Victimology: Crime and Deviant Place Theory

Victimology: neither a victim nor an offender be. Caution is a parent of safety. Victimology is the scientific study of victimization, including the relationships between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal-justice system, and the connections between victims and other social groups and institutions. Victimology as an academic term contains two elements: one is the Latin word â€Å"Victima† which translates into â€Å"victim† and the other is the Greek word â€Å"logos† which means a system of knowledge, the direction of something abstract, the direction of teaching, science, and a discipline.The concept of victim dates back to ancient cultures and civilizations, such as the ancient Hebrews. Its original meaning was rooted in the idea of sacrifice or scapegoat — the execution or casting out of a person or animal to satisfy a deity or hierarchy. Over the centuries, the word victim came to have additional meanings. The fie ld of victimology emerged in the 1940s when two European criminologists named Von Hentig and Mendelsohn, often called the â€Å"fathers of victimology,† began studying crime victims. They suggested the theory that the victim's behavior and attitude caused the crime to be committed.The field of victimology originally devoted most of its energy to examining the numerous ways victims shared the responsibility of specific crimes with the criminal offenders. For a long time, criminologists focused their attention strictly on the role of the criminal. But over the years, it has been discovered that the role of the victim is actually very important as well, as it can influence fate and shape and motivate a criminal. Today, there are a number of theories attempting to explain victimization and its causes.A few of the most common and important theories are the victim precipitation theory, the lifestyle theory and the deviant place theory. The victim precipitation theory suggests that some people cause or initiate a particular confrontation that may eventually lead to that person becoming victimized by injury or death. Such precipitation on part of the victim can either be active or passive. Active precipitation exists when the victim knowingly acts in a provocative manner, uses fighting words or threats, or simply attacks first.Passive precipitation however, occurs when the victim contains characteristics that unknowingly motivates or threatens the attacker. Such crimes can exist due to personal conflicts such as two individuals competing for a love interest, a promotion, a job, or any other desirable or rare commodity. A woman may receive a promotion and become a victim of violence because of the jealousy of someone she may or may not even know. Such precipitation may also exist when a victim is part of a particular group that offends or threatens someone's economic well-being, status or reputation. Next is the lifestyle theory.Many criminologists believe that those whose lifestyle increases criminal exposure are more likely to become victims of crime. Behaviors such as going out late at night, associating with younger men, and residing in cities increases the chances of falling victim to crime. Those who choose high-risk lifestyles which include taking drugs, drinking, and participating in criminal activities run a much higher risk of becoming victims. Also, the more time someone is exposed to street life, the greater their chance of becoming victims. Young men in particular have a very high risk of victimization.College students who tend to spend several nights partying each week are also more likely to be at risk than those who avoid such unstable lifestyles. Those who commit crimes increase their chances of becoming victim of crimes as well. Another theory is the deviant place theory. This theory holds that victims do not motivate crime but rather are prone to becoming victims simply because they live in social areas that are disorgan ized and contain high-crime rates and therefore have the highest risk of coming into contact with criminals regardless of their lifestyle or behavior.The more someone visits a high-crime area, the more chances they will have at becoming a victim. However, there is a lot we can do to prevent ourselves from being a victim. Some of the ways to prevent yourself from being victimized are: protect your vulnerability, be careful about the company you keep, lock up your valuables, spend some extra money on security. These are just a few of the things an individual can do to protect themselves from becoming victims of crimes. They may seem easy, yet not everyone takes advantage of the precautions.To protect your vulnerability basically means to not let your guard down in front of too many people that you do not know on a personal level. Do not allow yourself to become involved in anything where anyone may have the chance to blackmail you. Live your life in reproach and protect your reputatio n. Protecting your vulnerability ties in with being careful about the company you keep. Keep a small group of friends instead of letting yourself become impersonally involved with large groups of individuals. In addition, do not let strangers enter your home.Sometimes when an individual’s car breaks down they may need to use the phone, well if this ever happens to you, ask them what number they want to dial and you dial it for them. Also, developing a pattern of behavior allows bad guys to plan an attack or ambush, to track someone’s comings and goings. So they can plan when they can safely break into apartment. The time variation of coming and going, routes to work, school, gym or sometimes even coffeehouse seems to be solution to some extent. President Barack Obama goes for a run, or even travels anywhere, he never goes the same route twice.Sometimes we become a victim of situation. For example, you leave work late one night, and get stuck in the elevator, long every one else has gone home; you fall asleep on the subway and wake up lost; you get in a car wreck and skid off the road, down a 200 foot hill into a ravine, hidden from sight of the road. For that reason letting someone know when you are doing something different or going someplace you have not been before is probably would be better. It goes without saying that some of the crimes we attracting when we look like a potential target.Victims of violent crimes like a mugging or robbery call attention to themselves by either being oblivious to their surroundings or by looking helpless. It reminds one joke about attention that tells: â€Å"You probably won’t be robbed by screaming out ‘Rob Me! ’ but you definitely will be by walking and texting at the same time†. It is not a paradox but underworld has more victims than anything else.People who involve themselves in criminal activities for example such as fraud, assault, forgery, manslaughter, terrorism, robbery etc .  considered to be at the high risk to be a victim. Some of them become addicts or have nothing but debts to the old age and others found dead somewhere. Criminal world has his own fictional rules, which creates a vision of order and stability for â€Å"beginners† but in return of unquestioning obedience. Of course living by such â€Å"rules† breaks our real laws approved by society and government. But the thing is law enforcement’s chances to help if you are in criminal world become null and void.So even someday if you will be ready to get rid of a criminal past, criminal past probably will not be ready to let you go. From my point of view, today when we are living in technologically developed era proverb as â€Å"Caution is a parent of safety† should be taken into account more seriously. Consciously involving in criminal activities means big percentage of ending up dead or at least in jail because it is easier to trace illegal actions now, but at the same time naked photo of yours could be seen everywhere once you put it on Facebook.

Mean Creek- Important Idea

Explain an important idea in a text you have studied. Explain why you found it interesting. Discuss visual and verbal techniques in your answer. In the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, the important idea of loss of innocence is very interesting as it tells the story and shows us how quickly things can change. The director shows us this through the way the characters change during the burial of George, the word â€Å"snap† written in a tree and the guilt felt by Millie and Sam. Firstly I found the important idea of loss of innocence interesting during the burial of George as this is when they lose their innocence.When they decide to bury Georges body the character all lose what innocence they had left. This is shown as everyone help besides Millie who doesn’t want to have a part in it. At this moment the director uses a combination of dark lighting and close up shots of Millie’s partially hidden face in the shadows of the trees to show how dark and l ost Millie has become since the death of George. She is hiding from the truth and wants to act like nothing is going to change. The director also uses a slow sad chelo during this scene as lament like, it is a metaphor for the death of Millie’s and everyone else’s innocence.Millie is already starting to feel guilty as she earlier in the film stated â€Å"go ahead Clyde start the game†. This shows she does not feel innocent at all but does not want to admit it. When Millie is by herself instead of helping with the burial a foley effect is used as she stabs a snail followed by sudden silence. This was Millie’s was to let at all her frustration and anger on the events that have occurred and her own actions which contributed in Georges death. This scene helps makes the important idea interesting as it is the moment when they all lose their innocence.Secondly I found the important idea interesting through the way Millie carved the word â€Å"snap† into a tree. At the start of the film when Millie and Sam are innocently talking about what George did to Sam, Millie says â€Å"If you could snap your fingers and he would drop dead in his tracks would you? A wide shot is used to show George sitting down by himself, this shows how lonely he is and makes us actually feel sympathy towards him. This is followed by silence which shows how Sam doesn’t want to hurt George. This emphasises the innocence of Sam as he did not wish to do anything which could result in the death of George.This Quote foreshadows the death of George. As a viewer tension builds u as we wait the events that link to the death. After the death of George, Millie engraves the word â€Å"Snap† into a tree. This is significant as it shows how life can change as fast as the snap of the fingers. A foley effect is used on the scratching of the knife on the tree to show Millie’s anger and how she feels they have not only turned flipped there life upside do wn but they took a life and destroyed Georges relatives lives. The foley effect turns your attention the Millie as the viewer anticipates what she is writing . e now see how just 24 hours before they were all living a normal happy life but now they are emotionally distort and stumped for a conclusion of what to do. The word snap makes the important idea of loss of innocence interesting as it shows how fast they have totally lost their innocence. Lastly loss of innocence is seen as interesting as Millie and Sam come out and talk about what has happened. When Sam goes to Millie’s room we notice a great change in her personality and feelings. Millie is no longer a bright happy person as we now see her as a frightened little girl.The director uses dark lighting and a wide shot to shows as Millie steering into the mirror. When Millie is steering into the mirror it is silent as she looks frustrated and confused as if she thinks her appearance should have change but everything looks the same as if nothing has happened. When Sam talks to Millie a combination of dark lighting and close up shots of Millie’s half hidden face in the darkness of her bedroom show us how miserable she looks as she is hiding from the truth and is in denial of the fact that their life has changed. What do you want†, â€Å"I was just there† shows us how Millie does not want to accept the truth as well as the consequences of her actions but knows she can not live with all the guilt. Millie was trying to act like she feels innocent but the remorseful ton in her voice suggests otherwise. Sam and Millie know they are not innocent as the guilt inside them grows and makes them wonder if keeping George’s death a secret is the best thing to do. When we become doctors and lawyers and all that what do you think it will be like? † The director follows this question with silence to show how they both think telling the truth and accepting the consequences will be best . This makes us feel sorry for them and it is as if some of their innocence has come back to them as we are reminded of the fact that they are still children when they talk about their future and that they have â€Å"come to a decision† of telling the truth which is what they wanted in the first place.In conclusion I found the important idea of loss of innocence very interesting as the director takes as on a roller-coaster of feelings as kids make the biggest decision of their lives. With the burial of George, the word â€Å"Snap† and the guilt felt by Sam and Millie the children’s innocence is lost but they regain some as they come to the correct conclusion. The interesting idea of loss of innocence shows us how fast some of the most innocent people feel guilty and how people can unintentionally lose their innocence in a matter of minutes.

