Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Earth Is A 1998 Indian Period Drama Film Directed By Deepa...

EARTH Earth is a 1998 Indian period drama film directed by Deepa Mehta. The story is set in Lahore in the time period directly before and during the partition of India in 1947. The film recounts the holocaust of Partition through the eyes of Lenny, a crippled Parsi girl. Lenny s parents live in Lahore with an army of servants, including the delectable ayah, a beautiful Hindu woman, Shanta. The movie starts with Lenny revisiting her childhood days as a student coloring her drawing, and remembering the downfall of British Empire in India as she states something which indicates the theme of story that it will portray for next 101 minutes and upon which the story will build around. The words she stated accounts as- â€Å"Hindu, Muslim and Sikhs who had lived together as one entity for centuries suddenly started to clamor for pieces of India for themselves. The arbitrary line of division the British would draw to carve up India in August of 1947 would scar the subcontinent forever.† This dialogue clearly states that India was very near to getting its independence from the British Rule and for the final time the nation might have to become a victim to British’s much famous â€Å"DIVIDE RULE† policy which will blow the nation into partition forming 2 separate countries- INDIA PAKISTAN and in the dialogue she clearly predicts the ill effects people will have to face at the time of partition as she says that it would scar the subcontinent forever. Such a line of difference would beShow MoreRelatedEarth Is A 1998 Indian Period Drama Film Directed By Deepa Mehta2713 Words   |  11 PagesEarth is a 1998 Indian period drama film directed by Deepa Mehta. The story is set in Lahore in the time period directly before and during the partition of India in 1947. The film recounts the holocaust of Partition through the eyes of Lenny, a crippled Parsi girl. Lenny s parents live in Lahore with an army of servants, including the delectable ayah, a beautiful Hindu woman, Shanta. The movie starts with Lenny revisiting her childhood days as a student coloring her drawing, and remembering theRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesopening decades of the twentieth century and a major break from the prevailing dynamics of the cold war. In addition to the problems posed for conceptualizing the twentieth century as a discrete era of world history due to overlap with the preceding period and disconcertingly radical shifts in the course of global development in the 1900s, contradictory forces and trends, which perhaps more than any other attribute distinguish this turbulent phase of the human experience, render it impervious to

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Social Stratification Is Affected By The Interactions Of...

Social Stratification in Our Community People in our society are often judged, consciously or unconsciously, by the way they look. How someone presents and carries themselves says a lot about them. For this assignment, I chose to go out and judge strangers based on their appearance. The reason I chose to do this was because it was something that I constantly do. Every time I go out, I analyze what class I think a person belongs in and why. In order to come up with accurate predictions, I use the symbolic interactionist view point, which is a framework for building theory that sees how society is affected by the interactions of individuals (Macionis 2014:20). This theory is focusing on the interactions of individuals instead of society as a whole, and why they react in certain ways. I pay attention to the smallest details about that person in order to come to a conclusion. I went out to three different locations and analyzed the seventh person I encountered in each. In order to properly analyze the individual, I used my micro-level orientation, which is a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations (Macionis 2014:20). The first individual I analyzed, I mentally placed in the lower middle class. My reasoning for this was located in his clothes, location and body composition. He was wearing a grey hoodie with a police logo on it, sweat pants, worn out black sneakers and a drawstring bag. His clothes initially led me to believe that he was in the lower class,Show MoreRelatedHumanity and Social Forces763 Words   |  3 Pagescontrolled by forces of social interaction, while in turn the behaviors of humans control the forces of social interaction in a cycle that controls many aspects of life. The way in which people behave and conduct their lives can be based on a plethora of factors such as social stratification. Through social stratification people are grouped into social â€Å"layers† based on their property, power, and prestige (Henslin). Social locations also play an important role in human behavior. Social class divides peopleRead MoreThe Impact Of Social Stratification On Minorities1195 Words   |  5 Pages†¨During the course of this class I have learned about social problems within the society in which we live and around the world. It is disturbing to learn that poverty, social inequality, race and cultural discrimination, gender stratification, environmental damage, population growth, and urbanization are among the social problems and controversial issues that still exist in the United States. What is Social Stratification Social stratification is defined as a system by which society ranks categoriesRead MoreSociological Imagination, By C. Wright Mills Essay1611 Words   |  7 PagesI SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION CONCEPTUALIZATION As conceived by C. Wright Mills, sociological imagination is the mental ability to establish intelligible relations among social structure and personal biography that is observing and seeing the impact of society over our private lives. Sociological imagination helps an individual to understand on a much larger scale the meaning and effect of society on of one’s daily life experience. People blame themselves for their own personal problems and they themselvesRead MoreSocial Stratification : Social Class, Ethnicity, Age, And Gender1074 Words   |  5 Pages It is in the human nature to be social beings, and have a social identity. Social stratification is the organization of individuals into social groups based on their access to basic needs. Aspects that affect social stratification are wealth, power, and prestige. Wealth is the amount of currency or goods that an individual or family owns. This can include money, houses, livestock, etc. Power is the ability for one to achieve their goals regardless of opposition. Wealth is directly related toRead MoreThe Conflict Theory Of Economic Inequality In Modern Society887 Words   |  4 Pagesgap came to exist and the consequences of such an economic state on the interaction between the middle-class worker and the wealthy businessman. The conflict perspective highlights the notion that society consists of individuals of different social classes and status groups that are of conflicting self- interests. As society is developed, institutions are formed as a means of facilitating the daily lives of the individual; factories multiply the production of goods and educational systems produceRead MoreSynthesis Essay - race and class1447 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is the relationship between social class and race? This question is both problematic and significant because, when attempting to analyze social classes in America, it is important to determine what factors contribute to the establishment of social class. In modern America, despite advancements in civil rights and equality, many things are still divided along racial lines. Are individuals of different races set on pre-determined courses for specific social classes, due simply to their skinRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Workplace Essay1502 Words   |  7 Pagesespecially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module †¦). Both genders can have the same qualificationsRead MoreA Sociological Theory Of Health And Illness1668 Words   |  7 Pagesphysicians. According to the health studies patients receive health services from various different medical professions, but only importance of physicians is overplayed(Covington, 2008). Functionalist believes that medicine helps the society and individuals by performing positive function. So they bypassed the downside of medicine. For instance, some of the treatments are given without the cons ent of the patients; especially those given to mentally sick people .Several other medicines can cause illnessRead MoreSocial Stratification : Racial Stratification1878 Words   |  8 Pages#000824068 Week 16 May 6, 2016 Sociology Final Project Stratification 1.1: Racial Stratification Social stratification, as described by our textbook, is the structuring of inequalities between groups in society, in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. Essentially, social stratification ranks people in a society in a vertical arrangement, also known as a hierarchy, which defines them as superior or inferior. In terms of racial stratification, this means that some populations that share certainRead MoreThe Effect Of Neighborhood Environment On Birth Outcomes993 Words   |  4 Pagesinformation about individual exposure was collected retrospectively, which raises serious concerns about recall bias. For example, women with undesirable birth outcomes may be more likely to recall any substance use, and may negatively rate their stress levels and social support levels during pregnancy. Thus, differential misclassification of many individual exposures is highly likely, and hence estimates form the study could be biased. Authors did a good job adjusting for individual socioeconomic variables

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Nike ERP Implementation free essay sample

