MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 SLP Essay

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 1 SLP - Essay Example People had their own reasons as to why they chose to stay; no matter what, the clear matter to understand is the fact that they placed that reasoning way before the capability of escaping the dangers of staying in their area during the drastic occasions of the disasters. From the dates Oct 21, 1988 (Philippines) and Nov 19, 1988, the same storm visited both countries and as seen from the results of the disaster, the number of deaths in the Philippines mirrored with the number [3,902,424] compared to that of the deaths in Thailand during the same occurrence of disaster in Thailand killing only [664] makes a huge defining indication with regards the process of disaster response that both countries use. Particularly, the areas affected by the storm in the Philippines are of course higher in number. No matter, it could be observed that the willingness of the people to follow instructions from the government immediately makes a great difference in the rate of deaths on both countries. Floods and storms had been noted to be among the most common disasters in Thailand and the Philippines.2 It could be noted through this comparison though that the Philippines have an undeniable higher rate of deaths in connection with these disasters. Truthfully, the import ance of heeding warnings when given is an important factor to consider on the part of the civilians living in the areas affected by the disasters at a specific time. 3. Explain reasons for the differences in frequency and impact, citing academic journals or references. Besides the fact that the population of residents between Thailand and Philippines differ so much in number creates a great implication that the entire process of warning people might

Personal Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal Development - Essay Example When I was ten years old, I would destroy my toys in order to get wires out of them, then join them together, connect them via bulbs and small machines to the circuit to see what happened. I have been sponsored by the Qatar Petroleum Company. I will be henceforth working with them. they have sponsored me because I fared well in most of my high school grades. I was one of the top graders in my school. This gave my application an edge over the applications of my peers. I was one of the top 3 students of my high school. At the creative level, I am very good on creativity. For instance when I was young, I exercised my creativity by connecting a battery to the correct direction. Then I realized that the small machine is only connected to the circuit in a certain way. When I would change the poles side connected to the circuit, the machine would spin in the other direction.  . And when I change the poles side connected to the circuit, the machine spins in the other direction. I am also c o-operative and I like teamwork. I joined the school mathematics team in the high school and competed in different competitions like the mathematics Olympics which were held in my school and we won most of them. I also joined the school football team in the high school. I am interested in football, poetry, swimming and surfing the internet in my spare time. My parents trusted me when I was fourteen to look after my young brothers and to take care of them for six months I will join different sports such as football and swimming teams. And I will also join clubs and I will participate in different activities. SELF-ASSESSMENT And Motivation factor: The Portfolio I am presenting exhibits hours of self-assessment and reports. The purpose of this portfolio is to emphasize my strengths, skills and competencies. I am a committed, hardworking individual who is able to work effectively in a team; in addition I have strong communication skills and confidence. I can also demonstrate advanced pr oblem solving skills that will help me a lot in financial advising, my drive and ambition ensure I will be a valuable addition in any company. I like to take the approach that I am my own company. I think I am proud of my skills and my ability to counteract any negatives by offering a solution in difficult situations. This means turning those negatives into positives. My time management skills and other skills like, Communications (listening, reading, speaking and writing), Mathematics and Analytical Ability, Career Exploration, Teamwork/Leadership is excellent and I am organized and efficient. I prefer to complete the project well ahead of schedule. I am a learner and I belief that if I am not familiar with something I am always keen to learn and implement it if given an opportunity. I am always been motivated by the desire to do a good job at whatever position I am in. I enjoy traveling to explore different working culture with new staff with different background, and I am always ready to face new kind of situation. I am always to keen to learn about different things and adventures. I want to excel to be successful in my job, both for my own personal satisfaction and for my employer. Not only I want to mature with contact to the intricacies of business and cultural management tasks, but I also intend to contribute significantly in increasing the landscape of my organization. MY GOALS, Work Philosophy and My SWOT: Goal setting is important for everyone to reach their Dreams

State The Meaning Of Psalm 23 By Exegesis Religion Essay

State The Meaning Of Psalm 23 By Exegesis Religion Essay The aim of this assignment is to state the meaning of Psalm 23 by exegesis and analysing it. Exegesis comes from a Greek word that means to guide out, It is the process of going to the text to determine what it means, and to draw out the correct interpretation.  [1]   Shepherd The psalm is poetry and is transformed into simple metaphors employing that it is God who is the shepherd. The metaphor of the Shepherd in found in verse 1 of the psalm, the Lord is my Shepherd. King David of Israel is said to have written at least half of the psalms within the book of the Old Testament as well as this one.  [2]  David found it appropriate to write this psalm because he was a shepherd, and describes his work as a shepherd protecting caring and delivering the sheep from all form of attack. In addition to this David relates the work of the shepherd to the work of God (1.Sam 17: 34-37). The Hebrew word for shepherding is translated feeding. Sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd for provision, guidance, and protection. The shepherd takes care of the sheep, he even carried weak lambs in their arms (Isa.40:11) they led the sheeps to pasture and water protecting them from wild animals and dangerous places. They also guard their flocks at night whether in the open (Luke 2:8) or in sheepfolds.  [3]  Shepherds come to designate not only a person who herded sheep but also kings (2 Sam. 5:2). Later Israel prophets referred to Israels leaders as shepherds. Some New Testament references used a shepherd and the sheep to illustrate Christs relationship to His followers who referred to Him as the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb.13:20). Jesus also spoke of himself as the good shepherd who knew His sheep and would lay down His life for them (John 10:7-18). Verse 1- 4 The opening of the first four verses establishes the dominant theme for the psalm as a whole and contains a metaphor; where by in verse one the Lord is called Shepherd and the Psalmist is a sheep belonging to His flock. The psalmist used a simple language for the use of the shepherd metaphor, which can be understood by all living in a world where land was dotted with sheep and shepherds. The distinctiveness in the opening words of this psalm lies in the use of the pronoun, my shepherd which gives a personal association with the shepherd. The fact that the Lord is his shepherd the psalmist can say I shall not wan, here the psalmist is saying as long as the Lord is my shepherd I shall lack for nothing, this recall Gods provision for His people during their forty years travelling through the wilderness as Moses stated in (Deut. 2:7), you have lacked nothing. In verse two the psalmist paints a scene of abundant life in three descriptive statements each speaking of the shepherd in the third person and employing and imperfect verb form. All three images emphasize the shepherds role as provider. First of all the psalmist says, He makes me lie down in green pastures, secondly He leads me beside still waters. The palmist speaks in confidence of the Lords guidance and provision. As the shepherd leads his sheep in pleasant places full of all the necessities of life, green pastures of grass experiencing plenty, quiet peaceful stream which provides water for drinking. Grass and water are the sheeps source of life, and the shepherd knows how to find them both and leads the hungry, thirsty sheep to them. Within verse three he writes, He restores my soul He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake. He chooses the right paths that are right with him, making sense to him. In this He acts for His names sake, in accordance with His revealed character. Paths of righteousness take on the meaning of a way of life fulfil Gods expectation for his follower. The sheep are not left to their own devices but are led by the shepherd to take the right path, that is the one that gets the sheep where he need to go. The shepherd (God) acts in a way that reveal and confirms his character and nature. To have a name is to bear a good reputation, the shepherd (God) acts to benefit of the sheep, in a way that is consistent with the nature His name reveals. In verse four the palmist says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Here the psalmist moves to a description of fearful threat he purposefully emphasise the danger and threat that confront the flock. Shadow of death is really deepest darkness which includes the darkness of death, but in these experiences the he of (v1-3) becomes the you, significant of closer person touch, and the leader (v2) comes alongside (with me). The darker the shadow the closer the Lord! The psalmists confidence rests in the fact even in the shadow of death itself, he need fear no evil, confidence is found in Gods protection described in the metaphor as the shepherds rod and staff. The rod possibly signifies protection; and the staff, possibly support. According to Craigie the Palestinian shepherd normally carried two implements, a cub or rod to fend of wild beasts and a crook or staff to guide and con trol sheep.  [4]  Despite the oppressive and threatening setting the psalmist sheep is unafraid. The psalmist reasons for fear fade in the presence of the shepherd (God). Verse 5 6 From verse five the metaphor changes to that of a host and his guest, the role of the shepherd no longer dominates. God is no longer seen as a shepherd but assumes the role as a host, preparing a table with food and drink, and anointing the head of the visitor. The psalmist is no longer a sheep but a person; who is honoured by God in the presence of the enemy.  [5]  The picture is one of the realisations of ultimate communion with God. Verse five says, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil my cup overflows. The word table continues the metaphor and is to be understood as God spreading a table, a banquet celebrating Gods provision and protection. One can assume from this that the psalmist had endured affliction in the past at the hand of enemies and had risen above the affliction in confidence, and as he anticipates the future, he has no illusions; there would still be enemies, but Gods provisions would come even in the present of those enemies. The anointing of the head with oil is the custom of hospitality by a gracious host or to an anointed king; in (Luke 7:44-46) Simons failure not to do so was recognised as a deliberate insult to Jesus; the overflowing cup which the psalmist drank from is a symbol of the hosts generosity. To sit at Gods table is to enjoy fellowship and communion with Him, and to do so in the presence of your enemies is to have a special relati onship with Him, receiving blessings and protection under His care while the enemy looks on, powerless to do you harm. The psalm gives closure in verse six as the psalmist says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. This goodness and love will continue as long as life last and beyond. The psalmist looks forward in confidence to dwelling in the house of God for ever. In regard to the house of the Lord (the temple), this places the psalm in the context of worship, it gives an example of a hyperbole which is an exaggeration to make a point, the psalmist is not going to move into the temple to live the rest of his days. He means that he will spend the rest of his days in the presence of God in worship and praise remaining always in His caring and effective presence. To dwell with God is an image of eternal security and ongoing relationship. God offer the hope necessary to sustain through rough times, remembrance of the past and anticipation of the future, provides the necessity to bind the two halves of psalm 23 together. Conclusion The psalmist expression is one of confidence dependence and trust. God is presented not only as a shepherd who guides, protects, and leads you of the right path, but also as host who provides in the mist of life. In verse 2-3 he shows the shepherd leading his sheep into abundant life, verse 4 shows show the shepherd providing for His sheep with secure life. Verse 5 shifts and the shepherd shows God blessing on the trusting faithful, verse 6 ends with the expression of confidence. As the Lord is the good shepherd, so we are his sheep, not frightened, passive animals, but obedient followers, wise enough to follow one who will lead us in the right place and in the right way. This psalm does not focus on the animal-like qualities of sheep but on the discipleship qualities of those who follow. When you recognise the good shepherd, follow him! The psalm inspired us, comfort us, correct us and God is seen as a caring shepherd, and a dependable guide and host.

