Effective Team and Performance Management Essay - 7

Effective Team and Performance Management - Essay Example P.1). Tuckman theory of team formation and development is the most acknowledged model of team development and occurs in four stages which are forming, storming, norming and performing (Johnson 2010, P. 17). After the performing stage Tuckman developed another stage and named it as the adjourning stage (Edison 2008, P. 14). Meredith Belbin’s team theory analysis the roles played by team members depending on their characteristics and behaviors as well as interpersonal styles. Team performance is affected by its characteristics in regards to size, team norms, team cohesion, management styles, conflict resolutions approaches and feelings among the team members towards each other. Effective management is important for the success of the team. An effective team manager adopts different management styles depending on the arising situation in the workplace (Efere, 2003). There are several team management styles namely authoritarian style, democratic style, laissez-Faire Style, paterna listic, concertive style among others which a manager or a company can adopt (Efere, 2003). This paper will critically evaluate theories on team dynamics, formation, conflict resolutions, factors affecting team performance and offer recommendations for the management to improve teams in Electron Company if adopted. Introduction An effective team may is able to move to and from one stage to another. A company may change its strategy and therefore form different teams. Electron Company changed its management structure and team management to increase performances. Electron is a manufacturing company dealing with telecommunication components and is situated in United Kingdom, established in 1997 as a department and sold out ten years later in 2007 as the original company opted to subcontract its manufacturing department and that is why up to today the company is still the leading client of electron. The management structure was not changed. However the company did not perform as expecte d and this necessitated change in its production practices by escalating productivity, improved client services and improved team performance. A new management approach was introduced to help the different teams achieve productivity objectives in a period of two months and in addition the teams that were to meet their objectives, to all members were paid additional benefits. In the restructured format, new employees were employed on temporary basis while the old employees were distributed to all the teams to help the new members adapt into the company. The teams had the authority to establish their working norms which they would follow and the new team members we supposed to comprehend and follow the teams’ norms and values and therefore the teams were affirming concertive control on the newly employed. Team formation In an organization employees of a specific department work as a team or in some cases teams are established to perform a specific task. Evaluations of the teams are conducted periodically to determine their performance or set new goals after the team is formed it takes time to grow and mature to an efficient team. Several theories explain team dynamics and development and most sociologist point to relationship and personal characteristics of the members involved (Nazzaro and Strazzabosco 2009). Tuckman’s model of team development Tuckman's group development model pays

Strengths and Weaknesses Essay Example for Free

Strengths and Weaknesses Essay It is very difficult to outline my strengths and weaknesses (I would say areas of improvement) at any point of time, as they keep on changing. This is because when I see any area of improvement, I make it a point to mend it as soon as I can. It is really important to keep on building on skills all the time. I believe this attitude of recognizing my area of improvement and working on to improve it has been biggest strength. Another thing which has always worked in my favor is my passion and enthusiasm to learn new things. I must admit that the movie â€Å"3 Idiots† has been instrumental in taking me on to this path. After watching this movie I have always tried to imbibe whatever I read or come across which is message the movie gives. The movie made me think about what is that I am good at, which enchanted me toward the career of finance as I was good with my analytical skills and the ability to understand numbers quickly. This set me off on the path of finance when I started pursuing Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Analyst. My passion kept on surging since then and I never looked back. I feel bliss to see my family being proud of me as I am now working as a faculty at IPLAN institute helping students in clearing CFA Level 1. Let me talk about my areas of improvement. I believe there will be many. My major area of improvement at the moment is that in this rat race era I am in, I sometimes cannot acknowledge the balance between my personal and professional life. With time, new horizons will open and new avenues will be revealed. This change will unfold a new set of trends and areas of improvements. I would like one famous quote which I have faith in is from the movie of Will Smith, â€Å"The pursuit of Happyness†: Don’t ever let people tell that you can’t do something. If you have got a dream, you have to protect it. Period.

Common Core is Failing Our Education System

Common Core is Failing Our Education System I feel very connected to the issue of national testing and standards. I went to public school K-8 and private school 9-12 so I was able to see the issue and how classroom learning can go on both sides. My audience is Betsy DeVos. My research went well, there were a lot of topics on the issue so I didnt have a hard time finding a plethora of information from both sides. It took a while to find some really good articles though. My purpose is to try and get a state centered hand in standards and testing and to repeal Common Core. My only constraints are a series of mental health issues that popped up last year, (which is why I am writing my quest essay on that) but it isnt an excuse, just some background I suppose. I feel as if it isnt my best work, but I feel that way a lot because I have never really enjoyed my writing or been able to get into the process. My peer editors were Leo and Nils and they were both helpful to me. I was able to also get a lot of help at the writing center. Ryan ConnerCourtney BrognoEnglish 1453/16/2017 Common Core is Failing Our Education System In 2001, when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, emphasis on standardized testing took the spotlight. No Child Left Behind and its successor, Common Core, created the phrase teaching to test. It implies that educators in K-12 classes are no longer trying to foster learning and critical thinking, but instead making sure their students are able to pass a test, deemed by the nation to be comprehensive of the knowledge they should have. Its intentions may have been to help keep students on a path to success but instead has only hindered the ability of students, myself included, as a whole. I, along with many other millennials, experienced the impact of these standards firsthand. Luckily, from early childhood my family and friends gave me the opportunity grow and develop my mind outside the classroom. I was pushed to excel in all aspects whether it be math, social studies, or art. It is something I deeply cherish and respect, but had it not been for these outside influences I wouldn t be where I am today. Going to public elementary and middle school and later a private high school allowed me to gain insight into the toll the creation of a national standard took on my education. The focus of my early education with standardized testing was heavily influenced by teachers focused on making sure we were prepared solely for the test given to each student at the end of the year. Classes were mundane and cookie cutter, no matter the topic. They all seemed to be teaching similar material in a similar fashion, with no room for students who fell behind. It was as if those who didnt succeed in class were further behind each year, with no way out. My idea of education and classroom dynamic changed when I switched to private high school. There were no national standards imposed on us, no standardized tests to take at the end of the year, and room for individuality when it came to your own education. The school decided where the bar of achievement, for every student, was to be set and helped achieve it by focusing on strengths and weaknesses on a case by case basis, truly allowing us to grow. Those students who were left behind in elementary and middle school were no longer left in a hole impossible to dig out of. These experiences allowed me to see that Common Core is detrimental to the education of students for a plethora of reasons, but primarily because of the students who are behind are in a rut, which is hard to dig out of. Instead, if we repeal Common Core while replacing it with more effective state and locally created standards then we would allow students from all situations and backgrounds to learn and be involved in their own education. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) took away funding from certain programs that had been federally supported and introduced standardized testing for most grades K-12, the scores of these tests to be made public all the way from school to state. Those same scores often determined not only how students were performing based on the standards, but also if instructors and staff would hold their jobs at the end of the year. Although this wasnt the first step towards standardized testing it is arguably the first major stepping stone towards what we have today, Common Core. Common Core can be viewed as a refinement of the NCLB. Common Core takes the issues of unclear and differing standards and boils it down to allow schools to understand where improvement can be made. It sounds great on paper, but in actuality faces many of the same problems NCLB created. It takes the local control and understanding out of the equation and punishes under-performing schools that arent able to teach the material eff ectively due to socio-economic issues in communities across the nation. (Bidwell) In the Sacramento region, 30 percent of economically disadvantaged students met English standards on the latest Common Core tests, compared with 63 percent of wealthier students. About 23 percent of economically disadvantaged students met math standards, compared with 53 percent of wealthier students. (Lambert) Nancy DeVos, I urge you to repeal Common Core, which as you state on your website you are not a supporter-period. Instead of repealing with no replacement, instead, find a new system in which the state governments gain control while the federal system is still involved. You would allow communities to nurture students on an individual level so that they can develop the skills and the mental ability they need to think critically instead of the teaching to the test that Common Core still holds. The article, The Common Core Brake Job And The Need For A National Standards Discussion by Alan Singer, states that Common Core as a whole is failing the nations students by its inability to prepare and teach students in an effective way. Although Singer states that he is an opponent of Common Core, there needs to be an education curriculum in place. Common Core was muddled with corporations and individuals who wanted to profit from education instead of creating, and later refining, a system that would be adopted by 45 of the states. There must be more done before a new system is made to truly try to understand how a childs mind develops and how to create goals that cater towards it. Singer advocates that during his time teaching he was able to learn that Teaching means engaging student interest, not handing out scripted activity sheets with text selected by highly paid consultants using computer algorithms. He believes teaching is successful when you are truthful and cater towards t he real level of your students so that you can challenge them more and they can become invested in their education, not just a score on a test. The idea of replacing Common Core with a different program is thought to be near impossible to supporters. The article, How hard would it be to replace the Common Core with something better? by Valerie Strauss, goes into detail about how changing the standards from Common Core to a different program would not just be possible, but beneficial. She adds a piece to her article by Sandra Stotsky, a professor of academic reform and previous commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Massachusetts standards before Common Core had nothing in common with the program in place today. Yet, they were able to create such a strong education system of standards and teaching that Almost all the students at the Advanced level and about 80 percent of the students at the Proficient level who had enrolled in four-year public colleges and universities in the Bay State in 2005 needed no remediation in mathematics or reading. (Stotsky). Their programs, starting back in 1993, were based around bringing students of all backgrounds to the same level. They overhauled school funding and specifically put a majority of it towards districts with low-income children. The money was used to update textbooks, hire and train teachers, and create new classes among the many other aspects they were able to improve. And with these changes, student test scores and graduation rates slowly improved. Today, the district says nearly 90 percent of its high school graduates go on to some form of post-secondary education up from 70 percent before. (Carapezza) Stotsky believes that their programs and standards allowed minorities to excel and that Common Core does the exact opposite. In her experience, the standards they created were, in fact, easy to implement, contrary to opposing beliefs. Her closing suggestion is to ask each Department of Education to send out an anonymous survey to English, math, and science teachers for information on how to revise the states standards. A more recent example is that Missouri recently replaced Common Core standards. The article Missouri education officials replace Common Core standards by Summer Ballentine explains the changes. The State Board of Education passed a new set of goals for K-12 in four areas. The areas covered are English, Math, Science, and Social Studies, the first two were already covered by Common Core but the last two are new additions. They want to have a more comprehensive education goal while allowing the local schools to plan how to reach them. (Ballentine) They are in the process of creating their own tests to match the learning goals set by the state. This initiative is similar to what Massachusetts did in their public school system to reach the level of proficiency and success they are known for today. Although, it differs slightly in that Missouri is taking what Common Core does and is trying to improve upon it, instead of scrapping the idea as a whole. This seems to be the best of both worl ds, having a standard set of goals for the state as a whole while allowing schools to take control of how the students they teach will be able to reach said goals. In Jennifer Marshall and Lindsey Burkes article Why National Standards Wont Fix American Education: Misalignment of Power and Incentives they go into great detail about the root issue behind national standards and testing. A misconception about national standards is the idea that national standards are necessary for parents to be able to gauge the performance of their child compared to others across the country. Found on the Common Core State Standards Initiatives website, the common core state standards will enable participating states to work together to make expectations clear to parents, teachers, and the general public. Their answer as to why national involvement is the better option fails to address why or how national standards and testing is improving the country. The information parents need is already available through programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Student and school performance is in existence, and has been since NCLB, but there can be a lack of transparency in some states. Marshall states If access to information has been inadequate, that does not justify a national standards and testing regime. Rather, policies should insist on clear reporting of the essential data to parents and other taxpayers. In the same article the authors created a list of what state policymakers should do. Strengthening state standards and tests would challenge students while also being able to have the control to raise the challenge as the years went on, like Massachusetts. Marshall believes States with outstanding standards and tests have taken great pains to ensure proper and precise learning sequencing. This is appropriate at the state level, where teacher certification and other integrated factors of a quality education system are determined. Allowing states control of their standards would foster a better curriculum and higher achieving students, as seen by Massachusetts. Another initiative to be taken is state publishing of school test scores readily available to parents. This would enable transparency and accountability within the state so that schools would push towards the standards outlined by the state. Common Core is failing our students, but if it were to be repealed and replaced with a state centered curriculum and testing we would prosper, not only as a nation, but as individuals. Teaching the test is detrimental to all students but it especially hurts those who dont have the initial drive, internal or external, and fall behind. The promise from my high school was that each and every one of us were to be ready for the daily rigor higher education fosters upon graduation. I firmly believe getting an education based around an individual set of standards, state-made and locally carried out, will help them reach goals they didnt think was possible, no matter the background they come from. Works Cited Ballentine, Summer. Missouri Education Officials Replace Common Core Standards. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. . Bidwell, Allie. The History of Common Core State Standards. U.S. News. U.S. News, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 16. . Carapezza, Kirk. How Massachusetts Schools Went From The Middle Of The Pack To First Place. On Campus. WGBH.org, 24 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Frequently Asked Questions. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Corestandards.org, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Lambert, Diana. Poor Students Lose Ground with Common Core Testing. The Sacramento Bee. Sacbee.com, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Marshall, Jennifer A. Why National Standards Wont Fix American Education: Misalignment of Power and Incentives. The Heritage Foundation. Heritage.org, 21 May 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . McCluskey, Neal. Behind the Curtain: Assessing the Case for National Curriculum Standards. Cato Institute. Cato.org, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. . Singer, Alan. The Common Core Brake Job And The Need For A National Standards Discussion. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Mar. 2017. .

