Asynchronous Transfer Mode essays

Asynchronous Transfer Mode essays Asynchronous Transfer Mode(ATM) is a "high-speed transmission protocol in which data blocks are broken into small cells that are transmitted individually and possibly via different routes in a manner similar to packet-switching technology". In other words, it is a form of data transmission that allows voice, video and data to be sent along the same network. In the past, voice, video and data were transferred using separate networks: voice traffic over the phone, video over cable networks and data over an internetwork. ATM is a cell- switching and multiplexing technology designed to be a fast, general purpose transfer mode for multiple services. It is asynchronous because cells are not transferred periodically. Cells are given time slots on demand. What seperates ATMs is its capability to support multimedia and integrate these services along with data over a signal type of transmission method. The ATM cell is the data unit used to transmit the data. The data is broken into 48-byte data packets for transmission. Five bytes of control data are appended to the 48-byte data packets, forming a 53-byte transmission frame. These frames are then transmitted to the recipient, where the 5-byte control data (or Header) is removed and the message is put back together for use by the system In an ATM network, all data is switched and multiplexed in these cells. Each ATM cell sent into the network contains addressing information that achieves a virtual connection from origination to destination. All cells are then transferred, in sequence, over this virtual connection. The header includes information about the contents of the payload and about the method of transmission. The header contains only 5 octets. It was shortened as much as possible, containing the minimum address and control functions for a working system. The sections in the header are a series of bits which are recognized and processed by the ATM layer. Sections included in th ...

Can technology improve diversity in hiring

Can technology improve diversity in hiring Improving diversity in all aspects of our cultural and business environment is an ever-increasing concern in the twenty-first century. While certain strides have been made in ensuring that people of all genders, races, nationalities, religions, and orientations are better represented in our society, these efforts have only just begun. Hopefully, far greater strides are to come in our collective future. According to Jeanette Maister, the managing director, head of Americas at Oleeo, that hope may arrive in the form of artificial intelligence (AI).Oleeo is a London-based company that provides solutions for companies looking to acquire new talent. Before joining Oleeo, Maister led recruiting efforts at such companies as Lehamn Brothers and Gartner, so she has a very firm background in hiring. In such roles, she has also witnessed the flaws in common hiring practices. Despite the desire of many companies to reflect society’s diversity more accurately in their hiring processes, man y businesses just can’t seem to get with the times. They have no established processes for ensuring greater diversity. In fact, as Maister recently told SHRM Online, many companies are â€Å"still doubling down on the same approaches they have used since the 1960s.† She says that such half-hearted efforts are more about avoiding lawsuits than actually improving diversity. In many cases, these â€Å"efforts† to increase diversity are downright backward, as potential employers only consider whether or not applicants were sufficiently diverse after those applicants had been interviewed.Maister sees technology as a possible solution to this problem. By using AI programs and Big Data to select the ideal person to fill a position, the biases of recruiters are less of an issue- these programs make automatic decisions based on myriad data points. It is essentially a computer-based form of blind screening, which is a hiring process that removes all identification informa tion from an applicant’s application and resume. AI can focus only on skills and experience rather than factors such as name, age, and gender that could provoke bias.Improving diversity in the workplace is not as easy as merely blocking out applicants’ personal information. It is a matter of ensuring that all phases of the hiring process are balanced and unbiased; it is also a matter of adjusting the language of job posts to be more inclusive, such as using gender-free pronouns in help-wanted ads. Some companies are already using technology that scans job descriptions for gender bias to help manage this issue. Algorithms and intelligent automation can also be used to cut the fat from job descriptions so that they only focus on the skills and duties essential to the given job. This will be a boon for women, who are more likely to ensure that they meet every criterion in a job description before applying than men are. In other words, by streamlining job descriptions, wom en will be more likely to apply to those positions.Of course, to create a completely unbiased hiring process, the hiring technology itself must be free of bias. After all, these systems are programmed by human beings who come with their own baggage and may possess personal prejudices that can end up in the very programs intended to curb bias. Maister reveals that a solution to that potential problem is to make the selection compliance rates of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission an essential part of the algorithm.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});This is just the beginning of a new age in which technology is used to improve diversity in the workplace. New regulations will likely be set in place as the technology improves, and existing technology must be scrutinized to ensure that it utilizes sound data. Like all aspects of progress, improving diversity in hiring is a process, but hopefully the end result will be greater representation of all genders, races, nationalities, religions, and orientations in the workplace.

Do Personality Changes Occur in Adults Following Traumatic Brain Essay - 1

Do Personality Changes Occur in Adults Following Traumatic Brain Injury - Essay Example The studies are reviewed according to their objectives, particular analytical design, nature of participants, the measured outcomes, the variables, if predictable or not, taken into account and, finally, the results. In essence, the scope of the review is to determine how TBI injuries affect survivors and, thus, by considering how exactly they are affected, how they can be better enabled to rehabilitate back to their personal and workplace settings. The assessment criteria for interviewing an adult TBI survivor may be broken down into three elements. These are 1) the population on which the personality model is based; 2) the source of information for generating the model; and 3) the procedure used for generating the model (Obonwasin et al, 2007). Other research groups may have used more complex criteria standards but, for the purpose at hand, the paper finds that this is sufficient. using scales with underlying personality models that have been specifically developed for populations groups other than those with TBI. Such scales, such as the NPRS[2] and the NBAP[3}, may not be effective in the sense that when they are deployed on TBI populations they are standardised for this purpose though they had been initially developed for other population groups (Obonwasin et al, 2007). Scales like the NEO-PI,[4] have been developed for the general population and when it is standardised for use on TBI populations the net effect is probably that of imposing a framework developed on personality relevant to the general population on personality changes usually deemed to be associated with TBI (Obonwasin et al, 2007). In contrast to these non-TBI specific scales NRS[5], the CPP[6] and the HIBS[7] were all developed based on information gathered from TBI survivors (Obonwasin et al, 2007). It is noted that though the CPP scale is very useful it has not led to