America War Efforts and Just War Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

America War Efforts and Just War Theory - Essay Example Admittedly, the 9/11 terror strikes were heinous acts that cannot be justified under humanitarian principles. Alan Dowd asserts that the 9/11 attacks were not an attack on the United States alone but on all of human civilization. The author explains in detail the meaning of civilization and cites examples from recent history when it was saved by American military intervention, the chief examples of which are the two World Wars waged in the last century. Continuing in this vein, Down equates the threat posed by networks such as Al Qaeda to that of totalitarian rulers of the past, including Hitler and Stalin. He tries to draw an analogy between the ongoing military engagements of the United States to its major confrontations against Nazism and Stalinism. Dowd ends the article on a hopeful note, that America and its coalition partners will prevail in the War on Terror, just as they had done on crucial junctures of recent history. It is important to note that Alan Dowd does not make a serious effort to justify the War on Terror with the conditions laid down by the Just War theory. The author had not undertaken this task probably because he had a weak case to argue. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is a breach of several of the Just War conditions, the most blatant of which is the numerous civilian fatalities that the war has caused. The article written by Charles Kegley Jr and Gregory Raymond takes a critical look at the doctrine of Pre-emptive war, which was the cornerstone of the eight-year term of George W. Bush. The authors explain the weak premises upon which this doctrine is based and how it fails the standards set by the Just War theory.

The Terrorist Group (ISIS) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Terrorist Group (ISIS) - Research Paper Example ed condemnation for their ideologies and principles from all around the world, and especially from the Muslim community, which believes that this group does not represent the faith that is Islam. This paper will take a closer look at the group, and examine the principles that make it such a threat to the freedom and liberties of all people. According to different sources, this group was initially a part of the main group al-Qaeda, but their involvement in the Syrian war made them change their name from ISI (Islamic State of Iraq) to ISIL or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). In 2014, the group sought to change their name to Islamic State, and proclaimed their organization to be a worldwide caliphate. This prompted criticism from different governments, Muslim leaders, and the United Nations calling out the leader of the group and refusing to acknowledge the power the group claims to have over all Muslims, their states, organizations, and even the different religious groups in the world (Tran and Weaver 1). The presence of the Islamic State in some of the warring countries is something that is quite disheartening. It is their ideologies and principles that make them a particularly cruel and calculating group of extremists. Their thoughts on what is right and wrong may be the key to unlocking some of the thoughts they have on the people they unleash terror upon, and the reason why they are becoming intolerable even to their Muslim folk (Crooke 1). It is this form of cruelty that begs the question as to whether this group is motivated by religious beliefs, or if the group has other underlying agendas. The criticism they have received seems to have no impact on their actions as more people continue to suffer at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) organization. Women, who speak out against the organization, continue to be enslaved as they are used by the fighters in the group for gratification. The young are sold off to become the fighters’ wives, while

Reward and Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Reward and Performance - Essay Example In contrast, survey carried out by Kenneth Kovach depicted that employee's ranked good wages fifth among their top ten job reward factors. Therefore, there appears to be a difference in ideology of what motivates employees (Kovach, 1995). Motivation revels when in an organisation considers all factors affecting performance. (Ruebusch, 2003). These factors include individual needs, nature of the job i.e. degree of job challenge and goal clarity, job design, job security, organisational climate, a sense of personal significance, stability of expectations, recognition, trust, honest communication, dignity and respect, as well as an equitable reward system which will be discussed in great detail in the proposed thesis. The exigency to motivate employees with desirable rewards has hitherto salvaged a significant level of importance; this is because rewards can serve as motivators but could also have negative reactions should that supposed merit falls below employee's expectations. Therefore, this thesis seeks to examine the impact of valued rewards on performance in the banking industry utilizing the expectancy theory and two factor theory of motivation framework, while introducing other factors that influence the activity levels of performance. From my critical research on the literature on motivation, as well as the growing need by managers to find solutions to the question how do they motivate employees, I discovered a few conjectures that need to be addressed and elaborated upon in this dissertation. One aim is to ascertain the impact of valued rewards on individual and organisational performance and its effect on productivity and profitability. Then, conjuring strategies that improvises and sustains performance through the establishment of feedback channels, employee training and a friendly work environment can provide a breeding ground for trust. The examination of other variables besides rewards that affect performance such as the aforementioned job security and recognition among others must be in order so that variables can withstand and make a difference through the test of time. Finally, the determination of what rewards employees consider valuable enough to influence behaviour will allow management to be very sel ective to rewards that can profit the workers. Business organisations still face a lot of difficulties in the area of employee motivation. This poses a dilemma for employees' control of other factors of production in order to achieve goals, greater productivity and higher profits. In order to motivate people you must appeal to their deepest desires (Ruebusch, 2003). Managers should not expect a standard compensation plan or incentive program to have the similar effect on every employee. To procure top performance, compensation plans and incentive programs must be deftly tailored to meet the specific needs of each employee because employees of different ages and generational cohorts have varying needs over time (Jeffords et al, 1997). It has also been observed that extrinsic rewards have effect on employees to work proficiently. Therefore, this study will provide managers within the banking industry with a deeper insight into the needs of today's employees and rein them towards other reward trends which appear to boost employee mo rale and productivity. As highlighted by Herrera (2002), managers need to be concerned of the creation of workplace culture that

Arabic Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Arabic Culture - Essay Example This paper is a discussion comparing the influence Arab and American TV programming have on shaping cultural practices of these two groups. One of the main issues which TV in programs, in Arab world, focuses on is the conservative dressing code, while in America, is dressing fashionably. Women who feature on TV in the Arab world in most cases put on veils, which cover their whole body and some parts of the head. The women in Arab world in turn, are influenced to continue on with the conventional mode of dressing. Contrary to the Arab world, women who feature in TV programs, in America, embrace the culture of dressing according to the current fashion. This translates on to the society in that women copy the latest mode of dressing they watched on TV. TV programs have great influence on fashion cultural trend while in Arab world TV programs does not influence fashion because of its conservative nature (Monaco 15). The other issue that can be compared in TV in the Arab world and America is the portrayal of freedom. It is evident that a lot of TV programs in America portray satire, irony, and at the same time, the themes are against government policies. People watching TV in America enjoy the sense of mental and intellectual freedom; this is because they are able to watch many programs that are the critic of the government without being victimized by the government. Watching programs that are satirical to the government in America have made people mentally free, and that is why there is democracy in America. However, people watching TV programs in most countries of the Arab world are not mentally free due to governments’ control most of the content to be watched. Satirical programs, which can instill mental freedom to individuals and address the ill nature of the governments, are limited to the Arab world. This fact has seen to it that people living in the Arab are under the

Online Discussion for Accounting class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Online Discussion for Accounting class - Essay Example The financial performance of a company can be analyzed either using single date statements or by comparing the performance across time. The four financial statements are the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and statement of cash flow (Weygandt, Kieso, Kimmel, 2002). These statements provide a summary of the financial performance of a company during a financial period. The balance sheet shows the position of the company at a specific point in time. The use of ratio analysis is one of the best ways to evaluate the performance of a company during a period. Another methodology to assess the performance of a company is by using comparative statements. Two financial techniques that can be used to compare financial statements are vertical and horizontal analysis. I think that techniques that compare performance across time are more effective because they show trends in financial performance. Companies that have rising performance across time are more desirabl e than firms that have declining

Child Physical Performance Participation in Physical Activity Essay

Child Physical Performance Participation in Physical Activity - Essay Example Physical activity habits and preferences are not static but are continually in a state of flux throughout the life cycle. The most substantial changes occur at major passages in peoples lives and these activities are added and deleted as personal and situational factors change over time. There is an inverse relationship between age and physical activity levels. Physical activity patterns peak in childhood, but an incipient decline continues through the life cycle. Relatively active adolescents become increasingly inactive adults. Situational factors specific to adolescence, such as beginning to drive, beginning part-time employment, and disengaging from competitive sports, may be contributory factors to a less vigorous lifestyle. The high attrition rate in organized sports may be partially due to the confluence of averslye or negative experiences. The work-like approach to sports may result in a spillover effect in which not only the sport but all physical activity is perceived negat ively. As athletes are pressured to succeed and spend long hours in repetitive, almost assembly-line type practices, they may be inhibited from developing a positive attitude toward physical activities. Blair (2004, 585) noted that with increasing age, there was an increasing professionalization of attitude toward play. Consequently, as childrens activities evolve from free play to more organized contexts, there is a corresponding transition from an expressive orientation to a more instrumental one. This transition results in an increasing emphasis on winning and defeating an opponent and a decreasing emphasis on playing fair and having fun. This transformation of attitude is most pervasive and pronounced with young men, although young women may be expected to exhibit a similar trend or transition as sporting opportunities continue to unfold. It is thus plausible that the spillover effect and the progressive professionalism of play coupled with the increased

Proof reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Proof reading - Essay Example Unlike the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, Aegean writing is not considered an art but was considered to be a craft that very few specialize during their time. The origins were blurry except for signs of Prepalatial Period influences. It also did not contain definite developments between periods found in the Aegean. Original scripts are found in ‘First Palace Period Crete’ and they are with preceding documents in written form. In Crete, the development of writing was highly necessary because of the need for recording and storying the commodities. However, this idea came from the East although it â€Å"does not characterize a completely imitative demonstration† (Dickinson, p.193). Crete writing shows no signs of its origins deriving from the Eastern civilizations which had early proofs of writing in their culture. It is regarded as inherent invention in the local level. Crete’s clay documents were sun-dried while Eastern people bake their documents. Some believe that some records were written in perishable material such as papyrus or parchment. However, the evidence was not strong enough to prove it as fact. This leaves question regarding the usage and the contents of the materials. The artifacts contained what are perceived to be records regarding commodities and other unclear matters that the era imposed. In many signs of writing, the hieroglyphics, which was the earliest script found in writing, is known to be of north Crete particularly Mallia (Dickinson p.193-194). Linear A which evolved from hieroglyphics found in Phylakopi and Ayia Irini as tablets fragments and also in Akrotiri, Kastri and Ayios Stephano. This had tremendous influence on the sc ripts found in Cyprus that later on evolved into another level of writing known as Linear B. During The Third Palace Period, Linear B seems to be a developed version of those found at Knossos. Linear B was not only the development of writing

Distracted driving Essay Example for Free

Distracted driving Essay Introduction – Distracted driving is a growing and dangerous problem in today’s society that can lead to accidents causing injury and even death. Risk factors with distracted driving: Talking on a cell phone while driving Younger, inexperienced drivers under the age of 20 may be at increased risk; they have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. There are three main types of distraction:  ·Visual: taking your eyes off the road;  ·Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and  ·Cognitive: taking your mind off of driving. Statistics on distracted driving: 69% of drivers in the United States ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed. In Europe, this percentage ranged from 21% in the United Kingdom to 59% in Portugal. Conclusion Mobile phones have immense public utility, improving communication in social and commercial interactions. Nonetheless, their role in driver distraction and consequently in road traffic crashes means that some measure of â€Å"reining in† their use while driving is required. References National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Facts and Statistics. Available from http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html. Accessed October 9, 2014 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, April 2013. Publication no. DOT HS 811 737. Available from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811737.pdf. Accessed October 9, 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mobile Device Use While Driving — United States and Seven European Countries, 2011. MMWR 2013 / 62(10);177-182. Olsen EO, Shults RA, Eaton DK. Texting while driving and other risky motor vehicle behaviors among US high school students. Pediatrics. 2013;131(6):e1708-e1715. Federal Railroad Administration. Restrictions on Railroad Operating Employees’ Use of Cellular Telephones and Other Electronic Devices. Washington, DC. US Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, 2011.