1. What are the failure factors for the first NIKE-i2 ERP-SCM implementation? All ERP implementations have risks associated that can lead to failure situations. The complexity of ERP systems together with demanding business environment, represent big challenges for companies when implementing an ERP. In the case of Nike, the situation is even more challenging because of the worldwide ERP deployment, and the large and complex scope of the project. Inevitably, and like all ERP implementations, Nike-i2’s project faced complications at the different stages of the implementation cycle but those complications could have been minimized if the so called â€Å"Critical Success Factors† (CSF)1 had been planned and managed properly. Using the 5 stages structure proposed in the report â€Å"Drawing Competitive Advantage through Successful ERP Implementation Projects†2, the failure factors are analyzed in detail in the following sections. First stage of implementation (project preparation): ? One of the failures in the Nike-i2 ERP implementation was the lack of Formalized project plan/schedule. We will write a custom essay sample on Nike ERP Implementation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Feeling the market pressures, Nike did not commit to a disciplined plan and rushed up ERP’s implementation, by â€Å"began to input data for its forthcoming Spring 2001 line when the system was still to stabilize†3 , giving reason to the opinions that projects cannot be driven by external deadlines4. Industry experts also warned about the boomerang effect (tight and unrealistic deadlines would come back in low quality results in the future) but Nike felt â€Å"i2 technology was smaller and therefore easier to implement†. The result was the project failure and a financial storm (reduced profits) in the following financial periods. ? The executive team as the responsibility to define the mission and scope of the project by analyzing the project business benefits and goals, and aligning them with strategic business goals. It is clear that in this case, Nike’s executives were too ambitious by trusting blindly in a forecast system that was not completely adequate to Nike’s business model (model was order based and not demand forecast oriented). As stated in Cnet â€Å"I2 had past success projects with big clients such as Boeing, Nortel Networks, Raytheon and WalMart.. proving that i2 software is not perfect, but if implementation is done correctly, with proper planning, investment and scheduling, it will work well. 5 Implementing software is not a goal by it itself, remaking the business with the help of software is. Nike business goal was to create an efficient global supply chain by reducing inventory and manufacturing cycle, and this was a large and complex goal, thus, the software implementation could not be taken as simple and easy as Nike’s executives toke it, failing to give Sustained management support to the project. In the second stage of implementation (Business Blueprint) the failures were: ? Nike relied too much in the (supposed) power of the forecasting technology and underestimated its impact on the business processes changes such as orders processing, raw materials purchasing, fabric production, and demand management. That impact also affected the way employees and partners used to work. Anytime companies changes employee’s working habits, it can get difficult to them to adapt to the new reality, thus, an Effective organizational change management is critical. Nike failed ensuring that this complex change got the right results by not integrating properly people, process and technology. ? Nike’s business context was very complex (120000 SKUs, operations in all continents, four seasons product turn over and product life cycle very short), thus, a deep knowledge of this industry was critical when implementing new business processes and ERP systems. Despite previous supply chain applications were troublesome Nike hired i2 that was inexperienced in the footwear industry. This situation could have been avoided if Nike had appropriately used consultants by integrating third-party specialists with industry experience in the project’s team. By not managing this factor, Nike took a big risk and increased the probabilities of failure. ? Nike’s business requirements were too complex and over detailed (like footwear’s forecasting for styles, colors, sizes). If Nike had appropriately used consultants and also had promoted User involvement and participation, those experts could had shared their know-how in the definition of business requirements more realistic and aligned with the real organizational needs. The failures in the third stage of implementation (Realization) were: ? â€Å"i2’s software did not offer all the required functionalities†6. Usually, ERP systems do not provide all the functional requirements and i2 system is not an exception. That’s why, ERP vendors offer interfaces to communicate with third-party products. The problem with Nike implementation was that there was not an Critical Success Factors is a concept presented in the report â€Å"Drawing Competitive Advantage through Successful ERP Implementation Projects†, by Jose Esteves Instituto de Empresa (Spain) and Joan Pastor Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona (Spain) 2 ibid 3 SCM and ERP Software Implementation at Nike From failure to success 4 http://www. cio. com/article/32335/Five_Lessons_Learned_from_Nike_s_i2_Debacle 5 http://news. cnet. com/i2-Nike-fallout-a-cautionary-tale/2100-1017_3-253829. html 6 SCM and ERP Software Implementation at Nike From failure to success 1 ? adequate infrastructure and interfaces prepared in advance and tested before going live. The result was that the â€Å"Demand application and its planner did not integrate easily†¦ †7. Nike’s demand for high customization was one of the main failures in this project. To Avoid ERP customization, Nike could have appropriately used consultants to reduce the need of very detail level forecasting (style, color, size). Consultants could have brought also an experienced business vision, focus on ERP processes really needed to run Nike’s business, alignment between Nike’s requirements and ERP functionalities, and ERP best practices (including i2’s recommendations and methodology) Forth stage (final preparation) is critically important to ensure the quality of the results, Nike’s failures were: ? To ensure that the ERP accomplishes the business requirements defined at the beginning of the project a Formalized testing plan is mandatory. In theory, this test plan should cover functional tests, data flow between systems, user testing and performance tests. Nike did not perform any of those tests activities and the catastrophic results were: â€Å"System could not process large amounts of info. It was very slow and crashed†, â€Å"System could not handle thousands of variables to generate forecasts†, â€Å"Demand application and its planner did not integrate easily because different data formats. †, â€Å"System sent inaccurate orders to manufactures and errors were not detected†8 ? In this phase, User involvement and participation, Adequate training program and Preventive troubleshooting are critical to guarantee that: the technical staff and end-users know how to use the system; to prepare users to perform tests; and to prevent unexpected situations. These activities were not performed and under-evaluated by Nike as confirmed in the case: â€Å"it would work with requiring a pilot test†; â€Å"i2 application was smaller†9; No communication between forecasting and inputs from sales and marketing; and no super users used in training. ? Data migration and data testing are crucial activities before system go-live because data is what really gives competitive advantage to a company and data is the core foundation for all business decisions, thus, an Adequate data migration process is essential. â€Å"Analysts raised questions about adequacy of information that Nike input into the system. †10, this means that Nike did not planned in advance the data activities (migration, conversion, cleaning, etc. ) and in the end the result was â€Å"Input data was estimated and didn’t reflect the business reality, thus, forecasts could never be accurate†11 For the final stage (go live) Nike failed in: ? Not giving sustained management support since â€Å"Executives did not hold review meetings, neither analyzed forecasting results†12. This transmitted a sense of no ownership and no own involvement to employees, resulting in no encouragement of system usage. From other point view, Nike also failed on the study of vendor’s evaluation criteria: ? According to the â€Å"six-stage model of the buying process for ERP software†13, one evaluation criteria is â€Å"Association with or the availability of third party vendor/partners† and other criteria is â€Å"Qualifications, experience, and success in delivering solutions to organizations of a similar size, complexity, and geographic scope†. It was clear that i2 did not had experience on the footwear industry and was not prepared for Nike’s business complexity, so Nike should had decided for another vendor with industry knowledge or as an alternative to integrate i2 with a specialized third-party. ? Nike seemed to desire the best-of-breed for each application area, ex: SAP for ERP, i2 for planning SCM, Siebel for CRM, etc. , which is not always the best option. As for i2, Nike knew that there were many disadvantages to choose this vendor, such as: i2 technology could not met all business requirements; data models were different between i2’s demand and planner application raising integration problems with legacy systems; high effort was necessary to customization; there were 2 development and delivery cycles at the same time (one for i2 and other for SAP); and i2 had no experience in industry. A better option would have been to integrate planning SCM with SAP from the very beginning, which turned out be what exactly happened after the i2 SCM project failure. Conclusion Nike-i2’s ERP implementation failed in all stages of implementation on several CSF and also on the evaluation of the vendor. The failures were related mainly to project management and organizational factors proving that success is much related to people and process and not just technology. 7 SCM and ERP Software Implementation at Nike From failure to success ibid ibid 10 ibid 11 ibid 12 ibid 13 â€Å"A six-stage model of the buying process for ERP software† by Jacques Verville and Alannah Halingten 8 9 2. How do you evaluate the role of i2 in this process? Many factors which Nike failed to manage can also be applied for i2, resulting in a shared responsibility for the project failure. ? i2 did actually recommended Nike to â€Å"minimize customization to 10-15% of the software†14 but at the same â€Å"Nike and i2 worked together to incorporate the desired changes†. 15 This means, i2 agreed to do the changes when Nike insisted on high level of customization, thus, i2 also has responsibilities on the high customization failure. Responsibility could be different if the level of customization was written in the contract to be limited by 10%, and above that, i2 would not offer product guarantee. ? The project did not have formal plan and no realistic deadlines. i2 as company, cannot be just a software vendor, it must participate on the plan definition and monitoring. By accepting Nike’s deadlines, i2 was also responsible for the delays and for the low quality of the delivered software. ? Nike began to input data while the system was not yet stable but i2 did not force Nike to stop this. A vendor must deliver his product when it is ready and according to negotiated deadlines. ? i2 did not have footwear industry knowledge but accepted to be part of the project, taking a big risk and being too ambitious like Nike was. The result was that i2 became overwhelmed with the business complexity and in the end the forecasts did not worked out as expected. i2 should had analyzed better Nike’s business and industry, and sub-contracted a third-party specialist in that industry. ? Nike did not use i2’s implementation methodology; executives did not hold review meetings, neither analyzed forecasting results; there was no pilot test and no training. A vendor must also be part of the project management team to: define and negotiate formal deadlines, implementation phases, methodologies, tasks, roles, test plans, risk management plans, performance goals, etc. A vendor must assure that the contract is clear about: who owns the project; who is responsible for what; what resources will be available during the project; what are the expected benefits and results. 3. Describe the main problems associated with ERP software modification (short-term and long-term) Short-term ? More time to implement a modified ERP compared with the time to implement an original ERP. ? Higher costs during project’s implementation to pay analysts to define customized business processes and to pay programmers to customize the new functionalities on the system. ? Higher costs to run additional tests to guarantee customized functionalities work as expected and do not affect the original system capabilities. ? Additional costs to train end-users on the customized functionalities. ? Changing an original ERP that is known and proved to work well may create unpredictable instability, crashes and performance problems. ? Original ERPs typically have pre-built connectors to communicate with other systems. Changing an ERP require additional time, effort and cost to integrate those new functionalities with other systems. Long-term ? The bugs, performance problems, etc. on original ERP are responsibility of the vendor. The customization effects on performance, instability, errors, etc. are responsibility of the customer, increasing future maintenance costs. ? Modified systems may output wrong information, because the original system was not built to be modified and results may be unpredictable, leading to high business risks (including wrong ordering, excess of inventory, etc. ) that in the future may lead to big financial impact on profits for long periods. ? An unstable modified ERP may also create unpredictable instability on legacy systems that worked fine previously. Thus, the impact may be multiplied for other systems and create additional problems in the future. ? Who owns the modifications? If the modifications are made by in-house analysts\programmers, the knowledge stays in-the-company but the company as to pay to retain those employees. If the modifications are made by the vendor\external consultants, the company is locked in with externals. In both cases, the costs rise compared with the no-modification option. ? Original ERP will survive future upgrades, and any problem with updates is responsibility of the vendor. For modified ERP, the customizations may not be compatible with upgrades, demanding new investment in retesting or even re-implement the modifications again.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Prison Population free essay sample

