New Pedestrianism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

New Pedestrianism - Research Paper Example The new urbanism approach’s ability to attain these goals of sustainability at the same time is its greatest strength. New Urbanism and its Principles For a long time, urban sprawl that is dependent on cars has been criticized due to its contribution to social isolation, degradation of the environment, and long term financial un-sustainability. Architects, beginning in the early 80s, started to fight this sprawl through new urbanism with significant developments coming up alongside the concept’s principles3. These neighborhoods started to take on a European and pre-war urban model, often resembling typical small towns or earlier inner city neighborhoods. For this reason, these neighborhoods are usually referred to as TNDs, or traditional neighborhood developments. These neighborhoods are built on several fundamental planning principles. The first fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is mixing of uses with institutional, civic, and commercial spaces located in community corridors, as well as centers, which are surrounded by close-by housing that provides service and job access sans use of cars4. This normally takes on the form of a town square or main street. The second fundamental planning principle is diversity. Urban sprawl can lead to separation of the populace by the level of their income. New urbanism seeks to provide for various housing in one area that range from high to low cost5. It is possible to accomplish this through townhouses, detached one-family homes, and mixed apartments in one neighborhood. This also promotes affordable housing inclusion. The third fundamental principle of new urbanism is that it should encourage walking6. This comes with increased benefits to the community and environment, while also creating supportive social networks through daily interactions with fellow local acquaintances and neighbors. The concept encourages those living in these neighborhoods to walk through a mixing of uses, while also making sure that there are plentiful and wide sidewalks with well designed streetscape, minimization of curb cuts, and compact blocks. Mass transit and bicycling connect pedestrians with other areas within the larger urban region and are, thus, important as well. The fourth fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is definition of public space7. Streets are normally considered as space that is vital for public life and are important for the occurrence of daily interactions of the community. To make the area attractive, landscaping, lighting, and materials must be detailed carefully. New urbanism also holds public squares and parks in high esteem. The fifth and final fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is complimentary architecture8. Public space is defined by the private property facades that abut it and new urbanism takes into account the importance of a street wall that is strongly defined by close-up and attractive buildings that offer spaces and services. Houses in tra ditional neighborhood developments are normally close to the streets, while they are built on lines in downtown areas. Because of the importance of public interaction in new urbanism, front porches are a common feature. Majority of traditional neigh

Ethical Pursuations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Pursuations Essay Each of the three different theoretical approaches proposed for public relation ethics has admirers and detractors as well. All the three theories require practical ways of incorporating them into public relation campaign, using the suggested pyramids (Barney Black 1994:233-244). Virtue ethics involves fostering a strong internal moral compass to guide anyone in choosing the right action. It requires one to first develop ethical judgment by stimulating the moral imagination in order to recognize ethical issues. This can only be achieved in a campaign through ethics brainstorming sessions or ethical reflection time, and this is where individuals considered ethical implications and report back to the team or through discussion with an independent ethics consultant, who could then highlight potential ethical issues in the upcoming campaign and stimulate debate on appropriate approaches. This approach allows other virtue tests that accord with their values and enables them to set relevant virtue objectives to be revisited and tested at the end of the campaign. Virtue ethics becomes a formative step in public relations process, rather than a reactive process once a problem arise. However, it is flexible, by the fact that in the middle segment pyramid, each of the facts used can be assessed in the campaign using a virtue approach tactics. Virtue ethics clearly has benefits for practitioners who are seeking ethical guidance but many times it is be inadequate alone. For example tests using external virtue referents like a ‘significant other’, are ‘at odds with the idea of developing virtues by purchasing the internal goals of a practice’ (Baker Martinson 2001: 148-275) Deontology involves following a prescribed set of duties or obligations for example, religious rules such as ‘Thou shall not lie’, and one of its common deontological positions in public relations is advocacy, and this is the belief that provides practitioners specific behaviors that are ethical against an agreed standard like a professional ethics code at the same time, they can easily promote clients self-interests above all other interests when compared to virtue ethics and consequatialisim; in addition deontological approaches are also useful in the campaigns communication phase and this enables them to assess ethics of messages and communication outputs when compared to virtue ethics, as well as consequantialism. Their approaches are useful because they clarify the limits of reasonable behavior by providing absolute prohibitions, and directives for specific acts, however at times, although occasional their inflexibility can be problematic (Baker 1997: pp. 197-210). Lastly but not least, consequantialism uses the approach of judging actions by their customers. One of the well-known techniques of consequentialism is ulitarianism; where an assessment is made of who has been affected, and determines in what ways, and consequently the right action that is supposed to be taken which creates maximum total benefit. Their main method of determining the outcome involves drawing a flow chart or a mind map which is cumbersome. Their only closest related test is the benefit or harm assessment, in which calculation is made about whether the benefits to stakeholders outweigh the harm (Baker 2002: 191-205). The approach is clearly a very crucial component of public relations, but on its own at many times it obscures the means used to obtain a desired outcome, for instance, a pure consequantialist can endorse a lie if it ultimately resulted in more happiness or a more wide-spread benefit than truth-telling (Barney Black 1994:244-248). Conclusion The two approaches; virtues ethics and consequentialism to public relations have benefits but they have serious limitations. One can only manage these limitations by using deontological approaches, because it has a high persuasive power with respect to public relation practitioners.

Essay --

Lauren Guillot Mrs. Hook English II - H 24 February 2014 Against the Legalization of Marijuana in the States The date was November 23rd 2015. "He spoke just three last words and eight short letters before he left the world on that cold winter night in Denver." He was a brother, a friend, a son, and a student, with a potential in life that could reach as far up as the stars in a clear nights sky. A death, caused by the legalization of marijuana in the United States of America, that could of been prevented if we only knew the harsh reality of the consequences of this demonic proposition. Present day February 2014 in the United States of America. â€Å"Just say no,† flew out the slogans against drugs. This attitude, burned into the young minds of millions, is now a rising conflict with the government and people who want to feel better by using marijuana. What happened to this way of thinking? What makes us think this is the new "norm" or should be apart of our everyday lives as Americans. We, as a country and as a whole nation of people, have the power of life and of death resting in our hands. The legalization of marijuana should be prohibited in the United States of America. One of the most difficult things to grasp is the social issues caused by the legalization of marijuana. One example of this is the potential increase of the drug falling into the hands of kids. Even unhealthy legal items such as cigarettes and alcohol are prohibited from being sold to kids. This is because kids do not show the same reasoning, responsibility, and judgment of an adult. Also their bodies are not as equipped to handle the intake of these substances. The problem is even much worse for marijuana use. Developing brains and ... ...related to the use of marijuana. Ultimately, the legalizing of marijuana should not be acceptable in the United States of America. In particular, social issues would be caused by this act of intolerance. Similarity, this would be of major effect to the children who have exposer of this in their lives. In this manner, the legalization would cause future progressions in other drug areas. Moreover, this is the "stepping stone drug" that will lead on to further and more harsh addictions. On the other hand, marijuana can cause serious, and even deadly health related problems. Studies by well-experienced researchers have shown this drug causing cancer and brain related illnesses. Everyone has hopes and dreams for the future, and a whole lifetime of joy and bliss ahead of them. However only despair and nightmares is in the future if this legalization comes true.

Fight to Win (Race of My Life) Herman Meyer

McVittie 1Fight to Win The two novels pivot around that central theme, strength of character. The first novel, †The Race of my Life† is an autobiography by alpine ski racer, Herman Meyer. The second book   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Fighter† was a biography of George St-Pierre, a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Two contemporary, highly skilled athletes in completely unrelated sports. Both are at the top of their game and are face with a large obstacle that they will have to overcome to proceed with their career. You are ultimately only as strong as you character. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but when faced with adversity, it is only those with supreme sense of character that will come out on top. Hermann Maier is on top, winning world cup as well as Olympic gold in his sport, downhill alpine ski racing. He has been consistently breaking records with grace and speed through hard work and natural talent. But in the summer of 2001 Hermann Maier’s skiing career comes to a screeching halt. It is not just a question of â€Å"will he race again? †, but â€Å"will he survive and will he ever walk again? †. The accident didn’t occur during a death defying ski race, but instead on a break from training out cruising on his custom made Harley Davidson motorcycle. The near fatal motorcycle crash breaks his leg so badly, almost to the point of amputation and Maier is in the Intensive Care Unit battling infections as a result of a 9 hour reconstructive surgery to peace his leg back together. Maier speaks of waking up after surgery, not knowing if he still has a leg. â€Å"during a ski race, a split second will make the difference between victory or defeat. But now much more was at stake. †(Hermann. Page 1) This gives you some insight as to how bad the situation really was. Not unlike Hermann, George St-Pierre’s (GSP) career may also be in jeopardy. Having fought to get to the top in the vicious sport known as MMA, Mixed martial arts, Saint Pierre has achieved the title, the gold belt. He is the first MMA fighter to receive mainstream corporate sponsorship and endorsement deals. He is sitting in the number one position for his weight class when the unexpected happens. GSP is challenged to protect his position in a title fight against welterweight champ GJ Penn. Penn who holds the title in the next weight class up from GSP. Penn wants to drop down to light weight division to fight the number one ranked GSP. â€Å"Just when I thought I was on top of it all, Penn announces that he will be dropping a weight class to fight me for my belt. (GSP. Page 26) If GSP looses this fight, not only will he lose the belt and the tile, there are fortunes to be lost in endorsements and revenue from future fights. Both Maier and GSP who have achieved success in their sport, are faced with dealing with a possibly career ending situation. Neither sport is for the weak minded and they have fought long and hard, through focused and disciplined training to get where they are in their careers. They will have to muster all the strength in their character to overcome such adversity now.

