Monday, December 23, 2019

Identifying Subconscious Visual Response From Brain Signal

Identifying Subconscious Visual Response from Brain Signal Bhuyain, Md. Jahangir Hossain ID:14-26407-1 American International University Bangladesh jahangir407@outlook.com Abstract. In our life time all of the things we do, see or listen, save in our subconscious mind. And retinal response from subconscious mind is one of the ways to retrieve data from the subconscious memory. But it is difficult to identify the correct subconscious trigger which causes the retinal response. (It may response by outsource like light, air, sound etc.). With these subconscious response many important application can be built such as rapid search, analysis human behavior after all it changes the human communication system. Though it has a great significant on our life but there is still lack of knowledge, resource and technologies. There is limited research on this topic. . 1 Introduction Subconscious mind is like a huge memory bank of virtually unlimited capacity. The function of subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data. Its job is to ensure that we respond exactly the way we are programmed. Your conscious mind commands and your subconscious mind obeys [9]. On the other hand, we are considering the eye to be the origin of visual perception, but are generally unaware that almost all of our body systems are regulated in some way by what we see around us subconsciously. There are also specialized pathways from the retina that regulate hormone secretion, our body clock and many otherShow MoreRelatedNeuromarketing3288 Words   |  14 PagesWithin the skull lies the most complex organ known to mankind -- the human brain. With a mass of only 6 kilograms, the brain contains over 100 billion living cells and 1 million kilometers of interconnecting fibers; but, exactly how does it function? Marketing and sales managers would love to know why consumers are attracted to certain advertising, packaging and brands. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019