Prison Population: Getting in and Staying in Prison is something everyone fears, someplace no one would ever crave to be. When people speak of prison, it is thought of as a ghastly place, a detrimental affluence. With the vast amount of faculties intended for getting populace into prison, one may start to believe that the regime of our country would relatively incarcerate anybody experiencing a lawful crisis, rather than deal with the predicament and allocate them to lead liberated lives.The rising population, of inmates in the United States, is beginning to be an emergent epidemic, and the faculties for getting people into prison are ample. The United States Judicial System should focus further on creating faculties intended for keeping citizens out of prison by creating more sufficient laws, and producing more thoroughly organized correctional faculties. These steps, altogether, will decrease the overall prison population. Before contemporary America, laws created to get someone into prison were abundant. We will write a custom essay sample on Prison Population or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The number of inmates estimated to be incarcerated in February of 2010, compared to the actual number of inmates incarcerated is nearly equivalent. (McNeil, â€Å"Trends in prisons admissions and population†) According to McNeil, a nine month approximation was taken for the number of inmates expected to be incarcerated in 2010. This number was compared to the number of inmates actually incarcerated, and each time the numbers exceeded no difference greater than two hundred and fifty inmates. (McNeil) Annotated Works Cited Butterfield, Fox. Study Finds 2. 6% Increase In U.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Moscow On The Hudson Report essays

Moscow On The Hudson Report essays The film, Moscow On The Hudson, brings the viewers to the height of the Cold War, during World War II. In the beginning, the movie is set in communist Russia, but it soon advances to democratic America. The Russians thought poorly of Americans, and constantly referred to them as "whores with disease." This film proves to Americans how fortunate they are to live in America, where freedom is not just an unapproachable dream, but is a way of life, a reality. Vladimir, the main character, is a Russian, dwelling in the Soviet Union with his family, which includes his mother, father, sister, and grandfather who was a war hero in World War II. In the Soviet Union, Vladimir is a musician in the circus, and plays the saxophone. The circus that he is part of, visits New York. The government poses many restrictions on the group while in America, such as to stay away from the subways, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Greenwich Village. In New York, the foreigners are in total awe. This was an entirely new experience to them. Some instances why this was completely stunning to them were they were able to get toilet paper, which was a luxury to them, practically anywhere, whereas in Russia, they may only receive toilet paper when they are told, and must wait on a line that stretches for blocks, also in New York they were able to go shopping, and buy designerwear by famous designers such as Calvin Kline. The main appeal of America, though, was freedom. As the Russians receive their last taste of America and its freedom, by shopping at Bloomingdales, while Vladimir's friend is too much of a coward to follow through, Vladimir defects in the department store, causing complete chaos. Vladimir's decision to defect was an audacious one, knowing he would have to sacrifice seeing his family, grandfather, or girlfriend again, and not knowing a soul in America, take the risk to try to get by on his own, and if ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

25 Quotes About Laughing and Laughter

25 Quotes About Laughing and Laughter Writer Madeleine L’Engle once quipped: A good laugh heals a lot of hurts. Indeed, CPF, the official journal of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, stated that laughter and humor have great medical benefits. And prescribing laughter is free, the medical organization notes. It makes sense, then, to find ways to include laughter in your daily life.  People who laugh more live longer and happier than worrywarts. These quotes from famous people, great thinkers, and even a few comedians will show you that laughter is no laughing matter. Lighten your life with a chuckle every day. Audrey Hepburn I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think its the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. Its probably the most important thing in a person. Henry Ward Beecher Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child. Will Rogers An onion can make people cry but theres never been a vegetable that can make people laugh. Woody Allen If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. Mary H. Waldrip A laugh is a smile that bursts. Arthur Marshall Laugh it off, laugh it off; its all part of lifes rich pageant. Thomas Szasz When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him. Jonathan Davis You laugh at me because Im different, I laugh at you because youre all the same. Abraham Lincoln With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die. Charlie Chaplin To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it! Kurt Vonnegut Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. Maya Angelou Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. Max Eastman Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. Max Frisch When you say a friend has a sense of humor do you mean that he makes you laugh, or that he can make you laugh? Jane Austen For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn? David Herbert Lawrence One could laugh at the world better if it didnt mix tender kindliness with its brutality. Richard Pryor Theres a thin line between to laugh with and to laugh at. Anthony Burgess Laugh and the world  laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone. Eminem Anybody with a sense of humor is going to put on my album and laugh from beginning to end. Bryant H. McGill Why do we laugh at such terrible things? Because comedy is often the sarcastic realization of inescapable tragedy. Jay Leno You cannot be mad at somebody who makes you laugh - its as simple as that. Mahatma Gandhi First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Voltaire God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Jerry Seinfeld The Four Levels of Comedy: Make your friends laugh, make strangers laugh, get paid to make strangers laugh, and make people talk like you because its so much fun.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) - Assignment Example The discussions will guarantee proper documentation and patient analysis. This may also include dedicating sufficient time to reconciling POA queries and documenting discharge summaries to ensure effective implementation of the rule. I can enhance patient safety through implementation of the rule by facilitating teamwork between different hospital departments, adhering to evidence-based guidelines, preventing patient falls by offering sitters, adopting new protocols for testing UTIs, and testing patients during admission (Sorensen et al., 2014). These measures can enhance identification and diagnosis thus improving clinical quality and safeguard patients from hospital-acquired infections and injuries. As a nurse practitioner, I can also use adopt leadership duties to promote patient safety by participating in executive committees, mobilizing healthcare resources and strategies, and mediating between nurses and other medical personnel (Wald et al., 2012). Moreover, I can promote the i mprovement of clinical quality through implementation of the rule by advocating for the root cause analysis, ensuring proper documentation, and monitoring Hospital-Acquired Conditions (Sorensen et al., 2014). Peasah, S. K., McKay, N. L., Harman, J. S., Al-Amin, M., & Cook, R. L. (2013). Medicare Non-Payment of Hospital-Acquired Infections: Infection Rates Three Years Post Implementation. Medicare & Medicaid Research Review, 3(3), 1-13. Wald, H., Richard, A., Dickson, V., & Capezuti, E. (2012). Chief nursing officers’ perspectives on Medicare’s hospital-acquired conditions non-payment policy: implications for policy design and implementation. Implementation Science Journal, 7 (78),

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

IT Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Project management - Essay Example In his article, Roetzheim writes about some of the simple methods used to estimate software development projects. Roetzheim begins by writing about estimating a project’s lifecycle and writes about the level of accuracy that can be achieved. Since inaccuracies in estimation result in uncertainties, it is always good to work and reduce inaccuracies in the early stages of software development. This means that once the project is later understood, the inaccuracy level will reduce. The author writes that one of the steps in estimation is estimating project volume. There exists different approaches to this but Roetzheim writes about Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) that uses Source Lines of Code (SLOC) as a unit of measure. This method uses effort which is the product of Linear Productivity Factor and SLOC. Effort gives an estimate of the person months for the software development project. According to Dhilon, effort is also affected by the size of the project since for a smaller projects, less time is used for communications thus individual productivity is high. Roetzheim’s article goes ahead and explains how to estimate software size and he writes that one can use direct points approach or function points approach. Direct estimation involves breaking down the project and using expert assistance to determine the number of lines of code. Function points method involves creating function points which are later converted to lines of code by a process calle d backfiring. The first step is to determine a logical flow of the software to be developed by identifying the input, processing and output points. Then raw values are extracted from the logical steps created and they are multiplied by a factor to give function points. Lines of code are obtained from the product of these function points and common conversion values

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Syrian Civil War Essay Example for Free