The Declaration of Independence :: essays research papers

The Declaration Of Independence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Declaration of Independence includes four parts. The first part is the Preamble, which explains why the Continental Congress drew up the Declaration. They felt their reason should be explained to England. The Purpose of Government is to Protect Basic Rights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This section is about the basic unalienable rights that every human should have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are some of the rights that are talked about in this section. It also talks about how some people have the right to overthrow an unjust government. It states that government should not be changed for light or unimportant reasons. An example of just reason would be if a government was destructive in any way. Another reason would be if a government took away our basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Wrongs Done By The King   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the third section of the Declaration Of Independence states all the wrongs the people thought the king of England did to them. The colonists thought the king was treating them unfairly. For example he refused to approve laws that would help the colonists. He also made them pay taxes without their consent along with forbidding trade with other countries. They tried to talk to the king about their complaints but he ignored them. All of this made the colonists very angry. In this section the colonists write that they have had it with Britain’s Tyranny Rule. Declaration Of Independence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the fourth and last section of the Declaration Of Independence.

Costs and benefits of the migration Essay

The costs are highly experienced in the developing countries than the developed countries. The migration of the practitioners leaves the medical system being completely inadequate to carry out its mandate on top of the many other problems such institutions already faces. Therefore, the first major cost faced due to the migration is the lack of the institutions to provide the required medical care to the citizens. This becomes worse when it is not possible for the institutions to replace the manpower lost. This means that those left behind to work in the institutions will have to be overworked while still being paid the little amount they used to receive. The more the employees are strained, the more they are pushed to look for better working conditions elsewhere making the situation worse (Stewart, Clark & Clark, para 11). The other cost comes in form of the investment that has been used in the training of the practitioners who migrate. Most of the developing countries subsidize or entirely sponsors the training of these practitioners. It thus implies that the investment the government puts in such personnel is lost when they migrate to the developed countries. The major benefits that this migration brings can be categorized into the remittances that the practitioners send to their home countries, and the skills they get due to the exposure. The amount sent home is more important in improving the economic life of those left behind and the nation as a whole. This remittance plays a significant role in the practitioner’s country of origin’s economy in form of foreign funds. This has made some countries like the Philippines to train more nurses and sent them to practice in developed countries and thus contribute to the Gross National Product growth (Tujan, para 15). Most of the developing countries do not have enough medical facilities. Therefore, when the practitioners moves temporarily to the developed countries, they get to be exposed at high levels of technology which makes them have improved skills that will plays a significant role in developing the medical system in their home country when they go back. This implies that the country of origin might save a lot in terms of what could have been spent in specialized training or higher education for the practitioners. The major problem with this however is that, many of the practitioners do not return home, and when they do, they have retired hence not productive. In the developed countries In the country of origin, the migration causes a lot of costs than the benefits. However, on the receiving countries, the benefits accrued are higher than the costs incurred. The issue of recruitment within any organization is usually a costly affair. Recruitment of the immigrants is thus more costly than local recruitment. This can force the organization and the government to pass the extra costs to the consumers increasing the cost of living in the society. The cost can also be experienced in the course of resettlement of the immigrants (Stilwell et al, para 7). There are some instances in which the immigrants are willing to take up some policies set by a government more than the local practitioners. For instance, working in form of contracts or part-time. Many of the locals do not agree with this, hence when the immigrants seem to agree with such a policy, they are usually recruited in favor of the locals, and this will generally affect the wages of the local practitioners, which will further go down affecting the tax bracket of the receiving country. In a case where the locals see that they are competing with the immigrants, there can be low morale and reduced commitment in the working. This might be looked at in the micro economic level as affecting only the firm; however, the macro-economic effect has to be put in consideration. The most important benefit of the professionals inflow from the developing to the developed countries is experienced when there is no shortage of the practitioners. This means there shall be improved provision of health care services. The local practitioners in developed countries mostly would need to be paid higher remunerations as compared to the immigrants. Therefore, if the immigrants are employed, it means they shall provide medication at a cheaper rate which will go down reducing the cost that could be passed to the consumer. On the other hand, the government will benefit from the taxes that will be collected from the foreign practitioners (Crush, pp 7). Conclusion Both countries have some benefits and costs they get when the professionals migrate. However, as argued, most of developing countries get more costs than the benefits from these acts. It is thus important that the concerned stakeholders should come up with policies that would see ethical migration between the receiving and sending country so that no country benefits at the expense of another. Work Cited Crush J. The Global Raiders: Nationalism, Globalization and the South African Brain Drain, 2002. Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 56, Issue 1, pp 4-7. Kapur D & Mchale J. Should a Cosmopolitan Worry about the â€Å"Brain Drain†? 2006, Journal of Ethics & International Affairs, Vol. 20, Issue 3, pp 11-15. Stewart J, Clark D & Clark P F. Migration and Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses, 2007. Retrieved on October 28, 2008 from http://www. focus-migration. de/The_Migration_and_Re. 2496. 0. html? &L=1. Stilwell B, Diallo K, Zurn P, Dal Poz M R, Adams O & Buchan J. Developing evidence-based ethical policies on the migration of health workers: conceptual and practical challenges, 2003. Journal of Human Resources for Health, Retrieved on October 28, 2008 from http://www. human-resources-health. com/content/1/1/8. Tujan A. Health Professionals Migration and its Impact on the Philippines, Journal of Asia Pacific Research Network, 2002. vol. 6, Issue 1. Retrieved on October 28, 2008 from http://www. aprnet. org/index. php? a=show&c=Volume%206%20March%202002&t=journals&i=5.

Academic and Professional Skills Development Essay

There is a new world in the academic and the post academic the students must adapt themselves to. The world has become increasingly competitive and there is an exponential expansion of knowledge and information and this means that the students who will survive in this new world order are the ones who will adapt to keep up with this highly dynamic world. The way universities used to be has changed and they are now not only centres of disseminating knowledge, but also centres of promoting change (Soontiens, 2002). This change is not just intellectual change, it is all encompassing change that makes a complete makeover of the raw material it receives in the formative years and gives out a refined product that is well shaped to tackle the emerging issues in the world. Gone are the days when having a degree was something to be cerebrated by all and sundry. Nowadays, if you have just the undergraduate degree, you are just another first among equals and you do not have any competitive advantage over millions of others who have a first degree like you. This means that learning is a life long process and this world belongs to those who understand this fact (Verville, 1990). This is because the world is now being moved by knowledge and information, and these are two highly dynamic facets; how else do you acquire them apart form engaging seriously in lifelong learning (Soontiens, 2002). Even the world economies have changed from the conventional heavy economies to the modern knowledge based economies where knowledge and information and not machineries and physical labour are now the drivers of the economies. The most powerful thing right now in the world is information and knowledge and students must dedicate their lives to continuous process of learning to be able function in this highly knowledge driven world (Soontiens, 2002). Another important element that the universities are emphasizing today is critical thinking. Thinking is important but critical thinking is what differentiates a smart student or even worker from the rest (Soontiens, 2002). The more the world is changing, the more the problems are evolving and the solutions to these problems must be found for progress to take place. These problems cannot be solved by ordinary thinkers; they can only be solved by critical thinkers. This is another area that the universities are focusing on. They are out to churn graduates with acute problem solving skills by teaching them how to make critical analyses of life situations (Soontiens, 2002). For the students to be said that they have adequate problem solving skills, they must be able to use some habits of the mind and one of these habits is formation of perspectives; which involve the organization of arguments into parts and then separate the most important from the least important. It also involves separating opinions from facts and then the value of each is appreciated (Verville, 1990). This is the basis of critical thinking. Another habit of the mind that is involved in critical thinking is analysis. After forming perspectives, it is important to ponder on the arguments in a way that is reflective. This involves the use of logic and also knowing the limits of the analysis. The other critical habit of the mind that is involved in the process of critical thinking is imagination (Soontiens, 2002). This is the disposition to make an evolution of your view of an issue using contemporary and conventional patterns that will suffice now and in the future. A university that is not equipping its students with the aforementioned abilities is in a very wrong path. The workplace, just like the academic arena has changed significantly. Education alone cannot help one to fit in the contemporary work environment because of its highly social and flexible nature. Thus the universities are putting this into consideration by ensuring that they do not mould academic giants and social dwarfs who cannot fit in today’s workplace. They are churning out all round products that are readily prepared to face the challenging job market and the demanding workplace (Verville, 1990). That is why you see in the workplace today, people are not necessarily doing what they studied. Education students are working in banks, Law students are working as news reporters and so on. This means that one thing that the universities are teaching very well is flexibility: do not just follow one line, there are many things you can do there with your education. In the workplace, the workers must be able to work as a team and individually.   There are some more habits of the mind that can help them to fit well in the highly challenging, demanding and evolving workplace (Soontiens, 2002). One of these habits of the mind is empathy. Empathy involves sensing reasonable views, revering all views and honoring the one that is the most persuasive. The other habit of the mind is communication which is the ability to take the duty of explaining ideas in a clear, truthful and sober way that respects all those who are listening to them or seeing them being communicated.   The other habit of the mind that ought to be developed is that of commitment. This is the recognition of the necessity to act when there is an action worth attention and being patient to the situation one has stepped forward to respond to (James, 2003). The current generation takes the flak for the many ills that are happening in the society. The generation has been labeled as irresponsible, insensitive and morally corrupt and the universities are taking measures to ensure that all the raw materials they receive will be devoid of the aforementioned tags by the time they are being churned out as products. This means that apart from just giving the intellectual knowledge, they are also equipping the students with skills that will make them responsible members of the society who can be trusted to take over the leadership from the old conservative generation that is far beyond the benefit of the modern information and knowledge revolution. This means that there are programs that are teaching leadership skills, social welfare skills and may other skills that can make the students reliable members of the society (Verville, 1990). The habits of the mind that can help the students to become more responsible members of the society include, value which is the choice to apply a pattern of behavior that is intellectual and ignoring the patterns that are less productive. The other habit of the mind is inclination that includes the tendency to apply the aforementioned behavior without pressure or motivation (James, 2003). Sensitivity is another habit of the mind that will make the students to become more responsible members of the society because of its ability to perceive opportunities and threats and also emphasizes the appropriateness of applying behavior that is intellectual in pursuit of opportunities and in evasion of threats. Capability is a habit of the mind that will help the students in application of the basic intellectual skills that are central to behavior while commitment on this platform means the desire to reflect and improve the behavioral performance (James, 2003). In conclusion, university students in the contemporary world must adapt to the knowledge and information that is expanding markedly. They must be life long learners who think critically and are flexible to be able to fit in this highly dynamic world. They must be problem solvers who can work independently and in a team. The education system today, apart from teaching the basics of education is also teaching the students to become responsible citizens who are open minded and can communicate with people from allover the world.   This new approach by the universities is a step in the right direction and should become a global concept inherent in all the academic systems. As illustrated in the essay, this new mode of learning borrows heavily from Costa and Carrick the Habit of the mind and it puts a whole new psychological dispensation to the world of academia that will ensure the mind must change for the individual to embrace the change in the society.

