Tools of Exploitation Analysis

The film/documentary, titled Tools of Exploitation, chronicles, analyzes and explains Western civilizations influence on African culture/livelihood throughout the period of colonialism (the film covers the slave trade for a brief moment as well) leading to the modern day. Narrated by scholar/author Ali Mazrui, the film focuses on the usurping of Africa’s future potential due to European powers stymying Africa’s growth for their (Western) own gain (hence the name Tools of Exploitation; Africa was exploited for European gain).The film addresses many factors to why this has taken place but focuses mostly on economic reasons as well as the false justifications Europeans used to colonize the continent. One of the themes the documentary covers was the false pretenses that Europeans claimed to justify the Colonization of Africa. During the early 20th century (1900’s), Northern and Eastern Africa still had a pervasive slave culture. In the North, the remnants of the Otto man Empire still practiced slavery, while the Muslims were the responsible figureheads in the East.Following the centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the â€Å"New World†, Europe had abolished the practicing of slavery. In 1884, the European powers that be called for the â€Å"Berlin Conference’’. Part of the conference was to organize â€Å"The Scramble for Africa†. The term was used to describe the West’s desire to introduce themselves as administrators of the African continent. One of the justifications for the conference/European’s colonialism, was that the West had â€Å"a duty† to end the barbarism of slavery still existing on the continent through the West’s new found morality.Part of the European’s plan for administration was also the fragmenting of Africa with artificial political boundaries. While this â€Å"organized† Africa in a convenient matter for the Europeans, it le d to ethnic divisions/rivalries that are still in existence today. One of the injustices of the Berlin Conference was that there were no African leaders invited to the conference; how could Europe be making such important, influential decisions about a continent’s future, without consulting the people of that continent?The answer; while Europe had abolished slavery, the racism dating back to the days of slavery still existed. The conference in reality had no intention of freeing Africa of its negatives, but instead, exploited the circumstances/situations of Africa to fuel the European commercial machine. One of the overlying themes to which Europeans, again, falsely the justified colonization of Africa, was through the concept of the â€Å"Duel Mandate†. The philosophy/idea/phrase was created by English colonial military ruler Lord Frederick Lugard.In a written testimony Lugard rationalizes colonizing Africa by claiming to utilize the continent’s resources in or der to fuel European commercialization as well as facilitate Africa’s modernization. The first half of the equation did come to fruition; Europe conveniently gained access to African’s resources (first pre-colonialism through slaves and gold, then later with mineral based resources during colonization). However, European’s modernization of Africa was merely surface level.Africa was given infrastructure (roads), skyscrape-esque buildings, commercial items (clothes, recreational technologies); but the African continent was not given the means for long term industrialization to keep up with the global economy. What does Africa benefit from having Western fashion? Africa has large-scale downtowns, and business sectors, but what is the purpose when these buildings/businesses are powered by faulty electricity? The vessels of modernization were left by Europeans, but there was no functionality or means of using the vessels for modernization.While the West was industria lizing, Africa was being fed a message of false growth. Africa never had a chance to develop a means of self-creation/production in the 20th century. A perfect example of this was cited in the film. The West African country of Liberia is a large exporter of the raw material for rubber, which is a major commercial commodity in the global economy. However, Liberia itself does not have the means to convert the raw materials into the final product, meaning the country has to import (purchase) finished rubber from outside countries.Was not part of the White Man’s burden and part of the Dual Mandate, to uplift Africa through use of its own resources? How is it that one of the richest continents with regards to natural resources could not take the next step towards mechanization/commercialization with the aid of the West? Again, the emphatic answer is that the West had no intention of aiding the continent in the first place. The economic shackles of colonialism were a pre-meditated, calculated attack on the development of Africa during the turn into the twentieth century.The lasting outcome has left Africa crippled even now in modern times. With slavery, Africa already became under populated destroying a large potential for human development/advancement; colonialism than hampered any immediate potential for industrial advancement in the continent. Now, modern day Africa’s urban areas/capitals have the appearance of advanced societies but are barely functional/beneficial as useful tools for everyday use (as Mazrui says, the buildings’ functions are â€Å"quenched†).What is even more disturbing is the similar behaviors exhibited by Asian countries (specifically) China in modern day Africa through a sort of â€Å"neo-colonialism†. Various reports detail foreign Asian workers entering African countries to build infrastructure (roads, pipelines, hospitals, etc. ). In actuality, these foreign influences are building conduits to ship mater ials back to their own coutnry. Tools of Exploitation not only chronicled the economic handicaps and lies that fueled colonialism in 1900’s; the film also describes a similar blueprint that modern emerging powers are beginning to employ as well

The Eighth Amendment

The eighth amendment is defined as â€Å"excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (Lectlaw, 2010). This amendment was adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791. The eighth amendment serves the purpose of protection of those who are innocent until proven guilty and to ensure that all persons are treated fairly in the criminal justice system. Defendants who are not released on bail are being denied the opportunity to prepare their defense. Also, denying bail or having excessive bail imprisons the defendant without being properly convicted. There are cases, however, where bail must be denied or set excessively high. If an unconvicted defendant is feared to be a danger to the community or a flight risk, the constitution permits the denial of bail (FindLaw, 2010). The â€Å"no excessive fines clause of the eighth amendment presides fines directly imposed by, and payable to the government and in civil forfeiture cases† (Onecle, 2009). The term â€Å"excessive† still has not been defined by the United States court system. Asset forfeiture, however, has become a key element in the war on drugs as the government has the power to seize property of persons that have not yet been convicted of a crime (Hornberger, 2005). The law â€Å"there shall not be cruel and unusual punishment† under the eighth amendment means that society will deem what is cruel and unusual. The standards of society transform over time as citizens â€Å"do better when they know better†. Medevil practices such as cutting off the hand of a theif are obviously unacceptable forms of punishment in today’s modern society. While the death penalty is used in some states for those who commit the most heinous of crimes, not all states impose such a severe sentence. The first known execution within the United States occurred in the year 1607 in Jamestown. Captain George Kendall was shot to death by a firing squad for allegedly spying against the British (Justice, 2009). Since then, there has been a struggle among society and lawmakers attempting to decide if the death penalty falls under unusual and cruel punishment. In the late 1960s, â€Å"all but 10 states had laws authorizing capital punishment† (Justice, 2009). During Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the U. S. Supreme Court decided against capital punishment on federal and state levels. The majority ruled in a five to four vote that the death penalty violated the rights of the eighth amendment (Justice, 2009). Over 600 inmates sitting on death row had their sentences overturned between the years 1967 and 1972. This suspension of the death penalty continued until 1976. During the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976, the court decided to uphold a procedure in which the trial of â€Å"capital crimes was bifurcated into guilt-innocence and sentencing phases† (Wikipedia, 2010). These proceedings entailed a jury to first decide if a defendant is guilty. Based upon that decision, then a jury decides whether any aggravating and mitigating factors in assessing the ultimate penalty: life in prison or capital punishment (Wikipedia, 2010). In 2002, the United States Supreme Court decided that the execution of criminals who are mentally ill to be cruel and unusual punishment. Also, in 2005, it was decided that the execution of criminals under the age of 18 to be cruel and unusual as well. As of the year 2008,†the death penalty is authorized by 37 states, the federal government and the U. S. Military† (Clarkprosecutor, 2008). Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Rhode Island do not support capital punishment (Clarkprosecutor, 2008). If the past has any influence on the future, the laws governing the death penalty will probably change time and time again. Society must do the best they can with the knowledge they acquire. Who is to say that the death penalty will be abolished forever or that possibly the death penalty might become usual punishment for crimes less than heinous? The future, in regards to the death penalty, may hold some surprises for us. Only the future will reveal what is to come. ClarkProsecutor. Org, 2008. The death penalty. Retrieved on January 31, 2010 from http://www. clarkprosecutor. org/html/death/dpusa. htm FindLaw (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. findlaw. com/ Hornberger, Jacob. G. The bill of rights (2005). Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. fff. org/freedom/fd0503a. asp Justice (2009). History of the Death Penalty. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://justice. uaa. alaska. edu/death/history. html LectLaw (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. lectlaw. com/def/e082. htm Onecle (2009). Excessive Fines. Retrieved onJanuary 30, 2009 from http://law. onecle. com/constitution/amendment-08/02-excessive-fines. html Wikipedia (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. wikipedia. org

