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Monday, September 30, 2019

Real Friend

A real friend is one who stands by his friend in the hour of his need person deserts his friend at a time when he needs him the most, he cannot be called a real friend if two persons simply know each other, and they can call friends. The real test of friendship is, therefore, not mere acquaintance but the will to render timely help to a friend in distress. It is indeed very di to find a true friend in this world. Of course, there have been a few examples of true friendship in this Lord Krishna and Susana were class-fellows. They had studied under same Guru.When they grew up, Lord Krishna became a king, but became a pauper. Once Sudama went to Lord Krishna to seek his help, Krishna welcomed his old friend with open arms. He sent out his men to a palatial house for Sudama and gave liberal financial assistance to his ft to overcome their poverty. Lord Krishna thus proved to be a real friend of’ Sudama. Another classical example is that of the abiding friendship between’ Ma rx and Engels. Karl Marx was a great philosopher but very poor, where friend Engels was a rich mill-owner. The friendship between them was so1 that they wrote books together.Engels always helped his friend Marx money. Nowadays true and faithful friends are very rare. All that glitters is gold. We should always distinguish between good and bad friends. We should remember that only a person who is sincere and honest prove to be a good friend. A good friend is a source of happiness he not only our joys but also our sorrows. A rich student can help his poor friend with money. If the poor friend is brilliant in studies, he can help his rich friend by helping him in his studied other words, each person should help the other with whatever one Friendship is a two-way traffic.It grows on mutual trust and help. I am very fortunate that I have a real friend. He is Mr. Mohan Lai. He best friend. We have been studying together in the same school for teeny He lives near my house. We spend most of our time together. My friend belongs to a rich family. His father is the Manager and mother is also employed. She is a teacher in a Public School. They live bungalow. Though his parents are well off, they are not proud of their wealth. They are very God-fearing persons. They treat me as their own son. They love me very much.My friend is a brilliant student. He always stands first in the class. We study together. He helps me in studying subjects in which I am weak so that I may catch up with him. I am not jealous of him. Rather, I am grateful to him for helping me in my studies. Unfortunately, my friend was not very good in sports. But I am a very good player of cricket. I have, therefore, been coaching him in the game of cricket. He has learnt a lot about this game. By constant and regular practice under my guidance he has become a first class player of cricket.His health has also improved a lot. He is grateful to me for grooming him in the game of cricket. My friend is the monitor of our class. He is very popular among our classmates. He is liked by his teachers. He has cordial relations with one and all. He helps the poor in every possible way. He coaches them in his spare time. He lends his books to them. If a poor student is unable to pay his fee, Mohan Lai comes to his rescue by paying his fee. Once my friend won a cash prize of Rs. 200 for writing the best essay on a given topic he donated the entire amount of Rs. 00 to the Poor Students’ Fund of our school. He is well-known for his compassion for the poor. My friend hates evil but not the evil-doer. He avoids bad company but does not hate those who have fallen prey to it. He feels that is better to reform them. Our friendship has stood the test of time. We have always helped each other all these years. We have never allowed any misunderstanding to come our way. We stand by each other through thick and thin. We are proud that we are real friends and will remain so throughout our lives.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Changes in Economic Structures

Changes in economic Structures Introduction Show knowledge of primary, secondary, tertiary Changes in primary Develop at least two points about why the primary sector has decreased in developed countries Explain advantages and disadvantages Change in secondary Develop at least two points about why the secondary has decreased in developed countries Explain Advantage/disadvantages Changes in Tertiary Develop two points about why the tertiary sector has increased Explain advantages/disadvantages (what’s good and bad about it) ConclusionWhat’s going to happen in the long term? What do you think the impacts of this have been overall? Changes in economic Structures Within the business industry there are 3 main sectors in which firms operate to, which is the primary secondary and tertiary sectors. Each of these sectors forms a chain of production which provides consumers with products and services. In the primary sector firms are involved in extracting raw materials from earth ’s natural resources.This includes fishes being fished out of the ocean, rubbers being tapped from trees, and oil being drilled from the ground etc. Whilst as the secondary sector manufactures and assembles the raw materials collected from the primary sector to make a complete product. Examples are refining crude oil to turn into useful products such as gasoline, cooking uncooked food to serve in restaurants and turning copped wood into finished products such as chairs and tables etc.Finally in the tertiary sector firms focus on selling the refined and manufactured products/services to customers, for example selling finished chairs in a furniture shop, refilling gas tanks in a petrol station, selling diamonds to soon to be engaged couples etc. Over the past centuries we have seen many changes in the business industry including the decline of employment rate in the primary and secondary sector, and the employment boom in the tertiary sector.In the 1700’s 75% of the worl d’s population was working in the primary sector, 15% in the secondary sector and 10% in the tertiary sector, whereas now only 2% are employed in the primary sector, 28% in the secondary sector and 70% in the tertiary sector. One of the main reasons why there has been a decline in the primary and secondary is sector is the change in technology. As the newer technology provided businesses with more efficient ways of extracting and manufacturing products (using machinery) it also reduced the amount of workload needed by humans in the chosen job.This meant a lot of workers had to become redundant and thus taking jobs in the tertiary sector. Additionally because of the over-extraction of natural resources there are very scares resources left to extract out of the earth; as a result businesses have to compete for the resources that remain meaning businesses that cannot compete to acquire these resources have to make their employees redundant hence the decline in employment rate in the primary sector.Finally because of the increasing safety standards and more people caring about their health there has been a decrease in primary and secondary sectors. On the other hand, whilst the primary and secondary sectors are decreasing, the tertiary sector has increased dramatically. This is because of the increase in educational standards and the amount of pay in the tertiary sector. As decades past more and more people are receiving better education around the world, thus people with higher education require higher paying jobs.This is where the level of employment in the tertiary sector skyrocketed because the tertiary sector could provide these people with a higher pay and a job that they want to pursue. Furthermore as a result of increase in tourism many tertiary sector businesses have opened up to fulfill the demand tourists. In conclusion the sectors in the business industry will always keep on changing because of the factors shown. We are in a generation where the tertiary sector is very popular and this has influenced the way each country works.For example in Thailand there are many tertiary businesses in the capital city such as offices, super-markets and malls which are mainly highly successful. And schools nowadays guide students to work in the tertiary sectors instead of primary of secondary. However there are still large populations of people working in the primary sector as rice farmers etc. Nevertheless I believe in the future the tertiary sector will decrease and the primary and secondary sectors will rise again because once the tertiary sector meets its peak, it will drop back down.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Future of Nursing Essay

Nursing career is one of the few fastest growing fields in the health care industry, not only in the United States, but also in the world. Nurse practice has drastically changed in the last decade and as a result the need for changes in nursing practice is becoming more and more important. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) will place many demands on health professionals and offer them many opportunities to create a system that is more patient centered. The legislation has begun the long process of shifting the focus of the U.S. health care system away from acute and specialty care. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. The education system should provide nurses with the tools needed to evaluate and improve standards of patient care, and the quality and safety of care while preserving fundamental elements of nursing education, such as ethics and integrity and holistic, compass ionate approaches to care. The system should ensure nurses’ ability to adapt and be flexible in response to changes in science, technology, and population demographics that shape the delivery of care. An improved education system is necessary to ensure that the current and future generations of nurses can deliver safe, quality, patient-centered care across all settings, especially in such areas as primary care and community and public health. Enactment of the ACA offers a myriad of opportunities for the nursing profession to facilitate improvements to the health care system and the mechanisms by which care is delivered across various settings. System-wide changes are needed that capture the full economic value of nurses and take into account the growing body of evidence that links nursing practice to improvements in the safety and quality of care. The Joint Commission, the leading independent accrediting body for health care organizations, believes that â€Å"the future state of nursing is inextricably linked to the strides in patient care quality and safety that are critical to the success of America’s health care system, today and tomorrow†. Given the crucial role of nurses with respect to the quality, accessibility, and value of care, the nursing profession itself must undergo a fundamental transformation if the committee’s vision for health care is to be realized. The committee formulated four key messages for transforming the nursing profession: Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States. Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure. A transformed system will need nurses with the adaptive capacity to take on reconceptualized roles in new settings, educating and reeducating themselves along the way- which are indispensible characteristics of effective leadership. Whether on the front lines, in education, or in administrative positions and health policy roles, nurses have the well-grounded knowledge base, experience, and perspective needed to serve as full partners in health care redesign. Nurses’ unique perspectives are derived from their experiences in providing direct, hands-on patient care; communicating with patients and their families about health status, medications, and care plans; and ensuring the linkage between a prescribed course of treatment and the desired outcome. In care environments, being a full partner involves taking responsibility for identifying problems and areas of waste, devising and implementing a plan for improvement, tracking improvement over time, and making necessary adjustments to realize established goals. The transformation of nursing practice that results from the IOM’s Future of Nursing report recommendations will have a profound, long-term effect on the profession of nursing. Nursing informatics professionals are uniquely positioned to aide in this transformation, as the management of individual and organizational change is core to its practice. By removing the barriers in the scope of education, implementing nurse residency programs, and building an infrastructure for the collection and analysis of interprofessional healthcare workforce data. . Technology will continue to be a fundamental enabler of future care delivery models and nursing informatics leaders will be essential to transforming nursing practice through technology. The following are the HIMSS recommendations for Nursing Informatics: Partner with nurse executives to lead technology changes that advance health and the delivery of healthcare. Support the development of informatics departments. Foster the evolution of the Chief Nursing Informatics Officer role. Transform nursing education to include informatics competencies and demonstrable behaviors at all levels of academic preparation. Promote the continuing education at all levels of nursing, particularly in the areas of EHRs and health IT. ïÆ'ËœEnsure that data, information, knowledge and wisdom form the basis of 21st century nursing practice by incorporating informatics competencies into practice standards in all healthcare settings. Facilitate the collection and analysis of interprofessional healthcare workforce data by ensuring data can be collected from existing heath IT systems. The transformation of nursing practice that results from the IOM’s Future of Nursing report recommendations will have a profound, long-term effect on the profession of nursing.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Finanical Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Finanical Management - Essay Example manufactures time series photographic equipment. It is currently at its target debt-equity ratio of 1.3. It is considering building a new 45million manufacturing facility. This new plant is expected to generate after-tax cash flows of 5.7 million to perpetuity. There are three financing options. It will be noted that the flotation charges made from issuing common stock has caused the shortage on the required investment for the new building. Initially, the firm has considered raising funds to finance new building construction, but it seems this option needs some mix re-alignment or additional financing either thru bonds or bank borrowings. Flotation cost is defined as the costs associated with issuance of new securities. It is the portion of the proceeds associated with the size of the spread. It includes costs incurred by the underwriting company in marketing the stocks. Annual coupon rate 9% YTM 20 yrs. Purchase value $950.00 Face value $1000.00 Current yield 9.474% Yield to maturity 9.570% A criterion for evaluation of NPV is when NPV is more than zero, accept the project when it is positive, and when the NPV is negative, reject the project. NPV also gives us an idea if the total net present value can finance the project cost. (Van Horne) M & M contends that capital structure is irrelevant, and that the value of the firm depends on its total asset and not by its capital structures. In the diagram above of two firms, both are levered by equity and debt and have similar financial capital structure. The only difference that could be observed is how they finance their operation. In diagram A, 70% is levered by stock