The American System of Government Free Essays

Chapter 4 We – the People Dividing Power: The American System of Government The Basics †¢Americans have distrusted any concentration of political power ever since its founding †¢American form of government was written down in a Constitution o1787, after thirteen colonies gained independence from Great Britain †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Tyranny† of King George III – the Americans wanted to make sure no person was allowed to have too much power †¢Representative democracy Elected representatives who could be regularly shifted out oPower rested with the people †¢Federal system oIndividual states which give only certain specific powers to a central government oFederalism †¢The separation of powers oDivided the power into three oNo one is too powerful Federalism †¢The federal government can only do what it has specifically been given the power to do in the Constitution oDelegated powers by the states †¢Reserved powers are for the states and the peo ple oState rights The states gave the federal government power over the following areas oForeign affairs (treaties and relations with other countries) oDefense (defending the nation and declaring war) oMonetary policy oTrade (among states, between states and government, between the nation and other countries) Separation of powers †¢Breaking power into three oThe Executive (the President) oThe Legislative (Congress) oThe Judicial (Supreme Court) †¢Main idea – power could never be combined under one man oThreaten people and democracy The Founding Fathers created the system of checks and balances oEach of the branches can limit the power of two The Congress – legislative powers †¢Two â€Å"chambers† – the House of Representatives and the Senate †¢The smaller states were afraid of being controlled of the larger states †¢The number of representatives each state got in the House of Representatives was based on the population of the stat e †¢In the Senate, each state was given two representatives no matter how small or large †¢Congress has the power to: Pass laws (legislation) oLevy taxes oDecide how federal money is used †¢No one in the federal government gets paid nothing gets funded unless Congress has passed a â€Å"bill† approving the use of money †¢Members of the House of Representatives – Congressmen o435 members, all its members are elected every two years (democratic) †¢Members of the Senate – Senators o100 members, two from each state, elected for six years of the time (stable) †¢Checks on Congress oThe President can veto a bill by refusing to sign it The Supreme Court can declare laws â€Å"unconstitutional† The President – executive powers †¢The President is Head of State and represents the people of the US at home and abroad †¢The President is Chief Executive oHeads all federal organizations, has a â€Å"cabinet† with poli tical advisors †¢The President is Commander-in-Chief oHe is head of the armed forces of the only superpower in the world. Only Congress can declare war, but the President can ask Congress for the power to use â€Å"necessary force† †¢The President is Chief Diplomat Decides foreign and defense policy, appoints ambassadors, sets up embassies and negotiates treaties (only become law if two-thirds of the Senate approves) †¢The power of the President has increased since 1787, he leads three million people who work for this branch of the government †¢Checks on the President oThe Supreme Court can declare his actions unconstitutional oCongress can change or refuse to pass the legislation suggested by him oCongress can override a presidential veto with a two-third majority oCongress and Supreme Court can â€Å"impeach† the President (remove him) The Supreme Court – judicial powers Highest court in the land, all courts must accept its interpretation o f the law †¢States have their own laws and their own supreme courts, but if there is a conflict, the federal law overrides the state law (to make sure the law is applied the same way everywhere) †¢Decides what laws are in compliance and what laws are unconstitutional †¢A law that is unconstitutional is â€Å"null and void†, no longer valid †¢Nine members of the Supreme Court oNine to make sure it can’t split evenly oâ€Å"Justices† are appointed for life †¢Checks on the Supreme Court oCongress can change the Constitution Congress and the Supreme Court can â€Å"impeach† a Supreme Court Justice Checks and balances in action †¢Every year the President must submit a bill for federal budget to Congress †¢Congress never passes it as it is, both the House and the Senate make changes †¢If president gets a majority, he may then accept a compromise. He can refuse to sign the bill, and send it back to the Congress, both must a compromise Appointing a Supreme Court Justice †¢When a justice dies, the President nominates a judge to fill the seat †¢Since the President can choose someone he finds beneficial for the job, he Senate must first approve â€Å"ratify† the choice before the President can appoint a nominee †¢If it does not, the President must find someone else (checks and balances) Separation of powers – advantages and disadvantages †¢It has worked as intended †¢It has kept government under democratic control †¢When Richard Nixon broke the law (Watergate scandal) he was forced from office †¢On the other hand, when the President is a Democrat and Congress has a majority of Republicans (or vice versa), the division of powers can paralyze the political system †¢Some say it would’ve been better with a parliamentary democracy (the Congress chooses the President). We will write a custom essay sample on The American System of Government or any similar topic only for you Order Now In that way, the budget would always pass in congress †¢However, this would give the President a lot more power State government †¢American states are â€Å"real states† oThey make their own laws, collect their own taxes, have their own welfare systems, police forces, educational systems and so on †¢Most â€Å"governing† goes on at the state and local levels †¢Any American is bound to respect federal law, state law and local city and county law †¢Most states use the federal government as a model for their state government oAll have a written constitution All practice the separation of powers into three branches †¢The executive branch is headed by a Governor †¢The legislative branch is divided into two chambers (except Nebraska) †¢All states have a state supreme court and separate court systems †¢The 50 states are all different, and are looked at as 50 â€Å"laboratories of democracy†, which means that they come with ne w solutions to new and old problems †¢The US is proud to have an extremely large degree of local democracy and variation Advantages and disadvantages †¢Local democracy source of strength and innovation, but hard to govern †¢E. g. the school system. The President and Congress can have an opinion on what is best for the school systems, but they can’t order the states to adopt these measures, because education is a â€Å"state right† and not a federal responsibility †¢Variety inequality. Some states are rich, some are poor Political Parties in the United States The electoral system There are two basic things to keep in mind about the electoral system in America oAll federal and state elections are in single-seat election districts †¢Only one representative from each district will be elected oA candidate can win an election with either a majority of votes, or a plurality of votes †¢The winner is candidate C, because that candidate has a plurality of votes. â€Å"The winner takes it all†. The other votes are â€Å"wasted†. 85306 †¢If A and B goes t ogether and supports one candidate, that candidate could easily win with 60% of the votes †¢Problems: finding someone they both support The US only has two parties: The Democrats and the Republicans. Both are giant coalitions of wildly different political groups. Shooting for the center †¢Both parties are coalitions neither party presents a very clear political profile †¢A clear ideology would send away some interest groups, weakening the party †¢Both parties are vague about what they stand for †¢No one wants to come out with strong ideological statements that might scare away any voters, because to win you have to win the votes of the electorate, which basically is divided into two The Democratic Party (donkey) †¢Supports stronger federal authority, more liberal, willing to use government in the service of the people at the expense of â€Å"states’ rights† †¢Wants to involve the federal government in shaping American society (more than the Republicans), reducing the gap between rich/poor †¢Support welfare programs more strongly than Republicans †¢Taxes are a resource that can be wisely used †¢Have support in large cities and states on the coasts The Republican Party (GOP, the elephant) More conservative party, support state rights and resist a large role for the federal government †¢Wants to give a great deal of free play to market economy and are opposed to government regulations of the economy †¢Lower level of taxation †¢Every-man-for-himself tradition, are suspicious of welfare systems †¢Have support in the Midwest and the south and among businesspeople Democrats and Republicans †¢Some Democrats are more conservative than Republicans and some Republicans are more liberal than Democrats. †¢Different histories and tradition Serious political consequences the Republicans have grown more powerful because conservative southerners have left the democrats Advantages and disadvantages of a two-party system †¢Gives a stable foundation to build on †¢Forces the parties to look for voter support from the center of American politics, encouraging moderation, an agreement, a â€Å"consensus† †¢The two-party system helps create such broad agreement †¢Wastes votes of millions who vote for candidates who are not elected oUndermines democracy †¢No directions other than leading the country Blocks new ideas and movements (they are drawn into the coalitions) Interest Groups and Lobbyists †¢Joining or supporting a political party is not the only way to influence the political process in America †¢A more direct route INTEREST GROUPS oPolitical orga nizations which seek to influence government policy about one specific issue or related set of issues oCompromise without being part of one of the great party coalitions oCan be more straightforward, aggressive and ideological PACs †¢Political Action Committee Organized specifically to elect (or defeat) politicians or to promote legislation †¢Collects contributions and use them to support or oppose candidates oHard money goes directly to the candidates oSoft money pays for campaigns in various ways Lobbyists †¢Interest groups make use of lobbyists who try to persuade individual politicians to support the interests they represent. They have recently become more active (16 00034000) †¢Can be done in many ways: Taking them out for dinner, paying their way to conferences and seminars, finding jobs for their relatives and so on †¢Lobbyists are found near the centers of power. Spent 2. 4 billion in 2005 Advantages and disadvantages †¢Make the citizens politically active †¢They show that the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are being put to good use †¢Some worry about the increasing role of interest groups oWeakened political parties? oSplits the electorate up in warring groups? †¢Another reason for concern is the skyrocketing expense of getting elected †¢Senate campaigns costs minimum 3 million dollars, rising to 10 million in big states †¢House of Representatives: 1 million dollars every two years oA great deal of the money comes from lobbyists Electing a President †¢To major stages in the election process oDeciding nominees for candidates for President and Vice President oElecting President and Vice President †¢Primaries winner national convention nomination Vice President/platform campaign election (people) election (electoral college) President The nomination race †¢Exhausting process †¢January June: Primaries are held in most states oChoosing a party nominee †¢Earlier they were chosen by state party conventions Not good, because they ended up being controlled by a party elite †¢Decided to choose nominees by a special state-wide election †¢Protects the public from the leadership of its own political parties †¢Primaries are held at different times in different states and often with different rules †¢Each party emerges with a man or a woman as winner in each of the states holding a primary oWinner is the state’s delegates at the party’s national convention †¢As the primaries proceed, the number of persons running for the nomination is gradually reduced to two or three per party †¢Failure losing support †¢Succeed momentum and fresh funding Earlier the primary season was longer, and that gave relatively unknown candidates the chance to gain support oExample: Jimmy Carter †¢Recently, primaries are held earlier and earlier oNo point in holding a state primary after other primary elections have already determined which candidate has a majority of delegates at the national party convention †¢Held as early as possible, on the same day in several states †¢This favors well-known candidates with a lot of money who can campaign in several states †¢Ironically, the money comes from powerful special interests, forces primaries were created to avoid Tickets and platforms Late August/early September, a national convention is held in a major city †¢A party chooses its final candidate for President †¢Used to be an exciting event (unknown who would become candidate) †¢These days, the results are almost always already decided from the primaries †¢The nomination is â€Å"ritual†, with balloons and speeches and cheering crowds †¢However, a good deal of interest is still connected to the choosing of a party â€Å"ticket† and the creation of a party â€Å"platform†. †¢The party ticket is the team of candidates running for President and Vice President †¢The choice of Vice President is up to the President Often a secret until the presidential nomination is accepted †¢A BALANCED TICKET, to reach a broad section of the electorate oCandidate from South, other one from North/West oCandidate is woman, other one is a man oCandidate is conservative, other one is liberal oCandidate is inexperienced, other one is a seasoned politician or statesman †¢All interests can’t be balanced in two people, but an effort is made †¢Once the tick et is clear, the two sit down with the party leadership and write a