Janmar Coatings Case Analysis

Janmar Coatings, Inc. | To:| Ronald Burns| Subject:| Janmar Coatings, Inc. Suggestions| Comments:| The problem facing Janmar Coatings, Inc. is deciding where and how to execute corporate marketing efforts in the southwestern United States. Janmar Coatings is currently marketing to 50 counties, their main focus area so far has been the 11 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The main issue Ronald Burns, the president of Janmar Coatings, is having is trying to come up with a solution to market his company in the most cost effective way during 2005.After 2 long meetings with his executive team he still has no clear direction. He has gathered an approach from each of his team members, including: VP of Advertising, VP of Sales, VP of Operations, and VP of Finance, and now has four solutions to consider. The VP of Advertising has proposed to increase corporate advertising with an large emphasis on television. The VP of Sales proposed hiring a new field representative to help generate ne w accounts. The VP of Operations has proposed a 20% price cut on all Janmar product sales.The VP of Finance proposed that nothing be done; that the company continue with their current efforts and keep a 35% contribution margin. After looking at the company’s overall goals and finances, I would agree with the VP of Sales. Based on his suggestion, I believe it would be a smart time to hire a new sales representative for Janmar. The cost attributed to company for hiring a new sales representative would be $60,000 per year. And the amount of sales revenue needed to cover this expense is $170,000.However, if this sales representative position is correctly used, they will be able to make this margin back rapidly. Because by concentrating on only developing new retail accounts in the non-DFW area, the company could generate lots of sales to a brand new buyer market. Janmar has realized that they need to focus more energy on the ‘Do-it-yourselfers’ as they say, or DIY po pulation, and the non-DFW area seems to be where most of these consumers are located. It was mentioned that product prices would need to be lowered 40% in order to attract contractors, but that is not an immediate worry.Janmar needs to focus all their current energies on the DIY consumers and professional painters. Hiring a new sales representative would be the smartest decision right now because they will know every detail of the products and have the ability to market that properly to each of those consumer segments. However, I have also considered the Vice President of Advertising’s suggestion that they should increase advertising expense by $350,000. While initially, increasing advertising expenses sounds like a good thing to do, this decision would almost double the current advertising expenditure.Janmar is spending around 3% of revene on advertising and sales promotions efforts; which comes out to nearly $360,000. And while it may By increasing advertising expenses by $ 350,000, an additional $1,000,000 in sales will need to be recovered to make up for this expenditure. Mr. Burns makes a valid point by saying that 75% of the audience advertised too is not buying paint. With 25% of your audience only looking to buy paint, it would not be worth the risk of not increasing sales by $1,000,000, to implement the extra advertising expense.Also, I considered the Vice President of Operations proposal for a 20% price cut on all Janmar Coatings, Inc products. Price cuts are always something that needs to be entered into with extreme caution. Even the slightest 1-2% drop in price can lead to a huge drop in margin. In Janmar’s situation, if they choose to implement a 20% price cut, they decrease their overall sales dollars by $2. 4 mm. And their variable cost will not be effected by this price cut to their cost of goods sold will be held constant.In the end reducing their gross profit by 50%, which is extremely high. By implementing this price cut too, t hey would be lowering their contribution margin by almost 60%. While initially, a price cut may seem very appealing to the consumers, the overall toll it will take on the contribution margin and sales dollars generated by Janmar, it would not be a smart decision to move forward in making that a reality. Now, the Vice President of Finance suggested pursuing the current approach. His idea is that Janmar Coatings has always, and will continue, to be successful.The contribution is high, just because an increase in costs doesn’t mean there will be an increase in sales, so why do anything different? Although the VP of Finance has valid points, there is obviously something that needs to be done, or else 22 meetings would not have been necessary. Yes there is a great contribution now, but if things stayed the same, other companies may become more popular and generate more sales than we do and push us out. Based on information from 2004, Janmar currently has a 15% market share in the 50-county service area. If Janmar just stays where they are, they could ose market share as well. It is true that with any expenditure, sales have to increase to compensate for those expenditures, but a company cannot merely stay â€Å"neutral† when something absolutely has to be done. There is a way to introduce a plan that will generate sales to compensate for the expenditure. In this case, simply adding a new sales representative seems to be the best, lowest risk, most probable solution in this case. Lastly, to do a more in depth review the Vice President of Sales suggestion to bring on a new field representative to the sales force.The focus for this new representative would be to focus on developing retail account leads and calling on professional painters to gain new business through dealers. In the overall non-Dallas Fort Worth area, the penetration of Janmar is only 16%, so this representative would only concentrate in this area. Over the last 5 years, Janmar has focus ed most all of the actions toward the DFW area, while the non-DFW area has started to grow. The non-DFW area sales have grown 23% over those 5 years. DIY customers represent a higher percentage of sales than professionals in both areas.However, DIY customers represent 90% of sales in non-DFW areas. Because our contribution margin is 35%, with the addition of a new representative costing $60,000, about $171,429 additional in sales would be needed to recover the expense. With the addition of a sales representative, though, this sales rep could be focused on the non-DFW area and create account leads with more professional painters. The company would need a price cut of about 40% to attract contractors, but if the company could also just create awareness among more professionals in the non-DFW area, more sales could be generated there.Let’s not focus on contractors right now, and get the professional sales in the non-DFW area up, and create more accounts with them. Sales in the D FW area and non-DFW area in the last 5 years:Increase Advertising Spending (emphasis on television): Current advertising spending| 3% of sales=. 03*12mm=$360,000| Sales needed to recover advertising expenditure| $350,000/. 35(CM)=$1,000,000| 20% Price Cut on all Janmar products: Current: Sales Gross Profit CM| Sales: $12mmGross Profit: $4. mmCM: 40%| Sales, Gross Profit, and CM changes after 20% price cut| Sales: $9. 6mm ($2. 4mm change)Gross Profit: $2. 4 mm ($2. 4mm/50% change)CM: 25% (60% decrease)| | | | Adding another Sales Representative to the work force: Current Sales Reps| 8 field reps that cast about $480,000 +commission (assuming they receive the $60,000 salary the new rep would receive)| Sales needed to recover new rep expenditure| $60,000/. 35 (CM) = $171,428. 57| Janmar Market Share of architectural paint and allied products| 15% |

Reflective Essay

Phenomenon Causal Context Clarifying Describe the here and now experience What essential factors contributed to this experience? What are the significant background factors to this experience? What are the key processes for Reflection in this experience? 2. Reflection 2. 1. What was I trying to achieve? 2. 2. Why did I intervene as I did? 2. 3. What were the consequences of my actions for: †¢ myself? †¢ the patient/family? †¢ the people I work with? . 4. How did I feel about this experience when it was happening? 2. 5. How did the patient feel about it? 2. 6. How do I know how the patient felt about it? 3. Influencing factors 3. 1. What internal factors influenced my decision making? 3. 2. What external factors influenced my decision making? 3. 3. What sources of knowledge did/should have influenced my decision making? 4. Could I have dealt better with the situation? 4. 1. What other choices did I have? 4. 2. What would be the consequences of these choices? 5. Learning 5. 1. How do I now feel about this experience? 5. 2. How have I made sense of this experience in the light of past experience and future practice? 5. 3. How has this experience changed my ways of knowing: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ empirics? aesthetics? ethics? personal? (Taken from â€Å"Centre for Health Education† info RD+E(H) April 02) The Reflective Process — Analysing & Learning from Experience 1. Gather the Information †¢ †¢ †¢ Describe the incident Explain the context Take any relevant clarifying statements from others involved 2. The Reflection †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What was I trying to achieve? What were the consequences of my action for the patient, for my colleagues, for me? What do I feel about it? What has been the effect on my colleagues? What factors/previous knowledge may have influenced me? What alternative action could I have taken? 3. The Learning Process †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ How do I feel now? Could I have acted differently? What have I learnt? How will that influence my future practice? What has the incident taught me about my values and/or my belief system? What ethical principles were involved? Once you have completed the process, it would be valuable to evaluate it again, with a colleague or with a professional mentor to clarify the main issues, the learning involved and the impact on your practice. CHIRS WHITEHEAD Professional Development Co-ordinator February 1994 (Taken from â€Å"Centre for Health Education† info RD+E(H) April 02) (More examples of reflective writing formats) Reflection on Practice Date: 3rd Feb 1995 A 50 year old man with CA lung who was not expected to live much longer was smoking in his room with oxygen. The Consultant had just visited him and told him that he could continue to smoke in his room. The gentleman was unsafe to be left as every time he took a puff on the cigarette he collapsed and he still had the oxygen running through a nasal cannulae. Description of the experience I expressed my concerns to the Consultant, my concerns being: †¢ There was piped oxygen in the room and there was a high risk that it may ignite. †¢ There was a risk to the patient that he may set light to himself or the bed when he collapsed. †¢ There were babies below. †¢ There was not enough staff on duty to free someone up to sit with him whilst he smoked. Once the Consultant had left the ward I took away the cigarettes and lighter and said that we would be back every hour to allow him to smoke. The gentleman did not like this and started calling out and shouting continuously for a lighted cigarette. My decision was to only allow one cigarette an hour as I could only free up a Nurse to sit with him for this period of time. To turn the oxygen supply off whilst the gentleman had the cigarette and to keep the cigarettes in case he tried to light up whilst there was no one around. What other actions could I have taken? †¢ Allowed him to smoke with the oxygen on and without a Nurse present and allowed him to get on with it. The consequence would have been that he may have collapsed without my knowledge and died/caught light to himself. †¢ Not to have allowed him to smoke at all taking the cigarettes away from him. The consequence would have been an angry uptight man shouting at the top of his voice until I relented or he wore himself out, causing distress to himself and the other patients on the ward. How did I feel at the time? †¢ Frustrated that the Consultant put me in such a position and did not seem to think of the consequences. †¢ Annoyed that my concerns were washed over when I was accountable for that shift. †¢ Powerless to do much about this situation. †¢ Determined that whatever I did, I was doing it for the right reasons and had thought about every possible avenue. What I have learnt from this experience? That you have to act as you see fit when faced with a situation as this one. †¢ That you have to take the welfare of the gentleman and others into consideration. †¢ That you cannot always expect backing from your Consultant or Nurse in charge. †¢ That you, have to take a holistic view point and weigh up all the pros and cons. †¢ That you have to stick to your decision if you believe it to be right. Three months later After reflecting on this incident I still believe today that I made the correct decision of only allowing this man to smoke when the oxygen was turned off and a Nurse was present. It caused him some distress and myself a lot of distress but I feel I had an obligation to safeguard the safety of the other patients and babies in the ward and the ward below. The gentleman has since died and I wonder sometimes whether I was too hard, but as they say you can only do what you believe in and work within the confines of the situation, which on reflection I believe I did. (Taken from â€Å"Centre for Health Education† info RD+E(H) April 02) Reflective Log from Teignbridge District Model Name: Date of learning event: Me My experience of the subject prior to the learning experience. Facts How the knowledge was acquired? What was the nature of the experience or event? Explain the subject. An account of what happened without specifying what was learnt. Select the part that is significant and/or important. Feelings What aspect of the event went well? What was not so good? What were my feelings about what happened? What were the feelings of others? Learning What were my desired learning outcomes? Where does it link in or combine with my existing knowledge? What have I learnt from the experience? Conclusions What do I need to do next? How can I put my learning into practice in another situation?

