Communication Media Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication Media Analysis - Essay Example 20. What are five non-verbal communications elements characteristic of this medium (Answer): The appearance of the document that was sent, how the document was produced before it was sent, the font and type size, layout, & writing style. 21. What are five types of noise that this communications medium is subject to (e.g., anything in the environment that delays, distorts, or destroys the message) (Answer): The fax machine being without paper, an interruption in the internet connection, problems with the telephone connection, how the person is speaking on the other end of the phone, the fax line is busy. 23. Ability to produce a document that is able to be read, the ability to know whatever the needs are of the receiver, to compose a coherent message, understanding an understanding of whatever the urgency is, & know the information needs. 25. What are five communications situations in which this medium could be appropriately used (Answer): Placing an order with a supplier, providing the results to a doctor's office, providing an agenda for a meeting, giving a report to a co-worker, & giving an assignment to an instructor. 27.

Save the Earth from Its Near Destruction Essay Example for Free

Save the Earth from Its Near Destruction Essay Human and environment are interconnected. What we do to the earth will return to us also humans. Because of taking things for granted, our environment is undergoing to destruction. This movie, The 11th Hour, serves us an eye-opener to its audience. The root of earth destruction began when trees in forest were cut down. Tree is our main supplier of oxygen and they lessen the carbon dioxide in the environment that makes the earth cool. We are experiencing global warming because we are not a good steward of this earth. Cutting down trees irresponsibly and overfishing are some of the evidence that we abuse the earth. As a result, landslides, strong typhoons and abnormal weather condition are happening to us today. One of the evidence also of earth is the pollutants in the air and water that makes people sick of hard to heal disease such as cancer. We could see this abuse on earth but ironically we are not doing something about it. Yet the worst, we are focusing on economic growth to the point that we disregard the nature. It’s not yet too late to act. Save the earth from its destruction. If not now, when? How will be the life of future generation if we didn’t take the first step to prevent the earth from its future destruction? There are many ways to save the earth like, plant trees and have a self discipline. It’s not yet too late. The clock is not yet striking 12, it’s only the 11th hour.

Caring for a Dog :: Papers

Caring for a Dog It has long been said that a dog is a man's best friend and it has earned its right to be called that, and it will continue to occupy the place closest to man for another lot of years to come. Man's best friends come in many shapes, sizes, colours and textures because of thousands of years of evolution and breeding. The search engine that I used was www.google.co.uk and this is a screen shot of it. [IMAGE] There are a lot of different breeds of dogs; these are just a few examples and descriptions: * Bullmastiff Energy: 1 out 5 Exercise: 2 out 5 Watchdog: 5 out 5 Protection: 5 out 5 Grooming: 1 out 5 [IMAGE] The bullmastiff is gentle and quite, a devoted companion and guardian. It is not easily roused, but once threatened it is fearless. It is stubborn and cannot easily be goaded into action against its will. Some can be aggressive toward strange dogs, but it is generally good with other household dogs and pets. It is good with children, but it may not be playful enough to satifsfy some children. The Bullmastiff needs a firm but loving home. It is not for fragile or timid owners. * Chinese Foo Energy: 3 out 5 Exercise: submit opinion Watchdog: 4 out 5 Protection: 3 out 5 Grooming: submit opinion [IMAGE] Chinese Foo are bold and energetic. * [IMAGE]Catahoula Leopard They are very assertive and so would need quite a lot fo your attention to keep them entertained. * Dogue de Bordeaux Energy: 3 out 5 Exercise: submit opinion Watchdog: 3 out 5 Protection: 4 out 5 Grooming: submit opinion

Terrorism in the Old Testament

Stacy Norton 03 October, 2012 Old Testament Ballard Terrorism and the Old Testament Many terrorist organizations use their religious texts as justification for their acts of terrorism. People even go as far to say that God, as depicted in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, encourages those acts as a way to defend their actions. While it is true that the Old Testament has evidence of God sending out his people to defend his word and his chosen people, it should not be taken as black and white as others would argue. It is important that we study the religious texts in their proper context.When these texts are not read in their proper textual and historical contexts they are manipulated and distorted. My God is a teacher of love and forgiveness and only uses violence as a last resort. This is more evident in the story of Moses and the release of the Israelite's from the Egyptians. The Israelite s were being held captive and tortured by the Egyptian Pharaoh and his people. They we re forced to spend their days as slaves and lived in deplorable conditions and were beaten routinely by the Egyptians. Moses upset that his people were being treated this way sought guidance from God.God agreed to help Moses free his people. God first sent Moses to the Pharaoh to ask kindly for his people's release. The Pharaoh refused. Moses even tried to convince the Pharaoh with the threat of curses being placed on his people. The Pharaoh refused again. Then, after the curses were released, the Pharaoh still held strong and would not release the Israelite s He was willing to have his own people suffer just because he did not want to give up his power over the Israelite s He only relented when the final curse was released and the first born of the Egyptians, including the Pharaoh's, were killed.The Egyptian Pharaoh was given multiple opportunities to prevent his own people's suffering but decided instead that his power was more important. Another part of the bible people like to c riticize is the book of Judges. Especially the story of Samson. Samson was a Nazarene leader with incredible strength. The Philistines wanted to capture him but could not find a way. Samson then fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who then tricked him into telling her the secret of his strength. He told her that if his hair was cut he would lose his power.When Samson fell asleep that night she cut his hair and let the Philistines in to capture him. They shackled him and gouged out his eyes and were planning on offering him up as a sacrifice to their deity. Samson cried out to God for help. He took out his revenge on the Philistines by basically, for lack of a better term, suicidal terrorism. He killed more people that day than in his whole life combined. In conclusion, the bible is not exempt from what some could deem as unflattering to the Christian faith. God does not try to deny that humanity is riddled with faults.But we must instead of looking at specific stories to justif y harming others think about the overall message. He only asks that we try to lead faithful lives. Treat each other kindly . Above all, we must keep his name holy. No where in the bible can we find where he tells us to set out and harm others just because we do not like their culture or religious viewpoints. He teaches tolerance. A most noteworthy verse that I like to remind myself often â€Å"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)

