Client Server Architecture

In Computer science client-server is a software architecture model consisting of two parts, client systems and server systems, both communicate over computer network or on the same computer. A client-server application is a distributed system consisting of both client and server software. The clientà ¨les always initiates a connection to the server, while the server process always waits for requests from any client. When both the client process and server process are running on the same computer, this is called a single seat setup.Another type of related software architecture is known as peer-to-peer, because each host or application instance can simultaneously act as both a client and a server (unlike centralized servers of the client-server model) and because each has equivalent responsibilities and status. Peer-to-peer architectures are often abbreviated using the acronym POP. The client-server relationship describes the relation between the client and how it makes a service req uest from the server, and how the server can accept these requests, process them, and return the requested information to the linen.The interaction between client and server is often described consequence diagrams. Sequence diagrams are standardized in the Unified Modeling Language. Both client-server and POP architectures are in wide usage today. The basic type of client-server architecture employs only two types of hosts: clients and servers. This type of architecture is sometimes referred to stow-tier. The two-tier architecture meaner that the client acts as one tier and server process acts as the other tier. The client-server architecture has become one of the basic models of network imputing.Many types of applications have being written using the client- server model. Standard networked functions such as E-mail exchange, web access and database access, are based on the client-server model. For example, a web browser is a client program at the user computer that may access infor mation at any web server in the world. Contents [hide] * 1 Clients characteristics * 2 Server characteristics * 3 Advantages * 4 Disadvantages * 5 Examples * 6 Other pages Clients characteristics[change] * Always initiates requests to servers. Waits for replies. * Receives replies. * Usually connects too small number of servers at one time. Usually interacts directly with end-users using any user interface such as graphical user interface. Server characteristics[change] * Always wait for a request from one of the clients. * Serve clients requests then replies with requested data to the clients. * A server may communicate with other servers in order to serve a client request. Advantages[change] * In most cases, a client-server architecture enables the roles and responsibilities f a computing system to be distributed among several independent computers that are known to each other only through a network, so one of advantages of this model is greater ease of maintenance.For example, it is possible to replace, repair, upgrade, or even relocate a server while its clients remain both unaware and unaffected by that change. This independence from change is also referred to as encapsulation. * All the data is stored on the servers, which generally have better security controls than most clients. Servers can better control access and resources, to guarantee that only those clients with the appropriate permissions may access and change data. Since data storage is centralized, updates to that data are much easier to administrators than what would be possible under a POP architecture. Under a POP architecture, data updates may need to be distributed and applied to each â€Å"peer† in the network, which is both time-consuming and error-prone, as there can be thousands or even millions of peers. * Many advanced client- server technologies are already available which were designed to ensure security, user friendly interfaces, and ease of use. Client Server Architecture The term originally referred to the large cabinets that housed the central processing unit and main memory of early computers but as of today those cabinets are no longer cabinets but then powerful I high-end commercial machines which also are used in client server networking as servers and this has overshadowed most of the disadvantages of the old traditional mainframes that led to the many problems as like those faced by Hares company.The disadvantages of the way Mainframes were used in the Good old days is that there was no flexibility as mix and matching was not accommodated but they only revered so-called dumb terminals on the users' desktops meaning you had to be wired to the mainframe to access data, also software platforms were specific and maintenance and system management were costly as every component of the system needed to be maintained. Like any other company would have done to keep up with keep up with growing business demands, Hares implemented its first information s ystem in 1987 purchasing a mainframe computer.But then because of the revolution from the Good Old Days as explained above to the client [server they probably faces all the disadvantages pertaining to flexibility, maintenance and yester management, and it was difficult for them to connect with the outside world and so they had to also change their system to Client/Server . With Client Server advantages of flexibility gives a greater solution space than that which single computer models can achieve. Another advantage is the Openness as number of different platforms can be used in a network; all that is needed is some common protocol for them to communicate.Openness also lives the freedom of choice the implementation at any of the ends It is also reliable and this can be accomplished by production of the same programs and data around a network; this meaner that when en server breaks down another takes over. Servers also can be created specifically for a certain service. Client/server computing is also Scalable as more servers can be added to a network depending on the increase of application demand in though the increase in power is not linear I. E number of servers. And this is what Hares Company is faces in the present proving that also there present problems are not unique as well.The solution to this problem on the other hand is to increase hardware capabilities of the server and desktops. Another problem Hares faces is u to the configuring applications into client-server modules and in modifying the configuration in response to user feedback and this problem is Common in organizations using traditional (2-tier) client server in their business. 2. Suggest alternative architectures that could be used to overcome the problems faced by Hares' current Client/Server technology An alternative Architecture that can over comer problems faced by current Client/ Server is the Three- tier model and N-tier model architectures.Three-tier architecture meets the requiremen ts of large scale Internet and intranet client/server applications. It is more scalable, robust and flexible and can integrate data from multiple sources. This can solve the problem the company is facing of difficulty in configuring applications into client-server modules and in modifying the configuration in response to user feedback as the scalability is wider and the multiple sources of were data can be integrated make it easily possible for user feedback. Three-tier model is also easier to manage and deploy on the network as most of the code runs on the servers.Network interchange between applications is also minimized as abstract levels of service are created were instead of interacting erectly with the client calls business logic on the server. It is the business logic that accesses the database on behalf of the client. Three- tier as compared to tier 2 being used by Hares is less complex but can be centrally managed on the sever as application programs are made visible to sta ndard system management. Security is also high, performance is Better and application reuse is excellent. N tier client server architecture is wider than the 3 tier though the 3 tier can also be considered as an N tier.The N tier has no limits and is able to the growing in number of applications that have spilled over in to the world and is able to meet the challenge of the requirement poised buy these Intergalactic applications. This is because N tier clients frequently combine Middleware tier components within a single business transaction and a component can call other components to help in request and this could be very useful in Hares looking at the problem of user feedback they have as the requesting system will be much better than the one in place. 3. NNE of the suggestions proposed by Hares' IS department is the use of intranet web technology.Examine the pros and cons of such an idea. Intranet is an internal organizational network that uses Internet Protocol technology to sh are information, computing services and operational systems. This can be a company's internal network or a broader part of the organization's technology structure, and can be composed of multiple local area networks. The idea behind this is to organize different user's desktops in the organization at a low cost, also saving time and effort to be more productive, There are so many things that are good about having a functional intranet and that's why the IS department proposed the use of it.Pros of Intranet Single information source-Because data and information are kept in one place in an organized way it reduces on confusion of where information has begin kept and it can be easily accessed when needed as people will always know where to look thus saving on time. Common corporate culture is promoted: The ability for every user to view the same information within the Intranet makes it easy for an organization not to have different information which on the same things.Updates are Immed iate: live coverage of changes to your audience is made possible by Intranets and keeping them up to date thus limiting the company's liability. Time: information to employees is distributed on an as-needed basis. Employees can also access information at their convenience, rather than receiving electronic mail that may distract them indiscriminately. Business management and operations: The Intranet platform is begin used for developing and deploying applications that support business operations and decisions across the world wide web.Cost-effective: Saving on the hustle to maintaining physical documents, users can still view information and data via web-browser and this can save the business money used on printing/ duplicating comments and also maintenance of produced documents. CONS of Intranet Security: It's easy for individuals to have unauthorized access in to the intranet network and they may abuses materials. Software/Hardware incompatibility problems: because of the evolving technology upgrades are needed to keep up with the worlds demands otherwise a lot of problems in functioning of the intranet are faced.Availability of access to all employees: Some of the desks of employees may not have desktops and so it would make it difficult for them to access the intranet at their convenience. Information overload: As time moves on and information is posted n the intranet the presentation and design that helps users to filter out what they don't need, and get only the information that they really want becomes difficult and this begins to consume time thus undermining the advantage of intranet in time. Moderation: In case objectionable content is posted on to the intranet network someone has to clean up the mess.And this is very possible because all users have access and security is not strong so it is prone to cyber crime and so content that is objectionable can easily be posted. 4. Do you think the popularity of intranet software and the Internet pose threats to rotational Client/Server systems? Intranet software is the software that runs on servers and provides service facilities such us HTTP publishing like world which is the worldwide web, searching and indexing and FTP file retrieval facilities.Web browsers are the software used by clients to access pages on the web and because the protocols used by the intranet are the same as those by the web in makes it standard for users to use any web browser that is tested and these can be acquired free of charge or paid for at small cost. The internet is like a gold mine of anything one can need in connection with intranet footwear as one can get everything they need to the proper functionality of intranet networks.And the modern intranet has been able to come out of one building and via the internet basically do the exact thing client/server architecture is all about. In other words intranet software and the internet are a modern client server type of system. Intranet software and the interne t are able to create true intranet applications by employing existing client/server applications and also it is able to integrate applications in the Web browser that normally don't work and play well together.The Intranet then makes it possible for information to become available on the Internet from the same application environment and interface. Because of flexibility of Intranet software to operate on the internet many companies have flown that direction to save cost rather than implementing the traditional client server architecture. It is difficult and costly to spread the traditional client over geographical areas and because the internet makes this easy eliminating the hardware and is more effective the popularity of intranet software has increased and continues to be ore of preference to big organizations today.