The Lawrence Textile Strike, known as the Bread and Roses strike Essay

The Lawrence Textile Strike, known as the Bread and Roses strike - Essay Example The paper tells that for many decades, Lawrence has been one of the most important centres of textile manufacturing in USA. In 1900s, the textile industry in the area was well developed. The American Woollen Company ‘owned the mils in Lawrence and employed approximately 40,000 people’. In the context of the industrial revolution, the company decided to proceed to the mass replacement of skilled workers with un-skilled workers, the compensation of whose could be quite low, compared to the skilled workers. At the same time, the rents in the buildings where the workers were staying, were continuously increased leading the workers to severe concerns in regard to their capability of covering their basic needs. Workers in other regions were also suffered similar problems. The owner of the mills, the American Woollen Company, had no intention to step back in regard to the demands of the workers, as it was made clear through its reaction to the workers’ efforts. The reluc tance of the company to provide fair wages, to keep the working hours stable and to ensure health and safety in the workplace has led to the development of the Lawrence Textile strike, known as the ‘Bread and Roses’ strike, the success of which was just temporary, as explained below. The union that joined the workers, the Industrial Workers of the World, has failed in securing the duration of the strike’s benefits, a fact that led to the decrease of the union’s power globally.... At the same time, the rents in the buildings where the workers were staying, were continuously increased leading the workers to severe concerns in regard to their capability of covering their basic needs (Brenner et al. 2009). Workers in other regions were also suffered similar problems. The owner of the mills, the American Woollen Company, had no intention to step back in regard to the demands of the workers, as it was made clear through its reaction to the workers’ efforts. The reluctance of the company to provide fair wages, to keep the working hours stable and to ensure health and safety in the workplace has led to the development of the Lawrence Textile strike, known as the ‘Bread and Roses’ strike, the success of which was just temporary, as explained below. The union that joined the workers, the Industrial Workers of the World, has failed in securing the duration of the strike’s benefits, a fact that led to the decrease of the union’s power gl obally (Greenberg and Watts 2009). 2.2 Key events of the strike - Parties The strike in Lawrence has begun in the 11th January of 1912 by workers in Everett cotton mills (Brenner et al. 2009) as ‘a reaction to the reduction in wages’ (Brenner et al. 2009, p.146). More specifically, the Polish women working in Everett cotton mills noted that their wages in January was further decreased, with no previous notice of the company. The women responded immediately: they left the workplace (Brenner et al. 2009, p.146). Shortly, workers in other regions joined the strike; the union, the Industrial Workers of the World, decided to take initiatives: a letter was sent to the company with the demands of the workers; the company did not respond (Lib organization 2006). The union decided to organize