Result Analysis using Fast Clustering Algorithm

Result Analysis using Fast Clustering Algorithm Result Analysis using Fast Clustering Algorithm and Query Processing using Localized Servers. P.Jessy Abstract—This paper identifying records that produces compatible results using Fast Clustering Selection Algorithm. A selection algorithm may be evaluated from both the efficiency and effectiveness points of view. While the efficiency concerns the time required to find a record, the effectiveness is related to the quality of the record. The selection algorithm fetches the result with the help of register number. The Selection algorithm works in two steps. In the first step, the register number fetches the result from the server. The record for every individual will be obtained by hit method. The sender sends the request to the server. In the second step, the most representative record that is strongly related to target classes is fetched from database. The record fetches from the database by the register number. The string generation algorithm is guaranteed to generate the optimal result k candidates. We analyses the results of students using Selection Algorithm. We need to de fine compatible operation analogs by introducing max-min operation min-max operation. It automatically collects data from the web to enrich the result. The analysis of result for huge students make more time. The accuracy of the result has to be considered. We need to fetch the result individually by their register number. It leads to time inefficiency. In a proposed system, we obtain the result for a group of students. The Selection method fetches the result for a student according to their register number which is entered in between a range. The result for the student automatically fetched from the server. Once the result for the candidate has been fetched from the server, it stored in the client database. Then we sort the result of the student as group. It increases the accuracy and makes the efficient one. It reduces the burden of the people who analyze the result. The result analysis is performed within a short period. We can generate the report based on the GRADE system. Our experimental evaluation shows that our approach generates superior results. Extensive experiments on large real data sets demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness. Finally we sort the results of students using FAST CLUSTERING SELECTION algorithm. Index Terms FAST, Minmax Maxmin Operation. INTRODUCTION Students play a major role in Educational field.Students are evaluated under different categories: By choosing their institution, studying well, gaining good knowledge, and getting good marks. Result analysis of each student paves the way for their higher education as well as their improvement in future. Percentage marks prior to the grade scheme were converted into grades for ease of comparison. The reliability of the new scheme was again studied using statistical analysis of data obtained from both the old and new schemes. Some assessment schemes use a grading category index (GCI) instead of actual mark for each assessment criterion. GCIs usually have a smaller number of options to choose from when awarding results. For example, the GCI may gave eight levels with the highest being awarded to exceptional students and the lowest being awarded to students of inadequate performance. This reduced level of categories has been shown to result in less variability between assessors compare to systems which use marking ranges between 0 and 100. The Results of the students are analyzed using Fast Clustering Selection Algorithm. In this paper, we are analyzing the results of students using clustering methods with the help of filtering by introducing max-min operation min-max operation.The filter method is usually a good choice when the number of records is very large.The SELECTION algorithm works in two steps. In the first step, the register number fetches the result from the server. The record for every individual will be obtained by hit method. The sender sends the request to the server. In thesecond step,themost representative record that is strongly related to target classes is fetched from database.It consists of three components: query generation, and data selection and presentation.This approach automatically determinesinformation. It then automatically collects data fromthe web .By processing a large set of data; it is able to deal with more complex queries. In order to collect result, we need to generate informative queries. The queries have to be generated for every individual student.It increases the time to fetches the result and inefficiency. In order to overcome this, the queries are generated along with unique identification number i.e. register number. Based on the generated queries, we vertically collect image data with multimedia search engines.We then perform reranking a nd duplicate removal to obtain a set of accurate and representative results. 2. RELATED WORK Selection can be viewed as the process of identifying and removing as many irrelevant and redundant record as possible. This is because: (i) irrelevant records do not contribute to the predictive accuracy, and (ii) redundant features do not redound to getting a better predictor for that they provide mostly information which is already present. Selection focused on searching for relevant records. Irrelevant data, along with redundant data, severely affect the accuracy. Thus, selection should be able to identify and remove as much of the irrelevant and redundantinformation as possible. QUERY GENERATION To collect result from the web,we need to generate appropriate queries before performing search. We accomplish the task with two steps. The first step is query extraction. We needto extract a set of informative keywords from querying. The second step is query selection.This is because we can generate different queries: one fromretrieve, one from display, and one from the combinationof retrieve and display. In query generation, given an input string Qi, we aim to generate the most likely koutput strings sothat can betransformed from Qi and have the largest probabilities. DATA SELECTION AND PRESENTATION We perform search using the generated queries to collect the result of the student. The result of the student is fetched from the server by three processes. Before query generation, the register number for the students is fetched from the database. The register numbers are grouped based upon the department. The register number for each group is partitioned and stored as arrays of objects. In query generation, the register number is added with the query and it performs the request to server.The results are built upon text based indexing. Therefore, reranking is essential to reorder the initial text-based search results. A query-adaptivereranking approach is used for the selection of the result. We first decide whether a query is text related or image related, and then we use different features for reranking. Here we regard the prediction of whether a query is text related as a classification task.We can choose to match each query term with a result list. But it will not be easy tofind a complete list. In addition, it will be difficult to keep the list updated in time. We adopt a method that analyzes results. Thus, we perform a duplicate removal step to avoid information redundancy. The result which is fetched from the server may increases the time if there is large amount of data. To increases the time efficiency we need to process the query in a different manner. The results are grouped with the help of group id. EVALUATION OF QUERY GENERATION The generated query is first passed as a string to the server. The server searches the result with the register number. Once the result is found for the particular register number, the server sends the respond to the query client.Theresult received for a particular student is stored in the database with help of the register number. The results can be printed for a group of students by simply selecting the results from database with the group id. The group id is set for a group of students based upon their department id. The department id is a unique constraint for the identification of the record. In query generation the records are fetched from the server and stored in the client database by the department id and group id. EVALUATION OF RERANKING We use the query adaptive ranking to perform query classification and thenadopt query-adaptive reranking accordingly. It is our proposedapproach and it is denoted as â€Å"proposed†. After reranking, we perform duplicate removal and irrelevant removal of result. 3. ALGORITHM AND ANALYSIS The proposed FAST algorithm logically consists of two steps: (i) removing irrelevant record, (ii) removing redundant record. 1) Irrelevant records have no/weak correlation with target concept; 2) Redundant records are assembled in a cluster and a representative data can be taken out of the cluster. ALGORITHM For every result Calculate the average queue size(avg) ifminth { Calculateprobability pa With probability pa: ifregister no. is valid and if the result is not already fetched { Mark the result Send request to the sender and save the result } else Drop the request to the server } else if maxth Store the result in database Send acknowledgment to the server. Fig.1. gives the flowchart of the algorithm FAST Algorithm The FAST algorithm fetches the result of the student with the help of the register number. T F T F Fig.1. Flowchart of the algorithm FAST Algorithm The algorithm checks whether the given register number is valid or invalid. The register number is a collection of college code and student code. The college code is used to identify the result of the particular college. The FAST algorithm calculates the probability of finding the result of the student from the server. Then it identifies the results from the server using the request and response method. The avg SELECTIVITY OF RANGE QUERIES Selectivity estimation of range queries is a much harder problem. Several methods were available. However, they are only able to estimate the number of records in the range. None can be efficiently adapted to estimate the number of results in the range. One naive solution is to treat information as record by removing the irrelevant information. This clearly increases the space consumption significantly (and affects the efficiency) since the number of points is typically much larger than the number of existing nodes. When generating the query workload for ourdatasets we had to address two main challenges. We had to generate a workload,with an attribute distribution representing the user interests in a realistic way. Second, we had to create queries of theform attribute-value. Query reformulation involves rewriting the original query with its similar queries and enhancing the effectiveness of search. Most existing methods manage to mine transformation rules from pairs of queries in thesearch logs. One represents an original query and the other represents a similar query. 1) Select the length of the query l by sampling from a uniform probability distribution with lengths varying from 1 to 3. 2) Select an attribute A1 using the popularity that they have on the vector 3) Select the next attribute A2 using the co-occurrence ratio with the previous attribute A1. 4) Repeat from Step 2, until we get l different attributes. DATABASE SIZE EFFECT We check the effect of the size of the database on the precision of attribute suggestions and thenumber of query matches. We consider subsets of the database of documents of different sizes. As expected the proposed strategies increase their quality when weincrease the data size. The size of the result is based on the method of us storing it. We storing the data which is retrieved from sever to the client database which increases the time efficiency and minimum storage capacity. The results are stored in the database by the student register number which requires less storage and increases the efficiency of accessing the information. 4. CONCLUSION In this paper, we have presented a clustering-based selection algorithm for result analysis. The algorithm involves (i) removing irrelevantrecords, (ii) removing redundant record. We can do the result analysis but it makes more time to get the result of every student. For that we are using a selection algorithm which removes the redundancy of the result and using it we can fetch the result of large group of people. We have adopted a method to remove duplicates, but in many cases more diverse results may be better. In our future work, we will further improve the scheme, such as developing better query generation method and investigating the relevant segmentsfrom the result. 5. REFERENCES [1] Chanda P., Cho Y., Zhang A. and Ramanathan M., Mining of Attribute Interactions Using Information Theoretic Metrics, In Proceedings of IEEE international Conference on Data Mining Workshops, pp 350-355, 2009. [2] Y. Du, S. Gupta, and G. Varsamopoulos, â€Å"Improving On-Demand Data Access Efficiency in MANETs with Cooperative Caching,† Ad Hoc Networks, vol. 7, pp. 579-598, May 2009. [3] Biesiada J. and Duch W., Features election for high-dimensionaldataÅ‚a Pearson redundancy based filter, AdvancesinSoftComputing, 45, pp 242C249, 2008. [4] Garcia S and Herrera F., An extension on â€Å"Statistical Comparisons of Classifiers over Multiple Data Sets† for all pairwise comparisons, J. Mach. Learn. Res., 9, pp 2677-2694, 2008. [5] C. Chow, H. Leong, and A. Chan, â€Å"GroCoca: Group-Based Peer- to-Peer Cooperative Caching in Mobile Environment,† IEEE J. Selected Areas in Comm., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 179-191, Jan. 2007. [6] Demsar J., Statistical comparison of classifiers over multiple data sets, J. Mach. Learn. Res., 7, pp 1-30, 2006. [7] L. Yin and G. Cao, â€Å"Supporting Cooperative Caching in Ad Hoc Networks,† IEEE Trans. Mobile Computing, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 77-89, Jan. 2006. [8] Butterworth R., Piatetsky-Shapiro G. and Simovici D.A., On Feature Selectionthrough Clustering, In Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE internationalConference on Data Mining, pp 581-584, 2005. [9] Fleuret F., Fast binary feature selection with conditional mutual Information, Journal of Machine Learning Research, 5, pp 1531-1555, 2004. [10] Dhillon I.S., Mallela S. and Kumar R., A divisive information theoretic feature clustering algorithm for text classification, J. Mach. Learn. Res., 3, pp 1265-1287, 2003. [11] Forman G., An extensive empirical study of feature selection metrics for text classification, Journal of Machine Learning Research, 3, pp 1289-1305, 2003. [12] Guyon I. and Elisseeff A., An introduction to variable and feature selection, Journal of Machine Learning Research, 3, pp 1157-1182, 2003. [13] M. Korupolu and M. Dahlin, â€Å"Coordinated Placement and Replacement for Large-Scale Distributed Caches,† IEEE Trans. Knowledge and Data Eng., vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1317-1329, Nov. 2002. [14] Das S., Filters, wrappers and a boosting-based hybrid for feature Selection, In Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Machine Learning, pp 74-81, 2001. [15] Dougherty, E. R., Small sample issues for microarray-based classification. Comparative and Functional Genomics, 2(1), pp 28-34, 2001. [16] S. Dykes and K. Robbins, â€Å"A Viability Analysis of Cooperative Proxy Caching,† Proc. IEEE INFOCOM, 2001. [17] Bell D.A. and Wang, H., A formalism for relevance and its application in feature subset selection, Machine Learning, 41(2), pp 175-195, 2000. [18] Dash M., Liu H. and Motoda H., Consistency based feature Selection, In Proceedings of the Fourth Pacific Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, pp 98-109, 2000. [19] Hall M.A., Correlation-Based Feature Selection for Discrete and Numeric Class Machine Learning, In Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Machine Learning, pp 359-366, 2000. [20] Baker L.D. and McCallum A.K., Distributional clustering of words for text classification, In Proceedings of the 21st Annual international ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in information Retrieval, pp 96- 103, 1998.