Explain the Formation of Stereotypes and Their Effect on Behavior (Guideline)

Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior (guideline) Introduction †¢What is a Stereotype? A stereotype is a widely held mental picture that represents an oversimplified, prejudiced, or uncritical judgment, which can be either a positive or negative generalization. †¢The explanation of stereotypes lies in the behaviors of socio-cultural groups and/or individuals, where they determine a certain ‘image’ of particular group. Many studies have been carried out to explain the formations of stereotypes, which include: Social-Cognitive Theory, Group Theory, and Social Representation Theory (Moscovici, 1973). However, I will be using Social-Cognitive Theory and studies done by Steele & Aronson (1995) and Hamilton & Gifford (1976) to support my explanation of the formation of stereotypes and their effects on behaviors. 1 Paragraph Social-Cognitive Theory suggests that, stereotype formation are based on the following reasoning: oOur social world i s very complex and presents us with an overabundance of information oSince our capacity to process information is limited there is a need to simplify our social world oOne of the ways in which we avoid information overload is social categorization oThe categories used in social categorization are stereotypes. †¢One source of stereotype is illusory correlations, which was claimed by Hamilton and Gifford (1976). Illusory correlation is when individuals assume a relationship between two variables, they tend to overestimate the degree of correlation – or see a correlation where none exists. †¢For example, â€Å"women† and â€Å"the ability to drive well†. It is believed that when we see these two variables we will conclude that â€Å"women cannot drive well†. Once the illusory correlation is made, the individuals tend to seek, notice and remember the information that supports the belief, which brings us to our second source of stereotypes, confirmation bias. Confirmation Bias is the tendency to search for new information that confirms our ideas and overlook information that contradicts what we think. †¢By using confirmation bias we gather more evidence to support our illusory correlation. For example, when we have the illusory correlation that â€Å"women cannot drive well† then we will tend to find more bad female drivers while ignoring good female drivers (e. g. female race drivers). 2 paragraphs After, stereotypes are formed has a major effect on the behavior of the subject of the stereotype, which is called the stereotype threat. †¢Stereotype threat refers to the performance impairment that results when individuals asked to carry out some task and made aware of a negative stereotype held against them regarding their groups’ ability to perform well in a task. †¢Stereotype threat is cued by the mere recognition that a negative group stereotype could apply to you in the given situation. And even if the person may not believe the stereotype, he or she may experience a threat. †¢Steele, who is the person who first came up with the idea of stereotype, created an experiment with Aronson to demonstrate that stereotype threat can undermine intellectual performance. †¢Steele & Aronson (1995) used common stereotype that Black Americans are unintelligent and academically untalented to create the experiment and gave a test under two conditions. The test was said to be highly related to academic ability and that it was just a laboratory exercise. The findings were astonishing. When the task was described as ‘unimportant or when participants were not asked to record their ‘race’, the black and white students did equally well. However, when the test was said to be for ‘academic ability’ or when ‘race’ was recorded, clack students did less well. †¢Using his findings, Steele (1997) was able to conclude that spotlight anxi ety is responsible for stereotype threats because the emotional distress and pressure can undermine performance. 3 paragraphs Although many of the psychologists have confidence in their theories I can evaluate that investigating stereotypes is difficult because of the social desirability effect. Moreover, researchers are instead using implicit measures of prejudice such as the IAT (Implicit Association Test) which has its own array of problems. Conclusion †¢In conclusion stereotypes are formed by social categorization, which leads to the social-cognitive theory, whereas their effects of behaviors are affected by believing certain traits (illusionary correlation) and confirmation bias demonstrates that we can percept the traits to influence our behavior.

