Organizational Psychology Paper Psy 428

Organizational Psychology Paper Shanna Brookins PSY/428 12/12/2011 Organizational Psychology Paper Introduction Organizational psychology is the study of a formal organization and how individuals and groups act within that organization; in other words, the scientific study of the workplace. The goal of organizational psychology is to help organizations function the best way possible. This is achieved by helping people understand their interactions with each other and create an environment where everyone can work together to accomplish important goals.When an organization is successful, the employees have better job satisfaction. In turn, this creates better productivity which allows products and services to be produced at a lower price. This savings can be passed along to the customers therefore having a positive effect on everyone. (Jex, 2008). An industrial-organizational psychologist studies different aspects of the work environment, such as leadership, job satisfaction, on the jo b stress, and communication among employees. An industrial-organizational psychologist is brought in by organizations as consultants to solve particular problems.They apply research methods and psychological principles to improve productivity, management and marketing problems, as well as facilitate organizational development and change, and identify training and development needs. I/O psychologists often work for more than one organizational setting; they may also choose to teach in universities and colleges (Jex, 2008). Two Sides of I/O Psychology The industrial side of I/O psychology concentrates on organizational policies and processes that affect the employees on a personal level, it is sometimes called the â€Å"personnel psychology† (McCarthy, 1999).Industrial psychology uses statistics, psychometrics, as well as quantitative tools to develop rating scales, interview techniques, and psychological test. These tests are used to measure skills for the purpose of hiring, p lacement, and promotion within an organization. In addition, the industrial side handles performance appraisals and feedback, as well as training and development (Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2008). The organizational side of I/O psychology focuses on making the most of organizational performance.This focuses on interpersonal relationships at work, how individual differences affect an organization, leadership, motivation, team and group dynamics, and organizational change and development. In addition, the organization side concentrates on job satisfaction, attitudes, and dealing with job stress such as balancing work and family (McCarthy, 1999). The Use of Research Research methods are used in I/O psychology to answer question about why employees behave the way they do. Analyses of behavior in qualitative studies involve discussions of how people experience and feel events in their lives and can be a good means of generating hypotheses and theories of what happens in o rganizational settings â€Å"(Ehigie, 2005, p. 621). Qualitative methods of research are used by I/O psychologist in organizational studies. I/O psychological may use methods such as test, questionnaires, rating scales, observation, ethnography and physiological measures to answer questions about behavior (Ehigie, 2005) Observation is a research method used in I/O psychology to understand employee’s culture and behavior.There are three observational methods that may be used, simple observation, participant observation, and archival data sources . The observational technique is best used when observing routine jobs that require apparent behaviors, for example waiting tables. This method cannot be used for jobs which require intellectual or cognitive processing for example making decisions or planning. In participant observation the observer may be a part of the event being studied. The researcher must be able to ethically preform the job; this method is used for job analysis. Archival data sources uses records or any form of data that exist, it is an important supplement to more conventional data collection methods. This method allows researcher to study issues that could not be studies in any other way (Ehigie, 2005). The Use of Statistics When data is collected by organizational researchers the data must be analyzed. The statistics, mean median, and mode are known to be the most common measures of central tendency. An average value of the item in the series or some characteristic of members in a group is a measure of central tendency.Mean represents the average for an ungrouped data . The sum of the scores divide by the total number of the scores gives the value of the mean. Median is the score or value of that central item which divides the series in exactly two equal halves. Mode is defined as the size of the variable that occurs most frequently in the series (Jex, 2008). Conclusion Organizational psychology can be used in organizations to assess job performance, training, and making hiring decisions. In addition, it can help employees develop the capabilities they need in an organization for promotions.Organizational psychology can also be used in an organization to explore why certain employees may not work well together, why some are not preforming well, as well as job satisfaction. Organizational psychology also may study why dissatisfaction is among certain employees and how it contributes to negative outcomes, such as turnover and absenteeism. Organizational psychology is applied through the human resources department or consultants. It can be used to assess any problem or issue that is related to work or careers (Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2008) ReferencesIndustrial and Organizational Psychology . (2008). Retrieved December 11, 2011, from AllPsychlogyCareers. com http://www. allpsychologycareers. com/topics/industrial-organizational-psychology. html Ehigie, B. &. (2005). Applying Qualitative Methods in Or ganizations: A Note for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists. The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 3, 621-638. Jex, S. &. (2008). Organized Psychology. Hoboken,NJ: Wiley. McCarthy, D. (1999, December 8). I/O Psychology Overview notes. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from MTSU: http://frank. mtsu. edu/~pmccarth/io_ovrvw. htm

