Thinking How to Quit Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thinking How to Quit Smoking - Essay Example Experts consider smoking as an expression of escapist tendencies, whereby, people result in the use of cigarettes, which induce a sense of wellness despite the lack of wellness. This makes it extremely difficult to stop; therefore, addicts need to prepare themselves both physically and psychologically for the impending challenges (Robinson). Experts qualified in dealing with rehabilitation of addicts from addictive behaviors recommend addicts to outline a list of reasons why they intend to eliminate an addictive habit. They posit that this facilitates the acknowledgement of an existence of a problem. In the case, of someone struggling with an addiction to smoking, the list helps to pinpoint the reasons leading to smoking as an addiction. This plays a crucial role in addressing the psychological implications associated with smoking. The list also serves as a reality check, whereby, an individual discovers the issues which require immediate attention. Eliminating issues responsible for inducing cigarette cravings allows one to be psychologically ready to kick the unhealthy habit to the curb. This also generates the willpower to confront future issues, which might be detrimental to the progress of staying nicotine free. Counselors also encourage individuals to find alternate, constructive ways to deal with these feelings and situations. Experts recommend the designing of a personal help plan, which ought to be unique or specific to an individual’s needs. This customized plan ought to address the intended reasons for quitting smoking. These experts further recommend that copies of the personal help plan ought to be placed in areas which used to be storage places for cigarettes (Robinson). Dealing with the physical addiction also presents an enormous challenge to individuals struggling with the addiction of smoking. During the initial days of quitting, withdrawal symptoms occur frequently. They include; nausea, dizziness, restlessness and headaches among othe rs. Withdrawal symptoms represent the body’s way of indicating deprivation of a certain substance; in this case nicotine. Individuals attempting to quit smoking ought to have prepared well in advance for the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. Establishing a strong willpower to brave through the withdrawal symptoms marks the first step of preparation. Experts recommend other ways to deal with the withdrawal symptoms resulting from nicotine deprivation. Firstly, they recommend frequent deep inhalation. This allows an individual to remain relaxed despite the discomfort brought about by withdrawal symptoms, which might cause a panic attack. Secondly, they recommend the intake of water in large quantities. Water assists in the flushing of toxins out of the body. In addition, they recommend that individuals in withdrawal ought to keep their sugar levels slightly higher during the initial withdrawal phase. This helps to cater for the sugar-related cravings brought about by the absen ce of nicotine in the body (Health). Experts also recommend that individuals to prepare for the onset of a few extra pounds. They cite exercise and a proper, well-balanced nutrition as one of the ways to shed off the extra pounds or maintain an individual’s desired weight. It is crucial for a person to consult with their physician before embarking on the quitting process especially if they suffer from other

Pearson Chemistry Notes Essay Example for Free

Pearson Chemistry Notes Essay 1. i. All elements are composed of tiny indivisible particles called atoms. 1. ii. Atoms of the same element are identical. The atoms of any one element are different from those of any other element 1. iii. Atoms of different elements can physically mix together or can chemically combine in simple whole-number ratios to form compounds 1. iv. Chemical reactions occur when atoms are separated from each other, joined, or rearranged in a different combination. Atoms of one element, however, are never changed into atoms of another element as a result of a chemical reaction. Sizing up the Atom Atoms are very small the radii of most atoms fall within the range of 5 x 10^-11 m to 2 x 10^-10m atoms can be seen in scanning electron microscopes atoms can be moved 4. 2 Structure of the Nuclear Atom Overview Lots of Dalton’s theory is accepted except that atoms can be divided Atoms can be divided into three subatomic particles Protons Neutrons Electrons Subatomic Particles Electrons Discovered by UK physicist J. J. Thomson (1856-1940) Are negatively charged subatomic particles. Thomson’s Experiment passed electric current through gasses at low pressure. Sealed the gases in glass tubes fitted at both ends with metal disks called electrodes electrodes connected to source of electricity one electrode called the anode became positively charged other electrode, called cathode, became negatively charged resulted in glowing beam called â€Å"Cathode Ray† that traveled from cathode to anode. Findings cathode ray is deflected by electrically charged metal plates positively charged plate attracts the cathode ray negatively charged repels it Thomson knew that opposites attract hypothesized that a cathode ray is a stream of negatively charged particles moving at high speed called particles â€Å"corpuscles†. Later called â€Å"electrons† Millikan’s Experiment US physicist Robert A. Millikan (1868-1953) carried out experiments to find the quantity of an electron’s charge. Oil drop experiment suspended negatively charged oil droplets between two charged plates. then changed voltage on the plates to see how it affected the droplets’ rate of falling he found that the charge on each oil droplet was a multiple of 1. 60 x 10^19 coulomb meaning it was the charge of an electron calculated electron’s mass Millikan’s values for electron charge and mass are similar to those accepted today. An electron has one unit of negative charge and its mass is 1/1840 the mass of a hydrogen atom Protons and Neutrons Four simple ideas about matter and electric charges 1. Atoms have no net electric charge; neutral 2. Electric charges are carried by particles of matter 3. Electric charges always exist in whole-number multiples of a single basic unit; that is, there are no fractions of charges. 4. when given a number of negatively charged particles combines wit an equal number of positively charged particles, an electrically neutral particle is formed.

Essay --

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp, an American dancer and choreographer, was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Oregon. When Twyla was a child her and her parents moved to Southern California and the family opened a drive-in movie theater the Twyla worked at from the age of eight. Twyla began taking piano lessons at the age of two and dance lessons at the age of four. Twyla’s mother wanted her daughter to be accomplished in many fields so she enrolled her daughter in various arts and other classes such as French, German, and shorthand. Soon after beginning her dance lessons Twyla developed a deep interest in all the types of dance available to her. Twyla attended Pacific High School in San Bernardino, California and studied at the Vera Lynn school of Dance. After High school Twyla left home to attend Pomona College and later transferred to Bernard College in New York City where she studied art history. Twyla later found she had an intense passion in dance so she took dance classes off campus and be gan to study at the American Ballet Theater School where she studied with many great dancers and...

An Interpretation of the ratios for Marks and Spencers and the House of

An Interpretation of the ratios for Marks and Spencers and the House of Fraser Findings ======== This section of the report will be composed of an interpretation of the ratios for both companies. All ratios that form the ratio analysis will be explained, and any trends from within ratios will be highlighted. OVERALL PERFORMANCE Return on Capital Employed: Net profit before tax and interest x100 = % Capital employed The Return on Capital Employed ratio (R.O.C.E) is a hugely significant ratio, and a great deal can be taken from this ratio. The ratio relates to the profit earned in relation to the long-term capital invested in the business. The term 'capital employed' in this equation means the owners' capital plus any long term liabilities (for example long-term loans). This ratio shows the % return on capital invested in the company. A business will aim to have this ratio as high percentage as possible. If the percentage return on capital invested is less than that offered elsewhere, then it may be wise to close the business and invest elsewhere. The ratio analysis shows that Marks and Spencer saw a slight drop on their R.O.C.E from 1999 to 2000, however, they managed to increase the R.O.C.E the following year. The next year, 2002 shows the most significant changes. The R.O.C.E increased from 9.61% in 2001, to 20.89% in 2002. This is almost a 120% increase on R.O.C.E. The House of Fraser had a slightly better R.O.C.E than Marks and Spencer in 2000, however, the following year they experienced a drop of around 1.5%. The result for 2002 shows that The House of Fraser managed to almost double their R.O.C.E from 8.6% in 2001 to 15.91% in 2002. Although this was a healthy increase, The House of Fraser currently have a R.O.C.E th... ...tly. The company needs to be more flexible with the volume and style of clothing they stock. People are much more fashion conscious than they used to be, it is essential for the credibility of a company that they are consistently at the height of fashion. The results for the debtor's collection period for Marks and Spencer are very worrying, especially when compared to The House of Fraser. Marks and Spencer need to dramatically reduce the collection period in order to avoid any problems in the future. Marks and Spencer currently offer their customers the option of having a store card. Although in theory, this is a good idea, especially form a marketing perspective; it can cause many problems in the long run. Customers can leave payment for long periods of time. This leads to Marks and Spencer not being paid for stock they no longer own, and should have been paid for.