Syrian Civil War Essay The Syrian civil war is an armed conflict in Syria, which has began on 15 March 2011 with demonstrations and protests against Syrian president Bashar al- Assad, which evolved into an armed rebellion. By now Syrian war cost more than 55,000 lives and many people are still dying in this war. It is important to focus on ending of this war as soon as possible not only for good of Syria but also for the good of whole world. My opinion is that the main problem why this war still continues is because many countries are supporting their economy by sending new and new weapons into Syria, and these weapons don’t end only in hands of Syrian army but also in hands of rebels fighting against the government. I think that first think Syria should focus on in these days is to secure its weapon sites, containing dangerous chemical weapons also labeled as WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Destruction). These weapons became the point of interest of rebels, which are trying to take them and use not only against Syrian army, but also against any else country including the USA. Stated in Adam Clark Estes’s paragraph from The Atlantic Wire, it is scary enough to think of what the Assad regime could do with the several hundred tons of chemical weapons and horrifying to think of what terrorists would do. I think that president Assad should pay more attention to sites and military bases where are these weapons stored and secure them. According to Estes’s paragraph, â€Å"What we know, however, is that the United States and its European allies are working fast and hard to mobilize forces to protect those weapons and, hopefully, avert the unthank able.† He also says that there are also good news and uses retired general Adnan Silou’s quotation that â€Å"It’s unlikely that insurgents would know how to successfully detonate chemical munitions on their own.† I don’t really agree with this opinion, and I think that if rebels would steal the chemical weapons it would be only the question of time until they would find somebody who would arm them. Furthermore Silou says that â€Å"After the regime falls, anyone could take them.† And according to Estes’s paragraph that is the main reason why the United States is working with Israel, Jorda n and the NATO allies to get the troops to those sites as soon as possible. President Obama warned president Assad in BBC news that â€Å"The world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable.† The bad news according to Estes’s paragraph are simple. If the chemical weapons will be used, they won’t kill a few people, they kills thousands, and if the weapons will make it out Syria, that could mean thousands of Americans. According to CNN paragraph, Syrian government insists it would never use chemical weapons on its own people. But world leaders say Syria’s desperation could lead to even more tragedy in the war-torn country. I think that the main point of CNN’s paragraph is that many people can’t even imagine, how big danger these chemical weapons represent for humanity, and that’s why CNN is trying to â€Å"introduce† us some of the substances these weapons contain. According to CNN paragraph, military analysts believe Syria may have one of the largest stockpiles of chem ical weapons in the world. All the stocks of these weapons that the Syrian Arab Republic possesses are monitored and guarded by the Syrian army. These weapons are meant to be used only and strictly in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said in July. When we are talking about the substances these weapons include, we are talking about chemicals like sarin, mustard gas or VX gas which are able to kill thousands of people in few minutes or cause permanent illnesses like cancer or blindness. According to CNN’s paragraph sarin gas is an odorless nerve agent that can cause convulsions, paralysis and respiratory failure. Nerve agents are the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents. Sarin quickly evaporates from liquid to vapor form and disperse into the environment. It also mixes easily with water and can poison a water supply. VX is another nerve agent that can be lethal when inhaled. It can also be dispersed in a liquid form; even a few small drops on the skin can lead to the same effects as sarin gas. Compared with the nerve agent sarin, VX is considered to be much more toxic by entry through the skin and somewhat more toxic by inhalation, the CDC said. Mustard gas also known as sulfur mustard leaves chemical burns on the skin, eyes and even the lungs when inhaled. While mustard gas can be fatal, it also can disable victims and can cause cancer or permanent blindness. Syria promised to not use these weapons in the civil war, but will it really keep this promise? Syria’s war is now 21-month long conflict and many people aren’t so sure that these weapons will stay in their sites. Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said â€Å"For the first time in the history of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in April 1997, there are serious concerns that chemical weapons might be used.† President’s Assad newest speech about that would begin a peace process and keep the besieged leader in power was – according to ABC news paragraph – quickly rejected by the USA president Obama. Furthermore State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Assads latest plan is detached from reality and would only allow the regime to continue its oppression of the Syrian people. Assad spoke Sunday in a rare public speech, outlining a new peace initiative that includes a national reconciliation conference and a new constitution. He ignored international demands to step down and pledged to continue the nearly two-year fight against rebels challenging his authoritarian rule. Nuland says Assad has lost all legitimacy and should step aside to allow for a political solution and a democratic transition that satisfies the Syrian people. My opinion to the actual situation is that, both USA and Syria should try to find solutions and not putting each other on side and trying to solve problems individually.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Prayer in Public School Essay -- Religion Education

In the heart of every religion, there is a way to express one's deepest thoughts and feelings--prayer. Prayer is something that most people due naturally. Whether it is in the morning before you start your day, before a meal, before you go to sleep, or when you just feel the need to express your feelings, prayer is always there. Religious faiths believe that this is central to human life. Even those who are not religious pray. Prayer affects the material universe. Prayer can be defined as an earnest request; a humble entreaty addressed to God, to a god, etc (Webster's). We are allowed to pray publicly anywhere, as long as we don't pray out loud. Yet we all live in a society that does not allow prayer inside public schools. Prayer is also not allowed in public institutions, but we can pray in private institutions, such as church. There is so much emphasis put on prayer in public school, despite the fact that prayer is actually substantial. The First Amendment of the U.S Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances" (Greenberg). This first amendment protects both believers and nonbelievers from government interference in their decision to pray. Students have the right to pray and read the Bible in public schools. Yet the educators and administrators who facilitate our schools cannot lead children in prayer or force them to pray. The constitution also prohibits the following: requiring students to recite prayers in class, saying public prayer at high school games and teachers and co... ... taught, perceived and demonstrated. Religion is a touchy subject and you really have to know what exactly what you are talking about when trying to promote your religion. Prayer in school is also a touchy subject. One side of my family is pro prayer in school and the other is anti prayer in school. I believe that morally a prayer before you start you day is a healthy, productive and cleansing way to live life. Yet to say that praying in school is the way to go would be pushing it. I see prayer as a contagious thing. Not so much in a bad way though. As I stated earlier, when we as a class all gathered for the death of a fellow classmate, one person started to pray and without realizing it, he a started a trend. Prayer is a very powerful and meaningful way to express your deepest thought and feelings and it should be done however, wherever, and whenever you please.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Knowlege on Segway

The Segway Personal Transporter (PT) represents the next generation in personal mobility, offering several advancements that make the ride even more intuitive and productive than ever before. Other examples of Segway Smart Motionâ„ ¢ technology and licensing of Segway Smart Motion technology to other third-party companies, demonstrate that Segway continues to challenge the assumptions and expand the boundaries of traditional transportation. For Consumers. You can choose between the versatile and sleek flagship model, the Segway i2 with lithium-ion batteries standard); the Segway x2, or six different fully equipped packages tailored to such uses as commuting and golf. The Segway i2 is a great way to enjoy the ride while commuting to work, running errands, or just traveling a short distance where a car is more hassle than it's worth. The Segway x2 brings added versatility to your world, offering sturdy capability in rugged off-sidewalk terrains such as trails, bike paths or beachfronts. The Segway x2 Golf package is an innovative, fun and flexible way to play around. And remember, fun is engineered into every Segway PT we build! Go to our easy to use configurator to build your own Segway PT and decide which Segway PT may be best suited for you. Every Segway PT is engineered from the groundup for durability and reliable operation for years to come, and they all come standard with a one-year limited warranty. For Businesses Businesses worldwide have discovered the enhanced productivity and increased mobility inherent to the versatile, reliable and durable Segway i2. The Segway i2 has been developed to excel in speed, range, and maneuverability in varied environments. It comes standard with lithium-ion batteries for extended range of up to 24 miles on a single charge. Packages tailored to the needs of security and commercial customers are now available and an additional range of accessories can be added for true customization. Police and security agencies worldwide are using Segway products to patrol airports, transit stations, manufacturing facilities, shopping malls and campuses. Check out the versatile Segway i2 Police , optimized for policing needs with additional cargo and reflectivity options. For businesses operating in outdoor environments, the Segway x2 maximizes performance on diverse off-sidewalk terrain. This rugged version of our venerable Segway PT makes tackling rough terrain a breeze. Equipped with standard lithium-ion batteries and low-pressure tires. The Segway Robotic Mobility Platform (RMP) takes the performance and engineering prowess demonstrated in the Segway PT and makes it available in a durable package for robotics applications.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

A company, interested in the design Essay

Gabriel Oak’s character has developed a lot in ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’. He started off as ‘clumsy and foolish’ and he ended up as ‘heroic’. A hero is a man admired for achievements and noble qualities; In this case this word does not refer to someone with superhuman powers! The first description of Gabriel Oak: ‘on working days, he was a man of sound judgement, easy motions, proper dress and general good character’. Hardy’s description implies that there is nothing special about Farmer Oak; that he is just an average man. Hardy also states, that on a Sunday, a non-working day; Oak is a kind of pepper and salt mixture. This means that he is normal; he is a man with ‘balanced’ morals. Another thing that Hardy uses to bring across Oak’s personality is the way he dresses. This gives people more idea about Oak’s character and personality. His clothes were very practical but they made him look ‘clumsy and foolish’. Hardy also states that Gabriel was a source of some amusement; his watch was very difficult to get out, apart from being amusing, this also demonstrates that Oak doesn’t need to use modern conventions to tell the time. He can use the position of the sun and stars to tell the time. This is an example of how close he is to nature. This is also hinted in his name: Gabriel ‘oak’, the word oak is used to describe him as ‘natural and sturdy’ like the oak tree. In the 1st chapter, Bathsheba is in a carriage laden with goods, she is stopped at a toll gate and she refuses to pay the toll. When Farmer Oak sees this he steps in and pays the man at the gate the money needed to let Bathsheba pass. This shows that Oak is a generous and bold man. Generosity is one of Oaks many ‘noble qualities’. In chapter 5, Hardy demonstrates one of Gabriel’s first changes in character: one of Farmer Oak’s dogs rounded up and chased all of his flock over the cliff. This lost him a lot of money as the sheep were not insured and ruined his livelihood. His first thought was of pity, he felt pity for the sheep, after this Gabriel muttered: â€Å"Thank God I am not married: what would she have done in the poverty now coming upon me! † This proves Oak to be a very humble and kind man, he did not think of himself or the debts he now had. This demonstrates another noble quality that Farmer Oak has: selflessness. It also shows Oak’s true feelings about Bathsheba. In chapter 6, Hardy also demonstrates Oak’s heroism: there was a fire at the farm in weatherbury, a rick of straw had caught fire in a barn. There was a crowd of spectators all panicking, none of them new what to do. Gabriel immediately and calmly took charge of the panicking crowd. He called for a ladder and began putting out the fire himself with no concern of his own personal safety. This was a very heroic act by Gabriel. He was described as ‘bold’ by one of the bystanders. In chapter 21, there is another disaster at Bathsheba’s farm, one of her flocks of sheep managed to get into a clover field and they are all going to die. Bathsheba sends for Farmer Oak; he is the one who knows how to cure them, as Oak has just been sacked from the farm, he is reluctant to come back and help. Although, Gabriel swallows his pride and goes to the farm and began to cure the sheep very calmly and precisely: â€Å"Gabriel began to use it with a dexterity that would have graced a hospital surgeon. † This is a very heroic act, he swallows his own pride and helps someone else, he didn’t even think about receiving a reward, he did it out of his own kindness and his own concern for the animals. In chapter 36, Gabriel realises that there is lots of Bathsheba’s produce exposed to rain. He goes back inside to fetch help but everybody has passed out because they were drunk. Gabriel, rather than leaving it and hoping it would not rain, begins work atop the rick with no concern for his own safety. This is a very helpful and heroic thing to do. In chapter 37, Gabriel Oak is working on top of one of the ricks of straw in a powerful lightning storm. Bathsheba comes up to help Oak; they then begin to engage in an intimate conversation in which Bathsheba turns to Gabriel for guidance. Once again, Farmer Oak puts his own feelings aside and guides Bathsheba. Thomas Hardy made Gabriel Oak the hero in this novel, at the end of the novel, Gabriel’s noble qualities finally paid off and he managed to marry Bathsheba Everdene; he was always the one standing by her side, supporting and helping her in whatever she did. Hardy implied this by his name- he was a ‘rooted’ form of support. This shows Farmer Oak as a true hero, putting his feelings aside to help others.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Educated Person in America Essay Sample

