Is social media ruining our lives? Do you think social networking sites like Face book have an over all negative effect on society ? Essay

The Negative Effects of Social Media & Technology Why so many people cannot live without their phone updating their face book? In this generation people are so addicted on face book. Before and after they go to bed they cannot help themselves checking other people’s status and updating their personal life. According to About.com Web tends, â€Å"Social media is form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, and personal messages. Face book is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. It began as a college networking website and has expanded to include anyone and everyone.† Social media has become part of our daily lives. We are sharing information, ideas, and being able to comment on every ones photos and videos. However, social media has a negative effect in our lives and society. Social networking sites like Face book, My Space, I nstagram, and Twitter have an overall negative effect on society. Face book help to keep us connected to our family, friends and loved-ones. However, people share too much information which can lead to negative threats. Face book has become a big distraction of our society. Social media also allows contact with people around the world. It is actually source of easy communication; it is also common way that people express themselves. It can keep you up to update on the happenings of all our loved ones. However, it has a negative effect on society. Social media has become a big erosion of society. For instance, Face book. If we made ourselves completely exposed to the world, another negative effect on networking sites we shares too much information on face book and it lead us to physical danger. Cyber bullying has become a real threat; especially to teenagers it leads them to suicides. Face book has quickly become one of the most popular social networking websites on the internet. Once you have signed up for Face book account, you have made yourself completely exposed to the world. When you put all your personal private information on face book a lot of people can see your personal information. For instance, if someone wants to find anything about you, they will be able to find you on face book. The people with who you haven’t talked to in a long time for instance, your old classmates, or old friends. The negative effect on  social media sites is what if you were hiding from someone, someone you don’t want to talk to because you owed them some money or they were harassing you, they would be able to find you fairly easily. The bad thing about face book is you cannot hide from someone unless you deactivate your account. The good thing to do on face book is just keep our information private, so the people who are trying to find you on face book cannot do anything. Face book users shares too much information which can lead them a negative threats. They are over sharing of details in their everyday lives. For example, when someone posts photos or videos on face book and Twitter, it becomes viral. Even if the user deletes the video from his/her account, someone mi ght have kept it and then posted in onto other sites. According to We Shall Over share Mary Katherine, â€Å"There are thousands over sharing online as I write, paying the price with a decrease of their dignity, so you don’t have to. It’s amazing how reasonably you act when everyone you know (and many you don’t) is watching you.† Mary Katherine Ham also said, â€Å"It caused to illustrate the dangers of living a life online. As millions of us have taken to Face book, MySpace, and Twitter to connect with friends, share stories, and post pictures at a quickness and total heretofore unknown, we’ve also exponentially multiplied ways to humiliate ourselves. [The weekly Standard, June 8, 2009]. I think people should have personal responsibility because once you say or post something on Face book, you don’t get it back. Consistently, we are over sharing on social networking sites for instance, our photos and videos. Because we are so excited to let people know, what’s going on in our lives? However, we don’t know the danger on social networking sites it goes viral. In the end, we blamed other people for our irresponsible actions. While bullying has always been an issue of society, it seems that in our modern society become common through online media like Face book. It happens to all the children and teenagers. In â€Å"Colleen’s Weekly Blog,† John Halligan father of Ry an’s spoke, â€Å"His son was bullied so badly that he committed suicide at the age of thirteen.(cooleencorrigan.blogs.com)This new form of cyber bullying has been more popular in middle school and high schools. Cyber bullying lead them to suicide because of people hurts other people. There are also a small amount of parents that have face book accounts and keep up with their children. Once we are completely exposed to the social media like face book  and Twitter, we should have more responsibilities for our actions. Networking sites is like fast food, it goes so fast. It will lead us to negative effect on our lives. Social media has become a major part of our society. It connects us to communicate with our family and friends who lived on other city or other country. Face book, MySpace, Instagram and Twitter. However, it has a lot of negative effect on our If we post something on face book or other social media we should personal responsibility for our actions society. People are so addicted on social media like face book. Social media has been big erosion for us. Constantly we forget that we have something to do in our daily lives. Too much information on face book can lead us negative effect on our lives. It also leads to suicide because of cyber bullying. In this generation technology has become famous, people become addicted on social media. If we post something on face book or other social media we should personal responsibility for our actions. Online communication frequently takes the place of real life. They become dependent on the technology and forget how to socialize in face to-face. Back in the day computer did not exist; they only used telephone to communicate with other people. People used to live a simple life and had more time for their family and friends. What happened to our generation right now? Why is our society, especially the young generations, are so addicted to new technology? They cannot leave without their phone; they cannot go to sleep without checking their face book. What if technology did not exist? Are we going to be more focused on our everyday lives? Are we going to have a simple life without depending on our technology?

Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Why would anyone consider Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)? It’s a scenario that’s seen all too often—a chronically ill woman is suffering in severe excruciating pain daily and feels like she’s become a burden to her family, a lonely man is suffering with a life-limiting illness and has no family to offer any care or support to him. These individuals have lost their independence and feel like they have no quality of life left to live. Great strides have been made to improve end-of-life care through palliative care and hospice programs, but sometimes that’s just not enough. In America, the care that is offered to the elderly and the chronically ill is less than ideal. Statistics show that an estimated 40-70% of patients die in pain and another 50-60% die feeling shortness of breath. Ninety percent of the nursing homes where patients go to receive 24-hour nursing care are seriously understaffed. Patients who are home and have care provided by family o ften feel like they are a burden on their caregivers. The cost of hiring in-home caregivers support is not covered by Medicare or state and federal Medicaid systems. Caregivers often suffer from physical, emotional, financial, psychological and social strain. A person may feel as if they have lost all control of their life when they suffer from chronic and life-limiting illnesses. The body isn’t doing what it should and there is no way to stop it.Therefore, a person my feel like they can regain some control through Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS). If they can’t control the illness, they can at least control the way they die. Suffering has always been a part of human existence. Since the beginning of medicine there have been requests made to end this suffering by means of physician-assisted suicide.Physician-assisted suicide is when a patient voluntarily choses to terminate their own life by the administration of a legal substance with the assistance of a physician eit her directly or indirectly. The patient is provided a medical means and/or knowledge to commit suicide by a physician. The life-ending act is performed by the patient and not the physician. Recent studies show that approximately 57% of physicians practicing today have received a request for physician-assisted suicide in some form or  another.There are many alternatives to PAS that exist. Unrelieved physical suffering may have been greater in the past, but now modern medicine has more knowledge and skills to relieve suffering than ever before. If all patients had access to careful assessment and optimal symptom control and supportive care, palliative care specialists believe that most patients with life-threatening illnesses suffering could be sufficiently reduced to eliminate their desire for a quick death. When the patient’s desire prevails, there are other available avenues to relieve the suffering and avoid prolonging life against their wishes. The driving force behind p atients seeking physician-assisted suicide is quality of life.In October 1997, physician-assisted suicide became legal in the state of Oregon. By the end of the year 2000, approximately 70 people had utilized the physician-assisted suicide law to end their lives. One hundred percent of these cases reported that individuals were not able to take care for themselves and make their own decisions and loss of autonomy. Eighty-six percent of these cases reported that individuals were suffering from loss of dignity and the ability to participate in enjoyable activities.Currently, physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana. Oregon was the first to pass the Death with Dignity Act in 1997. The requirements for attending/prescribing or consulting with a physician to write a prescription are listed in the following table. Washington followed suit passing the Death with Dignity Act in 2008, and Montana passed the Rights of Terminally III Act in 2009.Table 1. S afeguards and Guidelines in the Oregon Act1. Requires the patient give a fully informed, voluntary decision. 2. Applies only to the last 6 months of the patient’s life. 3. Makes it mandatory that a second opinion by a qualified physician be given that the patient has fewer than 6 months to live. 4. Requires two oral requests by the patient.5. Requires a written request by the patient. 6. Allows cancellation of the request at any time. 7. Makes it mandatory that a 15-day waiting period occurs after the first oral request. 8. Makes it mandatory that 48-hours (2 days) elapse after the patient makes a written request to receive the medication. 9. Punishes anyone who uses coercion on a patient to use the Act. 10. Provides for psychological counseling if either of the patient’s physicians thinks the patient needs counseling. 11. Recommends the patient inform his/her next of kin.12. Excludes nonresidents of Oregon from taking part. 13. Mandates participating physicians are li censed in Oregon. 14. Mandates Health Division Review. 15. Does not authorize mercy killing or active euthanasia. Source: Compassion & Choices of Oregon, 2009b.Physician-assisted suicide is illegal in Canada. In the Netherlands, it is legal under certain circumstances, and the right to choose physician-assisted suicide remains highly favored. Physician-assisted suicide is also illegal in the United Kingdom. They currently focus on palliative care. Under strictly defined regulations, physician-assisted suicide is legal in the following countries: Australia, Columbia, and Japan. The legalization of physician-assisted suicide remains controversial.The topic periodically comes up for intense attention. Organized medicine agrees on two principles: 1. Physicians have an obligation to relieve pain and suffering and to promote the dignity of dying patients in their care. 2. The principle of patient bodily integrity requires that physicians must respect patients’ competent decisions t o forgo life-sustaining treatment. There are four main points argued against the acceptance and legalization of physician-assisted suicide along with their counter argument. Improved Access to Hospice and Palliative CareWith quality end-of-life care being made available through hospice and palliative care programs, there is no reason for anyone to seek physician-assisted suicide. In the United States, there are over 4,500 hospice agencies. Millions of people don’t have access to the hospice agencies because of the restrictions on funding and the inflexibility of the Medicare Hospice Benefit requiring patients to have a life expectancy of six  months or less. Counter argument: Rare cases of persistent and untreatable suffering will still exist even with improved access to quality end-of-life care. Hospice and palliative care aren’t always sufficient to treat severe suffering. Limits on Patient AutonomyPhysician-assisted suicide requires the assistance of another perso n. In the opinion of Bouvia vs. Superior Court, â€Å"the right to dies is an integral part of our right to control our own destinies so long as the rights of others are not affected,† was determined. Our society threatens physician-assisted suicide by worsening the value of human life. The sanctity of life is the responsibility of society to preserve it. Counter argument: Physicians who are requested to help to end a patients’ life have the right to decline on the basis of conscientious objection. The â€Å"Slippery Slope† to Social DepravityThere is concern to the opposition to physician-assisted suicide being allowed with euthanasia not too far behind. Without the consent of individuals in physical handicap, the elderly, the demented, the individuals with mental illness, and the homeless, there is a slippery slope toward euthanasia without the consent of the individuals is deemed â€Å"useless† by society. Counter argument: The â€Å"slippery slopeâ⠂¬  would not be allowed to happen within our highly cultured societies. Violation of the Hippocratic OathThe Hippocratic Oath states that a physician’s obligation is primum non nocere, â€Å"first, do no harm.† The direct contrast to that is physician-assisted suicide, where killing a patient is deliberately regarded as harm. Counter argument: According to an individual patient’s needs, the Hippocratic Oath should not be interpreted. Alternatives to Physician-Assisted SuicideThose opposing to physician-assisted suicide argue that there are legal and morally ethical alternatives to assisted death. Patients have the right to refuse any further medical treatments that may prolong the death, including the medications. Counter argument: Life-sustaining measures to live and  still suffer are not relied on by some patients. Withholding life-sustaining treatments would only prolong suffering for these patients. Another argument is that patients can, and often do, de cide to stop eating and drinking to speed up their death. Within one to three weeks afterwards, the death will usually occur, and it would be reported as a â€Å"good death.†Counter argument: One to three weeks of intense suffering is too much for any one person to have to put up with. This debate has yet to see any final resolution. Physician-assisted suicide may become more of a reality in our society because of the undercurrent of public support. The United States Supreme Court handed down two cases central to physician-assisted suicide in 1997: Vacco vs. Quill and Gregoire vs. Glucksberg. In both case, it was determined that there was no constitutional right on the grounds of equal protection or personal liberty to the physician-assisted suicide. Both constitutional history and the Western Civilization trends were argued by the court and generally worked against reading the Constitution that way.The court was sensitive in its decision to the prospect of unintended and unw anted consequences that might follow the recognition of a Constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide. However, it was never said that physician-assisted suicide would ever be legitimate. It was concluded that the states of the Union could decide the matter for themselves. Requests for physician-assisted suicide should be taken very seriously. Responses to these requests should be compassionate and immediate. There are six steps that should physicians should take when responding to requests for physician-assisted suicides: Step 1: Clarify the RequestStep 2: Determine the Root Causes Step 3: Affirm Your Commitment to Care for the Patient Step 4: Address the Root Causes of the Request Step 5: Educate the Patient About Legal Alternatives for Comfort and Control Step 6: Seek Counseling from Trusted Colleagues and AdvisorsStep 1: Clarify the RequestThe physician should talk to the patient about what suffering means to them. Determine if their point of view can be defined. Listen c arefully to their request paying specific attention to the nature of the request. Calmly ask questions to extract the specifics of their request and why they’re  requesting such help. Ask directed and detailed questions to learn whether the patient is imagining an unlikely or preventable future. Listen to the patient’s answers with sympathy but not as if you’re endorsing their request to their perception of what they consider to be a worthless life. The physician must be fully aware of his or her own biases in order to effectively respond to the patient’s needs. If the idea of suicide is offensive to the physician, the patient may feel his or her disapprobation and worry about abandonment.Step 2: Determine the Root CausesThe physician needs to assess the patient’s underlying causes for requesting physician-assisted suicide. The patient’s request may be a failure of the physician in addressing the needs of the patient. The attributes of suf fering should be focused on: physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and practical concerns. The physician should evaluate to see if the patient is having some type of clinical depression or common fear about their future outlook. The patient may be worrying about suffering with pain or other symptoms, loss of control or independence, a sense of abandonment, loneliness, indignity, a loss of their self-image, or being a burden to someone.Step 3: Affirm Your Commitment to Care for the PatientThe fear of abandonment is often felt in patients as they face the end-of-life. They want to be assured that someone will be with them at this time in their life. The physician should listen to and acknowledge the feelings and fears that the patient may express. They should commit to helping the patient find answers to their concerns. The physician should commit to the patient as well as the patient’s family and anyone who is close to the patient that they will continue to be the patien t’s physician until their life has ended.Step 4: Address the Root Causes of the RequestA patient’s request for a quick death is caused by some type of suffering on their behalf. They physician should discuss with the patient their health care preferences and goals. Alternative approaches or services should be discussed at this time with the patient. The physician should be able to determine if supportive counseling is needed for the patient.Step 5: Educate the Patient about Legal Alternatives for Control and ComfortPatients often have misconceptions about the benefits of requesting physician-assisted suicide. They may not be aware of the emotional effort that goes into planning for physician-assisted suicide. They also may not be aware of the emotional strain on family and friends. The physician should discuss the legal alternatives to physician-assisted suicide.The legal alternatives include refusal of treatment, withdrawal of treatment, declining oral intake, and end -of-life sedation. The patient should be made aware that they have a right to decline or consent to any treatment or hospitalization, but that their declining of treatment will not affect their ability to receive high quality end-of-life care. The patient should also be made aware that they have the right to stop any treatment at any time including the stopping of any fluids or nutrition.Patients suffering with unbearable and unmanageable pain may be approaching their last days or hours of life, and the only option available to them is end-of-life sedation. Before the end-of-life sedation should be considered for a patient, the attending physician and members of the health care team should know that all available therapies were tried. This option has to be agreed upon with the patient and their families with the patient have the final say so if they are capable of making the decision for themselves.Step 6: Consult with ColleaguesPhysician-assisted suicide requests are the most chall enging situations that physicians have to face in their practice of medicine. The physicians often hesitate to involve others in these situations for reasons about personal issues being raised, convictions about the inappropriateness of talking about death and concerns about the legal implications of the situation. The personal, ethical and legal ramifications for physician-assisted suicides should be supported by a trusted colleague or advisor of the physician. The trusted colleague could be a mentor, peer, religious advisor, or ethics consultants.Support may also come from nurses, social workers, chaplains, or other members involved in the care of the patient. Physician-assisted suicide requests should be a sign to the physician that a patient’s needs are not being met and that further evaluation is needed to identify the elements contributing to the patient’s suffering. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to the question of physician-assisted suicide. Patients ha ve  the right to withhold and withdraw life-sustaining procedures. Patients also have the right to receive powerful medication for pain relief and sedation. Physicians who oppose physician-assisted suicide do not always have to prescribe lethal medication.

Integrating Occupational Health & Safety Into Sustainability Term Paper

Integrating Occupational Health & Safety Into Sustainability - Term Paper Example As a result of these worrying trends, social dumping which results from exporting or work processes and technology, machines, innovation, chemicals and commodities for use in certain workplaces of recipient nations has become a matter of concern and, as such has to be treated as a matter of priority. Keywords: sustainability, environment, workplaces, job safety and health, environmental sustainability Introduction As mentioned in the proposal, sustainability can be effectively integrated into occupational health and safety through the utilization of corporate responsibility. The utilization of environmental health and safety procedures is an efficient method of making sure that a single integration can be implemented. This kind of implementation can ensure that risks found in operations and procedures, as well as, regulatory compliances are properly adhered to. Sustainability has been indicated to be one of the essential influences of the global business processes to become supported by EHS. According to the guidelines of EHS, there are three key elements that are required for the integration of safety into environmental sustainability, and these include such things as health and safety, environmental performance, and product safety and stewardship1. It should be noted that the issues of business integration and occupational health and safety and sustainability are closely related. This is so because it is through the protection of the environment that the well-being of human beings is catered for and addressed. As it follows, economic success can be achieved when the well being, safety, and health of individuals are protected, as well as, when businesses are well integrated with environmental sustainability. Therefore, workers should be able to perform their duties in an environment that assures them and promotes their health and safety. This has been indicated to be possible through the establishment of health and occupational programs that are appropriate an d effective2. Review of Relevant Literature A recently published article argues that sustainability is an issue that has been increasing in priority in the minds and agendas of many parties like management, customers, investors, and employees, all of whom are grappling to understand the environmental and social implications of the operational and financial decisions a company makes. This is especially concerning in companies that are highly regulated and those industries that are conscious of brands. Major companies have come to realize that sustainability is not just about being ‘green’. To be feasible, processes and practices of sustainability must work hand in hand with the key strategies and goals of the company to enhance enterprise profitability. In the end, firms need to manage risk, protect their brand, as well as, find chances to improve their profits3. The same article argues that responding to the challenges that result from sustainability has never been more difficult, although the priority given to the same has never been higher. As a result, firms that try to develop programs for sustainability find a number of unique challenges.