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Auditing Project - Secret Shopper and Internal Controls Essay

Auditing Project - Secret Shopper and Internal Controls - Essay Example Literature Review - After so many high-profile corporate collapses, both government and business has emphasized again the use of internal controls to fight fraud which is one of the white collar crimes being committed in greater amounts and more frequency (Lindgren 1). Fraud is a deception carried out to make unlawful gains and todays fast-paced computerized world often makes detection very difficult. At any rate, the purpose of good internal controls is to prevent fraud from being committed in the first place by making its commission difficult and secondly, internal controls should be able to catch fraud sooner rather than later. When all the internal controls are properly implemented and enforced, detection is easily a matter of time. Specifically with regards to accounting and auditing, internal controls should achieve three things; namely: protecting an organizations assets and properties (both the tangible and intangible), make sure business information (especially financial dat a) is timely and accurate, and lastly, the company is in compliance with reportorial requirements, laws and regulations. The last objective, which is compliance, acquired greater significance in view of the passage of important legislation such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977) and equally important Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002). The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations or COSO stepped in to provide crucial guidelines when it comes to fraud, internal controls and financial reporting. Internal controls are five critical components like general corporate environment, risk assessment, information and communications, control activities and monitoring functions (Arens, Elder & Beasley, 321) that in turn impact on its corporate governance, enterprise risk management, business ethics, fraud, internal operational controls and financial reporting. The report therefore pertains to the five

Engineering Challenges Assignment Part II Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Engineering Challenges Part II - Assignment Example Carbon dioxide has been said to be the primary contributing factor towards global warming in the recent past. This is as a result of the growing burning of the fossil fuels for industrialization purposes. The challenge for engineers, in this case, is the capturing of the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of the fossil fuels and disposing of the gas out of the atmosphere. The chemical systems that already exist and can separate carbon dioxide in beverage carbonation for commercial purposes would require a greater economic input for this extraction in other industries. The separation of carbon dioxide from the oxygen and nitrogen as used in industries would mean that a restoration of the combustion process system in all industries which are economically feasible; would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide capture, therefore, is not the significant challenge to the environment but its sequestration (Hoffert et al., 882). Research has shown that by the use of advanced methods of generating power by use of coal-gasification methods, would help in filtering out carbon dioxide by adding steam to produce hydrogen that is more environmental friendly. The discovery of the method on how to isolate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is a milestone for the environmental engineers in their quest for creating a better living environment. Industrialization and emission of the carbon dioxide are on the rise due to the industrial advancement and human curiosity. Carbon dioxide being on the rise has resulted in a boost in global average temperatures. If the carbon dioxide levels are not contained, their consequences will lead to disruption in the weather, rise in sea level and changes in agricultural production on the decline (Figueroa et al., 16). Engineers have conducted research on how to isolate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Main Location Criteria for Retail and Service Businesses Research Paper

Main Location Criteria for Retail and Service Businesses - Research Paper Example A careful and wise decision to choose a convenient and right location is critical to building competitive advantages too (Zimmerer, Scarborough and Wilson, 2008, p. 515). Retail stores and restaurants have to be located near to customers so that they can reach to the business easily, whereas manufacturers may find locations remote from the customer base in order to be cost-effective due to the availability of raw materials, availability of labor, taxes, regulation and overhead costs (Pinson and Jinnett, 2006, p. 39). It shows different business enterprises will be influenced by location element differently. Nearness to customers is highly important and critical to creating a competitive advantage for small retail whereas being remote from the customers to take cost-effective advantages is a way to achieve competitive advantage to the large manufacturers. A retail business that attracts a large number of customers due to its nearness to the people will obviously enjoy more advantages than its competitor who is away from customers and finds less number of customers. As Pakroo and Pakroo (2008) emphasized, the entrepreneurs are required to figure out how a particular location selection will or will not contribute to the success of the business and how it makes economic sense (p. 50). The location will make economic sense when it is really going to pay to the entrepreneur and generate more earnings than in the case if the business is located in some other locations. For a real estate business, the best three things are ‘location, location, and location. Katz and Green (2009) hold an opinion that the same is true with a small and service business too (p. 357). Location is meaningful when it is a good location for business so as to attract a number of visitors. Katz and Green (2009) emphasized that a good location is in fact highly dependent on the budget an entrepreneur can afford, the business philosophy and marketing niche he is seeking (p. 357).   Ã‚  

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Relationship between Multinational Firms, the State and Essay

The Relationship between Multinational Firms, the State and Socio-Economic Development in the UK - Essay Example Most of the research work conducted did concentrate on the firm-level decisions regarding their FDI strategies but less time and resources have been devoted to the state level. It has been realized that a number of states such as the US have often attracted FDI through various tactics including reduction in taxation levels. The relationship between these multinationals and the State becomes very important in the success of both parties. Even though one would argue that the role of state in international business has been eroded by the development in globalization, this is still not the actual case on the ground. The nation state still has a crucial role to play and this is why its relationship with the multinationals is quite relevant (Henderson et al., 2002, pp.436-464). A number of reasons exist as to why most multinationals are tolerated. One of them is the mutual relationship that could emanate between the state and the multinational which further links it to the home state of th e multinational. In this case, a tripartite perspective could be established. The other reason is based on the social and economic developments that multinational companies do promote in the host country. These two reasons seem to underlie the basic intentions of the national governments in welcoming multinationals. This paper looks at the relationship between multinational firms, the state and socio-economic development in the UK as a case study. Analysis Multinational firms and the UK state The relationship between nation states and multinationals is one that has been characterised with juxtaposed needs or interests. Each seems to be pulling towards its side. The state is territorially defined and has well-defined political systems which provide the necessary framework for economic, social, political and cultural activities of those acting domestically and pursuing the interests of the nation (Dunn, 1994, pp.3-8). On the other hand, multinationals are interested in expanding their individual operations irrespective of the boundaries set by the state and have to cope with a number of political, economic, cultural and social conditions that exist in those acquired markets and they are always driven by private interests, which are usually founded on economy of scale, global trends in economy, and effective management of international operations. Existence of negotiated relationships between these two opposing parties merges their needs and ensures a win-win outcome (Kay, 2002, pp.1073-1102). Democratic political institutions have the capacity to establish policies that are market-friendly. The peace that exists in states links these democratic institutions to more credible levels of international systems. These mechanisms provide better playing grounds for multinationals in the long run. On this point, the institutional based checks as well as balances, which could be linked to democratic systems usually, reduce the possibility of reversing the policies made an d thus providing the multinational companies with the de facto commitment to the stability of these policies (Iet to-Gillies, 2002, pp.43-54). Stable policies ensure that multinational are given a friendlier environment where they can forecast their needs for budgeting in relation to the upcoming economic scenarios as well as tax schedules, make critical managerial decisions that are able to respond to macro-economic predictions, and also eventually hedge against risks associated