Educated Person in America Essay Sample Educated Person in Todays America Essay Example Educated Person in Todays America Essay Example Nowadays, many people argue that high school is not as effective as it should be and fails to create an educated person who would become successful in adult life. Hence, an educated person is commonly associated not only with the diploma of higher education, but the achievements in life. However, as the world and society changes, the way to success also gets altered. What Does It Mean to Be an Educated Person in America? In such a way, it is necessary to understand that the features related to a successful person are to be closely interrelated with the trends of the contemporary world. At the same time, education and high school in particular need to develop an understanding of such issues by a person. High school plays a crucial role in shaping people’s worldview and peculiar features throughout generations. Hence, it is necessary to understand the role of the school system in making children understand these trends and the role of exterior social influences and world change in providing them with the ability to adapt to changes, communicate with representatives of different cultures and perceive information critically. Therefore, the current paper argues that perception of an educated person is based on a number of features, which a public school often fails to provide. It suggests that the school curriculum should become more corresponding to the aim of developing critical thinking of peopl e instead of making them equally limited by the social norms of the consumers’ society. Who Is an Educated Person? This question is crucial for analyzing the effectiveness of the American education system because explanation of this notion will provide an understanding of the real goals of education. Hence, it will give an understanding which goals are met and which ones are neglected. An educated person has to possess a variety of competences. However, not all of them are effectively studied at school. In the modern society, each person has to possess a multicultural competence that would ensure effective communication with other people, technologies awareness, ability to adjust to a variety of situations rapidly and some other qualities. It is obvious that these competences are only partially taught at school and often are obtained not during the learning process but due to communication in the society. Instead, in order to bring up responsible, aware and educated people, schools have to consider all of the above mentioned aspects. The religious beliefs and cultural peculiarities can be discuss ed a lot. However, the social experience and direct communication are more effective in teaching nowadays. Hence, public schools should be oriented to providing information from various perspectives in order to let children understand the complexity and manyfacetedness of life problems. Such approach can be effective for creating qualified workforce. Instead, dictating the only correct decision can lead only to educating workers who can perform tasks without any possible innovations or optimized decisions. Active Learning Each person has to be an active learner. Freeman et al. have provided the research on active learning to prove that education is reflected in the performance level of people (8410). The ratings in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and other subjects show how educated or not educated a person is (Freeman et al. 8410). However, the same writing emphasizes the idea that active learning is more effective than passive lectures perception. The same tendency can be observed in life. Thus, a person who has learned to get knowledge and analyze it is more likely to solve various problems. As a result, one can argue that either problem-solving skills or abilities to reproduce information are more important to be perceived as a proof of an educated person. In the modern rapidly developing world the first issue is more important, and mainly the ability to think critically leads people to success. However, it is still closely interconnected with the basic competences one should have. Education and Success The connections between education and success is quite complicated and primarily predetermined by the personal abilities to choose between more and less important information. The existing educational standards are not oriented towards success of a person. Such idea is based on the realities of life and can hardly be denied with regard to a great number of congressmen and other public personalities who fail to answer easy questions about American history. For instance, Moore’s â€Å"Idiot Nation† provides quite interesting evidence of discrepancies between school education and what is necessary to become a valued member of the society. The examples of presidents and other people who could not respond to the questions of the high-school level not only prove that human success and achievements are hardly dependent on the existing school programs, but also suggest that the education curriculum is not very effective in making people remember things (Moore 138). At the same time, the examples of public people show that there is no necessity to do so. The main aim of education is usually associated with getting a good job and becoming successful. In the same way, understanding of what is important in education changes along with demands to a person who wants to be successful. However, with a great amount of information, it is not possible to remember everything. Hence, understanding what exactly is more important to study is also an important step on the way to success and profound understanding in some sphere. Moreover, â€Å"getting involved into the community† is one of the most effective ways to develop a personality and become successful (Moore 140). Hence, if one associates education with future success, the current education system fails to educate students effectively. Teachers’ Influence Not only public people, but primarily the teachers are those who may increase or decrease students’ interest in subjects. A number of teachers who do not work for inspiration fail to set a proper example to students and enhance qualities that are obligatory for an educated person. Gatto’s story outlined how studying can turn into a boring and ineffective learning process due to the teacher’s behavior (Gatto 145). At the same time, the writer represents how teachers who blame kids for being not interested much in their work fail to provide decent education. If a teacher is not interested in learning new things and developing, analyzing, he or she can hardly teach students to do so (Gatto 146). According to Gatto, the features that must be learnt at school include curiosity and adventure (146). Consequently, one can see that the ability to think critically should be highly appreciated and valued. Children should not become solely employees and consumers with limite d knowledge and abilities beyond the standard school programs. In case school does not provide abilities to analyze various phenomena more deeply, parents should become those who do that. To a great extent, modern technologies provide possibilities to study without anyone’s help. In such a way, the lack of a proper teacher’s example can make school unnecessary at all. However, it is not completely so because school communities and classes are necessary to develop an understanding of social roles and develop abilities to adopt among other people. Such skills are also an important part of education process as far as students should definitely be prepared to become decent members of the society who can communicate with others effectively and differentiate themselves among others (Gatto 150). As far as such features are positive for people’s future success, Gatto also defined some negative aspects of the public school system. Among them, integration into a large group that can be easily manipulated, being obedient regardless of how boring the material can be, labeling and diagnosing future life, division of students into poor and elite groups (Gatto 1 51). Theory and Practice The current education system also fails to provide an ability to draw parallels between theoretical knowledge and real life. For example, the existing K-12 system does not combine subjects properly to provide various analytical and problem-solving skills. On the one hand, each subject can provide a person with skills that should be applied in the real life. Thus, Math provides people with an ability to think and reason abstractly and quantitatively (Stage et al. 276). At the same time, it lets people use structures and understand them, be precise and express some regularities. Science contributes to analytical abilities and explanation construction (Stage et al. 276). Language and Arts contribute to communicative abilities and cultural understanding. In general, these competences form a good background for solid education. On the other hand, the current curriculum does not ensure a proper understanding of all spheres. Thus, the work by Stage et al. provides evidence that CCSS is more than the existing K-12 school system oriented to success of a person not only in studying but also in the future career. Technological Impact Globalization and development of technologies are probably the major factors that have widened the worldview of students as well as their possibilities. At the same time they have contributed to the understanding of education and an educated person. Nowadays, one can hardly imagine an educated person who cannot use Internet, uses handwriting instead of printing or cannot work with the widely spread soft or hardware. Nevertheless, it is highly important to understand that far not always electronic, audio and visual devices are helpful in developing proper skills. They are often used improperly and lead to entertainment rather than studying. Moreover, the same advances can help to improve the education process in class as well as provide new opportunities. Picciano et al., who have examined the possibilities of online learning in the existing K-12 system, explained that online learning at high school can become a bridge to career building and college education (132). Such type of education is effective in rising student’s responsibility and the level of independence. Such features are crucial for any success-oriented person. Standardized Testing does not Let Students Think Critically According to Mann, universality is one of the most valuable features of school (113). It provides people with equal opportunities to learn the basic truths of life and get prepared to future work. To some extent, it is true and there are a number of useful life skills that children get while studying. However, the opportunities are far not always equal. Firstly, tagging and labelling children according to some abilities or disabilities is a common practice (Gatto 151). Secondly, social status is a crucial factor to define the possibilities of a student and especially his or her right to higher education (Strauss). Finally, globalization and multinationalism of the American society are also essential issues that destroy equality at schools and often predetermine future perspectives even before graduation. At the same time, standardized testing, which is aimed to provide unbiased and equal attitude to students, does not support the â€Å"spirit of justice† that was emphasized as important by Mann (114). On the contrary, it limits creativity of students and does not allow estimating their critical skills. High Schools Are Effective in Preparing Children for College One the greatest advantages of American high schools education is that students have the right to choose the class with some advanced learning of the subjects that might become a basis for the choice of future profession. However, in reality, it is not so. Ability to choose subjects does not contribute to success in college. The problem of high schools’ level of preparation to future college challenges seems two fold. The quality of training depends on various constituents. Thus, school program usually includes too many subjects, a great number of which are often unnecessary due to the narrow specialization at college. Although, the American system of education is considered to be one of the best arranged in terms of future prospects, there are some disadvantages claimed to lessen its effectiveness. To improve the situation, schools include active teaching with involvement of technologies, online sources and visual aids aimed at achieving a high level of professional skills necessary for future education (Freeman et al. 8411). However, researchers estimate that due to a huge number of remediate courses at colleges, the level of high school preparation is not enough to comply with the demands not only for colleges but for future jobs as well (Gerber). Despite being prepared for entering a college after high school graduation, students face numerous disadvantages such as entrance fees, which are rather high for middle- and low-income families. Hence, high schools should keep up with the latest demands of the labor market in order to prepare students for obtaining future professions and being ready for what expects them in college or at workplace. High Schools Are Effective to Prepare the Workforce The task of the government is to encourage the professional preparation of specialists. Moreover, there exists a definite number of people with creative thinking and a definite number of leaders. Hence, educational establishments have to be effective in training specialists. Otherwise, there would be no proper work in any business. However, it is arguable whether high school education is proper for future professions if it does not provide sufficient preparation for college. Our SamplesThe best way to know how to write good essays is by getting a sample of an essay from competent experts online. We can give you the essay examples you need for future learning. Free Essay Examples are here. In fact, the sectors of education and labor have to cooperate in order to provide the market with a sufficient number of qualified and trained personnel. The institutions and establishments of â€Å"private and public sector must work together to fix the deficit of technical skills and knowledge† (Gerber). However, the presence of such deficit shows that trainings are not effective to ensure the necessary skills. Moreover, low-income families, whose children study at â€Å"inadequately funded schools with the largest class sizes and lowest paid teachers† get little to no possibility to become good specialists (Strauss). The reason is that social class is highly important to shape the worldview of people and the views on the personal possibilities. The majority of such professionals are those, who had a good higher education. In such a way, inability to provide education to the lower classes leads to inability to make them good professionals and confident leaders. Hence, the education system is ineffective due to the lack of the equal possibilities. To sum up, the research paper has proved that the current education system has a number of failures that do not let the country get well-educated people. Moreover, sometimes high schools are less effective in educating children than the family or social influence. With regard to cultural, technological and other competences, an important feature of any educated person is the final success in career and communication with people. With this in mind, adapting ability, active learning and critical thinking are inseparable characteristics of such people. Hence, the problems of the current education system are predetermined by inability of high schools to provide active and inspiring examples represented by teachers, failure of the existing K-12 system to combine subjects properly in order to provide various analytical and problem-solving skills to students, globalization and technological development that predetermines the necessity of some skills that are rarely learnt at school. There i s a view that school provides equal opportunities to students. However, a number or evidences shows that such idea is erroneous. Some opponents argue that the existing education system is effective in preparing children for college and future profession. However, the truth is that a person who is not able to analyze effectively and learn quickly can do very little with high-school level knowledge. Instead, the above mentioned skills are the main tasks of education and the basis for future success.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Name a Dinosaur

