Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer...

Attitudes to War in Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge. Life wasnt easy for soldiers in the war as Wilfred Owen and Thomas Hardy express strongly in their legendary poems Dulce et Decorum est and Drummer Hodge. Peter Porter writes about the situation people may find themselves in when in, his poem Your Attention Please, he describes an announcement concerning a nuclear Rocket Strike. Wilfred Owen died at the age of 25 and was killed seven days before the end of World War 1. He is regarded as one of the most well-known war poets of the 20th Century, having written an astonishing 110 poems. Under the influence of Romantic, early 19th Century poets such as Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley, Owen produced Dulce Et Decorum†¦show more content†¦The second line brings in the aural aspects of suffering by using words like coughing and cursed. We cursed through sludge shows the intense deepness of the mud, which weakens the men and causes them to swear. Owen tries to make the readers feel pity for the men and does this extremely well by saying All went lame, all blind. This gives us the image that men couldnt see or hear correctly. He uses the metaphor Drunk with fatigue to illustrate the tiredness of the men. Stanza one ends on a note of warning; the danger of which the soldiers are unaware, as they cant hear properly. The first and second verses are all to do with the visual and oral images of the soldiers and the ironic sense that the men are on their way back from the front line so they should be in less threat, yet this is where one man is killed. The next verse begins with a shout of danger: Gas! Gas! Quick boys. Ecstasy is used paradoxically; it shows the speed and panic of the men as they know how important it is to get their helmets on and yet their fingers fail them. The poet tricks the reader by saying Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time which gives us the feeling that everyone has got their helmets on; this isnt true. The next few lines talk about the terror and pain the man goes through as the gas enters his body. The simile floundering like a man in fire was used to demonstrate the panic created by the man as he knewShow MoreRelatedThe Tradition Of War Poetry Essay2221 Words   |  9 Pages The Tradition Of War Poetry By comparing and contrasting a selection of war poems consider the ways in which attitudes to war have been explored and expressed. When considering poetry written post 1900 concentrate on a selection of poems written by Wilfred Owen. Humans have turned to poetry in many different instances as a way of expressing them selves, using the best combination of words, in the best order to express exactly how they are feeling at that moment.

Policy makers Free Essays

This also refers to both the dynamic discussions that continuously take place across a idà ©e range Of curricular issues and the evolutionary thinking about concepts and approaches in curriculum development. Changes in society constantly demand new knowledge and skills and require the continuous development of our educational system. This book focuses on the following questions: How do processes of curriculum of curriculum development evolve? What actually is curriculum? And how to ensure the quality of curricular products? This book also provide the teachers, educators, policy makers and other parties involved in educational development with a clear and concise introduction onto the tricks of the trade of curriculum development. We will write a custom essay sample on Policy makers or any similar topic only for you Order Now CHAPTER 1 CURRICULUM AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT The very short definition of curriculum as â€Å"a plan for learning†, used by the American Hills Tab in 1 962 is reflected by related terms in many languages, including the classical Dutch term learn which permits all sort of elaboration for specific curricular levels, contexts and representations. A first, extremely useful, distinction appears to be a specification of the level of curriculum and curriculum development namely: SUPRA, MACRO, MESS, MICRO, ANNA. A second, clarifying distinction concerns the different forms in which curricula can be represented in the following three levels: intended, implemented and attained. The core and the nineteenths of the so-called Spider Web refers to the ten parts of the curriculum, each concerning an aspect of learning and the learning programmer for learners. The components: Rationale, Aims and Objectives, Content, Learning Activities, Teacher Role, Materials and Resources, Grouping, Location, Time and Assessment are basis for curriculum design and innovation. Curriculum Development is focused on the improvement and innovation of education. During this process, desires and ideals are incorporated in a cyclic process of design, implementation, and evaluation to achieve concrete results in practice. This chapter describes the processes of curriculum development at three levels within the educational system: national level (macro), school level (mess), and pupil level (micro). Curriculum development at macro level focuses on the development of generic curricular frameworks. An important challenge in the development of these frameworks is to meet with the great diversity of societal demands on education. Schools build on synergy between curriculum development, teacher development and school organization development. For curriculum innovation to be successful, it is important that the school’s innovation ambitions are in line with the teachers’ commitment and their willingness to change, the abilities of the different teams, the culture and the infrastructure of the school. Curricular products that are developed at micro level include lesson trials and resources. For teachers who strive to put the innovation into practice, lesson materials that are exemplary are important carriers of the intended innovation. The quality of education is often subject for debate. There are different ways in which people assess the quality of curriculum: relevance, consistency, practicality and effectiveness. The quality criteria more or less build on one another. Whether a curriculum effective will also depend on the practicality – can it be implemented as intended? ND On the relevance and consistency of the intended objectives and content components. In the list of quality criteria a distinction has been made between the expected and the actual practicality and the effectiveness of a curriculum. Concerning teaching materials, for example, the expected practicality and effectiveness can be assessed through screening of the materials by teachers. In order to develop a high-quality curriculum, evaluation is of great importance. During the curriculum development process, the emphasis on implementation reveals itself on the following ways: analysis of lessons from past and of current use in practice, intensive deliberation with the target group and other stakeholders, formative evaluation of preliminary designs, assessment in an increasingly wide circle of schools, formulation of recommendations for the professional support of teacher and the other team, and contribute to the professional development of educational us providers of institutions that can organize activities. Moreover, the placement of the school’s organization and culture is also essential to ensure sustainable curriculum changes within the school. Collaboration among all sections and levels in and around the school is an important precondition for sustainable educational development. Harvests and Shirley (2009) also draw attention to the importance Of broad ownership and the shared responsibility for sustainable innovation. The active involvement of relevant social organizations- from parents to trade and industry – will also foster broad public support for and commitment to innovations. How to cite Policy makers, Papers

Creative Ideas For A New Possible Business Ventures

Question: Develop creative ideas for a new possible business ventures. These should not be copying others ideas, but using your own creativity to see possible opportunities. You may work on this alone, or may brainstorm with other students, but each student must submit unique ideas. Six ideas should be submitted. They should be no longer that a paragraph each. You do not have to validate the idea, only offer the idea as a possibility. The six ideas should be from the areas of trends, problem solving and gaps: Observing trends 1. Economic forces2. Social forces3. Technological forces4. Political and regulatory forces5. Solving a problem6. Filling market gaps Answer: Economic forces: In order to develop a new business venture in any location, developer or the owner has to understand the current economic situation of their own. Apart from that, has to understand the trends of home economy. Need to know the general issues elated taxation and have to create or develop specific taxation for products or service. Weather issues or seasonality also affected to the economic forces in business venture (Hassanien, Dale and Clarke). Rate of exchange and interest is also the important part of economic forces in new business venture. Social Forces: Demographics factor such as age, income of people, geographic region and the trends of lifestyle are the most important part in order to develop a new business venture. Changes of law or buying accesses are also related with the social forces for a new business venture development. Apart from that, advertising and publicity along with business ethnic has great influence in social forces of a new business. Views of media and consumers attitude are also the key term of social factor for new business. Technological Forces: In order to achieve competitive advantage and increase customer base, owner or developer of the new business venture has to adopt new technology in relation to business. Capacity and maturity are also the potential part of technology from the point of view of new business venture. Need to design ICT system within the organisation for better communication and sharing information to others. Need to develop global communication technology such as social media communication, video call technology like skype, Google Plus etc. Gadde, Hjelmgren, and Skarp assumed that for develop new business venture, organisation has to identify the intellectual property issues for their business. Political and Regulatory Forces: Fro start up new business, developer of the company has to take ideas about current legislation of market and trending policies. International legislations and government policies are also important method for developing a new business venture in any part of the world. Environmental issues and ecological issues are also closely related with the business. Initiatives, funding and grants has to involve as well as maintain for starting the new business venture. Solving a Problem: In order to solve the problem, management staff of new business venture has to communicate with their employees regularly and need to understand their problems. Management of the company has to adopt or hold meeting at the end of week and nee to discuss about current process. Apart from that, annually they have to provide rewards such as salary increase, job position change, etc based on performance of the employee. Filling Market Gap: In order to fill up the gaps of market of the new business venture has to segment their market. This strategy will allow them in understanding exact need and demand of the customer based on area. Segmentation based on geographic and demographic allows new business venture in identify accurate demand of customers. Providing products or service based on demand to consumer organisation in business is able to acquire large market share and customer base (Holmlund). Reference List Gadde, Lars-Erik, Daniel Hjelmgren, and Fredrik Skarp. 'Interactive Resource Development In New Business Relationships'. Journal of Business Research 65.2 (2012): 210-217. Web. Hassanien, Ahmed, Crispin Dale, and Alan Clarke. Hospitality Business Development. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, 2010. Print. Holmlund, Maria. 'Interactive Resource Development In New Business Relationships: A Commentary Essay'. Journal of Business Research 65.2 (2012): 218-219. Web.

