Values Based Decision-Making Essay - 1372 Words

An individuals personal, organizational, and cultural values are the foundation of their personal and professional decision-making cycle. These values form the core of that individuals moral fabric, and his actions and decisions are predicated on those beliefs. Shalom H. Schwartz defined values as conceptions of the desirable that guide the way social actors (e.g. organizational leaders, policy-makers, individual persons) select actions, evaluate people and events, and explain their actions and evaluations (Schwartz, 1999, pp. 24-25). Because values drive the way individuals select actions, this paper will outline how my personal, organizational, and cultural values affect my decision-making. Personal Values Personally, I hold†¦show more content†¦The value of honesty cannot be overstated in my personal life. I strive to be honest in all personal dealings but will occasionally be less than honest if my honesty would lead to breaking the golden rule. When making decisions about my personal life, it is integral that I am honest to myself and to others. An example of this would be making a decision to take a vacation. While the vacation would be enjoyable, if I did not have the funds to pay for the vacation without using credit cards, I would have to be honest with myself and my family about the monetary situation and decide against the vacation. Professionally, it is critical to be honest because without the credibility of your superiors and subordinates, you are nothing. Any dishonest act, while perhaps having short-term benefits, is likely to reduce your credibility in the eyes of others. Once you have lost this credibility and trust, it is nearly impossible to regain it. In an insightful article in the Journal of Business Ethics, D. J. Fritzsche tested the hypothesis that certain instrumental personal values such as responsibility, honesty, and broadmindedness are associated with ethical decision-making (Fritzsche, 1995). In his study, Fritzsche surveyed 750 business managers in a series of vignettes. He found that while these core values can be a yardstick for ethical decision-making, not all threeShow MoreRelatedEssay about Values Based Decision-Making1416 Words   |  6 PagesAn individuals personal, organizational, and cultural values are the foundation of their personal and professional decision-making cycle. These values form the core of that individuals moral fabric, and his actions and decisions are predicated on those beliefs. Shalom H. Schwartz defined values as conceptions of the desirable that guide the way social actors (e.g. organizational leaders, policy-makers, individual persons) select actions, evaluate people and events, and expla in their actions andRead MoreThe Challenges Of Values And Ethics Based Business Decision Making852 Words   |  4 PagesThe challenges of values and ethics based business decision-making in the current global market place is creating a positive corporate culture that requires a strong conviction by its members by offering corporate values and ethics which are essential in running an effective business (Henle, 2006, p. 347). Additionally, due to the differences in cultural ethics globally organization ethical standards can be transferred universally when they are deemed as trustworthy, credible, economical, and reliableRead MoreAre The Most On Values For Making Decisions?811 Words   |  4 PagesI would rely the most on values for making decisions. For example, a public administrator is faced with the challenge of reducing poverty by a certain degree. Information and facts are relevant in developing the best program. Research on facts and history should be done to select the best way to achieve the goal of reducing poverty for that city or town. All possible policy alternatives are outlined and rated. The best alternative is chosen from options like work-relief programs, higher welfareRead MoreSocial And Psychological Factors Influence Economic Decisions Essay1052 Words   |  5 Pagessocial and psychological factors influence economic decisions. The main difference with the classical economic approach is that, while economists use a normative approach in describing extit{how decisions should be made} to optimise a reward function, by assuming that subjects are rational decision-makers citep{von2007theory}, behavioural economics describes extit{how decisions are actually made} by using experiments that emulate real-life decision problems citep{kahneman2000choices, todd2003bounding}Read MoreThe Ethical Decision Making Models1576 Words   |  7 PagesEthical Decision-Making Models Decision-making in the field of psychology refers to a cognitive process that results in a selection among multiple possible solutions in a situation (Colman, 2008). Decision-making is based on available information from the environment as well as intrinsic information and existing schemas (Rogerson, Gottlieb, Handelsman, Knapp Younggren, 2011). These internal schemas, along with knowledge and personal preferences, influence the decision-making process. EthicalRead MoreUnique and Complex Nature of Category 2 Decision Making Process1039 Words   |  5 PagesII decision process in nevertheless generic. Discuss The decision making process is extremely complex in case of the category II decision process. Yet, it is not generic as the circumstances and the opinions of each of the decision makers’ matters a lot. People from different parts of the world may approach decision making based on their cultural backgrounds, value systems and also based on their capacity and willingness to take risk by bypassing the steps involved in the process of decision makingRead MoreValues and Ethical Decision Making/Scenario1469 Words   |  6 PagesValues and Ethical Decision Making/Scenario Team B Lakisha Bradley, Telisa Jupiter, Charlene Gillette, Jasmine Hives, and Stacey Lamb MGT/521 Steven Perret February 12, 2012 Values and Ethical Decision Making/Scenario Team B will be evaluating the personal values, organizational values, and ethical decision-making processes of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Members will also evaluate how one team member’s value and ethic assessment align with one scenario regarding the organizationRead MoreEthical Principles Of Nursing Practice974 Words   |  4 Pagesnursing in respect to decision making is looked upon, various key areas are taken into consideration. These key areas include the nursing values, the standards, subject ethical principles and finally the fundamental beliefs in nursing. When a reflection is made on the on the key mentioned areas, it is presumed that each of them is mainly aimed at protecting human dignity and restoring respect to patients (Bush 2007). Ethical values in nursing When looking at nursing values in regard to the subjectRead MoreThe Difference Between Professionalism And Ethics1590 Words   |  7 Pagestalks about the study of decisions and moral judgment. Ethics is the study of what should be, what is the ultimate good and how to achieve it. People have always thought that the primary purpose of business is to serve society. Business must have a society commitment otherwise businesses cannot enjoy success. It is a study of human actions in respect of being right and wrong. Ethics is an attempt to discover that ought to be. Ethics forms critique of both ultimate values and goals and the means usedRead MoreImproving Leadership Decision Making : Fear Of Lack Of Buy1045 Words   |  5 PagesImproving Leadership Decision-Making Fear of lack of buy-in. One of the most common areas of improvement for effective decision-making in times of uncertainty, is to avoid making decisions based only on the appeal to colleagues. Research shows that a fear of lack of buy-in or approval from colleagues should not be a motivator for making a decision. Examples include making decisions within the following motivators: a) decisions that will sit most comfortably with colleagues, b) be the most popular

