Composer Style report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Composer Style report - Essay Example To understand the bona fide class of this maestro, it is important to look at his background as to how he became the archetypal of the classical and romantic era. Ludwig Van Beethoven, of German Origin was born on December 17, 1770 in the home of Johann who was proficient teacher of violin, piano and voice. Teaching music was his bread and butter as he was a chapel master (Kapellmeister). Since his early age, Beethoven used to sing soprano in the very same electoral chapel where his father was the chapel master who taught Beethoven, violin and piano. Since 8 years of age, he studied with quite a lot of local organists, even received piano lessons from Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer, where violinist like Franz Rovantini present him violin and viola lessons. Even though as a born artist, Beethoven’s musical brilliance was associated to that of Mozart’s, he never exceeded the elementary level in school education. In his teens in 1787, he went to Vienna for unknown reasons, but some say that he even met Mozart and took lessons from him. In a two weeks time when he came back his world suddenly changed for him as his mother died and his fa ther became a drunkard. Beethoven, at the age of 19, formally requested to be known as the head of the house and started receiving half of his fathers salary to support his siblings. Beethoven shifted to Vienna in 1792 where his father died in the very same year. His father died in December that same year. He studied with Haydn for a limited time as there was a personality clash. Beethoven then studied with the best known teacher in Vienna, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. With him he learned contrapuntal and counterpoint exercises in free writing, in two to four-part fugues, in imitation, choral fugues, double fugue, double counterpoint at the various intervals, canon and triple counterpoint.

The Future Financial Health of Look Ahead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Future Financial Health of Look Ahead - Essay Example The monthly cash flow statements for Look Ahead are given in the table below. Cash Flow is one of the most important aspects of every business. A cash flow statement shows the total of the actual cash inflows and outflows of a business. A cash flow can be prepared for any time period. It helps the company get a clear view of the liquidity at any given point in time (Gillespie et al, 1997). The statements for Look Ahead provide valuable insight into the liquidity position of the company. The cash flow statements indicate that the liquidity position of Look Ahead will be very weak based on the estimates. Hence it is essential to opt for other sources of funds for maintaining a strong liquidity position (Berry and Jarvis, 1996). The overdraft calculations in the statement indicate the amount required by Look Ahead to prevent negative bank balance. From the table, it is evident that Look Ahead must have a Bank Overdraft option for at least  £ 270,000. The Profit and Loss Statement for Look Ahead is presented below. Profit and Loss Account is a financial statement which shows the companies profits and losses for a given period. A profit and loss account helps the company analyze how the profit or loss arose i.e. the main cause/s for the profit or loss, so as to make informed decisions for the future (Arnold et al, 1985). Based on the estimates, Look Ahead forecasts a profit of  £ 80,000. Profit and Loss statement includes all the expenses and the income recorded during the period, irrespective of whether the payment was received (Britton and Watterston, 1996). The projected balance sheet of Look Ahead in December 2007 is presented below. It is evident that Look Ahead needs to give due consideration to its cash inflows and other sources of funding, as the ending bank balance is negative. Also, the balance sheet indicates a total of  £ 240,000 as debt.