Analysis Of Operating Environment Of Honda In China

Analysis Of Operating Environment Of Honda In China Honda entered the Chinese market in 1982 by cooperated with China’s Jialing Machinery Factory to produce motorcycles. Currently, Honda has 16 companies in China spreading over nationwide. â€Å"Respect intellectual property; bring joy to people’s life† is Honda’s IPR credo in China. Honda’s presidents all have technical backgrounds. They are important needed advanced technology for the company’s further development. December 2007, Honda’s China portfolio came out includes over 500 registered trademarks, 3,800 granted inventions, model patents and more than 1,100 granted design patents. In an addition, Honda upgraded the former intellectual property office into a division and hence the IPR division was officially established. Resulted, the scope of work was expanded. The division’s main task is to provide support on IPR issues. Although they do not have to report directly to headquarters, they communicate regularly with the head quarters and sometimes the headquarters will give them directions. Meanwhile they will also give their opinions what should be done in China to gain support from the headquarters and improve their efficiency.   The secret of successful Honda in China is they are very creative and innovation, they never imitate others but still create high quality product. Mr. Honda with a mechanical background was aware that machines could operate as long as there is fuel. He created the Honda slogan with the basic principles, â€Å"Respect for the Individual† and â€Å"The Three Joys†- â€Å"the joy of buying, the joy of selling and the joy of creating.† The Three Joys mean to a certain extent which related to the IPR work. The joy of buying refers to customer satisfaction and willing to pay for their products and services. They stand strong that the most important thing is to bring the joy of buying to the consumer. On the other hands, the joy of selling and creating refers to bringing joy to Honda’s dealers and manufacturers by selling and producing Honda’s products which is also an important aspect of Honda business. Honda’s operating strategy is â€Å"where there is a demand, there is production.† The most basic of Honda’s IP strategy is â€Å"providing necessary support on IPR related issues to meet the need of development in the local market.† Honda’s IP work is to create intellectual properties efficiently and secure IPRs in order to provide maximum protection for the customers’ interest and the development of business. In recent years, Honda is facing growing pressure of other fakers and wrong timing. For example, Honda might take 2 or 3 years for counterfeit products to promote in the market after Honda’s original’s launch. However, as soon as Honda launches a new product, some Chinese companies will start counterfeiting. Some counterfeits or fakes appear even before Honda st arts productions which have same trademarks, design and patents. Honda needs to take some time from the application for IPR and it is the situation that Honda is facing in recent years. Therefore, Honda focuses on their work in China, taking full advantage of IPR to deal with the new challenges. They come out with a unique understanding that IPR is a kind of right and they want to take the full advantage of IPR for the development of their business, patent products and fully taking their rights. Resulted, Honda is carrying out a series of IPR activities such as infringements track down, intellectual property education and assisting government’s consumer rights protection campaigns. Spare parts for the maintenance of Honda vehicles are only sold in authorized Honda dealers but yet many companies are producing under the Honda name.

Lab Report #2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

#2 - Lab Report Example Measurement is an essential aspect mainly utilized in the scientific field to quantify diverse forms of matter. This entails determining the objects’, quantity of matter, volume and their densities (Wilson & Cecilia 242). However, an object’s exact measurement despite one being an expert, accuracy mainly relies on the equipments a person utilizes to take diverse measurements. This is due to the imperfections, which result from the equipments’ errors while a researcher is taking measurements of different types of matter or their parts. Therefore, it is essential for the researcher to have adequate knowledge regarding how to minimize errors via being able to manipulate the readings one attains while measuring. Since this varies across the equipments, where some are complex especially if one lacks proper knowhow regarding particular equipment (Wilson & Cecilia 39). The study’s focus encompasses measurements of diverse objects coupled with determining their le ngths, mass, volume and densities. 1. The initial step was to take the readings of a copper wire with the help of a metric ruler. This is by placing the wire on the metric rule, reading the positions of the two sides and estimating the readings to approximately tenth of a millimeter. Then developing four sets of independent measurements to approximately 0.01cm in centimeters by estimating using diverse parts of the meter rule 3. The diameter of the copper wire was measured with the aid of a micrometer caliper where the measurements’ approximation was 0.0001cm. To increase the accuracy of the study, it entailed obtaining six independent recordings in a table. Despite the experiment carried out with high level of keenness to shun any possible errors that may emanate from carelessness or readings’ improper taking, they were inevitable. Mainly, the source of errors in this study that have prompted the results to deviate from the ordinary expected

Eccentrically loaded tie Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Eccentrically loaded tie - Lab Report Example Hounsfield tensometer testing device – a machine that was used to assess to what level our specimen expanses under the stress of the material and some other tensile features of materials like the tensile strength – and; We estimated and noted the eccentricity (e) and dimension of our specimen cross-section. We also applied a negligible holding load so as to eliminate the initial slackness from the set up. The recording mercury was also zeroed. After all that, our strain gauge switch as well as the balance unit for every gauge was set up. We recorded the measurement of the strain at every position for any increment in load up. In order to ascertain the strains of every sample under the adopted load, we connected the six strains to a six-channel strain gauging bridge. Figure 1 below illustrate the experimental process. In order to determine our strain gauge values, position of gauge depth from centroid, and average strain, we proceeded as follows (distance between the gauge are shown in parentheses in table 1 above): The figure 3 above displayed the distribution of stress across the tie as the measurement was proportional to the stress. The slope of NQS in the above diagram is proportional to disparity in strain as a results of bending. This was due to algebraic addition of axial and bending stresses shown below. From our results, the estimated e (19.125mm) was higher than our calculated e (18.48131738). This gave us a percentage error of only 3.3657%, implying that the accuracy of our results was around 96.6%. With this, we could confidently say our experiment was successful despite the 3.36% error. This percentage error might have been occasioned by: As for the stress distribution diagram, the shape was occasioned by the combination of bending and axial stress applied to tie bar material. This was consistent with the findings in Sinha (2002). Sheer forces and bending moments in the beam always determine the value of

Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise Essay

Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise - Essay Example By our perception of motion, we know that Achilles is faster than the tortoise and thus he can easily overcome the tortoise in any race. We can physically prove our initial hypothesis that Achilles can beat the tortoise in a race and see that Achilles will at some point outrun the tortoise by the distance he has covered in leaps and bounds. Space or distance has always been measured by our senses; our eyes can visibly see that the distance traveled by Achilles is indeed greater than that of the tortoise. But this is what Zeno intends to postulate in the first place: our senses should be discredited as they are illusory and motion is logically impossible. Zeno’s paradox about the footrace of the tortoise and Achilles is built on one basic assumption: that the race between these two has no goal or each runner cannot reach their goal. In that case, the tortoise and Achilles’ course of movement extends to infinity and this is where the absurdity lies; there is no race that extends to infinity else the tortoise and Achilles would forever be moving forward and there would be no race at all. This dialectic reasoning of Zeno implies that Achilles will never catch the tortoise in a footrace, but the deeper implication of this paradox lies in the conclusion that no thing, for example a tortoise, or no one, in general, has a limit. As grandiose as this profound and philosophical conclusion is, Zeno’s paradox suggests that man’s abilities are limitless, very great in amount and degree, or boundless, having no apparent end. This paradox about man then puts forward a notion that his actions extend through an infinite amount of time and space. Our actions cover far greater than our senses can perceive; they extend to the end of time and the end of the universe. This claim becomes practically absurd because we know that time and the universe has no end to begin with while man has through his own death. Going back to Zeno’s paradox, his conclusion

Employee Relations System in Singapore and Eire Essay

Employee Relations System in Singapore and Eire - Essay Example In addition, it should also be flexible. (Schregle, 1981) There are certain theories that will act as a background and baseline for this comparative analysis. The first one was brought forward by a human resource management author called Douglas McGregor. This author strongly believed in the power that the human being has within an organisation. He claimed that management is dependent on its employees just as the latter need the former. McGregor believed that management have the ability to determine whether or not their organisation was a success depending on how they chose to carry forward their management practices. The author came up with a human relations theory called theory Y. In this theory, he asserted that all employees have the capacity to change. Consequently, management should endeavour to match employee goals and objectives to the organisation. Since these employees were able to grow in terms of their capacity to handle greater responsibility and to grow position wise, management should try its best to match their overall developmental activities within the organisation to individual ones. Indeed, theory Y forms one of the major guidelines for good employee-relations-systems in any country. We will therefore use this as a sort of barometer to check on the legitimacy and appropriateness of the employee relations between the two countries under study. Another theory that will also serve as a backbone in the essay is the theory of the three S's as postulated by Bartlett and Ghoshal; where the three S's are strategy, systems and structures. In this theory, the two authors believed that management had the distinct and fundamental responsibility to come up with organisational strategy. This would lay the foundation for organisational structures within any one organisation. In this management system, more emphasis is placed on the importance of aligning employees to organisational behaviour. Adherents to this theory assert that human beings can be replaced and must therefore not be the focus in human resource management. This is why most activities are seen as a form of control and enforcement of discipline by employers towards their employees. Organisations and countries adhering to this theory are quite hierarchal. Beside this, their structures precede their strategies. (Bartlett and Sumantra, 1994) The latter theory is slowly phasing out. This has come after the realisation that the most useful resource within any company is its human resource. Employees have the ability to be creative and to apply knowledge appropriately to suite any given organisation. Consequently, there is a need to adopt a totally different approach to management. Most developed countries realise that there are no returns when the organisation places too much emphasis on controlling its employees because this only serves as backbone for conflicts. The better approach is to try and create a rich corporate culture and clearly defined organisational objectives. Besides this, employee relation systems are moving way from the need to