Akamai Case Study Ecommerce

1. Why does akamai need to geographically disperse its servers to deliver its costumers' web content? Akamai allows its costumers to move their web-based products closer to their end users (local). Meaning that an Akamai website can deliver from 4 to 10 times faster as non-Akamai website, due to the 73. 000 servers around the world. 2. If you wanted to deliver software content over the Internet, would you sign up for Akamai’s service? Why or why not? Yes we would sign up for the Akamai service due to the following advantages * Reliability * Availability * Speed * Security Reporting tools with regards to problems or traffics * Scalability (the possibility of having many users and large files) 3. What advantages does an advertiser derive from using Akamai’s EdgeScape service? What kinds of products might benefit from this kind of service? The main advantage of this EdgeScape service is the tracking possibility of online shopping behaviour. This way an advertiser can pin p oint buyers based on geographic locations, and validate an end user’s location. 4. Why don’t major business firms distribute their videos using [email  protected] networks lie Bittorent?P2P means the sharing of files between users of the P2P service such as Bittorent or Bitlord. But this also means that all users are actually servers meaning that it is not easy to collect user data. Also major firms might want to use Akamai instead of P2P as it is more reliable, secure and stable. With the underlying infrastructure of the Internet major companies will most likely not benefit from p2p services. Due to the slow loading of websites companies will most likely chose for a web-streamed based content. These content are often saved on a local server and are most likely quicker distributed to their costumers. . Do you think Internet users should be charged based on the amount of bandwidth they consumer, or tiered plan where users would pay in rough proportion to their usage? No, we believe that the Internet must remain free without people paying for the use of bandwidth. When you are charging people for the use of bandwidth then many people will avoid certain websites that use up allot of bandwidth such as video streaming which uses up allot of bandwidth. It might even result in people avoiding the high use of the internet due to the costs, which is bad news for many online businesses.

Bowling for Columbine essays

Bowling for Columbine essays Michael Moore has created some of this centurys most provocative films, including Roger documentary commonly associated with these films. Moores most recent film, Bowling for Columbine, won the Best Documentary Oscar at the 2003 Academy Awards. But what exactly is a documentary, and should Moores work be classified in such a genre? Websters Dictionary defines a documentary as a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event. Moore does in fact present facts in his film, including interviews with various people, most notably, Charlton Heston. Additionally, he leads us along his journey throughout the country (and Canada) to find out why America is so obsessed with guns. The facts Moore presents certainly do have a liberal spin on them, but that does not mean that his work is not a documentary. Some have argued that documentaries must present an objective opinion about a subject. This is impossible. The Italian Neo-realists tried to create a real cinema in the early 1930s and failed. The reason was simple: The camera always chooses to focus on something within the frame, therefore limiting the viewers options not very realistic. Moore does much of the same. He uses his art as a persuasion. He never admits to presenting an objective view, nor should he be required to. Film, documentary or otherwise, is left to the sole discretion of the artist. Moores work is in fact a documentary because it presents facts of a non-fiction story (not like a non-fiction dramatization, such as Patton). Although it may conceal some facts as well, it is not the obligation of a documentary to present things in an objective manner such...

The validity of Thucydides arguments in explaining the actions of Athens in the war

The validity of Thucydides arguments in explaining the actions of Athens in the war The History compiled by Thucydides as the former Athenian general who was accused of losing some of the battles and exiled from his native country remains the main source of historical records on the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens accompanied with their allies.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The validity of Thucydides’ arguments in explaining the actions of Athens in the war specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Though the manner of the presentation the historical data by Thucydides is affected by his Athenian background, his attempts to make his works objective allow the modern historians to evaluate the validity of the arguments provided by the various sides in the Mutilenian debate and the Melian dialogue regardless of the author’s personal views of them. The Mytilenian debate taking place in Athens in 427 BC was focused on choosing the punishment for the revolt in the city-state of Mytilene located on the island of Lesbos. The two contradicting argumentation lines discussed by Thucydides were presented by Cleon who insisted on putting all the Mytilenian adult male population to death and Diodotus who claimed that it would be unwise and offered softer measures (Freeman 1999, 206). Though the Diodotus’ offer was supported by the Athenians, the final remark made by Thucydides concerning the Mytilenians’ escape demonstrates that the historian did not entirely agree with the final solution (Thucydides 2011, 10). Regardless of Thucydides’ claim that his representation of the historical data was unbiased due to his exile, certain moment in his works unveil his prior involvement into the events and a definite position concerning the Athens choices and implemented war strategies. The historian provides a detailed description of the Cleon’s argumentation line (Bolotin 1987, 22). The main arguments outlined by Cleon included the criticism of the debat e in general which resulted in the delay of the punishment for the revolt. Moreover, this speaker claimed that the minor procrastination was to the benefit of the guilty party (Thucydides 2011, 6). Another Cleon’s argument concerned the underlying causes of the Mytilenian revolt. Cleon noted that it was not even a revolt but rather planned aggression which had to be punished respectively (Freeman 1999, 206). Cleon continued that the soft punishment of the Mytilenian population will result in negative implications from the side of the rest of the Athenians’ allies. Cleon’s argument was that the failure to punish the planned and aggressive revolt can cause the growth of revolts in other allies which would not be afraid to doubt the authority of Athens. In general, summing Cleon’s major arguments up, it can be stated that the speaker’s main claim is that the death penalty is the only possible punishment for the revolt of the ally (Bury Meiggs 1975, 2 61).Advertising Looking for essay on ancient history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To emphasize the importance of supporting his motion, Cleon even goes as far as raising the questions of Athens’ strategies in general, admitting that softening the punishment for Mytilenians would mean justifying them, whereas justifying them would imply disapproval of the Athenians’ power and implied strategies in general. As to the argumentation line developed by Diodotus, it should be noted that it was not only more humane, but also more persuasive which resulted in the public approval (Ehrenberg 1973, 367). The major arguments of this speaker were addressing Cleon’s points with the aim of proving the inappropriateness of Cleon’s method to the wide audience. Diodotus’ argumentation line was based upon the assumption that killing the innocent population would not only keep all the allies in fear , but also show them that their condition is desperate which can result in more accurate preparations of their future revolts (Thucydides 2011, 9). Thus, in contrast to Cleon’s argumentation line which was limited with the assumption that the utmost severity is the only possible way of establishing authority, Diodotus obtained a wider view of the possible consequences of implementing the unjust punishment for Mytilenians. Analyzing Cleon’s arguments from a modern perspective, it can be stated that the he as an orator used specific techniques intended to increase the persuasiveness of his speech, whereas most of his arguments can be defined as invalid. There are even particular logical fallacies which can be found in Cleon’s speech, such as the established links between not killing the peaceful population which was not involved into the revolt and the possible revolts in other allies threatening Athenians’ authority in general. As to Diodotus’ argum ents, these were much more valid and it is significant that it was the strategy adopted by the majority. The Melian dialogue dated back to 416/5 BC concerned the submission to the Athenian empire of the island of Melos which was traditionally recognized as one of the Spartan allies.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The validity of Thucydides’ arguments in explaining the actions of Athens in the war specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Regardless of Thucydides’ claim of making the representation of the historical data in is works objective and unbiased, through the analysis of the separate episodes of this dialogue and the chosen argumentation line, the historian’s Athenian background becomes obvious (Murray 1986, 196). In Fine (1983: 490), it was noted that reproducing the Melian dialogue, Thucydides seems to accept the Athenians’ arguments concerning the moral bleakness as the only possible p attern of interstate relations as axioms. The claim that justice is possible only between the equals, while the more powerful states are free to use their might whenever they would like to, is obviously invalid, but blindly accepted by the historian. Not expressing any shades of attitudes directly, Thucydides constructs the dialogue according to his personal priorities. Thus, the largest part of the dialogue is devoted to the argument of the Athenian spokesmen, whereas the assumptions of the Melian leaders are brief though much more valid. The main argument of the Athenian spokesmen concerns the doctrine based on the domination of the stronger state as the only possible doctrine. Thus, proclaiming the principles of democracy inside of their state, Athens rejected the mere possibility of establishing the relationships of equality with their allies. Recognizing their power, Athens do not agree to the offer made by Melians that the island Melos should be on friendly terms with Athens b ut should not be an enemy to any of the sides in the Peloponnesian war (Thucydides 2011, 15). Thus, due to the invalidity of the Athenians’ spokesmen and their unwillingness to listen to consider the assumptions of their opponents made the Melian dialogue ineffective. After the end of the negotiations, neither of the sides changed its position and it can be stated that it was rather the exchange of speeches between the Melian and Athenian leaders, whereas nobody considered the assumption of the opposite side and was not going to reach a compromise. Regardless of the fact that Thucydides’ representation of the historical data still contains certain signs of his personal bias, it can be stated that the historian’s attempts to make his works objective were rather successful, allowing the contemporary critiques to evaluate the validity of the arguments provided by the various sides of the dialogues. Conclusion In general it can be concluded, that disregarding Thucyd ides’s acceptance of the Athenians’ arguments as undeniable axioms, modern critiques can adequately evaluated the invalidity of Cleon’s claims in the Mytilenian debate and the assertions made by the Athenian spokesmen in the Melian dialogue. Reference List Bolotin, D. 1987. â€Å"Thucydides†. In L. Strauss J. Cropsey (eds.) History of political philosophy (pp. 7-32). 3rd edition. Chicago London: University of Chicago Press.Advertising Looking for essay on ancient history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Bury, J.B. Meiggs, R. 1975. A history of Greece, to the death of Alexander the Great. 4th edition. (1st edition, 1900.) Basingstoke London: Macmillan. Ehrenberg, V. 1973. From Solon to Socrates. Greek history and civilisation during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. 2nd edition. London: Methuen. Fine, J. V. A. 1983. The ancient Greeks: A Critical history. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Pp. 470-74, 490-91. Freeman, C. 1999. The Greek achievement: The foundation of the western world. London: Penguin. Pp. 2-3, 206-7. Murray, O. 1986. â€Å"Greek Historians† (Chapter 8). In J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray (Eds.) The Oxford history of the classical world. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. 195-97 Thucydides. 2011. History of the Peloponnesian war extracts. Melbourne: Trinity College Foundation Studies.