Monday, September 23, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 122

Assignment Example Firstly, I would like to express my satisfaction with the writing of this play. Indeed, by composing it, Euripides was out to demonstrate his literary prowess. In his writing, the author effectively used the element of characterization. He made a good choice of characters that would make it much easier for him to deliver his intended message to the audience. Each of the characters was given a name and role that perfectly suits them. They include Medea, Jason, Children, Glauce, Creon, Aegeus, Messenger, Nurse and the Tutor. Each of these played a very significant role in promoting the continuity of the play and developing its themes. The interaction between the protagonist and other characters was quite impressive. The role played by characters like Medea and Jason helped in demonstrating how the Ancient Greek society was discriminative and bias towards the womenfolk. All these were clearly brought out by the manner in which the author empowered his characters. If it were not for them , the play would not have enjoyed an uninterrupted continuity. Besides, the play has adequately utilized the aspect of theme. In his composition, the author was very much concerned about a particular message he was intending to pass to his target audience. Apart from using appropriate characters to help in doing this, he chose a good setting that suits the play. Essentially, Corinth is one of the historical Greek cities that can be used to understand the Ancient Greek history by shedding more light on how the Greeks interacted amongst themselves and with their gods on the day to day basis. With characters like Medea as a protagonist, the author would not struggle to explore the themes of position of women in the society, love, pride and revenge. The theme of love was produced as a result of the love affair between Medea and Jason and later Jason and

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Computer science coursework Merit Essay Essay Example for Free

Computer science coursework Merit Essay Essay Record shops, cinemas, radio stations, video rental stores and even libraries are losing customers to the global trend that is OIS (Online Information Sharing the official MPAA and RIAA term for internet piracy). It once used to be a common sight to see small record shops filled with teens picking their favourite artists new records from the well stacked shelves, paying at the desk, discussing music with others and making new discoveries. It was not uncommon for people to buy or rent VHS tapes or sit at home listening to the radio. Piracy of course was alive here, the market for pirate radio, pirate tapes and pirated videos was enormous, the difference between then and today? Equipment. Nearly every person below 40 has a computer in MEDCs and also has the knowledge to share everything they want from their media collection with others. The most significant difference between the days of pirate radio and the days of worldwide networking is that you no longer need to know how it works to do it; millions of parents mindlessly expose their young kids to P2P networks such as KaZaA and LimeWire which are full of adult content, viruses and include open chat programs which might allow sexual predators access to their children. The first consumer P2P (peer-to-peer) network of note (others such as MC2 , Direct Connect and TinyP2P had existed before but were not widely adopted by the average user) called Napster allowed only for the sharing of music files such as WAVE and . mp3 (leading to MPEG 3 becoming the most popular music format in years to come). This was the most organised piracy or the time among teenagers and young adults through the internet but had problems in terms of the danger that faced the user (being caught) in that the centralized nature of the service meant that the server not only listed the files bring shared by members but all of the files passed through it in an effort to prevent the proliferation of malicious programs. This was extremely bad news for the user as Napster now had the IP address of each and every user, an integral flaw which would come back to bite the company and its user base later on before it could change its process and remove the evidence from its servers. Napster had finally made stealing music easy but was considered flawed by many in the IT community who wanted easier methods of sharing software, video and text files and a safer method of sharing music. Audiogalaxy was the first mainstream centralized P2P client that was capable (although not by design) of sharing any kind of file whatsoever, it gained popularity after the downfall of Napster and was the first time that the MPAA took note of file sharing software as connections became more capable of allowing fast download of high quality video. Audiogalaxy only indexed *. mp3 files, the obvious way round this limitation was found quickly: by (for example) naming a *. exe piece of software from tree. exe to tree exe . mp3. This made AG extremely useful for illegal distribution of both legally and illegally purchased data between users with experience in CGI and Batch (CGI parameters had to be edited to share non mp3 files) but was not as popular as eDonkey2000 (another P2P later to become known as eMule) program which did not have the security limitations of previous P2P clients as it was much faster to decentralize and allow open sharing and indexing. Especially in the case of Napster, facilitating thousands of minor crimes led to a series of lawsuits launched by musicians against the company (Metallica, Dr.Dre, Madonna) but received praise from other artists (Radiohead, Dispatch, Editors) for allowing distribution of singles prior to an albums release. Eventually a larger lawsuit was filed against the company which eventually resulted in bankruptcy after a lawsuit (which inadvertently increased the services user numbers) filed by the RIAA resulting in Napster closing down their network and being blocked from selling the company without liquidating assets under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Act meaning that the company was forced to close. The name was later sold to Swedish pornography company PMG who run it as a paid for service using similar looking software. AudioGalaxy was also sued and shut down as its out of court settlement rendered the service effectively useless and resulted in the services user base abandoning it en masse as a result AG too, opened a pay service to distribute music. In efforts to decentralize and avoid federal prosecution, modern networks designed for file sharing are de-centralized, often encrypted and use proxies to disguise IP addresses, for these reasons modern networks make it much less likely for a user to be discovered and served with a court order or other legal reprimand. A de-centralized system does not have a server which holds the files but instead a server that indexes a list of all available files rather than storing them. Most modern p2p systems also use (as mentioned previously) a process of encryption and proxy servers to make them untraceable. The servers often do not ask uploaders and downloaders of content to register accounts as they have previously done, this prevents user name linking: a process that the CIA reportedly used wherein they would search a napster username through a series of websites trying to gain personal data on a pirate in order to find and prosecute them. Another security feature of modern P2P protocols is the streaming swarm structure which works on a rarest first basis, splitting files into multiple parts and downloading these parts (to be reconstructed into a usable file on the leech (downloading) computer) rather than an actual file. As none of these individual parts is usable as the intended finished product on its own Swedish law allows the redistribution under its own piracy laws for this reason, the most prolific pirating groups are based in the country. One such group is the Swedish pirate political party called Piratbyran, the Piratbyran, (whose motto Pirate and Proud has itself caused problems for the group) this organised group has demanded that (along with the Pirates website piratgruppen. org) pirates be treated fairly by the law of the world as they believe they have the right to appraise things and decide if they are worth purchasing before doing so. For this reason, Piratbyran have set up Kopimi, a copywright alternative (said copyme) which declares others right to use your work as they see fit (this being a more extreme version of many other previously concocted alternatives like creative commons which permit a user the right to use works for non commercial reasons of their choice) for anything at all. The group also used Bram Cohens bit torrent protocol and created the worlds largest tracker a website that indexes all of the files available through the protocol which is called ThePirateBay. com (a. k. a. TPB), this site is distributed in over 20 languages and is currently the most popular tracker for the most advanced, secure and efficient protocol that is commercially available at this time. They are however intending to create their own protocol to remove their reliance in Bram Cohen (the creator) who has recently cut distribution deals with Hollywood film studios and is believed to be considering taking the protocol commercial. Governments across the world are certainly taking note, shown in hundreds of adverts which have only proven ineffective thus far. In the USA and the UK the governments have been running multiple adverts against piracy on legally purchased DVD videos and Blu ray / High Definition DVDs which are fairly useless: the advert assumes You wouldnt steal and lists a series of items before telling you piracy is a crime and showing w young girl getting up from her computer where she is downloading a film and walking out of the door. Most people tend to be offended at the fact that, after legally paying for something, they are forced to watch an advert telling them not to steal. This string of adverts alone has caused a series of parody adverts which take off the script of the original You might steal a book and even inspired a film called Steal this movie. Of course there are also positive sides to the increase in stealing and sharing among internet users, the little guy for example is heard far more than the major executive, companies are embracing the freedom culture and popular bands are pre releasing their albums for free to gain fan support. Sharing is even curing cancer! A largely adopted project ([emailprotected]) launched by a US university is folding protein strings over a massive decentralized network in an effort to discover a cancer cure or prevention in lieu of the supercomputer they would normally require. Those passing records about in the early days probably never saw that coming when they connected their first networks! Back in the early 1980s, piracy (albeit not online) was rife amongst office workers and the computer competent, these early criminals would exchange software through floppy disk and share records between each other. As the 90s started and the first networks were being created within offices, the stealing only increased as files could be copied between computer terminals via cable rather than by hand. Now, with the age of the internet: it is estimated that over 300 million of the worlds population routinely steal information and data over the internet with millions more borrowing DVDs and books from each other, whether or not these people are stealing more or less because of the internet is unquestionable, with our ability to access millions and millions of people we are able to share and steal far more than we previously could have done and this only provides incentive to give and take more than we would normally have done in a spirit of world community that is evoked by groups that exist in this sphere such as piratgruppen and the piratbyran.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