Intelligence Test Use Bias Education Essay

Intelligence Test Use Bias Education Essay Bias in test use occurs when deficiencies in the test itself or the manner in which it is used result in different meanings for scores earned by members of different identifiable subgroups (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999, p. 74). Bias in testing has been of interest since the origin of testing. Students referred for an assessment to determine special education eligibility are given standardized cognitive and achievement tests administered by a school psychologist or educational diagnostician. These tests are part of a comprehensive assessment which includes measuring general intellectual ability, specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and academic achievement. Data from these tests are important in determining eligibility for special education placement. This paper will review the literature that addresses the test bias associated with intelligence test use as it is used to assess special education students for initial and continued eligibility for services. This literature review will examine race, culture and gender as it relates to test bias. In addition, it will briefly review the literature surrounding the significant litigation pertaining to test bias in intelligence testing of special education students. The literature dealing with standardized testing is broad and includes some issues of testing non-disabled students because many issues are relevant to all students. Far from being a neutral practice, intelligence testing perpetuates and intensifies educational inequities in two ways: through the misuse of test scores; and because test bias works against the interests of students from low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, girls and young women, and students with disabilities (Froese-Germain, 1999). The goal of this research is to identify the major theories and opinions related to intelligence test bias and issues relating to the use of these tests with respect to overrepresentation in special education. Intelligence Test Use Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, mandated free and appropriate public education for children, ranging in age between 3 and 21, who have disabilities (Mercer, 1991) and identified eleven qualifying categories. In 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) included two more categories in the definition of disabilities for a total of thirteen. As these disabilities are categorized, testing, classification, and placement in special education programs are unavoidable (de la Cruz, 1996). The primary criterion in identifying students with learning disabilities is the discrepancy between achievement and intelligence (Mercer, 1991). Siegel (1989) disagreed with this fact and stated that IQ tests are inaccurate and irrelevant in the qualification of learning disabilities. The use of IQ tests for the purpose of qualifying students for special education placement is at the forefront of the test bias controversy. Despite this fact, IQ tests continue to be used to identify students for special education. Racial Bias Jensen (1980) has published what may be the most comprehensive review of racial bias in psychometric tests. His review, with others (Brown, Reynolds, Whitaker, 1999; Cole, 1981) concluded that there was little or no evidence of bias against minority students in intelligence tests. Gutkin Reynolds (1981) agree that there is no evidence of bias with respect to ethnic background when interpreting IQ scores. Rock Stenner (2005) measured intelligence tests as a predictor for achievement test and came to the same conclusion. They found no evidence of racial bias. Brown, et al, further concluded that the major constructs underlying intelligence tests are comparable across ethnic groups. Weiss, Prifitera, and Roid (1993) researched the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991). They concluded that WISC-III scores predicted grades and achievement test scores for samples of Hispanic-American and African-American students as well as they did for White students. Critical surveys and critical analyses of available studies have failed to support the hypothesis that ability tests are less valid for African-Americans than for Whites in predicting educational performance and similar results have been obtained for Hispanic-Americans (Anastasi, 1998, p. 197.) Assessment bias in special education is part of the larger debates about race, intelligence, and inequality in society (Herrnstein Murray, 1994; Mensh Mensh, 1991; Snyderman Rothman, 1988). In the Journal of Black Psychology, Onwuegbuzie Daley (2001) claimed that Herrnstein Murray subscribed to the hereditarian or classicist theory of intelligence. They further elaborated on the eight premises linked to this theory. Suzuki Valencia (1997) stated that although hereditarians claim that African American and Hispanic students are classified as special education due to genetics, evidence suggests that environmental factors such as racism and poverty are to blame. Shephard (1987) argued that item response theory explained a small but significant portion of the variance in Black-White test score discrepancies. Blanton (2000) determined that there was race and class bias in intelligence testing with respect to Mexican Americans and African Americans when compared to white students. However, some of the bias is attributed to the unintentional racism of the testers themselves. Cultural Some of the literature addressed the issues of test bias with respect to race and ethnicity as cultural. However, Curran, Elkerton Steinberg (1996) studied the use of intelligence testing with American Indian children. In this study, they used two different intelligence tests in an attempt to identify test bias in the most widely-used measure of intelligence, the WISC-III. Their study did not determine a significant difference. Therefore, no test bias was identified in the use of these tests for determining intervention needs. As the United States population becomes more diverse and multicultural, more controversy regarding assessment bias in special education is expected (de la Cruz, 1996). The results of studies regarding the cultural bias of standardized tests have not had unanimous outcomes. Valencia Aburto (1993) studied the use of intelligence testing with respect to Chicano students. They found that this testing played a role in ability-level grouping and tracking in elementary and secondary schools. However, no test bias was found between Chicano and white students with respect to construct validity (terms tend to be more familiar to one group than another.) This is consistent with Reynolds Gutkin (1979) study of Anglo and Chicanos students referred for psychological assessment. Gender Stone Jeffrey (1991) studied the use of intelligence tests to predict achievement for males and females. Their study concluded that intelligence tests predicted achievement equally for each sex. In addition, they found the intelligence tests were not biased and not responsible for the disproportionate number of male students in special education. Maller (2001) studied differential item functioning (DIF) with respect to males and females. Although one-third of the items she studied presented DIF, she reported that the WISC-III did not exhibit test bias. Hale Potok studied the sexual bias in the WISC-R with respect to the overrepresentation of boys in special education classes. They found that girls scored five points higher than boys. Although the results were statistically significant, they were not practically significant. Interestingly, the sample was entirely white children of lower to middle socioeconomic status from a rural area. Litigation Surrounding Testing Bias The direction of special education has been influenced by the court decisions on test bias. Test bias concern, coupled with overrepresentation in special education led to court cases concerning minority disproportionality. The California Department of Education agreed in Diana v. State Board of Education (1970), to (a) test bilingual children in both English and their primary language; (b) delete unfair verbal items from the tests; (c) reevaluate all Mexican-American and Chinese students enrolled in classes for individuals with educable mental retardation, using nonverbal items and testing them in their native language; and (d) make IQ tests that incorporate Mexican-American culture and are standardized only on the Mexican-American population (Salvia Ysseldyke, 1995). Many of the facts pointed out in Diana v. State Board of Education found their way into P.L. 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) according to MacMillan, et al, 1988. Zurcher, 1998 states that the regulations arising out of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA; the reauthorization of P.L. 94-142) state that testing and evaluation materials and procedures used for the purposes of evaluation and placement of children with disabilities must be selected and administered so as to not be racially or culturally discriminatory (section 300.530). The case of Larry P. v. Riles (1972, 1974, 1979, 1984) brought attention to test bias. In this case, six African-American students in the San Francisco Unified School District complained about the unconstitutional number of African-American students that were identified with educable mental retardation and placed in special education classes. The presiding judge in Larry P. v. Riles (1972/1974/1979/1984) agreed with this concern. Thus a court order banned the use of standardized IQ tests in California stating that they disproportionately assign Black and other minority children to special education programs. Additionally, Larry P. v. Riles brought the stigma associated with classification as a predictor of educational failure. Reschly (1980) stated that the banning of IQ tests may prevent single factor discrimination, but would negatively impact the economically disadvantaged minorities who may require a disproportionately greater share of special education services. Therefore, this decision may help some students, but may also hinder the opportunities of other students. In PASE (Parents in Action on Special Education) v. Hannon (1980), the ruling was that one item on the Stanford-Binet and a total of eight items on the WISC [Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children; Wechsler, 1949] and WISC-R [Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised; Wechsler, 1974] were culturally biased against African-American students, the use of those items does not render the tests unfair, and would not significantly affect the score of an individual taking the tests (as cited in Rothstein, 1995, p. 102). This case did not see the same results as Larry P. v. Riles because they were not the only bases for classification beca use multifaceted testing was also used (Turnbull, 1993). Additionally, the evaluation procedures section of the IDEA regulations outline specific procedures to address difficulties that culturally diverse students may have with language on tests: States and other evaluation agencies shall insure, at a minimum, that: tests and other evaluation materials are provided and administered in the childs native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so (section 300.532). MacMillan and Balow (1991) focused on inconsistencies with the state of Californias protocol for testing African-American students which led to their conclusion that the Larry P. v. Riles case does not apply to students of other backgrounds. In addition, MacMillan, Hendrick, and Watkins (1988) determined that the Diana v. State Board of Education and Larry P. v. Riles cases did not serve in the best interest of minority students in spite of being favorable rulings. Larry P. v. Riles was revisited in 1993. The issue at that time was the discrimination against African-American students because the use of IQ tests had been previously prohibited. One of the main determinants for students being qualified as learning disabled is a significant discrepancy between ability and achievement. Without the use of an IQ test to determine ability, African-American students were not able to meet the criteria for learning disabilities. The judge allowed the administration of intelligence tests to Afri can-American students (Salvia Ysseldyke, 1995). Standardization with Respect to Testing Traub (1994, p. 5) states that Standardization means that the scores of all students tested can be fairly compared, one against the other à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the essential requirements are that the conditions of administration and scoring be the same for all the students who are tested so that their scores can be compared. There is a great deal of research to support the flaws in standardized tests. FairTest (the National Center for Fair Open Testing in Massachusetts) states that a standardized test (all students take the same test under the same conditions) consistently under-predicts the performance of women, African-Americans, people whose first language isnt English and generally anyone whos not a good test-taker. This group would clearly include those individuals receiving special education services. Froese-Germain (1999) contends that there are eight consistently identifiable reasons that standardized tests are inadequate for assessing student learning and development: (1) Many ty pes of student ability are not captured by a standardized test; (2) Tests may be standardized, but students are not; (3) Standardized tests designed for large numbers of students are of necessity very general in nature; (4) Standardized tests typically measure lower-order recall of facts and skills, and penalize higher-order thinking; (5) Because standardized tests are designed to sort individuals into groups, test questions are chosen on the basis of how well they contribute to spreading out the scores, not on their centrality to the curriculum or their predictive validity; (6) Test performance is shaped by individual characteristics not related to content knowledge; (7) Test preparation and administration take up valuable classroom time that could be used for teaching; and (8) Teachers are induced to teach to the tests rather than for learning with the result that curriculum is becoming increasingly test-driven (Meaghan Casas, 1995). Additional factors identified by Meaghan Casa s (1995) include costs, inability to identify and improve ineffective school programs, and the shifting of responsibility over curriculum to the government and the testing industry. All of these factors involve bias at some level toward the test taker. Overrepresentation in Special Education In 1980, Reschly reported that a great deal of attention has been devoted to enhancing the usefulness and fairness of assessment in classification/placement decisions in recent years. In 1981, Reschly stated that IQ tests were only a small part of the problem of overrepresentation in special education. In 1984, Reschly reported that although the literature stated that overrepresentation was due to bias in tests and possibly even racism, a very small percentage of minority or majority students had been placed in educable mentally retarded programs. Additionally, no significant disproportionality exists with more severe handicaps with respect to race, social status, or gender (Reschly, 1981.) He further reported that overall, IQ test use protects many students of all races, social statuses, and genders from erroneous and inappropriate classification. Conclusion All tests and/or testing/evaluation procedures have limited value with reference to certain individuals or certain groups within the overall population. This is true particularly regarding economically deprived and/or minority group children, and when age/grade norms are used, with male children as well. (Magliocca Rinaldi, 1982). This argument goes to the credibility of using multiple assessments to determine special education qualification, not simply standardized tests. To address the influx of current buzzwords pertaining to multi-factored assessment with regard to current evaluation and placement procedures, Magliocca Rinaldi state that there is simply a greater need to implement procedural safeguards to prevent possible discriminatory practices in this process. This would, in turn, reduce test bias concerns. Snyderman and Rothman (1987) found that the school psychologists and education specialists they surveyed believed that intelligence and standardized tests appropriately measure the significance of success in society. However, although Snyderman and Rothman believed these tests held significance, they also viewed the tests as racially and socioeconomically biased. These viewpoints substantiate how some tests simply do not measure what they are being used to measure. Tests do not tell us anything; their data always require interpretation in the case of an individual child (Mearig, 1981). In summation, Standardized test scores are becoming the mechanism that facilitates a number of questionable education practices that contribute to education inequity. (Froese-Germain, 1999). The misuse of standardized testing is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦moving us away from a more inclusive model of education. (Meaghan Casas, 1995). Additionally, it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦accounts in large part for the disparity in achievement observed between American White students and those from minority groups, as well as between students from higher- and lower-income groups (Darling-Hammond, 1991). Oakes (1985) concluded that misuse of standardized testing hurts low-income and minority group children, and that it not only reflects but perpetuates class and racial inequalities in the larger society. Using a method of testing already biased against certain groups of studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦only adds insult to injury. Gardner (1983) stated that only if we expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intell igence will we be able to devise more appropriate ways of assessing it and more effective ways of educating it (p.4).

Ireland Trip :: essays research papers

The Ireland Trip   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I was fifteen I was with my best friend when we encountered funny experience when we overslept for our first tour of The Taste of Ireland. I stayed over at Ryan’s house. Ryan, my best friend since I was six, and me were leaving fro Ireland the next morning and we were so excited that we slept only two hours all night. The next morning we woke up and got all of our stuff put into his mom’s car. We then told her we’re ready, so we jumped into the car and headed for the Huntington Tri-State Airport.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once we arrived we jumped out of the car and got our luggage checked in. At the point I was a little nervous because I had never flown in an airplane. We finally make it on the airplane and we were off to Pittsburgh’s Airport. Once we arrived we stepped into the airport and it was huge. No one in the group of fifteen had been in the airport and didn’t know where to go except Mr. Shy, the leader of the group. Our next plane was leaving in fifteen minutes so Mr. Shy had to hurry and get all of us kids together so that we could get on the other side of the airport to catch out next flight. While we were walking through the airport, Ryan asked me, â€Å"If I liked flying yet.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I asked, â€Å"Why is that?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He replied, â€Å"This plane is a monster compared to the last one.† We stepped on the plane and I looked towards the back and it looked like there were four hundred seats on the plane compared to the last one, which held only twenty passengers. We got seated, and a few minutes later we started to take off. As we were taking off unlike the crop duster, this plane made me feel like I was implanted in the seats because the plane took off so fast. I was so excited because I was flying on this monster plane. The whole time we were in flight I was watching out the window at the ground where there weren’t clouds below us. Not feeling like we had been on the plane for very long, we arrived in New York to catch our next flight. Once we arrived we went to the section of the airport where our plane is leaving.