Individual Analysis

Individual Case Analysis Contents 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories1 1. 1Equity Theory1 1. 2Expectancy Theory1 1. 3 Three-need Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions3 3. 0Main Problems Defined4 4. 0References5 5. 0Appendices6 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis6 5. 2 Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories 1. 1Equity Theory According to Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) equity theory was developed by J. Stacey Adam. Campebell, Dunnette and Miller (1969) states the purpose of this theory is aim at employees’ assimilation from a job situation. Kaplan, Reckers and Reynolds (1986) notes these are outcomes, in relation to the efforts they put in, inputs, and then compare with others. In the case, Lisa compares her input-outcome ratio with Leanne, which seems imbalance and unfair. Lisa feels jealous as Steve decided to go again her suggestion to hand over half of her workload to the youngest team member, Leanne. She also sees that Leanne became more dominant. Lisa was treated unfairly by two other members putting the blames at her who forced Steve to reprimand her. The distraught Lisa’s thinking was to give other members of the team who has more experience to take over some of her work rather than Leanne. In the end Lisa lodged a compensation claim for her nervous breakdown cased by Leanne. Also stated by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003), employees’ motivation is influenced by rewards. Base on the above-mentioned, Steve should use the equity method in treatments of staff. Therefore, whenever an employee assess their own equity and perceive inequity, he or she will act to correct the situation rather than lack of motivation. Please refer to 5. 2 Appendix 2 for table showing equity theory. 2. Expectancy Theory According to Montana and Charnov (2000), expectancy theory shows that rewards could motivate employees to increase their efforts. Taylor (1964) notes this encourages better performance leading to a positive outcome. Steve applied the expectancy theory under his management. By doing this, he made an announcement that he will increase employees’ salary base on performance rating. Due to massive increase in training loads, Lisa was overworked and with projects behind schedule. Then Green (1992) states on of the believing is that employees believe if they perform well, they will get the reward. Leanne is an ambitious person that is why she offers help as she believes in good performance could get better outcome and reward. On the other hand, according to Montana and Charnov (2000), an employee can decide on which outcome they prefer. Due to immense pressure from overload and conflict with Leanne, Lisa has made a decision to take stress leave. This reduces the efforts Lisa requires to put into her work. 3. Three-need Theory McClelland (as quoted by anonymous, 2008) states an employee’s motivation and effectiveness are influenced by the following: Need for Achievement – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes motivation that influences employees to direct his or her behaviour towards attaining goals. According to the achievement explained, Lisa is not motivated to challenge of orking at a problem and do not accept any personal responsibilities for failure, rather leaving the actions and chance for Leanne to achieve the outcome. Need for Affiliation – Courtney (2002) notes McClelland had suggested that people are motivated by different things. Also, base on the statement stated by Tosi, Mero and Rizzo (2000), McClelland’s theory on affiliation has a need for friendly relationships an d have good interactions with others. These people can co-operate well in a team. Referring to the explanation of affiliation, Lisa’s jealousy and conflict with Leanne had caused friction and resignation in the team. It shows there is a lack of communication skills and co-operate for Lisa in the team. Lisa’s personal attitude problem towards Leanne also caused her relationship problems with colleague and manager. Need for Power – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes that people at a high position would want the power to control other people for their own goals. According to Ved (2005) there are: Social – controls the company’s movement, and Personal – influence others to further the desire. Leanne entered InsureCo. as a new team member under Lisa’s leadership in a team. Soon after, Leanne quickly made good relationship with the manager and quick to promote her skills, which lead her over stepped the power of Lisa. Therefore, Lisa felt she was unable to control Leanne to achieve her outcome. Lisa has also lost control of her team when couple of the team members resigned. With the lost control of power, Lisa lost the battle to be promoted. Therefore, she is not motivated. 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions The management of InsureCo. has several negative practices, they are: – The way Steve manages the company’s environment The way Steve supervise employees, and – How staff co-operate with each other as a team. According to Bell and Smith (2006), the use of communication and verbal skills for managers is vital in their management work. By listening to employees, companies could improve employees’ job satisfaction. According to Deci and Ryab (1985), the greatest motivation act is managers could do for his or her empl oyee is listening. In this case, Steve does not communicate effectively to his staff about his expectations and resolving problem issues within the working environment. He does not think of the concern that if he recognise the new employee, Leanne, Lisa would complain about the recognition. To prevent the complaining obstacle, Steve should listen to Lisa when she complained about Leanne in regards to her I. T. skills. Steve should act on the complaint and assess Leanne’s ability in the I. T. field. If it does prove that she has the skills, there would not be jealousy in Lisa. Schuler and Jackson (1999) mentioned that fair treatment of employee which will make them more committed in an organisation. It means, Steve should treat Lisa and Leanne equally. It is not where he should reprimand Lisa in front of her colleagues and in a way without her giving reasons. This is an embarrassment for Lisa. This also shows there is a lack of fair treatment within the management system of the company. According to Cook (1999), employees will produce more effort in their work when they are appreciated, valued and understood by the employer. Steve should set up a guide of basic principles to coach employees when there is a problem. Base on the value of Lisa to the company, Steve should not reprimand her straight away without any options for explanation and when he did reprimanded her he should explain his decision. Steve could improve the relationship between Lisa and Leanne by informing them how others feel, how much effect can cause, and suggest them how to improve themselves. Steve’s management at InsureCo. he is committed to the company’s goals, according to Salaman (2001), it sometimes refers to as mission statement. In the case, increase salary was any approach that Steve regarded as important. The aim is to fend off growing competition. The increase of salary could not always motivate his staff. The reasons are mentioned in the previous citations. 3. 0Main Problems Defined |Primary Problems |Secondary Problems | |Poor leadership – New leadership of the firm, lack of managerial |Poor motivational skills | |experience. |Staff lacks motivation | |Poor planning – No technical training system been put in. No specific job description written for employees | |No formal policies written for rewards and punishment |Increase in workloads | | |Lack of co-operation | | |Manager has poor communication skills | | |Ineffective communication of expectations | | |Employees’ value not appreciated | | |Overload work causes delays | | |Multitask been given to employees | | |Management has no understanding of employees’ needs | | |Poor relationship between staff and manager | | |Pressure in the training department | | |Lack of fair treatment for staff | 5 . Appendices 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis [pic] 2. Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) Perceived ratio comparisonEmployee’s assessment Outcomes AOutcomes B Inputs A Inputs B (Inequity-over rewarded) ———————– Threats ? Exposed weaknesses in the company ? Strong global competitors ? Complaints from staff ? Compensation claim from staff Opportunities ? Government proposed new Financial Services Reform Bill – Make sure entire staff had been trained Weaknesses ? Poor leadership ? Poor planning ? No formal policies for rewards & punishments are written ? Poor motivational skill ? Staff lacks motivation ? No specific job description written for employees ? Increase of workload ? Lack of co-operation ? Poor communication skills ? Staff’s value not appreciated ? Overload work causes delays ? Multitask given ? Management has no understanding of employees’ needs ? Poor decision making ? Pressure in the training department ? Lack of fair treatment for employees ? Strengths ? Large finance and insurance company ? Market presence ? Large customer base ? Long profitable history ? Promotions for employees ?

Cold War2 essays

Cold War2 essays The Cold War never presented any real threat on America. It was nothing more than the propaganda of two battling super powers. The two super powers involved in the Cold War were The United States of America and The Soviet Union. The two countries were constantly battling over who is the most powerful on the planet. The supposed threats were mere techniques of propaganda used to scare the other countries public into believing they were more powerful. Over and over again the U.S would flex its muscles and then The Soviet Union would flex its muscles until eventually one country couldnt. The Cold War lasted a very long time and it was fought through battles such as the Korean War and Vietnam. Each battle split the country and the U.S would take a side and The Soviet Union would take a side and they would use the country as a battle ground. This was the only actual fighting that occurred. The Cuban missile crisis was an important event that took place during the cold war. In the Cuban missile crisis, America was fearing that The Soviet Union had certain missile instalations in Cuba . The U.S found out about these missile installments from satellite imagery that showed the missiles being transported to Cuba and show the missile sites inside Cuba. "With Castro's approval, the Soviet Union began building secret missile bases in Cuba. On October 16, President Kennedy was shown photographs of the missile installations in Cuba." (Rawnsley, 7) On the surface one would get scared by something like this and that is exactly what The Soviet Union wanted to happen. The whole Cold war was propaganda so by scaring the U.S into thinking they had missiles in Cuba gave them the edge on the war. If The Soviet Union wanted to bomb the U.S they could have easily snuck the missiles in and hidden them. They knew about the satellites and purposely exposed the missiles. "A naval blocka de was imposedosed on Cuba to stop the cons...

Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action

Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive impact on the company’s performance. The second person was just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. â€Å"Who was chosen for the job?† you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors â€Å"to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights).† When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who controlled the hiring and firing of employees. The U.S. government, in 1965, believed that these employers were discriminating against minorities and believed that there was no be... Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive impact on the company’s performance. The second person was just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. â€Å"Who was chosen for the job?† you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors â€Å"to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights).† When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who controlled the hiring and firing of employees. The U.S. government, in 1965, believed that these employers were discriminating against minorities and believed that there was no be...