Report: High School and Attendance Essay

Introduction Like other schools around the nation, Beech Grove Intermediate School is experiencing a serious problem with attendance. This has been cited as a problem and something that needs to be addressed so that Beech Grove Intermediate can achieve the attendance rate they need to become a Four-Star status school. Currently, the attendance at Beech Grove Intermediate is averaging around 95 percent. The rate needs to increase to 97 percent for the school to achieve Four-Star status. Beech Grove Intermediate does have an attendance policy; however, other strategies could be implemented to increase the attendance. Attendance is an important part of children’s and parents’ everyday responsibilities, and poor attendance habits cause lifelong consequences. Many schools around the nation report low attendance and high tardiness rates. This problem needs to be addressed in order to help our children do well in school and become responsible adults. Children who are habitually late or chronically absent miss out on much that is learned in school. Even being 5 to 10 minutes late each day creates a situation where children can lose a considerable amount of time that is being spent on their schooling. Also, it is known that children with poor attendance rates in elementary and high school continue to show problems of tardiness and even proficiency later in life once they go to college or pursue a career. Changes in the attendance program at Beech Grove are needed, and the following report is intended to propose tactics for increasing the attendance rate at Beech Grove Intermediate School. Methodology For this report we surveyed teachers from six local elementary and secondary schools to get an idea of what other schools were doing to increase their attendance. We received 50 completed questionnaires. We also searched scholarly databases such as ERIC to find relevant articles on the problem of increasing attendance. These articles outline several solutions to increasing attendance in schools. Review of the Literature This review of recently published literature on attendance addresses causes, effective policies, parental contact, community involvement, teacher/student relationships, and rewards and incentives to increase student attendance. Causes of Absenteeism. All the literature agrees that absenteeism is an all too common problem for schools around the country. This can be traced to a range of causes from unsupportive school environment to poor health of the student. According to John Doughtery (1999), home dynamics play a key role in absenteeism. The parents are the key to how often a child attends class (Doughtery, 1999, p. 10). Janet Ford and Richard Sutphen (1996) agree with this and list parent influence on absenteeism as number two on their list for reasons for absence. They go on to state that lack of caring by the parents, or parents who are not home to see the child off to school are major reasons for students not to go to class, especially with younger students (Ford & Sutphen, 1996, p. 96). Other than home life, illness of the child is also given as a common reason for absenteeism in the literature. Also, appointments and vacations are listed as top reasons in the literature as well. Doughtery attests to this in saying, â€Å"It is now common practice for students to miss school for general appointments to avoid tests and assignments† (1999, p.10). Two authors noted that homeless students or students who live in a family that move very frequently are more likely to be chronically absent from school (Epstien, Sheldon, 2002, p. 311). Some of the authors also agree that if a student is not succeeding in school then they are less likely to want to come to school. This also goes along with schools that do not give praise to students or interact with the students so that no one feels left out, and help to see that everyone succeeds (Doughtery, 1999, p. 10). In short, all of the authors agree that parental involvement and student-teacher interaction is very important in keeping absenteeism down. Effective Policies and Parental Contact As schools seek new programs and ideas for increasing student attendance, one of the two most frequently mentioned tactics in the literature are having an effective attendance policy and increasing communication with parents and guardians. According to Dan Vandivier (2003), a high school principal, attendance policies must be stringent and must also be persistently adhered to. He states that policies must be fair and also have â€Å"flexibility to accommodate mitigating circumstances† (Vandivier, 2003, p. 81). Vandivier’s new attendance policy no longer distinguished between excused and unexcused and allowed administration discretion in dealing with excessive absences for legitimate reasons (Vandivier, 2003, p. 81). Dougherty (1999) agrees that schools must produce a clear fair attendance policy that is up to date and standardized and communicate it. Many studies have also shown a correlation between increased parental contact and increased attendance (Smerka, 1993; Epstein & Sheldon, 2002). Smerka (1993) noted that after mailing notices to all parents informing them of the success of the attendance program and asking for their support, the perfect attendance rate increased to 13. 9 percent (p. 96. ) He claimed that the key to good attendance is promoting it everywhere to everyone (Smerka, 1993, p. 96). Another study also found that â€Å"the degree to which schools overcame the challenge of communicating effectively with families was related to gains in student attendance and declines in chronic absenteeism† (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002, p. 315). The study noted that providing families with someone to talk to at the school about attendance or other issues was effective in increasing attendance (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002, p. 315). In addition to simply having contact with parents, many authors agree that it is the responsibility of the parents to monitor their student’s absenteeism (Dougherty, 1999; Ford & Sutphen,1996; Kube & Radgan,1992). Dougherty (1999) says that parents â€Å"must be responsible for their child’s daily attendance and promptly inform the school attendance office when the student is absent† (p.11). One study shows that increasing communication with parents and involving them in the student’s education are strategies for increasing attendance. This study also cited the use of a letter to parents informing them of the policy and encouraging them to discuss the importance of good attendance with their children (Ford & Sutphen, 1996, p. 96). Another study also said that parents â€Å"must be responsible for the student’s daily attendance† and they must â€Å"stress the importance of daily attendance to their children† (Kube & Radgan, 1992). Creating effective attendance policies that are reviewed and renewed regularly and establishing parental contact are very important stepping stones for increasing attendance in schools. Community Involvement While it is not crucial to the success of an attendance program, many of our authors agree that solid community involvement can positively impact attendance rates. Many schools work with businesses in the community to offer incentives for students with good or perfect attendance (â€Å"Raising School Attendance,† 2002). John Daugherty (1999), an education professor at Linden-wood College, refers to programs which offer a series of incentives for attendance, ranging from fast-food coupons to entertainment centers which were offered at a discount from local businesses (p. 16). A different form of contribution is noted in Bob Maggi’s (1991) case study of a school in Missouri. A local company contributed $500 to fund their mentoring/ adoption program. Seeing how successful the project was, the company doubled the amount it contributes to the program. Another article suggests that schools work with law enforcement and local businesses. The author states, â€Å"With their support, children who should be in school will be in school† (â€Å"Raising School Attendance,† 2002). Joyce Epstein and Steven Sheldon from The Johns Hopkins University agree, saying, â€Å"Developing productive school-family-community connections has become one of the most commonly embraced policy initiatives in schools and school districts† (2002, p. 308). There are times when the community involvement takes a much more negative but still necessary angle. Often, students will be habitually absent and schools are now working to address that issue. Janet Ford and Richard Sutphen, social work professors at the University of Kentucky, mention that in some states or districts parents of students will face fines or even jail time if they fail to adhere to attendance laws (1996, p. 95). Dougherty suggests other tactics, such as â€Å"implementing police sweeps, involving local agencies and the media and notifying juvenile authorities† (1999). Of course, these tactics are usually implemented in only severe cases of absenteeism. Community involvement and support can be a wonderful addition to attendance policies if tailored to meet the school’s needs and the student’s desires. Teacher/Student Relationships While family and community involvement both play important roles in maintaining good student attendance, our sources all agree that student-teacher relationships are also very important. Several authors encourage one on one meetings, or mentoring students who have attendance problems. In fact, at least one study (Maggi, 1991) is devoted entirely to this practice and with great results, while others (â€Å"Raising school attendance,† 2001 and Vandiver, 2003) simply add it into their attendance programs. Authors agree that to curb poor attendance teachers should lecture students every day about the importance of attending school daily. Kube and Ratigan (1992) insist, â€Å"Teachers must let students know that they are missed when they have been absent. They must ensure that important learning experiences occur each day in their classes† (p. 3), while Dougherty (2003) concurs and adds, â€Å"And they must value and reward good attendance† (p. 76). According to the literature, the teachers are also responsible for coming up with new and creative ways to entice children into coming to school every day. These enticements run the gamut from Vandiver’s (2003) idea of being exempt from having to take the final exams if the student has perfect attendance to Ford and Sutphin’s (1996) strategy of giving tokens to students with good attendance so that they could cash them in on prizes at the end of the week (p. 98). In the end, authors agree that in order to keep attendance under control, educators need not only to regularly come up with new and innovative ideas to keep students coming to school but to consistently tell the students how important it is for them to be present every day. Rewards and Incentives Research has shown that attendance increases when schools incorporate incentive programs into their attendance policies. Bob Maggi (1998), principal at Jarrett High School, began a program which encouraged teachers to adopt a student. Maggi (1998) claimed that â€Å"A $500 grant from Southwestern Bell Foundation was distributed to the adopting teachers to be used to their discretion: for birthday or holiday gifts, for taking student out for dinner or a show, or to buy a sweatshirt or dance ticket† (p. 12). It only took one year for Jarrett High School to receive the results they were searching for. Terrance Smerke (1993, p. 95), principal of Aurora Middle School, along with other schools found it effective to reward the children with positive letters of their accomplishments (Best Practices for School Attendance, 1998). According to Janet Ford, PhD, and Richard Sutphen, PhD, both assistant professors, other types of incentives are posting student’s names in the hallway or reading them over the public address system (1996). One observation mentioned in the article â€Å"Raising School Attendance† (2002), was that Monday and Friday â€Å"are typically the days with the highest absenteeism. Planning special events for these days could improve attendance. † Vandivier (2003), principal of Twin Rivers High School, and John Dougherty (1999), professor of education at Linden-wood College, agree that rewards such as movie tickets, food coupons, and gift certificates will increase attendance. The article How do you improve student attendance, claims that one way to boost attendance is to put all the students’ names with perfect attendance into a drawing (2001, p. 26). Ann Kube, math teacher at North Scott High School, and Gary Radigan, principle at Ankeny High School, agree that incentives encourage students to attend school regularly (1992). As most of the authors stated, incentives have been proven to increase attendance. Punishments/Consequences All of our authors agree that absenteeism has negative consequences for students, schools and society. In the article â€Å"Early Intervention to Improve Attendance In Elementary School for At risk Children,† Janet Ford and Richard V. Sutphen discuss the effects on students. They say that non-attendees generally fall behind their peers in academic achievement and the development of social competence (Ford & Sutphen, 1996, p. 95). Consequences for parents include fines and jail time; consequences for schools are loss of funds, and for society higher rates of unemployment, poverty and lack of preparation to enter the work force (Ford & Sutphen, 1996, p. 95). Dougherty agrees that habits of absenteeism and tardiness affect work performance when youngsters become adults (1999, p. 7). In Dan Vandivier’s article entitled â€Å"Improving Attendance, A Formula that Worked† he discusses an attendance policy at Twin Rivers High School in Brosely, Montana. Policies stated that students that miss more than six days in a semester are not considered to have earned credit, and no distinction is made between excused and unexcused absences (2003, p. 81). As for students and specific punishments our authors disagreed with suspension. Dougherty states, â€Å"that suspending a student is giving them what he wants, a vacation† (1999, p. 9). As most of the authors conclude, there is some form of punishment given to a student that misses excessive days. Conclusion In conclusion, the above research findings all agree that attendance is a very important issue for students. The literature indicated that the following topics are important factors in increasing attendance: effective policies, parental contact, community involvement, teacher/student relationships, rewards and incentives, and punishments/consequences.

Deep Vein Thrombosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Deep Vein Thrombosis - Essay Example This condition was chosen because it was interesting that there are so many different ways that DVT can develop. DVT is defined as a blood clot that appears in the thigh or lower leg. (National Health Lung and Blood Institute, 2009). The blood clot goes deep into the body and it is a result of blood thickening and then clumping together. When a blood clot goes deep into a vein, it can break off and move through the individual’s blood stream. Many people have heard about embolisms and this is what the loose clot is called. The blood clot can block blood flow to the lungs and heart at any time When it blocks off blood flow to the lungs, it is called a pulmonary embolism (PE) (National Health Lung and Blood Institute, 2009). PE can become so severe that it can cause damage to other organs and eventually will cause death. There are many situations in which DVT can begin. In some situations, a blood clot can happen after surgery. When an individual leads a very sedentary lifestyle without a lot of movement, the blood flow can become sluggish, which can allow the blood to clot in the veins. Some causes happen because of an inherited condition, hormone therapy, or taking birth control pills (National Health Lung and Blood Institute, 2009). Most doctors and researchers say that there are only a few risk factors that they have been able to find in this situation. Some of the risk factors include injury to a deep vein after surgery, obesity, and having heart problems. Also, when people get older, they have a tendency to be more sedentary and DVT has been shown to happen in people over 60. The signs and symptoms of DVT are very subtle and most people will not know that they are ill. The other challenge is that only about 50% of people have symptoms before something larger begins to happen. Some of the signs and symptoms are: 1. Legs swelling or swelling of a vein in the leg. 2. Pain or tenderness in the leg, especially when standing or walking. 3. The leg feels warmer in one area than in the rest of the leg. 4. A read or discolored area in the skin appears. 5. PE—which can begin with â€Å"coughing up blood, an unexplained shortness of breath, pain when deep breathing or rapid breathing with a fast heart rate†.