Death Of A Salesman And Fences Essay - 1264 Words

Having a father figure in your life can help shape your life. Fathers are disciplinarians and caretakers. Often, it may seem that boys will try to copy their fathers to be just like them. They will seek their father’s approval in everything they do. The relationship between a father, and a son is an essential one. This relationship can determine how a boy will grow up into a man, what good habits will he pick up from his father or what bad ones. Although the fathers in Death of a Salesman and Fences; Willy and Troy wanted whats best for their sons, they did more harm than good. A terrible father and son relationship can cause a strain on the sons mind by constantly needing praise from their dad. Thus, Biff and Corys relationship with†¦show more content†¦Willy was so pushy to a point where Biff could not finish a sentence before Willy could interrupt him. Whereas Troy refuses to see that times have changed and his son has a chance to play football professionally. Troy s father has influenced the way Troy treats his children, even though he escaped his father by fleeing at a young age. Thus creating his hostile attitude that stems from his past. Troy feels guilty for not being around for Lyons growing, instead, Troy was serving his fifteen years sentence. Lyons is thirty-four year old still getting financial support from Troy. However, he never urged Lyon to get another career. Instead, he gave up and let Lyon take advantage of him. But when it came to Cory, Troy was very assertive and short tempered. He refuses to sign the consent forms for Cory’s football draft and ruins his chances at a football career. There was a fearsome relationship between Troy and Cory. All Cory ever wanted was his father’s affection. He even asks Troy if he likes him. All Cory ever gotten from Troy was fear, he never knew if his father genuinely liked him or not. â€Å"You my flesh and blood. Not cause I like you! Cause it’s my duty to take care of you. I ain’t got to like you.†(Wilson 40). Willy’s short temper and sense of paranoia turned any conversation he has into an argument. Willy does not show an ideal example of a father for his sons, patience and understanding vanishes when Willy shows his anger. Hence causing aShow MoreRelatedEssay on Comparing Death of a Salesman and Fences795 Words   |  4 PagesWhen it comes to comparing and contrasting two different cultures and morals the differences can be night and day. In Death Of A Salesman and Fences, these stories follow two middle-class families around the same time period (late 1940-1950’s), who are both facing problems within their own household’s. From marital issues to failing father/son relationships, both of these stories paint a picture to the audience of what life in an urban family living in that time setting was like through the author’sRead MoreFather and Son in Death of a Salesman, and Fences Essay966 Words   |  4 Pagesdifficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, â€Å"Death of a Salesman,† and â€Å"Fences† both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, â€Å"Death of a Salesman,† and â€Å"Fences,† both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympatheticRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Cory in The Play Fences by August Wilson1109 Words   |  5 Pagesdeath of a salesman father-sonfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffd Troy Maxson’s father-son relationship is anything but desirable. The harder Cory works to better himself, theRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller2091 Words   |  9 Pagesprosperity through hard work. Both in Arthur Miller s Death of a Salesman and F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a strong theme throughout, as ultimately the protagonists in the novel and play fail to achieve their dream. As a result, the reader is forced to consider whether the American Dream is an unattainable concept or if it is due to personal interpretation. The Great Gatsby written in 1925 and Death of a Salesman 1949, gives a slightly different perspective being postRead MoreEssay Prompts4057 Words   |  17 PagesBarthes’ Observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. You may select a work from the list below or another novel or play of comparable literary merit. Alias Grace Middlemarch All the King’s Men Moby-Dick Candide Obasan Death of a Salesman Oedipus Rex Doctor FaustusRead MoreEudora Welty a Worn Path12166 Words   |  49 Pagesinformation on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/worn−path/copyright Table of Contents 1. A Worn Path: Introduction 2. Eudora Welty Biography 3. Summary 4. Characters 5. Themes 6. Style 7. Historical Context 8. Critical Overview 9. Essays and Criticism 10. Compare and Contrast 11. Topics for Further Study 12. Media Adaptations 13. What Do I Read Next? 14. Bibliography and Further Reading 15. Copyright Introduction Eudora Weltys A Worn Path, first published in Atlantic MonthlyRead MoreEudora Welty a Worn Path12173 Words   |  49 Pagesinformation on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/worn−path/copyright Table of Contents 1. A Worn Path: Introduction 2. Eudora Welty Biography 3. Summary 4. Characters 5. Themes 6. Style 7. Historical Context 8. Critical Overview 9. Essays and Criticism 10. Compare and Contrast 11. Topics for Further Study 12. Media Adaptations 13. What Do I Read Next? 14. Bibliography and Further Reading 15. Copyright Introduction Eudora Weltys A Worn Path, first published in Atlantic MonthlyRead MoreBelonging Essay4112 Words   |  17 PagesEmily, Selected Poems of Emily Dicksinson Herrick, Steven, The Simple Gift Baillie, Alan, The China Coin Russell, Willy, Educating Rita Cleven,Vivienne et al (eds), Contemporary Indigenous Plays Pung, Alice, Unpolished Gem Noyce, Phillip, Rabbit-Proof Fence Daldry, Stephen, Billy Elliot Making Multicultural Australia, www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au It is also suggested you choose 3-4 related texts as you will have more to discuss. You do not have to read a full book; a story from an anthology canRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesdecision, too. He wants to stay, but not by himself. Still, he isnt convinced by Juanitas reasons. Look, he says, if the stream were poisonous, everything in it would look dead. There are water spiders and plants living in the stream. Its no death trap. At this point you are faced with one of lifes little decisions: What do you do about the water situation? Go or stay? Someone else might make this decision by flipping a coin. A logical reasoner is more rational. 4 A first step inRead MoreConfucianism in Journey to the West31834 Words   |  128 PagesLeonard (1966), Principles of Behavior: An Introduction to Behavior Theory, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Lai, Whalen (2004), â€Å"From Protean Ape to Handsome Saint: The Monkey King†, Asian Folklore Studies, 53/1, 29-65. Locke, John (1690), An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, London: Printed for Tho. Basset, and sold by Edw. Mory. Keane, Michael (2002), â€Å"Television Drama in China: Engineering Souls for the Market† in: Craig, Timothy J. King, Richard [eds.], Global Goes Local: Popular

Disease Management Free Essays

Disease management pertains to the concept of assisting in healthcare expenditures and augmenting the quality of life through prevention and health maintenance. Disease management is associated with a commitment to provide guidance, information, advocacy and service to its members in order for them to feel a positive change. An ideal health care model aims to improve the quality and efficiency of health care assistance, to increase the accessibility to health care services for various populations, to increase price and quality transparency and to ascertain accountability for all services received. We will write a custom essay sample on Disease Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now In order to achieve these goals, certain disease management programs have linked with Aetna and United Healthcare, which improves both benefits and the marketing of health insurance industry. One policy of disease management involves the improvement of the quality and efficiency of health care for its members (Barry and Basler, 2007). This policy feature is associated with routine measurement of the performance of its plans. It also encourages highly efficient health care options to its members, as well as the application of information technologies in keeping and maintaining patient health records. The use of prescribing medications electronically is also presented, which helps in keeping the patients safe from errors of drug consumption, as well as duplication of services, which are deemed to be wasteful in terms of money, time and effort. Such improvement may also advance the mode of access for health test results and other information. Another policy being promoted by disease management programs involve the availability of health care services to varied populations at reasonable prices. Such feature concentrates on outreach programs that provide materials and services to different communities using other languages that are applicable to specific ethnic groups. This element may be a valuable feature in interacting with its members, so that the patients may freely express their needs and concerns regarding health care and its associated services. It is also very useful in making its non-English speaking members to understand what has been assessed or what is needed in order to help them in their health maintenance, including chronic care and disease management. The use of the multi-language approach also prevents miscommunications and misunderstandings between the program and its members. The benefits of such effort will include a greater chance for its members to understand any information that is provided to them, including the quality, effectivity and costs of the health care services. It also allows the members to make their own decisions about their own health care plans because they are empowered to interact and ask questions about aspects that concern their health. A disease management program also includes the regular monitoring and assessment of its health plan and its subsequent dissemination of information to its members (Gearon, 2006). Such feature is valuable in terms of its goal in continuously improving the health care performance and efficiency of its plans. And it is also known that the most reliable way of improving any health care plan is by gathering the comments and suggestions of the end-users, which are actually the members itself, who directly apply such health care plans to their daily lives. A disease management program appraises its healthcare policy and features every year. Such comprehensive review of the policy often times lead to points of improvement. These are then actively considered an incorporated into the working health policy and its members are likewise advised of the new changes. Any other comments or suggestions are freely expressed by its members, and the program at the same time welcomes such constructive criticisms. Healthcare marketing is a phenomenon that actively promotes features of healthcare industry. A successful healthcare marketing process follows the three major concepts framework, view point and definition. Healthcare marketing has dramatically changed over the last decade, mainly due to reforms initiated by the government (Barry and Basler, 2007). One prime modification in the healthcare market is the incorporation of Medicare, which works as a form of reimbursement for healthcare institutions. A few decades ago, healthcare investigators attempted to establish the relationship between healthcare practitioners and patients. One of the observations they observed was that patients often had only a few choices in terms of healthcare providers hence they have no resort but to maintain a relationship with a particular doctor amidst substandard patient care delivery. Another observation the investigators observed was the patients tend to screen or try out different physicians and just pick out which physician works best with their own personal preference. In addition, other individuals would also screen different hospitals and then later decide which hospital serves them best in terms of their hospital needs. References Barry P and Basler B (2007):   Healing our system.   AARP Bulletin, March, 2007.   Retrieved on July 25, 2007 from http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourlife/healingoursystem.html Gearon C (2006):   State-by-State List of HMO report cards online.   AARP Bulletin, January 2006.   Retrieved on July 25, 2007 from http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourhealth/a2003-08-07-hmoreport.html How to cite Disease Management, Essays