Interpersonal Communication Report

Core Assessment Portfolio Michael E. Szostkiewicz In fulfillment of course requirements for Park University CA104 Interpersonal Communication Fall 1 Term 2009 Interpersonal Communication Report MICHAEL E. SZOSTKIEWICZ SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 Interpersonal Communication Report Outline I. Prior to enrolling in this course, I felt that my interpersonal communication skills were adequate and effective. I have always prided myself on being an adept and able communicator; my vocabulary is diverse. I always make a concerted effort to annunciate properly. However, my experiences these last few weeks have left me with a laundry list of things I need to improve upon. Through the various exercises and tasks completed in this course thus far, I have realized that there is always room for improvement in my own interpersonal relationships, both personally and professionally. I feel the areas that I need to improve upon in my interpersonal communication skills are active listening, emotional control, and utilizing cultural differences of those around me. Even with the myriad of leadership and communication seminars and classes I have either attended or facilitated, I understand that we must constantly learn new techniques and reflect back upon what we have learned in the past to help better any future relationships. II. Main Points A. Active listening 1. Active listening is defined as the process by which a listener expresses his or her understanding of the speaker’s total message, including the verbal and nonverbal communication, the thoughts, and the feelings. 2. By using the five stage model of listening and applying it at home and at work, I will be able to build upon my current relationships and forge better ones in the future. The techniques of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding are an integral part of our relationships and need to be practiced in every day life. B. Emotional control 1. Humans in general are very emotional creatures. Having the ability to control our emotions within our interpersonal relationships is a skill that is not inherent and must be learned and practiced to be successful. 2. As I am extremely passionate in everything that I do, I must sometimes pause and reflect upon my emotional connection to the matter at hand. While having and expressing our emotions at home may be a good way to communicate with our partners, expressing our emotions in the workplace may not be appropriate. C. Utilizing cultural differences 1. Understanding that differences in culture between co-workers can have a positive or negative effect upon the atmosphere of the workplace, we must utilized and embrace those differences to foster an air of acceptance of all colors, races and creeds. . Living in America and especially serving in the military, I have been exposed to countless different cultures. Every culture has significant ideals that can be learned from. Patience with and understanding of differences in thought, speech and mannerisms from diverse cultures can help me to be more appreciative of other people and their indigenous cultures. III. In summary, I have covered the three a spects of my own interpersonal relationships that I feel I need to improve upon. Understanding that all people are different and communicate differently I am able to recognize when and where my own communication flaws exist. First, I feel that I need to improve my skills in the area of active listening. By reviewing the five stage model of listening I am able to have more productive relationships at home with family and also at work. Secondly, in recognizing my emotions regarding various topics and knowing when emotional responses are warranted, I can be a better, even-keeled father, husband, mentor and leader. Lastly, reflecting upon the differences in cultures in the work place, I can help promote diversity and acceptance of everyone. IV. In conclusion, I have seen the areas of my interpersonal relationships in which I need improvement. In order to build upon my current relationships and having the requisite skills needed to create new relationships in the future the areas in which I specifically need to focus are actively listening, controlling my emotions and recognizing and embracing diversity. In order to be an effective leader and mentor, having these skill sets can only increase the value of my worth to my company while simultaneously improving the quality of relationships that I have both at home and work. While becoming complacent in my interpersonal relationships, I feel that I have lost a chance to fully understand the thoughts and feelings of those with whom I am involved. Recognizing my faults and working to better my own communication skills can only result in increased positive relationships. Michael E. Szostkiewicz Tania Balas CA104 Interpersonal Communication 30 September 2009 Interpersonal Communication Report Prior to enrolling in this course, I felt that my interpersonal communication skills were adequate and effective. I have always prided myself on being an adept and able communicator; my vocabulary is diverse. I always make a concerted effort to annunciate properly. However, my experiences these last few weeks have left me with a laundry list of things I need to improve upon. Through the various exercises and tasks completed in this course thus far, I have realized that there is room for improvement in my interpersonal relationships, both personally and professionally. I feel the areas that I need to improve upon in my interpersonal communication skills are practicing active listening, exercising more emotional control, and utilizing cultural differences of those around me. Even with the myriad of leadership and communication seminars and classes I have either attended or facilitated, I understand that I must constantly learn new techniques and reflect back upon what I have learned in the past to help better any future relationships. Identifying and examining the elements and process of interpersonal communication is the first step in understanding who I am and where I place in the communicative world. Joseph A. DeVito states that in the circular nature of interpersonal communication; both persons send messages simultaneously rather than in a linear sequence where communication bounces back and forth between two or more people. DeVito further explains that the ideals that are present in all interpersonal interactions are: source-receiver, encoding-decoding, messages, channels, noise, context, ethics, and competence (DeVito, 9-15). Understanding that people are unique individuals who converse differently is a primary lesson in becoming a better communicator. The best way to describe how a person’s self-image or self-concept influences their ability to interact with those with whom they come in contact is that every person has a separate and distinct background whereby the environment in which they were raised as children and their varied experiences as young adults may affect their ability to effectively communicate. Recognizing and understanding that all forms of communication play a specific role in our interactions as adults and how we relate to each other must be understood and practiced in order to have successful and meaningful relationships both personally and professionally. This is also an example of how a person’s perceptions can influence their communication choices. DeVito continues by defining perception as the process by which you become aware of objects, events, and especially people through your own senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing (DeVito 61). As we take an active part in life, our perceptions about the people and the world around us are in a constant state of flux. If we remain stagnant in our relationships then we are bound to miss out on many of the opportunities provided to us to better ourselves. Realizing that I have many things to learn about my own communication skills is the first step toward becoming a person as a whole. The first hurdle on my interpersonal communication task list is to improve my active listening. Active listening is defined as the process by which a listener expresses his or her understanding of the speaker’s total message, including the verbal and nonverbal communication, the thoughts, and the feelings. Active listening is a concept that was developed by Thomas Gordon (1975) in the early 1960’s as the foundation of his Parent Effectiveness Training program which still continues to offer proven communication and conflict resolution skills to parents, teachers and managers from all walks of life (2009). DeVito states that active listening is not merely repeating the speaker’s exact words, but rather putting together your understanding of the speaker’s total message into a meaningful whole (DeVito 94). I have always considered myself a good listener. Whenever one of my seniors, peers or subordinates steps into my office for a chat, I always tell myself to devote my full attention to this person. I will turn off my computer screen, open my steno pad—which I often refer to as my â€Å"memory,† grab my pen and show the person that I am fully tuned into what they are discussing with me. Additionally, throughout this course I have been able to hone my skills as an accomplished conversationalist by using the three simple techniques of active listening: paraphrasing the speaker’s meaning, expressing understanding and asking questions. However, there are times when I get complacent and my skills fail me. One such instance of a breakdown in communication and an example of how language can create communication problems with disastrous effects was recently when I tasked one of my subordinates to research an instruction governing the proper wearing of maternity uniforms in the Navy. As a leader, I unsuccessfully delineated my specific instructions and by failing to use active and effective listening skills, my subordinate failed to receive the message properly. I also failed to ensure my instructions were clear and concise by neglecting to have him repeat back exactly what I wanted him to do. As such, this young man overstepped his bounds and mistakenly corrected the young woman on the spot which proved an emotional disaster (Student Journal 1-1). It was then that I realized the importance of removing any barriers in communicating and vowed to deter this behavior in the future. For me, personally, this was a poignant lesson for soon after this incident I received a homework assignment in this class to review an article describing how our words can affect those around us, and even more importantly, â€Å"If you manage people, your words have much more weight that you may realize† (Morgan 3). To correct the deficiency I consulted the five stage model of listening and by applying it both at work and also at home, I will be able to build upon my current relationships and forge better ones in the future. The techniques of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding are an integral part of our relationships and need to be practiced in every day life. Another area of concern in my communication skills is the need to better control my emotions. Humans in general are very emotional creatures. Having the ability to control our emotions within our interpersonal relationships is a skill that is not inherent and must be learned and practiced to be successful. As I am extremely passionate in everything that I do, I must sometimes pause and reflect upon my emotional connection to the matter at hand. While having and expressing our emotions at home may be a good way to communicate with our partners, expressing our emotions in the workplace may not be appropriate. In the early phases of this course I realized the power of my emotions while trying to balance my professional duties with my duties and responsibilities as a husband and father while keeping the plates spinning simultaneously enrolled in two classes with Park University. I explained my frustrations, concerns and worries with my wife and also with my Brothers in the Chief Petty Officer’s Mess (Student Journal 2-1). After receiving sage guidance and wisdom from those with whom I have confided, I was able to begin separating my emotions from the equation and find the balance between work, home and school. As an adult, male military professional nearly 40 years old, I found it difficult to admit my fallacies, but once I did, I discovered that I am still able to learn many things from those around me. The last area of my communication skills that I found I need improvement upon is utilizing the cultural differences of those around me to add extra value to the tools I already possess. Understanding that differences in culture between co-workers can have a positive or negative effect upon the atmosphere of the workplace, I must utilize and embrace those differences to foster an air of acceptance of all colors, races and creeds. Living in America and especially serving in the military, I have been exposed to countless different cultures. Every culture has significant morals that can be learned from. An effective personal strategy that I have developed in my intercultural communication skills is patience with and understanding the differences in thought, speech and mannerisms from the diverse cultures that I have been exposed to in my travels and how those experiences can help me to be more appreciative of other people and their inherent lifestyles. In summary, I have covered the three aspects of my own interpersonal relationships that I feel I need to improve upon. By understanding that all people are unique and communicate differently I am able to recognize when and where my own communication flaws exist. First, I feel that I need to improve my skills in the area of active listening. By reviewing the five stage model of listening I am able to have more productive relationships at home with family and also at work. Secondly, in recognizing my emotions regarding various topics and knowing when emotional responses are warranted, I can be a better, even-keeled father, husband, mentor and leader. Lastly, reflecting upon the differences in cultures in the work place, I can help promote diversity and the acceptance of everyone. By utilizing these strategies I will be able to develop and foster a supportive communication climate. In conclusion, I have seen the areas of my interpersonal relationships in which I need improvement. In order to build upon my current relationships and having the requisite skills needed to create new relationships in the future the areas in which I specifically need to focus are actively listening, controlling my emotions and recognizing and embracing diversity. In order to be an effective leader and mentor, having these skill sets can only increase the value of my worth to my company while simultaneously improving the quality of relationships that I have both at home and work. While becoming complacent in my interpersonal relationships, I feel that I have lost a chance to fully understand the thoughts and feelings of those with whom I am involved. Recognizing my faults and working to better my own communication skills can only result in increased positive and healthier interpersonal relationships. Works Cited DeVito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. 12th ed. Boston: Pearson. 2009. Gordon, T. P. E. T. : Parent effectiveness training. New York: New American Library. 1975. â€Å"Gordon Training International. † September 2009. http://www. gordontraining. com Morgan, Rebecca L. , â€Å"The Power of Our Words. † Morgan Seminar Group. 1996. http://www. rebeccamorgan. com/articles/mgmt/mgmt2. html Szostkiewicz, Michael E. Journal, Week 1, Entry 1. 17 August 2009. Szostkiewicz, Michael E. Journal, Week 2, Entry 1. 25 August 2009.

