Advanced Construction Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Advanced Construction Law - Essay Example The main aspect that needs to be understood is that an LOI is not a contract; at best it is an offer that needs to be confirmed or negated by the other party. However, a particular contractor by dint of some merit has been chosen over others. â€Å" It applies also where the sub-contractor has been chosen for his specialist trade. – â€Å"British Waggon Co.-v-Lea (1880)† 2 (Footnote: In this case it was held that delegation of contractual duties is possible except when individual’s skill, competencies and other resources are not considered while effecting the delegation.) This was again confirmed in the case of â€Å"Southway Group Ltd-v-Wolff and Wolff (1991)† 3 (footnote: Novation is another means by which contractual obligations can be "transferred" from one person to another) That being said, it is also necessary to state that in construction business, the main documents are the floatation of tender. As per accepted protocol, the contractor or owner floats tenders which are quoted by different parties, these tenders are examined and the final bid is finalized. â€Å"The form and content of LOIs are as varied as the circumstances in which they may be issued.No doubt it is this variety that led Robert Goff J in British Steel Corp v Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co Ltd (1984) to observe that there is "no hard and fast answer to the question whether a letter of intent will give rise to a binding agreement: everything must depend on the circumstances of the particular case." 4 Sometimes there is an oral promise by one party to do something and for another to remunerate him on his doing it. â€Å" The latter transaction is really no more than a standing offer which, if acted upon before it lapses or is lawfully withdrawn, will result in a binding contract.† 5 However, in this case, although the parties wished and hoped for the contract to be finalized, it did

Methods and tactics used to reduce gender and racial disparities in Essay

Methods and tactics used to reduce gender and racial disparities in prisons.-CRJ - Essay Example Lately the query about racial and gender disparities in prisons arises more occasionally and intensively, calling to implement specific instruments and tactics to diminish that phenomenon. Due to the statistic results African Americans and Hispanic lawbreakers are more likely to be convicted of felony than white people (Hartney & Vuong, 2009). Also in most cases the sentences of black people are longer. Disparity of arrest rates between racial groups strikes and scares drastically. Moreover, death penalty among colored prisoners is spread oftener than among white delinquents. In addition, there is a significant disproportion between male and female rates of criminality. All mentioned facts indicate the inequality in judicial system concerning offenders of different races and genders. According to stated problem several solutions that are aimed to reduce disparity can be recommended.

The Ntsb And Icao In Accident Investigation Engineering Essay

The Ntsb And Icao In Accident Investigation Engineering Essay This paper provides a report on the National Transportation Safety Board and the International Civil Aviation Organization and their contributions to aircraft accident investigation. Brief histories of the two organizations along with a few highlighted events are provided. The NTSB and ICAO in Accident Investigation The NTSB, Americas legendary investigative body, is charged to find causes for transportation related accidents and make recommendations. ICAO, an agency under the United Nations jurisdiction, is charged to promote and standardize international aviation throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to look into these important two organizations and see how they contribute to the aviation industrys accident investigation abilities. First, let us get familiar with the NTSB and ICAO and learn a little bit of their histories. NTSB History National Transportation Safety Board has an interesting history, which shaped the organization into the well-respected investigative body we know today. In 1926, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act of 1926. The act charged the U.S. Department of Commerce to form an investigative body to research and report on aircraft accidents. In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Boards Bureau of Aviation Safety was created. This newer agency took over the responsibility of aircraft accident investigations. In 1967, the Department of Transportation was created and NTSB was established to be an independent agency under the umbrella of the DOT. The NTSB is charged to investigate accidents in aviation, ground transportation, shipping, railroads, and pipelines. The NTSB also investigates accidents involving hazardous material transport. In 1974 Congress moved the NTSB out of the DOT to make the agency independent citing, No federal agency can properly perform such (investigatory) functions unless it is tota lly separate and independent from any other agency of the United States.. The NTSB has performed over 132,000 aviation and thousands of surface transportation accident investigations. The agency is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The NTSB on occasion has been invited to other counties to assist with their aircraft accident