How Authentic Black English in White rappers lyrics Research Paper

When does the Mind start working Free Essays

Guardians for the most part say that regarding their kids that they won't begin understanding the hugeness of things until they arrive at a specific age. Does that imply that they have to aggregate enough understanding before they can begin attracting significant examples their psyches and structure associations between things as proposed by Hume ? Yet, simultaneously is this contentions dependent on to Descarte’s affirmation : â€Å"I think, so I exist†, which infers that the psyche thinks instinctively, about itself, and subsequently brings into reality the centrality of occasions around it and the association between them through explanation. Here falsehoods an issue of what goes before which, or a round redundancy. We will compose a custom exposition test on When does the Mind begin working? or on the other hand any comparable subject just for you Request Now On the off chance that human personalities don't begin working until getting or getting experienced, how are the early encounters enlisted and deciphered as the reason for future ? Some portion of the issue is anyway identified with the various manners by which the brain would itself be able to be characterized. Is the substance of the psyche simply unadulterated cognizant mindfulness, as recommended by Descartes. Or on the other hand is it a result of progressive development with the progression of time, as it encounters occasions and reflects upon them, to arrive at a degree of mindfulness. It is anyway very conceivable, that the psyche that Descartes portrays is not quite the same as the brain that Hume depicts when he says, ‘‘All deductions as a matter of fact, in this way, are impacts of custom, not of thinking. † The most effective method to refer to When does the Mind begin working?, Papers

The Use of Persuasive Appeals

The Use of Persuasive Appeals Standing in the check-out line, I glanced at the rows of gum to my right. Instantly, my tongue slid across my front teeth. Had I forgotten to brush? Automatically, it seemed, my right hand closed over a package of Dentyne, and an echo rumbled in my head: Nine out of ten doctors recommend…When it comes to persuasion, our advertisers truly deliver the goods. A solid ad hits its audience, grabs their attention, hooks and lands itâ€"in thirty-seconds flat. So, while we might find many advertising approaches to be annoying, we must admit that they do work. They draw, in fact, upon two thousand years of sound rhetorical theory. So, using them for support when creating our own persuasive messages can be extremely effective.In the fifth century B.C., Aristotle wrote his three-volume Poetics, providing advice to those preparing to argue cases in Greeces courts. His second volume still serves as a striking study of human nature in which the philosopher outlines three basic types of appeals w hich can be used to motivate and persuade audiences. Aristotle labeled these persuasive appeals ethos, logos, and pathos. Marketing experts still apply them to their work, and writers charged with the task of creating persuasive messages can benefit from their use as well.EthosToday, we think of ethical practices as being right, just and true; and we think of ethical people as being of good character. Thus, using ethos or ethical appeals means relying on character or personhood as a means of persuasion. Using ethical appeals involves providing testimony from people that we admire, respect or like. Effective ethical appeals involve endorsement by quoting:Celebrities - people we admire and emulate because of their talent or fameExperts or authorities â€" people we respect because of their knowledge or positionsOur friends and neighbors â€" the people we like because they are just like usLogosLogical appeals are rooted in reason and proof. Using logos involves providing an audience wit h reasons for adopting a proposed attitude, belief, value or practice. Those reasons are then supported with evidence drawn from facts and figures, studies and statistics.PathosEmotional appeals are rooted in feeling. Emotional appeals tap our capacities for laughter and tears. Thus, using pathos involves providing illustrations and examples of peoples experiences as recounted in real life or literature.When we understand Aristotles basic appeals, it is easy to spot examples of their use in our media and apply them to our own persuasive messages. A word of caution, though, is important here. When advertisers use these appeals, they tend to use them exclusively. In a single print item or thirty-second spot, an advertiser will probably use only one type of appeal. In longer messages, though, the exclusive use of any one type can actually boomerang or backfire. When a writer seems to endlessly quote others, an audience begins to wonder if he or she has anything of his or her own to pro vide. Audiences generally have to work to fully grasp the meaning of statistics or scientific data; thus, their overuse can have a numbing effect.And, finally, too much emotion can result in maudlin or melodramatic messages that end up putting audiences at bay. The classical Greek principle of moderation and balance in all things is a wise one to follow when it comes to persuasion.So, when it comes time to place supporting material in your persuasive messages, look for a healthy balance of testimony, evidence, and illustration. After all, nine out of ten doctors recommend a balanced diet.