Improved Effectiveness Through Collaboration Research Paper

Improved Effectiveness Through Collaboration - Research Paper Example ul leader is one who frequently communicates with the people following him/her and this approach of a leader makes him/her know the concerns of the followers and it is extremely important in becoming a successful leader. An educational leader is a stable and flexible personality who possesses distinguishing characteristics, such as, visionary outlook, dedication, openness, and good communication skills. A leader needs to have a good understating of the value of establishing good relationships with other people within the organization. Some of the main aspects of a successful leader include reward for good work, increased influence over processes, and enhanced collaboration with others, and tutoring and developing the colleagues (Mulec, 2006). Some of the main behavioral characteristics that influence the thoughts of an educational leader include identifying the needs of all stakeholders of the institute, providing inspiration to their followers, stimulating people to be inventive, respecting the opinions and suggestions of others, and providing people with a suitable strategy to work on. If a person has practiced this approach as an educational leader in a higher education institute and has been suc cessful in achieving the goals, he/she would definitely know the significance of effective communication and group collaboration. The learned values and experiences help leaders in maintaining positive relationships with scholars and learners. For example, the experiences that an educational leader gains from time to time helps him/her in recognizing the unique characteristics of each person in the institute that helps him/her in establishing good working relationships which ultimately results in improved collaboration. When a person joins a new organization, he/she brings a new and unique set of characteristics and behaviors that distinguishes him/her from others (Griffin & Moorhead 2010, p. 3). In such cases, it is the role of the leader to identify the

Literture Program for Preschool Classroom Essay

Literture Program for Preschool Classroom - Essay Example There is an abundance of story titles out in the market. However, it is important for a teacher to choose the most appropriate ones that truly meet the criteria for overall development of children. Books that focus on repetition are good choices, especially for toddlers who need to master their language. The repetitive lines give children the opportunity to participate in the story by saying them out loud when the story calls for it. Another point for story selection is how the book revolves around the needs of the specific children the teacher is working with (Giorgin & Glazer, 2008). For instance, very young children welcome stories that empower the characters that are limited in their skills because of their young age. A character who is considered â€Å"too little† to do many things may still have a healthy self-esteem by being able to set the table or change his own shirt. The characters in the story may be in situations that are relatable to the children. Simple plots su ch as going to school for the first time, managing to be friends with bullies, accepting the responsibility of being a sibling to a new baby or learning a new skill such as riding a bicycle capture the interest of children. Of course, the stories need to have a positive theme and a significant lesson to learn. The words used must be simple and understandable (Brewer, 2002) Giorgin & Glazer (2008) have identified the goals and strategies of children’s literature to support various areas of their development. The goals should support children’s language, intellectual, personality, social and moral, and aesthetic and creative development. The goals in quotation marks have been adapted from Giorgin & Glazer’s (2008) book. These reflect my philosophy on children’s learning and development. For language development, I want to adapt Giorgin & Glazer’s (2008) goal, â€Å"Children will communicate

Critical Analysis of Andre Dubu's The Curse Essay

Critical Analysis of Andre Dubu's The Curse - Essay Example However, he continues to be remorseful and is overcome by self-doubt. He keeps thinking that he should have done something to stop the rape. His words, â€Å"I should have stopped it. I think I could have stopped it† highlight his feelings at that time. The central idea of the story is that man himself has to define what is right and honorable. One cannot always make the right choice between right and wrong. Sometimes one ends up making a safe decision in the name of right decision and this choice may become difficult to live with. This is exactly what happens to Mitchell in this story. The story revolves round the struggle the hero goes through as he tries to perceive the difference between doing the right thing, not being able to do the right thing and not doing anything. Andre Dubus uses an unconventional plot and places his characters in real life situations to explore his theme.. In this story like many of his other stories all his characters are well-meaning characters. They face situations that challenge their beliefs and face ethical questions such as self-interest, duty, truth, etc. The main character of the story is Mitchell. The story revolves around him and at the end of the story he is transformed from a carefree man into a man consumed by remorse and guilt. He feels old at the end of it all. Dubus describes his condition thus: â€Å"He did not know what it was like to be very old †¦ but he assumed it was like this: fatigue beyond relieving by rest, by sleep.† (Andre Dubus). Was Mitchell right in not doing anything? There are many factors to be taken into consideration if one had to decide whether Mitchell was right or wrong in not doing anything to stop the rape. Factors such as moral values of a person, the element of risk an d one’s natural instincts have to be considered. But in the end it is the given situation which determines how we act. In Mitchell’s case the situation was such that "doing the right

Pre-service teachers dealing with autism Research Paper

Pre-service teachers dealing with autism - Research Paper Example The focus in this paper is on teaching that can be considered as an art form. Educators need to make learning an enjoyable experience for their students without sacrificing the quality of education that they as teachers would deliver. There have been scholarly revisions that have been made through the years as researches and further studies are conducted to cope up with changes in views about certain subjects and theories. Research papers are being published from time to time to further explain and elaborate on certain issues that people are facing in their everyday lives. Teaching can be compared to researches as both needs to up-to-date, reliable and well-explained. Firstly, the targeted group should be recognized and not just be included in figures. Therefore, was autism properly defined in the paper or how would a person with autism react? The definition of autism was given as a developmental disorder that has not been very well expounded to the public since the early days of its detection. What is being referred to as the â€Å"autistic syndrome† is considered as a biological condition that needs the medical involvement. There have been studies about it however the public is not well-aware of why and how it transpires. The general public still has questions on how they would treat people who has the disorder. Even educators have questions on what teaching style or approach would be effective for students with autism. ... Even educators have questions on what teaching style or approach would be effective for students with autism. As further reading was made on the paper, a question arises as to why a little attention was given to what supposed to be the sample group for the teachings which is being designed. There has been very little effort that has been made through the years to further educate the public about autism. For a teaching method to be considered as well-planned and deliberated, the targeted group should be verified and known. The research paper only focused on the educators and how and what lessons would be given to the group of students who are mentally challenged. However, it was not identified on how these students would behave and react in certain situations especially with the approach that the pre-service teachers will be using. The design or structure that was used in the paper can be said to be straight to the point. However, it was only done in a way that only one end of the pro ject would benefit. As it has been stated previously, it was only the educators’ side that was given the attention. Consideration should also be given to the students with autism as they would also be an end benefactor of the research. The success or failure of the theories and methodologies is dependent on the way students would react on how pre-service educators would deliver the lessons to them. Therefore, students are also an important factor in this research and not just teachers. It was not the only concern that can be addressed towards the authors. Another aspect of the paper which can be a cause of uncertainty is that a couple of references that were used were quite outdated. There are more than 2 decades that separates the research paper and

Human Resources Information Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resources Information Systems - Assignment Example oll tax laws in the context of fast changing federal policies relating to payroll taxation (Payroll tax law is really cumbersome task when the payroll system is managed internally) Decreased accessibility – When the payroll system is managed by an external outsourcing provider, the firm’s payroll services information are stored on a server outside the organization. Hence, the company finds difficulty accessing payroll figures and other employee data as and when required In case of a mistake in payroll tax deductions, retirement plan deductions, sick leave compensation, or employee benefits, it is not possible to correct the mistake fast. This issue may lead to employee dissatisfaction Employee resistance to change may be the most important risk associated with integrating a new payroll system. Employees would worry about the efficiency of a new system as it relates to their salaries, compensation, and other benefits. Hence they are not likely to accept the change. In the words of Lambert (2005, pp.1165-1167), even a well developed payroll system may fail to perform flawlessly if it is not integrated properly. Undoubtedly, such a situation will certainly result in employee dissatisfaction, which in turn may hurt overall organizational productivity. Sometimes the company’s staff may not be informed of all features of the new payroll system, and therefore they would not be able to manage the system in an effective way. However, the project management team can minimize those risks to a great extent by implementing proper change management policies prior to the actual integration of the new payroll system. The project management team should closely work with the HR team to coordinate their activities and to ensure shared efforts to convince employees regarding the necessity of the change planned. In addition, the project management team must ensure that there are skilled and experienced personnel to handle the newly integrated system efficiently. A Gantt

Book of Daniel Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Book of Daniel - Research Paper Example The Commencing of counting according to the text is in the year 458 BC, which is the seventh year of the King Artaxerxes of Persia. The king, during this year, issues an order that Ezra begins his journey to Jerusalem on the first day of the first month. According to  current calendars, it would be 8th of April1. The beginning of the Christian The Christian era began soon after 457 years and nine months of this time. At around the time of 26 AD, John the Baptist  starts his assigned ministry and he baptizes Jesus who later the same year began his ministry too. The prophecy dictates that the Messiah or the anointed one’s killing would be on the seventieth week or after three and a half years. During this time, the city and the temple of Jerusalem would face destruction. Daniel was a captive of Babylon since 606 BC before he came an understanding that the captivity would last 70 years while reading Jeremiah’s prophecies. As Daniel was praying for the restoration and r edeeming of his people, the Angel of the Lord came to him and made it clear the exact time of the long- awaited Messianic Kingdom. The following is a detailed verse-to-verse, word-to-word explanation of the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah2. Verse 24 states that, â€Å"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and  thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy.† The verse specifically reveals that time of accomplishment of the prophecy is 70 weeks. The number seventy is very symbolic in this text and not just a number. First, seventy is a multiple of ten and according to Genesis 31:7 signifies completeness. Secondly, seven is a number that signifies divine perfection as stated in Genesis 2:3. The punishment of sin being the suffering for 70 years and response to Peters question on Forgiveness that we s hould forgive until 70 times is a major theme in this verse. It is clear that transgression and sin will be common until the emergence of the Messianic Kingdom. According to the Hebrews, the word week meant years or weeks of days (Shabuim Yomim). Therefore, seventy weeks meant 70 times 7 or 490 years until fulfilment. Only Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prediction of a holy ruler in a perfect kingdom. His own people or those of the Anointed One (Acts 10:38) and the Holy one are his children, and the fruit of his travail on the cross. Through free justification by Grace and anointment under the new covenant, they become just as righteous as he is (I John 3:5-7). The spotless Lamb slain before the world began (Revelation 13:8), who from the beginning to the end of this world, all sin-ended, reconciliation and atonement achieved, Abraham rejoiced on seeing (John 8:56). According to Hebrews 3:1 the holy brethren or otherwise referred to as saints in Romans 1:7 comprise the true temple of God (I Corinthians 3:16, 17) that is also the body of Christ according to Ephesians 1:22 and 233. Coming of Messiah In verse 25, â€Å"Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be