party platform oThe team will run for election Party platform closest thing to an ideological statement †¢It consists of political statements or promises which together make the party’s political program †¢They differ from year to year and election to election, addresses the different issues of the day and incorporate with new political trends †¢They want to meet the expectations of as wide a group of voters as possible oFuzzy and broad, both parties promise the same things The election and the Electoral College †¢Finally there is the actual election †¢Serious campaigning starts in September and lasts until voting day, the first Tuesday in November †¢The candidates travel all over the country, speaks at meetings, takes part in official debates, appears on TV, gaining recommendations from important people, TV-ads, press releases, e-mails, books, pamphlets and etc †¢Expensive, in 1996 it amounted together 448. million dollars. In 2008 it doubled to over 1 billion dollars, 500 million dollars on each. †¢The President and Vice President are not elected directly by the popular vote †¢They are elected indirectly by a majority of the electoral votes cast by the nation’s fifty states system †¢The 41 days comes from the old days (1787), when it was a lot harder to travel around. Most people didn’t know who the candidates were, but they trusted someone in town. Votes were cast for these men as electors from each state. They assembled, discussed the candidates, and sent their decision to Washington D. C. †¢The candidate who had won a majority of the popular vote in a state got all the electoral votes in the state (Winner takes it all) The Electoral College †¢Each state is given a number of electors equal to its presentation in Congress oTwo Senators + a varied number of Congress man †¢D. C. , which belongs to no state has three electors The number of electoral votes is equal to: o435 congressmen o100 senators o3 from the District of Columbia †¢538 electoral votes †¢To win the Presidential election a candidate must have a majority of these votes, that is 269+1 = 270 votes. †¢It is possible for a President to be elected with a majority of the votes in the Electoral College while having a minority of the popular vote nationwide. oSmall states are over-represented in the Electoral College How to cite The American System of Government, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Bullying In Nursing-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Bullying in Nursing. Answer: Define the professional issue Bullying can be defined as the recurrent, unwanted harmful actions intended to humiliate, offend as well as cause the distress in the recipient. Bullying in nursing can have extensive adverse effects on nurses at work and hence actions are needed in urgent terms to deal with this destructive conduct or behavior. It remains a serious issues which threatens patient safety, registered nurse and the entire nursing professionals. Forty-five percent of the nurses have either been verbally bullied or harassed by other nurses whereas forty-one have been harassed or bullied by their managers or administrators based on RNnetwork survey. Albeit the hurdle in being the objective of the venting of the co-worker, it is classified as the workplace violence, bullying has been effected through three main components: Bullying is targeted, it is meant to trigger harm and it takes place over time. Certain kinds of mistreatment or unkind behavior or acts on job can really be categorized as incivility, yet not essentially bullying. Such act include eye rolling, disrespect, gossip or generally, unfriendliness. A great percentage of bullying is nurse-to-nurse, however, other healthcare staff can further be bullies: the nursing assistant who has been on unit for forty years can target the novel registered nurse, or the unit secretariats who victimize a given nurse (Tarkan 2013). Most nurses are bullied by other nurses, and a great share frequently face verbal abuse. Some study carried out in December 2006 by Cole Edmondson about workplace violence against nurses unraveled that eighty-two of the Texas nurses who were surveyed had experienced workplace violence that ranged from verbal abuse to physical acts. It was further added that bullying could target cohort and individuals and remains actually a group phenomenon: 1 unit taking out their aggressions on another unit, or the nurses on a particular unit bullying novel hires or novel graduates. Nurses in certain areas or specialties cold perceive or believe they are superior or even better than another given unit or specialty and hence degrade them, their care, education or even specialty as a whole. Discuss the significance of your chosen professional issue to nursing Bullying in nursing remains a significance issue in nursing profession. Bullying is never merely detrimental to the person being targeted. Bullying for example could lead to one nurse withholding information from another and hence causes the nurse to make a mistake with the patient. Also, yelling at one nurse or even criticizing him in front of the patient will potentially harm the patient care (Murray 2009). A nurse who is treated in a manner that is making him feel badly will stop the flow of the information. When nurses are never freely communicating with the members of the healthcare team, it will eventually impact outcomes. In both literature and practice, it is known that bullying among nurse eventually influences the quality and safety of the patient care being provided. Studies have shown that 75% of the nurses state that they in knowledge of errors in patient care or even issues established when nurse bullying takes place. A great portion of the organizations have decided to take the journey to Magnet destinations to work on the improvement of nurse work environment, empowering the nurses as well as creating excellent outcomes. The bullying must be tackled at each level to ensure that the safety and security of both nurses and patients are guaranteed to ensure minimal errors which goes into the core heart of treatment and hence the recovery process. Discuss how your chosen professional issue impacts on patient safety The patient safety is greatly influence by bullying. For example, a nurse who is being bullying cannot offer effective care and even treatment. The nurses who feel that they are never safe and secure have cannot give the right healthcare delivery to the patients. The patients will be dealt a big blow as the nurses will be disrupted and this goes deep into mental disruption and even feeling of valueless in the organization. The nurses who are looked down upon cannot feel that their inputs are appreciated and hence will definitely be less productive. The quality of care will greatly be hampered. The aspects central to quality of care for the patient encompass effective teamwork and communication alongside a collaborative work environment. Bullying leads to disruptive and corrosive impact behavior which is great magnification in the healthcare sector (Etienne 2014). Hence, a dysfunctional team environment will invariably lead to errors and preventable adverse outcome. Bullying culture will led to demoralized workforce working the caring profession making patients to suffer extremely. Bullying will also lead to changes on nurses perception of the employer and thus decreasing nurse commitment to the organization which trickles down to hurt the patients. The nurses will not be retained and hence the commitment of the nurses to their patient will be greatly lowered leading to prolonged recovery process. Strategies to minimize It is time to take a stand on bullying. Some healthcare institutions are increasingly facing bullying head on, whereas others are decreasing the bullying incidence via cultivation of particular culture to deal with bullying. Organizations with caring cultures which adhere to the code of ethics as well as practice shared governance have reported lower incidence of the perceived bullying. These institutions would experience less grievances overall sine staff feel increasingly valued (Lieber 2010). The leadership must handle bullying by empowering nurses and other workers via the policies and procedures, making them more aware that bullying is never an acceptable behavior. One reason why bullying endures is that frequently those who experiences or suspect the adverse conduct or behavior look the other way or even decline to become engaged. Nurses can and need to stop the malicious pattern to take a stand on bullying. This means that any nurse who sees a co-worker being bullied, must step in and say wait a minute- time out. Such interventions is significant and will greatly decrease bullying. Characteristically, no one is speaking up and this is making bullying to blossom at a terrifying speed. The number on most powerful behavior is the witness to speak up assertively and support the person is being targeted. Instead of turning away, the witness must reach out to the fellow who is the target of the bully (Spector, Zhou and Che 2014). This is in essence means that nurses can all be upstanders when they intervene in situation and reaching out to the peers who are the targets of bully. These contexts do not merely halt when the bullying conduct or behavior is over. They have lasting impacts on the mental health as well as ones feelings of security and safety. As the nurses learn to identify as well as confront the harmful behaviors towards themselves alongside coworkers, the workplace violence, encompassing bullying of the nurses, shall never be allowed to endure. Nurses as well as patients shall be safer as well as secure. Nurses should be a proactive when being bullied. Based on stopbullyingtoolkit.org fact sheet, twenty-one percent of nurses exit their work because of the incivility as well as bullying. Thus instead of becoming a part of this cohort of nurses exiting their work, the problem has to be confronted at each level across the institution. It establishes an untenable context for the nurses as well as the ones who witnesses it, including visitors and patients. Where a nurse feels she or he is being bullied, it is imperative to let the bully know how such a behavior makes her feel. The nurses should always think of themselves as professionals with the primary goal of being educated regarding the bullying as well as how to handles this unwarranted behavior. Nurses must always pause as well as take the deep breath and act professionally by not letting the bullying situation trigger their decompensation. The practice of self-awareness, observing how the context is provoking an emotional reactions is always recommended. Where a nurse is comfortable doing so, he can address it straight with the person. Where this is never feasible, there is a need to practice a reaction or response using role play on her own or with a peer. Where the nurse is never comfortable with such a direct approach or if the direct deliberation is never working, the nurse needs to report to the manager, supervisor or even preceptor. Where the manager is the problem, the nurse must reach out for support of someone else, like educator or someone in human resources (Seibel, 2014). The nurse must find out the policy of the organization which address the behavior which undermine a culture of safety and hence ensure he is clear on how the individual has violated such a policy. Then the nurse must document the experiences with such person. The nurses must always document the context: what took place, who said what and who witnessed the incident. Documenting needs to take place immediately because ones impression as well as memories are frequently less clear over time. The new nurses are an effortless target for bullies, because they are novel. Prevention of bullying among the novel nurses begins with the job hunt, so novel nurses must do their homework regarding healthcare organization to which they are making an application. They must check whether the organization have caring culture, a code of ethics, policies as well as procedure well documented and put in place. The applicants must check whether the organization has a shared governance and if yes, the nurses must check the likelihood of bullying is probably lower (Johnson and Trad 2014). The applicants must be aware of the toxicity of certain units by asking right questions in the interview process like how scheduling conflicts are handled. It remains a positive sign where the unit nursing staff are integral part of the interviewing process because it indicates the organization is empowering the staff to make rational decisions regarding colleagues (Wright and Khatri 2015). The interviewee must ask if the organization has policies and procedures for the violence and proceed to look at their orientation especially what the organization is doing to guarantee healthy work environment. The organization must as well practice prevention personality by knowing what bullies look for in the target (Dunn 2000). Bullies are looking for nurses who they do not think shall confront or challenge them, who appear insecure or even nervous, who are passive communicators, anything which makes them different. References Dunn, K. 2000. Bullying in the Workplace Often Goes Unnoticed. Workforce, 79(4), 28-29. Etienne, E., 2014. Exploring workplace bullying in nursing. Workplace health safety, 62(1), pp.6-11. Johnson, J., and Trad, M. (2014). Bullying Behavior Among Radiation Therapists and Its Effects on Personal Health. Radiation Therapist, 23(1). Lieber, L. D. 2010. How workplace bullying affects the bottom line. Employment Relations Today, 37(3), 91-101. Murray, J.S. 2009. Workplace Bullying in Nursing: A Problem That Cant Be Ignored. MEDSURG Nursing, 18 (5), pp. 273-276. Seibel, M., 2014. For us or against us? Perceptions of faculty bullying of students during undergraduate nursing education clinical experiences. Nurse education in practice, 14(3), pp.271-274. Spector, P. E., Zhou, Z. E., and Che, X. X. 2014. Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(1), 72-84. Tarkan, L. 2013. How to cope with bullying in the workplace. Retrieved from: https://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/25/how-to-cope-with-bullying-in-workplace/ Wright, W. and Khatri, N., 2015. Bullying among nursing staff: Relationship with psychological/behavioral responses of nurses and medical errors. Health care management review, 40(2), pp.139-147.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The broadsheet article Essay Example