Essay about libary research

Essay about libary research Essay about libary research Shelby Cofer McCarter ENG 100 A13 30 September 2014 Literacy Narrative Final I step inside my first class of the day which is English, I look and English 100 it says on the syllabus but my only thought is what am I doing here? I felt so confused because I took advanced placement English classes in high school but now in college I’m taking a developmental course that doesn’t even count as credit. I started looking back at my academic career and then I realized I was let down by the education system, my teachers, and most importantly myself. Before I even try to place blame on anyone I go back to the very beginning. But honestly I don’t even remember learning how to read but I’m pretty sure it was my family that taught me because I entered school being able to read. In elementary school I excelled in reading classes, often being the one called on to read out loud and to do special projects. My parents were so proud of my reading abilities and would often brag to others about it. At that age I couldn’ t get enough of reading it exposed me to many different things and I couldn’t wait to open a book and enter a new world. Middle School was the period when my relationship with reading started to change. Most of the subject matter didn’t interest me, but on top of that the English classes had the same routine. The world that reading once put me in wasn’t there and it had an adverse effect on me. Another factor in my change in reading would be the teachers I had.

Learning Team Executive Paper Essays

Learning Team Executive Paper Essays Learning Team Executive Paper Essay Learning Team Executive Paper Essay Modern day businesses such as Smith Systems Consulting face an enduring dilemma in making effective use of technology and maintaining successful communications with business clientele. In consideration of adapting client communications from a traditional newsletter to the applications of modern technology with Internet and electronic connections, Smith Systems Consulting contemplates the use of a wick page, blob, potash, or combination of some of these communication modalities. The following report and presentation is a review of the advantages and disadvantages of he wick, blob, and potash, the types of information that each modality can effectively convey, the startup and maintenance costs of each modality, how each user or client will experience each modality and how search engines will affect each modality in communications with Smith Systems Consulting. Advantages and Disadvantages Wick Advantages Keeping clients informed about company activities and new services is an excellent way of motivating the customer to add insight or suggestions he or she may have about what he or she expect or want in the way of services. Communicating via wick is on option the staff of Smith Systems Consulting is considering. Kohl and Bradshaw (2011) define wick A collaborative website whose content can be edited by anyone who has access to it (Para. 1). Ducking is one of several packages available that does not use a database instead it stores pages using plain text files (Kohl Bradshaw, 2011). Kohl and Bradshaw (2011) state, Given our requirement for ease AT setup Ana amelioration, ten lack AT a dataset NAS several advantages Including fewer software packages to track and make sure are up to date, and simpler creation ND restoration of backups (Para. 7). A wick uses minimal disk space and the lack of a database provides another advantage with an index for fast searching (Kohl Bradshaw, 2011). Wick Disadvantages A person who has access to a wick can edit the content of the information. A person who may have an issue with the company may change the content in an attempt to hurt or discredit the company. Kohl and Bradshaw (2011) state, While the validity and accuracy of material contained within wise can be controversial, we have not had a single episode of malicious or improper editing over the 3 years the ski has been in place (Para. 1). Blob Advantages and Disadvantages Blob Advantages Wang and Hong-He (2006) state, As many practitioners suggest, a corporate blob might be defined as a web site where an organization publishes and manages content to attain its goals (Para. 2). Some advantages off blob is the information is coming from within the company. Blobbing is one way to establish open communication with the customer. Companies should be truthful in blobs because they are relating information to the customer. The information stated in a blob varies, depending on the employee who writes the blob. The different strategies to blobbing include top-down blobbing, or bottom-up blobbing. Top-down blobbing occurs when employees holding management or top executive positions control the information by focusing on leadership and promotion content. Bottom-up blobbing focuses more on product development and customer service (Wang and Hong-He, 2006). The employees who write blobs potentially connect with customers creating a relationship with them. Blob Disadvantages Companies govern what they determine as appropriate or inappropriate. Companies will fire employees if the deem the blob inappropriate. Usually management will see the blob after the employee posts the blob, and before management determines the blob inappropriate. Wang and Hong-He (2006) notes, A Microsoft contractor was fired after he posted pictures of Apple GO computers being unloaded at Microsoft (Para. 9). Personal blobs that mention a person s place of employment is also subject to the company s view of inappropriate (Wang and Hong-He, 2006). Potash Advantages and Disadvantages Potash Advantages Buckskin (2008) states, Bedposts, a hot technology trend, are digital files of audio and/or video comment made available on the Internet, intended to be listened to on either a computer or portable media player (I. E. , pod) (2006). People can download a potash and take it with them on their pod, cellular phone, laptop, or any device that can play an audio or digital file. People may listen to the potash at their convenience. A visually impaired person will benefit from the potash and receive information they otherwise would not have access to. Potash Disadvantages One disadvantage to a potash may be the retrieval of a potash by the individual. People who do not visit the website may find the potash on the Internet using key words or phrases. Two ways to search for a potash is by metadata that includes a title and description or by audio content that uses Audio Speech Recognition (CARS) technology (Serer, Larson, Woman, 2010). Serer, Larson, Ana Woman ( note, In sum both metadata and speech recognition transcripts are sources of indexing features that can be used for potash retrieval, but both suffer from noise in the form of omissions and errors (Para. 3). Combination of Modalities After viewing the advantages and disadvantages of wicks, blobs, and bedposts, a combination of methods may work well for Smith Systems Consulting. Blobs help arm a connection with the customer. Floggers should provide information from opposing sides without adding personal comments or opinions. Focus should remain on the company and what it can do for the customer. Bedposts are convenient for people to listen to when they have a spare moment. Bedposts should have a link from the company website. People with visual impairment will appreciate the alternate form of receiving information they otherwise may not receive. Types of Content for Each Modality All three types of information sources, the wick, blob, and potash effectively share information to intended audiences. However, each type of modality holds an intentional purpose for the information and offers options and restrictions of the information depending on the modality of choice. Wise A wick is an editable modality source of information and is used by many businesses in various capacities. For example, the Educate Learning Initiative (2005), defines a wick as a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a Web browser and access to the Internet (Para. ). The essential purpose of a wick is to create a site of sharing information with others possessing similar interests or goals. Wise encourage group collaboration with asynchronous communication through the Internet (Educate Learning Initiative, 2005). According to Educate Learning Initiative (2005), Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site Encourages d emocratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by unintentional users (Para. 3). Wise are used to share many different types of information. According to Clark and Stewart (2010), for businesses, wise serve many purposes including sharing best practices, mapping networks of experts into communities of practice, building databases that facilitate a better understanding of customers and consumers, and serving as collective to-do lists and project tracking. Blobs Similar to a wick, a blob is source of information found on the Internet, but a blob cannot be edited by any person other than the blob owner or other designated person that has been given administrative rights. According to Aching and Whish (201 1), a blob is known as a frequently edited webbing whose main use is recording individual articles and displaying them in chronological order. There are typically four popular categories for using blobs to communicate important information. The categories include personal, topical, individual, and community. Personal and individual blobs hold and share personal information similar to a personal Journal or log book. Topical blobs are written by authors that desire to share specific points of information in consideration of a certain topic. Community blobs are a great way to post and share information about communities that is specific to the desired audience. Blobs are much simpler than traditional websites, such as a news web site, whose purpose is to share information. Blob typically hold a single page of dated entries, are lasted In reverse-campanological order, putridly accolades, Ana come Trot a single author (Hookworms, Inc. 2012). Blobs are also similar to a public declaration of a stream-of-consciousness with no particular order (Hookworms, Inc. , 2012). Bedposts As a source of current and trending information, bedposts are on the rise in popularity of being an interesting