Ghost Story Essay

Examinations are tests for evaluating a student’s knowledge. The present system of education ignores the student’s individual skills and intelligence. Parents and teachers judge a student’s potential through examinations. The Indian system of education is based on the pattern set up by the British. Nothing much is taught beyond the syllabus and only examinations determine the degree or grade of a student. Various Commission, which were set up to improve this system recommended practical training and periodical tests. Cheating, leaking of question papers and other corrupt practices, that have cropped up in the examination system should be checked. the aim of education should be to equip the student to face the tough battle of life. Examinations aim at judging a student’s knowledge in a specific time frame and in analyzing whether the student has gone through a certain course of study satisfactorily. Tests enable the teacher to know how well the student has understood the subject. A good result makes the teacher as well as the parents happy. The effort of the teacher is rewarded when a student passes an examination and vice versa. Thus, a teacher’s dedication towards his profession is judged through examination. Examinations help the parents to assess their child’s capability. Parents become proud of their children when they perform well in the examinations. Students become alert when examinations are at their door step. They utilize their time for preparation. Examinations make them work hard for scoring good marks. Some schools award citations and certificate and give scholarships to those students who excel. Such awards prompt the students to work hard. Examinations help the teachers and the parents in analyzing the amount of labor put in by the students in gaining knowledge. Teaching is always followed by tests because the tests give an impression as to how well the students have understood the subject. A good result helps the teacher feel relieved at his success in imparting education to his pupils while a bad result indicates that there is a need of more effort on the teacher’s part. Thus, examinations are also a means of judging a teacher’s dedication towards his profession. With the help of the result of examinations parents can make the right assessment of their child’ caliber. If he is weak in his studies, they could guide him further in the subject. f his performance is up to the satisfaction of his parents, they would be proud of him. However, there are certain flaws in the examination system. The system of education in India is based on the pattern set up by the British. The knowledge imparted is restricted to the syllabus. Students are taught according to the prescribed syllabus. Nothing much is taught beyond the syllabus. When a student is unable to gasp a particular subject, the seeks private tuitions or enrolls himself in a coaching institute. Students tend to learn their subjects by heart, without applying their mind. Thus, cramming enables many students to pass examinations. Most students look towards their examinations with an anxious mind. They, at a very young age, begin to feel the tension and stress of examinations. Examinations are just the first in a series of tests that initiate young ones into a competitive world. But the importance attached to them is unreasonably high. During the examination period and till the result is declared, not only the students but also their parents and tutors remain tensed. It is cast as a do-or-die battle. Students do not have enough spare time for games and are unable to give wings to their hobbies due to the burden of examinations. Failure in the examination arouses a felling of low self esteem and negative self-image in the minds of the students. At times, students break down under pressure to perform and resort to extreme measures like running away from their homes or even committing suicide. Today school psychologists or school counselors give them proper advice to increase the efficiency of learning in schools and handle to pressure of examination. A positive mental state can improve one’s chances of success. Leakage of question papers, copying and cheating in examination halls have become a common affair. Bribery and other corrupt practices also have crept into the examination system. Even some of the teachers check the examination papers without assessing them properly, as a result of which students suffers. Examinations give a degree or a grade to the student. The prevailing system of education does not help the students to make their career in life or to earn a decent living. The youth who fails to get the desired percentage of marks suffer the most. In order to overcome the shortcomings present in our educational system, many Education Commissions were set up from time to time to suggest changes in the pattern. Action on their suggestions Central Board of Secondary Education and other State Boards of Secondary Education decided to introduce a separate steam of vocational education. According to Educational experts, ongoing evaluation is more effective than board examinations. They have recommended that Class X examinations be made mandatory only for those who want to opt out of formal education. Further, it has been suggested that class XII examination be staggered over a two-year period. They have recommended the need for a new pattern which would impart education thought training. Educational experts feel that the educational system being obsolete and redundant is not serving the purpose of educating the youth. They have felt the need to evaluate a student’s performance during the whole year. This could make the examination system more acceptable. According to the new method adopted by many public schools, examinations would remain a part and parcel of the education system. However, periodic tests will be held at regular intervals. The syllabus would include practice exercise at the end of each lesson. This will help the student in grasping the subject matter properly. The aim of education should be to equip the student for the tough battle of life, build his character and personality, widen his sphere of knowledge and qualify him for employment. The student should not only be taught lessons from books but also lessons from practical life. The educational system should not only be theoretical and academic but also give practical knowledge. Students should not be encouraged for rote learning. Projects and term papers may encourage an engagement with the subject matter and are more likely to add sum and substance to a student’s knowledge base. When History, Geography and Maths are reduced to mere digits on a mark sheet, they cease to inspire, give joy, or nurture the faculty of inquiry. Nevertheless, the system of examination, prevalent for centuries, cannot be changed overnight. It will take some time to change the system. While this transition take place, the corrupt practices, cheating and leakage of question papers related to examinations should be checked. Parents should not make their love conditional to the performance of their children in the examinations. Their expectation level should be reasonable. With this and with the revised system of education, examination will prove beneficial for the students. Good health is a boon. It is the real jewel of life, the most precious possession of man. If a man losses his health, the world losses all it § charms for him. A good wealth of health can be obtained in a number of ways. It needs regular exercise, good food, good thoughts, and cleanliness. A healthy person does not spend money on medicines and visiting doctors. Just opposite, a sluggish person is another form of hell of diseases. The simplest and most traditional definition of health is that it is the freedom of sickness and diseases. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), a branch of the United Nations, health is physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease. Next to life itself, good health is the most precious gift and is necessary for a purposeful existence. ‘Sound mind in a sound body’ is an old saying. Healthy persons can work for long hours without getting tired. They can enjoy all the pleasures of life, whereas unhealthy pe rsons can’t. The world has no charm for them. They are always worried due to their physical complications. Wealth has no importance for them. To keep good health no money is needed. It can be achieved only through our efforts and proper health care. We can maintain good health only if we are aware of various factors which affect our health. There are certain things which are essential for keeping our body free from diseases. Nutritious food comes first. We should takeVpnly that food which has nutritious value. Some regularity in life is also important for good health. We should get up early in the morning, go out for a walk, breathe in fresh air to keep our lungs clean and in good order, and take brisk walk, move arms while walking. Maintaining clean habits is also important in this regard. If we don’t take bath regularly, don’t wear clean clothes, don’t eat fresh food, we may develop physical complications in the long run. Hence regularities, good habits and cleanliness have great value in maintaining good health. Balancing sleep and rest are also useful in this regard. We know that a great deal of the waste matter in our bodies escaped by means of the skin, which contains many millions of tiny drainpipes called ‘pores’. If we neglect keeping our bodies clean, these pores get choked up and the waste matter cannot escape. Hence we must keep this important point in our mind and do accordingly. Laughter is the best medicine of good health. So, we should keep calm by overcoming anger, greed, fear, envy and enmity. Life of a healthy man is his long lasting wealth. It makes him able to enjoy life to the full. Those who are wealthy may not always be healthy but the healthy people are always wealthy. Sayings about health and wealth have been noted throughout time. Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, â€Å"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.† This has been a popular saying for centuries. The saying health is wealth may also inspire the belief that without good health, a wealthy man cannot fully enjoy his riches. Conversely, a healthy individual has the potential to achieve his goals. An individual in excellent health may have the ability to become wealthy, but a person who is ailing may never have the opportunity to bring his dreams to life. When a quote or saying becomes widely used and extremely popular, it generally tends to be passed on throughout the years. Health is wealth is one of those sayings that has remained popular for many years. In the study of language and humanities, the common phrase health is wealth can be classified as a mainstay expression. Quotes have been coined from many philosophers and authors throughout history. Health is wealth may be known as a phrase, a saying, or an expression. Another saying or expression that has similar meaning is â€Å"When you have your health, you have everything.† This saying means that the healthy individual is extremely wealthy in a fundamental way.

Buy Or Build Decision Support System Example

Buy Or Build Decision Support System Example Buy Or Build Decision Support System – Coursework Example BUY OR BUILD DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM In the wake of globalization, the cost of managing an organization in regard to products supply and logistics has become central in determining success. This has led to increased research on how to make informed decisions on which method to adopt as far as purchasing and supply chain is concerned. With the emergence of information and communication technology integrated supplier selection system, efficiency is possible and profitability is achievable (Lee, et al. 2006). It is worth to note that selection of the supplier is currently a pertinent decision as regards supply chain management for various industries and particularly processors and manufacturers. The issues to be dealt with therefore revolve around establishing an effective supplier network management. This constitutes supplier selection criteria identification, selection decision on the supplier and supplier progress monitoring.Decision support system involves integration of a supply an d logistic model in which accurate, quick and efficient decisions can be reached. Building a decision support system is both economical and sustainable. Opting to build rather than buy helps the organization in minimizing the risks associated with procurement section in preference to routine outsourcing on order-placing. Grey relational analysis (GRA) model is one of the widely used applications (Lee, et al. 2006). As it seeks to evaluate the supplier, it captures the quality of the product, purchase price, date for delivery, and quantity demanded. The simple steps to make appropriate decision regarding application are as shown below.Set objectivesIdentify alternativesEstimate costsConsider the availability of skilled human capitalCollect data and analyzeCalculate the grey relational gradeDetermine the best supplierThe above highlighted steps will help in building a decision support system that will remain profitable and sustainable by the organization.ReferenceLee, J., & Internatio nal Workshop on Data Engineering Issues in E-Commerce and Services, DEECS. (2006). Data engineering issues in e-commerce and services: Second international workshop, DEECS 2006, San Francisco, CA, USA, June 26, 2006 : proceedings. Berlin [etc.: SpringerLink [host.

exam 2 Essays

edci 2700/ kristin gansle/ lsu/ spring 2015/ exam 2 Essays edci 2700/ kristin gansle/ lsu/ spring 2015/ exam 2 Paper edci 2700/ kristin gansle/ lsu/ spring 2015/ exam 2 Paper IDEA definition of intellectual disability significantly subaverage intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior during the developmental period 3 criteria for ID diagnosis: 1. subaverage intellectual functioning2. significant difficulty with adaptive behavior3. above must occur during developmental period in order to distinguish between ID and other disabilities AAIDD definition significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. this disability originates before age 18 5 assumptions for definition 1. limitations must be considered within context of environments and culture2. valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic diversity, differences in communication, sensory, motor, and behavioral factors3. limitations often coexist w/ strengths4. purpose of describing limitations is to develop a profile of needed supports5. with personalized supports over a sustained period, life functioning will generally improve IQ scores of people with mild ID 50-55 to approx. 70 IQ scores of people with moderate ID 35-40 to 50-55 IQ scores of people with severe ID 20-25 to 34-40 IQ scores of people with profound ID below 20-25 how is intelligence assessed IQ tests IQ is a _______ construct hypothetical IQ tests measures only how a child performs at one point in time on the items included on the test IQ tests can be ______ biased culturally IQ scores can ________ significantly change IQ testing is not an. exact science IQ scores should not be used to determine _____ ________ IEP objectives IQ scores should never be used as the ______ ______ for making decisions regarding ______ ______ _______ sole basis; special education services definition of adaptive behavior collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills learned by people to function int heir everyday lives what do adaptive behaviors determine supports a student requires for success why is measurement of AB (adaptive behavior) proven difficult? because of the relative nature of social adjustment and competence how is AB measure a series of questions that a person familiar with the individual answers issues in social development include challenges in making and keeping relationships how many students ages 6-21 received sped under the category of ID 460,964 what percentage of sped students are ID 7.8% ID is the ________ largest disability category fourth prevalence rates ________ from state to state vary how many risk factors cause ID more than 350 how many ID cases are genetic 35% how many ID cases involve external trauma or toxin 1/3 prenatal causes of ID syndromes, chromosomal disorders, and maternal illness/parental age perinatal causes of ID prematurity, birth injury, neonatal disorders postnatal causes of ID head injuries, infections, degenerative disorders, malnutrition environmental influences of ID: Poverty, language development, abuse, deprivation, medical availability, substance abuse, disability, preparation academic curriculum content in the basics of reading, writing, and math functional curriculum independence, self-direction, and enjoyment in school, home, community, and work environments self determination set goals, plan and implement a course of action, evaluate their performance, and make adjustments in what they are doing to reach their goals task analysis break down complex tasks into the most basic steps active student response an observable response made to an instructional antecedent systematic feedback provided by the teacher information provided about the students performance transfer of stimulus control gradually and systematically withdrawing response prompts generalization and maintenance the use of what is learned across settings and over time direct and frequent measurement of student performance objective and frequent recording the performance of behavior what percentage of ID kids are in the gen ed class 17% what percentage of ID kids are in resource room programs 27% what percentage of ID kids are in separate classes 48% what percentage of ID kids are in separate schools, facilities, etc 7% IDEA definition of LD (learning disability) disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language in what ways does an LD manifest itself speaking, listening, thinking, reading, writing, spelling, or math problems 3 criteria met to receive services for LD 1. discrepancy between intelligence and achievment2. exclusionary criterion: difficulties are not a result of another disability3. a need for sped services NJCLD definition of LD a group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or math abilities what percentage of LD kids have trouble with reading 80% what percentage of LD kids have trouble with math more than 50% what percentage of LD kids have trouble with social skills 75% when is the performance gap of an LD kid most noticeable middle and secondary grades how long do kids with LDs endure their disabilities their whole life LD is the __________ of all sped categories largest what percentage of students with sped services have an LD 42.3% what percentage of all students have an LD 4% what is the male to female ratio of kids with an LD 3:1 basic premise of RTI (responsiveness to instruction): measuring whether low achievement is due to poor instruction or a disability that requires sped services two function of RTI screening/identification and prevention tier 1: primary instruction in the gen ed class (all students receive instruction in the gen ed class) tier 2: secondary intervention (struggling students receive an intensive fixed-duration trial of small-group supplemental tutoring using a research-validated program) tier 3: tertiary intervention (sped services) benefits and goals of RTI earlier identification, reduction of students referred to sped, reduction in over identification, increased likelihood in improvement, and service to all students with achievement problems 4 methods of content enhancements: 1. graphic organizers and visual displays2. note taking strategies3. guided notes4. mnemonics what percentage of LD kids were served in the gen ed class 62% what percentage of LD kids were served in the resource room 28% what percentage of LD kids were served in a separate class 8% IDEA definition of ED (emotional disturbance) one or more characteristics displayed over a long period of time that adversely affects educational performance-inability to learn, trouble with relationships, inappropriate feelings or behavior, or general unhappiness problems with IDEA ED definition vague and subjective CCBD EDBD definition behavioral or emotional responses so different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms that they adversely affect educational performance including academic, social, vocational, or personal skills 3 characteristics associated with the CCBD EDBD definition: 1. more than temporary2. consistently exhibited in two different settings3. unresponsive to direct intervention in the general education setting 2 primary behavioral excesses external and internal 5 externalized EDBD excesses 1. lying2. temper tantrums3. stealing4. property destruction5. violence or threats of violence 4 internalized EDBD excesses 1. overly shy or immature2. withdrawn3. hypochondria4. easily upset and difficult to calm prevalence of EDBD among school age children 3-6% percentage of EDBD children receiving services less than 1% what percentage of committed youth were classified with a disability 40% biological factors of EDBD brain injury, genetics, temperament environmental factors of EDBD home, school, and community screening tests RTI to determine if intervention is necessary direct observation and measurement focuses on childs problems to create useful educational plans projective tests ambiguous stimuli EDBD tier 1 behavior management universal supports for all students EDBD tier 2 behavior management targeted interventions for students with at-risk behaviors EDBD tier 3 behavior management intensive, individualized interventions for students with high-risk behaviors what percentage of EDBD kids are in the gen ed class 40% what percentage of EDBD kids are in a separate class 23% what percentage of EDBD kids are in special schools 13% what percentage of EDBD kids are in correctional facilities 2% what percentage of EDBD kids are in residential schools 2% what percentage of EDBD kids are in home or hospital placement 1%