3 Crazy Interview Questions and How to Prepare for Them

3 Crazy Interview Questions and How to Prepare for Them Are you prepared for any odd questions an interviewer may throw your way? Career marketing is at its height as hiring managers search for new means to find the right candidate for the job. Whether it’s social media, such as behemoth career networking site LinkedIn, or traditional recruiting, the world of human resources is changing. And so must those searching for the right fit.Recently, major companies such as Dropbox, Google, Dell, and Apple have started polishing its interview policies. Gone are the days where hiring managers only asked questions about experience, skills, education, and job readiness. Now they mix in a little craziness just to shake the candidate and see where their mind is. Here are a few examples of crazy interview questions and why employers ask them.Shipwrecked with ChoicesIf you were shipwrecked on a deserted island and had to choose from three people to help you, who would you choose. You can choose from ten people: the lawyer, the doctor, the carpent er, the ship’s captain, the politician, the high school teacher, the cook, the scientist, the soldier and the policeman.This question may seem silly at first, but it tells the hiring manager about the candidate’s ability to adapt and their overall drive and personality. For example, if the person chooses the high school teacher, doctor, and carpenter, it would suggest they are planning to rebuild and start a new society. This shows the hiring manager the person is capable of bouncing back from a situation.On the other hand, suppose the candidate chooses the ship’s captain, lawyer, and carpenter. This shows a strong inclination the person values strong leadership over individual talents. But the ultimate scenario desired is the candidate who chooses the carpenter, the ship’s captain, and the soldier. This shows they are planning to get off the island and turn lemons into lemonade.Extra CargoIf you were asked to unload a Boeing 747 full of jelly beans, what would you do first?This question gauges the candidate’s ability to think outside of the box. A person who answers that would ask for help shows a strong inclination to team building. Some would say they would schedule time to unload the pile more efficiently. According to Bose, one of the most popular answers indicated the person’s creativity, compassion towards others, and ability to solve problems on the spot. The person who received the highest praise said they would open the belly of the plane and dump the entire contents on a poor, starving country.Others said they would order the cargo staff to unload the plane, while one even attempted to hide the beans. Whatever the answer, employers learned whether the candidate was able to make solid decisions on the spot or whether they could excel in a fast-paced atmosphere.Clash of TitansWho would win in a fight between Superman and Batman?While this is the age-old question of comic book geeks everywhere, this simple ques tion also shows the thought process behind answering strange questions. First Superman is super strong, able to fly, has heat vision and blizzard breath, and is virtually indestructible. On the other hand, while Batman is strong and fast, he is nowhere near as strong or fast as Superman. But Batman does have superior fighting skills, a utility belt full of dangerous surprises, and the cunning and wit of the best insane criminal.One candidate said Batman’s alter-ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne, has enough money to buy kryptonite and create a weapon to wound or even kill Superman. This shows the job seeker as an individual who doesn’t give up until they have found a solution to a serious, unsolvable problem. This out of the box thinking is what helps these candidates succeed.Get ready for the hard QuestionsHow can a candidate prepare themselves for these type of questions? Simple answer is there is no way to prepare for the unknown. It’s how you work with the informa tion that’s important. The following do’s and don’ts will help candidates make the best choice and win the job.Do:Take time to understand what they are asking.Ask questions to see if more information is available.Consider the outcomes.Don’t:Overthink the question.Go for the obvious answer.Say you don’t know.No matter what the question, hiring managers have learned these often silly and strange questions cause candidates to use brain power they normally wouldn’t exhibit. Any interviewer can ask them to solve a problem in their specialty, but what does that prove? Asking questions that force candidates in an uncomfortable and impossible situation brings out their true abilities and skills.Note: this article was originally published on TopResume.TopResume is a Talent Inc. company, the personal branding destination for all career-driven professionals. Through our extensive network of professional writers, we offer career advice and analyze and w rite more resumes and LinkedIn profiles than any other service in the world. Ready to get started? Request a free resume critique today.

Human Trafficking Online Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Trafficking Online - Essay Example The paper therefore, tries to examine the relevant laws that exist in the United States to curb the menace, various innovations that encourage the growth of human trafficking online, the role of social networking sites and development of technology such as computers that has motivated the felony. Due to the rise of the online trafficking, the United States has developed anti-trafficking laws under the trafficking victims protection act (TVPA). The laws have since been reviewed for almost four times in the last decade. They are known as the 3P and using this approach, the TVPA provides that; the perpetrators of the human trafficking online be prosecuted in persons through establishments of crimes and listing them in person (Marcus, & Snajdr, 2013). The legislation tends to make it hard for those individuals who carry the act and are meant to be aware that each person bears his/her burden. Second, the legislation has created a bill of right that provides protection to the victims of online trafficking that includes but not limited to access to information, medical care, and resistance. (Reichert, 2013).Finally, the law provides for programs and grants that increase the general public awareness regarding online trafficking. Knowledge contains information that includes preventiv e measures and possibility of the act occurring. The citizens are hence taught how to develop protective means that reduce human online trafficking. For instance the government encourages the young adults to share information with whom they know rather than strangers they meet in different websites. The emergence of technology has provided a new and common platform where the crime of human trafficking online is carried out. Previous crimes were easily detected as it involved physical interaction between the population and the offenders (Snajdr, 2013). But since the development of technology, human trafficking has developed new ways to the management and control as it is majorly done

International trade operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International trade operations - Essay Example Since 2000 however, although the revenues from exports to EU have increased, its share has decreased with respect to total exports. With respect to the other industries such as cement and manufacturing, the theory is not applied. Therefore, the theory has been able to account for trade patterns with the EU-15 countries until 2000 with respect to the timber industry. The Heckscher – Ohlin theorem explains a country’s production characteristic by taking into account the various factors of labour, land and capital. A country is hypothesized to abundantly produce and export those types of goods that conform to its strengths, being either capital intensive or labour intensive. Moreover, similar to the theory of comparative advantage, the country need not necessarily have a particular resource in abundance; it only needs to be abundant with respect to the other resources. After taking into account, the various features of the country’s economy and resources, the writer applies the theory to the timber industry. Latvia’s high land ratio relative the population is used to explain the high percentage of timber exports as being a land – intensive product. Therefore, it seems to be quite satisfactory. However, when the case of countries such as Sweden and Finland is considered, the theory fails since they have lower population densities than Latvia. Once again, this theory is also not applied to other industries. In addition, both the theories deal with comparative advantage but do not have an account of changing comparative advantage of a nation or the future direction of the economy of a nation with respect to its strengths. 2) While both of the theories are able to explain some of the patterns of trade in a certain time period applied to a single industry, it might be argued that any theory of international trade will be able to do this (Zhang, 2008, p.71). The requirement of a theory is that it must be able to account for a majority of the factors that influence an economy. Its success is therefore determined by its proximity and applicability to practical situations that are very complex rather than explaining simple models. Hence, the theories can be considered as guiding principles upon which more complex theories of international trade are built upon. At the same time, it is not possible for a theory to account for all of the changes over a long period of time and must be constantly updated. The theories have provided a starting point for development of more inclusive models. An important trait of a theory is that it is able to simplify the various factors that it deals with. For this purpose and for academic analysis, complex practical situations are often isolated and studied independently of the other. However, the application of the traditional theories of comparative advantage and that of the Hecksher – Ohlin model has proved that they have been successful only in certain conditions. As economie s around the world and the factors influencing them have become numerous and more complex, a need for a more effective theory(s) that incorporates many of these factors has grown. Therefore, the writer has been ambitious in concluding that the theories have been able to corroborate findings with respect to the Latvian economy and its trade partners. However, the article provides a considerable amount of information that is useful to the Latvian

Self assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Self assessment - Essay Example responsible.) In addition, she has become even more mature due to her experiences away from home like her trips to Mexico and Rome. (†¦ we can.) I, personally, respect how she takes the initiative when she is passionate about something, for example the revival of the Classics Club, and how she already knows what she wants in life at this age. (She has an†¦. ) (†¦Renaissance study. A deeper level of this study plays an important role.) Our daughter is interested in Ancient History, Archaeology and Classic Studies so it is necessary that she becomes part of an institution which can help cultivate this interest. (†¦ advantage.) We do not think a denial will discourage our daughter. Helena has proved that she is a determined individual when in the pursuit of her goals. She faced a lot of difficulty when she tried to re-open the Classics Club and there also challenges living away from home but she faced these head-on. She is a resilient young woman so we know she can handle denial gracefully. †¦. (came voluntarily.) It is nice to see her continuous devotion to her passions – writing and humanities. It is also good that even with all the technology around her, Helena has not let these advances deter her from her

ASSESSMENT 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ASSESSMENT 2 - Essay Example This demonstrates the interdependence that exists between the managerial decisions made by the two firms and this affects the pricing and output in the market. Monopolistic market structure is characterized by the presence of multiple of firms that sell similar but non-identical products to equally informed consumers. Consumers are thus presented with an opportunity of picking either product from any of the consumers, as they are substitutes of each other and thus serve the same purpose. Edward Chamberlin and Joan Robinson first described the monopolistic market structures in the 1930s and generated the characteristics of such a market. Duopoly and monopolistic market structures differ significantly in the number of producers, type of goods and the government influence that is exerted in each situation. This paper seeks to highlight the differences between the two market structures and this affects the performances of the firms involved. The paper also seeks to provide a case study of firms in the united states that operate under the two different market structures and how their success and failure has been influenced by this market struct ure (Weron and Weron, 438). The first obvious characteristic of duopoly market is the presence of only two firms, sellers or produces whose actions or lack of it affects the managerial decisions of the other. For long, a number of firms in the United States have operated under a duopoly market structure but has since changed due innovation and technological advancement. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are the major soft drink manufacturers in the United States and they literally control the market and its dynamics. Visa and MasterCard have also remained as the major plastic money providers not just in the United States but also in major economies around the world (Weron and Weron, 439). In a duopoly market structure, the decisions made by one of

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example 12). This paper seeks to compare and contrast the theoretical framework of corporate governance, and explain how agency theory can be used to explain corporate governance arrangements in modern companies. The agency theory emanates from the separation of control from ownership such that professional managers manage the firm on behalf of the original owners. The theory draws strength in the rise of conflicts when the owner of a firm perceives that professional managers do not follow the best interests of the owners (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p., 2011, p. 16). The theory focuses on analyzing and resolving relationship between owners and shareholders of a firm and the agents or top management, this is based on the basic assumption that the role of a firm is to maximize the wealth and investment of its owners and shareholders. The agency theory works based on a form operating with limited information and uncertainty in its operations. As a result, the firm remains exposed to possibilities of agency issues such as adverse selection and moral hazard. Adverse selection in this case occurs when principals fail to determine, with certainty, whether an agent accurately portrays his or her ability to execute the duties with which they are charged. On the other hand, moral hazard refers to a condition under which a principal cannot ascertain the probability of an agent putting or giving their best towards the wellbeing of a firm (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). The theory also purports that availing superior information on a firm to professional managers gives an edge to agents over the owners. This is because the top managers of a firm may bear more interest in individual welfare than that of the firm or its shareholders and owners. This way, managers fail to act maximally towards the returns of a firm unless proper governance structures are out in place as a means to safeguard the interest of shareholders (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). As a result, the agency theory call s for curtailing the potential of managers to behave in ways that contradict the best interests of shareholders and owners of any given firm. In addition, the theory brings to light the strength of top management in having the stock of a firm held in a wide manner by many shareholders, and the composition of the board of directors being that of people with little knowledge on the firm. According to this theory, the management should be in a position to own stocks of the firm they manage in order to create a positive relationship between corporate governance and the amount of stock owned by the top management (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). This way, the agency managing the form can put the interests of the firm ahead of their own, and the conflict between ownership and agency can end. Thus, because of having a substantial amount of stock in their name, top management becomes more willing to take responsibility for the decisions it makes concerning the firm. In addition of concern, is the issue of generating rules and incentives