What Is an Ester in Chemistry

An ester is an organic compound where the hydrogen in the compounds carboxyl group is replaced with a hydrocarbon group. Esters are derived from carboxylic acids and (usually) alcohol. While carboxylic acid has the -COOH group, the hydrogen is replaced by a hydrocarbon in an ester. The chemical formula of an ester takes the form  RCO2R†², where R is the hydrocarbon parts of the carboxylic acid, and  R†² is the alcohol. The term ester was coined by the German chemist Leopold Gmelin in 1848. It is likely the term was a contraction of the German word  essigà ¤ther, which means acetic ether. Examples of Esters Ethyl acetate (ethyl ethanoate) is an ester. The hydrogen on the carboxyl group of acetic acid is replaced with an ethyl group. Other examples of esters include ethyl propanoate, propyl methanoate, propyl ethanoate, and methyl butanoate. Glycerides are fatty acid esters of glycerol. Fats Versus Oils Fats and oils are examples of esters. The difference between them is the melting point of their esters. If the melting point is below room temperature, the ester is considered to be an oil (e.g., vegetable oil). On the other hand, if the ester is a solid at room temperature, it is considered to be a fat (e.g., butter or lard). Naming Esters The naming of esters can be confusing  new to organic chemistry  students because the name is opposite of the order in which the formula is written. In the case of ethyl ethanoate, for example, the ethyl group is listed before the name. Ethanoate comes from ethanoic acid. While the IUPAC names of esters come from the parent alcohol and acid, many common esters are called by their trivial names. For example, ethanoate is commonly called acetate, methanoate is formate, propanoate is called propionate, and butanoate is called butyrate. Properties Esters are somewhat soluble in water because they can act as hydrogen-bond acceptors to form hydrogen bonds. However, they cannot act as hydrogen-bond donors, so they dont self-associate. Esters are more volatile than comparable-sized carboxylic acids, more polar than ethers and less polar than alcohols. Esters tend to have a fruity fragrance. They may be distinguished from each other using gas chromatography because of their volatility. Importance Polyesters are an important class of plastics, consisting of monomers linked by esters. Low molecular weight esters act as fragrance molecules and pheromones. Glycerides are lipids that are found in vegetable oil and animal fat. Phosphoesters form the DNA backbone. Nitrate esters are commonly used as explosives. Esterification and Transesterification Esterification is the name given to any chemical reaction that forms an ester as a product. Sometimes the reaction may be recognized by the fruity or floral fragrance released by the reaction. An example of an ester synthesis reaction is Fischer esterification, in which a carboxylic acid is treated with alcohol in the presence of a dehydrating substance. The general form of the reaction is: RCO2H R†²OH â‡Å' RCO2R†² H2O The reaction is slow without catalysis. The yield may be improved by adding an excess of alcohol, using a drying agent (e.g., sulfuric acid), or removing water. Transesterification is a chemical reaction that changes one ester into another. Acids and bases catalyze the reaction. The general equation for the reaction is: RCO2R†² CH3OH → RCO2CH3   R†²OH