Hip-hop Essay Example for Free

Hip-hop Essay Sociologists say that the styles in music, literature and other arts are reflecting the processes that take place in the society where they emerge. Hip-hop culture gained power in ninetieth America. Nowadays various opinions exist about the nature of this phenomenon. David Abe said in his article ‘Tupac Plus 10: Hip-hop’s Diminished Potential’ that hip-hop had the power to change the world back in ninetieths, but due to commercialization its potential â€Å"had significantly diminished†, while David Brooks wrote about hip-hop romanticizing crime and violence against women, calling it a â€Å"culture of resistance† in his New York Times article ‘Gangsta’. The music of the rebels, of youth that felt they had no place for them in the society they had been raised in, hip hop became a way to express their thoughts and feelings. Hip-hop was music for youngsters who were not afraid to declare they wanted to change the world, and young people rarely share a non-resistance tactic. Hip-hop explained the world was corrupt, but the only way out it offered was active resistance – antisocial behavior and crime. This kind of ideas tends to attract lots of youngsters, and huge flocks of people around some idea tend to attract money. Soon hip-hop became business, like lots of culture phenomena before. The idea of hip-hop has deceased at the moment it became a merchandize available in nearest mall. Young and poor people in USA and outside it usually do not have means to change the world they live in. They dwell in slums, do not have medical insurance, their chances to get decent education and job are poor. Violence becomes their only way to express their anger and disappointment, and a seemingly easy way to get the things they see on TV and in fashion magazines, like expensive closes, gadgets and money. Hip-hop and rap music describe this problem-solving method in detail, and it is often introduced as the right thing to do, the one that makes boy a real man. â€Å"The gangsta is brave, countercultural criminal† – says Robert Brooks. It builds the image of â€Å"strong violent hypermacho male, who loudly asserts his dominance and demands respect†. And it is no wonder this image attracts ghetto teenagers from all over the world. There is some bond between Robin Hood and gangsta, as they both have this image of the noble bandit. Being gangsta means being â€Å"cool†, being powerful and able to change things that ought to be changed, it means becoming respected and significant. Violence especially that against women is seen at this context as one of the ways to prove significance and masculinity, and assert one’s right to get everything desired by force. In the same time Xzibit, a famous American rapper proves that rap and hip hop should not be blamed for its negative imagery. â€Å"If society wasn’t violent†, he says, â€Å"then hip-hop wouldn’t be violent. You can blame hip-hop but we’re like reporters; we tell you what’s going on in the neighborhood, and we tell you how it is. † Xzibit insists that hip-hop is just a mirror, where all the societal imperfections and problems are reflected. Thus the youngsters who listen and sing hip hop are just confessing about the things they see, and the world they are living in. Before blaming rap music and videos for encouraging children and teenagers to commit violent acts, people should try to find out why is this music so popular among them. Why American teens and young adults, at list part of them, want to listen and watch songs, clips, and movies where people abuse, rape and kill each other? Maybe something is wrong with the educational system, as it’s unable to persuade the youth in the futility and danger of violence, to teach them that their goals can be achieved using other methods? Or the problem lies within the society that cannot offer some of its young inexperienced members other sphere for actualizing their potential than that of crime and violence? Some journalists and psychologists prove that rap videos are just one of the ways of â€Å"selling† hip-hop culture. It’s true, that for many of the rap singers their music is just the way to earn money and popularity, thus they fill their songs with the content that sells successfully. Unfortunately, there is always a demand for violence on our market, and hip-hop is a good form for selling it. David Abe noted that: â€Å"†¦the content of the most requested rap songs and videos overrun in an exaggerated manner by rims, jewelry and thongs, as the business model evolved. † Now hip-hop is quite a profitable activity to be involved in, as Forbes. com website announced that in 2006 the earnings of such rap stars as 50cent, Jay-Z, and Sean â€Å"Diddy† Combs were $33 million, $34 million, and $28 million accordingly. It proves that there is quite a demand for the culture of resistance on worldwide market. Actually hip hop culture, which had been a culture of resistance transformed into a notion of culture of resistance that could be sold and bought in the department stores. Now hip-hop is not an element of cultural resistance, it is just an image of a social position, and even a fashion trend. David Abe proves that nowadays hip-hop â€Å"consistently fails to challenge and inspire critical thought in the people who listen to it† †And the more commercialized hip-hop becomes the more fans it has, as the thing that can be bought and sold is understandable to most people, while concepts that require some brain and spiritual efforts for understanding them are not very popular nowadays. At the beginning of the history of this cultural phenomenon it really had potential to change something, to influence the opinions and actions of people. While there were real emotions behind the words of the songs, while singers told about the things they saw, and that bothered them, asking their listeners questions they were encouraged to answer by themselves, hip-hop was an instrument to make world a little better. In the same time there always existed danger that young listeners would accept role models from often violent hip-hop lyrics. But in the end of ninetieths, when money came to hip-hop culture, hip-hop became the culture of people who wanted to look â€Å"cool† and to act â€Å"cool†. Its change-driving potential diminished; nowadays most of hip-hop lyrics telling about violence has no inner sense in it, no ideas of cultural resistance and changing the world, just poor role models for youngsters. Works Cited 1. Abe,D. ‘Tupac Plus 10: Hip-hop’s Diminished Potential’. The Times 2. Brooks, D. ‘Gangsta’ The New York Times 10 November: A29 3. Goldman, L. ‘Forbes And 50 Cent Get Money’. Forbes. 7 Seb 2007. http://www. forbes. com/home/media/2007/09/18/igetmoney-remix-50cent-biz-media-cz_lg_0918bizigetmoney. html 4. Rodriguez, K. Xzibit Defends Rap Lyrics, Hip-Hop Stigmas. 19 Sep 2006. http://www. nobodysmiling. com/hiphop/news/86714. php

The Moviegoer By Walker Percy Essay -- essays research papers

In Walker Percy’s story The Moviegoer, Binx Bolling, a Stockbroker on the verge of turning thirty is on a quest. Set in 1960 New Orleans during Mardi Gras Binx, an upper class southern gentleman sets out to find out about himself. Answer questions that have tugged at his soul. Questions about despair, everydayness, religion and romance. Binx is stuck in a quagmire. He must break out from this cloak of ennui and find the essence of being. But how? How can people, a person with a soul and a world at their fingertips be so inept at finding what makes them alive. Can it be found in religion or on the arm of a southern beauty? Maybe it can be found in the surrealism of a movie, or the excitement of making money. What if an answer is found? Will it frighten a person back to their everydayness? Some of these question are sound, others may be just thoughts in the authors mind, but they are questions that Binx must find out about. The following will talk about the idea of despair & everydayness and if others think about searching the way Binx Bol ling does. Binx is deathly afraid of being pulled into everydayness. That is to say that he does not want to fall into the trap of a daily, weekly of life long rut. He does not want to settle for just living just an existence. He wants to be noticed, to have the ability of excitement on a daily routine. To work hard and start a family and fight for what he thinks is a grand life. Only to realize years later that such a routine was estab...