How to Name a Dinosaur Most working paleontologists dont get the opportunity to name their own dinosaur. In fact, for the most part, paleontology is a somewhat anonymous and tedious occupationthe typical PhD candidate spends most of her days laboriously removing encrusted dirt from newly discovered fossils. But the one chance a field worker really gets to shine is when he or she discoversand gets to namea brand-new dinosaur. (See The 10 Best Dinosaur Names, The 10 Worst Dinosaur Names, and the Greek Roots Used to Name Dinosaurs) There are all sorts of ways to name dinosaurs. Some of the most famous genera are named after prominent anatomical features (e.g., Triceratops, Greek for three-horned face, or Spinosaurus, the spiny lizard), while others are named according to their presumed behavior (one of the most famous examples is Oviraptor, which means egg thief, even though the charges later turned out to be overblown). A bit less imaginatively, many dinosaurs are named after the regions where their fossils were discoveredwitness the Canadian Edmontosaurus and the South American Argentinosaurus. Genus Names, Species Names, and the Rules of Paleontology In scientific publications dinosaurs are usually referred to by their genus and species names. For example, Ceratosaurus comes in four different flavors: C. nasicornus, C. dentisulcatus, C. ingens and C. roechlingi. Most ordinary people can get by with just saying Ceratosaurus, but paleontologists prefer to use both the genus and species names, especially when describing individual fossils. More often than you might think, a species of a particular dinosaur is promoted to its own genusthis has happened numerous times, for instance, with Iguanodon, some former species of which are now referred to as Mantellisaurus, Gideonmantellia and Dollodon. According to the arcane rules of paleontology, a dinosaurs first official name is the one that sticks. For example, the paleontologist who discovered (and named) Apatosaurus later discovered (and named) what he thought was an entirely different dinosaur, Brontosaurus. When it was determined that Brontosaurus was the same dinosaur as Apatosaurus, official rights reverted back to the original name, leaving Brontosaurus as a deprecated genus. (This sort of thing doesnt only happen with dinosaurs; for example, the prehistoric horse formerly known as Eohippus now goes by the less user-friendly Hyracotherium.) Yes, Dinosaurs Can Be Named After People Surprisingly few dinosaurs are named after people, perhaps because paleontology tends to be a group effort and many practitioners dont like to call attention to themselves. Some legendary scientists, though, have been honored in dinosaur form: for example, Othnielia is named after Othniel C. Marsh (the same paleontologist who caused the whole Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus brouhaha), while Drinker wasnt a prehistoric alcoholic, but a dinosaur named after the 19th-century fossil hunter (and Marsh rival) Edward Drinker Cope. Other people-saurs include the amusingly named Piatnitzkysaurus and Becklespinax. Perhaps the most widely recognized people-saur of modern times is Leaellynasaura, which was discovered by a married pair of paleontologists in Australia in 1989. They decided to name this small, gentle ornithopod after their young daughter, the first time a child had ever been honored in dinosaur formand they repeated the trick a few years later with Timimus, an ornithomimid dinosaur named after the husband of this famous duo. (In the past few years, there have been many more dinosaurs named after women, correcting a long-time historical imbalance.) The Silliest, and Most Impressive, Dinosaur Names Every working paleontologist, it seems, harbors the secret desire to come up with a dinosaur name so impressive, so profound, and so just-plain-cool that it results in reams of media coverage. Recent years have witnessed such unforgettable examples as Tyrannotitan, Raptorex and Gigantoraptor, even if the dinosaurs involved were less impressive than you might think (Raptorex, for example, was only about the size of a full-grown human, and Gigantoraptor wasnt even a true raptor, but a plus-sized relative of Oviraptor). Silly dinosaur namesif theyre within the bounds of good taste, of coursealso have their place in the hallowed halls of paleontology. Probably the most famous example is Irritator, which received its name because the paleontologist restoring its fossil was feeling, well, particularly irritated that day. Recently, one paleontologist named a new horned, frilled dinosaur Mojoceratops (after the mojo in the expression Ive got my mojo working), and lets not forget the famous Dracorex hogwartsia, after the Harry Potter series, which was named by pre-teen visitors to the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Current Events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Current Events - Essay Example However, the company has had to make many changes since it acquired Zain Africa in a deal that involved more than ten billion dollars (Campbell 416). The main reason was the existence of established mobile operators in individual countries and across regions. One of examples is the West African region where MTN has acquired a considerable stake of the market. However, apart from this, the high operating costs, a low-income market, political instability, and restrictive government policies have been among the major reasons for Airtel Africa reengineering. Despite the numerous changes that have faced this company the short-term achievements are exceptional (Campbell 417). The incentives the company has offered, such as low calling, texting, and Internet rates, have ensured the constant rise of the number of its subscribers. Moreover, the recent roll out of 3G Internet speed for its users has been its most successful promotional methods so far. The success achieved in the African market has established it among the five top mobile operators in the world. In conclusion, Bharti Airtel reengineering has been beneficial not only for the company but also for the African people. In a general business outlook, it is one of the main contributors to making Africa one of the fastest growing telephone markets in the world (Pan 14). Consequently, as shown by Bharti Airtel, reengineering is one of the most effective methods to expand, increase profits, and accelerate the growth of a

