menace so barely held in check. â€Å"Get†¦ away†¦ from my brother,† he said, almost breathing it, with his eyes never leaving Klaus's as he took another step. Klaus screamed again, but his hands stopped their frantic scrabbling. â€Å"You idiot! We don't have to fight! I told you that at the house! We can ignore each other!† Damon's voice was no louder than before. â€Å"Get away from my brother.† Bonnie could feel it inside him, a swell of Power like a tsunami. He continued, so softly that Bonnie had to strain to hear him, â€Å"Before I tear your heart out.† Bonnie could move after all. She stepped backward. â€Å"I told you!† screamed Klaus, frothing. Damon didn't acknowledge the words in any way. His whole being seemed focused on Klaus's throat, on his chest, on the beating heart inside that he was going to tear out. Klaus picked up the unbroken lance and rushed him. In spite of all the blood, the blond man seemed to have plenty of strength left. The rush was sudden, violent, and almost inescapable. Bonnie saw him thrust the lance at Damon and shut her eyes involuntarily, and then opened them an instant later as she heard the flurry of wings. Klaus had plunged right through the spot where Damon had been, and a black crow was soaring upward while a single feather floated down. As Bonnie stared, Klaus's rush took him into the darkness beyond the clearing and he disappeared. Dead silence fell in the wood. Bonnie's paralysis broke slowly, and she first stepped, and then ran to where Stefan lay. He didn't open his eyes at her approach; he seemed unconscious. She knelt beside him. And then she felt a sort of horrible calm creep over her, like someone who has been swimming in ice water and at last feels the first undeniable signs of hypothermia. If she hadn't had so many successive shocks already, she might have fled screaming or dissolved into hysterics. But as it was, this was simply the last step, the last little slide into unreality. Into a world that couldn't be, but was. She'd never seen anybody hurt like this. Not even Mr. Tanner, and he had died of his wounds. Nothing Mary had ever said could help fix this. Even if they'd had Stefan on a stretcher outside an operating room, it wouldn't have been enough. In that state of dreadful calm she looked up to see a flutter of wings blur and shimmer in the moonlight. Damon stood beside her, and she spoke quite collectedly and rationally. â€Å"Will giving him blood help?† He didn't seem to hear her. His eyes were all black, all pupil. That barely leashed violence, that sense of ferocious energy held back, was gone. He knelt and touched the dark head on the ground. â€Å"Stefan?† Bonnie shut her eyes. Damon's scared, she thought. Damon's scared-Damon!-and oh, God, I don't know what to do. There's nothing to do-and it's all over and we're all lost and Damon is scared for Stefan. He isn't going to take care of things and he hasn't got a solution and somebody's got to fix this. And oh, God, please help me because I'm so frightened and Stefan's dying and Meredith and Matt are hurt and Klaus is going to come back. She opened her eyes to look at Damon. He was white, his face looking terrifyingly young at that moment, with those dilated black eyes. â€Å"Klaus is coming back,† Bonnie said quietly. She wasn't afraid of him anymore. They weren't a centuries-old hunter and a seventeen-year-old human girl, sitting here at the edge of the world. They were just two people, Damon and Bonnie, who had to do the best they could. â€Å"I know,† Damon said. He was holding Stefan's hand, looking completely unembarrassed about it, and it seemed quite logical and sensible. Bonnie could feel him sending Power into Stefan, could also feel that it wasn't enough. â€Å"Would blood help him?† â€Å"Not much. A little, maybe.† â€Å"Anything that helps at all we've got to try.† Stefan whispered, â€Å"No.† Bonnie was surprised. She'd thought he was unconscious. But his eyes were open now, open and alert and smoldering green. They were the only alive thing about him. â€Å"Don't be stupid,† Damon said, his voice hardening. He was gripping Stefan's hand until his knuckles whitened. â€Å"You're badly hurt.† â€Å"I won't break my promise.† That immovable stubbornness was in Stefan's voice, in his pale face. And when Damon opened his mouth again, undoubtedly to say that Stefan would break it and like it or Damon would break his neck, Stefan added, â€Å"Especially when it won't do any good.† Only the truth would do. And Stefan was telling the truth. He was still looking at his brother, who was looking back, all that fierce, furious attention focused on Stefan as it had been focused on Klaus earlier. As if somehow that would help. â€Å"I'm not badly hurt, I'm dead,† Stefan said brutally, his eyes locked on Damon's. Their last and greatest struggle of wills, Bonnie thought. â€Å"And you need to get Bonnie and the others out of here.† â€Å"We won't leave you,† Bonnie intervened. That was the truth; she could say that. â€Å"You have to!