Saturday, August 31, 2019

Motivation and Employees Essay

Motivation is the word derived from the word ’motive’ which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context the psychological factors stimulating the people’s behaviour can be – * desire for money * success * recognition * job-satisfaction * team work, etc| One of the most important functions of management is to create willingness amongst the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is to arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs. The process of motivation consists of three stages:- 1. A felt need or drive 2. A stimulus in which needs have to be aroused 3. When needs are satisfied, the satisfaction or accomplishment of goals. Therefore, we can say that motivation is a psychological phenomenon which means needs and wants of the individuals have to be tackled by framing an incentive plan. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943. This theory is a classical depiction of human motivation. This theory is based on the assumption that there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The urgency of these needs varies. These five needs are as follows- 1. Physiological needs- These are the basic needs of air, water, food, clothing and shelter. In other words, physiological needs are the needs for basic amenities of life. 2. Safety needs- Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional safety and protection. For instance- Job security, financial security, protection from animals, family security, health security, etc. 3. Social needs- Social needs include the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and friendship. 4. Esteem needs- Esteem needs are of two types: internal esteem needs (self- respect, confidence, competence, achievement and freedom) and external esteem needs (recognition, power, status, attention and admiration). 5. Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what you are capable of becoming / what you have the potential to become. It includes the need for growth and self-contentment. It also includes desire for gaining more knowledge, social- service, creativity and being aesthetic. The self- actualization needs are never fully satiable. As an individual grows psychologically, opportunities keep cropping up to continue growing. According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow grouped the five needs into two categories – Higher-order needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally. The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual. Thus, we can conclude that during boom period, the employees lower-order needs are significantly met. Implications of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory for Managers | As far as the physiological needs are concerned, the managers should give employees appropriate salaries to purchase the basic necessities of life. Breaks and eating opportunities should be given to employees. | | As far as the safety needs are concerned, the managers should provide the employees job security, safe and hygienic work environment, and retirement benefits so as to retain them.| | As far as social needs are concerned, the management should encourage teamwork and organize social events.| | As far as esteem needs are concerned, the managers can appreciate and reward employees on accomplishing and exceeding their targets. The management can give the deserved employee higher job rank / position in the organization.| | As far as self-actualization needs are concerned, the managers can give the employees challenging jobs in which the employees’ skills and competencies are fully utilized. Moreover, growth opportunities can be given to them so that they can reach the peak.| The managers must identify the need level at which the employee is existing and then those needs can be utilized as push for motivation. Limitations of Maslow’s Theory * It is essential to note that not all employees are governed by same set of needs. Different individuals may be driven by different needs at same point of time. It is always the most powerful unsatisfied need that motivates an individual. * The theory is not empirically supported. * The theory is not applicable in case of starving artist as even if the artist’s basic needs are not satisfied, he will still strive for recognition and achievement. HERZBERG’S 2 FACTOR THEORY In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of â€Å"Satisfaction† is â€Å"No satisfaction† and the opposite of â€Å"Dissatisfaction† is â€Å"No Dissatisfaction†. Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories- a. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are non-existant at workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are those factors which when adequate / reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job environment / scenario. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include: * Pay- The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It must be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain. * Company Policies and administrative policies- The company policies should not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc. * Fringe benefits- The employees should be offered health care plans (mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes, etc. * Physical Working conditions- The working conditions should be safe, clean and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained. * Status- The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar and retained. * Interpersonal relations-The relationship of the employees with his peers, superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should be no conflict or humiliation element present. * Job Security- The organization must provide job security to the employees. b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for a superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include: * Recognition- The employees should be praised and recognized for their accomplishments by the managers. * Sense of achievement- The employees must have a sense of achievement. This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job. * Growth and promotional opportunities- There must be growth and advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well. * Responsibility- The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work. The managers should give them ownership of the work. They should minimize control but retain accountability. * Meaningfulness of the work- The work itself should be meaningful, interesting and challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated. | | Limitations of Two-Factor Theory The two factor theory is not free from limitations: 1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables. 2. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity. But the research conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and ignored productivity. 3. The theory’s reliability is uncertain. Analysis has to be made by the raters. The raters may spoil the findings by analyzing same response in different manner. 4. No comprehensive measure of satisfaction was used. An employee may find his job acceptable despite the fact that he may hate/object part of his job. 5. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural reaction of employees when they are enquired the sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. They will blame dissatisfaction on the external factors such as salary structure, company policies and peer relationship. Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for the satisfaction factor at work. 6. The theory ignores blue-collar workers. Despite these limitat ions, Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory is acceptable broadly. Implications of Two-Factor Theory | The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder and better. This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job must utilize the employee’s skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational factors can improve work-quality.| McGREGOR’S THEORY X & Y In 1960, Douglas McGregor formulated Theory X and Theory Y suggesting two aspects of human behaviour at work, or in other words, two different views of individuals (employees): one of which is negative, called as Theory X and the other is positive, so called as Theory Y. According to McGregor, the perception of managers on the nature of individuals is based on various assumptions.Assumptions of Theory X * An average employee intrinsically does not like work and tries to escape it whenever possible. * Since the employee does not want to work, he must be persuaded, compelled, or warned with punishment so as to achieve organizational goals. A close supervision is required on part of managers. The managers adopt a more dictatorial style. * Many employees rank job security on top, and they have little or no aspiration/ ambition. * Employees generally dislike responsibilities. * Employees resist change. * An average employee needs formal direction.| Assumptions of Theory Y * Employees can perceive their job as relaxing and normal. They exercise their physical and mental efforts in an inherent manner in their jobs. * Employees may not require only threat, external control and coercion to work, but they can use self-direction and self-control if they are dedicated and sincere to achieve the organizational objectives. * If the job is rewarding and satisfying, then it will result in employees’ loyalty and commitment to organization. * An average employee can learn to admit and recognize the responsibility. In fact, he can even learn to obtain responsibility. * The employees have skills and capabilities. Their logical capabilities should be fully utilized. In other words, the creativity, resourcefulness and innovative potentiality of the employees can be utilized to solve organizational problems. Thus, we can say that Theory X presents a pessimistic view of employees’ nature and behaviour at work, while Theory Y presents an optimistic view of the employees’ nature and behaviour at work. If correlate it with Maslow’s theory, we can say that Theory X is based on the assumption that the employees emphasize on the physiological needs and the safety needs; while Theory X is based on the assumption that the social needs, esteem needs and the self-actualization needs dominate the employees. McGregor views Theory Y to be more valid and reasonable than Theory X. Thus, he encouraged cordial team relations, responsible and stimulating jobs, and participation of all in decision-making process. Implications of Theory X and Theory Y | Quite a few organizations use Theory X today. Theory X encourages use of tight control and supervision. It implies that employees are reluctant to organizational changes. Thus, it does not encourage innovation.| | Many organizations are using Theory Y techniques. Theory Y implies that the managers should create and encourage a work environment which provides opportunities to employees to take initiative and self-direction. Employees should be given opportunities to contribute to organizational well-being. Theory Y encourages decentralization of authority, teamwork and participative decision making in an organization. Theory Y searches and discovers the ways in which an employee can make significant contributions in an organization. It harmonizes and matches employees’ needs and aspirations with organizational needs and aspirations.| MOTIVATION INCENTIVES – INCENTIVES TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES Incentive is an act or promise for greater action. It is also called as a stimulus to greater action. Incentives are something which are given in addition to wagers. It means additional remuneration or benefit to an employee in recognition of achievement or better work. Incentives provide a spur or zeal in the employees for better performance. It is a natural thing that nobody acts without a purpose behind. Therefore, a hope for a reward is a powerful incentive to motivate employees. Besides monetary incentive, there are some other stimuli which can drive a person to better. This will include job satisfaction, job security, job promotion, and pride for accomplishment. Therefore, incentives really can sometimes work to accomplish the goals of a concern. The need of incentives can be many:- 1. To increase productivity, 2. To drive or arouse a stimulus work, 3. To enhance commitment in work performance, 4. To psychologically satisfy a person which leads to job satisfaction, 5. To shape the behavior or outlook of subordinate towards work, 6. To inculcate zeal and enthusiasm towards work, 7. To get the maximum of their capabilities so that they are exploited and utilized maximally. Therefore, management has to offer the following two categories of incentives to motivate employees:- 1. Monetary incentives- Those incentives which satisfy the subordinates by providing them rewards in terms of rupees. Money has been recognized as a chief source of satisfying the needs of people. Money is also helpful to satisfy the social needs by possessing various material items. Therefore, money not only satisfies psychological needs but also the security and social needs. Therefore, in many factories, various wage plans and bonus schemes are introduced to motivate and stimulate the people to work. 2. Non-monetary incentives- Besides the monetary incentives, there are certain non-financial incentives which can satisfy the ego and self- actualization needs of employees. The incentives which cannot be measured in terms of money are under the category of â€Å"Non- monetary incentivesâ⠂¬ . Whenever a manager has to satisfy the psychological needs of the subordinates, he makes use of non-financial incentives. Non- financial incentives can be of the following types:- a. Security of service- Job security is an incentive which provides great motivation to employees. If his job is secured, he will put