the use of assembler directives in microprocessor

the use of assembler directives in microprocessor Abstract This term paper includes the use of assembler directives in microprocessor and the various assembler directives used in Intel microprocessor 8086, its format with various examples. I) Definition An assembler directive is a message to the assembler that tells the assembler something it needs to know in order to carry out the assembly process; for example, an assemble directive tell the assembler where a program is to be located in memory. There are some instructions in the assembly language program which are not a part of processor instruction set. These instructions are instructions to the assembler, linker and loader. These are referred to as pseudo-operations or as assembler directives. II) Use Of Assembler Directives The assembler directives control organization of the program and provide necessary information to the assembler to understand assembly language programs to generate machine codes. They indicate how an operand or a section of program is to be processed by the assembler. An assembler supports directives to define data, to organize segments to control procedures, to define macros etc. An assembly language program consists of two types of statements: instructions and directives. The instructions are translated to machine codes by the assembler whereas the directives are not translated to machine codes. III) Assembler Directives For Intel8086 Microprocessor 1) ASSUME The ASSUME directives is used to inform the assembler the names of the logical segments, which are to be assigned to the different segments used in an assembly language program. In an assembly language program, each segment is given a name by the programmer. For example, the code segment may be given the name CODE or CODE_SEG or MY_CODE, etc. The data segment may be given the name DATA, MY_DATA, DATA_SEG, etc. Examples: i) ASSUME CS : CODE The above directive tells the assembler that the name of the code segment is CODE. This name is a user defined segment name. The segment named CODE contains the machine codes of the instructions. The code segment register (CS register) is to be loaded with the starting address of the code segment, given by the operating system for the label CODE in the assembly language program. ii) ASSUME DS: DATA The above directive informs the assembler that the name of the data segment is DATA. This is a user defined segment name. It contains data of the program which is being executed. The DS register (data segment register) is to be loaded with the starting address of the data segment, given by the operating system for the label DATA in the program. iii) ASSUME SS: STACK The above directive tells the assembler that the name of the stack segment used by the programmer is STACK. This is a user defined segment name. It stores addresses and data of the subroutines, saves the contents a specified register or memory locations after PUSH instruction, etc. The stack segment register SS holds the starting address of the stack segment allotted by the operating system. iv) ASSUME ES: EXTRA The above directive tells the assembler that the name of the extra segment is EXTRA which is a user defined segment name. In Intel 8086 microprocessor, string instructions may use DI register to point the destination memory address for the data. The EXTRA segment is used to hold the addresses pointed by DI. 2) DB (Define Byte) The directive DB a byte type variable. In a given directive statement, there may be single initial value or multiple initial values of the defined variable. If there is one initial value, one byte of memory space is reserved for each value. The general format is: Name of Variable DB Initial value or Values. Examples: i) VELOCITY DB 0 This directive informs assembler to reserve one byte of memory space for the variable named VELOCITY and initialize it with value zero. ii) WEIGHT DB 85 This directive informs assembler to reserve one byte of memory space for the variable named WEIGHT and initialize with value 85. iii) FORCE DB ? This directive directs assembler to reserve one byte of memory space for the variable FORCE. Furthermore, the question mark ? In the data definition informs assembler that the value of the variable is not known and hence, it is not to be initialized. iv) ARRAY DB 32, 42, 59, 67, 83 This directive informs assembler to reserve five bytes of consecutive memory space for the variable named ARRAY. The memory locations are to be initialized with the values 32, 42, 59, 67 and 83. v) MESSAGE DB ‘THANK YOU This directive informs the assembler to reserve the number of bytes of memory space equal to the number of characters in the string named MESSAGE, and initialize the memory locations with ASCII codes of the these characters. 3) DW (Define Word) The directive DW defines a word -type variable. The defined variable may have one or more initial values in the directive statement. If there is one value, two-bytes of memory space are reserved. If there are multiple values, two bytes of memory space are reserved for each value. The general formula is: Name of variable DW Initial Value or Values. Examples: i) SUM DW 3596. This directive informs the assembler to reserve two bytes (one word) of consecutive memory locations for the variable named SUM and initialize it with the value 3596. ii) NUMBER DW ‘25 The above directive statement informs assembler to reserve two bytes of consecutive memory locations for the variable named NUMBER. The first byte of the memory is to be initialized with the ASCII code of two (32) and the second byte is to be initialized with the ASCII code of five (35). Hence, the two bytes of memory space contain 3235H. iii) DATA DW 5384, 6932, 5 DUP (3456), 7384 This directive informs assembler to reserve 16 bytes of consecutive memory locations. The number 3456 is repeated five times. Memory locations are initialized with 5384,6932, 3456, 3456, 3456,3456, 3456 and 7384. 4) DD (Define Double Word) This directive DD defines a double word-type variable. The defined variable may have one or more values in the statement. If there is only one value, four bytes of consecutive memory locations are reserved. If there are multiple values, four bytes of memory locations are reserved for each value. The general format is: Name of Variable DD Initial value or values Example: NUMBER DD 23958634 The above directive informs assembler to reserve four bytes of memory locations for the variable named NUMBER and initialize with the number 23958634. 5) DQ (Define Quadword) The directive DQ defines a quadword- type variable. The defined variable may have one or more values in the statement. If there is only one value, 8 bytes of consecutive memory locations are reserved. If there are multiple values, 8 bytes of memory space are reserved for each value. The general format is: Name of Variable DQ Initial value or values Example: NUMBER DQ 1568934893846735 The above directive informs assembler to reserve 8 bytes of consecutive memory locations for the variable named NUMBER and initialize with the above mentioned number. 6) DT (Define Tenbytes) The directive DT defines a variable of ten bytes. In the directive statement there may be one or more values. If there is only one value, 10 bytes of consecutive memory locations are reserved. If there are multiple values, ten consecutive memory locations are reserved for each value. The general format is: Name of Variable DT Initial value or values Example: NUMBER DT 34968435876934839251 The above directive informs assembler to reserve 10 bytes of consecutive memory locations for the variable named NUMBER and initialize with the above specified values. 7) END (End of Program) The directive END informs assembler the end of a program module. This is used after the last statement of the program module. This assembler ignores statement(s) after an END directive. Therefore, the programmer should use END directive at the very end of his program module. A carriage return is used after the END directive. Its general format is: END label 8) ENDP (End Procedure) The directive ENDP informs assembler the end of a procedure. In assembly language programming, subroutines are called procedures. A procedure may be an independent program module to give certain result or the required value to the calling program. A procedure is given a name i.e. a label. The label is used as prefix with directive ENDP. This directive is used together with PROC directive to enclose the procedure. To specify the type of the procedure the term FAR or NEAR is used after the PROC directive. The type FAR indicates that the procedure to be called is in some other segment of memory. Type NEAR indicates that the procedure is in the same segment of memory. If type is not specified, the assembler assumes it NEAR. The general format for ENDP directive is: Procedure Name ENDP Example: SPEED_CONTROL PROC FAR ; Start of Procedure : ; Procedure instructions SPEED_CONTROL ENDP ; End of Procedure 9) ENDM (End Macro) The directive ENDM is used to inform assembler that this is the end of a macro. The directive ENDM is used with the directive MACRO to enclose macro instructions. Example: COMPLIMENT MACRO ; Start of macro : ; Macro instructions ENDM ; End of Macro COMPLIMENT is the name of a macro. The name is given before the directive MCRO which tells the assembler the beginning of a macro. 10) ENDS ( End of Segment) The ENDS directive informs assembler that this is the end of the segment. The name of the segment is given using ASSUME directive which has already been explained. The name of the segment is used as the prefix of the ENDS directive. Its general format is: Segment Name ENDS Example: CODE_SEG SEGMENT ; Start of code segment ; instructions CODE_SEG ENDS ; End of segment 11) EQU (Equate) The directive EQU is used to give a name to certain value or symbol. If any value or symbol is used many times in an assembly language program, a name is given to the value or symbol to make programming easier and simpler. Each time the assembler finds the given name in the program, it replaces the name with the value or symbol which has already been equated with that name. The general format for the EQU directive is: Value Name EQU Value or or Symbol Name Symbol Example: ROOM_TEMP EQU 02H The above directive tells assembler to replace ROOM_TEMP by 02H. If EQU directive is written in the beginning of the program and later on MOV AL, ROOM_TEMP is written in the program, the assembler will treat this instruction as if it were MOV AL, 02H while giving its machine codes. 12) EXTRN (External) This directive informs the assembler that the names, procedures and labels following this directive have already been defined in some other program modules. The names, procedures and labels declared as external in one program module must be declared public using PUBLIC directive in the program module in which they have been defined. When the programmer informs assembler that the declared item is an external one, the assembler puts this information in the object code file so that the linker can connect the concerned two program modules together. The general format for EXTRN directive is: i) EXTRN Variable Name : Type of variable ii) EXTRN Procedure Name : (NEAR/FAR) For external named variable, procedure or constant; its type is to be specified. Examples : i) EXTRN MULTIPLIER : WORD In this directive the variable named MULTIPLIER is an external variable and it is word type variable. ii) EXTRN CORRECTION_FACTOR: ABS In this directive CORRECTION_FACTOR is an external constant. It has been defined with EQU directive in another program module. Constants are identified by type: ABS. 13) LABEL (Label) In an assembly language program labels are used to give names to memory addresses. When assembler begins assembly process, it initializes a location counter to keep the track of memory locations i.e. memory addresses. The content of the location counter holds the address of the memory location assigned to an instruction during assembly process. The LABEL directive is used to give a name to the current value in the location counter i.e. the current memory address which is in the location counter. The type of label is to be specified. The general format of the LABEL directive is: LABEL Label Name Label Type Example: AHEAD LABEL NEAR Instruction Instruction AHEAD AHEAD Instruction 14) LENGTH ( Length) It is an operator to determine the number of elements in a data item such as an array or a string. Example: DATA SEGMENT ARRAY DW 10 DUP(?) NUMBERS DB 10 DUP(?) DATA ENDS The LENGTH operator can be used as follows: i) MOV CX, LENGTH ARRAY ii) MOV CX, LENGTH NUMBERS In both examples i) and ii), the execution of the instruction will move number 10 in the register CX as the number of elements are 10 in both the variables ARRAY as well as NUMBERS. 15) PROC (Procedure) The directive PROC indicate the start of a procedure. The type of the procedure FAR or NEAR is to be specified after the directive. The type NEAR is used to call a procedure which is within the program module. The type FAR is used to call a procedure from some other program module. The PROC directive is used with ENDP directive to enclose a procedure. The general format of the PROC directive is: Name of procedure PROC type of procedure Example : i) TEMP_MEAST PROC FAR The above procedure is for temperature measurement and it lies in some other program module. There are other directives also which includes TYPE (Type), STRUCT OR STRUC (Structure Declaration), SIZE (Size), SHORT (Short), SEG (Segment), RECORD (Record), PUBLIC (Public), MACRO, NAME (Name), OFFSET (Offset) etc.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Concerns in Implementing Biometric Technology