About Architect Michael Graves and Postmodernism

About Architect Michael Graves and Postmodernism Architect Michael Graves postmodernist designs were provocative and innovative. He brought color and playfulness to tall, office buildings, while at the same time designing everyday objects such as teakettles and kitchen trashcans for ordinary consumers. Paralyzed late in life, Graves also become a spokesman for universal design and Wounded Warriors. Background: Born: July 9, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana Died: March 12, 2015 in Princeton, New Jersey Education: University of Cincinnati, OhioHarvard UniversityFellow at the American Academy in Rome Important Buildings and Projects: Michael Graves home, New Jersey, now part of Michael Graves College at Kean University1982: Portland Building, Portland, Oregon1983: San Juan Capistrano Library, California1985: Humana Tower, Louisville, Kentucky1987-1990: The Dolphin and Swan Hotels, Orlando, Florida1990: Denver Public Library, Denver, Colorado1991: Team Disney Building, Burbank, California1993: U.S. Post Office, Celebration, Florida1995: Engineering Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio1997: United States Federal Courthouse, Washington, DC1998-2000; 2013-2014: Washington Monument Illumination, Washington, DC2011: The Wounded Warrior Home Project at Fort Belvoir More Than Architecture: Household Designs Michael Graves has designed furnishings, artifacts, jewelry, and dinnerware for companies such as Disney, Alessi, Steuben, Phillips Electronics, and Black Decker. Graves is most famous for designing more than 100 products, ranging from a toilet brush to a $60,000 outdoor pavilion, for Target stores. Related People: Robert Venturi and Denise Scott BrownPhilip JohnsonPart of the New York Five,   subject of the MoMA exhibition and book Five Architects, along with Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey,  Richard Meier and John HejdukDisney Architects Michael Graves Illness: In 2003, a sudden illness left Michael Graves paralyzed from the waist down. Confined to a wheelchair late in life, Graves combined his sophisticated and often whimsical approach to design with a deeper understanding of the importance of accessibility. Awards: 1979: Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)1999: National Medal of Arts2001: Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects (AIA) More About Michael Graves: Michael Graves is often credited with moving American architectural thought from abstract modernism to post-modernism. Graves founded his practice in Princeton, New Jersey in 1964 and taught at Princeton University in New Jersey for 40 years. His works range from grand projects such as the Public Services Building in Portland Oregon to designs for furniture, teapots, and other household items. Borrowing heavily from the past, Graves often combined traditional details with whimsical flourishes. He was, perhaps, at his most playful when he designed the Dolphin and Swan Hotels for the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The Dolphin Hotel is a turquoise and coral pyramid. A 63-foot-dolphin sits on top, and water cascades down the side. The Swan Hotel has a gently curved roof-line topped with 7-foot swans. The two hotels are connected by an awning-sheltered walkway over a lagoon. What Others Say About Graves: Michael couldn’t abide students who didn’t take their work seriously. But he was especially generous with those who did, and unlike most other teachers, he could draw every building he taught them. He was a consummate talent, an artist-architect, and a teacher who challenged how we think by how we see. Very few can do that. Very few ever try. Michael did try, and therein is the mark of a hero, a master of the discipline who passed on everything he knew.- Peter Eisenman, 2015 Learn More: Five Architects: Eisenman, Graves, Gwathmey, Hejduk, Meier Sources: Peter Eisenman quote from A Special Tribute to Michael Graves: 1934–2015 by Samuel Medina, Metropolis Magazine, May 2015; Michael Gravess Residence, Rejected by Princeton, Is to Be Sold to Kean University by Joshua Barone, The New York Times, June 27, 2016 at www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/arts/design/michael-gravess-residence-rejected-by-princeton-set-for-sale-to-kean-university.html [accessed July 8, 2016]

Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Business Environment - Essay Example The UK has a rising level of its output being exported across borders and overseas and it is an open economy (Holden et al, 1995, p.44). It is at present number eight as the largest exporter in the world for goods and number two in being the largest exporter for services. It also has highest ratio of outward as well as inward investment to the GDP among any of the leading economies in the terms of capital flow. Inevitably the pattern as well as the balance of trade of goods and services changes over the time, this is reflection of movement in the relative prices of different traded goods as well as the shifts in the comparative advantage in various global markets. Other factors that affect the trade pattern are decisions of foreign investment of the UK as well as overseas companies and economic development and growth of countries, regions etc. Major part of UK’s trade of goods and services is carried with the countries that are part of European Union. Since UK became a part of EEC in January, 1973 there has been long term shift in its trade with the European Union. The trade growth has been pushed by single market; this has led to trade diversion and the trade creation effects (Aylott, 2007, p.4) Trade of UK with the countries in North American region has declined, although the U.S still is the largest single market for exported UK goods after EU (Great Britain Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2011) , comprising of 15% of the total exports of UK. Over the previous 15 years trade with the countries that are oil exporters has declined in its relative importance. In the year 1979 percentage of UK’s exports which went to these countries was 10%, which is now only a small percentage of a little over 3%. Apart from the exports the imports from this oil exporting countries has also fallen. Another important change in UK’s pattern regarding trade in geographical sense is its rising share of trade with the fast growing and emerging ec onomies in Asian region. These include Malaysia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan. The rate of growth in Indian economy is also probable to help boosting exports to sub-continent in future years; this provides businesses in the UK to grab export opportunities in this region. Analyse the impact of global factors on UK business organisations International trade is crucial for the UK, like any other country. If the UK did not participate in international trade, it would not be able to acquire many different materials that are needed to produce products that are used every day, especially concerning food industry. Cold climate in UK makes it rely on other countries with hotter climate to import fruits like mangoes and bananas which don’t grow domestically, similarly the countries with hot climate rely on countries like UK for vegetables like potatoes to import (in UK’s case, export). If international trade did not exist people in UK and everywhere else ac ross the globe will have very limited choices, and business will not have enough markets to expand. There are various global factors that would affect the business

