Comparison between five process models of software engineering Essay

IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org A Comparison Between Five Models Of Software Engineering Nabil Mohammed Ali Munassar1 and A. Govardhan2 1 Ph.D Student of Computer Science & Engineering Jawahrlal Nehru Technological University Kuktapally, Hyderabad- 500 085, Andhra Pradesh, India 2 Professor of Computer Science & Engineering Principal JNTUH of Engineering College, Jagityal, Karimnagar (Dt), A.P., India Abstract This research deals with a vital and important issue in computer world. It is concerned with the software management processes that examine the area of software development through the  development models, which are known as software development  life cycle. It represents five of the development models namely, waterfall, Iteration, V-shaped, spiral and Extreme programming. These models have advantages and disadvantages as well. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to represent different models of software development and make a  comparison between them to show the features and defects of each model. Keywords: Software Management Processes, Software  Development, Development Models, Software Development Life  Cycle, Comparison between five models of Software Engineering. increased recently which results in the difficulty of  enumerating such companies. During the previous four  decades, software has been developed from a tool used for  analyzing information or solving a problem to a product in  itself. However, the early programming stages have  created a number of problems turning software an  obstacle to software development particularly those  relying on computers. Software consists of documents and  programs that contain a collection that has been  established to be a part of software engineering  procedures. Moreover, the aim of software engineering is  to create a suitable work that construct programs of high  quality. 1. Introduction Computer Science No one can deny the importance of computer in our life,  especially during the present time. In fact, computer has  become indispensible in today’s life as it is used in many  fields of life such as industry, medicine, commerce,  education and even agriculture. It has become an  important element in the industry and technology of  advanced as well as developing countries. Now a days,  organizations become more dependent on computer in  their works as a result of computer technology. Computer  is considered a time- saving device and its progress helps  in executing complex, long, repeated processes in a very  short time with a high speed. In addition to using  computer for work, people use it for fun and  entertainment. Noticeably, the number of companies thatproduce software programs for the purpose of facilitating  works of offices, administrations, banks, etc, has Theories Computer Function Client Problems The Software engineering Tools and techniques to solve problems Fig. 1 Explanation of software engineering conception. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org 95 2. Software Process Models concern. A software process model is an abstract representation of a process. It presents a description of a process from some particular perspective as: The pure waterfall lifecycle consists of several nonoverlapping stages, as shown in the following figure. The model begins with establishing system requirements and  software requirements and continues with architectural  design, detailed design, coding, testing, and maintenance. The waterfall model serves as a baseline for many other  lifecycle models. 1. 2. 3. 4. Specification. Design. Validation. Evolution. General Software Process Models are 1. Waterfall model: Separate and distinct phases of specification and development. 2. Prototype model. 3. Rapid application development model (RAD). 4. Evolutionary development: Specification, development and validation are interleaved. 5. Incremental model. 6. Iterative model. 7. Spiral model. 8. Component-based software engineering : The system is assembled from existing components. System Requirements Software Requirements Architectural Design Detailed Design Coding There are many variants of these models e.g. formal development where a waterfall-like process is used, but the specification is formal that is refined through several stages to an implementable design[1]. Testing Maintenance Fig. 2 Waterfall Model[4]. 3. Five Models A Programming process model is an abstract representation to describe the process from a particular perspective. There are numbers of general models for software processes, like: Waterfall model, Evolutionary development, Formal systems development and Reusebased development, etc. This research will view the following five models : 1. Waterfall model. 2. Iteration model. 3. V-shaped model. 4. Spiral model. 5. Extreme model. These models are chosen because their features correspond to most software development programs. Requirements Definition System and Software Design Implementation and Unit Testing Integration and System Testing 3.1 The Waterfall Model The waterfall model is the classical model of software  engineering. This model is one of the oldest models and is  widely used in government projects and in many major  companies. As this model emphasizes planning in early  stages, it ensures design flaws before they develop. In  addition, its intensive document and planning make it  work well for projects in which quality control is a major Operation and Maintenance Fig. 3 Waterfall model[2]. The following list details the steps for using the waterfall IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org model: 1 System requirements: Establishes the components  for building the system, including the hardware  requirements, software tools, and other necessary  components. Examples include decisions on  hardware, such as plug-in boards (number of  channels, acquisition speed, and so on), and decisions  on external pieces of software, such as databases or  libraries. 