A semiotic analysis of Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings Essay

A semiotic analysis of Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings - Essay Example Her mother who is deeply in love with their father ignores the ever-increasing abuse that her daughters are subjected to each day. Moreover, the exclusive part of this narrative is that in many occasions Corin and Marcin do not romanticize their dad, rather they disown him and call him by his name â€Å"Eddie† instead of dad. Thus, Marci prays for this to end one day. However, his prayers are not that his dad should die but just go away. He does not pray for the death of his dad because she has a second prayer that she sees will not be answered if she did so. Her second prayer is that God will change her physically from being a girl to a boy. Marci has a deep wish for a male body which thus create the foundation of her sexual fantasies and dreams. The main reason behind her deep desire for the male figure is because she wants to have relationships with girls, and the only way that she can appropriately express her feelings to them is by changing to a boy. Both wishes of Marcin somehow sounds impossible to achieve, but religious people say God can do miracles. In the meantime, the two girls found other techniques of surviving. Majority of their relatives had no idea on what to do with Eddie’s violence but were supportive and loving. In addition, other than her mother being blind to the actions of her husband, she is approachable. Considerab ly, the narrative holds the inventive attempts by the girls to outsmart their father and convince their mother and at least be able to see what a monster their father was. For instance, the most delightful one was where they were lent a camera by one of their uncles and tried to capture his father in implicating positions with his fiancà ©e. By all this, Marci becomes aware of his affection and desire for girls and hopes to become a boy one day. The lesbianism feelings are touching and subtle, and by no means inflexible. Glimpses of how varied religious and family

Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Response Paper - Essay Example However, what I find surprising is the reason for all the denial; despite the rigidity to change by the activists, it was very apparent that calligraphy was bound to flourish. But again, only one question, whose answer is very evident, comes to my mind. Were these radicals unable to see the obvious fact that calligraphy, as part of writing, would flourish? Well, anyone rigid to change never sees the other side of their perspective. Likewise to the real world, there are very clear examples scenarios similar to those illustrated by the author. One such instance is in politics, transitioning from one form of leadership has always faced myriad obstacles from those who resist the change; the result? Political chaos. Interestingly, such resistance to change relate perfectly even to my life experiences. Many are times I have opposed moving from one residential area to the other for reasons not so justifiable; this clearly reflects the human nature of resisting change. The most interesting part of this writing how it brings out the power of the pen. In other words, calligraphy, as a form of writing, is so powerful that amidst the sheer opposition by the activists, it penetrated the Chinese as if it was not being opposed. But I cannot stop asking myself what methods of resistance the activists used; if they were serious, they would manage to bar calligraphy since it was truly a form of feudalism. On the same note, were the Chinese contented with feudalism? What quickly comes to my mind is that the activists were not so vigorous in their opposition. At the same time; the feudal stipulations profoundly influenced so many Chinese to the extent that it would consume way more effort to convince them otherwise. Just, in the same way, as a Christian, it would take a lot of persuasions to convince me against the stipulations of the Bible. In one way or the other, this text still emphasizes the link between the Chinese past and its

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Political Science - Essay Example The state has constitutional power of regulating prices through price floor and ceilings to protect the firms and the consumers (Tanzi 92-7). The government plays a central role in regulating the production and supply of goods services by firms in their different market structure with the focus of ensuring efficient allocation of resources. Taking the case of monopoly firms, the government gives them incentives through different methods to retain their status quo. However, the government still uses pricing policy to influence the monopoly firms’ behavior in terms of output to the consumers. The state set up various institutions that oversee the various economic activities in the country so that working of the economy is consistent with the manpower and resources potential available. Through improved partnership with private sector, the state undertake research and development on various socio-economic variables and the resultant findings are used to establish feasible economic policies that boosts the efficiency of the economy. This includes partnering to develop infrastructure which is an incentive to improved per formance of the market and economy at large. The state is mandated to form bilateral and multilateral trade relations with other countries so that there is labor mobility, exchange of technology and other input factors. This promotes the performance of the economy through increased input factor availability and expanded market for the final products. It is important that the country institute laws that protect local firms from stiff competition of the established multinationals by giving them incentives likes tax holiday, subsidies and infrastructure as this will boost the level of production and performance of the economy. The state needs to include other public welfare issues as part of the market operation processes. In regard to the emerging and ongoing debate on environmental care and

Consider Two Contrasting Characters In The Play Essay Example for Free

Consider Two Contrasting Characters In The Play Essay Consider two contrasting characters in the play. How does the playwright convey their personalities and their attitudes to the situation in which they find themselves? The playwright of The Long, the Short and the Tall is Willis Hall and he wrote it in 1959. The play is set in the Malaysian jungle in 1942 during the Second World War. It is about a British scout patrol, which is caught in the unexpected Japanese advance down the Malaysian peninsula. It deals with men from all over Britain, from different backgrounds and cultures, and their relationships with each other. The main issue though, is whether the men are able to kill another human being. It shows their reactions in tense and almost unreal situations. World War Two lasted from 1939 to 1945. It was fought in two places; in Europe against Germany and in the Pacific against Japan. Britain and the USA started fighting against Japan because Japan bombed Pearl Harbour in December 1941, which had docked a whole fleet of American war ships. The British and the Americans didnt expect the Japanese to attack, so they were not able to defend themselves. From here Japan continued to expand into other countries. They quickly conquered South-East Asia. The next thing the Japanese did was to invade Singapore in Malaysia. Again the British were completely unprepared for the attack. All Singapores defences were facing into the sea, never expecting or believing that anybody would come down the peninsula, through the jungle, but this is exactly what the Japanese did. Because no one in Singapore believed that they would be attacked from the land side, all the defences were on the ocean side, to protect against a marine attack. The Japanese were so successful because they had had better training in jungle warfare. They wore light clothing, had light ammunition and made use of bicycles for transport. This meant that they could travel great distances in a relatively short time. There wasnt much hope for the British soldiers, who had little or no training in jungle warfare, they had heavy clothing and ammunition and no suitable transport. Morale in the British army was very low. Most of the soldiers were conscripts who were very cynical about the ability of the generals of the army to direct the army in the right away and also because of the lack of proper training and equipment. This can be seen in the play in the way the characters talk of the radio not working. Damn duff equipment is how Johnstone describes the radio. To the British conscripts the Japanese army seemed invincible, with their incredibly patriotic soldiers who were prepared to die rather than surrender. The Japanese believed in the motto Death before dishonour. They seemed a completely fearless army because of this, which didnt do the morale of the British soldiers much good. The two contrasting characters I have chosen to look at are Bamforth and Johnstone. I have chosen Bamforth because his character changes a great deal throughout the play and his point of view moves to a different angle and I have chosen Johnstone because his character is one of the few ones, which doesnt change much throughout the play. Private C. Bamforth is a conscript into the British army and has been posted over to the Far East to help fight the Japanese. He is from London and is in the lowest possible rank in the army. His position is completely different from Johnstones. His full title is Corporal E. Johnstone. He is two above Bamforth in ranks and is part of the regular army and is not conscripted. This means that is attitude to the army is different. His attitude is much less cynical and he respects authority more, in terms of Mitchem. He is cynical in one part of the play where he becomes exasperated when the radio wont work. Damn duff equipment. The whole damn issues duff. But overall he is much less cynical of the British armys capabilities. On the other side Bamforth is very cynical of the British army in the way he speaks of it. He apparently quotes one of the Generals, Bammo, my old son, the British armys in a desperate situation. The yellow perils about to descend on us Here he is joking about the state of the British army, but he obviously believes it, otherwise he wouldnt be saying it and it wouldnt be funny. Also he makes clear that he isnt prepared to be a hero, I wasnt meant to be a hero he states it clearly and decisively, which shows that he has no doubts about it. Bamforth enjoys making fun of others especially people who cant defend themselves very well like Whitaker and people who are of a certain area such as Wales or Scotland. He tends to generalise about people of a certain area and call them derogatory names. You Scotch haggis!, you Cardiff creep, Youre an ignorant Welsh Taff! He is a really unpleasant character in the beginning and obviously resents authrority; Nit is what he says under his breath at Johnstone. Johnstone is also unpleasant in the way he threatens Bamforth, but as the person watching the play, with no knowledge of how Bamforths character will change, I found that I sympathised with Johnstone and felt glad that he was giving Bamforth what he deserved. Their initial reaction was also very similar, as it was Johnstone who grabbed the prisoner and ordered one of the other men to kill him with their bayonet and Bamforth was the only other soldier who felt able to kill him. He regarded the Japanese soldier as only as important as an animal. Its only the same as carving up a pig. The prisoner was very low in his opinion Johnstone has very little contact with the prisoner; he only has direct contact with the prisoner when he has the argument with Bamforth over whether the prisoner should be allowed any cigarettes. He obviously has strong opinions on what should happen to the prisoner; he thinks it is a bad decision of Mitchems to take the prisoner back as it is too risky. He tries to argue with Mitchem that they should kill the prisoner right then, before it all got out of hand. Get rid of him. Right now Strangely enough, it is Bamforth who befriends the prisoner and talks to him and joke with him. He even begins to regard the prisoner as almost human. Hes almost human this one is!. His opinion of the prisoner has risen from that of animal to almost human. This is because the prisoner showed him his photos of his family. He indicates that he also has a baby, this is probably why Bamforth begins to regard him with more respect. Next Bamforth offers the prisoner a cigarette, but Johnstone knocks the prisoners from his mouth. At once Bamforth demands an explanation from Johnstone. Here he is clearly defending the prisoners rights, but also I think that he argues with Johnstone just because he did something that infringed his rights. Later on when the argument about the prisoners cigarette case begins, the playwright cleverly makes Bamforth leave so that the argument can progress without anyone coming to the prisoners defence. When Bamforth returns the argument reaches a climax; he immediately comes to the prisoners defence. He defends him verbally and helps the prisoner. He tells the others that he gave the prisoner the cigarettes. This may not have been true and I dont think that Johnstone really believed him. He is the one who asks to look at the case before it is returned to the prisoner and he starts another argument about the case. This time Bamforth does not claim to have given it to him, but turns the story back on Johnstone by making Whitaker tell the others how he has a locker full of Japanese souvenirs. He defends the prisoner all the way. This is sign that he has become really attached to the prisoner. By the end when they have to decide whether to kill the prisoner or not, Bamforth has become very attached to the prisoner. He physically stands in-between the prisoner and Johnstone, as can be seen from the stage directions. This is a clear piece of proof that he is now prepared physically protect the prisoner not just argue for him. Its him and me. This shows that he is saying that if they want to kill the prisoner, they will have to kill him too. Also he now expresses freely that he regard the prisoner highly. Hes a man, showing that the prisoner has earned a lot of Bamforths respect. Johnstone on the other hand is the one who is trying to kill the prisoner. Johnstone still thinks they should kill the prisoner and his opinion of him has not risen either, Its a bloody nip From this we can see that he regards him as really low because he says it instead of he and uses the derogatory term of bloody nip. He orders Bamforth out of the way, but he will not move and appeals to each of the men in turn to help him. But each one turns him down, he appeals to Macleish last of all, probably hoping that at least he was going to help him because his brother could be a POW too. But even he does not help Bamforth. He is obviously desperate because he turns to sheer pettiness when each of the men turn him down. I hope they carve your brother up. Get that? I hope they carve your bloody brother up! In the end the decision is made for them as Whitaker shoots the prisoner as he rises, during the fight between Bamforth and Johnstone. The play offers no obvious answers to who was right or what they should have done. It was quite ironic how it is Johnstone left alive at the end who surrenders because it is was he who was prepared to kill their POW, having said this he did not have much choice in the matter. Personally I really dont know what they should have done because it was such a hard decision, but if I had to make a decision I would probably have tried to take the prisoner back to camp rather than hanging around arguing about it. If they had done that they might have had a chance of getting back alive, but as it was they had no hope. With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that Johnstone was right, when he said that they should kill the prisoner in the beginning, when none of them were attached to the prisoner and there would have been no problem. However I dont think I would be able to kill someone in that situation even if I was ordered to.