Mesopotamian Art and Arquitecture Essay Example For Students

Mesopotamian Art and Arquitecture Essay Mesopotamian Art and ArchitectureThe arts and buildings of the ancient Middle Easterncivilizations developed in the area (now Iraq) between theTigris and Euphrates rivers from prehistory to the 6thcentury BC. Their art reflects both their love and fear of natural forces, as well as their military conquests. The soil of Mesopotamia yielded the civilizationsmajor building material, mud brick. This clay also was usedby the Mesopotamians for their pottery, terra-cottasculpture, and writing tablets. Few wooden artifacts havebeen preserved. Stone was rare, and certain types had tobe imported; basalt, sandstone, diorite, and alabaster wereused for sculpture. Metals such as bronze, copper, gold,and silver, as well as shells and precious stones, wereused for sculptures and inlays. The art of Mesopotamia includes a mix from peoplewho differed ethnicly and linguistically. Each of thesegroups made its own contribution to art until the Persianconquest of the 6th century BC. The first dominant peo pleto control the region and shape its art were the non-SemiticSumerians, followed by the Semitic Akkadians,Babylonians, and Assyrians. The earliest architectural and artistic remains knownto date come from northern Mesopotamia from theproto-Neolithic site of Qermez Dere in the foothills of theJebel Sinjar. Levels dating to the 9th millennium BC haverevealed round sunken huts outfitted with one or twoplastered pillars with stone cores. When the buildings wereabandoned, human skulls were placed on the floors,indicating some sort of ritual. Artifacts from the late Uruk and Jamdat Nasr periods,also (about 3500-2900 BC), have been found at several sites, but the major site was the city of Uruk. The majorbuilding from level five at Uruk (about 3500 BC) is theLimestone Temple; its superstructure is not preserved, butlimestone slabs on a layer of stamped earth show that itwas niched and monumental in size, measuring 250 x 99ft. Some buildings at Uruk of level four were decorated withcolorful cones inset into the walls to form geometricpatterns. Another technique that was used waswhitewashing, as in the White Temple, which gets its namefrom its long, narrow, whitewashed inner shrine. It was builtin the area of Uruk dedicated to the Sumerian sky god Anu. The White Temple stood about 40 ft above the plain, on ahigh platform, prefiguring the ziggurat, the stepped tower,typical Mesopotamian religious structure that was intendedto bring the priest or king nearer to a particular god, or toprovide a platform where the deity could descend to visitthe worshipers. A few outstanding stone sculptures were unearthed atUruk. The most beautiful is a white limestone head of awoman or goddess (about 3500-3000 BC), with eyebrows,large open eyes, and a central part in her hair, all intendedfor inlay. A tall alabaster vase (about 3500-3000 BC), withhorizontal bands, or registers, depicts a procession at thetop, with a king presenting a basket of fruit to Inanna,goddess of fertility and love, or her priestess; nude priestsbringing offerings in the central band; and at the bottom arow of animals over a row of plants. The first historical epoch of Sumerian dominancelasted from about 3000 BC until about 2340 BC. Whileearlier architectural traditions continued, a new type ofbuilding was introduced, the temple oval, an enclosure witha central platform supporting a shrine. City-states centeredat such cities as Ur, Umma, Lagash, Kish, and Eshnunnawere headed by governors or kings who were notconsidered divine. Much of the art is commemorative;plaques, frequentl y depicting banquet scenes, celebratevictories or the completion of a temple. These were oftenused as boundary stones, as was the limestone stele(Louvre, Paris) of King Eannatum from Lagash. In tworegisters on one side of the stele the king is depictedleading his army into battle; on the other side the godNingirsu, symbolically represented as much larger than ahuman, holds the net containing the defeated enemy. TheStandard of Ur (about 2700 BC) a wooden plaque inlaidwith shell, schist, lapis lazuli, and pinkish stone, has threebands of processions and religious scenes. The Semitic Akkadians gradually rose to power in thelate 24th century BC; under Sargon I (about 2335-2279BC), they extended their rule over Sumer and united thewhole of Mesopotamia. Little Akkadian art remains, butwhat has survived is endowed with technical mastery, greatenergy, and spirit. In the Akkadian cities of Sippar, Assur,Eshnuna, Tell Brak, and the capital at Akkad (still to befound), the palace became more important than thetemple. The most significant Akkadian innovations were thoseof the seal cutters. The minimal space of each seal is filledwith action: Heroes and gods grapple with beasts, slaymonsters, and drive chariots in processions. A newAkkadian theme, developed and continued in the periods tofollow, was the presentation scene, in which anintermediary or a personal deity presents another figurebehind him to a more important seated god. Except forstories from the Gilgamesh epic, many myths that aredepicted have not been interpreted. In Our Time The Nick Adams Stories Were My Favorite Of The Collection EssayNot only is there more detail, but at times figures overlap,giving the viewer a sense of people and animals in realspace. The art of the late Assyrian seal cutter is acombination of realism and mythology. Even thenaturalistic scenes contain symbols of the gods. These objects may have originated outside of Assyria, for theyresemble Syro-Phoenician crafted objects found at ArslanTash on the upper Euphrates and at Samaria, capital of theIsraelite kingdom. The lioness plaques incorporateEgyptian iconography and are examples of the bestPhoenician craftsmanship. Thousands of ivory carvingsdisplaying a variety of styles have been recovered atNimrud. The art of the peoples who lived on the fringes of theAssyrian Empire at times lacks the aesthetic appeal of thatof the capital. In Tell Halaf, a local rulers palace wasdecorated with weird reliefs and sculpture in the round;among the hybrids is a scorpion man. At the site of TellAhmar in northern Syria, ancient Til Barsip (Assyrian KarShalmaneser), a palace decorated extensively withAssyrian wall paintings was uncovered. Some of thepaintings are attributed to the mid-8th century BC; others toa rebuilding by Assurbanipal in the 7th century BC. Fromthe earlier building are scenes with winged genii, the defeatof the enemy and their merciless execution, audiencesgranted to officials, and scribes recording booty fromsubjugated nations. The paintings in Khorsabad were moreformalrepeat patterns in bands are topped by two figurespaying homage to a deity. Excavations in Lorestan, themountainous region of western Iran, yielded fine bronzes offantastic creatures, probably made in the middle or lateAssyrian period. These were used as ornaments forhorses, weapons, and utensils. Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine were on the land routebetween Asia Minor and Africa, and the ancient art of thisarea always shows the influence of those who conquered,passed through, or traded with its inhabitants. Mesopotamian-style cylinder seals from the Jamdat Nasrperiod have been found. Pottery, works in stone, andscarabs were influenced by dynastic Egypt beginning in the29th century BC. Bronze figurines from Byblos of the early2nd millennium are more distinctly Phoenician, as aredaggers and other ceremonial weapons found there. Although the motifs used by local artisans came frombeyond the immediate regionCrete, Egypt, the HittiteEmpire, and Mesopotamiathe technique embodied incrafted objects found at Byblos and Ugarit is distinctlyPhoenician. Phoenician goldsmiths and silversmiths wereskilled artisans, but the quality of their work depended ontheir clientele. Ivory work was always of the higheststandards, probably because of Egyptian competition. Phoenicians sold their wares all over the Middle East, andthe spread of Middle Eastern style and iconography, likethe alphabet, can be attributed to these great traders ofantiquity. The Babylonians, in coalition with the Medes andScythians, defeated the Assyrians in 612 BC and sackedNimrud and Nineveh. They did not establish a new style oriconography. Boundary stones depict old presentationscenes or the images of kings with symbols of the gods. Neo-Babylonian creativity manifested itself architecturallyat Babylon, the capital. This huge city, destroyed (689 BC)by the Assyrian Sennacherib, was restored byNabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar II. Divided bythe Euphrates, it took 88 years to build and wassurrounded by outer and inner walls. Its central feature wasEsagila, the temple of Marduk, with its associatedseven-story ziggurat Etemenanki, popularly known later asthe Tower of Babel. The ziggurat reached about 300 ft inheight and had at the uppermost stage a temple (a shrine)built of sun-dried bricks and faced with baked bricks. Fromthe temple of Marduk northward passed the processionalway, its wall decorated with enamelled lions. Passingthrough the Ishtar Gate, it led to a small temple outside thecity, where ceremonies for the New Year Festival wereheld. Nabonidus (reigned 556-539 BC), the last Babylonianking, rebuilt the old Sumerian capital of Ur, including theziggurat of Nanna, rival to the ziggurat Etemenanki atBabylon. It survived well and its facing of brick has recentlybeen restored. In 539 BC the Neo-Babylonian kingdom fell to thePersian Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. Mesopotamiabeame part of the Persian Empire, and a royal palace wasbuilt at Babylon, which was made one of the empiresadministrative capitals. Among the remains from Babylonof the time of Alexander the Great, is a theater he built atthe site known now as Humra. The brilliance of Babylonwas ended about 250 BC when the inhabitants of Babylonmoved to Seleucia, built by Alexanders successors.