Management - Report on RSE plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management - Report on RSE plc - Essay Example After the evaluation, it has been concluded that the marketing division is mainly responsible for the overall planning, promotion, and sales of RSE products. In addition, the responsibility of the human resource department in making necessary changes has been indicated. The following set of recommendations is given to address the current management problems of RSE: take advantage of large opportunities for overseas expansion minimize the threat of economic crisis and trading costs launch an integrated marketing system create general integration and linkage across organizational systems enhance communication networks address organizational weaknesses employ an IT-based human resource system 1. Introduction In the face of the economic crisis, the Strategic Operations of Richard Shaw Enterprises (RSE) could only see the light in the future through expanding the business overseas. Over the last years until its initial public offering in 2006, RSE has been faring well in the UK Stock Exch ange market -- trading at 233p per share, and maintaining a decent profit margin. It had also significantly improved its brand image -- the company is increasingly acknowledged. In fact, its owner and founder, Richard Shaw, was recognized as the â€Å"Businessman of the Year† by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in 2000. However, like any other businesses, RSE is not spared from the threat of the economic crisis. Along with this, company is also experiencing serious problems in its business processes primarily in the Marketing Division. In addition, there is also an ongoing problem with regard to the integration and information linkage between the domestic and foreign offices, as well as across the major divisions in the organization. With these issues, this paper seeks to accomplish three things: (1) to report the current status of RSE’s business processes and its emerging business needs, (2) to present detailed information systems solutions that would addre ss such needs, and (3) to explain the relevance of implementing information systems and Internet applications to current business operations of RSE. 1.1 Background (Current Business Processes) Richard Shaw Enterprises (RSE) was founded in the year 1994, and was named after its owner Richard Saw. The company went public by the year 2006, and it has remained competitive in spite of the recession, and the high costs involved with the organization's trading operations. At present, RSE is situated in different locations, namely: Maidstone (Kent), Rome, Paris, as well as in Lagos, Nigeria. It is currently operating in two main trading strands: (1) buy and sell, and customization of shop fixtures, fittings, business machines, and other company equipment, and (2) auctioning of bankrupt office equipment, fixtures, and fittings. To top it all, RSE is equipped with technologically innovative information systems. In order to assist marketing managers in carrying out their functions, particularl y in closely monitoring product selling and distribution, the collateral reporting systems was installed. Moreover, in 1995, a computerized system for the payment of staff salaries was also installed. This was followed by the computerization of sales and purchase order processing in the year 2003. 2. Findings (Current Business Processes) Data used to present these findings were obtained from RSEs strategic review of operations in

Analyse and evaluate the impact of volunteer tourism on host Essay - 2

Analyse and evaluate the impact of volunteer tourism on host communities - Essay Example In the first place, firms try to optimise everything and one subject of the optimisation process is the human resource. For this reason, the human resource department may be picky in dealing with finding the human resources that are truly competent or will have optimum contribution for the firm’s future success. There is a prevailing notion that the younger are the chosen employees, the better it will be for the company. However, there might also be substantial flaws in this argument because there are also prevailing young age discriminations in the workplace. In particular, young people might be less likely promoted because of their age (Sargeant, 2006, p.84). At the other end, old age discrimination is also prevalent, because older people are perceived to be somewhere in the portion of economic inactivity, leading to the firm’s likelihood of obtaining less possible output from them (Sargeant, 2006, p.91). Added to this, people belonging to senior age group are also un der the area of discrimination, especially on the ground of promotion, training opportunities and redundancy (Sargeant, 2006, p.90). On the other hand, the group that will be less likely to experience possible discrimination at the workplace is composed of the middle-age employees, but these are also the people who have most of their needs for feeding their children and some women in this group suffer a significant discrimination (Sergeant, 2006, p.88). In other words, in all possible ages of workers, discrimination might be remarkable in the workplace, because they are subjects to the firm’s prevailing requirement of optimising what seems to be substantial for the company’s welfare. In other words, not everyone of varying age has the chance to be given the optimum break in a firm. The work at hand tries to depict the actual probable problems linked to inequality through age discrimination in the workplace. According to the study of Roscigno et al. (2007,

Human Civilization in Greco-Roman Ancient Times and Medieval Europe Essay

Human Civilization in Greco-Roman Ancient Times and Medieval Europe - Essay Example The architecture of medieval Europe should be associated with genius. Matter of factly, people of medieval Europe and the Romans were exceptional builders. Their architecture was both tremendous and restrained. The Romans and the people of medieval Europe constructed superior and better buildings than any civilization in the classical era could rival. Tourist by the suck load today still give special and pure regard to the ruins in Rome. The buildings that were constructed at ancient and medieval times have lasted and passed the test of time. It ought to be noted that these buildings still possess the intricate talent of the builders’ skill to date. In Medieval Europe around 1000-1300 A.D., however, the architectures and builders adapted the ancient Roman art and architecture, which they used in building historical landmarks (Barlett 15-18). During the time of Constantinian basilicas saw a frenzy of construction of fortified residence and monasteries. The relative political stability led to the development of a type of architecture slackly inspired by the Roman forms. Consequently, the classical Roman brick and stone houses were reused for their materials. This style expanded throughout Europe in an amazingly homogenous form. The exceptional relics of the medieval period are the castles that are scattered all over Western Europe. The idea behind the building of castles is informed in the Geo-Roman era, where castles were mainly built for the nobles and the elite. Ideally, the castles were also built with a view to heightening security of the monarchy. On the same, the technology of building castles was always developing from the ancient Roman times to the medieval era (Canter 270-288). Medieval theatre can be seen as the main contributor in helping maintain certain characteristics of the Geo- Roman theatre. The church, however, was responsible for restoring the ancient aspects of classical drama. For instance, the dramatization of the passion of Christ shows how ancient  drama and medieval plays are closely inter-linked (Hill 1).

Presentation about your role as an Accountant Speech or

About your role as an Accountant - Speech or Presentation Example Controversial, because I am sure one way or another you have heard the recent news of financial scandals and crisis which was also brought by this profession. To give you a brief synopsis of the objective or what an Accountant does, it â€Å"is to record, classify, summarize, and interpret the transactions of an [business] entityâ€Å"(Brewer, 2009, pg. 96). While this function may sound simple in text, the implication of it however is quite complex because ultimately,†the objective of financial accounting was to provide information useful in economic decision making† (Brewer et al, 2004, pg. 15). Through accounting, an entity is able to determine its financial position by recording all the transactions incurred in a given period, classify and summarize it to be used in making a rationale economic decision. The tool that is usually used for making that rationale economic decision is called Financial Statements. This is basically a written report that describes the econo mic well being of a business entity which comes in the form of Income Statement, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow. Income Statement simply tells whether a business entity is earning or not. In a smaller scale, the income statement shows how much you spend compared to what you earned and if there is anything left for profit or savings. Balance sheet on the other hand summarizes the business entity’s assets, liabilities and capital for a given period. Simply, it’s a summary of what you have and what you owe and how much you and your investors have invested in the business entity while Cash Flow shows how much money was used and generated by business entity in a given period. Common terms used that may sound complex but really meant simply are words like assets which simply means what the business entity owns, liability which means what the company owes. While this may sound simple, the entire process of recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting can get complicated especially if the organization is big for it involves a lot of transactions to consider for accounting reporting. In a small business, this can also be taxing especially if this entire accounting process is done by a single person compared to an entire department of a corporation. Such, technology can get handy in aiding a small business in its various Accounting Operation such as having a software that helps track employee’s wages, outgoing expenses with vendors and tracking the day-to-day operation of the business whether it is earning or not. This gives the business owner a hindsight about his business’ financial progress and is able to make necessary adjustments to enhance his profitability i.e. streamlining expenses and reduce unnecessary expenditures. By having this accounting facility within the small business, the owner may not have to retain an Accountant, except on the occasion of filing of taxes which could save him cost. If you noticed, the profession of A ccounting involves money. Not only that the Accountant is responsible for handling the resources of a business entity, he is also responsible for the factual and accurate reporting of it. This is important because the public relies on this information whether they will put in their money for investment in that company or not. Such, the Accounting profession demands the highest ethical standard because when this function is

Twinearth Thought Experiment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Twinearth Thought Experiment - Term Paper Example This concept has failed severally to give the necessary results and thus it should be rejected. People have also tried to use is the notion of extension and intension to solve the problem. This notion although seemed to be the simplest, it actually complicated the whole problem. The terms, which are more problematic, are those having more than one sense like the words rabbit and set (Putnam 1975, 581). It is proposed that treating each sense of a word as a different word can solve this problem of complication. It is due to these complications that the Twin Earth Experiment is preferred over this method. The Twin Earth thought experiment assumes that somewhere on the galaxy there exists a planet identical to earth called Twin Earth. The only difference experienced between Twin Earth and the Earth is the vernacular English spoken in either. These differences are contributed by the uniqueness of Twin Earth (Putnam 1975, 584). It is believed that the chemical composition of the liquid called water on Twin Earth is not H2O but another complicated chemical which we shall assume as XYZ. In this experiment it is believed that XYZ performs on Twin Earth all the functions water perform on earth and it tastes like water. It is also known that at normal temperatures and pressure, H2O is different from XYZ. In addition, it is understood that oceans, seas, and lakes of Twin Earth contain XYZ and that it rains XYZ on Twin Earth. Suppose now that we have two individuals with identical attributes, one from the earth and the other one from Twine Earth. If these individuals exist in the current society in which we can assume that the chemical composition of water is known both on earth and on Twin Earth, each will understand water differently. The one from the earth will understand water as H2O and the one on twin earth as XYZ. Now suppose that these two individuals exist in a time when the chemical composition of water