Liberal ideology Essay Example for Free

Liberal ideology Essay How important was new Liberal ideology in leading to the welfare reforms of 1905-11? In answering this essay it is probably best to understand what is meant by ideology. Ideology is defined as a set of beliefs and aims by a group or groups of individuals who share the same common views. The word liberal means being free. The Liberal party is seen as a party that has an open mind over issues and follows what the majority of people want. In this essay I will explain the key issues that might have led to the Liberal party implementing these welfare reforms in Britain between 1905-11. New something -ism is often just a name given by a party to show that their ideologies have evolved from previous, outdated times. New Liberal ideology is looked at in the context of older Liberal beliefs. This idea of renaming the ideology of a party was seen as an attempt by a party to gain support by claiming to bring in new, unique policies (Simon Potter). However, these thoughts cannot be used when referring to New Liberalism. Under the leadership of politicians such as Asquith, Churchill and Lloyd-George the Liberal party seemed to break away from its past. In fact, in 1906 after two decades of political failure, the Liberal party came to power. It introduced the biggest number of social reforms of its time in Britain. It is the reasons behind these reforms that I will be looking at. The main difference between Old Liberal thinking and New Liberalism was that more emphasis was put on collectivism rather than individualism, which had previously been preached. People began to change their minds from earlier thinking and began to believe that it was the governments duty to improve life for the community. These ideas as well as those of positive liberty only seemed to appeal to a small minority of Liberal ministers. However, it did appeal to influential Liberals that were in power. This included the future Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. It is my belief that increased knowledge of poverty was more important than new Liberal ideology (aka New Liberlism). Many people in Britain were poverty stricken or in need for help. The government needed to find out exactly how people were getting into poverty. Seebohm Rowntree, a historian in the 19th-20th Century, carried out a survey into poverty in York. York was more typical of the whole country rather than the East End. Seebohm calculated a poverty line (minimum income necessary to stay out of poverty) based on scientific calculations. Those people that did not have the minimum income were in primary poverty and could not achieve physical efficiency. He discovered that those people who were in secondary poverty were there because they hadnt spent their money well enough. Seebohms statistical figures and results opened the eyes of many in Britain. It made many people realise how poverty had come about and how The liberal party believed that welfare reforms would make Britain more competitive and efficient with foreign countries such as Germany and USA. Britain was less advanced than these two superpowers in their army, in industry and in education. Some believed that changes to the education system and administration would make Britain on a more equal level with the two above-mentioned countries. Others believed that sorting out poverty and health would improve Britains national efficiency. Liberals believed that welfare reforms would help improve the standard of living of the poorer classes. These people tended to be unfit and therefore were unable to join the army. It was also the poorer people who wanted to become soldiers. By improving the lives and health of poor people, then more would be accepted into the army. Therefore, this is one area that would become more efficient and competitive. Changes to health and child reforms would also make Britain more efficient. Children were Britains future prospects. By improving all aspects of their lives (especially those that were coming from poorer backgrounds), children would help Britain to become an all round superpower in 30-40 years to come. They were arguably the most needy of welfare reforms, which maybe explains why the Liberal party implemented many reforms regarding them between 1905-11. The need to win working class support and beat off challenges from the Labour party was the most important reason for the introduction of Welfare reforms between 1905-11. New Liberalism was based on political beliefs, but the need to resist the Labour parties potential challenge was based on political advantages. The 1903 Lib-Lab pact made Labour more of a threat on the political stage. They gained there most number of seats in Parliament in the 1906 elections and with the support of the majority of the working class and the Trade Unions; the labour party were proving to be capable opposition.

Introduction The History Of Schizophrenia Psychology Essay

Introduction The History Of Schizophrenia Psychology Essay Schizophrenia from the Greek word (schizo) means split and (phrenia) means mind is a psychiatric disorder characterised by positive, negative and cognitive dysfunctions (Andreasen, 1997; Meltzer, 1999a, b; Meltzer et al., 1999; Weinberger and Gallhofer, 1997). These symptoms are characterized by delusions, hallucinations, loss of abstract thinking and difficulty to differentiate between reality and fantasy. In general, symptoms differ from one person to another. Schizophrenia has been known to mankind since the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians described disturbances in thought and behaviour which is seen in schizophrenia. Many of the schizophrenia symptoms have been described in ancient Greek, Romans and Chinese scripts. During that time, these societies had an awareness of psychotic disorders and believed they were caused by demons and evil spirits. Treatment of psychotic disorders was exorcising of the demons which varied enormously from mild and safe treatment such as exposing the patient to certain music to more invasive and fatal treatment such as drilling into the patients skull (Schizophrenia.com, (nd). The History of Schizophrenia.[online] Available: http://www.schizophrenia.com/history.htm. Last accessed 13 December 2009). Our understanding and differentiation of schizophrenia from other mental disorders improved and influenced by Huglings-Jacksons postulations in 1984. His hypothesis influences most of schizophrenia researchers until now such as (Andreasen et al., 1995; Meares, 1999a, b). He classified psychosis as a neurological disorder and categorised excessive behaviour as positive symptoms and absence in emotions, speech and social withdrawal as negative symptoms. The most important of his hypothesis is that he proposed that negative symptoms are caused as a result of abnormalities in the brain and positive symptoms result from cognitive deficits (as cited in Beck, 2009) Another important scientist is Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist, who introduced the term dementia praecox in 1896. He observed a number of young patients and came to a conclusion from his extensive clinical observation with three symptoms; hebephrenia (purposeless, disorganised) catatonia (immobility and anxiety) and paranoia (delusions and hallucinations). He grouped them under dementia praecox (early dementia) as he observed these symptoms in young adult patients. He also identified working memory deficits, attentional deficits and lack of organisation (Kraepelin et al., 1919) The founding father of schizophrenia is Eugen Bleuler, a Swedish psychiatrist, who introduced the schizophrenia term and classified schizophrenia as a mental disorder (Bleuler and Zinkin, 1950) and went beyond Kraepelins observations. He characterised schizophrenia symptoms into primary symptoms and secondary symptoms. Primary symptoms include social withdrawal and attentional deficit and were present in all schizophrenia patients and had brain abnormalities causes. Secondary symptoms which include delusions, hallucination, catatonia and these symptoms were not essential for diagnosis and they had no pathological brain abnormalities. He proposed that there is a link between underlying neurological pathology that results in the manifestation of the symptoms (as cited in Beck, 2009) Besides the positive and negative symptoms experienced by schizophrenia patient cognitive deficits are also one of the core symptoms experienced by schizophrenia patients. Cornblatt and his colleagues (1997) pointed out that attentional deficits and other cognitive deficits observed in patients are part of the disorder symptoms but they are independent of the positive and the negative symptoms and do not respond to treatment (Cornblatt et al., 1997). Cognitive deficits often lead to the expression of psychosis (Erlenmeyer-Kimling et al., 2000) and tend to be no deterioration of the symptoms over time (Albus et al., 2002). Cognitive deficits present even after subsidence of psychosis and unaffected by antipsychotic treatment (Harvey and Keefe, 2001; Keefe et al., 2007). Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) As a result of the devastated implication of this disorder, research has now started to focus on developing drugs to improve cognition in schizophrenia patients and also to improve social and employment. This led the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) to the initiation of the MATRICS (Marder and Fenton, 2004). The MATRICS initiative aim is to improve current treatment and also to develop new drugs that help improve cognition in patients. (Green et al., 2004); MATRIC Program (nd) MATRICS.ucla.edu. [online] Available: http://www.matrics.ucla.edu/.htm. Last accessed 13 December 2009). MATRICS developed a consensus that concluded the main common features of cognitive deficits found in schizophrenia patients. These seven cognitive deficits are: verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, reasoning and problem solving, speed of processing, working memory and social cognition. These seven domains should be represented in a cognitive battery to evaluate the effects of new drugs on cognition in schizophrenia (Nuechterlein et al., 2004). In order to develop new drugs to enhance cognition in schizophrenia, preclinical test batteries are required to model schizophrenia cognitive domains in vivo. Floresco and his colleagues (2005) considered two methods for developing cognitive paradigm and animal models to mimic schizophrenia symptoms by (i) using lesions or drugs intervention to alter systems which contributes to schizophrenia disorder and (ii) to develop animal models that characterise schizophrenia symptomatology (Floresco et al., 2005) Animal models to mimic schizophrenia in Laboratory: PCP was first used as a surgical anaesthetic but it was found to cause schizophrenia-like symptoms in patients after surgery (Morris et al., 2005). PCP antagonises non-competitively N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor (Anis et al., 1983). It binds to site within channel pore which is accessible when the pore is open and antagonism is use use-dependent (Morris et al., 2005). PCP also antagonises other ion channels such as voltage-dependent sodium and potassium channels and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in the same manner as the NMDA receptor but not use-dependent'(Oswald et al., 1984). It also antagonises membrane proteins of sigma receptors and all dopamine and noradrenaline transporters (Garey and Heath, 1976; Pubill et al., 1998). These actions of PCP are less potent than its actions on the NMDA receptor. Yet, schizophrenia patients show reduced CNS nicotinic receptors activity and elevated limbic dopamine level and compromised sodium and potassium channel function (Morris et a l., 2005). Thus, these actions contribute partially to the schizophrenia symptoms and action at NMDA receptor remains the main site of action (Morris et al., 2005) Showing PCP and ketamine to cause schizophrenia-like symptoms in healthy patients ((Adler et al., 1999; Allen and Young, 1978; Krystal et al., 1994; Luby et al., 1959) led to hypothesis that schizophrenia is related to NMDA hypofunction in the limbic system (Olney and Farber, 1995) which is supported by post-mortem examination studies in schizophrenia patients showing evidence of decreased expression of NMDA receptor subunits and associated proteins in the brain of schizophrenia patient compared to control (Noga et al., 1997; Sokolov, 1998) Thus, PCP has been used to model cognitive deficits in animal models (Jentsch and Roth, 1999; Mandillo et al., 2003; Sams-Dodd, 1998). Sub-chronic administration of PCP has been found to produce schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodents (Jentsch and Roth, 1999). Cognitive dysfunction induced by sub-chronic injection of PCP results in deficits in working memory and inhibtitory in control in rodents and monkeys (Jentsch and Roth, 1999). In the present study, we are only concerned with working memory. The term working memory was first introduced by David Olton and Werner Honig in the 1970s (as cited in Dudchenko, 2004). Working memory is defined the retrieval of information learnt over a delay of time within sessions but not necessarily between sessions (Dudchenko, 2004). The holeboard task was developed by Oades in1978 and this behavioural test is useful as it allows each in the test to develop its own method of finding food pellet (Oades and Isaacson, 1978) making this behavioural test a good experimental design to assess spatial working memory in rodents. This test rely on intact hippocampus and performance was impaired following lesions in the ventral tegmentum (Oades, 1982) The test can only be carried out in rats. The test apparatus consisted of an arena 70-70-50cm with 16 holes 3.5cm wide and 2cm deep (Oades and Isaacson, 1978). The animals are left to explore the arena to adapt to the apparatus with food being placed in all of the holes, the animals deprived from food before the beginning of the test and this time food is only allocated at 4 holes out of the 16 holes (Oades and Isaacson, 1978) The test which have been developed to mimic deficits in working memory seen in schizophrenia patients are useful to assess working memory in rodents but with difficulties and confliction in defining working memory between rodents and humans make it hard to model this cognition in animal models and to assess the effect of antipsychotic drugs. The core aim of this study was to assess the effects of sub-chronic PCP treatment on the spatial working memory using the 16-hole. It is expected that sub-chronic treated rats will perform poorly in this task as sub-chronic PCP induce deficits in working memory in animal models (Jentsch and Roth, 1999). Objectives of this experiment is firstly is the habituation of 16 female rats to the 16-hole-board for 3 days and the food is available in all of the 16 holes, then the food will be placed in only 4 holes and the animals will be trained to eat and visit these holes only for 7 days and is then followed by the administration of sub-chronic PCP (2mg/kg, n=8) or vehicle (0.9% saline, n=8) intraperitoneally for 7 days followed by washout of the drug for 7 days and then carrying out the behavioural test.