Impact of Education on Society Essay

While capitalism is prevailing in the modern society, the issue on whether an amoral profit driven capitalist system is good for the society or not has been raised. Some believe that an amoral capitalist system is the best way to organize individuals together to serve the society. However, others argue that a amoral capitalist system will harm the society instead of benefit it. In this essay, I will be presenting the view of two neoclassical economists, Ricky Griffin and Adam Smith, who support the idea on the amoral capitalism is good for the society. I will also discuss the opposing view presented by Arthur Miller that suggests a profit drive, amoral capitalist system will do harm to a society . Furthermore, I am going to compare and contrast the two view and concluded with Miller’s view Capitalism encourages business men to make profitable amoral decisions will not benefit our society. While Griffin, Smith and Miller are holding two significantly different views, they both agree on capitalism is an amoral system. According to Griffin, profit is the only incentive for any business to operate under a capitalist system. Smith, father of capitalism, shows his understanding of amoral capitalism by saying, â€Å"We address our self, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but to their advantages. † (Smith 119) This quote clearly illustrates that people would act out of their own interest instead of considering others under capitalism. Further, Miller compare this amoral capitalism with uncivilized animals when the character, Christ, says â€Å"This is a land of great big dogs, you don’s love a man here, out eat him! †¦the world is that way†¦This is a zoo, a zoo!† (Miller p81) Although with a negative feeling and view, Miller believes capitalism is amoral just as much as Griffin and Smith d o. Moreover, Miller suggests capitalism can force people to make amoral, profitable decision because capitalist system is an amoral profit driven system. Smith seem to a agree on Miller’s view on some degree. Many capitalists assert the profitable decisions are efficient, and efficiency will benefit society. Adam Smith claims that â€Å"a society’s interests are best served by private enterprise–allowing individual within that society to pursue their own interests†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Griffin p21) In the business context, â€Å"pursue their own interest† is best describe as maximizing the  profits of their own companies. Griffin and Smith believe that encouraging business to maximizing profit will benefit society in two ways. First of all, business will try their best to produce large amount of goods and service for profits because profits are a very strong incentive to individuals within a materialistic society. Furthermore, due to the fact that every business is trying to maximizing profits, competition will arise between the businesses. In order for businesses to success, business men have to make very efficient decisions and outperform others. Therefore, by being an strong incentive and creating competition amount and businesses, maximizing profit help to society achieve a greater efficiency and create sufficient goods and service. And both Griffin and Smith imply that an amoral, self-interest, profit driven system is the salient support for individual to make profits maximizing decision. Miller, on the other hand, disagree with Smith and Griffin. Miller argues that encourage business men to make only profitable decisions will not serve our society, because what is good for the business is not equal to what is good for the society. In Miller’s play, he expresses his opinion by using a central conflicts that is created by Joe Keller ships out hundreds and twenty cracked cylinder heads to sustain his business, but also results the death of twenty one pilots. Miller uses his play to demonstrate a profitable decision, ships out cracked cylinder heads, is not consist with the social interest of helping the soldiers and winning the war. What is even worse is that Joe Keller is been force into this immoral decision due to the competition and the demand of efficiency. Miller point out that amoral capitalist system is not just encourages business to make amoral decision, but forcing them to make immoral decision for their business. Miller implies that when Joe says,â€Å" I’m in business, a man in business; a hundreds and twenty cracked, you’re out of business; you got a process, the process don’t work you’re out of business†¦you stuff is no good; them close you up, they tear up your contrast, what the hell’s it to them?†(Miller p69) This also shows capitalism is a cold-blood, insensible system because nothing also matters in capitalism besides business, profit and individual themselves. Further, Miller also suggests efficiency is not always good for the society  when Joe Keller says: â€Å"It is a madhouse. Every half hour the Major calling for cylinder heads, they whippin’[sic] us with the telephone. The trucks were hauling them away hot, damn near. I mean just try to see it human, see it human. All the sudden a batch comes out with a crack. That happens, that’s the business, a fine hairline crack.† (Miller p32) Keller’s line evidently demonstrates the cracked cylinder heads are resulted from â€Å"efficient† using of machines to meet the demand. Miller suggests that focusing on efficiency may lead to poor quality or in some case the immoral, cracked products. Nowadays, China is facing the similar problems that is described by Miller, the 2008 China milk scandal is a perfect example. The China milk scandal is causing by the high demand of the infant milk’ quantity and high concentration of potent. In order to meet those demand, the companies have to adulterate the milk with poisoned chemical, melamine, to produce milk in a greater quantity as well as the high potent concentration. However, this action resulted over 300,000 infants’ kidneys damaged. Therefore, with strong real life, blooded proofs, focusing on a achieving efficiency does not always benefit society. Another important argument holding by Smith and