Piagets Four Stages Of Cognitive Development Essays -

Piaget's Four Stages Of Cognitive Development Kristine Thornton Southern Technical College Dr. Andrea Goldstein Cognitive development : The process by which a child's understanding of the world changes due to their age and experience. Zone of proximal development : According to Vygotsky, the gap between what children already are able to accomplish on their own and what they are not quite ready to do by themselves. Puberty : The period at which maturation of the sexual organs occurs, beginning at about age 11 or 12 for girls and 13 or 14 for boys. Menopause : The period during which women stop menstruating and are no longer fertile. Developmental psychology : The branch of psychology that studies the patterns of growth and change that occur throughout life. According to psychologist Jean Piaget, children progress through a series of four critical stages of cognitive development. Each stage is marked by shifts in how kids understand the world. Piaget believed that children are like "little scientists" and that they actively try to explore and make sense of the world around them. Through his observations of his children, Piaget developed a stage theory of intellectual development that included four distinct stages: The sensorimotor stage, from birth to age 2 The preoperational stage, from age 2 to about age 7 The concrete operational stage, from age 7 to 11 The formal operational stage, which begins in adolescence and spans into adulthood. Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. He published his first scientific paper at the tender age of 10 - a 100-word description of an albino sparrow in a naturalist magazine. Between the ages of 15 and 19, he published numerous papers on mollusks and was even offered a job as a curator at a museum, although he had to decline the offer since he still had two years of high school to complete. While he developed an interest early on in how people come to know the world around them, he didn't receive any formal training in psychology until after he had completed his doctoral degree at the University of Neuchatel. After receiving his Ph.D. degree at age 22 in natural history, Piaget formally began a career that would have a profound impact on both psychology and education. After studying briefly with Carl Jung, he happened to meet Theodore Simon, one of Alfred Binet's collaborators . Simon offered Piaget a position supervising the standardization of the intelligence tests developed by Binet and Simon. Piaget developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based on his observations, he concluded that children were not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery "so simple only a genius could have thought of it." Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. Piaget's interest in child cognitive development was influenced by watching his 13-month-old nephew, Gerard, at play. By chance, Piaget observed the toddler playing with a ball. When the ball rolled under a table where the boy could still see it, Gerard simply retrieved the ball and continued playing. When the ball rolled under a sofa out of his sight, however, the child began looking for it where he had last seen it. This reaction struck Piaget as irrational. Piaget came to believe that children lack what he referred to as the object concept - the knowledge that objects are separate and distinct from both the individual and the individual's perception of that object. Jean Piaget set out to study his daughter Jacqueline as she developed through infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood. He quickly noted that during the early months of his daughter's life, she seemed to believe that objects ceased to exist once they were out of her sight. At nearly a year, she started to search actively for objects that were hidden from her view although she made mistakes similar to the one Gerard made. By 21 months, Jacqueline had become skilled at finding hidden objects and understood that objects had an existence separate from her perception of them. Piaget's

Brigadier General James Barnes in the Civil War

Brigadier General James Barnes in the Civil War James Barnes - Early Life Career: Born December 28, 1801, James Barnes was a native of Boston, MA.   Receiving his early education locally, he later attended Boston Latin School before commencing a career in business.   Unsatisfied in this field, Barnes elected to pursue a military career and obtained an appointment to West Point in 1825.   Older than many of his classmates, including Robert E. Lee, he graduated in 1829 ranked fifth of forty-six.   Commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant, Barnes received an assignment to the 4th US Artillery.   Over the next few years, he served sparingly with the regiment as he was retained at West Point to teach French and tactics.   In 1832, Barnes married Charlotte A. Sanford. James Barnes - Civilian Life: On July 31, 1836, following the birth of his second son, Barnes elected to resign his commission in the US Army and accepted a position as a civil engineer with a railroad.   Successful in this endeavor, he became superintendent of the Western Railroad (Boston Albany) three years later.   Based in Boston, Barnes remained in this position for twenty-two years.   In the late spring of 1861, following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter and beginning of the Civil War, he left the railroad and sought a military commission.   As a graduate of West Point, Barnes was able to obtain the colonelcy of the 18th Massachusetts Infantry on July 26.   Traveling to Washington, DC in late August, the regiment remained in the area until the spring of 1862. James Barnes - Army of the Potomac: Ordered south in March, Barnes regiment sailed to the Virginia Peninsula for service in Major General George B. McClellans Peninsula Campaign.   Initially assigned to Brigadier General Fitz John Porters division of III Corps, Barnes regiment followed the general to the newly-created V Corps in May.   Largely assigned to guard duty, the 18th Massachusetts saw no action during the advance up the Peninsula or during the Seven Days Battles in late June and early July.   In the wake of the Battle of Malvern Hill, Barnes brigade commander, Brigadier General John Martindale, was relieved.   As the senior colonel in brigade, Barnes assumed command on July 10.   The following month, the brigade participated in the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Manassas, though for unrecorded reasons Barnes was not present.       Rejoining his command, Barnes moved north in September as McClellans Army of the Potomac pursued Lees Army of Northern Virginia.   Though present at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, Barnes brigade and the rest of V Corps were held in reserve throughout the fighting.   In the days after the battle, Barnes made his combat debut when his men moved to cross the Potomac in pursuit of the retreating enemy.   This went badly as his men encountered the Confederate rearguard near the river and sustained over 200 casualties and 100 captured.   Barnes performed better later that fall at the Battle of Fredericksburg.   Mounting one of the several unsuccessful Union attacks against Maryes Heights, he received recognition for his efforts from his division commander, Brigadier General Charles Griffin. James Barnes - Gettysburg: Promoted to brigadier general on April 4, 1863, Barnes led his men at the Battle of Chancellorsville the following month.   Though only lightly engaged, his brigade held the distinction of being the last Union formation to recross the Rappahannock River after the defeat.   In the wake of Chancellorsville, Griffin was forced to take sick leave and Barnes assumed command of the division.   The second-oldest general in the Army of the Potomac behind Brigadier General George S. Greene, he led the division north to aid in halting Lees invasion of Pennsylvania.   Arriving at the Battle of Gettysburg early on July 2, Barnes men briefly rested near Powers Hill before V Corps commander Major General George Sykes ordered the division south towards Little Round Top. En route, one brigade, led by Colonel Strong Vincent, was detached and rushed to aid in the defense of Little Round Top.   Deploying on the south side of the hill, Vincents men, including Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlains 20th Maine, played a critical role in holding the position.   Moving with his remaining two brigades, Barnes received orders to reinforce Major General David Birneys division in the Wheatfield.   Arriving there, he soon withdrew his men back 300 yards without permission and refused pleas from those on his flanks to advance.   When Brigadier General James Caldwells division arrived to reinforce the Union position, an irate Birney ordered Barnes men to lie down so that these forces could pass through and reach the fighting.          Finally moving Colonel  Jacob B. Sweitzers brigade into the fight, Barnes became conspicuously absent when it came under a flank attack from Confederate forces.   At some point later in the afternoon, he was wounded in the leg and taken from the field.   Following the battle, Barnes performance was criticized by fellow general officers as well as his subordinates.   Though he recovered from his wound, he performance at Gettysburg effectively ended his career as a field officer. James Barnes - Later Career Life: Returning to active duty, Barnes moved through garrison posts in Virginia and Maryland.   In July 1864, he assumed command of the Point Lookout prisoner-of-war camp in southern Maryland.   Barnes remained in the army until being mustered out on January 15, 1866.   In recognition of his services, he received a brevet promotion to major general.   Returning to railroad work, Barnes later aided the commission tasked with constructing the Union Pacific Railroad.   He later died at Springfield, MA on February 12, 1869 and was buried in the citys Springfield Cemetery.   Ã‚   Selected Sources Gettysburg: James BarnesOfficial Records: James Barnes18th Massachusetts Infantry

Understanding Jacklighting

Understanding Jacklighting Jacklighting is the practice of shining a light into a forest or a field at night, to find animals for hunting. This can be done with car headlights, spotlights, searchlights or other lights, mounted on a vehicle or not. The animals are temporarily blinded and stand still, making it easier for hunters to kill them. In some areas, jacklighting is illegal because it is considered unsporting and dangerous because the hunters cannot see far enough beyond the targeted animal. Laws Regarding Jacklighting Where jacklighting is illegal, the law has a specific definition of the prohibited activity. For example, in Indiana: (b) A person may not knowingly throw or cast the rays of any spotlight or other artificial light:(1) not required by law on a motor vehicle; and(2) in search of or upon any wild bird or wild animal;from a vehicle while the person possesses a firearm, bow, or crossbow, if by throwing or casting the rays a wild bird or wild animal could be killed. This subsection applies even though the animal is not killed, injured, shot at, or otherwise pursued.(c) A person may not take any wildlife, except furbearing mammals, with the aid of illumination of any spotlight, searchlight, or other artificial light.(d) A person may not shine a spotlight, searchlight, or other artificial light for the purpose of taking, attempting to take, or assisting another person to take a deer. In New Jersey, the law states: No person or persons while in or on a vehicle shall throw or cast the rays of any illuminating device including, but not limited to, a spotlight, flashlight, floodlight or headlight, which is affixed to a vehicle or which is portable, on or in any area where deer may reasonably be expected to be found, while having in his or their possession or control, or in or on the vehicle, or any compartment thereof, whether or not the vehicle or compartment is locked, any firearm, weapon or other instrument capable of killing deer. Additionally, hunting at night is illegal in some states, whether or not a spotlight is being used. Some states specify which types of animals may be hunted with spotlights at night. Also Known As: spotlighting, shining, lamping Examples: A conservation officer caught four men jacklighting in the state park last night, and cited them for violating state hunting regulations.