Gratitude and Congratulations

Gratitude and Congratulations Gratitude and Congratulations Gratitude and Congratulations By Mark Nichol Gratitude and congratulations, along with some other words with the element grat and associated with giving thanks, are related. Such words, and a couple of disguised cognates, are listed and defined in this post. Gratitude, and the other words discussed here, derive from the Latin adjective gratus, meaning â€Å"pleasing† or â€Å"thankful.† Gratitude is the state of being thankful, and a synonym for thankful is grateful. The antonym of that word is ungrateful, but someone who withholds gratitude is an ingrate. Gratify, though stemming from the same origin, has a different sense; it means â€Å"give pleasure or satisfaction,† and, depending on context, it can have a positive or negative connotation. For example, the noun form in â€Å"instant gratification† refers critically to an undesirable personal or cultural trait associated with seeking short-term satisfaction to the detriment of more productive habits or pursuits. Similarly, though gratuitous originally meant simply â€Å"free,† that sense has largely been overtaken by the meanings â€Å"unearned† and â€Å"unwarranted,† as in a reference to gratuitous sex or violence in a film; the element or scene is not integral to the plot and is therefore considered exploitative. A gratuity, however, is always welcome: It is something given voluntarily. (Often, the word is simply employed as a formal alternative to tip in the context of rendering services.) Centuries ago, when one expressed pleasure in the achievements of another, one offered gratulation. However, that form was superseded by congratulation, and now it is customary to pluralize that word. (Congrats is a slang truncation.) Unfortunately, thanks to the punning exclamation â€Å"Congradulations!† in the context of graduation from school or college, seen on greeting cards and the like, congratulations is sometimes inadvertently misspelled. Grate, meaning â€Å"grill† or â€Å"scraper,† is unrelated, but grace, meaning â€Å"mercy,† â€Å"elegance,† and â€Å"virtue,† and the identical verb form, meaning â€Å"show favor,† are descended from gratus. Something exemplifying grace in the sense of â€Å"elegance† is graceful, while something lacking that quality is graceless. Disgrace is the loss of favor or honor, and something that brings (or should bring) shame to someone is disgraceful. Meanwhile, scapegrace, on the model of scapegoat, means â€Å"someone who falls out of favor with God.† Another disguised descendant of gratus, by way of French, is agree, meaning â€Å"give assent or consent† or â€Å"coincide.† Something agreed on is an agreement. Something is said to be agreeable when it is acceptable, in harmony with what is desired, or pleasing, and a person with a pleasing or positive disposition is agreeable. In all cases, the antonym is represented by attaching the prefix dis-. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 "Home" Idioms and Expressions75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†When Is a Question Not a Question?

CASE 2 TUX 101 INFORMATION LITERACY AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Essay

CASE 2 TUX 101 INFORMATION LITERACY AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY - Essay Example With so many of us pleasing in gaming as an interest, it is now commencing to adjust the world in ways that were never seen approaching (Baker, 2014). While scrutinizing and criticizing games like future soldier, ghost recon and modern warfare, and other games, seen with plentiful issues of DLC, and  opinions  for and against DRM, it might instigate those that take it upon ourselves to disapprove game studios and draw own conclusions on how games ought to be made, to take a step and get a start at spinning it into a career (Baker, 2014). Many people have  expansively  studied military expertise and technology, researching all features of his hit gaming authorization (Baker, 2014). Many will gets to pick up about the abundant military technology developments very long before the public does. It can be shocking to see a Humvee furnished with a .50 caliber gun bartizan that is controlled by what appears like a deviously familiar device - an Xbox 360 controller (Baker, 2014). These Video games manipulating the way of military service  may seem astonishing, but the US military has since been employing this rather exceptional skillset for some years. Military flight simulators have a semblance to their video game matching part, and  have taken more than a few indicators over the years (Voakes, 2014). Formerly using canned training content that wouldn’t go some reasonable time without an update, the unrelenting advancement of video games has provided the military ready-made tools for organizing new recruits. The mechanics of First Person Shooters are now being applied to create extremely specific tutorials that will allow recruits to understand who they were fighting better (Voakes, 2014). Many have criticized this mode of using video game technology to equip and train military recruits, quoting it as a method of desensitization that tends to make the taking of existences

China and globalzation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

China and globalzation - Essay Example The internet has also led to the inevitable diversification of social, cultural, political as well as economic practices due to the high permeability of national as well as regional frontiers, which implies that decisions as well as practices in one part of the world has global consequences. Evidently, the internet and the prevalent internet technologies have inevitably opened up channels of communication, choice, while unquestionably promoting greater participation of the public in the ever growing era of globalization (MacKinnon 2008, p.31). For instance, the internet and its allied technologies have greatly impacted and shaped the development of the global public opinion concerning the U.S. throughout Asia, Western Europe, as well as in the Middle East while at the same time enabling democratization of nations by allowing their citizens to voice their own opinions concerning public policy. The spread of the internet and the rapid flows of information in China has suddenly become a critical challenge for policy makers since it can no longer be regulated effectively; precisely, the major concern of the Chinese government over the increased prevalence of the internet is that it threatens the conventional forms of information such as China’s state-controlled media . According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, nearly 67.5% of Chinese internet users have more confidence in the utility of the internet for criticizing the government than they do in the traditional forums like the state controlled media, which is subject to excessive censoring. Chinese internet users are able to circumvent the strict control barriers of access to the internet through the help of western companies such as Safeweb, which provide untraceable internet hosting, thereby accessing banned sites such as CNN; Human Rights bodies are also increasingly using internet circumvention technologies to bypass internet censoring (Maitland,

Objectives Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Objectives Assignment - Essay Example 1. As a result of screening and educating the vulnerable persons and people with pre diabetes, 50% of the Native Americans will adapt to a healthy lifestyle changes, thereby reducing the new incidents of diabetes according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (Affective) 2. As a result of facilitating and encouraging the individuals with family history of diabetes and obese individuals for regular, moderate physical activity, Native Americans will be able to reduce new incidents of diabetes by 50% according to the American Diabetes Association (Klein et al, 259). (Psychomotor) 3. As a result of early detection and professional treatments, American Indians can prevent 70% of the incidents of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic related renal failure according to the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 4. As a result of increasing the availability and the accessibility of professional health care services, Native Americans will be able to prevent complications of diabetes by 50 percent according to the findings of the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 5. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) American Indians will be able to prevent more than 50% of the new incidents of diabetes as a result of reducing body weight and maintaining healthy weight throughout the life. (Psychomotor) 6. According to the American Diabetes Association due to introduction and implementation of national policies related to dietary and lifestyle changes, Native Americans can effectively reduce new incidents of diabetes by 30% (Klein et al, 260). (Cognitive) 7. Considering the findings of the vast number of researches conducted on American Indians for 30 years, American Natives will be able to reduce new incidents by 25% as a result of consumption of low fat and low caloric diet (Yancy et al, 769). (Psychomotor) 8. As a result of the awareness programs

Compare and Contrast between IPv4 and IPv6. Why IPv6 Hasn't Been Research Paper

Compare and Contrast between IPv4 and IPv6. Why IPv6 Hasn't Been Implemented on the Internet - Research Paper Example It delivers datagrams or packets from the source to the destination host by only basing on their addresses. Over the years, the IP has undergone revisions in its development and the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is its 4th revision. Another recent revision is the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Both IPv4 and IPv6 are at the core of internet internetworking methods that are standards-based. However, there exist differences between the two versions of the IP as well as their levels of deployment. Since its development, the IPv4 is the first version of the internet protocol to be widely deployed and until today, it is still stands out as the Internet Layer protocol that is widely deployed. This is so despite the development of more advanced version of the IP, the IPv6. This is an indication that there is something about the IPv4 that makes it more popular than the IPv6. I choose this topic with an aim of knowing the differences and similarities that exist between the IPv4 and I Pv6 so as to identify why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet. ... From these, it is expected that IPv6 should have achieved a greater level of deployment than the IPv4. But as it is, the deployment of IPv6 is still at its infancy. This paper analyses the reasons as to why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet. Literature Review In order to identify the reasons as to why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet, it is important to understand the similarities and differences between IPv4 and IPv6. This will be important in identifying any weaknesses that underlie the IPv6 and provide a base for making recommendations for improvements that will enable it to achieve a good level of deployment. For this paper, the sources of the literature review and analysis will be books, journals and articles on computer sciences and information technology. credible online sources on the same will also be used. Similarities Both IPv4 and IPv6 are internal layer protocols designed for packet-switched internetworking. The two IP versions are also capable o f providing end-to-end datagram or packet transmission across more than one IP networks. In terms of the structure of their packets, both the headers of IPv4 and IPv6 have an optional fields or extension that can be used to implement special features. Differences According to (Shankland, 2011), IPv4 allows 32 bits for an IP and because of this, it can support 232 (4,294,967,296) addresses. On the other hand, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, therefore, the developed address space supports 2128. This is about 340 undecillion or 3.4?1038 addresses. This makes the large address space an important feature of IPv6 over IPv4. This expansion creates room for more devices and users on the internet. It also allows for additional

Operations Management in Kristens Cooki Company Assignment

Operations Management in Kristens Cooki Company - Assignment Example Thus, one batch of cookies takes 26 minutes. If the order has been placed for 2 dozen (2 batches) of cookies, it will take an additional 9 minutes. This is because while the first batch is baking, the first student would spoon the prepared mix into a second tray, ready to bake. With thermostat and timer already in place, the second batch will require 9 minutes to bake + 5 minutes to cool + 2 minutes to pack in a box. Payment for two dozen cookies will be accepted in the same1 minute as an order for only one dozen cookies (already accounted for). However, the time taken for the two batches overlap. Hence, to make a total of two batches, for the second batch, 2 minutes out of 9 minutes of baking time will be left after the 1st batch is packed and ready. Thus 2 minutes baking time + 5 minutes cooling + 2 minutes packing takes an additional 9 minutes after the first batch is packed and ready. Therefore, the total time required to fill a rush order for 2 dozen cookies would be 35 minutes. To fill an order for three dozen cookies, the tray in which the mix is spooned in to make 12 cookies, will be ready to bake while the second batch is getting baked. Once the second batch is taken out of the oven, the third batch will be placed inside for baking. It will take only 9 minutes for baking because of timer and thermostat already set. Thus 9 minutes baking time + 5 minutes cooling time + 2 minutes packing time takes a total of 16 minutes. Payment time of 1 minute is already accounted for. However, the time taken for the three batches overlap. Hence, to make a total of three batches, for the third batch, 2 minutes of baking time will be left out of the 9 minutes for baking, after the 2nd batch is packed and ready. Thus 2 minutes baking time + 5 minutes cooling + 2 minutes packing takes an additional 9 minutes after the second  batch is packed and ready. Thus, 44 minutes total will be required to fill an order for 3 dozen cookies.