Presentation about your role as an Accountant Speech or

About your role as an Accountant - Speech or Presentation Example Controversial, because I am sure one way or another you have heard the recent news of financial scandals and crisis which was also brought by this profession. To give you a brief synopsis of the objective or what an Accountant does, it â€Å"is to record, classify, summarize, and interpret the transactions of an [business] entityâ€Å"(Brewer, 2009, pg. 96). While this function may sound simple in text, the implication of it however is quite complex because ultimately,†the objective of financial accounting was to provide information useful in economic decision making† (Brewer et al, 2004, pg. 15). Through accounting, an entity is able to determine its financial position by recording all the transactions incurred in a given period, classify and summarize it to be used in making a rationale economic decision. The tool that is usually used for making that rationale economic decision is called Financial Statements. This is basically a written report that describes the econo mic well being of a business entity which comes in the form of Income Statement, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow. Income Statement simply tells whether a business entity is earning or not. In a smaller scale, the income statement shows how much you spend compared to what you earned and if there is anything left for profit or savings. Balance sheet on the other hand summarizes the business entity’s assets, liabilities and capital for a given period. Simply, it’s a summary of what you have and what you owe and how much you and your investors have invested in the business entity while Cash Flow shows how much money was used and generated by business entity in a given period. Common terms used that may sound complex but really meant simply are words like assets which simply means what the business entity owns, liability which means what the company owes. While this may sound simple, the entire process of recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting can get complicated especially if the organization is big for it involves a lot of transactions to consider for accounting reporting. In a small business, this can also be taxing especially if this entire accounting process is done by a single person compared to an entire department of a corporation. Such, technology can get handy in aiding a small business in its various Accounting Operation such as having a software that helps track employee’s wages, outgoing expenses with vendors and tracking the day-to-day operation of the business whether it is earning or not. This gives the business owner a hindsight about his business’ financial progress and is able to make necessary adjustments to enhance his profitability i.e. streamlining expenses and reduce unnecessary expenditures. By having this accounting facility within the small business, the owner may not have to retain an Accountant, except on the occasion of filing of taxes which could save him cost. If you noticed, the profession of A ccounting involves money. Not only that the Accountant is responsible for handling the resources of a business entity, he is also responsible for the factual and accurate reporting of it. This is important because the public relies on this information whether they will put in their money for investment in that company or not. Such, the Accounting profession demands the highest ethical standard because when this function is

Performance Assessment Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Assessment Test - Essay Example Having determined the score of each student, using the rubrics the teacher is then able to evaluate the students’ performances and determine whether they have understood and mastered the basics of the unit. Rubrics are an important part of the assessment since they provide teachers with the criteria to use in evaluating the student's performance. Through rubrics, students are also able to benefit since they know what is expected of them (Lund & Kirk, 2010). They are also able to see how instructions fit with the set goals. Reliability and validity can evaluate from two different points of view. The teacher's content given to the students must be excellent both quantitatively and qualitatively (Riggs, Verdi & Arlin, 2009). This is mainly because, when the features are present, then it can be concluded as being both reliable and valid. Validity is usually evidenced when the students are able to apply the ideas taught by the teacher without difficulty. Students should be able to come up with ideas close to or exactly like those of their teachers after their own private research. Validity can also be demonstrated by the achievement of the set goals. Where there is a very big difference between the students' performance and the previously set goals. Reliability, on the other hand, is mainly evaluated on the basis of the usefulness of the teacher's content in the assessments. When the teacher gives details that are out of context then he or she is deemed to be unreliable. On the other hand, will be judged as invalid.... This will normally depend on the goals set at the beginning of the learning period. The teacher should use the objectives to determine the standards of the assessment. The standards will mainly be based on how challenging the exam is. b) Setting of the test and determination of the date The teacher should then go ahead and set the questions of the assessment depending on the content taught. To avoid leakage or copying of the test or any other such irregularities, it is preferred that the teacher does not inform the students of the test. This also assists in ensuring that the teacher does not obtain inaccurate results. The teacher should also set the date on which to administer the test in advance. This is mainly to avoid any delays or interferences with the normal program. c) Administration of the test Once all arrangements are made, the test is then given to the students on the set date. Generally, study shows that it is better when the test is short and clear with no long instructi ons. Students should be able to finish all the questions within the stipulated time; holding all other factors constant. d) Marking of the scripts and determination of the score Since it is a performance assessment and not a summative one, the score of the test is to be determined immediately after the test. The method mostly used is the exchange of scripts, where the students mark each other’s scripts whilst the teacher gives the answers. Having determined the score of each student, using the rubrics the teacher is then able to evaluate the students’ performances and determine whether they have understood and mastered the basics of the unit. 3) Rubric Rubrics are an important part of the assessment since they provide teachers with the criteria to use in evaluating the

The Impact of Information Technology on Governments and Educational Organizations Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Information Technology on Governments and Educational Organizations Essay The Impact of Information Technology on governments: The Information Technology has revolutionized the government in servicing citizen. The nation consists of many varied information. All the information collected in the advanced database system and the concern department can retrieve the data from the single database. simple example in our Indian Institution is Public Deliver Systems (PDS),Citizen Identity Card, Green Card in USA, Residential Card in Gulf Countries. The government Can share the Information over the secured internet to combat the fraud, terrorism, etc. IT had very big impact in the aerospace and defense system of any government. This enabled the government to gather intelligence and transfer the data to the concern department in â€Å"secured way†. Some of the complex and very accurate bomber B2 would be impossible without the development of computer modeling techniques in IT. the Impact of Information Technology on Educational organizations: As IT has developed over the last thirty years and helped the educational establishment to influence in various ways. The most obvious example has been the Introduction of Information Technology related courses. These courses are introduced to the society has for qualified people to develop these Information Technologies. Developments such as the internet, satellite television has created a good platform the citizen of the country to know about what happening in the government, sports, education, engineering, etc . Educational organizations also have a goal to distribute Information from a source (lecture ,books, on-line resources etc) to the student. The processed by educational establishment distribute Information have become increasingly diverse, and the effectiveness of the process has also improved. The internet has helped the education institution where specialization is limited and they are looking for the particular resources which are available far away can be used through the internet to deliver the lecture and lab. Information technologies have enabled researchers to access a wider sources of information than previously available through such technologies as the internet and other related technologies such as electronic email, also enabled collaborative project to be undertaken between geographically distant group.