Griffin is the economy growth which is resulting from the profitable decision of all businesses. Griffin also point out amoral profitable decision would help economy to be stabilized and decrease the unemployment. As Griffin describes, â€Å"(Economy growth), increases in the amount of goods and service produced by our own resource. In theory, we all want our system too expand–more business, more jobs, more wealth for everyone† (Griffin p27) Griffin not only believes that economy growth will benefit the society, but also suggests that economy growth is what everyone wanted. Furthermore, Griffin introduces some more measurement of economy and standard of living. Griffin implies the GDP and GNP would measure the amount products and service that is useful for people indicated standard of living for people in the society. He also strongly implicitly suggest the GDP per capital is salient indicator that shows the well being of the individual within the system. In a conclusion, Smith and Griffin claim that is a capitalist system will lead to economy growth and would bring wealth and improve standard of living for everyone. However, Miller argues that economy growth does not benefit the whole society. Miller also implies that maximizing profits for business does not improve the people’s quality of life, instead it increase the inequality amount people. Miller illustrate that by presenting Joe Keller’s worrisome after Joe Keller has achieved his business success. Joe is a materially rich man. However, when George, Joe’s partner’s son, come to visit Joe, Joe becomes worried as his wife Kate explains, â€Å"He is worried. When he is worried we goes to sleep† (Miller p41)Furthermore, Joe’s economic success males him even more misery when his only son, Chris, turns against Joe and Joe’s amoral business. Miller makes it very clear that even to a business man, making profits and economy growth do not bring him happiness. In addition, Miller exhibits that economy growth, making profits and business success may means much less important for a non-business man, such as Chris. Chris burst out, â€Å"What the hell do you think I was thinking of, the Goddam[sic] business? Is that as far as your mind can see, the business? What is that, the world-the business? †¦Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in the world?†(Miller p70) Miller also implies that is wrong for Smith and Griffin considering maximizing profits as self-interests for all business men. Miller believes capitalism forces men to make immoral decision will create conflicts between businessmen and the others or even between businessmen and themselves. Miller demonstrates the conflict between the business man, Joe, and his neighbors when Sue explains, â€Å"Who is he to ruin a man’s life? Everybody knows Joe pulled a fast one to get out of jail.† (Miller p45) Furthermore, Miller presents the conflict between Joe and Chris by having Chris criticizes, â€Å"You’re not even an animal, not animal kills his own, what are you?† (Miller p70) Miller suggests that amoral decision making create this conflict between Chris and Joe because Chris is criticizing Joe’s morality and his amoral decision that Joe did not wish to make. This self conflict that Joe has is shown when Joe explains, â€Å"I didn’t want it that way(the immoral way), either!† (Miller p76) Miller implies capitalism would not bring joy and happiness to society, but b ring the conflicts. Nowadays, as the debate on amoral capitalism is heating up. More and more  people tend to agree Miller’s view in various degree, and believe that a business needs to have some moral responsibility other then profit making. While many believe that corporate social responsibility, also known as CSR, is a decent solution to help amoral capitalism to become moral. an article named â€Å"responsibility is good for the business† published by the Washington Post suggests that businesses which carry on social responsibilities would more likely to earn a greater profits and do better in stock market. The author Christopher Flavelle also presents many statistics and data to support his argument on CSR will help both society and the business. And he writes, â€Å"a number of CSR fund managers insist that responsible behavior helps companies’ performance and that a significant differential becomes visible over time.† (Flavelle p2) as to assist that business will als o benefit from CSR. Another author Jason Magder from The new internationalists believes that more information of all corporation become public, business will have to become more and more ethical. However, Magder seem to believe capitalism will not stand for that to happen when he says, â€Å"Capitalism worked because people couldn’t see into the kitchen† (Magder p1) I argue that business sense would always valued over the moral sense under a capitalist system. Flavelle also implies the same view when he says, â€Å"If they see CSR as contributing to their bottom line, they’ll continue to act responsibly. If they see CSR as a kind of a PR campaign, they’ll probably cut back on it†(Flavelle p1) However, Flavelle believe that is not matter because capitalists can make moral decision and also get reward. So many years after Miller and Smith, this issue on amoral capitalism is still being debating. I believe capitalism forces business men to make profitable amoral decisions may not benefit our society at all. However, maybe Smith is also correct on capitalism is the best way to serve the society before other solutions appear. And with many evidences from different countries, I have to agree with Griffin and Smith that capitalism is efficient. However, I would only describe capitalism as an insensitive, bloody, efficiently machine that does not have feel and moral. The core of capitalism is still profit driven, materialistic, and money. â€Å"money money money money, when you said it long enough it doesn’t mean anything.†(Miller p73) How important is efficiency and profits, when it does not bring joy and  happiness to our society. How can we be well off without compassion, moral value, sympathy and all that feeling that make us as human being.