Confronting Fear in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Confronting Fear in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now    Inherent inside every human soul is a savage evil side that remains repressed by society. Often this evil side breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. History is loaded with examples of atrocities that have occurred when one culture comes into contact with another. Whenever fundamentally different cultures meet, there is often a fear of contamination and loss of self that leads us to discover more about our true selves, often causing perceived madness by those who have yet to discover. The Puritans left Europe in hopes of finding a new world to welcome them and their beliefs. What they found was a vast new world, loaded with Indian cultures new to them. This overwhelming cultural interaction caused some Puritans to go mad and try to purge themselves of a perceived evil. This came to be known as the Salem witch trials. During World War II, Germany made an attempt to overrun Europe. What happened when the Nazis came into power and persecuted the Jews in Germany, Austria and Poland is well known as the Holocaust. Here, human's evil side provides one of the scariest occurrences of this century. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi counterparts conducted raids of the ghettos to locate and often exterminate any Jews they found. Although Jews are the most widely known victims of the Holocaust, they were not the only targets. When the war ended, 6 million Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Communists, and others targeted by the Nazis, had died in the Holocaust. Most of these deaths occurred in gas chambers and mass shootings. This gruesome attack was motivated mainly by the fear of cultural intermixing which would impurify the "Master Race." Joseph Conrad's book, The Heart of Darkness and Francis Coppola's movie, Apocalypse Now are both stories about Man's journey into his self, and the discoveries to be made there. They are also about Man confronting his fears of failure, insanity, death, and cultural contamination. During Marlow's mission to find Kurtz, he is also trying to find himself. He, like Kurtz had good intentions upon entering the Congo. Conrad tries to show us that Marlow is what Kurtz had been, and Kurtz is what Marlow could become. Every human has a little of Marlow and Kurtz in them.   Marlow says about himself, "I was getting savage (Conrad)," meaning that he was becoming more like Kurtz.