investigations. (History of The National Transportation Safety Board, n.d.) Now that we have a basic understanding of who the NTSB is as a government agency, we can transition over to the history of ICAO. ICAO History People outside of aviation know little about the International Civil Aviation Organization. According to ICAOs website, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was created by the United Nations, in 1944. Their purpose is to promote safe, secure, and sustainable development of civil aviation with the cooperation of the United Nations Members. (International Civil Aviation Organization, n.d.) To this day ICAO still strives to meet and exceed their goals established back in 1944. Around two years ago, ICAO had declared its strategic objectives for 2011-2013. ICAO would like the members of the United Nations to continue to support the agencys standards and recommendations, to promote a better international civil aviation environment. ICAO desires that everyone can operate to the level where optimum safety, security and sustainability can be achieved. ICAO has three strategic objectives. First, Enhance global civil aviation safety. Second, Enhance global civil aviation security. Finally, Foster harmonized and economically viable development of international civil aviation that does not unduly harm the environment. (International Civil Aviation Organization, n.d.) ICAO, the UN backed agency, could be better compared to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or and other nations equal. However, unlike the FAA, ICAO lacks the ability to enforce regulations and dictate policies. The FAA has the power to enforce the FARs and levy penalties. Unlike the FAA, ICAO has, on rare occasions, conducted aircraft accident investigations and submitted reports in accordance to its own Annexes. The two aviation disasters, that ICAO investigated and reported, worth mentioning are the 1973, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 and 1983, Korean Airlines Flight 007. Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was ICAOs first accident investigation. This disaster occurred during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, between Israel, Egypt, and Syria. There were 108 fatalities resulting from the Israeli Air Force shooting down of the Boeing 727. According to the Aviation Safety Network, an internet database developed for the Flight Safety Foundation, the following events occurred. Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was traveling from Benghazi, Libya to Cairo, Egypt. On the aircrafts approach to Cairo weather became a huge factor, due to the amount of heavy cloud cover. The aircraft strayed off course into the Sinai desert and into Israeli occupied air space. 2 Israeli Air Force fighter jets intercepted the civilian airliner and tried to get it to land. Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 did not comply with the fighter jets request and tried to return to Egypt. The Israeli fighter jets shot down the aircraft forcing the pilots of Flight 114 to attempt a belly landing, in the dese rt. Upon impact, the airliner burst into flames and all were killed. ICAO conducted the investigation and reported the Cairo beacon was probably not functioning at the time of the event. The approach control radar was out of order too. (Aviation Safety Network, n.d.) ICAO was tasked to investigate the aircraft accident, by the United Nations, since Israeli-Arab relations were non-existent. The neutral party conducted its investigation, interviewed involved parties and drew out its causes and recommendations. It would be ten years later, that ICAO would have to assume the accident investigator role. This time an incident involving the United Sates and the USSR, who are deeply entrenched in the Cold War. Korean Airlines Flight 007 Based on this researchers exploration, the 1983 Korean Airlines Flight 007 incident was the first time where the NTSB and ICAO interacted directly with each other. According to the Aviation Safety Network, the following events occurred to KAL-007s demise. Korean Airlines Flight 007 was flying from New York City to Seoul, Korea, with one stop in Anchorage, Alaska. After being refueled in Alaska KAL 007 began its final leg to South Korea. The part of the trip would run along Soviet borders and air space. This was a normal route for aircraft traveling from North America to Asia. During this time, the Soviet Military were conducting tests in this region and USAF RC-135 recognizance aircraft were conducting operations. The USAF presence would prompt a Soviet fighter response. KAL007 unintentionally was flying in and out of Soviet airspace, which warranted a fighter response. The Boeing 747 airliner did not respond to the Soviet fighter pilots warnings. The fighter pilot was instructed to shoot-down the unresponsive aircraft. The fired missiles damaged the aircraft, causing a massive decompression of the airliner and causing the jet to crash into the ocean. (Aviation Safety Network, n.d.) Since Korean Airlines Flight 007 originated from the United States, the NTSB jumped into action to begin their investigation of the accident. It was their legal obligation to perform the investigation, but the U.S. State Department squashed the NTSB and made a formal request to have ICAO conduct the investigation. The State Department and the Reagan Administration did not view this event as an aviation accident but as