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

Service Ops Management - Essay Example According to industry sales data, compiled by the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), a bedding industry trade group, approximately 700 manufacturers of mattresses and box springs make up the domestic conventional bedding industry. They generate wholesale revenues estimated at approximately $4.7 billion during calendar year, 2002. The market for conventional bedding represents more than 85% of the entire bedding market in North America. Approximately two-thirds of conventional bedding is sold through furniture stores and specialty sleep shops. Most of the remaining conventional bedding is sold through department stores, mass merchandisers, and membership clubs. Sealy has the largest market share and greatest consumer awareness of any bedding brand in North America. It is believed to be the largest manufacturer of bedding in the world. Sealy employs more than 6000 individuals, has 34 plants, and sells its products in over 7,000 retail outlets in the United States, including furniture stores, leading department stores, sleep shops, and mass merchandisers. Sealy is also a leading supplier to the hospitality industry. Sealy Asia Limited is the regional office of Sealy Corporation, a bed sets manufacturer established in Hong Kong in 2001. It is one of the major mattress manufacturers in the world, and it would like to explore the Asian market in the forthcoming years. Sealy’s vision is to be first, best, most and continuously the most improved player in the Hong Kong market. In sum, we want to have our customers view Sealy as first in product quality and service, as best at meeting their needs, and as the resource that offers the most in every facet of our business relationship. We have a healthy dose of self-criticism, so we are driven by an honest and a critical self-assessment in our quest for improvement in all aspects of

The Psychology of Adult Learning Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Psychology of Adult Learning Case - Essay Example I have selected this student for the case study because she is one of the most successful and influential models in my life. In contrast with most of the students her age in Saudi Arabia, KM loved going to school from the beginning of primary classes. In addition, KM, as was evident to those who have known her from her youth, has a strong character and power to change things she does not like. She loved working and helping other people, which has helped her to become a doctor in her future life. The theory of motivation is going to be applied to illustrate how it psychologically influenced KM to pursue this particular career. As such, the attached transcript (Appendix 4) will relate these issues to the existing theoretical position within psychology and adult education. In particular, this case study will investigate how these theories are related to the participant’s experience. The interview for this case study was conducted in the participant’s home on Sunday 31 December. Before this date, the interviewer sent KM an online copy form of the â€Å"invitation to be interviewed† and the â€Å"case study participation consent form†. After having a discussion about the issue online, the participant and the interviewer agreed that it would be better for both of them to meet at the participant’s home. The reason for this choice was that both sides would feel more relaxed and comfortable in a private and familiar setting as this would be more suitable within the culture of both the participant and the interviewer. In addition, this was where the participant studied and read during the period of her school and college attendance. The interviewing method was also chosen because it allows the participant to express her views in a free manner. It also allows the interviewer to gain first-hand information about the participant’s views towards a particular subject area.

Dance, the Art of Movement Essay Example for Free

Dance, the Art of Movement Essay Dancing is the rhythmical movement of the body, usually with music, to express an idea or emotion, to narrate a story or simply to enjoy and take pleasure in the movement itself. It can be traced that Dance as an art started from the moment it was harnessed to a rhythm, probably the stamping of the feet and clapping of the hands. Dance of the earliest times differ from those of the present times; the dances of the barrio folks differ from those of the city. There are primitive and non primitive dances. Indians dance to give thanks for a harvest, the Mexicans to celebrate a religious festival, teenagers dance at parties, both young and old go discoing and children everywhere dance because it is pleasurable to express joy through bodily movement or language. Origin and Function of the Dance Dancing has primitive beginnings. It can be deduced from the behavior of primitive tribes surviving today that the rhythm that spurred on the dances mostly came from the beat sustained through the stamping of the feet on the ground. Soon, dance was used for purposes of affecting the whole tribe; hunting dance to depict the capture or a prey or a warlike dance to show the defeat of enemy. There were dances of thanksgiving for a good harvest, good weather and wanted rain. Rain dances have survived in some parts of the world until today. In biblical dances, the Old Testament attests that Miriam, the sister of Moses, led the women in a dances of joy after Israelites escaped from Egypt. King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant to express thanksgiving. Psalm 149 says, â€Å"Let them praise HIS name in the dance. † The Bible tells us when people danced, but it does not tell how they danced. The Hebrew religion forbade the making of images. Thus there are no paintings or statues to help reconstruct the dances of Miriam or David. In earlier times, supplications t Gods was the beginning of the religious aspect of dancing. In the West, the most sophisticated of professional dancers put their art at the service of religion taking part in celebrations in great cathedrals or in humble churches. It is believed that the more grotesque kinds of dancing in plays and spectacles were developed by the Romans. In the East as well as in the West, dancing was developed as a social grace. Various kinds of religious, social and theatrical dances evolved slowly in the dances today. Generally, western dance techniques are based mostly on footwork, while the Eastern forms of art dance, depending upon footwork to sustain the rhythm, derive their greatest beauty and subtle meanings from the infinite variety of delicate movements of the upper part of the body, especially the head, neck and hands. In the East as in the West, dance was indigenous to religious ceremony, and was used for entertainment. Plato, the great Greek Philosopher demanded a place for the dance in his ‘’ideal republic’’ saying that it would help towards acquiring noble, harmonious and graceful attitudes. The implication is that dance was already appreciated for its own sake, as an expression of beauty and movement. The domination of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, after the fall of Rome, virtually extinguished theatrical dance, but it was reborn together with other art of Italy.

Free College Essays - Enlightenment in Narcissus and Goldmund

Enlightenment in Narcissus and Goldmund Hermann Hesse's repeated themes of enlightenment through religion, self acceptance, love, and fate, surface in Narcissus and Goldmund, as Goldmund, a student at Mariabronn cloister, discovers his true calling as an artist and lover. Taking the advice of his diametric, the analytical, dark, and spare Brother Narcissus, a teacher at the cloister who recognizes Goldmund as "a dreamer with the soul of a child," Goldmund acknowledges his suppressed childhood and rediscovers the image of his mother. Leaving the cloister at Narcissus' advice, Goldmund becomes a wanderer of the medieval countryside, seducing the hearts of women, learning the art of sculpting and painting, and recapturing his childhood. Although she is not physically present at any time, Goldmund's mother plays a significant role in his discovery of himself. Through the revival of her memory in his heart, he is able to accept his life as an artist, not a thinker and give in to the temptations of love. "Mother had been a subject he was forbidden to mention-...

The Advantages and Disadvantages to Robotics

In this paper we will be talking about the advantages and disadvantages of robotics in the modern era. The use of robotics in the modern era has greatly increased since the prior era. I will explain how robots are used everywhere from industrial companies to medical facilities. The first thing that I will be discussing is the advantages of robotics. In 2006 a California based intuitive Surgical Inc. launched a new surgical system called â€Å"the da Vinci surgical system†. This is based from an article in the May 2010 edition of Yale scientific magazine this system was a major advantage for both doctors and patients going through major surgeries. One of the greatest aspects of this system is that its precise surgical tools are controlled by remote access. The surgeon, sitting at a console located several feet from the patient on the operating table, uses a hand and foot based control panel. This system has multiple arms with numerous tools like a scalpel, scissors. Also the system has a full 3-D stereoscopic vision of any and all procedures. The da Vinci System offers many advantages over open surgery for both the surgeon and the patient. For the surgeon, the robotic arms offer greater mobility since their range of rotation is not constrained like the human wrists. In other words while cutting off tissue this can be done in one swift movement instead of the Jerking and start stop movement.