Colin Powell Essay -- essays research papers

Colin Powell is a strong individual that has over come hardships of his own and that of his country. He is a man that was never satisfied with average and still excels in everything he does. Colin Powell is a leader and a role model to African Americans and the rest of the world. On April 5, 1937 a true hero was born by the name Colin Luther Powell. He was born in Harlem, New York 12 years after his mother Maud and father Luther Theophilus Powell immigrated to New York from Jamaica. Colin grew up in New York City and proved to be a very intelligent human being. The Powell's were a very disciplined and religious family, which proved helpful in many cases. Colin skipped a grade in elementary school while excelling in his grasp for the English language. He proved extremely knowledgeable in many subjects. According to his older sister Marilyn he  ¡Ã‚ §excelled at map drawing and French, and he was elected  ¡Ã‚ ¥class captain ¡Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ ¨. (Senna 9) In 1953 Colin graduated Morris High School at the youthful age of sixteen. He did not have an idea of what he wanted to be all he knew was he wanted to make his parents proud. In the year 1954 Colin took his first step to his brilant future. He enrolled at CCNY (City College of New York). His parents insisted he major in engineering, and he did. He had no desire to further his education but did anyway to make his parents proud. Early in Colin ¡Ã‚ ¦s college career he joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). On June 9,1958 he graduated from CCNY...

Robert Goddard: The Father of Modern Rocketry Essay example -- essays

Robert Hutchings Goddard was a futurist. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 5, 1882. He was the son of a machinist and his father was known for his brilliance with machinery and tools. The Goddard’s moved from Worcester to Boston while Robert was just an infant, because his father went in half and half on a local machine tools shop. In Boston, is where the young Robert Goddard spent his youth as an only child, and most of his younger years were spent alone at home due to his mother’s illness with tuberculosis. Robert would not see his family’s hometown of Worcester again until he was seventeen in 1899. Much of his life was spent as an ill child (Spangenburg, 10), and he was an average student with an aversion to mathematics. Illness kept him out of school entirely in that autumn of 1899, and by this time Robert had only completed his freshman year of high school. Although he was unable to spend a lot of time within institutional walls, the young Goddard was not without a strong yearning to learn--at least to learn science. Much of the time he spent sick at home sick was consumed reading the Scientific American, or books from the library both science and science fiction novels—-especially H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a novel he would re-examine often in later years (Burrows, 32). Robert Goddard found happiness while doing his chores and often used found this time for relaxing. Like many young seventeen year olds, the time was spent daydreaming and this was the case on the 19th day of October 1899. Little did the young man know that this entry in his diary would change his entire life: â€Å"As I looked toward the fields in the east I imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars, and how it would look on a small scale if sent up from the meadow at my feet. . .It seemed to me that a weight whirling around a horizontal shaft, moving more rapidly above than below, could furnish lift by virtue of the greater centrifugal force at the top of the path. I was a different boy when I descended the tree from when I ascended, for existence at last seemed very purposive.† (Yost, 145)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This new idea was known as the linear-force-from-eccentric-rotation, and although it was only a daydream of the young man, it was the spark that would ignite Goddard’s unendin... ...f his research, the inventor was able to accomplish his goal of creating a rocket capable of flight, and his design would later reach the stars. Furthermore, had his work been sponsored by the Armed Forces after the First World War, the space race would have not been such a challenge for the United States (Yost, 144). Dr. Goddard is still revered and remembered as the Father of Modern Rocketry. WORKS CITED Burrows, William. THIS NEW OCEAN: THE STORY OF THE FIRST SPACE AGE. New York: Random House, 1998. Freeman, Marsha. HOW WE GOT TO THE MOON: THE STORY OF THE GERMAN PIONEER. Wash DC: 21st Century Science, 1993. Lehman, Milton. THIS HIGH MAN: THE LIFE OF ROBERT GODDARD. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1963. Levine, Alan. THE MISSILE AND SPACE RACE. Westport: Praeger, 1994. Spangenburg, Ray & Moser, Diane. SPACE EXPLORATION: OPENING THE SPACE FRONTIER. New York: Oxford, 1989. Stockton, William & Wilford, John. SPACELINER. New York: Times, 1981. Time-Life Books. OUTBOUND: VOYAGE THROUGH THE UNIVERSE. Richmond: Time-Life, 1989. Yost, Edna. MODERN AMERICANS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Second Ed., New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962.

Essay --

HEALTHY EATING â€Å"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.†- Hippocrates In order to be healthy, it is important to nourish your body with healthy foods. Not only does food create energy for your body to run optimally, but the food you ingest also affects your mood. First suggested by Hippocrates in the 4th century, the healing power of food was not further explored until the medieval ages when people started to discover how certain foods can alter their mood and temperance. Culinary textbooks dating back to this time described the relationships between food and mood. Written in medieval Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, and early English dialects, these textbooks described food items along with the good or bad effects that came from eating them (Prasad, 1998). Over the past century, immense progress has been made in researching the connection between the food we eat and brain structure, chemistry, and physiology affecting mood and performance. It is shown that foods directly influencing the brain neurotransmitter systems have the greatest effects on mood. The relationship between food and mood is very complex and depends on many factors, including the time of day, the composition of food, the amount of food, age, gender, dietary history, and circadian rhythms. However, we are able to draw some conclusions on how different foods generally affect our moods and brain chemistry. Neurotransmitters and neuromodulars are units of chemical communication within our nervous systems. Used by the brain and nerve cells to communicate with one another, neurotransmitters tell us information about our environment and control our moods (Challem, 2007). Without the correct amount and balance of neurotransmitters, the brain wil... ...en they hear spirituality, they are not necessarily synonyms. While the definition is different for everyone, the essence of spirituality is the search to know our real self in order to discover the true nature of consciousness. Developing spirituality can offer many emotional and physical benefits for you, including a more conscious knowledge of your own perception and personality. This is also called self-awareness. Self-awareness allows you to understand other people and your interactions with them. By developing self-awareness, you will be able to make changes in your thoughts in order to have more control over your own emotions. College can be a very stressful and trying time, but if you are persistent in putting your health first and implement some of the techniques we’ve discussed for stress reduction and healthy habits, you are bound to be successful.