Breast Feeding Versus Bottle Feeding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Breast Feeding Versus Bottle Feeding - Essay Example Theories about Breast Feeding Often linked inextricably with the phrase ‘the most natural thing in the world’, breast feeding remains the most recommended and professionally supported method of feeding your newborn. Medical professionals recommend feeding your baby breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months (LICH Pediatrics, 2011). Other foods or formula should only be introduced gradually after this. The NHS website (2012) outlines the numerous advantages of breastfeeding for both you and your baby. The main benefits are; it is a source of optimal and natural nutrition which cannot be replicated, it builds babies immune system, it promotes a bond between mother and baby and it lowers the risk of infections, other common baby ailments and developing certain chronic diseases. Breast milk is also more easily absorbed and digested by babies compared to formula. Of course the practicality of breastfeeding is also a plus; it’s available anytime, it’s always a suitable temperature and it’s free. It also has health benefits for mum as it speeds up metabolism and helps in losing excess weight after childbirth. Studies have also shown that breast feeding yields a protective effect in mums against developing premenopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis (Kumar, 2012). Theories about Bottle Feeding Bottle feeding is an option many mothers choose. Very often, mothers simply are not comfortable breast feeding and turn to bottle feeding as an alternative. Nowadays, commercially prepared infant formulas are of a very high nutritional quality and are designed to mimic breast milk as much as possible (LICH Paediatrics, 2011). Though most feeding theories recommend the breast over the bottle, they do still acknowledge the many advantages bottle feeding offers. It is convenient and flexible, and makes public feeding an easier and less worrisome event for some mothers compared to breast feeding. It can also be pre-prepared when needed and the fact that anyone can bottle feed the baby means that mum does not need to be present at all feeding sessions, which is especially relevant to busy or working mothers.. However, it is important to remember that is has been proven that formula cannot match the nutritional composition of breast milk. Studies have even found an association between artificial formula feeding and an increased risk of childhood cancer (Kumar, 2012). Other studies have suggested that artificial feeding increases the risk of some medical conditions such as celiac disease, compared to breast fed babies. More practical disadvantages are that it is also the more expensive feeding method, costing new mums anywhere up to ?80 per week. What Do Most Mothers Go For And Why? It seems that the majority of new mothers in the UK choose to breast feed. The NHS (2011) reported that initial breastfeeding rates in 2010 were 83% in England, 74% in Scotland, 71% in Wales, and 64% in Northern Ireland. It also re ported a significant increase in breastfeeding since 2005. The fact that more and more research supports breast feeding over formula, and society is slowly becoming more comfortable with the naturalness of breast feeding, means that an increasing number of women see breast feeding as the best choice for them and for their baby. It is also interesting to note that the Milupa Aptamil

Euthanasia Essay Example for Free

Euthanasia Essay For currency, this piece of news was published very soon after the mobile euthanasia clinics scheme started (stated in article that was cross-referenced: the Guardian) on Thursday 1 March 2012. Therefore, it is likely to be valid and updated till that point in time. However, as the article will not include any further developments since March 2012, there is a need to research as to whether there are more current reports on the issue in order to make a more informed decision on the issue. ] For relevance, this article tells us about a brand new option for euthanasia that is carried out through mobile clinics in the Netherlands. So far, euthanasia is legal in only the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia and Oregon in the USA. This can be seen as a ‘controversial’ new option that makes euthanasia even more accessible in the Netherlands. It raises questions whether this new ‘convenience’ could result in an abuse of the legislation with doctors and patients going too far. The debate over the whether it should be a right for people to choose when and how to die, with dignity, has been going on for a long time in many countries, especially in developed countries. This is also relevant to us locally as we have an ageing population in Singapore. Although we have other measures in place such as the Advanced Medical Directive, euthanasia has not been legalised in Singapore. With greater attention being given to palliative care in recent years, the different perspectives in the euthanasia debate around the world is not far removed from us. The question remains as to whether our society is ready for measures such as euthanasia. As for authority, this article is written by Anna Holligan from BBC News. BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the worlds largest broadcast news organisation. The BBC is required by its charter to be free from both political and commercial influence and answers only to its viewers and listeners. However, this has been challenged on a few occasions. On the whole, BBC News is still regarded as an objective source of news, as compared to papers subjected to political/commercial influence. In analysing accuracy, I found that the same news also appeared in The Huffington Post (US) and the Guardian (UK). NVVE (Dutch right-to-die organization) website (through Google translate). Please see the attached article from The Guardian as a cross-reference. At the same time, within the BBC article itself, the journalist had also listed quotes from the following: Mr Jan Suyver, one of the creators of the Levenseinde (Life End) units; NVVE (Dutch right-to-die organization); Bert Dorenbos, who represents the pro-life Dutch Cry for Life campaign group and The Royal Dutch Medical Association. In addition, the journalist gave statistics referring to the existing euthanasia law in the Netherlands, as well as findings from a report published by the commission on Assisted Dying in the UK. The information and quotes from these diverse sources (who offer different perspectives on the issue) strengthens the validity and reliability of the article. The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the new controversial option for euthanasia in the Netherlands. The intention to inform can be seen in the way the article presented the information in an objective manner. Perspectives of both the pro-euthanasia camp and the anti-euthanasia camp were highlighted, without the article being skewed in favour of either of them. Therefore, I think this is quite a balanced and reliable article.

The Role Of The Probation Officer Criminology Essay

The Role Of The Probation Officer Criminology Essay Probation started in 1841 with John Augustus with supervising offenders (Purkiss, 2003). These offenders were either on temporary suspension or postponing of a sentence. Purkiss also states that Augustus helped the offenders getting homes, finding employment, and family difficulties if any. Augustus helped the offender with anything they needed to get their normal life back on track. In 1880 probation when statewide in Massachusetts, and the following years it expanded over several states, the juvenile system, and the federal government. By 1956, every state had applied probation. Severe criticism hit probation around the early 1970s about the rehabilitation model of criminal justice. The criticism resulted in the get tough response to the crime that embraced retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation, as the proper goals of corrections (Purkiss, 2003). Purkiss also stated that in the 1990s, Benekos detected as part of the get tough, community corrections was created in return from the get tough response and the community protection and the offender control became the primary goal. With overcrowding prison becoming a problem, probation has taken a bigger leap. The prisons being overcrowded there was only solution for rehabilitation that seemed to work. So probation helped the offenders get out and do their community service while being supervised and still protecting the community at the same time. They learned how to give back without everyone looking at them in a bad way. In result from all of this made an overcrowded population of offenders on probation which in turn made a very heavy workload for the probation officers. So the probation officers have to work harder and longer to make sure their jobs are done right and to make sure everything is alright while they have the offenders out. According to Purkiss (2003) regular probation is seen as meaningless and ineffective to some researchers, policymakers, and to the public. I think this is because the researchers, policymakers, and the public think the offender got off the hook for the crime they committed. The actual punishment is not hard enough for some and some think that the punishment should be harder than community service. It takes a lot to be a probation officer, and there is a lot that you have to handle during your time at the job. The qualities you need to have to be a good probationer officer are the following: communication skills, critical-thinking skills, decision-making skills, emotional stability, organizational skills, and writing skills (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013). These skills are essential for the role as a probation officer in any state in the United States of America. In order to become a probation officer you have to have some education beyond the typical high school diploma. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics a bachelors degree in social work, criminal justice, psychology, or a related field. Some employers want a masters degree in a related field for people who do not have former work experience. The median annual wage of probation officers and correctional treatment specialists was $47,200 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half of the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,920, and the top 10 percent earned more than $80,750 (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013). The typical job of a probation officer is overseeing the offender and making sure the offender is not a danger to the neighborhood and to ensure the rehabilitation of the offender. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists typically do the following: evaluate offenders to determine the best course of treatment, provide offenders with resources to aid in rehabilitation, discuss treatment options with offenders, arrange treatment programs, supervise offenders and monitor their progress, conduct meetings with offenders as well as their family and friends, write reports on the progress of offenders (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013). According to Occupational Outlook Handbook (2012-2013) most of the probation officers work full time, and the schedule can be a little hectic. The craziness of the job requires a lot of strength from the probation officer and requires more out of the officer than the typical 40 hours a week. There are a lot of things as a probation of ficer you do, as you have to do home and employment checks, and property searches. There are also a lot of things that might frustrate a probation officer so being emotional stable is a must. The officer has to deal with the offender if the offender violates the terms of the release. Even though there is a high stress level associated with this career there is some moments that are rewarding experience for the probation officer making it worthwhile. Probation also helps the offender learn who he/she is and supports them get their old life back and make it better. This is rehabilitation at its best if it works. Probation has often been called the prison without walls. This is a bad description, for probation and the prison stand in violent contrast at almost every point. This contrast indicates some of the reasons why I believe that the former is the more effective way of turning offenders from crime. In prison, the offender is place in an abnormal situation which by its very nature is destructive of moral and very often of character. Probation leaves him in a normal situation and surrounds him with influences calculated to improve his morale and strengthen his character. The prison takes away from his the necessity of thinking, of deciding for himself, of facing economic problems. Probation makes him stand on his own feet and requires him to face daily the usual problems of the work-a-day world. The prison, with rare exceptions, subjects him to mass treatment. Probation treats him as an individual. The prison shuts out the free community and places a high wall between its inmates and socie ty. Probation seeks to break down every wall between the offender and the rest of the society and brings to bear on him all the available social resources of the community. (MacCormik, 1935, p.400 Â ¶ 4) Probation handles almost every crime that is committed. Mostly probation is for first-time offenders who the judge presiding over that case feels that the offender could be rehabilitated. Two crimes that I found to be to my interest are the drug and alcohol abusers and the sex offenders. Many offenders who end up with probation instead of prison time are usually drug and alcohol abusers. The substance abusers are one of the most common of the offenders on probation, and these offenders tend to be not first time offenders. There has been recognized links to connecting criminal activity and drugs and alcohol together (Cunningham, A. J., Herie, M., Martin, G., Turner, J.B., 1998). With the connection being made between criminal activity and drugs and alcohol this has been an issue of concern for criminal justice. Treatment facilities have been shown to work and criminal justice needs to establish of an enlargement of addiction services to allow for the treatment of offenders with a history of substance abuse concerns. According to Cunningham, A.J. (1998, p.169) a field test study was designed to evaluate the appropriateness and utility of an outpatient, addiction intervention for probation and parole officers in Ontario, Canada. The treatment level was for people with a moderate to severe addiction. If these were more readily available to the offenders, I think the crime rate would come down. This program, the meetings were regularly scheduled, every two to three months. The meetings were documented to k eep track of their progress and to let others know how it was working. The outcome was that almost every single person that went to the meeting said they would refer this to a friend and be willing to come to every single meeting. The drug and alcohol problem is worldwide. Law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole has tried everything they can think of to enforce the consumption of excessive amounts, but nothing is working. Maybe if we combat it in the lower level directly it would not be so bad. The second crime I want to talk about that probably is not that well known that probation handles is sex offenders. Most of the public think that when the sex offender is caught that he is sent to prison, but this is not necessarily true only a fraction of those who commit sexual assault are apprehended and convicted for their crimes; most convicted sex offender eventually are released to the community under probation or parole supervision (Baerga-Buffler, M., Johnson, J. L., 2006, p.13). These offenders need the intensive supervision to keep the neighborhoods they live in safe. These officers need to have an extensive knowledge about sex offender characteristics and types (Baerga-Buffler, M., Johnson, J. L., 2006, p.13). This crime practically involves your entire time as a probationer officer. The officer has to know each sex offender as well. The officer has to know the patterns of the victim selection and the interest of the offender; this allows the officer to be able to view th e risk that is right in front of them. According to Baerga-Buffler, M., and Johnson, J.L. (2006) the key to being a good probation officer for sex offenders is the specialized training. Training is the most important concept that these officers could have. They have to know what to look for when they are watching them or when they check in on them. If they do not have the training that is required something could go very wrong and the offender could commit the crime again. These offenders have to be properly trained and qualified to be able to be a probation officer for a sex offender. To be a probation officer you have to be very prepared, education wise and emotionally, for what you are getting into. I think school gets you somewhat prepared, but nothing like being in the real world will prepare you enough. When I decided to become a probation officer, I just thought I would be handling this druggie kid or adult or the alcoholic. Never in my mind was I thinking a sex offender and I think most of the public does not think of that either. Probation officers do more than we think they do. I think the rational choice theory would be a good choice for a theory to choose for this agency to combat the crimes. I think the rational choice theory because in probation the offender has to follow a set of rules and if they do not they violate their terms and they will most likely be sent to prison. They have to make the choices to be good and not to violate the terms so they can stay on probation this is why I think the rational choice theory is a good pair for probation.