Power Struggles in Society

Mills, Schudson, and Gitlin show different approaches to society and the role of mass media. Each approach helps illustrate a different focus on society. They each hold special relevance in a discussion of the history of societal beliefs. The Mass Society refers to the overall belief C. Wright Mills held in relation to the type of society he believed we live in.Mills began The Power Elite with a bold statement saying, â€Å"The powers of ordinary men are circumscribed by the everyday words in which they live, yet even in these rounds of job, family, and neighborhood they often seem driven by forces they can neither understand nor govern† (Mills, 1956, p. 3). This opening sentence helps describe the attitude and beliefs of the entire book. A â€Å"power elite† exists in a society that is made up of three spheres. They are divided into economy, political, and military, with the same group of people interchanging between the three.This large group of elite is at the top ma king all the decisions, while the masses are at the bottom, unaware of the process that molds public opinion. Masses within this view of society are irrelevant and do not have any type of influence. The media functions as an entertainment source, keeping the masses entertained while the elite is taking care of all the important matters. It helps keep the reality and truth of the world obscured from the masses.Mills explained what the media does for the masses as â€Å"they distract him and obscure his chance to understand himself or his world, by fastening his attention upon artificial frenzies that are revolved within the program framework, usually by violent action or by what is called humor† (Mills, p. 315). This helps illuminate how the mass media guides, tries to control, and manipulates the masses. Mills describes the effect of mass media as â€Å"a sort of psychological illiteracy† to the extent that we â€Å"often do not believe what we see before us until we read about it in the paper or hear about it on the radio† (Mills, p. 311).The masses â€Å"standards of credulity, standards of reality, tend to be set by these media rather than by ‘the masses' own fragmentary experience† (Mills p. 311). Mass media's role helps prevent the questioning of the elite. â€Å"Families and churches and schools adapt to modern life; governments and armies and corporations shape it; and, as they do so, they turn these lesser institutions into means for their ends† (Mills, p. 6). The family into which someone was born or marries into helps improve or decrease their social status. The school where one is educated or the church where one worships also plays a major role in the social standing.Schools teach skills to the masses that enable them to function in society. Institutions shape life and the masses adapt to what institutions create. The masses in the theory are very disorganized and not connected to others. An excellent way to describe to masses can be shown by watching The Twilight Zone movie. It is a state of total confusion for everyone, with each doing their own thing. The elite enjoy the state of confusion with the masses, because they are able to control the major decisions that must be made. They determine the policies and the people enlist in them.In the mass society, the elite control the policies and ways of thinking for the confused masses. Schudson approaches the nature of society in a much different way, through the idea of the democratic society. In Discovering the News, he discussed â€Å"an even distribution of income† and described the 1800's as â€Å"more people acquired wealth and political power ‘bringing' with them a zeal for equal opportunity that led to the expansion of public education† (Schudson, 1978, p. 44). When looking at society as a whole, you have them socially, economically, and politically integrated. Economic development was promoted and shared by ma ny rather than few† (Schudson, p. 45). The press does not cause, but picks up elements, reflects, and builds from a democratic society. â€Å"The democratization of economic life brought with it attitudes that stressed economic gain to the exclusion of social aims; business practice more regularly began to reward strictly economic ties over broader ones† (Schudson, p. 46). Schudson believed that society was grounded in the perception of society, with the middle class dominating and developing.Media's relationship with its audience helped sustain them, but it did not create the worldview. The media cannot be proven to have many effects on society, and the ones that exist have to do with advertising as a cultural institution. Advertising functions more as a way of celebrating products and buying. It functions to remind and refocus as it orients people to the world and let them know that others share the same views. Advertising reminds us of things in society and reinforce s some social trends. The trends and cultural symbols make us aware while reminding us of what we already know.Objectivity occurred in writings as a response to a problem, not as a correct way to see the world. â€Å"As our minds become deeply aware of their own subjectivism, we find a zest in objective method that is not otherwise there† (Schudson, p. 151). Objectivity developed in response to crisis, when journalism became so overwhelmed with subjectivity. There are three views in reference to objectivity. â€Å"The first view, then, holds that form conceals content in the news story. A second position is that form constitutes content, that the form of the news story incorporates its own bias.A third sees the form of a news story, not as a literacy form, but as a social form tightly constrained by the routines of new gathering† (Schudson, pp. 184-185). The â€Å"moral wars† in journalism showed each class held differing beliefs on what was acceptable. The Time s wrote a speech by Reverend Dr. W. H. P. Faunce saying: â€Å"The press engages in a fearful struggle, one class against another. On one side stands the reputable papers and on the other, is what calls itself the new journalism, but which is in reality as old as sin itself† (Schudson, p. 114).Class conflict was the main reason for problems inside the newspaper industry. Different societal classes produced different types of newspapers. Schudson tracks the middle class because he fells it is the most important. He said the press emerged to serve the middle class audience. Schudson said the political aspects of society went from public to private. Reality was public, but became more concerned with what the individual was thinking instead of what everyone was thinking. Voting was one area effected by this new political and reality change.People began to vote in secrecy, such as in the separate voting booth presently used. This new secrecy allowed people to make decisions on the ir own instead of relying on others. Gitlin discusses how many aspects of society are the result of hegemony, defined as â€Å"the name given to a ruling class's domination through ideology, through the shaping of popular consent† (Gitlin, 1980, p. 9). â€Å"Hegemony is a historical process in which one picture of the world is systematically prefered over others, usually through practical routines and at times through extraordinary measures† (Gitlin, p. 57). Society is maintained by hegemony instead of class structure. This type of society is possible because it has a common reality, shared language, common cultural forms like mass media, shared government, common education and religion, and common transportation. Hegemony says we live in a society where all ideas are not treated equally. As a result, we are predisposed to accept some views and slower to accept others. It is not a conspiracy theory but it holds that everyone is doing their job. The ideas of the dominan t in society are being told.If someone outside the dominate group feels their idea is right, they must do something out of the ordinary to get attention. The dominate class is not particularly the elite or the middle class, but it is the group whose ideas are most important to be heard in society. We grow up in a world that already has meaning; we must therefore decide where we belong. In return, society produces the kind of people it needs. Many people spend their lives trying to figure out where to belong. The routines of journalists are the main way standardized frames are put into reporting. These routines are structured in the ways journalists are socialized from childhood, and then trained, recruited, assigned, edited, rewarded, and promoted on the job; they decisively shape the ways in which news is defined, events are considered newsworthy, and ‘objectivity' is secured† (Gitlin, pp. 11-12). People think the world is being reported, but it is actually being create d. Mills, Schudson, and Gitlin share few beliefs in relation to the nature of society. Each believes that separate social classes exist and that each class relates to society in a much different way.They also agree that problems do occur within society and its current division, but at that point their beliefs begin to diverge. Mills and Gitlin are the most similar among the three. They both believe there is a separation between one dominate class and the masses. Mills believes the one dominate is the elite and Gitlin does not feel it is any particular social class. Schudson, on the other hand, believes there are separate classes with the middle the most important. The most persuasive is a combination of Schudson and Gitlin. Different times make the separation on which is most important.Schudson is correct in saying the media and society play off each other. Things which occur in society would not be made as important without the media stressing its importance and society tuning in t o hear the details. Gitlin is also very true in his beliefs of hegemony with a ruling class being dominate over society. The world in which we live is very centered around the fact that one group's ideas are heard through the media more often than that of others. The nature of society is explained differently when looking at Mills, Schudson, and Gitlin. Each person is very persuasive in the views they express.There are also weaknesses that exist in some of the views. Gitlin's hegemony comes across as the most persuasive of the ideas. It can explain most things in society that the other two cannot. Society is complex in every way, but hegemony helps make it more simple to understand. References Gitlin, Todd. (1980). The Whole World Is Watching. Berkeley: University of California Press. Mills, C. Wright. (1956). The Power Elite. London: Oxford University Press. Schudson, Micheal. (1978). Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers. USA: Basic Books.

50 Problem Words and Phrases

50 Problem Words and Phrases 50 Problem Words and Phrases 50 Problem Words and Phrases By Mark Nichol Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to conceive written communication. So many pairs or trios of words and phrases stymie us with their resemblance to each other. Here’s a quick guide to alleviate (or is it ameliorate?) your suffering: 1. a while / awhile: â€Å"A while† is a noun phrase; awhile is an adverb. 2. all together / altogether: All together now â€Å"We will refrain from using that two-word phrase to end sentences like this one altogether.† 3. amend / emend: To amend is to change; to emend is to correct. 4. amount / number: Amount refers to a mass (â€Å"The amount saved is considerable†); number refers to a quantity (â€Å"The number of dollars saved is considerable†). 5. between / among: The distinction is not whether you refer to two people or things or to three or more; it’s whether you refer to one thing and another or to a collective or undefined number â€Å"Walk among the trees,† but â€Å"Walk between two trees.† 6. biannual / biennial: Biannual means twice a year; biennial means once every two years. 7. bring / take: If it’s coming toward you, it’s being brought. If it’s headed away from you, it’s being taken. 8. compare to / compare with: â€Å"Comparing to† implies similarity alone; â€Å"compare with† implies contrast as well. 9. compliment / complement: To compliment is to praise; to complement is to complete. 10. comprise, consist of / compose, constitute: Comprise means â€Å"include,† so test by replacement â€Å"is included of† is nonsense, and so is â€Å"is comprised of.† The whole comprises the parts or consists of the parts, but the parts compose or constitute the whole. 11. connote / denote: To connote is to convey (â€Å"Air quotes connote skepticism or irony†); to denote is to specify (â€Å"A stop sign denotes the requirement to halt†). 12. continual / continuous: Continual events are frequently repeated, or intermittent. Continuous events are uninterrupted, or constant. 13. credible / credulous: To be credible is to be authoritative; to be credulous is to be gullible. 14. deserts / desserts: If you eat only cake, pie, ice cream, and the like, you eat just desserts. If you have it coming to you, you get your just deserts as well. (However, the connotation is negative, so hit the gym.) 15. different from / different than: The former phrase is preferred in formal writing; but â€Å"differently than† is always correct usage. 16. discreet / discrete: Discreet means â€Å"subtle†; discrete means â€Å"separate.† (â€Å"He discreetly reminded them of their discrete meanings.†) 17. each other / one another: â€Å"One another† is preferred in formal writing when more than two of something are being discussed. 18. economic / economical: Economic refers to the science of economics; economical suggests frugality. 19. elemental/elementary: What’s elemental is essential or integral to nature; what’s elementary is basic. 20. ensure / insure / assure: To ensure is to guarantee, to insure is to indemnify, and to assure is to comfort or convince. 21. epidemic / endemic / pandemic: An epidemic is the outbreak of disease in a limited place and time; an endemic disease is a recurring one peculiar to a place or population; a pandemic is pervasive over a wide geographical area. 22. forgo / forego: To forgo is to go without; to forego is to go before (and is generally used only in the forms foregoing and foregone, which are themselves rare). 23. gibe / jibe / jive: To gibe (soft g, as in gym) is to taunt or insult (though jibe is an alternate spelling), to jibe with is to coincide or fit, to jive is to deceive. 24. historic / historical: Something historic is remarkable for its impact on history; something historical is simply an event in history. 25. home in / hone in: To home in is to close in; to hone in is to confuse one word for another. (â€Å"Hone in† has no meaning.) 26. jealousy / envy: Jealousy is resentment; envy is covetousness. 27. lay / lie: Lay is transitive, associated with a direct object â€Å"Lay that pencil down.† â€Å"Yesterday, I laid that pencil down.† â€Å"That pencil has been laid down.† Lie is intransitive, not so associated â€Å"Lie down.† â€Å"Last night, I lay down.† â€Å"It was my plan to have lain down already. 28. leach / leech: To leach is to dissolve by percolation; to leech is to remove blood with a leech or to exhaust; as a noun, it means a parasitic worm or the human figurative equivalent, or the edge of a sail (also spelled leach). 29. libel / slander: Libel is written defamation; slander is the spoken equivalent. 30. may / might: May refers to factual or possible; might is appropriate for the hypothetical or counterfactual. 31. nauseous / nauseated: To be nauseous is to cause sickness. To be nauseated is to feel sick. 32. notable / noticeable / noteworthy: Something notable is worthy of note. Something noticeable is capable of being noticed. Noteworthy is a synonym of notable, though the former implies the unusual and the latter the commendable. 33. partly / partially: Partly means â€Å"in part†; partially means â€Å"incomplete† or, rarely, is an antonym for unfairly. 34. peak / pique: To peak is to reach the pinnacle; to pique is to arouse interest or to bother. 35. people / persons: People has assumed primacy; persons is reserved mostly as a synonym for bodies (â€Å"those belongings carried on their persons†). 36. persuade / convince: To persuade someone is to motivate them to do something; to convince someone is to lead them to understand or believe. 37. predominantly / predominately: Both forms are correct, but predominantly predominates. 38. purposely / purposefully: What’s done purposely is done on purpose; what’s done purposefully is done with a purpose. 39. regrettably / regretfully: Regrettably is a synonym for unfortunately; regretfully means just that full of regret. 40. repetitive / repetitious: Both terms have acquired a negative connotation, but the former retains a more neutral meaning. 41. sensual / sensuous: Sensual has an erotic connotation; sensuous refers more neutrally to what is pleasurable to the senses. 42. since / because: Informally, these terms are interchangeable, but in formal writing, since should be used only to refer to time. 43. stationary / stationery: To be stationary is to stand still; stationery refers to letter-writing materials. 44. that / which: That is used restrictively (â€Å"The pencil that is sharp† among more than one pencil, the one with that characteristic); which is employed nonrestrictively (â€Å"The pencil, which is sharp† one pencil alone, possessing that characteristic). The distinction is rarely observed other than in American English. 45. tortuous / torturous: A tortuous experience is a winding one; a torturous one is painful. 46. transcript / transcription: A transcript is a thing; a transcription is the process of creating it. 47. verbal / oral: Verbal refers to both written and spoken communication, but oral is useful for distinguishing the latter from the former. 48. while / although / whereas: Informally, while is a synonym for the other two terms, but in formal writing it should be reserved for temporal connotations. 49. wreak / wreck: These terms do not share etymological origin; you wreck a party, but you do so by wreaking havoc. 50. whether / if: Both words are correct in expressing a choice, but the former is more appropriate in formal writing (â€Å"I can’t decide whether to go†), whereas the latter is better reserved for reference to possibility or probability (â€Å"I’ll go if you do†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About Hands50 Diminutive Suffixes (and a Cute Little Prefix)Sentence Adverbs