and convenient way to share and absorb information. Bedposts are relatively new in the world of technology and the publication of important information, but they are greatly influencing how audiences consume and interact with media content (Haggard, 2007). Bedposts in both video and audio formats impart many different types of information comprised of sporting tankards, politics, instructional, and diverse entertainment selections. According to Haggard (2007), Bedposts, defined as digital files containing audio or video content, allow consumers to both time-shift and place-shift their listening and viewing habits through the downloading of content onto a personal computer or a portable media player for immediate or future viewing (p. 518). The true appeal of potash transpires through the element of consumer control (Haggard, 2007). The choice of resources found in bedposts grows exponentially each year as the market and interests increase in this adaptive source of information. Costs of Each Modality Cost of Wick Server software includes a four-step set up process, installing and configuring an PH compatible server, PH, and ducking software and integrating with the existing infrastructure that used less than 18 person hours (Kohl Bradshaw, 2011). The wick showed minimal change in performance after increasing the Pentium II processor with 256 MBA of RAM to a Quad-Core Xenon BIB of RAM, and from a 20 KGB hard drive to a 60 KGB RAID-I hard drive (Kohl Bradshaw, 2011). The running cost of a ducking is relatively low because of the minimal hardware requirements. Cost of Blobbing The start-up cost of blobbing is minimal because companies already have computers. Blobbing does not require any software. Blobbing eliminates the cost to produce brochures, flyers, or newsletters that will save the company money. When asked if a company should hire lawyers because of potential legal issues of blobbing, In America, because of the First Amendment and cultural expectations around that, there are relatively few problems with legally expressing ones opinion, which is not necessarily the case in England and Europe (10 questions with, 2005, Para. 20). With he exception of a few high-profile cases most floggers will not have legal concerns (10 questions with, 2005). Cost of Potash Using a potash to deliver information to the public is cost-efficient, according to an article written by Copley (2007) This paper describes a simple, cost-effective and file size-efficient method for producing video bedposts combining lecture slides and audio without a requirement for any specialist software (Para. 1). The company budget that includes maintenance cost should not increase if the company implements the use of a wick, blob, or a potash. Upgrading computer hardware and footwear is in the budget no additional cost is unforeseen because of the result implementing any combination of the three modalities. User Experience The three different types of modalities that Smith Systems Consulting will be comparing is wick, a blob, and a pod cast. Each modality will give the users a different experience. Wick is a website that allows the editing and creation of multiple interlinked web pages by using a web browser. Often the wick websites power community websites that can be used for corporate intranet and knowledge management systems. The best example of a wick website is Wisped. The page lets all of the users edit any portion of the site and create new pages for the site. The wick sites are very interactive for the users and promote the ongoing creation and collaboration of the users. The wick is great for using because after making the updates by the users they appear almost instantaneously. The best characteristic about the wick pages is the ease of creation and updating as well as ease in browsing them. A markup language such as wackiest allows the structuring and formatting of the pages. The style of the waxiest can vary depending on the need of the wick site. Most wise are using what you see is what you get editing which is usually Javascript or Active control, which translates graphically after entering formatting instructions. Most wick pages keep a record of the changes made so that the author can go back to previously edited versions of the wick and revert to them. This is to prevent a mistake from changing the content of the wick page. The wick pages also give an edit summary once making all the changes in order to track all of the changes and make the system more user- friendly. Blobs A blob is a type of website or can also be part off website. An individual tends to maintain the blob as a sort of commentary. Posts of the entries are generally in reverse-chronological order. Many blobs are interactive allowing people who visit the website to leave messages making it interactive to the users. The ability to be interactive distinguishes a blob site from other websites that are not interactive and that are static. Blob sites allow users to create running conversations with threads of conversation. Threads are messages that interconnect on a virtual pinup board. Sites like Twitter allow a person to post thoughts with a mass amount of people in a worth amount of time, faster than email or other forms of communication. Blobs give the user the ability to post and the follower to post as well. It is an interactive way to communicate between the people using it. Bedposts A potash is a webmaster that is not streamed and is usually a series of digital media files. Bedposts are a different experience compared to the other modalities. Bedposts are a direct download or streamed web casting. Maintaining and housing all of the video files are within a server as a web feed. Each person that can access the feed can check it for updates and download any new files that are contained in the series. Unlike the other two types of modalities, pod casts are not interactive for the viewer. It is a read only basis. With a blob or a wick page, the viewer can add information or opinions, but with a potash, only the original creator can make changes. This format is very rigid for the viewer. This is also a more secure form of communication since viewers cannot change the material. Search Engine Effects of Each Modality Search engines provide a way for the people to easily search and find information posted within each modality. A search can be conducted to find information from a reword, phrase, or a Boolean search that pieces together words that may be contained within the search results. Users can search news article, update information, images, videos, or references. Whether that information is broadcast via potash, posted onto a WICK, wrote auto In someones Log, or peeve. Search engine will not give the information to users directly, it does help them search and find specific topics that are available. Each search engine may yield different results. So tagged words within the title or the topic for each modality and can be used to narrow the search to find the specific topic and subject matter related to the epic. Wise The vast amount of information being produce and knowledge being gained, collaborative learning communities can be formed. A wick allows that community of users to post, edit, and share information through the use of a web browser. Links within a wick can redirect users through highlighted words and subjects that have been clicked. This method limits the use of a search engine while related topics can still be found. Bedposts Bedposts can be digital audio or video files that are distributed over the Internet. Traditional search engines can find the potash but is also cluttered with text and there information that blocks users from specifically finding potash. Potash search engines are made specifically to search the Web for potash. Potash that use a tagging or rating system makes those specific potash stand out more or appear higher in the search results. But, knowing what the subject matter is of the potash makes finding the one wanted more difficult. Short descriptions may not show what the potash is specifically about or if it is the correct one that was being searched. Some search engines may also be able to use speech recognition to determine if the content contained within is relevant to the search criteria. Snippets of resulting potash being played, give a clearer understanding of the subject matter of the potash. Blobs Blobs can be authored by individuals or collaborative groups like wise except visitors cannot edit the information posted on there. A blob usually contains posts that are listed in reverse chronological order and can archive older post. Each page for a blob has its own URL, so knowing the URL makes it easier to find the specific blob. Each individual page can also contain links to organizational content. Visitors to blobs can leave comments about the blobs further expand the conversation while providing arsenal opinions about the subject and ideas. IRS allows user to subscribe to each modality of communication whether it is a wick, blob, or potash. Subscribing to each or either modality lets users and visitors to receive the most recent post of each. Search engines find publicly listed information out in the world. Wise, blobs, and potash are subject to include false information or vandalism from any users or visitors. Promoting the use of a closed environment, limits who is allowed to change information, who can post, and who can comment. Administrators give rights to users or visitor to change and post information. Checks who is able to register to the web site. Conclusion The plethora of useful information in the previous passages provide an excellent foundation for which Smith Systems Consulting can use in order to overcome the current dilemma of choosing the most effective modality to keep in touch with business clients. Transitioning from the traditional newsletter to either the wick, blob or potash modalities can be easier with the aforementioned details; especially with the newfound knowledge of how users experience each modality and the importance AT a search engine. Knowing ten advantages Ana Lastingness Ana ten types AT information each modality can effectively convey are vital to any company making such important planning decisions. Team recommendations along with startup, maintenance, and opportunity costs also assist in Smith Systems Consulting planning process.