Improving Resource Allocation for Data Center Overbooking

Improving Resource Allocation for Data Center Overbooking M.Ponmani Bharathi, C.Sindhuja, S.Vaishnavi, Ms.A.Judith Arockia Gladies Abstract Overbooking becomes feasible because user applications tend to overestimate their resources and requirements, that tends to utilize only a fraction of the allocated resources. Overbooking has to be carefully planned in order not to impact application performance. Resource utilization and Data centres utilization can be used in this overbooking scheduler. Data send can send from sources to destination via node. Resource utilization and allocated capacity can be increased by 50% with acceptable performance degradation. Fuzzy logic functions are used to check each overbooking decisions and estimate it. Changing the acceptable level of risk is depending on the current status of the cloud data centres. The suggested approach is extensively evaluated using a combination of simulations and experiments executing real cloud applications with real-life available workloads. Our results show a 50% increment at both resource utilization and capacity allocated with acceptable performance degradati on and more stable resource utilization over time. Keywords: Proportional Integral Derivative (PID), Mitigation algorithm, Greedy algorithm 1. Introduction Authors Data set for overbooking levels. It is collections of some Services and work loading data. The data that represents the collection of fields that will be returned when the data set query runs on the data source. Dataset fields represent the data from a data connection. A field can represent either numeric or non-numeric data. Main features provided by cloud is elasticity, allows users to dynamically adjust resources allocations depending on their current needs. The objective is to make an efficient use of available resources, overestimating the required capacity results in poor resource utilization. Factors contributing to lower the Data Centre Utilization: cloud provides predefined VM Sizes, which have fixed amount of CPU, memory Disk Etc. A set of distributed PID controllers are implemented to avoid performance degradation and to increase and keep the utilization evenly distributed among the servers. Overbooking addresses the utilization problems that cloud data centres face due to the elastic nature of cloud services. Overbooking has to be carefully planned in order not to impact application performance. It present an overbooking framework that performs admission control decisions based on fuzzy logic risk assessments of each incoming service deployment request. If delay beyond slack on critical path is initiated, then the completion time of the project may get delayed. Resource levelling is a method for smoothing a schedule that attempts to minimize the fluctuations in requirements for resources when the project completion time is fixed. Users are usually bad at estimating the requirements of their applications. This low resource utilization is a big concern for cloud data centred providers as data centres consume l ot of energy and are being used in a rather inefficient way. Energy consumption does not decrease linearly with resource usage. One way cloud providers can mitigate these resource utilization problems is by overbooking. The overbooking techniques always expose the infrastructure to a risk of resource congestion upon unexpected situations and consequently to SLA violations. This leads to: Overestimating the required capacity results in poor resource utilization. Lower income from consumers. The contrary, underestimating may lead to performance degradation and/or crashes. Overbooking is to address the utilization problems that cloud data centres face due to the elastic nature of cloud services. Overbooking has to be carefully planned in order not to impact application performance. It present an overbooking framework that performs admission control decisions based on fuzzy logic risk assessments of each incoming service deployment request. A set of distributed PID controllers are implemented to avoid performance degradation and to increase and keep the utilization evenly distributed among the servers. Overbooking within cloud data centres to increase resource utilization in a safe and balanced way. The cloud paradigm also introduces new obstacles for efficient resource management. The very large scale and multi-tenant nature of cloud infrastructures offers great potential for efficient multiplexing of different services. Our initial work on this problem include scheduling for better server utilization and admission control for capacity planning, getting an initial understanding of the overbooking problem and the risk evaluation, respectively. Cloud applications do not use the same amount of hardware resources all the time. This low resource utilization is a big concern for cloud data centred providers as data centres consume lot of energy and are being used in a rather inefficient way. One way cloud providers can mitigate these resource utilization problems is by overbooking. Figure 1 Overbooking Fuzzy Risk Assessment 2. Mitigation Algorithm for Reducing Service Level Mitigation method is used to avoid sun expected misbehaviors, such as reducing the service level of some services to avoid performance degradation. This Algorithm is used to collocate, reducing the performance degradation when overbooking. This algorithm also clear traffics for data center overbooking utilization. Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller is a generic control loop feedback mechanism. PID calculates the differences between the measured and desired set points attempts to minimize it by reading the control input.PID involves three parameter, Present error(P), Accumulated error(I), Prediction of error may occur (D). 1. Data Collection Dataset for overbooking levels is a collection of some Services and work loading data. The data that representing the collection of fields that will return when the dataset queries runs on the data source. Dataset fields represent the data from a data connection. A field can represent either numeric or non-numeric data. 2. Overbooking Overbooking is techniques used as a solution to poor resource utilization in cloud data centres. Overbooking is mainly used to handle the data centred resource utilization problems and overbooking. An implemented an autonomic overbooking framework. An autonomic framework that provides better application performance, avoiding over passing total capacity at any of the dimensions will be provided. 3. Resources Utilizations It determines the shortest project schedule with the limited resources available. 4. Schedule with collocation It presents a greedy approach that perform traffic-aware VM placement to increase the rate of accepted requests. It avoid repeating poor performance and to increase the chances of good collocations. VMs are suitable to be collocated for improved utilization and stable performance. 5. Prediction method The prediction step calculates a rough approximation of the desired quantity. The corrector step refines the initial approximation using another means. Overbooking system as well as admission control techniques when dealing with elastic services need insight in future resource usage. Service requirements to avoid performance degradation due to overloaded physical resources. 3. Distribution of PID Controller PID controlled this fact motivates the use of feedback to adjust the level of risk that the overbooking system is willing to face over time. We also evaluate the distributed controller approach when the data centre size is reduced to 128 cores. Furthermore, choosing an acceptable risk threshold has an impact on data centred utilization and performance. High thresholds result in higher utilization but the expense of exposing the system to performance degradation, whilst using lower values leads to lower but safer resource utilization. When overbooking CPU and I/O capacity, and a more realistic approach for the memory. The rationale for this is that problems resulting from CPU or I/O congestion are less critical than the ones coming from running out of memory. Therefore, the different risk degrees presented can be combined according to the situation, considered capacity dimensions, knowledge about the incoming service, etc. The risk assessment module gets no feedback about the current status and behaviour of the system, the current workload mixture, the data centre size, etc. In order to address this issue, we propose here a control theory approach that dynamically (re)adjusts risk thresholds depending on the system behaviour and the desired utilization n levels, allowing the admission control to learn over time depending on current system behaviour. PID Controller works properly if the performance is measured at the data centre level, obtaining a smooth utilization fluctuations (close enough to the target one) for each congested capacity dimension. However, the utilization of each server may vary from the accumulated utilization – even after applying load balancing techniques. This effect cannot be totally avoided as load imbalance is also caused by the current workload characteristics. To reduce load imbalance we propose a distributed controller approach where each physical server has its own PID controllers, one for each capacity dimension. 4. Related Techniques Mathematical models for SaaS providers to satisfy customers by leasing Cloud resources from multiple IaaS providers. It proposes three innovative admission control and scheduling algorithms for profit maximization by minimizing cost and maximizing customer satisfaction level. It demonstrates effectiveness of the proposed models and algorithms through an extended evaluation study by varying customer and provider side parameters to analyze which solution suits best in which scenario to maximize SaaS providers profit using actual IaaS data from Amazon and Go Grid. An extensive evaluation to study and analyze which solution suits best in which scenario to maximize SaaS provider’s profit. In-house hosting can increase administration and maintenance costs whereas renting from an IaaS provider can impact the service quality due to its variable performance. Dynamic consolidation of virtual machines (VMs) is an effective way to improve the utilization of resources and energy efficiency in cloud data centres. The problem of host overload detection by maximizing the mean inter migration time under the specified QoS goal based on a Markov chain model. Through simulations with workload traces from more than a thousand Planet Lab VMs, we show that our approach outperforms the best benchmark algorithm and provides approximately 88 percent of the performance of the optimal offline algorithm. The data center efficiency is been improved and more enterprises are been to consolidate the existing system. All system resources and centralizing resource management allow increasing overall utilization and lowering management costs. Server consolidation has emerged as a promising technique to reduce the data centre energy cost. We also present a distinguished analysis of an enterprise server workload from the perspective of consolidation and finding characteristics for it. Then observing a significant inherent for power savings if consolidation is performed using off-peak values for application demand. An implementation of the methodologies in a consolidation planning tool and provide a comprehensive evaluation study of the proposed methodologies. The size applications by an off-peak metric and place correlated applications together; there is a high risk of SLA capacity violation. If consolidation is performed by reserving the maximum utilization for each application, the application may require capacity equal to the size of its current entitlements. As per the size of the cloud increases, the anticipation that all workloads paralyze scale up to their maximum demands. In this observation multiplexing is allowed to access cloud resources among multiple workloads, resource information have been improved. Hosting virtualized loads such that available physical capacity is smaller than the sum of maximal demands of the workloads is referred to as over-commit or over-subscription. It computationally and storage efficiently, while maintaining sufficient accuracy. It is simple method of estimating total effective nominal demand of a cloud and uses it for capacity sizing and placement reservation plan that is compliant with SLA. 5. Conclusion Overbooking has to be carefully planned in order not to impact application performance. A set of distributed PID controllers are implemented to avoid performance degradation and to increase and keep the utilization evenly distributed among the servers. Feedback control is used to adapt the level of overbooking (risk threshold) that the cloud data centre has tolerating capacity. The utilization technique of data centre is not only increased in overall but also harmonized across hardware capacity dimensions and servers. A set of distributed PID controllers are implemented to avoid performance degradation and to increase and keep the utilization evenly distributed among the servers. References [1] A. Ali-Eldin, J. Tordsson, and E. Elmroth, â€Å"An adaptive hybrid elasticity controller for cloud infrastructures,† in Proc. of Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS), 2012, pp. 204–212. [2] A. Sulistio, K. H. Kim, and R. Buyya, â€Å"Managing cancellations and no-shows of reservations with overbooking to increase resource revenue,† in Proc. of Intl. Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid (CCGrid), 2008, pp. 267–276. [3] X. Meng, C. Isci, J. Kephart, L. Zhang, E. Bouillet, and D. Pendarakis,â€Å"Efficient resource provisioning in compute clouds via VM multiplexing,† in Proc. Intl. Conference of Autonomic Computing (ICAC), 2010, pp. 11–20. [4] Y. C. Lee and A. Y. Zomaya, â€Å"Energy efficient utilization of resources in cloud computing systems,† The Journal of Supercomputing, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 268–280, 2012. [5] L. A. Barroso and U. Holzle, â€Å"The case for energy-proportional computing,† Computer, vol. 40, no. 12 pp. 33–37, 2007. [6] C. Mastroianni, M. Meo, and G. Papuzzo, â€Å"Probabilistic consolidationof virtual machines in self-organizing cloud data centers,† IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 215–228, 2013. [7] T. Wo, Q. Sun, B. Li, and C. Hu, â€Å"Overbooking-based resource allocation in virtualized data center,† in Proc of 15th IEEE International Symposium on Object/Component/Service-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing Workshops (ISORCW), 2012, pp. 142–149. [8] L. Larsson, D. Henriksson, and E. Elmroth, â€Å"Scheduling and monitoring of internally structured services in cloud federations,† in Proc. of IEEE Intl. Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC), 2011, pp. 173–178. [9] D. Breitgand, Z. Dubitzky, A. Epstein, O. Feder, A. Glikson, I. Shapira, and G. Toffetti, â€Å"Pulsar: An adaptive utilization accelerator for iaas clouds,† in IEEE International Conference on Cloud Engineering (IC2E), 2014. [10] M. Dobber, R. van der Mei, and G. Koole, â€Å"A prediction method for job runtimes on shared processors: Survey, statistical analysis and new avenues,† Performance Evaluation, vol. 64, no. 7-8, pp. 755–781, 2007. M. Ponmani Bharathi, currently studying B.E. computer science and engineering in ultra college of Engineering and Technology for women at Madurai C sindhuja, currently studying B.E. computer science and engineering in ultra college of Engineering and Technology for women at Madurai S.vaishnavi, currently studying B.E. computer science and engineering in ultra college of Engineering and Technology for women at Madurai Ms.A.Judith Arockia Gladies received her bachelor’s degree (B.Tech-Bachelor of Information Technology) from Raja College of engineering and Technology, Madurai, and affiliated to Anna University, Chennai, and then did her Master Degree in computer science and engineering from Raja College Of Engg and Tech, Madurai. She is currently working as an Asst Prof in Ultra College of Engg Tech for Women, Madurai.