Assessing Students with Special Needs

Assessing Students with Special Needs Assessing students with learning disabilities can be challenging. Some students, such as those with ADHD and autism, struggle with testing situations and cannot remain at task long enough to complete such assessments. But assessments are important; they provide the child with an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and understanding. For most learners with exceptionalities, a paper-and-pencil task should be at the bottom of the list of assessment strategies. Below are some alternate suggestions that support and enhance assessment of learning disabled students. Presentation A presentation is a verbal demonstration of skill, knowledge, and understanding. The child can narrate or answer questions about her task. Presentation can also take the form of discussion, debate or a purely interrogatory exchange. Some children may require a small group or one-on-one setting; many students with disabilities are intimidated by larger groups. But dont discount the presentation. With ongoing opportunities, students will begin to shine. Conference A conference is a one-on-one between the teacher and the student. The teacher will prompt and cue the student to determine the level of understanding and knowledge. Again, this takes the pressure away from written tasks. The conference should be somewhat informal to put the student at ease. The focus should be on the student sharing ideas, reasoning or explaining a concept. This is an extremely useful form of formative assessment. Interview An interview helps a teacher to clarify the level of understanding for a specific purpose, activity or learning concept. A teacher should have questions in mind to ask the student. A lot can be learned through an interview, but they can be time-consuming. Observation Observing a student in the learning environment is a very powerful assessment method. It can also be the vehicle for the teacher to change or enhance a specific teaching strategy. Observation can be done in a small group setting while the child is engaged in learning tasks. Things to look for include: Does the child persist? Give up easily? Have a plan in place? Look for assistance? Try alternate strategies? Become impatient? Look for patterns?   Performance Task A performance task is a learning task that the child can do while the teacher assesses his performance. For example, a teacher may ask a student to solve a math problem by presenting a word problem and asking the child questions about it. During the task, the teacher is looking for skill and ability as well as the childs attitude toward the task. Does he cling to past strategies or is there evidence of risk-taking in the approach? Self-Assessment Its always positive for students to be able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. When possible, self-assessment can lead the student to a better sense of understanding of her own learning. The teacher should ask some guiding questions that can lead to this discovery.

Class of 2017 Skip the new SAT and take the ACT

Class of 2017 Skip the new SAT and take the ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT is changing in March of 2016, so the class of 2017 is in a tough spot: how do you deal with the change? One strategy is to just skip the SAT and instead do the ACT. Is this strategy brilliant or brilliantly boneheaded? Here we find out. Early Studier? Take the Old SAT! Last year, I wrote an in-depth analysisarguing that you should take the old SAT on or before January 2016. This advice still holds if you're studying early enough say September 2015 or before. But what if the old SAT is simply not an option. If you can't or don't want to start preparing for the test until October 2015 or later read on... Advantages of the ACT If you're sure that the old SAT is out for you, then the advantages of the ACT versus the new SAT cannot be overstated for the class of 2017. Studying the ACT Works Better The current version of the ACT has been out for years now. This means there is a lot more institutional knowledge of what you must do to get a high score. Compared to the new SAT, the ACT is better understood by everyone: you have access to more practice tests, prep centers have more experience, publishers have come out with more training books even the test makers have more experience in making a better test! Every test has a method, and can be studied. With the ACT, the study method is clear, while for the SAT, the study method is not. But what if I like the SAT better? You might like the old SAT better than the ACT, but did you know that the new SAT will much more resemble the ACT? The new SAT is making writing optional, reducing emphasis on vocab, and generally copying the ACT because the ACT is growing faster than the SAT. What this means is that liking the current SAT is not a strong reason to take the new SAT it'll be different from the SAT you know now. Most of the guides you find online comparing the SAT to ACT use the old SAT as the baseline you cannot conclude from these guides that you'll like the new SAT better! Aren't SAT's more "legit" and "standard" than the ACT? Those of us who grew up on the coasts (me included, since I grew up in the NYC area) have heard about the SAT for decades. It may seem to you that the SAT is the standard test to take because you hear it a lot from teachers or classmates. But these days, more people take the ACT than the SAT. The ACT overtook the SAT as the USA college test of choice years ago. Almost all colleges that take the SAT also take the ACT and treat them equally. Besides psychological familarity to some people, the ACT is every bit as good, legit, and standard as the SAT. Who are the ACTs most advantageous for? Like I mentioned before, if you're in the class of 2017, and starting to study September 2015 or before, do the old SAT (unless you like the ACT to begin with). Thus, the ACT strategy is most benficial for students studying starting around October, and going all the way through the summer of 2016. If you're not studying until fall of 2016 (senior fall) the new SAT could work for you as there will be months of materials out but still not as much as the ACT. In short: if you're in the class of 2017 and won't start to study until October 2016 or later, seriously consider the advantages of the ACT! Other Articles to Read: Class of 2017: Guide on Old SAT vs new SAT (for those studying before September 2015) How long before the SAT should you study? Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dr. Fred Zhang About the Author Fred is co-founder of PrepScholar. He scored a perfect score on the SAT and is passionate about sharing information with aspiring students. Fred graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics. 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New Perspectives in Entrepreneurship - Avril Kennedy and Harlequin Essay