EEG-Based Processing Approach for Pain Detection

EEG-Based Processing Approach for Pain Detection Abstract-To detect the pain based on EEG signals variability, several efforts has been made but no promising result has been achieved yet. In this study, we propose different features to classify pan. EEG signals of 28 healthy volunteers were recorded continuously while they experience pain through the known ice-water paradigm. To access the de-correlated EEG sources, Independent Component Analysis(ICA) scheme was used. Among them, the artifact and noise sources were removed and therefore pain dependent sources were determined and projected back. Before the classification, some features were extracted from the EEG signal. To select the best features, sequential forward selection (SFS) was applied which also eliminates the redundancy. The classification results provide 89% , 90% and 94% accuracy when one nearest neighbor (1NN), 3NN and support vector machine (SVM) were used, respectively. Keywords: EEG sources, pain dependent features, entropy, feature selection. Introduction Backonja et al. [1] proposed an ice-water bath as a gradual painful stimulus, termed as the cold presser test (CPT). in this study, CPT is applied as the pain inducing paradigm. Some studies, inveatigated the changes during pain. The result of some previous studies[2-5] was reported as an increase in the Delta and Beta bands and a decrease in the Alpha band during pain. In another study, a tonic pain stimulus [6] increased the power of Delta, Beta-III and Gamma bands and decreased the Theta, Alpha-I and Alpha-II band powers. Intramuscular injection of hypertonic saline increases the Beta power[7]. In another research, inducing Capsaicin caused no significant change in the EEG bands. Another study implied changes of Alpha band activities interact in pain-perception process [8]. In another research, two levels of pain were classified by NaÃÆ' ¯ve Bayes classifier which produces 86.3 ±8.4% classification accuracy [21]. In a different approach, fMRI images of the participants brain were observed while they were experiencing pain by heat induction which resulted in 94% accuracy [9]. The most repeated findings of these studies is a general increase in the power of Beta band simultaneous to a decrease in the Alpha band with a possible coherence increases across different bands, as the brain response to pain. In Section 2, the data recording and the preprocessing are explained; In Section 3, the methods are described in detail; in Section 4, the results are presented. Section 5 concludes the results. Data Recording and Preprocessing 2.1. Data Recording For recording EEG signals, 30 electrodes were used by Scanlt EEG recording system. A cap based on 10-20 electrode placement system was used for recording. The impedance of all electrodes was less than 5 kilo ohms. The sampling rate was adjusted at 250 hertz and a bandpass filter with cut-off frequencies adjusted in 0.5 and 47 hertz was implemented to the signal. In previous studies, laser, cuff pressure, hot/ice water, Electrocutaneous stimulation [10]-[13], have been used to induce pain. In this study, the ice-water (also called CPT) was selected to have minimum side-effect. The recording procedure took place in a quiet room. First, to achieve a baseline recording for each volunteer, a 30 second EEG signal were recorded in the resting position, which is called no-pain class. Then, by putting their hand in the cold water (1.7 ±0.2centigrad) after a while, they reported the pain. The recording continues till the tolerating time for each subject. With respect to the fact of artifacts presence in the EEG signals and to record the noises with higher quality, some electrodes on the face muscles were put to detect EMG artifacts. Also, EOG is one of the other artifact sources in EEG. 2.2. EEG Artifacts Eliminating Principal component analysis (PCA) and regression methods[14] are the methods used for eliminating the EEG artifacts such as muscle artifacts and eye artifacts. Also ICA has been introduced more effective for decomposing the recorded signals into uncorrelated sources [14] which is applied here to remove the EEG artifacts. 2.2.1. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) The components x i {displaystyle x_{i}} of the observed random vector x = ( x 1 , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ , x m ) T {displaystyle x=(x_{1},ldots ,x_{m})^{T}} are generated as a sum of the independent components s k {displaystyle s_{k}} x i = a i , 1 s 1 + à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ ¯ + a i , k s k + à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ ¯ + a i , n s n {displaystyle x_{i}=a_{i,1}s_{1}+cdots +a_{i,k}s_{k}+cdots +a_{i,n}s_{n}} weighted by the mixing weights a i , k {displaystyle a_{i,k}} [15]: X= AS (1) Where S is sources vector, X is the recorded signals (EEGs) matrix. To calculate its inverse or pseudo-inverse, termed as W, the equation(3) is used: S =WX, where W=A-1 (2) 2.2.2. EOG Artifact To remove the most important EEG artifacts, which are EOG and EMG artifacts, the similar process was done. As the Fp1 channel is the most contained EEG channel, the correlation of this channel with all determined sources, was calculated Eq.4 is the correlation formula. If the value exceeded 0.7, the corresponding source was selected as the suspicious EOG source[16]. (3) Where Ri is the correlation of the ith source with the recorded signal at Fp1. Fig.1 shows the spectral map of the determined EOG source which is mostly on foreahed space. Shanon Entropy (4) Fractal Dimension L(k)= (5) Fig. 1. Spectral map of EOG component 2.2.3. EMG Artifacts To remove the EMG artifacts, the correlation of all sources with the frontalis and temporalis channels were computed and the ones which were more than 0.7 were considered as the probable EMG sources. Commonly, EMG sources have higher power at high frequencies. Therefore, to precisely detect EMG sources, in addition to the correlation criterion, their brain map were investigated[17]. The scalp map and power spectrum of one of the detected EMG artifacts is shown in Fig. 2. (b) Fig. 2. An EMG source (a)Scalp map,(b) Activity Power Spectral Methods This study is started from the data acquisition part in which 28 healthy subjects participated. We record their EEG signals through the resting condition (without imposing any pain stimulus) and pain condition. Due to the presence of artifact and noise in the recorded signals, we apply independent component analysis (ICA) to EEG in order to remove the effect of electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG) and movement artifacts. Non-artifact sources were projected back to electrode space and various features were extracted from them. To remove the redundancy and increasing the discriminability, an approach for selecting discriminative ones, Sequential Forward Selection(SFS) was applied. The candidate classifiers were support vector machine (SVM) and one nearest neighbor (1NN). 3.1. Features The features used in this research are as follows; band power of the pain sources in five bands (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma), fractal dimension, Shannon entropy, approximate entropy and spectral entropy. As a brief description to the features, Five frequency bands including Delta (0-4 Hz), Theta (4-8 Hz), Alpha (8-13 Hz), Beta (13-30 Hz), and Gamma (>30Hz) were elicited for each time frame, from each channel. [17]. Shannon entropy [18] measures the amount of irregularity in a distribution. Fractal dimensionmeasures the irregularity or roughness of a signal in a time frame[19]. The table below, demonstrates the brief procedure of calculating the features. Where P()are the probabilities occurred in the ith bin. is thethe average length, L(k) is the average length. 3.2. Feature selection The high number of features extracted in this study, from 30 channels within each time frame caused a high amount of redundancy. Search strategies need an objective function to select the suitable subset of features. This objective function is usually a statistical/ information/distance based criterion or the classifiers feedback, which are called filter and wrapper, respectively. Filter methods are fast and does not bias to the classifier type, while wrapper methods usually provide better results at high computational complexity cost. 3.2.1. Sequential Forward Selection (SFS) Sequential forward selection mechanism starts with empty set of features and repeatedly adds the most significant features to reach the criterion[20]. Here the criterion is selected as the classification accuracy with the objective of SFS selects the most discriminative algorithm. 3.3. Classifiers Two well-known classifiers, 1-NN and SVM, were used in this study. 1-NN is a local and nonlinear classifier, which is proper for classifying multimodal distributed samples[41]. From another angle, SVM with a suitable kernel is capable of classifying samples of two classes with overlap, which provides a great generalization property[21]. 3.4. Classification Investigating brain map through CPT gives us valuable information about the classification possibility. Two frequency ranges, centered at 2Hz (Delta) and 9.8Hz (Alpha), are observed as the most pain dependent features [3]-[5],[8],[22],[23]. The average brain map over all the subjects, in the Delta (Fig. 3) and Alpha (Fig. 4) bands, are exhibited in pain and no pain class. a b Fig. 3. The average brain map of subjects at 2Hz (Delta band): a) Non-pain, b) pain a b Fig. 4. The average brain map of subjects at 9.8Hz (Alpha band): a) Non-pain, b)pain Fig. 3 illustrates an increase in the power of Delta band by feeling the pain, which changes the activity focus region from top to the right hemisphere. These findings were previously reported [3]-[5], [23]. In contrast, by feeling more pain, the power of Alpha band is decreased in the frontal lobe and increased in occipital lobes, as shown in Fig. 4, which is as the results obtained in former studies [3]-[5], [8], [22]-[23]. It is noted that the base of the classifier was just built up according to the detected differences on the spatial distribution of these two band power features. To use the other EEG features and find a discriminate subset of features, SFS was run. Therefore, by adding the other features, which were selected by SFS, it was expected to achieve a higher classification accuracy. Results EEG signals from 30 electrodes were recorded and then EOG and EMG artifacts were removed by the ICA method, described in Section 2. Through the preprocessing, EMG or EOG sources and the sources caused by the bad connection of an electrode on the scalp, was projected outward of the brain. The base of the classifier was just established upon the significant changes in the spatial distribution of band power features through feeling pain (Fig. 4). since reality is that applying just the selected band power features does not provide convincing results, the structure while considering the other features was proposed. The results of pain classification by the proposed structure and those band power features, which were selected through visual inspection, is shown in Table I. For now and on, all of the presented classification results in this paper is achieved by ten-times ten-folds cross validation was executed for the cross validation phase. The classification accuracies are illustrated in Table IV, once SVM was considered for all nodes and the other time 1-NN classifier was assigned. Table I. The pain classification results of only the selected band power features Classification 1-NN 3-NN SVM Pain Versus Non-pain 68 66 54 Table II shows the classification accuracies achieved by applying svm to the features that is introduced as the discriminative ones in previous studies [6]-[8], [10], [23]-[24]. Table II. The comparative results of pain and non-pain classification by applying the previous suggested features[6]-[8], [10], [23]-[24]. Suggested Band Power Features in the Previous Studies Classification Accuracy (%) Alpha band 65 Beta and Alpha bands 61 Delta and Alpha and Beta bands 68 Theta and Alpha bands 57 Delta and Beta bands 61 Alpha and Gamma bands 62 Delta, Beta and Alpha Gamma bands 59 These numerous features, in each time frame, were concatenated into successive feature vectors and therefore the classifiers were encountered with high-dimensional vectors. To remove the redundancy and customize an optimized subset of features , SFS was adopted, to select the pain dependent features and therefore improve the final results. Nevertheless, while using wrapper method, the selected feature set depends on the classifier, the selected subsets of features are not necessary equal for SVM and 1-NN. SFS was run for each classifier separately. Also, since the test and train sets are changed through different folds, the selected features in different validation folds are not identical. As all of the reports which use wrapper approach, to demonstrate the list of selected features, the common features through folds were reported. The selected features by SFS at each node are listed in Table III. and for deploying SVM at all nodes presented and the 1NN features are listed in Table IV. Table III. The selected features by SFS for SVM and 1-NN Classifier List of the selected features SVM Alpha, Delta, Beta and Gamma bands, Shannon entropy, and fractal dimension K-NN Alpha, Delta, Beta bands and Shannon entropy The achieved classification results by applying the EEG features, customized using SFS, are illustrated in Table VI. Table VI. Classification accuracy of the pain Accuracy (%) Classifier Stage 94 SVM Pain vs. Non-Pain 89 1-NN 90 3-NN As it is stated the list of selected features depends on the type of classifier. Discussion EEG signals is the only non-invasive physiological-base measuring data that quantitatively records the brain activity. Also, the research in pain measurement is still in the beginning compared to other applications such as speech processing. As it is mentioned, among the artifact removal schemes such as regression with PCA, adaptive filter and match filter, the best known method is still ICA. It provides this opportunity to eliminate different noise and artifact roots in the ICA space, where all of the sources were statistically independent. Some constraints were considered to assure us that the suspicious noisy sources were correctly selected. In other words, the variation of spatial distribution of the Delta and Alpha bands are visualized by brain map images through the time and this variation was translated into a succesfull classification. We tried to select informative features to reveal the pain changes as highlight as possible. In this regard, instead of eliciting features from the correlated EEG signals on the scalp electrodes, variety of the known features were extracted from the pain dependent EEG source signals. Moreover, instead of ad-hoc methods, a heuristic search strategy, called as SFS, was employed to automatically select the suitable features. The high classification result demnstarates the propriety of the whole process. References [1] C.S. Cleeland, Y. Nakamura, E.W. Howland, N. R. Morgan, B. A. Edwards, M. Backonja, Effects of oral morphine on cold pressor tolerance time and neuropsychological performance, Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 15, pp. 252-262, 1996. [2] A.C.N. Chen, P. Rappelsberger, Brain and Human Pain: Topographic EEG Amplitude and Coherence Mapping, Brain Topography, vol. 7, pp.196-205, 1994. [3] A.C.N. Chen, P. Rappelsberger, O. Filz, Topology of EEG Coherence Changes May Reflect Differential Neural Network Activation in Cold and Pain Perception, Brain Topography, vol. 11 , pp. 125-132 , 1998. [4] S. Ferracuti, S. Seri , D. Mattia , G. Cruccu, Quantitative EEG modifications during the cold water pressor test: hemispheric and hand differences, Int. Journal of Psychophysiology, vol. 17, pp.261-268, 1992. [5] A.C.N. Chen, S.F. Dworkin, J. Haug, J. Gehrig, Topographic brain measures of human pain and pain responsivity, Pain, vol. 37 , pp.129-140, 1989. [6] P. Veerasarn, C.S.Stohler, The effect of experimental muscle pain on the background electrical brain activity, Pain, vol. 49 , pp.349-360, 1992. [7] P.-F Chang, L. Arendt-Nielsen, T. Graven-Nielsen, P. Svensson, A.C.N. Chen, Topographic effects of tonic cutaneious nociceptive stimulation on human electroencephalograph, Neuroscience Letters, vol. 35 , pp. 49-52, 2001. [8] W. Penga, C. Babiloni, Y. Maod, Y. Hua, Subjective pain perception mediated by alpha rhythms, Biological Psychology , vol. 109 ,pp. 141-150, 2015. [9] T. Wager, L. Atlas, M. Lindquist, M. Roy, C. Woo, E. Kross. An fMRI-Based Neurologic Signatureof Physical Pain, The new england journal of medicine, vol. 368, pp. 1388-1397, 2013. [10] E. Schulz , A. Zherdin , L. Tiemann, C. Plant , M. Ploner , Decoding an individuals sensitivity to pain from the multivariate analysis of EEG data, Cereb Cortex, vol. 22, pp. 18-23, 2012. [11] P, Ravn , R. Frederiksen , A. Skovsen , LL. Christrup , Mu. Werner , Prediction of pain sensitivity in healthy volunteers, Journal of Pain Research, vol. 5, pp. 326-313, Aug. 2012. [12] S. Walter, S. Gruss, K. Limbrecht-Ecklundt, H. C. Traue, P. Werner, A. Al-Hamadi, N. Diniz, G. Moreira da Silva, A. O. Andrade Automatic pain quantification using autonomic parameters, Psychology Neuroscience, vol. 7 , pp.363-380, Nov. 2014. [13] S.Gruss , R.Treister , P.Werner , S .Crawcour , A .Andrade , S .Walter ,Pain Intensity recognition Rates via Biopotential Feature Patterns with Support Vector Machines, Biopotential Pattern of Pain via Machine Learning, vol. 10, oct. 2015. [14] S. Makeig, AJ. Bell, T-P. Jung, TJ.Sejnowski, Independent component analysis of electroencephalographic data, Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, vol. 8 , pp.145-151, 1996. [15] Sheng-Hsiou Hsu, Tim R. Mullen, Tzyy-Ping Jung, Gert Cauwenberghs, Real-Time Adaptive EEG Source Separation Using Online recursive Independent Component Analysis, IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng, vol. 24, 3, March 2016. [16] T.Jung, S.Makeig, C.Humphries, T.Martin, J. Vicente , T.Sejnowski, Removing electroencephalographic artifacts by blind source separation, Psychophysiology, vol. 37 , pp. 163-178, 2000. [17] F.Ghassemi, Independent Component Analysis of ERP for levelingVisual Sustained Attention, Amirkabir University of Technology , 2007. [18] I. A. Rezek, S. J. Roberts, Stochastic complexity measures for [33] D. Aba ´solo1, R. Hornero1, P. Espino, D. A ´ lvarez1, J.Poza, Entropy analysis of the EEG background activity in Alzheimers disease patients, Physiol Meas, vol.27, pp.241-253, 2006. [19]M. Sabeti, S. Katebi, R.Boostani, Entropy and complexity measures for EEG signal classification of schizophrenic and control participants, Elsevier Journal of Artificial intelligence in medicine, vol. 47 , pp.263-274, , 2009. [20] S. Enshaeifar, S. Kouchaki, C. Cheong Took, and S. Sanei, Quaternion Singular Spectrum Analysis of Electroencephalogram with Application in Sleep Analysis, IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. Vol. 24, 1, Jan. 2016. [21] M. Gram, C. Graversen, S.S. Olesen, A.M. Drewes, Dynamic spectral indices of the electroencephalogram provide new insights into tonic pain. Clinical Neurophysiology, vol. 126, pp. 763-771, April 2015. [22] M. Huber , J. Bartling, D. Pachur, S.Woikowsky, S. Lautenbacher, EEG responses to tonic heat pain, Exp Brain Res, vol. 173, pp. 14-24, 2006. [23] R. Dowman, D. Rissacher, S. Schuckers, EEG indices of tonic pain-related activity in the somatosensory cortices,See comment in PubMed Commons belowClinical Neurophysiology, vol. 119 , pp. 1201-1212 , 2008.