The broadsheet article Paper The broadsheet article is written in a very formal way. It does not include abbreviations such as doesnt or wasnt. The broadsheet article shows little emotive language, and no opinion. Once you have read the whole article, you can see that the article is divided up with all the negative points stated first and all the positive points about the camp in the later paragraphs. However this is not shown through the narration of the journalist, but through the different facts and different interviews included. The journalist has included quotations from several sources, each with different opinions. Lots of research has gone into the balanced piece of writing. The change in facts included and the impression this has on the reader is deepened by the fact that the management is commented on in the section showing good points about the camp. The article mentions that it is manages by the educational manager at Butlins, Jeffery Stone where as the tabloid only refers to the entertainment manager. This may be a factual error on either part, or both journalists could have chosen to exclude one of the managers to create a certain effect. The tabloid could be excluding the education manager to give the impression that the camp is run by some one who does not know anything about education, and the broadsheet excluding the entertainment manager to try to create the impression that it is run by a qualified education manger. In the later paragraphs of the tabloid, that journalist uses another techniques to manipulate the readers opinion. He repeats the phrase supposed to four times, This emphasises the overall effect that the camp is not really doing what it was hoped it would. We will write a custom essay sample on The broadsheet article specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The broadsheet article specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The broadsheet article specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The article also uses quotation marks to persuade the reader, By putting speech marks around field courses, it creates the impression that this is not classed as a real field trip as it is not educational. There are also other characteristics which show that this is a tabloid article. The author writes, No marks .. who waste public funds on such tomfoolery. This is written to make the reader angry about what the public funds are being spent on. The layout of the tabloid is designed in such a way as to enable it possible to have four paragraphs in the final column. The first column starts with, Full Marks, and talks about how much Butlins have benefited from the scheme. The other paragraphs which follow this all begin with, No marks. These then talk about the others involved in the scheme. By repeating, No marks so many times, it creates the impression that the whole thing was a bit of a shambles and disorganised. In the final paragraph, the journalist makes a remark which attacks the teacher, parents and local authorities involved with the project. By using the phrase, No marks it shows that he not impressed with the people involved with the scheme. Both of the articles mention Hi-di-hi, The tabloid uses it in its headline, and the broadsheet in its final paragraph, however I do not feel that they are after the same effect. When it is read in context in the tabloid article, it is one of the first emotive words used. Word order is a common technique used in tabloid writing, and by placing it first, emphasis is placed on it. The Broadsheet places this as a joke at the end, and I feel that this has no meaning or depth, but is just simply a joke added in as a small light hearted piece of humour. The newspapers are not written to rival each other. They are both targeted at different audiences. I think it is important to realise that the tabloid article was published several days before the broadsheet one, and therefore the broadsheet article journalist would have had more time to put his story together. I feel that the tabloid has written his article in the way he has and included the facts he has because he knows that he will sell more newspapers the British public loves a scandal!