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Ancient Epic and Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ancient Epic and Tragedy - Essay Example Seated around the altar of Zeus are Amphitryon, the man known as the father of Heracles, Megara, the wife of Heracles, and the three sons of Megara and Heracles. Heracles himself is believed to be dead, descended into the kingdom of Hades to retrieve the three-headed dog Cerberus, never to return. Amphitryon summarizes the history of the family as the play opens, introducing Megara and her three children and repeating the reason why Heracles had to leave his family. He embarked on his tasks for Eurystheus in order to succeed to the Fortress of Argos. However, because of the circumstances of his birth, Heracles has always to contend with the jealousy of Hera, the queen of heaven: ‘Whether Hera’s jealousy, or Fate’s decree, imposed/Such labours on him, who can say?’ (154) Heracles father is Zeus, the king of heaven, who seduced Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. Amphitryon raised Heracles as his own son and loves and protects Heracles’ sons as his grandc hildren. Megara’s father, Creon, was king of Thebes but has recently been deposed by Lycus; this makes their situation very bleak and dangerous, Amphitryon states: Grandfather, mother and children are hemmed in and threatened on all sides. Murder leads to more murder in the rhetoric of this kind of tragedy. Lycus, in order to seize and consolidate power, must murder the royal family and all their descendents and relatives he can get access to. So, the family tableau with which the play opens, is one of tragic proportions already as they are prisoners of Lycus surrounding the altar of Zeus to appeal to the gods for their help. Overruling anything Megara might be able to do, however, is the jealousy of Hera that manipulates the situation around Heracles. Megara asks: ‘So now, father, what hope, what means to save our lives/Have you in mind?’ (155). Hope is the talisman that Amphitryon hangs on to and ‘hope’ is centered upon Heracles.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Customer Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Customer Satisfaction - Essay Example The product development cycle starts with the assessment of the customer's needs and ends when the design is finally released. In this highly competitive environment world class organizations are supposed to implement the TQM strategy in order to continually seek better performance. In the world we live today, it must be amply clear that; In fact these guiding principles are inextricably linked to each other and development of this thought along with the development of other business processes can lead to some form of a competitive advantage in the market. The modern view of quality is that products should totally satisfy the customer's needs and expectations in every respect on a continuous basis. This new concept calls for a well designed product with functional perfection, providing satisfaction beyond customer's expectation, excellence in service and absolute empathy with customer. TQM therefore encompasses a set of critical factors (Powell, 1995; Li et al., 2003; Arawati, 2005). In general, some of these critical factors can be identified as; Top management commitment: The top management of a company must be convinced enough to adopting quality control programmes. This will help in conditioning the attitude of other departmental heads to regularly monitor the quality aspect. StrategicStrategic planning: Strategic planning is a process which, through an examination of external and internal factors for an organisation, results in a set of mission, purpose, objectives, policies, plans and programmes for implementation. Customer focus: A progressive organisation is supposed to have a strategy for quality which is based on customer perceptions of quality. Customer service after the sale of a product is considered as important as the quality of the product itself. Benchmarking: It is the process of following the best in the industry. Human resource management: Human resources form the crucial part of any organisation. They are the key players in producing and delivering quality. Supplier relationship: Suppliers too have a role in quality assurances as their role encompasses the identification, acquisition, access, positioning, and management of the resources required for the product and the company. Continuous improvement: Improvement is a never ending cyclic process. Product Quality requires to be continually improved to remain in the competition. Quality information system: How the quality principles are being implemented in the company and if required the management can decide to take a corrective course of action midway, is determined by the Quality Information System (QIS). It was in early 90s that the concept of Total Quality Management started being promoted as a way for business to wring out inefficiencies and boost productivity. TQM was considered the only way to effectively compete with the Japanese dominance in the manufacturing sector. It is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services satisfying their needs. KLEEMANN's activities1 concern both the manufacturing and