Managerial Accounting in Managing Complex Organizations Research Paper

Essays on Managerial Accounting in Managing Complex Organizations Research Paper ï » ¿Managerial Accounting in Complex Organizations Contemporary developments in the organization and technology of manufacturing and in the deregulation of service industries are generating demand for entirely new approaches to cost accounting and managerial control. The traditional direct labor focus of most cost accounting systems has become obsolete in light of the much smaller ratio of labor to total manufacturing costs and the increased importance of capital costs and knowledge workers. Current research is exploring the initiatives of innovative organizations across a wide variety of industries to deal with these changes. The role of management accounting systems, including the use of multiple non-financial measures to supplement traditional profit and loss statements, is studied in relation to the firm's production, marketing and strategic goals. Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision Making As businesses strive to improve their profitability, it becomes vital to develop cost and profitability data that will support the firm's desire to promote their most profitable products and identify their most profitable market segments. Further, information needs to be collected and classified to ensure the firm's continuing commitment to enhanced productivity and adherence to budgeted performance. Research is focusing on the implications for a firm's cost accounting system of these demands for improved productivity and profitability measurements. Financial Reporting and Industrial Structure Discussions of financial accounting disclosure policy by regulatory bodies such as the S.E.C. and the F.A.S.B. are typically phrased in terms of the effect of such disclosure on the efficiency reporting firms is rarely considered because such effects are thought to be negligible. However, the information produced by a reporting firm is received by its competitors as well as investors. Recent research has studied the effect of different levels of mandated financial accounting disclosure on the behavior of the reporting firms. Of particular interest is whether the level of such disclosure increases the level of competition among the reporting firms, increases tacit collusion among them, or has no effect. These issues have been addressed using experimental markets. Empirical Evidence on the Relation of Accounting Information to Capital Market and Managerial Behavior Much work has studied the effect of publicly available information on the behavior of the stock market. One of the important sources of such information is the accounting data generated by a stream of recent research assesses how accounting information is processed in the capital market securities. Related research examines the capital income, cash flows, and accruals. This research focuses on the market properties of the components of accounting numbers such as information content and relative importance of one information cue vis-a-vis the others in pricing corporate securities. Another avenue of research evaluates the influence of managerial incentives and market/regulatory forces on managerial accounting choice decisions, such as accruals. Cash Flow Accounting and Its Structure While investment decisions are based on cash flow forecasts their consequences are evaluated on the basis of current earnings, which include many non-cash adjustments like depreciation. Such non-cash items are often quite subjective and susceptible to corporate discretion. It seems both feasible and desirable to build an accounting system that excludes such non-cash items, and is capable of providing a profitability indicator that is useful for performance evaluation. In this research, new concepts and measurement techniques are developed in order to construct such a system. Delegating the Choice of the Financial Accounting Method It is usually observed that shareholders delegate the choice of the financial accounting method to managers, and that the latter's compensation is at least partially based on the output of the chosen financial accounting method. But this seems to create incentives for managers to choose the financial accounting method in order to maximize their compensation, rather than to most accurately report the results of operations. Recent research addresses the question of why shareholders find this arrangement in their best interest. This research indicates that production distortions are created when the choice of the financial accounting method is delegated to either the manager or the shareholders. The delegation decision should therefore be based on minimizing these production distortions. This research establishes sufficient conditions under which it is optimal to delegate the choice of the financial accounting method to managers. The Returns to Monitoring and The Effect of Monitoring on Production and Allocation Distortions Much of the recent work in managerial accounting has been based on the principal-agent model in which managerial accounting systems are viewed as monitoring systems which produce information on which the principal (owner) and the agent (manager) base their contract. Recent research addresses whether the gross returns to monitoring are always concave, as they are assumed for other inputs, or whether they can be convex. It is found that the gross returns to monitoring an agent's private information can often be convex. In other words, the better the monitoring system, the more valuable it is to improve it. In addition, this research studies how improvements in a monitoring system affect the size of the production distortion and the excess return or rent earned by the agent on his private information. Collusion in Auditing Historically, auditing arose to overcome informational asymmetries between owners of resources and the managers who traded or transacted on their behalf. Therefore, the value of auditing depends crucially on whether the manager and the auditor collude. Recent research has studied a three-person problem consisting of an owner, a manager, and an auditor in which the latter two can collude against the former. The optimal owner-manager and owner-auditor contracts are characterized and the extent of distortion caused by the potential for collusion is studied. The optimal owner-manager contracts are similar to those found in the leasing of income producing assets such as retail space and mineral and oil deposits. In these instances, it is difficult for the owner to independently verify the amount earned by the asset and the manager can consume any amount not reported to the owner. Empirical Implications of Agency Theory and Their Impact On Management Control Systems Agency theory research focuses on the optimal contractual relationships among members of the firm, where each member is assumed to be motivated solely by sef-interest. Accounting researchers are interested in agency theory because it provides a model from which uses of managerial accounting information and managerial accounting systems can be derived and studies. Executive compensation contracts are important elements of management control systems and therefore, the compensation data can be used to empirically test the theoretical predictions of agency theory regarding the sensitivity of accounting based and non-accounting based performance measure to the total compensation package. A Contract Theory of Accounting and Control If organizations are seen as sets of contracts among economic agents who contribute resources and receive inducements in exchange, accounting and control systems can be seen as means of implementing and enforcing these contract sets. Various forms of accounting for a variety of organization types can be examined in terms of how they serve the following functions; (1) measuring the contribution of each agent; (2) determining and disbursing the contractual entitlement of each agent; (3) informing various agents about the extent to which other agents have fulfilled their contractual obligations and received their entitlement; (4) providing information to potential agents in order to maintain a liquid market for contractual slots or factor of production; and (5) providing a pool of common knowledge of verified information to all participants to facilitate negotiation and contract formation. This research examines various aspects of accounting practices and institutions in terms of this u nified economic model. Market for Information When asset markets reveal the private information possessed by the traders to other participants through price and other market variables, the ability of information produces to recover their cost through trading is attenuated. This research examines the complex interactions between, and equilibria in, the asset markets that reveal private information on one hand and markets for information on the other.