maximum efforts to achieve the objectives of the enterprise. This also helps since he is very far off from mental tension and he can give his best to the enterprise. b. Praise or recognition- The praise or recognition is another non- financial incentive which satisfies the ego needs of the employees. Sometimes praise becomes more effective than any other incentive. The employees will respond more to praise and try to give the best of their abilities to a concern. c. Suggestion scheme- The organization should look forward to taking suggestions and inviting suggestion schemes from the subordinates. This inculcates a spirit of participation in the employees. This can be done by publishing various articles written by employees to improve the work environment which can be published in various magazines of the company. This also is helpful to motivate the employees to feel important and they can also be in search for innovative methods which can be applied for better work methods. This ultimately helps in growing a concern and adapting new methods of operations. d. Job enrichment- Job enrichment is another non- monetary incentive in which the job of a worker can be enriched. This can be done by increasing his responsibilities, giving him an important designation, increasing the content and nature of the work. This way efficient worker can get challenging jobs in which they can prove their worth. This also helps in the greatest motivation of the efficient employees. e. Promotion opportunities- Promotion is an effective tool to increase the spirit to work in a concern. If the employees are provided opportunities for the advancement and growth , they feel satisfied and contented and they become more committed to the organization. The above non- financial tools can be framed effectively by giving due concentration to the role of employees. A combination of financial and non- financial incentives help together in bringing motivation and zeal to work in a concern. Positive IncentivesPositive incentives are those incentives which provide a positive assurance for fulfilling the needs and wants. Positive incentives generally have an optimistic attitude behind and they are generally given to satisfy the psychological requirements of employees. For example-promotion, praise, recognition, perks and allowances, etc. It is positive by nature.Negative IncentivesNegative incentives are those whose purpose is to correct the mistakes or defaults of employees. The purpose is to rectify mistakes in order to get effective results. Negative incentive is generally resorted to when positive incentive does not works and a psychological set back has to be given to employees. It is negative by nature. For example- demotion, transfer , fines, penalties.| THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION Motivation is a very important for an organization because of the following benefits it provides:- 1. Puts human resources into action Every concern requires physical, financial and human resources to accomplish the goals. It is through motivation that the human resources can be utilized by making full use of it. This can be done by building willingness in employees to work. This will help the enterprise in securing best possible utilization of resources. 2. Improves level of efficiency of employees The level of a subordinate or a employee does not only depend upon his qualifications and abilities. For getting best of his work performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level of performance of subordinates. This will result into- a. Increase in productivity, b. Reducing cost of operations, and c. Improving overall efficiency. 3. Leads to achievement of organizational goals The goals of an enterprise can be achieved only when the following factors take place :- d. There is best possible utilization of resources, e. There is a co-operative work environment, f. The employees are goal-directed and they act in a purposive manner, g. Goals can be achieved if co-ordination and co-operation takes place simultaneously which can be effectively done through motivation. 4. Builds friendly relationship Motivation is an important factor which brings employees satisfaction. This can be done by keeping into mind and framing an incentive plan for the benefit of the employees. This could initiate the following things: h. Monetary and non-monetary incentives, i. Promotion opportunities for employees, j. Disincentives for inefficient employees. In order to build a cordial, friendly atmosphere in a concern, the above steps should be taken by a manager. This would help in: a. Effective co-operation which brings stability, b. Industrial dispute and unrest in employees will reduce, c. The employees will be adaptable to the changes and there will be no resistance to the change, d. This will help in providing a smooth and sound concern in which individual interests will coincide with the organizational interests, e. This will result in profit maximization through increased productivity. 1. Leads to stability of work force Stability of workforce is very important from the point of view of reputation and goodwill of a concern. The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise only when they have a feeling of participation in the management. The skills and efficiency of employees will always be of advantage to employees as well as employees. This will lead to a good public image in the market which will attract competent and qualified people into a concern. As it is said, â€Å"Old is gold† which suffices with the role of motivation here, the older the people, more the experience and their adjustment into a concern which can be of benefit to the enterprise. From the above discussion, we can say that motivation is an internal feeling which can be understood only by manager since he is in close contact with the employees. Needs, wants and desires are inter-related and they are the driving force to act. These needs can be understood by the manager and he can frame motivation plans accordingly. We can say that motivation therefore is a continuous process since motivation process is based on needs which are unlimited. The process has to be continued throughout. We can summarize by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a business. Motivation is important to an individual as: 1. Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals. 2. If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction. 3. Motivation will help in self-development of individual. 4. An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team. Similarly, motivation is important to a business as: 1. The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is. 2. The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable and successful is the business. 3. During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity. 4. Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place. Staff Motivation – Motivation Tips for Employees Employees are the building blocks of an organization. Organizational success depends on the collective efforts of the employees. The employees will collectively contribute to organizational growth when they are motivated. Below mentioned are some tips for motivating the staff / employees in an organization: Evaluate yourself- In order to motivate, encourage and control your staff’s behaviour, it is essential to understand, encourage and control your own behaviour as a manager. Work upon utilizing your strengths and opportunities to neutralize and lower the negative impact of your weaknesses and organizational threats. The manager should adopt the approach â€Å"You’re OK – I’m OK†. Be familiar with your staff- The manager should be well acquainted with his staff. The more and the better he knows his staff, the simpler it is to get them involved in the job as well as in achieving the team and organizational goals. This will also invite staff’s commitment and loyalty. A cordial superior-subordinate relationship is a key factor in job-satisfaction. Provide the employees certain benefits- Give your staff some financial and other benefits. Give them bonuses, pay them for overtime, and give them health and family insurance benefits. Make sure they get breaks from work. Let them enjoy vacations and holidays. Participate in new employees induction programme- Induction proceeds with recruitment advertising. At this point of time, the potential entrants start creating their own impressions and desires about the job and the organization. The manner in which the selection is conducted and the consequent recruitment process will either build or damage the impression about the job and organization. Thus, the manager must have a say in framing the advertisement and also in the selection and recruitment process. After the decision about the candidate is made, the manager must take personal interest in the selected joinee’s joining date, the family relocation issues, cost of removal, etc. Being observed by the new recruit and your entire team / staff to be involved completely, will ensure a persuasive entry in the organization. Provide feedback to the staff constantly- The staff members are keen to know how they are performing. Try giving a regular and constructive feedback to your staff. This will be more acceptable by the staff. Do not base the feedback on assumptions, but on facts and personal observations. Do not indulge in favouritism or comparing the employee with some one else. Sit with your staff on daily or weekly basis and make sure that feedback happens. This will help in boosting employee’s morale and will thus motivate the staff. Acknowledge your staff on their achievements- A pat on the back, some words of praise, and giving a note of credit to the employee / staff member at personal level with some form of broad publicity can motivate the staff a lot. Make it a point to mention the staff’s outstanding achievements in official newsletters or organization’s journal. Not only acknowledge the employee with highest contribution, but also acknowledge the employee who meets and over exceeds the targets. Ensure effective time management- Having control over time ensures that things are done in right manner. Motivate your staff to have â€Å"closed† times, i.e., few hours when there are no interruptions for the staff in performing their job role so that they can concentrate on the job, and â€Å"open† times when the staff freely communicate and interact. Plan one to one sessions of interaction with your staff where they can ask their queries and also can get your attention and, thereby, they will not feel neglected. This all will work in long run to motivate the staff. Have stress management techniques in your organization- Create an environment in which you and your staff can work within optimum pressure levels. Ensure an optimistic attitude towards stress in the workplace. Have training sessions on stress management, and ensure a follow-up with group meetings on the manner stress can be lowered at work. Give your staff autonomy in work. Identify the stress symptoms in employees and try to deal with them. Smile often- Smiling can have a tremendous effect on boosting the morale of the staff. A smiling superior creates an optimistic and motivating work environment. Smiling is an essential component of the body language of confidence, acceptance and boldness. Smile consistently, naturally and often, to demonstrate that you feel good and positive about the staff who works for you. It encourages new ideas and feedback from the staff. The staff does not feel hesitant and threatened to discuss their views this way. Listen effectively- Listening attentively is a form of recognizing and appreciating the person who is talking. Reciprocal / Mutual listening develops cordial and healthy personal relationships on which the employee / staff development rests. If the managers do not listen attentively to the subordinates, the morale of the subordinates lowers down and they do not feel like sharing their ideas or giving their views. Effective listening by the manager boosts up the employees’ morale and thus motivates them. Ensure effective communication- In order to motivate your staff, indulge in effective communication such as avoid using anger expressions, utilize questioning techniques to know staff’s mindset and analysis rather than ordering the staff what to do, base your judgements on facts and not on assumptions, use relaxed and steady tone of voice, listen effectively and be positive and helpful in your responses. Share your views with the staff. Develop and encourage creativity- The staff should be encouraged to develop the creativity skills so as to solve organizational problems. Give them time and resources for developing creativity. Let them hold constant brainstorming sessions. Invite ideas and suggestions from the staff. They may turn out to be very productive. Don’t be rigid. Be flexible- Introduce flexibility in work. Allow for flexible working hours if possible. Let the employees work at home occasionally if need arises. Do not be rigid in accepting ideas from your staff. Stimulate flexible attitudes in the employees who are accountable to you by asking what changes they would like to bring about if given a chance. Adopt job enrichment- Job enrichment implies giving room for a better quality of working life. It means facilitating people to achieve self-development, fame and success through a more challenging and interesting job which provides more promotional and advancement opportunities. Give employees more freedom in job, involve them in decision-making process, show them loyalty and celebrate their achievements Respect your team- Respect not only the employees’ rights to share and express their views, and to be themselves, but their time too. This will ensure that the employees respect you and your time. Make the staff feel that they are respected not just as employees / workers but as individuals too.