Concerns in Implementing Biometric Technology Though this seems to be an advantage, the integration of this system into the existing system is tedious. Some of the major concerns in implementing biometric technology are as follows, The system relies on complex data processing algorithms which consumes considerable amount of time. Lack of manufacturing and integration of special purpose hardware in the existing system. Adoption of biometric technology in the day-to-day life is slow. A new approach that is gaining attention in the field of biometrics is referred as behavioral biometrics, also referred as behaviometrics. The behaviometrics concentrate on analysis the behavior of the user while interacting with the computer and try to authenticate him. The hardware Mouse capable of monitor the movements of the user and analyzing them to extract a signature, which is unique for every individuals [4]–[6]. Generally there two kinds of authentication mode available in the mouse dynamics, Static authentication Dynamic authentication The main strength of mouse dynamics biometric technology is in its ability to continuously monitor the legitimate and illegitimate users based on their session usage of a computer system. This is referred to as continuous authentication. Continuous authentication, or identity confirmation based on mouse dynamics, is very useful for continuous monitoring applications such as intrusion detection [5]–[8]. II. RELATED WORK Extensive research has been made in the field of utilising the oe of the computer input devices, Mouse, towards the development of user interface design structure [10]. Only in the recent times, the mouse dynamics is further improvised as behaviour biometric technology. The previous attempt ware made to study the user’s identity based on the mouse gesture analysis . Initially, the number of participants for this prgramme is around 48[12].The system is focused on both static and dynamic mode of authentication, but later the system exclusively tried to develop the continuous authentication because for static authentication where in the need of special purpose design of GUI and usage of certain predefined form of signature. Gamboa et al conducted similar experiments to learn the user’s movements while playing a memory game. They are 50 participants involved in the experiment. A sequential forward selection technique based on the greedy algorithm was simply used to find the best single feature later add one feature at a time to the feature vector. Gamboa et al[5] proved that increase in the movements (interactions), the more accurate the identification process would be. But, we cant use this approach to the static authentication type becau se Gamboa et al[5] reported that the memory game took 10-15 min in average. The main issues with these studies are the minimum amount of mouse movements required to authenticate an user was improbable. This method holds well for user reauthentication or continuous authentication but failed in static authentication. So, further work has to be done in the field of Mouse gesture dynamics: a behavior biometric [18], [19]. Our work is to identify the user based on their handwriting patterns. There are considerable amount of research work was made in the field of identifying the user based on his handwriting. The entire work process has been divided into two processes: signature verification and user identification. The pilot experiment where the 50 ample users are allowed to sign and their signature is later used to identify them. The participants are requested to draw eight different gesture and each of them twenty times. The same eight gestures are used throughout the entire process and the users are advised to draw the strokes in a single stroke. By studying pilot experiment meticulously, we can perceive following facts which play crucial role in our work and they are as follows. The average gesture size drawn was made up of 64 data points in a single stroke. Some participant tends to sign faster as they time goes and this cause departure from their normal behavior. The raw data contained noises that must be filtered before processing. The users were advised to be as consistent with the variability in shape and size. These variations were clearly a major source of inconsistency. In our paper, we provide security against shoulder surfing by toggling between the visibilities of the signature and also we provide additional security features like anonymous password feature. III. PROPOSED SYSTEM Based on the facts, we obtained from pilot experiment, we divided our entire work into following modules. Input gesture and sample modules Gesture processing Extraction and acquisition of data points Anonymous Password feature A. Input gesture and Sample modules The input gesture creation module and sample module is simple drawing screen that used to ask the participant to freely draw a set of predefined gestures. The main purpose of this module is to make the participant experienced with the system and to draw them in his own way which is to replicate them later on. So, the gestures are not bound to any specified language and they do not necessarily have a meaning. The input gesture creation and sample module helps the user in two different ways. First, it moves the input drawing to the center of the area. Though the shifting of the drawn gesture is done, the data points are collected without saving these changes. Second, the module moves the gesture spacing to achieve a size of 64 data points. These 64 data points were based on the pilot experiment. As mentioned earlier, we were able to determine the average size of drawing the predefined set of gestures in one stroke. B. Gesture Processing Once, the data is collected how these signatures are modified for further use. What are the steps involved in the process of converting the user signature into their corresponding data points are well briefed in this section. The signature collected from the drawing area consists of three main components, the horizontal coordinate (x-axis), vertical coordinate (y-axis), and the elapsed time in milliseconds at each pixel. Each gesture replication for a given gesture can be identified as the sequence of data points and each of them is represented by a triple consisting of the X-coordinate, Y-coordinate, and elapsed time, respectively. For example, the jth replication of a gesture G can be represented as a sequence Gj = {, , }, where n is referred to as the gesture size (GS) and each where (1≠¤ i ≠¤ n) is a data point. C. Extraction and acquisition of datapoints The extraction and acquisition of data points module involves three main components, namely, data acquisition, data preparation, and data storage and authentication. 1) Data Acquisition: This module presents the gestures, which was created initially by the user in the input gesture creation module, and displays them to the user to replicate. The module records the user’s drawing while he interact with the computer. This module essentially records the signature in three components, horizontal coordinates denoted by xij, vertical coordinates denoted by yij, and the elapsed time in milliseconds starting from the origin of the gesture tij, as explained in the input gesture module. For each user, the application creates individual folder containing all the replication of different gestures. Each gesture must be replicated a specific number of times (eg., 20 times). The user has to wait for minimum 3 s between each replication which is to prevent the user from drawing the gesture too fast. We believed that the wait time and mouse release will force the users back to his normal speed and behavior each time they replicate the gesture. 2) Data Preprocessing: This module is to process the collected data points in such a way it reduces to noise in it. The user’s signature may be shakened or jagged during drawing. They may lead to inconsistencies in the process of data point collections. There are two kinds of normalization techniques which should be applid first before reducing the noise patterns. The first is center normalization which shifts the gesture to the center of the drawing area. The idea behind this tranisition is that the user may tend to draw his signature at any corner of the drawing area so we need to process the signature from any any part of the area. So, it is advisable to move all the gestures to the center of drawing area. The second is size normalization which alters the size of the gesture so that the final size is equal to the size of the template gesture in order to compare the two gestures later. If the size of gesture is larger than the template size then k means algorithm is used to reduce its size. The k means algorithm forms 64 clusters of data points initially, take the centroids of each cluster as the datapoints. To remove the outliners and noise in each replication, data smoothing techniques are introduced. The user cant draw same signature without changing its size and shape under multiple occasions. So, the data smoothing removes the variations in the signature. We use the standard weighted least-squares regression (WLSR) method to smooth the data and Peirce’s criterion [21] to eliminate the outliers. 3) Data Storage and authentication: The collected data points are further stored in the database for each use. The database is capable of storing all the replication of gestures of the user which he entered during the input gesture and sample module. When the user entered the signature during the authentication time, all the replication gesture would be compared. is one of the imminent disaster in these modern technical world. Information extortion occurs when an attacker took the password and other authentication information from the user forcibly. Neither the traditional text-based password system nor biometric systems provide easy way-out of this. No matter the password is a text, fingerprint or iris movements it can be taken by force.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Johnson and Dubois :: Comparative, Literary Analysis, African American L