Should gay marriage be legalized Research Paper

Should gay marriage be legalized - Research Paper Example Should gay marriage be legalized? The United States constitution guarantees all citizens equal rights regardless of gender, sex, religion, race or sexual orientation and therefore, denying people of same-sex the right to get married is a violation of the constitution. As stipulated in the constitution, everyone has a right to liberty, freedom and equality provided in the exercise of such rights one does not cause damage or harm to other people. The gay people in engaging in marriage are only exercising the right and their behavior does not cause harm to anybody. Despite the fundamental principles not only allowing but also requiring legalization of same-sex marriage, some people still insist that same-sex couples should not be accorded equal right to marry. They forget that gays are human beings just like other people such as the heterosexuals and as such should be treated equally. The democrats and republicans often advocate equal rights for gay and lesbians such as the right to proper housing, government benefits, employment and legal protections. However, when it comes to marriage they strongly oppose such an idea. The democrats even go ahead to support the inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibility. Opposing the right to marry is thus a contradiction to the party’s commitment to legal equality and non discrimination. It makes no sense to support good cause for the gay and their families but refuse to acknowledge their right to marry and to live happily.

Spiritual Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Spiritual Needs - Essay Example The patient’s spiritual goal was to keep holy and be righteous so at to maintain a continual intimate relationship with Jesus and God the father. In regard to life, illness and death, she believed that God gives life at will and takes it at will through any means. She believed that illness could either be an expected occurrence in the mortal bodies of human kind, a judgment from God, or a means through which God can show his power. The patient’s spirituality provided her with support, strength and inspiration during times of illness by giving her hope of healing because of God’s divine intervention. It also prepared her for the worst like death by assuring her an eternally happier, peaceful and painless life after death. The patient requested to have their church members and pastors to be allowed to her room to give her spiritual support through prayers, read the bible and worship with her. In her view, the hospital should provide a bible and regular pastoral support if this is possible. From the assessment, I discovered that the patient has specific spiritual needs that increase in times of stresses like illnesses. The patient also loved to have time for prayer and meditation at three o’clock both day and night. As a nurs e, I will reschedule his assessment times to ensure her three o’clock are uninterrupted.... Resources to be availed to meet the patient’s spiritual needs. †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦ Summary of Assessment Findings The patient was a protestant and he expressed her spirituality through prayers, worship, reading of the bible and meditation. These practices formed an essential part of her life. She explained that spirituality helps her maintain a focus in enjoying eternity in heaven. The patient’s spiritual goal was to ke ep holy and be righteous so at to maintain a continual intimate relationship with Jesus and God the father. In regard to life, illness and death, she believed that God gives life at will and takes it at will through any means. She believed that illness could either be an expected occurrence in the mortal bodies of human kind, a judgment from God, or a means through which God can show his power. The patient’s spirituality provided her with support, strength and inspiration during times of illness by giving her hope of healing because of God’s divine intervention. It also prepared her for the worst like death by assuring her an eternally happier, peaceful and painless life after death. The patient requested to have their church members and pastors to be allowed to her room to give her spiritual support through prayers, read the bible and worship with her. In her view, the hospital should provide a bible and regular pastoral support if this is possible. Significant discov eries about the patient From the assessment, I discovered that the patient has specific spiritual needs that increase in times of

Report based on group discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Report based on group discussion - Essay Example BASF has an employee base of 112,000 employees who have helped the company post a strong revenue growth; in 2013 the company’s turnover was â‚ ¬74.0 billion and a profit of â‚ ¬7.2 billion (BASF). BASF like other companies in the chemical industry represent an important sector in every economy, in our case Germany. At the same time, the industry represents one of the greatest environmental costs and is a clear threat if no mitigating factors are enforced. The chemical industry is also interlinked with other sectors in the economy considering that only about 13 percent of the total production leaves the plant as finished products (Esty & Simmons, 2011.p.15). In regard to the environment, chemical production utilizes the environment to source for materials with much greater intensity than any other sector. At the same time, these companies use the environment as a medium for production, storage, transport, and disposal of resulting products. Almost every stage of the production process in chemical companies represents a threat to the environment. However, this should not be the case as there are ways and means to curtail these threats without affecting the company’s prof itability. In studying BASF, we examine ways through which the company can sustainably fashion its production process and products to achieve eco-efficiency. Eco-efficiency in this case not only represents green processing but a means to improve the company’s financial standing. In setting up a win-win strategy, BASF will have to address the major processes especially those with the highest impact on the environment. In this section, we look at the foremost changes that would help achieve eco-efficiency with greater emphasis on the manufacturing processes. The first step is to research and put up alternate means of supplying energy to the manufacturing process. At present, there are several ways through which energy for manufacturing

Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Accounting - Research Paper Example Computer systems have translated all the hand-written statements into systems that can present financial reports from individual transactions. Popular accounting systems are now also available in tailor made form for various companies and industries. This permits organizations to build individual reports easily and quickly manage decision-making. Another change effected by IT on accounting has been the improvement of functionality in accounting departments via increasing accounting information timeliness (Gelinas et al 58). Through improvement of financial information timeliness, accountants are able to prepare for operation and report analysis that can give the management an accurate vision of the current operations. It has also improved the number of financial statements, for example, market share reports, departmental profit and loss, and cash flow statements. Finally, it has allowed accountants to process large financial information data and faster processing of this data (Gelinas et al 58). This has lessened the amount of time required to close each accounting period. Shortening the time helps the organizations in cost control, which, in turn, increases the overall efficiency of the company. Cloud computing and mobile devices are going to be the most important components of Information Technology in the coming decade (Office of Technology Assessment 270). Mobile devices such as ultra-books, tablets, and cell phones, as well as cloud computing, will aid in the further integration of technology into all aspects of accounting on a regular basis. This is referred to as pervasive computing (Office of Technology Assessment 270). With this pervasive computing, accountants will utilize mobile devices in order to access applications that are cloud based, data and communications. The connectivity will aid accountants to work more efficiently and exchange information more

Revenue Management in Hospitality Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Revenue Management in Hospitality - Assignment Example The top 20 theme parks in North America have reported a footfall of 135.1 million with an annual rise of 2.7% over its 2012 levels, whereas top 10 theme parks in Latin America have witnessed a 3.8% growth in foot fall. Such increased level of foot fall is characterised by growth in leisure and international travels. Leisure travels witnessed an absolute growth of 11% from 2004 – 2013, whereas international arrivals saw a growth of 51%. The total visits of the top 20 theme parks in North America saw an absolute growth of 17% from 2004 – 2013, while the US population grew at 9% over the years. Disneyland opened in 1955 and Disneyland California Adventure was established in the year 2001 and offers host of services that include attractions, rides, shows, refreshment stands, merchandise shops and diners which are clubbed under various names like Carls land, Condor flats, Hollywood land, Buena vista street, paradise wharf, pacific wharf and bug’s land. It also extended its service portfolio to resorts and spas. Disney resorts have 2400 rooms, conference space of 180,000 and 50 vacation clubs. Down town Disney is another attraction that is spread across 15 acres that offers entertainment, dining and shopping facilities. It is next to Disneyland and Disney California adventure ((Disneyland. 2015a). Though Disneyworld is the market leader in the theme park industry, it still faces acute direct competition from Merlin entertainment and Universal studios. Disney’s theme park has witnessed highest total attendance of 132.5 million compared to Merlin and Universal group’s 59.8 million and 36.3 million. Merlin entertainment and Universal studio have witnessed high growth rate in foot falls from 2010 – 2013. All the three theme park groups have presence across various regions vis-a-vis US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Merlin has more than 10 theme parks in different states of the US that makes Disney and Universal studios the only competitors in

Kants Ethical Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kants Ethical Theory - Essay Example He rejects the belief of dogmatic philosophers like Leibniz and his followers that human reason could acquire knowledge of supersensible entities. Kant was more comfortable with the notion of secular morality and eschewed the idea propounded by Leibniz that religion was essential to establishing social order. Metaphysics, according to Kant, could not provide empirical evidence of the supersensible, like God. Kant’s disciples, such as Fichte, used his work as a springboard for German idealism, and he quickly condemned such for being too radical. The difference between autonomy and heteronomy is that an autonomous will is self-legislating while a heteronomous will is one where the acts of the self are directed by external rules. According to Kant, if an action is to be considered as genuine, then it should emanate from the self, or should be the result of autonomous will. Kant’s formulation of the categorical imperative is as follows: â€Å""Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." This means that when an individual decides to act a certain way as dictated by his autonomous will, he must aspire that such action will be the universal norm and that he is setting a rule for others to follow in the future.