The Essence of Attribution Theory

There are many reasons why an individual behaves in a particular way. Correspondingly, there are numerous guesses a person makes about the behaviors and characteristics of another. This is the essence of attribution theory. Since its development, attribution theory has been applied to an array of disciplines. This facet of cognition is not only of interest to social psychologists, but also to educators, sociologists, marketing professionals, management personnel, and those in the medical field. Attribution theory states that humans ‘tend to give a causal explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition' (Myers, 644). As such, it requires three components: an actor, behavior, and observer. For example, if a driver swerves in front of another's car, what is the explanation the latter will provide for the former's action? The observer may conclude that there was an obstacle in the road or that the actor has fallen ill. These two explanations credit situational causes to the behavior. What is more likely, however, is for the observer to attribute the actor's behavior to disposition, such as being a clumsy driver. The way in which an individual perceives another has important implications as it can alter subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Naturally, there are several possibilities why a person acts in a certain manner. Building on the example above, the actor's behavior may be due to drunkenness or automobile malfunctioning. There is a curious phenomenon in attribution theory. As alluded to above, research indicates a high occurence of undamental attribution error, which is ‘the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition' (Myers, 644). An internal attribution claims that the actor was responsible for the event. Using the ongoing example then, the observer will attribute the actor's behavior to internal, stable characteristics, such as being an aggressive driver. This is true even when other variables are introduced that clearly indicate situational influences. If the observer spots a deer quickly running to the periphery of the road, he is still likely to attribute the actor's behavior as Attribution theory includes providing explanations for one's own behaviors. An individual who receives a failing grade on an examination may attribute this outcome to several reasons, most of which will be situational. He may believe the teacher is incompetent, the examination obscure, or the textbook poorly written. This is an illustration of self-serving attributional bias which indicates ‘a tendency to attribute successful outcomes to dispositional factors and unsuccessful outcomes o situational factors' (Cardwell, 221). Self-serving attributional bias often helps an individual to rationalize an otherwise threatening situation. For example, if the individual who did not pass the examination admitted that he does not understand the material, this will likely lead him to feel uncomfortable about his intelligence or capabilities. To avoid this, he attributes the failure to circumstances beyond his control, which relieves his ego of admitting a personal incompetency. It is nteresting to note that humans usually view another's behavior as stemming from dispositional attributes, regardless of outcome or observable environmental variables, but then conversely attribute their own behaviors to dispositional influences in times of success and situational influences when the outcome is negative. Attribution theory has its origins in the 1950's with the pioneering work of Fritz Heider; his book The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships was instrumental in the development of this social psychology theory (Brown). He coined the term ‘naive psychology' which describes the way in which laypeople utilize pieces of information to construct explanations of others' behaviors. Edward Jones and Keith Davis' ‘systematic hypotheses about the perception of intention was published in 1965 in the essay ‘From Acts to Dipositions† (Brown, 1). Expanding on Heider's work, Harold Kelley stated that ‘people attempt to function as naive scientists' (Aronson, 118) and he added ‘hypotheses about the factors that affect the formation of attributions: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus' Brown, 1). ‘Kelley published ‘Attribution in Social Psychology' in 1967†² (Brown, 1). During the 1970's ‘the field of social psychology was dominated by attribution theorists and researchers' (Brown, 1). In the 1980's Bernard Weiner added to the knowledge and scope of attribution theory with his focus on achievement. He identified ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as the most important factors affecting attributions for achievement' (Attribution Theory, 1). Weiner added locus of control, stability, and controllability to the lexicon of attribution theory. Weiner's theory has been widely applied in education, law, clinical psychology, and the mental health domain' (Attribution Theory, 1). Schank's work on the structure of knowledge, particulary ‘in the the context of language understanding' (Script Theory, 1) is intimately tied to attribution theory. In the 1990's attribution theory was applied to the health care field with the works of Lewis and Daltroy (Attribution Theory). Additionally, ‘attribution theory applied to career development is provided by Daly (1996) who examined the attributions that employees held as to why they failed to receive romotions' (Attribution Theory, 1). Most recently, this influential theory has been utilized in studying phenomena such as consumer behavior and advertising Naturally the applications of attribution theory, due to its pervasive and pliability, are limitless. Understanding why people behave in one way over another and how an individual perceives others can lead to important developments in a variety of disciplines. Researchers have studied the different attribution attitudes of females and males. One's attribution style and his corresponding projection during counseling has been investigated. Seligman proposed an attribution model, which provides an explanation of learned helplessness (Schultz & Schultz). Even the children of holocaust survivors have not escaped the grasp of attribution Law is affected by attribution theory in that it comes into play when judges, lawyers, and jurors attempt to understand why a person committed a crime. Marketing and advertising specialists wish to know why consumers behave in a particular way and how their perceptions influence their consumption. Prudent managers seek insight into their employees' perspectives and consequent behaviors. Sociologists study how attributions affect the development of prejudices. The health care practices and attitudes of patients are of obvious importance to medical professionals. It appears the application of attribution theory to information technology is a newly developing area of interest. With a growing movement of educational reforms, it seems attribution theory will be increasingly directed toward this area of humanity. In fact, educational professionals are eager to examine and apply the principles of attribution theory to the learning process. Of particular interest to both educators and researchers are high- and low-achievers. ‘Since 1960, hundreds of studies have contributed to understanding why some are highly motivated to achieve and and others are not' (Tucker-Ladd, 1). Researchers have found that ‘high achievers will approach rather than avoid tasks related to succeeding because they believe success is due to high ability and effort which they are confident of' (Attribution Theory, 1). This means that failure is typically attributed to external variables, hich leaves their self-esteem intact. Low-achievers, on the other hand, ‘avoid success-related chores because they tend to (a) doubt their ability and/or (b) assume success is related to luck or to ‘who you know' or to other factors beyond their control' (Attribution Theory, 2). Therefore, when low-achievers experience success they tend to find it less rewarding than high-achievers because there exists no sense of personal influence over the outcome. Within the gifted and talented population of students, there is a segment of under-achievers. Under-achievers are those individuals in which a discrepancy between ability and performance exists. Educators are oftentimes unable to effectively manage such students who exhibit above average intelligence and capabilities but who are, for whatever reason, not performing at levels that correspond to such abilities. Research indicates that attributions which then affect motivation are a common cause of such under-achievement. It is an intuitive statement to say that modifying one's attributions will then create changes in one's motivation. It logically ollows that increased motivation will lead to increased efforts. These psychological phenomena are of particular interest to educators of gifted and talented under- achieving students as they can utilize such findings to increase performance. While some research has attempted to shed light on this particular educational occurrence, more investigation is necessary to obtain a fuller understanding. Furthermore, how such findings apply to the learning process is of utmost importance to educators that serve this subpopulation. Particular attention to the ttributional style differences between female and male gifted and talented students will enable educational personnel to more accurately attend to the needs of such learners. More specifically, the attributional style differences between middle school female and male gifted and talented under-achieving students and how this contributes to poor academic performance is valuable area of educational and psychological research. The findings of such research will undoubtedly enable school personnel to more effectively attend to the needs of this subpopulation with the ultimate end of aligning their performance with that of their ability.