Toni Morissons The Bluest Eye Essay -- Toni Morisson Bluest Eye Essay

Toni Morisson's The Bluest Eye Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who reside in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s (where Morrison herself was born). This family consists of the mother Pauline, the father Cholly, the son Sammy, and the daughter Pecola. The novel's focal point is the daughter, an eleven-year-old Black girl who is trying to conquer a bout with self-hatred. Everyday she encounters racism, not just from the White people, but mostly from her own race. In their eyes she is much too dark, and the darkness of her skin somehow manifests that she is inferior, and according to everyone else, her skin makes her even "uglier." She feel she can overcome this battle of self-hatred by obtaining blue eyes, but not just any blue. She wants the bluest of the blue, the bluest eye. Pecola Breedlove is an innocent little girl who, like very other young child, did not ask to be born in this cruel world. It is bad enough that practically the whole world rejects her, but her own parents are guilty of rejection as well. Her own father, who is constantly drunk, sexually molests his daughter more than once. The first time he has sexual intercourse with his daughter, he leaves her slightly unconscious, and lying on the kitchen floor with a guilt covering her frail, limp, preteen body. The next time he performs the same act, but this time he impregnates her. Of course, the baby is miscarried. This is obviously not a love a father should be sharing with a daughter. This act displays hatred in the worst way. Her mother's rejection is subtle yet potent. When Pecola tells her mother about the molestation, Mrs. Breedlove does not believe her own flesh and blood. Pecola calls Pauline Mrs. Breedlove... ...n females read this book because I am very curious about how they would react. I feel that they could relate to, and benefit most from this novel, and I bet every young African-American female can relate to at least one character in this book. Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio in 1931. Her birth name was Chloe Anthony Wofford. She attended Howard University, where she received her B.A. She also received an M.A. from Cornell University. Besides being a writer, she teaches as well. She is now a professor at Princeton University. She is known for such novels as Sula, Beloved, and Tar Baby. She has won numerous awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved and the Nobel Prize for Literature.1 Works Cited: 1Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Sylvia A. Holladay. The Bedford Guide for College Writers. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin Press.

Facing the Facebook “Responce”

Facing the Facebook â€Å"Response† I’ve realized technology is very helpful now days but in the classrooms it’s more distracting than anything else. As Michael J. Bugeja stated in â€Å"Facing the Facebook†, Academics assessing learning outcomes often discover that technology is as much a distraction in the classroom as a tool. I catch myself checking my phone in class every now and then but when I do I miss out on what the instructor is teaching.Technology is a great tool for us to learn and gather information but when you put technology in the classroom it becomes more distracting than helpful. It isn’t rare to look around the classroom and see a few classmates on their cell phones, laptop or any other electronic device. Although instead of using technology to do research on the topic being discussed in class, most use it as a form of entertainment, which makes it hard to pay attention to the lecture being given by the instructor.As Bugejaâ€℠¢s essay tells the readers, â€Å"Increasingly, however, our networks are being used to entertain members of â€Å"The Facebook Generation† who text- message during class, talk on their cell phones during labs, and listen to iPods rather than guest speakers in the wireless lecture hall†. I’ve had my own personal experience where technology distracted me from learning and taking the proper notes for a test. Instead of paying attention to the instructor, I was texting a girl I had just met while the instructor was lecturing.That conversation made me miss out on the material that was going to be tested on. I ended up failing the test because I didn’t know what it was about. Not only does technology distract students, I’ve also witnessed a lot of my classmates fail the entire course because they got caught cheating on a test using their cell phones. As Bugeja said, â€Å"Professors and librarians encounter improper use of technology by students, and s ome of those cases go to judiciary officials who enforce the student code. † Before taking any test my instructor would always tell everybody to turn off the phones.I guess my friend didn’t have enough time to study for the final so he wrote a lot of the information given in class over the test in his phone. He forgot to put the phone on silent so when he received a text message it made a noise and the instructor heard. His phone got confiscated immediately and the instructor saw all the notes that he had wrote down. Not only did he fail the final for cheating he also failed the entire course. Now days if a student doesn’t use technology in class or isn’t involved in any social network sites, he or she may feel left out.As Michael Tracey said â€Å"One student chirped: ‘Ask them how many use Facebook. ‘ I did. Every hand in the room went up. She then said: ‘Ask them how many used it today. ‘ I did. Every hand in the room went up. I was amazed. † Searching for somebody on facebook is a lot easier now days then trying to look them up in a phone book. Everybody has a facebook so it’s pretty easy to find an old classmate. One time during lunch some friends and I were bringing up memories from high school and started wondering what happened to a particular person.I decided to search for her on facebook and in less than 5 minutes I found her. Technology is very distracting but at the same time its also very helpful. Overall technology is a great tool for us to learn and gather information. Books teach you all there is to know about everything but lets say you have a specific question its a lot more convenient to go online and use a search engine such as Google to answer the question rather than reading an entire book. But when you put technology in a classroom it becomes more distracting than helpful.