† Stefan didn't glance aside, didn't look away from his brother. â€Å"Damon, you know I'm right. Klaus will be here any minute. Don't throw your life away. Don't throw their lives away.† â€Å"I don't give a damn about their lives,† Damon hissed. The truth also, Bonnie thought, curiously unoffended. There was only one life Damon cared about here, and it wasn't his own. â€Å"Yes, you do!† Stefan flared back. He was hanging on to Damon's hand with just as fierce a grip, as if this was a contest and he could force Damon to concede that way. â€Å"Elena had a last request; well, this is mine. You have Power, Damon. I want you to use it to help them.† â€Å"Stefan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie whispered helplessly. â€Å"Promise me,† Stefan said to Damon, and then a spasm of pain twisted his face. For uncountable seconds Damon simply looked down at him. Then he said, â€Å"I promise,† quick and sharp as the stroke of a dagger. He let go of Stefan's hand and stood, turning to Bonnie. â€Å"Come on.† â€Å"We can't leave him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes, we can.† There was nothing young about Damon's face now. Nothing vulnerable. â€Å"You and your human friends are leaving here, permanently. I am coming back.† Bonnie shook her head. She knew, dimly, that Damon wasn't betraying Stefan, that it was some case of Damon putting Stefan's ideals above Stefan's life, but it was all too abstruse and incomprehensible to her. She didn't understand it and she didn't want to. All she knew was that Stefan couldn't be left lying there. â€Å"You're coming now,† Damon said, reaching for her, the steely ring back in his voice. Bonnie prepared herself for a fight, and then something happened that made all their debating meaningless. There was a crack like a giant whip and a flash like daylight, and Bonnie was blinded. When she could see through the afterimage, her eyes flew to the flames that were licking up from a newly blackened hole at the base of a tree. Bonnie's eye darted to him next, as the only other thing moving in the clearing. He was waving the bloody white ash stake he'd pulled out of his own back like a gory trophy. Lightning rod, thought Bonnie illogically, and then there was another crash. It stabbed down from an empty sky, in huge blue-white forks that lit everything like the sun at noon. Bonnie watched as one tree and then another was hit, each one closer than the last. Flames licked up like hungry red goblins among the leaves. Two trees on either side of Bonnie exploded, with cracks so loud that she felt rather than heard it, a piercing pain in her eardrums. Damon, whose eyes were more sensitive, threw up a hand to protect them. Then he shouted â€Å"Klaus!† and sprang toward the blond man. He wasn't stalking now; this was the deadly race of attack. The burst of killing speed of the hunting cat or the wolf. Lightning caught him in midspring. Bonnie screamed as she saw it, jumping to her feet. There was a blue flash of superheated gases and a smell of burning, and then Damon was down, lying motionless on his face. Bonnie could see tiny wisps of smoke rise from him, just as they did from the trees. Speechless with horror, she looked at Klaus. He was swaggering through the clearing, holding his bloody stick like a golf club. He bent down over Damon as he passed, and smiled. Bonnie wanted to scream again, but she didn't have the breath. There didn't seem to be any air left to breathe. â€Å"I'll deal with you later,† Klaus told the unconscious Damon. Then his face tipped up toward Bonnie. â€Å"You,† he said, â€Å"I'm going to deal with right now.† It was an instant before she realized he was looking at Stefan, and not her. Those electric blue eyes were fixed on Stefan's face. They moved to Stefan's bloody middle. â€Å"I'm going to eat you now, Salvatore.† Bonnie was all alone. The only one left standing. And she was afraid. But she knew what she had to do. She let her knees collapse again, dropping to the ground beside Stefan. And this is how it ends, she thought. You kneel beside your knight and then you face the enemy. She looked at Klaus and moved so that she was shielding Stefan. He seemed to notice her for the first time, and frowned as if he'd found a spider in his salad. Firelight flickered orange-red on his face. â€Å"No.† And this is how the ending starts. Like this, so simply, with one word, and you're going to die on a summer night. A summer night when the moon and stars are shining and bonfires burn like the flames the Druids used to summon the dead. â€Å"Bonnie, go,† Stefan said painfully. â€Å"Get out while you can.† â€Å"No,† Bonnie said. I'm sorry, Elena, she thought. I can't save him. This is all I can do. â€Å"Get out of the way,† Klaus said through his teeth. â€Å"No.† She could wait and let Stefan die this way, instead of with Klaus's teeth in his throat. It might not seem like much of a difference, but it was the most she could offer. â€Å"Bonnie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Stefan whispered. â€Å"Don't you know who I am, girl? I've walked with the devil. If you move, I'll let you die quickly.