Reflection Journal on court Visit

Even before entering courtroom it was evident how nervous every single student in the group I was in was, from the way everyone slowly crept forward, reluctant to be the first one through the door. I had to steel my nerves before pushing the door to District Courtroom 11 open. The trial I experienced was the murder of a pair of infant twins due to a lack of sustenance and nutrition in June 2008 (Dick & Kellet, 2008) The accused parties, (LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p. 15), Kylie Maree Mathews and Mark Ryan Jackman, were the mother and father of the twins.The opposing crown prosecutor’s case (LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p. 14) was brought on behalf of the State of Queensland. When I first walked into the courtroom, one of the last people who had had contact with the accused parties before the twins died was being cross-examined by the defending Barrister (M. Backstrom, â€Å"LWS009 Lectorial 1†. 2013). It was mentioned that Kylie Mathews isolated the twins from the rest of h er family and friends in early 2008. Kylie Mathews also stopped answering calls, messages and rarely left the house.There was limited opportunity for other adults to see the twins, however, there was no active repelling of people who wanted to see the twins. The atmosphere was tense as a second witness was called in. The witness took affirmation as per protocol (Queensland Government, n. a. ), before being cross-examined by the defending Barrister. This second witness I saw was Kylie Mathew’s consulting psychiatrist, before and after the twins passed away, from 2008 to 2009. From what I could gather throughout the time I was in the courtroom, Kylie Mathews’s state of mind was an important issue to be discussed.Applying the process of ISAAC to solving legal problems (M. Backstrom, â€Å"LWS009 Lectorial 2† 2013) in this context, a lot of attention was placed on the issue of Kylie Mathew’s psychological state and the operation of â€Å"magical thinkingâ₠¬  on many levels in the period of time leading up to the loss of the twins. It was mentioned that Kylie Mathews had had anger issues and had seen the psychiatrist often. The day we went to the Queen Elizabeth II Courts Of Law, there were a number of considerably conspicuous trials going on, many involving deaths.Even though many of us were happy that we had the chance to watch these trials, thinking back on it now, it was slightly disheartening to realize exactly how many of such cases happen that are complicated enough to have to bring to court. The murder of the twins happened in 2008, but it is only in 2013 that this case is fully addressed, plus the trial was only on day 11 of 15. It is only after watching part of a trial first-hand that I realize just how much time and effort is put into the resolution of such cases and how essential a stable, predictable court system is.

Emergency Operations Plan Essays

Emergency Operations Plan Essays Emergency Operations Plan Essay Emergency Operations Plan Essay Emergency Operations Plan Roland Brown University of Phoenix Critical Incident Management CJA/560 Ian Moffett November 22, 2010 Emergency Operations Plan Emergency planning has changed very much since the 9/11 attacks. Law enforcement agencies focus more on prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. With planning and efforts made by law enforcement agencies, the law enforcement community can provide a comprehensive emergency management and security program (EMHSD/MSP, 2009). The first phase in producing an effective emergency program is prevention. This phase of emergency planning prevents emergencies from occurring. The importance of proactive patrolling is crucial in the prevention of some criminal activity that could lead to an emergency (EMHSD/MSP, 2009). The second phase in producing an effective emergency plan includes the preparedness of law enforcement agencies. Preparedness includes developing, researching, and testing of risk assessments, emergency personnel, notification systems, resources and supplies, and information dissemination. Preparedness will also help coordinate and develop plans to save lives. The third phase in emergency planning is response; this phase provides the assistance during an emergency to prevent further injuries, property damage, and help to accelerate recovery. The response phase also includes the implementation of emergency operational plans, the issuance of public warnings, field operations, and development of incident action plans, and the command, and control of the incident (EMHSD/MSP, 2009). Next, recovery is the fourth phase in emergency planning; this phase is responsible for the recovery and restoring of all systems. Recovery in short-term operations focuses on the return of all vital life support systems including roads, power, water and sewer, and food services to minimum operations. Part of the recovery process also include relocation, counseling, financial aid, and housing. The final phase is the mitigation phase; this long-term phase is designed to prevent the probability of a disaster. The mitigation phase includes activity that will reduce the effects of disasters that include planning, educating the public, enforcing codes, and the use of land management. Planning for an emergency can help ease the cost of a disaster (EMHSD/MSP, 2009). The city of Detroit is a major urban city in this country with approximately 850,000 residents; the city is no stranger to major incidents. In 2004, at the International Freedom Fireworks, a lone gunman fired shots into a large crowd resulted in nine people hurt. The pandemonium this event caused was astronomical, not only was it difficult to attend to the victims, the search for the shooter and setting up a perimeter was difficult. The city of Detroit emergency plan as illustrated by the Detroit Police Department was designed and calculated to handle most emergencies in the event of a major incident. City of Detroit Emergency Plan Emergency incident response was designed to provide general guidelines for responding to a broad range of emergency situation. Examples of these emergency situations may include a barricaded gunman or woman, civil disorder, bomb threats, hazardous material, disasters made naturally or man-made or other incidents of occurrence where a rapid and organized response is needed for an emergency situation. The city of Detroit Police Department shall institute the Incident Command System when responding to an emergency situation. Whenever the Detroit Police Department is the lead agency in responding to an emergency, the responding officer shall assume the tactical control of the emergency as the incident commander. However, in those instances which the Detroit Police Department is not the lead agency such as a hazardous material response or three alarm fires, then the first officers arriving on the scene will provide the initial command until the lead agency arrives (DPD, 2010). Thereafter, a supervisor of the lead agency will then take over the command of the emergency situation. The first officers arriving on the scene will remain and continue to provide law enforcement duties and assist at the direction of the incident commander. In the emergency response procedures the fundamental priorities for officers include Preservation of life Scene stabilization Suspect apprehension Property preservation Evidence collection Environmental protection (DPD, 2010). The City of Detroit emergency plan provides comprehensive instruction for every person involved in responding to the emergency. The first arriving officers on the scene shall perform in sequential order several important procedures: Make an initial assessment of the situation Advise dispatch the nature and scope of the emergency Identify equipment needed and proper personnel Advise on safe avenue to approach scene Notify officer in-charge of district desk (DPD, 2010). The incident commander when arriving on the scene shall first notify dispatch that he or she is taking command of the situation. Second, the incident commander will establish a field command post and staging area in a safe location. The incident commander will also find a way to contain and isolate the situation by setting up a perimeter around the situation. The incident commander is also responsible for providing other key functions including: Delegating authority for other essential operations Site isolation Perimeter security Strike forces Media relations In emergency situations which the Special Response Team is activated the commanding officer of the unit will then assume control of the situation from the incident commander, and all communications will flow through him or her. The SRT commander will not make any decisions without prior consent from the assistant chief or the Chief of Police. In the event the ac or chief is not available, the SRT commander will make any final decisions (DPD, 2010). After careful review of the City of Detroit Emergency Plans several improvements to the plan need revising. In using the SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats), the city of Detroit Emergency Plan is evaluated in the below synopsis. |Strength |Weakness |Initial Officer observation |In most cases an officer’s observation may not gather all the information needed to make an | | |assessment. | |Proper notification to dispatch |Most agencies use the same frequency channel, in the event of an emergency jamming up the | | |channel will lock out other units from responding to other emergencies. | |Identifying other personnel |When officers first arrive on the scene, if the officer does not make the proper assessment | |needed on scene |he or she will slow down the efforts of containing the situation. |Proper approach to the scene |None | |Notification of desk personnel |Oftentimes officers arriving first on the scene may not have all the correct information to | | |provide to the desk or in some cases time to inform the desk supervisor if immediate care is | | |needed. |Delegation of authority |Unfortunately, the Detroit Police Department uses a mobilization system that notifies | | |executives when such an emergency occurs and when executives arrive on the scene right after | | |each other the command structure is lost. |Site isolation |None | |Perimeter security | During an emergency situation security personnel cannot always secure the scene if casualties| | |and the wounded need attending to during the initial contact. | |Strike forces |None | |Media relations |The incident commander may allow too much information out to the media that may cause | | |citizens to worry. |Opportunity |Threats | |Preserving life |Conditions at the scene could pose a problem for the victim and the first responders. | |Controlling the scene |The scene conditions could fall apart and pose a threat to first responders at the scene. | |Apprehending suspects at the |If the suspect remains at the scene, it is possible he or she may use other citizens in a | |scene |hostage situation. |Preserving property |While at the scene minimizing the destruction to property would help avoid hazardous | | |conditions once the emergency situation is under control. | |Collection of evidence |Based on the emergency the collection of evidence may cause a hazard if the collection is | | |made immediately when conditions are unstable. |Environmental protection |During hazardous waste emergencies the contamination of the scene will cause irreparable harm| | |to the community. | The emergency plan identifies certain issues a law enforcement agency can achieve in a reasonable amount of time. In addition, law enforcement agencies should avoid overly simplistic goals. However, the goal of the agency should challenge the officers within the boundaries and capabilities of those working toward the goal. The creation of a goal-oriented agency can lead to new enthusiasm among the officers and the mission he or she serves (NetMBA, n. d. ). References Detroit Police Department, (2010). Detroit Police Manual. Series 300 Support Services. Retrieved on November 22, 2010, from the DPD network system. EMHSD/MSP, (2009). Local Emergency Planning Workbook. Retrieved on November 22, 2010, from the website: http://michigan. gov/msp/0,1607,7-123-1593_3507-14743,00. html NetMBA, (n. d. ). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved on November 23, 2010, from the website: netmba. com/strategy/swot/

