Experience in discipleship programs Personal Statement

Experience in discipleship programs - Personal Statement Example Then, the opening prayer was led by the pastor who also took the pulpit from the song leader as the program progresses. The topic discuss is wife's role in marriage. As an opener, the pastor refreshed his audience about the biblical duties of the wife as written in the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. This activity allowed both couples to participate yet more focus has been given to the wives because the lesson was specifically for them. This discipleship program lasted for an hour and ended with the couple's praying together in the church's altar benches. The next discipleship program which I attended is a one on one discussion between a pastor and a church member who wanted to become a "worker" in the ministry. In this denomination, a member cannot simply participate in duties like singing in the choir or being a musician without being having undergone the rigorous application process. The qualification of a worker goes beyond having the talent and willingness to conduct the duty but more on having the spiritual requirements set by the church. A worker should receive his salvation first before he can commit himself to any church duty. After communicating his desire to become a worker, he will then undergo an indoctrination process where the major doctrines, conduct of a worker, and the proper lifestyle of a worker is fully and thoroughly discussed. Thus, what I attended in is a part of the one-on-one indoctrination process which is a must for every worker. The meeting started with a candid conversation by the pastor and the applican t. I was also introduced to the applicant and was invited to share my thoughts in the discussion. Afterwards, the pastor led the opening prayer. He then reviewed what was discussed in the previous session and then moved on to the other topics. For each specific doctrine discussed, the pastor read supporting Bible verses for the applicant to note. Afterwards, he asks the applicant what he thinks about the doctrine and inquires if he has any questions or objections. At one point, the applicant has difficulty in accepting a Bible doctrine and I have seen how the pastor laboriously explained everything through the aid of Bible verses. The discussion ended with a prayer this time led by applicant. The applicant and I was treated a cup of coffee and slice of cake courtesy of the pastor's wife after the activity. Both activities have really inspired me in leading a discipleship program of my own in the future. In the first experience, the pastor have explained to me their Couple's Night is considered as a discipleship program because it basically teaches how a disciple should conduct himself in order to truly follow the Master. He told me that instead of being just a mere program, their church consider discipleship as a lifestyle which should be a venue where the proper Christian virtues should be taught by the pastor. I am really impressed at this pastor's earnest dedication in following the Lord Jesus Christ's commandment of making everyone disciples. I realized that really, a discipleship program is not just a matter of following some written program but in teaching the members how to live a Christian life through

Market Shares of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle Case Study - 17

Market Shares of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle - Case Study Example One, it is able to paint a picture of where the industry is, and where the company is versus competitors. In competitor analyses, market shares allow a firm to size up what the strategies of competitors are, and what the company needs to do in order to compete well with major players. Volume market shares also allow a company to be able to glean where the industry is headed if the company is making progress in increasing shares and profits, and similar other insights. Management can also keep track of how strategies affect the market performance of products and brands through tracking changes in market share by volume among other things (Czepiel and Karin, n.d.; NetMBA, 2010; Chen, 1996).   In marketing, similarly, volume market shares information allow for situating brands and products within such context, to better track how well marketing programs work in terms of improving the prospects and performance of such brands. Where market shares deteriorate, for instance, that is a sign that marketing strategies are not working, and/or that competitors are crafting and executing well on better marketing and business strategies (Czepiel and Karin, n.d.; NetMBA, 2010; Chen, 1996).   If total revenues were$15.6 billion in 2006, then one market share point out of 100 equals $156 million in 2006. Given that total industry revenues will go up by 48.5 percent by 2011, total revenues by that time will be $23.166 billion. This translates to 2011 per market share point dollar equivalent of $231.66 million   This information is relevant in marketing, because for one, data on per market share point revenues over time, with the projections for 2011 included, allow for marketers to get a snapshot of how much the market will grow over time, and how fast the growth is.

Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction Essay Example for Free

Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction Essay

Simplified Soft Decision Decoding of LDPC codes

Simplified Soft Decision Decoding of LDPC codes MARUTHI L N K S GURUMURTHY Abstract LDPC codes gained importance since its re-discovery by Mackay and Neil based on Tanner Graph. This paper presents the implementation of forward error correction soft-input, soft-output decoding process that efficiently decodes the received set of data under low signal-to-noise ratios due to which the errors are reduced and hence transmission time is greatly reduced. The implemented algorithm is less complex and does not require knowledge of signal-to-noise-ratio of the received data-path. INTRODUCTION Error correction coding techniques came into existence after existence of channel capacity theorem by Shannon, the father of information theory in 1948 on reliable communication over noisy transmission channels. Thereafter, many coding techniques were developed for efficient coding techniques, like Hamming, Golay and many other techniques were developed. Though Gallagher in 1962 developed LDPC codes, the method employed was not optimal. Hence it was not reviewed for last 3 decades, until 1992, when a paper â€Å"Near Shannon limit error correcting coding and decoding: turbo codes† presented by Berrou, Glavieux and Thitimajshima changed the trend followed by researchers for the past 5 decades. And now, we are aiming to develop such codes through another strategy. The coding gain provided by this method is much higher when compared to other coding systems. The LDPC codes are becoming more popular because of their reduced power for transmission and less complex logic to achieve l ow BER’s which is very essential for reliable transmission over noisy channels. LDPC CODES Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes are a powerful class of forward error correction codes developed by Gallagher in 1962, practically implemented by MacKay in 1995. Low Density refers to less number of 1’s in the Parity Check Matrix (H) of Block Codes. Block codes are a type of Error Correction Codes which uses a Generator Matrix(G) to produces a Code-word of length n for message(D) of length k, where n-k is the redundancy bits added to make a Code-word of length n, higher the redundancy higher the error correction capability and higher the Bandwidth. Hence, there is a trade-off between error correction capability and bandwidth. C=D.G The size of the Matrix G is (n, n-k) and the size of the Matrix H is (n-k, n). Usually redundancy is defined by the term â€Å"code rate† which is given by R=k/n This varies from  ½ to 1/6. The Encoder produces a Code-word which satisfy the condition C.HT=0 If R is the received data from the Transmitter then the acknowledgement of the correct data received is given by the Syndrome(S). S=R.HT The value of S obtained by the above calculation determines whether the received data is free from error or not, i.e. if S=0 then the received data is free from error, otherwise the received data has an error. Since this property is very useful to reduce the calculation time if we receive the data correctly as soon as we receive data. The probability that the received data needs to be retransmitted which in the range of 10-6 to 10-8. Encoding the data as required is an easy process, but decoding the data effectively and efficiently is a very hard process. The proposed algorithm uses the basic concept of block codes, i.e. R=C+E Where R=noise corrupted vector C=Code vector transmitted over noisy channel E=Error vector. The receiver does not know C and E; its function is to decode C from R, and the message D from C. PROPOSED ALGORITHM The base for LDPC decoding algorithm proposed is as described by MacKay and Neil in 1997. Following are the steps that briefly describe the algorithm STEP 1: INITIALIZATION Let rj be the received vector, i.e. the data received from the Gaussian channel We calculate the components of the vectors d02( j), and d12( j) as: d02( j)= (rj+1)2 d12( j)= (rj-1)2 j = 1, 2, . . . , n (1) These first soft estimates of the code symbols are used to initialise the algorithm by setting the following coefficients q0ij and q1ij at each symbol node q0ij= d02( j) q1ij= d12( j) j = 1, 2, . . . , n, i = 1, 2. . . , . n-k, (2) To eliminate the effect of zero in the calculation the expressions for the calculations can be reduced as shown below ln(em+en) = max(m,n) + ln(1+ e-|m-n|) log2(2m+2n) = max(m,n) + ln(1+ 2-|m-n|)(3) The tables required for calculations are computed using the above formula. The complexity is greatly reduced and the reliability of the transmission of signal is increased. STEP 2: HORIZONTAL STEP aij= f+(q0ij , q1 ij ) bij= −f−(q0ij , q1ij) if (−q 0ij ) ≠¥ (−q1ij ) sij= 0 else sij= 1 cij= ikik if ik is even r0n,ij= −f+(0, cij ) r1n,ij= f−(0, cij ) if ik is odd r0n,ij= f−(0, cij ) r1n,ij= −f+(0, cij ) STEP 3: VERTICAL STEP q0ij= d02 (j) + 0n,ij q1ij= d12 (j) + 1n,ij STEP 4: DECISION rm0ij=r0n,ij+ q0ij rm1ij=r1n,ij+ q1ij if rm02(j)12(j) then c(j) = 1 else c(j) = 0 The LUT entries used in the proposed algorithm for equation (3) and the exact value obtained will vary as shown in the figure. Comparison of BER performance of (8 * 12) LDPC SSD decoder (10 iterations) Comparison of BER performance of (8 * 12) LDPC SSD decoder (50 iterations) As explained above, for higher precision the number of iterations is increased to obtain the same performance of the exact equation. The obtained results approach towards the complex algorithm developed by Gallagher with simple iterative approach and provides a high coding gain compared to uncoded signal. And it provides higher performance at larger iterations. This algorithm provides even higher performance for large length codes. CONCLUSION In this paper we have described Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes and decoding of these codes using low complexity algorithms. LDPC codes are used now-a-days in communication systems that take advantage of parallelism, good error correction and high through put. This led to the new algorithm which could decode the errors and yet give similar BER performance as the complex algorithms without the knowledge of the channel noise parameters like variance. This new algorithm is based on repeated use of an antilog-sum operation, and has been simulated on the Tanner graph representation of several LDPC codes and this algorithm can be regarded as a generalized form of belief propagation, where the belief propagated is Euclidean distance estimate rather than a probability estimate. The advantages of the new algorithm are that the performance is as good as the complex algorithm provided the value of base of the logarithm is used properly; that knowledge of noise is not required and that in the simplified form the algorithm needs only additions/subtractions, comparisons and two look-up tables avoiding the use of quotients and products operations that are of high complexity in practical implementations especially using FPGA technology. REFERENCES 1] R.G. Gallager, â€Å"Low Density Parity Check Codes†, IRE Trans. Information Theory, IT-8, 21-28 (1962). 2] D.J.C. Mackay and R.M. Neal, â€Å"Near Shannon limit performance of low density parity check codes,† Electronics Letters, vol. 33, pp 457-458 (1997). 3] L. Arnone, C. Gayaso, C. Gonzalez and J. Castineira, â€Å"Sum-Subtract Fixed Point LDPC Decoder,† Latin American Applied Research, vol. 37, pp 17-20 (2007). 4] Castineira Moreira, Farrell P.G.: â€Å"Essentials of error control coding†, Wiley (2006). 5] Castineira Moreira J., Farrell, P.G.: â€Å"Soft-decision SISO decoding of error-control codes†, Proc. 13th Int. Conf. on telecommunications (SENACITEL ’08), Valdivia, Chile, 12-15 November 2008. 6] L. Arnone, Castineira Moreira, Farrell P.G.: â€Å"FPGA implementation of a Euclidean distance metric SISO decoder,† Int. Symposium on communication theory and applications (ISCTA’09), Ambleside, UK, July 2009. 7] P.G. Farrell, L.Arnone, J. Castineira Moreira: â€Å"Euclidean distance soft-input soft-output decoding algorithm for low density parity check codes,† IET comm. Vol.5, Iss. 16, pp. 2364-2370, (2011). 8] J. Castineira Moreira, M. Rabini, C. Gonzalez, C. Gayaso, L. Arnone: â€Å"FPGA implementation of two very low complexity LDPC decoders,† IEEE papers, (2011). 9] Simon Haykin: â€Å"Digital communications†, John Wiley sons (2006). 10] Bernard Sklar, Pabitra K. Ray: â€Å"Digital communications: fundamentals and applications†, 2nd edn. Pearson education (2009). 11] Shu Lin, Daniel J. Costello Jr.: â€Å"Error Control coding†, 2nd edn. Pearson education (2004). 12] Moon T. K.: â€Å"Error correction coding- mathematical methods and algorithms†, Wiley (2005).