Nineteen Eighty-four and People Essay Example for Free

Nineteen Eighty-four and People Essay Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, â€Å"Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom it would not be the world of 1984† (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people. To begin, the author shows how the government abolishes individuality through the use of mind control. First of all, the creation of Newspeak restricts the individual from saying things that he/she wishes to say. More specifically, the task of the Party’s philologists is to regulate the vocabulary and language of Oceania to ultimately be able to control the actions and behaviors of the people. Literary critic Stephen Ingle argues, â€Å"The more vocabulary contracts, the more the Party will be able to control behavior† (124). Since the Party has complete control over how the people can talk and what they are allowed to say, they ultimately have the power to control how they act. Through Newspeak, thoughtcrime will become impossible due to the fact that there will be no terms in which to express it. Furthermore, the Party asserts its control over the mind through doublethink. To begin, doublethink is an example of a thought process in which one simultaneously holds two contradictory beliefs while accepting both of them. For example, while in the Ministry of Love, O’Brien uses doublethink to make Winston believe that he can float. Winston says, â€Å"If he thinks he floats off the floor and I simultaneously think I see him do it, then it happens† (Orwell 278). O’Brien cannot float, however through the use of doublethink Winston can say that it does happen. Moreover, the Party also uses thoughtcrime to regulate the people’s thoughts, speech, actions, and feelings towards the government. The Thought Police use psychology and surveillance such as hidden telescreens to discover cases of thoughtcrime and misbehavior. For instance, a telescreen hidden behind a picture on the wall in Winston and Julia’s secret hideout is the reason they are caught in their illegal love affair. Winston describes, â€Å"Thoughtcrime does not entail death: Thoughtcrime IS death† (Orwell 27). Winston is saying that death is definite if one thinks badly about the government or disapproves of the government’s actions. Thus, due to telescreens, people are forced to keep an expression of optimism at all times; because any other emotion will be considered treason (Ingle 127). Consequently, individuality among the people is destroyed through mind control. In addition to mind control, Orwell also illustrates how the government strips the people of their personal identities though their control over reality. To begin, the party uses its power over Oceania’s history to eliminate all records of the past in order to create a future entirely dedicated to politics. Winston states, â€Å"History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right. I know, of course, that the past is falsified, but it would never be possible for me to prove it† (Orwell 155). The Party has complete control over the history of Oceania, and they choose to delete any and all traces of the past, such as memories. Additionally, the Party uses their control over memories to minimize individuality in the people of Oceania. More specifically, the Party seeks to control the memory of the people because without memory, they cannot remember the past. They remove all documents and records of the past through their memory holes. It is one’s memories that keep the past existing and that shape their lives (Ingle 123). The Party succeeds in abolishing the past by restricting the memories of the people. Moreover, the government reduces individuality with their perceptions of logic. In Oceania, whatever the Party says is correct is correct. If one does not agree with what the Party says, he/she is considered insane; a flaw in the system. To explain, when Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love, they torture him-physically and emotionally to make him accept the logic of the Party. Powerful party member O’Brien explains to Winston that their logic is correct, regardless of what Winston knows is right. O’Brien implores, â€Å"Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane† (Orwell 207). O’Brien is saying that the government has the ability to alter aspects of their lives that Winston knows are the real thing; however he has no choice but to accept them. He is considered â€Å"insane† because he knows what is right and what is wrong and is hesitant to believe that the Party’s logic is true. Noted critic Stephen Ingle implies, â€Å"Winston conjectures that in the end the Party would declare that two plus two made five and the individual would be required to believe it† (122). In the future, there will be no other types of logic other that what the Party deems to be true. Thus, the government uses its power to control all aspects of reality for the people of Oceania. Equally important to mind control and reality, Orwell also shows how the government’s control over the people’s emotions suppresses their individuality. To begin, the Party extinguishes all forms of pure love among the people. More specifically, if two people wish to get married, they must be approved. If they wish to marry out of love and affection, they will be denied. In the eyes of the Party, marriage must be handled like business-only to produce offspring that will be loyal to them. Winston implores, â€Å"But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred† (Orwell 105). Every aspect of the people’s lives in Oceania is robotic and systematic, there are no true emotions. Similarly to the Party’s control over love, they also control sex between the people. To explain, the Party believes that there should not be any pleasure from sex; it should only be used in order to reproduce. The people who are faithful to the party transform their sexual energy into political hysteria (Howe 65). All of their energy goes towards the Two Minutes Hate and their hatred for Big Brother in order to bring some form of unity amongst them. Furthermore, the Party also uses emotional torture to abolish individuality. To justify, when Winston is in the Ministry of Love, he endures not only physical torture but psychological torture as well. He says, â€Å"In the end the nagging voices broke him down more completely than the boats and fists of the guards† (Orwell 200). The emotional torture from the questioning Winston undergoes wears him down and makes him into a mouth that simply utters what he believes they want to hear. The questioners transform him into something that is not even human anymore- merely just a robot. Literary expert Stephen Ingle argues that â€Å"the right and capacity to form one’s own judgment on external events†¦a full emotional life, a private world into which one could retire: those were the bastions of identity which Winston Smith sought to defend† (127). Winston is the last individual with knowledge of things outside of what the Party believes to be moral, and eventually he is stripped from that title and made into one of the other brain-washed citizens of Oceania. Consequently, the Party uses emotional torture to suppress individuality among the people. Hence, the government in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been proven to use their power to strip the citizens of their individuality. For instance, the Party uses their control to take over the minds of the people and restrict what they can/cannot say or do. Also, they have the power to control all records of the past, memories, and the logic they have placed in their society. If that is not enough, the Party also controls their emotions, regulates sex, and forces emotional torture among them to force their logic into their brains. Orwell is â€Å"trying to present the kind of world in which individuality has become obsolete and personality a crime† (Howe 62). Ultimately, if a society allows a dictatorship in which one person or a group of people have all the power over the citizens, the society will transform into an individualized group of robots.

E-Learning Management System Essay Example for Free

E-Learning Management System Essay The basic facilitator for E-learning is triggered by the exponential growth of internet and thirst for information to make smooth decisions at all spheres. The primary purpose is to help people all over in making their lives easier. E-learning creates a network consisting of every being who desires to share and use information. It is very crucial to researchers, professionals and policy makers who require information at the correct time for their work and development. It helps immensely the businesses to cater to a large public domain, typically rendering to B2B, B2C and C2C models. It helps them to cater on-demand services from anywhere across the globe for taking advantage of technology and newer innovations for growth and development. Information can flow smooth across nations and businesses so that its transition can help them to learn newer things and implement it in practice creating an environment of trust and confidence. Communication forms a major part of our lives which can be enriched by sharing information. E-learning management system must be set up effectively with the help of domain experts and professionals so that the correct representation of information can take place. Appropriate classification and representation would further help in optimum procurement and use of it in practice. Knowledge repositories of current practices and lessons learned must be captured effectively for further derivation of knowledge and intelligence. The concept of Data mining is of great importance. Interoperability issues must be addressed to acknowledge the successful delivery of knowledge. Security and quality consideration is a priority as any form of abuse would affect quality of the content. Special care must be taken with regard to knowledge depository so that it can be successfully implemented in practice to render effective services to masses for their prosperity.