Network security and business

Company X is reputed to be the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of sportswear (sports shoes and vestments) and sports equipments with its headquarters situated in Oregon, Portland metropolitan area. The company presently accrued 16 billion US dollar worth excess revenue in 2007 only. In the year 2008, that company is credited to have recruited 30,000 employees globally, while at the same time maintaining its status as the sole grand crown holder of the Fortune 500 title as far the state of Oregon is concerned. In this essay, the vulnerabilities experienced by the company shall be looked at in respect to network security which entails working towards the protection of information that is passed o0r stored through or within the computer. The company was founded in 1964 and then later re branded in 1978. The company is so well established that it does not only sell its products under its own company name, but it also does so through its subsidiaries. In addition to this, company X also owns other sports companies. In an effort to realize expansion, company X extended its services to run retail stores under its name. As a result of this, the company X has approximately 19,000 retail departments in the US alone. In the same vein, the company sells its products to about 140 countries globally. The company has been traditionally sponsoring sportsmen and women around the globe and has very distinct logo and slogans. The slogans used by this company unlike those of the fellow competitors, made it to the top five slogans of the 20th century, and was accredited for this by the Smithsonian Institution. In 1980, company X had hit the 50% market share mark in the the United States, being only 16 years old. The most recent type of inventions by this company involves the production of new models of cricket shoes which in comparison to their competitors, are 30% lighter (Bernstein, 1996). The company seeks to maintain its vibrant market and maintains its upper hand against its competitors by producing products that are appealing to the tastes of the materialistic youth. The sports wear company produces and sells assortments used in sundry and diverse world of sports sch as basket ball, athletics, golf, American football (rugby), tennis, wrestling, skating, football and skate boarding, among others. The company X having become a global entity, also faces many problems that come with expansionism. The troubles touch on cases of workers' rights in relation to the occupation safety and health matters. These cases are more distributed in the developing economies than in developed ones. Conversely, there are also issues about social responsibility that border on the environmental safety in relation to the production processes and wastes produced by the company. The problem also stretches to its outsourcing vendors, who together with the company have been challenged by critics to work towards carbon neutrality. Critics have also dismissed as lies the claim by the company that it increased the salary scale of its workers by 95%. These critics posit that the company seeks to always exploit its workers, of whom 58% are young adults aged between 22- 24 years, while 83% of the workers are women. Half of these workers in these companies are said   to have gone through their high school educational programs.   Because few of these people have work related skills, critics maintain, the subsidiaries of company X are reported to be using this state of affairs to exploit their employees by issuing them very minimal wages (Mc Nab, 2004). Again, it is reported that out of company X's contract factories, 20% deal in the casual production of of the products. These factories are always bedeviled by cases of harassment and abuse (of which the company has moved in to sort out the situation by liaising with the Global Alliance in order to review the first twenty one of the most notorious factories. The company also set up the prescribed code of conduct so as to inculcate social responsibility among the workers. Spates of continual human rights abuse nevertheless continued to persist. In Indonesia for example, 30.2% of the workers of company X are reported to have been victims of exploitation. 56% of these workers are said to have undergone verbal abuse. In about the same spectrum, 7.8% are reported to have succumbed to unwanted sexual comments, while 3.3% are said to have been abused physically. In Pakistan, the matter deteriorated to cases of child abuse and the conscription of child labor. For instance, in the same country, the issue came to the global attention when pictures were displayed, portraying children knitting football which were to be then sold by this company. Another matter that haunts this company X is the protection of information, or commonly called by the corporate world and the computer science and management as network security. Of recent developments, concerns over privacy have soared, and become subject to public furore and debates when it was found out by security experts after conducting a research in the University of Washington, that company X's iPod sport kit had the ability to track people . Initially, the surveillance system that works through the company's iPod sports kit had been designed to allow the user (mainly the sports person) of this facility to take note of the calories that have been burned, the speed, the distance covered and the time dispensed when undertaking sports activities. The kit was fitted with a transmitter that was designed to be stuck on the shoes and the iPod's transmitter. The tracking is made possible by the fact that the transmitter relays particular ID. Although the problem first seemed minuscule due to the fact that the information could only be accessed from a 60 feet away shoe, yet it was found out later that more problems, it seemed would set in since the surveillance or tracking system was then fed to the Google maps (Sloot, 2003). In order to bring in ameliorations in this matter, comprehensive laws are being proposed so that company X and its counterparts who use these systems can be forced to beef up security into the models- a measure which these companies are ignoring. Some related speculations are also rife that the company's retailing contractors   are using the RFID tags for tracking their consignments and keeping track of the stock market. This problem is hydra headed since apart from the obvious fact that this may scare away potential customers, it still has exposed the company to anti company X campaigns which have widely been   activated and managed by the Caspian organization in the US. Customers will shy away from the products since the communication system of the company X seems to have been compromised in its CIA (confidentiality, integrity and availability) of information security. Confidentiality portends that only the permitted authorities access information, while integrity ensures that information stays only within the precincts of the authorized handlers. Availability on the other hand demands that those who are authorized access information are be able to so do efficiently and quickly. The external leaking in and out of confidential information can be very costly and should always be avoided Company X is working out to ameliorate this problem. On 5th March 2008, in Oregon, it held a meeting in which the departmental heads and subsidiary representatives met, and analyzed the extent of the vulnerability (they had already come into the board meeting, having known the nature, and the extent of the risk). As an immediate contingency, company X decided that it was going to suspend the sale of the iPod transmitters as a measure to instill risk avoidance. Having also become aware that there was also the danger of information systems being invaded by hackers, (as was seen in the 31st July, 2007 when in Pakistan tens of its computers succumbed), consensus was arrived at that all computer systems in the organizations adopt the man- in- between technique by adopting the firewall computer security system that will be able to detect the nature of the on coming information. On another front, the company X agreed that it was to globally look at its wireless networking: the technology that the supports the connectivity of each computer to a specific network or networks. This does not portend coming up with a new system of networking, but bolstering the configurations and the security systems. New and stronger RAMs( Random Access Memory ) were bought and have already been set in place.   This will ensure that the roiter system within the company's area of jurisdictions are very strong and very fast in detecting anomalies (Raquet and Saxe, 2005). The computer technicians in company X suggested that the leaking of the company's secret information could be due to the fact that the computer connectivity in Pakistan could have been in the open mode configuration. These technicians elaborated that open computer mode connectivity allows anyone even without the building to access information from an open mode configured computer. The situations becomes more vulnerable in the present day due to the portability of the computers (laptops and palm tops). Open mode wireless computers have a preset name that makes the computer to, on being turned on, start broadcasting packets which prompt all wireless devices within the precincts about the availability of connectivity (Albanese and Sonnenreich, 2003). However, should the computers be switched on to closed configuration, the beacon packets are no longer broadcasted by the access point. It was also discovered that although the headquarters were already filtered, yet not all of the subsidiaries were. It is an this backdrop that the computer technicians under the aegis of the company's information and technology department recommended that the Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP)   be introduced to ward off even the most sophisticated hackers. Wireless Encryption Protocol ensure that the data that is being relayed is not in the readable format, but instead, it becomes only readable after being decoded in a backward manner on being received. This leaves the data unreadable on being captured in between transition since the data is still encoded. The hacker is frustrated unless in possession of the knowledge about the   original address. Conclusion. As a concept, network security is very important in the realization of a company's secret information. Good and comprehensive network security keeps secret information from flowing outwards to unwanted parties, while at the same time, enabling efficient flow of information within an enterprise. The systems of communication ( the hardware, the software and the orgware ) is also adequately protected. Company X would accrue higher returns if it enhanced all of its network security systems within its disposal. References. Albanese, J. and Sonnenreich, W. (2003). Illustrations on network security. US: Mc Graw Hill. Bernstein, T. (1996). Internet security designed for business. US: Wiley. Mc Nab, C. (2004). Assessment of network security. US: O' Rielley. Raquet, C. and Saxe, W. (2005). Advocacy and governance of business network security. US: Cisco Press. Sloot, P. (2003). International conference of computational science.

Core Values

Marco Aurelien Period 1st Mr. Hill British Lit Beowolf: To leave or not to leave In many ways the ancient Greek and Roman of Beowulf times are intertwined with the modern lives that all of us lead today. These antiquities affect us beyond the obvious government, theatrical, and social practices. The core values of this era mirror and shape our modern core values and morals of today. Pietas – loyalty, gravitas – seriousness, and dignitas – respect are all things that were seen as important at this time period just as they are seen as important in todays world.It is easy to talk about the obvious positive traits that characters have shown in the epic novels or poems we have read but it is more interesting to look at the shadows on grey in a person to show the realism within. The more difficult way of comparing these different eras is to look at the morals and core values that the citizens lived by. Pietas, gravitas, and dignitas, are three general core values that every one in society must show and live by on a daily basis. In Beowulf, he had the task to going up against what seemed to be an undefeatable and despised monster that could ultimately lead to his demise.Most would say that Beowulf should a large amount of bravery and Gravitas to go and venture to Denmark to defeat Grendel. Another vantage point is that in actuality Beowulf lacked Pietas to his nation in leaving to fight a battle that was not his own. Though his father had left him in debt of a favor to King Hrothgar, it was his own choice to follow in his father’s footsteps as a warrior. Beowulf was an exemplary example of Dignitas in all aspect of his life, as a role model and giving and commanding respect from everyone. These core values still surround us in modern times everyday and are necessary in order to succeed in life.A student must exhibit all of these things if they are attempting to become a well-rounded scalar and human being. If everyone demonstrates pietas, o r loyalty, towards his or her community and school they will have a strong support system around them allowing them to reach their true potential. Students should have a certain level of gravitas, or seriousness, in order to create a safe and effective learning environment for not only his or herself but for everyone around them. While it is important for students to have pietas and gravitas is even more important that that student had dignitas, or respect, for others and for themselves.Everyone may believe that Beowulf exhibited the core values at all times but it can be proven that he did not. These ancient values are as relevant as possible in the modern day world. We may have been able to do without theater or even a democratic political system but if people began living without pietas, dignitas, and gravitas society would fall apart. The modern citizen must exhibit all of these core values if they expect to be successful and if they do they are eventually going to do well in li fe. Core Values Marco Aurelien Period 1st Mr. Hill British Lit Beowolf: To leave or not to leave In many ways the ancient Greek and Roman of Beowulf times are intertwined with the modern lives that all of us lead today. These antiquities affect us beyond the obvious government, theatrical, and social practices. The core values of this era mirror and shape our modern core values and morals of today. Pietas – loyalty, gravitas – seriousness, and dignitas – respect are all things that were seen as important at this time period just as they are seen as important in todays world.It is easy to talk about the obvious positive traits that characters have shown in the epic novels or poems we have read but it is more interesting to look at the shadows on grey in a person to show the realism within. The more difficult way of comparing these different eras is to look at the morals and core values that the citizens lived by. Pietas, gravitas, and dignitas, are three general core values that every one in society must show and live by on a daily basis. In Beowulf, he had the task to going up against what seemed to be an undefeatable and despised monster that could ultimately lead to his demise.Most would say that Beowulf should a large amount of bravery and Gravitas to go and venture to Denmark to defeat Grendel. Another vantage point is that in actuality Beowulf lacked Pietas to his nation in leaving to fight a battle that was not his own. Though his father had left him in debt of a favor to King Hrothgar, it was his own choice to follow in his father’s footsteps as a warrior. Beowulf was an exemplary example of Dignitas in all aspect of his life, as a role model and giving and commanding respect from everyone. These core values still surround us in modern times everyday and are necessary in order to succeed in life.A student must exhibit all of these things if they are attempting to become a well-rounded scalar and human being. If everyone demonstrates pietas, o r loyalty, towards his or her community and school they will have a strong support system around them allowing them to reach their true potential. Students should have a certain level of gravitas, or seriousness, in order to create a safe and effective learning environment for not only his or herself but for everyone around them. While it is important for students to have pietas and gravitas is even more important that that student had dignitas, or respect, for others and for themselves.Everyone may believe that Beowulf exhibited the core values at all times but it can be proven that he did not. These ancient values are as relevant as possible in the modern day world. We may have been able to do without theater or even a democratic political system but if people began living without pietas, dignitas, and gravitas society would fall apart. The modern citizen must exhibit all of these core values if they expect to be successful and if they do they are eventually going to do well in li fe.