New Perspectives in Entrepreneurship - Avril Kennedy and Harlequin - Essay Example Mary Jesselyn Co (2006, p. 45-46) lists several characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, including a passion for business, internal locus of control, risk-taking, commitment, dedication, perseverance, a need for achievement, initiative, feedback/advice-seeking, creativity and innovation. Zeelie et al. (1998, p. 12) add, "In order to achieve entrepreneurial success, personal, internal development and the development of good interpersonal skills are essential." Steven Brandts (1996, ch. 4 p. 4) list includes applicable business or technical experience, verifiable integrity, the ability to communicate ideas, and a propensity towards team work. Evan Douglas (eds Carsrud & Braanback 2009, p. 19) wrote that "successful entrepreneurship is likely to provide societal benefits as well." Finally, Chris Steyaert and Daniel Hjorth (2004, p. 269) wrote that entrepreneurs emphasized the importance of alertness and timeliness. "Timeliness in taking action was critical because [the entrepreneur s] goal was to grab the (quickly) passing opportunity. Opportune times, they stressed, do not last long in fast-changing environments." Avril Kennedy had exhibited many of these characteristics from the time she started Harlequin. Applicable business and technical experience. Avril had experience selling as a demonstrator of products; therefore, she was exposed to a retail environment. She knew about the potential of making a profit at Barras because her ex-husband had rented a stall there in the past. Alertness and timeliness. As the business grew, Avril stayed abreast of news that would offer opportunities to expand the business, particularly with regards to the availability of more desirable real estate. Risk-taking. Co (2006, p. 46) noted that entrepreneurs "take calculated risks, not high or wild risks," and Avril built her business slowly and expanded purposefully. In an interview with Carmen Nobel (2011, n. p.), Tom Eisenmann, a professor in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, said, "Lean startups don't try to scale up the business until they have product-market fit [PMF], a  magical event — more easily recognized in retrospect than in the moment — when they finally have a solution that matches the problem.  

Homeland Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Homeland Security - Essay Example As an assistant to a state-level director of Homeland Security, I would ensure that the state security is not taken for granted and that all security personnel maintain a smooth communication process. This paper discuses how National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) model can benefit the state-level Homeland Security procedures. One of the major challenges that affect the security systems at the state-level is lack of coordination between different departments responding agencies especially during emergencies. This implies that for the security personnel to have the ability to deal with the security situations there is need to streamline communication between the agencies involved. Having been established in 2004, National Incident Management System aims at incorporating best practices into a comprehensive national approach to security measures. The concept of Incident Command System (ICS) was established in 1970 after the wildfire that hit Californ ia resulting to loss of 16 lives and huge destruction of the properties and burning of over one-half million acres burned (National Incident Management System, 2012). ... disasters response personnel and the agencies that are involved in the operations may be working in a different frameworks and team leaders as they are used to, NIMS and ICS model will be appropriate to improve coordination. Additionally, the model provides a formal command structure that allocates each of the tasks to a particular individual. This implies that as different agencies and units arrive at the scene of disaster or terrorism, they are aware of their duties an aspect that will make the homeland security achieve its objectives of offering maximum security. After the establishment of ICS, the leaders of Homeland Security led by Tom Ridge and Secretary Brown realized that police department, fire departments and most of the cities were effectively using it. However, some departments such as public works, law enforcement and public health were hesitant in adopting the ICS. This led to the adoption of NIMS as a way of ending such discrepancies. A notable importance of NIMS and I CS model that can benefit the state-level Homeland Security procedures is that it provides intelligence function that is aims at gathering and sharing related information and technology. For example, agencies involved during an incident can easily access intelligence that relates to classified information and national security. Additionally, the model allows sharing of information and proper communication on the matters relating to risk assessment, medical intelligence, structural designs of the buildings, weather information and toxic situation of the materials in the incident locations. One of the key aspect that makes ICS model to effectively deal with the security measures at the state level is the use of proven management tools that are offered by DHS during the ICS training programs.

Tax Law & Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tax Law & Accounting - Essay Example As any tax lawyer will admit, tax code is some of the most difficult kind of language that one will encounter. The objectives of our modern income tax statutes are basically to inform the public of what is required by them when they fill out their income tax reforms. The modern income tax statutes are a code that is used to navigate the sometimes nebulous areas of the law that arise when income tax season arrives. Usually, only experienced accountants or tax lawyers (and occasionally, some tax preparers) will have in-depth background knowledge on this subject. This is not to say that the average citizen couldn't learn income tax statutes, but it may prove difficult without proper training. [Primarily:]a) Officially established accounting principles consist of FASAB Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards.and Interpretations. FASAB Standards and Interpretations will be periodically incorporated in a publication by the FASAB" ("Generally Accepted Accounting Principles," 2009). On a functional level, this first principle basically has to do with the standards that were generated regarding accounting. These standards within this principle are the keys to the accounting industry, because, without standards, people in the accounting industry would have no accountability. This first principle is therefore the guiding light of what must be the exemplar par excellence for all accountants. They must adhere to this principle first and foremost as a formal exercise, and not merely because it is good business sense-but because it is legally within the FASAB's right to impose such standards on the accounting industry. Without this principle, there would basically be little else that would hold together the industry in an ethical manner. Moreover, there are additional standards which must be held to: "b) FASAB Technical Bulletins and, if specifically made applicableand clearedby the FASAB, AICPA Industry Audit and Accounting Guides; c) Technical Releases of the Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee of the FASAB; and d) Implementation guides published byFASAB staff, as well as practices that arerecognized and prevalent infederal government" ("Generally Accepted Accounting Principles," 2009). These last three principles demonstrate yet more examples of regulation within the accounting industry. There are bulletins and guides which must be followed according to the FASAB. These are invaluable to the accountant because they are the touchstones of good accounting-which basically state what is allowed and what is not allowed. Further, a guide outlining the auditing policy of the FASAB Committee gives the accountant an idea of how information will be reviewed should auditing occur. Auditing is basically when the federal government checks a company's or an individual's record books,