2 3 Software requirements: Establishes the expectations  for software functionality and identifies which system  requirements the software affects. Requirements  analysis includes determining interaction needed with  other applications and databases, performance  requirements, user interface requirements, and so on. Architectural design: Determines the software  framework of a system to meet the specific  requirements. This design defines the major  components and the interaction of those components,  but it does not define the structure of each  component. The external interfaces and tools used in  the project can be determined by the designer. 4 Detailed design: Examines the software components  defined in the architectural design stage and produces  a specification for how each component is  implemented. 5 Coding: Implements specification. 6 7 the detailed starting coding. There is no overlap between stages. In  real-world development, however, one can discover issues  during the design or coding stages that point out errors or gaps in the requirements. The waterfall method does not prohibit returning to an  earlier phase, for example, returning from the design phase  to the requirements phase. However, this involves costly  rework. Each completed phase requires formal review and  extensive documentation development. Thus, oversights  made in the requirements phase are expensive to correct  later. Because the actual development comes late in the process,  one does not see results for a long time. This delay can be  disconcerting to management and customers. Many people  also think that the amount of documentation is excessive  and inflexible. Although the waterfall model has  instructive because it emphasizes  project development. Even if one  model, he must consider each of  relationship to his own project [4]. ï‚ · 1. 2. 3. design Testing: Determines whether the software meets the  specified requirements and finds any errors present in  the code. Maintenance: Addresses problems and enhancement  requests after the software releases. In some organizations, a change control board maintains  the quality of the product by reviewing each change made  in the maintenance stage. Consider applying the full  waterfall development cycle model when correcting  problems or implementing these enhancement requests. In each stage, documents that explain the objectives and  describe the requirements for that phase are created. At the end of each stage, a review to determine whether the  project can proceed to the next stage is held. Your  prototyping can also be incorporated into any stage from  the architectural design and after. Many people believe that this model cannot be applied to  all situations. For example, with the pure waterfall model,  the requirements must be stated before beginning the  design, and the complete design must be stated before 96 4. 5. 6. ï‚ · 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. ï‚ · its weaknesses, it is  important stages of  does not apply this  these stages and its Advantages : Easy to understand and implement. Widely used and known (in theory!). Reinforces good habits: define-before- design, design-before-code. Identifies deliverables and milestones. Document driven, URD, SRD, †¦ etc. Published documentation standards, e.g. PSS-05. Works well on mature products and weak teams. Disadvantages : Idealized, doesn’t match reality well. Doesn’t reflect iterative nature of exploratory development. 3. Unrealistic to expect accurate requirements so early in project. Software is delivered late in project, delays discovery of serious errors. Difficult to integrate risk management. Difficult and expensive to make changes to documents, †swimming upstream†. Significant administrative overhead, costly for small teams and projects [6]. Pure Waterfall This is the classical system development model. It consists of discontinuous phases: 1. 2. 3. Concept. Requirements. Architectural design. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org 4. 5. 6. Detailed design. Coding and development. Testing and implementation. Table 1: Strengths & Weaknesses of Pure Waterfall Strengths ï‚ · ï‚ · Minimizes planning  overhead since it can be done up front.  Structure minimizes  wasted effort, so it  works well for  technically weak or  inexperienced staff. Risk reduction spirals can be added to the top of the  waterfall to reduce risks prior to the waterfall phases. The waterfall can be further modified using options such as  prototyping, JADs or CRC sessions or other methods of  requirements gathering done in overlapping phases [5]. Weaknesses 3.2 Iterative Development ï‚ · Inflexible ï‚ · Only the final phase  produces a nondocumentation  deliverable. ï‚ · Backing up to address mistakes is difficult. The problems with the Waterfall Model created a demand  for a new method of developing systems which could  provide faster results, require less up-front information,  and offer greater flexibility. With Iterative Development,  the project is divided into small parts. This allows the  development team to demonstrate results earlier on in the  process and obtain valuable feedback from system users. Often, each iteration is actually a mini-Waterfall process  with the feedback from one phase providing vital  information for the design of the next phase. In a variation of this model, the software products, which are produced  at the end of each step (or series of steps), can go into  production immediately as incremental releases. ï‚ · Pure Waterfall Summary The pure waterfall model performs well for products with  clearly understood requirements or when working with  well understood technical tools, architectures and  infrastructures. Its weaknesses frequently make it  inadvisable when rapid development is needed. In those  cases, modified models may be more effective. ï‚ · 97 Modified Waterfall The modified waterfall uses the same phases as the pure  waterfall, but is not based on a discontinuous basis. This  enables the phases to overlap when needed. The pure  waterfall can also split into subprojects at an appropriate  phase (such as after the architectural design or detailed design). Table 2: Strengths & Weaknesses of Modified Waterfall Strengths ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · More flexible than the  pure waterfall model. If there is personnel  continuity between the  phases, documentation  can be substantially reduced.  