Legalization of Drugs

SURE WANT TO LEGALIZE DRUGS? In the century of freedom that we are living in, we have started to face this new world’s new problems and new situations such as legalization of drugs. Many people are having dilemmas about drug legalization coming between ethical values and right of freedom. However, surely forbidding something for people’s and communities’ own benefits doesn’t go along with our perception of democracy and freedom. What freedom means is being able to do whatever individuals want without disturbing others’ rights and freedoms.Then we should mainly focus on the â€Å"†¦without disturbing others’ rights and freedoms. † part . Therefore , even if we are not the one’s that are capable of legislating , governments should care about our voices and be careful about this subject; because of legalizing drugs and giving people the right individually use of drugs regarding public’s rights and freedom will cause lot s of consequences and problems. Therefore , in this precise situation , drugs should not be legalized in Turkey. Legalization of drugs will bring some problems with itself.First of all, legalization of drugs will increase drug usage and the number of drug addicts as it will be stabled in our daily lives with power of laws. Therefore drug usage will seem normal as everyone will have right to use it, and people will find enough confidence to try it even tough they don’t really want to use it , but fur to curiosity. If we look into our past legalization experiences such as legalization of alcohol or smoking , we can easily see the correlation between the number of addicts and legalization of additional materials.Secondly, increase in drug usage will increase the crime rate related to drugs. We are going to be able to the violence movie scenes in our streets as underground drug wars will spread to aboveground, the increase in drug addicts will increase the number of people in nee d of drugs, and it will occur the easiest way of drug afford: violence. As Magnnins (n. d. ) stated in his article although drug legalization will reduce the cost of drugs it will feed the habit. Therefore, the crimes with related to drugs will increase. (pg. 3-4).Lastly , drug legalization will damage the social relations among in public. The drug users are mostly psychologically unhealthy people as they do not care about anything but drugs , and due to their lack of logical thinking. The careless attitude that drug addicts exhibit in their social lives could be managed for a time by their relatives, but how long this relatives can stand this as more and more people become addicts? Specifically, Turkish traditional and religious norms do not fit to legalization of drug usage and this will lead us to having social problems.In such a country like Turkey that has population is formed by more than %95 Muslim people , it is hard to expect everyone to obey a law which is strictly forbidd en in their holly book. The ones who are for legalization of drugs mostly have same supporting ideas that they see enough evidence for drug legalization. Firstly, as legalization will make drug usage legal and provide some laws, it will put drug usage under government control. They assume that government control will help drug users as governments will be able to keep track of drug usage, put quotes and even can generate income by putting taxes.However, they miss some really important points like government control will not only be unable to stop drug usage also creates some responsibilities for Turkish government. If we look into the alcohol and smoke usage in Turkey , we can easily see that governments can not control drug usage by quotes and taxes. In addition, government control issue will bring problems for the Turkish government such as building rehabilitation centers for addicts and governmental care and responsibility for drug usage as Gargaro(1996) stated in her article â⠂¬Å"notice all the regulation and laws surrounding cigarettes?Legal drugs means MORE LAWS , MORE REGULATION AND MORE GOVERNMENT, higher taxes and higher insurance rates. †(pg:3). The second point that drug legalization fans cry is â€Å"Drug usage is an individual choice† which actually means to do whatever individual likes ,which is a right given by freedom , and drugs should be legalized as alcohol and smoke usage in Turkey. We understand this also from Block’s(2000) words which mainly points that not legalizing drugs means controlling individuals opinions and rights(pg:4-5). Yet, regard that it is a social issue more than individuality problem.As drug users physiologic situations don’t let them think critically, it will lead us to have more troubles in the community. As Maginnis(n. d. ) claims drug usage is not a personal issue as drug users’ families and society also endures the consequences like the baby on its drug user mother’s stomach (pg:10). To sum up, drug legalization is a sensitive situation, and the ones that stand for drug legalization should think critically, take into account the consequences of it such as effects of increasing number of addicts on ociety like increasing crime rate, possible damages on social relationships before they yelling â€Å"legalization will put it under government control† and â€Å"drug usage is an individual choice†. They should mainly not regard the meaning of freedom: being able to whatever individuals would like to do WITHOUT DUSTURBING OTHERS’ RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. REFENANCES: * Block , W. (2000) . Legalize Drugs Now. American Journal of Economics and Sociology * Gargaro , C. C. (1996). Drugs * Maginnis , R. L. (n. d. ). Legalization of drugs: The Myths and the Facts