Analysis of Community Disadvantage Service

The health is the biggest asset for an individual. Every human being wants to live a long on this earth. However, the health-related issues majorly serve as the obstacles for their long existence on the earth. Even, the current condition of the internal health of the human being is not as per the expectation. Sometimes, serious problems occur due to the wrong treatment and wrong information about the health-related issues. The team of Human Longevity, Inc. helps persons to provide them necessary information regarding this. Human Longevity, Inc. was founded in 2013 (Humanlongevity.com, 2017). It is basically a fast growing company. The main concern of the associates of this company is to take care of the human health sincerely. In fact, the leaders associated with the genomics are the main figures to establish this company. However, Archibald & Rankin (2013) have stated that the fundamental target of this company regarding the human health is to provide data-based health intelligence. This company is duly associated with the healthcare and medicine industry. The customers of this company systematically go through the sequential medical test process in order to identify the primary symptoms of some critical issues like heart diseases cancers and Alzheimer’s. This public healthcare company is situated in San Diego in California. Due to this, the management of this company can able to get a huge range of people to be focused on for the successful execution of their functional purposes. This private company is basically a large business sector operating almost the entire US. As developed technologies are applied in the revolutionary practice of the medical genre, the outcomes of the research of this company have also been accepted by the majority of the audiences (Guy et al. 2015). Even, the management of this company has also able to understand the individual health condition along with the specific risk factors associated with that. It has been greatly observed that people are not well aware of the processes through which they can prevent the impact of aging on them. However, Piper et al. (2015) have also noticed that people have a natural tendency to hide their age through using different products. In fact, the major reason of their early, as well as normal aging is the impact of disease on them. Therefore, there is a huge audience and interested people to go through the database medical tests and information in order to fight against those diseases. On the other hand, the focus of this company is normally on the aged people and this segmentation of the customers has its impact on the market share and profit of this company. It has been clearly noticed that the management of Human Longevity, Inc. has investment around US$80 million in 2014 and US$220 million in 2016 (Humanlongevity.com, 2017). This huge development of the investment is, therefore, the identification of the financial success of the company throu gh positive customer responses. Table 1: Market share of Human Longevity in 2016 The above statistical data clearly shows the fact that the main competitors of Human Longevity, Inc. are the Slack Technologies, Clover Health, Cyclane and Thrive Market. However, among those, Slack Technologies is quite near to the Human Longevity, Inc. regarding the investment (Raule et al. 2014). The founders of this company, namely, Peter Diamondis and Craig Venter are quite happy in the success of the company in occupying the topmost position regarding the financial investment for the future activities of this company in the US market. Human Longevity, Inc. delivers the results of the health risks of an individual. However, Aviv, Kark & Susser (2015) have argued that the main functional role and responsibility of this company is embedded in helping them to have a deep insight into individual health condition. The overall improvement of the human health is the most influential outcome of the service and effort of the management and scientists within this company. The management of Human Longevity has been following the Growth Strategy throughout the execution of their functional activities. As per the concept of this business strategy, this company has been trying to provide a specialised healthcare service through database information process. Although some existing techniques were also there for helping people in their treatment, the development and implementation of these new strategies has proved itself as effective to impress the attention of the customers (Bharadwaj et al. 2013). Even through this, the understanding of genotype and phenotype has also satisfied the service users. As a result, the service by the management of Human Longevity has been increasing. In fact, this growth has been made possible through market research and customer expectation.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A huge positive customer response  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presence of the specialised healthcare persons (Humanlongevity.com, 2017)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lacking among the people regarding the advantages of this database healthcare process to get treatment for cancer, heart diseases and Alzheimer’s  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lacking in the proper experience of the specialists regarding the suitable application of this database process  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Growing economy of the US industry  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interest of people to database information regarding genotypes and phenotypes  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disagreement of people with the proposed treatment process (Passtoors et al. 2013)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inexperience of the specialists may result in the customer dissatisfaction and their avoidance regarding the service process of this company Table 2: SWOT analysis of Human Longevity (Source: Passtoors et al. 2013, p.28)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The supporting nature of the US government to the healthcare organisations for the overall improvement of the public heath (Kim & Park,   2016)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The health related acts and regulations are also supportive of the development of this company  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The US economy is quite strong to provide necessary financial support at the primary stage of the incorporation of the service of Human Longevity, Inc. Figure 1: US annual GDP growth rate (Source: Tradingeconomics.com, 2017)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The above figure shows the fact that the final report of the annual GDP report of the US is quite progressive up to 2013 that is helpful in the development of any new business company in the US (Tradingeconomics.com, 2017)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to the growth of the serious diseases such as cancer and heart diseases, modern people has a developed concern to identify an alternative way to beat that diseases by discovering prevention processes that are supportive for Human Longevity, Inc.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interest among the healthcare specialists to help suffering people by database information and caring services in order to get the proper treatment  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Based on completely the scientific technology, this company has been applying phenotypic and genotypic database process in order to generate suitable healthcare knowledge   (Kuca et al. 2015)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through technological research, the management of Human Longevity, Inc. has been remodifying the previous healthcare treatment processes Table 3: PEST analysis of Human Longevity (Source: Tradingeconomics.com, 2017) From the above discussion of the nature and process of the functions of Human Longevity, it has been noticed that this company has started its services since 2013 and has occupied a satisfactory position among the audiences. Even in the operations through database information process regarding genotype and phenotype, this company has been achieving support from the US government that is helpful for the development of their future performances. Even, with the growth of the human consciousness regarding the necessity to prevent the effect of diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and heart diseases, the requirement of the services of the healthcare specialists of this company have also been increasing significantly. Through the helpful information and services of this company, they have been enabling to go through necessary treatment processes from the very beginning. The approach towards the functional activities of the management of Human Longevity has some similarities to that of the Collective business model. According to the concept of this model, the entire business functions are designed based on the web services. The management of Human Longevity has been serving the customers through database information systems so that they can understand the process that will enable them to take the proper treatment process against serious heart diseases or cancer. The scientific treatment process allotted for the service users therefore goes through necessary innovation process. Based on the above detail discussion, some key points have been evaluated as follow: The functional operations of Human Longevity are data and web-based. The services of this company have been started since 2013 in the US. The US government and their economic status are helpful for the performance of this company. As this company applies different scientific technologies and approaches during their service, there is a satisfactory customer response regarding the availing of the service of this company. Even according to the market share, this company occupies the topmost position in comparison with Slack Technologies, Clover Health, Thrive Market and Cylance. The market segmentation has centralised the focus of this company majorly on people above 40 years and specifically on them having major heart diseases, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Although Human Longevity has currently been servicing as one of the most influential healthcare services for the US people through providing them database information and treatment processes, they have some lacking that are need to be eradicated in order to enhance their customer engagement. First, the number of the healthcare specialists is needed to be increased in order to take care of a huge number of service users. Second, in order to increase this new healthcare knowledge and its significance, the management of Human Longevity can organise healthcare camps in several parts of the country. This may help in increasing awareness among people. Even, the providence of low-cost services for the financially poor people by this company may also enrich the popularity and acceptance of their services. Finally, it can be stated that the healthcare companies like Human Longevity have implemented a revolutionary step regarding the application of new strategies for making the people aware of the current condition of their physical health through an improved database process relating genotype and phenotype. Even, there is a satisfactory response from the customers regarding the advantages of this process. Although lacking in the sufficient healthcare specialists in this company, the technologies and scientific process that this company has applied are impressive and beneficial. Archibald, M.E. & Rankin, C.P., 2013. A spatial analysis of community disadvantage and access to healthcare services in the US.  Social Science & Medicine,  90, 11-23 Aviv, A., Kark, J.D. & Susser, E., 2015. Telomeres, atherosclerosis, and human longevity: a causal hypothesis.  Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.),  26(3), 295 Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O.A., Pavlou, P.A. and Venkatraman, N.V., 2013. Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights Guy, G.P., Machlin, S.R., Ekwueme, D.U. & Yabroff, K.R., 2015. Prevalence and Costs of Skin Cancer Treatment in the US, 2002− 2006 and 2007− 2011.  American journal of preventive medicine,  48(2), 183-187 Humanlongevity.com (2017) HLI Available from: www.humanlongevity.com/ [Retrieved on 23 Mar 2017] Kim, M.J. & Park, S.K., 2016. Strategies to Improve Functional Competency and Effectively Respond to Environmental Changes of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Team in Companies.  Journal of the Korean Society of Safety,  31(2), 104-111 Kuca, K., Maresova, P., Penhaker, M. & Selamat, A., 2015. The potential of medical device industry in technological and economical context Passtoors, W.M., Beekman, M., Deelen, J., van der Breggen, R., Maier, A.B., Guigas, B., Derhovanessian, E., van Heemst, D., de Craen, A.J., Gunn, D.A. & Pawelec, G., 2013. Gene expression analysis of mTOR pathway: association with human longevity.  Aging Cell,  12(1), 24-31 Piper, M.A., Evans, C.V., Burda, B.U., Margolis, K.L., O'connor, E. & Whitlock, E.P., 2015. Diagnostic and predictive accuracy of blood pressure screening methods with consideration of rescreening intervals: a systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force.  Annals of internal medicine,  162(3), 192-204 Raule, N., Sevini, F., Li, S., Barbieri, A., Tallaro, F., Lomartire, L., Vianello, D., Montesanto, A., Moilanen, J.S., Bezrukov, V. & Blanchà ©, H., 2014. The co?occurrence of mtDNA mutations on different oxidative phosphorylation subunits, not detected by haplogroup analysis, affects human longevity and is population specific.  Aging cell,  13(3), 401-407 Tradingeconomics.com (2017) United States GDP Growth Rate Available from: www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth [Retrieved on 25 Mar 2017]

Anne Frank - The Diary of a Young Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anne Frank - The Diary of a Young Girl - Essay Example Anne Frank is a mundane teenager going through the happenings, events, and feelings that all teenagers go through, yet she is going through them while Amsterdam, Holland is being involved in the Holocaust. The main concept of the journal, however, is Anne keeping track of everything that she does go through while her family is in hiding. She makes notes of the changes that she is going through as a teenager, and how she believes that these changes are separating her from her family – mentally and emotionally. As aforementioned, the journal had been intended as a release for a teenager going through everyday strife, confusion, and emotions that she does not understand. Unfortunately, as the effects of the Holocaust nears Anne’s home in Holland, her journal entries become tainted by the events of the war and of the persecution of the Jews. Anne confides into her journal the worries that she has for the people that she is close to – she knows that many of them have been taken to concentration camps, and she fears for the day that her family is taken in. She becomes overly emotional when she talks about the different rights that were taken away from her, the rights that constituted her as a teenager. She was no longer allowed to ride her bike during certain times, and she had to wear a yellow star on her clothes, so that the soldiers would know if she was breaking any of the rules laid down for the Jews. Her journal entries become more disconcerted as things worsen for her family and the other families that they are in hiding with. It is clear that Anne feels their time in hiding is coming to a close. The journal ends as they are still in hiding; when the soldiers find them, Anne is unable to take her journal with her to the concentration camp. She dies soon before her release from the camp, so she was unable to add more to her journal. Aside from the fact that the story’s content was depressing and disturbing in regards to the Holocaust

Strategies to counter global terrorism attacks Essay

Strategies to counter global terrorism attacks - Essay Example Strategies to counter global terrorism attacks Further, more states are engaging in state terrorism, a situation termed illegal by the international bodies aiming to combat terror. Cognizant of the situation, both internal and external states are inclusive in the war against state terrorism. Therefore, effective state-counterterrorism should entail associations between the society and governments to ensure state compliance with terrorism regulations. Firstly, achieving the situation entails thorough mobilization and meetings between the residents and stakeholders. Secondly, it involves training the individuals on how to recognize potential terrorists among themselves. Finally, the state needs to avail enough resources to combat terrorism. Seemingly, in the US, efforts have been diverted since the 9/11 attacks on Pentagon, and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Further, attacks to the World’s Trade Center Complex Towers in New York caused havoc during the wee hours of September 11. The September 11 attacks indicated sophistication, excellent coordination and aimed at the firmness of USA economy, military, and political fame. Since then, deadly attacks have followed in various states such as Mumbai in China, Beslan, and Bali in Indonesia, not forgetting Madrid, London, and Moscow in Russia. Those groups that relied on terrorism have possibly faced elimination, but new groups are emerging posting a new threat to the target states. The world still suffers severe terrorist attacks more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks in the US (Lutz and Brenda 1).