The Emancipation Proclamation :: essays research papers

The Emancipation Proclamation The emancipation proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, declaring all "slaves within any State, or designated part of a State... then... in rebellion,... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." The states affected were enumerated in the proclamation; specifically exempted were slaves in parts of the South then held by Union armies. Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation marked a radical change in his policy. After out break of the Civil War, the slavery issue was made acute by the flight to Union lines of large numbers of slaves who volunteered to fight for there freedom and that of there fellow slaves. In these circumstances, a strict application of established policy would have required return of fugitive slaves to their masters. Abolitionists had long been urging Lincoln to free all slaves, and public opinion suported that view. Lincoln moved slowly and cautiously nonethe less; on March 13, 1862, the federal government fforbade all Union Army officers to return fugitive slaves, thus annulling in effect the fugitive slave laws. On April 10, on Lincoln's initiative, congress declared the federal government would compenste slave owners who freed their slaves. All slaves in the District of Columbia were freed in this way on April 16, 1862 . On June 19, 1862, Congress enacted a measure prohibiting slavery in United States territories, thus defying the supreme court decision in the Dred Scott case, which ruled that Congress was powerless to regulate slavery in the territories. Finaly, after the union victory in the battle of antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation on September 22, declaring his intention of promulgating another proclamathion in 100 days, freeing the slaves in the states deemed in rebellion at that time.