Friday, August 30, 2019

World War I and the War in Iraq

World War I was the great armed conflict of 1914-18. Until World War II, it was often called the Great War because it was the most destructive and widespread war the world had ever seen. Wold War I began as a local conflict over a minor issue. Eventually it engulfed much of Europe and drew in, directly or indirectly, the entire major powers of the world. The first declaration of war was made by Austria-Hungary against Serbia (now part of Yugoslavia) on July 28, 1914. Before the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, 28 nations (counting the British Empire as one nation) were directly engaged in the conflict (Roth, pp. 216-218/ 2003). On one side were France, Belgium, the British Empire, Russia, and Serbia; and, later, Japan, Italy, the United States, and 16 other countries. They were called the Allied and Associated Powers, or the Allies. The opposing side consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey, and Bulgaria. They were known as the Central Powers. After the war, there were reduced to small separate states and Czechoslovakia was created from Austro-Hungarian territory in Central Europe. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (which became Yugoslavia in 1929) was established, comprising Austro-Hungarian lands in the Balkans and the kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro. Poland, which had been partitioned among the Germans, Austrians, and Russians in the 18th century, was re-established along its historical borders (Brook-Shepard, pp. 64-67/ 2002). Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were freed from Russian domination. In the Middle East, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Hejaz, (a territory within modern Saudi Arabia), Transjordan (modern Jordan), and Palestine were carved out of the Ottoman Empire. France’s quick defeat in World War II has been attributed, at least in part, to the devastation it suffered in World War I. The vast system of overseas holdings of Great Britain began to change from an empire to a commonwealth. The war was at least partly responsible for the success of the Russian revolution and the rise of Communism. The United States, after the war, its first experience of being involved in European affairs, declined to take a role as a world leader and retreated into isolationism, refusing to join the League of Nations (Robbins, pp. 161-164/ 2004). Many people thought of World War I as â€Å"the war to end all wars,† fought â€Å"to make the world safe for democracy. † Because of an overly harsh peace treaty, the weakness of the League of Nations, a worldwide economic depression, and the rise of fascism, the war had the opposite effect. It made the Second World War almost inevitable. About four years ago, on the 20th of March 2003, a multinational military force marched in to Iraq. More than 40 countries joined in together to form a coalition force, with the US providing the most number of invading forces to oust Saddam Hussein’s regime. Amidst protests and anti-war campaigns around the world, the coalition force led by the United States and United Kingdom — plunged in to the Iraq War. Official statements given by U. S. President George W. Bush’s administration, as to the reasons for the invasion, were primarily to: †¢ remove Iraq’s alleged production and accumulation of weapons of mass destruction †¢ stop Saddam Hussein’s support on terrorist activities †¢ give freedom to the Iraqi people from Saddam’s reign of terror (â€Å"President Discusses Beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom†) Due to the unpopularity of the government’s decision and the subsequent turn of events, the public continuous to give other speculations as to why the invasion had to be done. In U. K. initial public support was mainly based on the issue that Britain had a moral case to uphold in behalf of other nations (â€Å"Moral Case for Iraq War, Key to Initial UK Support†). But those that consider the possible long-term damage concerning their country’s welfare believed the need to refrain from getting involved: that it might eventually endanger civilian lives in case of retaliation by terrorist groups, and the economic cost of war. After the military attack on Iraqi soil, evidence to support the Bush government’s justification for the invasion was still lacking, insufficient, and vague. Had the purported danger been present, it would not have taken only 21 days to topple down Saddam’s government with minimal loss on the coalition’s forces. Saddam’s Soviet-built armaments were ill-equipped and no match for the invading forces, disproving the US claim. For most, it did succeed to eliminate Saddam, but nevertheless, failed to eliminate the problem in Iraq or helped the plight of the Iraqis, who now have to contend with not one but many oppressive guerilla-group factions that try to rule in Iraq.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Attack Tree Of Computer Security

Attack Tree Of Computer Security This report is introduces about the possible attack for company and it represent by the attack tree diagram. In the company have six computer and internal server. Each computer is using Microsoft window 7. They are using the DVD to store the backup and the router is default setting. Each employee has the email address. Firstly, I will attack the workstation, try to obtain the password illegally and attack the security such as install virus, Trojan, worm and DOS attack. After that, I will attack the dvd to get the dvd and do some malicious action. Obtain the DVD can through the employee, such as bribe or threaten. Malicious action will install the threats into the DVD and spread to other computer when they are using the backup. Then, we will attack the router which is change the WEP or filter the mac address to cause the computer cannot connect to the network. We also can using threats through the router to install into the system, e.g plashing, pharming, DNS cache poisoning and spoo fing. However, I will attack the server using the internal threats and external threats, such as ask a person to disguise a customer to get the information from company, or ask the temporarily customer to be a spy to do some malicious action. Moreover, attack the email using the security threats like phishing, email spam, virus and spam. Then, obtain the email password from the target. Finally, attack the window 7 using hacking tools to destroy the host file from the system and using physical attack to the system and obtain the important data or change the data to make a big lose for the company. All of these attacks will discuss in this report. Introduction and scope Attack tree helps one to understand security issue better, from the stand point of an attacker. Attack trees are a graphical and mathematical construct used to identify most of the attack that will cause the greatest risk to the defender, determine effective strategies decrease the risk in a acceptable level for the de fender, describe the potential attack between the adversary and the defender, provide a communication mechanism for security analysts, capture what is known and believed about the system and its adversaries, and store the information in a diagram that can be understood for the subsequently defenders. Although it is very hard to identify the entire possible factor that leads to intuition, it is based on the experiences and the ability to extrapolate how the experiences apply on the new situation.  For example, the effectiveness of internet security, network security, banking system security, installation and personnel security may all be modelled using attack trees. The ideal of attack tree is that an equipment, software, process could have vulnerabilities that when successful, they could compromise the entire system. Scope There are six computers and one internal server and each computer encompasses Microsoft Window 7 and Microsoft Office 2007. Each workstation has been patched wi th all updates of March 25, 2010. They are using ADSL 2+ connection. The server and workstation backup is store in a DVD. All the employees have email addresses and there share the document through a D-Link DNS-323 NAS. The router is utilising default settings and consists of a D-Link DSL G604t. Each workstation is utilising Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Effects of Decreasing Oil Prices on OPEC Creator States Essay

The Effects of Decreasing Oil Prices on OPEC Creator States - Essay Example OPEC was founded in Baghdad, triggered by a 1960 law instituted by American President Dwight Eisenhower that forced quotas on Venezuelan and Persian Gulf oil imports in favor of the Canadian and Mexican oil industries. Eisenhower cited national security, land access to energy supplies, at times of war. When this led to falling prices for oil in these regions, Venezuela's president Romulo Betancourt reacted seeking an alliance with oil producing Arab nations as a preemptive strategy to protect the continuous autonomy and profitability of Venezuela's natural resource: oil (Perkins, 2005). As a result, OPEC was founded to unify and coordinate members' petroleum policies. Original OPEC members include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Between 1960 and 1975, the organization expanded to include Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), and Nigeria (1971). Ecuador and Gabon were members of OPEC, but Ecuador withdrew on December 31, 1992 because they were unwilling or unable to pay a $2 million membership fee and felt that they needed to produce more oil than they were allowed to under the OPEC quota. Similar concerns prompted Gabon to follow suit in January 1995. Angola joined on the first day of 2007. Indonesia reconsidered its membership having become a net importer and being unable to meet its production quota. The United States was a member during its formal occupation of Iraq via the Coalition Provisional Authority (Yergin; Perkins, 2005). Indicating that OPEC is not averse to further expansion, Moh ammed Barkindo, OPEC's Secretary General, recently asked Sudan to join. Iraq remains a member of OPEC, though Iraqi production has not been a part of any OPEC quota agreements since March 1998. In May 2008, Indonesia left the OPEC group because of the soaring prices and the rising oil demand in East Asia. Economists think that the withdrawal of Indonesia will have little effect on OPEC and on the oil prices even though it has a high percentage in world oil production (Kohl, 2002; Perkins, 2005). The persistence of the Arab-Israeli conflict finally triggered a response that transformed OPEC into a formidable political force. After the Six Day War of 1967, the Arab members of OPEC formed a separate, overlapping group, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, for the purpose of centering policy and exerting pressure on the West over its support of Israel. Egypt and Syria, though not major oil-exporting countries, joined the latter grouping to help articulate its objectives. Later, the Yom Kippur War of 1973 galvanized Arab opinion. Furious at the emergency re-supply effort that had enabled Israel to withstand Egyptian and Syrian forces, the Arab world imposed the 1973 oil embargo against the United States and Western Europe. In the 1970s, the great Western oil conglomerates suddenly faced a unified block of producers. This Arab-Israeli conflict triggered a crisis already in the making. The West could not continue to increase its energy use 5% annually, pay low oi l prices, yet sell inflation-priced goods to the petroleum producers in the Third World. This was stressed by the Shah of Iran, whose nation was the world's second-largest exporter of oil, and one of the closest allies of the United States in the Middle East at the time. "Of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Carefully explain what economists mean by efficiency. Using examples Essay - 1