Compare and Contrast between IPv4 and IPv6. Why IPv6 Hasn't Been Research Paper

Compare and Contrast between IPv4 and IPv6. Why IPv6 Hasn't Been Implemented on the Internet - Research Paper Example It delivers datagrams or packets from the source to the destination host by only basing on their addresses. Over the years, the IP has undergone revisions in its development and the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is its 4th revision. Another recent revision is the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Both IPv4 and IPv6 are at the core of internet internetworking methods that are standards-based. However, there exist differences between the two versions of the IP as well as their levels of deployment. Since its development, the IPv4 is the first version of the internet protocol to be widely deployed and until today, it is still stands out as the Internet Layer protocol that is widely deployed. This is so despite the development of more advanced version of the IP, the IPv6. This is an indication that there is something about the IPv4 that makes it more popular than the IPv6. I choose this topic with an aim of knowing the differences and similarities that exist between the IPv4 and I Pv6 so as to identify why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet. ... From these, it is expected that IPv6 should have achieved a greater level of deployment than the IPv4. But as it is, the deployment of IPv6 is still at its infancy. This paper analyses the reasons as to why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet. Literature Review In order to identify the reasons as to why IPv6 has not been implemented on the internet, it is important to understand the similarities and differences between IPv4 and IPv6. This will be important in identifying any weaknesses that underlie the IPv6 and provide a base for making recommendations for improvements that will enable it to achieve a good level of deployment. For this paper, the sources of the literature review and analysis will be books, journals and articles on computer sciences and information technology. credible online sources on the same will also be used. Similarities Both IPv4 and IPv6 are internal layer protocols designed for packet-switched internetworking. The two IP versions are also capable o f providing end-to-end datagram or packet transmission across more than one IP networks. In terms of the structure of their packets, both the headers of IPv4 and IPv6 have an optional fields or extension that can be used to implement special features. Differences According to (Shankland, 2011), IPv4 allows 32 bits for an IP and because of this, it can support 232 (4,294,967,296) addresses. On the other hand, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, therefore, the developed address space supports 2128. This is about 340 undecillion or 3.4?1038 addresses. This makes the large address space an important feature of IPv6 over IPv4. This expansion creates room for more devices and users on the internet. It also allows for additional

Intellectual Property paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Intellectual Property paper - Essay Example The main controversy of the current situation in realm of IPR can possibly be formulated as follows. On the one hand, IPR holders require that government should implement new laws ensuring absolute security of their intellectual property. This requirement seems logic and reasonable, especially if we take into consideration the growing number of intellectual property thefts that occur these days. Absence of effective legislation may lead to further growth of IPR infringements. Yet, on the other hand, in light of the recent developments in the realm of IPR protection, a number of experts express concern that requirements of IPR holders to fully protect their intellectual assets might potentially erode capabilities that have been previously permitted to the public by copyright law under the "fair use" doctrine or its cousins, such as 'first sale' or 'limited term' doctrine. This paper identifies the most controversial issues associated with intellectual property rights in contemporary environment and analyzes whether IPR are justified in the form they currently take. The traditional instrument, which regulates use of intellectual property, is intellectual property law. ... The statue protected British printers after the advent of the printing press, and also protected European book importers1. From legal perspective the IPR norms and regulations covering the digital environment are more complex and controversial than those applied for traditional media. As a result, many legal practices, which are highly effective for protection of the IPR in traditional environment, may not be applicable nowadays2. Despite recognition of the need to adjust traditional intellectual property laws in order to reflect the recent changes in this realm, the situation still leaves much to be desired, both domestically and internationally. As Boyle ironically noticed nearly ten years ago, ".modern international policy towards IPR much resembles previous 'freedom of the seas'3. Despite multiple declarations, the situation remains practically the same up to date. Notwithstanding efforts of the US and EU to unify national legislations, efforts of WTO, and in many cases outdated Acts regulate modern principles of digital data4. The issue of intellectual property in digital environment is covered by several Acts in the United Kingdom. UK legislation differentiates the IPR of physical materials (e.g. print data) and digital IPR. At the same time, British legislation does not cover as many aspects of digital IPR as, for example, American one. The old laws are still in use in many cases which hinders proper protection of IPR in digital domain5. According to British legislation, intellectual property rights are; "legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields"6. As well as American and pan-European

Mass media not only gives the latest news and trends Essay Example for Free

Mass media not only gives the latest news and trends Essay Over decades, mass media has been used to propagate information to the target audience. It has been a powerful tool that has been used by different people to express their interests on their audience. However, it comes with both positive and negative effects to the society depending on the channel used. Sometimes, channels are not sensitive on the kind of audience thus arousing fear, controversy, violence, or other emotions associated with the message being conveyed. Many experts have conducted research on the effects of mass media on the youth (Guarino Carter, 2013). Their findings indicate that mass media has a positive effect on the young people due to its educative nature. However, they advise that the youth should be exposed to information that is in synch with their development phase. All the media sources enhance knowledge through provision of information. For instance, news increases self-awareness by updating the audience about the daily events happening in the society. This develops concern about social issues within the population segment, which is most productive. Mass media not only gives the latest news and trends, but also contributes to the enhancement of vocabularies and command of language. Young Launer (2011) explain that advancement of general knowledge leads to the rise of a youthful population that is able to express their views with appropriate language that alleviates conflicts and controversies as a result of misunderstandings. The print media is vital for the development of a reading culture in the society. The habits ensure that the youth are well informed on the social trends and other aspects that are vital for socio-economic growth in the whole social matrix (Bacal, 2013). Studies indicate that the methods used to deliver information influences the cognitive processing capacity of the audience. Moreover, the methods improve the learning progress of the youth since their brains are at their optimum learning phase. Axon (2011) states that significant knowledge gains have been witnessed when the participants are exposed to current affairs, social issues, and other forms of information based on varying contexts. Due to the broad range of information being propagated, mass media overwhelms us with tons of information. The nature and amount of information increases the brain’s capacity to gain more knowledge. So, mass media creates an avenue that stimulates the need for exploration and curiosity, which are essential for effective development of the brain (Donohue, 2011). In addition, mass media develops the reflective segment of the brain that processes the factual, objective, and analytic elements, which influence response to varying situations. The development of this segment leads the person to have rational thoughts: they are the ones that determine the formulation of response depending on the situation. Therefore, the youth who are conversant with the dynamics of mass media develop a balance between the real world and the environment created by media activities. The efficiency of knowledge acquisition and retain ability depends on the ability of the mind to access long sequences of information and putting it together in order to establish relationships. Wilson (2011) explains that our culture is dominated by activities which improve declarative memory if well utilized. Therefore, mass media is a major contributor to the development of various segments of the brain, which is an advantageous effect on the young population since they are a part of the target audience. In his article, Debatin (2013) further explains that mass media has profound effects on the modern culture. The availability of constant information influences the social behavior of the youthful population due to the nature of messages being propagated. They not only promote the intended interests, but also stimulate attitudes, moods, and other forms of emotions that define social behavior. Therefore, mass media influences the transformation of the social and cultural values of the general audience. The influential nature of media contributes to positive development of thoughts and behavioral patterns of the youth. The media has contributed to positive transformation of the way people think. In reference to Gentile (2011), cultivation of good behavioral patterns strengthens the social bonds in the community. It also creates a young population that is able to work and live together as a way of developing the country. The advent of media technologies that enable propagation of information to all population segments has led to effective social control. Through media, announcements, advertisements, and messages that require the audience to follow some form of instruction is possible. This has been made successful by the strong link that exists between the youth and mass media (Gunther, 2013). Its positive effect has created an audience that is obedient and flexible to the changes occurring in the society. In addition, the media influences the health status among the youth by providing educative programs about physical fitness and diet. The programs can be used to influence the lifestyle of the young people by offering nutritional recommendations that promote a healthy lifestyle. Statistics indicate that commercials that encourage healthy eating take fourteen percent of the time spent by the youth in mass media platforms (Moran, 2013). Since the young people make up the most active population segment, many companies target them. Products such as alcohol and cigarettes are mostly consumed by the young people. The mass media can be used to influence their consumption behavior through passive advertisements, which discourage their use. Therefore, the mass media can be used as a positive influence on the social behavior of the target population (Sterin, 2011). Oliver Jinhee (2012) explain that one of the positive media effects is the enhancement of interpersonal relationships and communication. They further elaborate that the interpersonal relationships developed influence the complex social dynamics. This is because the messages propagated affect the social institutions depending on their context as a major deciding factor on the choice of their response. Therefore, the efficient delivery of information to the target audience is a fundamental factor for determining effective interactions in the society. Porfilio, Car, Miranda (2011) state that media activities change peoples’ perspective on various issues that affect society. These activities cultivate positive perceptions on the modern youth over time due to continuous exposure to mass media. Although the creation of perceptions is a complex process, it shapes the methods, which the audience approaches social challenges resulting to the development of better social norms. Therefore, the role of mass media in manipulating perceptions within the social context comes with positive consequences on the young population. In conclusion, the amount of benefits derived from mass media depends on how its capacities are utilized. Its influential nature can be used to create social trends that promote better lifestyle, which is an essential factor for optimizing human capital. In addition, it has made the world a global village where information reaches its target audience within a short time irrespective of their locations. This availability of information is vital for expanding the information processing capabilities of the modern young population. It also expands the knowledge base and command of various issues of concern in the society. At the same time, it creates self-awareness and a sense of responsibility among the young population. Therefore, the mass media has positive effects on the population segment under consideration. References Axon, D. (2011). Effects of Mass media on the Society. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from American Communication Journal: http://services. trueserials. com Bacal, R. (2013). Mass Media and the Effects on Society. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Presse Radio: http://www. presseradiotv. com Debatin, B. (2013). Media Ethics in a Fast Changing Media Environment. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Journal of Mass Media Ethics: http://www. tandfonline. com Donohue, T. (2011). Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth in Knowledge. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Public Opinion Quarterly: http://poq. oxfordjournals. org Gentile, W. (2011). Impact of media use on children and youth. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from National Institutes of Health: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov Guarino, M. , Carter, B. (2013). The rise of new media and Internet power schemes: An impact study of social media rise. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Academia. edu: http://www. academia. edu Gunther, A. (2013). The Persuasive Press Inference: Effects of Mass Media on Perceived Public Opinion. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Communication Research: http://crx. sagepub. com Jacobs, R. (2012). Race, Media, and the Crisis of Civil Society. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www. diesel-ebooks. com Moran, M. (2013). Understanding the Global TV Format. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www. diesel-ebooks. com Oliver, M. , Jinhee, B. (2012). Exploring Implications of Perceived Media Reinforcement on Third-Person Perceptions. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Communication Research: http://crx. sagepub. com Porfilio, B. , Car, P. , Miranda, M. (2011). Youth culture, the mass media, and democracy. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Academic Exchange Quarterly: http://rapidintellect. com Sterin, C. (2011). Mass Media Revolution [Kindle Edition]. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from http://www. amazon. com Swanberg, A. (2013). The CNN effect: can the news media drive social trends. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from CNN: http://www. cnn. com Wilson, B. (2011). The Anatomy of Mass Media. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Journal of Media Psychology: http://services. trueserials. com Young, M. , Launer, M. (2011). The Impact of New Media on Traditional Mainstream Mass Media. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from BBC: http://www. bbc. co. uk