a civilian aircraft downed by the Soviet Air Force. This would be ICAOs second aircraft accident investigation, since the 1973 Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114. Perhaps a neutral party was appropriate for the situation, but ICAO has no authority to demand participating countries to provide evidence. ICAO could only ask for voluntary information only. According to an FAA journal, Transportation Certification Update, Summer 1995, in 1992 ICAO, the NTSB led a delegation to the Russian Federation during the AIG/92. The purpose of the trip was to develop a consensus to improv e the content within Annex13 and improve that accident investigation process. In 1993, ICAO with the NTSB reopened the investigation on Korean Airlines Flight 007. (FAA, 1995) With the Cold War ending in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ICAO was finally able to acquire additional information to present a more acceptable report for the KAL 007 investigation. ICAO and the NTSB were able to see declassified documents, and research additional evidence that prior to the end of Communism would not have been possible. However, even today there are dozens of websites and books that believe there is a more sinister story behind the 1983 Korean Airlines Flight 007 disaster. NTSB FedEx 1406 The NTSB as an agency possesses a legendary amount of experience and accomplishments, but they are also human too. The inflight fire of Flight FedEx 1406 comes to mind. . According to the Aviation Safety Network, FedEx 1406 was traveling from Memphis, Tennessee to Boston, Massachusetts when the smoke detectors within the cargo bay systematically activated. The smoke detectors, on the upper deck, activated in the following sequence 9, 8, 7, 10, and 6. The crew was able to land safely at an airfield in Newburgh, New York. The aircrew evacuated safely, but once the compartment hatches were opened, the aircraft erupted in flames. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire but the aircraft was a total lost. The fire, that burned inside the cargo hold penetrated through the fuselage and cutting the tail section off the aircraft. (Aviation Safety Network, n.d.) The controversy with this accident was that the NTSB and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) could not agree with the source and origins of the inflight fire. Both the NTSB and the NFPA had vast amounts of data to back each others claims. According to Walters Sumwalts book, Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports, the air carrier had no idea about the nature of its cargo. The NTSB had recommendations for both the FAA and the Department of Transportation. Today all persons sending out mail packages or cargo must declare their contents to ensure these items are properly packages and positioned for transportation. This was one accident where nobody involved died and major improvements to cargo transport were implemented. The NTSB and the NFPA could agree on the fire but lives are being saved from the lessons from this accident. (Walters Sumwalt III, 2000). Conclusion In closing, the NTSB and ICAO have kept their promises in promoting and maintaining a safe and secure aviation industry. It is unfortunate that the aviation industry is inherently reactive and needs aircraft accidents and disasters to prompt changes. The FAA and Congress use the recommendations, from the NTSB, to enact improvements and change laws. Sometimes airlines and aircraft manufactures still drag their feet when complying with the newer standards. Today aviation is the safest mode of transportation. Organizations like ICAO, the FAA, the NTSB, and their counterparts provide tremendous service to the citizens of the world. These agencies along with strict regulations make air-travel, as humanly possible, universally safe and secure.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I'm sure everyone here has seen a picture of a mother duck leading her ducklings. Imagine the mother duck taking her ducklings up some stairs. The mother duck easily climbs the first stair and waits for the other little ducks to climb up. The first duckling stretches its wings as high up in the air as it can and stands on the tips of its little webbed feet. With a little help from its beak it manages to barely make the first step. Sometimes it requires a little help from mama duck to boost itself up. Despite the cute and rather funny part of this picture, it is possible to learn a lot from the ducks. The two ideas we can gain from them are leadership and following. In life each one of us is a leader and a follower at some point. Leadership is of key importance to the Christian, and also simply to every person. It is easy to imagine the kind of world that would ensue as a result of no leadership. There would be utter chaos and nothing positive would get done. Often we think of leaders as people with great authority such as the President of the United States, bosses of major corporations, and in the case of school, the principal and teachers. But the fact that does not readily present itself to us is that each one of us in some way or another is a leader. Everyone leads at some point in their life whether they realize it or not. Younger generations always look up to and follow older generations. Although they may not admit it, I am sure the underclassmen at our school have followed the lead and example of the Class of 2006. This is an awesome task to undertake: that of leadership. It is important to constantly remind yourself that someone is watching and following your lead. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Follow my examp... ...e tool in dealing with the problems that life throws our way. As a follower we must choose wisely who we associate with. A close group of friends can provide many things that help us along life's path in the Christian walk. Good Friends can provide support through tough times, accountability, and good fellowship. Leadership and following are not generally thought of as interconnected, though each one of us is both a leader and a follower. As a leader we must be a good example and a servant. As a follower we must choose wisely who to look up to and associate with and ultimately we must follow the perfect lead of Jesus Christ. I encourage everyone here, and especially the graduating class of 2006, to remember you are a leader, leading others to know Christ and His perfect plan for them, and a follower, learning to follow Christ and His perfect plan for ourselves.

Louis Vuitton Malletier V Dooney & Bourke Inc

Louis Vuitton Malletier v Dooney & Bourke Inc. In this famous case known as the â€Å"Battle of the Handbags† Louis Vuitton (LV) sues Dooney & Burke (D&B) for trademark infringement of its multicolore line. The Plaintiff, Louis Vuitton Malletier ,is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The famous label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most of its products. Louis Vuitton is considered as one of the world’s most valuable and prestigious brands. The LV monogram was created in 1896 by Louis’ son Georges Vuitton who invented the symbol and the letters represent his father’s initials.The logo is a Japanese-inspired flower motif which initially was created as a way to prevent counterfeiting. This memorable logo is now synonymous with luxury, brilliance and indulgence. It is the world's 29th most valuable brand and is estimated to be worth over $19 billion USD. Unfortunately, Louis Vuitton is one of the most counterfeited brands in the fashion world due to its image as a status symbol. The company takes counterfeiting seriously, and uses all its possible resources to fight counterfeiting. The Defendant, Dooney & Bourke, is an American company founded in 1975 by Peter Dooney and Frederic Bourke.The company specializes in fashion accessories and is best known for its high quality handbags, accessories, and travel luggage. Their Signature and Mini Signature handbags consist of the â€Å"DB† initials interlocking in a repeating pattern. The founders of the company started off with two introductory products: surcingle belts and suspenders for men. Their products became very popular due to their unique design and color. Now Dooney & Bourke is a well-known brand in America and has a good reputation for making quality products. The defining look of Dooney & Bourke is elegant and sophisticated, but above all, it is timeless.Its classic designs make these handbags the perfect accessory for any outfit d ue to the superior quality and unique form. In 2002, the designer Marc Jacobs invited the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to come up with a fresh take on the Louis Vuitton †toile monogram† famous entwined LV logo intermixed with flower shapes for a new line of bags. This led to the creation of the Monogram Multicolore design, in 33 colors, displayed on handbags in a repeating pattern against a white or black background. The bags made their debut on Paris runways in October 2002 and were then presented in prestige retail outlets in March 003, where they sold for up to $3,950. Previously LV registered its famous LV monogram design pattern and the individual unique shapes as trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In July 2003 D in collaboration with Teen Vogue developed a new line of handbags for teenagers. It was launched as the â€Å"It Bag† collection. The pattern on the purses consisted of the entwined â€Å"DB† initials printed in contracting colors on variety of colored backgrounds and white and black background. D released handbag line looked similar to Louis Vuitton's trendy model, but the price was significantly lower.Considering the fact that Louis Vuitton fights counterfeiting very aggressively, not surprisingly, the matter ended up in the courts. LV immediately viewed the â€Å"It Bag† as a copy of their design. When Louis Vuitton gathered with legal counsel on their options to file suit against Dooney and Bourke, they became aware of the alternatives that were available to them in order to move forward. For designers and manufacturers in the American Fashion industry, there are four possible avenues to explore: 1) Copyright protection, 2) Patent protection, 3) Trade Dress protection and 4) Trademark protection.Copyright protection covers a range of categories including literacy, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial and architectural works. Within this range, the only one that is applica ble to fashion designs is pictorial, as it shields two- and three- dimensional works. Patent protection shields any â€Å"new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof†. Since the design in the fashion industry rarely creates a new process, machine or manufactures, they have a separate statute specifically for them for new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.Trade dress protection is addressed