† Bonnie's voice had given out. She shook her head. Klaus threw back his own head and laughed. A little more blood trickled out, too. â€Å"All right,† he said. â€Å"Have it your own way. Both of you go together.† Summer night, Bonnie thought. The solstice eve. When the line between worlds is so thin. â€Å"Say good night, sweetheart.† No time to trance, no time for anything. Nothing except one desperate appeal. â€Å"Elena!† Bonnie screamed. â€Å"Elena! Elena!† Klaus recoiled. For an instant, it seemed as if the name alone had the power to alarm him. Or as if he expected something to respond to Bonnie's cry. He stood, listening. Bonnie drew on her powers, putting everything she had into it, throwing her need and her call out into the void. And felt†¦ nothing. Nothing disturbed the summer night except the crackling sound of flames. Klaus turned back to Bonnie and Stefan, and grinned. Then Bonnie saw the mist creeping along the ground. No-it couldn't be mist. It must be smoke from the fire. But it didn't behave like either. It was swirling, rising in the air like a tiny whirlwind or dust devil. It was gathering into a shape roughly the size of a man. Mist was flowing out of the ground, between the trees. Pools of it, each separate and distinct. Bonnie, staring mutely, could see through each patch, could see the flames, the oak trees, the bricks of the chimney. Klaus had stopped smiling, stopped moving, and was watching too. Bonnie turned to Stefan, unable to even frame the question. â€Å"Unquiet spirits,† he whispered huskily, his green eyes intent. â€Å"The solstice.† And then Bonnie understood. They were coming. From across the river, where the old cemetery lay. From the woods, where countless makeshift graves had been dug to dump bodies in before they rotted. The unquiet spirits, the soldiers who had fought here and died during the Civil War. A supernatural host answering the call for help. They were forming all around. There were hundreds of them. Bonnie could actually see faces now. The misty outlines were filling in with pale hues like so many runny watercolors. She saw a flash of blue, a glimmer of gray. Both Union and Confederate troops. Bonnie glimpsed a pistol thrust into a belt, the glint of an ornamented sword. Chevrons on a sleeve. A bushy dark beard; a long, well-tended white one. A small figure, child size, with dark holes for eyes and a drum hanging at thigh level. â€Å"Oh, my God,† she whispered. â€Å"Oh, God.† It wasn't swearing. It was something like a prayer. Not that she wasn't frightened of them, because she was. It was every nightmare she'd ever had about the cemetery come true. Like her first dream about Elena, when things came crawling out of the black pits in the earth; only these things weren't crawling, they were flying, skimming and floating until they swirled into human form. Everything that Bonnie had ever felt about the old graveyard-that it was alive and full of watching eyes, that there was some Power lurking behind its waiting stillness -was proving true. The earth of Fell's Church was giving up its bloody memories. The spirits of those who'd died here were walking again. And Bonnie could feel their anger. It frightened her, but another emotion was waking up inside her, making her catch her breath and clench tighter on Stefan's hand. Because the misty army had a leader. One figure was floating in front of the others, closest to the place where Klaus stood. It had no shape or definition as yet, but it glowed and scintillated with the pale golden light of a candle flame. Then, before Bonnie's eyes, it seemed to take on substance from the air, shining brighter and brighter every minute with an unearthly light. It was brighter than the circle of fire. It was so bright that Klaus leaned back from it and Bonnie blinked, but when she turned at a low sound, she saw Stefan staring straight into it, fearlessly, with wide-open eyes. And smiling, so faintly, as if glad to have this be the last thing he saw. Klaus dropped the stake. He had turned away from Bonnie and Stefan to face the being of light that hung in the clearing like an avenging angel. Golden hair streaming back in an invisible wind, Elena looked down on him. â€Å"She came,† Bonnie whispered. â€Å"You asked her to,† Stefan murmured. His voice trailed off into a labored breath, but he was still smiling. His eyes were serene. â€Å"Stand away from them,† Elena said, her voice coming simultaneously to Bonnie's ears and her mind. It was like the chiming of dozens of bells, distant and close up at once. â€Å"It's over now, Klaus.† But Klaus rallied quickly. Bonnie saw his shoulders swell with a breath, noticed for the first time the hole in the back of the tan raincoat where the white ash stake had pierced him. It was stained dull red, and new blood was flowing now as Klaus flung out his arms. â€Å"You think I'm afraid of you?