PETCO Develops Successful Stakeholder Relationships Case Study

PETCO Develops Successful Stakeholder Relationships - Case Study Example The third section of the article dealt with risks associated with the pet industry. The article mentioned that a single negative incident of animal neglecting, abuse, or mistreatment can taint the public image of a firm in this industry such as PETCO. The nest two sections of the article dealt specifically with PETCO discussing its ethical program and philanthropic initiatives. The article ended with PETCO recommendations and accomplishments. Answers to the three questions from the article are illustrated below. 1) How has Petco’s ethics and compliance program helped it deal with ethical misconduct? The ethics & compliance program has helped PETCO a lot to deal with ethical issues that occur while doing business. Ethics can be defined as a system of moral principles that deals with decisions of right or wrong (Reference, 2011). The ethics program states that the company should treat the animals with utmost care and it should respect the customer’s privacy. The code of e thics addresses other areas including selling, advertising, pricing, and buying practices. Based on the ethics program the company the employee cannot push a sale on a customer for a particular brand, since the employees are supposed to explain the pros and cons of each brand so that the customer can make an informed decision on their own. The company implemented correction action measures whenever harassment and mistreatments occurs in the company to either humans or animals. Ethical decisions are influenced by organizational culture (Ferrel, et. al, 2011). The ethics program of the firm also addresses drug abuse, asset protection, and violence in the workplace. The organization has implemented measures for associate, vendor, and customer protection. Conflict of interest scenarios have been included in the code of ethics which provides guidelines for the employees when they are faced with these types of situations. If the customer is involved in a potential conflict of interest the employees are supposed to relay the information to the manager so that the manager can make the final decision on how to proceed and fix the situation. The employees of the company are prohibited from receiving gifts from suppliers, vendors, or customers. Supervisors and their immediate family are not supposed to invest in vendor companies without prior approval from PETCO’s ethics committee. The code of ethics also addresses concerns such as employee safety, wage laws and reporting time worked. The supervisors are supposed to act as role model for the organization. 2) How do you think re-privatizing the company will help PETCO’s performance? Or do you think it hurt the company overall? The decision to turn PETCO from a public company back to a private firm in my opinion was not warranted. The re-privatizing decision did not add any value to the organization. By privatizing the company the firm lost its ability to raise large sums of capital through the sale of common stocks in the open market. Public companies have greater recognition in the market and the fact they are listed on major public exchanges such as NYSE creates free word of mouth advertising for the company. I thought it was unethical when the company re-privatized and it did follow a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate that was pending because once the company stopped being public the SEC had no jurisdiction over them. The case study did not show any specific

Identify Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Identify Books - Essay Example Baker, B. (2004). Anna's Book. Dutton Title: Anna's Book Author: Barbara Baker Illustrator: Catharine O'Neill Publisher: Dutton Publication Date: 2004 Appropriate Age of Grade Level: Ages 1-3 Possible Lesson Connection: This book is a good way to teach children the value of reading. Summary: Short but satisfying, this small story is about a toddler named Anna who just loves her new book: "Again," she says, as soon as Mommy has finished reading it. But after Mommy has read the whole book three times, she has to finish and do other things. Luckily, Anna has Teddy Bear to read her book to. "Again," says Teddy Bear Browne, A. (1989). Like Books. Knopf. Title: Like Books Author: Anthony Browne Illustrator: Anthony Browne Publisher: Knopf Publication Date:1989 Appropriate Age of Grade Level: Ages 2 and up Possible Lesson Connection: This books can be used in discussions about alphabets and nursery rhymes as well as in developing the creative skills of children through coloring. Summary: A young chimp winsomely embodies his favorite types of books: carrying a basket of books dressed as Little Red (fairy tales), sitting on letters made of books (alphabet books), reading aloud on a wall to a nervous Humpty Dumpty (nursery rhymes) and most memorably, only partially colored in (coloring books.) The pages are framed with appropriate whimsical motifs. Parr, T. (2005). Reading Makes You Feel Good. Little Brown Title: Reading Makes You Feel Good Author: Todd Parr Illustrator: Todd Parr Publisher: Little Brown Publication Date: 2005 Appropriate Age of Grade Level: Ages 1 to 4 Possible Lesson Connection: This book is suitable for discussions regarding the value and importance of reading. Summary: Parr brings his usual exuberantly positive attitude to this paean to... Summary: Parr brings his usual exuberantly positive attitude to this paean to reading. Reading makes you feel good because... you can learn how to make pizza, find your favorite animal at the zoo, or make someone feel better when they're sick (by reading Parr's The Feel Better Book of course.) Best of all, you can do it anywhere: in a bathtub, or a bookmobile, or even underwater, if you're an octopus! Summary: "Hello" and "Good-bye" seem like very ordinary words, but as this book shows, each can be meaningful in many different ways. As the text makes simple comments, small, colorful watercolor and colored pencil illustrations depict some of the many meanings of the words and the many different ways they can be said. Summary: An all-too-human mouse takes readers on hilarious adventures with numbers and letters in these captivating concept books. In Mouse Letters, he doggedly creates the entire alphabet out of sticks, despite misadventures with a collapsing K and a top-heavy T.

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety Assignment

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety - Assignment Example Almost nobody within the corrections and law enforcement community sees the early release program as a good option. It has been characterized as everything from "not good public policy" by Vacaville Police Chief Richard Ward to "an act of insanity" by Kern County District Attorney Edward Jagels (Thompson, 2008). While the author reports on research that indicates the program will not increase the crime rate, most crime experts feel otherwise. Most people interviewed for the article expressed the opinion that if the criminal community knows that they will not be sent to prison, they will have no deterrent to committing a property crime. California is in desperate need of prison reform. The article stated that there are currently 172,000 prisoners being housed in a system that was designed for 100,000 (Thompson, 2008). Releasing just 22,000 of these inmates would allow the state to make changes in the prison and jail building program and save additional money (Thompson, 2008). While this number would not ease the current overcrowding, it may relieve what Schwarzenegger calls "the federal courts breathing down our neck" (Thompson, 2008). Thompson Thompson related the opinions of law enforcement personnel that believed there would be a marked increase in property crime if the program is enacted. Since local jails are already overcrowded, many criminals will be more willing to take their chances. Even one of the program's supporters Barry Krisberg, President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, expressed some reservation about turning these criminals back out on the street with no rehabilitation and no support systems (Thompson, 2008). The article pointed out that just about everyone has at least some reservations about the early release program.

Why have traditional theories of assimilation consistently failed to Essay

Why have traditional theories of assimilation consistently failed to explain the nature of immigrant adaption - Essay Example In order to discuss assimilation further, it is first important to understand the primary reasons as to: why people migrate, the places where people migrate to and the different type(s) of people who migrate. Once we have looked in greater depth at the issues surrounding migration can we then start to understand the theories surrounding assimilation and the reasons why these theories consistently fail to explain immigrant adaption. As Castles and Miller (2009) state: International migration is hardly ever a simple individual action in which a person decides to move in search of better life chances, pulls up his or her roots in the place of origin and quickly becomes assimilated in the new country. Much more often migration and settlement are a long drawn out process that will be played out for the rest of the migrant’s life and affect subsequent generations too. So, if this process is so complex and long lasting why do people do it? People migrate for many different reasons these include economic, social, political and environmental. The term economic migration refers to someone who is migrating for the purpose of seeking employment or better employment opportunities or to improve their financial position. ‘Economic advantage has long been one of the main stimulants to migration – both for the individual workers seeking economic betterment and for the states attracting workers to fill labour shortages and skills gaps. With globalization and the rapid growth in ease of travel, economic migration has become an increasingly significant phenomenon world-wide. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that there are 80 million economic migrants world-wide’ (Economic migration to the EU, 2005). Economic migration is the most common cause of migration. Social migration involves either moving for a better quality of life or to be closer to friends or family where as political migration refers to someone who is migrating primarily because of

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety Assignment

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety - Assignment Example Almost nobody within the corrections and law enforcement community sees the early release program as a good option. It has been characterized as everything from "not good public policy" by Vacaville Police Chief Richard Ward to "an act of insanity" by Kern County District Attorney Edward Jagels (Thompson, 2008). While the author reports on research that indicates the program will not increase the crime rate, most crime experts feel otherwise. Most people interviewed for the article expressed the opinion that if the criminal community knows that they will not be sent to prison, they will have no deterrent to committing a property crime. California is in desperate need of prison reform. The article stated that there are currently 172,000 prisoners being housed in a system that was designed for 100,000 (Thompson, 2008). Releasing just 22,000 of these inmates would allow the state to make changes in the prison and jail building program and save additional money (Thompson, 2008). While this number would not ease the current overcrowding, it may relieve what Schwarzenegger calls "the federal courts breathing down our neck" (Thompson, 2008). Thompson Thompson related the opinions of law enforcement personnel that believed there would be a marked increase in property crime if the program is enacted. Since local jails are already overcrowded, many criminals will be more willing to take their chances. Even one of the program's supporters Barry Krisberg, President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, expressed some reservation about turning these criminals back out on the street with no rehabilitation and no support systems (Thompson, 2008). The article pointed out that just about everyone has at least some reservations about the early release program.