under the Lanham Act to defend the design and appearance of the product as well as that of the container and all elements making up the total visual image by which the product is presented to customers. Colors have also been addressed under the Trade dress protection in which the United States Supreme Court has stated that the color and designs of a product are only protected under the Lanham Act if a secondary meaning has been demonstrated.Color and design must be associated by the customer fo r that particular product over time. In 2004, the legal team decided to advance with option 4: Trademark protection. They claimed trademark infringement, trademark dilution, as well as unfair competition and false designation. Trademark infringement harbors a manufacturer or seller’s product to include a word, slogan or symbol. For instance, Apple is an example of a word that cannot be used in relationship with software or computers as it will cause confusion from a consumer’s perspective.Nike holds the trademark of the slogan â€Å"Just Do It† that is associated with its product and McDonald’s hold trademark of the golden arches symbol. In some instances this protection can extend to other properties such as its color or even its packaging. For trademark dilution claims, the distinctive quality of a mark must be diluted by blurring or tarnishment. However, the likelihood of confusion is not necessary. Unfair competition and false designation is character ized as likely to cause confusion, mistake or deceive the consumer.Section 43(a) states â€Å"any person who on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container goods, used in commerce any word, term, name or symbol, or device, or any combination therefore, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact which a) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or (b) in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services or commercial activities, shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act. † In a ddition under sections 32 and 43(a) of the Lanham Act, trademark protection extends above the registered trademarks to the unregistered trademarks from misuse or reproduction in commerce. Once a trademark is established as fundamentally distinctive or to have developed secondary meaning, as well as protection under the Lanham Act, one can then address the likelihood of confusion under trademark infringement.Statutes require a sense of clear case situation as well as a specific element of which the claim can be proven as a violation of the law. This means that sequential evidence is needed, as this poses the validity of the claim and further makes the justification of the case. Without this evidence, the case could be deemed as void, as there is no possible evidence that can prove the claim. Statutes also require the clarity of the case, which means the details of the case or the violation should be given in chronological order so that the justifications set for the claim as well as the laws that could be used to make it more justified could be legally provided.There is actually a varied definition on how violations of laws happen. There are times when a crime committed may not be a violation of the law, or the violation of the law is not a crime. This happens when the crime being claimed is not part of the scope of the statute, or there is no existing law for such crime. Therefore this results in deliberating on whether the action indeed is a crime or a violation of the law. Situations such as this often arise from actions where the defendant is ignorant of the law which he has violated. In addition, the claimant can be the one who is ignorant of the law when he laid evidence on the ‘crime’ allegedly committed by the defendant.Now that we have a thorough understanding of the applicable laws, the rules that govern those laws and what are required by the statutes to prove a violation of law we can examine how the case unfolded. As previously stated, Vuitton filed suit against D&B in April of 2004 in the United States District court for the Southern District of New York, claiming trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation, and trademark dilution. Vuitton moved for a preliminary injunction against D&B which would have stopped sales of the â€Å"it bag† until the case was resolved. The District court ruled in favor of D&B and Vuitton was not granted the injunction. In determining trademark infringement the court applied the two prong test required of Section 43 of the Lanham Act.First the test looks to whether or not the mark merits protection by determining if the unregistered trademark is distinctive or has achieved secondary meaning. In this case the district court did find that Vuitton’s design was distinctive and had garnered secondary meaning in the market place. The second part of the test involves deciding whether the defendant’s use of the mark is likely to cause consumers confu sion as to the origin or sponsorship of the defendant’s goods. Accordingly the court then examined the eight factors weighed in determining likelihood of confusion: 1) the strength of the mark, 2) the similarity between the marks, 3) the proximity of the roducts, 4) the likelihood that the plaintiff will bridge the gap between the markets of the two marks, 5) actual confusion, 6) the defendants good faith in using his or her mark, 7) the quality of the defendant’s product, and 8) the sophistication