E-Menu Service Free Essays

0 Project Planning Document By KP Contents Pages Introduction 3-4 Aims and Objectives 5-6 Project Scope, Milestones, Main Tasks and Deliverables 7-8 Source of Information and Resources Required 8 Project Risks 9-10 Evaluation of Professional, Social, Ethical and Legal Issues 11 Gantt Chart 12 Reference 13 1. Introduction During this project an E-Menu service for restaurants will be designed and created. The system will allow customers to order food and drink at the comfort of their own table, using a touch panel technology installed on every table in the restaurant. We will write a custom essay sample on E-Menu Service or any similar topic only for you Order Now Each table top device allows the user to read detailed descriptions of the dishes and beverages available, whilst also displaying an image of the selected item. Placing this system in a wider context – The E-menu service is diverse and can be incorporated to work with any restaurants’ menu. The need for this service: †¢ Improvement of the ordering experience and achieving a better service. †¢ Optimization of customer’s satisfaction and loyalty. †¢ Development of new revenue sources for the business. Current E-menu Market Research Conceptic is a Hi tech company established in 2005 that is active in the field of digital menus for restaurants, pubs and coffee shops (Israel Exporter 2012). The company is based in Israel and currently offers a comparable service to the one I wish to create. Facts and Figures (Conceptic Interactive Menus 2012). †¢ Table Side eMenu, 13% Increase in sales. †¢ Touch Screen Menu for waiting area 5min faster table turn around. †¢ Ipad Menu Wine List 24% Increase in Sales. †¢ Ipad Menu Food List 9% Increase in Sales. †¢ Members’ club sign ups 520% increase. The e-Menu service will benefit any establishment it is installed into. developing an electronic menu o The e-Menu service  offers many benefits to users, in particular with the presentation of your restaurant’s menu items and the overall enhanced atmosphere it lends to the dining experience: The  e-Menu  offers far more than the standard paper menu. It brings food to life with vivid photographs of delicious looking meals and comprehensive up-to-date descriptions of each dish. Customers are able to view exactly what they are ordering, eliminating any confusion when the food arrives. Dietary constraints such as nut or gluten allergies will also be displayed when browsing the menu. Diners are also able to see your restaurant’s specials on the screen – not tucked away on a faded chalkboard or on an insert in your usual menu. Food is only part of the dining experience. There’s also the crucial element of creating the best possible atmosphere in which to enjoy a meal. The  e-Menu  offers a multitude of ways diners can entertain themselves in the process or even during the meal. The customers can choose from many entertainment features offered on the eMenu: †¢ Listen to a their favourite band †¢ Enjoy video clips †¢ Play interactive games †¢ On-screen â€Å"chatting† with diners at other tables  Ã‚   A great deal of research has been done before implicating the project. A lot of different aspects go into a successful ordering system, it must be user friendly/easy to use, have no maintenance issues, robust, longevity within the restaurant and cost effective. 2. Aims and Objectives Aim To create a working version of the E-Menu service. Objectives All objectives follow SMART methodology (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound): †¢ Create a user friendly e-Menu interface, which is quick and easy to navigate through. Usability is fundamental to this system, if the customer doesn’t understand how to navigate through the menu to order their food and drink, the system would become useless. So during the project great care will be taken when designing user interfaces, specifically when designing UI layouts trying to create a layout that is effective and efficient. Different user interface layouts will go through testing stages, the two layouts that are most successful through testing will be shown to the restaurant we are working with. Their input on the interfaces will aid the final design stage, allowing any adjustments to be made before installation. †¢ Users are able to access social media websites while using the e-Menu system. Hyperlinks for social media websites will be displayed conveniently, allowing easy access for customers to connect to the World Wide Web, to social media sites, advertises the restaurant to many new possible customers. Special offers and promotions are often viewed online and then brought into store to be used, if the restaurant has any possible deals they can offer, using social media is a good way of advertising it. To gain access to a special promotion the customer must ‘Like’ the restaurants’ Facebook page, this is the type of method that will create a lot of awareness for the restaurant. †¢ Common food allergies (Dairy, Eggs, Fish, Nuts, Sesame, Shellfish, Soy, Sulphites, Wheat, Gluten) displayed. The whole menu’s ingredients will be checked to see if any ingredients fall within the top 10 common food allergies. Whatever ingredients are highlighted from the list, will then all be marked with a food allergy logo. When a customer is browsing the menu, and selects a dish to view it closer, a new window opens displaying the food allergy logo with some text stating the dish they are about to view has a food allergy warning. This warning system should stop any user from ordering a dish which may later cause them harm. ‘Side suggestion tab’ incorporated fully into the menu, its purpose to suggest side dishes and beverages to the user once they have selected a main meal. Different main meal choices affect the recommended dishes and drinks. This feature benefits both parties the customers and the restaurant, being recommended which bottle of wine goes well with your main or what side dish will accompany the rest of your food benefits the customer. The restaurant wou ld benefit from the increase in side dishes and drink sales with food; this could always lead to special promotions which encourage loyalty within customers. Users will be able to view online video via YouTube. Hyperlinks will be visible on the e-Menu system, users will be able to view their favourite band, children can watch cartoons while waiting for food to be prepared. †¢ Have access to play interactive games on the e-Menu system. 