Geographical Differentials Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geographical Differentials - Research Paper Example Even a cursory overview of unemployment rates within the United States reveals the fact that unemployment is ultimately tied to a lack of infrastructure development, a lack of resources, and oftentimes a lack of educational achievement on the part of the individuals that live within a given region.   As such, the â€Å"why† and the â€Å"where† for unemployment within the United States can ultimately be answered through such an approach.  Ã‚   However, as was discussed within the introduction, the â€Å"what† of unemployment is perhaps the more effective question to answer. In seeking to answer the what of unemployment, the reader must focus upon the fact that unemployment in and of itself does not only mean a lack of opportunity, it also has a direct level of connotation with the lack of ability to engage in work. Through such an understanding, unemployment can also have the tangential definition of the physical and/or psychological unpreparedness of the ind ividual, or, in the worst case of all, a lack of motivation and/or laziness that prohibits them from engaging in useful work. Evidence of the way in which each of these factors can impact upon unemployment rates can be seen with regards to Elkhart, Indiana. Although it Elkhart, Indiana can oftentimes be understood as indicative of nearly any city within the United States, it is unique due to the fact that it has built its economy almost entirely upon the production of recreational vehicles; and industry that took one of the hardest and most definitive economic.

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example 12). This paper seeks to compare and contrast the theoretical framework of corporate governance, and explain how agency theory can be used to explain corporate governance arrangements in modern companies. The agency theory emanates from the separation of control from ownership such that professional managers manage the firm on behalf of the original owners. The theory draws strength in the rise of conflicts when the owner of a firm perceives that professional managers do not follow the best interests of the owners (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p., 2011, p. 16). The theory focuses on analyzing and resolving relationship between owners and shareholders of a firm and the agents or top management, this is based on the basic assumption that the role of a firm is to maximize the wealth and investment of its owners and shareholders. The agency theory works based on a form operating with limited information and uncertainty in its operations. As a result, the firm remains exposed to possibilities of agency issues such as adverse selection and moral hazard. Adverse selection in this case occurs when principals fail to determine, with certainty, whether an agent accurately portrays his or her ability to execute the duties with which they are charged. On the other hand, moral hazard refers to a condition under which a principal cannot ascertain the probability of an agent putting or giving their best towards the wellbeing of a firm (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). The theory also purports that availing superior information on a firm to professional managers gives an edge to agents over the owners. This is because the top managers of a firm may bear more interest in individual welfare than that of the firm or its shareholders and owners. This way, managers fail to act maximally towards the returns of a firm unless proper governance structures are out in place as a means to safeguard the interest of shareholders (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). As a result, the agency theory call s for curtailing the potential of managers to behave in ways that contradict the best interests of shareholders and owners of any given firm. In addition, the theory brings to light the strength of top management in having the stock of a firm held in a wide manner by many shareholders, and the composition of the board of directors being that of people with little knowledge on the firm. According to this theory, the management should be in a position to own stocks of the firm they manage in order to create a positive relationship between corporate governance and the amount of stock owned by the top management (Wong and Mwanzia, 2011, p. 16). This way, the agency managing the form can put the interests of the firm ahead of their own, and the conflict between ownership and agency can end. Thus, because of having a substantial amount of stock in their name, top management becomes more willing to take responsibility for the decisions it makes concerning the firm. In addition of concern, is the issue of generating rules and incentives

Assignment 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Assignment 11 - Essay Example The article gives the reader an opportunity to appreciate the role and impact of action research within the educational setting. In essence, the author captures the processes involved in action research in relation to maximizing the benefits. In addition, this is a research process that has the capacity to revitalize the entire learning process in most academic spheres. In addition to adding value to the learning process, action research creates critical grounds to reflect and evaluate teaching approaches (Arnold, 2008). It is therefore a necessary tool that can be used to support various initiatives by individual teachers, teaching communities, and organizations. Essentially, one cannot ignore the nature of data collection procedures used in action research. The author sheds light on the necessary aspects that one should consider when conducting action research (Arnold, 2008). It is an invaluable tool that offers a range of opportunities for the learners and the teachers. Essentially, when one is capable of conducting a study within their field makes it possible to address issues that are facing a system. The qualitative techniques in use when conducting action research set the stage for solving problems and enhancing practice. The reader further gets the details of how action research can enable the researcher to interpret as well as formulate acceptable solutions and practical steps towards local problems. One of the benefits that come with such an approach includes the ability to seek viable and realistic explanations to some of the general problems facing an education system. Some of the realities that the researcher faces on a day to day basis are grounds for gathering factual data. Due to this, the researcher does not have the luxury of following laid out procedures. Such a position calls for innovative data collection techniques that will focus on the importance of the data at hand (Arnold, 2008). The emphasis on the significance of

For the following speech topics Essay Example for Free

For the following speech topics Essay When I was in high school I had a set of very popular friends. I called them my friends because they were the ones I go with from the time I arrive in school, until recess, until the time we go back home. They are picked up by cars, and I would hitch with them. All the while, their popularity gave me the notion that I am popular too. In return, I made their assignments and finished our group projects all by myself. It took a year before I realized that friendship is not about being with a popular circle. Friendship is so much more. B. (For old people) Like wines, we have been aged into perfection. Today, as we gather, we remember the friendships that we have had and in the same way we can name some which have been perfected by time. These friendships are those which stood challenges; those which remained loyal and truthful despite all else being a failure. In remembering these friendships, we also remember those beautiful friends behind them. Topic: Investment A. (For students) I have always been a businessman. I had my very first investment when I was seven. I badly wanted a yo-yo but my parents would not buy me one. So, I asked my teenage neighbor if he would like to trade one of his yo-yo with my roller skates. It was clumsy, and it sure lost me a lot, and that was my very first experience of investing. B. (For businessmen) Benjamin Franklin said that â€Å"an investment in knowledge pays the best interest†. I agree. However, I would also say that making good investments and making the right choices pays even more—and the interest are in dollars too! Ladies and gentlemen, investing is tricky and it needs some education, but also it needs action. Otherwise, those investments are dreams waiting to be realized. Topic: Recycling A. (Students) In 2001, more than 400,000,000 tons of wastes have been generated by municipalities throughout the country. This is a whopping 26,000,000-ton increase. Out of this, only 32% has been recycled. What happened to the other 68%? How are we managing the non-recyclable wastes? Is the management effective and efficient? These are what we are discussing today. B. (Kids) Did you know that you can make your own toy out of a milk carton? You can also create artworks and masterpieces using egg shells and empty bottles. We might think that these things are already trash, but actually we can still use them to make new things. This is what we call recycling. TOPIC: Credit Card Debt A. (For students) Let’s face it. Owning a credit card is like a shopper’s heaven. You buy something, swipe the card, and go home happy. You got something and your cash is intact—what could be better? But, when the bill comes, credit cards can also prove to be a shopper’s hell. B. (For women) Have you ever wondered why you are always worried? Check your wallets. Studies show that 64% of credit card holders are worried about their debts. Strikingly, women worry more than men. This is something to be worried about. Thus, we came up with some tips to help you with those credit card debts.

Illegal Immigrants and Criminals Essay -- students, education, famil

With the need of workers with a high dreger who can we be letting people with the education and patient not work. Why do so may find the need to keep the american dream out the reach of many who worked hard for it. The story of so many high school student not be able to attend the school of their dream because they are not ligalal. This is a story I hear often one of a student who has worked so hard and has been able to get good grades be the first in their family to graduates and have no where to go. Some do make it to college, community college that is where they have to work and study because they don't get the help they deserve. There are so many opsicale for students that are labeled illegal, undocumented,and AB540 all words to describe a person without a social security number. The story of families who come to the US illegally with young children looking for a better future, a life with opportunities, the goal is to have the best for their children. Have your children graduate at top of their classes as well as ably and willingness to do something with their lives. The idea that your parents risked it all for nothing is many teens are forced to face this problem when it comes to college and job applications beuces of the fact that they have no social security number. The idea that it is illegal to come to the usa for a dream and be deported when you are close to your goal because you chose to speak up, you chose to sharker your experts to help other while endangering your own future. To me it makes no sense, but as a mexican american I feel that this problem is my own. I may be a citizen but seeing that my neighborhood are being put down because we are good for nothing and do anything for the community.We are seen as a... ...ed as criminals in order to get them out of the country.The fac that families are getting separated should be a wake up call to the house of representatives to what to make the suffering stop. The long waits and the unknowing is what take it toll on people and can affect the youngest of the family. I feel that people now more than ever have the power to fight for what they want, it is not going to be easy, but the fact that many have tried has gatten us this far. The need for educated people to better the economic is a great one but we are not taking advantage of what we have, which is all the immigrant college graduates that can use their degrees and not have to work in job where they are treated unfairly and have no need for their major. All the work that is put into their futures by their family is gone to waste because they are unable accomplish their goals.