User authentication

User authentication Introduction I was appointed as the new Network Manager for Philadelphia Inc. It is a large multinational organisation which has an extensive network of PCs comprising more than 1000 systems. This organisation relies heavily on its vast network for its day to day operation. Any potential risks need to be identified and minimised as far as possible. Recently a large number of PCs were affected by a virus, causing a work stoppage among the administration and accounting department. Following this incident of large scale virus infection, the company management has decided to completely review all the computer security precautions and procedures in use within the organisation. So, I have been designed to ensure that I can identify potential threats to the security of the organisation’s network and formulate appropriate action plans and security policies to minimise the risks. Research and document the various aspects of network security that need to be addressed including each of the following topics: Access control User authentication Firewalls Virus protection Accessing the Internet (15 Marks) I’m research and document the various aspects of network security that need to be addressed. Access control Access control is the methods for imposing controls that allow or deny user access to network resources, usually based on a user’s account or a group to which the user belongs. Access control is security features that determine which resources users are permitted to access, what type of access they are allowed, and how many simultaneous users can access a resource at the same time. They ensure data privacy and protection and help maintain a productive computing environment. User authentication User authentication is a security feature that allows an administrator to control who has access to the network and what users can do after they are logged on to the network. This might involve confirming the identity of a person, the origins of an object, or assuring that a computer program is a trusted one. Authentication is the process of determining the identity of a network user by verifying a set of user credentials, typically a user ID and password. Firewalls A firewall is a combination of hardware and software components that provide a protective barrier between networks with different security levels. Rules for transmitting and receiving information to and from the other network can be established for the firewall so that specific types of items or addresses are not allowed to pass between the networks. It sits between the computer and the rest of the network, and according to some criteria, it decides which communication to allow, and which communication to block. Firewalls protect a computer or network from unauthorised access and attacks designed to cripple network or computer performance. Moreover, it is also a device or set of devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of rules and other criteria. Virus protection Virus protection means securing data from viruses that is designed to destroy data or make the computer or network operate inefficiently. Computer viruses are the programs that must be triggered or executed before they can infect the computer system and spread to others. Viruses can then be spread by sharing infected files on a network drive, portable drive, or other media, by exchanging infected files over the internet via e-mail attachments, or by downloading debatable files from the internet. Accessing the internet Accessing the internet is the telephone communication system that also covers the world linking telephones together. As with the telephone system, each device attached to the network can be reached through a unique code that represents that device’s location. The telephone system access and services are supplied to phone users by an array of competing local, long-distance, and wireless telephone companies, access to the internet is also supplied through a number of access and hosting companies using an array of different connectivity methods. A user in your company calls to report that she’s unable to log on to email. You respond with a couple of quick questions. Because you know that no one else is using the network right now, you cannot determine if the problem is unique to her machine or if the problem affects the entire network. Probing further, you also learn that she’s unable to print. You decide this problem is probably easier to troubleshoot from the user’s computer. Using the structured troubleshooting method, outline the things you must check and the questions you must ask when you arrive at the user’s office. Based on the possible responses to your questions, describe the actions you will take to correct the potential causes. (10 Marks) One of the users in our company reports me that she’s unable to log on to her email account. So, I asked her some questions- How long the duration of your user account? Do you sure the log on user name and password is correct. When it starts to unable to log on to your email? After I arrive at the user department, I check her computer and network. I also learn that she’s unable to print to a network printer. Probing some of the check, other users of this department can able to log on to their email account and can able to print. Therefore, I ask her a couple of quick questions again- What has changed since the last time you worked? Have you installed anything on your own? Are there applications on your computer that arent on other computers? Firstly, I check the power is plugged in, the Caps lock is on, all the cables are attached and network permissions for her computer. Then I check that she can get a connection online or not by browsing Google website and I see there is no connection online. So, I check the Ethernet cable and connection setting. In checking her problem, I document that what I do, so I can undo it if I need to. I use Ping to check the computer can contact an IP address of another PC or not. (Ping is the simplest and most useful diagnostic tool to become familiar with and well worth a few minutes experimentation.) The reply message is â€Å"Request timed out†. It is because of the connection or routing error. Then I restart the computer because 90% of all problems disappear when the computer is restart. To check the router, I Ping the local router, and it fails. So, the problem of the local LAN or the router is sure. Then, I find the router and switch to check the LED display. And I think they ar e not normal, so I switch the unit OFF, remove and immediately replace the power connection, then switch the unit ON. After it has done, I go back to the computer and retry to Ping the local router. I have successfully sent a message to the local router and receive a response. Then, I check the computer can get a connection online or not, and can able to browse the website or not. Then I see the computer successfully get a connection online. So, I check the email account can be able to log on or not and the printer can be able to print or not. Then I see the problems of the user are successfully solved. Task 3 Produce a Security Review report, which details the specific threats to network security for ALL of the topics identified in Task 1, namely Access Control, User Authentication, Firewalls, Virus Protection, and Accessing the Internet, along with your proposed solutions aimed at reducing the risks associated with each threat. (35 Marks) Access Control Access control can identify the users, and verify their identity through an authentication process so they can be held responsible for their actions. Good access control systems record and timestamp all communications and transactions so that access to systems and information can be audited later. The primary objective of access control is to preserve and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, systems, and resources. I use role-based access control and rule-based access control to identify the user. Role-based access control systems allow users to access systems and information based on their role within the organisation. It allows end-users access to information and resources based on their role within the organisation. Roles based access can be applied to groups of people or individuals. Rule-based access control systems allow users to access systems and information based on pre-determined and configured rules. Rules can be established that allow access to all end-users coming from a particular domain, host, network, or IP addresses. User Authentication User authentication is an important aspect of network computer security. For network computer, harm can be caused by hacking, malicious messages, viruses, malwares, adwares, email attachments, downloading illegal materials and many other types of activity. Moreover, the secret information of the company can be stolen by the attacker using spywares and Trojan horses. User authentication will reduce this harm by limiting individual’s access to a few systems, rather than the whole Internet. Network operating systems include tools that enable administrators to specify a number of options and restrictions on how and when users can log on to the network. There are options for password complexity requirements, logon hours, logon locations, and remote logons, among others. After a user is logged on, file system access controls and user permission settings determine what a user can access on a network and what actions a user can perform on the network. So I specify the numbers of options and policies for user authentication. I specify that the password is required for all users of the company, to use the company’s computer. The user password length must be typically a minimum of five to eight characters and user passwords must have three of these four characteristics: lowercase letters (such as abc), uppercase letters (such as ABC), numbers (such as 123), and special characters (such as [emailprotected]#). And I specify the policy that can lock the user account to prevent from logging on, when a user enters an incorrect password five times. According to the user account and password, I control which user can access to the network and what he/she can do on the network. Firewalls Firewalls protect against outside attempts to access unauthorized resources, and they protect against malicious network packets intended to disable or cripple a corporate network and its resources. Second use of firewalls placed between the internet and the corporate network is to restrict corporate user access to internet resources. Firewalls can identify and block remote access Trojans (Trojan horse). Trojan horse is a program that purports to be a useful software tool, but it actually performs unintended (and often unauthorized) actions or installs malicious or damaging software behind the scenes when launched. Sometimes get some program via ICQ or via IRC and believe this program to be something good, while in fact running it will do something less nice to the computer. Such program is called Trojan horses. The difference of a Trojan and a virus is that a virus has the ability to self-replicate and to distribute itself, while a Trojan lacks this ability. A special type of Trojan is Remote Access Trojans (RAT). These Trojans once executed in the victim’s computer, start to listen to incoming communication from a remote matching program that the attacker uses. When they get instructions from the remote program, they act accordingly, and thus let the user of the remote program to execute commands on the v ictim’s computer. Firewalls can identify and block remote communication efforts to the more common RAT and by thus blocking the attacker, and identifying the RAT. There are many other types of Trojan horses which may try to communicate with the outside from the computer. Whether they are e-mail worms trying to distribute themselves using their own SMTP engine, or they might be password stealers, or anything else. Many of them can be identified and blocked by a firewall. So, I run the firewall on the server and all the desktop computers to protect Trojans, malware, and to prevent users from accessing offensive Websites or bandwidth-intensive content that might not be the best use of an employee’s time or the network’s bandwidth. Firewall devices from different vendors vary quite a bit in configuration details, but they are all based on one premise: Rules are created to determine what type of traffic is allowed to enter and exit the network. To configure a firewall, I build rules that allow only certain packets to enter or exit the network. The firewall can examine all incoming packets and discard packets with a destination address of the network’s restricted segment. Virus Protection In internet-connected networks, virus attacks are a regular threat. Users download programs, bring disks from home, memory sticks, and open e-mail attachments are normal computing activities, but they can also bring viruses into the network. A virus is a program that spreads by copying itself into other programs or documents. Computer virus can attack computer systems and perform a variety of functions ranging from annoying to dangerous. Its individual purpose is to disrupt computer or network operation by deleting or corrupting files, formatting disks, or using large amounts of computer resources. If a server file accessed by other users on the network is infected, the virus can spread through the network in a matter of seconds. To protect the spread of viruses, one of the most effective ways is to buy virus-protection software from a reputable source. Antivirus software is program that can scan and remove known viruses which have contracted. Most antivirus software is also designed to detect and prevent worms and viruses. The software can also be set to automatically scan disks when inserted into the disk drive, scan files when downloaded from the Internet, or scan e-mail when received. However antivirus software is available in many commercial and open source versions, the license-version of the antivirus software from reputable source is more secure and reliable than others. So, I run the standard antivirus software from reputable source in server and every desktop computer, and turn-on the scanning features. But by running antivirus software can only protect against viruses that it knows about. Therefore, virus definition files (update files) for antivirus software are needed to download from the internet daily or weekly. To get the maximum protection against viruses on the computer, make sure to keep antivirus definition files current. Another way to protect the data from virus infection is â€Å"backup the files† which helps to recover the data if the original files infected by the virus. Accessing the Internet The internet access is the essential thing to communicate between internal or external organisation for many purposes. Thousands of companies have discovered the pervasive power of the Web in distributing information, selling products, supporting customer service, and staying in touch with clients and customers. By using the internet, we can get important business information which is necessary for competition and improvement of the company. However the internet is useful for us, but also the internet attack can harm the business. The internet attacks are organised and designed to steal information and resources from the customers and the organisation. Input validation attacks using the Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Active Server Pages (ASP), and Cold Fusion Markup Language (CFML) programs stem from either a web developer or vendor failure. The basic problem happens from the lack of sanitizing the input to a particular script. Without input validation and sanitizing, it is possible for attackers to submit a particular character, along with a local command, as a parameter and have the web server execute it locally. Sometimes, the virtual website of the attackers steals user information and user’s credit card details. If all kinds user can get permission to access the network, the private information of the organisation can be stolen by the attacker using the internet. So that I control the user access to the network resources by using access control and identifying the user account to verify the network permission for the user. Task 4 Create a set of Acceptable Use Policies for each of the following: Accessing the WWW Email Usage Instant Messengers and chat rooms Each of these documents should provide a set of guidelines for users which will minimise any associated security threats. (30 Marks) To minimise any potential risks and associated security threats of the organisation’s network, all the staff of the company should agree the following policies for accessing the World Wide Web, email usage, instant messengers, and chat rooms. All the staff has responsibility to use the resources in an efficient, effective, ethical and lawful manner. In our organisation, access to the internet is available for the staffs to support informational, educational and communicable. So, staffs should agree the following internet access policies. Policies for accessing the WWW The use of Internet is strongly restricted to official company business†. Personal use or time spent for personal gain is strictly prohibited. Authorisation for Internet access must be obtained through your supervisor. Once authorisation is approved you are responsible for the security of your account password and you will be held responsible for all use or misuse of your account. You must maintain secure passwords and never use an account assigned to another user. Staffs are strongly prohibited to accessing internet websites that contain obscene, hateful, pornographic, politics or otherwise illegal material. Never copy or transfer electronic files without permission. Prohibit copying and sending any confidential or proprietary information, or software that is protected by copyright and other laws protecting intellectual property. Downloading a file or application from the Internet can bring viruses with it. Should be scan all downloaded files with standard virus prevention software before being saved on the company’s network. All downloaded applications must be accepted by the company’s IT administrator or company owner before being installed on the company’s network. Hacking into unauthorised areas and other employee’s computers are strictly prohibited. Confidential information is not to be transmitted over the internet without proper encryption. Introducing any form of computer virus or malicious software into the corporate network is strictly prohibited. Email usage policy Email is to be used for company business only. Company confidential information must not be shared outside of the Company without authorisation, at any time. When conducting company’s business, only use the company’s official email account for staff such as [emailprotected] Staffs are not to conduct personal business using the Company computer or email. All messages must show the genuine sender information (from where and from whom the message originated). The representation of yourself as someone else, real or fictional, or a message sent anonymously is prohibited. Emails for the purposes that violate company status or regulations, or for an illegal or criminal purpose may not be sent or forwarded through a company’s network. Management has the right to access all e-mail files created, received, or stored on company systems and such files can be accessed without prior notification. Email attachments can bring viruses, you should scan for virus after and before downloading the attachments with standard virus prevention software. Do not open any e-mail attachments if you do not recognize the sender. Forwarding of company confidential messages to external locations is strongly prohibited. Introducing any form of computer virus or malicious software into the corporate network is strictly prohibited. Policies for instant messengers and chat rooms Chats, also known as Internet Relay Chat (IRC), as well as Instant Messaging (IM), are very popular modes of quickly communicating with others. In using these IRC and IM, staffs should agree the following policies. These policies provide staffs with effective and consistent instant messaging (IM) use and content standards. Staffs are prohibited from downloading and using personal instant messenger software such as MSN or Yahoo to transmit messages via the public internet. All IM communications and information transmitted, received, or archived in the companys IM system belong to the company. The instant messaging and chatting system is intended for business use only. Staffs are prohibited from wasting computer resources, colleague’s time, or their own time by sending personal instant messages or engaging in unnecessary chat related to business. Treat messages as business records that may be retained and used as evidence in litigation, audits, and investigations. Always use professional and appropriate language in all instant messages. Staffs are prohibited from sending abusive, harassing, threatening, menacing, discriminatory, disrespectful, or otherwise offensive instant messages. Staffs may not use instant messengers and chat rooms to transmit confidential, proprietary, personal, or potentially embarrassing information about the company, employees, clients, business associates, or other third parties. Introducing any form of computer virus or malicious software into the corporate network is strictly prohibited. Task 5 Prepare and deliver a short presentation to your tutor using a presentation package like Power Point which summarises the major points in your Security Report and your proposed Acceptable Usage policies. (10 Marks) I prepare and deliver a short presentation to the tutor using a Power Point presentation which summarises the major points in my Security Report and my proposed Acceptable Usage policies. Network computerised system can contain various potential threats. To minise that risks, network security is required. In this presentation, I want to talk about five topics to configure network security Access Control User Authentication Firewalls Virus Protection Accessing the Internet Access control can control the user account and identify the user. It can verify user identity through an authentication process so users can be held responsible for their actions. Primary objective of access control is to preserve and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, systems, and resources. I use role-based access control and rule-based access control to identify the user. Role-based access control systems allow users to access systems and information based on their role within the organisation. Roles based access can be applied to groups of people or individuals. Rule-based access control systems allow users to access systems and information based on pre-determined and configured rules. Rules can be established that allow access to all end-users coming from a particular domain, host, network, or IP addresses. User authentication can determine the identity of a network user. For network computer, harm can be caused by hacking, malicious messages, viruses, malwares, adwares, email attachments, downloading illegal materials and many other types of activity. User authentication can reduce this harm by limiting individual’s access to a few systems, rather than the whole internet. Network administrator can control user log on and specify user permission on the network. So, I configure some options and policies for user authentication. I specify that the password is required for all users of the company, to use the company’s computer. The user password length must be typically a minimum of five to eight characters and user passwords must have three of these four characteristics: lowercase letters (such as abc), uppercase letters (such as ABC), numbers (such as 123), and special characters (such as [emailprotected]#). And I specify the policy that can lock the user account to prevent from logging on, when a user enters an incorrect password five times. According to the user account and password, I control which user can access to the network and what he/she can do on the network. Firewalls protect against outside attempts to access unauthorised resources, and they protect against malicious network packets intended to disable or cripple a corporate network and its resources. And also use to restrict corporate user access to inter resources. Firewalls can identify and block remote access Trojans (Trojan horse). Network administrator can configure the rules for what type of traffic is allowed to enter and exit the network. The firewall can examine all incoming packets and discard packets. In internet-connected networks, virus attacks are a regular threat. Users download programs, bring disks from home, memory sticks, and open e-mail attachments are normal computing activities, but they can also bring viruses into the network. To protect the spread of viruses, one of the most effective ways is to buy virus-protection software from a reputable source. Antivirus software is program that can scan and remove known viruses which have contracted. Most antivirus software is also designed to detect and prevent worms and viruses. The software can also be set to automatically scan disks when inserted into the disk drive, scan files when downloaded from the Internet, or scan e-mail when received. But by running antivirus software can only protect against viruses that it knows about. Therefore, virus definition files (update files) for antivirus software are needed to download from the internet daily or weekly. To get the maximum protection against viruses on the computer, make su re to keep antivirus definition files current. Another way to protect the data from virus infection is â€Å"backup the files† which helps to recover the data if the original files infected by the virus. Accessing the internet is the essential thing to communicate between internal or external organisation. However the internet is useful for us, the internet attack can harm the business. The internet attacks are organised and designed to steal information and resources from the customers and the organisation. If all kinds user can get permission to access the network, the private information of the organisation can be stolen by the attacker using the internet. So that I control the user access to the network resources by using access control and identifying the user account to verify the network permission for the user. To minimise any potential risks and associated security threats of the organisation’s network, all the staff of the company should agree the policies for accessing the World Wide Web, email usage, instant messengers, and chat rooms. All the staff has responsibility to use the resources in an efficient, effective, ethical and lawful manner. Reference Web Reference www.en.wikepedia.org www.businesslink.gov.uk www.3w.net www.answer.com www.procompgroup.com http://humanresources.about.com http://netsecurity.about.com http://answers.yahoo.com www.zytrax.com www.windowsnetworking.com www.cryer.co.uk Book Reference Title: Guide to Networking Essentials (Fifth Edition) Author Name: Greg Tomsho, Ed Tittel, David Johnson Access date time: 13 July 2009, 6:30 pm Title: Fundamentals of Hardware and Operating Systems (Operating System Technologies) A+ Fifth Edition Author Name: Charles J.Brooks Access date time: 15 July 2009, 5:00 pm Title: Fundamentals of Hardware and Operating Systems (Software Service Technicians) A+ Fifth Edition Author Name: Charles J.Brooks Access date time: 16 July 2009, 7:00 pm