Identify and fully describe the main developments Essay

1. Identify and fully describe the main developments of Operating Systems, giving examples of their origins and use. Batch Operating Systems were an early operating system available, and were first introduced in the mid 50’s. They were designed to make human manual work easier; humans were replicating identical jobs over and over again, hence in batch. A batch operating system keeps itself eventful; it does this by taking jobs from a batch queue, instead of waiting for people to submit jobs. The jobs are then processed one or more at a time under control of the operating system, however most jobs undertaken in this operating system would be single-task. These type of operating system were often left to work overnight, mainly because the jobs were ‘batched’ the next job in the queue would be commenced as soon as the previous job had been completed, this way of processing would allow for a large work load to be automatically completed without the requirement to wait and tell the computer to do the next job. Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS) are often embedded, meaning a integral part of a system inside another device. They have very little user interface capability. Real time operating systems like their name implies, respond to an input immediately. â€Å"Real time operating systems are capable of processing data so quickly that the results are available to influence the activity currently taking place. † [Computer Science 5th Edition, CS French, Ashford Press Gosport, 1996] Real time operating systems guarantee a certain capability within a specified time constraint; these time constraints are usually very rigid. If the system does not conform to this time limit, the system ultimately fails. They are used for various purposes; a few of these are medical equipment, industrial control systems and car computers. Parallel Systems have more than one processor to carry out a single job. The systems often carry out one single job using the resources of both processors of the machine; however some systems will have a processor dedicated to a single task. These operations work in parallel (side by side) of one another. Distributed Systems act as an illusion to a user. A multiple number of nodes are set up on a network, to allow data access or device sharing. This allows for other users of different machines to access data on another machine on the network. For example at college a student logs on to the machine, the machine seems local to the user, the user observes the system as using its own local drives and devices. However these Drives and devices are setup on a client-server machine but appear to be local to the user. Time Sharing Operating Systems allow multi-tasking, the operating system shares a slice of the processor resources to designated programs and users logged on to the system. For example, it is not unusual for a home user to have a word processing package, internet browser and a multimedia package to be open at the same time. Microsoft Windows is a great example for allowing this. Personal Computer Operating Systems were brought about in the early 70’s. However it wasn’t until the 1980’s that they became popular, and the focus of the operating system changed from the hardware aspect, to that of the user interface (how the user observes the operating system). Personal Computer Systems are simply operating systems that share the processors resources for single user’s tasks. The main concept behind personal computer operating systems is the user interface. The workings are important; however the main principal is that the user is entirely interactive with the system. These are perhaps the most difficult for designers to produce, as a very high level knowledge of user interface design is required. This is to allow users of any level to use the system comfortably. It allows for considerable power for a single user to run high-tech graphics and multimedia packages. These operating systems evolved in to very capable systems, allowing for heavy multi-tasking usage. Examples of Personal Computer operating systems are as follows: Microsoft Windows Linux Apple Macintosh MAC OS 2. Identify and fully describe the main purposes of an operating system. All components of the operating system are required to be covered, to clearly show an understanding of what each component does and how they ‘fit’ into the overall system design. Process Management Process management is a way of tracking processes and managing them in such a way that there is enough processor resources to correctly function. Process is another word for a task that is to be performed by the computer. Along with a process is a set of information about the particular process. The information required to track these processes are stored in a data package called a ‘Process Control Block (PCB). The process control block contains the following information about a process:   An identification number that uniquely identifies the process Owner ID – An identification of the user/device who the process belongs to   Priority – A number to represent its priority to the system   Status – What its current state is. This is 1 of 3 states (Ready, Waiting, Running). Units of Processor Time Used   Resources waiting for – for example paper for the printer.   Link to Another PCB –   Registers – the registers the process has contents in. Process ID 239845 Owner ID Chris. Oliver Priority 25 Status Waiting Units of Processor Time Used 264 Resource waiting for Disks [printer] Link to another PCB Next PCB in wait Queue Registers Contents of registers when process last stopped running An example of a PCB is shown below: this is for a print job A Processes state is diagrammatically shown below, this shows state transition and how it works. A process can be in one of five states; these five states are as follows: State Definition HOLD A process’s state at the beginning, this is when the devices and memory allocation size is decided. READY this state is when the process has been allocated all the resources required and is ready for being operated on by the computer RUNNING This state is when the process is in the CPU WAITING This is when the process stops because of an input or output waiting to be completed. The process is removed from the processor and is allocated this state. It is given this state until the input or output is given the all clear. FINISHED This is when the process has been finished, and all the devices used by the process have been released ready for the next process. Deadlocks Deadlocks occur when a multiple number of processes fight for very little resources available from the processor. For example one process has been granted the allocation of the modem, however is waiting for a text file, but process two has the text file and is waiting for the modem. In this instance each process will not gather the resources required because they have been allocated to another process, this is where a deadlock occurs. Process Management in an operating system has the job to destroy one of the processes to allow for one of the processes to be put in the ‘ready’ queue. Scheduling Scheduling is a method in the operating system that allows processes to enter the ready queue allowing them to then take execution. The strategies used to take these processes and allow them to be ready for execution are as follows:   Process the maximum amount of jobs.   Sharing out processing time equally to users   Providing acceptable response times, this is in the form of not running intensive programs while users are logged on to the system. Keeping devices as busy as possible.   Attempting to gradually freeing up of processes, instead of crashing.   Avoid Deadlocking Scheduling is comprised of three sections: 1 – Long Term Scheduling – this is where processes are batched together, when the resources and space are free the process is then executed. This type of scheduling is used for jobs like heavy overnight print jobs. 2 – Mid-Term Scheduling – this is where a decision is made as to whether the processor is to busy for the amount of processes attempting to use it, the decision can be then fixed by terminating processes. When the system is free again the process can be re-executed. 3 – Short Term Scheduling is a where the next process is selected from the ready queue; it uses algorithms to do this. Shortest burst time – being the time spent running before the process will have to wait before an input or output operation. Shortest remaining time is the processes that have very little time left; this inevitably allows space for another process to execute. Priority scheduling – a control that allow special circumstance processes to execute through the system quickly. Round robin – limits the time a process is allowed to run before it is removed, it is then placed back in the ready queue. Memory Management Memory is an area in which data and instructions are stored. These operations must be managed by an operating system in order for the system to be stable and to run fluently. Memory management within an operating system must ensure that a process has enough memory to run, ensuring it does not go in to another processes slot as this causes corruption. This management is a way of protecting memory from becoming unstable. Memory management is also responsible for using the computers other memory sources effectively, to ensure programs run smoothly and effectively. This is handled by using virtual memory; using the hard disc drive as a temporary memory source for processes and data. This can benefit the user in various ways: – The user is not rigidly restricted to space available. Using a large virtual memory space provides convenience for instances where large programs etc. are required to be stored in memory. – Users are using less physical memory; therefore the system can handle more users on the system. High Speed Cache is a fast memory storage; cache predicts the data that the CPU may need next, it then retrieves it from RAM and places it in to the high speed cache, this speeds up system performance, as cache is a lot faster than RAM is in providing for the processor. The operating systems task is to control an even flow of the processes and decide where they should go practically, moving processes to the best location as the scheduler asks it to do so. This scheduler knows what process is next in line therefore can tell memory it is next and to move it to a suitable location for it to be quickly accessed. Paging Paging is a method used in operating systems to make a program’s memory non-contiguous, in simple terms; allowing a program to be allocated to any memory location available. This is used when a bulk of data is bigger than the memory allocation it has been given; it firstly fills the memory allocation provided, and then stores the rest of the data in any space available in memory. This method of splitting the data is known as ‘Fragmentation’. This decreases system performance. Defragmentation To enhance the performance of the memory of a secondary storage medium, the operating system runs an operation called ‘Defragmentation’. Defragmentation is a process that sorts data in to a contiguous sequence. If a non-contiguous set of data is found, it will be relocated and stored as a whole. The image above is an illustration to show pictorially how a storage device could look in a data structure. As you can see fragmented files are scattered. If this data was attempted to be retrieved it would be slower feedback to the user as the data has been fragmented and would have to be found first. If data is to be found quickly and retrieved without a problem, the diagram below shows how a data structure should pictorially look. The image shows a contiguous data structure, with no fragmented files. This is the idea state for a system to be operated under. File and Disk Management TALK ABOUT HOW MEMORY IS STORED – i. e. CONTIGIOUS – Blocks of data are assigned in a complete row, using this method the files are simple to access. The space must be large enough to store all the data Files may become larger, therefore the space may be too small in the future, then it will need relocating (moved) This then causes fragmentation of the storage device. , NON CONTIGIOUS Files are recognised by operating systems and worked upon by using file extensions. A file consist of two parts, one being the unique name to the user, second being the file extension related to the program that runs that type of file. The operating system recognises exactly which program to open when the file is run. The way that files and data are managed, is critical to the performance of the computer and the security of the data. File management within an operating system provides a logical way for the user to observe there data, instead of having the complication of the physical implementation. Operating systems main job in this area is to ensure that data is stored and relocated correctly, as well as having the responsibility to process files, find space to store them, and to retrieve this data at any time. For example a . PDF file when run will be recognised by the operating system to be open in Adobe Acrobat Reader, providing the program is installed on the computer. An operating system can perform several different tasks towards files, they are as follows: Operation/Task Function Create finding space for it on storage medium, a new record made in directory Write Finds the file from directory and adds data to it. Read Finds the file then puts it in to memory and a read pointer is used to track where the next read place is to take place. In most operating systems however, a write pointer is held at this point, in-case the user intends to write to the file while reading Delete finds the file, then frees all space given to it, this is then erased from the computer Files are a collection of saved information that is stored on a type of storage medium for later retrieval. File attributes are the information related to the file, just like we have information related to ourselves, i. e. telephone number and home address. A files attributes are vital in order for the operating system to create a file structure system, it does this by using the attributes to sort the files in to some kind of order. For computer data files there are a set of minimum attributes related to them, they are as follows: Attribute Name Role Name an identifier to the user, in the form of a string of characters Type the type of file it is, this is important as different operating systems handle different types of files differently. Location Information held about where the file is stored, usually in the form of a path to it. e. g. C:Documents and SettingsChrisAssignment. doc. Size The size of the file (in bytes) e. g. 270kb. Protection Permissions to who can access the file. I. e. Read Only Date when the file was created, modified or accessed. Author the person the file was created and saved by. Directories Directories are a hierarchical way of separating these files; directories simply make it simpler for users to relocate the file at another time. The root is the top directory of a file system; the root is determined by the operating system. The root directory is usually the bootable device on a home computer system. Commonly C: Paths are a list of directories that the operating system goes through to find a run able file. For example: C:windowscdplayer. exe The operating system will go in to the ‘root’ and then in to the directory ‘Windows’ the file named ‘cdplayer. exe’ will then be located and executed. Tree Structure – are of a hierarchical nature, therefore the top level is the root of the directory and every other sub directory from which all other directories stem off. A Backslash is used to separate and indicate directories within directories (sub directories) Directories allow a method for the operating system to easy locate files. Volumes are a fixed amount of storage space allocated on a device. If a hard disc drive has two partitions set up, then it is said to have ‘two’ volumes because it has two separate fixed storage spaces. Formatting a device in turn means to prepare it for read and write access. It does this by wiping all drive information that has been pre-set, it then tests each sector of the disc to ensure they are reliable enough for read and writing in and out of. File Allocation Techniques FAT (File Allocation Table) 32. Located on the storage device, basically holds the relevant information in a table, to find the data on the disk. its security does not measure up to that of NTFS and its filename size constraint is poor to that of NTFS. Searches from top to bottom when looking for a file. Contains the first block of each file on the disk, Requires a tremendous amount of space NTFS (New Technology File System) Used in Windows NT based operating systems Uses a similar table to that of FAT32 to keep track of file locations Looks at directory structure from the side to help speed up the location of files Uses Link Listed Allocation. Linked allocation creates inked lists using disk sectors as nodes. For example, if the sector size is 512 bytes, and it takes a 32 bit number to represent the next block address, then only 508 bytes can be used to store data (the other 4 bytes are used to locate the next file sector). This approach eliminates external fragmentation (since even the smallest block can now be used). Some problems with this approach are that seeking within a file is now difficult. For example, if we’re interested in the last 100 bytes of a 100mb file, we need to traverse all the sectors of the file (follow links) to get to the last 100 bytes. Another major issue is that we need to do a disk seek with every disk sector (unless disk sectors are contiguous). And yet another issue with this is that storing pointers on every disk sector uses up a lot of disk space. UNIX Used I-Nodes – an indexed file allocation method. Its fast for small blocks of data and can accommodate extremely large volumes of data RAM Disk RAM disks are a temporary storage solution, data cannot be permanently saved, and data is lost on any type of system shut off. I. e. system reboots. A Random Access Memory disk is a segment of the main memory that is left for extra storage if required. This is otherwise known as a ‘Virtual Drive’. The main use for this area is that of performing operations to files, this is a better way of performing operations as the rate at which they can be performed on are that much higher than that of a physical drive. Size constraints are a major problem with RAM disks, as they are limited to that only of the RAM contained in the machine. For example in modern home computer systems 256mb of RAM is contained, therefore only 256megabyte of RAM disc can be used. 256mb in today’s computing is very little in comparison to what users require. OS Services – files, copy, delete, rename, view, find, backup Directories – create, rename, list, delete Programming, Open, close, read, write, seek File allocation methods, FAT 32, NTFS, UNIX, Disk caching RAM disk Defragmentation I/O System Management DMA DMA takes control of the system by imitating the processor; it does this to enable itself to transfer data to and from the memory using the system bus. Buffering is required primarily because of the slow nature of I/O Device function. It is a way of smoothing out an I/O operation, Virtual Segmentation – each process is divided in to slices (segments) non-resident Caching and Spooling of Input and output devices Drivers System Components ( CPU, RAM, System Bus, Local Buses, Device Controllers, Control Registers, Devices). IO response System (polling, interrupts, I/O, DMA Kernal Layers, Purpose, Device, Drivers, System calls Device Management Device management controls hardware resources; this includes the control over selection and operation of the devices used for input, output or storage. 2. Select an appropriate type of operating system for the following ICT needs, giving the choice of current operating systems [trade names]: a) Local council office department in charge of the collection, and distribution of council tax. b) A national car-rental agency, whose main computing centre is located in Sheffield, through which all of the daily transactions for the business are conducted. c) An electro-plating circuit board manufactures. d) A travelling company representative, who uses technology to keep in touch with his office. 3. Research and identify the different operating systems currently available for desktop computers. From your research and investigations of these operating systems you must critically evaluate them. This evaluation should clearly demonstrate your understanding of the differences found including and potential disadvantages. Bibliography http://www. cse. lehigh. edu/~glennb/um/book/c10os. htm http://dragon. acadiau. ca/~dbenoit/3713/slides/pdf/Week2. 1_History. pdf http://cne. gmu. edu/itcore/processes/Time. html http://www. netnam. vn/unescocourse/os/35. htm#3. 5. 3%20Virtual%20memory%20concept http://www. cs. aue. auc. dk/~akbar/ospdfiles/wschap7. PDF Books [Computer Science 5th Edition, CS French, Ashford Press Gosport, 1996].