Bric: Culture, Values, and Business Ethics Essay

INTRODUCTION BRIC, represents the countries Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These countries are known to be at similar stages of economic growth. The BRIC countries have had a huge success in the past decade with their industrialization and economic success. With the BRIC countries emerging as economic powerhouses and the increasing number of foreign counties increasing to do business with them, ethical rules must integrate into their business practices. An increasing number of companies are moving production to the BRICs in order to take advantage of generous tax incentives, high productivity rates, and cheap labor. Each country has cultures and values which makes them unique. They also have a very specific business ethic that one should know about if they want to be successful in these countries. BRAZIL Brazil, known as the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America and in the Latin American region. It is the fifth largest country geographically and by population with a population of 190,732,694 according to the 2010 Census. It is known as one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is part of the United Nations, the G20, BRIC, and groups. Brazil is known for their economy having a growth rate during the world recession in 2008 (Vernengo, 2010). Brazil’s land use is 87% forest/woodland and meadows/pastures and has a climate which is known to be mostly tropical since they have the Amazon. Iron, gold, petroleum, and nickel are some of the many natural resources they are known for. BRAZIL’S CUTURE AND VALUES The Brazilians have a unique culture that they share with one another. First off, the official language is Portuguese which makes up almost 100 percent of the population. Brazilians have a strong national ideology that their land is a â€Å"racial democracy†. As far as the Brazilian class system goes, people with darker skin tend to be economically and socially disadvantaged. Class is determined by economic status and skin color. Women make up forty percent of the workforce but are found with lower paying jobs than males such as teaching, nursing, and jobs with clerical duties (Brazil – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, n.d.). Common Brazilian foods consist of rice and beans which are put together with meats and fish. The most important meal of the day is a multicourse meal eaten after midday. Middle-class would eat the beans or rice with fish or meat and the lower class would only eat beans or meat during this meal. Now that Brazil is industrializing. The famil y-centered meal at midday is being replaced with smaller meals that are consumed at restaurants with buffets or fast-food such as McDonalds. The lower-calls who cannot afford this will generally eat at home, buy snacks on the street, or carry food with them at work. Brazil has a nation dish known as â€Å"feijoada† which means â€Å"big bean† stew. It consists of a variety of meats cooked with black beans and condiments with rice, fresh fruit, and a side of onion sauce. Different social classes and economic inequality in Brazil has been a problem for a long time. There is a large rate of crime in urban areas such as kidnapping, murdering and assaults. Killing of police officers are common in less wealthy areas as well. â€Å"The murder rate in greater Sà £o Paulo, for example, is some five times that of the New York metropolitan area† (Culture of Brazil, n.d.). The Brazilian government has The Federal Constitution of Brazil that provides the executive, legislative, and executive independent branches. Voting in Brazil today is universal and required for all literate Brazilian citizens aged from seventeen to seventy and is optional for the citizens who do not have the ability to read and write. In the country of Brazil there are many unique values the citizens hold. To begin with, the main religion of the country is Catholic. Brazil has the largest catholic community in the world. During the colonial times, there was no freedom of religion which meant that all of the Portuguese settlers and Brazilians were forced to the Roman Catholic faith which in turn made most of the population today Catholic. Another popular Brazilian religion is Umbanda, which is a blend of African and Catholicism religions. Some branches of the Umbanda religion wear white clothes in ceremonies while others do not. During ceremonies, all of the people sing, drink and smoke, being under the influence of the spirits. â€Å"Music and dance are essential in rituals because they facilitate the communion with the spirits and help people in their daily lives† (The Umbanda religion – Brazilian spirituality, n.d.). In Brazil there are very specific way women and men meet. When two males meet, they shake hands with each other while maintaining steady eye contact with each other. When women meet with each other they kiss each other starting with the left check then alternating to the right similar to some Americans. When a woman wants to shake hands with a man, she should be to one extending her arm out first. Hugging and backslapping are also common among friends. BRAZIL’S BUSINESS ETIQUETTE When doing business in Brazil there are many things to take note of. To begin with, Brazilians need to know who they are doing business with. As a result make appointments at least two weeks in advance. Face-to-face meetings are preferred instead of written communication so they know exactly who they are doing with. During meetings, business men socialize over coffee which at times can make meeting informal. When exchanging business cards, they are to be done during introductions with everyone at the meeting. One side should be translated in Portuguese and should be presented with that side facing the recipient. Brazilian companies have a vertical hierarchy where the managers at the top make the majority of the decisions. Most of the management is men but recently women are starting to gain these roles as well. When dressing, men should wear dark colored suits. Usually if someone is an executive they will wear a three-piece suit while a two-piece suit is worn by office workers. Women should wear dresses, suits, or something conservative and make sure their nails are always manicured. When doing business in Brazil there are some do’s and do not’s to be aware of. Always make eye contact because this will show that the business person listening is paying attention, interested, and honest. It should always be expected that a meal will take longer since it is more like a celebration rather than a meal. Food and drinks should always be accepted when offered during a special or business occasion. As far as things not to do, never give gifts that are purple or black since these are considered mourning colors. Never rush business dealings and always avoid pressuring final decisions since Brazilians take a long time to do this. Never show feeling of frustration since this will look bad for the person wanting to do business with them. Corruption and deforestation should never be brought up since these are current sensitive topics. Lastly, never publically criticize Brazilian counterparts if they need to be told something, it should be done in private so it does not make them look bad (Malinak, 2007). Knowing Brazil’s business etiquette is critical if a person wants to have success making business. RUSSIA Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation, is the largest country in the world with a population estimate of 143,300,000. It is the world’s largest reserves for minerals and energy resources and is the largest oil and natural gas producer. It is also has the largest forest reserves. Due to Russia’s size, there are many climates. The main climates are humid continental and subarctic. Russia only has two main seasons which are winter and summer. The coldest month is January and the warmest month is July. Between these seasons for a brief time are their spring and autumn. Russia is known for their oil, natural gas, and timber which accounts for more than 80% of their exports abroad. They are the third largest electricity company in the world and the fifth renewable energy producer (Russia, 2012). RUSSIA’S CULTURE AND VALUES The Russian citizens have much pride in their country. They have many patriotic songs and poems about their homeland and take pride in their cultural heritage. Eighty one percent of Russia speaks the Russian language. Families are very dependent on each other and are very small, usually with only one or two children per family since women are always working outside of the house. Most of the families live in small apartments sharing with two or three generations (Russia – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, n.d.). The most common food of the Russian culture is bread while potatoes cabbage beets and carrots are the main vegetable of their diet. Russians love meat. Lower class has sausage, port, beef, mutton, chicken, and dried or salted fish while the higher class has duck, veal, and salmon. In the daily life of a Russian, breakfast is usually coffee or tea with bread or sausage. Lunch people eat potatoes, soup, macaroni, or rice and can be eaten only in a cafeteria in a w orkplace or at home. Dinner consists of boiled potatoes, cabbage, bread, or sausage and bread. There is not that much talk about different social classes in Russia any longer. The â€Å"new Russians† are seen to be driving late-model cars such as Mercedes and Jeeps while dressing in designer clothing and wear heavy gold jewelry. Showing off these items demonstrate wealth. Juvenile misbehavior has been increasing significantly along with prostitution, AIDS, and homelessness among children and teens. As far as government goes, they have a parliament that is divided into and upper and a lower house. The lower house is known as Dumab which has 450 elected members while the upper house consists of local governors and legislators from the eighty nine administrative regions (Culture of Russia, n.d.). On top of Russia’s culture, Russian’s values are also very important. The main religion the Russians follow is Orthodox Christianity which is run by bishops and metropolitans. For most of the Orthodox followers, religious practice concentrates on the affecting experience of liturgy, which is chanted daily, on Sundays, and in long, elaborate services on holy days. Churches and cathedrals are the most important sites to worship at. When two people meet for the first time, there should be a firm, hard hand-shake while making eye contact. If a male is shaking hands with a woman, this handshake will be less firm. When women meet each other they kiss on the cheek three times starting at the left cheek and then alternating. As for close male friends, they first give each other a pat on the back followed by a hug. RUSSIA’S BUSINESS ETIQUETTE When doing business in Russia it is expected for a person to be on time to all business meeting. Russians are known for testing patience. In turn, a Russian may be late to a meeting or not start the meeting for one or two hours afterwards to see the reaction the person will give. The best way to communicate in Russia is the fax and email since the mail can be unreliable. Before making a trip to Russia, one must inform the company of the intended business proposal and objectives. When giving a presentation, Russians expect it to be long and detailed and to include to history of the subject. Hierarchy is important to Russians. They respect age, rank and position. The decision makers higher up have authority over subordinates. When exchanging business cards it is usually done after the initial introductions with formal ritual. The business hard should include university degrees and be translated into Russian using Cyrillic text on one side while having the other side be in English. When dressing, businessmen wear suite that are dark and well tailored with a nice dress shoe. Typically a Russian businessman will never take his jacket off. What a businessman wears demonstrates their image as a professional. Women should dress conservatively in skirts rather than pants. When doing business with Russia there are some do’s and do not’s to be aware of. When first meeting, do shake hands firmly since Russians do this to each other naturally. Always get involved in small talk before starting a business conversation. Most of the small talk will deal with family. When doing business, never be afraid to show emotion and never reward anyone in public because Russians will see this as suspicious are can cause jealousy (Gorrill, 2007). INDIA India. Known as the Republic of India, is the seventh largest country in the world with a population of 1,210,193,422 according to the 2011 Census. It is the most populous democracy and second-most populous country in the world. India is considered a newly industrialized country and is one of the fastest-growing major economies. It has the third-largest standing army in the world. The climate in India is largely influenced by the Himalayan Mountains and the Thar Desert. These both cause winter and summer monsoons. There are four major climates in India which are tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montane (India, 2012). I NDIA’S CULTURE AND VALUES The Indian’s have a unique culture. Different states have different languages with the main one being Hindi. Two other main languages are Urdu, and Bengali. India’s culture is based on an hierarchy with the tradition of the caste system. All relationships involve hierarchies such as schools. A teacher is known as a guru and is known as the person with all of the knowledge. At home the father in considered the leader of the family. In the business world the boss is seen as the person responsible for the business. As far as family, people are defined by groups rather than individuals. These groups can range from being part of a region, state, family, career path, etc. This extended family creates a numerous amount of rules, structures, and interrelationships. In the Indian culture, people do not like to say â€Å"no†. Instead if something was not available they would tell a person what they would want to hear. If a person asks for something, the Indians must do wha t is asked and if not, they would be considered rude (India – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, n.d.). As far as food goes, rice is the main food in India. Like the United States where there are people who eat meat and who are vegetarian, it is very similar in India but based on the cast system. Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Christians all eat meat except pork, besides the Christians. When in the lower-caste, Hindus eat meat except for beef. Members in the higher castes are vegetarians. Every caste, tribe, town, village, and religion has a variety of traditional ceremonies, mostly religious based that are observed with enthusiasm and wide participation. India’s government is a liberal democratic federal government and is the largest democracy in the world. The country is divided into twenty eight based states for administrative purposes. The central government also administers seven small â€Å"Union Territories† (Culture of India, n.d.). There are many different values that India holds. The main religions in India are Hindu, which makes up of 81.3% and Muslim which is 12% of the country. This is one of the largest Islamic nations in the world. There are thousands of rituals and millions of shrines, temples, and other holy places. Hindus have a large pilgrimage temples where Muslims visit tombs of saints. Most Hindus believe in reincarnation when one dies so when a person rebirths they can go into a new caste system. Hindus are usually cremated instead of buried. When Indians get married most of the marriages are arranged. Marriages that are not arranged are looked down upon. When people are to meet in India, the eldest person should be greeted first since they have an hierarchical structure. When leaving, each person individually must be given a farewell. More educated people who deal with westerners shake hands. Men shake hands with other men and women shake hands with other women. A handshake between and man and a women tend to be uncommon due to their religious beliefs. INDIA’S BUSINESS ETIQUETTE When doing business in India is it smart to make an appointment at least a month or two ahead of time by letter. Business appointments should be made in the late morning or early afternoon between eleven and four. When meeting for the first time it is possible for business not to be discussed at all since meetings start with getting to know people. When a decision is made, it is made by the person with the most authority. When talking to a person who does not have a professional title they should have to title of â€Å"Madam† or â€Å"Sir†. When exchanging business cards, it should be done after the initial handshake. The university or degree earned should be stated on the business card and should be given and received with the right hand only. When giving a business card it should also be in the position where it is readable as its handed to the recipient. The business dress code is conservative. Men should wear business suits that are dark colors and women should wear suits or dresses. If business is done in a hotter part of the country the dress code is less formal. One should always remain polite and honest at all times to prove sincerity and politeness. Never be aggressive during business negotiations because this can show disrespect. When offered a drink or food during a business meeting it should always be accepted. If not, it is considered offensive (Gorrill, 2007). CHINA China is the second largest economy in the world and is the fastest growing market economy. It is also the world’s most populous country. As of 2001, China has a population of about 1,347,350,000 with an annual growth in GDP of 9.5%. China’s success has been primarily due to manufacturing as a low-cost producer. This is attributed to a combination of cheap labor, good infrastructure, relatively high productivity, favorable government policy, and a possibly undervalued exchange rate. China’s climate is made up of dry seasons and wet monsoons. In winter the temperature is cold and dry whereas the summer it is warm and moist. Since China has such a complex topography, the climate ranges region to region. Recently there have been problems in Chine with pollution and environment deterioration due to the high population (China, 2012). CHINA’S CULTURE AND VALUES Chinese is the official language in China. The social structure is formal and hierarchical. There is a hierarchical class system supported by the Confucian philosophy. At the top of the system there are scholars followed by farmers, artisans, and at the bottom merchants and soldiers. Rice is the main food of China. Grain is grown where the climate is too hot to grow rice. Breakfast consists of noodles or wheat bread or rice with porridge served with shrimp, vegetables, and pickles. Lunch is closely related to breakfast. Dinner is the largest meal of the day which always includes soup being the last course. If there is a special occasion or family gathering, there will be elaborate meals. For the mid autumn festival, known as the Moon Festival, , â€Å"moon cakes† are served which are baked pastries filled with ground sesame and lotus seeds. Business occasions are usually at restaurants that consist of ten or more courses. China is a communist state. The president is elected by the National People’s Congress for a five year term. The NPC had duties to write laws, delegate authority, and supervise other parts of the government. The Chinese Communist Party is the only political party and controls either other small parties (Culture of China, n.d.). Since China is a communist state, majority of the country is atheist. Twenty percent of the population practice Confucianism and Taoism. Taoist temples consist of a courtyard, a main hall with an alter, and small shrines. Worships take the form of mediation or physical exercise. China has the one child only rule due to the high population it holds. In rural areas, families are allowed to have more than one, perhaps two or three. When meeting with the Chinese, many lower their eyes as a sign of respect. When at a large function it is okay to introduce yourself to guests but at small functions it is polite to wait for the host or hostess to introduce you. A Chinese person should always be addressed by the honorific title and surname unless advised otherwise (Hong Kong – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, n.d). CHINA’S BUSINESS ETIQUETTE In China, Face-to-face meetings in the workplace are an essential step towards making a sale in most business markets. Only when a face-to-face appointment is secured can it be assumed that the enquiry is a serious one. As in the West, Chinese buyers are busy people and prefer for suppliers to visit them at their offices, unless negotiations are at an advanced stage and the client wants to visit the supplier’s production facilities to look at the scale of the operation. Hierarchical structures of Chinese society and business organizations are based on a strict observation of rank where the individual is subordinate to the organization. People will enter the meeting room in hierarchical order, as the Chinese are very status conscious. Senior members generally lead the negotiations and will direct the discussion. A long-term relationships are considered more valuable then hurried transactions. When exchanging business cards one side should be printed in English and one in Chinese. The card should be presented with both hands and with the Chinese side facing up. When accepting a colleague’s card study it carefully before placing it on the table, never in the back pocket because this is known to be extremely disrespectful. When doing business in China, punctuality is important. As far as business attire, men should wear Conservative with subtle colors. Women should avoid high heels and short sleeved blouses. The Chinese frown on women who display too much. Subtle, neutral colors should be worn by both men and women. There are many do’s and do not’s when doing business in China. One must always maintain eye contact. If this is not done one will be considered untrustworthy. The Chinese counterpart should always initiate the formal greeting. One should always address the counterpart by their title and last name. If they do not have a title use â€Å"Mr.† or â€Å"Madam†. One should never point when speaking as this is considered rude. When being offered food or a beverage, always wait until the host starts. Business should never be discussed when eating or drinking. It is also advised to not use large hand gesture since they are considered distracting to the listener. CONCLUSION To conclude, the BRIC countries have grown rapidly in the past decade with their success in industrialization and trading. Since there is such an rapid growth in business moving into these countries, if a business wants to be successful they need to know the specific practices and beliefs. Going into a country to do business without knowledge of the country’s culture and values will end up turning a business back to where they came from and end up being unsuccessful. Therefore, a business needs to obtain background information and knowledge of the different business ethics for success. REFERENCE Brazil (2012, November 14). In Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html Brazil – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette (n.d.). In Kwintessential Ltd.. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/brazil-country-profile.html China (2012, November 21). In Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html China Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners (n.d.). In Cyborlink. Retrieved December 3, 2012, from http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/china.htm Culture of China (n.d.). In Every Culture. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/China.html Culture of Brazil (n.d.). In Every Culture. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Brazil.html Culture of India (n.d.). In Every Culture. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/India.html Culture of Russia (n.d.). In Every Culture. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Russia.html Gorrill J. (2007). Doing Business in China: Chinese Social and Business Culture. In Communicaid. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20China.pdf Gorrill J. (2007). Doing Business in India: Indian Social and Business Culture. In Communicaid. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20India.pdf Gorrill J. (2007). Doing Business in Russia: Russian Social and Business Culture. In Communicaid. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing %20Business%20in%20Russia.pdf Hong Kong – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette (n.d.). In Kwintessential Ltd.. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/hongkong-country-profile.html India (2012, November 26). In Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html India – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette (n.d.). In Kwintessential Ltd.. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/india-country-profile.html Malinak, C. (2007). Doing Business in Brazil: Brazilian Social and Business Culture. In Communicaid. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Brazil.pdf Russia (2012, December 4). In Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html Russia – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette (n.d.). In Kwintessential Ltd.. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/russia-country-profile.html The Umbanda religion – Brazilian spirituality (n.d.). In Whatafy. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://whatafy.com/the-umbanda-religion-braxilian-spirituality.html Vernengo, M. (2010, March 29). Brazil: Latin America’s Big Success Story?. In