A Short Site Stop :: Halloween Internet Computers Technology Essays

A Site for Mindless Fun Entering the world of the World Wide Web can be an intimidating project to undertake. For those who are not extremely computer savvy this task may seem impossible and many may be scared off by the many options the Internet offers. For someone who intends to surf the Internet to browse the many wonders it presents the Website titled Halloween.com may be a good choice for the casual viewer. Yet, if one is looking for a very informative straightforward website with strictly facts and no fabrication this may be a website one should just pass right by. Halloween.com is lacking some information that may be useful for someone doing research on that topic. Therefore it my be a good idea not to waste one’s time browsing the article presented on this website. The reason being it offers no information on any of the authors who have written the articles leaving no indication on the qualifications of the writers. So with this in mind the information contained in the article should be taken with a grain of salt. In addition, there are also no dates given as to when the essays were published leaving the reader to wonder about the validity of the content. But, some valuable information that is present on the homepage of the website is that of when the site was last updated. This is an important fact to look at because the site was just recently updated so it shows that at least the site is not out of date. The essays the website contains seem to be that of opinion only with no sources cited to back up the information describ ed. So with no sources and no legitimate author it is hard to accept that these essays are credible, although Halloween is a subject where many may have a innate general knowledge. With all this in mind a defense for the website is a variety of subjects are covered about Halloween and for an entertainment purpose only the website could be considered useful. One benefit this site does contain is for the novice browser this Website is user friendly. The information is represented in such a way that it provides easy navigation to the topic of one’s choice.

Notes for Key Assignment Outline

Phase 4 DB & Brief on Phase 5 IP Chapters 7, 8, 9, 17 & 18 This task is an important first step to the Phase 5 IP. The phase 5 IP is your final task for the class and will incorporate aspects of several of your other tasks. Phase 5 IP OVERVIEW This task has several parts that are designed to create one complete and comprehensive opinion of your chosen company. Further it is an examination of any global opportunities the company may have and what issues might come up as a result of expanding globally. The project will have 5 parts: I.Executive Summary II. Current State of the Company III. Change IV. Implementation Program V. Future Opportunities Based on what you have done to date you should be able to complete the Executive Summary and the Current state of the company for the Phase 5IP as part of your 4 DB. The executive summary includes: * Create an executive summary about the current state of your company. Include the following information: * Overview of the company includi ng size and revenue * Leadership team * Mission statement * Business ethics and social responsibilityThe current state of the company should include: * Product mix * Current financial state * SWOT Analysis components All of which you have already talked about. Remember this is just an outline so you do not need to create a cohesive flowing story. This is designed to help you create the order under each section that you will talk about the issues. Now I would try to have as complete of an executive summary and current state of the company as possible at this point in time. The rest of the Phase 4 DB document will be much more generic and less defined as hey will incorporate issues you will be dealing with this week and next week. Review on your own the sections of the Phase 5 IP prior to doing the Phase 4 DB and begin to gather some information regarding Change, Global issues and future opportunities for the company. Part 3 will be dealt with in your Phase 4 IP we will be discussing on Wednesday. Also begin to look at global issue such as culture and norms of other parts of the world and try to begin to make the connection as to how these issues will effect the company and the way they do business. Going GlobalIn today’s business environment with global expansions it is important for organizations to take a different approach with their employees. Today’s business is made up of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. It is very important for multi-national companies to understand cross culture issues and even more important is the training and development of its workforce. For our discussion regarding global issues we will focus on the people factor rather than that of legal and economic issues that are far more obvious and understood.The people issues are what is usually overlooked. In our discussion we will explore communication issues, look and explore an analysis of Hofstede measures and translate that to some manageme nt style conclusions. Communication comes in many forms through body language, facial expressions, hand signals as well as written and spoken. Each culture interpretation of facial, body and hand signs is different from one country to another. It is very important to learn what forms of communication can become disastrous.Some cultures also see the way you dress as communicating who you are or where you are such as in statues. Some cultures giving gifts is a must from just a simple invitation to dinner. Approaching business in any country, other than the county of origin, can be problematic at best and disastrous at worst for companies that do not do their research into the culture of the desired country. â€Å"Culture is simply the set of values, attitudes, and beliefs shared by such a group, which sets the standards of behavior required for continued acceptance and successful participation in that group. (Scarborough, Jack, 1998) It is normal to seek out individuals or in this ca se companies that know the culture and norms of a country to learn from, much like a child learns of acceptable norms from a parent or some other authority figure. In this way a company might gain some insight into the common values, attitudes, and beliefs of the country in question. Although research in this way is necessary, the following discussion revolves around recommending business approaches by drawing conclusions from Hofstede Measures.It is important to understand that the goal of a company is to develop a stereotype for the society in question. While this word has a stigma attached to it, it simply means properly and accurately characterizing one group of people as being different from another. In this way a company can begin to identify the cultures core values, attitudes, and beliefs. Regressing for a moment, it is at this time that the company should look for a â€Å"mentor† of sorts to research in order to better identify those parts of the population that my n ot necessarily conform to these stereotypical norms.This added step will help the company to differentiate between conforming to cultural norms and embracing the underlying values. A prime example of the difference is located here in the United States. One could argue that a cultural norm in the United States is that the population is Protestant Christian of course we that live here know this not to be true the country is comprised of virtually all manor of religious beliefs, however by and large the Protestant Christian work ethic and business values are what is commonly embraced by the successful business person, regardless of their religion or background (Scarborough, Jack, 1998).These core values are at the hart of what defines a population’s expectation with regard to all aspects of business and personal life. Although there are several aspects to core values that are required to be questioned one question must be the first from a marketing standpoint. This question is w eather the culture is high-content communicators or high-context communicators. Western life business is generally high-content or very precise written and documented communication. This is due to the fact that usually in western life there is a high degree of diversity amongst the population.With high-context communication the people communicating must have a high degree of commonality in experiences and expectations. Research indicates that Middle Eastern and Asian countries have a high level of high-context communication which depends heavily on unspoken, implied communications through other means such as facial expressions and body language (Scarborough, Jack, 1998). The measurements of Geert Hofstede that are going to be examined are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/ collectivism and long term orientation.Power distance in a culture is the degree to which people accept unequal distribution of power. In high power distance societies pe ople feel dependent on those in power and expect direction from them. It is important to understand this when choosing management styles because in a high power distance culture managers do not involve their subordinates in a decision making or group collaboration setting. In contrast if a manager takes this view in a low power distance culture they might be looked at as arrogant and with resentment.Uncertainty avoidance is a measure of tolerance for ambiguity and the unfamiliar. The lower the score the more accepting of variety and opinions the society is. Oddly enough, as will be shown, the countries that are recommended have a significantly lower than average score in this regard but based on the ideology of the governing bodies in question one would not initially think this to be the case. This fact combined with some other facts will lead to an interesting theory that will be proposed later. Masculinity of the culture is the next measurement.A masculine culture is interpreted a s aggressive, decisive, and confrontational with well defined gender roles placing great value on achievement outside the home. While a feminine culture is more amiable placing great emphasis on harmony. This type of culture is more likely to have flexible gender roles and utilizes compromise and negotiation over conflict to resolve disputes. Individualism will be explored next. This score represents the level at which the population thinks of the individual over the collective or visa versa. The lower the score the greater the likelihood that decisions will be made in the best interest of the collective.Finally Long Term Orientation refers to how engrained is tradition in the cultural norms. Hofstede Measures As the above scores indicate all three countries show an above average Power Distance rating. This insinuates that western style management practice of team opinions might not be advantageous. The employees will be looking for decisive leadership and direction from the managem ent staff and will expect direct and structured instructions. As one would expect with a power distance rating significantly higher than average, the Uncertainty rating is significantly lower than average.This indicates that the establishment will be more open to managers making decisions without consulting other authorities, leading to a potential for differing opinions on how situations should be handled. Earlier a theory was mentioned. It has been observed that the Asian cultures utilize more contextual communication rather than content oriented communication. Combined with the information from the figures above one might conclude that cultures having a high power distance and low uncertainty rating could be more likely to use contextual communication.The reason for this potential relationship might be that the historical governing bodies combined with the seemingly uniformity of the population allows for the possibility that experiences and thought patterns amongst the populatio n will be similar and therefore be less likely to make radically differing decisions; just food for thought. The final measurement is long-term orientation. As the numbers indicate China is drastically higher than average, India is moderately higher than average and Singapore is slightly lower than average.The reason for this is simple, China has been closed for so long, India is very entrenched in religious issues and therefore has been somewhat closed while at the same time Singapore has specialized in import/export endeavors. China being the new kid on the block will somewhat detach themselves over time to some of there traditions as India has however unlike Singapore China is unique in that it is a gigantic consumer and will continue to play a substantial role in that regard and for this reason will not be required to disinherit their traditions in stead it will fall to the sellers to understand, if not embrace, their traditions.In conclusion, all three countries require a stron g management approach. Taking western style management of team play and group participation is not recommended, initially. I think given time this technique is and will be more productive, but not until the culture catches up with the times. It will be critical to pay close attention to the communication given and received; all three countries are context communicators not content like estern society. Management must be involved personally as well as professionally with the employees. This will improve company production and increase communication avenues between all parties involved. In short a clear chain of command, well structured with defined rules is required. The managers must be strong and independent, and the company should position itself to be community oriented.