Free Essays on Population Growth

â€Å"Carrying capacity- The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can support without detrimental effects.† With a current population of about 6.2 billion people, the Earth is rapidly approaching its carrying capacity. Developing countries are already experiencing the consequences from a saturated planet. It is only a matter of time before we, the already developed countries, suffer the same fate. Our negligence towards the Third World population boom is a time-bomb waiting to happen. Where will these people go once there is no room left in their own countries? It’s simple physics, particles in an area of high concentration will move to an area of lower concentration. They will migrate to healthier, higher standard of living areas of the world bringing along disease, poverty, and ignorance. Our efforts to ease the situation are not substantial, our methods are ineffective, and our determination to help is fleeting. We must accept the fact that this is going to be a long battle carried out over many generations. We are simultaneously faced with the burden of educating growin g numbers of children, creating more jobs, dealing with hunger, famine, war, and counteracting the detrimental effects of these growing populations such as deforestation, soil erosion, and contaminated water supplies. What we once thought as being â€Å"there† problem is rapidly becoming â€Å"our† problem. Today’s graph of population growth is an exponential one. In 1807 the world’s population reached an unprecedented 1 billion. Less than two hundred years later it stands at 6 billion with no signs of slowing down. If fertility levels remain as they are, by the year 2050, the population will have reached 11.5 billion. That is a shocking number, but what is more unbelievable is that most if not all of the increase will be from developing countries. Fertility rates in the U.S. are at an all time low at an average of 1.9 birth... Free Essays on Population Growth Free Essays on Population Growth â€Å"Carrying capacity- The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can support without detrimental effects.† With a current population of about 6.2 billion people, the Earth is rapidly approaching its carrying capacity. Developing countries are already experiencing the consequences from a saturated planet. It is only a matter of time before we, the already developed countries, suffer the same fate. Our negligence towards the Third World population boom is a time-bomb waiting to happen. Where will these people go once there is no room left in their own countries? It’s simple physics, particles in an area of high concentration will move to an area of lower concentration. They will migrate to healthier, higher standard of living areas of the world bringing along disease, poverty, and ignorance. Our efforts to ease the situation are not substantial, our methods are ineffective, and our determination to help is fleeting. We must accept the fact that this is going to be a long battle carried out over many generations. We are simultaneously faced with the burden of educating growin g numbers of children, creating more jobs, dealing with hunger, famine, war, and counteracting the detrimental effects of these growing populations such as deforestation, soil erosion, and contaminated water supplies. What we once thought as being â€Å"there† problem is rapidly becoming â€Å"our† problem. Today’s graph of population growth is an exponential one. In 1807 the world’s population reached an unprecedented 1 billion. Less than two hundred years later it stands at 6 billion with no signs of slowing down. If fertility levels remain as they are, by the year 2050, the population will have reached 11.5 billion. That is a shocking number, but what is more unbelievable is that most if not all of the increase will be from developing countries. Fertility rates in the U.S. are at an all time low at an average of 1.9 birth...

Facebook Privacy Whats that

Facebook Privacy Whats that I  cant even see it. In a Facebook chat with a friend of mine, we were discussing his college-aged daughter’s posts to her Facebook profile. I won’t share the details, but let’s say what she was writing could easily prevent her from being hired if a prospective employer were to see it. I commented to my friend that if his daughter ever wanted to look for a job, she had better delete all those postings. â€Å"But her profile is private,† he replied. â€Å"I can’t even see it.† As many people are aware, it has become common practice for hiring companies to view candidates’ LinkedIn and Facebook pages if they are available. This fact causes little concern for most people, since they believe they can keep their profiles, especially on Facebook, private. A private profile is safe from public scrutiny, right? Wrong. According to a Mesh Report article entitled Job Seekers Getting Asked for Facebook Passwords, nothing could be farther from the truth. In actuality, if you are a job seeker you have essentially given up your right to privacy. How employers mess with your privacy First of all, a company might use a third party application such as BeKnown that can often gain access to your profile. You would be surprised how often companies use this tactic. And job seekers might not be aware that when they log in to a company’s website using their Facebook profile, they are likely giving that company full permission to snoop. Additionally, not long ago both private companies and government agencies began requesting Facebook login information from candidates. Receiving quite a bit of pushback, some of these organizations have modified their requirement, now demanding during interviews that candidates log in to their own Facebook accounts in order to reveal what they contain. Other organizations require candidates to â€Å"friend† the hiring manager or other company figurehead so that their profile can be viewed. One job seeker interviewed by Mesh withdrew his application when asked for his login information. But as requests for social media access become more and more common, many candidates feel that they can’t afford to refuse. Privacy rights anyone? One George Washington University law professor says this practice is â€Å"an egregious privacy violation.† I tend to agree, and I am encouraged that Illinois and Maryland have legislation in the works that would make it illegal for public agencies to demand access to candidate’s social media profiles. (Police departments are some of the most active seekers of Facebook login information.) Whether or not this practice is made illegal for public agencies, it seems private companies will be able to invade candidates’ privacy all they want. If you feel strongly enough that this practice violates your rights, and if you can afford to refuse the request, go ahead. But as the practice becomes more widespread, it might become impractical to do so. Interestingly, it is against the terms of service at Facebook to share login information. But according to the Mesh Report, the Department of Justice will not be prosecuting any employers for their practices despite the fact that it is a federal crime to enter a social networking site in violation of the terms of service. What will you do about it? Perhaps the best thing job seekers can do for now is to make sure to rid their profile of any risquà ©, drunken or other unprofessional pictures; keep their posts clean and sane; and refrain from making disparaging online remarks about anyone, especially past employers. It seems the practice of coercing job applicants to reveal their social media profiles, albeit masquerading as encouraging them to â€Å"volunteer† this information, is not going away without a fight. If you are a job seeker, prepare to be asked to share- or if you can afford it, perhaps you can fight back! How do you plan to respond if a prospective employer asks you for access to your social media profiles? I’d love to hear your comments below. Category:Job SearchBy Brenda BernsteinMay 7, 2012