Culinary Arts: Garde Manger Essay

One of the major problems with cross-language translations involving those that are rarely used together (i. e. Finish Lithuanian) is that there are no dictionaries available or it is extremely difficult to find one. The main problem is that there are not enough people to create a market and no one would invest in creation of such kind of dictionaries. English-based dictionaries, however, is of abundance. This project tackled the above cited problem in Cross Language Translation using English as its base dictionary. Artificial intelligence through Neural Networks was used as it appeared well-suited to problems of this nature. For this reason, artificial intelligence through neural networks was investigated as a potential tool to improve translation accuracy but future implementation was left as a possibility. WordNet ® was also investigated as source of defining English words and possible tool to achieve greater accuracy in cross-language translations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed in any way, shape or form to the completion of this project report, those at Zodynai. org and the Anglia Ruskin University for their advice and support. Thanks to my friends and family who (once again) tolerated my lack of time and sometimes grumpy demeanour. More thanks to friends at Anglia Ruskin University for their ideas and criticism. Your support (directly and indirectly) is greatly appreciated. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ABSTRACT Acknowledgements TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES METHODOLOGIES DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION BIBILIOGRAPHY APPENDICES A Project Specification B User/Software Installation Guide A C Software Installation Guide B D Poster and Visual Presentations E Source Code F Abbreviations and Acronyms INTRODUCTION The multilingual world and the barriers it entails. A large number of people across the world converse in English thus it serves as the primary lingua franca for developments in the research world. Most publications and journals are published in such language. This leaves publications in other languages inaccessible and apparently, information in English is withheld from those millions who do not speak English (Diekema 2003) Recent trends promote the construction of a far-reaching complex infrastructure for transporting information across boundaries. Apparently, language shares a vital portion in the hindrances presented by National borders. Whilst the fact is inevitable that English remains the most spoken language in the whole world and though, it is true that the spread of ‘World English’ can promote cooperation and equity, longstanding linguistic competition threatens to be even more divisive in a globalizing world. (Maurais et al n. d. ) A lot is currently going on to overcome these linguistic barriers. The most efficient approach to overcoming such is with cross-language translation and in this literature it will well be mostly in the web-based-online-dictionary aspect of such approach. English has always been the main focus of information retrieval, well, that is by tradition. Many of them retrieval algorithms and heuristics stem from English speaking countries and thus are based on the said language. Over the years, these retrieval methods have been adopted by other language communities, creating a wide selection of language-specific monolingual retrieval systems. However, to ensure complete information exchange, information retrieval systems need to be multilingual or cross-lingual. (Diekema 2003) There are a lot of ways to pin down the hindrance of being in this multi-lingual world, the barrier of being in a world divided by being in English- or Non-English-speaking territories. And, as presented, the most researched approach is through Cross-Language translation. OBJECTIVES Main problem that we are facing when translating with English based dictionary is connecting various language data bases. One of solutions for this program is to create a base dictionary (as seen in Figure 1). Figure 1 Other major problem is that performing translation a lot of noise is created. As seen in Figure 2. Figure 2 We can examine this in greater detail in Figure 3. Word Autobusas is translated from Lithuanian language to Russian based on English language. Two different possible translations occur (bus, omnibus) when translating Lithuanian -> English. First word â€Å"bus† translated from English to Russian has three meanings â€Å"Ð °Ã ²Ã'‚Ð ¾Ã ±Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¢â‚¬  †Ã ¾Ã ¼Ã ½Ã ¸Ã ±Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¢â‚¬  †Ã'ˆÐ ¸Ã ½Ã °Ã¢â‚¬  word translated. As first few are synonyms third one has totally different value and meant â€Å"Topology bus†. As you can see on reverse translations †Ã'ˆÐ ¸Ã ½Ã °Ã¢â‚¬  will going to give you four different meanings translated in Lithuanian language. Figure 3 We are going to investigate WordNet and Neural networks approach for possible solution of this problem. METHODOLOGIES Cross-Language Information Retrieval, its promise. Information retrieval entails an individual querying about something of interest to him. Inevitably, since we are life forms known to be ever inquisitive, we do Information Retrieval in every aspect of our living. This event so commonly happens in a lot of situation and may be best displayed in a Library when a student picks his book of choice. Formally, let us define Information Retrieval (IR) as the process in which users with information need query a collection of documents to find those documents that satisfy his need. (Diekema 2003) In the electronic realm, the user queries by typing in related words, the system then processes these keywords to create a representation understandable by the system. In the course of the procedure, the system usually strips off non-bearing fragments of the query keywords such as articles like determiners, prepositions, and pronouns. The document collection undergoes the same process resulting to a list of document representations or a catalogue. To find documents that are similar to the query, the ‘stripped off’ query representation is then matched against the catalogue. When a certain degree of similarity between the catalogue and the ‘stripped off’ query has been established, the documents with the uppermost similarity scores (depending on the settings, say top 10) are shown to the user as results. This occurs typically during browsing through the internet and Google. comTM best displays this example. A development of IR is CLIR – the Cross-Language Information Retrieval, which, as the name implies, is information retrieval in a multi-linguistic environment. Consequently, CLIR techniques simplify searching by multilingual users and allow monolingual searchers to judge relevance based on machine translated results and/or to allocate expensive translation resources to the most promising foreign language documents. (Diekema 2003) Simple IR systems only consist of a Query, an Input Cleanser, a Matcher, the Document database and the Output, in logical order. The addition of Language Translators would make this system a Cross-Language Information Retrieval system. Of course the Document database would now contain multi-lingual entries as well and the output is to be presented in the way the query has been placed in the input. Figure 4 would show the Cross-Language Information Retrieval system in schematics. The method Cross-language Retrieval Systems promises users to state their queries in their native language and retrieve documents in all the languages supported by the system. (Diekema 2003) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Artificial intelligence (AI) results to simulation of intellectual practice such as comprehension, rationalization and learning symbolic information in context. In AI, the automation or programming of all aspects of human cognition is considered from its foundations in cognitive science through approaches to symbolic and sub-symbolic AI, natural language processing, computer vision, and evolutionary or adaptive systems. (Neumann n. d. ) AI considered being an extremely intricate domain of problems which during preliminary stages in the problem-solving phase of this nature, the problem itself may be viewed poorly. A precise picture of the problem can only be seen upon interactive and incremental refinement of course, after you have taken the initial attempt to solve the mystery. AI always comes hand in hand with machine logistics. How else could mind act appropriately but with the body. In this case, a machine takes the part of the body. In a bit, this literature will be tackling about AI implemented through Neural Network. The author deems it necessary though to tackle Machine learning and thus the succeeding paragraphs. Machine Learning is primarily concerned with designing and developing algorithms and procedures that allow machines to â€Å"learn† – either inductive or deductive, which, in general, is its two types. At this point, we will be referring to machines as computers since in the world nowadays, the latter are the most widely used for control. Hence, we now hone our definition of Machine Learning as the study of methods for programming computers to learn. Computers are applied to a wide range of tasks, and for most of these it is relatively easy for programmers to design and implement the necessary software. (Dietterich n. d. ) Machine learning techniques are grouped into different categories basing on the expected outcome. Common types include Supervised, Unsupervised, Semi-supervised or Reinforcement learning. There is also the Transduction method and the ‘Learning to learn’ scheme. A section of theoretical computer science, Computational Learning Theory is the investigation on the computation of algorithms of Machine Learning including its efficiency. Researches on Machine Learning focuses mainly on the automatic extraction of information data, through computational and statistical methods. It is very much correlated not only to theoretical computer science as well as data mining and statistics. Supervised learning is the simplest learning task. It is an algorithm to which it is ruled by a function that automatically plots inputs to expected outputs. The task of supervised learning is to construct a classifier given a set of classified training examples (Dietterich n. d. ). The main challenge for supervised learning is that of generalization that a machine is expected in approximating the conduct that a function will exhibit which maps out a connection towards a number of classes through comparison of IO samples of the said function. When many plot-vector pairs are interrelated, a decision tree is derived which aids into viewing how the machine behaves with the function it currently holds. One advantage of decision trees is that, if they are not too large, they can be interpreted by humans. This can be useful both for gaining insight into the data and also for validating the reasonableness of the learned tree (Dietterich n. d. ). In unsupervised learning, manual matching of inputs is not utilized. Though, it is most often distinguished as supervised learning and it is one with an unknown output. This makes it very hard to decide what counts as success and suggests that the central problem is to find a suitable objective function that can replace the goal of agreeing with the teacher (Hinton & Sejnowski 1999). Simple classic examples of unsupervised learning include clustering and dimensionality reduction. (Ghahramani 2004) Semi-supervised learning entails learning situations where is an ample number of labelled data as compared to the unlabelled data. These are very natural situations, especially in domains where collecting data can be cheap (i. e. the internet) but labelling can be very expensive/time consuming. Many of the approaches to this problem attempt to infer a manifold, graph structure, or tree-structure from the unlabelled data and use spread in this structure to determine how labels