Carefully explain what economists mean by efficiency. Using examples from the real world where appropriate, explain why economists consider Monopolies to be i - Essay Example Efficiency can never be complete, and it always needs to be measured in relation to certain criteria. For economic efficiency the basic criterion is value, so that changes that tend to increase value are deemed efficient and changes that decrease it are thought to be inefficient. However, a state of affairs that can be qualified as economically efficient need not necessarily remain efficient when viewed from the point of view of other criteria. So, value is not only a relative quality but a subjective one as well because something has value only if there are those who want it. In this situation a question arises as to how can one be sure that value is maximised? One of the traditional answers of economists to this questions is contained in what is known as Pareto optimality, named so after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who postulated that if a change can leave somebody better off than before, and at the same time will not make situation of others worse, then the initial situation was not the one of the highest possible value because an improvement could yet be introduced (Wikipedia, 2006). And when the highest possible value is obtained, then any change that may improve one`s condition must inevitably be harmful for somebody else. This situation was defined by Pareto as allocative efficiency. Economists are concerned about economic efficiency for two reasons. The positive reason of their interest stems from the fact that people are seeking value, and this search can take place in any social circumstances so that on condition that enough money can be obtained people are ready to go for immoral, risky, and criminal occupations. From the theoretical point of view we can attribute this quest for value to the mentioned striving to maximise utility and profit, and when situations emerge that an unexploited value exists which is possible but not yet captured economists usually need to provide an account of why no ways are found to utilise this value. Thus,

Monday, August 26, 2019

Identify barriers to cultural competence and note ways that the nurse Research Paper

Identify barriers to cultural competence and note ways that the nurse can improve the nurse-patient and nurse-family relationshi - Research Paper Example The process of learning the traits of the local culture starts right from birth. As they grow up, nurses assimilate into their indigenous culture that can have a profound effect on the way they interact with the patients as well as the way they operate in the health care system. Cultural competence essentially means the ability to deal with the differences of beliefs, opinions, values, and practices grounded in cultural differences in an articular manner so that the quality of work is enhanced and conflicts are deterred. Barriers to cultural competence of nurses include but are not limited to discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, racism, lack of awareness, and lack of language proficiency. Certain barriers are overtly noticeable such as lack of language competency because the nurse cannot communicate with the other person while other barriers are hidden such as lack of awareness of the belief systems of different cultures. In certain situations, nurses display a lack of sensitivit y even without any intention to offend the other person. This lack of sensitivity is grounded in nurses’ lack of awareness of the different sets of beliefs and norms that comprise different cultures. ... Although it is very difficult to fully master the values of different cultures, it should be understood that good manners are appreciated and interpreted as symbols of respect in almost every culture. Simple steps like asking the patients how their day has been and asking them by what name or title do they want to be addressed inculcates respect in the hearts of the patients and coworkers for the nurses. In order to develop cultural competence, it is imperative that nurses acknowledge the existence of a variety of belief systems in the society. There are times when others’ health care practices appear meaningless or strange. Nurses might find others’ beliefs about the health care services in their country difficulty to understand. While it is not required of a nurse to fully understand the whole variety of belief systems of their patients, yet nurses need to have respect for them. Nurses should avoid making assumptions about the beliefs of people from different cultures if they are not familiar with the values of those cultures. â€Å"Cultural competence is obtaining cultural information and then applying that knowledge† (Culturaldiversity.org, 2012). In light of this definition of cultural competence, it is more advisable for the nurses to ask those individuals very thoughtfully and professionally how things are done in their culture, if necessary. The nurses need to try to find out the level of awareness in the patients about their health problems, methods of treatment, and the expected outcomes. Nurses should display respect for the support groups of the patients as well that may include anybody ranging from family members to religious leaders. Cultural competence is one of the most

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The creation of professional police was for the benefit of the middle Essay

The creation of professional police was for the benefit of the middle classes, not society as a whole. Discuss - Essay Example (Dunham & Alpert, 1998; Sampson & Jeglum-Bartush, 1998; Kusow et al., 1997; Cao et al., 1996) It has always been a challenge on the part of UK policing to promote a safe environment for each of the local citizens who are residing in the country. (Newburn, 2003: p. 3) For this study, the history behind UK’s professional police will be discussed to give the readers a better idea with regards to the subject matter. Since determining the public’s satisfaction with regards to the ability of the police to minimize crime rates within the society is considered a crucial component of evaluating the overall performance of the police (Brown & Benedict, 2002), the student will undergo a research study to unveil the truth behind any forms of unequal services given by the professional police towards the society. In the process of searching for the truth, several evidences and reports will be thoroughly discussed as to whether or not professional police was created merely for the benefit of the middle class individuals. Since 1950s, UK’s government and public support in the promotion and strengthening of the professional police has been enormous. (Reiner, 1994) Between 1950s to the last quarter of 1960s, intensive support coming from the UK government and the general public were extended to professional police. For this reason, professional police throughout the United Kingdom has been considered as a ‘role model of successful policing’. (Reiner, 1992: p. 435) During the period of UK’s successful policing, the Scotland Yard detective together with the British bobby played a crucial role in conducting crime investigation aside from maintaining the peace and order within the society.† (Reiner, 1992: p. 435) It was only during the last quarter of 1970s onwards that the general public decided to withdrew their support with the

Stewardship and Sustainability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stewardship and Sustainability - Assignment Example 2 Sustainability has its basis on a simple principle, which is all things that we require for our survival and well-being depend, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Therefore, sustainability creates and maintains the terms under which humans and nature can live in productive harmony that allows for the fulfillment of the economic social and other requirements of present and future generations. Further, sustainability may also be defined as a set of values; stewardship, respect for limits, interdependence, economic restructuring, fair distribution (Chapin et al, 2010.). 3. In this study, the Amazon rainforest is a good case study. Amazon rainforest covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America and it is a moist broadleaf forest . This basin covers seven million square kilometers, whereby five and a half million square kilometers are covered by the rainforest. Moreover, the Amazon constitute over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and it comprises th e largest and most species-rich extend area of land of tropical rainforest in the world. However, deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest threatens many species such as tree frogs, which are very sensitive to environmental changes. Moreover, this deforestation causes a lot of damage on the general ecosystem. 4 Stewardship and sustainability take different approaches when it comes to natural resource use. Stewardship concentrates on management and planning of natural resources. Furthermore, it incorporates personal responsibility and caring of natural resources. Moreover, commitment is expected in stewardship therefore, those using the natural resources have to be accountable for the resources. Sustainability puts weight on principles and set values on existing in a way that will not compromise the future generations. For instance; Edwards (2005) studied sustainability statements from almost forty different organizations concerned with sustainability issues and developed a list of sev en common themes ;stewardship, respect for limits, interdependence, economic restructuring ,fair distribution ,intergenerational perspective and nature as a model and teacher. Here, natural resources are used to a manner that will satisfy the present generation without compromising the satisfaction of the future generation. Stewardship is interlinked to sustainability; poor stewardship definitely leads to unsustainable use of resources. Generally, sustainability entails stewardships (Edwards, 2005). 5. As much as stewardship and sustainable resource use are interlinked and good for ensuring proper environmental management. Issues arise on whether the need to use resources sustainable so as not to jeopardize future generation really holds any weight. This is because, evolution continues and the satisfaction the present generation gets from resources presently may not be needed in future due to change of lifestyles and priorities. For instance; the reliance on agriculture may be reduc ed due to the day to day advancement of technology. Therefore, not much attention will be on the agriculture sector. Furthermore, stewardship and sustainability are complex terms which cannot be understood without the necessary education (Berkowitz et al, 2012). 6. In the recent years, deforestation in Amazon Rainforest has been on the increase