† he shouted. He spun around, laughing at all the pallid forms. â€Å"You think I'm afraid of any of you? You're dead! Dust on the wind! You can't touch me!† â€Å"You're wrong,† Elena said in her wind-chime voice. â€Å"I'm one of the Old Ones! An Original! Do you know what that means?† Klaus turned again, addressing all of them, his unnaturally blue eyes seeming to catch some of the red glow of the fire. â€Å"I've never died. Every one of you has died, you gallery of spooks! But not me. Death can't touch me. I am invincible!† The last word came in a shout so loud it echoed among the trees. Invincible†¦ invincible†¦ invincible. Bonnie heard it fading into the hungry sound of the fire. Elena waited until the last echo had died. Then she said, very simply, â€Å"Not quite.† She turned to look at the misty shapes around her. â€Å"He wants to spill more blood here.† A new voice spoke up, a hollow voice that ran like a trickle of cold water down Bonnie's spine. â€Å"There's been enough killing, I say.† It was a Union soldier with a double row of buttons on his jacket. â€Å"More than enough,† said another voice, like the boom of a faraway drum. A Confederate holding a bayonet. â€Å"It's time somebody stopped it†-an old man in home-dyed butternut cloth. â€Å"We can't let it go on†-the drummer boy with the black holes for eyes. â€Å"No more blood spilled!† Several voices took it up at once. â€Å"No more killing!† The cry passed from one to another, until the swell of sound was louder than the roar of the fire. â€Å"No more blood!† â€Å"You can't touch me! You can't kill me!† â€Å"Let's take ‘im, boys!† â€Å"You can't kill me! I'm immortal!† The tornado swept away into the darkness beyond Bonnie's sight. Following it was a trail of ghosts like a comet's tail, shooting off into the night sky. â€Å"Where are they taking him?† Bonnie didn't mean to say it aloud; she just blurted it out before she thought. But Elena heard. â€Å"Where he won't do any harm,† she said, and the look on her face stopped Bonnie from asking any other questions. There was a squealing, bleating sound from the other side of the clearing. Bonnie turned and saw Tyler, in his terrible part-human, part-animal shape, on his feet. There was no need for Caroline's club. He was staring at Elena and the few remaining ghostly figures and gibbering. â€Å"Don't let them take me! Don't let them take me too!† Before Elena could speak, he had spun around. He regarded the fire, which was higher than his own head, for an instant, then plunged right through it, crashing into the forest beyond. Through a parting of the flames, Bonnie saw him drop to the ground, beating out flames on himself, then rise and run again. Then the fire flared up and she couldn't see anything more. But she'd remembered something: Meredith-and Matt. Meredith was lying propped up, her head in Caroline's lap, watching. Matt was still on his back. Hurt, but not so badly hurt as Stefan. â€Å"Elena,† Bonnie said, catching the bright figure's attention, and then she simply looked at him. The brightness came closer. Stefan didn't blink. He looked into the heart of the light and smiled. â€Å"He's been stopped now. Thanks to you.† â€Å"It was Bonnie who called us. And she couldn't have done it at the right place and the right time without you and the others.† â€Å"I tried to keep my promise.† â€Å"I know, Stefan.† Bonnie didn't like the sound of this at all. It sounded too much like a farewell-a permanent one. Her own words floated back to her: He might go to another place or-or just go out. And she didn't want Stefan to go anywhere. Surely anyone who looked that much like an angel†¦ â€Å"Elena,† she said, â€Å"can't you-do something? Can't you help him?† Her voice was shaking. â€Å"I can do something,† she said. â€Å"But I don't know if it's the kind of help he wants.† She turned back to Stefan. â€Å"Stefan, I can cure what Klaus did. Tonight I have that much Power. But I can't cure what Katherine did.† Bonnie's numbed brain struggled with this for a while. What Katherine did-but Stefan had recovered months ago from Katherine's torture in the crypt. Then she understood. What Katherine had done was make Stefan a vampire. â€Å"It's been too long,† Stefan was saying to Elena. â€Å"If you did cure it, I'd be a pile of dust.† â€Å"Yes.† Elena didn't smile, just went on looking at him steadily. â€Å"Do you want my help, Stefan?† â€Å"To go on living in this world in the shadows†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Stefan's voice was a whisper now, his green eyes distant. Bonnie wanted to shake him. Live, she thought to him, but she didn't dare say it for fear she'd make him decide just the opposite. Then she thought of something else. â€Å"To go on trying,† she said, and both of them looked at her. She looked back, chin thrust out, and saw the beginning of a smile on Elena's bright lips. Elena turned to Stefan, and that tiny hint of a smile passed to him. â€Å"Yes,† he said quietly, and then, to Elena, â€Å"I want your help.