Modified Huffman Coding Schemes Information Technology Essay

Modified Huffman Coding Schemes Information Technology Essay CHAPTER 2 Document compression is a digital process. Therefor, before compressing the data , information about the document should be known. The CCITT algorithms deals with a page of size 8.5 x 11 inch. The page is divided into horizontal and vertical lines. These horizontal lines are known as scan lines . Dots per inch and pixels per inch are two standards for image resolution. A 8.5 x 11 inch page is 1728 x 2200 pixels . One scan line is 1728 pixel long .the normal resolution is 200 x 100 dpi and a fine resolution is 200 x 200 dpi. Figure 2.1 Each pixel is represented by 1 bit , the number of pixel that will form the above page is 3,801,600. Although sending this data through an ISDN line it will take approximately 7 min. If the resolution of the page is increased , the time taken by the transmission will increase. Thus it is not important to transfer every exact bit of the binary page information. The most commonly encoding used for CCITT compression is Modified Huffman which is supported by all the fax compression techniques. Other options used are Modified Read and Modified Modified Read. The following table gives an overview of these encoding/decoding techniques. Characteristics MH MR MMH Compression efficiency Good Better Best Standard T.4 T.4 T.6 Dimension 1-D 2-D 2-D(extended) Algorithm Huffman and RLE Similarities between two successive lines More efficient MR Table 2.1 : Comparisons of MH, MR and MMR 2.1.1 Modified Huffman The fax pages are contains many runs of white and black pixels which makes RLE efficient for minimizing these run lengths. The efficiently compressed run lengths are then combined with Huffman coding . Thus an efficient and simple algorithm is achieved by combining RLE with Huffman coding and this is known as Modified Huffman. RLE consists of terminating and makeup codes. MH coding uses specified tables for terminating and makeup codes. Terminating codes represent shorter runs while the makeup codes represents the longer runs. The white and black pixel runs from 0 to 63 are represented by terminating codes while greater than 63 are represented with makeup codes which mean than greater than 63 bit runs are defined in multiples of 64 bits which are formed by the terminating codes. These tables are given in chapter 4. a scan line represented with long runs gives a make code which is less than or equal to the pixel run and then the difference is given by the terminating code. The following example will help in understanding how it works. . There are three different types of bit pattern in MH coding Pixel information (data ) Fill EOL The term Fill refers to the extra 0 bits that are added to a small data line which fills the left space in the data. The Fill patterns brings highly compressed scan line to a preferred minimum scan line time ( MSLT) , which makes it complete and transmittable. Consider a transmission rate of 4800 bps with an MSLT 10ms so the minimum bit per scan line is 48 bits.1728 pixels scan line is compressed to 43 bit . 31 data bit + 12 EOL bits which in total is 43 bits. The left space is filled by 5 Fill bits given as follow Scan line 1728 pixels EOL RLE code 4B 3W 2B 1719W 12 bits 43 bits Bit pattern 00110101 011 1000 11 01100001011000 00000 0000000000001 31 data bits fill patren EOL 48 bits - Figure 2.2 Modified Huffman structure In addition to this another special bit pattern used in the MH coding is EOL . EOL are special bit patterns which have several different identification function i.e. EOL at the start of the scan line indicate the start of the scan of line EOL at the end of the scan line consist of 11 0s followed by a 1. It helps in stopping the error from one scan line penetrating into other scan lines and each line is independently coded. At the end of each page an RTC signal is given which holds six EOL patterns which identifies the end of page . MODIFIED READ MR is also known as Modified Relative Element address designated (READ). MR exploits the correlation between successive lines . It is known that two consecutive lines have a very high percentage of single pixel transition due to a very high resolution of the images. Using this phenomena, instead of scanning each scan line as done in MH, MR takes in account a reference line and then encodes each scan line that follows. In fact it is more appropriate to say that MR is more complex MH algorithm. MR encoding encounters both MH and MR coding technique. The reference line is encoded using MH and the subsequent line is encoded using MR encoding until the next reference line appears. The decision on how to encounter the next reference line is taken by a parameter K. The vale of K defines the resolution of the compression. MR is a 2-Dimensional algorithm. The value of K defines the number of lines that uses 2-Dimensional phenomena, which K-1 lines. However the reference line using the MH algorithm is using 1-dimension. For a normal resolution of an image the value of K is set to 2 the refrence line is encoded every second scan line. Where as the value of K set to 4 will give a higher resolution because the reference line is MH encoded every 4 line , making it more complex and compressed. The following figure shows scan lines for both resolution of K set to 2 and 4. MH MR MH MR -2 scan lines- For normal resolution k = 2 , 1 MH line, 1 MR line MH MR MR MR MH MR MR MR 4 scan lines For higher resolution k = 4, 1 MH line , 3 MR lines figure 2.3 modified read structure The advantage of having low resolution over high resolution is that the error prorogation into the subsequent line is reduced with lower number of dependent scan lines. However in MR encoding the value of K can be set as high as 24. The change between two subsequent line i.e. the refrence line and the next scan line given by MR can be given as follow reference line b1 b2 Scan line a0 a1 a2 figure 2.4 MR 2-D coding. The nodes that are given in the figure above are described as follow a0 is start of changing element in the coding line which is also the reference for the next changing elements a1 first transition on the coding line a2 second transition on the coding line b1 first transition on the reference line on the right of the a0 , first opposite color transition b2 first transition on the reference line. In the above figure the reference line is coded with the MH coding while the next scan line is coded with MR. Hence it can be seen that there are very minor changer between both the scan line. MR takes advantage of the minor changes and encodes only the changing elements a0 , a1 and a2 instead of the complete scan line. There are three functional encoding modes of MR , which decide on how to code these changing elments of the scan line with respect to the reference line. These modes are Pass mode Vertical mode Horizontal mode As it is due to these different modes of MR which makes it more complex algorithm. These MR functional modes are discussed in detail in chapter 3. And then one can reffer back to this part to completely understand it. The structure of MR is given as follow EOL +1 Data 1-D fill EOL +0 Data 1-D EOL+1 Data 1-D fill EOL +0 Data 1-D EOL +1 EOL +1 EOL +1 EOL +1 EOL +1 EOL +1 K = 2 EOL+1 MH coding of next line EOL+0 MR coding of next line FILL Extra 0 bits RTC End of page with 6 EOLs Figure 2.5 Structure of MR data in a page Modified Modified Read ITU-T Recommendation T.6 gives the Modified Modified Read or MMR encoding algorithm. MMR is an upgraded version of the MR. They are both 2-Dimensional algorithms but MMR is an Extended version of the 2-Dimension. The fundamentals of MMR are same as MR except a few minor changes to the algorithm however the modes of MR i.e. pass mode , vertical mode and horizontal mode are same for MMR encoding. The major change in the MMR with respect to MR is the K parameter . The MMR algorithm dose not use the K parameter and recurring reference line. Instead of these the MMR algorithm uses an imaginary scan line which consist of all white pixels which is the first line at the start of each page and a 2-Dimension line follows till the end of the page. This introduced scan line of all whites is the reference line alike the MR. The error propagation in MMR has a very high predictability because of the connected coding method of all the scan lines. Thus ECM is required for MMR to be enabled. ECM guaranties error free MMR algorithm. Thus MMR dose not require any EOL however a EOFB (end of facsimile block) is required at the end of page which is the same as RTC in MH. The organization of data in MMR and the EOFB block bit sequence is given as follow. Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D Data 2-D EOFB scan lines of page EOFB bit sequence 0000000000001 0000000000001 Figure 2.6 Scan lines in MMR page Tagged Image File Format Tagged Image File Format(TIFF) is purely a graphical format i.e. pix elated, bitmap or rasterized. TIFF is a common file format that is found in most imaging programs. This discussion here cover majorly the TIFF standard of ITU-T.6 which is the latest. T.6 includes all the specification of the earlier versions with little addition. TIFF is flexible and has good power rating but at the same time it is more complex. Extensibility of TIFF makes it more difficult to design and understand. TIFF is as known by its name a tagged file that holds the information about the image. TIFF structure is organized into three parts Image file header (IFH) Bit map data (black and white pixels) Image File Directory(IFD) IFH Bitmap data IFD EOB Figure 2.7 File organization of TIFF Consider an example of three TIFF images file structures. These three structures hold the same data in possible three different formats. The IFH or the header of TIFF is the first in all the three arrangements. However in the first arrangement IFDs are been written first and then followed by the image data which is efficient if IFD data is needed to be read quickly. In the second structure the IFD is followed by its particular image which is the most common internal structure of the TIFF. In the last example the image data followed by its IFDs. This structure is applicable if the image data is available before the IFDs. Header IFD0 IFD1 IFD n Image 0 Image 1 Image n Header IFD 0 Image 0 IFD 1 Image 1 IFD n Image n Header Image 0 Image 1 Image 3 IFD 0 IFD 1 IFD n Figure 2.8 Different TIFF structures Image File Header A TIFF file header is an 8-byte which is the start of a TIFF file. The bytes are organized in the following order The first two bytes defines the byte order which is either little endian (II)or big endian (MM). The little endian byte order is that it starts from least significant bit and ends on the most significant and big endian is vice verse. II = 4949H MM = 4D4DH The third and fourth bytes hold the value 42H which is the definition for the TIFF file The next fourth bytes holds the offset value for the IFD. The IFD may be at any location after the header but must begin after a word boundary. Byte order 42 Byte offset for IFD Figure 2.9 IFH structure Image File Directory Image file directory (IFD) is a 12 byte file that holds information about the image including the color , type of compression, length, width, physical dimension, location of the data and other such information of the image. Before the IFD there is a 2 byte tag counter. This tag counter holds the number of IFD used. Which is followed by a 12 byte IFD and a four 0 bytes at the end of the last byte. Each IFD entry has the following format The first two bytes of the IFD hold the identification field. This filed gives information what characteristic of the image it is pointing to. This is also know as the tag. The next two bytes gives the type of of the IFD i.e. short, long etc The next four bytes hold the count for the defined tag type The last two bytes hold the offset value for the next IFD which is always an even number. However the next IFD starts by a word difference. This vale offset can point anywhere in the Image even after the image data. The IFD are sorted in ascending order according to the Tag number. Thus a TIFF field is a logical entity which consist of a tag number and its vallue Tag entry count 2-bytes Tag 0 12 bytes Tag 1 12 bytes Tag n 12 bytes Next IFD offset or null bytes 4 bytes Figure 2.10 IFD structure The IFD is the basic tag file that hold information about the image data in a complete TIFF file. The data is either found in the IFD or retrieved from an offset location pointed in the IFD. Due to offset value to other location instead of having a fixed value makes TIFF more complex. The offset values in TIFF are in three places last four bytes of the header which indicates the position of the first IFD Last four bytes of the IFD entry which offsets the next IFD. The last four bytes in the tag may contain an offset value to the data it represents or possibly the data its self figuer 2.11 CCITT Encoding This type of compression is used for facsimile and document imaging files. It is a losses type of image compression. The CCITT ( International telegraph and telephone consultative committee) is an organization which provides standards for communication protocol for black and white images or telephone or other low data rate data lines. The standards given by ITU are T.4 and T.6. These standards are the CCITT group 3 and group 4 compression methods respectively. CCITT group compression algorithms are designed specifically for encoding 1 bit image. CCITT is a non adaptive compression algorithm. There are fixed tables that are used by CCITT algorithms. The coded values in these tables were taken from a reference of set of documents containing both text and graphics. The compression ratio obtained with CCITT algorithms is much more higher than quarter size of the original image. The compression ratio for a 200 x 200 dpi image achieved with group 3 is 5:1 to 8:1 which is much increased with group 4 that is up to 15:1 with the same image resolution. However the complexity of the algorithms increases with the ratio of its comparisons. Thus group 4 is much more complex than group 3. The CCITT algorithms are specifically designed for typed or handwritten scanned images, other images with composition different than that of target for CCITT will have different runs of black and white pixels. Thus such bi-level images compressed will not give the required results. The compression will be either to a minimum or even the compressed image will be greater in size than the original image. Such images at maximum can achieve a ratio of 3:1 which is very low if the time taken by the comparisons algorithms is very high. The CCITT has three algorithms for compressing bi level images, Group 3 one dimensional Group 3 two dimensional Group 4 two dimensional Earlier when group 3 one dimensional was designed it was targeted for bi level , black and white data that was processed by the fax machines. Group 3 encoding and decoding has the tendency of being fast and has a reputation of having a very high compression ratio. The error correction inside a group 3 algorithm is done with the algorithm itself and no extra hardware is required. This is done with special data inside the group3 decoder. Group 3 makes muse off MH algorithm to encode. The MMR encoding has the tendency to be much more efficent. Hence group 4 has a very high percentage of compression as compared to group 3 , which is almost half the size of group 3 data but it is much more time consumed algorithm. The complexity of such an algorithm is much more higher than that of group 3 but they do not have any error detection which propagates the error how ever special hardware configuration will be required for this purpose. Thus it makes it a poor choice for image transfer protocols. Document imaging system that stores these images have adopted CCITT compression algorithms to save disk spaces. However in age of good processing speeds and handful of memory CCITT encoded algorithms are still needed printing and viewing o data as done with adobe files. However the transmission of data through modems with lower data rates still require these algorithms. Group 3 One Dimensional (G31D) The main features of G31D are given as follow G31D is a variation of the Huffman type encoding known as Modified Huffman encoding. The G31D encodes a bi-level image of black and white pixels with black pixels given by 1 and white with 0s in the bitmap. The G31D encodes the length of a same pixel run in a scan line with variable length binary codes. The variable length binary codes are take from pre defined tables separate for black and white pixels. The variable code tables are defined in T.4 and t.6 specification foe ITU-T. These tables are determined by taking a number of typed and handwritten documents. Which were statistically analyzed to the show the average frequency of these bi level pixels. It was decided that run length occurring more frequently were assigned small code will other were given bigger codes. As G31D is a MH coding scheme which is explained earlier in the chapter so we will give some example of the coding is carried out for longer run of same pixels. The coded tables have continuous value from 0 to 63 which are single terminating codes while the greater are coded with addition of make up codes for the same pixels, only for the values that are not in the tables for a particular pixel. The code from 64 to 2623 will have one makeup code and one terminating code while greater than 2623 will have multiple makeup codes. Hence we have two types of tables one is from 0 to 63 and other from 64 till 2560. The later table is selected by statistical analysis as explained above. Consider a pixel run for 20 black . Hence it is less than the 63 coded mark in the table . We will look for the value of 20 in the black pixel table which is 00001101000. hence this will be the terminating code for the 20 black pixel run which is have the size of the original. Thus a ratio 2:1 is achieved. Let us take the value 120 which is greater than 63 and is not present in the statistically selected pixel run. Here we will need a make up code and a terminating code. The pixel run can be broken into 64 which is the highest in the tables for this pixel run and 57 which will give 120 pixel run 120 = 64 + 57 64 coded value is 11011 57 coded value is 01011010 hence 120 is 11011 the make up code and 01011010 terminating code as given in the figure 2.11a. Now consider a bigger run of black pixel which is 8800. This can be given a sum of 4 make up and one terminating code 8800 = 2560 + 2560 + 2560 + 1088 + 32 which is 000000011111, 00000001111, 000000011111, 0000001110101 and 0000001101010 so it can be given as shown in figure 2.11b 11011 1011010 Makeup code terminating code 2.11a makeup and terminating codes for 120 OOOOOOO11111 OOOOOOO11111 OOOOOOO11111 OOOOO111O1O1 1101010 makeup makeup makeup makeup terminating figure 2.11b makeup and terminating codes for 8800 Group 3 Two Dimensional (G32D) Group 4 Two Dimensional (G42D)