Fifthe Business Essay -- essays papers

Fifthe Business Guilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime or wrong committed. Guilt is a major theme in the novel Fifth Business. Dunny has been raised in a strict Presbyterian household which has encouraged him to feel guilt about many minor things. Even though Paul was not born at the time of the snowball incident, Paul Dempster still feels guilty towards his mothers simple mindedness. Percy Boyd Stautons repressed guilt does considerable damage and ultimately recoils on himself. In Fifth Business many characters feel guilt due to the snowball incident. Dunny Ramsay feels extremely guilty because he had anticipated that Percy, with whom he had been arguing, would throw one final snowball at him before he eats dinner. He felt Mrs. Ramsay’s pain when she was crying. â€Å"I had never heard an adult cry in pain before and the sound was terrible for me.† Dunny is still very young, and most likely, he has the perception that the adults should be the strong ones. To hear Mrs. Dempster cry must have been very emotionally difficult for ...

Coda Lidencing :: essays research papers

The first question about this topic would be: Why would a word-final consonant have to be syllabified in an onset, and not in a normal post-nuclear rhymal complement (Coda) position. After all, we have this position in word internally, and this Coda is so important as it differs some languages to others called â€Å"CV languages†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, Coda is an old term, back to the time that all consonants which occur after a nucleus could be simply attached to the rhyme in the form: (1) ,where C could even accommodate 2 consonants when N is neither a long vowel nor a heavy diphthong. Nowadays, Coda is more accurately called rhymal complement, to accentuate the fact that it is not a constituent, while onset and nuclear are. Why can’t a word end in a consonant? If we observe the way languages behave, so many exceptions seem to occur in the word-final â€Å"Coda†, every rules about how it should normally behaves is so frequently broken that leads us to the question whether this â€Å"Coda† could be defined as such. 1-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The case of vowel shortening rule. Basically, long vowels are shortened in a closed syllable (Kaye). And here are some examples to illustrate this proposition. Ex: French, chat [Sa:] and chatte [Sat] Yawelmani, [sa:pit] and [sapnit] In both cases above, the vowels are shortened to accommodate a consonant in its rhymal complement position, because we know that there is no long vowel or heavy diphthong in a branching rhyme. But in cases when the consonant which occurs after long vowel is also situate at the end of the word, this rule is not observe. Ex: French, vert [ve:r] and verdure [verdu:r] English, keep [ki:p], and green [gri:n] (2) Those examples shows violation of the above rule stated where no coda could be accommodated into a rhyme with long vowel or heavydiphthong. 2-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The case of word-finally consonant cluster. Words in English like kept, child, find†¦pose several problems in phonological analysis. First problem would be the rule about â€Å"no branching coda in a branching rhyme†, the second would be the nature of consonant clusters; consonant like pt, ld, rt†¦ are not the normal consonant cluster so-called well-formed cluster, the well-formed cluster in a language could be easily spotted in a branching onset. If we could not find them at the beginning of any English word, there is a big chance that they are not a good cluster, so we can separate them into two different syllable if found in middle of a word, the natural order of two consonant occurring next to each other must be respected, re-syllabification is not possible.

Victim in Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles Essay -- Tess dUrbervil

Victim in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles      Ã‚   Tess Durbeyfield is a victim of external and uncomprehended forces. Passive and yielding, unsuspicious and fundamentally pure, she suffers a weakness of will and reason, struggling against a fate that is too strong for her. Tess is the easiest victim of circumstance, society and male idealism, who fights the hardest fight yet is destroyed by her ravaging self-destructive sense of guilt, life denial and the cruelty of two men.      Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is primarily the death of the horse, Prince, the DurbeyfieldÕs main source of livelihood, that commences the web of circumstance that envelops Tess. Tess views herself as the cause of her families economic downfall, however she also believes that she is parallel to a murderess. The imagery at this point in the novel shows how distraught and guilt ridden Tess is as she places her hand upon PrinceÕs wound in a futile attempt to prevent the blood loss that cannot be prevented. This imagery is equivalent to a photographic proof - a lead-up to the events that will shape TessÕs life and the inevitable Ã’evilÓ that also, like the crimson blood that spouts from PrinceÕs wound, cannot be stopped. The symbolic fact that Tess perceives herself to be comparable to a murderess is an insight into the murder that she will eventually commit and is also a reference to the level of guilt that now consumes her. Ã’Nobody blamed Tess as she blamed herself... she regarded herself in the light of a murderess.Ó Â   Her parents, aware of her beauty, view Tess as an opportunity for future wealth and coupled with the unfortunate circumstance of Prince's death urge Tess to... ...ill and reason are undermined by her sensuality. Tess herself sums up her own blighted life best; "Once a victim, always a victim - that's the law!"    Works Cited Casagrande, Peter J. Tess of the d'Urbervilles: Unorthodox Beauty. New York: Twayne, 1992. Claridge, Laura. "Tess: A Less Than Pure Woman Ambivalently Presented." Texas Studies in Literature and Language 28 (1986): 324-38. Hall, Donald. Afterward. Tess of the d'Urbervilles. By Thomas Hardy. New York: Signet, 1980. 417-27. Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the d'Urbervilles. 1891. New York: Signet Classic, 1980. McMurtry, Jo. Victorian Life and Victorian Fiction. Hamden: Shoe String, 1979. Mickelson, Anne Z. Thomas Hardy's Women and Men: The Defeat of Nature. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1976. Weissman, Judith. Half Savage and Hardy and Free. Middletown: Wesleyan UP, 1987.