Software Process Development: Water Fall Model and the RAD

Software Process Development: Water Fall Model and the RAD Software Process Development Abstract Choosing the best suited Software development system (SDS) for any particular project is the first and foremost thing to do. If this step goes wrong or selecting an unsuited SDS for the project may lead to unsuccessful or incomplete or may be delayed to the time expected. Till now many surveys and investigations are done on finding new processes, rectifying the problems in the pervious projects, etc. the new processes every time comes with a new way of implementation of the software development process. In this project I am investigating on the basic implementation of the SDS with the water fall model and the rapid application development (RAD) model. For this a detailed study of the both the models are done, and then finding out which software development model is best suited for the development of windows applications. For this comparison the yahoo messenger (a windows application) is used as an example. Introduction Software development has become very difficult due to changing requirements, lack of standards, unpredictable schedules, and due to the insufficient training and more than that by the lack of effort by the professionals. After a lot of research, it was clear that the problem is with the process that is used for the software development, rather than the technology, which cause number of the problems in software development and in the maintenance phase. A new terminology is introduced with five levels of the SEI which is known as capability maturity model (CMM). Most of the software life cycle includes six processes they are: requirements engineering, design, programming, integration, delivery, and maintenance. Each of these phases in brief: Requirements Engineering In this phase first all the requirements that are required by the client a0re designers of the site collectively. Then the technique of rapid prototyping in which a prototype program is built that can illustrates the functionality of the desired software model. Using this prototype, clients can understand better how the final product would be, how would be the functionality and from that they can find out whether this is what they really need. If the requirements engineering process is not done properly, the resulting software product will not be useful to the client and it may not run correctly. Design In this process, the analysts and developers decide how to construct the software with the requirements specifications agreed in the requirements specification document. This way of designing is called stepwise refinement, and this allows the developers to control the complexity of the software. After completing the design, it is recorded in design specification document. Programming In this phase, programmers are divided into groups who write the actual code of the software. Before coding starts, the software is divided into separate units called modules. This modularization is done to reduce the complexity of the programming process. This is also responsible for proper documentation that describing the code and for testing the code to ensure that the code is free of bugs. Integration In this phase, the individual modules of the software are combined to form the complete software product. As the modules are developed separately, testing is very important in this integration process. Even when the design is good, some times incompatibilities between modules are likely to exist. All these problems are identified and corrected to complete the integration. Delivery In this phase, the developers deliver the completely working software product to the clients. Usually the clients will test the software to determine whether all the specifications agreed upon in the requirements specification document are fulfilled or not. If the client is satisfied with the software he accepts the software and installs it or else gives back for modifications. Maintenance In this phase, the software undergoes many changes after delivery in order to change the features or to fix the bugs, add new functionality, port the software to new platforms. Its not true that the work is over after delivering the product to client. Actually more work is to be done, after delivering the product, in this maintenance phase. From the investigation done the experts it is surprised to discover that of all the processes, the maintenance phase has the more cost of the life cycle. The diagram below shows the expected costs that are likely to be spending on each of the processes in the software life cycle. As maintenance cost is more, many developers started to use the design approaches that result in software, which is easier to maintain. History of Software Process Models The Software Engineering Institute was established at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1984, under a Department of Defense contract. The mission of this institute is to provide the leadership in advance state of the practice of software engineering that helps to improve the quality of systems that are developed which depend on software. After two years the software process work has began. One of those results was the software process maturity model. In the year of 1987, the Software Engineering Institute and MITRE Corporation produced the first questionnaire on the maturity of a software in general, a set of question that has the options as yes-no are prepared that address organization, management issues and the technical software development process. In the next few years, the Software Engineering Institute developed two methods that are used for the questionnaire to test and conclude the report of an organizations software process. After many reviews, the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for software was developed which replaced the software process maturity model in the year 1991. The CMM gives the detailed information of the levels of the firms that best suites for the general software process practices that are followed by the firms which are divided into five maturity levels. The questionnaire that are to be satisfied by the firms at there CMM levels , once the current level of operation is attained using the maturity, for further improvement of a companys software process involves in the implementation of the software engineering practices that are needed to reach each of the five levels in an order from the lowest to the highest level. Water Fall Model The water fall model is first and the basic model of software development. From this basic model only all other models were developed. The necessity of developing the water fall model was, until it was developed there was no model or software process work flow model. Thats the reason the water fall was the basic model for software development. Water fall model is divided into separate phases of software development. The phases in Waterfall model are: Requirement Specifications phase, Software Design, Implementation and Testing Maintenance. . All these phases are cascaded to each other so that second phase is started as and when defined set of goals are achieved for first phase and it is signed off, so the name Waterfall Model. All the methods and processes undertaken in Waterfall Model are more visible. All possible requirements of the system to be developed are analyzed in this phase. Requirements are set of functionalities and constraints that the end-user (who will be using the system) expects from the system. The requirements are gathered from the end-user by consulting the customer who have requested for the product. These requirements are analyzed for their validity and the possibility of incorporating the requirements in the system to be development is also studied. Finally, a Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model. Next comes the system and software design phase. In this phase, before starting for actual coding, it is highly important to understand what we are going to create and what it should look like? The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system architecture. In this phase the estimation of cost for developing the product is also analyzed depending on the requirements. The system design specifications serve as input for the next phase of the model. The next sequential phase is the implementation (coding) and unit testing the software. On receiving system design documents, the work is divided in modules/units and actual coding is started. The system is first developed in small programs called units, which are integrated in the next phase. So that it would be easy to develop the code by dividing the work into small units. Then each unit of work that is divided from the total work is developed individually by each developer and tested for that particular unit of work is done properly or not. This type of testing the individual unit code is called unit testing. In the next upcoming phases the small units of code is to be integrated into one single code and should be tested for the over all functionality. As specified above, the system is first divided in units which are developed and tested for their functionalities . These units are integrated into a complete system during Integration phase and tested to check if all modules/units coordinate between each other and the system as a whole behaves as per the specifications. After successfully testing the software, it is delivered to the customer. The maintenance phase is the most important and it is almost 70% of total software process life cycle. This phase of is virtually never ending phase (Very long). Generally, problems with the system developed (which are not found during the development life cycle) come up after its practical use starts, so the issues related to the system are solved after deployment of the system. Not all the problems come in picture directly but they arise time to time and needs to be solved; hence this process is referred as Maintenance. On the time ruin the problems may occur and the code may not accept the new type of data, and then there is the need to change the part of the code or correct that part of code. Due to some disadvantages of the water fall model later some other models are developed. The disadvantages are The main drawback of the waterfall model is the difficulty of accommodating change after the process is underway. One phase has to be complete before moving onto the next phase Inflexible partitioning of the project into distinct stages makes it difficult to respond to changing customer requirements. Therefore, this model is only appropriate when the requirements are well-understood and changes will be fairly limited during the design process. Few business systems have stable requirements. The waterfall model is mostly used for large systems engineering projects where a system is developed at several sites. Rapid Application Development (RAD) RAD is a software development process initiated by James Martin in 1980s. It is a very high level of application development techniques that uses prototype, iterative customization and CASE tools. RAD is a software development methodology that focuses on building applications in a very short amount of time, traditionally with compromises in usability, features and execution speed. Figure-Traditional RAD The traditional RAD software development cycle follows a rigid sequence of steps with a formal sign-off at the completion of each. RAD is not appropriate for all projects. This is bet suited for the projects that can be divided into small chunks and where scope is small. RAD has many core elements which make it unique are prototyping, iterative development, time boxing, team members, management approach and RAD tools. Prototyping: This part of the RAD can be done by the Computer Aided Software Engineering that focus on capturing requirements, converting them to a data model, converting the data model to a database, and generating code all in one tool. Iterative development: Iterative development means creating increasing functional versions of a system in short development cycles. Each version is reviewed and approved by the client to produce requirements that feed the next version. This process is repeated until all functionality has been developed. Time boxing: Time boxing is adding features to future versions of the software and developing it no time. It is very important aspect of RAD to complete the job in less time and get the best product out than other competitors. Team members: The RAD methodology recommends the use of small teams that consist of experienced, versatile, and motivated members that are able to perform multiple roles. As the client plays a vital role in the development process, dedicated client resources must be available during the initial Joint Application Development (JAD) Management approach: Active and involved management is required to reduce the risks of lengthened development cycles, client misunderstandings, and missed deadlines. In addition to enforcing a strict timeline, management must focus on team member selection, team motivation, and on clearing media or political obstacles. Coding phase: Developing Code in RAD process model takes very short span. At the time of development of these types of projects the there is no need or no time to make the code future enhancements. So the code developed using this process is not the most reliable code. Testing phase: In the testing phase the developed software or website is tested in two ways i.e. alpha testing and beta testing. Alpha testing is the testing done by the developers before delivering the product. This alpha testing can be done in two ways i.e. white box testing and the black box testing. The testing of all the models that are working properly or not and to ensure that each function is fully operational while at the same time searching for the errors in the code is called white box testing. Testing the internal and primitive operations and to sure that all are working according to the specification is called black box testing. Testing done by the customer to check weather all the specification requirements are working properly is called beat testing. If any problem occurs, then the error is set up and just added to the code at the appropriate position. Advantages: Speed and quality are the main advantages of Rapid Application Development, while potentially reduced scalability and feature sets are the disadvantages. The main goal of RAD is the speed delivery of the product using CASE tools, which helps in converting the requirements to code automatically. The speed delivery is the main feature of RAD because the product has the competitors and demand in the market. The software developed by the RAD has versions and each version is better, has new features or at least overcomes the defects of the previous versions. Disadvantages: Scalability and the reduced features are main drawbacks of the RAD Due to very less time using the time boxing the development of the product that can construct the advanced features is not possible. By using time boxing we have very less time to develop much more features and more enhanced features. Yahoo Messenger The versions of yahoo messenger that are developed with the features are: Version 3.0: Yahoo Messenger 3.0 (1.3 MB) The first basic yahoo messenger was version 3.0 with basic features of chat, webcam, file transfer and emoticons that can incorporate in between the text in chat box. Version 3.5: Yahoo Messenger 3.5 (1.9 MB) This version has the new features of mail updates of the user account and the option of my display image. This feature enables the user to show his picture to the person with whom he/she chatting. Version 4.1: Yahoo Messenger 4.1 (2.3 MB) In this version the send contact details, message archive are introduced. Send contact details option enables the user to send the messenger list in his account to others. If message archive option is set then all the conversations done by the account user can be stored in the local system where person chats. Version 5.0: Yahoo Messenger 5.0 (2.2 MB) This version has the new feature of photo share through which two persons can share the pictures by just dragging and dropping the pictures into the sharing box. This is the great feature that had made yahoo! messenger more popular. Version 5.5.1228: Yahoo Messenger 5.5.1228 (2.6 MB) This version has the option to change the skins and the option to join the chat rooms all over the world. Version 6.1922: Yahoo Messenger 6.1922 (4.5 MB) This version ahs the feature of play game with the other person in the chat. And the other new feature is buzz which alerts the with a sound. The chat box is provided with the text format tool bar. Version 7.0: Yahoo Messenger 7.0 (8.2 MB) This version has the drastic changes and much new features than the previous versions. The IM environment option that changes the backdrop of the chat box. Version 7.426: Yahoo Messenger 7.426 (8 MB) This version has the new feature called the voice chat. With this option a person can record his voice message and send it to this other person in the chat. This feature revolutionized the yahoo! Messenger and made popular. Version 7.437: Yahoo Messenger 7.437 (8 MB) In this version we have the plug-ins of yahoo! Games, yahoo! Music and yahoo! Weather. These features enable the users to play the games, listen to music and see the weather report in certain areas all over the world. Version 7. 