Basic Concepts in Quality Planning and Management

Quality Management (Basic Concepts) 1) What Is Quality? The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied — ASQ (American Society for Quality) needs. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Performance Reliability Durability Serviceability Aesthetics Features Perceived Quality Conformance to Standards Will the product do the intended job? How often does the product fail? How long does the product last? How easy is it to repair the product? What does the product look like? What does the product do? What is the reputation of the company or its product? Is the product made exactly as the designer intended? Quality Management Slide 2 of 35 1. 1 Components of Quality Customer Quality of Design Product Features vs Customer Requirements Requirements Performance Quality of Specifications Sales and Marketing Product Specifications vs Product Features Quality of Conformance Features Product Product Characteristics vs Product Specifications Design Manufacturing Quality of Performance Product Characteristics vs Customer Requirements Specifications Quality Management Slide 3 of 35 1. 1. Voice of the Customer The term Voice Of the Customer (VOC) is used to describe customers’ needs and their perceptions of your product or service. VOC data helps an organization: †¢ Align design and improvement efforts with business strategy. †¢ Decide what products, processes and services to offer or enhance. †¢ Identify critical features/performance requirements for products, processe s and services. †¢ Identify key drivers of customer satisfaction. Quality Management Slide 4 of 35 1. 1. 2 Kano’s Model of Customer Needs Performance Quality Satisfiers Excitement Quality Noriaki Kano Delighters Basic Quality Dissatisfiers Quality Performance Quality Management Customer Satisfaction Slide 5 of 35 1. 2 Quality is Customer Satisfaction Supplier Metrics †¢ Cycle-Time Customer Needs †¢ Timeliness †¢ Cost †¢ Price †¢ Defect Rate †¢ Quality Quality Management Slide 6 of 35 1. 2 Quality is Customer Satisfaction A â€Å"customer† is anyone who is impacted by the product: 1. External Customers – Include not only the end-users, but also †¢ the intermediate processors (OEMs, distributors, retailers) †¢ non-purchasers who have some connection to the product (government regulatory bodies) . Internal Customers – Include not only other divisions of the company that are provided with components for an assembly, but also †¢ others that are affected (the Purchasing department that receives an engineering specification for a procurement) Quality Management Slide 7 of 35 1. 3 Two Views of Quality Internal View of Quali ty Compare product to specification Get product accepted at inspection Prevent plant & field defects Concentrate on manufacturing Use internal quality measures View quality as a technical issue Efforts coordinated by quality manager External View of Quality Compare product to competition (and BIC) Provide satisfaction over product life Meet customer needs on goods & services Cover all functions User customer-based quality measures View quality as a business issue Efforts directed by upper management Quality Management Slide 8 of 35 2) What is Management? Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, accomplish efficiently selected aims. Quality Management Slide 9 of 35 2. 1 Management Functions Goals of Claimants Use of Resources Reengineering the System What , When Planning How Organizing Who Staffing Leading Controlling Produce Results Quality Management Slide 10 of 35 Facilitate Communication Links 2. 1 Management Functions Strategic Tactical Quality Management Time Spent in Carrying Out Managerial Functions Slide 11 of 35 Controlling Organizing Planning Leading 3) What is Quality Management? Quality management is the process of identifying and administering the activities needed to achieve the quality objectives of an organization. Desired Quality Performance Current Quality Performance Quality Management Slide 12 of 35 3. Juran’s Trilogy CHRONIC WASTE ( opportunity for improvement ) Joseph Moses Juran (1904-2008) †¢ Quality Planning designing products, services and processes to meet new breakthrough goals †¢ Quality Control meeting goals during operations †¢ Quality Improvement creating breakthroughs to unprecedented levels of performance Slide 13 of 35 Quality Management 3. 1 Juran’s Trilogy Quality Planning †¢ Establish quality goals †¢ Identify customers †¢ Discover customer needs †¢ Develop product features †¢ Develop process features †¢ Establish process controls, transfer to operations Quality Control Choose control subjects †¢ Choose units of measure †¢ Set goals †¢ Create a sensor †¢ Measure the actual performance †¢ Interpret the difference †¢ Take action on the difference Quality Improvement †¢ Prove the need †¢ Identify projects †¢ Organize project teams †¢ Diagnose the causes †¢ Provide remedies, prove that the remedies are effective †¢ Deal with resistance to change †¢ Control to hold the gains Quality Management Slide 14 of 35 4) The Need for Quality Management Two primary components of quality: †¢ Product Features †¢ Freedom from Deficiencies Features Deficiencies Price Share Cycle Time Waste Warranty Income Cost Profit Quality Management Slide 15 of 35 4. 1 Drivers for Quality Changing business conditions: †¢ Increasing competition – Customers are not willing to pay for higher quality †¢ Changing customer – Consumer markets commands priority based on volume †¢ Changing product mix – Low-Volume, High-Price > High-Volume, Low-Price †¢ Increasing product complexity – More stringent requirements for reliability †¢ Higher levels of customer expectation – Improved service quality both before and after the sale Quality Management Slide 16 of 35 4. 2 Deming Chain Reaction William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) Quality Management Slide 17 of 35 5) Total Quality Control Armand Villan Feigenbaum (born 1922) Quality Management Slide 18 of 35 5. 1 Key Elements of Total Quality †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Strategically Based Customer Focus Obsession with Quality Scientific Approach Long-Term Commitment Teamwork Continual Improvement of Systems Education and Training Freedom through Control Unity of Purpose Employee Involvement and Empowerment Slide 19 of 35 Quality Management 5. 2 Scope of Quality Management Traditional (Little Q) Emerging (Big Q) Products Manufactured goods All products, goods & services, (whether for sale or not) Processes Processes directly related to manufacture of goods All processes, manufacturing support, business, etc Industries Manufacturing All industries, manufacturing, service, government, etc (whether profit or not) Slide 20 of 35 Quality Management 5. 3 Triple-Role Concept TripleUnder this enlarged concept (Big Q), all jobs encompass three roles for the jobholder: †¢ customer : receives processed information and/or goods †¢ processor : converts inputs into outputs †¢ supplier : delivers resulting products to customers e. g. The Product Development function †¢ receives information on customer needs from Marketing †¢ creates designs for new products †¢ furnishes specifications to Operations Quality Management Slide 21 of 35 5. 3 Triple-Role Concept TripleInput I am Responsible for Quality As a Good Customer I will As a Good Process Owner I will As a Good Supplier I will Output My Supplier My Customer Requirements & Feedback †¢ Agree on & document my requirements with my supplier †¢ Learn & apply the tools of quality – teach others †¢ Understand my customer requirements, agree on, & document my deliverables Requirements & Feedback Return defective inputs to my supplier promptly & tactfully †¢ Continuously improve my process – reduce defects, cycle-time & know benchmarks †¢ Reduce defects & variations in my output †¢ Feed back input quality data to my supplier †¢ Document & display my process, defect levels, & CI projects †¢ Measure my out put quality from my customer’s perspective Quality Management Slide 22 of 35 3. 2. 1 SIPOC Diagram Supplier Input Process Function 1 Output Customer Internal Internal Function 2 External †¦ External Function i †¦ Customer What are my requirements? Function n End-User What are their expectations? Who are my Suppliers? What are my Funtions? Who are my Customers? Exercise 1 Describe the triple-role for the following: †¢ a process engineer †¢ an equipment engineer †¢ a quality manager †¢ an under-graduate For each scenario, identify the key responsibilities for each triple-role. Quality Management Slide 24 of 35 6) The Importance of Quality The first job we have is to turn out quality merchandise that consumers will buy and keep on buying. If we produce it efficiently and economically, we will earn a profit in which you will share. William Cooper Procter (1862-1934) Company Employees Address in 1887 Three issues critical to manufacturing and service: †¢ Productivity †¢ Cost †¢ Quality Quality Management Slide 25 of 35 6) The Importance of Quality Improved Quality †¢ Competitive Advantage †¢ Reduced Cost Less returns, rework and/or scrap †¢ Increased Productivity Increased Profits †¢ Satisfied Customers Quality > Sales > Profit > Jobs Quality Management Slide 26 of 35 6. 1 Cost of Poor Quality GM announces recall April 14, 2009 06:56 PM HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) – General Motors is recalling 1. 5 million vehicles because of potential engine fires. GM says there have been no reports of any fires or injuries. Some of the recalled vehicles are no longer in production. The recall involves vehicles with a 3. 8-liter V6 engine. The government says drops of oil could fall into the exhaust system and cause a fire in the engine. The recall includes the 1998-1999 oldsmobile Intrigue, the 1997-2003 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1997-2003 Buick Regal, and the 1998-2003 Chevrolet Lumina, Monte Carlo and Impala. A gm spokesperson says the recall is just a precautionary measure for consumers. Quality Management Slide 27 of 35 6. 1 Cost of Poor Quality Sony recalls 438,000 laptops on burn concern Fri, Sep 05, 2008 Reuters NEW YORK, US – Japan's Sony Corp has launched a voluntary recall of 438,000 Vaio portable computers, citing a potential hazard that could cause the machines to overheat or possibly burn a user. It is one of the biggest computer recalls since 2006 when Dell Inc recalled 4. 1 million notebook computer batteries because they could overheat and catch fire. Quality Management Slide 28 of 35 6. 1 Cost of Poor Quality Prima Deli chocolate cakes likely cause of food poisoning By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 December 2007 2259 hrs SINGAPORE: If you've bought chocolate cakes from bakery chain Prima Deli, you should throw them away. The advice comes from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). The two agencies say these cakes are likely to contain a bacteria called Salmonella Enteriditis, which has caused some people to get food poisoning. Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause symptoms such as fever, watery diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. 106 people have so far reported getting food poisoning after eating the cakes. Six had to be hospitalised, but have since been discharged. They tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis. Quality Management Slide 29 of 35 6. 1 Cost of Poor Quality The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States at 11:39 a. m. EST (16:39 UTC). The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107. Quality Management Slide 30 of 35 6. 2 Quality, Costs and Schedules Quality †¢ Emphasis on Quality – Elimination of causes of error and rework Reduction in Costs Improve delivery Schedules †¢ Emphasis on Quality – Unnecessary product features – Unrealistic tolerances – Perfectionism in inspection Increase in Costs Missing delivery Schedules Costs Schedules Will emphasis on Quality have a positive or negative impact on Costs and Schedules? Quality Management Slide 31 of 35 6. 2 Quality, Costs and Schedules Quality is about doing things right the first time and about satisfying customers. But quality is also about costs, revenues, and profits. Quality plays a key role in keeping costs low, revenues high, and profits robust. Perry L Johnson http://www. pji. com/aboutplj. htm Quality Management Slide 32 of 35 7) The Quality Odyssey Transformational change or radical change is different from incremental change. A breakthrough can mean different things to different people. Radical Change Carry-Over Modules from Past †¢ â€Å"As-is† †¢ Minor modifications †¢ 5S †¢ Root causes are not always identified Incremental Change †¢ Quality improvement †¢ Lean Manufacturing †¢ Process flow revisions †¢ Customer focused †¢ Re-design †¢ Creative thinking †¢ Innovation †¢ Six Sigma †¢ Benchmarking †¢ New technology Fix as Fail Self-Inspection †¢ Check †¢ Inspect †¢ Quality Control †¢ Revise Towards â€Å"Best-in-Class† Quality Quality Management Slide 33 of 35 7) The Quality Odyssey Recognize Leaders recognize the need for change and focus on achieving â€Å"Best-InClass† Quality. Define Leaders define the strategy, goals and objectives necessary to pursue â€Å"BestIn-Class† Quality. Organize Steps are taken to measure and analyze the organization’s current position. Improve Deploy strategy by selecting key problem areas, training people, establishing measures, developing solutions, and implementing improvements. Control Determine if improvements are working. If so, establish controls to maintain this new level of Sustain Integrate improvements throughout the organization & standardize best practices. Select new areas for improvement. Alignment between customers’ expectations and the organization’s strategic plan, processes and activities ultimately results in the right things being done right. Quality Management Slide 34 of 35 Recommended Further Reading 1. Juran’s Quality Planning and Analysis for Enterprise Quality Frank Gryna, Richard C H Chua and Joseph A DeFeo McGraw-Hill, 5th Edition, 2005 Chapter 1 : Basic Concepts Quality Management Slide 35 of 35