Johnson and Dubois Many parallels can be drawn between the works of W.E.B. DuBois and those of James Weldon Johnson. Johnson was greatly influenced by many concepts created by DuBois, especially those presented in DuBois's classic work The Souls of Black Folk. Johnson was so impressed with DuBois and his ideas that he sought him out in 1904 at Atlanta University. The two men developed a strong friendship and later worked for years together in the NAACP, Johnson's diplomatic temperment often balancing DuBois's more volitile one.* As Johnson developed his ideas about literature, he adopted the use of "double consciousness" the theme presented by DuBois in Souls of Black Folk. This theme was used significantly in Johnson's Autobiography. Along with this theme he came to embrace the idea of "racial distinctiveness" theorized by DuBois. DuBois argues in his book that spiritual contributions are what African-Americans bring to white American culture. Johnson's ideas about black distinctiveness within the frame of spirituality and creativity was strongly expressed in his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards." This poems plays on the themes of protest with a celebration of black distinctiveness and creativity in regards to slave spirituals. Johnson argues in the poem that the slave spirituals provide proof of the legitimacy of black literary independence, another theme Johnson adopted from DuBois. Another poem by Johnson which reflects ideas from DuBois is "The White Witch" In this poem, Johnson warns of the seductive charms of "the white witch" and is a militant call for African- Americans to preserve their heritage and distinctiveness. The images of white society brought forth by Johnson was very similar to those presented in DuBois's Souls, where he also calls out to African-Americans not to be tempted and corrupted by white materialism. Johnson and Dubois :: Comparative, Literary Analysis, African American L Johnson and Dubois Many parallels can be drawn between the works of W.E.B. DuBois and those of James Weldon Johnson. Johnson was greatly influenced by many concepts created by DuBois, especially those presented in DuBois's classic work The Souls of Black Folk. Johnson was so impressed with DuBois and his ideas that he sought him out in 1904 at Atlanta University. The two men developed a strong friendship and later worked for years together in the NAACP, Johnson's diplomatic temperment often balancing DuBois's more volitile one.* As Johnson developed his ideas about literature, he adopted the use of "double consciousness" the theme presented by DuBois in Souls of Black Folk. This theme was used significantly in Johnson's Autobiography. Along with this theme he came to embrace the idea of "racial distinctiveness" theorized by DuBois. DuBois argues in his book that spiritual contributions are what African-Americans bring to white American culture. Johnson's ideas about black distinctiveness within the frame of spirituality and creativity was strongly expressed in his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards." This poems plays on the themes of protest with a celebration of black distinctiveness and creativity in regards to slave spirituals. Johnson argues in the poem that the slave spirituals provide proof of the legitimacy of black literary independence, another theme Johnson adopted from DuBois. Another poem by Johnson which reflects ideas from DuBois is "The White Witch" In this poem, Johnson warns of the seductive charms of "the white witch" and is a militant call for African- Americans to preserve their heritage and distinctiveness. The images of white society brought forth by Johnson was very similar to those presented in DuBois's Souls, where he also calls out to African-Americans not to be tempted and corrupted by white materialism.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Dress and Food During World War II :: essays research papers

Quite a range of fashion shifts occurred during and after World War II. Some of the major changes included: an increasing shift to casual dress, less elaborate fashions, and the disappearance of knickers. Short pants began to be worn as summer attire, and American boys stop wearing knee socks and long stockings. Short hairstyles become popular for boys in America after the War. Anything using vast amounts of cloth or thought unnecessary were not allowed, such as: leg-of-mutton sleeves, aprons, overskirts, decorative trim, patch pockets and petticoats. Men’s suits consisted of two-piece suits—a jacket and pants without cuffs, although before 1942 they consisted of four pieces—two pairs of pants, a vest and a double-breasted jacket. (Feldman)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war, bringing on many civilian shortages, substitution became a way of life stateside, affecting daily life. Even though, powder, eye makeup and lipsticks were considered necessary for persevering wartime spirits, some ingredients were no longer available. Military and civilian provisions included the same manpower, facilities and fibers. The government wanted to conserve materials to prevent shortages and also keep the prices up, without harming standing industries. Private citizens had to adjust any new clothing to the conditions with very few exceptions. These were not the only changes being made. There were changes in the food supplies also. The Nazis made the living conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto as terrible as possible. There were curfews, and guards were put on duty at all times near the walls to make sure no Jews escaped from the ghetto. Many Jews suffered from unemployment and diseases. A typhus epidemic, which killed many Jews, broke out about a year after the ghetto was created. Due to low food rationing, many Jews starved to death. Some chose to kill themselves because they could not stand the physical and emotional pain anymore. From the moment that the Jews were isolated from the Polish society and were surrounded by a fence, their food distribution was entirely controlled by the Germans. A strict food rationing was in effect. A working person was given food rationing that was sufficient barely for one person. In order to feed the sick and the old, they were put on the list of the producing people and their relatives had to cover for them by working even longer hours and producing a larger quota. The quantity of allocated food was insufficient and many basic food items were non existent in the ghetto.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Why Does It Matter?

On May 21, 2011 many people around the world â€Å"prepared† themselves for what was sure going to be their last day on earth. According to a man by the name of Harold Camping, by 6 pm on May 21st, the world was supposed to have experienced a grand earthquake thus preceding â€Å"The Rapture,† and it seems as though people around the world spend their â€Å"last days on earth† doing many different things. This alone shows what values we respect and how we view them. Harold Camping had concocted some heinous math equation that led him to publicize his fourth prediction.Although the amount of thought and research he put behind his Christian instinct was impressive; all he managed to do was create a moment of desperation for those of us who lead a â€Å"sinful† life, and a false ray of hope for those who cling to the prophetic words of people like, Harold Camping. As one can imagine, the last few days have been driven by the predicted â€Å"end of the world, † and through outlets such as Twitter, Live Journal, and Facebook, stories of how people spent their last days have surfaced.Some people thought it would be a great idea to spend their life savings or their children’s college funds, some people spent the day fulfilling their goals and dream, others just spent the past few days locked in and repenting, and the rest either didn’t care or forgot. All these crazy fear-based decisions lead to a small list of much greater and loaded questions: Is it worth it? Does it matter? and Why does it matter? Of course these are questions that fall under the category of â€Å"The Meaning of Life,† and are virtually impossible to reply to, but everyone should be entitled to possess their own educated opinion, right?In Thomas Nagel’s essay â€Å"The Absurd† he raises some interesting, but conflicting arguments toward life’s â€Å"absurdity†. In his very complicated essay of rationalizations, he ba sically presents us with the 3 main reasons why life could be considered absurd: 1) Whatever we do now will not affect the world in the future, so why does it matter? 2) We are forever considered small when compared with the universe, and our lives considered short, so why do we matter? 3) Our actions have no purposeful end, so why do they matter?Nagel tries to justify his statements, but in the end his statements contradict his points, and this could even be summarized in one simple explanation. If you will not be around in the next 1 million years, how could you or anybody else judge peoples actions to determine if whether or not they infinitely matter or not matter. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, â€Å"Existentialism† is considered a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will (Oxford).Within this reasoning is what Nagel based his essay on, but as black and white as this may seem, many other factors should be calculated when trying to determine whether or not existentialism is rational. Without delving too far into the topic of religion, the question about the morality of certain issues still lies on the table. When trying to find a religiously ambiguous debate against existentialism one of the most important questions to consider would be: In a world in which we act on impulse without the fear of repercussion, how would our feelings as human beings factor into our decisions?As long as there has been the existence of humans on this earth, it would probably safe to assume that there has also been the â€Å"existence† of feelings among the people. Feelings are probably the one impulse that humans find the most difficult to quell in their everyday lives, and from personal experience, one of the most pleasantly intrusive aspects of human life. Although this might be debatable, the statement previous t o the latter is not. In her 1970’s book Never in Anger: Portrait of an Eskimo Family, Professor Jean L.Briggs studied the Utkuhikhalingmiut (â€Å"Utku†) Eskimos of the Canadian Northwest Territories. In this tribe she found that anger and aggression was extremely rare. â€Å"Briggs suggests that even in circumstances that we would find intolerably frustrating or offensive, the Utku do not get angry. Where we would be resentful or even furious, the Utku are merely resigned. Anger is an unreasonable response† (qtd. By Solomon). Even in instances such as these, the Eskimo are in a way â€Å"brainwashed† from a young age in order to lead this â€Å"harmonious† life, and even then they lose their cool.As reported by a fellow anthropologist ,by the name of Catherine Lutz, â€Å"among the Ifaluk of Micronesia, the most serious incident of aggression last year, was when one man touched another's shoulder. He was subjected to a severe fine, a reasonable p enalty for extremely unreasonable behavior† No matter what one tries to do feeling will always resurface and affect our judgment whether we mean to or not. It’s simply just part of the way we were made and will always remain that way.To argue that someone could easily â€Å"discard† their feeling and act purely on impulse would be an ignorant statement. When talking about the rationality as opposed to the morality of a situation it then becomes a little bit more tricky because as Robert Rorty makes a wonderful job in pointing out, who can define rationality? In accordance with his characteristic nominalism, that â€Å"rationality is not a thing,† to be Socratically defined or characterized in any singular way.I would say that it is one of those â€Å"essentially contested concepts† of philosophy (like â€Å"freedom,† â€Å"truth,† and â€Å"justice†) which plays a primarily polemical as well as a normative role in our conversati ons, despite the â€Å"descriptive† characterizations that are readily available in behavioral theory and the social sciences. The question is how the term is being used in any particular context and what distinctions are being made –for often the real message is political and not merely conceptual and conveyed only by implication. (qtd.By Solomon) With arguments such as this one it brings us back to the original debate. Who is to decide what is rational? For one person might think something is a great idea when in reality it might not be, but at the same time still remain it remains a decisions in which it will not tip the scale in either moral direction. As we probably could assume from the beginning, these questions are probably best if left unanswered. They complexity of trying to find the â€Å"true meaning† of life is far too great a task for someone of our caliber to judge.The best thing that we can do as a society is stick together and apply our best tra its to create a harmonious place for us to develop and live in. The one thing that is irrefutable would have to be the undeniable fact that if we live our lives in the best way we can while making the best decisions within society’s judgment, we can’t really go wrong, and if Nagel had one thing right, it was that our time on this earth is short, so we might as well take advantage of the things we’ve been blessed with and live life to the fullest.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Argument Essay