Would You Rather, an Icebreaker Game for Adults

Would You Rather, an Icebreaker Game for Adults This party game is perfect for use in the classroom, at a seminar or workshop, or any gathering of adults. Its easy and lots of fun. Would you rather be bald or completely hairy? Give your students impossible questions to answer and help them ease into learning together. Why Use Ice Breaker Games? Icebreakers are important tools for teachers of adults.  If youre teaching adults, you know they learn differently than children. They come to the classroom with a lot of life experience, some more than others, of course, and some of them bring wisdom, too, depending on their age. When you begin a new class or start a new lesson, an icebreaker game can help your adult students feel more comfortable participating by getting them to laugh, helping them to meet fellow students, and relaxing everyone. Have fun. People engage in learning more quickly when the experience is fun. Starting a session or a lesson plan with an icebreaker can help your adult students focus on whatever you have gathered to learn. Instructions The game takes 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the group. Break large groups into smaller groups by counting off if you have less time for this exercise. Give the participants a minute to think of a Would You Rathe question. Give some examples. There are published Would You Rather books and game cards available for sale if you have the budget to purchase them, but once you get going, you can easily make questions up yourself. If your group does not seem creative at all, you can always print handouts with question ideas and let your students choose from the list. Introduce yourself and ask the first person your question. Example: My name is Deb, and I want to know if you would rather speak to a large group or hold a snake. After the person answers, he or she should give their name and ask the next person their question. And so on. Save time for laughter and explanations if appropriate! Depending on the purpose of your class or meeting, ask participants to come up with a meaningful or thought-provoking question. If you use this game as an energizer, encourage people to just be silly. Debriefing Is Not Necessary No debriefing is necessary unless you’ve asked the group to come up with questions related to your topic. If so, some of the choices probably inspired some remarkable responses. Choose a few to discuss further or to use as a lead-in to your first lecture or activity. This icebreaker game makes a good warm-up exercise for adult education lesson plans. Would You Rather Ideas If you need some questions to get the game rolling, start with these and see if they inspire others: Would you rather play Monopoly or chess?Would you rather have super hearing or x-ray vision?Would you rather be good at drawing or singing?Would you rather be a cat or a fish?Would you rather be Catwoman or Wonder Woman?Would you rather babysit a couples child or their dog?Would you rather go one year without TV or without reading books?Would you rather attend a big party or have an intimate dinner with a few friends?Would you rather lose your hearing or lose your sight?Would you rather be able to breathe underwater or fly?

Software Engineering and Novel Programming Essay

Software Engineering and Novel Programming - Essay Example After thorough research done by software engineers and some independent programmers some of the programming languages like BASIC, Pascal etc., were developed. After realizing the importance of using software technologies government agencies in collaboration with private sector companies started development research in programming languages. Companies like IBM, Microsoft, Apple, etc., realized very early what the future holds for them. They quickly grabbed the opportunity and invested heavily on software engineering research. The final result was huge. Many programming languages like C, FORTRAN, COBOL, etc., came into the picture. It's the research and analysis done by the scientists and programmers in software engineering yielded fruitful results in the development of different programming languages, which became more and more user friendly. The main purpose of these programming languages was to develop applications that could be used in everyday life. The researches involved finding potential problems in programming languages and resolving them. The researchers found the flexibility of a language enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to create cost effective applications by using programming languages. ... It saves time and very cost effective. Another important feature developed by the researchers was reverse engineering. In reverse engineering the work is done from final stage to the initial stage. The main purpose of reverse engineering is to extract the code from the final product, working on the final product to the scratch. By using reverse engineering technique one can extract their competitors application and introduce own application in the market accordingly.Today programming languages are termed as procedural programming languages, Object-Oriented programming languages and visual programming languages. Procedural languages like C, FORTRAN etc. uses top down approach in programming. Microsoft Windows 95 and 98 were programmed in C. Visual programming languages like Visual Basic were mostly based graphical user interface (GUI). Since they were very user friendly they became very popular. Object-Oriented Programming languages (OOP's) like C++, Java etc., uses bottom up approach . Java is based on OOP's concepts. It uses bottom up approach. Sun Microsystems developed Java. The OOP's concepts are one of the important features of Java. These concepts are classes, objects, message passing, data encapsulation, data abstraction, polymorphism and inheritance. These are the result of research done by programming experts. Compared to C++, applications created by using Java runs very slowly. Because of the absence of pointers creating viruses in Java is not possible. Java can be simply described by Java buzzwords developed by the Java team. The buzzwords are simple, secure, portable, object-oriented, robust, multithreaded, architecture-neutral, interpreted, high performance,

General Motors and AvtoVaz of Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

General Motors and AvtoVaz of Russia - Essay Example However, GM could not market their automobiles at this price even though the company had employed different tactics on manufacturing and distribution. Similarly, AvtoVAZ, the largest automobile producer in Russia, had been struggling with sales declines due to product quality issues and tax evasion allegations. In addition, the firm had no sufficient capital to rebuild their business although it had innovative product designs including Niva. Hence, either GM or AvtoVAZ was not in a position to develop and market the Niva without an external assistance. At this juncture, they jointly decided to integrate AvtoVAZ’s domestic market dominance with GM’s technical expertise and market repute. Evidently, the proposed Joint venture (JV) is potential for both organizations. This JV strategy will certainly add value to GM’ global expansion vision since Russia is a potential emerging market. From the case study, it is clear that GM failed to operate successfully in Russian market even though it had practiced the traditional emerging market approach of manufacturing complete cars in its own plants and reassembling the deassembled parts in Russia with local labor. The main cause of failure of GM in Russian market was low income levels of Russians that forced the company to fix extremely cheaper prices for its products. If GM operates its plants in Russia, it can avoid shipping charges and import duties and ultimately use the economies of domestic production to set affordable prices for Russian customers. Furthermore, AvtoVAZ is the most leading player in Russian automobile industry although it currently struggles with some quality issues. Therefore, the JV will assist GM to take advantages of widespread business territories as well as deep Russian market experience of AvtoVAZ. In addition, the national distribution network established by the AvtoVAZ dealers will be beneficial for the GM to skip from the difficulty of developing a dealer network from scr atch. Hence, the proposed integration would promote value creation, a process of identifying competitive alternatives to trim down costs and thereby to provide maximum benefits to customers. Many of the economists hold the view that business integration would contribute to value creation due to operational efficiencies from an internal market and selection of distributors and suppliers (Means of corporate strategy, slide 6). Likewise, the case background clearly points out that it would be very difficult for the firm to compete in Russian automobile market. The Russian automobile sector noticeably lagged behind other huge players in the industry even though the Russian government had specifically focused on the industry’ modernization and development. The case report reflects that the Russian automobile industry’s â€Å"inadequate capital, poor infrastructure, and deep-seated mismanagement and corruption resulted in outdated, unreliable, and unsafe automobiles† (â€Å"General Motors and†¦:, 2). In addition, the instability of Russian economy often causes problems to automobile manufactures as a result of unexpected tax impositions and changes in regulations. Intense political issues in Russia adversely affected the sustainable growth of the country’s automobile industry. Increased rate of defects in new cars was another issue, which persuaded the people to boycott Russian made automobiles. Finally, higher crime rates in the country forced the foreign marketers and

Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Methodology - Essay Example In the training step, the characteristics will be derived from a recognized speaker sound then stored in a database that has a model or an outline like Password or Name. The stored information is then extracted by means of the model given by an unidentified speaker. The recovered data is then compared with characteristics extracted from the unidentified speaker sound. If the evaluation result is positive, then the unidentified speaker will be validated. The figure above 3.2.2 demonstrates two things: how the word will be accepted from the speakers voice as well as how to distinguish the personality of the speaker. The speech identification will need from the speaker to record the word. The classifier will be employed so as to extract the characteristics of the voice of the speaker and then the representation will be made and saved in the catalog. Just for the speaker identification the speakers voice will be recorded then features will be taken out and will be evaluated against the other speakers models so as to accept or reject the personality of a speaker. The figure above 3.2.3 demonstrates the enrollment along with verification phases, in the previous stage the speakers voice will be recorded so as to extract the attribute from his/her voice. After that, the replica will be created for every speaker word and will be stored it in the database. During the verification stage, the speaker’s voice will be recorded, and then the traits will be extorted from the speakers voice. After that, the choice will be made so as to accept or reject the speaker depending on the assessment of the extracted characteristic from a speaker along with the other recognized speaker models that were stored in the database. For this project, I employed Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for recognition of speech. 3.1 Hardware depiction: The software will be executed by means of some devices such as Microphone in addition to the computer, the microphone should

Townsends Theories of Recruitment and Selection

Townsends Theories of Recruitment and Selection This essay will argue Townsends research into the paradox of recruitment and selection, training and the high level of turnover that appears in the growing industry of call. His research is based on PowerGrid, which is an Australian Government owned Power Company. There has been an enormous increase in the number of call centres, due to this a large number of interesting issues have arisen such as high level of turnover in call centres, despite companies spending vast sums of money on training and recruiting. The research of Townsend is valuable and meaningful for there has been little academic research conducted in the area of recruitment, training and turnover in call centres. This essay will be based on the critical review of Townsends use of research methods, findings, practical implications and the concepts he used. Townsend adopts a three-step research strategy. Specifically, a seven-month non-participant job observation, ten interviews of managers and leaders in the organization and an analysis of the human resource documents compose the research method. Townsend considers the importance of PowerGrid call centre mainly for two reasons: At first, during the 1990s Australian government deregulation to power supplies session, PowerGrid had grew out of joint efforts by other power suppliers; Next, the PowerGrid call centre was based on Erlang C model which uses mathematical method to calculate and predict call volumes and keep balance of contact within the call centre (Angus, 2001).ÂÂ  Townsends findings suggest that the company was able to reduce its cost of training and recruitment through internal transfers. Moreover, Townsend points out that training should focus more on emotional labour as it is important for call centre agents to show to their customers rather than solely focus on techn ical trainings and the role of the human resource department is to hire the best candidates and filter out the ones who may be incompetent. Looking at the literature, the paradox between high cost of recruitment and training and high ratio of employees turnover in the sector of call centres, could be described as a sacrificial HR strategy (Wallace, Eagleson Waldersee, 2000), this formed the basis of Townsends research. By agreeing with (korczynski, 2002) Townsend accepts the idea that organizations face dual imperatives for instance call centres want to minimise their costs but on the other hand have to provide excellent service to its customers. But companies mainly use call centres to minimize their cost rather than offer customer service, although call centre managers describes customers service as their main goal (Robinson Morley, 2006). Townsend agrees with (Mulholland, 2002) that whatever the type of call centre it may be, Customer service representatives (CSRs) have to show a high degree of emotional labor to the customers. CSRs are also required to have the ability of micro-self manage (Wray-Bliss, 2001).But on the other hand he disagrees with (Hochschild, 1983) that those CSRs who displayed artificial emotional labour suffered from negative consequences. Townsends argument is supported by findings of (Wharton, 1993) who through his research suggested that emotional labour does not cause any negative consequences. Townsend discusses the importance of the role of recruitment towards the future and wellbeing of an organisation and compares it to the role of a gate keeper (2007: 57). It should be noted that by hiring competent applicants the firms productivity and performance can be improved significantly (Russo, Rietveld, Nijkamp Gorter, 1995). It is also better to employ those people who are willing to learn. (2007: 478). Besides, Townsend agrees with (Breaugh Starke, 2000) who suggested that new recruits job satisfaction and initial performance should be more important to organisations. That is, when the applicants are being hired it is important for the employers to see, whether the applicants attitude is suitable to organisations and this should be considered more important than ones technical skills. As mentioned before, PowerGrid is a government-owned Australian electricity supplier. Townsend acknowledges that there is difference between governments owned companies and privately owned companies. As he identifies the unique characteristics, there is a debate on whether the findings of this case could be generalized to private companies. Moreover, its rational to doubt whether Townsend has paid attention to the fact that his research is conducted in Government run working environment. Townsend argues that PowerGrid being a Government owned company has to have its call centers in the country, which increases costs, while on the other hand they need to be efficient in terms of operations. But being a Government owned company it has the protection of the Government in terms of costs. Private companies on the other hand do not have this advantage and may need to outsource their call centres in order to cut down their costs, to low costs countries such as India and Philippines (Snow, 2 005). Townsend identifies that PowerGrid makes internal transfers which it called positive turnover; this is when CSRs moved within the organisation. Due to this the organisation is able to reduce its training and recruitment cost which otherwise would have been spent on hiring and training new candidates. As (Robinson Morley, 2006) confirmed high staff turnover rate in call centres can greatly affect the cost impact on business and that could be direct costs; that are training, recruiting etc. or could be indirect for instance bad customer service. But Townsend fails to give any evidence for his findings as to how we can see if the organization was able to reduce its costs by internal transfers. According to Townsend, PowerGrid used a three stage training programs for the new recruits (2007: 485). He mentions that the first stage is the basic training program away from the computer and it is done in an environment that is decorated with nappies, baby clothes and pacifiers. He mentions that the management calls it the nursery. However, he questions the logic of using this word and shows some reservations about whether using this word is appropriate for this level but then agrees to the concept of the management who call it as part of the fun in the organization. But training programs are at the entry level of the company and may give wrong perceptions of the company, the perceptions may become permanent and in future it would be difficult to change these perceptions (Marchington, 2005). Townsend points out at some of the problems faced by Powergrid with regards to training of new CSRs. Previously the training time for news CSRs was eight weeks (2007: 484). A new system was to be introduced that would half that time to nearly four weeks. Even though the management spend AU$ 30 million on the new system, it turned out to be a failure as it not only doubled the training time as new recruits would have to learn both the systems but also increased employee dissatisfaction. He points out the ineffective communication and low employee involvement during the development and implementation of this new system when he mentions about the training team leader who points out that the management did not disclose to him information about the new system due to which the new system became an add on (2007: 484) to the old system rather than a completely new system. According to Lewis, (1999) there is a direct link between communication process within the organisation and organisationa l change implementation. Townsend identifies that the training for the employees was mostly focused on technical and product knowledge rather than on emotional labour. He believes that money would be well spent if it was spent on trying to improve the emotional labour rather than spend it on other skills. But he fails to provide any ideas on how this can be improved. Townsend points out at the dissatisfaction of the CSRs with the management (2007: 485). The employees are unhappy with the schedule for their trainings because they had to perform their training modules outside their working hours. The employees felt they were already overburdened as they only got thirty minutes of release time which was spent mainly to check their emails. The CSRs would be dissatisfied because a CSRs job is more stressful and less satisfying as compared to other jobs (Holdsworth Cartwright, 2003). Dissatisfaction of managers can be identified in PowerGrid. As a call centre manager called himself between a rock and a hard place (2007: 487) as they had to do continuous recruitment as some of their employees would move through to the larger organization due to internal transfers and many would leave the organization altogether as they would be heavily scrutinized through the software analysis system or will not get enough pay or benefits. So in order to retain the employees the organization must offer its employees good pay and benefits and should adopt a transparent performance management system (Raman, Budhwar Balasubramanian, 2007). There can be weaknesses identified in Townsends research methods. He used three steps to conduct his research. Firstly, he used non participant job observations to carry out his research. Non participant job observations include two types direct or indirect observations (Rowley, 2004). It has not been mentioned if he used direct or indirect observations, as in direct observations questions can be asked and may lead to change in behavior of the people observed, on the other hand indirect observations cannot be used for gaining information on perceptions, attitudes etc. (Rowley, 2004). He made observations only once or twice a week which seem not enough. Effective observation is an art and needs to be honed and perfected overtime (Rowley, 2004). There is nothing mentioned in the article that suggests that whether the author has experience or has gone through training to conduct and observation at this level. Secondly, he then conducted eighteen interviews of key personnel in the company who included contact centre manager, call centre manager, training team leader, roster and planning officer and human resource representatives, out of which he selects only ten interviews that he believed were relevant to topic of his research. The author should provide more detailed criteria for choosing only ten interviews out of the original eighteen. Thirdly, he obtained data from the organisation related to the Human resource department and analysed it to reach the conclusion. He has not mentioned what type of data he used to come to conclusions neither he has mentioned any process or methods that he used to analyse and interpret the data. There are two methods for data analysis; Computer based analysis and manual analysis (Borch Arthur, 1995). So in this case we dont know if he has used manual or computer based analysis or a combination of both. As some researchers use one type of methodology while some use a combination of both (Borch Arthur, 1995). Due to the debatable nature of Townsends research methods it is very difficult to find his results conclusive. However, he agrees with (Mulhollands, 2002) which suggest that CSRs need to show a high degree of emotional labor to the customers. Lack of proper planning and communication can be seen between the management of PowerGrid as they wasted AU$30 million in trying to implement a new software without consulting the training team leader and it turned out to be an add on (2007: 486). He identified that the recruitment and selection department should act like a gate keeper (2007: 478) in order to only let in the right candidates. He emphasized that training should focus more on emotional labour, as it is the most important aspect while communicating with the customers, rather than focusing on technical skills. Townsend fails to identify by how much the company was able to reduce the cost of turnover when they had to keep recruiting throughout the year due to employees moving into th e larger organization or leaving the organization altogether. This research provides useful information for practitioners in the call centres. However, researchers who further study, need to research in depth into industry of call centre and should specially address the limitations found in Townsends study. Townsend wanted to consider the paradox of extensive recruitment and training conducted in call centres that are faced with high levels of turnover. He came to the conclusion that PowerGrid was able to reduce its cost of recruitment and training, by having internal transfers within the larger organisation. Furthermore, Townsend has been able to identify certain problems within PowerGrid. He has failed to highlight is there any difference between this call centre and other private call centres. He has advocated that there should be a great emphasis on training of emotional labour rather than technical training but he has been unable to provide any suggestion how it can be done. Finally, Non-participant job observations, interviews are types of qualitative research methods which can be called problematic because of problems with their validity and reliability (Kirk Miller, 1986) REFERENCES: Angus, I. (2001). An introduction to Erlang B and Erlang C. Telemanagement, (187): 6-8. Breaugh, J. and Starke, M. (2000). Research on employee recruitment: so many studies, so many remaining questions.Journal of Management, 26(3): 405-34. Borch, O.J. and Arthur, M.B. (1995). Strategic networks among small firms: implications for strategy research methodology. Journal of Management Studies, 32(4): 419-441 Catterall, M. (1996). Using Computer programs to code qualitative data. Marketing Intelligence Planning Journal, 14(4): 29- 33. Hochschild, A. (1983).The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human feeling.University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Holdsworth, L and Cartwright, S. (2003). Empowerment, stress and satisfaction: an exploratory study of a call centre.Leadership Organisation Development Journal, 24 (3):131-140. Kirk, J. and Miller, M. (1986). Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research.London, Sage. Lewis, L.K. (1999). Disseminating information and soliciting input during planned organisational change: implementers targets, sources, and channels for communicating.Management Communication Quarterly, 13(1):43-75. korczynski, M. (2002).Human Resource Management in Service Work. Palgrave, Basingstoke Marchington, M. (2005). Human Resource Management at Work. London: Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks New Delhi. Mulholland, K. (2002). Gender emotional labour and teamworking in a call centre.Personnel review, 31(3):283-303. Raman, S.R.;Budhwar P. andBalasubramanian G. (2007).People management issues in Indian KPOs.Employee Relations, 29(6): 696-710. Robinson, G. and Morley, C. (2006). Call centre management: responsibilities and performance.International Journal of Service Industry Management, 17(3): 284-300. Rowley J. (2003) Researching people and organisations, Library Management Volume, 15(4/5): 208-214. Russo, G.; Rietveld, P.; Nijkam, P. and Gorter, C. (1995).Issues in recruitment strategies: an economic perspective.The International Journal of Career Management, 7(3): 3-13. Snow, J. (2005). UK call centres: crossroads of an Industry. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 23(6): 525-532. Townsend, K. (2005). Considering progress in Greenfield site.International employment relations review, 11(1/2):76-79 Wallace, C.;Eagleson, G. and Waldersee, R. (2000). The sacrificial HR strategy in callcentres. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 11(2): 174-184. Wharton, A.S. (1993). The affective consequences of service work.Work and Occupations, 20: 205-232 Wray-Bliss, E. (2001). Representing customer service: telephones and texts. Customer service. in Sturdy, A., Grugulis, I., Willmott, H. (Eds),Customer Service: Empowerment and Entrapment, Palgrave, London, .