of the customers. The district court ruled that there was no likelihood of confusion based on its evaluation of the 8 factors and thus denied the injunction. In addition, the district court found that Vuitton was unable to prove trademark dilution. LV appealed the injunction denial to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals hoping to force the court into making a more broad judgment with regard â€Å"design piracy†. Unfortunately for Vuitton the court was not in the mood to make a statement in favor of protecting designers.Rather than make its’ own ruling on the case, based on the facts laid out before the court, the Second Circuit instead focused on a mistake by the district court in its application of the standard of likelihood of confusion. The Second Circuit had previously held in Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Burlington Coat Factory that courts must use a sequential market place comparison rather than a side by side comparison when applying the standard of likelihood of confusion. The district court had used a side by side comparison that the Second Circuit deemed improper. In addition, the Second Circuit agreed with the district court that LV was not able to prove trademark dilution at the federal level.In order to prove trademark dilution the plaintiff must demonstrate the following; â€Å"its mark is famous, the defendant is making commercial use of the mark in commerce, the defendants use began after the mark became famous, the defenda nts use of the mark dilutes the quality of the mark by diminishing the capacity of the mark to identify and distinguish goods and services†. Vuitton was able to prove the first three requirements but was unable to prove actual dilution. While the court did agree that LV could not prove actual dilution (the federal requirement) they vacated the injunction at the state level due to the fact that it only requires LV to show likelihood of dilution.The Second Circuit decided to remand the similarity of the marks factor back to the district court for reconsideration. This meant that the district court would use the sequential market place comparison when examining the similarity of the marks and hold onto all other previous analysis of the likelihood of confusion factors. Even if the market place comparison had an effect on that one factor it was very unlikely to affect the outcome of the district court’s ruling because the similarity of the marks was just one of eight weight ed factors. The Second Circuit was essentially making a statement with its handling of this case that it was not prepared to make a precedent setting ruling on the lack of protection for â€Å"design piracy† in the fashion industry.Even if they desired to address the topic, strictly following the established law would have prevented them from coming up with a different result. The court may have felt that any perceived or real injustice plaguing the fashion industry should be handled through the adoption of written law rather than legislated from the bench. Ultimately in May of 2008 the district court granted summary judgment to D&B on all claims. The court found that Louis Vuitton did not have adequate evidence to present with regards to the trademark infringement or dilution claims. While the outcome of the case disappointed many people because D&B did copy the design, the court based its decision on the interpretation of the law.Another example of a trademark infringement case that could have implications is European Trademark v Google. Originally LV sued Google in France claiming trademark infringement from Google’s AdWords program and the French court ruled in LV’s favor. The court held that Google was committing trademark infringement and diluting the trademark when it decided to sell the LV name to other companies in order for their site to pops up upon a search. Unfortunately for LV the European Court of Justice later ruled that Google in fact was not guilty of trademark infringement. There is a silver lining for LV. The court stated that advertisers using a trademark as a keyword can be held liable for infringement.The court specifically stated that â€Å"such use of a trademark by the advertiser adversely affects the source-indicating function of the trademark if the advertisement does not enable normally informed and reasonably attentive internet users to ascertain whether goods or services referred to by the ad originate from the proprietor of the trademark or, on the contrary, originate from a third party†. Thus, a company like Louis Vuitton does have legal recourse if it finds misleading advertisements from searches of its brand. In addition, Google can be held accountable if it was aware of the improper use of the trademark and did not take the ad or content down.The ruling could have impacted a case like Louis Vuitton Malletier v Dooney & Bourke Inc. , but instead has gone farther towards protecting companies in the fairly unregulated internet market place. In closing, companies like LV will have to continue to be extremely aggressive through the use of lawsuits in order to protect their brand. Once more laws are applied to specific industry, such as the fashion industry, it will become easier to convey. The courts can only interpret the law, not create laws to safeguard these specific industries. The courts, as well as the citizens, have to trust that the legislative branch will step up and ad dress these complex issues.