Applying Problem Solving Essay Example for Free

Applying Problem Solving Essay There are so many problems in the world today, personal as much as in society as a whole. The question is, how can we solve them? The answer is, soft skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. These are arguably the most effective weapons we have against combatting these problems. Let’s explore two examples of real-world scenarios: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Gun Violence. A recent study confirmed a direct link between tumors and Genetically Modified Organisms (Food Chem Toxicol, 2012). The scientific method was used to observe, hypothesize, experiment, and verify this conclusion, via a controlled experiment with rats over the course of two years. That’s not to say that all tumors are caused solely by GMOs, but rather that at least one of the causes for tumors have been identified. As a result of this study, many countries have banned the importing, development, and sales of GMOs, including (but not limited to) Italy, Switzerland, and New Zealand (for confirmation, search â€Å"GMO Ban† from the University of Phoenix Library). The scientific method has also been used to study the toxicity of chem trails in the air, fluoride in the water, and preservatives in food products. So why has President Obama signed into law the Monsanto Protection Act, which protects Monsanto (a large American GMO company) from federal courts? With so much evidence, one must wonder why the government is turning a blind eye (or even worse, â€Å"protecting†) these companies, at the expense of our health. Many speculate that the motive for this corruption is money, such as corporate bribery (otherwise known as â€Å"lobbying†) from big Food and Medical industries. Consider how all three organizations benefit: Food companies from the sale of their poisonous products, Medical companies from the sale of treating the poisonous effects of the food, and Government from both the corporate â€Å"lobbying† and taxation. The love of money is indeed the â€Å"root of all evil†. But knowledge is power. The scientific method can be used to further expose this corruption, and as citizens demand that our Representative take action to remediate these problems. Another current and  very controversial issue is gun control. There are many strong and valid arguments from both sides of this debate. Gun owners would argue that more â€Å"good† people should be armed to outnumber the â€Å"bad† people, and that it is our constitutional right to bare arms. However, opposing viewpoints advocate that guns are too easily obtainable, and that certain precautionary measures should be taken to avoid the issuance of a gun to anyone not qualified, such as due to mental illness or history of violent behavior. Persuasive thinking is at play during these debates. The gun owner may portray a story where gun ownership was beneficial, saving an entire family from an armed robber. Opposing viewpoints may portray a story where a tragic massacre could have been prevented had gun control laws been in place. Notice how these arguments tug at the strings of our heart, playing into people’s emotions. In my opinion, both of these problems are not a matter of insufficient laws, but rather spiritual matters of the heart. In the early years of this nation, companies were never ordered by law to give back to their communities. Instead, company owners gave back to their communities out of the generosity of their hearts, good morals, and gratitude towards the capitalism system which has benefitted them so much. The Middle Class concept can also be attributed to company owners of good morals. This concept was not originally formulated by government, but rather by Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, who wished to pay his employees not only for manufacturing his vehicles, but also for purchasing one of their very own. Sadly, greed and competition has poisoned the hearts of many present-day company owners to such a degree that they’re willing to do anything (including jeopardizing people’s health and cheating people out of their life savings and pensions) just to obtain a greater profit. The same concept applies to gun violence. In the founding years of this nation, life preservation and â€Å"loving thy neighbor† was held in highest esteem. But over time, the â€Å"fun† of violent video games, movies and TV Shows, as well as the â€Å"glory† of war has slowly eroded and desensitized the moral fabric of society. Good news can still emerge from the midst of these situations. As long as mankind continues to learn (about each other, as well as critical thinking and problem solving skills), love, compromise, and unite as one, there is no problem too big that cannot be solved! Major and minor problems arise in life, which called to be solved by using different methods. It is important that we able to utilize these methods, such as persuasive thinking and scientific thinking, in order to eliminate certain problems that may hinder us from achieving our personal goals. In the past, I have used both of these methods to solve problems that have been as simple as deciding which lotion was the healthiest choice for me and reminding my mother that I was an adult that wanted to travel. Using scientific thinking, I was able to eradicate a problem that involved using a certain type of body lotion. I went to a beauty store to purchase a new body lotion as my old body lotion was finished, and I wanted a change. I tested the scents of many lotions on the shelves and found a particular lotion that was in my budget and had a pleasant scent. The first day I used the lotion, I noticed that my skin was irritated and a few tiny bumps appeared on my arms and legs. Over the next few days, I still used the lotion, and the irritation grew worse; there were more bumps, and they were beginning to itch. The irritation never occurred when I used my old lotion, so I began to believe that was the problem. Kirby and Goodpaster (2007) state that the basic steps to solving a problem using the scientific method are observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and verification (p. 221). I observed my skin breaking out after I bought the new lotion; I did not break out before I purchased the lotion, nor did I break out with my old lotion. I formed my hypothesis after that: â€Å"If I use this new lotion, then I will break out,† or â€Å"My new lotion is causing me to break out†. Next, I conducted a small experiment. I stopped using the lotion for a week, and I noticed that my skin began to clear up, and it felt less irritated with each day that passed. I concluded that my hypothesis was correct shortly thereafter, but to verify that conclusion, I bought an unscented, medicated lotion, (similar to my old lotion) and began using that. With this medicated lotion, I noticed that there were no negative changes with my skin. One part of the verification process was unintentional, though. One day, my arms were a bit dry after swimming with friends, and the only lotion I had in my purse was the scented lotion that I once hypothesized was causing my skin irritation. I did not believe I would break out again, but shortly after, my skin was irritated, red, and there were bumps on my arms. To this day, I stay away from lotion that is scented because my skin is very sensitive. This problem was much easier to solve than my problem that needed to be solved with persuasion. Persuasion is not one of my strengths, but I needed to use it in order to solve a problem I was facing. Ever since I received my first computer at the age of 10, I have spent a lot of time on the internet, chatting with peers and making new friends. I am an introvert, which is defined as â€Å"a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings,† (Dictionary.com, 2012). I do not like being big crowds, and I feel more comfortable talking online with friends, than I do with talking to peopl e in public. In 2009, I met someone from Tennessee, and for three years I have chatted with her via instant messenger, spoken to her family, video chatted via video messenger, spoken on the phone, etc. We became very good friends, and I brought it to my mother’s attention that I wanted to travel to Tennessee to visit my friend. My mother’s immediate response was to deny me. Her argument was understandable, but I quickly realized that I had to do attempt to persuade her. As most children, my first reaction was to declare that she was being unreasonable, whine, and grovel. Of course, that did not work, so I decided to go another route. The first step that I took was asking my mother exactly why she did not want me to travel to see my friend. As she began to list the reasons, I made sure I listened. Next I made to make sure that my mother knew I saw her side of things. I understood why she was so adamant about not letting me go. I had spoken to my friend for years, and I felt as though I gotten to know her very well, but meeting someone in person will always be different- despite how well you know them online. There was also a chance that my friend and I would not get along in person, and I would be stuck in a state for a period of time where I did not know anyone else. After explaining many of the negatives, I began to give her positives. I wanted to let her know that I had a plan. I had my own money saved to travel. I told her that she could speak with my friend’s mother so the two could get to know each other a little better. I researched the town in Tennessee, so that my mother could  see that my friend lived in a quiet neighborhood where there was little crime. I had to also remind my mother that, despite her being my parent and wanting what was best for me, I was a 21-year-old young woman. When it was all over, I asked for my mother’s response. She said that I could travel to Tennessee, but there was a stipulation: my mother wanted to accompany me on the trip. I ended up compromising, so that my mother’s mind would be at ease and I could still go to see my friend. With my first problem, I learned something about my body: in order to keep my skin healthy, I had to avoid certain lotions that would lead to irritation. With the second problem, I had to remind myself to act as an adult and not to succumb to manipulative tasks when trying to persuade a parent. In the end I had to compromise, but the end result was still much better than not being able to see a friend that I cared for dearly. The two problems were handled differently, using two different methods of thinking, but both of my problems were solved in the end. References Dictionary.com. (2012). Introvert. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/introvert Kirby, G. R., Goodpaster, J. R. (2007). Thinking: An interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Optimization of Benchmark Functions using VTS-ABC Algorithm