Poetry Coursework :: English Literature

Poetry Coursework I am going to compare these two poems by thinking about the theme, purpose, mood, language and imagery. An extract from â€Å"The Ballad of Reading Gaol† by Oscar Wilde. In the first verse of this poem, the writer introduces us to a miserable setting of a prison, â€Å"the dripping wall, the leaden sky.† This sets us in the mood of how it was to be a prisoner at the end of the 19th century. Oscar Wilde introduces us to another character, a murderer. Throughout the poem, Wilde sympathizes with this character. We see this by the use of language. Wilde tells us about the wardens who watched this prisoner, â€Å"for fear the man might die.† â€Å"And by each side a warder walked.† Although the wardens knew that this man would be put to death, they still watched him in the event that the prisoner might take his own life. Wilde refers to this man as ‘prey’ thus giving the impression that the wardens are hunting this man’s blood. This use of language reveals that Wilde disapproves of the way the man is treated and sees this as an unjust act. The purpose of Wilde’s poem is to protest against the authorities and against the way the prisoners are treated. He writes about the harsh conditions, â€Å"We rubbed the door, and scrubbed the floors, And cleaning the shining rails: And, rank-by-rank, we soaped the plank, And clattered with the pails.† The rails were already shiny they didn’t need cleaning. Wilde also protests against the difficult and monotonous work. The structure, language and brisk rhythm in this poem give emphasis to the main point of Wilde’s poem. â€Å"And shaven heads and feet of lead Make a merry masquerade.† He uses harsh repetitive words that are difficult to pronounce. â€Å"With blunt and bleeding nails.† Just as this is difficult to say, it was difficult work to do. The thought of this cruelty makes you quiver. Oscar Wilde was in prison when he wrote this poem, and therefore he could not openly address his intended audience. Instead, He used a lot of irony in his writing. He questions the role of compassion through irony, in such a place with a definitely ironic tone, â€Å"And what should human pity do Pent up in a murderer’s hole? What word of grave in such a place Could help a brother’s sole?† Wilde is attacking the governor, the doctor, and the Chaplin for not having pity on the prisoners. He disapproves of their approaches by listing their actions coldly. A minister of church should be praying with him. Religious men have jobs to pray with him and accompany him. But the Chaplin isn’t doing his job.

Moby Dick - Characters of Captain Ahab and Ishmael :: Moby Dick Essays

The characters of captain Ahab and Ishmael are almost opposites.   About the only things the two share in common are that they are both seamen and they both are on a hunt for a whale. Ishmael is a pleasing character, who plays the role of the main character as well as narrator.   He is a common man who has a love for the sea, and goes to it to clear his mind whenever he feels down or feels that it is â€Å"a damp, drizzly November† in his soul.   As for his physical appearance, he doesn’t really specify.   However, one might assume that he is a middle-aged man and probably holds the characteristics of the â€Å"stereotypical seaman†.   But, what the character lacks in physical description, he makes up for with a full personality that his described extensively throughout the book.   Ishmael is a man who seeks what is best described as â€Å"inner peace†.   He is very content with himself when on the water, and has a great love for being a seaman.   He joins the crew of the Pequod to satisfy his longing to be back on the ocean, but as it turns out, the particular voyage he is to set out on is not what he had suspected.   F or this ship would be commanded by a half-crazed captain in a desperate search for a viscous white whale.   Over all, Ishmael is definitely the most civilized and wise man in the story.      Captain Ahab is an overwhelmingly intimidating character in the story, and can probably be considered the most deranged of them all.   His radical obsession with finding and killing the white whale known as â€Å"Moby-Dick† causes Ishmael and others of the crew to become frightened at his abnormal behavior.   Ahab’s physical appearance is best described as foreboding and evil.   He is a tall man with gray hair, and is missing a leg due to a death-defying confrontation with Moby-Dick himself.   His new artificial leg is made from the bone of whale and once again adds to his intimidating form.   His personality is also quite mad.   He has a maniacal presence about him and would risk his life and the lives of his crewmen just to fulfill his mission of demented revenge.   Melville does a fine job describing this particular character with the utmost extremeness.    The characters of Ishmael and Ahab are two that have a great and critical impact on the book.

Law of Diminishing Returns :: essays papers

Law of Diminishing Returns The Law of diminishing returns is a key one in economics. It is used to explain many of the ways the economy works and changes. It is a relatively simple idea; spending and investing more and more in a product where one of the factors of production remains the same means the enterprise will eventually run out of steam. The returns will begin to diminish in the long run. If more fertilizer and better machinery are used on an acre of farmland, the yield will increase for a while but then begin to slow and become flat. A farmer can only get so much out of the land, and the more the farmer works, the harder it gets. The economic reason for diminishing returns of capital is as follows: When the capital stock is low, there are many workers for each machine, and the benefits of increasing capital further are great; but when the capital stock is high, workers already have plenty of capital to work with, and little benefit is to be gained from expanding capital further. For example, in a s ecretarial pool in which there are many more secretaries than computer terminals, each terminal is constantly being utilized and secretaries must waste time waiting for a free terminal. In this situation, the benefit in terms of increased output of adding extra terminals is high. However, if there are already as many terminals as secretaries, so that terminals are often idle and there is no waiting for a terminal to become available, little additional output can be obtained by adding yet another terminal. Another application for this law is in Athletics, for runners, their investment is the time and energy put into training and the yield is hopefully improved fitness. Early in their running careers or early in the training program a couple of weeks of regular training would be rewarded with a considerable increase in fitness. Having achieved a very fit state though, two weeks of regular training will achieve a barely perceptible increase in fitness.

Personal Statement CELTA TBI Essay

I would like the opportunity to partake in the CELTA course at TBI, so I am able to increase my knowledge and experience, whilst simultaneously being able to assist students’ in their own understanding of the English language. By gaining the CELTA qualification at your institute, I will be equipped to continually encourage my students’ towards reaching their language goals by building on the foundation of knowledge they already have. My future aims and intentions are to train to be a teacher of extremely high standard, and once I have obtained my CELTA certificate and gained some more practical knowledge within schools; I am particularly interested in completing my Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). The CELTA course would be greatly beneficial in helping me gain valuable experience in preparation for my future PGCE. Having lived in Jakarta for a few years, I am able to empathize with some the hardships involved in learning a new language. It is important to build rapport with the student whilst still maintaining professionalism. As I am able to appreciate the difficulties each student may face, I feel this would contribute towards creating an enjoyable, yet fulfilling, learning environment. Allowing the students to see you (the teacher) as approachable and encouraging, whilst still upholding a professional relationship is a key aspect of encouraging students’ to pursue their language goals. I am a confident, hardworking, highly motivated team player, able to make decisions in a high pressure environment. I understand the importance of diligence and role versatility when tailoring lesson plans to suit the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student. It is of great significance that these individually tailored lessons do not impact the whole class negatively, but rather, enable interaction between those students of a similar skill level. My previous involvement completing my bachelor degree and distance learning diploma, shows that I am able to complete assignments to the highest standard I am able to achieve. For the distance learning Diploma, it was essential to organise and manage my time productively, to ensure sufficient researching, planning and writing time were allocated accordingly, enabling me to complete each of the necessary components on schedule. Throughout my time at both University and College, I was a member of the student representative committees, liaising between the student body and departmental teams. This has helped me gain confidence and familiarity when dealing with my peers and those in higher authority  positions alike. I have learnt how to be patient and diplomatic when the need arises, as well as being able to ascertain when to use my own initiative. The opportunity to undertake studying my CELTA with your institution, allows me to not only better myself, but also the students that I will be teaching. I feel it is an extremely rewarding course, and the large array of possibilities that open up on completion of the CELTA, is endless and exciting. The knowledge and practical experience I would gain from obtaining a CELTA qualification is vast and would enable me to kick start my teaching career.