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Social Media Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Media Network - Essay Example cial media are both an opportunity and a threat. Not going away. Very important, probably will become even more so. [153 Words] Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of social media and evaluate its importance in today’s society. The twenty first century is characterised by a very fast pace of life, and the proliferation of information technology. The age of industrialisation and manufacturing has given way to a postmodern age of globalisation where in Western developed countries there is an emphasis on service industries. The whole of society has now become networked in multiple different ways. (Castells, 1999). Computers are the tools of this new trade, and while some people in the world are reaping great benefits from this technological revolution, there are millions who through poverty and exclusion cannot participate in the new wave of social media which is taking over the world. This paper examines how social media, such as facebook, flickr, youtube, and twitter are a ffecting human relations in many ways, looking first and the advantages they offer and secondly the inherent disadvantages. There are four main advantages in social media, namely maintaining relationships with friends and family; forging new relationships, which can include buying and selling things, playing games, meeting people through dating sites etc; facilitating work and education tasks, by using social media to gather information, make connections with experts, or collaborate on tasks; and above all there is a huge potential for the formation of common interest groups including those which promote particular leisure pursuits, hobbies, political parties, religion or any other subject. All of these possibilities enrich the range of connections that an individual makes, and have the potential bring concrete benefits to daily life, especially for people who are lonely, disabled, housebound, or just in need of friendship. Similarly, there are a number of disadvantages associated w ith social media including the possibility of deception, since people on social media sites are unknown and may provide false information or act with malicious intent; social media can be very distracting, and even addictive, especially when conveyed over mobile devices like the iphone; they entail a loss of privacy, and in some situations a loss of self-respect, since items placed on social media sites can often not be removed, leaving a lasting legacy for others to see, and finally they offer a kind of substitute for real human relationships and this can be a huge disappointment to people who invest too much hope in social media. Some of the disadvantages of social media are quite subtle, as for example was predicted back in the 1960s by theorists who pointed out that â€Å"the medium is the message† (McLuhan, 1964, pp. 7-20) , which means that the way we relate to technology causes us to take in hidden messages which in turn change the way we see the world, and indeed ours elves. When using social media, people can adopt any identity they wish, and can experiment so widely that they lose touch with their own

Friday, August 23, 2019

New Scientific Discovery Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

New Scientific Discovery - Article Example The ultimate goal of 4G technology is to increase wireless, long range and high speed signal transmission (Berndt, 2008). I am going to focus on the 4G technology. 4G Technology 4G which is a short form of Fourth (4th) Generation Technology, this is basically the extension of 3G technology but with more bandwidth and services offers in the 3G mobile. It is a successor to the 2G and 3G technologies. Basically, 4G technologies produce a high quality audio and video data streaming through Internet Protocol (IP). It provides broadband connection so that voice calls, media streaming and internet access will be constantly available to the user (Berndt, 2008). Different Technologies appear in many different forms but they are all moving in a similar track. 4G technology has different categories. These includes: UMTS, SDR, MIMO, OFDM, TD-SCDMA and WiMAX (802.16) or mobile structural design. The problem with the current cellular network is that they do not have the available bandwidth necessa ry to handle data services well because they were not original well designed for data; they are improvements on a protocol that was originally designed for voice. Thus, they do not use of the available spectrum bandwidth efficiently. Therefore there is a need for data centered protocol technology. 4G Technology provides a solution to these problems. It is used in the mobile phones with in-built higher resolution digital cameras to facilitate video blogs in the mobile industry (Berndt, 2008).. It offers high data rates with broadband. This will generate new trends in the business industry as it becomes business prospects and market opportunities for the established as well as for new telecommunication firms (Berndt, 2008). The upgrades of technology are incremental, and don’t require a complete reworking of the system. They are fairly cheap because the equipment required is already developed and in mass production in many places in the world. Types of multiplexing in 3G †¢FDMA -Each phone call is allocated one frequency for the entire duration of the call. †¢TDMA -Each phone call is allocated a spot in the frequency for a small amount of time, and "takes turns" being transmitted. †¢CDMA -Each phone call is uniquely encoded and transmitted across the entire spectrum, in a manner known as spread spectrum transmission Cellular Provider System Upgrades 4G technology has got numerous advantages. It is faster and more reliable than the previous technology. For example lower cost, Multi-standard wireless system, higher speed of 100 Mb/s (802.11g wireless = 54Mb/s, 3G = 2Mb/s) and Bluetooth, Wired, Wireless (802.11x). Other features include: Ad Hoc Networking, IPv6 Core. OFDM used instead of CDMA and Potentially IEEE standard 802.11n 4G mobile will be widely used both in internet access service on personal computers and in cell phone communications. It will enable the access and use of broadband connection in homes or in other areas accessible to the network. It is not therefore surprising that the companies trying 4G mobile communication to expand there coverage. Companies use 100 Mbps for mobile users and up to 1 Gbps over fixed stations Wimax Technology    WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is one of the telecommunications technologies that offer wireless data transmission through a different form of transmission. It has got approximate speed of 72 M/s through wireless access. It is based on IEEE standard of 802.16, it usually also called as Broadband Wireless Access (Steinbock, 2005).         Wimax (802.16) is the next stage to a broadband as well as a wireless world, extending broadband wireless access to new locations and over longer distances. Wimax

Thursday, August 22, 2019

A Research Paper on G.K. Chesterton and The Man Who Was Thursday Essay Example for Free