† She bent and kissed him. Bonnie saw the brightness flow from her to Stefan, like a river of sparkling light engulfing him. It flooded over him the way the dark mist had surrounded Klaus, like a cascade of diamonds, until his entire body glowed like Elena's. For an instant Bonnie imagined she could see the blood inside him turned molten, flowing out to each vein, each capillary, healing everything it touched. Then the glow faded to a golden aura, soaking back into Stefan's skin. His shirt was still demolished, but underneath the flesh was smooth and firm. Bonnie, feeling her own eyes wide with wonder, couldn't help reaching out to touch. It felt just like any skin. The horrible wounds were gone. She laughed aloud with sheer excitement, and then looked up, sobering. â€Å"Elena- there's Meredith, too-â€Å" The bright being that was Elena was already moving across the clearing. Meredith looked up at her from Caroline's lap. â€Å"Hello, Elena,† she said, almost normally, except that her voice was so weak. Elena bent and kissed her. The brightness flowed again, encompassing Meredith. And when it faded, Meredith stood up on her own two feet. Then she went to Damon. He was still lying where he had fallen. The ghosts had passed over him, taking no notice of him. Elena's brightness hovered over him, one shining hand reaching to touch his hair. Then she bent and kissed the dark head on the ground. As the sparkling light faded, Damon sat up and shook his head. He saw Elena and went still, then, every movement careful and self-contained, stood up. He didn't say anything, only looked as Elena turned back to Stefan. He was silhouetted against the fire. Bonnie had scarcely noticed how the red glow had grown so that it almost eclipsed Elena's gold. But now she saw it and felt a thrill of alarm. â€Å"My last gift to you,† Elena said, and it began to rain. Not a thunder-and-lightning storm, but a thorough pattering rain that soaked everything-Bonnie included-and doused the fire. It was fresh and cool, and it seemed to wash all the horror of the last hours away, cleansing the glade of everything that had happened there. Bonnie tilted her face up to it, shutting her eyes, wanting to stretch out her arms and embrace it. At last it slackened and she looked again at Elena. Elena was looking at Stefan, and there was no smile on her lips now. The wordless sorrow was back in her face. â€Å"It's midnight,† she said. â€Å"And I have to go.† Bonnie knew instantly, at the sound of it, that â€Å"go† didn't just mean for the moment. â€Å"Go† meant forever. Elena was going somewhere that no trance or dream could reach. And Stefan knew it too. â€Å"Just a few more minutes,† he said, reaching for her. â€Å"I'm sorry-â€Å" â€Å"Elena, wait-I need to tell you-â€Å" â€Å"I can't!† For the first time the serenity of that bright face was destroyed, showing not only gentle sadness but tearing grief. â€Å"Stefan, I can't wait. I'm so sorry.† It was as if she were being pulled backward, retreating from them into some dimension that Bonnie could not see. Maybe the same place Honoria went when her task was finished, Bonnie thought. To be at peace. But Elena's eyes didn't look as if she were at peace. They clung to Stefan, and she reached out her hand toward his, hopelessly. They didn't touch. Wherever Elena was being pulled was too far away. â€Å"Elena-please!† It was the voice Stefan had called her with in his room. As if his heart was breaking. â€Å"Stefan,† Elena called again, but her voice came as if from a long distance. The brightness was almost gone. Then, as Bonnie stared through helpless tears, it winked out. Leaving the clearing silent once again. They were all gone, the ghosts of Fell's Church who had walked for one night to keep more blood from being spilled. The bright spirit that had led them had vanished without a trace, and even the moon and stars were covered by clouds. Bonnie knew that the wetness on Stefan's face wasn't due to the rain that was still splashing down. He was standing, chest heaving, looking at the last place where Elena's brightness had been seen. And all the longing and the pain Bonnie had glimpsed on his face at times before was nothing to what she saw now. â€Å"It isn't fair,† she whispered. Then she shouted it to the sky, not caring who she was addressing. â€Å"It isn't fair!† Stefan had been breathing more and more quickly. Now he lifted his face too, not in anger but in unbearable pain. His eyes were searching the clouds as if he might find some last trace of golden light, some flicker of brightness there. He couldn't. Bonnie saw the spasm go through him, like the agony of Klaus's stake. And the cry that burst out of him was the most terrible thing she'd ever heard. â€Å"Elena!†

OpenBTS