5 Step Value-Chain Analysis for Customers’ Strategic Needs

Value-chain analysis is used for many purposes, but the process of examining customers’ value chains is relatively new. In our five-step process, Step 1 explains how internal and external value chains can be used separately and in related ways. Step 2 shows how to construct a customer’s value chain. Step 3 shows how to identify the customer’s business strategy by examining this value chain and using other kinds of information. Step 4 explains how to use additional information and intelligence to leverage that understanding into strategic needs and priorities. Finally, Step 5 explains how a firm’s marketing function can best use this method of value-chain analysis as a new strategic capability. Step 1: An overview of value-chain analysis Value chains may be defined in two ways: (1) within a company they describe the various value-added stages from purchasing materials to distributing, selling, and servicing the final product (Porter’s 1985 concept),[3] and (2) they also delineate the value-added stages from raw material to end-user as a product is manufactured and distributed, with each stage representing an industry. 4] For convenience, we will refer to these two definitions as ‘‘internal’’ and ‘‘external’’ value chains, respectively. The internal value chain is a key concept in the field of strategic management that has been thoroughly explored. In contrast, the external value chain has not been studied as extensively. The external value chain consists of the important ups tream/supply and downstream/distribution processes. However, even though these processes occur outside the corporation, the strategic opportunities they reveal and areas of risk they highlight warrant careful study. Consider: Outsourcing – involves transferring certain primary or support functions in the internal value chain to the external value chain. B Vertical integration – involves taking control of one or more additional stages of the external value chain and making them internal. B Horizontal expansion – involves new product lines or expanded channels of distribution, including geographic expansion. B Strategic alliances with suppliers – involves more closely managing external suppliers as if they were part of the company’s internal value chain, but without actually owning them (for example, Toyota’s Kaizen ystem, wherein key suppliers are located very near a factory and receive all kinds of help and training from Toyota to ensure smooth and efficient production). One of the most complex value chains today can be found in the oil industry. This chain has nearly 30 significant elements, starting with the search for oil (at the upstream end) and including fie ld production, transportation (pipelines and supertankers), refining and processing and, lastly, consumer gas stations (at the ‘‘downstream’’ end). Internally, the oil-industry value chain processes a broad range of products, including such major categories as oil/lubricants, gasoline, petrochemicals (plastics), fertilizers/pesticides, natural gas, power generation/electricity, and convenience stores. The firms that are considered major integrated oil companies participate in a significant number – sometimes all – of these external (upstream and downstream) and internal value-chain elements. In a 2006 issue of Strategy & Leadership, authors Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler suggested that strategists should use Porter’s concept to consider value-chain operations beyond the boundaries of the firm. Since its introduction, value-chain analysis has proven immensely valuable in three principal ways – cost analysis and reduction, differentiation, and product development – but the standard practice was for firms to analyze only their own value chain. Step 2: How to construct a customer’s value chain First, recognize that you need to construct both internal and external value chains for a particular customer. The internal value chain follows Porter’s original concept, which includes value-added steps from purchasing to distribution as well as support functions such as R&D and human resources. It’s tempting to let this generic diagram serve as the customer’s value chain, but it must be tailored to the particular customer. To produce a useful value-chain analysis, members of your engineering or sales team should ask the customer how its business processes add value and whether any have unique best-practice features. To perform the external value-chain analysis, team members should ask the customer a set of getting-to-know-you questions. What does your supply chain (the upstream value chain) look like? What role does your company play in it? How do your products reach their customers (the downstream value chain)? Your final diagram models only this single customer’s value chain and it represents virtually everything the customer does to add significant value. If your relationship with the customer permits a candid exchange of information, have the customer validate the value chain you have created. As an example of how the diagnostic process works, consider how a supplier to Wal-Mart might learn to enhance its value. [6] The objective of creating both internal and external value chains is to understand Wal-Mart well enough to be able to discern its implicit and explicit strategic concerns. Exhibits 3 and 4 depict preliminary pictures of Wal-Mart’s internal and external value chains. Getting to this initial stage is relatively easy – adding more detail, nuance, and understanding takes more time, involves interviewingWal-Mart executives, and more closely observing how the firm operates. Step 3: Inferring the customer’s business strategy Even long-time suppliers have trouble distinguishing critical customer activities from sometimes urgent but ultimately nonstrategic ones. Understanding your customer’s business strategy is therefore crucial. Value-chain analysis helps a supplier distinguish between the activities of the customer’s firm that directly support its competitive strategies – for its products and for enhancing key capabilities – and ordinary operations. For example, routine operations like billing customers or servicing the fleet of company vehicles must be done, and done well. But there is little if any competitive advantage to be gained from the superior execution of such activities. Nor are they likely to provide an opportunity for gaining new sources of revenue and profit. It is the customers’ strategic activities and projects that offer the potential for future profits and command the attention of your customers’ senior management. So by supporting strategic activities, B2B service providers stand to gain the high-margin work they hunger after, the work that produces the highest returns, and the work that should be their constant priority. The Fluor case Fluor Corporation is a global engineering and construction company providing major capital facilities for a vast range of industrial clients in many vertical markets. With as many as 2,000 projects under construction employing 40,000 workers in more than 50 countries at any time, Fluor operates in all geographic regions of the globe and in all parts of its customers’ supply chains, delivering engineering and construction management services – in sum, a full range of B2B services. The questions of where Fluor should concentrate its resources to meet its customers’ most urgent needs can become enormously complex. To rationalize this process, Fluor must determine which customer projects – the ones that address its customers’ greatest strategic needs and, hence, have potentially the greatest margins – have the highest value. For many years, Fluor has known the critical importance of understanding every one of its B2B customers’ businesses. But that was not enough. The questions for Fluor’s marketing team became, ‘‘How can we learn each customer’s business strategy and strategic needs? ’ Some of the many different sources of information about a customer’s strategy are: B Marketing communications including printed materials (brochures and advertisements), media communications (press releases) and marketing websites reveal new product directions and customer targeting; these provide insights into market positioning and marketing strategy. B Financial-community reports (annual reports, SEC filings, as well as meetings with financial analysts) shed light on internal strategic initiatives in addition to market-positioning moves. Annual reports form the basis of this Fluor case study, but 10Ks and analysts’ reports could prove equally useful. B The academic literature is replete with surgical dissections of strategically successful companies and industries. Business-school cases abound featuring companies like Apple and industries like automobiles. Wal-Mart, for one, has been the focus of many Harvard Business School cases. [8] B Many companies make their published strategic plans available to interested parties. For example, British Petroleum has published its strategy on its corporate website since 2000. B Consultants that specialize in competitive intelligence. B Face-to-face conversations with your customers. Step 4: Discovering the customer’s strategic needs Strategic activities are the activities a firm must implement in order to realize its strategy or strategies. Every strategy has such a set of activities. Insofar as a company finds doing any of these activities difficult, potential suppliers have been trained to see these as ‘‘needs. ’’ But, suppliers need to differentiate between operations that are difficult and ones that are strategic. For example, an innovation strategy requires a system for generating ideas and picking the best ones, cost estimating, engineering, R&D, prototype construction and testing, and market-acceptance testing. The pharmaceutical industry relies on a great many B2B service providers to support its new-drug-development programs in the drug-formulation (R&D) stage and also B2B service providers that develop new systems to expedite regulatory approval. Value-chain analysis identifies both as key strategic functions. Step 5: Making value-chain analysis a strategic capability of the marketing department Engineering/construction companies have developed at least two approaches to break the forces of commoditization in their industry: 1. Project screening and selectivity. Not all projects are created equal or represent equal opportunity. Service providers should select projects on the basis of projected margin, not projected revenue. They must pursue projects that build on their strengths and core competences, projects where they can apply their best talents to serve their customers. This is done by first serving customers’ commodity work to position them to then pursue customers’ strategic opportunities. This is the approach used in the Fluor example. 2. Become selected customers’ strategic business partner. Such practice puts the business-services provider right in the customers’ lap, a decidedly advantageous position to be in when strategic opportunities are brewing. It also leads to many sole-source or noncompetitive-bid opportunities and, potentially, to higher margins. 1. The method described in the article is based on actual experience of one author when he worked for Fluor Corp. . A recent example is Ram Charan, What the CustomerWants You to Know: How Everybody Needs to Think Differently about Sales, Portfolio (Penguin Group), 2007. The application of value-chain analysis to B2B clients of engineering and construction management services was originally suggested by Don F. Coleman of Fluor Corporation in May, 2000. 3. Michael E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, 1985. 4. Stanley C. Abraham, Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success, Thomson South-Western, 2006, 214. . Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler, ‘‘Making the case for the added-value chain,’’ Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 34 No. 4, 2006, Exhibit 1, p. 41; exhibit used with permission. 6. The supplier could have many other customers, and could replicate this process with those other customers. Typically, doing such an analysis would be reserved for the supplier’s top 3-5 customers. 7. The authors found little in the literature about B2B marketing practices based on knowledge of the customer’s value chain and business strategy. 8. See, for, example Harvard Business School Case #9-794-024, ‘‘Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ,’’ August 6, 1996, which provides a thorough review of Wal-Mart’s business practices up to its international (horizontal) expansion. 9. Michael E. Porter, ‘‘What is strategy? ’’ Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996. 10. HBS Case #9-794-024, op. cit. 11. Harvard Business School Case #9-302-102, ‘‘Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry,’’ May 3, 2002. Mondavi’s flagship brand ‘‘Woodbridge’’ is a rare example of a brand name pointing, not to product benefits, but up the value chain to process benefits.