Midterm 2 Essays Essay

1) Ben-Hur is the last great film score in the tradition of the golden age until 1977. Describe the characteristics of the classical film score as exemplified in this film. Include a description of significant themes and scenes. (10 points) William Wyler directed a 1958 American epic historical drama film, Ben-Hur. This film is well known to be one of the greatest film scores reflecting in the classic traditions. The film portrays lives of two men (i.e., Jesus Christ and Judah Beh-Hur), in which the plot illustrates number of parallels and reversals. Rozsa utilizes modal harmonies and parallel chords to deploy the spirit of the Roman era. Throughout the film, he embraces traditional love themes for the three separate love relationships. Rozsa incorporates overall stylistic harmony by applying musical ideas that are associated with Roman, Hebrew, and early Christian. Furthermore, it can be seen that Rozsa chose many of the melodies to be modal. He also used parallel harmonies to maint ain the same pitch correlation from chord to chord and limits any possible sense of harmonic progression. For example, the first three chords of the score move in parallel motion where each pitch moves down a entire step and returns back to the original pitch. Throughout the â€Å"Redemption theme†, the overture plays a melody that implies the Phrygian mode. In the Christ theme and several of the Roman marches, the Western triadic chords can be heard. The score also displays a complex system of leitmotifs. The â€Å"Christ theme† plays an organ with a wavering sound where high strings with harmonics are often added. These combinations create a halo effect around the melody. In addition, the number three is an important symbol for Christianity due to the Trinity where it consists of three-note chords. Moreover, it can be seen through the Redemption theme that the first three pitches played are exactly the same as that of the Christ theme. It is interesting to observe the Friendship theme between Judah Ben-Hur and Messala contained with warmth while he also uses disturbing elements to foreshadow the Hate theme displayed by triton interval. During Ben-Hur’s desert march, chromatic melody strongly correlates to the Hate th eme. These musical melodies support for dramatic moods, settings, characters, and actions, which can be seen  throughout the film. Rozsa also uses significant orchestral medley to establish his principal themes during the overture and the opening credits. Most recognized and impressive is the powerful bass sound playing during the credits. In regards to the climax and resolution, Rozsa composes two musical climaxes (i.e., one for Christ and one for Ben-Hur). The Ben-Hur’s desert march consisted with chromaticism and dissonance underscoring the moment filled with bitterness. When Miriam and Tirzah gets cured after the storm, The Christ theme comes in with full orchestration. Throughout this film, we can see that Rozsa extensively uses music and exploits full range of orchestral colors as seen through general characteristics of the classical film score established during the mid-late 1930’s. 2) Psycho helps usher in the New American Cinema era. Using Psycho as a model, discuss the major changes to film music in the 1960s. (10 points) There were a significant transformation during the 1960s, where decline of Hollywood traditions and the rise of a new style initiated. Europeans influenced the way into the new era for the filmmakers in a global-scale. Innovative plots with uncertain beginnings and endings, unclear moral implication, and unusual plot lines started to emerge. We can clearly see that Alfred Hitchcock chose to shoot the film Psycho in black and white to signify the cold and empty atmospheric moods as well as to lower the production costs, which can be linked with the European imports. Bernard Herrmann supports Hitchcock’s visual and narrative effects where music is written for a string orchestra, where limited orchestral colors are prominent rather than a full symphonic ensemble. He correlated the usage of single tone color with the black and white cinematography. Herrmann utilized a unified score that is constantly dissonant. Although there are variation of mood from loving sound to the terror of the shower, all the cues are observed to be used with minor seconds and major sevenths. He also uses distinct sound using the â€Å"percussive-sounding strings† through deploying microphone close to the instrument to demonstrate the sound to be harsher, which can be seen as some of the new approaches that Herrmann accomplished through this film as the start of â€Å"a New American Era†. In addition, new approach in film scoring can be seen through the lack of contrast in a cue. When a cue starts, it stays consistent and repeats the mood with no varia tion where there are absence of shifts within a cue. Moreover, descending and ascending chords  of the Transition theme have an aloof characteristic with no display of emotions. This in return provides an overall disquieting mood to the story. During the Norman’s story, Hermann employs ostinato to maintain tension and discomforting sound of melody. 3) Discuss the growth of the various types of popular music in films from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Please mention specific films, styles, and composers when you can. (20 points) Throughout late 1940’s through the early 1970’s, the growth of various types of popular music and trends are historically observed. Starting from postwar trends dating back from the late 1940’s where World War II delivered significant changes in filmmaking, which also had a huge impact on film music. During this time, pessimism and cynicism were two primary themes in films. It is clearly evident that there were three significant developments where music composed for Film Noir, the appearance of several outstanding scores reflecting the American nationalist musical style, and the resurgence of European centers. Film noir gave numerous unique characteristics consisted of one prevailing mood (primarily dark and pessimistic), minimal usage of musical cues, orchestration for small ensembles, predominantly low-pitched instruments (e.g., bass clarinet), focus on the lower registers of the strings, non-traditional orchestral sound, angular melodies, harsh dissonant harmonies, and the usage of jazz. Miklos Rozsa, one of Hollywood’s finest composers, earned much respect for film noir scores including his work through Double Indemnity and The Killers. In the late 1940’s, many of the excellent film scores reflected the musical style of American nationalism. Hugo Friedhofer created one of the most memorable score The Best Years of Our Lives, where he integrated many of the features of Copland’s American nationalist style. As for Aaron Coplan, he composed his last two scores for films The Red Pony and The Heiress. In the 1950’s, the American film industry suffered from decreasing revenues and increasing costs due to major competition from television industry. This in return made American filmmakers to respond with outputs of excellent films, which also had a major influence on the development in film music. The expanding role of popular music began in the early 1950’s. Newer forms of jazz (bebop) followed by its characteristics of hard accents, rapi d notes, and increased volume and intensity. Other trends in popular music in the 1950s are country and western, and rock and roll. Elmer  Berstein employs intense sounds of jazz along with traditional symphonic scoring through one of his first film scores, The Man with the Golden Arm. Dimitri Tiomkin, one of Hollywood’s veteran composers, brought a key innovation to film music when he incorporated a country and western song to High Noon. He also includes Leimotifs for the theme song, colorful orchestrations, and orchestra underscoring tension and action. A film, The Blackboard Jungle, introduced the rock music for the teenagers to rapidly adopt this exciting new kind of music in mid-late 1950’s. The birth of the blockbuster occurred in 1956. In films Around the World in 80 days and The Bridge on the River Kwai were both seen with the application of popular melodies, that is, walz tune and a British march. Adolph Deutsch employs traditional symphonic scoring in the film Something like it Hot. He liberally integrates popular music to underscore the fun where it includes musical, scurrying saxophone line, and use of the tango. In addition, a film Touch of Evil: Beginning in the late 1950’s is described as the last great film noir. Henry Mancini includes the mixture of Mexican and American popular musical styles. Variety of other popular musical styles are heard throughout the score, which includes country and western music, rock music, and intense jazz. Variety of modern styles in the late 1950’s are also seen through films such as Big Country, Vertigo, and North by Northwest. For example, Jerome Moross’s score for Big Country displays an influential new western sound, where he made concrete western sound. New Wave were greatly influential on American films in the early 1960’s. Through music in the New Era, music in from the films in 1960’s tends to create general moods rather than to illustrate specific or varying emotions. While filmmakers were faced with economic challenges, increased reliance on a smaller collaborative performance rather than the standard orchestra provided financial savings. It was also clearly observed that both popular and modern musical styles were well suit ed. These musical styles are demonstrated through three films in the early 1960’s, which are The Hustler, The Pawnbroker, and The Manchurian Candidate. Through the film, The Hustler, musical cues are often scored for jazz ensembles. However, in The Pawnbroker, Quincy Jones gets incorporates a modern style as required. One of the most distinct instruments employed throughout this film was harpsichord, which is a keyboard instrument used to renovate earlier form of  music for a more authentic sound. Furthermore, David Amram, who composed a film score for The Manchurian Candidate, uses various modern styles (e.g., American nationalist style for scenes of the soldiers returning to the US, and avant-garde styles to represent disoriented nightmares that some of the soldiers had. As observed in To Kill a Mockingbird, Elmer Bernstein’s musical score indicates small number of instruments used throughout the film along with general modern style. By 1967, sexuality and graphic violence were prevalent. In the film Bonnie and Clyde composed by Charles Strouse, most feature instruments associated with country music. From 1968 through early 1970’s, American society drew much concerns and frustrations due to many shocking events (e.g., Martin Luther King assassination, Robert Kennedy’s death from shooting, public view on Vietnam War, and war protests). As a result, filmmakers continued to use traditional musical scoring to maintain strong sense of reality. In Planet of the Apes, Jerry Goldsmith’s score consists of avant-garde style. John Barry mixed variety of popular styles with a few passages of modern electronic music through the film Midnight Cowboy and Easy Rider. It also included rock style to relate the prominence of drugs in the plot. Finally, during the films of the early 1970’s where tensions were observed throughout America’s society, films often went with modern musical styles to underscore the hindrance of America due to widespread criminal activities and corrupted government officials.