marketing research :: essays research papers

In an article written by Laura Schneider, titled â€Å"Customer Relationships Are Key to Your Marketing Strategy† July 2003, she states that she could show a business how to increase sales by 50% without increasing a marketing budget. Her research indicates businesses have inactive customers that the owners believe will stay with the company, without maintaining or trying to grow in the relationship. Business owners often wonder why haven't they heard from a customer or if they left, why did they leave? There are many reasons a customer or client may leave, but the ones heard most often are:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They felt prices were too high or unfair.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They had an unresolved complaint.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They took a competitors offer.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They left because they felt the business didn't care. The last two options make up the majority of why a client or customer will no longer use a service or a product. Laura believes this makes sense because customers often purchase a service or product because they have developed a relationship with the company, or they owned another product, or a friend or associate referred them to you. When given with the aforementioned information she ponders the reasons why businesses spend 80% of their marketing dollars going after new customers and clients rather than nurturing, retaining, and maintaining the customer relationships they already have? She suggests before spending time and money going after new customers and clients that a business does not have a relationship to consider the following statistics:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Referrals among repeat customers are 107% greater than non-customers.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a customer. Laura believes the marketing dollar will go further if it is used to build, nurture, and develop current customer relationships. Building these relationships means treating customers and clients as if they are strategic partners and showing them that they are appreciated. It's important to try to satisfy them with the right products and services, supported by the right promotion and making it available at the right time and location. Customers can easily detect indifference and insincerity and they simply will not tolerate it. Long-term client and customer loyalty is a long-term challenge that you must strive for every day and with every transaction no matter how big or small. While a growing business needs to constantly capture new customers, the focus and priority should be on pleasing the existing customer base.

Marketing mix plan Essay

1. 1. Price Considering the targeted market, pricing is not the core issue of concern in this particular marketing program. Consumers of Qatar are more likely to be quality sensitive rather than price sensitive. 1. 2. Product Product quality should be the main concern of development due to the market that Brookstone are aiming for. With the booming economic condition, consumers would have a high range of alternative products in the market and therefore, Brookstone must deliver a set of product offering that cannot be matched by competitors. Using its image in the previous markets, the company should have little problems winning the preferences of the new customers. 1. 3. Place Qatar and the western people have long history of economic relationship. Brookstone have various alternatives of supply chain strategy to develop a presence in Qatar. Having a local partner that provides insights fro Brookstone managers is the preferred strategy considering the cultural gap. 1. 4. Promotion Full media advertisements like television, newspapers and magazines are the preferred method of creating a presence in Qatar markets. Nevertheless, extensive preliminary researches must be performed and local promotional partners must be consulted to prevent bias in advertisement meanings that has often caused promotional disasters for many foreign investors in the past. 2. Financial Analysis In addition to the explanation of definition of marketing mix, Books Galore will have following objectives: ? Sales of $171,664,792 within 3 year of operation ? Maintain net profit margin of 9-10. 9% or equals to $17,811,719 in 3-year period ? Reaches 30-40% of sales from online stores Table 1 1-year Financial Plan Table 2 3-year Financial Plan 3. Conclusion and Recommendation E-business, which stands for electronic business, continues becoming attractive services t due to the simplicity and effectiveness of customer-buying processes. Concerning the e-business issue, this paper develops a business plan for Brookstone, a nationwide specialty retailer that sells a variety of consumer products with distinctive function, excellent quality and design. The business plan for Brookstone includes several elements that the company must take into account including mission and vision statement, internal and external environment analysis and financial plan to examine whether the set up of e-business provide reasonable benefits for Brookstone within a certain period. Table 3 Plan No. Activities Time Schedule 1 Improvement of e-business department at Brookstone May – July 2009 2 Developing new e-business (websites, systems etc) August – October 2009 3 Commissioning Test November 2009 4 Launching the new services December 2009 Bibliography Answer. (2007). Strategic Planning. Retrieved April 9, 2009 from http://www. answers. com/topic/strategic-planning Brookstone. (2009). About Us. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www. brookstone. com/service/company_info. asp? company_info_id=233&cmid=ftr_cmpinfo&cm_re=A_Ftr*Co*Brand Kotler Philip and Gary Amstrong. (2006). Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall Robbins, S. (1987). Organization Theory: Structure, Design, and Applications. Prentice-Hall Shugan, Steven M. (2004). The Impact of Advancing Technology on Marketing and Academic Research. Retrieved April 9, 2009 from http://bear. cba. ufl. edu/centers/MKS/marketing%20science/ed2304. pdf.