John Locke Short Introduction Essay

John Locke, who is widely known as the Father of Liberalism, is a great writer, philosopher and physician of the 17th century. He was born on 29 August 1632 and died on 28 October 1704 when he was 72. He was baptized on the same day as he was born. He was a gifted man and David Hume once described him as â€Å"wrote like a water-drinking local councilor, his style ungainly, his idioms commercial, his imagination puritanical, his humor labored, his purposes wholly practical. † As he is a talented thinker and uses different perspectives to see and think on certain things, he revolutionized the Theory of Mind to the world in his masterpiece, â€Å"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding†. On the other hand, he also developed the idea of liberty among people in society. His contributions to the world are incredible as his ideas of social contract and state of nature laid the theoretical foundation of the Constitutions of the United States of America. In Locke’s life, he came from a very intelligent and faithful Baptist family that gave him a good education and took him to a good school — Christ Church, Oxford. Though he studied medicine but not philosophy or other critical thinking courses, he met prominent people (e. g. Robert Boyle, Thomas Wills) who inspired him immensely in every perspective. One eminent scholar was Thomas Sydenham, who imposed a huge impact on the idea of how man accumulates knowledge. Thanks to Sydenham, Locke wrote one of his famous works – â€Å"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding†. Thomas Sydenham gave advice to Locke in treating Shaftesbury’s liver cancer. Locke realized in the file of Shaftesbury that knowledge in a book could be different from the circumstances Locke was facing. Hence, he raised the pivotal question in his essay: â€Å"Is the foundation of knowledge based on theory or experience? † This essay stimulated several fresh ideas to philosophers in the 17th century. One of the famous philosophers who were greatly influenced by Locke was David Hume, who described John Locke as a magnificent man. After Shaftesbury survived from the liver cancer, he became Lord Chancellor and led Locke to be involved in the field of politics. In the political struggle of Shaftesbury, Locke assisted him by writing another famous work – â€Å"Two Treatises of Government†. It is believed that the ideas mentioned in the essay were influenced by Hobbes’ thinking, but Locke never referred or mentioned the name of Hobbes. Locke countered the statements raised by Hobbes in the book of Leviathan that â€Å"everyone is living in terror† and â€Å"war of every man against every man†. Locke raised a counter statement that everyone is created equally and everyone in society has rights to fight for their life, freedom and property. To accomplish it, we shall hold together and grant greater power to protect ourselves. This also explains how civilization works. The original purpose of this piece is an argument to attack Shaftesbury’s opponents (supporters of Absolute Monarchy). However, the ideas of natural rights and a new reformation of government mentioned inside the essay are recognized as the most influential ideas on the political system in the 17th century. The basis of liberty was widely used by the founding fathers of the United States of America to write the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions. The influences of John Locke did not just stop in the 17th century. They still last today. Every time we hear about liberty and freedom, the basis of these concepts had been defined by Locke clearly. Besides, the issue of free religion which is still discussed nowadays was also originated by Locke. The theory of religious tolerance was one of the most controversial ideas during Locke’s lifetime. In this perspective, some historians even regarded the European War as the war between religions. In some statements made by Locke, he argued human knowledge was possibly false unless there was definite proof. By the same token, he considered that religion, which did not have clear proof, was possibly false. Because of this, religious tolerance was necessary. Religious tolerance is still being debated nowadays and it has greatly changed the outlook of modern society after this idea was promulgated. Locke’s life was a legend. He was born in a Baptist family and his writings are full of elements related to Christianity. From the statement of â€Å"All men are created equally†, it clearly shows Locke’s belief in the perspective of equality. Besides, he was also greatly influenced by the idea of knowledge. He questioned the fundamental of knowledge and questioned whether knowledge is true as always. I believe he wrote such ideas because of his experience in the treatment of Shaftesbury’s cancer that led him to start questioning that the things he had learned from the medical books were not really practical. Instead, to him, they were much more proper to be described as imaginary notions. From this perspective, he was inspired to write the essay concerning human understanding. Besides, Locke also influenced the world and created waves of revolutionary ideas in many fields. The great philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau were deeply inspired by Locke’s theories. Ultimately, Locke – Father of Liberalism – was not simply a gifted person born to be the father of liberalism, but also because of circumstances, situations which he encountered in his life to make him the father of liberalism.

Running Head: Substance abuse in prisons.

In most prisons in the world, alcohol dependence is the most prevalence substance abuse.   Most prisoners are said to depend on alcohol and drugs, to relieve stress and tension.   This has been linked to the fact that most inmates are imprisoned for drug – related offences.   These criminals are believed to introduce drugs and alcohol in prison.   The majority of the prison population has shown some evidence of substance abuse.   In Canada, research has shown that at least 7 – 10 inmates have engaged in activities of drug and alcohol abuse.The use of drugs and alcohol in prisons is highly spreading.   Research has shown that women have more severe substance abuse problems than men.   They have also shown a tendency of being involved in hard drugs such as cocaine and heroine than men. These women also have a higher rate of injection drug use than men, at approximately 91%.Heroin is the type of drug abused by most inmates in state prisons of Toronto and Mont rà ©al, while in Atlantic Canada alcohol and cocaine are the most abused. Alcohol and drugs are available in almost all prison facilities in the world.   Research studies have shown that drug trade is much more rampant and violent in the prison than on the street. Despite the efforts to eliminate drugs in prison inmates have always been discovered to test positive for drug tests.The types of drugs available in prison include marijuana, alcohol, drugs, cocaine, tranquilizers, opiates, Hallucinogens, stimulants, sedatives and heroin.   Marijuana is the most common drugs while heroin is the least available drug in prison.Drugs treatment programmes available in California state prison.Programmes for drugs abuse treatment in this prison include, detoxication programmes, therapeutic programmes, drug courts, transitional treatment, maintenance and aftercare and pharmacotherapy methods. In California prison state intensive intervention services are reserved for offenders who are viewed as high risk.   The treatment available is designed to target behaviors that are predicative of criminal behavior.In this prison, treatment techniques such as coping skills training have been used to reduce substance abuse.   Inmates are trained on how to cope in prison without drugs and also given social skills and employment skills. These skills assist in keeping them focused on other positive activities.   Structured relapse prevention techniques are established to prevent inmates from relapsing into substance abuse.   Stress management sessions are held in prisons to help prisoners deal with drug withdrawal symptoms. Willing prisoners are asked to set their goals of treatment and work step by step to achieve them.   This way they are motivated to stop drug abuse.   Community reinforcement techniques have also been started. The community offers its services to the prisoners through voluntary services to encourage motivate them in stopping substance abuse.   However , these treatment programs have not been very effective in the prison.   The programs are not enough to stop usage of substance abuse in prisons.ConclusionI think that more treatment programmes should be established in the prison.   Control and detection programmes should be established to detect any form of drug smuggling into the prison.   Visitors and new prisoners must be thoroughly checked before entering the prison compound.   Routine searches should also be done in the prison frequently to discourage any form of drug or alcohol storage in the prison. Comprehensive screening and assessment of inmates on entry should be performed to identify the treatment programme suitable for each patient. Drug detection dogs should be introduced in the prison to facilitate drug detection in the prison.   Visitors’ areas should be modified to the designs and layouts that are open and easily accessible.   The visiting areas should be completely separated from the inmates sec tion by an impassable barrier. The way against drug and substance should be intensified to eliminate them from our society.References.Substance abuse in corrections. http://www.ccsa.ca/pdf/ccsa-011058-2004.pdf.as retrieved on 26/10/2007.Alcohol info. http://www.alcoholinfo.nsw.gov.au/justice_system/corrections_system as retrieved on 20 Jul 2007.Heroin addiction treatment. http://www.alcoholinfo.nsw.gov.au/justice_system/corrections_system as retrieved on 20 Jul 2007.

The death penalty and its violation of the Eighth Amendment of the US Research Paper

The death penalty and its violation of the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution - Research Paper Example As a form of punishment, some justice systems death penalty punishes a collective number of capital offenders who are guilty. Whereas, the definition of capital offenders differs, many offenders who are guilty of taking the life of others fall into the category of capital offenders. Despite that fact that capital offenders attract capital judgment decisions such as the death penalty, there are strong arguments that people have raised against this practice. Some people view that the death penalty is barbaric, expensive, and executed in an arbitrary way. Some people also cite death penalty as a cause of psychological burden to the executers, prone to errors, and a mark of death and not life. Death penalty also causes sorrow to the families of victims, create unfairness, and fails as deterrence. With better ways of punishing capital offenders, there are many reasons justice systems should stop practicing death penalty, but employ other humane alternatives. Discussion Death penalty is a barbaric act of punishing capital offenders as compared to other options like life imprisonment (Banner 169). The practice of the death penalty is a cruel form of ending the life of capital offenders, because justice systems take their life with no thought about it. Today, it is true that the death penalty has evolved from severe brutality to more decent forms of taking the life of those sentenced to death. However, that notion that justice systems can end the life of a capital offender makes the practice brutal and barbaric. Some decades ago, this practice was a key attraction for all people in society, particular those who were interested in seeing others being shot or hanged. Despite the public attention to such events, the practice still displays the brutality that offenders receive when justice systems subjects them to this practice. With the society embracing a peaceful society where brutality is outdated, there are many reasons why justice systems should abolish the death pen alty. Indeed, the end of the death penalty will indicate the lack of brutality in justice systems and a willingness to end brutal indicates an approach aimed at providing justice. The practice of the death penalty cost justice systems needs a lot of money as compared to other forms of punishments (Ann 7). Justice systems that practice the death penalty always follow a long and stringent process to verify that suspects for capital crimes are genuinely guilty or not. The process of determining whether capital offenders are guilty or not often takes a long time and involves many jurors or lawyers working on the case. As a result, the entire process become expansive and a significant vote head that requires excessive fund (Pojman and Reiman 62). The cost of delivering capital punishment is a source of the extra burden to justice systems that may be grappling with limited funds to address their needs (Death Row in Pennsylvania 14). With more States looking for ways of saving on cost, end ing capital punishments remains as one of the best options to reduce the cost of this capital punishment. In addition, ending capital punishment will also reduce the cost that families of offenders who have to contend with while hoping for the release of the loved ones Death penalty is a significant cause of psychological burden that

Summary response waiting for supermanby Dir. Davis Guggenheim Essay

Summary response waiting for supermanby Dir. Davis Guggenheim - Essay Example I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us† (Guggenheim). It is also documented that Canada was the co-founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone. He was successful in managing the private funded institution. According to the director, he intends the film to serve as an education reformer. Guggenheim links this to the â€Å"inconvenient truth† which attempted to take part in climate change reform. He concludes that the problem that he may face is the teachers union. The union defends its workers against any dismissals. Later he asserts that the only savior which he may have is the charter school system. Apart from the weltering of socioeconomic reasons, Guggenheim also explains why we are having this mess. Furthermore, he delves into the highly scholastic and even records of the charters. Thus, the real crisis among the American public-school education roots from the relative low pay which the full time teachers get. Thus, he addresses ways of eliminating some of the few incentives which is tenure instead of proposing for a higher pay. According to Guggenheim, his proposal will attract competent teachers. The director frames his film basing on competition. He implies the case where five children await for news about their admission in a charter school. They are not lucky, for instance, Francisco who is a Bronx and a first grader is among the 792 applicants who are eying for the 40 vacancies at Harlem success academy (Guggenheim). Therefore, â€Å"waiting for Superman† is a call to the arms. It aims at calling anyone who would like to step up and help fix problems in education. It is also a cry for mercy and help. That is, ‘someone calling to become the children’s