A Research Paper on G.K. Chesterton and The Man Who Was Thursday Essay While doing research on G.K. Chesterton and his literary masterpiece, I came upon this article on Gilbert Magazine in which his answer to the question â€Å"What is the difference between progress and growth?† was posted. To this question, he answered: The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside of us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First of all, I didnt even know he has a magazine. Secondly, since I have never heard of him before, I ask myself why on earth has it taken so long for me to discover such an amazing man? His statement above is just one of the marvelous pithy quotations of a man who never earned a doctorate and, in fact, never even attended a university. I have read some of them and I am amazed at how he can say something about everything and says it better than everybody else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is with utter delight that I am taking this journey to the discovery and uncovering of a genius – a journalist, a debater, an artist, a happy man – for in discovering him, I discover passion, wisdom, and myself. G.K. Chesterton: A Poet, Storyteller, and Ironist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   G.K. Chesterton cannot be summed up in one sentence. Nor in one paragraph. With all the fine biographies I   have encountered that have been written of him, I dont know if the Gilbert Keith Chesterton has really been captured between the covers of those books. In the first place, how could one simplify a man of such complex talents? He was very good at expressing himself, but more importantly, he had something very good to express – the reason why he was one of the greatest thinkers and writers of the 20th century and a champion of the Roman Catholic religion. K. Chesterton is alive and kicking today in a way that most of his contemporaries are not precisely because he enunciated clearly and forcefully the fundamental principles in the light of which issues, whether of today or of yesterday, can be confronted intelligently, and he has dedicated this extraordinary intellect and creative power to the reform of English government and society. Literary types would laud him for his poetry and novels and detective stories and plays; social critics would approve him for his prescient admonitions about eugenics and nihilism and socialism; champions of domestic democracy would like his doctrine of distributism; philosophers would be challenged by his insights and quips; the fundamentalist Christian would defend him for defending Christianity, and the Catholic Christian would enjoy the enjoyment Chesterton derived from his Catholicism. This is a multifaceted man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gilbert was a day boy at St. Paul’s. The masters rated him as an under-achiever, but he earned some recognition as a writer and debater. Although he never went to college, he proved that genius cannot be tied down to the rules of the academy, nor need we be subservient to the prejudices of the academy in evaluating genius. Chesterton, in fact, chose to be a journalist, because in that role he could think most profoundly, powerfully, cogently, and effectively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He was vitally concerned with the injustices of Great Britain to its dependencies. He progressed from newspaper to public debate. He used logic, laughter, paradox, and his own winning personality to show that imperialism was destroying English patriotism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1900 he published his first literary works, two volumes of poetry. In 1900 he met Hilaire Belloc, and in 1901 he married Frances Blogg. These events were two of the great influences in his life. From 1904 to 1936 Chesterton published nearly a dozen novels, the most important being The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904) and The Man Who Was Thursday (1908). In 1911 Chesterton created the ‘‘Father Brown’’ detective stories. During his literary career he published 90 books and numerous articles. He poured out a wealth of lighthearted essays, historical sketches, and metaphysical and polemical works, together with such well-known poems as ‘‘The Ballad of the White Horse,’’ ‘‘Lepanto,’’ and the drinking songs from The Flying Inn. Among his major critical works are studies of Robert Browning (1903) and Charles Dickens (1906). Prodigiously talented, Chesterton also illustrated a number of Belloc’s light works.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chesterton spoke of himself as primarily a journalist. He contributed to and helped edit Eye Witness and New Witness. He edited G. K.’s Weekly, which advocated distributism, the social philosophy developed by Belloc. Chesterton’s overriding concern with political and social injustice is reflected in Heretics (1905) and Orthodoxy (1909), perhaps his most important work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I could say that Chesterton was not a philosopher in the sense of one who, like Plato or Aristotle, Aquinas or Bonaventure, Descartes or Kant, Hegel or Kierkegaard, made original contributions to the history of human reflection on the reality of the real. We can, however, say that he made two remarkable contributions which are still immensely worthwhile today: (1) he was unmatched in his ability to satirize the philosophical foibles of his day; and (2) although his philosophy was not unique his manner of expressing it was unique; one cannot read him, even today, without being again and again suddenly pulled up short. In view of his perennial concern with ideas and with ideas that count, with ultimates he has to be called a philosopher, not merely, however, as a lover of wisdom, but as one who possessed a certain kind of intuitive wisdom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout his life, G.K. Chesterton was one of the most colorful and loved   personalities of literary England. To his intellectual gifts he added gaiety, wit, and warm humanity that endeared him even to his antagonists. This English author, journalist, and artist was born in London on May 29, 1874. He died at his home in Beaconsfield on June 14, 1936, but it doesnt matter. To those who know him and are passionate readers of his works, his wisdom lives on. To those like me who simply stumbled upon him, he lives again. In our hearts, his wisdom is timeless. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Masterpiece of a Non-Degree Holder Genius   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Versatility of topic, address, genre, device, whatever more there is in the heaven and earth of mind and spirit brought to letterssuch is the hallmark and mandate of Chesterton. He can be straightforward and for right, crisp and to the point, or witty, with a certain malice aforethought. He can take the way of irony or simply snort when his patience is exhausted. He can soar with angelic sweep or swoop like a bird of prey. His descriptive hand is as authentic as any, as witness this from the beginning of The Man Who Was Thursday: The suburb of Saffron Park lay on the sunset side of London, as red and ragged as a cloud of sunset. It was built of a bright brick throughout; its skyline fantastic its ground plan wild. More especially this attractive unreality fell upon it about nightfall when the extravagant roofs were dark against the afterglow and the whole insane village seemed as separate as a drifting cloud. This . . . was more strongly true of the many nights of local festivity, when the little gardens were often illuminated, and the big Chinese lanterns glowed in the dwarfish trees like some fierce and monstrous fruit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Man Who Was Thursday was the phantasmagoric 1908 novel of eccentric anarchists, philosopher-detectives and a riddle-writing criminal mastermind who just might be God. Subtitled A Nightmare, this masterpiece by G.K. Chesterton better known for his Father Brown detective series mingles theological brainteasing with cloak-and-dagger capers like a cross-country balloon chase and a  Ã‚   bombing conspiracy fomented over jam and crumpets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This metaphysical thriller spirals out madly from a marvelous premise: a London counterintelligence chief has formed a corps of â€Å"policemen who are also philosophers.† An initiate tells the books hero Gabriel Syme, who is with the British police: The ordinary detective goes to pot-houses to arrest thieves; we go to artistic tea-parties to detect pessimists. The ordinary detective discovers from a ledger or a diary that a crime has been committed. We discover from a book of sonnets that a crime will be committed We say that the most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless modern philosopher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soon after joining these vigilantes, he was hired by an unknown, unseen man to infiltrate the noted anarchist movement, making him stumble upon an anarchist conspiracy to destroy civilization and morality itself. He starts with a loudmouthed poet of disorder, Gregory, and follows him into a meeting of the anarchists. Gregory is forced to keep Gabriels identity a secret for his own sake, for he himself had led the policeman into their secret hideaway.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The undercover Gabriel manages to get elected as one of the seven top men in the organization, alias Thursday, much to Gregorys silent chagrin. Gabriel meets with the other members of the council, all of who appear to be dark and dreadfully evil most of all the President, the huge mountain of a man called Sunday. Little by little, however, Gabriel realizes that the other five people under Sunday are not at all evil, but all of them spies from the police!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the process, however, Gabriel succeeds in getting an entire French countryside to think he and his new friends are really anarchists (meanwhile they are thinking, or wondering in disbelief, that the entire countryside is full of anarchists after them). They nearly get lynched. When things are settled, this group of undercover police go back to England to seek out Sunday, whom they soon find is the very man who hired them to infiltrate the council in the first place! Sunday leads them on a strange and wild chase, during which the six philosophize about the nature of their strange antagonist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phantasmagoric escapades proliferate, and police pursuit collides with the carnivalesque nature of the universe. They realize that they have been seeing him from behind, and from behind he looks brutal; but the apparent evil was misleading. The journey ends at a palatial estate where the six are treated like kings, and finally see Sunday for who he is The Sabbath, the peace of God. The council of anarchists has turned into a High Council commemorating the Seven Days of Gods Creation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of Sunday as the evil anarchist was to bring forth good through the others to urge them on to unnatural virtue. As they were fighting, they were fighting Satan. As the hearers grow indignant at Sundays using them for his purposes and allowing them to go through such trials, the paradoxical Problem of Evil seems somehow resolved. The last question asked of the strange man as he recedes into space is Have you ever suffered? and the answer the Christian knows is whispered from the distance. The last scene sees Gabriel Syme waking from his reverie, and chatting philosophy with the other Poet of Saffron Park, Gregory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Chesterton offers up one highly colored enigma after another in The Man That Was Thursday. He truly knows how to create an atmosphere of hallucinatory suspense, to use the fantastic and paradoxical and fugitive to glimpse the other side of God. In an article published the day before his death, he called this literary masterpiece of his, â€Å"a very melodramatic sort of moonshine.† I guess thats how we would describe a novel set in a phantasmagoric London where policemen are poets and anarchists camouflage themselves as, well, anarchists. By turns hilarious and terrifying, Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday is a lyrical search for truth in a world where nothing is what it seems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is not a book. This is a glorious experience. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Modern Horror Writers (Writers of English). New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Chesterton, G.K. The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton. New York: Sheed Ward, 1936. Chesterton, G.K. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. New York: Dodd, Mead Company, 1908. Coren, Michael. Gilbert, The Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton. New York: Paragon House, 1990. Dale, Alzina Stone. The Outline of Sanity: A Biography of G.K. Chesterton. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1982. Dale, Alzina Stone. The Art of G.K. Chesterton. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1985. Ffinch, Michael. G.K. Chesterton. San Francisco: Harper Row, 1986. â€Å"More letters asking Whats the Difference?.† Gilbert Magazine Outlining Sanity. 30 November 2007 http://www.gilbertmagazine.com/page_16.html Titterton, W.R. G.K. Chesterton: A Portrait. Folcroft, Pennsylvania: Folcroft Library

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Differences Between CMM And CMMI