Is the US Ready for Chaotic Oil Markets :: essays papers

Is the US Ready for Chaotic Oil Markets The cost of gasoline to provide a many of services, transportation being most popular, is effecting our nation dramatically. One of the major reason’s for these soaring prices is due to Saddam Hussein calling the Arab states to use oil as a major weapon for countries who do not support Israel. America has itself involved with an insurance providing protection to import cut offs yet at this period of time, the oil reserves can only provide the replacement of 53 days using reserve. That is defiantly not enough to hold us over in need. Almost seventeen years ago, the number of days that our reserves provided us was more than double than it is today, mostly due to the increase in demand. This is the principal reason that the reserve does not provide the amount of protection that it had before. Domestic oil production now stands at about 6 million barrels per day ,one-third less than in 1985 , while the United States imports about 9 million barrels per day, more than 2 ½ t imes as much as it imported in 1985. With all these factors present, it is almost an obvious indicator that a crisis may be forthcoming with the impact of Saddam Hussein’s power. Saddam Hussein mentioned Sunday in an Iraqi broadcast, â€Å"The world knows and uses the language of economics, why don’t the Arabs use this language?†. Saddam Hussein’s economic burden against the United states recalls when the Arab oil embargo took effect on the western nations in 1973 during the Yom Kippur war. This started and economic production decline in the United States in 1974 and 1975. Could this revolve into another oil embargo? On Tuesday, Iraq mentioned that it was ready to punish America for its continuing support of Israel. If this in fact did happen, it would effect America tremendously for on some months we rely on Iraq for more than a million barrels of oil per day. Larry Goldstein, a veteran analyst with the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation, mentioned that even though an oil embargo is not present, it is still always possible for the sabotage of oil lines when war is present. For example, if the United States bought no oil at all from Saudi Arabia, American consumers would still be exposed to the ups and downs of world oil

Repressed Sexuality in Bram Stokers Dracula Essay -- Bram Stoker Dra

Repressed Sexuality in Bram Stoker's Dracula      Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps no work of literature has ever been composed without being a product of its era, mainly because the human being responsible for writing it develops their worldview within a particular era.   Thus, with Bram Stoker's Dracula, though we have a vampire myth novel filled with terror, horror, and evil, the story is a thinly veiled disguise of the repressed sexual mores of the Victorian era.   If we look to critical interpretation and commentary to win support for such a thesis, we find it aplenty "For erotic Dracula certainly is.   'Quasi-pornography' one critic labels it.   Another describes it as a 'kind of incestuous, necrophilious, oral-anal-sadistic all-in-wrestling matching'.   A sexual search of the novel unearths the following:   seduction, rape, necrophilia, pedophilia, incest, adultery, oral sex, group sex, menstruation, venereal disease, voyeurism" (Leatherdale   155-156).   While there are many other interpretations of the novel, such as th e vampire as a Satan figure who wishes to take away the mortality Christ won mankind, this analysis will explore how it reads as a story of repressed sexuality and the conflict it creates for the characters living in a repressed Victorian world. Christopher Craft, in his review of the novel, argues that the gender roles of males and females were extremely well-defined and limiting in Victorian society.   The male was perceived as the stronger of the sexes, and women were relegated to a voiceless and submissive role.   He argues that Harker's eager anticipation of the incestuous vampire daughters is a direct parallel of the roles of men and women in Victorian society, but the roles are reversed "Harker awaits an erotic fulfillment ... ... novel allows an outlet for natural, human biological necessities, no doubt many Victorian readers were similarly thrilled and repulsed by its deliberate depiction of them. WORKS   CITED Auerbach, N. A. and Skal, D. J.   Bram Stoker:   Dracula:   Authoritative Text, Contexts, Reviews and Reactions, Dramatic and Film Variations, Criticism.   New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Carter, M. L. (ed.).   Dracula:   The Vampire and the Critics.   Ann Arbor, U.M.I. Research Press, 1988.   Darling, L.   Dracula is us:   the vampire always sinks his fangs into our deepest fears.   Newsday.   Nov. 8, 1992, (07) 1-5. Leatherdale, C.   Dracula:   The Novel and the Legend:   A Study of Bram Stoker's Gothic Masterpiece.   Brighton, Desert Island Books, 1993. Taylor, S. B.   Stoker's Dracula.   The Explicator.   Vol. 55.   Sept. 1, 1996, (29-31) 1-3.  