Marxism vs Functionalism

As a sociological discipline, functionalism is counterposed to Marxism. However it shares with Marxism the importance of ‘totality’ and the corresponding view that scientific inquiry is based upon the interdependence of parts within a whole. It is important to distinguish why the Marxian use of the totality differs significantly from functionalist systems. Primarily this involves the Marxian emphasis on the contradictory character of the whole and the treatment of the social totality from the perspective of its conflicts.Functionalism in contrast views society generally as a stable system and looks for the mechanisms that give it harmony – it thus seeks to reduce conflict to a residual element of the system, or view conflict from the perspective of its maintenance of the social system. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts, the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists s ee society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory.Marxism and functionalism are similar in that they see that the way society is structured as an important part in determining the way people have relationships and behave between themselves. This is known as structural perspective. Both functionalists and Marxists believe that people are portrayed as creature within the social system. Functionalists believe that society operates to the benefit of everybody. They stress that societies continue to exist because a lot of the time there is consensus between various aspects.

Interpersonal management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Interpersonal management - Coursework Example The success of these improvements will be measured through observing the response of the various people I will communicate with within the next two weeks. Direct questions on how they feel I should improve on my listening skills will also be asked. Positive responses and more lively discussions will be the main measure of how effective I will have improved on my listening skills. Record 5 Areas of Strength in Team Work The questionnaire on team contribution skills has been of great assistance in identifying my major strengths and weaknesses in team work skills. Personally, I have identified nine major areas in which my teamwork strengths lie in. When working with teams, I have been good at listening to others, providing solutions, time management, maintaining group focus, helping others and organizing the members. The area of administrative chores has also benefited from my contribution. Generally, I have over 60% rating gauging by the questionnaire; which is commendable. Weaknesses in Team Performance Group members identified two major areas of weaknesses that I exhibit during teamwork activities. They include leaving the responsibility of driving the team to others and generating many ideas that are mostly irrelevant to situations. To begin, I have left responsibility in the hands of others in this activity. This has been due to my areas of weakness such as the inability to present charts and drawings, my inadequate research skills and inability to help in positive conflict resolutions. In the past, it has been a difficult task for me to remain non-partisan especially when my close associates are involved in conflict and that has been a major...Weaknesses in Team Performance Group members identified two major areas of weaknesses that I exhibit during teamwork activities. The two weaknesses in team performance as identified by group members need to be addressed so that my team work skills are sharpened. Addressing the Weaknesses In the area of conflict resolution, I intend to register for future conflict resolution seminars and join relevant clubs or societies that promote effective conflict resolution to enable me handle future conflicts effectively. Record 6 Non-violent communication (NVC) Rosenberg (2003) outlines the four main components of NVC that are very essential in any communication process including face to face communication. They include observation, feelings, needs and requests. The first step involves observing and in face to face communication it may involve listening to the details of the speaker, which are verbal and non verbal. After stating how we feel, the next stage involves identifying the needs that maybe connected with the said feelings. Luckily enough, a student sympathizer came in and helped me to handle the situation. The use of the NVC could have helped in this situation. The process of observing, stating feelings, identifying needs and finally making request was not duly followed. Identifying specific needs of the book owner and identifying mine could have helped in resolving the matter.

The Dark Ages Documentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Dark Ages Documentary - Essay Example The interesting phenomena in this episode pertains the rise to power of Clovis, who was a Frankish leader. He made great efforts in uniting tribes and advocated the conversion of people to Christianity. In order to have many converts, Clovis spent his time establishing good relationships with the Catholic Church. However, despite his efforts, his rule was characteristic of punishments evident during the Dark ages. Other rulers during this period found it difficult controlling their kingdoms. The events witnessed during the 5th century contributed immensely to the realization of the revitalization later on in the 8th century (Cantor, 2002). The documentary is important as it aids in understanding about the development of the Roman Empire to its present state. The different cultures in the episode have developed through a series of stages to the current state. Therefore, the documentary plays an important role in showing the characteristics of the cultures during this period. The documentary achieves its aim of showcasing the cultural issues happening during the Dark Ages

Reflective Teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reflective Teaching - Essay Example Framing reflective teaching For an individual to undergo a development process to a reflective thinker, Valli and Buese (2007) advise on employment of various approaches. These approaches are inclusive of critically observing the others as well as one self, team teaching, and exploration of an individual’s teaching approach through writing. In any approach, Valli and Buese (2007) insist on a process that is divided into three parts. The first part is the event itself. This step is perceived as critical at the onset of any episode that will incorporate actual teaching. While the critical reflection is usually targeted at developing the individual teaching approach of a teacher, there is a possibility of self-reflection being stimulated by observing the teaching of another person. The next stage usually involves event recollection. This stage usually details the event of the eventual happening without having to observe the teaching of another person. Generally, various procedures are usually employed during the phase of recollection. These procedures include; detailing the event, recording of an event, or incorporation of coding systems for capturing the event details. The third stage involves reviewing and responding to the event. As a result of focusing on the objective event description, the event is reviewed for the participants. This is the stage at which a deeper level of event processing takes place coupled with asking questions that are connected to the experience.