Evaluate the effect of the technological change on the business Essay

Evaluate the effect of the technological change on the business environment of ''TOYOTA IN THE EU'' - Essay Example Notably, technological environment is interlinked with other attributes of an economic environment, such as regulatory policies, GDP growth rate and demand of national as well as international market. These components have been recognised to be changing in the European economic environment. For instance, technological environment of the European Union (EU) has been noticed to favour nanotechnology and communication technology rather than other technological innovations. Consequently, this shall have a great impact on the performance of businesses which are entirely based on the technological environment, e.g. Toyota. With this concern, objectives of the paper shall be to assess various changes occurring in technological environment of the EU economy and its impact on the performance and/or organisational operations of Toyota in EU. The discussion of the paper will be thereby focussed on identifying opportunities and challenges which are likely to be witnessed by the company due to th e technological change in its business environment. Subsequently, the paper shall also intend to recommend few significant measures for the company. 2.0. Changes in Technological Environment of EU In modern day perspective, economic environment and its components possess a crucial role in influencing the growth of an economy. Few major components of economical environment of an economy are its political, economical, social and technological environment. Most economies, along with the EU have become largely depended on its technological growth which defines environmental aspect as one of the most crucial phenomenon of 21st century. Evidences reveal that technological environment of the EU is changing rapidly with a strong influence on social and economical environment at large. For instance, the member countries which are part of the European Union, such as Denmark, Germany and Poland are recognised to be largely depended on coal industry. Consequently, these economies release higher amount of greenhouse gases and generate larger amount of heat than other economies in the union. On the contrary, technological trends of the union are recognised to be focussed on NBIC technology, i.e. biotechnology, nanotechnology, information and communication technology and cognitive science. This forced the countries to set up end-of-pipe technologies, which in turn shall reduce hazardous impact of technological development on natural environment of the union (Eurostat, 2010). Another major trend of the technological environment of the European Union was the enforcement of tax on NOx in Sweden and similar taxation policies on technological practices which are harmful for environment in other countries. Remarkably, almost 7% of technology based firms of Sweden initiated to imply the available ‘abatement technologies’ in 1992 and one year later, number of firms using these technologies increased to 62%. Thus, the taxation policies also had a great influence on busin ess sector of the economy (OECD, 2010). With a growing concern of eco-friendly technology, regulatory framework of the union is also promoting eco-technology and innovations. Due to this fact, most technology based companies are tending to incorporate renewable technologies in their organisational operations. Governing bodies of the union also enforced

Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Report - Essay Example findings of leading Canadian organization like Angus Reid Strategies poll, the total number of people supporting legalization of cannabis usage in Canada is much higher than the people who are opposing it. The research, which was mainly conduced among the Canadian adults, especially in the region of British Columbia, has found that, â€Å"65% favored legalizing marijuana as a means of reducing gang violence, while only 35% favored increasing marijuana trafficking penalties.† (Canada: Two-Thirds of British Columbia Voters Favor Legalizing Marijuana, Poll Finds†, 5th August, 2009) Gang violence and other forms of criminal activisms are major concerns both for Canadian administration as well as for common people. Due to this reason some people are of opinion that legalization of marijuana will reduce the youths from indulging into this kind of antisocial activities. On the other hand, others are of opinion that implementation of proper penalties is the only solution to solv e this problem. Legalization of marijuana will only worsen the whole situation. This article by Peter BeckI has also been written in support of marijuana legalization in Canada. Unlike Ian Welsh, the author has not gone into balancing his arguments between economic and socio-moral perspective. It seems that his entire interest lies in the fact that how Canada can become a more economically prosperous nation. As he has found that legalization of Cannabis will help Canadian economy substantially, he accordingly has come up with his logically correct arguments. Canada: Two-Thirds of British Columbia Voters Favor Legalizing Marijuana, Poll Finds. (2009). Drug War Chronicle, Issue #584. Retrieved on October 18, 2009, from http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/584/british_columbia_marijuana_legalization_poll. This article provides us with quite recent and authentic information about recent Canadian condition on legalization of marijuana. We not only receive adequate information about reaction of

Discuss the overall trend in postwar aggregate productivity in the US Essay

Discuss the overall trend in postwar aggregate productivity in the US - Essay Example labor has been averaging around slightly above one percent faster than MFP: from 1953-2012, labor productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent per year, and MFP grew at an annual average rate of 1.1 percent per year ().this projects a volatile economic growth rate annually. The volatility could be attributed to measurement error in estimation arising from both series. Getting an accurate measurement of these rates is a daunting task given the fluctuations in the rates market. Another reason stems from the fact that series have certain gas between then that cyclical. To illustrate this, consider when the MFP growth fell—in fact, took on negative values—during the recessions that started in 1969, 1980-81, 1990, and 2007 ().the negative values are an indication of how less optimal the inputs have become in yielding the expected returns. Besides, a negative MFP growth can also arise from variation in the utilization rates of capital and labor over the business cycle (). In the last 60 years the long-term mean growth rates of labor productivity and MFP have varied substantially in three episodes. In the initial episode, the 1950s through early 1970s, there was a high growth of MFP.MFP growth averaged at 1.7 percent per year from 1953 through 1972. In the next episode, from the late 1970s through early 1990s, there were lower MFP growth with an average of 0.5% annually. In the last episode, from the mid-1990s up to now, experiencing an intermediate level of MFP growth of 1.0%

Religious persecution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Religious persecution - Essay Example In regard to these, there exist three different forms of religious facets that are of particular vitality in defining religion (Gunn 392). These are: religion as a belief, religion as an identity and religious as a way of life. In any religious persecution or discrimination, any of these three facets might come into play. On the other hand, a combination of all the there faces might sometimes take the center stage. Although the three facets are the ones most commonly associated with religious persecutions and conflicts, other facets of religion not identified here can also be of some relevance. The definition of faith as a belief is based on the convictions that people have concerning God, honest, truth or faith doctrines (Hamlet 265). A religion based on belief emphasizes the adherence to doctrines such as the five pillars of Islam, the transmigration of souls and the Nicene Creed among others. Typically, belief religion is characterized by the emphasis on understanding religious doctrines. Belief based religion is enhanced by conversion and adoption of new doctrines of belief. According to Gunn, from the perspective of the persecutor, the religious behaviors of others are considered as heresy and blasphemy and are therefore superstitiously held. Consequently, the religious leaders of the targeted religion are considered as false prophets, cult leaders and tricksters. In some instances, the whole group is subjected to persecution even if the group shares the same ethnicity with the persecutors. Good examples are cases from countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Iran (Gunn 394). The definition of religion as an identity is based on affiliation to a particular group (Hamlet 267). In this instance, a given religion is associated with a family, a tribe, an ethnic group, race, nationality or statehood. In identity religion, followers believe that they were born in their religion and did not just subscribe to it as

Week 3 Case Study 1 Submission Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 3 1 Submission - Case Study Example This always occurs in many ways; it boiled down to workers preferring to use their technology in all scenarios. The smartphone or tablet travel with the worker in all places he goes, whether at the working station or not. Employees can have access to their mail, contacts, and the Internet. (Caris, Steven, & Ken, 2012).Therefore, this would in turn raise productivity by allowing organization workers to perform their function in any place they want. When an employee can have access to the corporation network from his or her personal laptop, they might have limitless working schedule. Scholars have found that employees have a tendency of working longer hours when they work from their premises. They can easily log on to their corporate email account or other apps over the weekends or in evenings. In some circumstances, employees would work for an additional 5 to 10 hours per week if they work from where they live(Romer, 2014). In addition, to meet employees’satisfaction, BYOD can assist an organization to attract and support upcoming talents. BOYD provides flexibility, especially when combined with work-from-home opportunities can be a main marketing point for a company wishing to recruit new employees. This will allow the company to lure applicants who are best to suit for and have excitement about the job, rather than those who are just willing to settle. It would be important to implement BOYD in an organization because instead of spending a lot of organization’s resources in setting infrastructure, the opportunity of saving the resources is provided by bringing your device (BYOD). BYOD ensures these resources are utilized, and no time is invested in infrastructure (Romer, 2014). The data might be contaminated. Recently, an employee vacation snaps would be stored on a smartphone that is also used at working place. The photographs and other data are stored using the same phone storage with business data. Therefore, combination