leadership and management :: essays research papers

The Functions of management Henri Fayol – first person to come up with a list of functions or elements of management †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Planning – setting objectives and also strategies, policies, programmes and procedures for achieving them. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organising – managers set tasks which need to be preformed if the business wants to achieve its objectives. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Commanding – this involves giving instructions to subordinates to carry out tasks. The manager has the authority to make decisions. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Co-ordinating – this is the bringing together of the activities of people within the business. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Controlling – managers measure and correct the activities of individuals and groups, to make sure that their performance fits in with plans. The management process Peter Drucker – grouped the operations of management into five categories †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Setting objectives for the organisation †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Job measurement – assessing whether the business has met its objectives †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organising the work †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Motivating employees †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Developing people – the management should bring out the best in people Four styles of management Autocratic – orders come form the top, and no leeway is allowed Democratic – less centralised, give space for initiative Laissez faire – arises from over worked or lazy management, staff is left to their own devices Paternalistic – decision making is still centralised but a noticeable attention and care for staff McGregor’s Theory X & Y Douglas McGregor undertook a survey of managers in the USA and identified two styles of management, which he called Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X managers tend to distrust their subordinates; they believe employees do not enjoy their work and that need to be controlled. Theory X is about the views managers have on their workforce. Theory Y managers believe that employees do enjoy their work and they want to contribute ideas and effort. Theory Y manager is more likely to involve employees in decisions Why do leader adopt different styles? Fiedler – argued that ‘it is easier to change someone’s role or power, or to modify the job he has to do, than to change his leadership style’. He found that it is difficult for people to change their leadership styles – an autocrat will always lead in n autocratic style. Fiedler suggested that a business should attempt what he called leadership match – to find a leader to fit the situation. Leader can either be task orientated or relationship orientated Hersey and Blanchard – argued that a leader’s strategy should not only take account of the situation, but also the maturity of those who are led. A leader will have task behaviour or relationship behaviour.

Life Lessons Essay

A moment that will forever change my life happened two years ago during my sophomore year, I will never forget it, but I am also thankful that it happened because I have learned from my mistake and it has taught me a few valuable life lessons. Two years ago, I moved up to Eugene to live with my aunt and uncle for the year to experience a new life setting. I was thrilled to experience new things, meet new people, and learn new ways of living in a big city. It was the first day of school at Willamette High school, I was filled with excitement to be attending a new school and meet different people, I had a goal that day to make a great first impression to start my year off. When lunch time came, I was going to have lunch with my cousin and his friends to get a start on meeting people. We found out that our ride was making its way down the street already, my cousin Artees, said to me to run and jump into the car. Without fully thinking about this, I made the decision to go for it. Running to catch up to the car felt like forever, but I made it to the door that was open for me to jump in, I was able to get up inside the car and was almost fully in, I suddenly felt a tug on my backpack and started falling back out, not being able to catch myself, I fell out of the car landing underneath and have both legs ran over from the ankles down. I remember this happening very quickly and seeing nothing but the bright sun in my view. The pain I went through is indescribable, it felt as if you had your legs cut off and a burning sensation as if you were being burned. Read more:Â  Essay About Lessons Learned From Parents I wasn’t unconscious but felt as if I was in another world, everything was happening very slow and I could hear people screaming around me and Artees above me saying he was sorry and if I was doing okay. All the voices I was hearing sounded like a whisper and as if everything was a blur. It seemed like I was lying in the middle of the road for hours and fell into a little sleep, I remember opening my eyes to people circled around me looking down at me with my cousin holding me, then came paramedics breaking the crowd. I was quickly in put in a neck brace, and strapped to a board. I had my pants cut off while in the road to get to my legs, at the time I didn’t care at all how many people were watching me, but now it is weird to think how many hundreds of people saw me in my underwear. Quickly I was in the hospital was doctors all around me and my family devastated by my bed side. After many x-rays and CT scans, we discovered that I miraculously broke no bones, but fractured my ankles badly, crushed arteries and muscles, severe nerve damage and broke blood vessels that still two years later, have not grown back. I spent a week back in Bend to recover, which was a struggle all in itself. I was bed ridden for seven days and to shower or use the bathroom, I had to be carried everywhere. When I attempted to walk on my own, shooting pain would soar my entire body and my ankles would make a cracking noise. After a week, I felt well enough to try and go back to school. I wore ankle braces day and night, and used crutches. As I expected, I got many stares daily and had people whisper when I was around. I made it through with much support from my cousin. It has almost been three years now since my accident, and still I have pain in my ankles that have spread throughout my legs that I deal with daily. I am not able to stand for more than ten minutes and now have a disease called neuropathy that makes my entire leg either very cold or very hot, tingle, swell, and I am in sever pain daily. I also have nightmares and flashbacks about that day weekly, and have anxiety being in cars and walking on sidewalks. I have been told by my orthopedic doctor that I am going to live with this for the rest of my life, so I have learned to deal with this better. What I have learned from my experience is to always think things through even if you think if you do something, it is going to impress someone, the result can be bad, leave you with injuries, or even be fatal. I am thankful everyday that this didn’t turn out worse, and I am still here today.