The Differences Between CMM And CMMI The recent attitude of the organisations to make the products complex in order survive the competitors, made them to employ software in their organisations. However, the community of information systems known for its poor product quality made them to research the methods to improve its efficiency. This led them to discover that the focus was needed more on the processes which in turn led to improve the quality of the software products. The process when used it an efficient way can make the organisations maintain the consistency and help to achieve their mission. Many models and programmes described the ways to improve the product quality. Of those, The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) found by SEI, in 1984, gave a clear sight to the organisations the efficient way to improve the process. Later, it was found that it can be employed in other fields too and thereafter it was employed to improve business processes. However this method had some drawbacks and those were superseded by the Ca pability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This essay portrait the key differences between these models and describes the effectiveness of using CMMI. 2. Differences between CMM and CMMI 2.1 CMM Overview The first CMM, developed in 1990, was developed for the purpose to improve the process in software development [1]. This model proved to be a successful one and thereof, it became a generalised model for improving the processes other than SW development process like software engineering, system engineering, software maintenance, software management, risk management and also being employed in other industries, governments, organisations and also for business process improvement [1]. Fig.1 CMM Maturity Levels [2] The CMM for Software (SW-CMM) is a framework that provides the way to manage a process effectively. It is a stair-cased structure wherein each step is a maturity level describing the current capability of the process. It tells where the processes are. The CMM scales the organisation from 1 to 5 based on the KPAs achieved by the organisations. Fig. 2.2 Structure of the CMM [3] As shown in the figure 2, each maturity level defines the process capability at that stage and contains (other than Initial) Key Process Areas (KPA) defined of goals to be achieved. Each KPA has certain key practices that are to be strictly followed to achieve the goals. These key practices are arranged as groups (Common features) consisting infrastructure and implementation. 2.2 CMMI Overview à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"CMMI is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes that ultimately improve their performance. CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  [4]. Both CMM and CMMI have the same five maturity levels. In CMMI, each process area has specific goals and generic goals that define the generic and specific practices respectively. Fig.3.1 CMMI Structure [5] There are two types of approaches à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ staged and continuous. In the case of the staged approach, KPAà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s are defined and then based on it the maturity level structure is drawn whereas in the continuous approach, a specific KPA is chosen and then it is relatively improved by using the capability levels [6]. The CMMI too scales the organisation from a scale of 1 to 5 based on the KPAs. It also provides an appraisal which focuses on improving the plans for the organisations. There are three classes of appraisals, namely class A, B and C [7]. 2.3 Key Differences The factors that distinguish CMM and CMMI during implementation are: 1.integration, 2.KPA, 3.approach and 4.paperwork [8]. 2.3.1 Integration: The CMM has individual models for each function. But when the individual processes when integrated led to few discrepancies like model overlapping, contradiction and each model had its own maturity level which lead to a confusion. This led to the increase in the costs of the companies that were put in training. But CMMI employs models that are classified on the basis of specific areas of interests. These models are those employed by industries successfully. To employ CMMI in an organisation, it must choose a model form the available 22 models wherein each module covers all the functionalities. 2.3.2 KPA: Both CMM and CMMI have 5 maturity levels. But there are differences in the KPAs of each maturity level. The differences in each model are as follows: 1. Initial: In both models, it covers the organisations without defined processes, having dynamic changes (ad-hoc) and undocumented. 2. Repeat: In CMM, the companies that seem to do the same process periodically attain this level. In CMMI, it requires a planned and defined ways of managing the requirements by estimating cost, time and resources. 3. Defined: CMM requires a standard, well-documented and consistent process with few degrees of changes to be followed. CMMI requires the process to be standardised, methodical and procedural with the use of tools. 4. Manage: CMM requires companies to quantitatively measure and monitor process thereby reducing risks. CMMI, n addition identifies and monitors the sub processes that contribute to overall efficiency. 5. Optimized: In CMM, the process is continuously improved by following the best software engineering practices but here the measures are taken simultaneously as the goals are satisfied. In CMMI, behaviour is selected and goals are set to support it. Behaviour is selected on the basis of goals and measures. 2.3.3 Approach CMM is an activity based model. It aims only in the completion of the process and does not care about the desired result and hence it does not motivate the company to make the necessary changes. But CMMI is a result oriented based on key performance areas and thereof it is a best practice for the companies and helps to avoid the possible risks at a very early stage. 2.3.4 Paperwork Both CMM and CMMI documentation has paperwork and meetings that leads to waste of effort and time of the personnel. However, in CMM is process-oriented whereas the CMMI is a goal-cum-result-oriented approach. 3. Benefits of adopting CMMI The organisations that adopted the CMMI reported the following benefits [9]: 3.1 Cost: The CMMI adoption led to reduced defect fix cost, reduced overhead rate, reduced cost of poor quality and increased the average cost performance index with decline in variation. 3.2 Schedule: It led to reduction in release turnaround time, reduction in average number of days late, increased percentage of milestones met, increased throughput that led to more releases per year, improvised and stabilised schedule performance index with decreased variance and increased time delivery accuracy. 3.3 Quality Reduction in software defects (KLOC), errors caused in the source code and the post-release defects and increased focus on quality by developers was observed after using CMMI. 3.4 Productivity Productivity was measured in metrics like number of statements produced per month, comparing the various builds, number of releases per year, software production etc, Productivity of the companies also increased. 3.5 Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction, measured using ratings and awards fees, increased since the time of delivery mentioned was accurate and also it was defect free. 3.6 Return on Investment (ROI) ROI ratio measured based on the defects that are overcome, the degree of automation activities and quality and process improvement, seemed to be on the positive side that motivated the organisations to employ CMMI. 4. Case Study of companies switching over to CMMI from CMM The following three points are the detailed reports [10] of the companies that evolved from CMM to CMMI which depicts the improvements and results of doing so. 4.1 Lockheed Martin M DS Initially, the organisation was assessed CMM level 2 in 1993. But later, in 1996 it moved to CMM Level 3 and then evolved to CMMI Level 5 in 2002 in integrating SE-CMM and SW-CMM. As a result of this, improvements in the customer satisfaction, productivity and the product cost were noted leading to the conclusion that the process improvement that lasted for nearly 10 years proved fruitful. Between 1996 and 2002, process improvement was continual and the company increased its productivity by 30% and decreased unit software cost and defect costs by 20% and 15% respectively. The customer satisfaction was achieved as there was an increase in percentage of the available award fees [10]. 4.2 Accenture Accenture, one of the reputed organisations, had a transition from the SW-CMM to the CMMI between May, 2001 and May, 2002. It attained the CMM Level 3 initially and when they moved to CMMI, during which they acquired CMMI Level 3. During the CMMI, the organisation focussed mainly on the processes related to the Measurement and Analysis, Decision Analysis and Resolution, generic goals and Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD). As a result of the transition, improvements in the costs of quality and ROI ratio were captured. The ROI ratio achieved was 5:1 in the quality [10]. 4.3 Boeing Limited, Australia The Boeing Limited process performance was not up to the mark. Initially they were using CMM and Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA 731). Thereof, they decided to improve the process by adopting CMMI so as to 1. Integrate SE and SWE 2.Universal acceptance by customers and suppliers and 3.Risk analysis using Defence Material Organisation (DMO) strategy. There were improvements seen in the product cost, schedule/cycle time and the product quality. The results of adoption made defect fix costs, turnaround time and test audits (pre and post) decrease by 33%, 50% and 60% respectively and product quality increase to a major extent [10]. 5. Factors that have major impact From the case studies it is clearly evident that the integration, approach styles and the need for continuous improvements of the process by the organisation led to the organisations to move from CMM to CMMI. However there are many organisations like Bosch Gasoline Systems, Thales Research Technology, Sanchez Computer Associates Inc, still are using the CMM and reporting benefits thereof. 6. Conclusion CMMI models should be still integrated and developed such the costs involved and the efforts are reduced.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Innovation in Military Systems