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Best Way to Set Up and Troubleshoot Your Sales Funnel

The Best Way to Set Up and Troubleshoot Your Sales Funnel If you’re a marketer, you’re likely privy to the infamous sales funnel. You know how it works in theory†¦ But maybe you’re having some problems implementing it in practice. There might be areas were your funnel is leaking†¦ OR Maybe you’re not quite sure how to measure your funnel’s performance. This post covers: The best way to set up your sales funnel. How to troubleshoot problems in your funnel. Great tools to help improve your funnel’s performance. AND some awesome examples to inspire you. Download our Free Sales Funnel Templates Before learning how to troubleshoot your sales funnel, check out these free templates. They’ll help you get organized AND help your team get more done in less time. This download includes: A content audit guide to help identify your content deficits. A content mapping template to map your content to each funnel stage. A 2019 content calendar to get your year all planned out. A user persona worksheet to help you target the right people.Plan All Your Funnel Content with One thing is clear†¦ There is a lot  of content that goes into a full-funnel marketing strategy. Try using to get it all organized. With things like custom tags and filtered views, you know exactly what content is being created and where it falls in your funnel strategy. To create a custom tag, first, choose the category of content you will create. Name your content item and add a few tags like funnel stage. To visualize all the content you are creating according to funnel state, hover over the left-hand hamburger menu and click â€Å"Create new saved view†. Click â€Å"Add filter category† and choose the â€Å"tag† option. Find the funnel stage you want to create a saved view for. Now you can easily see a bird’s eye view of every content item that is being created for each funnel stage. Now that you know creating a full funnel content strategy doesn’t have to be a hot mess, here’s how to actually do it. The Sales Funnel: A Brief Introduction The sales funnel is meant to visualize the stages a buyer goes through before purchase, and how a marketer can tailor activities to help move someone towards that purchase. A lot of folks assume that a marketer’s job is to throw out some ads to raise awareness about a business. While this is certainly one element a marketer will engage in, there’s a lot more that goes into a full funnel strategy. A full funnel strategy means there are content and marketing activities that raise awareness and generate demand; nurtures leads and educates; helps close the final deal; and turns customers into loyal advocates. Generally, here’s what the sales funnel looks like: Let’s start by breaking down each section of the funnel. Top of Funnel a.k.a TOFU The top of the funnel is where you’ll focus on generating interest and awareness for your business. You want to focus on bringing the right  people in according to your user personas. Who enters at the Top of Funnel? A TOFU individual is someone who is in your target market and could be doing general online research related to your industry. They likely aren’t quite ready to make a purchase at this point but are looking to learn more about a particular topic. When searching, they typically use phrases like, â€Å"how to†, â€Å"what is† or â€Å"why do†. That said, you’ll want to focus on educating them; enticing them to leave an email address or visit your site; or engage with your content in an additional way like downloading an ebook or signing up for a webinar. TOFU Content Examples Here are a couple great examples of content you can produce to capture leads at the top of your sales funnel. Top of Funnel Content: Blog posts A good TOFU blog post is one that focuses on solving one of your user personas’ problems. Keep in mind that this individual isn’t ready for a hard sell. They are looking for help or info on a particular topic. You want to establish trust by helping them work through an issue or giving them the knowledge they need to succeed on their own. Recommended Listening: TOFU, MOFU, BOFU: How To Talk To Prospects At Every Stage Of The Marketing Funnel TOFU Blog Post Example - Nested Bean Nested Bean is a company that makes slightly weighted baby swaddles, pajamas, and sleep sacks. The products are meant to help babies and young children sleep longer at night. They have a ton of great examples of TOFU blog content on their site – all focused on educating readers on various sleep-related topics. Here’s an extensive post they wrote about baby colic. It educates about the topic and teaches readers how to help soothe a colicky baby. Recommended Reading: How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like Crazy Top of Funnel Content: How-to Series Since TOFU content should focus on education, it makes sense that a how-to series would be the perfect fit for attracting people into the sales funnel. The Home Depot capitalizes on this by providing visitors an awesome how-to series for all your DIY needs. The series builds trust by focusing on teaching visitors how to use basics tools to accomplish their at-home DIY projects. Top of Funnel Content: White Papers White papers take a deep dive into a specific topic – usually, one that is research driven or covers topics that tend to be more B2B in nature than what you would find in a how-to series or blog post. Marketo has a wide variety of white papers on its site. This one on engagement checks a few boxes of what a good white paper should look like. It offers a comprehensive look at a topic, covers original research conducted by the company and highlights the company’s industry expertise. Since white papers take significantly more time to produce, you should consider gating the content. I.e. requiring the visitor to leave their email address before downloading. Recommended Reading: How to Write White Papers People Actually Want to Read (Free Template) Top of Funnel Content: Webinars Webinars have the ability to deliver your audience tremendous value. One of the best ways to get the most out of a webinar is to include an industry expert to talk about a specific topic. This not only increases the reach of your webinar but also adds additional educational value to attendees. Gartner is a world leader in providing research and consulting services to business. And they are no stranger to webinars. The company offers both live and on-demand webinars on a range of topics – all of which are tailored to high-level individuals such as CEOs and CTOs. Top of Funnel: What to Measure The goal of your TOFU content should be to attract as many of your targeted personas as possible. To know if the first stage of your funnel is performing, try tracking the following metrics: Page Views  - A healthy funnel should have a good amount of people viewing content. You’ll want to track this over time to make sure potential customers are finding your content. Bounce Rate  - Tracking your bounce rate will tell you how many sessions ended without the visitor taking any further action. This is a helpful way of knowing if visitors are finding your  content engaging and relevant. Email Subscribers - You want visitors to move on to the next stage in the funnel and become closer to making a purchase. Every time a visitor subscribes to your email list indicates that they are interested in your content and want to know more. It also gives you the opportunity to nurture those lead and encourage downward movement in the funnel. New vs Returning Visitors - Top performing TOFU content should always aim to bring new visitors to your site. Tracking new vs returning visitors will not only tell you if you’re consistently bringing new people to your site, but it will also tell you if your content is good enough to come back for more. Prospects  - By drilling down a little deeper into your data, you’ll be able to see how many new email subscribers are your target personas. Keep in mind, you’ll have to have a short form on your site to collect additional information. TOFU Tools to Track Your Funnel Health Google Analytics With Google Analytics, you’ll be able to track page views, bounce rate, and new vs. returning visitors. To find this info, first, navigate to Google Analytics. Then choose Audience and Overview. Just below the line graph, you’ll see page views, bounce rate, and visitor data. KissMetrics KissMetrics is a  powerful analytics and reporting tool that can track loads of things. With a little help from your website developers, you can easily set up a KissMetrics dashboard to see how many email subscribers your content is converting. Here’s a peek at what your dashboard will look like: You can see things like total email subscribers, daily averages and date range comparisons. Ahrefs Ahrefs is a content marketers dream. When composing your content strategy, you’ll want to make sure that the keywords you target are both something your audience is interested in and something that you can rank on search engines. The magic keywords should have a low difficulty score and high search volume. To find this data, navigate to the menu item called Keyword explorer. Type in your keyword in the text box and click the magnifying glass. Ahrefs will tell you a ton of valuable data like approximately how many backlinks your content will need to rank in the top 10, the search volume for the specific keyword, as well as similar keywords to target. Common TOFU problems and How to Troubleshoot Alright, you’ve got the top of your sales funnel all set up and are tracking the things you need to†¦ But maybe you’re encountering some problems bringing in people and converting them. Here are a few common problems that occur at the top of the sales funnel and how you can troubleshoot them. 5 common top of funnel #marketing problems and how to troubleshoot them. #TOFUYour Content Isn’t Converting One of the most common problems for any TOFU content is that it isn’t converting. Content that doesn’t convert at the top spells trouble for the rest of your funnel. The fewer people that move on to the next phase of the funnel, the less people will be closer to making a purchase. Here are a couple ways to make sure that your content is converting. Focus on Your Content Core Your content core is where the topics your customers care about merges with what you have to offer them as a business. Finding your content core allows you to go beyond traffic, eyeballs, and audience building and actually create content that gains customers. The first step here is to make sure you focus on what your customers  care about and not what your audience  cares about. If your content is really good at generating traffic, but not very good at generating leads and converting, you likely have a traffic trap problem. You’ll know you have a traffic trap problem if your website traffic is increasing, but revenue isn’t increasing proportionally. You can fix this by making sure your content is both helpful to potential customers AND presents the unique value proposition your business provides. The Sandwich Approach Another issue that could be causing low conversion rates on your content is lack of CTAs. Let’s say your company is religiously pumping out blog content that solves your customer’s problems. BUT, your revenue growth is stagnant and your content isn’t moving the needle to increase purchases. Try the sandwich approach. The sandwich approach is a simple way of mixing in your business’ unique value proposition into all content items. Essentially you sandwich in your products into the middle of your content to highlight how your product helps solve the customer’s problem. Nested Bean, which was our blog example above, does this perfectly. They start by helping you solve the problem on your own, introduce their product and how it can help, followed by more tips about how to solve the problem yourself. Your Page Views are Dropping Maybe your content was performing well for quite a while, but you’ve slowly losing pageviews. This could indicate that your most popular content is losing its position on search engines. Search engines like Google typically favor new and fresh content over things that are more dated. Try regularly updating your content with fresh advice, extra list items, etc. This helps ensure that your most popular posts will continue to be found via search. You’re not Ranking on Keywords Ranking on keywords is no easy feat. It can be particularly challenging if you are choosing keywords that are highly competitive. How do you know if this is you? Look up your keywords with Ahrefs or a similar tool. If the ones you are targeting have a high difficulty score, it’s unlikely that your content will be found via search. You’ll want to try to find keywords that have a high search volume and a low difficulty score. Middle of Funnel a.k.a MOFU The middle of the funnel is the where you’ll begin nurturing the leads brought in by your top of funnel content. In this stage, your goal is to move website visitors further down the funnel toward making a purchase. Once you’ve captured a piece of information (such as an email address), you can begin placing them into an email drip campaign, begin building a relationship with the contact, and targeting them with content tailored to their needs. Who Enters the Middle of Funnel? As a buyer moves down the funnel, they will likely start comparing products uncovered during their initial research. Keep in mind that the length of these funnel stages can vary greatly depending on conversion value. Big-ticket purchases will encounter a longer buying process and therefore spend more time evaluating options and comparing what’s available. MOFU Content Examples MOFU content is designed to provide prospects with the information that will put your company and its products or services ahead of all others being considered. Here are a few characteristics of MOFU content: Middle of Funnel Content: Case Studies Case studies are designed to provide potential customers with proof points highlighting how your product solves problems in real life. LinkedIn provides visitors a swath of case studies outlining how various businesses used it’s ad platform to reach their target audiences and improve advertising results. In its case studies, LinkedIn does a great job of outlining the company’s challenge, how they provided the right solution, and what the final results were. Recommended Reading: How to Write a Powerful Case Study That Converts Leads Into Customers With 50 Examples and 7 Templates Middle of Funnel Content: Reviews How many times have you read a review online before making a purchase? If you’re like me, this is almost a must-do before making any purchase. In fact – 88% of consumers  have been influenced by a review they saw online. Encouraging existing customers to leave reviews for your business provides prospects the social proof they need to move closer to making a purchase decision. Mattress company Casper, reaches out to each customer via email to encourage them to leave a review. Feeling wary about the possibility of negative reviews? Try not to be. An occasional negative review is inevitable. Two positives come from a negative review†¦ It gives you the opportunity to rectify the situation or improve your product. Negative reviews show authenticity. 30% of consumers  believe that reviews are fake if there aren’t any negative comments. Middle of Funnel Content: Data Sheets Datasheets provide prospects the quick and dirty details of your product. Outline things like cost, features, benefits, and specifications. Keep in mind that these often aren’t the sexist documents, but offer prospects an easy way to do side-by-side comparisons. Here’s an example data sheet from Netgear  showing the features of its Nighthawk router. Middle of the Funnel: What to Measure The goal of your MOFU content should be to convert website visitors captured at the top of your funnel into leads. To know if the middle of your funnel is performing, try tracking the following metrics: MQLs  - A Marketing Qualified Lead is typically a prospect that has provided some additional piece of info aside from just an email address. This data help you segment your website visitors and allow you to identify them as a good fit for your product or service. Email open and CTRs -   How your emails are performing is of the best ways to gauge the health of your middle funnel. Open Rates and CTRs are especially good indicators of how relevant the content you are sharing is to your subscribers. Middle of the Funnel: Tools Autopilot Autopilot  is a marketing automation software that helps you convert leads into paying customers. Any  marketing automation software is a vital part of your MOFU activities. What sets Autopilot apart its visual interface. Autopilot allows you to create custom email journeys for every stage of the funnel – from abandoned carts, to trade show lead follow-up and everything in between. Here’s a look at what a customer journey with Autopilot looks like. Zoom Webinars can be a content item for both TOFU and MOFU sales funnel stages, depending on the topic. Zoom  is an easy-to-use tool for hosting webinars. The software integrates with many different CRMs so you can easily follow-up with webinar guests and target them with additional content. Participants can engage in real-time with QA, discussions, polls and chat functions. You can also see engagement data to track if your audience is paying attention. Common MOFU problems and How to Troubleshoot Your Click Through Rates are Low If people are subscribing to your list, but aren’t clicking to read your content, it could be a sign that you need to optimize your email sequences. Strategize about what content a target persona needs and when they need it. Trial different email flows and the content they receive to find the right mix to improve CTRs. People Aren’t Downloading Your Content If people aren’t downloading your content, they can’t move on to further funnel stages. Naturally, one of the easiest ways to fix this is to experiment with new types of content. If your white papers aren’t converting, try a quiz, a free online tool, or something out of the box. It could also mean that your download form is too long. No one wants to submit 20 pieces of information just to get a free online resource. Take a hard look at what info is absolutely necessary and cut everything else. Bottom of Funnel a.k.a BOFU Here we are†¦ the bottom of the sales funnel. A potential customer has made it through your funnel and is on the cusp of making a purchase. Depending on the nature of your  business, this stage may not consist of any content at all. So the marketing team hands the baton off to the sales department and steps away†¦ OR The marketing team might be responsible for creating sales enablement content to help the sales department close the deal. Recommended Reading: The Best Sales Enablement Strategy for Marketers (+ 4 Free Templates) BOFU Content Examples Like mentioned above, not all businesses will need BOFU content. This funnel stage might consist of other tactics like discount codes to encourage purchases, a free trial, or one-on-one consultation. If your product is slightly more complicated, your sales team might need customized supporting content to aid in bringing the customer to the finish line. Competitor Comparisons By the time a lead reaches the bottom of the funnel, they are likely comparing a couple solutions and making a final decision. Customized competitor comparisons offer you the opportunity to outline the customer’s final options before they make a decision. This shows how your brand differentiates itself and to helps them understand why your company is the best. This example from Intercom  isn’t customized for the specific customer, but give you an idea of what your competitor comparison could look like. Presentations Marketing teams can and should be involved in the production of sales slide decks. Marketing can make sure the slide deck is on brand and looks professional, while the content can be tailored by the sales team to ensure it is relevant for the customer. Here is a sales presentation example from Zuora. Sales Scripts You don’t want your sales team to sound robotic or like they are regurgitating a canned response†¦ But you do want them to be well versed in the persona’s problems and pain points. Knowing what keeps them up at night and the challenges that brought them to your company can help close the deal. The marketing team can outline a few talking points to hit the right topics on the call without sounding like a droid. Bottom of the Funnel: What to Measure The goal of your BOFU content is to close the deal and turn leads into customers. BOFU metrics should look at indicators which signal upcoming purchases or conversions. Try   tracking metrics such as: Trial Signups - If your business has the ability to offer free trials, this is a good indication of how many people are inching closer to purchasing. Total Demo Requests  - The number of people registering for a demo signifies a healthy bottom of the funnel. More demos, means more opportunities for your sales team to engage one-on-one with prospects and a better chance of closing the deal. Demos Completed  - How many actually  show up for their demo call? People might be scheduling them, but what good is that if they don’t actually show up? Sales Conversion Rate  - This metric measures how effective your sales reps are at converting prospects into customers. You can calculate sales conversion rate like so: Bottom of the Funnel: Tools Calendly Calendly  makes scheduling demos super easy. It syncs with your preferred calendar and automatically checks availability. Potential customers can see what your real-time schedule looks like and choose a time slot for a demo or other meeting type. No more back and forth emailing. CRM A CRM is an important element of all your funnel activities – especially for the bottom of your funnel. A CRM like Salesforce can track things like demo calls scheduled,no-shows, trial sign-ups and more. It’s a super powerful tool with unlimited amounts of data you can dig into. Common BOFU problems and How to Troubleshoot Number of Trial Signups is Low If you’re struggling to increase trial signups, consider eliminating the need to enter credit card details. Studies  show that simply eliminating the need to enter credit card details to access a free trial can increase trials by 8%. Doing so decreased the trial-to-paid conversions, but in the end still resulted in a better end-to-end conversion rate. You can also make sure that the trail signup CTA is easily accessible on your website and on all relevant content items. No One is Signing Up for a Demo Call This could indicate a problem with your scheduling process. Look at the process and try to simplify it or remove steps that are causing friction. If possible, you could also try implementing live demo capabilities to catch individuals closer to the moment of purchase intent. People Aren’t Showing Up for Their Demos So people are signing up for demos, but they don’t show up. This is a common problem for many companies. One way to solve this is to create a custom reminder email flow specifically for those who have signed up for a demo. Pro tip: Have these emails come directly from the sales rep who will be holding the call. People are generally respectful of others and their time - by tying this to an actual human will help decrease the likelihood of no-shows.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Artificial Insemination Restrictions Based on Financial Stability Essay