Internet Security Essay

During the past ten years, the intensiveness and variety of electronic financial transactions have increased dramatically. The last decade was characterised by the rapid spreading of financial transactions involving the use of online and/ or remote mechanisms. E-services and e-transactions have become an essential element of the postmodern technological reality. As the number of online financial services increases, so do the number and variety of security threats. Small and large companies are equally vulnerable to the risks of security breaches in various types of financial transactions. These threats are becoming more and more complex and can take full advantage of the existing network and application vulnerabilities. The current state of technology provides numerous solutions to the existing and emerging security threats; however, the success of the proposed countermeasures will depend on how well businesses realise the seriousness of the major security threats and are prepared to invest additional resources in the development and implementation of the complex security strategies. Security threats and statistical information: The current state of literature A wealth of literature was written about the most serious security threats and the financial losses which security breaches and various types of system vulnerabilities cause to large and small businesses. The period between 2006 and 2008 was marked with the slight decrease in the number of financial frauds and security breaches in financial operations: U. S. Federal Trade Commission asserts that frauds as a percentage of online revenue in the United States and Canada has decreased slightly over the past few years and stabilised at 1. 4 percent in 2008 (Paget 2009). Meanwhile, the losses caused by security breaches and financial fraud display a marked increase – in 2008 alone, the American market lost over $4 billion due to security breaches and financial frauds (Paget 2009). This is a 20 percent increase compared with 2008 (Paget 2009). Given the new trends in technology-related financial services and businesses’ striving to reduce their transaction costs, the development of new methods of e-payment and the use of open architectures will create new technological challenges for professionals and new fraud opportunities for hackers (Glaessner, Kellermann & McNevin 2002). The current state of literature provides the basic overview of the most serious security threats and proposes unique solutions businesses and individuals can take to address these threats. Financial transactions and security threats: what literature says The discussion of security threats in the context of e-financial transactions is one of the most popular topics in scholarly literature. Today, the rapid growth of wireless technology and the increasing role of wireless solutions in daily financial operations turn electronic security into the issue of the major public concern. Numerous authors tried to identify the most important security threats and to categorise them according to their severity and define the risks they pose to the stability of the financial e-flows. For example, Glaessner, Kellerman and McNevin (2002) state that the most frequent problems in the financial transactions arena include (a) insider abuse, (b) identity theft, (c) fraud, and (d) hacking. Cate (2005) concentrates on the discussion of identity-based fraud and suggests that account fraud, true identity fraud and synthetic identity fraud are the three most frequent forms of security threats in online financial transactions. In this context, Keller et al. (2005) seem the most objective and detailed in their observation of the existing security threats and financial transaction issues. According to Keller et al. (2005), the first generation of vulnerabilities started in the middle of the 1980s and took a form of boot viruses that affected computers and networks over the course of weeks; the next generation of viruses was spread by means of macros and e-mails. Denial-of-service attacks became prevalent in the middle of the 1990s and still present one of the basic problems in financial transactions domains (Keller et al. 2005). New types of threats include worms that affect individual and multiple computers and networks, and can easily self-replicate to infect large number of users (Keller et al. 2005). Trojans are used extensively to steal passwords or create back doors on computers, compromising network security (Keller et al. 2005). Keller et al. (2005) believe that the rapid expansion of spyware and malware are of particular concern to IT specialists and business people – these programmes are downloaded into computers without users’ knowledge or consent, typically run in the background, track personal information and execute damaging commands. Statistically, every PC contains approximately 27. 5 pieces of various malicious programmes (Keller et al. 2005). Fortunately, IT professionals actively work to develop effective countermeasures against the most sophisticated security threats. Financial transactions and security threats: Potential solutions Given that malware presents one of the most serious issues in the field of electronic financial transactions, numerous authors sought to offer their solutions to the problem. Vlachos and Spinellis (2007) provide an overview of the so-called Proactive malware identification system, which is based on the computer hygiene principles and demonstrates relative effectiveness in combating the risks of malware in financial transactions. Vlachos and Spinellis (2007) call the proposed algorithm PROMIS and base it on a peer-to-peer architecture; the choice of the P2P architecture is justified by the fact that P2P networks often become a propagation vector for various types of malicious software. The P2P architecture used by Vlachos and Spinellis (2007) contains two types of nodes, the member and the super nodes, and all nodes wishing to participate in the discussed P2P networks must authenticate themselves to the super nodes. PROMIS nodes generally fulfill the two basic types of operations – a Notifier daemon regularly checks the log files on the security applications, while a Handler daemon analyses the incoming rates from other peers of the group and computes a global malicious activity rate (Vlachos & Spinellis 2007). The researchers use experimental design to prove that the performance of the P2P group improves proportionately to the number of P2P members. Extensive simulations suggest that PROMIS has a potential to protect the operating networks from known and unknown worm activity (Vlachos & Spinellis 2007). That during virus epidemics PROMIS exploits only specific vulnerabilities and leaves all other systems intact is considered as one of the basic system’s benefits (Vlachos & Spinellis 2007). However, Vlachos and Spinellis (2007) are not the only professionals in the field of financial security. The fact is in that malware is often associated with denial-of-service attacks, which continue to plague the Internet. Malware substantially lower the bar for massive distributed denial-of-service attacks (Wang & Reiter 2008). Unfortunately, the current state of protection against DoS attacks is passive by nature and does not offer incentives to the owners of the Internet networks to protect their computers from the risks of malware (Wang & Reiter 2008). Wang and Reiter (2008) suggest that client puzzles be a potentially effective mechanism against DoS attacks in financial transactions. Client puzzles imply that â€Å"a client solves a computational puzzle for requesting service before the server commits resources, thereby imposing a massive computational burden on adversaries bent on generating legitimate service requests to consume substantial server resources† (Wang & Reiter 2008). End-to-end puzzles imply that each client bidding for a financial service from the Internet server must present his solution to a puzzle; meanwhile, the server will allocate its limited resources to the bidders who solve the most difficult puzzles (Wang & Reiter 2008). In this system, an adversary cannot seize the financial and informational resources of a victim without committing its own resources first (Wang & Reiter 2008). These systems are effective in mitigating DoS threats at all application layers and can be readily interoperable with various legacy systems (Wang & Reiter 2008). These, however, are unique technological solutions to the existing security threats. Other authors offer less sophisticated but no less effective ideas of how to deal with security threats in financial transactions. According to Corzo et al. (2008), Automated Banking Certificates (ABC) can be readily used to timely identify unauthorised financial transactions. In the current system of electronic transactions, a financial transaction is considered authentic if it (a) is performed by an authorised entity; (b) has not been altered since the moment it was generated; and (c) is not a replay of another valid transaction (Corzo et al. 2008). Unfortunately, current banking systems can identify non-valid and fraudulent transactions only by means of audit after the transaction took place; as a result, there is an urgent need to develop a mechanism which will trace and identify fraudulent transactions before and while they are taking place (Corzo et al. 2008). An ABC is a data structure which allows monitoring the relationships between various transactions within one workflow (Corzo et al. 2008). A complete ABC allows tracing operations within workflows that go beyond the boundaries of one financial institution, as long as their tasks are related (Corzo et al. 008). The use of ABC’s in the current system of financial transactions proves that the task of identifying an unauthorised user is absolutely achievable. The use of network smart cards is another potential solution to the existing and emerging security threats. A network smart card â€Å"is a smart card that is an Internet node and is accessible from the Internet† (Lu & Ali 2006). The Smart Card stores user information and provides this information only to the trusted client or server, as soon as the user authorises the service or transaction (Lu & Ali 2006). Smart cards are beneficial in the sense that they can create and maintain secure Internet connections with another Internet node, a web server or a web browser (Lu & Ali 2006). As long as the smart card sends selected user information directly to the service provider, this information does not go through the local computer and the threats of identity theft or similar security breaches becomes minimal (Lu & Ali 2006). Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these developments is yet to be discovered. Meanwhile, companies continue using more traditional solutions to their security issues. The current research suggests that AdAware and Spybot are the most common tools used by businesses to deal with such threats (Keller 2005). Moreover, despite the availability of effective tools that cost little or nothing at all, many businesses recognise that they do not use any spyware at all (Keller 2005). As a result, businesses either lose significant material resources or fail to timely identify the emerging threats. The case is particularly difficult with the so-called insider threats, when security threats are being born from within the business entity. For example, in 2008, the FBI alleged that a former Intel employee copied top secret documents that posed a threat to the future of the whole company and its business projects (Patel 2009). The cases when bank workers become the basic sources of the security threats and the initiators of the complex financial frauds are not rare. As a result, the success of financial transactions, their security, and the technical safety of consumers depends on how well companies realise the seriousness of the security threats and whether they are prepared to deal with them. The current state of technology provides numerous solutions to the security issues in financial transactions, and businesses can secure themselves from the potential risks and failures by using the proposed technological Internet solutions at low or no cost. Conclusion The past years have been marked with the rapid increase in electronic financial transactions. The use of online and/ or remote mechanisms in financial operations has already become an essential element of the daily business routine. Financial transactions are associated with numerous security threats, including identity fraud, insider abuse, and the use of malware and denial-of-service attacks to access and steal personal user information. The current state of literature provides numerous solutions and ideas, which businesses could use to address the existing and emerging security threats. Smart cards, automated banking certificates, and the use of client puzzles are just some out of many ways to address security threats in financial transactions. Unfortunately, businesses often neglect the existing technological opportunities and do not deem it necessary to use effective protection from the real security threats. As a result, the effectiveness and safety of financial transactions largely depends on how well businesses realise the seriousness of the discussed threats and are prepared to invest additional material resources in the development of effective security strategies and solutions.