Professional Practice Model in Military Nursing Essay

Professional Practice Model in Military Nursing - Essay Example The term â€Å"nursing practice model† refers to operational models for redesigning nursing practice for the provision of patient care in organizational settings, primarily hospitals and long term care facilities ("Professional nursing practice," 2011). Professional practice model (PPM)/Professional nursing model has five subsystems: values, professional relationships, a patient care delivery model, a management approach, and compensation and rewards. Analysis of five PPMs showed that the professional values addressed most often are nurse autonomy, nurse accountability, professional development, and emphasis on high-quality care (Buttell, Hendler, & Daley, 2007). Teamwork, collaboration, and consultation consistently appeared as approaches to enhance professional relationships. Primary nursing and case management are the care delivery systems most often used in the models. Decentralizing decision making, expanding the scope and type of unit nurse manager responsibilities, and instituting structural changes to support professional practice were common activities in the management subsystem. Compensation and reward systems generally recognized professional achievement and contribution toward organizational goals. Recommendations for implementing and evaluating PPMs are offered (Hoffart, & Woods, 1996). For recognition of nurses department there are different designation such as the Magnet designation is the highest level of recognition the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC) accords to organized nursing services. The award recognizes health care organizations exhibiting excellence in nursing services to patients, the existence of an environment that supports professional nursing practice and growth and development of nursing staff. Magnet institutions act as "magnets" by attracting and retaining outstanding nurses and creating a work environment ("High point regional," ). Influence of professional practice model on change in health care organizatio ns: This model can be implemented organization-wide, they typically redesign nursing practice at the point of patient care delivery, that is, at the nursing unit level. Thus the models are distinguished from such organization that do not specifically address care delivery (Weisman). Nursing practice model are innovative practice arrangement because of the following influential aspects on change in health care. The degree to which the practice of individual nurses is differentiated according to education level or performance competencies so that the competition among the nurses will be established and they will try to improve their educational level as well as expertise in the field. The degree to which nursing practice at the unit level is self-managed, rather than managed by traditional supervisors(Weisman), they need to be in charge of work design and work flow, since they are the professionals involved in the majority of patient care. It is important they have input into the desi gn of the unit or workplace, for instance being on a committee that buys equipment for effective care in order to achieve

Small Business Management Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Small Business Management - Scholarship Essay Example † Before embarking on the study’s specifics, it is essential to have a look at the overall advantage of owning and starting a business in New Zealand. Recent surveys have been carried out globally and these have come up with various findings and conclusions. As per the World Bank’s survey of 2006 where around 150 economies were focused on, New Zealand took the number one spot in terms of ease of carrying out business. The World Economic Forum put New Zealand in the 16th ranking out of 100 economies in terms of competitiveness and besides that, public institutions of New Zealand ranked top in judicial independence, tax collection, corruption absence, organised crime and property rights. Ethically, New Zealand’s situation put it among the most ethical areas of doing business in the world and this considered the corruption undertakings. Transparency International rated it second together with Finland after Iceland. This is as per 2005’s study of 159 cou ntries using CPI- Corruption Perceptions Index. New Zealand was also considered stable, open as well as competitive economically, has a business oriented governance, and cost competitive structures with low policy in inflation, flexible labour market and low rates of corporate tax. (wellington.govt.nz, 2011) According to Oliver and English, in their book, a small business refers to a business that is personally owned or managed. It may also be taken to be that entity which is void of managerial staffs that are specialists or does not form part of a bigger entity. Also, the definition says that such a business should be employing a maximum of 50 workers in manufacturing, a maximum of 10 employees in services and not exceeding 25 workers in the remaining sectors. If this definition is something to go by, then the sector of small businesses in New Zealand consisted of approximately 297,000 firms as at 2007. Of the 297,000, about 280,000 businesses are often known as ‘microâ€℠¢ enterprises since their employees are less than 5 persons. The ‘micro’ enterprises are usually common in retail trade, construction, property, finance as well as business services industrial sectors. Setting up a small business in New Zealand is not without merits. Among the merits of starting such a business are; one can become his or her own boss, exercise own talents, be in state of independence; remove dependence upon a fixed salary or wage; one has a chance to make his/her own money; one is at a vantage point in realising accomplishment, recognition and personal worth; one can come up and implement own products, services and ideas; and one is given a chance at enjoying work than he/she finds satisfying and successful. Having a sole proprietorship can make a person attain a level of family economic security as well as self and lastly, one may be in a position to provide valuable things to the community. Disadvantages of setting up a small business are that one may fail in business and lose all the borrowed and own capital. One may also be forced to work hard, sometimes up to 15 hours in any given day which results to lesser time spent with friends and family. Income may vary and behave in a volatile manner due to factors beyond oneself control. Also there is the very huge pressure arising especially while making decisions and solving problems of the business and these may call for

Profiling an Non Government Organization (NGO) Essay

Profiling an Non Government Organization (NGO) - Essay Example This essay describes the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals organisation (PETA), that is the largest organization in the world fighting for animal rights. PETA was founded in USA in the year 1980, by Ingrid E. Newkirk. Today, the researcher states that it has affiliates in France, Netherlands, India, United Kingdom, Germany and over 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The organisation aims at the welfare of animals. It intervenes in areas where animals suffer. The mission of PETA is to focus on four key issues where animals suffer the most, including laboratories, clothing trade entertainment industry, factory farms and domesticating environments. The researcher also discusses the controversies as strategies that PETA used recently. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals have been using civil disobedience and controversies as a strategy to attain public attention and attract government interventions. For Instance, the campaigns of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals in cluded nudity. The naked campaign which began few years ago saw participation from celebrities like Pamela Anderson, Christy Turlington, Todd Oldham Marcus Schenkenberg and Kim Basinger. A very interesting public education propaganda that People for Ethical Treatment of Animals could introduce was the awareness campaigns on pet animals that was also mentioned in the essay. In conclusion, the researcher suggests challenges of the organisation, such as funding and the sustained availability of contributions.