Acc1101 Assignment 1

Reflective Journal On Wednesday the 13th of March 2012 in room H102 at 12-1pm Catherine Chinnock from USQ Careers came to talk to the first semester ACC1101 student about career development (ACC1101 2012). I was never one to listen to career expositions or pay attention to any type of career development presentation, because most of the time they would just repeat the same thing over and over again. So when it came to listening to the career development presentation in my first semester (second semester for USQ) I wasn’t too enthused at what Catherine had to offer.Though after listening to the presentation I was actually surprised at what I had learnt and was able to understand why career development learning is beneficial, especially at Uni. I learnt about the skills and attributes involved, and what employers look for as well as how these skills enhance my graduate employability and ways to obtain these skills. Catherine had talked about the 8 skills of employability some of I had already heard of, such as ‘teamwork communication, problem solving, planning and organizing, and self-management’ (Chinnock 2012).However certain ones I hadn’t heard of, such as ‘long-life learning, initiate and enterprise and technology’, which came as a bit of a shock. I guess growing up in a generation where computer skills are almost a natural action I hadn’t put much thought about this skill I had obtained and how it could actually help me throughout my career. The Career development presentation also gave some key attributes to help me as a student prepare for graduating, and those were Aptitude, Attitude and Academic performance (Chinnock 2012).I found that in order to gain these skills; study, employment, volunteer/community work, work experience and extra-curricular activities could help (Chinnock 2012). To which I did some further research and found that USQ offered the Phoenix Award, which is an award given to those who had d one extra-curricular, work experience and community work by accumulating points (The phoenix award 2012). I also gained information on how to get employment and work experience and where to find it, which was online at the CareerHub (Chinnock 2012).USQ also had a career mentoring program which in which I am assigned a mentor for six months to help with any questions, give guidance and provide goal setting for life outside of university in my given field (Chinnock 2012). She had also explained what workshops were intended for in regards to setting up university and life skills (Chinnock 2012). I had also learnt that USQ held events throughout the year such as, speed networking, a careers fair and Industry Experience Program (Chinnock 2012).One main event that had interested me was an Industry Experience Program which is ‘designed to assist student to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge’ (Chinnock 2012) thus allowing me to broaden my understanding of what to ex pect work wise, and give me career opportunities (Chinnock 2012). From what Catherine had taught me I was able to learn the importance of balance between university and personal life. I learnt about what USQ careers has to offer to help me really get a head start in my career as an accountant, the opportunities that can arise and the importance of community both at and after university.I was able to see how different skills, help improve job employability and that it’s not just about the academic results but also the extra mile that I as an individual can do in order to enhance my career. This also helped me identify my own strength and weaknesses in each of the skills to improve, and how I am able to do so to ensure that when I graduate I am able to graduate with all the skills needed to help maximize my employability.Because of this presentation it means that the phoenix award I had enrolled myself in at the start of semester will help me improve my career development skill s as well as still enjoy participating in activities. Because of this presentation it now means I am able to improve my skills and still collect point for my phoenix award, to become a more effective employee and person. Word count: 698 References ACC1101, Study Desk S2 2012, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed 24 August 2012, Chinnock, C 2012, Career Development Presentation, PowerPoint slides, ACC1101, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, viewed August 2012, < http://usqstudydesk. usq. edu. au/m2/pluginfile. php/57316/mod_folder/content/11/Career%20development%20presentation%20Toowoomba. mp4? forcedownload=1> The Phoenix award, 2012, USQ Student Guild, viewed 20 August 2012,

Pirates of the Caribbean Essay

There dynamic personalities of the many characters in Pirates of the Caribbean are a huge part of what made the movie so successful. Among those characters, there are some who contribute more to the plot by their actions and some who affect the other characters by their mere presence. Captain Barbosa and the Commodore have some obvious differences that divide them in the movie, but their similarities are much more important. As a pair of comic alazons, Barbosa and the Commodore play an important role in providing basis for comparison against Captain Jack Sparrow and further complicate the love story in the movie. Captain Barbosa is interesting character in that his actions are often represented in an amateur light. It is important remember the introduction of Barbosa if one is to understand his character. It is important to note that he is originally Jack Sparrow’s first mate, which immediately relegates Barbosa to a subordinate and thus, amateur position. He never really grows out of that and through the rest of the movie and there is never much indication that he is capable, either. One such example where this is evident occurs when Barbosa makes the mistake of thinking that Elizabeth is the daughter of Bootstrap Bill Turner. By attempting this important blood ritual using the wrong person, Barbosa shows just how much of an impostor he actually is. In addition to that, one of the primary characteristics of a comic alazon is their unique ability to get in the way of the primary love scene in the movie. In this case, Barbosa’s constant meddling with Elizabeth, Jack, and William spurns a host of different love-filled possibilities in the film. Like Captain Barbosa, the Commodore is an interesting character who has a big role in the film. His primary role as impostor comes from his relationship with Elizabeth. He sets out to marry her and the film allows him to get very close, but ultimately she settles on Will Turner as her true love. This sets up the Commodore as something of a joke from the very beginning. In addition, he can be seen as a comic alazon because of his failed methods in finding Elizabeth when she has been captured by Barbosa. It is interesting to note that the Commodore is completely against piracy, which is something of a strange idea considering how common it was during the movie’s time. It was almost as if he was on a mission to stop something that he had absolutely no ability to stop. The commodore is similar to Barbosa in many ways and the movie adeptly points this out. These two are similar in that they serve as a foil for Will Turner in his relationship with Elizabeth. In addition, both are seen as something of jokes, and they are not taken seriously by the other characters even though the one thing they want more than anything is to be taken seriously. In a way, Jack Sparrow just toys with both the Commodore and with Barbosa and though he is always in reach of them, he manages to make them look foolish and escape at the same time. This is the one reason why they are important to the plot. The basic characteristics of the two characters make them very different simply based upon the fact that Barbosa is a pirate who is hurting Elizabeth, while the Commodore is against piracy and loves Barbosa. Those things are purely superfluous to the story, though, as the more important theme has to be drawn both characters’ abilities to look foolish and completely inept at the same time. All in all, these characters are incredibly important to the story’s development. Though their differences are pronounced, their similarities are even more important. On both sides of the spectrum, they serve as something to laugh at and people for the main characters to constantly toy with for the entirety of the film.

Database Design and Implementation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Database Design and Implementation - Assignment Example A major downside of this site is that it is very slow. The seller is not required to pay any fee for posting an item for sale. The sites has strong measures and applications installed that ensures that it is fraud proof and the sellers can list as many items as they want as opposed to most online purchasing sites. E-bay is one of the leading online shopping market place where buyers and sellers transact a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. It has become a multi-billion dollar company after it was founded back in 1995. It has included buy-it-now as a standard shopping, an expansion from its original auction format. A number of items, from cars to antiques, are listed by a seller who then chooses to only accept bids for the item thus enabling the buyer to purchase the item immediately. The first buyer eager to pay the sellers stated price gets the item on a buy-it-now option. All the three sites have five major entities that is; the auction, product, payment, seller and the buyer. Of the four entities only three are actively involved at any given time, mostly, the auction, product and the buyer. The three entities have major common attributes across the three sites most of which were identified as the generic attributes. The product id, seller/.buyer id and the product id alongside other attributes formed the major attributes across the three sites. The other attributes that were rejected were either irrelevant or less important and could be retrieved through the major attributes such as the auction, seller/buyer or product ids. Normalizing the possible tables consisting of the entities alongside their attributes led to the rejection or dropping off of some attributes to avoid data redundancy. The product name, product description, product prices and product image from the auction table can be compressed into a different table named product with a primary key being product id. The auction table therefore will be normalized

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

Opinion Paper - Essay Example To me, the idea seems to be okay, and I am for the increment in the reimbursements dues to the reasons discussed below. One of the reasons that I see it appropriate for the reimbursements to be increased is to enable both nurses and doctors to acquire the relevant medications and equipments to serve the large numbers of patients. The increase will result in better services being given by the physicians. Increasing the reimbursements may also lead to an increase in the participation of the physicians and the patients access to Medicaid (Bryan, 2004). The reason I prospect this is because most of the physicians have made it clear that caring for those patients who use Medicaid would become an important part of their mission and thereby a campaign for the increment must be carried out. Another reason for the reimbursement increase is to reduce the struggle that the doctors experience while giving their services to the Medicaid population and at the same time keeping their practices financially viable (Herbert, 2012). The main reason why I say this is because, I have had the chance to interact with some nurses and one of them put it clear to me that, they were in a position of accepting more Medicaid patients if they were in a position to afford all what they required finances and facilities and this usually meant an increase in the reimbursements was necessary. To conclude, it is important for the physicians and the nurses to have a clear understanding of the healthcare financial aspects so that they help their clients in understanding the meaning of increasing the existed reimbursements. The financial knowledge affects the nursing care of patients in the health care settings in that, they will have hands-on information on how their funds are used and how an increase in their reimbursements will improve the services offered to them at the hospitals. The responsibility of keeping

Analysis modeling, Design Concepts and Architectural Design Assignment

Analysis modeling, Design Concepts and Architectural Design - Assignment Example ER diagrams reflect the relationship between entities and associated attributes in the data model, whereas class diagram reflects the relationship between classes and their associated attributes of the proposed system handling real-life business scenario. ER diagram defines underlying business logic in tables of database and their relation, whereas class diagram business process of objects into the real-world (Pressman, 2005). ER diagram provides logical representation of tables in the data model and their relationship. Class diagram defines the structural element of the system and their process to create software. Software design is not a program, but it defines high level abstraction or pieces of logic for satisfying business requirement from a client into creation and delivery of software before even coding starts (Pressman, 2005). Software design creates a plan from inception phase of software till final piece of software in alignment with desired outcomes expected from client. Software design needs to utilize all information available regarding business objective and technological requirement to make successful creation of software. Programming is an important aspect of software that requires data synchronization through communication between technical and business players to make information system successful. Different modules defining different functions of the program is a preferable option in comparison to putting whole logic into one large module because of maintenance, readability, debugging, and the ease of writing. Modular programming provides independence of developing and testing irrespective of what other different pieces of logic are doing. It also makes the main part of code easier to understand and maintain as only simple function and procedure is called instead of a large program written in the main section of

Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence - Essay Example These are analytical, experiential and practical intelligence. The above listed behaviours for both academic and everyday intelligence fit into Sternberg's theory. Academic intelligence corresponds with both experiential and componential intelligence, as defined by Sternberg. Experiential intelligence essentially refers to the capacity to comprehend tasks, even novel ones, and execute them efficiently. In relation to academic intelligence, it references the capacity to assimilate knowledge, comprehend abstract terms and apply that knowledge, including the translation of the abstract into the practical. As regards componential intelligence, it essentially refers to problem-solving which, in itself, is predicated on the intellectual analysis of the problem and the selection of the optimal solution. In others words, insofar as the behaviours listed for academic intelligence ultimately derive from the capacity to assimilate and apply new knowledge, they correspond to Sternberg's theory of intelligence. As regards the behaviours listed for everyday intelligence, they correspond with Sternberg's experiential and practical intelligence.