Moving Beyond ADHD Essay -- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

Moving Beyond ADHD Friends are the family you choose. As a teenager, when it is hard to relate to your parents, friends become the day-to-day emotional support that everyone wants and needs. I suppose the search for a group of friends with whom you can share yourself completely is one of the "struggles of adolescence." Disabled or not, this can be one of the toughest struggles of young adulthood. Having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has always complicated this for me. The symptoms of ADHD have been described as disconnection between impulses and the knowledge of consequences. That separation permits impulses to be acted upon even with the awareness that those impulses have repercussions. In elementary school, I was "too hyperactive" to be admitted into the Boy Scouts and spent more time with an ignorant and intolerant principal than with my classmates. Although I had one best friend, Kelli, and a miraculous second grade teacher, Mrs. Shapiro, who through a combination of Pizza Hut coupons and gold stars, got me to read books, I sp...

All the Presidents of India

1| Dr Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963)| | 26 January 1950| 13 May 1962| Dr. S Radhakrishnan| 1952 election page  &  1957 election page Prasad was the first President of independent India from Bihar. [7][8]  He was also an independence activist of the Indian Independence Movement. [9]Prasad was the only president to serve for two terms in office. [4]| 2| Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)| | 13 May 1962| 13 May 1967| Zakir Hussain| 1962 election page Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher, writer, a  Knight of the Realm  and also held the position of  vice chancellor  of the  Andhra University  andBanaras Hindu University. 10]  He was also made a Knight of the  Golden Army of Angels  by  Pope Paul VI. [11]| 3| Zakir Hussain (1897–1969)| | 13 May 1967| 3 May 1969| Varahagiri Venkata Giri| 1967 election page Hussain was vice chancellor of theAligarh Muslim University  and a recipient of  Padma Vibhushan  andBharat Ratna. [12]  He di ed before his term of office was ended. | | Varahagiri Venkata Giri  * (1894–1980)| | 3 May 1969| 20 July 1969| | Giri was appointed as acting president following the death of Hussain. [13]  He resigned in a few months to take part in the presidential elections. [5]| | Muhammad Hidayatullah  * 1905–1992)| | 20 July 1969| 24 August 1969| | Hidayatullah served as the  Chief Justice of India, and was a recipient of the  Order of the British Empire. [14]  He served as acting president until the election of Giri as the President of India. | 4| Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894–1980)| | 24 August 1969| 24 August 1974| Gopal Swarup Pathak| 1969 election page Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and has functioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to  Ceylon  (Sri Lanka). [15]| 5| Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1905–1977)| | 24 August 1974| 11 February 1977| Basappa Danappa Jatti| 1974 election page Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed served as a Minister before being elected as president. He died in 1977 before his term of office ended, and was the second Indian president to have died during a term of office. [16]| | Basappa Danappa Jatti  * (1912–2002)| | 11 February 1977| 25 July 1977| | Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office, and was sworn in as acting president upon Ahmed's death. He earlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State ofMysore. [16][17]| 6| Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 1913–1996)| | 25 July 1977| 25 July 1982| Muhammad Hidayatullah| 1977 election page N. S. Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party to get elected from Andhra Pradesh. [18]  He was unanimously elected Speaker of the  Lok Sabha  on 26 March 1977 and relinquished this office on 13 July 1977 to become the 6th President of India. | 7| Gia ni Zail Singh (1916–1994)| | 25 July 1982| 25 July 1987| Ramaswamy Venkataraman| 1982 election page In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of chief Minister of Punjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister. 19]| 8| Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009)| | 25 July 1987| 25 July 1992| Shankar Dayal Sharma| 1987 election page In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in theIndia's independence  movement. [20]After his release, he was elected to independent India’s Provisional Parliament as a member of the Congress Party in 1950 and eventually joined the central government, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industry and later as Minister of Defence. [21]| 9| Shankar Dayal Sharma 1918–1999)| | 25 July 1992| 25 July 1997| Kocheril Raman Narayanan| 1992 election page Sharma was Chief Minister of  Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He has also served as the governor of  Andhra Pradesh,  Punjaband  Maharashtra. [22]| 10| Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1920–2005)| | 25 July 1997| 25 July 2002| Krishan Kant| 1997 election page Narayanan served as India's ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, China and United States of America. He received doctorates in Science and Law and was also a chancellor in several universities. [23]  He was also the vice-chancellor of  Jawaharlal Nehru University. 24]| 11| A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–)| | 25 July 2002| 25 July 2007| Bhairon Singh Shekhawat| 2002 election page Kalam, was a scientist who played a leading role in the development of India's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. [25]  Kalam also received theBharat Ratna. | 12| Pratibha Patil (1934–)| | 25 July 2007| Incumbent| Mohammad Hamid Ansari| 2007 election page Patil is the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female Governor of Rajasthan. [26][27]| ————————â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- [edit]Timeline

Domestic Issues Faced By The United States Of America Essay

Human Rights – human rights in the United States has been criticized for their practices and policies. The record shows that human rights in the United States are complicated and controversial issue. Racial discrimination – Whether they are African American or Native American they are all human beings. Policy advice – blacks should be treated equally and can have the same opportunities and protection from the government just like the whites get. Segregation of white and black is a good consideration too. Inhumane Treatment Death Penalty – human rights is the maximum and irreversible denial under the death penalty. It is controversial for its capital punishment. It is inhumane, cruel and unusual violation. Policy advice is to prohibit execution. Prison System – imprisonment of children and teenagers. A lot of mistreatment, rape, sexual abuse etc. Those behaviors are unlawful. Policy advice – give medical care, stop prisoner rape, add more security and abolish death sentence. GLOBAL ISSUES FACED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Global Warming – ‘the earth’s temperature is rising’. Policy advice – we have to have a major sacrifices to solve the problem. Global Health Issues – ‘every year millions of people die needlessly because of poverty’. Policy advice – privatization of health system. World Hunger and Poverty Land Rights – ‘owning of land’. Policy advice – build a program to provide land ownership for the poor. Rainforest Destruction – one effect of the banana industry is ‘rainforest destruction and dependent economies. Policy advice – prioritize the local market before exporting. To conclude, it is important to know our rights in the society because each one of us is entitled to have our own niche in this country and even in this world. R E F E R E N C E S Free, Marvin D. Jr. (November 1997). â€Å"The Impact of Federal Sentencing Reforms on African Americans† 28 (2): pp. 268-286. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_States#cite_note-1 Anup Shah, Food and Agriculture Issues, GlobalIssues. org, Created: Monday, December 03, 2007 http://www. globalissues. org/food/

Crisis Management

Crises Management in Public Schools Review of Crisis in Public Schools throughout the United States Throughout the United States students in public schools have experienced many crises. Students have witnessed or experienced many different types of crisis which can include: violence, death, accidents, family issues, natural disasters and terrorism. Statistics from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2008) show that in the 2003-04 school year there were 19 homicides and 3 suicides that occurred at school. Outside of school in the 2003-04 school year there were 1,437 homicides and 1,285 suicides of youth ages 5 to 18. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System Encyclopedia (2008) in the year 2007, there were 2,022 children ages 0-15 and 5,338 teens ages 16-20 who died in fatal car accident. Other crises include disasters. Since 2003 there have been 4 hurricanes (hurricanes Isabel, Ivan, Katrina, and Ophelia) in the United States. Hurricane Katrina displaced over 372,000 school-aged children (Dickenson, 2008). In the September 11 attack, there were 3,051 children who lost a parent (New York Media, 2008). Earthquakes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes also have caused major fatalities and displacements. Public Schools in the United States â€Å"need to be ready to handle crisis, large and small, to keep children and staff out of harm’s way†. There must be a â€Å"Crisis Intervention or Management Plan†, in case any of these crises occur in the school. Unfortunately, not all do. School Psychologists play a significant role of the crisis management team and should review the plan and know their part in crisis management for schools during and after the crises occurs. Crisis Management, as defined by The Model School Crisis Management Plan (1999), is â€Å"that part of a school division’s approach to school safety which focuses more narrowly on a time-limited, problem-focused intervention to identify, confront and resolve the crisis, restore equilibrium, and support appropriate adaptive responses†. This paper will address the following: recent research on what school crisis management plans should include, definition and signs of posttraumatic stress disorder, and resources to guide school psychologists in playing an important role in risis management. Resent research on crisis management plans The Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA (2008) created a 161 page crisis prevention and response plan for schools to use as a resource. In it they define the major facets of crisis response as being: 1. communication, 2. direction and coordination, and 3. health and safety. These major facets should be implemented during the emergency, immediate aftermath, days/weeks following, and in prevention. The Psychological First Aid approach which was developed by the National Center for PTSD to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism should also be included in the crisis management plan. It is â€Å"designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short-and long-term adaptive functioning and coping† (NCTSN, 2006). The Psychological First Aid for school aged children should be implemented immediately after the trauma and includes three basic objectives: managing the situation, mobilizing support, and following up. Definition and signs of posttraumatic stress disorder Posttraumatic Stress Disorder â€Å"is an anxiety disorder that can occur after you have been through a traumatic event†¦ during this type of event, you think that your life or others’ lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or feel that you have no control over what is happening† (NCPTSD, 2008). If these feelings persist over a long time and interfere with a person’s daily life, they are experiencing PTSD. Elementary school-aged children show different signs of PTSD than adults. Instead of experiencing flashbacks or amnesia, children experience â€Å"time skew† (mis-sequencing trauma related events) and â€Å"omen formation† (belief that there were warning signs that predicted the trauma) and may reenact the trauma in play, drawings, or verbalization (Hamblen, 1998). Adolescents resemble the signs of adults, but may also reenact the trauma in some part of their daily life. Resources for school psychologists in crisis management The National Association of School Psychologists (2000) has a list of website resources that guide school psychologists on various school safety and crisis information. Some resources include: school safety/violence prevention, suicide prevention/intervention, trauma, natural disasters, and war/terrorism materials. One approach the NASP recommends for school psychologists in identifying coping strategies is the BASIC Ph Coping Model by Dr. Mooli Lahad. The model â€Å"suggests that people possess six potential characteristics or dimensions that are at the core of an individual’s coping style† (Zenere, 2004). The six coping styles are Belief, Affect, Social, Imagination, Cognitive, and Physiological. There are many organizations and associations listed on the Ed. gov â€Å"Emergency Planning† website. It is important for school psychologists to recognize their important role in the crisis management team. They should use the resources available to them to aid in the school’s process of developing the crisis management plan. School psychologists should also stay up-to-date on current research regarding outcomes of tragedy in children. Together as a team, they have the ability to help children, and hopefully reduce PTSD in children after a trauma. References Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. (2008). Responding to a Crisis at a School. Los Angeles, CA: Author. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://smhp. psych. ucla. edu/ Dickenson, C. (2008, November). Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Communique, 37(3), 32. Fatality Analysis Reporting System Encyclopedia (2008). National Statistics. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www-fars. nhtsa. dot. gov/Main/index. aspx Hamblen, J. (1998). PTSD in Children and Adolescents. National Center for PTSD. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www. ncptsd. va. ov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_children. html National Association of School Psychologists (2000). Information for Educators. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from http://www. nasponline. org/educators/index. aspx National Center for Education Statistics (2008). Indicators of School Crime and Safety:2007. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://nces. ed. gov/programs/crimeindicators/crimeindicators2007/ NCTSN: National Child Trau matic Stress Network (2006). Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide (2nd Ed). Retrieved December 3, 2008, from http://www. ncptsd. va. ov/ncmain/ncdocs/manuals/smallerPFA_2ndEditionwithappendices. pdf U. S. Department of Education (2008). Emergency Planning. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www. ed. gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/index. html Virginia General Assembly (1999). The Model School Crisis Management Plan, 2. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://pen6. pen. k12. va. us/VDOE/Instruction/model. html Zenere, F. (2004). How Children with Trauma and Ongoing Threat: The BASIC Ph Model. National Association of School Psychologists. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www. nasponline. org/