Artificial Insemination Restrictions Based on Financial Stability - Essay Example They make decisions according to their moral standards. However, those who want to conceive children using artificial insemination should have stable financial background showing that they can support the child. Artificial insemination is the injection of sperm in a female’s uterus with the purpose of impregnating her. This usually occurs if the husband or partner is not able to make her pregnant or if the female has fertility problems. Most of the laws only provide that children can only be conceived through the biological method. This indicates that there are no legal restrictions for artificial insemination. Parenthood has not been altered in the constitution, and this indicates that problems associated with artificial insemination cannot be dealt with legally. This occurs in some countries such as Israel (Green 1). However, artificial conception has been legalized in most of western countries and other developing countries. The procedure of insemination is mostly legalized for married couples to ensure that children will be brought up in the right environment. If used by other groups of people such as unmarried individuals and lesbians, many legal considerations such as the financial status should be considered. They should be capable of bringing up the baby without any problem. According to the Hosmer model, individuals are supposed to act in the correct manner for them to be trusted. Acting in the right way is morality and morality always creates trust and indicated a commitment of the individual. The study of the morality of an individual who wants to conceive artificially is relevant, especially for those who are not married. It shows the level in which an individual can commit himself or herself to the task. Trust is always linked to commitment and commitment linked to effort. However, sometimes moral behavior is usually ruined by personal desires. An individual would do anything to create certainty that they acquire what they desire. This inclu des changing their behavior on that certain occasion. Some behaviors cannot be changed, as they are inbuilt like facial expressions. The individual who wants to conceive artificially should be fit and morally correct. Legislations on child protection should be developed so that they provide for changes in technology especially in reproduction (Shaw and Corvino 380). The couple ought to be capable of supporting the kid and grant him his rights according to the law. Insemination should have obligations and should, therefore, not be an option for anyone. This will ensure that the child is raised up in the right environment. Lack of this is what leads to children mistreatment, and children who are denied their rights. Artificial insemination needs to be controlled among the populace. Childcare needs a lot of attention and the mother does not have time to work but take care of the child. They will only work when the child matures enough. This requires the mother to have financial resourc es at the time they are not working. It is, therefore, significant to restrict the procedure to married couples whereby one couple will be working while the other will be caring for the child. Those who are engaging in this practice should be financially stable so that they can support their children. In some cases, one delivers multiple children, which can be tough for the mother especially if she had prepared for only one child. Every parent has a duty to provide for their children with food,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

PICOT research question created and abstracts to support Assignment

PICOT research question created and abstracts to support - Assignment Example RESULTS: Baseline and six-month quality of life measures did not correlate with recorded arrhythmias. However, perceptions of diminished general health correlated significantly with symptoms of exercise intolerance, lightheadedness/dizziness, palpitations and chest pain/pressure. By multivariable logistic regression, more severe perceived episodes, symptoms of exercise intolerance and lightheadedness/dizziness were independently associated with diminished quality of life. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings of this study indicate that symptomatic  heart failure  patients suffer from poor quality of life and that interventions are needed to improve quality of life and decrease symptom severity. Nurses who care for  heart failure  patients play an essential role in symptom evaluation and management and could significantly improve overall quality of life in these patients by carefully evaluating symptomatology and testing interventions and educational programmes aimed at improving quality of life (Hickey, et al., 2102). METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 318 patients with chronic systolic HF recruited in 48 German primary care practices, we evaluated the patient-reported European HF Self-care  Behaviour  scale (EHFScBs) assessments (range 12-60, where lower scores indicate better self-care). Potential determinants included socio-demographic (e.g. age, living status), clinical (e.g. NYHA class, LVEF, NT-proBNP levels, co-morbidities), behavioural (e.g. smoking and alcohol intake), psychosocial (SF-36 scales and KCCQ domains, e.g. quality of life and self-efficacy) and  depression  status (PHQ-D), plus previous health care utilisation. Mixed regression modelling was applied. RESULTS: Patients had a mean (SD) age of 69.0 (10.4) years and were 71% male. They had a good overall EHFScBs score of 24.7 (7.8) (n=274). In the final regression model (n=271), six determinants were retained (ÃŽ ²; descriptive p-value):

Monday, November 18, 2019

Geicos Total Rewards Program Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Geicos Total Rewards Program - Coursework Example First, it is quite hilarious to understand how it has impacted on the quality of life of many people. This has been clearly explained on the website. For this reason, anyone who gets access to the site does not need to conduct an extensive research, but to have a glance at this site in order to know everything about all the rewards associated with the program. To conclude, I would like to commend the administrators of this website for doing a commendable job. It is quite encouraging to design and manage such a well-organized website for the benefits of all the audience. After all, all the information is presented in a clear manner using a simple language. Thus, it undoubtedly becomes beneficial to anyone who gets access to it at all times. However, I would like to say that the information should not be too brief. Instead, it should be properly illustrated for easier comprehension by all the readers. As a matter of fact, a program can be much effective if it addresses the needs of everyone. This is due to the fact that they are meant to serve a dynamic society comprised of different people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse needs. In other words, as it is now; the program does not address all the advantages examined in the World at Work Handbook of Compensation, Benefits & Total Reward. For this reason, it is my considered opinion that the rewards should be repackaged to expand into many other areas rather than the ones specified on the website. I would like to urge the program to consider using the strategy of flexibility. Meaning, the program should not only concentrate on a few areas but expand to other aspects as well. These are also equally important since they have lots of value to add to human life. Although it is important to emphasize on health and education, the focus should be put on other significant areas such as economic empowerment.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Cloud Computing Service Level Agreement and Governance