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Essay -- Literary

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Born in the late nineteenth century, Virginia Woolf’s visionary mind emerged in a social climate that did not cultivate the intellectual development of women. In England’s waning Victorian era, the upper classes of women were encouraged to become nothing more than obedient wives, self-effacing mothers, servile hostesses, and cheerful, chattering tea-drinkers, expectations that Virginia Woolf shunned, renounced, and ultimately denounced in her writings. Beside being born into a patriarchal culture, Virginia Woolf was also born into a family headed by a man who made it clear that he "expected more from his sons than his daughters" (Bazin 4). Although he considered Virginia as "the darling, the pet" (70) of the family, after the death of his second wife, her father Leslie Stephen fell into a deep depression that commanded "demands upon his children for pity and devotion [that] were almost unbearable" (4). Woolf herself wrote in her diary that she would never have been able to produce as much work as she did had her father not died fairly early in her life: "His life would have entirely ended mine. What would have happened? No writing, no books:-- inconceivable" (Gilbert and Gubar 192). Although he "allowed" Virginia to read and write, Leslie Stephen can be attributed with only a little more than genetic contribution to his daughter’s genius. Orlando is the paragon of Virginia Woolf’s literary genius. Published in 1928, the novel is a fictional biography of Woolf’s friend Vita Sackville-West. The novel is dedicated to Vita and "has been called ‘the longest and most charming love letter in literature’" (Meese 469). This crucial biographical context is often overlooked, a displacement which hinders the f... ...a Woolf. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 223-230. Marder, Herbert. Feminism & Art: A Study of Virginia Woolf. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1968. Meese, Elizabeth. "When Virginia Looked at Vita, What Did She See; or, Lesbian: Feminist: Woman- What’s the Differ(e/a)nce?" Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary Theory and Criticism. Ed. Robyn R. Warhol and Diane Price Herndl. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1997. Moi, Toril. Sexual/Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory. New York: Routledge, 1985. Walker, Nancy A. Feminist Alternatives: Irony and Fantasy in the Contemporary Novel by Women. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1990. West, Paul. "Enigmas of Imagination: Orlando Through the Looking Glass." Virginia Woolf. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 83-100. Woolf, Virginia. Orlando: A Biography. 1928. New York: Penguin Books, 1946.

Medical Mechanics of Ultrarunning :: Running Sports Essays

Medical Mechanics of Ultrarunning The medical aspects of ultramarathon running are a enormous part of what makes up the individual ultra runner. Many traumatic injuries can take place when a person gets involved in this specific sport. " It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of injury prevention and treatment to the career of a successful athlete. It has been noted that the champion athlete is very often one who has attained a high level of lay expertise and downright craftiness with regard to injuries, whereas novices seem to keep getting hurt. Very often the difference between the perennial champion and the perennial bridesmaid is just that edge: an ability to avoid and/or recover quickly from physical trauma."(Marty Liquiri) This quote made by Marty is stating the point that preventing injuries is a essential aspect that a runner has to consider. There are a limitless amount of injuries that a runner might have to deal with. Several precautions can be taken to make sure most of these injuries do not tak e place. Proper stretching is a very major part of preventing injuries concerning running. In order to run any distance your muscles as well as body have to be readily prepared. There are four stretching techniques that I have learned about. The first one is ballistic stretching. This stretch activates the stretch reflex, allowing the stretched muscle to contract quickly and the runner to bob up with a lot of speed. This stretch is not a popular one and is not very useful in ultra running. The second stretch is called the passive stretching. This stretch needs a partner to apply extra external pressure to elaborate the stretch. This stretch is safest when applied to more experienced athletes and is not advised for beginners just learning the whole stretching routine. The third way of stretching is referred to as contract-relax stretching. In this stretch the muscle is allowed to contract actively while being stretched and then stretched once more immediately after it relaxes. The fourth and f inal stretch is considered static stretching. This stretch is positioned and held for thirty to sixty seconds. There is a gradual build up of tension in the muscle being stretched so the stretch reflex isn't activated. As the tendons are slowly being stretched the inverse stretch reflex is being activated and the tension in the muscle lessons so the muscle can be stretched even further than before.

Business Intelligence Essay

As Business Intelligence (BI) becomes a critical component of daily operations, real-time data warehouses (DW) that provide end users with rapid updates and alerts generated from transactional systems are increasingly being deployed. Real-time data warehousing and BI, supporting its aggressive Go Forward business plan, have helped Continental Airlines alter its industry status from â€Å"worst to first† and then from â€Å"first to favourite†. Continental Airlines is a leader in real-time BI. In 2004, Continental won the Data Warehousing Institute’s Best Practices and Leadership Award. Big Problems Continental Airlines was founded in 1934, with a single-engine Lockheed aircraft in the Southwestern U.S. As of 2006, Continental (Houston) is the fifth largest airline in the United States and the seventh largest in the world. Continental has the broadest global route network of any U.S. airline, with more than 2,300 daily departures to more than 227 destinations. Back in 1994, Continental was in deep financial trouble. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection twice and was heading for its third, and probably final, bankruptcy. Ticket sales were hurting because performance on factors that are important to customers was dismal, including a low percentage of on-time departures, frequent baggage arrival problems, and too many customers turned away due to overbooking. Solution The revival of Continental began in 1994, when Gordon Bethune became CEO and initiated the Go Forward plan, which consisted of four interrelated parts to be implemented simultaneously. Bethune targeted the need to improve customer-valued performance measures by better understanding customer needs as well as customer perceptions of the value of services that were and could be offered. Financial management practices were also targeted for a significant overhaul. As early as 1998, the airline had separate databases for marketing and operations, all hosted and managed by outside vendors. Processing queries and instigating marketing programs to its high-value customers were time-consuming and ineffective. In addition, information that the workforce needed to make quick decisions was simply not available. In 1999, Continental chose to integrate its marketing, IT, revenue, and operational data sources into a single, in-house, enterprise data warehouse (EDW). The data warehouse provided a va riety of early, major benefits. As soon as Continental returned to profitability and ranked first in the airline industry in many performance metrics, Bethune and his management team raised the bar by escalating the vision. Instead of just performing best, they wanted Continental to be their customers’ favourite airline. The Go Forward plan established more actionable ways to move from first to favourite among customers. Technology became increasingly critical for supporting these new initiatives. In the early days, having access to historical, integrated information was sufficient. This produced substantial strategic value. But it became increasingly imperative for the data warehouse to provide real-time, actionable information to support enterprise-wise tactical decision making and business processes. Luckily, the warehouse team had expected and arranged for the real-time shift. From the very beginning, the team had created an architecture to handle real-time data feeds into the warehouse, extracts of data from legacy systems into the warehouse, and tactical queries to the warehouse that required almost immediate response times. In 2001, real-time data became available from the warehouse, and the amount stored grew rapidly. Continental moves real-time data (ranging from to-the-minute to hourly) about customers, reservations, check-ins, operations, and flights from its main operational systems to the warehouse. Continental’s real-time applications include the following: †¢ Revenue management and accounting †¢ Customer relationship management (CRM) †¢ Crew operations and payroll †¢ Security and fraud †¢ Flight operations Benefits In the first year alone, after the data warehouse project was deployed, Continental identified and eliminated over $7 million in fraud and reduced costs by $41 million. With a $30 million investment in hardware and software over six years, Continental has reached over $500 million in increased revenues and cost savings in marketing, fraud detection, demand forecasting and tracking, and improved data centre management. The single, integrated, trusted view of the business (i.e. the single version of the truth) has led to better, faster decision making. Continental is now identified as a leader in real-time BI, based on its scalable and extensible architecture, practical decisions in what data are captured in real-time, strong relationships with end users, a small and highly competent data warehouse staff, sensible weighing of strategic and tactical decision support requirements, understanding of the synergies between decision support and operations, and changed business processes that use real-time data. Questions 1.Describe the benefits of implementing the Continental Go Forward strategy. 2.Explain why it is important for an airline to use a real-time data warehouse. 3.Examine the following sample system output screen. Describe how it can assist the user in identifying problems and opportunities. Extracted from http://www.teradata.com/t/page/139245/ 4.Identify the major differences between the traditional data warehouse and a real-time data warehouse, as was implemented at Continental. 5.What strategic advantage can Continental derive from the real-time system as opposed to a traditional information system? Additional information on Continental Airlines extracted from http://www.teradata.com/t/page/139245/ Continental scores with Teradata and Hyperion Continental Airlines, the world’s sixth largest airline, was recently named the â€Å"most admired global airline† by Fortune magazine. But Continental wasn’t always so highly acclaimed. In 1994, it ranked 10th out of 10 airlines assessed by U.S. Department of Transportation metrics. The airline knew little about its important customers, set fares and schedules using conventional industry assumptions, conducted contract negotiations blindly and fought fraud only after the damage was done. Continental’s turn around dramatically demonstrates how a data warehouse implementation and strategic use of BI—in this case, Teradata and Hyperion, respectively—can enable a company to attain competitive advantage. In fact, Continental’s earned it Gartner’s 2005 BI Excellence Award. Continental developed an enterprise data model that simplifies the joining of different subject areas to provide a single view of information for the BI environment. The model can support any query a user asks. Twenty-seven source systems feed the data warehouse, including schedules, inventory, reservations, OnePass (Continental’s frequent flyer program) and employee/crew payroll. More than 1,100 people use Continental’s Teradata/Hyperion-based system. The single, integrated, trusted view of the business has produced benefits ranging from better, faster decision-making to more than $500 million in cost savings, as well as incremental revenue from many initiatives that required BI information. The CRM and marketing team at Continental offers a conservative estimate of $150 million in revenue gains and $25 million in cost savings and fraud prevention.