The following passage comes from â€Å"The Common Life,† a 1994 essay by the American writer Scott Russell Sanders. Read the passage carefully and then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Sanders’ ideas about the relationship between the individual and society in the United States. Use specific evidence to support your position. A woman who recently moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington [Indiana] told me that she would not be able to stay here long, because she was already beginning to recognize people in the grocery stores, on the sidewalks, in the library. Being surrounded by familiar faces made her nervous, after years in a city where she could range about anonymously. Every traveler knows the sense of liberation that comes from journeying to a place where nobody expects anything of you. Everyone who has gone to college knows the exhilaration of slipping away from the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad. We all need seasons of withdrawal from responsibility. But if we make a career of being unaccountable, we have lost something essential to our humanity, and we may well become a burden or a threat to those around us. A community can support a number of people who are just passing through, or who care about no one’s needs but their own; the greater the proportion of such people, however, the more vulnerabl e the community, until eventually it breaks down†¦.Taking part in the common life means dwelling in a web of relationships, the many threads tugging at you while also holding you upright. PITFALL ONE: not understanding the task or the directions Make sure that you read the passage correctly and understand your task. Don’t get caught up in tangential issues. Figure out what Sanders’s central thesis is. This student had trouble understanding the issue: For example, when people get caught doing something wrong and they don’t want to admit to their mistakes, they sometimes think of a lie, which is a defense mechanism people use when in trouble. Who hasn’t lied at some time  in their lives? The guilt will haunt the lady in the passage who moved to Bloomington, tearing up everything in her life from inside then out. The example about the woman from Bloomington is not the central issue in this prompt—it is an example Sanders is giving to make his point. An EXAMPLE WILL NOT BE THE CLAIM, it will illustrate the claim. So, to determine the claim think about what point the example supports. PITFALL TWO: merely paraphrasing the passage If your whole essay consists of explaining what Sanders is saying in this passage, you will not score above a five out of nine. Resist the temptation to tell what the entire passage is saying. The readers know what the passage says. {This mistake seems especially common when the argument prompt is longer.} Refer to the claim of the passage in as few words as possible. Unlike the rhetorical analysis, you do not need to quote long sections of the passage—this eats up time and accomplishes very little. Your job here is to figure out and clarify what the central issue is and then to defend, challenge, or qualify that issue. In this passage, Sanders writes about the relationship between the individual and society. He talks about a lady that moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington, Indiana. She says she would not be able to stay long because she was already beginning to recognize people. Sanders writes that the lady gets nervous when she is recognized. She liked not being known and not having to get involved in that society. Sanders says that a couple of people like this help society run, but if there were too many, society would collapse. Society depends on some people to interact so that it can keep going. {If this were only the introduction, and the student followed up with an assertion that defended, challenged, or qualified Sanders’s assertion, this paragraph would be acceptable, although it’s not necessary to paraphrase this much. But when a paraphrase is your whole essay, you’re looking at a low score.} PITFALL THREE: not taking a definite stand This is one of the most common errors students make. You must have a definite opinion and state that opinion unequivocally, even if you are qualifying. And even if you don’t really have that opinion in real life. Sanders describes the relationship between the individual and society as a contrast. The individual is nervous around a too-familiar society. A society feels threatened by a great number of individuals that are unfamiliar. In a big city, most people become accustomed to unknown people because of the large population. However, in a small town where everybody knows everybody else, a newcomer might be seen as a threat to their way of life. In a small community, most people have their familiar routines. For the traveler, though, it is still a new opportunity for the community. The unknown traveler may be thought of as an alteration to their everyday routine. The essay above discusses the workings of a small town and a big city and makes some interesting observations about the contrast. The writer, however, never takes a definite stand on whether or not it is healthy to remove oneself completely from society. On the other hand, this writer takes a definite stand and backs it up with appropriate evidence: Sanders says that â€Å"we all need seasons of withdrawal from responsibility.† There are times when people need to forget about what others expect from them and do only what they feel is needed. (concession) While Sanders’s statements are true, people cannot live a responsibility-dodging life forever. He feels that if people are to do so, â€Å"We will have lost something essential to our humanity.† If everyone were to give up their responsibilities and do only what was best for themselves, then society would not function. Organizations would fall apart because people would no longer be able to work together. Eventually our entire government would break down and the nation would erupt into total chaos. The more careless people a community has, â€Å"the more vulnerable† the community becomes. Thus, people must learn to take responsibility for themselves rather than dodge  it. (assertion) PITFALL FOUR: using inappropriate or weak evidence to support your position The strength of your essay is in direct correlation to the strength of your evidence. Weak or inappropriate evidence will produce a weak paper and a low score. The readers are looking for writers who can write logically and reasonably, who can evaluate and analyze someone else’s argument, and who can find the best evidence to convince someone of their position. This student’s evidence has to do with crime rates: A small town culture is often seen as boring and old-fashioned, but it is just as important to our nation as any of the modern big cities. In New York City people have that opportunity to wander the city anonymously. Perhaps that is the reason why crime rates are so much higher in larger cities. People are far less likely to behave badly if people they know are watching them. This constant concern of others judging you is perhaps more beneficial than some may have you believe. It can get quite nerve-wracking to always be under watch, but those that watch you also come to your aid in times of need. For example, when you go out of town you can ask your ever-watchful neighbors to keep an eye on your house for peace of mind. If everyone went around with a total disregard for others, society would break down and the world would become a terrible almost primal place. This student effectively supports his position by reasoning that knowing someone is watching you may deter crime. He concedes (another way to reason logically) that it is bothersome to â€Å"always be under watch,† but those who watch you also watch over you. PITFALL FIVE: writing aN analysis of the passage instead of aN ARGUMENT Your job is not to analyze the way Sanders writes. Your job is to write an argument. Read the prompt. Sanders’s use of diction reveals his negative attitude toward wanderers†¦. Sanders uses a word with negative connotations when describing the twisting threads†¦. Sanders was accurate when he said  the many threads tug, yet hold one another upright. His metaphor identified individual lives as threads. The metaphor makes the reader reflect to a special blanket or person that brought them comfort, evoking emotional reactions.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

How Procter and Gamble Moved to Electronic Documents

The Business Problem P&G faced problems managing the vast amounts of paper required for a company that develops drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Regulatory issues, research and development (R&D), and potential litigation generate even more paper documents and files. As a result, P&G wanted to gain control of its company documents, reduce administrative oversight of its paper documents, reduce costs, accelerate R&D initiatives, and improve tracking and signature compliance. P&G decided to adopt an electronic document management system.When P&G moved to electronic documents, it had to ensure that it could authenticate digital signatures and build signing and storage processes into its daily workflow. Further, P&G’s legal department wanted to ensure that it had a legally enforceable signature on file. The IT Solution P&G turned to IT integrator Cardinal Solutions (www. cardinalsolutions. com) to implement Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions and Adobe LiveCycle PDF Gene rator (www. adobe. com), which would function with P&G’s eLab Notebook program.These software packages would manage, review, approve, and sign the huge volume of R&D information, including files created with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. P&G adopted the pharmaceutical industry’s Signatures and Authentication for Everyone (SAFE) BioPharma Association standard. This standard was established to help companies go paperless and still interact with regulatory authorities on a global scale. P&G’s initiative focused on implementing methods to manage digital signatures and creating a method to confirm the identity of the signer.The company’s IT and legal departments agreed that the standard met the company’s business needs and risk requirements. Instead of recording information from experiments in paper notebooks – along with numbering each page, signing it and having a witness sign it – researchers can now use word processing program s, spreadsheets, presentation software, and similar tools to generate project notes and other necessary documentation. After a researcher has collected all the data, LiveCycle PDG Generator creates a PDF document and prompts the person creating the file to add a digital signature.The system requires the use of a USB token for authentication. At that point, LiveCycle Reader Extensions embeds usage rights within the document. The Result Today, once a digital signature is added to a file, an auditor can immediately view the document and all activity related to the document. The auditor right-clicks on the signature and views the entire audit trail. The signature can also be appended as a last page of the file so that it can be shared externally when necessary, such as in a court of law.The system saves P&G time and money. Researchers no longer have to spend several hours per week archiving paper files from their experiments. In addition, P&G is able to quickly retrieve large volumes of data that may be needed for government regulators or business partners. P&G projects that it will achieve tens of millions of dollars in productivity gains by using the system. The typical employee will save approximately 30 minutes of signing and archiving time per week..