Proposed Business Process for a Clinic

Description of Proposed Solution Based on my Interview, observation, questionnaire, and my personal experience of having a treatment In Clan EX., optimization of the current system is proposed. The proposed system will be moving the patients' data from paper base into computer base. As mentioned on the previous chapter, the biggest problem of the current business process in Dental Clinic EX. happened because they are still using paper based for patient data and the patient's membership is heavily depend in a human memory.Therefore, by using computerized system will reduce the human errors that often occur in a business. Moreover, the computerized system will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the time used to find patient's data in the inventory, effort, and Inventory space to keep patients data. Furthermore, by implementing a good system and high technology, the clinic can Increase Its reputation and customers' satisfaction. The concept of the proposed system Is to keep al l patients' data In a database and give a lifetime membership for the patients.The Information system that are covered in the proposed system are Patient Database, Treatment Price, and Transaction Record 81 4. 2. Proposed Business Process 4. 2. 1 . Context Diagram Figure 28. 1 – Context Diagram of Proposed System Figure 4. 1 above shows the differences between the current data flow with the data flow after the new system is proposed. The external agents in this system are still the same (Head of Doctor, Doctor, nurse, administrator, and patient), and they are connected with the Dental Clinic EX. proposed system.In this context diagram, there are significant changes of data flow for the administrator, doctor, and nurse compared to the context diagram before using the proposed system. Here are the comparisons for Admit Current System Proposed System Get appointment request Make schedule for doctors Create or search patient data Create patient data (in database) (paper base), an d give it to nurse. Receive price the treatment from the doctor Create a bill Get the bill from the printer and give it to the patient Record payment Check paper stock to record Check paper for printer patient data Table 4. Comparison of administrator Job Doctor Receive schedule list from the Receive schedule list from the administrator administrator Receive patient data from the Open patient data in database nurse Analyze X-ray result (if any) Update patient data (write the Update patient data (including progress of the treatment) treatment note, price, prescription, and bill) Save the updated X-ray result (if Save the updated X-ray result (if any) any) List all the treatment and price the treatment Create prescription Table 5. 3 Comparison of doctor Job Nurse Receive patient data from the administrator.Give patient data to the doctor. Help patient to get X-ray. Open patient's X-ray result and Open patient's X-ray result and display it in the monitor. Display it in the monitor. Pre pare and check equipments for Prepare and check equipments the treatment. Or the treatment. Give oral report about the quality Give oral report about the quality of the equipments to head of of the equipments to head of doctor. Receive order from head of Receive order from head of doctor about the equipment (order doctor about equipment to get new equipment or call the (order to get new equipment or supplier) Table 6. Comparison of nurse Job By looking at the three tables above, we can see that by using the proposed system, the doctors, nurses, and administrator has fewer Jobs to do. The detail of the data flow in the business process will be explained on the next section about Data Flow Diagram. 4. 2. 2. Data Flow Diagram of Proposed System After implementing the proposed system, there will be some changes in the Data Flow Diagram for treatment process, update patient data, and payment process. The changes of the Data Flow Diagram will be explained on section 4. 2. 2. 1 to section. Data Flow Diagram for Treatment and Update Patient Data Figure 29. 2 DVD for Proposed Treatment and Update Patient Data Figure 4. 