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example This resulted into deforestation. In Autocratic or Authoritative management style, the senior managers take all the important decisions without considering the involvement of workers. Senior managers do not trust their workers; they simply give orders to them. The disadvantage of Autocratic style of management style is that there is only one way communication, and this creates â€Å"them and us† attitude in between managers and workers. In FC, the organizational structure was hierarchical too. So, there was a wide gap between top to bottom order. Due to this kind of command and control system, workers just did only what they were told to do because of fear. Centralization is a system in which the concentration of decision making lies in few hands only. All the important decisions are subjects to the approval of top-level management and other levels can implement these decisions as per the directions of top level managers. On the other hand, decentralization means systematic de legation of authority to all levels of management and to all departments of an organization. In 1995, David Bills was appointed as the Director General of FC. One notable point about him is that he is an outsider from Australia. Environmental concern is one of the big issues in front of FC. Few groups raised environmental issues against FC; they accused FC of lack of awareness in various environmental and animal right issues. It became very crucial to FC’s economic survival. Nowadays, the term 'corporate social responsibility' is much closer to all organizations. Corporate social responsibility refers to the way companies integrate environmental, social and economic concerns into their values and operations in an accountable and transparent manner. It is related to long term growth and success of the organization. It plays an important role to contribute to the sustainable growth of communities. It became a responsibility of any organization to foster and promote corporate so cial responsibility. Another problem in front of David Bill is to change the FC’s culture. It is more difficult to change the existing culture than create a new culture in a new organization. When an organizational culture is already there, it is difficult for people to forget their old behavior, beliefs and assumptions and to adapt a new behavioral pattern. In business world, one thing can be least assured, which is change. If any organization experiences changes, resistance among employees is common. Executive support and training are most important elements to create a cultural change. When David Bill joined the organization, he found a very challenging task in the organization and that was to boost the morale of employees, who had a very low morale and they considered the organization to be a ‘sinking ship’. For him, the most important task was to raise the morale of the employees and to employ them as profitably as he could in the organization. The main aim of the FC was to rebuild and maintain the timber reserves. But the organizational structure was highly influenced by the â€Å"hierarchical military systems of the time and the use of military language† (McCann 2004, p. 949). Hierarchical system in an organization allows for understanding the direct line of authority. There should be a line of authority.

The Role of a Financial Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Role of a Financial Manager - Essay Example This essay explores the field of finance that is a very important part of every modern business organization, and financial considerations lie at the heart of all crucial business decisions. The researcher focuses on describing of the position named Financial Manager that is the person usually responsible for supervising and keeping in existence the organization’s financial policies and history. The role of a Financial Manager is to analyze financial information and generate financial reports that will assist the organization in decision-making, business progress and elaborate planning procedures. The FM is the pivotal figure in the two halves of the financial circle involving an organization – one involving the movement of money from investors into the organization, and the other half including the movement of money from the organization to the same investors. Nearly every business organization today, whether in the private or public sector, employs at least one Financ ial Manager. His or her duties vary slightly according to the size of the organization. However, this essay describes a typical Financial Manager who is required to perform 5 roles – that of a Controller, Treasurer, Credit Manager, Cash Manager and Risk & Insurance Manager. The researcher also explores the FM role in a multinational corporation and his duties in a branch of a bank or other financial institution. It is also mentined that the most important decisions of FM are those relating to financing, investment and asset management.

The Impact of Cinematography and Editing Options Movie Review

The Impact of Cinematography and Editing Options - Movie Review Example The paper will analyze the movie Wizard of Oz. Cinematography and editing options like color, focus, transitions, lighting, and camera shots influence the placement and movement of characters and props in the scene showing Dorothy leaving Kansas for Oz (Leroy, 1939). Black and white colors defined movies produced in the 1930s (Dirks, n.d). However, the movie Wizard of Oz was the first movie of the 1930s to depict multiple colors as seen in the camera shot below (Leroy, 1939). The above camera shot shows the lighting placed between the character and the foreground. Apparently, the cinematographer moved the rear light behind the plant and on the right side of the shot but in front of the main character. Additionally, there are two front lights positioned in front of this character. The left light is on the lower side while the right light is on the high side, which facilitates the highlight of Dorothy and the colored plant with no visible shadows. The cinematographer did the camera sho t with a backdrop shot of the black and white house on the background that defined immense creativity at the time. Indeed, the producers introduce the first color shot in the film when the main character opens the door to see Oz and the yellow brick road that leads to this destination (Leroy, 1939). The cinematographer relies on double exposed film to blur Dorothy’s image depicting a dream. The camera shot shown below shows a spiraling house with the main character on it defining the journey to Oz (Leroy, 1939).