What Is Risk? (Report)

1Introduction 2What is risk? 2. 1Material world and risk 2. 2Case study 1: allotment 2. 3Case study 2: sun exposure 2. 4Risk society and Ulrich Beck (1992) 3Understanding and knowledge 3. 1Geoffrey Rose (1850) 3. 2Epidemiology 3. 3Uncle Norman and last person 5Conclusion 6References Title: Risk and understanding through expert knowledge and lay dispute Introduction This report will look at how modern society is a risk society, how expert knowledge is used to understand risk and how lay people respond. Case studies will be used to show how expert knowledge on understanding and managing risk is communicated.These will show how the lay person disputes risks and make decisions without following the expert knowledge. The work of sociologists of Geoffrey Rose (1850) and Charlie Davison and colleagues (1991) is used to show how the lay person disputes expert knowledge by using their own everyday knowledge and experience. What is risk? 2. 1 Material world and risk In modern society we live i n a material world that now provides us with material goods which previous societies didn’t have. However these new material goods can bring us benefits but also can bring us risks.Putting yourself, or something, at risk is putting yourself in a possible situation which would have a negative outcome. Thompson et al. did a study in 1989 on cyclists who wanted to try to manage the risk of a head injury by wearing a helmet while cycling. The results showed an 85% decrease in the risk of a head injury if a helmet was worn. However, research by Walker (2006) concluded that if a car was to overtake a cyclist wearing a helmet, they would drive closer. Using this expert knowledge some people may chose to not wear a helmet to keep divers at bay even though with a crash the risk of a head injury would be higher. . 2 Case study: allotment In 2003 Tim Jordan and his family had an allotment in Hackney in which they thought the soil was safe. Eighteen months after getting the allotment the ir local authority, sent them a letter telling them the soil was poisoned with arsenic and lead. The test used by the council measured the total amount of poison in the soil using soil plugs. These samples were sent to a laboratory where the level of poison was compared to ‘soil guidance values’ (Exploring Social Lives, 2009 p. 54). This was a well established tests scientists used to develop their expert knowledge about soil and poisons.The soil was then tested in a different way with a PBET (physiologically based extraction test). The basis of this test was to measure the level of poison in the soil that would enter the human body. The test tries to create a situation of the soil passing through the human digestive system of a two year old. This test showed that the level of poison in the soil was less then the earlier test. Both tests gave the public information about the level of poison and therefore the level of risk in gardening on that soil. But each test gave th e lay person different information making it difficult for them to be certain about the risk.This case study shows that expert knowledge if not always consistent. 2. 3 Case study 2: sun exposure The sun exposure case study concentrates on Glaswegians attitude towards sun exposure whilst knowing the risks. Simon Carter conducts research on the attitude towards sun exposure drawn from interviews and focus groups of tourists between ages 20 – 35 who regularly travel abroad. This research found that those involved were aware of health advice on how to protect themselves from the dangers of sun exposure and why. Glaswegians find going on holiday without a pre-holiday tan as embarrassing.The Glaswegian term ‘peely-wally’ is used to describe people who are pale ‘When you’re away and the sunglasses and white legs come out I’m ashamed to be Scottish †¦ it’s like if you see a group of peely-wally people then they are Scottish. ’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009 p. 75) Even though these people knew about the risks of sun exposure they decided not to follow the advise to decrease the risk of damaging themselves due to the idea of looking healthy with a tan. This is an example of expert knowledge being disputed by the lay public because getting brown and having a tan was more important than the risk of illness in the future. . 4 Risk Society and Ulrich Beck In 1986 reactor number four of the Chernobyl nuclear power complex exploded and released radiation causing 28 deaths and left 200 people sick with radiation (Spivak 1992). As radioactive material is invisible to the human eye, it was a challenge for humans to know exactly where had been affected. This meant the public who lived in the ‘fallout’ zone to the radiation became reliant on the expert knowledge of the risk they were faced, ‘open to a social process of definition’ (Beck, 1989, p. 88). Beck defined ‘risk society’ (Expl oring Social Lives, 2009, p. 0) to describe the social impact of risk and showed how the complex risks in society needed expert knowledge to explain them. Understanding and knowledge of risk 3. 1 Epidemiology Epidemiology is a way of understanding how illness and disease is transferred across populations by tracing how the infections move across countries. Epidemiology has also been used in understanding risk when experts have used data to work out the probability (chance) of a risk happening. Doll and Hill (1950) showed that a high percentage of people who smoked had lung cancer and so they argued that smoking was a risk.This expert knowledge is based on understanding a pattern rather than the cause of lung cancer. 3. 2 Geoffrey Rose (1850) Epidemiological research is always carried out on a whole group of people but when the risks are communicated they are aimed at the individual. Prevention paradox was defined by Geoffrey Rose (1850). It describes the situation where the solution to prevent a risk will offer the community benefit that may not apply to each individual. Rose describes it best by saying that the ‘measure that brings large benefits to the community offers little to each participating individual’ (Rose, 1891, p. 850). Rose uses vaccinations to describe prevention paradox. Not every child will suffer from the illnesses prevented by vaccinations however every child will have a vaccination in order to prevent the one child that would need it. ‘599 â€Å"wasted† immunisations for the one that was effective’ (Rose, 1981, p. 1850). 3. 3 Lay dispute of risk Davison et al. found that people in every day life talked about health and illness. They knew people who had followed all the health advice and still became sick and died and other people who had not followed any of the advice and had no negative effects.This results in a type of lay epidemiology through which people dispute the expert knowledge and reinforce the exp erience of individuals in their everyday life. 4. Conclusion As society has become more complex and the public have more choices of consumer goods and services that there are risk as well as benefits in these. Many of these risks are complicated to understand and so need experts to study and explain them. This has led to the risk society where expert knowledge is used to help the lay public understand the risks facing them everyday.There is evidence that the lay public disputes the expert knowledge and makes decisions not to follow advice, such as using sun protection. This is partly because expert knowledge can be contradictory with different studies showing different risks but also because the expert knowledge does not always match the individuals experience. 1295 Words Beck, U. (1989) ‘On the way to the industrial risk-society? Outline of an argument’, Thesis Eleven, vol. 23, pp. 86-103 Bromley, S. Clarke, J. Hinchliffe, S. Taylor, S (2009) ‘Exploring Social Li ves’ Carter, S. and Jordan, T. Chapter 2 Living with risk and risky living’, Open University, Milton Keynes. Carter, S. (1997) ‘Who wants to be a â€Å"peelie wally’’? Glaswegian tourists’ attitudes to sun tans and sun exposure’ in Clift, S. and Grabowski, P. (eds) Tourism and Health: Risks, Responses and Research, London, Pinter. Rose, G. (1981) ‘Strategy of prevention: lessons from cardiovascular disease’, British Medical Journal, vol. 282, pp. 1847-53 Walker, I. (2006) ‘Drivers overtaking bicyclists’ [online], http://drainwalker. com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief. pdf (Accessed 14 April 2009)

Implementing ISO 9000 and Investor in People initiatives in working Essay

Implementing ISO 9000 and Investor in People initiatives in working place. Business Initiatiaves - Essay Example In today’s competitive world, every organisation wants to stay ahead of others, for which they strive to run more efficient businesses aimed at achieving maximum benefits using minimum resources. This has led to a formal, structured business process in which an organisation first sets a vision derived from its core values and ethics, develops a business plan based on its goals and priorities and then formulates business strategies to achieve the goals and hence put the business plan in action. A major business plan can often redefine the direction in which the organisation will proceed in the near or distant future (Bianca, 2013). There are several motivators that can cause an organisation to formulate a business plan and develop strategies to implement the plan such as, market-related motivators like, improving customer satisfaction, evolving with changing market dynamics and targeting a new market segment, competition-related motivators like, increasing market share, expandi ng product line, diversifying business, improving product quality, mergers and acquisitions, outperforming competitors and toppling market leaders, economic motivators like, job cuts and pay cuts, increasing market share and sales volume, reducing operational and manufacturing costs and improving productivity, operations-related motivators like, increasing productivity of employees, improving working environment and work culture and adopting new technology, environment-related motivators like, discontinuing using toxic chemicals, reducing pollution and carbon footprint, lowering energy consumption and adopting biomaterials as well as brand-equity motivators like, increasing brand visibility and recognition, creating brand loyalty and improving brand perception and brand image. Sometimes, multiple motivators may closely interact together. For instance, an organisation may decide to reduce its carbon footprint, improve the environment and be eligible for receiving special tax incentiv es from the government. Another organisation may want to introduce several new lines of products to target new market segments, create brand equity and generate more revenues. This means that at the core, every new move that an organisation makes is primarily tied to its commercial benefits. Almost all business plans and strategies are designed privately by organisations in consultation with internal employees. Such parties often tend to focus only on the desired outcomes and ignore the associated negative implications. This leads to achieving the desired goals at the cost of several other exploitations which not only backfire at the organisations, but also harm the entire society. The growing list of poor business plans and strategies of organisations around the world has prompted governments to undertake several measures that help organisations to take a holistic approach during chalking out initiatives, so that all the parties involved (such as, employees, customers and investors ) reap the benefits together. This has led to the creation of several business standards that draw from benchmark business practices in their respective industries and these standards are promoted to organisations for adoption. The adoption of a business standard helps an organisation to