OpenBTS: A Way of Providing Internet Access to Developing CountriesAbstract The mobile network infrastructure of the twenty-first century is monolithic. It de facto closed and complex systems have few suppliers. They are mostly pre-internet protocol run, and their architectural concept keeps evolving. However, this evolution has not resulted in them being economical or flexible. Thus OpenBTS brings the empowerment that is needed to build and operate cellular networks. Given that the technologies and capabilities are necessary to make such systems is readily available. This paper will look at the OpenBTS. What it means, how it works, components needed to create it, how these components function about each other. Also, the paper will look at the cost involved in setting up OpenBTS and how viable it is in the developing nations.? OpenBTS: A Way of Providing Internet Access to Developing CountriesOpen Base Transceiver Station simply is known as OpenBTS is a GSM access point that is software based. It allows the use of mobile phones that are GSM compatible with voice over the internet protocol. The software is categorized as open source by its developers Range Networks. Its public release as an open source software revolutionized the lower three layers of the GSM protocol stack (Iedema, 22). The OpenBTS is abbreviated by the C++, as free software, its controlled by the GNU Affero General Public License terms and conditions. How the OpenBTS works. OpenBTS operates by replacing the third layer of conventional GSM operational infrastructure. As opposed to GSM system that forwards calls through the radio resource management protocol via base stations that are external, OpenBTS has internal units that perform this function. OpenBTS uses SIP to deliver calls to VOIP soft switch and therefore bypasses the need to route the call to the operator's mobile switching center Burgess (David ; Samra, 13). The VIOP software is installed, and the OpenBTS are installed in one computer to form a cellular network that delivers calls to VOIP soft switch and therefore bypasses the need to route the call to the operator's mobile switching center. The VIOP software is installed, and the OpenBTS are installed in one computer to form a cellular network that is self-sufficient. However, it also possible to configure several OpenBTS units to share a common VOIP switch to form a network.Other components of GSMGSM components can be divided into four areas. These are the MS (Mobile Station), BSS (Base-Station Subsystem, NSS (Network and Switching Subsystem) and OSS (Operation and Support Subsystem. These four elements within the GSM network operate together as one unit, and therefore users never realize the difference that exists in the System (Iedema, 32). The components would take the below shape regarding a diagram representation.The MS or mobile stations also known as the cell or mobile phones and is the part of the GSM network that is seen and operated by the users. Technological innovation has improved the size and functionality of this part of the network over the years. The mobile station has two elements that help it carry out its functions. These are the Hardware, and the Subscriber Identity Module often referred to as the SIM (David & Samra, 13). The SIM contains the user's information that the network uses to identify them and the IMSI which is the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). The hardware contains the devices that are used to generate data and transmit it. It also contains the International Mobile Equipment Identity which is an international identification used to trace stolen phones. The BSS or Base Station Subsystem has two sections, the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). The BTS communicates with the mobile through an Um interface and associated protocols (Iedema, 24). The BTC provides radio resources that communicate with and control through an Abis interface. The NSS or Networking Switching Subsystem is the core element of the GSM network, and it contains several elements. These elements are Mobile Services Switching Centre which acts as the switching node and enables functions such as registration, authentication, and call location among other functions to be performed. The Home Location Register element contains the administrative information used to register the user to the network and direct calls appropriately. The Visitor Location Register contains information that allows individual users to access the services that they request. The Equipment Identity Register, checks for the International Mobile Equipment Identity to verify if the particular equipment is allowed to accesses the services. Authentication Center provides the link between the SIM card and the network through a key that helps in radio connection. The Gateway Mobile Switching Center is responsible for obtaining Mobile Station Roaming Number that helps in call termination.The other element of the GSM network is the OSS (Operation and Support Subsystem). It's the component that connects the NSS and BSC. The GSM network is controlled and monitored by this element. It also used to monitor traffic load that goes through the BSS. The connection between OpenBTS and other GSM network components OpenBTS can be connected to GSM through