25 Eponyms as Literary Wordplay

25 Eponyms as Literary Wordplay 25 Eponyms as Literary Wordplay 25 Eponyms as Literary Wordplay By Daniel Scocco Several DailyWritingTips.com posts have focused on, for example, phenomena and ideas named after people, and concepts or objects identified by the names of historical figures. This entry specifically suggests mythological, literary, and historical eponyms that may inspire you to employ such terms in fiction writing as cloaked allusions to characters or things. Think of these examples and others as akin to puns: A law firm named Bowler, Derby, Fedora, Stetson, and Trilby. (Maybe these will be names of characters in the upcoming film version of Lidsville, the early- ’70s Saturday-morning TV show about a land of sentient hats.) A star-crossed couple named Jeremiah, namesake of a pessimistic prophet from the Bible, and Cassandra, named after the Trojan woman blessed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed. A maid named Abigail. (In Victorian England, house servants were routinely stripped of their birth names and assigned ones considered more pleasant for their employers to utter, and Abigail was a common moniker for a housemaid.) A vigilant or nosy neighbor named Argus, the name of the many-eyed monster of Greek mythology. A heavily burdened character named Atlas, after the Titan in Greek mythology charged with holding up the heavens. A place called the Augean Stables, named after the fabled stables of Augeas, the cleaning of which constituted one of the legendary twelve labors of Hercules. A spy’s contact code-named Baedeker, after the name of the popular guidebook series, or Cicerone, after a word for a sightseeing guide (in turn named after the Roman orator and statesman Cicero). A loud woman who’s always letting off steam named Calliope, after the strident steam-whistle instrument named in honor of the Greek muse of epic poetry. A tormented woman named Catherine Wheeler, named after the Catherine wheel, a rotating fireworks wheel in turn inspired by a Catholic saint tortured on a wheel. An elusive woman named Fata Morgana (or, more subtly, Morgan Fate), after the mirage phenomenon named for the Italian translation of the name of Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay (â€Å"fairy,† or â€Å"magician†). An extremely attractive person named Mickey Finn, after a slang term for a drugged drink. (The active ingredient is sometimes called â€Å"knockout drops.†) A ruminative character named Fletcher, after the health food faddist notorious for prescribing a quantifiable amount of chewing while eating. An energizing character named Galvani, after the scientist who studied the stimulating effects of electricity. A hapless company called Gordian Inc., named for the knot that could not be untied. (Alexander the Great reportedly solved the problem by severing the knot with his sword.) An unhelpful character named Hobson, after the stable owner who hired out any horse a customer wanted, as long as the one selected was next in line to be used (hence the oxymoronic expression â€Å"Hobson’s choice†). An arbiter named Hoyle, after the eponymous author of rules for card games (hence the nearly extinct expression â€Å"according to Hoyle†). A race car driver or reckless motorist named Jehu (after the biblical king of that name notorious for his wild charioteering). A drink named the Molotov cocktail, after the nickname for the bomb made from a bottle filled with inflammable liquid and ignited with a wick. (The bomb is in turn named after a Russian Communist politician.) An impostor named Pinchbeck, after the watchmaker whose created an inexpensive alloy resembling gold. Hundreds of eponyms are available for enlivening satirical or otherwise humorous prose. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. Had15 Great Word GamesHow to Punctuate Introductory Phrases

How To Get Approved for More Amazon Book Categories

How To Get Approved for More Amazon Book Categories How To Get Approved for More Amazon Book Categories When it comes to self-publishing your upcoming book, do not make light of selecting your book categories! Although it may appear to be a small detail, you must realize that your readers often resort to categories when looking for books on a specific topic. Therefore, selecting the best book categories for your upcoming bestseller is a critical decision as it will impact your book sales.Here are more notable reasons why your book should have best fitting categories:It can help you become a bestseller.Like the New York Times bestseller, Amazon can also tag your book with an orange badge that says â€Å"#1 Bestseller†. And with thousands of Amazon categories to compete and rank for, this means that there’s plenty of opportunity for you to become an Amazon bestseller!You can gain more exposure on Amazon. By appearing in different categories, your book can appeal to different audiences. Andif your book ranks in the top ten of any category listings, Amazon will include your b ook to its â€Å"Recommendations Engine† which will generate more publicity!But with plenty of book categories on Kindle Direct Publishing as well as the plethora of books competing for attention, how do you choose the right categories to make your book stand out to your reader?In this post, we will share our best strategies to help you pick the right categories for your book that will increase your sales rank and obtain maximum exposure through Amazon’s search engine.Hereare the three topics we will cover:How to Research Your CompetitionHow to Strategically Select Your CategoryHow to Acquire Additional CategoriesLet’s get started!1. How to Research Your CompetitionIf your goal is to appear on the first page of search results on Amazon, then you must take advantage of every window of opportunity to succeed. In order to do so, you first must research your competition.When you begin researching for book categories, you should start by scanning the bestselling book s on every first page results of your target category.The reason is simply due to the fact that the first page results are most likely what your readers are going to be looking for! Therefore, it’s important to identify the top selling books for each category you want to target.Next, go through each of the books on the first page results and study its category string links. For example, here are the category links for Taylor Pearson’sbook, The End of Jobs:Notice that for a book on Entrepreneurship, it’s ranked highest for â€Å"Labor Workforce† and â€Å"Economics†. This goes to show that by placing their book into such unique categories, the author completely understood their target audience which is why The End of Jobsappears on several first page results.So if you want to have a high ranking for your category, make it a priority to research your competitors’ categories and emulate their methods with your book.Action Plan: Research the fi rst page competitors in five categories of your choosing. Take note to any unique categories your competitors rank in, and apply them to your upcoming book.2. How to Strategically Select Your CategoryBecause the Amazon’s Kindle Store has thousands of categories to choose from as well as an overwhelming amount of books fighting for attention, the competition can be relentless and unfair to new writers. But there is one approach that will have you stand out: Select trending categories with little competition.What is considered a competitive rank?We find that any categories with books ranking higher than #2000 is considered very competitive and not a recommended category for new writers. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t place your book in a competitive ranking, but if you do, be sure to have a well planned book launchwith a sizable audience that can provide a lot of verified reviews. For new authors with a smaller following, we recommend aiming for certain categories with books that rank between #10,000-30,000.Once you’ve completed this research, you should have a list of thriving categories to place your book in that will outrank your competitors.Action Plan:With the five categories you’ve researched, take the time to review your competitors’ ranking that fall between #10,000-30,000. For even better results, we also recommend using the KDP Calculatorto calculate how many books you would need to sell in order increase your ranking.3. How to Acquire Additional CategoriesWhen you upload your book for the first time, Amazon will offer you a select list of categories to choose from. At a first glance, you will notice that the selection seems rather limited and is missing plenty of categories that you’ve seen other books rank for. Unfortunately, Amazon has done this intentionally so that they can place new books into their own kindle categories.Don’t let Amazon determine your categories! Theres th ousands of sub-categories you can rank for, and you can even include an additional eight sub-categoriesnot found in the usual channels.Here how you can acquire these categories:Use Amazon Keyword Selection. Include the name of your category as one of your â€Å"Amazon Keywords†. In order to obtain a particular category, you must include specific keywordsin the Kindle submission form. For more information on Keyword requirements, visit Amazons browse categorypage to learn more.Place your categories in strategic places.To convince Amazon that your book should be placed in specific category, strategically work the words of the categoryonto the title, subtitle or even the summary of your book page.Contact Amazon. You can contact Amazonand request your book to be placed in a particular category. Amazon will then assess your entire book and determine if it’s an appropriate fit for the specific browse category. If approved, These categories will appear in the â€Å"Look for similar items by category† at the bottom of the book page.Action Plan: Experiment with these strategies to acquire additional sub-categories for your book. Remember you can include eight additional keywords that can convince Amazon to place your book in the categories of your choosing.If you want a successful book launch, you must not overlook even the tiniest of details. By following these guidelines on how to select your book category, your first book will have maximum exposure and the best chance to appear in the Amazon bestseller list.Like what you read and want to learn more? We’re holding a FREE online workshop where Chandler is revealing the exact tactics and strategies he used to write and publish 6 bestselling books in a row†¦ and use them to build a 7-figure business in less than 2 years.Click here to save your spot now!