Comparing And Contrasting The Different Types Of Love Found In Plato's Essay

Comparing And Contrasting The Different Types Of Love Found In Plato's Symposium And St. Augustine's Confessions - Essay Example Regarding our main topic of focus, love is neither an abstract nor a concrete emotion or feeling. In our daily lives, we usually and constantly refer to the word love innumerable times simply because of our unfamiliarity with its meaning. In all those instances whereby we apply the term love, we mean different things though unawares. In most cases, however, we mean that the referee is something or someone that we desire and would profoundly prefer looking after or caring for. Everything can be a subject to loving by another both abstract and concrete. However, concrete things objects that have no emotions cannot love. The love of an individual towards someone or something therefore encompasses an extremely broad nature and has to be succinctly espoused. The study outlined below encompasses both the similarities and also the dissimilarities between the two philosophers in terms of what their views are regarding the critical issue of love (St Augustine 373). Plato derives his views and definitions for love from the evaluation of other peoples’ personal conveniences regarding love. This kind of love is referred to as common love, merely for sexual satisfaction. He defines heavenly love as a profound feeling or elated emotion that emanates from the soul and characterized by a no-conditional liking and passion between mostly a man and a man. This kind of love is made possible by a connection to the heavenly God. This love is deeply rooted beyond the soul and is indispensable. Common love is referred to as immoral and vulgar since it is aimed at satisfying the participants sexually over a short period of time. This love comes from the profound and strongly rooted physical attraction. This kind of love is not right and is not supported by the two philosophers. St. Augustine gives the same kind of types of love and expounds on the instances in almost a similar way as Plato (Sheffield et al 1). In both their assessments, they perceive the female gender as inferio r to the men excluding the goddesses. This elicits a similarity between the two scholars’ views on the nature and types of love (St Augustine 373). Both Plato and Augustine come to terms that there is a greater version of love than the concrete and physically expressed love. This kind of love is enlightened and formless. Both men and women aim at receiving that enlightenment but in entirely diverse ways. Augustine slightly differs with Plato regarding the actions and activities inculcated in the love relationship. This is sexual contact between people who love each other. Plato argues that sexual intercourse is a path to achievement of the higher love that everyone aims to obtain and which brings about enlightenment. Augustine, on the other side argues that the action of sexual intercourse only brings about tradeoffs towards the achievement of such enlightenment to the higher reality. He perceives and strongly believes that expression of physical love is not a stepping stone but rather a barrier to attainment of spirituality. This is due to the fact that he had previously experienced situations regarding the same issue at hand. He considered romantic or common love as purely sacrilegious and non credible since he had actually gone through in his early ages. Plato argues that in the initial stage of love, the amans’

EB Outcomes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EB Outcomes - Essay Example This paper will discuss the implementation of a change program covering poor hand washing among healthcare service providers at Veema center, which has been found to cause adverse outcomes, during service delivery (Titler, 2008). Planning for Change This stage will cover the phases of preparation (Phase I), Validation (Phase II), and Decision making/ Comparative Evaluation (Phase III) From the evidence given studies, including Garrette (2013) and Canham (2011) hand hygiene is acknowledged by control experts and infection prevention personnel, as the single and most effective measure that helps in reducing the spread of infections in the community and at health care settings (Garrette, 2013). This is the case, because the hands are transmission areas between individuals and the objects, as well as the surfaces within the healthcare environment. Some of the objects that can transfer infections in the healthcare setting include blood pressure cuffs. The means of hand hygiene include tha t of using soap and water, and using alcohol-based products, in the cases where water and soap cannot be used. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) maintain that hand hygiene can aid healthcare providers to uphold quality practice, and patient safety (Pittet, Allegranzi & Boyce, 2009). The practice of extensive hand washing will lessen the risk of infection between patients, lessen the infection of healthcare personnel, and lessen the cases of morbidity, mortality and the costs incurred during the treatment of infection-based conditions (Garrette, 2013). In preparation for the change, a survey was administered to the personnel at the health care center, aiming at realizing the factors limiting hand hygiene. Some of the factors explained as causes of poor hand hygiene at the health center and from studies like Garrette (2013) and Pittet, Allegranzi and Boyce (2009) include that hand washing agents leads to dryness and the irritat ion of the skin; sinks are not available in convenient areas and there is also a lack of soap, water, and disposable towels for drying hands. Others include understaffing, giving priority to patient care needs, disagreement with hand hygiene directives and the low risk of getting infected by patients (Cambell, 2010). Towards ensuring that the factors affecting hand hygiene at the Veema health center are addressed through consulting the medical personnel at the center, when developing the best recommendations on hand hygiene. Secondly, the materials required for hand hygiene, which may not be available should be supplied at all times and hand washing areas should be available at all areas, including wards, casualty and admission centers. From the evidence of studies like Garrette (2013) and Pittet, Allegranzi and Boyce (2009), alcohol-based agents should be used for hand washing, before and after patient contact, after removing gloves, and in emergency situations where water is not a vailable. Implementing the EBP Project (Phase IV Translation/ Application) Towards the implementation of the project, a team will be formed, comprising of staff nurses and doctors, clinical nurse specialists, departmental nurse administrators, nurse and doctor researchers and infection control nurse and