will generalize to new unlabelled points. (Ghahramani 2004) Transduction is comparable to supervised learning in predicting new results with training inputs and outputs, as well as, test inputs – accessible during teaching, as basis, instead of behaving in accordance to some function. All these various types of Machine-Learning techniques can be used to fully implement Artificial Intelligence for a robust Cross-Language translation. One thing though, this literature is yet to discuss the planned process of machine learning this research shall employ, and that is by Neural Networks. There is yet to be a precise definition as to what Artificial Neural Network is, though many researchers would agree that it concerns a network of austere processing elements – otherwise known as the neurons, which presents complex behaviour established by the relationship amongst processing and parametrical elements. The main inspiration that lead to the development of this technique was from the investigation of, no lesser than, our Central Nervous System and the neurons (including their axons, dendrites and synapses) which make up its most important information processing elements. A neural network model would show us that simple nodes are connected forming a network of nodes — thus, its coining as â€Å"neural network. † A Neural Network functions in 2 different manners – learning and testing. The former would literally mean, the system learns the ways it is supposed to behave while the latter is when rigorous repetition of training would eventually result to a stable system, defined by its giving of constant satisfactory outputs. Most â€Å"abstract reasoning† of an Artificial Neural Networks are being implemented through three learning types – supervised, unsupervised and the reinforced learning, as has been introduced in the preceding paragraphs. Supervised learning entails a functional relationship between the input and the output. The system has to learn every possible IO pair that can be thought of. In case, there is a miss, all that has to be done is to input the said pair into the memory of the system hence when it resurfaces, the system knows how the handle it. Hence, basically, the goal is to ‘teach’ the network to identify the given input with the desired output. (Sordo 2002) This is usually best achieved when function f has already been derived to represent the behaviour of the Neural Network system. For unsupervised learning, we feed an input and a function to the system and record what behaviour the system outputs with such input and function. To begin with the learning process, there are no IO-pairs as opposed to supervised learning. Ultimately, the main goal of achieving the stable state will be attained through rigorous repetition of test with different sets of inputs. This type of systems – imploring unsupervised learning as its method of learning, are best displayed in statistical modelling, and the likes. Reinforcement learning stems its roots from the related psychological theory that has been conceived even before AI has been. Dynamically, in this type of learning, the machine interacts with its environment by producing actions a1, a2, †¦ These actions affect the state of the environment, which in turn results in the machine receiving some scalar rewards (or punishments) r1, r2, †¦ The goal of the machine is to learn to act in a way that maximizes the future rewards it receives (or minimises the punishments) over its lifetime. Reinforcement learning is closely related to the fields of decision theory (in statistics and management science), and control theory (in engineering). The fundamental problems studied in these fields are often formally equivalent, and the solutions are the same, although different aspects of problem and solution are usually emphasised. (Ghahramani 2004) Advantages of investing a system through Neural Networks. Neural networks with always have the outstanding characteristic of deriving intelligence from the usually complicated and, oftentimes, fuzzy data stored in the neurons. These systems, oftentimes, offer to be easy utilities to deduce patterns and perceive trends that are difficult to be noticed by either human observation or by our current computer intelligence. A trained neural network is regarded as an â€Å"expert† in the category of information it has been given to analyze. This expert can then be used to provide projections given new situations of interest and answer â€Å"what if† questions. (Chung et al 2007) It is used for adaptive learning on how to handle tasks based on the input provided for training or preliminary experience. It is a self-organizational tool that hones its own picture of the data it receives in as early as learning time. Neural networks another feature is that it is a real-time operation system where all calculation may be performed in parallel. Fault Tolerance via Redundant Information Coding is another aspect of the neural system where partial destruction of a network leads to the corresponding degradation of performance. However, some network capabilities may be retained even with major network damage. The platform to a successful implementation. Several environments can be used in totally implementing a Cross-Language Translator through with the various and fast developments in computer technology since its introduction. In the succeeding paragraphs we will be tackling some of those that has come the author’s A-list. Microsoft . NET Framework. This framework form part of Microsoft Windows operating systems, containing a vast number of pre-coded resolutions to general program requirements, and governing the performance of programs written particularly for the framework. This framework is a vital Microsoft contribution and is projected on being utilized by most applications created and to be created for Windows platform. Pre-coded solutions outlining the framework’s Base Class Library (third layer from Operating System in the . NET Framework) encompass a wide range of software requirements in areas including: cross language translation, user interface, database connectivity, cryptography, data access, web application growth, network communications, and numeric algorithms. This layer contains classes, value types, and interfaces that you will use often in your development process. Most notably within the . NET Framework Base Classes is ADO. NET, which provides access to and management of data. Supervising the software’s runtime requirements, this software is written for the . NET Framework implemented in an environment. This runtime environment, which is also a part of the . NET Framework, is known as the Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR provides the appearance of an application virtual machine, so that programmers need not consider the capabilities of the particular CPU that will implement the program. The CLR also provides other significant services such as security mechanisms, memory management, and exception handling. The class library and the CLR together compose the . NET Framework. The . NET Framework is included with Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, and can be installed on some older versions of Windows. .NET Framework 1. 1 This is the first major . NET Framework upgrade that is accessible on its own as a redistributable package or in a software development kit since its publishing on April 3, 2003. It forms part of the second release of Microsoft Visual Studio . NET – the Visual Studio . NET 2003, and is the first version of the . NET Framework to be included as part of the Windows operating system, shipping with Windows Server 2003. 7 .NET Framework 3. 5 This version was authoritatively released to manufacturing (RTM) on November 19, 2007. As with . NET Framework 3. 0, this version applies the CLR of version 2. 0. It also installs . NET Framework 2. 0 SP1 adding some methods and properties to the BCL classes in version 2. 0 which are vital for version 3. 5 features such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ). These changes, however, do not involve applications written for version 2. 0 and a separately, new . NET Compact Framework 3. 5 was released in hand-in-hand with this revision to give support for additional features on Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded CE devices. The source code of the Base Class Library in this version has been partially released under Microsoft Reference License. 7 .NET Framework 3. 5 builds incrementally on the new features added in . NET Framework 3. 0 – for example, feature sets in Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Windows CardSpace. This version also consists of a number of new features in several technology areas which have been added as new assemblies to avoid breaking changes. They are: (a) deep integration of Language Integrated Query (LINQ) and data awareness which will let to write code written in LINQ-enabled languages to filter, enumerate, and produce projections of several types of SQL data, collections, XML, and datasets by means of the same syntax; (b) ASP. NET AJAX 3. 5 lets you craft more resourceful, more interactive and highly-personalized Web experiences that work transversely with almost all the most popular browsers; (c) The New Web protocol sustain for building WCF services adding AJAX, JSON, REST, POX, RSS, ATOM, and several new WS-* standards; (d) Full tooling support in Visual Studio 2008 for WF, WCF, and WPF, including the new workflow-enabled services technology; and, (e) New classes in . NET Framework 3. 5 base class library (BCL) that address many common customer requests. Visual Studio 2008 and the . NET Framework 3. 5. The Microsoft Visual Studio development system is an appropriate development instrument devised to aid developers to tackle complex problems, thus create inventive resolutions. This system’s role is to improve the development process; hence, achieving breakthroughs would be easier and more satisfying. Using the Microsoft Visual Studio Development system will be very productive for this project since it would continually deliver better ways for cross language translations with less energy and with ease from other software. It has efficient form of code editors, IntelliSense, Wizards, and multiple coding languages in one integrated development environment (IDE) to high-tech applications in life- cycle management. New versions of Visual Studio keep bringing innovative tools to help developers focus on solving problems without wasting time. With this development system, software developers gain from an integrated product experience that spans tools, servers, and services. Visual Studio products work well together with other Microsoft software, such as Microsoft server products and the Microsoft Office system. Visual Studio offers a comprehensive choice of tools for all phases of software development, testing, deployment, integration, and management. Every kind of software developer, from novice to skilled professional, can use the Visual Studio because it is engineered to support the development across all types of devices such as PCs, servers, the Web, and mobile devices. Visual Studio is the most reliable tool that is engineered and tested to be always dependable, secure, interoperable, and compatible. Visual Studio offers an unparalleled combination of security features, scalability, and interoperability. Although Visual Studio always incorporates forward- thinking features, it is designed to ensure backward-compatibility everywhere possible. Being a set of technology capabilities, core products, and best practice guidance, the Microsoft Application Platform (MAP) focuses on aiding IT and development business partners to maximize opportunity. As one of its core products, Visual Studio has always and continues to help spearhead for the right customer links, business efficiencies, and value-added services through provision of a fully integrated and single development environment for all types of advances, including Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Web, and mobile applications.