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Crisis in Movies Assignment Essay

1. Identify precipitating event(s). (10 pts.) The movie I chose to watch is Courageous. The precipitating event in this movie is the car accident that takes the life of Emily Mitchell. Her father, Adam Mitchell, and the rest of her family are traumatized by the sudden death of their 9 year old daughter/sister. In thinking about information that would be gained in the first contact with Adam Mitchell, one thing that stands out about his previous state of mind/functioning is that he was somewhat uninvolved with his children, taking them for granted. This fact can also be a trigger for how he processes this event, causing a crisis for him as he realized his young daughter is now gone. In another scene, Emily’s brother, Dylan Mitchell, shares that he feels guilty that he wasn’t a better brother. Both of these relational states prior to Emily’s death can be a precipitating factor in how they process this trauma – influencing whether they get stuck in crisis of guilt, depression over lost time, etc. or whet her they see this as an opportunity for change in the way they handle relationships from now on. 2. Identify the type of crisis (Situational, Developmental, Existential). (10 pts.) This crisis is a situational crisis, in that it is brought about by the sudden death of Emily. However, it can also produce developmental and existential crises in the lives of this family, as they process their loss. A traumatic event is known to potentially create problems in the future development of the individual or family, and it is certainly known to create existential crises, as the individual’s core beliefs about self, others, and the world are extremely challenged during crisis. Beliefs about meaning, purpose, and the existence of God are often questioned after major tragedy. 3. Identify the material, personal, and social resources available to the individual. (10 pts.) The material resources available to this family were that they were a middle class family, with a stable home, and no financial worries that were evident to complicate their loss. The personal resources of the family were that they seemed to be a fairly strong, intact family prior to the crisis. They were clearly a family of great faith in God, and this personal resource literally becomes what carries them through the crisis. As a result of their involvement in church and community, they had the social support of their friends/church members in the early days following the loss. Adam Mitchell also has the ongoing counsel of his pastor, who walks through the process with him, comforting him yet challenging him to grow and not get stuck. 4. What were the differing perceptions of the crisis? (the client, family, community, friends, legal perspectives) (10 pts.) The perspectives within the family are the most obvious. Adam led his family to accept the tragedy as God’s will for their lives and to trust Him with their pain and healing. He seemed to grieve for a while and then dive right in to trying to be a better dad. The mother is shown grieving, and then l ater supporting him as he sought to change his parenting; therefore, her perception seemed to be a fairly healthy one. The brother, Dylan, did not seem to do as well at first. He isolated for a while, but the reason came out one night at the dinner table when he cried, saying he should have been a better brother. The guilt had obviously been causing him to withdraw, but when he finally talked about his real feelings, he is seen making improvements. 5. Briefly, how was the crisis handled by the protagonist? (10 pts.) The protagonist in this movie was Adam Mitchell, the father of Emily who died in the car crash. Adam handled this crisis very well, as it became a catalyst for growth for him. In one session, he is talking with his pastor after a few scenes that have shown him grieving, his wife grieving, and his son beginning to isolate from the family. It is at this time that Adam has a choice in how he handles his opportunity to move forward or stay stuck. He tells his pastor that he does not want to get stuck and bitter, that he wants to heal and he wants his family to heal. It is at this point in the movie that Adam begins to pour himself into studying what God’s word has to say about being a father. After discovering that he was only doing a small portion of what God required of him as a dad, he makes a resolution to change that. Indeed, he does so and brings several other men along with him as well. By choosing to grieve in a healthy way, Adam allowed his crisis to make him a better father and to develop his relationship with his wife and son to a stronger place than it had been even before his daughter’s death. 6. Suggest several steps for your client that could be used to handle the crisis. (10 pts.) Since this crisis did not put Adam, or anyone else in his family, in direct danger, I would take on the role of a facilitator. As a facilitator, I would collaborate with Adam to set some goals for himself. An important thing to remember would be to help him survive and rebuild. This ultimate goal can be accomplished through smaller goals that center on bridging the past, accepting and living with the present, and finding a new path for the future. Practical steps for Adam in processing his loss would be to suggest that he remain connected to his support system, gently guide him to face his pain versus repress it, and have him identify secondary losses and unfinished business due to his daughter’s death. One poignant example of resolving unfinished business in the movie is when Adam goes and pretends to dance with his daughter in the place where he had rejected her invitation a few days before she died. While we can’t always recover secondary losses, we can allow the secondary losses to teach us about how to handle relationships differently in the future. This information can be used in finding a new path. Lastly, if my client was a Christian and I could talk openly about God, I would help to reframe their understanding based on a biblical perception of how God promises to use crises for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Lastly, considering that this was a sudden and traumatic death, I would likely suggest a grief support group for the family. 7. Suggest steps for teaching coping skills and developing resiliency (preventing the crisis from reoccurring). (10 pts.) It’s hard to keep a death from reoccurring, but a client can be strengthened so that they do not move into active crisis each time they fear a new loss. In the case of sudden death of a loved one, a sense of fear over a new loss can almost cripple a client. I have had personal experience with this myself after losing my son in a drowning accident. Therefore, I would immediately want to help the client frame healthy perceptions about the event so that fear patterns do not get locked into the brain. Therefore, when it comes to re-traumatization after an initial trauma, early intervention is critical. Crisis debriefing can help to prevent trauma loops from being formed in the brain, which would contribute to possible crisis reoccurrence. As far as resiliency is concerned, I would suggest that the client remain connected to social support and remain connected to God. Trusting Him in crisis can help tremendously toward a healthy outcome. 8. What referral sources would be available to the client if he/she lived in your area? (specific names of organizations in your area to which you might refer your client. You might have to research your area for this.) (10 pts.) Grief Share groups at several churches in the area (i.e. Hebron Baptist), Cornerstone Counseling (provides trauma recovery services), Paraclete Counseling Center, Robbie Sherrill, LCC 9. Discuss a Biblical worldview or principal related to the crisis. (10 pts.) Anytime there is a tragedy or loss, one might be tempted to question the goodness of God, or even the reality of God. However, God is in control and never surprised by tragedy. A good principle to remember when God does allow suffering is to trust that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Also, Scripture makes it clear that God uses suffering to refine us. Therefore, processing tragedy by asking â€Å"what can I learn from this† is healthier and more biblical than seeking to know why. God knows the end from the beginning, and even though we may not know why while on earth, we can know the peace that comes from trusting Him to bring good from our suffering.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Planning and Budgeting for Women Cancer Foundation Term Paper

Planning and Budgeting for Women Cancer Foundation - Term Paper Example In most states, business registration information is found from the office of the secretary of state. As in the case of this business, the name of the business is Women Cancer Foundation which will be identified by all clients (Miller et al., 2006). The healthcare business also needs exceptional license or authentication which will comprise of an assessment of a background scrutiny on the partners or individuals operating the business. This will be followed by getting into contact with the insurance companies to acquire covers for liability and malpractice. There is no business that can operate or make service decisions without considering the insurance covers taken for the healthcare facility. The insurance and registration charges can be recognized in a budget as constant or fixed costs but can also be charged on a monthly or annual basis (Nah & Osifo-Dawodu, 2007). Another important aspect is the estimation of the probable revenue for the hospital. The source of revenue might incl ude donations from international health non-governmental organizations, patient charges, insurance credits and tax reliefs. Before the services can be priced, all these revenues must be estimated to find the best fair price for the specific services. The policy makers must deduct a fraction of the bills to the patient that might not be collected, charity work anticipated by the health facility and the work it does. Moreover, the expected expenses must be figured out beginning with the visible facility. It must be determined the cost of setting up the structures, the maintenance costs of every department , the utilities and the costs of acquiring special equipment and the amount that will be used per day on each patient. In addition, the costs of maintaining some of the non-medical facilities must be determined which also include advertising g costs. However, care and due diligence must be excised to avoid passing all the costs to the patient with the main intention of accumulating p rofits. There are those cancer patients who cannot meet the costs of medication available given the state of economic recession that hits everyone within the nation (Nah & Osifo-Dawodu, 2007). There are factors to consider when planning and making essential decisions within the healthcare centre. It is required that the management must be familiar with the cost of staff. It must be noted that the staff and other employees who comprise of the consultants and contracts outsourced such as laundry and staffing of nursing need to be paid and given other allowances. The fringe benefits must be determined to ease out the process of budgeting. all the costs of beds, the number of hours worked for every staff and number of hours spent by patients on the beds must be determined inclusive of the costs of replacement of the beds must be factored in the budget and planning process (Wolper, 2004). Most importantly, the costs of expansion must also be factored in. The health care facility must pla n as to whether their facilities might be renovated or new ones put in place. The potential benefits of the expansion must be considered to prevent erecting redundant structures. Thus the revenue must be estimated when doing a plan for the budget. This will also involve space for the parking garage, landscaping costs, window cleaning washing and grounds men. Besides, the funds set aside for emergency services must also be considered to enable the

Thursday, September 12, 2019

ABC Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

ABC Company - Case Study Example As the discussion stresses Carl Robbins was the HR specialist responsible for completing this task. He had been working for the company for six months and prior to this projects he had been doing to good job for the company. This new recruitment project was Carl responsibility and he was accountable for its implementation. Carl had to report to Monica Carrol, operation manager, who was the beneficiary of the extra supply of labor. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the events that occurred at ABC during the hiring process of 15 new employees in order to find solution on how to ABC can improve its human resource function and directly deal with the mishaps associated with recruiting event. Carl took on this recruiting project for which he felt confident he could perform without any setbacks. He was not recruiting a single employee. His job entailed hiring 15 people. There no specific details on the case study on whether or not Monica obligated him to perform a fast-track recruiting process. In order to hire 15 employees Carl should have interviewed 5 to 10 candidates per position. This implies that he needed to perform over 100 interviews. Prior to selecting an interview Carl was suppose to look at 200-500 resumes to select the 15 trainees. This hypothetical metrics would be adequate for skilled workers. If the 15 jobs were unskilled workers 100 interviews would be satisfactory. Under a rush scenario for unskilled labor at least 50 interviews would have to perform which comes out to about 3 interviews per job position There also other procedures associated with a recruiting process. The 5 steps of a selection process are: application materials, employment interviews, tests, background investigation, and decision to hire.