Buisness operations

Dealing with banking problems is a hassle for any individual, especially for those who are involved with the business sector. Transactions come and go and money is fast, banks cannot afford to fail. Banks are offering the services of Personal Banking Consultants, specially designed for individuals who do not wish to deal with meager problems such as invalid pin codes or name changes. Though these problems are not serious, they require time to sort out. The use of a PBC come with perks for business people and proves to be a worthy investment. The following case discusses a client’s experience with a PBC.There were inherent problems with the bank company that the PBC was able to assist the clients through. The clients went through numerous problems and delays in changing accounts. Wrong names, invalid pins, existing accounts, and long delays were said to be a common occurrence. The real issue did not come from the PBC, rather from the company itself. The banking company utilizes agency staff, or contracted workers for some of their operations. Though this is beneficial to the financial status of a company because of the easy access to labor and the affordable cost of hiring agency staff, it also has inherent risks and downsides.What were the gaps between customers’ expectations and perceptions in the process described? In the case, the clients were burdened by the changes with their previous bank in the south. Two accounts were being used, one for business and one for personal use, each with different offices and different numbers. The location of the bank was also a problem because of a change of residency of the clients. Due to these factors, the client chose to switch the northern bank. The presence of the Personal Banking Consultant at the northern bank helped persuade the client to switch banks.It is important to note that the process of switching banks involved numerous intricacies, such as the change of cheque books, credit cards, standing or ders, and debit instructions. The gap between customer specification and operation specification seems to be a match. The bank offers their services to the clients, along with the bonuses of the package which the client chose. These included preferential interest rates, free annual travel insurance, a reward scheme, a â€Å"golden† credit card, and the services of the PBC. We can assume that the clients have fulfilled the requirements to apply for membership and enjoy the rewards.The gap between quality specification and the actual quality of the service or product is one of the most important gaps in the case. This type of gap, as stated by Reuber and Fisher (2005), shows the marketed specifications of the good or service, what it should provide and the benefits of its use, and compares it to the actual specifications of the good. Cleary, there is a gap between these two in this case. Sue was clearly aware of the problems that plagued the company, yet presented these to the clients as simple â€Å"computer problems†. This is the case of marketing the specifications of the service to be better than the original.She did, however, admit that the problems were caused by the agency staff. The decision to cover the reality of the situation was a risky move by Sue. The clients did not withdraw from the offer and became members, a successful deal for the bank. However, the reputation of the bank has been severely tarnished. The clients were very dissatisfied with the process of transferring, and this has left an initial impression on their mind. Though there have been no problems beyond the transfer process, another mistake on the bank’s part will remind them of the initial problems that they faced.The gap between the actual quality and the communicated image of the service matched. This gap explains the difference between the qualities of service that the customers are expecting against the actual quality (Beckford, J. , 2002, pp. 145-150). The clients already had a bad experience with their previous bank and know that the transfer of accounts is a very tedious process. They acknowledged this difficulty in choosing to transfer, and the bank did not hide this fact from them. However, they were assured that the process would go smoothly, which we know was not the case.How were the customers’ expectations influenced from the outset? The idea of transferring accounts was not initially welcomed by the clients. They had a negative experience with their previous bank, with impersonal call handling because of outsourcing, the lack of access to their assistant bank manager, and the complication of having two accounts under different telephone numbers and offices. Under the circumstances that they face, any better alternative would have been welcome. The clients’ previous experience has affected their perception of consumer expectation.Consumers generally want to have faster service, convenience in both application and usage, flexibility in payment options and other packages, and helpful customer policies. This type of consumer expectation is formed thru the wants of the client. In reality, what consumers want does not necessarily equate to what they expect to receive. This is called the customer expectation paradox. Real consumer expectations are formed thru experience in the marketplace (Lucas, J. , 2006, pp. 137-144). A real life example of the paradox is a visit to a dentist.Customers want to be served quickly and immediately, no waiting lines, timely appointments, and available dentists at hand. However, the expectation of the reality in the office is different. Customers know that they will have to wait in line, that they will not be served immediately, and that the availability of the dentist may be in question. The same can be said for the case, as the clients know from experience that the process of transfer is a very hassling endeavor. The clients want to have no problems regarding the transfer – that no errors are made, that everything is done quickly and in a timely fashion.The experience of the clients tells them that this is not the reality, leading them to expect that their wants will not be fully satisfied. The clients did not have high expectations for the replacement bank; they were simply in search for a way to ease the burden of their previous bank. The package that was offered to them was a factor that influenced their decision. The assurance that the process will go smoothly also led to their expectations to be affected. When Sue informed the clients that everything will be handled by the company and that the clients will not experience any hassle, this significantly affected their expectations.What aspects of the bank’s service quality specification have been revealed to the customer? Are these reasonable for such an account? The prime concern of bank customers is to be served conveniently without any errors or problems. Such complicatio ns cause consumers to lose loyalty with the bank and eventually lead to them leaving and searching for other service providers. In order to gain consumer trust, which is vital to service oriented businesses such as banks, firms show their focus on quality specification. In the case, the source of one of the problems of the bank is the outsourcing of several operations to agency staff.This was revealed to the clients by their bank consultant at the end of their transfer process. The company alone cannot meet the demands of the customers, thus the use of agency staff to fill the gap. This is a good decision for the bank, as agency staffing provides the company with flexibility because of the ease of hiring new staff and the availability of a wide variant of employees. Agency staffing is also more cost-effective in terms of employment since these employees do not require extensive training and are not a liability to the hiring company (Huffman, L., 2008. ). The use of agency staffing d oes have some drawbacks, such as the employees’ lack of loyalty for the company. Since they are often not considered to be part of the main team, temporary employees have little incentive to be loyal. Lastly, cheap agency staffing may be less efficient compared to trained employees. Although errors cannot be avoided in operations, especially with agency staffing, it is not an appropriate reason for the clients to be burdened. Sue has pointed that this has been the reason for the errors in the clients’ transfer process.While the agency staffing may pose as a problem to the clients, it is significantly worsened by the practices of the bank consultants. Sue, as an example, continued to press clients to accept packages and offers even if she is aware of the problems that the staff is experiencing. This action allows the company to meet their quotas; however it has severe repercussions on the clients. It was been visible to the clients that such transactions happen even if the bank cannot sufficiently deliver some of the services involved. This suggests serious problems with the bank’s coordination between departments, and among the clients.It is also clear that the bank suffers from capacity management, that the agency staff are either underperforming or the bank is understaffed. Evaluate Sue’s reaction to the problems at every stage. Was the bank’s service recovery successful? Before the transfer process began, Sue faced the problem of the clients coming from a previous bank where they had a negative experience with. The clients were initially against transferring banks, mainly because of the hassle of having to change card info, cheque books, credit, and others included in their personal and business accounts.Upon sharing this problem with their personal banking consultant, Sue assured the clients that all the details will be processed by the computer in a week. She also stated that with the level of technology that the bank is using, the clients would simply have to fill out a few forms and wait for seven days. She was successful in dealing with the clients’ concerns with the decision of the clients to utilize the bank’s services. The first problem that the clients encountered was the late chequebook. They were told that all the required materials would be delivered in a week; however the last chequebook came in six days late.Though Sue was not informed of this problem, the clients did receive a welcome package from Sue consisting of information regarding the services the bank offers, notification that the accounts are active. The messages were written in a personal manner to improve customer relationship. The welcoming package may possibly be the standard operating procedure of the company; however this act serves as a way to make the clients feel that they are part of the company. Upon receiving the chequebooks, there was an error with the names for both the business and current account c heques of the clients.Sue apologized for the mishap, and informed the clients that new cards will be issued for them, and that PBC cards are given special priority. Sue had also given the clients an alternative, that the former cards could be used since they were linked to the existing accounts. The credit cards arrived a day after, with the names correctly spelled. Sue’s reaction to the clients’ problem was done well and provided in a speedy manner. The errors were fixed quickly and Sue suggested a temporary workaround to the problem.Though the name mishap was solved swiftly, the clients experienced another problem with the personal identification numbers (PIN) of their cards. The said PINs did not arrive with the credit cards, making them inaccessible. When the clients informed Sue of this, Sue relayed that PINs arrive several days after the cards because of security reasons. She also assured the clients that the PINS will arrive along with the cheque guarantee cards . The PLC’s reaction to the clients’ concerns was a standard customer reply. The PLC simply informed the clients that there was no error, and that the process was going as planned.After a week, the clients had received the guarantee cards. However, these had the names misspelled similar to the first batch of cards. The PINs for the other cards have also not yet arrived. Sue was informed of this and was surprised with the delay. According to her, the PINs were sent 5 days ago and suggested that it may have been lost in the post. She confirmed this after a while, informing the clients that the cards have to be reissued for security purposes, and that the new cards will have a new PIN code. Again, Sue suggested the temporary use of the old cards.With the increasing occurrence of errors, Sue had been very apologetic regarding the problems that the clients were facing. The new PINs and cards had arrived 3 days after, the time limit that Sue had set for the revised cards. Ho wever, the clients faced another problem with the PINs because they were being rejected. The new PIN codes were for the old cards, and the new cards did not have their codes yet. The whole mess was sorted out after 4 days, and the card company sent a personal letter of apology regarding the problems that the clients faced. A bouquet of flowers had also arrived for the clients.Their PLC, Sue, also called to ensure that there were no more problems. The clients were also given leather holders for their cards and chequebooks. These actions show that the company was trying to please the clients by offering gifts in order to ensure that client satisfaction. It is clear that Sue had done everything in her power to solve the problems of the clients. Sue herself did not suffer from any errors; rather the mistakes took place within the system itself. Sue was successful in appeasing the clients, and no problems occurred after the events, thus restoring customer satisfaction.What costs have bee n created by these problems, and how do they compare with the underlying costs and root cause of the problem? The main costs that the problem has created have been those to the customer, to the bank, and to Sue. The costs that the clients had incurred came in the form of inconvenience and time. The original agreement was that the clients would have everything ready within a week, however after the delays and errors the clients had fully finished the transfer process after 25 days, 18 days after the original deadline. The psychic costs that the delays caused also affected the client.In addition to that, the clients were embarrassed due to a mishap with their former credit cards and cheques, which would have not occurred if the process of transferring went smoothly. The bank had also suffered losses due to the errors. The cost of the reproduction and reissuing the cards and chequebooks and the cost of delivery of these products are taken by the company. The numerous errors have also c aused customer satisfaction to decrease. This is a cost to the company because the clients’ experiences with their bank show the quality of service that is provided.If there are complaints that stem from errors and delays, the bank’s reputation is negatively affected. The root cause of the problems comes from the system management of the bank’s operations. The hiring of agency staff shows that the bank cannot support the services demanded by the operations alone. The performance errors of the agency staff suggest that the bank is understaffed, or the hired staff is underperforming. There is also a lack of communication between the departments within the company. Customer revisions are not communicated efficiently to the card issuing company, thus causing errors in PIN codes and credit cards.Lastly, the company suffers from poor target setting. The bank aims to meet the demands of clients within a specified timeframe, yet their operating staff cannot meet these d eadlines. CONCLUSION The bank suffers from multiple mistakes in their system organization and management. If left unsolved, they will be operating at a sub-optimal level and experience multiple losses. Clients will choose to use the services of other banks. The costs that the errors and delays bring upon the company hamper growth and decrease revenue.The changes required to solve the management problems of the company are costly and hard to achieve. The short-term recovery procedures used are also costly and prove to be an inconvenience for both the clients and the bank. These can only alleviate the problems, but not completely solve them. The main issue that has to be settled is the long-term plans of the bank to solve their problems. In the end, we cannot always just call Sue. REFERENCES Beckford, J. (2002) Quality. 2nd ed. London, Routledge. pp. 145-150. Huffman, L. (2008) The Pros and Cons of Using an Employment Agency for Temporary Staff.[Internet], OfficeArrow LLC. August 26. Available from: [Accessed May 2009]. Lucas, J. (2006) Broaden the Vision and Narrow the Focus: Managing in a World of Paradox. Westport CT, Praeger. pp. 137-144 Reuber, A. R. & Fischer E. (2005) The Company You Keep: How Young Firms in Different Competitive Contexts Signal Reputation through Their Customers. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 29, p. 1.