Anecdotal Observation of Play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Anecdotal Observation of Play - Essay Example Eventually, one girl asked her what her princess name was and she meekly said â€Å"Princess Petal†. The girls took turn down the slide and then climbed back up to the fort one by one, including Valerie. Valerie’s Observed Gross Motor Skills: Valerie seems to have developed good gross motor skills as she was seen pedaling on her tricycle around the playground. Her legs were strong and well-coordinated as she twisted and turned the vehicle with care not to hit any other child or object. She was also responsible enough to park her tricycle in a location that keeps other children safe and as she walked towards the playground equipment, she showed stability and grace in her gait. When she went up the playground equipment via the chain ladder, she was careful to hold on well to the chain as she balanced her body while climbing up. She is able to estimate which rung of the ladder to place her feet on to enable her to push herself up. She had no trouble climbing the chain ladd er which was in an inclined position towards the platform of the playground equipment. This showed that she can balance her whole body well. She was fearless when she slid down the slide with her friends and quickly ran to climb back up with agility in her movements. Observation 2: Back in the classroom, Valerie was observed to be making an Art project with other children in the round table. They were making a brown paper bag puppet. Valerie was seen cutting some colored paper to make different shapes then putting them in a cup to paste on the paper bag later.. Then, she got some markers and drew some lines and circles and curves on the paper bag. Mark took one of her markers to use on his puppet. . Valerie frowned and grabbed back her marker, to which Mark said, â€Å"You’re not sharing!† Valerie continued drawing on her paper bag without saying a word and moved all her materials away from Mark. He just looked on and a little while later, Valerie handed him one of her markers and said, â€Å"There you go.. now go ask Annie for more markers coz I’m using most of mine here†. Valerie’s Observed Fine Motor Skills: For a four-year old, Valerie displays well-developed fine motor skills. She can hold the scissors properly with her hand and cut some strips of papers as well as cut some closed shapes. It was not evident in the observation if she could cut across lines. She is also able to hold the marker with a tri-pod grip and exerts enough pressure on the marker so she is able to create smooth and neat lines and shapes on paper. Later on, she was observed to use a popsicle stick to scoop some glue for her cut-out colored paper to paste on her brown paper bag puppet. She did this without any mess and she came up with a neat and attractive puppet that looked like a cat. She was later seen putting the puppet on her hand and moving her fingers altogether on her palm to make the puppet â€Å"talk† to her classmates. Valerieâ€⠄¢s Social Skills Aside from exhibiting well-developed motor skills for her age, Valerie likewise displays healthy social skills. Although initially shy, she is unafraid to interact with her peers when she found it interesting to join them in their play. Walker (2009) explains, â€Å"A modern view of the child acknowledges agency, that is, children’s capacity to understand and act upon their world. It acknowledges that children demonstrate extraordinary competence from birth†

Wordview Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wordview Journal - Assignment Example It is one of the qualities of God to be all knowing and based on this understanding he has about each person, he claims that he knows what that person is going to choose yet he does not force us into acting in a certain way. The behaviors that have made me draw this conclusion are that he believes that people should have an internal locus of control. He is a doer, and he also acts as a consultant in order to help others to help achieve self liberation as well. This person has been very influential for me because it is one of the first satisfactory answers given to me about this basic dilemma of human life and helped me understand that we have a choice in what we do. Another person, who is one of my friends, also holds a very interesting world view. Although quite young, she still does not believe in the common advice of tit for tat. That person believes that when you dislike something in a person or that person does something bad to you and you reciprocate that bad action then it means that you also have the same traits in yourself. In other words, she believes that by doing so, you eventually become what you abhor or hate. The behavior that has enabled me to reach this conclusion is that whenever another friend is rude to her, she does not reciprocates those actions and tries to ignore such behaviors and maintain friendly attitude. Such a behavior is very rare and none of my other friends possess it. Such an attitude of this friend has enables me to calm down in conflict situations and I no longer believe that everything is just in a quarrel. Because of this person, I evaluated the things that I like and dislike and I maintain my composure and do not stoop low even when in a quarrel. Now when faced with such a situation, I never do or say those things that I would not like others to do or say to me. This has helped me to develop certain standards in my life and has resulted in a consistency of behavior. I have also

Islamic architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Islamic architecture - Essay Example (Burckhardt, Art of Islam, p. 203) The divine reflections and revelations of Islamic architecture have deep historical roots in multiple cultures and religions. From ancient Greece to twenty-first century technological marvels, Islamic architecture draws from a plethora of rich influences and resources in creating its own unique experience of bringing the sacred and the divine into the human experience. The earliest historical influences arise out of the architecture of Ancient Greece with its Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles of architecture as defined by their columnar structures. The influence of the Ionic and later Corinthian styles can be seen in columns of the earliest mosques, such as the Hagia Sophia built in 532 A.D in Istanbul (then Constantinople) in which Corinthian style columns can be seen on the left side knave and Ionic-style columns in the center kiosk in the picture at left (Wegner, Hagia Sophia, [internet]) and in the Tulun Mosque in Cairo Egypt built in 876 A.D. in the picture on the right in which the Corinthian style columns provide the supports to all the doorways and arches. (â€Å"Islamic Architecture† in Free Dictionary [internet]) The Romans also added their influence to Islamic architecture. Roman architecture was socio-policitical in nature. Its aim was primarily focused on public events of which the collisem in Rome is the main existing example. Islam absorbed this focus in its architecture as well in the way its people built their communities in consideration of community needs rather than individual glory. (Helms, pp 129-132) Mosques and Madrasahs reflect the spaciousness of the Roman buildings, as places with space for the whole community to gather for edification and worship. A mosque in Armenia provides an example of this with the photograph to the left illustrating its outer simplicity and the photograph to the left showing a floor-plan of its inner spaciousness. When the Byzantine Empire became the dominant force in

Ancient India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ancient India - Essay Example In this section, the chapter looks at the distinctive features of the class system, which Aryans people introduced. It also examines the effects of the class system on the Indian civilization. In addition, the chapter discusses various religions found in India and their assumption regarding life. Specifically, the chapter looks at Brahmanism and Buddhism by highlighting their differences. The section also discusses how these religions influenced the Indian civilization. Additionally, the chapter discusses India after the Mauryas by looking at the rule of fishes. In this section, it tries to answer and examine why India was unable to maintain a unified empire in the first millennium BCE. Similarly, the section highlights reasons making Mauryan Empire to overcome temporary tendencies towards disunity of India. Lastly, the chapter discusses the exuberant world of Indian culture. It achieves this through outlining ways in which ancient India culture is similar and different from the cultural experience of ancient Egypt and

Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coursework - Essay Example Coca Cola Company owns over 300 brands including carbonated drinks, non-carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and bottled water. It is estimated that this company has a daily turnover of 2billion on all of its brands thus providing enough prove that Coca Cola Company is among the biggest companies holding biggest market share in the global markets where 80% of the turnover and profitability comes from international markets outside USA. To sustain this dominance and to facilitate its expansions into the new market segments at the same time launching new products the company has to develop market plan in where it outlines various guidelines and strategies that the company should fully implement, more notable is that the Company has become a success story because of its various marketing strategies that suits the various consumer market segment across the globe (Doole 2008). These marketing strategies have enhanced the continued expansions of the company into the new global pot ential markets through acquisition of other brands countering its major competitors, launching of new brands and development of new markets in the unexploited markets as well as facilitating brand awareness to the existing and potential consumers thus enhancing consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty on these brands. The Company approach on laying emphasis on consumer marketing campaigns has seen the Company’s brand varieties such as Diet coke, Rc cola, Sprite and Fanta performing well in all the market segments globally. The key factor that is notable to significantly contribute to the Coca Cola Company’s global market sustainability is the brand consumer marketing approach of adopting global marketing strategies. The need for adopting global marketing strategies came as a result of the company implementing the consideration of expanding into the global markets where they needed to address the various consumer needs, market segments and diverse consumer cultures (Doo le 2008). Marketing strategies for making marketing decisions varies in different regions in the world therefore it has become important for Coca Cola Company to conduct consumer marketing based on the domestic market segment cultures and the needs of the society. Coca Cola Company has faced stiff competition and increased rivalry in the domestic markets and the international markets, its major rival is Pepsi which is also manufacturing and distributing substitute products to those of Coca Cola Company. There are also other challenges that the company needs to address in order to consolidate its position as a leader in the global and domestic markets. These among others include lower sales of brands in the new markets; communication marketing mechanisms are inadequate; brand recognition and awareness in some market segments was very low and finally is the negative perception of consumers towards Coca Cola brands in regard to health issues. With this situation the Company needed to c ome up with unique marketing strategies and techniques to ensure that they edge out its competitors through the expansion of its markets and the consolidation of the customer base. To ensure that they identify suitable and appropriate marketing strategies for this consideration, the company sought to understand the consumer theories that may apply in the various societies in regard to marketing. They also found out how various marketing and advertisement models work in the consumer

The First Day of High School Essay Example for Free

The First Day of High School Essay Right when I got out of the car, I had no clue where to go, I’m accustomed to walking through the middle school doors and going to unite with all my friends after a thrilling summer, but today was different. It was my first day of high school and I was about to go on an adventure. I finally reached my destination, the freshman courtyard, and I walked into my first period class. I sat down, looked around and thought to myself, â€Å"I know absolutely no one! † Then the bell rang and my teacher walked in. First thing that came out of her mouth was, â€Å"So who has their summer reading assignment?! and I sat there in astonishment. In middle school, on the first day, it’s usually all about rules, rules, and more rules! And how the classroom should be, but no! Not in high school. It was more of, â€Å"You’re in English honors, let’s get to work and write an essay! † Well wasn’t that a surprise. Later throughout the day, I finally saw some of my friends and felt more comfortable that there were people I knew. I was starting to enjoy my classes, and I got to know my teachers a little more, but now it was 5th period lunch and Man was I hungry! When I walked into the lunchroom, I stopped in bewilderment on where to go; there were swarms of people everywhere I turned, freshman, sophomores, juniors, and even seniors. There was a snack line, soda machines, and an abundance of tables that filled the cafeteria. You could even sit outside! It was a humongous difference from middle school; we have so much more freedom. Speaking of freedom, did I mention how spectacular it is in high school compared to middle school?! In class, we get to work together and have immense amount of free time; we can also take our phones and iPods out more often. During passing we can have our phones out and can’t get in trouble for it! The best part of all is we can have any  electronic devices out at lunch and we can go to two different places, the media and the learning lab. It is so much more suitable than being locked up in captivity all day long. Some people would expect high school to be stricter than middle school and have countless rules. Actually, it is uncomplicated, less strict and more intriguing. When I was in middle school I still felt like a little kid, but now that I am in high school I feel like I am turning into a mature adult.