Multi-Stakeholders Issues Assessment for Global Organizations Essay

Multi-Stakeholders Issues Assessment for Global Organizations - Essay Example The two detrimental events have been key contributors to this change. In the beginning of 2000s, eruption of corporate scandals such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco advocated the idea that multi-national corporations and corporate executives care little for ethics, in their pursuit of profit and wealth generation. In 2008, the global financial crisis erupted and rippled across the world, due to a wide convergence of factors in the real-estate market and secondary financial markets, causing economic collapse of many countries, state and private organizations. This crisis, initially affecting the banking industry, not only scaled to a broader economic and geographic spectrum, but also widened the chasm between Wall Street and Main Street triggering wide-spread anti-capitalism and anti-MNCs protests. In spite of their substantial differences, both of these intra and inter-company crises have at least few characteristics in common. Both crises exemplify that managerial behavior and decision -making has high risk and potential to impact a broad range of people all over the world (Clement, 2005). These crises have been major blows to the public trust in business as an institution. In addition, these financial and economical catastrophes also accentuate that the pursuit of corporate goals can be, without difficulty, unsettled by the actions and behavior of unexpected groups and individuals (Parmar, et al., 2010). These issues, driven by change, interconnectedness and globalization, indicate a need for managers and academic scholars to re-evaluate the conventional ways of conceptualizing the responsibilities of the firm and role of a manager within the company. This essentially gives rise to the need of evaluating and effectively managing needs of all stakeholders for the organization. The concept of corporate objectives focused towards a broader and diverse set of stakeholders has been studied by a number of scholars and practitioners for the past few decades. Among many ideologies, â€Å"stakeholder theory† or â€Å"stakeholder thinking† has developed as a fresh narrative to analyze and manage three interconnected business challenges — the challenge of understanding how value is created and operated, the challenge of linking ethics with capitalism and the challenge of supporting managers with tools to address the first two challenges. This essay highlights and addresses the â€Å"stakeholder approach† to tackle challenges related to business ethics, corporate social responsibility and value creation. Upon the understanding of what stakeholder approach reinstates, the essay analyzes the dilemmas, issues and recommendations in its practical applications for managers. The Stakeholder Approach The stakeholder approach in the context of strategic management was first proposed by R. Edward Freeman in 1984 (Freeman, 1984). Contrary to the customary understanding of corporate strategy, which fundamentally associates the term â⠂¬Å"stakeholder† with the owners, investors or shareholders of the organization, Freeman defined a stakeholder more broadly as â€Å"Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the firm’s objectives†. This was the first time that an academic study related to

Dual Leadership in UK organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dual Leadership in UK organizations - Essay Example The dynamics of the CEO-Chairman interrelationship and the effects of this on the enterprise have been studied by Kakabadse et al (2006) who adopted a qualitative methodology and provided in-depth interviews of chairmen, CEOs and non-executive directors. The chairman-CEO interactions and their effects were also studied and the findings of the paper have been based on the chairman's role and contribution, nature of the relationship between the chairman and CEO, the attributes or traits of an effective chairman and the impact of the chairman-CEO relationship on board effectiveness (Kakadabse et al, 2006). The study provides a clearer picture of the chairman-CEO dyad and the influence of the dyadic interaction on the formative context of the enterprise. Using data from 2180 Chairmanships from 460 UK firms over a period of 8 years, Florou (2005) suggested that there is a link between the Chairman and CEO in many ways as when a CEO is dismissed, the Chairman is also replaced. The data on dismissal events also suggest that replacement of a Chairman is associated with restructuring of the board and with restructuring, new skills are brought in which might facilitate future corporate decisions. However Florou (2005) claims that the Chairman's previous position does not affect the Chairman removal or the CEO dismissal process although if the Chairman has been responsible for the appointment of the failing CEO, during CEO departure, the dismissal of the Chairman is also likely because they tend to work as a team and one's failure mirrors the other's failure as well. This in turn would suggest effective governance within an enterprise. Sora et al (2004) discuss some resultant problems when the role of the chief executive officer and role of the chairman are merged and when person takes up both the roles. There are controversies to this sort of responsibility as when the responsibilities of the CEO and Chairman are given to one person, there can be a decrease of vigilance and flaws in accountability and operations of the company. As the power for the company centers around one leader, the CEO/Chairman can use this power for his personal gain at the expense of other stakeholders in the company (Sora te al, 2004). Thus a unitary leadership structure with no distribution of power can lead to an environment of greed and corruption resulting in mistrust towards the company and its people. This suggests that the regulation of leadership and distribution of power should be done considering the benefits to the company and the credibility that the company can gain with it governance and management structure. There have been several pressures on US companies to separate the roles of CEO and Chairman because a unitary leadership can lead to too much power given to one person. Shareholder activists and regulators maintain that US firms should separate the titles of CEO and Chairman of the Board as separate titles could reduce agency costs in corporation and improve performance. According to shareholders and regulators, separation of the role of CEO and Chairman has potential costs and benefits and Brickley et al (1997) suggest that costs of such separation would be larger than benefits for most firms. So how can the one man show or unitary leadership

Linguistic features that distinguish regional and social varieties of Essay

Linguistic features that distinguish regional and social varieties of English - Essay Example These variations constitute the dialects of the people. Many factors have influenced to develop a standard form of language in all major speech communities. These in turn have been used as the official dialects of the communities. (The Columbia electronic encyclopedia,2006) The official dialect usually differs from the day to day language, it has some "officiality" in it which would contain certain standards of grammar, pronunciations etc. The standard English of England is derived from London English. A person is marked as cultivated in the United states which entails usage of standard grammar and pronunciation. Also the degree of politeness of a person is judged by the efficiency with which he or she speaks the standard language. Sometimes ordinary speech can be affected by the standard language. Hence some usages would tend to be incorrect such as "you was" in place of "you were" etc. Similarly "gotten" is accepted in United States but not in England. Similarly "Gotten" is accepted by the United States but not in England. Also the standard of linguistic variations are mainly because of vocabulary. Language changes have traditionally been treated as processes constrained by internal linguistic factors. According to this view, language contacts have b een perceived as disturbing factors. Therefore, explaining language change requires new analytical ways of modelling contact, in which both internal and external factors are closely investigated. Studying language-internal processes requires a fundamental knowledge of sociolinguistic, textual and regional factors, since all variation-based analytical and explanatory models of language change rely on the idea of a combined effect of all factors. Another important insight is to be able to connect the latest language changes with historical ones. Hence, the concept of grammaticalization offers a productive starting point for analyses of language changes that span several hundred years. Linguistics Linguistics is the study of language on a scientific basis. Linguistics can be theoretical and applied. Linguistics compares languages (comparative linguistics) and explores their histories, in order to find universal properties of language and to account for its development and origins (historical linguistics). Slightly separate from general linguistics are the sub-fields of phonology, which studies the role of sounds in particular languages, and phonetics, the study of how sounds are produced and perceived. Linguistics are widely used to understand the variations of languages. Regional variation in English Everyone speaks some form of regional dialect a variety of a language that differs in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary from those spoken in other regions. In this sense, a region implies a construct of social and historical facts as well as a geographic area. The shared linguistic features that make up a regional dialect include historical facts of migration and community experience, social facts of ethnic identity, and geographic facts of climate and terrain. Each regional dialect also includes a number of social dialects that reflect the age, education, social class, and ethnic identity of its speakers. In England various dialects are spoken region wise like Scottish gaelic , Irish

Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Amazon.com - Essay Example These e-commerce marketplaces have certain features which enables shoppers to be present in a virtual world where they can shop items of their choice and purchase them within a few presses in the keyboard and have it delivered to their doorsteps. There are hundreds of online marketplaces existing as of this very moment. Each having their unique feat which would attract more shoppers, buyers and even sellers. The most famous shopping sites today are Amazon, Yahoo! Shopping, EBay, and the like. For one instance, Amazon.com, a huge internet company has this certain Amazon affiliate program wherein site-owners from simple blogs to a complex network of site management, can participate in promoting and advertising the shopping site. In the certain program, the incentives that will be given to the affiliates can receive up to 10% from referral alone (Amazon.com, 2007). Aside from the famous Amazon site, there is also EBay, Yahoo Shopping and other affiliates wherein online shoppers can purchase all sorts of things from accessories to appliances, all in one big marketplace. What is good about these online marketplaces is that customers will feel an easier way of shopping and purchasing goods. Also, there is privacy between the seller and the buyer because transactions can happen through private messages. The business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (SMU-Cox, 2005) featured in these markets makes it more hunted by prospect buyers and sellers. Aside from these online markets, the introduction of shopping carts is also a big innovation in the online business world. Shopping carts are virtual representation of a real shopping cart wherein the buyer can place his or her selected items so that after shopping, the purchase and payment method would be easy and systematic. These shopping carts may be installed on the company/ site or may be used through a software in which the shopper can shop from several online stores and marketplaces instead of

Choose an artist (painter, sculptor, or architect) from the Research Paper

Choose an artist (painter, sculptor, or architect) from the Renaissance Era to - Research Paper Example The era witnessed a complete new pattern of color scheme, theme, motif and formation that the European history of art has never witnessed before. Renaissance art became a distinct school of art and with its deviation from its predecessors and evolved almost as a new genre of art form. Renaissance as a concept evoked the â€Å"rebirth† of the ancient tradition and with this perception; this genre of art took classical antiquity as the foundation of its art form. However, the artists associated with the school transformed the tradition by incorporating modern techniques pertaining to science which was witnessed as the recent developments during the period in the northern half of the Europe. This was manifested by the use of contemporary scientific knowledge and techniques. Gradually Renaissance art amalgamated with Renaissance Humanist Philosophy and as a coherent and integrated form spread throughout the continent of Europe. This newer concept influenced not only the artists an d the sculptors but also greatly moved their patrons who started taking great interest in the new form of painting. With the explicit use of newer techniques and developed artistic sensibilities, the Renaissance art stands as a milestone in the trajectory of the history of art as the Europe witnessed a transition from the mediaeval period to an early modern age (Hartt, 1970). Leonardo da Vinci: The Great Renaissance Painter Leonardo da Vinci, a multi-faceted archetypal Renaissance man was a genius. He was at the same time, a painter, sculptor, artist, scientist, botanist, architect, musician, writer, engineer, inventor, mathematician, anatomist, geologist and cartographer. His â€Å"unquenchable curiosity† launched him to a paradigm of genius (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).   He was well known for his feverish inventive bent of mind and imagination. Born in the year 1452, Vinci illuminated the world and served the society with all his expertise from myriad domains till the ye ar 1519. Leonardo da Vinci is considered to be the greatest painter and perhaps the most widely and diversely talented personality of all times (IEEE, n.d.). Helen Gardner, the famous art historian visions about the great man in the following words, â€Å"the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote" (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).   But Marco Rosci contends that the vision of Leonardo should not be considered as something mysterious, rather it is essentially logical in the eyes of Rosci and he believed that the empirical methods which Leonardo employed were unusual in his contemporary era (Rosci, 1977, p. 8). Leonardo da Vinci is primarily known for his path-breaking Renaissance paintings. Leonardo is well-known for his supreme masterpieces which despite of his diversified expertise has captivated his name and fame even after four hundred years of his survival. Leonardoâ€℠¢s paintings as a product from the school of Renaissance painting is always appreciated and discussed at a great length by the patron, connoisseurs and critics of art. The explicit use of light and his detailed knowledge of anatomy which he used extensively in his paintings reached the masterpieces at a different dimension. His knowledge of botany and geology also becomes evident through his paintings and his interest on physiognomy well reflected through the minute lines and curves his paintings bear. The greatest