Innovation in Military Systems Introduction Technology transfer across social sectors, industries, and national boundaries is a common phenomenon in contemporary times. These transfers are mostly driven by economic paradigms – the need to embrace radical innovations so as not to be left behind in the race to be at the forefront of technological and/or commercial envelope. It is thus obvious that the technological generators – one who invested in Research and Development (RD) and came up with ‘crown jewel’ innovations, hold the sway in today’s markets. If one were to consider the investment in RD as a benchmark of ‘invention (and probably innovativeness) potential’ then the defence sector would lead in most countries. As an example, in 2007, the US defence budget was $440 billion. Out of this, the technology development component was $73 billion. As compared to this, the largest non-military research funding went to National Institute of health, which got $28 billion in the same ye ar.[2] The costs and risks in the research for military system is not really an important feature as often in private sector or any other state investment.[3] RD for defence products is mostly sponsored by the state. This is a far cry from the conditions governing civil (private sector) RD efforts where the costs must be subsumed by the producer in the end-cost of a product, paid for  by consumers in a cost competitive market. Therefore, it makes eminent commercial sense whenever defence products (inventions) can find their way into civil markets and become truly innovative. In the context of the aforesaid, it becomes pertinent to study success stories – examples where defence inventions reached civil applications. Examples range from Internet (the US military) to packaged ready to eat food (developed by our own DRDO – Defence RD Organisation). This point would be demonstrated by two major case studies from the foreign markets that came up with radical innovative products. The forgotten story of ‘Jeep’ is a name that is synonymous with four-wheel drive, light and powerful vehicles that have spawned the contemporary Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and Multi Utility Vehicles (MUVs). The second example is that of Ray Ban glasses. Both of these have become top-notch commercial products with Jeep Cherokee and Ray-Ban aviator glasses being considered as status symbols anywhere in the world. Jeep With a brand punch line of â€Å"Go Anywhere, Do Anything†[4], Jeep has been associated with adventure and macho since the World War (WW) – II. The original vehicle was born out of sheer necessity of the US forces[5]. Since WW-I, the US army had been looking for a fast, lightweight and all-terrain vehicle that could be used in the war zones around the world. In the early 1940, with the Nazi forces on the ascendancy, the need for such a vehicle by the US army became acute. The army asked automobile manufacturers for a running prototype in just 49 days. The specifications were quite stringent and only two companies responded amongst 130 companies that were invited to bid. Bantan Car Company, worked with a Detroit engineer Karl Probst, who designed the vehicle in two days flat. His design was improved by the other company Willys-Overland (Quad and powerful) and accepted by the army. The contract was awarded to Willys and Ford as the sheer size and rate of delivery during t he war was beyond any one company to undertake. During WW-II, Willys and Ford supplied more than 700,000 orders with Willys supplying more than 330, 000 units. By 1942, long before the war came to an end, in an innovative move, Willys-Overland recognised that the vehicle could serve the civilian market by virtue of the fact that it had built a brand for itself in ruggedness and durability. An advertisement campaign was undertaken for building the civilian brand value. Even as the first civilian Jeep vehicle was built in 1945, Willys obtained a US Trademark Registration in 1950, five years later. Since then the trademark now registered internationally, has passed from Willys-Overland to Kaiser to American Motors Corporation, and most recently, to Chrysler Corporation. From 1968 to 1978, the production of Jeep rose three times to 600 vehicles a day. With the present day, Grand Cherokee being a much-cherished 4X4, still, the jeep story lives on. Over half of all Chrysler vehicles sold outside the US, are Cherokees. Ray-Ban The 1930s was an era of great strides in military aviation. Aircrafts became faster and flying envelopes expanded. Many US Air Force (USAF) pilots were reporting that the glare from sun was hindering their flying prowess. This led to invention of a new kind of glasses, with green colour that could cut the glare without obscuring vision. Thus was born Ray-Ban. This anti-glare eyewear saw many models being introduced but the traditional ‘aviator’ model with metal frames remained the favourite for a long time to come. Cashing in on the newness factor and need, the eyewear went on sale to public in 1937[6]. Within seven years, the strides were made from defence to civil usage, since the basic needs of protective eyewear were same for both. In the 1940s, innovations such as gradient mirror lens with coated upper part and uncoated lower part, for a clear view of aircraft instrument panels, were introduced. Such innovations though meant primarily for defence usage, appealed to civilians also due to the styling and ‘macho’ pilots’ looks. After the WW-II, the Ray-Ban came to be popularised by many Hollywood stars and rest as they say, is history. The Luxottica group is the owner of Ray-Ban and popular eyewear brands like Oakley, besides in license production of many other top eyewear brands. In 2011, it posted net sales of almost â‚ ¬ 6.2 billion.[7] Spill-over The technologies and the product that moved across defence research and usage to the civil markets have been coined as ‘spill over’ technologies. The opposite route has been recently coined spill-ins. The coinage of terms is quite logical. ‘Spill over’ is meant in the sense that the technology/product was originally meant for a smaller segment – the defence sector and it ‘spilled over’ to reach the outside world, a much wider segment of the populace. In India, there are instances of ‘spill over’, albeit the scale has been rather timid. A list of 140 technologies developed by the DRDO, which have duel applications are listed in the form of a publication[8], inviting the civil Industry to participate through technology diffusion. Some of these technologies have been transferred to civil sector like a novel pressure sintering/bonding technique for large clutch plates have been successfully transferred to Clutch Auto Limited.[9] By a simple comparison of the narrative given above, it would be clear to the readers, why hugely successful stories of innovations like Jeep or Ray-Ban are not scripted in India. The defence RD model followed in India is purely government centred. The government invests in defence related research in government labs of the DRDO. Such funding or initiative does not come the way of private sector for many reasons. The primary reason is the absence of a roadmap for harnessing the private industry’s efforts into the mainstream by ensuring that sensitivity associated with defence sector is not compromised. In the name of national security, the private industry has been kept out of the defence sector, till recently. Now it has been realised that without the presence of a competition to the government labs and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), their efficiency would never increase. Also it is not possible to quickly leapfrog the technological gap that exists between India and the developed (and even not so developed) world without finding a solution to the inefficiency that has somehow become a hallmark of governmental sectors. Infusion of capital and innovativeness by and into the private sector is a must for the RD efforts to realise their true potential. The methodology of sharing IPR of products developed through funding by the government and innovations by the private sector is a stumbling factor for the process to go forward. It is obvious that defence related IPRs, even those having duel use, needs to have some governmental control inbuilt. The mistrust and vested lobbying has thus far not allowed a solution to this process even though the US model is very much present to be emulated. The down side is that since the private sector is not invested in product development from the beginning, they do not have any stakes to carry forward the product so developed, to a wider market for maximising profits. What remains then is just an invitation by the Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri, to the private sector, to partake the RD efforts of the DRDO labs, as mentioned earlier. In such a scenario the defence RD efforts would not reach its true market potential. Consider that the Jeep brand received ‘2012 Silver OBIE Award’ fr om the Outdoor Advertising Association for America for the Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty ® billboard design[10]. Is it possible to see this kind of aggressive market pitch by a government entity? The markets would be penetrated predominantly by the desire to maximize profits and this desire would manifest with the private sectors and thus comes the efficiency and innovativeness. The Future Innovations require the factors of newness and commercialisation to be present in a product. While defence products are always required to retain the ‘cutting edge’ element, the motive of commercialisation is rarely a factor. However, this thought process is fast changing and defence equipment, along with providing the balance of power, are also turning out to be big business in the global arms market. The commercialisation angle though, can be really addressed if the product/technology reaches a much bigger clientele than just the security forces. Involvement of private industrial sector in development of such product/technology is thus a necessity, for them to be termed an innovation. Products like Jeep and Ray-Ban that could be termed as innovations today, were essentially made on demand of the defence forces but it brought to the fore, a latent need of the civil market. This would always be the common thread for all ‘spill over’ technologies. We all know drones can deliver death on the battlefield, but might they also soon be delivering gifts and purchases to our door? Amazon.com is counting on it. UAVs pioneered by the military are finding a home down in farmers fields. A UAV can treat an acre of steep hillsides in five minutes, which is very difficult or even impossible to do with a tractor Such technologies are now also known as ‘duel use’ technologies and controlled by the innovator nations under ‘The Wassenaar Arrangement’[11] due to their highly commercial/strategic ramifications. One such instance is the jet engine technology that is used for military as well as commercial aircrafts. India and China are striving to d evelop a jet engine and when they do, the commercial and strategic ramifications are obvious. Innovative defence technologies are very much the future to strive for. In the same vein, it is worth considering that civil technologies developed for high-end technical function may be considered for defence applications because any RD effort is time and capital intensive. Thus, a convergence of RD efforts, for defence and civil applications is the need of the hour. [1] Steven R. Rivkin Technology Unbound: Transferring Scientific and Engineering Resources From Defence to Civilian Purposes (New York USA: Pergamon Press Inc., 1968), p xii. [2] T.W. Lee, Military Technologies of the World – Vol II (Westport USA: Praeger Security International, 2009), p. 364. [3] Dr Hatice Karacay Cakmak, Department of Economics, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey, â€Å"A Theoretical Glance at Military Expenditures†, 2009 p.3, see hrcak.srce.hr/file/74277, accessed on Aug 06, 2014. [4] History of Jeep modelS, at http://www.jeep.com/en/history/ accessed on July 21, 2014 . [5] The evolution of jeep has been traced at http://www.hrja.org/jeep.htm, accessed on July 22, 2014. [6] The history and evolution of Ray-Ban at http://www.luxottica.com/sites/luxottica.com/files/ray-ban_history_en.pdf.  Accessed on July 23, 2014. [7] Ibid. [8] DRDO, Advanced Technologies for Civil Application (DESIDOC, New Delhi, 1987) [9] Ibid, p. 117. [10]http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=5F352AF1915E13814ADD6F1A32B6E67D?id=2210mid= accessed on 05 Aug 15 [11] Manoj Kumar, Resources Optimisation through Environmental Leadership (New Delhi, Knowledge World, 2012), p126

Monday, August 19, 2019

Identifying The Day We Were Dogs Essay -- Day We Were Dogs Essays

Identifying The Day We Were Dogs      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whether or not "The Day We Were Dogs" (1993) is a magical realist story is questionable. Often stories are misidentified because of the closeness of literature such as magical realism, the fantastic, and the sublime. The story leaves a lot to one's imagination instead of presenting it in the text. Elena Garro blends two days and two completely different worlds together in this story. The magical elements depend on how one uses his or her imagination throughout this story. The girls could either be pretending to be dogs or they could have actually become dogs. If they are in fact real dogs, they are able to talk, and their dog Toni also talks. Also, magic numbers are used throughout the story. The main magical element is the blending of the two days. The story jumps back and forth between the two and never distinguishes between them. The realistic elements include Toni's actions. He shows how dogs spend their days lying under a tree and eating all day. Another realistic element depends on how one accepted the events that happened within the two parallel days. If the girls were not actually turned in to dogs but were just pretending, then this fact is another realistic element. Children often pretend they are animals, expecially dogs. In magical realism, "the text contains something we cannot explain according to the laws of the universe as we know them" (Faris 167) and the "descriptions detail a stong presence of the phenomenal world" (Faris 169). These quotes explain why one might think that this story is magical realism due to the two different worlds that are going on at the same time. Also, one "experience[s] the closeness or near-merging of two realms, two worlds" (Fari... ...l Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. 249-263. Garro, Elena. "The Day We Were Dogs." Latin American Writers: Thirty Stories. Ed. Gabriells Ibieta. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1993. 206-212. Faris, Wendy B. "Scherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. Sandner, David. "Romanticism and Transcendence in Nineteenth-Century Children's Fantasy Literature." The Fantastic Sublime. Westport, C.T.: Greenwood Press. 45-65, 142-147. Theim, Jon. "The Textualization of the Reader in Magical Realist Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. 235-247. Â