Episodic Dystonia and Hallucinations Due to DLAT Genes

Episodic Dystonia and Hallucinations Due to DLAT Genes Title: Carbamazepine responsive Episodic Dystonia and Hallucination due to Pyruvate Dehydrogenase E2 (DLAT) gene mutation Fatema J Serajee1, Salman Rashid2, and AHM M Huq1 ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations is a very rare condition with only 4 reported cases to date. METHODS: We describe a 15-year-old girl with mild intellectual disability, paroxysmal dystonia and bilateral basal ganglia signal abnormalities on brain MRI. Additional neurophysiological, imaging, metabolic and exome sequencing studies were performed. RESULTS: Routine metabolite testing, and GLUT1 and PRRT2 mutation analysis were negative. A repeat brain MRI revealed Eye-of-the-tiger-sign. Exome sequencing identified homozygous valine to glycine alteration at amino acid position 157 in the DLAT gene. Bioinformatic and family analyses indicated that the alteration was likely pathogenic. Patients s dystonia was responsive to low dose carbamazepine. On weaning carbamazepine, patient developed hallucinations which resolved after carbamazepine was restarted. CONCLUSIONS: PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation has a more benign course compared to common forms of PDH E1 deficiency due to X-linked PDHA1 mutations. All known cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations share the features of episodic dystonia and intellectual disability. Our patients dystonia and hallucinations responded well to low dose carbamazepine. Introduction: Pyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH) E2 deficiency is a rare pediatric neurometabolic disease due to mutation in DLAT gene (Head et al., 2005; McWilliam et al., 2010). Only 4 cases with DLAT gene mutations have previously been reported (Head et al., 2005; McWilliam et al., 2010). All share the features of dystonia and some degree of developmental delay and characteristic globus pallidus signal abnormalities on brain MRI. This disease tends to have more benign course as compared to PDH E1 deficiency (Head et al., 2005; Huq et al., 1991; McWilliam et al., 2010; Patel et al., 2012). We report an additional case with DLAT mutation with new phenotype and treatment information. Case Report A 15-year-old girl presented with paroxysmal episodes of left lower extremity weakness and stiffening for the last 8 years. These episodes were triggered by exercise but no exacerbating or relieving factors were noted. There was no associated aura, alteration of consciousness, incontinence or other associated neurological symptoms. Her parents were second cousins, but family history was negative for known genetic disorders. Birth and past medical histories were also unremarkable. Patient had a speech delay but met her other childhood milestones appropriately. Later, she developed academic difficulties and at 15 years of age she was performing at a 4th grade level. At presentation, the patient had a normal examination except for some cognitive and reading difficulties. At the time of initial presentation to a pediatric neurologist at 7 years of age, an MRI of the brain revealed bilateral T2 hyperintensities in the basal ganglia. In addition, she was found to have decreased NAA peak an d the suggestion of a lactate peak on MR spectroscopy. EEG, EMG and nerve conductions studies were unremarkable. Over the years the patient was considered to have paroxysmal kinesiogenic dyskinesia and was treated with carbamazepine (100 mg daily). The patient was initially evaluated by us at age of 14 years. Metabolic work up for serum lactate, serum amino acids, acyl carnitine profile, serum copper and ceruluplasmin and GLUT1 or PRRT2 mutation analysis were unremarkable. Repeat MRI revealed basal ganglia signal changes including Eye of the tiger sign (Figure 1). MR spectroscopy studies were suboptimal. Exome sequencing was performed through Ambry laboratory as previously described (Serajee and Huq, 2015). The patient had homozygous c.470T>G (p.V157G) alteration in the DLAT (Dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (PDHC E2) gene suggesting the diagnosis of pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency, a rare cause of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency. Both parents and one brother were heterozygous carriers and another brother was homozygous normal. The p.V157G alteration (c.470T>G), is in coding exon 3 of the DLAT gene, results from a T to G substitution at nucleotide position 470. The valine at codon 157 is replaced by glycine, an amino acid with dissimilar properties. The V157 amino acid position is highly conserved in all available vertebrate species. The p.V157G alteration is predicted to be probably damaging by Polyphen and deleterious by SIFT in silico analyses. The V157 amino acid is located within the biotin/lipoyl attachment domain of the DHAT protein. The DLAT c.470T>G alteration was n ot observed in healthy cohort databases such as NHLBI Exome Sequencing Project (ESP) or the 1000 Genomes Project or the Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP). Based on data from the HGMD, only the four alterations reported by Head et al. (2005) and McWilliam et al. (2010) have been observed within the DLAT gene to date (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). These include one missense alteration, two splice alterations, and one small in-frame deletion. Based on the above evidence, the homozygous c.470T>G (p.V157G) alteration was considered pathogenic. Her parents refused treatment with the ketogenic diet. When carbamazepine was weaned off due to parental concerns of side effects, within few weeks, patient developed hallucinations. Parents reported resolution of symptoms after carbamazepine was restarted. Discussion: The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex functions in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A. The complex contains three subunits: E1, E2 and E3 (Patel and Roche, 1990). The most common form of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency is due to mutations affecting the E1 subunit, and results in a variety of clinical manifestations depending upon the residual function of the enzyme (Huq et al., 1991;Patel et al., 2012). E1 subunit is encoded by PDHA1 gene of X chromosome. Most patients present in infancy with lactic acidosis, ataxia and hypotonia, either chronically or episodically (Huq et al., 1991;Patel et al., 2012). The mutation in our patient is in the E2 subunit (dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase), which forms the structural core of the enzyme and functions in accepting the acetyl groups and transferring them to coenzyme A, an essential step preceding the entrance of glucose into the TCA cycle (Head et al., 2005;Patel and Roche, 1990). E2 subunit is encoded by DLAT g ene located on chromosome 11q23.1. To date, however, there are only four reported cases of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency caused by alterations in the DLAT gene, making it a very rare cause of the condition (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). In addition, Robinson et al reported an additional patient with reduced E2 dihydrolipoyl transacetylase enzyme activity (32% of the control and undetectable E2 immunoreactive protein (Robinson et al., 1990). For this patient, no gene mutation data is available (Robinson et al., 1990). The patient reported by Robinson et al. had a different phenotype compared to our patient and four other genetically confirmed DLAT mutation cases and had profound retardation and microcephaly (Robinson et al., 1990). Head et al. (2005) first described two unrelated individuals with PDH deficiency caused by homozygous non-protein truncating mutations in the DLAT gene (Head et al., 2005). One patient demonstrated a deletion of glutamic acid in the outer lipoyl domain of the protein, whereas the second expressed a missense mutation in the catalytic site, leading to a substitution of leucine for phenylalanine. Both patients were male children born of first-cousin parents. These patients presented with a less severe phenotype compared to individuals with the more common type of PDH caused by alterations in the PDHA1 gene encoding the E1 subunit, and their common features included episodic dystonia, hypotonia, ataxia, and developmental delay(Head et al., 2005). Episodes of dystonia were often triggered by stress or fever, and developmental progress appeared to slow after the episodes as well. Additional reported features included inconsolable crying, nystagmus and abnormal eye movements, ptosis, drooli ng, jerky head movements, arching of the body, bottom shuffling, stiffening of the limbs, episodic clenching of the hands, head lag and hypotonia. Brain MRI findings in each patient included focal signal abnormality in the basal ganglia with high T2 signal and low T1 signal in the globus pallidus which was compatible with an abnormality of energy metabolism (Head et al., 2005). The authors concluded that mutations in the DLAT gene are an extremely rare cause of PDH deficiency and that patients with this type of PDH may be more likely to respond to a ketogenic diet (Head et al., 2005). McWilliam et al. (2010) also described two sisters born of non-consanguineous parents affected with pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency caused by compound heterozygous splice mutations in the DLAT gene (McWilliam et al., 2010). Clinical features were like those described in Head et al. (2005), including progressive episodic dystonia, cognitive impairment, and globus pallidus hyperintensity on brain MR I. Both patients were treated with a modified ketogenic diet and the parents reported improvements in concentration, fine motor control, and decreased fatigue (McWilliam et al., 2010). Previous reports noted the phenotypic overlap to patients with PKAN, and suggested investigation for PDH E2 deficiency in patients suspected to have atypical PKAN with negative genetic testing (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). PKAN is one of several diseases classified under the umbrella of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). It is caused by a mutation in the pentothenate kinase 2 gene, an abnormality of coenzyme A metabolism (Zhou et al., 2001). CoPAN (Coenzyme A synthetase protein-associated neurodegeneration) is another NBIA that affects the synthesis of coenzyme A. It is caused by a mutation in coenzyme A synthetase (COASY) gene (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). Clinical features of PKAN and CoPAN also include ataxia, dystonia, chorea and Parkinsonism, cognitive decline and psychiatric manifestations (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). In NBIA, whether iron accumulation is a cause or an effect of the disease pro cess is still not known (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). In our patient, the pattern of MRI changes in the bilateral globus pallidus is remarkably like that seen in PKAN and CoPAN, revealing the eye-of-the-tiger sign . On brain MRIs of patients with PKAN and CoPAN, the central hyperintensity of the eye-of-the-tiger sign is thought to be due to the tissue necrosis, while the surrounding hypointensity is attributed to the iron accumulation (Dusi et al., 2014;Kumar et al., 2006). Other diseases including cortical basal degeneration, multisystem atrophy, multiple sclerosis and neurofibromatosis may have similar neuro-radiological findings. However, these diseases differ from PKAN in their clinical behavior and pattern of MR abnormalities (Kruer et al., 2012). PKAN and CoPAN also affect the substantia nigra (Kruer et al., 2012); however, the involvement of the substantia nigra has not yet been reported in cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations. Out of the four previously reported cases of PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation, only t wo patients had serial MRI scans. In one patient, the brain MRI was normal at one year of age but follow up at 6 years-old showed an abnormal hyperintense T2 signal in the bilateral globus pallidus. In the other patient, similar lesions were noticed at 15 months-old that remained unchanged on follow up at 2 and 6 years of age (Head et al., 2005). As opposed to the eye-of-the-tiger sign seen in our patient, all the previously reported cases showed homogenous basal ganglia hyperintensities (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). As discussed above, PKAN and CoPAN result from a defect in coenzyme A synthesis (Schneider, 2016;Tonekaboni and Mollamohammadi, 2014). PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutations, on the other hand, affects the transfer of acetyl group formed by decarboxylation of pyruvate to coenzyme A (Kumar et al., 2006;McWilliam et al., 2010;Patel and Roche, 1990). It is possible that the clinical and radiological similarities of PKAN, CoPAN and PDH E2 deficiency are due t o shared abnormalities in the acetyl-CoA metabolism. Like our patient, the 4 previously reported DLAT mutation cases presented with dystonia and intellectual disability, with a more benign course than those affected with the PDH E1 subunit deficiency (Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010) . In this regard, PDH E2 deficiency due to DLAT mutation is like PDH deficiency due E3 binding protein deficiency (Head et al., 2005). Serum and CSF lactate were elevated in only one patient, but all demonstrated characteristic hyperintense T2 and hypointense T1 signal in the bilateral globus pallidi on brain MRI. In 3 out of the 4 patients, ketogenic diet was helpful in alleviation of the disease symptomology(Head et al., 2005;McWilliam et al., 2010). Our patients had hallucination, which was not described in other 4 reported patients. Her dystonia and hallucinations responded to low dose carbamazepine. Our case thus expands upon the phenotype for PDH E2 deficiency associated with the DLAT gene mutation. Reference List Dusi, S., Valletta, L., Haack, T.B., Tsuchiya, Y., Venco, P., Pasqualato, S., Goffrini, P., Tigano, M., Demchenko, N., Wieland, T., Schwarzmayr, T., Strom, T.M., Invernizzi, F., Garavaglia, B., Gregory, A., Sanford, L., Hamada, J., Bettencourt, C., Houlden, H., Chiapparini, L., Zorzi, G., Kurian, M.A., Nardocci, N., Prokisch, H., Hayflick, S., Gout, I., and Tiranti, V. (2014). Exome sequence reveals mutations in CoA synthase as a cause of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 94, 11-22. Head, R.A., Brown, R.M., Zolkipli, Z., Shahdadpuri, R., King, M.D., Clayton, P.T., and Brown, G.K. (2005). Clinical and genetic spectrum of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency: dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) deficiency. Ann. Neurol. 58, 234-241. Huq, A.H., Ito, M., Naito, E., Saijo, T., Takeda, E., and Kuroda, Y. (1991). Demonstration of an unstable variant of pyruvate dehydrogenase protein (E1) in cultured fibroblasts from a patient with congenital lactic acidemia. Pediatr. Res. 30, 11-14. Kruer, M.C., Boddaert, N., Schneider, S.A., Houlden, H., Bhatia, K.P., Gregory, A., Anderson, J.C., Rooney, W.D., Hogarth, P., and Hayflick, S.J. (2012). Neuroimaging features of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 33, 407-414. Kumar, N., Boes, C.J., Babovic-Vuksanovic, D., and Boeve, B.F. (2006). The eye-of-the-tiger sign is not pathognomonic of the PANK2 mutation. Arch. Neurol. 63, 292-293. McWilliam, C.A., Ridout, C.K., Brown, R.M., McWilliam, R.C., Tolmie, J., and Brown, G.K. (2010). Pyruvate dehydrogenase E2 deficiency: a potentially treatable cause of episodic dystonia. Eur. J. Paediatr. Neurol. 14, 349-353. Patel, K.P., OBrien, T.W., Subramony, S.H., Shuster, J., and Stacpoole, P.W. (2012). The spectrum of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency: clinical, biochemical and genetic features in 371 patients. Mol. Genet. Metab 105, 34-43. Patel, M.S., and Roche, T.E. (1990). Molecular biology and biochemistry of pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes. FASEB J. 4, 3224-3233. Robinson, B.H., MacKay, N., Petrova-Benedict, R., Ozalp, I., Coskun, T., and Stacpoole, P.W. (1990). Defects in the E2 lipoyl transacetylase and the X-lipoyl containing component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in patients with lactic acidemia. J. Clin. Invest 85, 1821-1824. Schneider, S.A. (2016). Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation. Curr. Neurol. Neurosci. Rep. 16, 9. Serajee, F.J., and Huq, A.M. (2015). Homozygous Mutation in Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A Gene Results in Intractable Epilepsy, Involuntary Movements, Microcephaly, and Developmental and Growth Retardation. Pediatr. Neurol. 52, 642-646. Tonekaboni, S.H., and Mollamohammadi, M. (2014). Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation: an overview. Iran J. Child Neurol. 8, 1-8. Zhou, B., Westaway, S.K., Levinson, B., Johnson, M.A., Gitschier, J., and Hayflick, S.J. (2001). A novel pantothenate kinase gene (PANK2) is defective in Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome. Nat. Genet. 28, 345-349. Figure 1 Legend:   Ã‚   MRI of the brain: A. Axial T2 image showing hyperintensity in bilateral globus pallidus, which is surrounded by a hypointense signal B. Axial T1 image showing hypointensity in bilateral globus pallidus C. Coronal T2 FLAIR image showing hyperintensity in bilateral globus pallidus, which is surrounded by a ring of hypointense signal (eye-of-the-tiger sign)