Philosophy Term Paper on Stereotype Encounters

Philosophy on Stereotype Encounters - Term Paper Example Individuals being stereotyped will feel that their behaviors are judged on the basis of their negative attitude instead from the basis of their personal merit. When people feel stereotyped their performance is undermined as they will feel their actions are under a lot of scrutiny, and this makes them loose their self esteem which will undermine their productivity (Dovidio et al, 2010). Stereotyping will make a person feel like a victim of social identity, and they will feel inferior if they are not able to cope with the stereotype and this will undermine their capability to make sound decisions and their productivity in the activity they are undertaking (Kemick, 2010). I have encountered various stereotypes the first one being that all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists. After the September 11 attacks in the United States, Muslims and Arabs have been stereotyped and have been rejected by other communities. The attacks were staged by the al-Qaida, which is a Muslim group and from this d ay people have had the notion that all Muslims are terrorists. This has denied Muslims many opportunities as people fear that they will attack them as they are connected to terrorists. After the attacks Muslims were under great scrutiny and they are treated with fear and rejection. Even the authorities at airports double checked their luggage and this made them fall victims of sterotyping.it was evident to note Muslims being stopped by police more than people from other cultures. This stereotype has had a negative impact on Muslims as it messes up with their self confidence caused by the belief that they are being sidelined or rejected by the community, and this undermines their

Bshs305 R2 Ethical Scenario Essay Example for Free

Bshs305 R2 Ethical Scenario Essay Read the following scenario: Shannon is a juvenile probation officer with the Department of Juvenile Justice. Recently, she covered her coworker, Janet’s client load, while Janet was on vacation. Shannon met with several of Janet’s clients. After meeting with clients, she discovered a pattern in which the clients would report that they have not seen Janet in 2 to 3 months. However, the case files reflected face-to-face contact with all of her clients, despite what her clients stated. When Shannon investigated further, she found that the client notes were all at the same day and time, which is unlikely. Further, several of Janet’s clients needed referrals for counseling, but Janet never completed them and has not followed up to ensure her clients are receiving the necessary services. Janet is a close friend of Shannon. Shannon does not want to get Janet in trouble but realizes something must be done. Answer, in a 75- to 100-word response, each of the following questions: 1. What are the ethical issues involved in the scenario? Human service professionals are obligated to provide high-quality service to their clients. Most codes of ethics indicate that the helper’s first responsibility is to enhance and protect the client’s welfare. One of the ethical standard is the human service professional’s responsibility to clients. Standard 2: â€Å"Human service professionals’ respect the integrity and welfare of the client at all times. Each client is treated with respect, acceptance, and dignity†. Unfortunately in this scenario Janet failed to respect her clients’ welfare. She not only had issues of breaking several ethical codes she literally failed her moral responsibility. 2. What client rights are involved in the scenario? The client has a right to actively participate in their treatment plan. They are privy to view their personal chart which would show them the fabricated notes of the helper. The system failed this client and the client is able to request for a new helper. Although the client has a right to a professional disclosure statement as to see the qualifications of his helper, chances are this helper would not disclose their unethical behavior. 3. What, if any, client rights were violated? I feel the clients rights were violated by the misguided treatment of the helper. The client was not treated with dignity, respect or integrity. They were violated in a as â€Å"helpers are ethically obligated to provide quality services†. Also the helping professional is committed to helping clients develop to the best of their abilities. The helper was not even servicing the client and in that aspect the client has been violated on several different levels of ethical codes. Ethical Decision Scenario BSHS/305 Version 2 2 4. How you would use the ethical decision-making model to address or resolve the situation? First of I would identify the problem which are two issues, first one is the clients are not receiving necessary services. Second issue is Janet lied on legal documents. I would review the ethical guidelines and consult with a co-worker as to how I should proceed with the probable course of action. I would then select the course of action and follow through with my obligation to assure clients receive due services and I would make sure Janet does not make this mistake again. I would report Janet’s actions to my supervisor and hope Janet understands that I am just doing my job.