Accounting article, read and answer the questions Article

Accounting , read and answer the questions - Article Example While these conflicts of interest are very real, they note that we often dismiss them as unimportant, or having no effect. This is because we believe that these professions and professionals adhere to a strong system of ethical standards. But, according to the authors, such conflict of interest situations do have a very marked effect. Thus they suggest a theory of â€Å"moral seduction† which allows most professionals to accept conflict of interest as inevitable and harmless. In addition, they cite Kunda (1990) and argue that people are naturally self-serving. Furthermore, auditors work within a framework of incentive and accountability – the authors cite Bazerman, Morgan & Lowenstein, 1997 – and hence are just as susceptible to subjectivity and bias as any other professionals. 3. The argument of the writers convincingly states that both on an in individual, psychological, and cognitive level, and on a broader social, and political level, conflicts of interest have come to be taken very lightly. Therefore, even if someone wants to bring about reform, and stop dishonest, biased practice within the auditing industry, he/she would face many difficulties. Changing mindsets about conflict of interest within society generally would be required, not just change among auditors. 4. The authors refer to Moore & Lowenstein (2004) to suggest that corporate ethics changed from what is morally right to what is technically legal. Restated, they claim that a set of values-based beliefs – about honest reporting, accountability, and accuracy – were replaced by a less morally- based approach. Auditors were able to justify any inaccuracy, or even misrepresentation of financial information, by finding legal loopholes. So, where the necessity existed for misreporting, auditors would find a way to justify that misrepresentation in the law, an external system, rather

Choose an artist (painter, sculptor, or architect) from the Research Paper

Choose an artist (painter, sculptor, or architect) from the Renaissance Era to - Research Paper Example The era witnessed a complete new pattern of color scheme, theme, motif and formation that the European history of art has never witnessed before. Renaissance art became a distinct school of art and with its deviation from its predecessors and evolved almost as a new genre of art form. Renaissance as a concept evoked the â€Å"rebirth† of the ancient tradition and with this perception; this genre of art took classical antiquity as the foundation of its art form. However, the artists associated with the school transformed the tradition by incorporating modern techniques pertaining to science which was witnessed as the recent developments during the period in the northern half of the Europe. This was manifested by the use of contemporary scientific knowledge and techniques. Gradually Renaissance art amalgamated with Renaissance Humanist Philosophy and as a coherent and integrated form spread throughout the continent of Europe. This newer concept influenced not only the artists an d the sculptors but also greatly moved their patrons who started taking great interest in the new form of painting. With the explicit use of newer techniques and developed artistic sensibilities, the Renaissance art stands as a milestone in the trajectory of the history of art as the Europe witnessed a transition from the mediaeval period to an early modern age (Hartt, 1970). Leonardo da Vinci: The Great Renaissance Painter Leonardo da Vinci, a multi-faceted archetypal Renaissance man was a genius. He was at the same time, a painter, sculptor, artist, scientist, botanist, architect, musician, writer, engineer, inventor, mathematician, anatomist, geologist and cartographer. His â€Å"unquenchable curiosity† launched him to a paradigm of genius (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).   He was well known for his feverish inventive bent of mind and imagination. Born in the year 1452, Vinci illuminated the world and served the society with all his expertise from myriad domains till the ye ar 1519. Leonardo da Vinci is considered to be the greatest painter and perhaps the most widely and diversely talented personality of all times (IEEE, n.d.). Helen Gardner, the famous art historian visions about the great man in the following words, â€Å"the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote" (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).   But Marco Rosci contends that the vision of Leonardo should not be considered as something mysterious, rather it is essentially logical in the eyes of Rosci and he believed that the empirical methods which Leonardo employed were unusual in his contemporary era (Rosci, 1977, p. 8). Leonardo da Vinci is primarily known for his path-breaking Renaissance paintings. Leonardo is well-known for his supreme masterpieces which despite of his diversified expertise has captivated his name and fame even after four hundred years of his survival. Leonardoâ€℠¢s paintings as a product from the school of Renaissance painting is always appreciated and discussed at a great length by the patron, connoisseurs and critics of art. The explicit use of light and his detailed knowledge of anatomy which he used extensively in his paintings reached the masterpieces at a different dimension. His knowledge of botany and geology also becomes evident through his paintings and his interest on physiognomy well reflected through the minute lines and curves his paintings bear. The greatest

Mexico Country Report Essay Example for Free

Mexico Country Report Essay The measures of economic development in Mexico include per capita GDP of about 9,000 dollars. Mexico has a population of about 110 million people. It has a relatively well developed infrastructure and communication systems. Adult literacy is about 94% for the males whereas 91% for the females. Most of the labor force is concentrated in the agricultural sector (4%), industries (26%) and service industry (70%). The life expectancy in Mexico is about 75. 19% at birth. This encompasses all the races and sexes (Kohler and Tausch, 2002) Dependency theory versus modernization theory Dependency theory describes poverty as a consequence of the manner in which a country is integrated into a system rather than lack of integration. Mexico is mainly involved with other developed countries in terms of exports and the imports as the main economic activities. On the other hand, the developed countries are rarely involved in such activities with the developing countries. They are mainly involved with other countries that are well developed as well as internal trade. This consequently leads to less bargaining power in the world market (Kohler and Tausch, 2002) Religion and politics There has been considerable shift as far as religion is concerned. This also involves the relationship between the church and the state. Mexico is primarily a Roman Catholic nation though there has been continuous expansion of other evangelical churches. Despite the several constitutional bans imposed on the churches, they have continued to involve themselves in political issues. The Catholic Church, for example, has continued to involve itself in sensitive issues which concern the public. Mexico is now a multireligious nation since other evangelical churches have continued to grow in numbers. This can be attributed to the recruitment efforts in the earlier years (in the 1980s and 1990s). There are a number of protestant churches in Mexico today such as Seventh Day Adventist, Assemblies of God and the Mormons. The growth was greatly reported mainly in the south eastern part of Mexico. These areas include Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana Roo and other States in Mexico (Nesvig, 2006). The church state relations in Mexico have been reported to be one of the main causes of confrontations in Mexico. The Catholic Church has continued to play multiple roles in this nation. The government’s effort to curtail this influence has not been very successful. The catholic involvement in several areas (such as charities and institutions) and their rising numbers was seen as a threat to the government. The church’s involvement in politics is currently seen as a move to express their democratic rights and fight for the rights of the citizens. Their aim is to fight for good governance and correct the State. Currently, the relationship between the church and the state is a realistic one. This is due to the abolishment of most restrictions that had been imposed in the past (Camp, 2007). Ethnic-cultural divisions There are several indigenous groups found in Mexico. They belong to different ethnic groups and political affiliations. It is worth noting that the Indians are not just one group but comprise several ethnicities with a common background (historical and the cultural backgrounds). There are several cultural subdivisions in Mexico. One of the main subdivisions identifies the central, south eastern, northern and south Mexico. The northern part of Mexico which had been sparsely populated for a long time is now occupied by a small group of indigenous people. It is referred to as the frontier culture and it has a sparse population. The central and western part of Mexico has dense population. There are a number of indigenous populations in the central parts, coastal plains and the sierras. The culture in Mexico is a diverse one made up of different kinds of identities (Camp, 2007). Women and development It is reported that women participation in economic issues has greatly increased compared to the past. Most women are also involved in other activities in the nation and are paid better wages compared to the past. Despite the fact that men are the main persons in politics, women have also begun to be involved. This has been seen in the leadership roles in certain political parties in Mexico. On the other hand, women have also been involved in other social organizations and movements. Despite the fact that the law clearly advocates for equality between women and men, there is still differences between the two. This can be seen in the types of privileges and their authority. Women are mostly involved in religious issues in Mexico (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Agrarian reform and the politics of rural change The agrarian reforms in Mexico have been one of the main accomplishments in Mexico though it was not an easy task. It is reported that most people had small plots of lands which were not enough to meet their needs. Most of these people were the campesinos. However, most of the privately owned lands were taken and redistributed. The ejido or community plots were the mode of redistribution of the lands. In this arrangement, the government was petitioned by the citizens to seize most of the privately owned properties. The land was owned by the state but every person was free to farm. This was done either individually or as a group but the land could not be sold by the Ejidatarios. They were also compelled to continue using the lands or else the right of use is withdrawn. Every person had the right to use the land including the Comuneros. The current scenario in Mexico is the continued struggle to redistribute the lands to the poor who are landless. This is carried out by most organizations (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Rapid urbanization and the politics of the urban poor The rapid urbanization in Mexico can be attributed to certain policies which had positive impacts ion the industrial sector. They led to an increase in industrial production. Despite the rapid urbanization, several problems have also been encountered. For example, most cities do not have efficient way of distributing water supplies. Secondly, the sewerage system is not a good one in most areas. The factors which have contributed to urban growth are population increase and urban migration. Migration can be due to the search of better opportunities or lifestyle (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Despite the fact that the poverty trends in Mexico have been improving since 2002, the urban poverty has continued to rise. This is the greatest challenge as far as the equitable distribution of resources is concerned. The rural areas have continued to be improved with time and the level of poverty reduced in these areas. Several factors can be attributed to this change. These include; diversified incomes from economic activities and other services like tourism. The main area that needs improvement is the urban areas. Most people in these areas usually toil very hard but are paid less. Most of their incomes are got as a result of manual labor (about 60%). Accessibility of opportunities to the poor has not improved in the urban areas. Revolutionary change/Soldiers and politics The revolution in Mexico began as early as 1910 and it involved several movements. It kept changing from not just a revolt but into a civil war which involved several parties. It led to the establishment of the constitution in 1917 by the representatives. The beginning of the revolution was in 1929 with the establishment of National Revolutionary Party (NRP). It hang on to power until the year 2000 (Hart, 2007). This revolution involved everyone including Mexican women and their impacts were felt during this period. It is reported that they took part in several activities, professions and took part in wars. Some of the famous known women participants were known as the Soldaderas who were closely involved with the militias. It is reported that the main reasons why women joined in such risky affairs was due to fear of being left alone by their husbands. Some were also involved because they saw this as a collective duty. Some of the women who took part in the revolutionary process include Hermila Galindo and Dolores Muro (Jandura, 2009). The political economy of third world development Mexico experiences a wide gap more as far as wealth distribution is concerned. The level of inequalities has continued to rise in this country especially with the introduction of certain economic policies. It has been reported that a lot of people live below the poverty line with a small number of people in the middle class. The level of poverty and marginalization has continued to spread in many parts of the country but are mostly seen in the southern and central parts of rural Mexico. Most settlements do not have the basic services and social amenities. Most of the poorest groups are the Indians who are also highly marginalized (Anderson and Glade, 1963). On the other hand, the wealthiest groups of people are mostly the whites. The differences between the rich and the poor are easily noticed in the modes of dressing and the lifestyles of the people. The usage of facilities also shows a difference. Wealthy people have access to the best facilities and institutions whereas the poor are not allowed to. These differences have led to discrimination in Mexico and ethnic rivalry. Most of the government’s help is directed to the urban areas (Villareal, 2010). References Anderson, C. W. Glade, W. P. (1963). The Political Economy of Mexico. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Camp, R. A. (2007). Crossing swords: Politics and Religion in Mexico. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Hart J. M. (2007). Revolutionary Syndicalism in Mexico. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://libcom. org/library/revolutionary-syndicalism-mexico-john-m-hart Jandura T. (2009). Revolutionary Mexican Women. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. ic. arizona. edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/mex-jand. htm Kohler G. and Tausch A. (2002) Global Keynesianism: Unequal exchange and global exploitation. Huntington NY: Nova Science. Nesvig, M. A. (2006). Local Religion in Mexico. Gainesville: University Press of Florida Roberts E. R. McBee G. W. (2008) Modernization and Economic Development in Mexico: A factor analytic Approach. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. jstor. org/pss/1152237 Villareal A. M. (March 31, 2010). US-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues and Implications. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL32934. pdf