Aging in America Adult Caregiving Conflict essay part 2

Aging in America Adult Caregiving Conflict essay part 2 Aging in America: Adult Caregiving Conflict essay part 2 Aging in America: Adult Caregiving Conflict essay part 2Aging in America: Adult Caregiving Conflict essay   part  1The costs of caregivingAs their everyday life changes drastically, caregivers face time, work and money loses, putting them into conflict with the surrounding environment. Thus, the US Federal Program providing health insurance to the elderly and special care for them accounts for over 10% of country’s GDP (The National Alliance for Caregiving, 2009). Though medical expenses not covered by insurance companies often are not taxed (like mileage of car trips to a doctor or clinic; prescription drugs and medical equipment, the cost of some meals, etc.), families and those caring for the elderly people still often pay out a lot of expenses of their own pocket, and these costs never get covered by insurance plans. For example, as â€Å"Valuing the Invaluable† research (AARP Public Policy Institute, 2011) states, the value of informal caregiving in 2011 excee ded the value of paid home care at almost $450 billion, which was more than total Medicaid spending in 2009.Besides, 70% of caregivers simultaneously suffer work-related problems due to their caregiving roles (Coughlin, 2010, p. 355), which forces them to reorganize their schedule, decrease working hours, use FMLA law to take a 12-week unpaid forced leave, refuse from a promotion, retire early, or even fully give up work (Gordon et al., 2012; Lai, 2012; Wang, et al. 2013). As a result, according to 10 million caregivers aged over 50 lose nearly $3 trillion having faced the loss of wages, health insurance, retirement savings, social security and other possible or potential benefits (Earle Heymann, 2012, p. 363), whereas the costs of absenteeism are even higher for the U.S. economy, being estimated at over $25 billion due to productivity loss (Witters, 2011). On a whole, approximately 17% of full-time workers who provide care to the elderly skip 126 million workdays annually (Wang, e t al. 2013, p. 1054).Instead, according to AARP Public Policy Institute (2011), caregivers spend on average 20.4 hours per week providing care, while for those who live with the care recipient, this figure is even greater and reaches 39.3 hours per week. In the long term, only 30% of caregivers provide care for less than one year, while in most cases the average duration of caregiving exceeds 4,5 years, with 15% cases of caring for 10 or more years (Lai, 2012). The growth of caregiving duties leads to the significant reduction of caregivers’ private time for habitual activities by 27%, which often presents a several times stronger effect on their personal and family life than the effect on employment (Coughlin, 2010, p. 462). These facts move us to discussing the inner conflicts caregivers experience while performing their roles.Positive and negative aspects of caregiving: Love and sympathy vs. stress and burdenEveryday care for an elderly recipient can bring valuable experie nce but at the same time be a stressful and difficult task. As it was mentioned above, helping the elderly cope with the hardships of aging and life-threatening diseases, caregivers are often put under pressure of demands from work and family along with the emotional, physical, financial and spiritual shock.On the one hand, providing care and assistance bring a feeling of satisfaction and of fulfillment. In particular, it was found by Carbonneau et al. (2010) that 55-90% of family members caring for an elderly relative find in their role some aspects that bring them moral satisfaction. Among others, there are moments of unity, great fun, common insights into the past, vivid memories, close relationships with the elderly forged due to more spare time found for socializing. In caring for elderly relatives, another positive side is the possibility to take care of those you love, those you had lived under the same roof with for quite a while and shared all the hardships of life. Thanks to the efforts of caregivers, family member will look nice, wear one’s own clothes and live in one’s own house, which brings joy to caregivers themselves. Some respondents believe that the implementation of these requirements is a fairly easy thing to do, but as Carbonneau et al. (2010, p. 335) rightfully mark, this lasts until the elderly persons starts showing the symptoms of dementia.Indeed, providing care and assistance for the elderly is not a static process, because this person’s needs change along with the changes in the state of one’s health. At the same time, care recipients inevitably dependent on their caregiver, and consequently, they are vulnerable in terms of attitude and quality of the care and assistance provided by the particular person, while the caregiving process involves continuous change and adaptation in the relationships and in the role of guardian. In particular, in the case of acute disorders or long and intensive care for the el derly many caregivers cannot do without the help of other people with whom they could share (or delegate) their duties. It is, therefore, not surprising that becoming a caregiver a person often raises difficult personal issues of responsibility and duty, compliance with requirements and feeling of guilt which often not only increase the direct load, but also bring indirect effects. For example, as it was fixed by Lai (2010), Lee and Tang (2013), Coughlin (2010), and Gordon (2012), caregiver’s private time is significantly reduced, one is forced to spend energy and funds which could be directed to satisfy other vital needs, moreover, the role of the caregiver can have a negative influence on professional work, social life and relationships with others.Taking into account the extra energy, time and efforts required for patient care, along with emotional loading and significant impact on the support system, it is easy to understand why many caregivers believe that this role sign ificantly affects their welfare. Increasing number of studies on the effect of patient care over the past 20 years allows a deeper understanding of the state of caregivers and provides a solid foundation for individual assessment and intervention in each case. By now, experts have realized and structured the difficulties faced by caregivers treating sick relatives, moreover, statutes and guidelines have been developed that recommend or require paying attention to the needs of caregivers.Thus, several studies (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011; Carbonneau et al., 2010; Lai, 2010) have found that over a third of people taking care of their elderly relatives with dementia experience excessive stress, suffer from depression or other mental illness. They also report of more frequent communicational misunderstandings than people of the same age who are not engaged in care; moreover, in Holstein’s (2010) opinion, these group of caregivers has worse physical health and they take m ore drugs prescribed by doctor than the sample of people matched to them by age. Caregivers with elderly relatives have difficulty in coping with stress, and this becomes the main factor influencing the decision to place them in care homes (Brank Wylie, 2014).Using the latest data, Funk and Stajduhar (2009) have developed a descriptive longitudinal phasic model of care and assistance, based on information from interviews with caregivers supporting people with various stages of dementia. The authors identify the six stages of this model implying: replying on the past; recognizing the needs; accepting the challenge; addressing it; achieving goals; starting over. The basic process of â€Å"stress-assessment-overcoming† (stress recognition and assessment, evaluation of resources and ways to overcome the stress, start of action and its evaluation) occurs at each of these stages. This model encourages doctors to consider the caregiver â€Å"career† in dynamics and adapt the necessary intervention to the appropriate stage of the process. A completely different model was proposed by Bialon and Coke (2012): in their view, caregiver should be guided by the basic, perhaps not clearly expressed, set of beliefs. These beliefs along with the needs of the care recipient affect the goals and objectives of the caregiver. Then the goals and objectives define the set of practical actions and behavior overtaken by the caregiver accompanied by the corresponding emotions and experiences. The advantage of this model is that it focuses on the role of core beliefs and values, and broadmindedness. This makes this model applicable to different circumstances of the caregiver and allows developing interventions corresponding to particular moment, not focusing on stress and onerous duties.When assessing the degree of stress manifestation in a caregiver, it is important to differentiate between objective and subjective burden. As Brannen and Petite (2008) state, objective bur den is the amount of practical support (or work) the caregiver is to provide (or execute) depending on the need of the care recipient in it. Subjective burden is the emotional and cognitive reaction of the caregiver to the situation, as caregivers depending on their interpretation of their own situation may differently perceive the same amount of care work based on tasks they need be fulfill (i.e., the objective burden).Probably the most famous interview to assess the burden is the one designed by Zarit in 1980 (cited in Holstein et al., 2010). It is a questionnaire of 29 items for self-completion and is designed to assess subjective burden. In the original study, the study sample was medium-sized (n=29), and consisted entirely of persons who provided care for relatives with memory problems. The range of possible responses from â€Å"not at all† to â€Å"extremely† is not clearly defined, psychometric features and construct validity of the scale is not clear. Neverthel ess, its face validity is high, it is suitable for caregivers and is widely used. In a carefully executed review of 53 studies on the care of the elderly people with cognitive impairments Bedard and colleagues found that the burden assessment interview (Zarit) (or the value obtained when using it) was used in 25 (47%) studies (Holstein et al., 2010). Conversely, the scale applied by Brank and Wylie (2014) allows estimating the degree of objective and subjective burden of stress caused in a caregiver by a variety of factors. Both scales are long and detailed, therefore they provide detailed reflection of the picture of the support given, as well as the reaction of a caregiver to every aspect of one’s role. Thus, Behavioral Assessment Scale of Later Life is primarily used to assess the behavior, and it does not contain psychometric tests as a component reflecting the response of a person providing care to a sick relative. Nevertheless, it gives a fairly complete picture of the individual and may provide a clinical picture useful for targeted interventions reducing the stress. Carers’ Assessment of Difficulties Scale contains quite good psychometric features and the results allow distinguishing stress experienced in each of the five spheres (for example, the difficulties of providing assistance in everyday routine, and the difficulties associated with caregiver support network). It does not specify the stressors affecting directly the changes in relationships.It is good to know not only the kind of assistance provided by individuals and how it affects their emotional state, but also how they cope with the stress. Bialon and Coke (2012), as well as Brannen and Petite (2008) developed a list of questions, applying Caregivers’ Assessment of Managing Index (CAMI), which allows getting a description (from the words of the caregiver) of methods with which the one copes with stress, and assess whether they are useful when used along with the Caregiv ers’ Assessment of Difficulties Index. Funk and Stajduhar (2009) also developed a scale of ways to overcome the stress associated with care giving that can be used to find out which methods caregivers prefer. It consists of three subscales that reflect different ways of coping with stress.On a whole, stressfulness, manageability and satisfaction level of experiences perceived by a caregiver depend on several factors related to 1) the care recipient (severity of disorders; patients’ behavior), 2) the caregiver and relationships with the patient, and 3) family circumstances. The ability to find meaning in a particular situation allows many caregivers to continue to carry out their responsibilities and get a feeling of satisfaction from them. Research results and opinions of modern authors suggest that caregivers who are able to use different ways to cope with stress adapt to the demands of treatment easier. Some believe that problems solution and active coping with stres s enhance the level of psychological well-being, whereas avoidance or coping with stress through emotional reactions lead to less effective adaptation.Radical forms of conflict: violence against the elderlyViolence against the elderly is another serious social problem that is often left unnoticed. Although this phenomenon is not new, the pace of population aging around the world raise concerns about the fact that the frequency, incidence and complexity of the abuse of elderly people can grow as well. Globally, the number of cases of mistreatment of the elderly is projected to increase, as many countries have a rapidly aging population, whose needs cannot be met adequately due to limited resources. The situation is aggravated by the fact that, in most cases, older people completely depend on their offenders.Basing in Daly (2011) and Anetzberger (2012), the concept of violence in this case often involves intentional or unintentional neglect of duty of care, such as providing inadequat e levels of nutrition, personal care, health care or communication, unwillingness to be next to an old and weak person. In particular, gerontophobic-minded people like the elderly only as long as they can bring at least some benefit. Once there is none, the question occurs of isolation and delimitation of a useless person. There have been also observed extreme instances of gerontophobia when people stop feeding the elderly, do not let them go anywhere or even kick out of the house (World Health Organization, 2011).However, gerontologists have a definite opinion: if an elderly person does not pose a threat to others, one must live in society (Daly, 2011; Anetzberger, 2012). The mistreatment of elderly people entails a number of consequences for both individuals and societies. Victims of such treatment often experience great suffering, and emotionally might never completely recover from the trauma. The person may suffer from an overwhelming feeling of insecurity, disease, anxiety or d epression. According to UNESC (2012), maltreatment, including neglect, also leads to a stronger dependence in executing daily living activities, more frequent visits to trauma services, higher levels of mortality and self-destructive behavior of elderly people suffering from ill-treatment, which may even lead to suicide. For the elderly people the consequences of violence can be particularly serious because they have more fragile bones that take longer to recover. At the level of the society, maltreatment is associated with increased direct costs of health care, case detection and personnel training, as well as indirect costs associated with the loss of social capital and weakening of the ability of people to make a productive contribution to society (World Health Organization, 2011).At the same time, there is no publicly available data about the mistreatment of the elderly that would allow a comparison on an international scale, which complicate the sufficient understanding of the magnitude of the problem, and tracking its trends. In addition, the mistreatment of elderly people remains a taboo subject within their community, and they usually remain silent fearing of explosion of the family member, deprivation of care or placement in a nursing home against their will. As Anetzberger (2012) states, elderly people who have suffered from abuse are usually torn between the feelings they have for their oppressors and the desire to speak about such treatment. Moreover, the identification of abuse of persons with disabilities or reduced capacity for work, for example, Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, may be even more complex, as these people might not be able to express their need for support (Daly, 2011; Alzheimer’s Association, 2011). That is why, even in countries where reporting of mistreatment is obligatory the magnitude of data underestimation can be significant. According to WHO (2011), the information about the mistreatment are un derestimated by at least 80%. WHO (2011) estimates that about 4-6% of the elderly are subjected to one or another form of ill-treatment at home.Some countries are trying to better understand the current situation by conducting the surveys using different data sources and methodology. For example, France uses the data of national hotline calls for the offended elderly people as an indicator of the actual incidence of abuse. In 2011, the service received 3,850 calls with messages about mistreatment of the elderly, with 75% of reports concerned persons living at home. Extrapolation of these figures shows that maltreatment in France occurs in a ratio of 5% of those aged 65 and older, and 15% of those aged 75 years and older, which corresponds to no less than 600 thousand people (Anetzberger, 2012, p. 15-16). Another noteworthy example is an international study on abuse and health of elderly people in Europe, conducted among persons aged 60-84 in seven European countries (Germany, Greece , Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Sweden). The study found that 19.4% of surveyed elderly people suffered from psychological abuse, 2.7% from physical, 0.7% from sexual, 3.8% from financial, and 0.7% from injuries (World Health Organization, 2011). In general, there is an obvious necessity to improve the accessibility of reliable national and international data as a basis for the development of evidence-based policy.Aging in America: Adult Caregiving Conflict essay   part 3