Sr Research Experiment Builder

Sr Research Experiment Builder The SR Research Experiment Builder SREB is a visual experiment creation tool for use by Psychologists and Neuroscientists. The SREB is designed to be easy to use while maintaining a high degree of flexibility. This unique design combination allows for a wide range of experimental paradigms to be created by someone with little or no programming or scripting expertise. When used in combination with the SR Research EyeLink ® eye tracking system, the SREB provides seamless integration into the EyeLink hardware and software platform. Experiments are created in the Experiment Builder by dragging and dropping experiment components into a workspace and configuring the properties of the added components. There are two main classes of experiment components in the Experiment Builder: Actions and Triggers. Actions tell the computer to do something, like displaying a set of graphics on the screen or playing a sound. Triggers define the conditions that must be met before an action can be performed. The flow of the experiment is achieved by connecting sequentially related components in the workspace in a flow diagram like fashion. One of the important concepts in SR Research Experiment Builder is hierarchical organization of events in an experiment. A typical experiment can be dissected into several levels along a hierarchy of Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Blocks à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Trials à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Trial Runtime / Recording. All of the events within each level of this hierarchy can be conveniently wrapped in a loop (called sequence or sub-graph in Experiment Builder). This allows the whole sequence to be connected to other objects as a unit and be repeated several times in a row. Creating EyeLink Experiments To create an Experiment with SR Research Experiment Builder, the user needs to take the following the following steps: Experiment Design Building and Test-running Experiment Deploying Experiment Participant Data Set Randomization Data Collection Data Analysis Following these, a set of files are generated so that the experiment can be run for data collection without relying on the Experiment Builder application. To illustrate the use of Experiment Builder, a very simple eye-tracking experiment can be shown which runs three blocks of four trials. In each trial, a single word is displayed in the centre of the screen. Creating a New Experiment Session Click on the Experiment Builder to start a new session. When the application starts: Click on File à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ New on the application menu bar. In the following New Project dialog box, enter Simple in the Project Name edit box. Click on the button on the right end of the Project Location to browse to the directory where the experiment project should be saved. If you are manually entering the Project Location field, please make sure that the intended directory already exists. Make sure that EyeLink Experiment box is checked for an EyeLink experiment. Note: The user shouldnt manually add or remove files in the experiment directory. Configuring Experiment Preference Settings After a new experiment session is created, the user needs to check whether the default display and screen preference settings are fine for the experiment to be created. Select Edit à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Preferences from the application menu bar or press the F4 key. Click on Preferences à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Devices à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Display to check display settings. Make sure that the settings (Width, Height, Bits per Pixel, and Refresh Rate) used are supported by your video card and monitor. Click on Preferences à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Screen to check Screen Builder settings. Set the Location Type as Center Position. If any of the above settings have been changed and if you want to keep the new settings as defaults for all of your future experiments, click on the button save properties as default. Creating Experiment Block Sequence The first step is to add a block sequence for repeating blocks: Click on the Experiment Tab in the Project Explorer Window to start. Click on the Action Tab of component toolbox. Select the Sequence node, hold down the left mouse button and drag it into the work area. Place the mouse cursor on top of the START node; hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse cursor on top of the SEQUENCE node. This makes the connection from the START node to SEQUENCE node. (Note: dont make a single or double click on the START node as this will select the node instead. If you have done so, place the mouse cursor on a blank area in the work space and make a single click there. Redo the current step again.) Click on any blank area in the work window. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu. This will re-arrange the nodes in a hierarchical fashion. Click on the SEQUENCE node in the structure list to continue. Editing Block Sequence Next, one will need to edit the properties of the Block Sequence. This involves changing the Label of the sequence to make it more meaningful and changing the iteration count (total number of times a sequence must be executed) to the actual number of blocks to be tested. Click on the value field of the Label property of the Sequence created. Write BLOCK in the text editor and press the ENTER key to finish. Click on the Iteration Count value field and enter 3 as the total number of sequence loops. In the experiment Work Space, double click on the Sequence object to continue. In each block, one has to first give an instruction, perform a camera setup, calibration, and then run the trials (an example has been given below) Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the Display screen action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Click on the Trigger Tab of the component toolbox, select the Keyboard trigger, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Add an EyeLink © Button trigger to the work space. Add a Timer trigger to the work space. Click on the Timer trigger and set the duration to 20000 msec. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox and add a Camera Setup action to the work space. Click on the action and set the Background Color to white (255, 255, 255). Click on the Action Tab of toolbox and add a Sequence node to the work space. This will be our trial sequence. Place the mouse cursor on top of the START node. Hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse on top of the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. This makes the connection from the start node to the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. Similarly, connect from DISPLAY_SCREEN to KEYBOARD, EL_BUTTON, TIMER triggers. Note that a number is added to these connections, indicating the evaluation order among the three trigger types. Make the connection from the latter three triggers to the EL_CAMERA_SETUP node and from EL_CAMERA_SETUP to the SEQUENCE node. Click at any blank area in the work window. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu. This will re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Double click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN object in the work space (not from the structure list) until the Screen Builder interfaces displayed in the Graph Editor Window. Creating Instruction Screen The user may want to provide instruction to the participants at the beginning of the experiment. This can be done by creating an image file containing the experiment instructions and then using DISPLAY_SCREEN action to show the image. The instruction text can also be created with the multiline text resource. In the current example, multiline text resource text source is used. Click on the multiline text resource button on the screen builder toolbar to select the type of resource to be added. Click anywhere on the screen. In the following Multiline Text Resource Editor: Enter the instruction text. Press CTRL + A to select all text entered. Click the Margins button box to set the text margins. Enter 100 (or desired value) in all fields. Click the OK button on the dialog box. Make sure that the text is still selected. Now click the buttons on the toolbar to set the desired text appearance (font name, font size, font style, alignment style, line spacing, and text colour). Click on the Close button at the top right corner of the dialog to finish. To work with images instead of texts: The image resource is flexible enough to accommodate various modes of displaying (e.g., original image size vs. stretched, top-left aligned or centred). The following discusses the option of displaying images in original size or stretching it to a specific dimension. To display the image in original size, after the image is added to the display, the user should have Use Original Size field of the image checked. Please note that, enabling that field will also make several attributes read-only (Width, Height, Clipping Location, Clipping Width, Clipping Height, and Clipping Area is Gaze Contingent). To stretch all images to a fixed width and height (1024 ÃÆ'- 768 for example), after the image is added to the display, the user should first make sure that the Use Original Size field is unchecked. Check the values of Width and Height fields of sample image added and adjust them if necessary. In addition, the user may need to check the values of Clipping Location, Clipping Width and Clipping Height attributes, which are used to control the part of the image to be shown. By default, the clipping width and height are the same as the image width and height. Please note that the clipping location is always top-left based and the location is relative to the top-left corner of the image. If images are stretched to different dimensions, the user should add two columns in the experiment data source to specify the desired image width and height. After the sample image is added to the display, the user should refer the width, height, clip width, and clip height of the image to the two columns created in the data source. Editing Trial Sequence: Data Source Next, one will have to work on the sequence, which will contain all necessary triggers and actions in each trial. One would also have to create a data source to be used for setting parameters in individual trials. Click on the last SEQUENCE node on the structure list to start. In the property table, click on the value field of LABEL. Set it to TRIAL. Click on the Data Source property to bring up Data Source Editor. Click on the Add Column button. In the following dialog box, type Trial (without quotation marks) in the Column Name editor box and set Column type as Number. Click OK button to finish. Click on the Add Column button again. Set the Column Name as Word and Column type as String. Click OK button to finish. Click on the Add Row button. Enter the desired number (here 12) in the Number of Rows edit box to generate the number of rows of empty cells (here 12). Click on the empty cells of the table just generated. For this example, the values of the Trial column are set as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. For the word column, the following strings have been used: One, Two, Three, Four, till Twelve. Click on the Split by value field. Enter a value (here [4]. This makes sure that only 4 trials are run in each block.) Double click on the TRIAL sequence node in the structure list. Click on Start node under it to continue. Editing Trial Sequence: Preparing Sequence and Drift Correction Each recording trial should begin with a prepare sequence action, followed by a drift correction action, and then by the actual trial recording. The prepare sequence action allows the user to preload the image files or audio clips for real-time image drawing or sound playing, to draw feedback graphics on the Host PC to evaluate participants performance, and to reinitialize trigger settings. The user should typically call this action before performing a drift correction. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the Prepare Sequence action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work space. Click on the added PREPARE SEQUENCE action and review the settings in the property table. Make sure to check Draw To EyeLink Host field is set to IMAGE or PRIMITIVE. This will draw image or simple graphics on the host screen for the purpose of evaluating gaze accuracy. Add a Drift Correction action from the action tab of the component toolbox. Click on the Action Tab of toolbox, select the Sequence node, hold down the left mouse button and drag it into the work space. Make a connection from the START node to PREPARE_SEQUENCE, from PREPARE_SEQUENCE to DRIFT_CORRECTION, and from DRIFT_CORRECT to the SEQUENCE node. Click on any blank area in the Work Space. Click the right mouse button and select Arrange Layout in the popup menu to re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Double click on the newly created sequence to fill in the actual events in the recording. Editing Recording Sequence In a simple recording sequence, one has to display a screen and then wait for a button press response from the participant. The trial times out automatically if no response is made within a user specified time interval in seconds. The display screen is then cleared. Select the newly added Sequence node. Rename the label as RECORDING. Make sure that the Record and Is Real time checkboxes are checked. Double click on the RECORDING node in the structure list until seeing a START node under it. As we double click on the START node, the content of the work area window is also updated. Click on the Action Tab of the component toolbox, select the display screen action, hold down the left mouse button and drag the action into the work area. Click on the Triggers Tab of toolbox, select the TIMER node, hold down the left mouse button and drag the trigger into the work space. Double click on the Timer object. Enter Time out (without quote) in the Message value field and 10000 (time in ms) in the duration field. Add an EyeLink © Button trigger. Add another display screen action. Double click on the action and modify its label as DISPLAY_BLANK. Also uncheck the Send EyeLink DV Message box. Make a connection from the START node to DISPLAY_SCREEN, from DISPLAY_SCREEN to TIMER, from DISPLAY_SCREEN to EL_BUTTON, from TIMER to DISPLAY_BLANK and from EL_BUTTON to DISPLAY_BLANK. Click at any blank area in the work space, then click the right mouse button and select Layout à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in the popup menu. Click ok in the following dialog box. This will re-arrange the nodes in an orderly fashion. Modifying Properties of Display Screen One must first need to check the property settings of the display screen actions. For better Data Viewer integration and for reaction time calculation, a message should be written to the EDF file to indicate the time when the stimulus was visible to the participants. In addition, one may need to draw simple graphics onto the host screen so that the participants gaze accuracy during recording can be evaluated. Click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN node. In the property window of the action, double click on the value field of Message property. Type in SYNCTIME and then press ENTER key to register the change. Make sure that the Send EyeLink © DV Messages and Use for Host Display properties are checked. Select the DISPLAY_BLANK action. Double click on the value field of Message property. Type in blank_screen and then press ENTER key to register the change. Make sure that both Send EyeLink © DV Messages and Use for Host Display checkboxes for the DISPLAY_BLANK action is unchecked. Creating Display Screen In here, one has to add a text resource to the display screen and modify the properties of the text resource, such as font name, size, text to be displayed, and alignment style. One also must have to create an interest area for the text. To do this, first double click on the DISPLAY_SCREEN object in the work space, until the screen builder interface is displayed in the Graph Editor Window. Click on the Insert Text Resource button on the Screen Builder tool bar, and click at any position in the work area. Double click on the current value of Font Name (New Times Roman). This will bring up a dropdown list. Set the new font name as Arial (or any other). Double click on the current value of Font Size (20). Enter the desired text size (40) in the text editor. Double click on the far right end of the value field of the Text property. This will bring up an attribute editor dialog. Click on DataSource node under TRIAL sequence on the node selection list. Double click on the word node in the node attributes window. This will update the contents of Attribute editor dialog as @[emailprotected]. Click on the OK button to finish. Check the Use Runtime Word Segment box. This will create interest area automatically for the text used. Select the newly added text resource, click on both Horizontal Center Alignment and Vertical Center Alignment buttons to place the text in the center of the screen. Select the text resource on the work area, click the right mouse button, and select the Lock Selection option so that the resource will not be moved accidentally. Writing Trial ID to EDF file A TRIALID message should be written to the EDF file so that the actual experiment condition under which the trial was conducted can be identified during analysis. Click on the Experiment (the topmost) node in the structure list to start. In the property table, click on the value field of the EyeLink © DV Variables property. In the following dialog box, for each of the variables to be added to the trial ID message, select the variable and click the ADD button. The order of the selected variables can be modified with the Move up and Move down buttons. Click on OK to finish. Showing Experiment Progress Message on Tracker Screen During trial recording, a text message can be displayed at the bottom of the tracker screen so that the experimenter can be informed of the experiment progress. For example, in this experiment, a text message like Trial 1/12 One on the tracker screen was shown. Click on the Recording sequence node in the structure list to start. In the property panel, click on the far right end of the value field of the EyeLink © Record Status Message property. In the attribute editor, enter an equation as: =Trial + str(@[emailprotected]) + /12 +str(@[emailprotected]) Click on the OK button to finish. Building the Experiment Click on Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Build menu to build the experiment. The Editor Selection Tab in the Graph Editor Window will be set to the Output tab and build information will be displayed. Watch out for error (displayed in red) and warning (in brown) messages during building. The following is a list of common errors during experiment building: Image file not found No positions are added to the custom pattern Use of runtime value with pre-build to image option on No value is set at row for the column The node could not be used in the sequence Reference to not found in the graph. No link from node. Infinite loop found Invalid Reference. No recording sequence found in an EyeLink © experiment. The following is a list of common warnings during experiment building: The keyboard trigger and mouse trigger is used in a real-time sequence. If this is the case, check whether these two triggers are indispensable for the experiment design. If so, uncheck the Is Real-time box in the recording sequence. Default value use in attribute The user may also test the experiment by clicking on Experiment à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾ Run from the application menu-bar. This will try to connect to the tracker PC and execute the experiment code. It should be noted that this should only be used for the purpose of testing and debugging experiment code. To collect experiment data, the user should use the deployed version of the experiment as it does not have to rely on the Experiment Builder application and can be run on a different computer. Deploying the Experiment After the experiment is built, the user must deploy the experiment to a new. This will generate a set of files so that the experiment can be run on a different computer without relying on the Experiment Builder application. If a data source is used, this will create a datasets subdirectory with a copy of data set file in it. The user can create several copies of data set files with the randomizer application Running the Experiment To run the experiment, open the directory where the experiment is deployed to and click on .exe. If the EyeLink © host application is already running on the Host PC and the Ethernet connection and settings between the host and Display PCs are ok, the experiment should now start. This will first popup a dialog box asking for the data source file. Go to the datasets directory and select the target data source file. Following this, enter the desired EDF file name (must be in DOS 8.3 format) and click on the OK button to continue. Following the initial welcome message, the participant will be shown the camera setup and calibration screen and the recording can be started following calibration, validation, and drift correction. After the experiment has ended; an EDF file will be transferred to the Display PC. It may take some time to complete the file transfer. Possible Errors Error in Initializing Graphics: When you start the experiment and see an Error Initializing Graphics error, please check whether the display settings (screen resolution, colour bits, and refresh rate) specified for the experiment are supported by your video card. If not, please change the Preferences à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Devices à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Display settings. Error in Tracker Version: SR Research Experiment Builder works well with both EyeLink and EyeLink II eye trackers. The default tracker version is set to EyeLink II (see Preferences à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Experiment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Devices à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ EyeLink). Therefore, EyeLink I users may see such an error message with the default tracker setting. If this is the case, please set the tracker-version in the device settings to EyeLink I. Participant Data Set Randomization In most experiments, the user will need to randomize trial order so that the experiment materials are not presented in the same sequence across participants. Randomization of data source can be done with either an internal randomizer or an external randomizer. These two randomization methods are almost identical and therefore the user may use the internal randomizer to perform randomization unless counterbalancing or Latin-square designs are needed. The configuration of the internal randomization settings should be done before deploying the experiment project whereas the external randomization can be done after deploying the experiment project. Data Collection Data can now be collected from the deployed version of the experiment. Double click on the executable file in the deployed experiment directory or type in the .exe file name from the command-line prompt. If the experiment uses a data source, a dialog will be displayed, allowing the user to choose the appropriate data source file. In an EyeLink © Experiment, the user will also be asked to enter the experiment session name. At the End of experiment, an EDF file will be generated for EyeLink © recording session and saved in the experiment directory. Optional result file(s) will be created if the user has specified them in EyeLink © and non-EyeLink © experiments. Data Analysis EyeLink © recording file can be conveniently analyzed with EyeLink © Data Viewer as the experiments created with Experiment Builder are fully integrated with this analysis tool. Experiment Builder sends messages to the data file so that images or simple drawing can be added as overlay background. The user can also specify trial variables, create interest areas, and send messages for the ease of data analysis. The result file(s) from a non-EyeLink © recording session contains columnar outputs for selected variables in the experiment. This file can be easily loaded by common statistics packages. Lists of Application Menu Bar and Toolbar File Menu and Tool Buttons Edit Menu and Tool Buttons Experiment Menu and Tool Buttons Help Menu Lists of Actions, Triggers and Other Node Types Actions Triggers Other Node Types