Cloud Computing Service Level Agreement and Governance Service Level Agreement and Governance for Cloud Computing The contractual side of a service level agreement (SLA) and governance for cloud computing Ali Raslan Abstract In the world of information technology (IT), cloud computing has been the futuristic concept of modern computing for the last decade or more. Nevertheless, in the last few years this concept has become the mainstream. However, with the entire buzz and the evolutionary techniques the information technology companies developing and implementing, many overwhelming issues like interoperability, insecurity, and accessibility represents some of the most anticipated questions every decision maker has to consider before signing the contract of a Cloud Service agreement document. In addition to that, one key issue for every organization trying to make the big move to the world of cloud computing, is to provide governance for data that it no longer directly controls. During this research, I will try to illustrate and point the main ideas and practices of the contractual side of a service level agreement (SLA) and governance for cloud computing by trying to highlight a set of guidelines to help and assist organization in defining and constraining the governance plans for data they are willing to move into the cloud. Keywords: cloud computing, SLA, IT, contract, agreement, constraining. Word count: 4000 words. Introduction Cloud computing is the new era of internet evolution, where this term usually refers to everything involves delivering hosted services and data over the internet to companies, individuals and even other computing systems. The idea of cloud computing started in 1950s when large-scale mainframes made available to schools and corporations (James, 2013). Few decades later, this concept started to become more alive by adopting this concept by some of the major technological companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft where commercial cloud computing started to take place in the market. This new technology developed through a number of phases, this includes Software as a Service (SaaS), Grid and Utility Computing (GaUC), Application Service Provision (ASP) (Arif, 2014). Nevertheless, through the development of this concept, many issues and uncertainties like security, interoperability, vendor lock-in, and compliance were arising against adopting this technology (North Bridge, 2013). These problems are familiar even with the traditional Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), and these issues usually treated at the agreement level between the service provider and the customer. Cloud Computing Definitions The National Institute Of Standards And Technology NIST Definition of Cloud Computing â€Å"Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.† (Peter Mell, 2011). Moreover, in his book The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr, hundred years from now, the modern era of power grid has begun when corporations started to join the power grid leaving behind the traditional power generator systems every company used to have in order to satisfy the company’s need for electricity. This big transformation at that time is very similar to today’s switching from traditiona l computing and data handling to the cloud. Where with all the unusual concepts and worries about the security, actual data place and the stability of the services provided, companies will soon realize the emerging markets and services Cloud Computing can offer. The main motivation behind Cloud computing mostly represented by the benefits this technology can offer for its clients. Where features like ‘Service on Demand’, usually with a ‘pay as you go’ billing system and factors like the highly abstracted and shared resources, the instantaneous provisioning and scalability makes cloud computing the next power grid transformation. Risks and Issues On the other hand, despite all the mentioned benefits and features cloud computing can offer, it has been realized that there are limits to the acceptance of cloud computing among enterprise companies, because of the level of complexity and dependability these service might become. Moreover, the data governance issues related to this technology represents some of the main difficulties the cloud computing market is facing right now. The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) defines that the client responsibility of data governance is similar to the service provider responsibility in case of any data lose or corruption (Catteddu, 2009). Thus because customer should be aware of the risks that might imply by using this technology, and to encourage these companies to investigate farther in finding a more reliable providers. In addition to that, farther risks might imply to any cloud computing environment, such as hacking attacks or unauthorized access to the actual phys ical data locations. The Journal of Information Technology Management categorized this type of attacks in three main categories: Attacks targets hosted application under a SaaS environment. Attacks through the trusted network connection. This can be done from the customer side to the provider or from the provider side to the customer environment. Attacks targets hosted server under a PaaS or IaaS environment. (Cochran Witman, 2011) Cloud Computing Governance Components In the Information Technology Outsourcing, describing the product or the service specifications to be delivered are usually drafted via a contract is in the form of Service Level Agreement (SLA), this agreement defines the all the important and legal parts of the service between the service provider and the service recipients. The same concept can be implemented with the cloud computing, since most of the main agreement parts involves providing an information technology service. However, cloud computing includes many different ideas and concepts, where in cloud computing agreement the service have to treat different concepts and behaviors like unknown data physical location, rapid scaling, lower IT upfront, and even different way of paying for the service such as monthly or annual subscriptions. In addition to that, in a cloud environment, usually the services are hosted and owned by a separate party. Where in most cases the owner of the application can be different from the owner of the server (Cochran Witman, 2011). Nondisclosure and Confidentiality Agreements These two terms are used in many other areas and through all types in contracts, agreements and forms, but the basic understanding of those two terms refers to the confidentiality of the agreement in general. Therefore, at the level of a service level agreement, a nondisclosure agreement usually means a confidential agreement. Margaret Rouse in her article about Nondisclosure Agreements she defines NDA as â€Å"A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a signed formal agreement in which one party agrees to give a second party confidential information about its business or products and the second party agrees not to share this information with anyone else for a specified period of time.† (Margaret, 2005). Similarly, David V. Radack in his article Understanding Confidentiality Agreements, he defines confidential agreement as â€Å"Confidentiality agreements, are contracts entered into by two or more parties in which some or all of the parties agree that certain types of information t hat pass from one party to the other or that are created by one of the parties will remain confidential.† (David, 2014). From the two provided definitions, we can see that a confidential or nondisclosure agreement force all participated parties to protect and never disclose any of the information passed between the parties while building the service. Legal location In general, the actual physical location of the server or the data in a Cloud Computing environment is not important from the technical point of view. However, from a legal point of view a Service Level Agreement requires clearly identifying the actual location of the servers handling the data and services. Thus in case of a security breach from the provider side, punishments or penalties could be issued through the provider’s local authority. For that reason, if the breach resulted the data to be moved into an offshores location, the local government regulations might have no effects towards that (Steele 2010). On the other hand, a civil case could be issued in the right of the vendor or attacker in case of such risks. For that reason, defining the legal location is very important in a service level agreement because it represents a legal cover to the actual data that might get stolen or destroyed. The Restrictions of a Software License Software License Restrictions is a very imperative factor in any Software License Agreement because it might affect the main tasks of the whole system in case of storing on an unknown devices or servers. This might occurs because sometimes software license might get violated when stored or hosted via remote hardware infrastructure. This issue might results a side effects like not being able to run the system as a whole or a part because software licenses might have a security features at the level of linking the software to a special machine MAC address or a processor serial number. User based exposures User based exposures might occurs when an end user posts some data in a secure interface or website in the system, after submitting the data to the main data server, the data might get through a third party communication systems or servers. During this stage, a security breach might occurs were data can be lost, stolen or disclosed. At this level, the Service Level Agreement investigates what administrators at this level have access to during the transmission stage. This point might cover different types and techniques for encrypting the data, or include the third party providers in the agreement to insure the security and safety of the data. Communicating With Remote Networks and Services. The system’s integration and incorporation with the cloud software as a service is one the most important factors any cloud based services have to offer for any system. However, integrating these services with the organization’s internal system sometimes means giving these services the possibility to become a part of the internal system. This can be an issue concerning the security the internal system. Mathias Thurman in his article Tightening Up SaaS Security, discusses how these concerns increase when the security of the SaaS is unidentified or unknown. Basically because when integrating the internal system with the SaaS, the SaaS network becomes a part of the internal system, and when reaching this level of integration, any attacks of security failures from the side of the SaaS provider well results the local network to be at risk too (Mathias, 2010). Cloud Service Level Agreement Components Service Level Agreement Template To illustrate the main parts and layout of a Service Level Agreement in a cloud-computing environment, in the following template we can see the main parts, layout, and definitions of the Service Level Agreement content, made by SLATemplate.com. Certainly, a Service Level Agreement can includes hundreds of pages describing every single specification. However, for the sake of illustrating the sample main part of the agreement we have the following template represents the most important parts of an SLA for a Cloud Computing system. Service Level Agreement (SLA) for Customer by Company name Effective Date: 10-08-2010 Version Approval (By signing below, all Approvers agree to all terms and conditions outlined in this Agreement.) Table of Contents 1. Agreement Overview 2. Goals Objectives 3. Stakeholders 4. Periodic Review 5. Service Agreement 1. Agreement Overview This Agreement represents a Service Level Agreement (â€Å"SLA† or â€Å"Agreement†) between Company name. and Customer for the provisioning of IT services required to support and sustain the Product or service. This Agreement remains valid until superseded by a revised agreement mutually endorsed by the stakeholders. This Agreement outlines the parameters of all IT services covered as they are mutually understood by the primary stakeholders. This Agreement does not supersede current processes and procedures unless explicitly stated herein. 2. Goals Objectives The purpose of this Agreement is to ensure that the proper elements and commitments are in place to provide consistent IT service support and delivery to the Customer(s) by the Service Provider(s). The goal of this Agreement is to obtain mutual agreement for IT service provision between the Service Provider(s) and Customer(s). The objectives of this Agreement are to: Provide clear reference to service ownership, accountability, roles and/or responsibilities. Present a clear, concise and measurable description of service provision to the customer. Match perceptions of expected service provision with actual service support delivery. 3. Stakeholders The following Service Provider(s) and Customer(s) will be used as the basis of the Agreement and represent the primary stakeholders associated with this SLA: IT Service Provider(s): Company name. (â€Å"Provider†) IT Customer(s): Customer (â€Å"Customer†) 4. Periodic Review This Agreement is valid from the Effective Date outlined herein and is valid until further notice. This Agreement should be reviewed at a minimum once per fiscal year; however, in lieu of a review during any period specified, the current Agreement will remain in effect. The Business Relationship Manager (â€Å"Document Owner†) is responsible for facilitating regular reviews of this document. Contents of this document may be amended as required, provided mutual agreement is obtained from the primary stakeholders and communicated to all affected parties. The Document Owner will incorporate all subsequent revisions and obtain mutual agreements / approvals as required. Business Relationship Manager: Company name Review Period: Bi-Yearly (6 months) Previous Review Date: 01-08-2010 Next Review Date: 01-12-2011 5. Service Agreement The following detailed service parameters are the responsibility of the Service Provider in the ongoing support of this Agreement. 5.1. Service Scope The following Services are covered by this Agreement; o Manned telephone support o Monitored email support o Remote assistance using Remote Desktop and a Virtual Private Network where available Planned or Emergency Onsite assistance (extra costs apply) Monthly system health check 5.2. Customer Requirements Customer responsibilities and/or requirements in support of this Agreement include: Payment for all support costs at the agreed interval. Reasonable availability of customer representative(s) when resolving a service related incident or request. 5.3. Service Provider Requirements Service Provider responsibilities and/or requirements in support of this Agreement include: Meeting response times associated with service related incidents. Appropriate notification to Customer for all scheduled maintenance. 5.4. Service Assumptions Assumptions related to in-scope services and/or components include: Changes to services will be communicated and documented to all stakeholders. 6. Service Management Effective support of in-scope services is a result of maintaining consistent service levels. The following sections provide relevant details on service availability, monitoring of in-scope services and related components. 6.1. Service Availability Coverage parameters specific to the service(s) covered in this Agreement are as follows: Telephone support : 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday Calls received out of office hours will be forwarded to a mobile phone and best efforts will be made to answer / action the call, however there will be a backup answer phone service Email support: Monitored 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday Emails received outside of office hours will be collected, however no action can be guaranteed until the next working day Onsite assistance guaranteed within 72 hours during the business week 6.2. Service Requests In support of services outlined in this Agreement, the Service Provider will respond to service related incidents and/or requests submitted by the Customer within the following time frames: 0-8 hours (during business hours) for issues classified as High priority. Within 48 hours for issues classified as Medium priority. Within 5 working days for issues classified as Low priority. Remote assistance will be provided in-line with the above timescales dependent on the priority of the support request. â€Å"(SLA template, 2010) References Carr, N. G., January 2008. The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. s.l.:s.n. COCHRAN, M. WITMAN, P. D., 2011. GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT ISSUES IN A CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT. Journal of Information Technology Management Volume XXII, Number 2, pp. 41-55. Peter Mell, T. G., 2011. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. [Online] Available at: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf Arif Mohamed, A history of cloud computing. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/A-history-of-cloud-computing. [Accessed 5 March 2014]. James, A Brief History of Cloud Computing | SoftLayer Blog. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.softlayer.com/2013/virtual-magic-the-cloud. [Accessed 10 March 2014]. North Bridge, 2013 Cloud Computing Survey | North Bridge. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.northbridge.com/2013-cloud-computing-survey. [Accessed 11 May 2014]. Peter Mell. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing 2011. [ONLINE] Available at: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf. [Accessed 11 May 2014]. Catteddu, D. and G. Hogben, Cloud Computing Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security 2009, European Network and Information Security Agency: Heraklion, Crete, Greece. 125 pp. Margaret Rouse, What is non-disclosure agreement (NDA)? Definition from WhatIs.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/non-disclosure-agreement. [Accessed 11 May 2014]. David V. Radack, Understanding Confidentiality Agreements. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/matters/matters-9405.html. [Accessed 11 May 2014]. Steele, C., City of Monrovia, California, personal communication, 2010. Mathias Thurman, Tightening Up SaaS Security Computerworld. 2010. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/352873/Tightening_Up_SaaS_Security. [Accessed 11 May 2014]. SLATeamplate.com, Service Level Agreement Template (SLA). 2010. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slatemplate.com/. [Accessed 11 May 2014].