Tender Reports in Construction

Tender Reports in Construction Tender report is an analysis or evaluation report that was prepared by a quantity surveyor about the tenders which submitted by the tenderers. This report was prepared to give suggestions to the public sector client, i.e. the government or the private sector employer about the best contractor for the project through evaluating the submitted tender documents in various aspects and to establish a price for the ensuing contract. After taking the recommendations from tender report and advice from the consultants into consideration, the client or employer will select his or her preferable choice of contractor. The throughout process and results of the tender evaluation are keep confidential. Upon the submission of tenders from the tenderers, a Tender Board or a Tender Assessment Panel will be formed. Tender Board or Tender Assessment Panel is a group of independent officers which included the quantity surveyor, to carry out a tender receipt process for competitive tenders, revise and confirm best and final offers. The tender board meets on a set date at a specified time to open and process tender documents submitted which they then forwarded to acquisition teams for commercial, technical and financial evaluation. The Tender Board will ensure that tenders are opened and processed in an open and transparent way. In addition, the tenders will be evaluated and recommendations will be made to the the client and the Tender Board. The approval and acceptance of a tender is made within the validity period of tender, which is normally 60 days as set in the tender document. To avoid the extension of one tender, tender should be evaluated and recommendation made within 30days from the date set in the handing over of tender. In case tender has to be extended due to unavoidable circumstances, agreement from the recommended tendering party should be obtained at least two weeks before the expiry of validity date. Generally, the tender evaluation process can be divided into two stages, i.e. preliminary stage evaluation and final stage evaluation. The preliminary stage of tender evaluation or also known as Preliminary Analysis, comprises of analysis on completeness of tender, analysis on compulsory documents and analysis on minimum capital required for the project, whereas the final stage of tender evaluation comprises of analyses on technical and financial capabilities of the tenderers. Besides that, arithmetical check will also be carried out on the tenders along the tender evaluation process. Before the tenders to be taken into consideration, the precondition of tender evaluation is the tender must be submitted before the tender closing date and time set out in the Letter of Invitation to Tender, i.e. usually before 12.00pm noon of the tender closing date. If the tender was submitted later than that, it is fall under the category of late tender. Late tender will not be accepted or of submitted, not opened for further consideration due to reasons of fairness and accountability. This is normally applied to public sector projects where the standards pertaining to transparency and accountability are especially high. However, the decision whether to open and consider such a tender is purely at the discretion of Tender Board and the private sector employer. Furthermore, tender amended by the tenderer on his or her own initiative whether in writing or other forms, without consent from the project client or employer will also be rejected for consideration. After that, the Quantity Surveyor will conduct the preliminary or first stage of tender evaluation process, i.e. Preliminary Analysis. It is an assessment system based on a few precondition set to determine whether the tenderers are qualified to be considered for the next stage evaluation. Purposes of this assessment system are to ensure that the tenderers to be considered are reasonable in term of tender price, complete of required documents and have sufficient capital to commence works. Firstly, the Quantity Surveyor will analyse the tenders whether the tenderers have offered the reasonable tender price. For government projects, if the number of tenderers is less than 10 persons, the department estimate or consultants estimate will be used for the comparison of tender prices. Usually, a variation price of 15% of department estimate or consultants estimate for tender prices offered by tenderers is assumed reasonable. If the number of tenderers is 10 persons or more than that, the Public Works Department will adopt the cut-off method to shortlist the tenderers for further evaluation. A cut-off price is established as the minimum tender price which is assumed feasible and reasonable to be accepted in accordance to market price through a statistical method. This is to avoid project implementation failure due to the contractors inability to undertake or complete the works caused by awarding contract to a tenderers with too low or unrealistic tender price. Therefore, usua lly only tenderers with tender price above or equal to the cut-off price will be considered and evaluated. In addition, completion period proposed must not exceed the range of estimated completion period. Then, the Quantity Surveyor will check the aspect of Completeness of Offer or Tender submitted by the tenderers. Some elements of Completeness of Tender which taken into consideration are the Form of Tender must be signed, the signature must be the authorized person, tender price must be stated in the Form of Tender, registration with Contractor Services Center (PKK) or Construction Industry Development Board(CIDB) must be valid and have stated the proposed completion period. Only tenders that complete and free from any deficiency or mistakes which may affect the current contract practices in legal aspects, are qualified to be considered. Tenderers which failed to do so, their tenders will be mentioned as INCOMPLETE to the client and stated the reasons. The following process is to check the aspect of Sufficiency of Compulsory Documents. All tenderers are obliged to submit all compulsory documents needed which stated in the Instructions to Tenderers for the tender evaluation purpose. The compulsory documents are the company auditors report, bank accounts monthly statement, banks report on company financial status and report on current project by resident architect or resident engineer or project manager. These documents are needed to prove whether the tenderers have sufficient financial capability, i.e. possess minimum sufficient capital to start the works. Without submitted the compulsory documents, especially for company financial documents, tender evaluation cannot be carried out and that tender is not qualify to be considered and can be rejected. Besides, an analysis on minimum capital required for the project will be conducted. The analysis will be done on the companys current assets, current liability, bank account statement, fixed deposit, bonds, credit facilities from bankers or suppliers, overdraft and bank loan. Hence, the company financial documents submitted by the tenderers will form a basis or proof for this evaluation aspect. For government projects, the minimum capital analysis is made through calculation of 3% of the Builder Works value based on department estimate. Along the tender evaluation process, the Quantity Surveyor will carry out the arithmetical checks on the tender documents. It comprises of correcting arithmetical errors in extensions, casting, etc and isolating palpable errors on pricing, but the tender amount remains unaltered. This measure is to correct mistakes for the purpose of future variation. A detailed examination of Bills of Quantities including comparison of prices will also be carried out on all tenders submitted. If the tenderers have fulfilled all the requirements in the preliminary stages evaluation, then the tenderers are considered or qualified for the final stages evaluation. The final stages evaluation is carried out based on a marking or scoring system which the marking are made objectively and quantitatively for each criterion assessed. Firstly, it will analyse the tenderers first aspect of technical capability, i.e. experience. Assessment is made based on the total value of same and similar nature of tendered works completed in the past five years. This is to get know that whether the tenderer is capable or have similar nature of works experiences for the tendered project. Next, it will analyse the tenderers second aspect of technical capability, i.e. financial. It is based on the total annum value of project predicted to be provided from the tenderers various sources of finance. It is important to prove that the tenderer has the financial capability to execute the project. Marks are given according to their financial capability. After this, it followed by the third aspect of tenderers technical capability assessment, i.e. the technical workers and possession of basic plant and machinery. Assessment is made based on their technical workers, such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, technician, and polytechnic and technical works assistants. The tenderers need to submit the KWSP statement and photocopies of Certificates of Workers Qualification to prove that they have qualified and enough number of technical workers to execute the tendered works. The lists of plant and machinery with supporting documents are also required to submit for the evaluation. Lastly, it will analyse the tenderers current works performance. This analysis is aimed to ensure that the tenderers do not have projek sakit, i.e. projects lagged behind 30% or more from the schedule of works or works programme. In addition, it is important to ensure that the tenderers do not have problems of employments determination by other client or employers. After the both preliminary and final stages of tender evaluation have completed, the results, justification, recommendation, and tenderers necessary detail information and facts will arrange and compiled together in a systematically way to form a tender report and submit to the client or employer. In conclusion, tender report is produced to assist the client or employer in decision making process in order to select most suitable and capable contractor to complete the project within specified time and quality.

Growth in the U.K. Economy :: Economics Britain Essays

Growth in the U.K. Economy After the Second World War, Britain enjoyed the longest boom in its history until the 1973-74 oil crisis. There are many, though, who do not view this as a successful period of Britain's history. Although Britain experienced unprecedented growth, its rate of growth was slower than that for many other countries. It is therefore debatable as to whether this was a successful period of Britain's history or not. This essay will examine the statistics of Britain's growth after the Second World War and compare this to statistics for other countries as well as statistics from Britain's past. This will provide evidence to accurately assess Britain's growth performance during this period. The essay will also examine possible reasons for Britain's relative decline such as demand management Government policies, balance of payments problems, an over reliance on traditional manufacturing industries, low investment in capital stock, Trade Union power, poor management, poor business structure and a poor education system. The 25 years from 1948 to 1973 produced growth faster than had been seen in any previous period of equivalent length. During this period, real gross domestic product doubled. The increase in the average growth rate from 2% to 2.8% shows that UK productivity increased considerably. During the 1950s, there were no concerns about the UK growth rate. The standard of living was still higher than that of any other EEC country except Belgium and higher than it had ever been in Britain's history. It was twice as high as Italy and 50% higher than West Germany. When compared to the performance of other countries, though, UK growth rates are less impressive. Other EEC countries had growth rates roughly double that of the UK, between 5% and 6%. This caused great concern amongst many politicians and economists at the time. Most economists look back on the period as a failure. Elbaum and Lazonick, two North American economists say: "If there is much to be learned from the Japanese success, it is our conviction that the United States may have even more to learn from the decline of Britain The significance of a difference of 3% in the growth rate is that, if two countries have a level start, the faster growing country will have twice the output of the slower country in 25 years. This showed that Britain was in relative decline and justified some of the fears of

Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games Essay -- Papers Children

Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games The video game technology, like most technologies, has changed drastically in the last few years. Arcades may look much the same on the surface as they did a decade or two ago, but the games have become far more violent, sophisticated and addictive. When one visits the video arcade it is not surprising to see children pointing and shooting something that looks suspiciously like a real weapon. If Pong – or, for that matter, Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers – is one’s point of reference, one needs to think again. What one assumes about the benign, outdated games of the 1970s and the 1980s, even of the early 1990s, the research regarding them cannot be considered valid as video games put in the market in the last five years. It is a whole new world, and it is evolving at a rate that is hard for parents to keep pace with (Funk. Jeanne 1993). How fast a rate? Consider this: During the last two decades interactive video games have emerged as one of the most popular forms of entertainment, particularly among teens. According to the non-profit organization, Mediascope, â€Å"Globally, annual video games revenues now exceed $18 billion. In the United States alone, video game revenues now exceed $10 billion annually, nearly double the amount Americans spend going to the movies. On average, American children who have home video game systems play with them about ninety minutes a day. The kids are changing with the technology – how could they not be? They are riding technology curve in a way we are not and never can. On many levels, it’s wonderful to have them exposed to this brav... ...tors in Computing Systems CHI '04 Abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. ACM Press New York, NY , USA p. 1375-1378 Provenzo, Eugene. Video Kids. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991 47-48. Schmitt, B.D. (2004). Disadvantages of Video Games. Clinical Reference Systems. Jan 1, 2004 p 3356. Behavioral Health Advisor 2004.1 McKesson Health Solutions LLC Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Pres, New York, USA The First Fighting Game That Let You Just Be Friends. Take Greatest Games of All Times. Mortal Kombat II. Midway 1993. Accessed 2 Sept 2005 at: http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-17.html Videogame- mind control? Accessed 2 Sept 2005 at: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread37141/pg1

APUSH Extra Credit

In the United State s of America . From 1998 to the present, this country has strayed away from the ideals pre sensed within the Declaration of Independence. Three major ideas expressed in the Declared ion were the natural laws giving the people the right to assert political independence as long as the e reason for doing so is Justified, the Inalienable rights of people to life liberty and the pursuit of h peppiness, and the purpose of government to protect these rights and In case of failure to do so e abolished.These three examples, the Republic of Lookout, the excellently Issue, and the numb ere of militias around the united States give evidence to the claim that the united States ha s moved further away from the main ideas within the Declaration of Independence. The Republic of Lookout claims to exist today in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. It is the supposed homeland of the Alack a Native American tribe.It is not recognized by the feder al government of the United States. I n 2007, the Lookout Freedom delegation, led by Russell Means, traveled to Washington where he submitted statement declaring Independence from the U. S. The reason professed by the Alack ah Is that they were never a part of the country and were being ruled by force. From a legal sat endpoint the Lookout claim to have always been a sovereign nation under Article Six of the Consist caution.The Lookout have provided legitimate reasons to exercise their right to secede from the U. S. Claims made by the Lookout have not been taken seriously by Congress. By seemingly ignoring Eng the pleas of the Lookout, Congress Is Ignoring the natural law outlined In the Declaration of Independence thus making it's way further from the ideals held sacred in the dotcom