Implementation of easy  areas does not need to  wait for the hard ones. Weaknesses ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Modified Waterfall Summary Milestones are more  ambiguous than the  pure waterfall. Activities performed  in parallel are subject  to miscommunication  and mistaken  assumptions. Unforeseen  interdependencies can  create problems. Fig. 4 Iterative Development. 3.3 V-Shaped Model Just like the waterfall model, the V-Shaped life cycle is a  sequential path of execution of processes. Each phase  must be completed before the next phase begins. Testing  is emphasized in this model more than the waterfall  model. The testing procedures are developed early in the  life cycle before any coding is done, during each of the  phases preceding implementation. Requirements begin the  life cycle model just like the waterfall model. Before IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org development is started, a system test plan is created. The test plan focuses on meeting the functionality specified in requirements gathering. 98 Requirements The high-level design phase focuses on system  architecture and design. An integration test plan is created in this phase in order to test the pieces of the software  systems ability to work together. However, the low-level  design phase lies where the actual software components  are designed, and unit tests are created in this phase as  well. System Test Planning High Level Design Low Level Design The implementation phase is, again, where all coding  takes place. Once coding is complete, the path of  execution continues up the right side of the V where the  test plans developed earlier are now put to use. ï‚ · Simple and easy to use. Each phase has specific deliverables. Higher chance of success over the waterfall model  due to the early development of test plans during the  life cycle. Works well for small projects where requirements are  easily understood. Unit Test Planning Integration Testing Unit Testing Implementation Advantages 1. 2. 3. Integration Test Planning System Testing 4. Fig. 6 V-Shaped Life Cycle Model[7]. 3.4 Spiral Model The spiral model is similar to the incremental model, with  more emphases placed on risk analysis. The spiral model  has four phases: Planning, Risk Analysis, Engineering and  Evaluation. A software project repeatedly passes through  these phases in iterations (called Spirals in this  model). The baseline spiral, starting in the planning  phase, requirements are gathered and risk is  assessed. Each subsequent spiral builds on the baseline  spiral. Requirements are gathered during the planning  phase. In the risk analysis phase, a process is undertaken  to identify risk and alternate solutions. A prototype is  produced at the end of the risk analysis phase. Software is  produced in the engineering phase, along with testing at  the end of the phase. The evaluation phase allows the  customer to evaluate the output of the project to date  before the project continues to the next spiral. In the spiral model, the angular component represents  progress, and the radius of the spiral represents cost. Fig. 5 V-Model [3] ï‚ · Disadvantages 1. 2. Very rigid like the waterfall model. Little flexibility and adjusting scope is difficult and  expensive.  Software is developed during the implementation phase,  so no early prototypes of the software are produced. This Model does not provide a clear path for problems  found during testing phases [7]. 3. 4. ï‚ · 1. 2. 3. Advantages High amount of risk analysis. Good for large and mission-critical projects. Software is produced early in the software life cycle. ï‚ · 1. 2. 3. Disadvantages Can be a costly model to use. Risk analysis requires highly specific expertise. Project’s success is highly dependent on the risk  analysis phase. Doesn’t work well for smaller projects [7]. 4. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org ï‚ · 1. Spiral model sectors Objective setting :Specific objectives for the phase are identified. 2. Risk assessment and reduction: Risks are assessed and activities are put in place to reduce the key risks. 3. Development and validation: A development model for the system is chosen which can be any of the general models. 4. Planning: The project is reviewed and the next phase of the spiral is planned [1]. 99 under which the system would produce win-lose or loselose outcomes for some stakeholders. 3. Identify and Evaluate Alternatives: Solicit  suggestions from stakeholders, evaluate them with respect  to stakeholders’ win conditions, synthesize and negotiate  candidate win-win alternatives, analyze, assess, resolve  win-lose or lose-lose risks, record commitments and areas  to be left flexible in the project’s design record and life  cycle plans. 4. Cycle through the Spiral: Elaborate the win conditions  evaluate and screen alternatives, resolve risks, accumulate  appropriate commitments, and develop and execute  downstream plans [8]. 3.5 Extreme Programming An approach to development, based on the development  and delivery of very small increments of functionality. It  relies on constant code improvement, user involvement in  the development team and pair wise programming . It can  be difficult to keep the interest of customers who are  involved in the process. Team members may be unsuited  to the intense involvement that characterizes agile  methods. Prioritizing changes can be difficult where there  are multiple stakeholders. Maintaining simplicity requires  extra work. Contracts may be a problem as with other  approaches to iterative development. Fig. 7 Spiral Model of the Software Process[1]. ï‚ · WinWin Spiral Model The original spiral model [Boehm 88] began each cycle of  the spiral by performing the next level of elaboration of  the prospective system’s objectives, constraints and  alternatives. A primary difficulty in applying the spiral  model has been the lack of explicit process guidance in  determining these objectives, constraints, and alternatives. The Win-Win Spiral Model [Boehm 94] uses the theory  W (win-win) approach [Boehm 89b] to converge on a  system’s next-level objectives, constraints, and  alternatives. This Theory W approach involves identifying  the system’s stakeholders and their win conditions, and  using negotiation processes to determine a mutually  satisfactory set of objectives, constraints, and alternatives for the stakeholders. In particular, as illustrated in the  figure, the nine-step Theory W process translates into the  following spiral model extensions: 1. Determine Objectives: Identify the system life-cycle  stakeholders and their win conditions and establish initial  system boundaries and external interfaces. 