Sunday, October 27, 2019

A summary of criminological theories

A summary of criminological theories Criminology Matrix Demographic Information Social Disorganization Theory Beginning on the 20th Century 1920-1930’s. Created by theorists Robert Park, Ernest Burgess, W.I. Thomas, Florian Znaniecki, Clifford Shaw, and Henry McKay. Social disorganization shows social change, conflict, and the lack of social consensus as the root causes of crime and deviance. Social disorganization, Chicago school of criminology, Chicago Area Project, demographics, concentric zones, delinquency areas, and cultural transmission (Schmalleger, 2008). Strain Theory Began on the 20th century 1930’s to present. Created by Robert K. Merton, Steven F. Messner, Richard Rosenfeld, Peter Blau, Judith Blau, and Robert Agnew. The concept of strain theory is innovation, ritualism, rebellion, differential opportunity, relative deprivation, and distributive justice. Strain theory agues that a socially approved success of goals and a lack of appropriate ways to achieve those goals. As a consequence, according to the perspective of strain theory, individuals who are unable to succeed often turn to other ways that promise social recognition and success (Schmalleger, 2008). Culture Conflict Culture conflict began on the 1920’s to present. Created by theorists Thorsten Sellin, Frederic M. Thrasher, William F. Whyte, Walter Miller, Gresham Sykes, David Matza, Franco Ferracuti, Marvin Wolfgang, Richard A. Cloward, Lloyd E. Ohlin, and Albert Cohen. The concept of culture conflict is subcultures, socialization, delinquency and, illegal opportunities (Schmalleger, 2008). Learning Theory Learning theory began in 1930’s and to the present. Created by Edwin Sutherland, Robert Burgess, Ronald L. Akers, and Daniel Glaser. Actions are learned, and crime is like another action that is also learned. People tend to learn how to commit crime from others, and such learning comes from the achievements of norms, values, and patterns of behaviors that are conductive to crime. The standpoint of the theory’s concept is that communication and social achievement of learned criminal behavior that values that behavior is detrimental (Schmalleger, 2008). Social Control Theory Social control theory began on the 1950’s to present. Created by Walter C. Reckless, Howard B. Kaplan, Travis Hirschi, Michael Gottfredson, Charles R. Tittle, and others. The concept of social control theory is the inner and outer takeover, of self-derogation, social bond, and control balanced. Social control theory predicts that when a social restriction or antisocial behavior are weakened delinquent behavior begins. This theory questions law abiding citizens rather than criminals (Schmalleger, 2008). Labeling Theory Labeling theory began on 1938-1970, 1960’s-1980, 1990’s to revival. Created by Frank Tannenbaum, Edwin M. Lemert, Howard Becker, John Braithwaite, and others. The concept of labeling theory begins with tagging, labeling, outsiders, moral initiative, primary and secondary deviance, and shaming. Labeling theory is the concept that negative labels within a society lead individuals to commit crime (Schmalleger, 2008). Rational Choice Theory Rational choice theory began in the late 18th century. Created by Cesare Beccaria. The concept of rational choice theory is that criminals make a rational, and informed choice to commit a crime. This makes criminals making the decision, based on, if the crime is worth committing based on the benefits that outweigh the cost or punishment. The XYY â€Å"Supermale† The XYY theory began in 1965. Created by Patricia A. Jacobs. Patricia Jacobs examined 197 Scottish prisoners for chromosomal abnormalities with a simple blood test. The supermale, also known as XYY syndrome has little evidence that men with this syndrome commit crimes of greater violence than other man. However, they may commit more crimes (Schmalleger, 2008). Behavior Genetics Behavior genetics theory began in 1907. Created by Sir Francis Galton. Sir Francis study heredity and the possible influences on human behavior. According to the theory it is easy to show that some criminals inherit criminal nature. Behavioral genetics is â€Å"the study of genes and the environmental contributions to individual deviation in human behavior† Galton might have believe that heredity was related to criminal behavior however, he had no opportunity to explore the relationship in profundity (Schmalleger, 2008). Sociobiology Sociobiology began in 1975. Created by Edward O. Wilson. It is the study of biology and its impact on social behavior taking some of its research from evolution and applying it to modern population (Schmalleger, 2008). Certain forms of behavior contribute to the survival of a social group. Human behavior was the link of survival from one generation to another one. Territoriality explains the conflict between humans, this includes homicide, warfare, and other types of aggression. Pherenology Pherenology began in early 19th century. Created by Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828). This theory explained that the shape of the human skull was an indicative of the personality and could be used to predict criminality. The theory has four tenets the brain, personality, character, and skull shape (Schmalleger, 2008). Early Positivism Early positivism began in 1880’s – 1930. Created by Franz Joseph Gall, Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, Cesare Lombroso, Charkes Buckman Goring, and Earnest A. Hooton. The concept of early positivism is the phrenology, atavism, born criminals, and criminaloids. Criminality was the result of instincts that humans used to survive the evolutionary process. Lombroso has been called the father of criminology because he was the first criminologist to apply the scientific method. Empirical Foundation Social Disorganization Theory Four distinct conclusions resulted from Shaw and McKay’s research. The juveniles’ rates were consistent with an order three-dimensional pattern. There was an identical three-dimensional pattern revealed by several social problems. The three-dimensional pattern of juvenile rates showed long-term stability even though the structure in the city areas had changed. The city areas were becoming more delinquent this occurred through a network or interpersonal relation with family, gangs, and neighbors (Shaw, 1969). Strain Theory Merton said that all people have high economic ambitions and that social classes are linked to crime. Merton said that when individuals had high goals with income and education coupled with low chances of achieving the goals is strain theory (Liska, 1971). Studies with educational goals as measurements were unconvincing and suggested that income was a better component to use. Different studies used goals over expectation and reported any criminal connection which found hardly any support for Merton’s theory (Epps, 1967). Culture Conflict Thorsten Sellin observed that in a society were two cultures inevitably clash and it occurs because of the development of a combined culture. One of the outcomes of culture conflict is criminal behavior. This leads to the creation of criminals defining the surrounding everyday behavior of the individual. Sellin indicated that a diversified and more assorted society the bigger it gets and the more conflict occurs creating an increase in deviance (Claasical Criminology, 2002). Learning Theory Sutherland’s Learning Theory was based on observation. The studies concluded that criminal behavior is learned. Not only it is learned but criminal behavior is learned within intimate groups. It also shows that differential associations vary in frequency, duration priority, and intensity (Boundless, 2014). Social Control Theory Walter C. Reckless, observes that social pressure to follow community ideals, usually imposed by social isolation, was sufficient to control behavior. As society becomes complex, authority played a significant role in deciding whether people followed public laws. The research has found that economic class has little to do with predicting delinquent behavior, and that young people who do not connect or have attachment to parents or school are more likely to become juveniles (Criminology, n.d.). Labeling Theory In 2003, Jon Gunnar Bernburg and Marvin D. Krohn studied the impact of negative official intervention on young men in Rochester, New York. Data available was on men from the time they were 13.5 years old until they were 22. In keeping with what labeling theory would predict, Bemburg and Krohn found that intervention during adolescence led to increased delinquency in early adulthood because it reduced chances for achievement and successful employment. Negative labels come with harsh liabilities, as well as the consequence that the person starts to believe the label that has been given to him. (Schmalleger, 2008). Rational Choice Theory The research involving rational choice cannot be measured with regular crime statistics. It can only be applied through individual research because the theory is too specific to individuals (Schmalleger, 2008). XYY Theory Britished researcher examined 197 Scottish prisoners for deviations from regular chromosomes through a simple blood test known as â€Å"karyotyping† 12 members displayed a deviation of chromosomes that were unusual, and seven were found to have an XYY chromosome (Schmalleger, 2008). Behavior Genetics Twin researchers assumed that individuals choose partners that have an opposing personality. Equal environments, twin research also assumed that twins raised in similar environment share similar experiences. Genetic traits can be inherited through different genetic mechanisms involving a gene inherited from one parent and different gene from the other parents (Winerman, 2004). Sociobiology Edward O. Wilson research sociobiology by examining the genetic and how through affected human behavior and applied them through criminology theory. Research on what genetics are passed on and how they affect human behavior. Theoretical Components Social Disorganization Social disorganization theory comes from Chicago school of sociology. Social Disorganization is caused when a community does not solve the problems of its people which results in the breakdown of institutions within that community (Short, 1976). The theory states that delinquent behavior was not a result of the individual but it was a normal response of people adapting to less than favorable social conditions (Short, 1976). Strain Theory Merton came up with a sociological theory that explained how deviant behavior illustrated the conflicts between culturally defined goals and the official way of getting them (Boundless, 2015). Culture Conflict Suggest that human behavior is social, that results from conflicts between competing groups. Conflict theory originated with work of Karl Marx. Marx understood that human society in terms of conflict between social classes, markedly the conflict in capitalist societies between those who owed the means of economic production and those who didn’t. (Chegg, 2015). This is a sociological theory. Learning Theory Social learning theory, looks at the individual learning process, the formation of self and the influence of society in socializing. Learning theory is the formation of one’s identity to become responsive to a learned response to social stimulation. People engage in crime because of the association with others that also engage in crime. Criminal behavior is learned beliefs that are favorable to crime (Crossman, 2015). This is a sociological theory. Control Theory Control theorists generally argue that there are no problems to explain why people who commit crime because all human beings suffer from human weaknesses which makes it impossible to resist temptation. This is a sociological theory. Labeling Theory When someone has been labelled as a criminal or deviant, the label attached becomes the individual. Each label carries prejudices and images and this leads to others interpreting the behavior of the labeled person in a particular way. While the behavior would be seen as stereotypical to some, others would conclude that it is a self-fulfilling prophecy resulting from being labelled (History Learning, 2000-2015). This is a sociological Theory. Rational Choice This theory sees man as a reasoning actor that weights means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choices. Including the choice to engage in criminal activity, criminal activity is based on determined decisions that the potential benefits outweighs the risks taken by the individual. This is a psychological theory. XYY â€Å"supermale† XYY males are more likely to engage in criminal behavior but not violent behavior. XYY men were convicted of crimes are more likely to be guilty of property offenses and less likely than convicted XY men. XYY males were born criminals, XYY males according to the theory were more likely to commit violent crimes. This is a biological Theory Behavior Genetics Behavior genetics is the field in which a difference among individuals is separated into genetic against environmental. Environmental influences can be divided into two classes, shared and nonshared environments. Shared is the environment that is mutual by siblings such as socioeconomic statues and parental education, and nonshare is the environment that is unique to a person/individual. (SAPA, 1998). Early positivism. Early Positivism is a social and psychological theory that commits to practical application. It claims that determining criminal behavior and its cause comes from the physical, genetic, and psychological makeup that makes people predisposed to behave criminally (Marshall, 2015). References Boundless. (2014, November 14). Differential Association. Retrieved from Boundless Sociology: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/deviance-social-control-and-crime-7/the-symbolic-interactionalist-perspective-on-deviance-64/differential-association-theory-381-8939 Boundless. (2015). Strain Theory. Retrieved from Boundless: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/deviance-social-control-and-crime-7/the-functionalist-perspective-on-deviance-62/strain-theory-how-social-values-produce-deviance-375-6183/ Chegg. (2015). Denition of Conflict. Retrieved from Chegg: http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/conflict-theory-49 Claasical Criminology. (2002, Novemeber 18). Thorsten Sellin. Retrieved from Culture Conflict Theory: http://www.people.okanagan.bc.ca/wvdveen/WILMA WEBPAGE/classical_crim_theory/sellin.htm Criminology. (n.d.). Control Theory. Retrieved from Sociology Criminology: https://sociologycriminology.wordpress.com/control-theory/ Crossman, A. (2015). Learning Theory. Retrieved from About education: http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Social-Learning-Theory.htm History Learning. (2000-2015). Labelling Theory. Retrieved from history Learning Site: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/labelling_theory.htm Liska, A. (1971). Aspirations and Expectations. Sociological Quarterly, 12: 99-107. Marshall, G. (2015, April 28). Criminology, Positivist. Retrieved from A Dictionary of Sociology: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-criminologypositivist.html SAPA. (1998, May). Bahvior Genetics. Retrieved from Personality Research: http://www.personalityresearch.org/bg.html Schmalleger. (2008). Criminology Today Fifth Edition. Columbus, Ohio: Frank Schmalleger. Short, J. F. (1976). Delinquency, Crime, and Soceity. Chicago:. University of Chicago Press. Winerman, L. (2004, April). A second Look at Twin Studies. Retrieved from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr04/second.aspx

Friday, October 25, 2019

Proposed Mechanisms of Dreaming Essay -- Biology Essays Research Paper

Proposed Mechanisms of Dreaming New physiological discoveries made in the 1950's linked a particular phase of sleep with dreaming (8). This phase of sleep is known as the REM (rapid eye movement) phase. This newly acquired information spawned refreshed interest in the mechanisms (specifically neurophysiological mechanisms) of dreaming. Validity of the physiological and neurobiological approach to dreaming was supported by certain (current) clinically measured and observed behaviors accompanying REM sleep (8). These behaviors or characteristics include: -phasic clusters of extraocular muscles of the eye producing rapid eye movement -generalized activation of the forebrain (cerebral cortex) -phasic activation of the visual pathway -inhibition of sensory input -suppressed motor activity -activation or inhibition of various brain stem neurons. (5) Many of these behavioral markers associated with REM sleep closely dictate or reflect the dream phenomenon. Although the REM sleep phase and the dream state are closely related, REM sleep is not necessary for dreaming. However the prevalence of dreams are certainly greater in REM sleep (3). Some researchers also contend that REM dreams are uniquely different from those reported in non-REM dreams both in content and quality (11,12). Reports from REM sleep awakenings are typically longer, more vivid, and more emotionally charged than non REM sleep reports (2). Non REM sleep reports also reflect a more thought-like rumination, concerned with realistic, "common place" events (2,4,12). For many researchers, REM dreaming is considered the most elaborate or 'true' form of dreaming, especially with regards to the intense level of activation in the brain (2,4,5). According to Al... ...http://amanda.uams.edu/other/epscor/neuro_rf.html 10)2166 NIA-Basic Clinical Research on Sleep and Wakefulness http://research.utmb.edu/starline/research/starfiles/0692166.htm 11)Brain/Body Activity During Sleep and Dreams http://ipp01.sawka.com/spiritwatch/brain.htm 12)Paradigms of Consciousness During Sleep http://wwwusers.imaginet.fr/~ghibelli/dondega.html 13) Carlson,Neil (1998). Physiology of Behavior: Sixth Edition. Allyn and Bacon. Needham Heights, MA. This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/serendip/a2z.html