Fall of Weimar Republic essays

Fall of Weimar Republic essays In 1919, a defeated Germany was forced to abandon government under the Kaiser, who had fled to Belgium and adopt the Weimar, a democratic but flawed system. Soon after Hitler and the Nazi Party appeared, and years later the Weimar Republic fell. What accounted for the fall of the Weimar? My essay will prove that there was not a single reason, but in fact a series of events that lead to the collapse of the Weimar. President Ebert used the Freikorp, who were a rightwing mercenary unit, to put down the Spartacus uprising, a communist inspired revolution. After that, Ebert was always seen as an enemy in the eyes of the extreme left, and so consequently the government he represented, Weimar, was also seen in the same light. Next, the Kapp Putsch saw Dr. Kapp, leader of the Freikorp and an extreme right-winger, try to take control of Berlin with his mercenaries. This time Ebert used the moderate leftwing in the form of the trade unions, to put down the revolt, by calling a general strike in the region. This would result in the rightwing becoming against the new republic, along with leftwing groups. But possibly the greatest threat for early Weimar Germany was the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty left the Weimar with a massive debt that she was unlikely to repay. The problems that were handed to the new government and the events that occurred as the new Republic was created can be seen as a fa ctor that lead to its eventually downfall. Weimar Republics type of government caused another problem. Its parliamentary system was proportional representation, allowing small, localized parties, such as the Nazis and Bavarian Peoples Party, to gain seats in the Reichstag, gaining national recognition and prestige. No party ever gained majority government during the history of the Republic, and this weakened the government. Proportional representation was responsible for a series of coalition governments, which ruled Germany t...

Understanding the Philosophy of Culture

Understanding the Philosophy of Culture The ability to transmit information across generations and peers by means other than genetic exchange is a key trait of the human species; even more specific to humans seems the capacity to use symbolic systems to communicate. In the anthropological use of the term, culture refers to all the practices of information exchange that are not genetic or epigenetic. This includes all behavioral and symbolic systems. The Invention of Culture Although the term culture has been around at least since the early Christian era (we know, for instance, that Cicero used it), its anthropological use was established between the end of eighteen-hundreds and the beginning of the past century. Before this time, culture typically referred to the educational process through which an individual had undergone; in other words, for centuries culture was associated with a philosophy of education. We can hence say that culture, as we mostly employ the term nowadays, is a recent invention. Culture and Relativism Within contemporary theorizing, the anthropological conception of culture has been one of the most fertile terrains for cultural relativism. While some societies have clear-cut gender and racial divisions, for instance, others do not seem to exhibit a similar metaphysics. Cultural relativists hold that no culture has a truer worldview than any other; they are simply different views. Such an attitude has been at the center of some of the most memorable debates over the past decades, entrenched with socio-political consequences. Multiculturalism The idea of culture, most notably in connection with the phenomenon of globalization, has given rise to the concept of multiculturalism. In one way or other, a large part of the contemporary world population lives in more than one culture, be it because of the exchange of culinary techniques, or musical knowledge, or fashion ideas, and so on. How to Study a Culture? One of the most intriguing philosophical aspects of culture is the methodology by means of which its specimens have been and are studied. It seems, in fact, that in order to study a culture one has to remove herself from it, which in some sense it means that the only way to study a culture is by not sharing it.The study of culture poses thus one of the hardest questions with respect to human nature: to what extent can you really understand yourself? To what extent can a society assess its own practices? If the capacity of self-analysis of an individual or a group is limited, who is entitled to a better analysis and why? Is there a point of view, which is best suited for the study of an individual or a society?It is no accident, one could argue, that cultural anthropology developed at a similar time at which psychology and sociology also flourished. All three disciplines, however, seem to potentially suffer from a similar defect: a weak theoretical foundation concerning their respecti ve relationship with the object of study. If in psychology it seems always legitimate to ask on which grounds a professional has a better insight into a patient’s life than the patient herself, in cultural anthropology one could ask on what grounds the anthropologists can better understand the dynamics of a society than the members of the society themselves.How to study a culture? This is still an open question. To date, there certainly are several instances of research that try and address the questions raised above by means of sophisticated methodologies. And yet the foundation seems to be still in need of being addressed, or re-addressed, from a philosophical point of view. Further Online Readings The entry on cultural evolution at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.The entry on multiculturalism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.The entry on culture and cognitive science at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Buddhist Ideas and Practices in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhist Ideas and Practices in China - Essay Example On the other hand, the artifacts from Kushan, which were based on Pakistan Buddhist civilization, were identified in western China, during the period when China had extended their power to Central Asia, and there were cultural ties between China and Central Asia. This association offered a chance for the Chinese people to learn about the Buddhism by the mid first century, thereby making the Chinese Buddhist learn about its existence. Nevertheless, the paper will focus on the discussion of ways in which Buddhism entered China and difficulties and adaptation in the Chinese culture. One of the ways in which Buddhism entered in to China was through a translation, which involved selection of terms for explaining the Buddhist conceptions in Chinese; thus, they applied Taoist expressions to translate. Chinese people commenced to relate Buddhism with the existence of Taoist tradition, and they later understood the teachings of Buddha. Buddhist text continues despite, a period of political di sunity after the fall of Han Dynasty during the third century, which was associated by unrest caused by war. In fact, there was increased popularity in this period, whereby the Chinese monks became aggressively concerned in the establishment of monasteries and teaching Buddhist knowledge. There were rules established with a devotion to the Buddhist, which led to construction of much temples and participation in Buddhist ceremonies public talks, thereby expanding the rulers on the earlier catalogues on Buddhist texts. Entry of Buddhism was facilitated by a Chinese monk referred to as Dao-an, in the fourth century, though he shifted from one place to another due to the political instability, he wrote and lectured about Buddhist teachings. He also gathered copies of translated scriptures, prepared a catalogue, and invited translators such as Kumarajiva, from Kucha. Therefore, Kumarajiva applied Dao-an's disciples in translation of numerous texts and revised the Chinese translations. Mo reover, his translations became popular thus contributing to the spread of Buddhism in China, and some of these translations have been used even in the present days. The political instability contributed to dispersion of Kumarajiva's disciples, and this contributed to the spread of Buddhism to other parts of China. Difficulties and adaptations in Chinese culture There were difficulties related to the nature of the attacks on the Confucian side, which were aimed at eliminating Buddhist institutions, and reduce their strong hold in the Chinese society. There were several Confucian attacks against clergy and spread of Buddhist doctrines, where the entire Buddhist religion was attacked. In this case, there were other difficulties resulting from the Chinese society, which was switching to the Confucian populace, thereby making the Buddhist society face a lot of attack in their pursuit of remaining prevalent and the philosophy of Chinese civilization. Nevertheless, these attacks were stro ng enough to hinder the spread of Buddhism in China, though these religions offered brilliant ideas and compelling rhetoric during the sparring back in forth between the philosophies. There were significant points that Confucians aimed at responding to in relation to the Buddhist philosophy and this included the attacks on the land properties and the excesses of Buddhist clergymen (Cultural China, 1). On the other hand, there were benefits for the numerous clergymen in their attempts to possess a piece of land, which was luxurious. There was an allotment prize lands for the clergymen by the Buddhist follower, where there was an institution