3. Project Scope, Milestones, Main Tasks and Deliverables Below is a table showing the types of deliverables that are in and out of scope, also lists some of the major functions of the project. this should include Review Point 2, Demonstration and Project Thesis). |Title |In Scope |Out of scope |Reason why.. | |Search facility | |Yes |Time it would take to create a search facility for the| | | | |e-Menu service would not be good use of the time that | | | | |has been given. |Access to social media websites|Yes | |By allowing users to access their online profile, the | | | | |company’s profile will be viewed a lot more | | | | |(advertising). | |Food and Drink suggestion tab |Yes | |A good addition from the regular menu this deliverable| | | |encourages customers to purchase more. Which may | | | | |increases business for the restaurant. | |Allergy Advise |Yes | |This system is being created so customers have a much | | | | |better understanding of the menu. If you select a main| | | | |meal which includes 1 or more ingredients that may | | | | |cause harm to the customer if they are allergic to | | | | |anything specifically, a warning logo appears whilst | | | | |ordering so the user is aware of the ingredients of | | | | |the dish. | |Create a clean and clear |Yes | |An important part of the ordering system is how users | |interface. | | |navigate around, if users can’t read the information | | | | |then the system fails at 1 of its main objectives. |Customers are able to play | |Yes |This objective is aimed at creating more entertainment| |interactive games | | |for the customer. However I don’t think this objective| | | | |is achievable during the project process. | 4. Sources of Information and Resources Required. A. List of resources used to meet the scope of the project. Software – already own the software, or can gain access to the software at university sites. †¢ Adobe Photoshop CS5 †¢ Microsoft W ord, most of the documentation to do with the project will be written up using the softare. †¢ Microsoft PowerPoint, my demonstration will be created on powerpoint. Microsoft Excel, the projects Gantt chart will be made using this software. †¢ Java Programming software. Hardware – purchase needed hardware †¢ Android Tablet †¢ Ipad †¢ Blackberry playbook †¢ Microsoft surface (need to acquire a device before testing stage). Companies – †¢ Thai restaurant, I will be contacting the restaurant multiple times over the project. I may need to ask the manager a question or even the waiting staff. Visits will be scheduled so time must be made for these meetings. †¢ Conceptic People – †¢ Group of customers at a specific restaurant spoken to. †¢ Questionnaire given out to people about the e-Menu system before it is released. Questionnaire given out to customers to gather feedback about the e-Menu system. Extra – †¢ Any reading material will be collected from Boots library or the Clifton library. If any book is needed online booking will be completed early to allow for maximum time with the text. †¢ Multiple restaurants will be visited to inspect their menus content and design. 5. Project Risks During the length of the project plan many different objectives needs to be completed. These objectives will not always be consecutively completed on time. For example if the E-menu system took longer than expected to programme, it would cause a delay and the next objective after that would be put on hold until work has been caught up. However a resolution for this problem has already been thought about, the time scale of this project already has a built in 2 week contingency back up, which should give adequate time to resolve the issues at hand. Another unexpected delay to the project would be any personal health issues during the development of the project. By planning in extra time for each task, delays can be kept to a minimum or avoided all together, allowing enough time to complete the project on time. Software packages can occasionally not work or crash/break altogether. If a software package crashed and it was impossible to access the software anywhere else. This may cause a delay in the project, work can’t proceed until the problem has been solved or another software package acquired. Resources needed. For the project a 3rd party device will be needed to test the system out on. An Apple iPad or android tablet would work as devices to test the system on. When ordering the devices, delivery needs to be taken into consideration online orders normally come between 1-14 working days (maximum). If the delivery was lost and the product had to be ordered again, this could evolve into another lengthy delay. University hand-ins. During the course of the project other deadlines will need attention also; a clash with deadlines is a possibility. If this was to happen while work on the project could become delayed as workloads add up and less time is available to use. After looking at all these examples of project risks, it is clear that numerous events could potentially put the project at risk. Best way to avoid these risks would be to plan for them. Contingency time has been added to the overall project plan, if needed this added time will allow for any catching up to be done on behind objectives. 6. Evaluation of Professional, Social, Ethical and Legal Issues Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act lists 8 different terms. All terms need to be followed otherwise you will be breaking the law. The e-Menu system we are creating will have to abide by these laws too, term 5 â€Å" Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes† (ISO 2012). Our system if used to its maximum capability will have a lot of personal data being sent around, Billing information, credit card numbers etc†¦ If in the wrong hands this information can be used for dishonest drudgery. It’s within the restaurants best interests to create a safe and secure dining experience. Data Protection Act term 2: â€Å"Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes† (ISO 2012). Computer Misuse Act â€Å"An Act to make provision for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification; and for connected purposes† (Government 1990) The computer misuse act is another PSEL dilemma that could affect the system. If customers’ data is not safe it could be used for fraud or other criminal offences. The complex E-menu system will deter any hackers from the system, disaster recovery plans for the system will be followed if any attack or hack transpired. [pic] References o Conceptic Interactive Menus. (2012). Home Page. Available: http://www. emenu-international. com/. Last accessed 23rd Oct 2012. o Government . (1990). Computer Misuse Act . Available:http://www. legislation. gov. uk/ukpga/1990/18/introduction. Last accessed 26th Oct 2012. o o ICO. (2012). Data protection principles. Available: http://www. ico. gov. uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide/the_principles. aspx. Last accessed 26/10/12. o Israel Exporter. (2012). Conceptic Interactive Menus. Available: http://www. israelexporter. com. Last accessed 23rd Oct 2012. ———————– Gantt Chart for my project. How to cite E-Menu Service, Papers