5.0.647: Yahoo Messenger 7.5.0.647 (7.7 MB) This version has very slight difference than its pervious versions with only new feature that is calling pc-to-pc using the VOIP protocol that is developed for voice transmission over Internet. Version 8.0.0.506: Yahoo Messenger 8.0.0.506 (10 MB) This is the very advanced version of the yahoo messenger, which has an option sending the SMS to the mobile directly to the person who has signed in into his mobile device. And the persons who are have the account into the messenger list. The new and smart tool is the audibles tool bar for chat box, which has many prerecorded audibles in different languages and different animated pictures speaking out those audibles. This is how the 11 versions of yahoo! Messenger is developed using RAD. And many other versions are upcoming using this method of software developing such as yahoo! Messenger 8.0(Beta), which is under testing phase. With in 8 years the yahoo had developed 8 versions of Yahoo! Messengers with versions numbered from 3.0 to 8.0.0.506 with pc -to-pc talk and SMS to mobile. Developing Yahoo! Messenger with Water Fall Model The first and the foremost is that in water fall model all the requirements are taken at a time. The design and coding is done in the most common way i.e. from the design phase itself it is designed. Requiremental Analysis and Design: The requirements of the yahoo messenger are the login window, chat window, the server side application for maintenance. All these are the requirements that are required for the development of yahoo messenger. The client application requirements are Login window Frame window Chat window Manage Contacts Authentication message window Then after the language in which the coding is to be done is decided. Data base for the server side application should be developed; the entire design depends on the data base that is structure to store the data of every client. The design of the yahoo messenger is taken up by the minimum and basic requirements. The design is made normally with out nay future plans. Development Diagrams The UML diagrams play an important role in the software development diagrams. These diagrams illustrate the clear cut idea of the software that is being developed. Use case Diagrams: Use cases describe the behavior of the system when one of these actors sends one particular stimulus. This behavior is described textually. It describes the nature of the stimulus that triggers the use case; the inputs from and outputs to other actors, and the behaviors that convert the inputs to the outputs. The text of the use case also usually describes everything that can go wrong during the course of the specified behavior, and what remedial action the system will take. Context diagrams: A context diagram is a data flow diagram, with only one massive central process that subsumes everything inside the scope of the system. It shows how the system will receive and send data flows to the external entities involved. Class Diagrams: Class diagrams are widely used to describe the types of objects in a system and their relationships. Class diagrams model class structure and contents using design elements such as classes, packages and objects. Class diagrams describe three different perspectives when designing a system, conceptual, specification, and implementation. These perspectives become evident as the diagram is created and help solidify the design. Data Flow Diagrams: A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the flow of data through an information system. A data flow diagram can also be used for the visualization of data processing. It is common practice for a designer to draw a context-level DFD first which shows the interaction between the system and outside entities. This context-level DFD is then exploded to show more detail of the system being modeled. Implementation and Coding: In this phase the actually the code is developed. Before that the total code is divided into independent modules, so that the coding becomes easy. So the coding part is divided into modules such as Integration and Unit testing : After the coding is done for individual modules such as data base structure, frame work and the data base or server connectivity module are integrated into one module of code for the code to work with all the functions full. Then this code is tested after the integration is done, to check weather the code is working collectively after integrating the all the modules into one single code. In the testing phase the developed software or website is tested in two ways i.e. alpha testing and beta testing. Alpha testing is the testing done by the developers before delivering the product. This alpha testing can be done in two ways i.e. white box testing and the black box testing. The testing for all the modules is done to check weather all the code is working properly or not and to ensure that each function is fully operational while at the same time searching for the errors in the code is called white box testing. Testing the internal and primitive operations and to sure that all are working according to the specification is called black box testing. Testing done by the customer to check weather all the specification requirements are working properly is called beat testing. If any problem occurs, then the error is set up and just added to the code at the appropriate position. Maintenance Phase: This is phase in which the maximum amount of resources are used. In this water fall model the yahoo messenger requires many changes in the features for adding new features such as the voice chat, video conference, pc to pc call etc. For all these new features the present code is not venerable to add the new models or to integrate, so that the reason why all the code is developed again with new features in the water fall model which consumes more time and resources. Developing Yahoo! Messenger with RAD Instant messenger is first lunched by yahoo named as Yahoo! Messenger on 21 July 1999. The first version of yahoo messenger is version 3.0 for MAC operating system with the features of webcam, file transfer, emoticons. The important requirement of an instant messenger is chat, and this chat is enabled between system to system because the messenger chat box communicate between two systems using there MAC (Message Authentication Code) address. Windows Application version of instant messenger and web messenger are the products of yahoo. Analysis Phase In this phase the requirements such as software hard ware requirements are analyzed and listed for the usage of the development of the product. The main problem is that the windows application cannot be directly connected to the remote database (for authentication, chat, offline message). For that the web service is the best solution that can connect database remotely and can call the methods in the remote classes. Because the web service transmits the data from the remote database, and it is in very robust form to destroy. Then its is to be decided in which platform the project should be developed either in java or Microsoft .net or etc. in some cases the customer itself asks the product to be done in a particular platform. If the customer did not ask for any particular platform we can chose the platform on our own. Estimation of cost is made in this phase itself. The total cost estimation for development, maintenance, etc. the cost for development is calculated in man hours of work. Requirement analysis: Actually the requirement of an software include the requirements of the customer that he want in the software and the other software and hardware requirements that are needed for the software development. The features of the yahoo instant messenger are enhanced form version to version. There are many version of yahoo messenger from version 3.0 to version 8.1. in each version the new changes and features had been added such as voice chat, pc-to-pc call, plug-ins, IM-Environment, SMS to Mobile etc. For developing software or windows application or a web application we need software to develop such as C++, VC++, Java or Microsoft Visual Studio etc. For instant messenger we need to develop a windows application that can be run at the clients pc and we a need a web service to communicate the client-client transaction. The windows application cannot directly communicate with the remote database and cannot communicate with the other client without a web reference. So web service is used a web service for checking the authentication of the users account and his details. The first version of the Yahoo! Messenger 3.0 has only few features such as chat, web cam, emoticons. In the later version the features such as voice chat, pc-to-pc call, plug-ins, IM-Environment, SMS to Mobile added. But all these features are not added at time. They are all added for the future versions of 3.0 to 8.1. With all these requirements a prototype model is prepared. And for designing the software that prototype model should be approved by the client. Hardware Requirements For developing an instant messenger an ordinary system is sufficient. But to make the instant messenger work we need a server that acts as web service for the instant messenger to communicate between the users of the instant messenger. The uninterrupted internet connection to the server is very much important so that no users finds incontinent to work. And steps need to be taken for a fast recovery at the time of crashing of the server. Design phase First the total development of the yahoo messenger is divided into modules. Then the software diagrams are drawn for the convenient for the developing the code. First the context diagram is drawn for the project. Then comes the data flow diagrams in which the flow of the data in the project is shown. The next diagram is the ER-Diagram in which the all the parameters of the total project are represented in diagrams. This diagram is very much useful in developing a database in which a column is made for every single column in the database. In this database the data should be maintained in the tables. And these tables should have the primary keys and foreign keys (primary keys of other table in the current table is called foreign key). In this design phase it self the use case diagrams, activity diagrams and sequence diagrams are developed. Then the use case diagrams which sub parts or modules of the project. Depending on these all diagrams the total project is divided into small modules and these modules are distributed to each team for development. Time boxing is adding features to future versions of the software and developing it no time. It is very important aspect of RAD to complete the job in less time and get the best product out than other competitors. In the design phase a first a prototype model is prepared with all the requirements that are analyses in the requirement analysis phase. And for designing the software that prototype model should be approved by the client. The total project is divided in small chunks so that it would be easy to develop the software in no time. The design phase has many sub phases, they are Software development diagrams: These diagrams are very important and help a lot in the development of the project. The diagrams are Context diagrams, Entity relationship diagrams, Data flow diagrams, Use case diagrams, Collaboration diagrams, Sequence diagrams. All these diagrams act as a blue print of the development of the project and will be very useful at the time of the software development. Development Diagrams The UML diagrams play an important role in the software development diagrams. These diagrams illustrate the clear cut idea of the software that is being developed. Use case Diagrams: Use cases describe the behavior of the system when one of these actors sends one particular stimulus. This behavior is described textually. It describes the nature of the stimulus that triggers the use case; the inputs from and outputs to other actors, and the behaviors that convert the inputs to the outputs. The text of the use case also usually describes everything that can go wrong during the course of the specified behavior, and what remedial action the system will take. The use case diagram gives the details of the requirements, options in the product specified by the client. These requirements dont change whatever the software development procedure used, so that use case diagram is same as that of the diagram that uses water fall model for software development. why in water fall model there is only one main class and all the other sub classes or child classes are developed under it. When a product is developed in .net, default folder AppCode is created in which all the class files, script files are developed. In the figure shown below the the authentication, chat address book, preferences are separate classes developed under the AppCode. Database Design: The design of database consists of making the data tables that are used in the project. Designing the tables includes deciding the primary keys and foreign keys in the tables and the data types of the columns of the tables. After completing all these diagrams and the database design, the project is divided in chunks and distributed among the team members for development of the project. RAD is best