Evaluation of James McNeil Whistler's Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Essay

Evaluation of James McNeil Whistler's Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Green - Essay Example This means that a perusal of most of Whistler’s work will reveal little else than an artist’s creative impulses gone wild. Tonalism can be seen as a result of these creative impulses of Whistler. Whistler’s 1866 Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso (910 x 1080 x 100 mm painting, oil on canvas, London: Tate, N05065) is perhaps one of the earliest works that reflects the artist’s desire for tonalist attitudes. The painting is the first piece in a large number of similar works that followed at the hands of Whistler. This indicates that the Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso (Figure 1) cannot be evaluated in isolation from these other related works because they share similar traits and characteristics that eventually came to define tonalism. Another major thing to take note of is the relative unknown nature of Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso as not many treatises on art especially art from the tonalist genres have given it much focus1. However if the period immediately before this painting in Whistler’s life is looked at, it will become very clear that it defines a personal rebellion. In turn this personal rebellion from an already Maverick persona resulted in new nuances being painted into the heart of the world of art. The combination of various rebellious attitudes coupled with a distant past in the military gave birth to the Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso and its sister works that were all created in Chile and represented similar militaristic scenarios processed through the lens of an artist’s eyes. The sister pieces of the Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green: Valparaiso include The Morning after the Revolution: Valparaiso, Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay (Figure 3) and the sketch for Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay (Figure 4). Whistler possessed an uncanny genius for art from an early age2 and this in turn affected his personal choices on life and career. Being a rebel from the start, Whistler was quick to abandon his career with the military at West Point but this in turn left some unfinished desires with Whistler3. As the rebellion in the Spanish colony of Chile took on the shape of a war, Whistler was attracted to revisit the military based part of his persona. Speculation remains to why Whistler went to Chile – some claim he was looking to satisfy his militarism based impulses from West Point4, others think that Whistler considered the rebellion of the Chileans as heroic5 while recent research suggests that he was selling arms to the Chileans. In any case, Whistler was an artist before he went to Chile and artists generally detest war because of its barbaric conduct. However Whistler still chose to go to Chile. Before this point in time Whistler had been rebelling from an ordinary life in order to achieve his life of artistic desire6. Yet his voyage to Chile reveals that now Whistler was rebelling from his art istic life in order to come to terms with a life where you have to work to make some money. This in turn indicates that Whistler was more or less at war with himself at this point in time and his accounts from the ship he travelled on show a Whistler who is disinterested in life and what happens around him. His personal infighting must have kept him well occupied on his journey from Spain to Chile. His first painting in this series of paintings, Crepuscule in Fle

Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Biology - Essay Example In other words, it comprised of double stranded molecules of nucleic acids. So important was their work that they received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. The film fails to depict the fact that all Watson and Crick did was put the pieces of the puzzle together. In reality, the groundwork and foundation were laid decades before the duo existed. Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher in 1869 discovered DNA. He discovered nuclein (now known as nucleic acid) inside the nuclei of white blood cells. This discovery should have been a landmark in genetic research, but the scientific community at the time did not view it as such. Phoebus Levene, a Russian biochemist, picked up where Miescher left off. An avid researcher who wrote numerous papers on biochemistry, Levene not only discovered the carbohydrate in RNA but also the correct way of joining RNA and DNA. Erwin Chargaff in later years stretched Levene’s work. He identified differences in DNA among different species. In conclusion, a handful of scientists paved the way for Watson and

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations Essay

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations - Essay Example An effective cost reduction plan should achieve results that flow from top to the bottom line of financial matters (Mosley, 2008). The plan should be designed in such a manner that its implementation does not damage the organization itself. In fact, it is argued that a good cost reduction program should focus much on damage control as it involves cutting costs. The ways of communicating these measures are equally important, especially if it concerns salaries of the employees. Cost Reduction Plan All cost reduction plans aim at reducing costs in order to improve profitability. It is apparent that by reducing expenses, profits are increased. In the current scenario, it is apparent that most of the company’s expenses go to employee salaries. With 90 percent of the company’s expenses being channeled in one department, it becomes tricky to have an effective cost reduction plan in place. In this regard, it is advisable to have a cost reduction team comprising all departments. In the beginning, the head of the cost control team should ensure that the idea of cost reduction is well discussed with the team members. In the current scenario, since cost reduction measures will mainly focus on reducing salaries of the employees, it is also advisable to have all departments represented by employees in the cost control team (Mosley, 2008). However, the meeting should be frequent, probably once in a week. This helps the effort not to lose momentum. Every meeting’s minutes should be published and availed to the chief executive and the heads of each department. The minutes should include the status of each task in the meeting. Cost reduction team members should discuss ideas in a free flowing manner. The ideas should primarily focus on the agenda of the meeting with a contribution from team members being well recorded. Since the main area of concern is salaries, it is equally important to consider a review of other areas that could also be highly contributin g to losses. For example, the cost of raw materials, electricity, travel, maintenance, etc. may as well be reviewed (Suzue, 2002). However, the next step involves cost necessity assessment. In this regard, evaluation of the magnitude of necessity of cost items identified is done. Most crucial items should be retained, but suggested reduction should be applied. Items with less magnitude of necessity should be evaluated for other options. Issues concerning salaries range from labor costs and morale initiatives to training costs. The table below indicates a cost reduction proposal that can be used to reduce cost associated with employee salaries and benefits. Item Classification Risks Decision Labor Necessary None Keep but reduce cost Supervision Necessary None Keep Overtime Necessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Coffee Unnecessary Morale impact Eliminate Department party Unnecessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Communication Plan Before any decisions are made on the measures to use in cost cutting, it is vital to consider the number of permanent employees and those that are in contract. This sets a pace in evaluating implementation negotiations (Coombs et al., 2005). The first step involves analysis of the situation that has led to seeking the option of cost reduction. This could be termed as

Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper Essay

Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper - Essay Example The registered members of the group can talk about camera and accessories to improve their photographs and also talk about their professional knowledge which helps them to learn about the latest provisions in the field. The groups also provide continuing education opportunities in the field of professional photography and these groups provide various educational opportunities and education credits to licensed professionals. The groups also provide qualified referrals and it helps the members to stay connected with the professional community. It helps to further business opportunities in the field of photography in the following ways - There are many LinkedIn applications which can be added to personal profiles and homepages to promote and to stay connected with other human service professionals. Social networking sites provide a platform to individuals who have nowhere to turn for help. Human service is also designed as the professional services for those in need (Alle-Corliss, 1998). As per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - The scheme of need includes self actualization, esteem needs, belongingness & love needs, safety and psychological needs. It is found that people who are deprived of meaningful social contacts suffer from medical problems (Cassel, 1990). Firms believe that good work spread through spontaneous referrals and referral works because of transferred trust. Employment patterns are related to groups and time (Calvo-Armgengol and Jackson, 2004) and the information spreads fast across social networks. Quality referrals to your client can be generated through awareness, colleagues, service providers, seminars or conference. With the evolution in IT, internet based social networking sites can generate quality referrals. There are other ways to generate quality referrals such as articles, blogs, news, exhibitions, emails, books, case studies, online advertisements, SEO etc.

Compare and contrast intelligence processes Research Paper

Compare and contrast intelligence processes - Research Paper Example Every organization has its specific role and mode of operation and, therefore, the nature and frequency of intelligence that they may require for the execution of their tasks also vary. Thus, the cycles and processes of intelligence collection among these organizations differ drastically though they may be sharing some similarities. The responsibility of organizations that have the onus of taking care of national security, such as National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has increased manifold in the recent days due to the ever evolving nature of security threats from â€Å"terrorist groups as well as hostile nation states† (Best, 2001, p.1). Thus, these organizations have revamped their intelligence collection machinery to obtain necessary information for the maintenance of internal as well as external security. They mostly rely on highly sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment sometimes using aircraf ts for collection of intelligence, such as TechELINT to â€Å"collect, analyze and sometimes and locate† electronic signals from the foreign targets (Bernard, 2009, p.11). On the other hand, law enforcement and homeland security mostly deploy conventional methods for collecting intelligence, mostly using human intelligence sources or less sophisticated electronic devices including human intelligence sources, security cameras and other surveillance equipment. In the present day, the US authorities are rather resorting to a system where all the intelligence disciplines are combined under one window to be utilized by different organizations involved in law enforcement. This is intended to fetch better flow of information among the organizations and will also reduce the consumption of resources apart from ensuring that most reliable information is made available to organizations. Intelligence cycle is the process by which information is disseminated for drawing conclusions about particular evidences in a crime. The main difference between law enforcement intelligence and homeland intelligence is that while the former focuses on criminal aspects, the latter also deals with â€Å"noncriminal domestic threats† including issues of public health and public safety (Carter, 2009, p.14). On the other hand, the concept of national security intelligence covers â€Å"policy intelligence† and â€Å"military intelligence† including identification and observation of hostile elements, weaponry, capabilities of warfare, battle order etc (p.15). Accordingly, the processes and cycles of national security intelligence, law enforcement intelligence and homeland security differ. However, the intelligence collected by all the agencies are similar in the context that such intelligence collection is done for ensuring the safety and welfare of citizens. The main focus of homeland security intelligence is Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise (FSIE) and Public He alth/Medical Intelligence, which are two of the initiatives that are â€Å"moving forward with greater rapidity† after the 9/11 tragedy (p.19). The main difference in the process and cycle of information among various agencies stems from the roles and responsibilities these organizations have in terms of security.