Commencement address Essay Example for Free

Commencement address Essay Miltary intervention in a Lesser Deveoped Country as defined by this writer is a deliberate entry by an armed regime, into a country with a low standard of living, and a undeveloped work base. Fifteen years ago the United States intervened into a lesser developed country and deployed their troops into the Gulf War. Back then General Schwarkopf was a national idol and boasted to the media along with the masses, We could have traded equipment with the Iraqis and still won. The troops returned from the Gulf to a heroes welcome, but times have changed. Today, as Journalists Don M. Snider, and Gayle L. Watkins puts it, there are many indications that the result is an Army quite unlike the victor of the Gulf War battles. It is instead an Army of decreasing effectiveness, one which suffers from a weakening relationship with the American public and, of more concern, with its own members. Â   Once again quoting both journalists, The Army that won the battles of the Gulf War in 1991 was on of the most professional ever fielded by America. So what are todays unique features of New Military Professionalism? To answer this question we have to back fourteen years, and as a case study, look at Africa. To quote the Civil-Military Relations in Post-independent Africa: South African Defence Review No3, Huntington gives considerable attention to the question of how civilian supremacy over armed forces might be assured. He begins by making a conceptual distinction between what he calls objective and subjective control. In the former, the officer corps is disciplined by its own professionalism, the most important constituent involving service to the community. Â   He concludes, that the more professional an army, the less of a threat it would pose this would coincide with the ideology of such countries as the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, the USA etc. So what are the unique features of New Military Professionalism? The answer is that the government should render the military dull, and unbiased. A highly trained, and mentally conditioned soldier will carry out any order his government dictates. To once again quote the Civil-Military Relations in Post-independent Africa: South African Defence Review No 3: *Â   break up the officer corps into competing groups *Â   establish political armies and special military units *Â   infiltrate the armed services with parallel political chains of command*Â   and by indoctrination, covert surveillance and close party supervision. This representation substantiates that military regiments will remain loyal to government command. The next inquiry that one might pose, Are military regimes successful in the political arena, and what are their objectives? You dont have to be a brain surgeon to realize that in lesser developed countries military regimes with out a doubt come out on top. In most third world countries a soldiers loyalty is bought and paid for, through money, privileges, and perks. In some countries high ranking soldiers are seduced into becoming a part of elites organizations. You must keep in mind that the majority of these recruits have never ever seen the other side of life- the priviledged side. Its not surprising that these impressionable few can be manipulated into blind allegiance to the ruling class. One can only hope that one day all this talk about military intervention will be a thing of the past. Lets contemplate on this notion. Is military intervention and war in a global sense on the decline? According to Gregg Easterbrook, from The New Republic, published May 30, 2005 pp. 18-21, it is. Easterbrook says that in the past fifteen years war has been on the down side. According to his findings the media has been manipulating us with horrific scenes of bombing and bloodshed. Due largely to the fact that today we now have 24 hour cable news channels, along with the world wide internet. People today even have cameras built into their phones. In his discourse he conveys that being killed because of war is the lowest its ever been. According to the statistics, The University of Maryland studies, find the number of wars and armed conflicts worldwide peaked in 1991 at 51, which may represent the most wars happening simultaneously at any point in history. Â   This would allude to the fact that war in a universal sense is half as it was fifteen years ago. The media has been filling our heads with falsities, the truth of the matter is that the majority of the population would rather watch a car bomb going off in some third world country as apposed to watching a report on flowers at our local botanical garden. Its sad but true, its the same mindset as when youre on the freeway and theres a car wreck: everyone slows down to see if someones been killed- its in our nature. Another great statistic is that worldwide military spending is lowering as well. The Center for Defence Information, a nonpartisan Washington research organization, states: in current dollars, annual global military spending peaked in 1985, at $1. 3 trillion, and has been falling since, to slightly over $1 trillion in 2004. Â   This magnificent reality once again has not been brought to light by news reports. These news stations would have you believe that the world is on the verge of mass destruction. There are only a few nations that are still increasing their military spending, one that poses no surprise is the United States; America accounts for 44 percent of global military spending. With the U. S. reshuffling funds to put towards combating terrorist groups, and peace keeping endeavors, they will wind up spending more on guns and miitary recruits than the rest of the world combined. The exact opposite holds true for many of the poorer countries, which is great, because the less money that goes towards guns can go into feeding starving bellies. So why is war becoming an archaic ideology? The first factor comes to no suprise, without a doubt its the end of the cold war. Due to this wonderful fact, tensions in an international manner have loosened, along with U. S. and Soviet support of proxy armies in lesser developed countries. There is also evidence that international arms dealings are slowly becoming a thing of the past. This reality could possibly result in lesser developed countries wanting peace, instead of war. Unfortunately you have to take the good with the bad. In an article entitiled The Syrian Dilemma, the writer alludes to the notion that if Syria is forced to leave Lebanon there could be a chance of Civil War; another Iraq, if you will. To quote the writer, The Baathist order has lost all legitimacy, sunk as it is in the most cancerous corruption and abuse of law and human right. To sum things up, military intervention, political objectives, lesser developed countries, military professionalism, and the decline of war is a perplexed concept, in other words, its not an exact science. Even President George Bush is vague on this subject. In a 2002 speech he gave to the graduating class at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, he summarized, We will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent. Â   To wind things up, I guess all we can do is stick our fingers in the dike and pray. References Bush, George W. Commencement address. U. S. Military Academy. West Point, NY. June 2002 Civil-Military Relations in Post-independent Africa: South African Defence Review No3 from World Wide Web: http://www. iss. co. za/Pubs/ASR/SADR3/Baynham. html Easterbrook, Gregg (2003). The End of War? from The New Republic, May 30, 2003 pp. 18-21 Hirst, David (2005). The Syrian Dilemma. from The Nation, May 2, 2005 pp. 20-24 Snider, Don M. , Watkins, Gayle L (2002) The Future of Army Professionalism: A need For Renewal and Redefination. Journal excerpt, Vol. 30, 2000 The Center for Defence (2004) The University of Maryland (2004)

The Suggestibility of Child Witnesses

The Suggestibility of Child Witnesses Karpinski and Scullins (2009) study tests whether theory of mind and executive functioning affects childrens inclination to adopt the view asserted by misleading questions under pressured interviews. In addition, effects of age ranging from three to five as a factor of suggestibility was investigated. The procedures required 80 preschoolers, over four sessions, to witness a video and live show prior to a theory of mind test, performance on executive function tasks and a Video Suggestibility Scale for Children (VSSC) to rank them based on assents to misleading questions (Yield), changing of answer after feedback (Shift) and total affirmative answers given after feedback in Shift (Yield 2). The results showed that children performed better in theory of mind and executive tasks functions with increasing age, making them less suggestible. This suggests that older children, by understanding the theory of mind, comprehending that the interviewer might have an existing false belief, and thu s avoids assenting. Through the VSSC, lower Yield 2 scores correlated with poorer executive functioning, which was observed in younger children. Additionally, pressure from the interviewer has shown a higher suggestibility in children. However, the study only studied children from ages three to five, limiting the age group to a smaller range and did not include older children into the study. Moreover, executive functions and theory of mind are not the sole factors of individual differences in children that play a part in suggestibility. Allwood, C. M., Granhag, P. A., Jonsson, A. (2006). Child witnesses metamemory realism. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47(6), 461-470. The study conducted was to determine the degree of acceptance of confidence judgments to childrens answers regarding a video about a kidnapping event. This was investigated using a sample of 80 children, from 11 to 12 years old. Four confidence scales, the numeric scale, picture scale, line scale and written scale were used. Frequency judgments of the children were also acquired. Prior training was provided to ensure that the children understood the probability scale. Results were that participants show overconfidence over all four confidence scales after calibration. No significant effect was found whether any of the confidence scales had affected the confidence judgment. However, a significant difference was found by comparing genders, with girls being better calibrated that boys to confidence scales, and the girls had a significantly lower frequency judgment than boys. However, both genders had a higher frequency judgment than the number of questions they actually had answered cor rectly. Lastly, by comparing the results obtained from adults who watched the same video in another study by Allwood et al. (2003), it showed that children were more overconfident than adults. However, this comparison to another study cannot promise that the conditions undertook were exactly the same. The study should extend its age range of children to younger children, who are still developing, though it is not known whether they would comprehend the different confidence scales to render it effective to children that age. Warren, A. R., McGough, L. S. (1996). Research on childrens suggestibility: Implications for the investigative interview. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23(2), 269-303. This review contains consolidated result from various researches to report the best conditions under which childrens recount of experiences would be reliable to use in court. This targets eliminating the possibility of childrens suggestibility. By using the role of the interviewer, the timing of the interview and the process, it emphasizes on points which interviewers should take note of. Specifically, interviewers should not hold any bias, nor ask misleading questions. This should also be coupled with a non-biased response and building ground rules such as the acceptance of unsure as a response. Repetition of questions are not encouraged, though it may require several sessions before details are noted. As for interviews, delays would result in more errors in recalling, especially in children. Video recorded interviews are welcomed, serving as evidence in court for reliability and a source for children to remember previous interviews. For the interview process, guidelines do include the necessity of building rapport with the child and allow free-recall of events, as they give higher accuracy of memory. One method widely encouraged is the cognitive interview. Though anatomically correct dolls are not endorsed, age-appropriate language can be used to encourage the child to indicate abused body parts. Lastly, the interview should be done in stress free environment. Though these information would greatly help interviewers, the best formula is to allow states to train specialists in interviewing children or building specific protocol for other interviewers to follow. 4. Quas, J. A., Goodman, G. S., Ghetti, S. Redlich, A. D. (2000). Questioning the child witness: What can we conclude from the research thus far? Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 1(3), 223-249. The study review conducted a summary of researches and their association to investigating child witnesses. First, the articles reported differences in development between younger and older children. It was found that younger children are more suggestible due to poorer recall. However, preschoolers are proficient in script memory, although it is limited to repeated events. Also, though children can recall memory, they have difficulty putting the memory into a logical structure. This is limited by their source memory. The relationship between stress and memory has not been significantly proven, but children who are more distressed may have a lower recall due to a third factor, such as attention. Trauma, especially repeated ones, are not found to hinder memory. Another idea to factor in is general knowledge, where knowledge consistent to what the child knows is encoded in memory easily. Next, suggestibility was discussed. It was revealed that free-recall allows children to give accurate memories, given that no false information was given prior to recall. However, when false information was given repeatedly, childrens suggestibility increased. Thirdly, individual differences in children was reviewed. It concluded that other than age, internal characteristics of the child can affect the quality of the information elicited. Suggestibility has been related to dual representation, source memory and imaginativeness of the child. Though much has been concluded from previous studies, there are certain areas which have not been researched or little research have been done on those areas. 5. Lyon, T. D., Saywitz, K. J. (2006). From post-mortem to preventive medicine: Next steps for research on child witness. Journal of Social Issues, 62(4), 833-861. The current paper looks into future researches that can be done regarding the suggestibility of child witnesses. It proposes to researchers not to only keep abreast of current researches but also develop new models. The study agrees source monitoring training can be conducted to decrease suggestibility in younger children. Due to reluctance of some children to admit to abuse, research can look into factors affecting such victims and methods to allay the symptoms. Also, researches should encompass older children, other than preschoolers. Moreover, laboratory results should be brought out into the field to test its validity. Through combination of field and laboratory work, methods can be refined to bring about better policies. Additionally, recantation, an important topic in child witnesses, is a subject yet to be researched. Similarly, sequencing of recall in children and the extent of display or description of emotions when interviewed can be researched. A lucrative area can be to d iscover methods to allow both therapy and legal proceedings to coexist simultaneously without increasing suggestibility. Lastly, the paper suggests that instead of looking to sexual abuse cases, researchers should acknowledge that there are large proportions of non-sexual cases that can be looked into. However, authors should note that these researches must be applied to the field in order to be rendered effective. It requires policymakers and researchers to come together to allow such cooperation. Through such partnerships, interview processes can be improved to reduce suggestibility.