software or hardware. The software elements are the GNU Radio and the Asterisk. This is a software suite that has several modules that are combined with minimal hardware and used in implementing radio systems in personal computers. It's an interface that is graphical with blocks that represent stages through which data flows. This graphical representation is achieved through the use of Python programming language (David ;Samra, 13). The asterisk is the communication server that provides the capability that enables BTS to route calls accurately, perform correct registration and authentication processes in the GSM networks. The asterisk enables the network to read the Subscriber Identity Modules as the SIP user, and their International Mobile Subscriber Identity as the SIP username. This is achieved by connecting the Asterisk PBX to the OpenBTS. The other way of connecting OpenBTS to GSM network is through the use of hardware such Motherboard Ettus Research Universal Software Radio Peripheral. Also, daughterboards RFX900 with VERT900 antennas and GSM terminals equipped with SIM cards is required. The connection is made through motherboard that can accommodate several daughterboards (David ; Samra, 13). The interface between the motherboard and the daughterboards is provided by USB cable that can transmit Radio frequency bandwidth.Cost of OpenBTS and other components Compared to the traditional cell networks, OpenBTS is low in cost as most of the components needed are easily available. The software and the equipment used to create an OpenBTS through GSM network are readily available in stores and online (Heimerl et al., 3). This has made OpenBTS cost effective as compared to the traditional landline network or the other cellular networks such satellite. The only challenge that OpenBTS faces are the availability of power in rural areas that are of the grid. The use of other sources of power could prove to be expensive and drive the cost of the network high especially in a developing country where income levels are low.Feasibility of OpenBTS in the rural areaThe feasibility of OpenBTS in providing internet access in the rural and remote area is great. Through the use of simple and easily available material, networks that can cover a radius of up to 15miles is easily created (Heimerl et al., 3). This would drastically improve the coverage area of these of grid areas that would otherwise be impossible to reach. Various advantages would come with Using OpenBTS to provide internet to the rural area. The cost of OpenBTS is low compared to other forms of such as satellite or landline. The equipment and technology required to build OpenBTS are affordable and readily available. However, there are also the cons of OpenBTS (David ; Samra, 13). Several regulations hinder the development and use of this technology. The process of getting approval to develop OpenBTS network can be tiresome in some countries. Also, the radius covered by OpenBTS network can be relatively small requiring the creation of multiple networks to cover wide areas. OpenBTS in Indonesia In Indonesia, the OpenBTS is provided by an American startup Endaga. The company operates the module through the Village Base Station which is mounted on the small box and mounted on metallic poles (Heimerl ; Brewer, 3). The equipment is powered by solar panels that are mounted on the same pole. The box is further fit with management software that performs billing and analytics functions. These stations combine the function of a traditional GSM equipment and programmable computer allowing them to provide more value. They provide both voice and data capabilities to the rural villages. After experiencing success with this innovation in two primary towns, Endaga is preparing to expand to other locations within the country and the continent. Conclusion For the two first century to truly be a century of technological advance, there must be an equal distribution of internet services. Both the rural and urban areas must be covered effectively by internet services. There has been concentration on the urban areas with the number of services providers in these areas going up. However, the rural and poor areas have been given little attention or at times completely neglected. Most developing countries in Africa and Asia lack essential internet connectivity. In the areas where the services are available, they are still expensive for many who are poor. The OpenBTS promises to solve the two-fold problem that many remote and poor areas are facing. Since it allows for firms to provide for cheap internet services, it will eliminate the problem of affordability. Also, it will also offer off-grid areas that lack power. Through innovation like the one that has been exhibited by Endaga, it is now possible to provide internet services in any area. It is now upon the various governments of the developing nations to ensure that right policies that will facilitate the development of the concept is in place.