2. Determine Constraints: Determine the conditions Fig. 8 The XP Release Cycle ï‚ · Extreme Programming Practices Incremental planning: Requirements are recorded on Story Cards and the Stories to be included in a release are determined by the time available and their relative priority. The developers break these stories into development â€Å"Tasks†. Small Releases: The minimal useful set of functionality that provides business value is developed first. Releases of the system are frequent and incrementally add functionality to the first release. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org Simple Design: Enough design is carried out to meet the  current requirements and no more. Test first development: An automated unit test  framework is used to write tests for a new piece of  functionality before functionality itself is implemented.  Refactoring: All developers are expected to re-factor the  code continuously as soon as possible code improvements  are found. This keeps the code simple and maintainable.  Pair Programming: Developers work in pairs, checking  each other’s work and providing support to do a good job.  Collective Ownership: The pairs of developers work on  all areas of the system, so that no islands of expertise  develop and all the developers own all the code. Anyone  can change anything. Continuous Integration: As soon as work on a task is  complete, it is integrated into the whole system. After any  such integration, all the unit tests in the system must pass. Sustainable pace: Large amounts of over-time are not  considered acceptable as the net effect is often to reduce  code quality and medium term productivity.  On-site Customer: A representative of the end-user of the  system (the Customer) should be available full time for the  use of the XP team. In an extreme programming process,  the customer is a member of the development team and is  responsible for bringing system requirements to the team  for implementation. ï‚ · 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. XP and agile principles Incremental development is supported through small,  frequent system releases. Customer involvement means full-time customer  engagement with the team. People not process through pair programming,  collective ownership and a process that avoids long working hours. Change supported through regular system releases.  Maintaining simplicity through constant refactoring of  code [1]. ï‚ · 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Advantages Lightweight methods suit small-medium size projects. Produces good team cohesion. Emphasises final product. Iterative. Test based approach to requirements and quality assurance. ï‚ · 1. Disadvantages Difficult to scale up to large projects where documentation is essential. Needs experience and skill if not to degenerate into code-and-fix. Programming pairs is costly. 2. 3. 4. 100 Test case construction is a difficult and specialized skill [6]. 4. Conclusion and Future Work After completing this research , it is concluded that : 1. There are many existing models for developing systems for different sizes of projects and requirements. 2. These models were established between 1970 and 1999. 3. Waterfall model and spiral model are used commonly in developing systems. 4. Each model has advantages and disadvantages for the development of systems , so each model tries to eliminate the disadvantages of the previous model Finally, some topics can be suggested for future works: 1. 2. 3. Suggesting a model to simulate advantages that are found in different models to software process management. Making a comparison between the suggested model and the previous software processes management models. Applying the suggested model to many projects to ensure of its suitability and documentation to explain its mechanical work. REFERENCES [1] Ian Sommerville, â€Å"Software Engineering†, Addison Wesley, 7th edition, 2004. [2] CTG. MFA – 003, â€Å"A Survey of System Development Process Models†, Models for Action Project: Developing Practical Approaches to Electronic Records Management and Preservation, Center for Technology in Government University at Albany / Suny,1998 . [3] Steve Easterbrook, â€Å"Software Lifecycles†, University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, 2001. [4] National Instruments Corporation, â€Å"Lifecycle Models†, 2006 , http://zone.ni.com. [5] JJ Kuhl, â€Å"Project Lifecycle Models: How They Differ and When to Use Them†,2002 www.businessesolutions.com. [6] Karlm, â€Å"Software Lifecycle Models’, KTH,2006 . [7] Rlewallen, â€Å"Software Development Life Cycle Models†, 2005 ,http://codebeter.com. [8] Barry Boehm, â€Å"Spiral Development: Experience, Principles, and Refinements†, edited by Wilfred J. Hansen, 2000 . Nabil Mohammed Ali Munassar was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1978. He studied Computer Science at University of Science and Technology, Yemen from 1997 to 2001. In 2001 he IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 5, September 2010 ISSN (Online): 1694-0814 www.IJCSI.org received the Bachelor degree. He studied Master of Information Technology at Arab Academic, Yemen, from 2004 to 2007. Now rd he Ph.D. Student 3 year of CSE at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad, A. P., India. He is working as Associate Professor in Computer Science & Engineering College in University Of Science and Technology, Yemen. His area of interest include Software Engineering, System Analysis and Design, Databases and Object Oriented Technologies. Dr.A.Govardhan: received Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 2003, M.Tech. from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1994 and B.E. from Osmania University in 1992. He is Working as a Principal of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Jagitial. He has published around 108 papers in various national and international Journals/conferences. His research of interest includes Databases, Data Warehousing & Mining, Information Retrieval, Computer Networks, Image Processing, Software Engineering, Search Engines and Object Oriented Technologies. 101