Windows 7: An overview and analysis

Windows 7: An overview and analysis Windows 7 Windows 7 is the latest the most release version of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, and media center PCs.it uses Kernel type:Hybrid Windows 7 introduced a large number of new features, Presentations given by Microsoft is multi-touch support, Redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar,the Superbar Home networking system called HomeGroup, Some applications of Microsoft Windows, including: Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are not included in Windows 7 but are offered separately as part of the free Windows Live Essentials suite. Features Windows 7 includes a number of new features, * The new Action Center, which replaces Windows Security Center.When the action center detects a security threat, it displays a thumbnail with problems listed. * such as advances in touch and handwriting recognition, * virtual hard disks for support * multi-core processors with improved performance, * boot performance improved , * DirectAccess, and kernel improvements. * Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter), * New version of Windows Media Center, Gadget for Windows Media Center, * the XPS Essentials Pack and Windows PowerShell also being included, * Redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities such as Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion. * Many new items have been added to the Control Panel,that including ClearType Text Tuner, Display Color Calibration Wizard, Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, Workspaces Center, Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager, Biometric Devices, System Icons, and Display. * Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center, which has both security and maintenance of the computer. * The default setting for User Account Control in Windows 7 has been criticized for allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges by exploiting a trusted application. * Windows 7 can also supports Mac-like RAW image viewing through the addition of WIC-enabled image decoders, this enables raw image thumbnails, previewing and metadata display in Windows Explorer,and aslo a plus full-size viewing and slideshows in Windows Photo Viewer and Window Media Center * Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced with pinning applications to the taskbar. Buttons for pinned applications are integrated with the task buttons. These buttons also enable the Jump Lists feature to allow easy access to common tasks.The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons. To the far right of the system clock is a small rectangular button that serves as the Show desktop icon. This button is part of the new feature in Windows 7 called Aero Peek. clicking over this button makes all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop. * Additionally, there is a feature named Aero Snap, that automatically maximizes a window when it is dragged to either the top or left/right edges of the screen.This also allows users to snap documents or files on either side of the screen to compare them. When a user moves windows that are maximized, the system restores their previous state automatically. This functionality is also accomplished with keyboard shortcuts. * For developers, Windows 7 includes a new networking API with support for building SOAP-based web services in native code new features shorten application install times, reduced UAC prompts, simplified development of installation packages, and improved globalization support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API. * Microsoft announced that color depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7 along with the wide color gamut scRGB . * The video modes in Windows 7 are 16-bit sRGB, 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended color gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB. * Windows 7 also includes 13 additional sound schemes, * It aslo allows multiple Windows environments, including Windows XP Mode, to run on the same machine, requiring the use of Intel VT-x or AMD-V. Windows XP Mode runs Windows XP in a virtual machine and redirects displayed applications running in Windows XP to the Windows 7 desktop. * Furthermore Windows 7 supports the mounting of a virtual hard disk (VHD) as a normal data storage, and the bootloader delivered with Windows 7 can boot the Windows system from a VHD. * The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) of Windows 7 is also enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games, thus allowing use of DirectX 10 in remote desktop environments. Windows Vista Windows Vista OS was developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, for example home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs.Window Vista uses Kernel type :Hybrid.Windows Vista was known by its codename Longhorn .Microsofts primary stated objective with Windows Vista has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface visual style dubbed Windows Aero a redesigned search function multimedia tools including Windows DVD Maker redesigned networking, audio, print, display sub-systems. Vista aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs. Features Windows Vista revised and incorporated new features and functionalities not present in its predecessors, especially those from Windows XP. End-user Windows Explorer in Windows Vista  · Aero:is a new hardware-based graphical user interface is named Windows Aero, which is to be more cleaner and aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows versions, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, and animations, thus providing a new level of eye candy.  · Shell: is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities  · Instant seach, Windows Vista features a new way of searching called Instant Search, which is significantly faster and more in-depth (content-based) than the search features found in any of the previous versions of Windows.[20]  · Sidebar,A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose  · Explore7, New user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs, Anti-Phishing filter, a number of new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support.  · Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsofts program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or search as you type), a new GUI for the media library, photo display and organization, the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Windows Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders.  · Mail, A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability, and features integrated Instant Search. It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and Junk mail filtering that is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update.  · Calander is a new calendar and task application.  · Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. It can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows and burn slideshows to DVD.  · DVDs Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker that provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a users content. Users can design a DVD with title, menu, video, soundtrack, pan and zoom motion effects on pictures or slides.  · Media Centerwhich was previously exclusively bundled in a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, has been incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.  · Games Explorer: Games included with Windows have been modified to showcase Vistas graphics capabilities. New games are Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. A new Games Explorer special folder contains shortcuts and information to all games on the users computer.  · Speech reconginationis integrated into Vista. It features a redesigned user interface and configurable command-and-control commands. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, Speech Recognition in Windows Vista works for any accessible application. In addition, it currently supports several languages: British and American English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) and Japanese. Core The complete restructuring of the architecture of the audio, print, display, and networking subsystems; although the results of this work are visible to software developers, end-users will only see what appear to be evolutionary changes in the user interface. Vista includes technologies such as ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive which employ fast flash memory (located on USB drives and hybrid hard disk drives) to improve system performance by caching commonly used programs and data. This manifests itself in improved battery life on notebook computers as well, since a hybrid drive can be spun down when not in use. The new technology called SuperFetch uses machine learning techniques to analyze usage patterns to allow Vista to make intelligent decisions about what content should be present in system memory at any given time. It uses almost all the extra RAM as disk cache. In conjunction with SuperFetch, automatic built-in Windows Disk Defragmenter makes sure that applications are strategically positioned on the hard disk where they can be loaded into memory quickly As part of the redesign of the networking architecture, IPv6 is fully incorporated into the OS and a number of performance improvements have been introduced, such as TCP window HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP_window_scale_optionscaling. For graphics, Vista introduces a new Windows Display Driver Model and a major revision to Direct3D. The new driver model facilitates the new Desktop Window Manager, which provides the tearing-free desktop and special effects that are the cornerstones of Windows Aero. At the core of the OS many improvements have been made to the memory manager, process scheduler and I/O scheduler. The Heap Manager implements additional features such as integrity checking in order to improve robustness and defend against buffer overflow security exploits, A Kernel Transaction Manager has been implemented that enables applications to work with the file system and Registry using atomic transaction operations. Linux linux development is one of the examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as the GNU General Public License. Linux installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from embedded devices such as mobile phones and wristwatche. to mainframes and supercomputers.Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers; Technical features Linux supports true preemptive multitasking (both in user mode and kernel mode), virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, memory management, the Internet protocol suite, and threading. Architecture Linux kernel map and bigger Interactive mapLinux is a monolithic kernel. Device drivers and kernel extensions run in kernel space, with full access to the hardware, although some exceptions run in user space. The graphics system most people use with Linux doesnt run in the kernel, Kernel mode preemption allows device drivers to be preempted under certain conditions. This feature was added to handle hardware interrupts correctly and improve support for symmetric multiprocessing (SMP). Preemption also improves latency, increasing responsiveness and making Linux more suitable for real-time applications. Kernel panic In Linux, a panic is an unrecoverable system error detected by the kernel as opposed to similar errors detected by user space code. It is possible for kernel code to indicate such a condition by calling the panic function located in the header file sys/system.h. However, most panics are the result of unhandled processor exceptions in kernel code, such as references to invalid memory addresses. These are typically indicative of a bug somewhere in the call chain leading to the panic. They can also indicate a failure of hardware, such as a failed RAM cell or errors in arithmetic functions in the processor caused by a processor bug, overheating/damaged processor, or a soft error. Linux is a monolithic kernel rather than a microkernel .The debate started in 1992 about Linux and kernel architecture in general on the Usenet. Unlike traditional monolithic kernels, device drivers are easily configured as Loadable Kernel Modules, and loaded or unloaded while running the system. Programming languages Linux version of the C programming language supported by number of short sections of code written in the of the target architecture. Intel claimed to have modified the kernel so that its C compiler also was capable of Many other languages are used in some way, primarily in connection with the kernel build process These include Perl, Python, and various shell scripting languages. Some drivers may also be written in C++, Fortran, or other languages, but this is strongly discouraged. Linuxs build system only officially supports GCC as a kernel and driver compiler. Portability While not originally designed to be portable, Linux is now one of the most widely ported operating system kernels, running on a diverse range of systems from the iPAQ , IBM System z9. Linux runs as the main operating system on IBMs Blue Gene supercomputers. Also, Linux has been ported to various handheld devices such as TuxPhone and Apples iPod. The Android operating system, developed for mobile phone devices, uses the Linux kernel. Virtual machine architectures The Linux kernel has extensive support for and runs on many virtual machine architectures both as the host operating system and as a client operating system. The virtual machines usually emulate Intel x86 family of processors, though in a few cases PowerPC or AMD processors are also emulaed. Mac OS X Tiger Mac OS X Tiger v10.4 is the fifth major release of Mac OS X,uses kernel Apples desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger is also the first version of any released Apple operating system to work on Apple-Intel architecture machines (Apple machines using x86 processors).Tiger the longest running version of Mac OS X which was included with all new Macintosh computers. Features End-user features Apple advertises that Tiger has 200+ features, including: * Spotlight Spotlight is a full-text and metadata search engine, which can search everything from Word documents to iCal calendars to Address Book cards, as well as any text within PDF files. * iChat AV The new iChat AV 3.0 in Tiger can supports up to four participants in a video conference and ten participants in an audio conference. It also now supports communication using the XMPP protocol. A XMPP server called iChat Server is included on Mac OS X Tiger Server. * Safari RSS The new Safari 2.0 web browser in Tiger features a built-in reader for RSS and Atom web syndication that can be accessed easily from an RSS button in the address bar of the web browser window. * Mail 2 The new version of Mail.app email client included in Tiger featured an updated interface, Smart Mailboxes which utilize the Spotlight search system, parental controls, as well as several other features. * Dictionary/Thesaurus based on the New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, accessible through an application, Dictionary, a Dashboard widget, and as a system-wide command . * .Mac syncing in Tiger are now accomplished through the .Mac system preferences pane rather than the iSync application. * QuickTime 7 A new version of Apples multimedia software has support for the new H.264/AVC codec which offers better quality and scalability than other video codecs. . * Xcode 2.0 Xcode 2.0, Apples Cocoa development tool now includes visual modelling, an integrated Apple Reference Library and graphical remote debugging. * Automator Automator uses workflows to process repetitive tasks automatically * Grapher Grapher is a new application capable of creating 2D and 3D graphs similar to that of Graphing Calculator. * Quartz Composer is a development tool for processing and rendering graphical data.  · AU Lab AU Lab is a developer application for testing and mixing Audio Units. * An upgraded kernel which optimized kernel resource locking and access control lists, and with support for 64-bit userland address spaces on machines with 64-bit processors. * An updated libSystem with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions; with the kernel change, this allows individual applications to address more than 4GB of memory when run on 64-bit processors. * A new startup daemon called launchd that allows for faster boots. * A new graphics processing API, Core Image, leveraging the power of the available accelerated graphics cards. * Core Image allows programmers to easily leverage programmable GPUs for fast image processing for special effects and image correction tools.for example Image Units included are Blur, Color Blending, Generator Filters, Distortion Filters, Geometry Filters, Halftone features and much more. * A new video graphics API, Core Video, which leverages Core Image to provide real-time video processing. Core Audio integrates a range of audio functionality directly into the operating system. The Apple TV, was ships with a customized version of Mac OS X v10.4 branded Apple TV OS that replaces the usual graphical user interface with an updated version of Front Row. Mac OS X Snow Leopard Mac OS X Snow Leopard v 10.6 is the seventh release of Mac OS X, Apples desktop and server Unix-based operating system. This version of Mac OS X focuses on improving performance, efficiency and reducing its overall memory footprint , rather than new end-user features. This is also the first Mac OS release since the introduction of System 7.1.2 that does not support the PowerPC architecture, as Apple now intends to focus on its current line of Intel-based products. Leopard, the company has acknowledged that there is no technical barrier preventing a direct upgrade from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger. The recommended upgrade path for OS X Tiger is through the current release of the Mac Box Set, which includes OS X Snow Leopard, iLife 09, and iWork 09. Snow Leopard does not support PowerPC-based Macs (e.g., Power Macs, PowerBooks, iBooks, iMacs (G3-G5), all eMacs, although PowerPC applications are supported via Rosetta, which is now an optional install. Features * Boot Camp now allows Windows partitions to read and copy files from HFS+ partitions. The new version also adds support for advanced features on Cinema Displays and a new command-line version of the Startup Disk Control Panel. * The Finder has been completely rewritten in 64-bit Cocoa to take advantage of the new technologies introduced in Snow Leopard. This has resulted in a much smaller OS footprint, taking up about 7 GB less space than Mac OS X v10.5. iChat enhancements include greater resolution video chats in iChat Theater and lowered upload bandwidth requirements. * Microsoft Exchange support is now integrated into the Mail, Address Book, and iCal applications. However, only Microsoft Exchange 2007 is supported and customers using prior versions of Exchange must either upgrade or use Microsoft Entourage. * Full Multi-touch support has been added to notebooks prior to those introduced in October 2008.While the original MacBook Air and other early multi-touch enabled notebooks had support for some gestures, they were unable to use four-finger gestures. This limitation has now been removed in Snow Leopard. * Preview now has artificial intelligence algorithms that allow it to infer the structure of a paragraph in a PDF document. * QuickTime X, the next version of QuickTime player and multimedia framework, has been completely rewritten into a full 64-bit Cocoa application and builds on the media technologies in Mac OS X, such as Core Audio, Core Video, and Core Animation, to deliver playback. QuickTime X also supports HTTP live streaming and takes advantage of ColorSync to provide high-quality color reproduction. If Snow Leopard is installed on a Mac with an nVidia GeForce 9400M graphics card, QuickTime X will be able to use its video-decoding capabilities to reduce CPU load. * Safari 4 features Top Sites, Cover Flow, VoiceOver, expanded standards support, and built-in crash resistance, which prevents browser crashes caused by plug-ins by running them in separate processes. Safari 4 is not new to Snow Leopard, as it is available for free in Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). * Time Machine connection establishment and backups are now much faster. * Putting aside these important but long-term changes, here are Snow Leopards most immediately beneficial new features and enhancements. * ActiveSync Following in the footsteps of the iPhone, Snow Leopard makes these Microsoft technologies native to the OS.This giving users the same capabilities as with the better-designed, less-memory-intensive apps Mail, iCal, and Address Book included in OS X. * Exposà © integration in the Dock The Mac OS X Dock makes it easy to access applications, open documents, and common folders.Open documents are even more easily accessed in Snow Leopard, thanks to the integration of Exposà ©. click and hold an app icon in the Dock, you get preview windows for each of its open documents, allowing you to switch easily among them or to close them, all without having to clutter your screen with document windows. * Automatic location detection Snow Leopard changes the time zone for you automatically (if you set that as the default behavior), using Wi-Fi mapping to figure out where you are you will need to be connected to a Wi-Fi access point or router. iCal can also be set to adjust the times to the current time zone automatically, so your calendar always reflects the current times. * The new Preview now can open multiple PDF documents, display their contents as contact sheets, and show thumbnails of pages in a sidebar for easy navigation. In other words, it works a lot like Adobe Reader. Thats one fewer app to launch and since Preview loads much faster than Reader, you can get PDFs contents much faster now. * Movie and screencast recording Snow Leopard takes the formerly QuickTime Pro and makes it a standard, free app in Mac OS X. That means you can record movies and great for many marketing, education, and Web professionals screencasts from your Mac with no additional software. * Systemwide automatic text replacement Snow Leopard lets you specify such substitutions via the Keyboard system preference, so you have a common set of substitutions available to all applications. Right now, only TextEdit, Mail, and various Apple apps use this common auto-text service, but if other software developers adopt it, you may finally get all your text-oriented apps to autocorrect the same way. * No more gesture segregation Snow Leopard fixes that, so gesture-capable trackpads now support all gestures, no matter what Mac model you have. (Of course, your Mac has to have a gesture-capable trackpad, so models before 2006 arent helped out by this update.) 64-bit architecture Mac OS X Tiger added limited support for 64-bit applications on machines with 64-bit processors; Leopard extended the support for 64-bit applications to include applications using most of Mac OS Xs libraries and frameworks. In addition, the Mac OS X kernel has been rebuilt to run in 64-bit mode on some machines. On those machines, Snow Leopard supports up to 16 terabytes of RAM. Newer Xserve and Mac Pro machines will run a 64-bit kernel by default; newer iMac machines can run a 64-bit kernel, but will not do so by default. Users wishing to use the 64-bit kernel on those machines must hold down the numbers 6 and 4 on the keyboard while booting to get the 64-bit kernel to load. A change to the com.apple.Boot.plist will also enable users with compatible computers to permanently boot into 64-bit for those wishing to do so. Security An anti-malware feature was added to the system that alerts the user if malware is detected. Despite the lack of ASLR, Apple has strengthened OS X by implementing stack protection, and sandboxing more OS X components such as the H.264 decoder in QuickTime and browser plug-ins as a separate process in Safari.