Types And Characteristics Of WANs Information Technology Essay

Types And Characteristics Of WANs Information Technology Essay A Wan is a large area network that expands in a geographical area, such as a country or a continent. It is known also as a communication system that connects computer networks such as LANs (local area network) and MANs (metro area network). The connections go through local, national or international areas public or privately, using generally phones lines, referred to as POST, or employing PSTN (public switched telephone network) or fibre optics, creating the link between networks located in different facilities. A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management. WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for connectivity over the longer distances. These networks contain a collection of machines to execute some programs which are called hosts. These are connected to networks that have communication through routers with each LAN and a WAN interface. Remote access is something vital for the companies and users because it allows you to have mobility and work through different areas. Also it gives the benefit to get better business out of your area. Basically a WAN generates new applications viable, and some of them can cause important effects in whole society. In order to give some idea of important uses, some of them they are already commented before, we can see emphasize: The access to remote programs. The access to remote data bases. Facilities of added value communication. The principal components are routers, switches and modems. Devices on the subscriber premises are called customer premises equipment (CPE). The subscriber owns the CPE or leases the CPE from the service provider. A copper or fibre cable connects the CPE to the service providers nearest exchange or central office. This cabling is often called the local loop, or last-mile. Then Devices that put data on the local loop are called data circuit-terminating equipment, or data communications equipment (DCE). The customer devices that pass the data to the DCE are called data terminal equipment (DTE). The DCE primarily provides an interface for the DTE into the communication link on the WAN cloud. Types and characteristics of WANs: The local area networks (LAN) are significantly different from the wide area network (WAN). The LANà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ sector is one of the fastest growths in the industry of the communications. The local area networks own the following characteristics. Generally, the channels are property of the user or company. The connections are lines (from 1 Mbps to 200 Mbps). The DTEs is connected to the network via channels of low speed (from 600 bits to 56 Kbits). The DTEs are near to each other, generally in a same building. A DCE can be used to exchange between different configurations, but they are not as frequently as in the WAN. The lines in LANs are better quality than the channels in the WAN, because to the differences between the local area networks and the wide network area, their topologies can take very different forms. The structure of the WAN tends to be more irregular, due to the necessity to connect many terminals, computers and switching centres. Circuit Switching: The circuit switching is a WAN switching method which establishes, maintains and ends dedicated physical circuit through a carrying network for each session of communication. The switching circuit, which is used widely in the networks of the telephone companies, operates of form similar to one circuit, which is widely used in telephone company networks, operates similar to a normal telephone call. ISDN is an example of a circuit-switched WAN technology. Connections circuit switched one site to another are triggered when necessary and generally require low bandwidth band. The circuit switched connections are used primarily to connect remote users and mobile users to the corporate LAN. Also it is used as backup lines to circuit higher speeds, such as Frame Relay and other dedicated lines. One advantage is it is highly reliable for its function. A disadvantage is all the time spends to set up the channel and also there is the single point failure which can cause a dis ruption in communications. Message Switching: a computer is in charge to accept connected traffic of networks to him. The computer examines the direction that appears in the head of the message towards the DTE that must receive it. This technology allows recording the information to take care of it later. The user can erase, store, route or answer the message of automatic form. Picture taken from technet.microsoft.com Packet Switching: In this type of network the data of the users are disturbed in smaller pieces. These fragments or packages, you are inserted within information of the protocol and cross the network like independent organizations. Connectionless and Connection-Oriented Services: they happen directly of the free situation to the way to transfer data. These networks do not offer confirmations, flow control and neither recovery of errors applicable to the entire network, although these functions if they exist for each particular connection. An example of this type of network is Internet. In connection-Oriented packets switched, the multiplexing concept exists in channels and ports are known as virtual circuit or channel. The user pretends to have a dedicated resource, when he shares with another one then what it happens is that they take care of bursts of traffic of different users. General routing issues Congestion is about too much presence of packages in a part of one subnet. In cases of extreme congestion, routers start to reject packages, decreasing the system performance. The reasons of congestion are many, some of them are: If in 4 lines, the information arrives to him at router and all needs the same line of exit, it exists competition. Insufficient amount of memory in routers. But if you add more memory, this just helps until certain point because the time to arrive at first from the queue can be so long. Slow processors in routers. The analyse process of the packages are expensive, so slow processors can cause congestion. In that way the congestion propagates to the others routersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ The flow control and the control of congestion are not the same: Flow control: is in charge of a fast emitter does not saturate to a slow receiver. Control of Congestion: its function is to try to avoid that the network is overloaded. The solutions for the problem of congestion can be divided in two classes: Open Loop: They try to solve the problem with a good design. They use algorithms to decide when to accept more packages, when to discard them, etc. But they do not use the actual situation of the network. Closed Loop: The solution in this case is based on the feedback of the line. Generally they have three parts: 1. The system is monitored to detect when and where it happens the congestion. 2. This information goes towards where actions can be taken. 3. The operation parameters of the system adjust to correct the problems. Several measures of the performance can be used to measure the congestion. The main measures used are: % of discarded packages, Queue length, Number of packages that makes timed out and/or relayed, the average delay of the packages. 3. Addressing and routing It is necessary that any machine or host have one address, in order to get the information to the network. In the case of Internet, this are called IP address, and to each machine of the Network is assigned one. An IP address is a 32 bit number represented as four octets. Each of these four octets is in the range between 0 to 255. Class A: 10.0.0.0 a 10.255.255.255 (8 bits red, 24 bits hosts) Class B: 172.16.0.0 a 172.31.255.255 (16 bits red, 16 bits hosts) Class C: 192.168.0.0 a 192.168.255.255 (24 bits red, 8 bits hosts) Class D addresses are used for multicasting Class E is for experimental purposes. PTO Switched Services