Invincible

It's taken over 30 years to make its way to the big screen but the Cinderella story of ex-teacher/bartender Vince Papale's triumph in the world of professional football came to life on the big screen in Invincible in 2006. Papale captured the attention of Philadelphia Eagles fans when he made it onto the team after Coach Dick Vermeil held open tryouts. The film version stars Mark Wahlberg as the lifelong football fan who just wanted his hometeam to play with heart – and maybe win a few game. Invincible follows the rules of the football film genre very closely but also added a couple of innovations to popular sport genre. The movie followed popular cliches of football films with the â€Å"new coach† who has radical new ideas and during the final game of the movie the starring team is down at halftime. One major cliche that Invincible innovates is the cliche that the star actor is the leader on the team; instead, he is the low man on the team and actually doesn’t make any great contributions to the team. In Invincible, the new and young coach Dick Vermeil is new to town and has a whole lot to prove. As much like most football films with a new coach, he has huge radical ideas for the teams operation. This is represented in the theme that he opens tryouts to anyone in the community to wants to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, mostly as a publicity stunt to bring fan support back up. This theme is also seen in â€Å"Remember the Titans† and â€Å"We are Marshall. This cliche often leads to a sub-cliche that the new coach has several obstacles to overcome and receives some sort of negative criticism in the early scenes of the film. This again is also shown in Invincible when the coach heavily gossiped about in the local pub where Papale works at. A second major cliche that is seen in numerous football films is the dramatic â€Å"final game† where the starring team is losing at halftime only to win in a last minute victory. In Invincible’s case, the final game is against the Dallas Cowboys in a conference championship game. The team is of course down and out about to lose it all when all of the sudden Papale forces a fumble on a punt return that gives the Eagles a bit of hope. The Eagles go to score on the returning drive with a crucial kickoff to the cowboys. Paple who only plays special teams sprints down the field to recover the kickoff and run the ball into the endzone for a touchdown puts the Eagles in the lead for a victory. The fact that Paple score a touchdown symbolizes the message that of the film which is that anyone can do anything they desire as long as the put forth the effort and determination. Often in football films the star player is hero of the team or the most talented. In Invincible the star play, Paple, is actually one of the less talented players on the team. Paple isn’t even one of the leaders on the team, for most of the film the rest of the team doesn’t like Paple because they think he doesn’t belong on the team nun the less the NFL. During practice the other players’ intensely try to hurt him so that he may quit or be unable to play. Paple turns out to be a hero for his community rather than a hero for the team. His motivation to keep going is his teammate’s disapproval and his friend’s support, which I sends a message that one must always pull forward even if his peers or colleges are against them. Invincible is a great football film that relies on the classic under-dog story that for some reason never gets old. The movie sends us messages that perseverance and determination lead to great things, which is very satisfying and compelling to witness. While this film follows most of the popular football film cliches, it still has its own key elements that make it unique. Football films such as Invincible and other renditions will always be cranked out of Hollywood on a regular basis for decades to come, but there’s just something about watching the beloved characters run down the field in slow-motion and jump high in the air for a dramatic last minute win, that never gets tiring to watch.

Industry Report – Hotel & Tourism

However, the easing of the Australian dollar has been a welcome development. The latest Mastered-OTF sentiment survey indicates that international industry sentiment remains relatively stable. Notably, however, 50% of those surveyed saw the Australian dollar as having a high impact on their business, highlighting the potential upside of the local currency easing. Growth In International visitor arrivals continues to Impress International visitor arrivals grew 4. 9% over the year to March while International visitor nights grew 7. 2%, significantly outpacing average growth of the last decade. While this growth has been largely led by the emerging Asian economies, particularly China which accounted for more than a third of total growth in visitor arrivals, there has also been a sustained pick up in visitor arrivals from the US. ; Increasing length of stay by Japanese visitors was also a key contributor to visitor night growth. The outlook for international visitors remains robust ; Des pite a marginally weaker economic outlook, Dolomite Access Economics continues to project solid growth in international visitor arrivals and nights over the next three years, with arrivals forecast to grow by 4. 5% p. A. ND nights by 4. 9% p. A. ; While the outlook for growth in Chinese visitors has moderated slightly, China is expected to remain the single largest contributor to growth, with visitor nights forecast to grow by 6. 7% p. A. Over the next three years. Overall, Asia is projected to account for two thirds of forecast growth In International violators nights. ; In an encouraging sign for the nation's larger regional tourism destinations, recent trends have revealed Chinese travelers Tropical North Queensland are now frequented more commonly by Chinese leisure visitors than by international leisure travelers generally.The domestic visitor market entities to expand After a decade of weak or negative growth, the domestic tourism market rebounded strongly in the first half of 2012. While this rapid rate of growth has not been maintained, the domestic market has continued to expand, with visitor nights increasing 2. 