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations Essay

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations - Essay Example An effective cost reduction plan should achieve results that flow from top to the bottom line of financial matters (Mosley, 2008). The plan should be designed in such a manner that its implementation does not damage the organization itself. In fact, it is argued that a good cost reduction program should focus much on damage control as it involves cutting costs. The ways of communicating these measures are equally important, especially if it concerns salaries of the employees. Cost Reduction Plan All cost reduction plans aim at reducing costs in order to improve profitability. It is apparent that by reducing expenses, profits are increased. In the current scenario, it is apparent that most of the company’s expenses go to employee salaries. With 90 percent of the company’s expenses being channeled in one department, it becomes tricky to have an effective cost reduction plan in place. In this regard, it is advisable to have a cost reduction team comprising all departments. In the beginning, the head of the cost control team should ensure that the idea of cost reduction is well discussed with the team members. In the current scenario, since cost reduction measures will mainly focus on reducing salaries of the employees, it is also advisable to have all departments represented by employees in the cost control team (Mosley, 2008). However, the meeting should be frequent, probably once in a week. This helps the effort not to lose momentum. Every meeting’s minutes should be published and availed to the chief executive and the heads of each department. The minutes should include the status of each task in the meeting. Cost reduction team members should discuss ideas in a free flowing manner. The ideas should primarily focus on the agenda of the meeting with a contribution from team members being well recorded. Since the main area of concern is salaries, it is equally important to consider a review of other areas that could also be highly contributin g to losses. For example, the cost of raw materials, electricity, travel, maintenance, etc. may as well be reviewed (Suzue, 2002). However, the next step involves cost necessity assessment. In this regard, evaluation of the magnitude of necessity of cost items identified is done. Most crucial items should be retained, but suggested reduction should be applied. Items with less magnitude of necessity should be evaluated for other options. Issues concerning salaries range from labor costs and morale initiatives to training costs. The table below indicates a cost reduction proposal that can be used to reduce cost associated with employee salaries and benefits. Item Classification Risks Decision Labor Necessary None Keep but reduce cost Supervision Necessary None Keep Overtime Necessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Coffee Unnecessary Morale impact Eliminate Department party Unnecessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Communication Plan Before any decisions are made on the measures to use in cost cutting, it is vital to consider the number of permanent employees and those that are in contract. This sets a pace in evaluating implementation negotiations (Coombs et al., 2005). The first step involves analysis of the situation that has led to seeking the option of cost reduction. This could be termed as

Compare and contrast intelligence processes Research Paper

Compare and contrast intelligence processes - Research Paper Example Every organization has its specific role and mode of operation and, therefore, the nature and frequency of intelligence that they may require for the execution of their tasks also vary. Thus, the cycles and processes of intelligence collection among these organizations differ drastically though they may be sharing some similarities. The responsibility of organizations that have the onus of taking care of national security, such as National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has increased manifold in the recent days due to the ever evolving nature of security threats from â€Å"terrorist groups as well as hostile nation states† (Best, 2001, p.1). Thus, these organizations have revamped their intelligence collection machinery to obtain necessary information for the maintenance of internal as well as external security. They mostly rely on highly sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment sometimes using aircraf ts for collection of intelligence, such as TechELINT to â€Å"collect, analyze and sometimes and locate† electronic signals from the foreign targets (Bernard, 2009, p.11). On the other hand, law enforcement and homeland security mostly deploy conventional methods for collecting intelligence, mostly using human intelligence sources or less sophisticated electronic devices including human intelligence sources, security cameras and other surveillance equipment. In the present day, the US authorities are rather resorting to a system where all the intelligence disciplines are combined under one window to be utilized by different organizations involved in law enforcement. This is intended to fetch better flow of information among the organizations and will also reduce the consumption of resources apart from ensuring that most reliable information is made available to organizations. Intelligence cycle is the process by which information is disseminated for drawing conclusions about particular evidences in a crime. The main difference between law enforcement intelligence and homeland intelligence is that while the former focuses on criminal aspects, the latter also deals with â€Å"noncriminal domestic threats† including issues of public health and public safety (Carter, 2009, p.14). On the other hand, the concept of national security intelligence covers â€Å"policy intelligence† and â€Å"military intelligence† including identification and observation of hostile elements, weaponry, capabilities of warfare, battle order etc (p.15). Accordingly, the processes and cycles of national security intelligence, law enforcement intelligence and homeland security differ. However, the intelligence collected by all the agencies are similar in the context that such intelligence collection is done for ensuring the safety and welfare of citizens. The main focus of homeland security intelligence is Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise (FSIE) and Public He alth/Medical Intelligence, which are two of the initiatives that are â€Å"moving forward with greater rapidity† after the 9/11 tragedy (p.19). The main difference in the process and cycle of information among various agencies stems from the roles and responsibilities these organizations have in terms of security.

Why Learn English Essay Example for Free

Why Learn English Essay There are many reasons to learn English, but because it is one of the most difficult languages to learn it is important to focus on exactly why it is you want to learn English. Here we will look at ten great reasons why English is so important. Post this list somewhere you can see it and it will motivate you to keep going even when you are tired of trying to figure out which witch is which! †¢English is the most commonly used language among foreign language speakers. Throughout the world, when people with different languages come together they commonly use English to communicate. †¢Why learn English when it is so difficult? Well, knowing English will make you bilingual and more employable in every country in the world. You have all the skills but when you are heard in an interview with poor communication, chances to get the job come down by 30%. †¢English is commonly spoken throughout much of the world due to Great Britain’s expansion during the colonial age. People in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of Africa, India, and many smaller island nations speak English. English is the commonly adopted second language in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Speaking English opens these countries and cultures up to you. †¢Another reason why English is so important is that it is the language of science. To excel in science you need to know English. †¢English is based on an alphabet and, compared to Chinese, it can be learned fairly quickly. †¢English is also the language of the Film Industry and English means you no longer have to rely on subtitles. †¢Speaking English immediately opens up opportunities regardless of your ethnicity, color, or background. †¢Learn English and you can then teach your children English — or if they are already learning, you can now communicate with them in English. †¢English speakers definitely earn more money than non-English speakers. Learning English will open your job prospects and increase your standard of living. †¢Last but not the least, because you have always wished to be more articulately audible, and, to impress your listeners with your fluent and flawless professionalism. Why Learn English From Us †¢First and Most Important to know that we are charging very nominal for you just to provide a platform to overcome your hesitations in terms of communication. †¢Our heartfelt Objective to bring you for the training comes from our personal experience with the job-seekers. †¢We are providing Basic English to International communication skills in one single customized course for you. Register yourself Today for the Induction / Introduction and know your level to enroll in the training. Lets move one step ahead by being More Confident!! Business Skills (iSkills) You are very good technically, but you find it difficult to present your thoughts to others in English. You can negotiate brilliantly in your mother-tongue, but with English, you are tongue-tied. You can write letters and e-mails in English easily, but they seem to be very long, or your boss has to correct them before they are sent across. You know your subject but can’t speak before a crowd. So, you don’t get the recognition you deserve because your communication skills are below par. The iSkill series taps the uniqueness in you and helps you perform effectively, developing you into a well-rounded professional. Programs A. Complete programs (120 hrs) Effective Performance Appraisals Professional Email writingTime Management Assertiveness skills Negotiation skillsSelling skills Business Writing Presentation skills Telephoning skills Leadership skillsPublic Speaking Voice Quality Meeting skills Recruiting and Interviewing Voice Quality B. i-Workshops (Spread over 8 hours – one to two days) Professional email writingEffective public speakingEffective presentation Time management Improve your fluency dramatically – iBlaze We offer iBlaze to improve your listening comprehension, fluency, pronunciation, and auditory memory. What it means is you get to understand the target language better, build your confidence, and improve your pronunciation. How does iBlaze work? Each iBlaze session begins with a listening phase, followed by pronunciation exercises: 1. The listening phase: The learner listens to modulated music that opens his ear to the dominant frequency of the targeted language. 2. The pronunciation phase: During 30 minutes, the learner trains his pronunciation by repeating words and sentences. †¢The learner listens to a native speaker †¢He then repeats †¢His voice is filtered in real time and his ear instantly opens itself to the frequencies of the learned language By hearing yourself speak properly, you correct your pronunciation unconsciously and naturally You can start seeing all this after just 24 sessions. Register yourself to know whether you are at the basic or the advanced. Email: [emailprotected] New Delhi: +91-98118655500