Tuberculosis Undergraduate Essay Example for Free

Tuberculosis Undergraduate Essay Abstract Tuberculosis is a good example of the importance of the ecological balance between host and parasite in infectious disease. Hosts are not usually aware of pathogens that invade the body and are defeated. If defenses fail, however, hosts become very much aware of the resulting disease. Several factors may affect host resistance levels—the presence of other illness and physiological and environmental factors such as malnutrition, overcrowding, and stress. Tuberculosis is most commonly acquired by inhaling the tubercle bacillus. Only very fine particles containing one to three bacilli reach the lungs, where they are usually phagocytized by a macrophage in the alveoli. The macrophages of a healthy individual usually destroy the bacilli. I. Introduction Tuberculosis is or TB is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. The most common form is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slender, rod-like bacterium commonly called the tubercle bacillus. The tubercle bacillus is very hardy, surviving when many other bacteria cannot. In addition to affecting the lungs, tuberculosis can affect almost all other organs of the body. Tuberculosis, which in the past called phthisis and consumption, has afflicted man for thousands of years. Evidence of the disease has been found in Egyptian mummies. Tuberculosis was once a leading cause of death in all age groups, but its severity has decreased with improved medical care and better living standards. Most persons have a natural resistance to the tubercle bacillus. Even though large numbers of persons, especially in cities, become infected by the bacillus early in life, only a small percentage actually develops the disease (Orrett Shurland, 2001). This paper intent to: (1) know the occurrence of tuberculosis and how it is being spread; (2) be aware of its symptoms and detection and; (3) figure out its treatment and control. II. Background Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slender rod and an obligate aerobe. The rods grow slowly (20-hour generation time), sometimes form filaments and tend to grow in clumps. On the surface liquid media, their growth appears moldlike, which suggested the genus name Mycobacterium, from the Greek mykes, meaning fungus. These bacteria are relatively resistant to normal staining procedures. When stained by the ZiehlNeelson or Kinyoun technique that stains the cell with carbolfuchsin dye, they cannot be decolorized with a mixture of acid and alcohol and are therefore classified as acid-fast. This characteristic reflects the unusual composition of the cell wall, which contains large amounts of lipid materials (American Thoracic Society, 2000). These lipids might also be responsible for the resistance of mycobacteria to environmental stresses, such as drying. In fact, these bacteria can survive for weeks in dried sputum and are very resistant to chemical antimicrobials used as antiseptics and disinfectants. Tuberculosis is a good example of the importance of the ecological balance between host and parasite in infectious disease. Hosts are not usually aware of pathogens that invade the body and are defeated. If defenses fail, however, hosts become very much aware of the resulting disease. Several factors may affect host resistance levels—the presence of other illness and physiological and environmental factors such as malnutrition, overcrowding, and stress (Weiss, 2000). Tuberculosis is most commonly acquired by inhaling the tubercle bacilli reach the lungs, where they are usually phagocytized by a macrophage in the alveoli. The macrophages of a healthy individual usually destroy the bacilli. If they do not, the macrophages actually protect the microbe from the chemical and immunological defenses of the body, and many of the bacilli survive and multiply within the macrophage (American Thoracic Society, 2000). These macrophages eventually lyse, releasing an increased number of pathogens. The tubercle bacilli released from dying macrophages form a lesion. A hypersensitivity reaction against these organisms causes formation of a tubercle, which effectively walls off the pathogen. These small lumps are characteristics of tuberculosis and give the disease its name. Tubercles are composed of packed masses of tissue cells and the disintegration products of bacilli and leukytes; they usually have a necrotic center. Few bacteria are present in the tubercle (Diehl, 2003). The tubercle bacillus does not produce any injurious toxins. Tissue damage is mostly from the hypersensitivity reaction. As the reaction continues, the tubercle undergoes necrosis and eventually forms a caseous lesion that has a cheeselike consistency. If the caseous lesions heal, they become are called Ghon complexes. If the disease is not arrested at this point, the caseous lesions progress to liquefaction. An air-filled tuberculous cavity is formed from the caseous lesion. Conditions within the cavity favor the proliferation of the tubercle bacillus, which then grows for the first time extracellularly. Bacilli soon reach very large members, and eventually the lesion ruptures, releasing the microorganisms into the blood and lymphatic system (American Thoracic Society and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000). This condition of rapidly spreading infection that overwhelms the body’s remaining defenses is called miliary tuberculosis (the name is derived from the numerous millet seed-sized tubercles formed in the infected tissues). This condition leads to a progressive disease characterized by loss of weight, coughing (often with a show of blood), and general loss of vigor. (At one time, tuberculosis was commonly was known as consumption.) Even when patients are considered cured, tubercle bacilli often remain in the lung, and the disease may be reactivated. Reactivation may be precipitated by old age, poor nutrition, or immunosuppression. III. Discussion A. Occurrence and Spread When a person with tuberculosis coughs or sneezes, tiny droplets containing thousands of tubercle bacilli are sprayed into the air. The disease is spread when non-infected persons inhale the bacilli thus released into the air. A person can also contract tuberculosis by drinking unpasteurized milk from cows having the disease. This form of tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Resistance to tuberculosis depends largely upon the general health of the individual. Persons who are undernourished or weakened by disease are more likely to develop tuberculosis. Outbreaks tend to occur in areas with crowded living conditions, such as nursing homes and prisons (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). About 90 percent of tuberculosis infections occur first in the lungs. Tuberculosis of the lungs is called pulmonary tuberculosis. When tubercle bacilli are inhaled into the lungs, they are either destroyed by white blood cells or surrounded by special cells and fibers in the infected area of the lung, forming tiny nodules called tubercles. If the immune system is effective, the bacteria are kept from multiplying and an active case of tuberculosis does not develop. In some cases, however, the bacteria enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system and are carried to other parts of the body. The bacteria usually lodge in the brain, kidneys, bones, or heart (Murray, 2000). B. Symptoms and Detection Early pulmonary tuberculosis commonly gives no specific warning. Later, fatigue, weight loss, or a low fever may be the only symptoms. In advanced stages, severe coughing, hoarseness, chest pain and the appearance of blood in the sputum (a mixture of saliva and discharges from the respiratory passages) can occur. If the patient is untreated and his resistance is low, large areas of lung tissue can be destroyed and there is considerable weight loss. The best way of detecting infection by tubercle bacilli is by means of a tuberculin test. In a tuberculin test, tuberculin—a liquid containing substance obtained from tubercle bacilli—is injected between the layers of the skin. After 48 to 72 hours, the point of injection is examined for redness and swelling (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). A tuberculin test will reveal whether a person has been infected by tubercle bacilli, but it will not indicate whether he has an active case of the disease. Diagnosis of active tuberculosis can usually be made by a chest X ray and other tests. Diseased areas of the lungs usually cast a characteristic shadow on the X-ray film. Another method of diagnosis involves a microscopic examination of the patient’s sputum for the presence of tubercle bacilli (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). C. Treatment and Control Prior to 1945, practically the only methods for treating tuberculosis were prolonged bed rest and (in advanced cases) immobilization of the infected lung by collapsing it. Since the time, drugs have been produced that can stop the tubercle bacilli from multiplying, thus allowing the natural defenses of the body to be effective. The most important of these drugs are streptomycin (INH). In addition, improved surgical techniques permit the safe removal of areas of the lung where infection persists despite treatment with drugs (American Thoracic Society, 2000). Most important in tuberculosis control is early detection, so that persons with the disease can be treated and isolated from others. A vaccine known as BCG can create immunity to tuberculosis. However, in the United States this vaccine is recommended only in special circumstances. One reason is that vaccinated persons react positively to a tuberculin test and therefore cannot be differential from infected persons. D. Planning and Goals The major goals for the patient include maintenance of a patient airway, increased knowledge about the disease and treatment regimen and adherence to the medication regimen, increased activity tolerance, and absence of complications. E. Nursing Interventions a.) Promoting Airway Clearance Copious secretions obstruct the airways in many patients with TB and interfere with adequate gas exchange. Increasing fluid intake promotes systematic hydration and serves as an effective expectorant. The nurse instructs the patient about correct positioning to facilitate airway drainage (Diehl, 2003). b.) Advocating Adherence to Treatment Regimen The multiple- medication regimen that a patient must follow can be quite complex. Understanding the medications, schedule, and side effects is important. The patient must understand that TB is a communicable disease and that taking medications is the most effective means of preventing transmission. The major reason treatment fails is that patients do not take their medications regularly and for the prescribed duration. The nurse carefully instructs the patient about important hygiene measures, including mouth care, covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, proper disposal of tissues, and hand hygiene (Diehl, 2003). c.) Promoting Activity and Adequate Nutrition Patients with TB are often deliberated from a prolonged chronic illness and impaired nutritional status. The nurse plans a progressive activity schedule that focuses on increasing activity tolerance and muscle strength. Anorexia, weight loss, and malnutrition are common in patients with TB. The patient’s willingness to eat may be altered by fatigue from excessive coughing, sputum production, chest pain, generalized debilitated state, or cost, if the person has few resources. A nutritional plan that allows for small, frequent meals may be required. Liquid nutritional supplements may assist in meeting basic caloric requirements (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). F. Monitoring and Managing Potential Complications a.) Malnutrition This may be a consequence of the patient’s lifestyle, lack of knowledge about adequate nutrition and its role in health maintenance, lack of resources, fatigue, or lack of appetite because of coughing and mucus production. To counter the effects of these factors, the nurse collaborates with dietitian, physician, social worker, family, and patient to identify strategies to ensure an adequate nutritional intake and availability of nutritious food. Identifying facilities that provide meals in the patient’s neighborhood may increase the likelihood that the patient with limited resources and energy will have access to a more nutritious intake (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). High-calorie nutritional supplements may be suggested as a strategy for increasing dietary intake using food products normally found in the home. Purchasing food supplements may be beyond the patient’s budget, but a dietitian can help develop recipes to increase calorie intake despite minimal resources. IV. Conclusion In conclusion, persons infected with tuberculosis develop cell-mediated immunity against the bacterium. This form of immune response, rather than humoral immunity, is because the pathogen is located mostly within macrophages. This immunity, involving sensitized T cells, is the basis for the tuberculin skin test. In this test, a purified protein derivative (PPD) of the tuberculosis bacterium, derived by precipitation from broth cultures, is injected continuously. If the injected person has been infected with tuberculosis in the past, sensitized T cells react with these proteins and a delayed hypersensitivity reactions appears in about 48 hours. This reaction appears as an induration (hardening) and reddening of the area around the injection site. Probably the most accurate tuberculin test is the Mantoux test, in which dilutions of 0.1 ml of antigen are injected and the reacting area of the skin is measured. A number of similar tests are also in common use. A positive tuberculin test in the very young is a probable indication of an active case of tuberculosis. In older persons, it might indicate only hypersensitivity resulting from a previous infection or vaccination, not a current active case. Nonetheless, it is an indication that further examination is needed, such as a chest X-ray for the detection of lung lesions and attempts to isolate the bacterium. References: 1. American Thoracic Society (2000). Diagnostic standards and classification of tuberculosis in adults and children. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 161 (4), 1376-1395. 2. American Thoracic Society and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000). Targeted tuberculin testing and treatment of latent infection. American Journal of respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 161 (4), S221-S247. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2003). Essential components of a tuberculosis prevention and control program: recommendations of the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. MMWR Modibity and Mortality Weekly Report, 44 (RR-11), 1-16. 4. Diehl, H. S. (2003). The Health of College Students. American Council on Education. Washington, DC. 5. Murray, J. F. (2000). Intensive Care: A Doctors Journal. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA. 6. Orrett, Fitzroy A. Shurland, Simone M. (2001).Knowledge and Awareness of Tuberculosis among Pre-University Students in Trinidad Journal of Community Health, Vol. 26. 7. Weiss, R. â€Å"TB troubles.† Science News 133:92-93, 2000. Discusses reasons for the recent increase in tuberculosis in the United States.