2% over the year to March 2013. Strengthening leisure market forecast to be the key driver of domestic growth Corporate travel has been the predominant driver of domestic tourism growth over the last decade.However a softer domestic economic outlook and signs of a continued pick-up in holiday travel indicate the leisure segment playing a more reorient role in driving domestic tourism over the next few years – particularly if the Australian dollar continues to recede. ; Holiday visitor nights grew 1 1. 6% in the March quarter and by 3. 7% over the year to March. This represents the fastest rate of growth since before the SGF and considerably narrowed the gap with outbound leisure travel, which grew by 4. % over the same period. ; Overall, Dolomite Access Economics forecasts domestic visitor nights to grow at an average rate of 1. 6% p. A. Over the next three years. Hotel occupancy rates in Brisbane and Perth ease while mailer markets record strong growth ; In a clear sign that travel associated with the mining sector is slowing, the last two quarters saw a softening in occupancy rates in Brisbane and Perth with average occupancies for the year to May 2013 around 2% lower than the previous year. However, growth in domestic holiday travel has been good news for destinations such as the Gold Coast where occupancy rates continue to improve, while Tropical North Queensland has benefited from strong growth in international visitor nights. A softer domestic economic outlook is moderating growth recasts for several major hotel markets ; Growth in occupancies and room rates in markets associated with mining-related corporate travel, such as Brisbane and Perth, is forecast to be more subdued, as the resource-related construction boom reaches its peak.At the same time, the weakening of the Australian dollar is forecast to pr ovide further support for room rates and occupancies in leisure-oriented markets. ; Nevertheless, and despite a strengthening investment pipeline, demand is forecast to outstrip supply and, accordingly, occupancy rates are forecast to grow 2% and room rates by 3. % p. A. Nationally over the three years to December 2015. Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook – Half yearly update 2013 2 The macroeconomic context with the US dollar since early 2011, the Australian dollar lost significant ground in May.By the end of May, the Australian dollar had fallen to IIS$O. 96, while the Trade Weighted Index (TWIT), which measures the strength of Australia's currency against its trading partners, fell from 78. 2 on the 1st of May to 74. 0 by the end of the month. At the time of writing the Australian dollar had fallen to IIS$O. 92 and the TWIT had fallen to 71. 2. The decline in the Australian dollar against its major trading partners was partly precipitated by the Reserve Banks decision in May to reduce the official cash rate to 2. 5%, while an announcement by the Federal Reserve of a possible tapering' of its quantitative easing strategy has caused a more recent drop against the US dollar. The decline in the Australian dollar is good news for local tourism operators. Previous Dolomite Access Economics research for Tourism Australia found that the value of the Australian dollar has a relatively modest impact on the decision to visit Australia. However, it has a more pronounced impact on the level of spending undertaken by visitors once they arrive, which is likely to be of greater importance for many tourism operators.The moderation of the Australian dollar is also likely to further slow growth in outbound travel by Australians as the overcompensation's of local destinations improves. Despite the pace of the recent moderation, the longer term outlook for the local currency remains relatively unchanged with the Australian dollar projected to remain at IIS$O. 80 from 2018-1 9. The global outlook The moderation of the Australian currency relative to the US dollar as been driven in part by an improved outlook for the US economy.The most recent figures from the US show that real GAP grew by 0. 6% in the March quarter up from the 0. 1% recorded in the December quarter. Over the year to March, US real GAP grew by 1. 8%. Moreover, the US housing market continues to strengthen, with the S&P Case Sheller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rising by 10. 9% over the year to March 2013 and housing approvals rising almost 21% since May 2012. Encouraging figures have also appeared from the US labor market, with the unemployment rate falling to 7. % in April (though it edged up to 7. % in May). However, looking beyond the headline data reveals a labor market which remains soft. This is especially evident in the employment to population ratio (capturing both unemployment and workforce participation), which remains essentially unchanged from the depths reached in late 2009. This data suggests that the falling unemployment rate has mainly been due to individuals dropping out of the labor force rather than strong employment growth.These emerging signs of recovery – along with recent improvements in consumer confidence – suggest that, although fiscal consolidation ill limit the speed of the nation's economic recovery, the US is better placed than previously to handle the impact of $85 billion in budget cuts associated with the ‘sequester' and a 2% increase in payroll tax. By comparison, the outlook for Chinese growth is slightly weaker than forecast six months ago with growth falling from 7. 9% over the year to December 2012 to 7. 7% over the year to March 2013.Growth continues to be supported by infrastructure spending and housing construction with recent growth in real estate prices prompting renewed concerns about the potential or a housing price bubble in China. Growth in both consumer spending and the longer term, China wil l need to rebalanced its growth towards higher wages and increased consumer spending, which is likely to imply a slower but more balanced growth trajectory. The COED Economic Outlook forecasts Chinese growth to remain at 7. 8% in 2013, before rising to 8. 