2 shows the changes on the process for treatment and update patient data after using the proposed system. After using the proposed system, the DVD has less recess (two processes instead of three) and four external agents; admit, patient, nurse, and doctor. For a new patient, the administrator will input the data in a database when the patient comes to the clinic. After put the data in a database, the patient will get into the treatment room to get treatment, and the doctor will update the data after the treatment.Here is the detail of the treatment process: Process 1 – Update Patient Database Administrator updates the database by creating new patient data. Before do the treatment process, the doctor will load patient data, and X-ray result (if any) to be analyzed. Then update the data after finish the treatment process (after process 2). Process 2 – Do Treatment Process While the doctor is analyzing patient data, the nurse will prepare the equipment for the doctor to do the treatment. After the nurse finished the preparation, the doctor will begin the treatment process.If it is needed to have an X-ray to see the problem clearly, the nurse will help the patient in doing the Gray. When the treatment process is done, the doctor will update patient's data. Update in here means write patient medical history (treatment note), create a prescription, and create a bill for the customer. 89 . 2. 2. 2. Data Flow Diagram for Payment System and Record Transaction Diagram O Treatment list pant Bill record Patient Do transaction Payment Pay bill Figure 30. 3 DVD for Proposed Payment System The picture above shows the Data Flow Diagram for payment system, and record the transaction in a database.This DVD consists of two processes (print bill and pay bill), and three actors (doctor, admit, and patient). After the treatment, the doctor will print the bill. The bill will be printed in double paper. The copy of the bill is for the patient, and the original bill is for the administrator. Administrator will receive the rented bill, after that patient will pay the bill. Here is the detail of the DVD for proposed payment system: Process 1 – Print Bill In this process, doctor tick all treatments given to the patient by using the new application, and insert the price of each treatment, then print the bill.The bill will be printed at the administrator's desk and in a double paper, the copy of the bill is for the patient, and the actual bill is for the Process 2 – Pay Bill After receive the bill, patient will do transaction with the administrator to pay the bill. The payment can be done by using credit card with VISA and Master Card logo, debit BCC, or by cash. 1 4. 2. 2. 3. Data Flow Diagram for Prescription Prescription Update Database Figure 31. 4 Data Flow Diagram for create prescription Figure above shows the process of creating a prescription for a patient.The DVD consists of three actors (doctor, administrator, and patient) and one process (update patient database). The process of creating a prescription is called update patient database because the prescription is saved in a bundle with patient data. 92 Here are the details of DVD for create prescription: After the treatment, the doctor will use the application to create a prescription for the patient, and then print the prescription. The prescription will be printed on the administrator desk. After that, the administrator will give the prescription to the patient. 93 4. 3.Systems Flowchart For Business Process with The Proposed System Figure 4. 5 shows the business process of Dental Clinic EX. after using the proposed system. When the patient come to the clinic, the administrator will check whether the patient has the data in the database or not. If the patient does not have a data in a database, the administrator will ask him o r her to get information to create a new data for that patient. For regular patient, his or her data will be loaded by the doctor n the treatment room (in the current system, patient data moves from administrator to nurse, and nurse will hand it over to the doctor).The treatment process is still the same with the current system, but the process in updating patient data is different. In the current system, after the treatment, the doctor will update patient data (in paper), list all treatments and price the treatments, and then give the paper to the administrator. After that, the administrator will create a bill. If the patient needs a prescription, the doctor will write a prescription, and give the prescription to the administrator. In the new system, the doctor can create bill and prescription in the treatment room.