Legal System and the Social Construction of Childhood

In 1924 the League of Nations promulgated the first international agreement setting out the principles, which should inform the universal treatment of children. The underlying image of the child contained in the Declaration of Geneva was thoroughly imbued with a modernist concept of childhood. In particular children were seen as incomplete, non-social, weak and dependent. The Declaration, therefore, placed its emphasis on the duties of adults towards children. The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), agreed in 1989, took this a stage further by making its provisions legally binding on national governments that ratified it. By 2003 this included all governments of the world except the US. The UNCRC, however, surpasses the modernist notion of children as a cultural other. It raises children's social participation as a goal alongside protection and provision. Children's participation has become an international rallying point for child advocacy. It is seen as capable of transcending differences in the social, cultural and economic conditions of children's lives around the world (Davie, Upton and Varma, 1996; Flekkoy and Kaufman, 1997; Franklin, 1995; Hart, 1992; Lansdown, 1995). From one point of view the UNCRC represents a benign attempt to bring enlightenment and humane standards to all children. It has been used in this way and it is on these grounds that it draws enthusiastic support and even evokes a certain amount of zealotry. It has also been characterized as high in rhetoric but low in intensity. In this sense it is a highly suitable instrument through which declarations of lofty principle can be made but about which little needs to be done in practice. However, it is also the case that the children's rights lobby is, for good or ill, on the forefront of the global spread of norms about childhood. As Boyden (1997:197) notes, these efforts have their precursors in the ‘civilizing mission' of colonialism: â€Å"As the twentieth century has progressed, then, highly selective, stereo-typical perceptions of childhood – of the innocent child victim on the one hand and the young deviant on the other – have been exported from the industrial world to the South †¦ It has been the explicit goal of children's rights specialists to crystallize in international law a universal system of rights for the child based on these norms.† The effects of this, she argues, are not always positive. Rights is a concept which is ultimately tied up with cultural values. Their successful implementation depends upon the existence of a compatible framework of meaning and an infrastructure of social and economic supports. The right to protection, for example, may translate well into practice when agencies, such as the police, are reliable upholders of law. When they are reliably corrupt it can be a recipe for oppression. Furthermore, some aspects of the concept of childhood contained in the UNCRC might also depend for their realization upon a level of economic wealth that many countries do not possess. As we have seen, for some countries international economic policy has led to deepening poverty, ill-health and inequality at the same time that social policy is urging the adoption of the rights of children. Perhaps, though, this is to underestimate the subtle processes that the UNCRC is enmeshed within. The different ways in which it (or part of it, Article 12) can be interpreted illustrate well how cultural globalization creates both diversity and homogeneity. It is, as Lee (1999) has pointed out, a document that has effectivity only because it is ambiguous. It is framed in such a way that its general principles are given a great deal of space for local interpretation. In fact, such was the level of disagreement among those who drafted it that this was the only way to make it acceptable to a wide range of countries with different cultural traditions about childhood. As Lee (2001a: 95-6) comments: â€Å"If the Convention had been intended to clarify children's position, it would indeed crumple under this burden, but the Convention operates in a rather different way. Having generated childhood ambiguity, it then lays the responsibility for managing that ambiguity on the legislatures and the policy-makers of the states that have ratified it.† The representation of childhood found in the UNCRC has become more complex and ambiguous than the earlier Declaration. The protection and provision articles of the Convention still emphasize children's need of adult support but, at the same time, especially through Article 12 of the Convention, children are pictured as social actors, not outside but inside society, not passive recipients but active participants. Role of the Legal System in Regulating children However, the contradictory effects of globalization do not all flow in the direction of self-expression and rights. From another point of view the twentieth century has witnessed increased levels of institutional control over children. The introduction of compulsory schooling and children's formal exclusion from paid work signaled a historical tendency towards children's increasing compartmentalization in specifically designated, separate settings, supervised by professionals and structured according to age and ability. Nà ¤sman (1994) has called this process the institutionalization of childhood. Throughout the twentieth century schooling has gradually been extended both ‘upwards' (for example in incremental steps towards an older leaving-age for compulsory schooling) and ‘downwards' in the growing emphasis on pre-school education and nursery provision (Moss et al., 2000.) Even leisure time is often framed in this way for many children because activities such as sport or music increasingly take place within some kind of institutional setting. It can be seen in the provision of after-school and holiday clubs that organize and regulate children's activities under an adult gaze, channeling them into forms considered developmentally healthy and productive. Such phenomena have been noted across European societies. German sociologists, for example, have used the terms ‘domestication' to describe the progressive removal of children from the streets and other public spaces and their relocation in special, protected spaces. They use the term ‘insularization' to describe the decreased levels of children's autonomous mobility around cities and the creation of special ‘islands' of childhood to and from which they are transported (Zeiher, 2001, 2002). Within these institutions, but with significant variations according to national policy, it is possible to discern a struggle to tighten the regulation of children and to shape more firmly the outcomes of their activities. Schooling is a good example of this. In the last decades of the twentieth century the rather instrumental schooling regimes of the ‘Tiger Economies' of Southeast Asia were held up as the model for producing economic efficiency and were widely influential in changing educational systems in Europe. I have argued elsewhere that this phenomenon represents a refocusing of modernity's drive to control the future through children (Prout, 2000a). This tightening of control over children derives from a declining faith in other mechanisms of economic control, combined with increasing competitive pressures from the world economy. The intensification of global competition and the intricate networking of national economies erode the state's capacity to control its own economic activity. In such circumstances, shaping children as the future labor force is seen as an increasingly important option. This, after all, is exactly what supply side economics is about but, as far as children are concerned, it often leads to attempts to regulate and standardize what they learn and how they learn it. References Boyden, J 1997, ‘Childhood and the Policy Makers', in James, A and Prout, A (eds), Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood (2nd edn), Falmer Press, London. Davie, R, Upton, G and Varma, V (eds) 1996, The Voice of the Child, Falmer Press, London. Flekkoy, GD and Kaufman, NH 1997, The Participation Rights of the Child: Rights and Responsibilities in Family and Society, Jessica Kingsley, London. Franklin, B 1995, Handbook of Children's Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, Routledge, London. Hart, R 1992, Children's Participation: From Tokenism to Citizenship, Innocenti Essays, Florence. Lansdown, G 1995, Taking Part: Children's Participation in Decision Making, Institute for Public Policy Research, London. Lee, N 1999, ‘The Challenge of Childhood: The Distribution of Childhood's Ambiguity in Adult Institutions', Childhood, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 455-74. Lee, N 2001a, Childhood and Society: Growing Up in an Age of Uncertainty, Open University Press, Buckingham. Moss, P, Dillon, J and Statham, J 2000, ‘The â€Å"Child in Need† and â€Å"The Rich Child†: Discourses, Constructions and Practices', Critical Social Policy, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 233-54. Nà ¤sman, E 1994, ‘Individualisation and Institutionalisation of Children', in Qvortrup, J., Bardy, M., Sgritta, G. and Wintersberger, H. (eds), Childhood Matters: Social Theory, Practice and Politics, Avebury, Aldershot. Prout, A 2000a, ‘Control and Self-Realisation in Late Modern Childhoods', Special Millenium Edition of Children and Society, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 304-15. Zeiher, H 2001, ‘Children's Islands in Space and Time: The Impact of Spatial Differentiation on Children's Ways of Shaping Social Life', in du Bois-Reymond, M., Sunker, H. and Kruger, H.-H. (eds), Childhood in Europe: Approaches – Trends – Findings, Peter Lang, New York. Zeiher, H. (2002) ‘Shaping Daily Life in Urban Environments', in Christensen, P. and O'Brien, M. (eds), Children in the City: Home, Neighbourhood and Community, London: Falmer Press.