4% in 2014 on the back of an acceleration of global trade.In Europe, fiscal austerity has continued to hamper growth with unemployment in the region climbing further. While austerity measures have increased the level of lattice instability in some member states, the European Central Banks actions in purchasing government bonds has reduced the risk of a severe collapse over the last eighteen months. The COED expects growth in the Euro area of in 2013 before recovering to 1 . 1% in 2014. By comparison, the outlook is slightly stronger for Japan as monetary easing has led to a depreciation of the yen since November 2012, although the COED is forecasting growth of only 1. % in 2013. On the whole, the global outlook remains broadly simi lar to six months ago, with more promising signs f recovery in the US being counterbalanced by a slightly softer outlook for China's economy and continued weakness in the Rezone. The domestic outlook In Australia, concerns have been growing about the capacity of the non-mining sectors to sustain growth once the resource-related construction boom peaks. The economy grew by 0. 6% in the March quarter to be up by 2. 5% over the year, but growth was largely driven by an improvement in net exports.A decline in new engineering construction in the quarter has prompted increasing concerns that the mining construction boom has begun to peak. While Dolomite Access Economics expects resource-related construction to plateau for some time before receding, alternative sources of growth must be forthcoming if an economic slowdown is to be avoided. While there is evidence that housing construction and the retail sector are beginning to grow, the recovery in both sectors has been relatively mild to date. Residential construction activity grew by only 2. % over the year to March, while retail expenditure grew by 3. 1% over the year to April. The decision by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates to a record low of 2. 75% in May should act to Arthur stimulate the housing and retail sectors. At the same time, while the decision by the Federal government to delay a return to budget surplus to 2015-16 has been welcomed, indicators suggest business confidence has weakened in recent months due to concerns about the impending peak in construction activity in the resources sector.

Mothies Comparison Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mothies Comparison - Movie Review Example Pride and Prejudice penned by Jane Austen, based on the contemporary writing has achieved a huge success and is still under awe by various writers. Bridget Jones's Diary is an aptly justified adaptation of it. The most endearing and realistic characters and events have been screened in the movies with similar names. Both the movies have brought forth the similarities along with huge disparities, reinforcing the similarities all the more. It is evidently clear that Helen Fielding is great admirer of Austen's work and the replicated work is also intentional. These had an outstanding response as it seems very close to the common man depicting middle class life-like friendships, gossips, searching "Mr. Right" and false pride. Apart from the two movies there have been seen the up coming of several other movies with similar subjects "Sense and Sensibility", "Mansfield Park" , "The Edge of Reason" are a few among them.Talking of the similarities between the two movies based on the novels Pr ide and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary would take lots of pages with numerous similar characters and construction of discourses as well. Starting with the theme, husband hunting was the foremost theme of the movies which led to various events. "Both are smart, sassy, and thoroughly enjoyable, and features one of the most endearing and believable characters." The heroes of the two bear significant resemblance to each other, being proud of their class. Both think the heroines to be less than beautiful to tempt them and find themselves falling in love with the least suitable women around with the course of events. Bridget also overhears Mark Darcy calling her "verbally incontinent spinster" while Darcy comments that Elizabeth isn't "handsome enough". Bridget on close look resembles to Austin's Elizabeth Bennet too. Both make false impressions about the protagonists in the beginning. The names 'Pemberley' and Darcy are also repeated in both the novels. Bridget works with the press named Pemberley Press while Mr. Darcy owns Pemberley estate and Darcy is the name of the hero in both the novels. The introductory note of Pride and Prejudice - "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." - is similar to the dialogue of Bridget as she halts at a mall to see her mother and says, , "It is a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as one part of your life starts looking up, another part falls to pieces." But in Pride and Prejudice it is not the blonde who is favored, but the beautiful brunette, Elizabeth Bennet, who is lovely and certainly a woman worth fighting over. ................ woman worth fighting over." Ranson - Polizzotti, Sadi. Blog Critics. 17 August. 2005. Mr. Darcy changes in Pride and Prejudice while Mark Darcy doesn't. He has a conversation with Elizabeth to solve the misunderstanding while Mark Darcy tells Bridget that he loves her the way she is which promises happy ending for both. The movies also have a striking equity with the roles of Mr. Darcy and Mark Darcy played by the actor, Colin Firth. The production team of the movies were influenced by the actor who himself belongs to the elite class and has projected the role without any scar in it. And the main reasons for repetition of the same discourse in several movies are the timelessness of the theme, real-life characters and importance of good life partner which can never be changed. Towards the end, watching both the movies, I would like to say that one should overcome the false notions of superiority interfering true love. The films are true classics and ageless fables close to every commoner. Changes are made and will be made with time but the essence is too strong to rule the hearts

THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER - Essay Example It is thought that the universe’s basic component was matter and anti-matter and their collision precipitated the creation of the universe. The particles that will be created after the collision in the LHC will be studied by scientists and this will provide them special insight and understanding about how the universe and the particles that comprises it, begun. Recent development in the LHC reported that the antimatter, whom the scientists believe as the matter’s negative counterpart existed but were mostly destroyed leaving our universe to be only composed of matter. Some particles that were produced inside the Large Hadron Collider also appeared to be behaving differently from their antimatter counterparts, providing a partial explanation to the mystery of antimatter. The study inside the LHC is not yet complete but for sure, it will generate interesting results that could alter our perception about the universe because it will answer the very basic question like how was the universe

Sct2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Sct2 - Essay Example It will be done through conducting case studies involving qualitative structured interviews, content analysis of documents, and research from secondary sources. Knowledge-intensive organisations are heavily involved with and dependent on knowledge. Starbuck (1992) defined them as having a greater importance for knowledge than other inputs and outputs. In the knowledge-based world we now live in, knowledge is a very important resource (Rooney et al, 2005). Moreover, knowledge-intensive organisations are playing a central role; and are responsible for the radical transformations taking place (Schienstock, 2004) in our knowledge society. This knowledge function of management has therefore completely changed the former bureaucratic concept characterised by managing a standardised organisational structure, planning methods, work processes, and so on (Mintzberg, 1983). Knowledge management policies refer to those methods employed that â€Å"support the creation, transfer, storage, retrieval and application of knowledge, and they can include technical as well as human components† (Jemielniak & Kociatkiewicz, 2009:174). This may be in a comprehensive manner or as special localised tools. For the former, implementation support systems may be established that aim to make knowledge management easier. Such systems would deal with not only establishing appropriate structures, and technical systems in place, but also providing effective leadership and organisational culture. Generally, innovation is facilitated by highly flexible structures â€Å"because they push people to interact and encourage creativity† (Jemielniak & Kociatkiewicz, 2009:174), and technical systems are based on information and communication technologies. Establishing the right culture would be necessary because it can then allow continuous advantages to be gained. The figure below shows a visualisation of the components of a knowledge management system

Economic race and gander Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic race and gander - Essay Example Other concern is whether they can fully rely on or trust their partners. Divorce rates were going up. Religious beliefs and broad social attitude were also among the reasons. The main reason for divorce is financial instability and insecurity of future etc., Unanticipated events, sudden job loss and liberalized state divorce loss were also reasons for increased rate of divorces. The divorce rates stood at 2.2 divorces per thousand population in 1960 and increased to 3.5 to 5.2 divorces per thousand population in 1980. Births to unmarried mothers is also on the raise because of economic independence and social security available to mothers. Co-habitation or living together has been accepted by the society. Individuals who never married co-habit prior to first marriage or after they have been divorced. Co-habitation often ends in marriage or breakup. Co-habitation between gay and lesbian couples are also on the increase. Whether to have children or how many to have is decided on the ec onomic opportunities. The changing economic opportunities affect the fertility decisions. As the women's wage raises the opportunity cost of the time they spend with children also increases. However, the preoccupation with their employment and social activities force them to postpone the pregnancies. The fertility rate at the year 1955 was much higher compared to the year 1955 was much higher compared to the year 1974. However, because of economic independence and better opportunities in employment there were marked increases in fertility rate of unmarried mothers starting in 1970s from 11 percent of all births to 28 percent in 1990. At 2005, 37 percent all births in US were to unmarried women. Dual earner families increase from 45 to 58 percent of all married couple families. Dual earner family or female headed family became more common rapidly replacing the traditional married couple family or the breadwinner husband and home-maker wife. Dual earner earns more income on average th an the single earner family. However, the maternal employment during first year of the child may negatively affect children's cognitive developments. The specific finding about single parent family report that the children raised by single parent have a higher high-school drop out and higher rate of teen births than those raised by double parent family. Chapter 11 titled as "Polices affecting paid work and the family" focus on polices to alleviate poverty, government tax policies etc., This chapter examines major changes that occurred during last few years in the US welfare system. The expansion of EITC has played an important role in reducing poverty. In contracts to many tax credits which can benefit only households with income high enough to pay taxes in EITC the refundable feature of tax credit means that government provides a refund if the amount of the credit exceeds tax owed. The EITC transfers income to low income household. The employment outlook for welfare recipients tend s to be especially bleak because as a rule they have little education and fewer job skills. Following the effects in developing countries such as Grameen Bank in Bangladesh micro enterprises assistance programs have been developed in US funded by government and private foundations. Child support award for never married mothers continue to raise children under age 15 may receive federally funded health care