A Comparison of Two Advertisements :: Adverts, Compare and Contrast

A Comparison of Two Advertisements I am going to compare the two advertisements l have been given, one is 'Save the children' and one is 'Barnardo's'. The points I am going to discuss are logo and contact information, slogan use of emotive language, use of repetition, pictures, use of 'you', message, appeal and target audience. The logo in the 'Save the Children' leaflet is the upper half of a body reaching upwards. It is encircled by a thick line with a gap before it reaches the body. The contact information is not clearly seen, it is in small print, in white writing, against a grey background below one of the logos and slogans. It is in a clear font style and states all of the necessary information. It includes the 'Registered Charity Number'. The logo is usually blood red on either a grey, white or black background. It is placed a lot throughout the leaflet but on the last page it is placed next to the contact information in a clear place so that the contact information follows the solution having a bigger impact on YOU making a donation. The logo on the 'Barnardo's' advertisement only appears once. It is three people holding hands; they are positioned so that they look like they are running. Two of them are bigger than the middle one, which looks as if it is running and being lifted by the adults. It looks as if the one having fun and as it they are free. It is in a light colour, most probably white (I have a black & white copy) and the background is black. The contact information is clearly stated in an 'easy read' font size and it is strategically placed at the bottom of the page so you see it last and it becomes the last thing on your mind so you remember it. The contact information is clearly stated in an 'easy read' font size and it is also placed at the bottom of the page. The sentence 'Make a donation' is placed just before the phone number.