UPS versus FedEx Head-to-Head on Wireless Essay Example

UPS versus FedEx Head-to-Head on Wireless Essay FedEx and UPS are prime examples of war in the market place. Both are always seeking a competitive edge over one another and stay short at nothing. As the two companies are encroaching on each others primary businesses (UPS on overnight delivery and FedEx on ground delivery), they are concurrently stepping up their wireless deployments as well in their own unique ways of doing business. FedEx deploys new technologies as soon as it can justify the cost and demonstrate improved efficiencies and customer benefit. UPS however refreshes its technology base roughly every five to seven years, when it rolls out a unified system in stages that it synchronizes with the life span of the older system. Both are looking ahead to potential applications of radio frequency identification and GPS wireless technologies.UPS and FedEx have used various forms of wireless technology since the late 1980s, usually proprietary processes developed with vendors. But in recent years, both have switched to standa rds-based technologies such as 802.11b wireless LANs, Bluetooth short-range wireless links and general packet radio service (GPRS) cellular networks that provide lower development and maintenance costs, greater throughput and security, and lower acquisition and deployment costs.Both UPS and FedEx rely on near-real-time data to manage their operations, and the only way for the companies to get this near-real-time information is through the use of wireless technology in the field and in their facilities. Both have tens of thousands of couriers roaming the world to pick up and deliver packages, making millions of stops per day. Their challenge is to use wireless to speed up the process to improve customer service. FedEx’s new PowerPad device uses a Bluetooth radio to send package information—scanned during pickup—and frees the courier from having to dock the handheld in order to activate the data transfer, which shaves off about 10 seconds per stop. The PowerPad al one will save the company $20 million per year among the 40,000 couriers. A new handheld, the Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) IV, is UPSs counterpart to FedExs PowerPad. Functionally, the DIAD IV is analogous to the PowerPad, except the 70,000 handhelds transmit the data directly to UPS using a digital cellular connection. The business challenge for both companies is to reduce the cost of sorting. In the sorting facilities, both companies use a device called a ring scanner, which is a bar code reader mounted on two fingers and wired to a terminal strapped to the forearm. As they move onto new wireless platforms, both companies are also changing their approaches to network security.Outside of the two delivery companies major package scanning retooling efforts, FedEx and UPS continue to investigate what business benefits they might gain from other wireless technologies. Two have gained particular attention: RFID tags, which could replace bar code scanners, and GPS, whic h can precisely locate field units.Although few companies have the scale of UPS and FedEx, they can adopt many of the wireless technologies scaled to their size and use devices and network components that fit their operations.