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Event and Milieu :: Language Sociology Essays

Event and Milieu ABSTRACT: I consider how the notion of event is used in such important branches of twentieth-century thought as relativity, quantum mechanics, Marxist sociology and psychoanalysis. I show that in each case there is the same concept of event as of a series of communications. It is also shown that this new concept of event corresponds to traditional concepts of historical events. I analyze the difference between the concept of event and that of fact. Since a fact presupposes "an external observer" it is impossible to deal with an event without being involved in it. Since a fact presupposes its permanent logical form as a necessary condition of knowledge about it, any condition of knowledge about an event appears to be empirical itself. I show that the division between history and prehistory has the same basis as that between event and fact. The crucial question is how knowledge about an event is possible. The problem is that the concept of identity applicable to fact appears to be inap plicable to event. However, it appears possible to define an identity of event with an identity of media or "places" of communication. An open system of such "places" we call "milieu." A language is a paradigm for it. However, I suppose that unlike "the linguistic paradigm," the "paradigm of milieu" should refute the idea of the exceptional status of human language. The notion of event became to play a basic role in science with such revolutionary physical theories as relativity and quantum mechanics. Today the notion of event is widely applied also in synergetic. To make clear the importance of the notion of event for sociology and psychology of 20-th century it is enough to name such a key figures of the century as Marx and Freud. The notion of social even (revolution) is essential for Marxism as well as the notion of psychological event (child’s trauma) for Freud’s psychoanalysis. We cannot say that the notion of event was neglected by philosophers of our century: Heidegger and Deleuze among others presented elaborated concepts of event. These concepts (which can not be analyzed here) however do not relate directly to science nor to knowledge in general. What is an event as a matter of knowledge remains beyond considerations of these authors. To answer to the question is the first purpose of this paper. The second purpose of the paper is to elaborate a notion of environment or milieu that as it is shown below appears to be correlative to that of event.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Culture Influences the Lives of Individuals Essay

The novel â€Å"Kite Runner† by Khaled Hosseini vividly portrays the impact of culture on personality and even destiny of the main characters. Khaled Hosseini describes unique Afghan culture, its traditions and rituals, social norms and human relations which have a great influence on decisions of the protagonist and his life. Thesis using different themes and motifs, Hosseini creates a powerful life story portraying that culture and national identity determine destiny of a person, his life choices and relations with others. The book is based on the ideas of friendship and family relations, generation gap and immigration, cultural assimilation in America and cultural identity. In the interview Hosseini comments that â€Å"Because the themes of friendship, †¦ the uneasy love between fathers and sons are universal themes and not specifically Afghan, the book has been able to reach across cultural, racial, religious, and gender† (cited Azad 2004). The protagonist of the novel, Amir, is faced by cultural traditions of his nations, misunderstanding with his father and feeling guilt. Hosseini portrays family relations typical for many Afghans based on a man’s power and dominance and oppression of women in this culture. This theme is closely connected with generation gap and inability of Amir’s father to understand his only son. In contrast to many young people of his culture, Amir loves literature and poetry. He is portrayed as a radical whose circumstances and temperament lead him into a very different experience. Literature and story writing are not considered as a good profession for a man like Amir belonging to high social classes. The conflict between this cultural tradition and Amir’s desire to become a writer creates a tension and misunderstanding between Amir and his father. The idea of friendship and close peer relations between men is another theme which runs through the novel. When he was a child, Amir betrayed Hassan and defamed him. Many years have passed, but he feels guilty because of his weakness and disloyalty. Using this theme, Hosseini portrays that much human behavior is based not on the underlying values people hold, but on their compliance to the pressures exerted by the social world around them which can be resisted only at a high price. Everyone lives by cultural and social rules whose existence they are well aware of, but that they cannot resist their social world mostly rules them. In the explanations that the people in this book give of their lives, the dominant form personal level takes is that of the world of other people. Amir ponders: â€Å"I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded †¦ with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night† (Hosseini 198). The novel vividly portrays a conflict between Afghan culture and the Soviet Union traditions spread in this land. On the other hand, through minor characters of Afghan military, Hassan and his wife, Hosseini depicts different cultural traditions and national identity of two opposite cultures. Patriotism is not always a delusion and there may be values in one’s country that are worth defending, even dying for. However, states’ molding of their citizens into a common way of life is under challenge today. It is under challenge in part because of the resurgence of ethnicity and ethnic identity. These ideas of self echo Hosseini’s interpretation of culture: both self and culture are seen by some as belonging to a particular place, bounding and shaping the beings therein, and by others as radically open and free. In his interview Hosseini comments: â€Å"It’s hard not to feel some guilt in a country where privilege and poverty are basically next door to each other† (Jolly 2006). The themes of immigration and assimilations help readers to perceive cultural differences between Afghan and American cultures based on different values and religious traditions. In contrast to Afghanistan, American culture is based on collective consciousness. This contradiction can best be resolved by considering self and culture in a common phenomenological framework: a framework based on how people experience the world. For Afghan people, their experienced are based on revolutions and military struggle, constant tension to be killed and master-servant relations. Through the character of Sohrab, a nephew of Amir, Hosseini depicts a strong bond between relatives and importance of blood relations. In spite of great risk and Taliban rule, Amir returns to Kabul and saves his nephew Sohrab. Through this theme, Hosseini depicts that this choice of values and identities is not really free. People pick and choose themselves in accordance with their class, gender, religious belief, ethnicity, and citizenship, as well as all the exigencies of their own personal molding, from a cultural frame; they pick and choose themselves in negotiation with and performance for others. â€Å"Hosseini gives his readers credit by being subtle about his metaphors, such as the fact that Afghanis live among war and kite flying is children playing at war, preparing for it† (Most Readers Loved This Novel 2005, G3). For Amir, his half-brother Hassan, choice is not free, but it seems to be free: as if, from the vast array of available cultural choices as to what one might believe, how one might live, they make their choices and live and believe accordingly. For the most part, these men characters shape themselves in ways close to home, in congruence with their membership in home societies. Following Makhmalbaf (2001) â€Å"transformation changes the socioeconomic infrastructure that in turn breaks the traditional culture and creates a more modern one, exporting oil and consuming the products of industrialized countries† (29). The facts, events and destinies of the characters described by Hosseini show that culture is the main factor which determines human life and personality. According to Hall and Gay (1996): â€Å"The cultural shaping of self occurs at what may analytically be viewed as separate levels of consciousness† (34). In the novel, lives of all characters are shaped by a particular language and set of social practices that condition them as to how they comprehend self and world. All characters think in language and behave in accordance with Afghan cultural values and norms of their ethical group. In sum, the novel portrays that the self universally is made of past memories and future anticipation linked to an ever-shifting present. Amir’s experience in America shows that human self-identity does not disappear in the other country determining life goals and behavior. Human personality is culturally shaped: people of different cultural backgrounds clearly have different ways of experiencing the world.