Time is a major theme in Ian McEwans The Child In Time. Essay

Time is a major theme in Ian McEwan's The Child In Time. "Time is always susceptible to human interpretation. And though time is partly a human fabrication, it is also that from which no parent or child is immune." Time is a major theme in Ian McEwan's 'The Child In Time'. He treats the subject irreverently, 'debunking chronology by the nonlinearity of his narrative.' - Michael Byrne. McEwan uses the setting of Stephen's dull committee as the backdrop for his daydreaming. Even Stephen's thoughts are not choronological, and his daydreams constantly flit between different times, although this could be to emphasise the overall flexibility of time. At first sight, it seems that the loss of Kate will be the central event, but McEwan strays through a wide spectrum of events, including the central one, Stephen's encounter at 'The Bell', to try and explain his feelings. The scene at The Bell also refers to a vivid dream McEwan had, where he walked towards a pub knowing he would find the meaning of his life, knowing he would be terrified, but also needing to go on. This is the most important event in the book, and the most difficult to interpret in terms of the behaviour of time. The book does not even begin with the loss of Kate, as you would expect, but Stephen on a normal morning. He relates everything he sees to time, the passing of which is even more important to him than anything else. After all, 'the heartless accumulation of days, after the loss of Kate, has driven Stephen to deep depression, and endless thought. In his depression, he lives for Kate, the only purpose of his existence. This is how he knows he is alive, how he counts the days. 'Kate's growing up had become the essence of time itsel... ... views on time and he contrasts them to show how differently each character interprets that time. It holds utmost control, even though it is not independent. Nobody can ever escape it. Stephen, Julie and Kate couldn't escape time, and Stephen 'was to make efforts to re - enter this moment, to burrow his way back through the folds between events, crawl beneath the covers, and reverse his decision' but, as Thelma said, 'Time - not necessarily as it is, for who knows that, but as thought has constituted it - monomaniacally forbids second chances.' Acknowledgements Time and the Child - Michael Byrne - The Antigonish Review www.antigonishreview.com/bi-123/123-mbyrne.html He Turned Around and She Was Gone - Rebecca Goldstein - The New York Times Back to the Future - Author Unavailable - Publisher Unavailable Emma Warburton - The Guardian newspaper

North Korea Surprise Attack :: essays research papers

In 1949, Congress dragged its feet in considering a $150 million dollar aid bill to South Korea. Syngman Rhee had so often talked about invading North Korea that US leaders feared giving him too much in the way of weapons. For this reason, South Korea was sent only rifles, bazookas, and light artillery; tanks an airplanes were held back. Also by 1949, most of the US military had moved out. Only 500 advisors, known as KMAG (the Korean Military Advisory Group) remained in South Korea, under the command of Brigadier-General William L. Roberts. In January of 1950, the House defeated the Korean Aid Bill by a single vote; Korea was scheduled no to get American Aid for the following year, 1950. On June 25, 1950 the North Korean army attacked South Korea, crossing the 38th Parallel. Pentagon officials were stunned, and had no immediate contingency plan ready. Some said little could be done, while others suggested it was the beginning of Stalin's plot to take over the world. Truman and his circle of advisers sat firmly in this latter group. Immediately upon the invasion, these advisors discussed the prospect of sending General Douglas MacArthur, the US commander in the Far East, to lead a military response. The North Korean invaders hoped to take Seoul, the South Korean capital, as quickly as possible. The majority of ROK forces were routed by North Korean troops. Only one ROK division, the 6th, held its ground. John Muccio, the American ambassador to South Korea, quickly reported back to Washington that a "probable" full-scale attack was under way. Meanwhile, Syngman Rhee reacted to news of the invasion by ordering the imprisonment of more South Koreans. The UN was particularly upset about the North Korean invasion, because it had overseen the elections held in 1948, and did not want to see a war undo that election.