The Causes and Effects of Smoking Among Students

A cause effect essay The causes and effects of smoking among students Smoking is one of the most dangerous widespread phenomena that threatens lives of a huge number of people worldwide. It starts as a way of having fun, but ends as an addiction that is therefore so difficult to give up. Today, we often hear of â€Å"smoking among students†. So why do students smoke and what effects smoking has on them? There are many reasons behind the phenomenon of smoking among students. To start with, students smoke because they are curious and want to discover the world of those who smoke.They are just trying to have some fun when they smoke the first cigarette. Other students take up smoking due to the family problems, especially when they see their parents having quarrels. Moreover, some students smoke since they think a cigarette would relieve stress they had during the day, especially at school. Last but not least, students try to imitate adult smokers because they want to show that t hey are adults, too. If we look at the consequences of smoking, we will find so many. Smoking causes cancer. As a result, the addict students would suffer from health problems that end in death.Another effect is that after certain years, the addict would develop respiratory problems and will face a lot of problems in running without losing breath. So, asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema are always a lingering threat. One more important effect of smoking is that it causes a lot of anger for the addict. Whenever they lack cigarettes, they start reacting angrily and strangely. To sum up, smoking is an ongoing threatening danger for addicts and might affect the next generation. The best solution is prevention according to the proverb that says â€Å"Prevention is better than cure†.A cause effect essay The causes and effects of smoking among students Smoking is one of the most dangerous widespread phenomena that threatens lives of a huge number of people worldwide. It starts as a wa y of having fun, but ends as an addiction that is therefore so difficult to give up. Today, we often hear of â€Å"smoking among students†. So why do students smoke and what effects smoking has on them? There are many reasons behind the phenomenon of smoking among students. To start with, students smoke because they are curious and want to discover the world of those who smoke.They are just trying to have some fun when they smoke the first cigarette. Other students take up smoking due to the family problems, especially when they see their parents having quarrels. Moreover, some students smoke since they think a cigarette would relieve stress they had during the day, especially at school. Last but not least, students try to imitate adult smokers because they want to show that they are adults, too. If we look at the consequences of smoking, we will find so many. Smoking causes cancer. As a result, the addict students would suffer from health problems that end in death.Another e ffect is that after certain years, the addict would develop respiratory problems and will face a lot of problems in running without losing breath. So, asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema are always a lingering threat. One more important effect of smoking is that it causes a lot of anger for the addict. Whenever they lack cigarettes, they start reacting angrily and strangely. To sum up, smoking is an ongoing threatening danger for addicts and might affect the next generation. The best solution is prevention according to the proverb that says â€Å"Prevention is better than cure†.

How Soon Hath Time

HOW SOON HATH TIME- JOHN MILTON HOW SOON HATH TIME is a Petrarchan sonnet written by John Milton the famous English poet. It is a sonnet written on the 9th of December 1631. Typical of the Petrarchan sonnet, there is a tonal change as well as a change in the mood and emotions of the poet. The poem has an autobiographical touch. In the Octave, the poet laments the passage of 23 years of his life, especially the 23rd year. The sonnet begins with a tone of frustration and desperation. He suffers from the complex growing youngsters have. Time is pictured as a subtle thief of youth which has wings and it has carried away the 23 years of his life. His days are hurrying away in a rush. He is growing by age, but the spring of his life has seen no bud nor blossom. He fears that he has not achieved anything in his life despite crossing 23 years. In the second half of the octave, he states that though he has attained manhood, he does not look his age. He has that physical immaturity which has made him look very young and effeminate. He despairs of not only being unmasculine, but also a failure in life as a poet and also as a respectable man of high standing. Physical immaturity seems to go hand in hand with mental, psychological and intellectual immaturity. Though he is a man now, he does not have the mature looks nor does he find an inward ripeness. He feels sad that some people are so well endowed at the proper time. The word ENDOWED suddenly makes the poet realize the ‘one who endows'- God. Eventually the mood changes. There is an introspection and acceptance. He comes to terms with the reality. He feels that all he needs is time and necessarily, along with it ,the blessings of God. He would, one day, sooner or later, in a large amount or small, bless him. It is destiny, he realizes. He would indeed be blessed by God and his fortunes may change for the better. He decides to ‘stand and wait' in anticipation of the grace of God. He feels that right now, it is the destiny allotted by God and accordingly, he has to carry out his part of the duty and wait in patience. He dreams of a day when God blesses him in His own strictest measure. He would bless him with a sense of creativity so that he would bloom to be a better poet. He realizes that human beings are allotted to play their roles, to perform God's will. If he waits with patience, God's grace would be on him eternally. Sometimes less, sometimes more, it may vary, but the Almighty, the Power, would always remain up above, blessing him. So all he needs is Time, Patience and the will of Heaven. In the last line, the poet refers to God as a Taskmaster. A taskmaster's job is to extract work and God will make him strive hard so that one day he would be a greater poet; because that is what, he feels ,God intends him to be. If not today, perhaps someday, he will achieve what he dreamed of, the success he strived for and the glory he anticipated. He would certainly succeed as what he aspired to be. The sonnet ends with a tone of hope and consolation. Milton presents the same theme in ON HIS BLINDNESS. A parallel reference can be made of the lines from Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT where he speaks that we are allotted to play our roles; to perform God's will. — † All the world's a stage and all men and women mere players

Strategic Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Management Accounting - Essay Example This point of view is well supported with both early (Solomons, 1952) and contemporary researches (Boyns and Edwards, 1997a). Needless to say, standard costing has come a long way before it became generally accepted. Originally, cost accounting systems were mainly concerned with variable costs, such as labour and raw materials expenditures. This trend reflected the nature of businesses of that time, which had their variable costs dominating over fixed costs. It was found that before the First World War standard costing system largely interacted with organizational structure and strategic decision making (Boyns and Edwards, 1997b). Still, no evidences were found that costing system had been used in eliminating wastes and inefficiencies. Moreover, costing practices at that time were limited only to basic industries, such as coal and iron. Later, in 1900-1950 cost accounting at large, and standard costing in particular expanded further in the UK. Although still being under a strict control at engineering (state policy prohibited profiteering in that sector), it developed into government departments and business generally. Standard costing was promoted with accountants connecting theory with practice and a considerable variation was found in perception of standard costing between different times and places of that period in Britain (Boyns and Edwards, 1997c). Therefore standard costing system was not still implemented widely throughout the industries in Britain. It began to grow in popularity as a rather simple and accurate way of improving internal efficiency of a business. Nevertheless, issues of considering fixed assets, especially, depreciation created ambiguities for users of standard costing. These difficulties were strengthened with the trend of fixed costs (depreciation, maintenance, tooling, production control , purchasing, storage, etc.) increasing in value and variable costs decreasing. Accounting historians indicate that the

The Italian Mafia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Italian Mafia - Research Paper Example Additionally, it has vast resources that enable it perform very complex operations while keeping a very low profile. The kind of operation the mafia carries out is highly sSuccession is clearly defined by the family ties and power automatically shifts to the firstborn son once the father dies. However, the members of these mafias protect their wealth and power at all costs even if it means killing anyone who meddles in their business. Additionally, they believe that they have built their empires for a long time and not even the government can take it from them as much as they are committing these crimes. These mafia organizations are not known by anybody; they work mysteriously and one cannot clearly identify who is in the mafia, as most of the people involved run legitimate businesses and are very well respected in the society hence making it very difficult to differentiate them from the other loyal citizens. Furthermore, they have access to government officers and can get any infor mation that they require. Due to this, it makes it very difficult for the government to track these organizations down and bring them to justice. These organizations are so secretive that they even control the marriages of there daughters and closely monitor their husbands. Sometimes the husbands are never introduced into the family business, and they are kept in the dark. One cannot deny the fact that mafia-type organizations are deeply rooted in Italy and have even extended into the government. For instance, the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Giulio Andreotti was charged for associating with mafia organizations. ... clearly identify who is in the mafia, as most of the people involved run legitimate businesses and are very well respected in the society hence making it very difficult to differentiate them from the other loyal citizens. Furthermore, they have access to government officers and can get any information that they require. Due to this, it makes it very difficult for the government to track these organizations down and bring them to justice. These organizations are so secretive that they even control the marriages of there daughters and closely monitor their husbands. Sometimes the husbands are never introduced into the family business, and they are kept in the dark. One cannot deny the fact that mafia-type organizations are deeply rooted in Italy and have even extended into the government. For instance, the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Giulio Andreotti was charged for associating with mafia organizations. However, he was acquainted when the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to tie him to the mafia organizations. Consequently, the most recent case is that of the Sicily president who was charged and convicted of associating and providing assistance to mafia organizations. He was sentenced to a five-year jail term in 2008. They fact remain that these mafia organizations spread terror and fear among the people trying to gain power and amerce wealth illegally. Moreover, they work with impunity and have no regard for the law. The mafia organizations aim at marking their territories and area of control. However, other features of mafia organizations include their code of honor for instance the Cosa Nostra mafia has ometra which means the duty of silence. They highly uphold this code and respect it hence making them invisible and hard to track down by