Optimization of Benchmark Functions using VTS-ABC Algorithm Performance Optimization of Benchmark Functions using VTS-ABC Algorithm Twinkle Gupta  and Dharmender Kumar Abstract  A new variant based on tournament selection called VTS-ABC algorithm is provided in this paper. Its performance is compared with standard ABC algorithm with different size of data on several Benchmark functions and results show that VTS-ABC provides better quality of solution than original ABC algorithm in every case. Keywords— Artificial Bee Colony Algorithms, Nature-Inspired Meta-heuristics,Optimizations, Swarm Intelligence Algorithms, Tournament selection. NOMENCLATURE ABC – Artificial Bee Colony ACO – Ant Colony Optimization BFS – Blocking Flow-Shop Scheduling DE – Differential Evolution EA – Evolutionary Algorithm GA – Genetic Algorithm MCN – Maximum Cycle Number PSO – Particle Swarm Optimization TS – Tournament size TSP – Travelling Salesman Problem 1.INTRODUCTION For optimization problems, various algorithms havebeendesigned which are basedonnature-inspiredconcepts [1].Evolutionary algorithms(EA) and swarmoptimizationalgorithmsare two different classes in which nature inspired algorithms are classified.Evolutionary algorithms like Geneticalgorithms (GA)andDifferentialevolution (DE) attempt to carry out the phenomenon ofnaturalevolution [2]. However, a swarm like ant colony, a flock of birds can be described as collection of interacting agents and their intelligence lieintheir way of interactions with other individuals andtheenvironment [3]. Swarm optimization includes Particle swarm optimization (PSO) modelon socialbehaviorofbirdflocking [4], Antcolony optimization (ACO) model on swarmofants and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) model on the intelligent foraging behaviour of honey bees [5]. Some important characteristics of ABC algorithm which makesitmoreattractivethanotheroptimizationalgorithms are: Employs only three control parameters (population size, maximum cycle number and limit) [6]. Fastconvergencespeed. Quite simple, flexible and robust [7] [8]. Easyintegrationwithotheroptimizationalgorithms. Therefore, ABC algorithm is a very popular nature inspired meta-heuristic algorithm used to solve various kinds of optimization problems. In recent years, ABC has earned so much popularity and used widely in various application such as: Constrained optimization, Image processing, Clustering, Engineering Design, Blocking flow shop scheduling (BFS), TSP, Bioinformatics, Scheduling and many others [9]-[18].Similar to other stochastic population-based approaches like GA, Ant Colony etc. ABC algorithm also applied Roulette Wheel selection mechanism which chooses best solution always with high selection pressure and leads the algorithm into premature convergence. With ever-growing size of dataset, optimization of algorithm has become a big concern. This calls for a need of better algorithm. The aim of this paper is to create such an algorithm named VTS-ABC algorithm. This new variant is based on tournament selection mechanism and selects variable tournament size each time in order to select the employed bees sharing their information with onlooker bees. Onlooker bees select solution from selected tournament size of solutions with less selection pressure so that high fitness solutions can’t dominate and give better quality of solutions with large data set as well. A worst solution is also replaced by better solution generated randomly in each cycle. Rest of the paper is divided in different sections as follows: Introduction to standard ABC algorithm is described in section 2. Section 3 describes the proposed VTS-ABC algorithm. Experiments and its simulation results to show performance on several Benchmark functions are described in section 4 and in the last; Conclusion of the paper is discussed. 2.ARTIFICIAL BEE COLONY ALGORITHM In 2005, Karaboga firstly proposed Artificial Bee Colony algorithm for optimizing numerical problems [19] which includes employed bees, onlooker bees and scouts. The bee carrying out search randomly is known as a scout. The bee going to the food source visited by it before and sharing its information with onlooker bees is known as employed bee and the bee waiting on the dance area called onlooker bee. ABC algorithm as a collective intelligence searching model has three essential components: Employed bees, Unemployed bees (onlooker and scout bees) and Food sources. In the view of optimization problem, a food source represents a possible solution. The position of a good food source indicates the solution providing better results to the given optimization problem. The quality of nectar of a food source represents the fitness value of the associated solution. Initially, a randomly distributed food source position of SNsize, the size of employed bees or onlooker bees is generated. Each solution xi is a D-dimensional vector that represents the number of optimized parameters and produced usingthe equation 1: where,xmaxandxminare the upper and lower bound of the parameterxi,respectively and j denotes the dimension. The fitness of food sources to find the global optimal is calculated by the following formula: where, fm(xm)is the objective function value of xm. Then the employed bee phase starts. In this phase, each employed bee xi finds a new food source viin its neighborhood using the equation 3: where, t: Cycle number; : Randomly chosen employed bee and k is not equal to i ; ( ): A series of random variable in the range [-1, 1]. The fitness of new solution produced is compared with that of current solution and memorizes the better one by means of a greedy selection mechanism. Employed bees share their information about food sources with onlooker bees waiting in the hive and onlooker bees probabilistically choose their food sources using fitness based selection technique such as roulette wheel selection shown in equation 4: where, Pi: Probability of selecting the ith employed bee, S: Size of employed bees, ÃŽ ¸i: Position of the ith employed bee and F : Fitness value. Afterthatonlookerbeescarried outrandomly searchintheirneighborhood similar to employed bees and memorize the better one. Employed bees whose solutions can’t be improved through a predetermined number of cycles, called limit, become scouts and their solutions are abandoned. Then, they find a new random food source position using the following equation 5: Where, r: A random number between 0 and 1 and these steps are repeated through a predetermined number of cycles called Maximum Cycle Number (MCN). 3.PROPOSED WORK: VTS-ABC ALGORITHM In every meta-heuristic algorithm mainly two factors need to be balanced for global optimization outcome i.e. Exploration and Exploitation but ABC is a poor balance of these two factors. Various variants of ABC have been modelled for its improvement in different phases by number of researchers like Sharma and Pant have proposed a variant of ABC called RABC for solving the numerical optimization problem [20] and Tsai et al. have presented an interactive ABC optimization algorithm to solve combinational optimization problem [21] in which the concept of universal gravitational force for the movement of onlooker bees is introduced to enhance the exploration ability of the ABC algorithm. D. Kumar and B. Kumar also reviewed various papers on ABC and give a modified RABC algorithm based on topology for optimization of benchmark functions [22] [23]. Intelligence of ABC algorithm mainly depends upon the communication between individual agents. Employed beesshare their information with onlooker bees waiting in the hive and flow of this information from one individual to another depends on the selection mechanism used. Different selection schemes select different individuals to share the information which affect the communication ability of individuals and primarily the outcome of the algorithm. ABC algorithm uses Roulette wheel selection mechanism in which each onlooker bee selects the food source based on certain probability. Each onlooker bee selects the best food source with high selection pressure and lead to premature convergence. To overcome this problem, its new variant is proposed in which Tournament Selection method is applied based on Cycle number and number of employed bees. In Tournament selection, a tournament size (TS) is chosen to select the number of employed bees sharing the information with onlooker bees. For better exploration, TS=2 i.e. Binary Tournament is applied in early stages and for better exploitation, variable tournament size is applied based on the current cycle number (CYL) and size of employed bee in middle stages. As the stages grow, this method works similar to Roulette wheel method in the end. Hence, the selection pressure is less in early stages and more in final stages which provide us better quality of solution. As variable size of tournament is used at different stages of the algorithm, hence the algorithm named VTS-ABC (Variable Tournament Size Artificial Bee Colony) algorithm. Method used for calculating TS is shown in equation 6 and equation 7: If SN >= 20 If SN Where Here, two equations are shown for calculating tournament size of tournament selection method. The purpose of using these two equations is to increase the speed of algorithm. When the size of employed bee i.e. given population of food source positions is small like 10, a solution can be easily found by changing the tournament size by 1 but as the size grows i.e. when best food source position is to be found in large set of population for example when SN=40 or more than 40, increasing size of tournament by 1 and 2 only is a very tedious task as it will take more time to run the algorithm. Hence, in order to increase speed of algorithm, the tournament size based on current cycle and size of population is increased. One more concept is applied to increase its convergence speed. At each iteration or cycle, a new solution is generated randomly similar to scout and its fitness value is calculated. Greedy selection mechanism is applied between new solution and worst one and the better solution is memorized. Hence, it helps in finding good quality of solution as well as improving the convergence speed and provides better balance between exploration and exploitation. 4.experiments and simulation results 4.1 Benchmark Functions The Benchmark Functions used to compare the performance of VTS-ABC algorithm with original ABC algorithm are illustrated below: Sphere Function: Schwefel Function: Griewank Function: Where Ackley Function: Here, ObjVal is the function value calculated for each food source position. A food source is represented by X and population size is taken of n*p matrix where n is the no. of possible food source positions and p represents the dimension of each position. 4.2 Performance Measures Simulation Result The experimental results of VTS-ABC and ABC algorithm in MATLAB are taken under the parameter of size of food source positions (n*p) i.e. different size of population with different dimensions are taken to run and compare both algorithms. MCN is set as 2000 and each algorithm is run for 3 iteration i.e. Runtime=3. Limit for scouts is set equals to 300. In order to provide the quantitative assessment of the performance of an optimization algorithm, Mean of Global Minimum i.e. mean of minimum objective function value at each cycle of all iterations are taken as performance measure whose values are shown in table1and figure 1-4. Table1: Mean of Global minimum on different size of data Fig. 1: Mean of Sphere function values on different size of data Fig. 2: Mean of Schwefel function values on different size of data Fig. 3: Mean of Griewank function values on different size of data Fig. 4: Mean of Ackley function values on different size of data Figure 1 to 4 show simulation results of ABC and VTS-ABC algorithm with different size of data on Sphere, Schwefel, Griewank, Ackley respectively and reveal that VTS-ABC algorithm provides us better quality of solution than original ABC algorithm by minimizing objective function value or producing higher fitness solutions. 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In this paper, a new algorithm VTS-ABC is presented. In this algorithm, firstly variable tournament size (TS) is applied to select the food source position for onlooker bees which helps to achieve diversity in solution. Then to increase convergence speed, a new solution is generated in each cycle which replaced the worst one. In order to demonstrate the performance of proposed algorithm, it is applied on several Benchmark functions with different size of data set as input. Simulation results show that it provides better quality of solution than original ABC algorithm in every case. Therefore, it can be applied in different fields of optimization with large and higher dimensions data set efficiently. References Yugal Kumar and Dharmender Kumar, â€Å"Parametric Analysis of Nature Inspired Optimization Techniques†International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 42-49, Oct. 2011. P. J. Angeline, J. B. Pollack and G.M. Saunders, â€Å"An evolutionary algorithm that constructs recurrent neural networks,† Neural Networks in IEEE Transactions on, vol. 5, no. 1, 1994, pp. 54-65. J. Kennedy and R. Eberhart, â€Å"Particle swarm optimization,† in Proceedings of IEEE international conference on neural networks, 1995, vol. 4, pp. 1942–1948. E. Bonabeau, M. Dorgio, and G. Theraulaz, â€Å"Swarm intelligence: from neural network to artificial intelligence,† NY: oxford university press, New York, 1999. D. Karaboga, â€Å"An idea based on honey bee swarm for numerical optimization,† Techn.Rep. TR06, Erciyes Univ. Press, Erciyes, 2005. D. Karaboga and B. Akay, â€Å"A comparative study of artificial bee colony algorithm,† Applied Mathematics and Computation, vol. 214, no. 1, pp. 108–132, 2009. R. S. Rao, S. V. L. Narasimham, and M. Ramalingaraju, â€Å"Optimization of distribution network configuration for loss reduction using artificial bee colony algorithm,† International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems Engineering, vol. 1, no.2, pp. 116–122, 2008. A. 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