Homelessness in the usa

Psychology Name College Homelessness in the USA There still exist problem of homelessness in the United States long after the United States Housing Act of 1937 made it clear that the federal government would provide safe, decent and affordable housing. It is not that the government has neglected the poorest people in the country. The United States Quality of Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 reveals that the federal government has little role to play in ensuring that every citizen is housed. This is a show that there are other factors contributing to the growing problem of homelessness.In every American city, one is likely to find homeless families living in abandoned buildings, cars, shelters among other places. This paper looks at two biological factors and two social factors that may be related to becoming or being homeless. History on mental illness is one of the contributing factors to increase in homelessness. A majority of the homeless persons experience mental probl ems as a result of traumatic circumstances that dominate their lives (The United States Conference of Mayors, 2008). The illness takes different forms and mainly affects the functioning of the mind.This makes it difficult for an individual to lead a normal life as it becomes hard to perform daily duties. In addition, relatives or close friends often avoid associating with the mentally ill pushing them to the streets. Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness affecting homeless individuals. According to the National Institute of Health (201 1), approximately twenty-five per cent of the mentally ill population comes from the homeless population. This is a high figure that is attributed to the stressful situations characterized by the depression.Individuals in such situations have a egative outlook towards life and are constantly struggling to make things work out. A person without a home feels lost and has a general low self-esteem. In addition, such a person has no interest in previous activities that were considered fun and would most likely keep to themselves. The isolation and loneliness often leads to depression for persons living in a homeless community. Moreover, situations that result in depression can result trom actual homelessness or can occur atter the loss ot a home (Marcuse, 1988).Another form of mental illness that has relations with becoming or eing homeless is schizophrenia. However, unlike depression, schizophrenia has biological and genetic components. This means that it does not result from external features like harmful environment or homelessness. The mental condition is devastating as it affects the how one perceives reality. This makes it difficult for one to handle the daily activities. Therefore, it is the condition that makes an individual become homeless. Individuals suffering from schizophrenia display two categories of symptoms.The first category of symptoms is referred to as positive symptoms. They re in form of delusions and hallucinations and cannot be seen on healthy individuals. For instance, hallucinations take the form of smell, sounds, and sights felt only by the affected persons. On the other hand, delusions are consistent false beliefs regardless of whether they are true or not. The second category is that of negative symptoms which are evidently seen in the life of a healthy individual but are not considered schizophrenic. Some of the common symptoms are displeasure in life or activities.It also includes the tendency to stay lonely and avoiding interaction with ther persons. This category also has symptoms relating to cognitive ability whereby an individual is unable to remember information Just received. This includes reduced capability of making informed decisions and solving problems (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011). The symptoms are a cause of distress to individuals who find it difficult to handle even the simplest tasks. This makes it hard for the affected individ uals to build lasting relationships and develop careers.In turn, it becomes difficult to maintain a home consequently leading to homelessness. There are many social factors that may lead to becoming or being homeless. Two of the most prominent social factors are poverty and social abuse. Poverty can be as a result of lack of material resources and the unfavorable market condition for housing. This affects the poor who can barely afford to rent a decent house. Most of the homeless are poor and are not well educated to secure well-paying Jobs. Therefore, they are less skilled and survive on the wages whose returns have been on the decline (Quigley Raphael & Smolensky, 2001).The rising share of income spent on housing osts is unbearable for the majority of the poor. It has become nearly impossible to own or rent a housing unit. This is the reason why most metropolitan areas have continued to experience an increase in homeless families living within the cities. Measures such as availabi lity of shelter beds in certain cities and regulations that criminalize homelessness have not been successful in bringing families and individuals out of the street. Social abuse is another factor that determines if an individual will become homeless.The most common forms of abuse are physical and exual abuse in childhood. The experience is traumatizing and may lead to major problems such as inability to adjust in all stages of life. There is also increased likelihood of experiencing stress, inability to build lasting relationships, and make good decisions. Furthermore, persons coming from an abusive background are likely to have low self-esteem, which worsens their situation as they become prone to health complications such as going into a depression and substance abuse (Richardson and Bacon, 2003).Children are worse affected compared to adults when t comes to physical and sexual abuse. In addition, children who witness constant violence are also likely to develop negative ettects that lead to homelessness. T atmosphere of violence becomes a part of their lifestyle as they become used to the incidences. Such exposure makes them develop less fear to otherwise dangerous experiences. This is what has enabled most of the children who grow in the street to get used to the harsh conditions. They tolerate the violence and later become perpetrators of the same.

Assess the case against Moral Elitism Essay

Moral Elitist believe in a metaphysical claim: there are moral facts and an epistemic claim: we have access to them. According to moral relativism, there are no moral principles or values objectively real and applicable to everyone; rather, what’s right/wrong and good/bad essentially depends on individual preference or culture, and this varies from person to person or group to group. There is not just one moral fact but instead there are millions and we access them be research. There are two different forms of moral elitism one is cultural relativism which based on societies and the other is in the individualistic form, moral subjectivism. Moral relativism seems tolerant (â€Å"you do your thing and I’ll do mine†), but is it reasonable to believe? We should think not. First, let’s look at it in its group or cultural form, cultural relativism. According to cultural relativism, ethics essentially depend on one’s culture or tribe. That is, CR says action X is right or good if the society says X is right or good, and X is wrong or bad if the society says X is wrong or bad. Action X may be right in one culture but wrong in another. Our culture may hold that apartheid is wrong, but another culture may be okay with apartheid, because of a difference in the history of interracial relations. On cultural relativism, then, morality is wholly a matter of cultural invention, i.e. social construction and because such circumstances vary from group to group, so do the constructed moralities. Thus, we shouldn’t impose our culture’s moral values on others, and others shouldn’t push theirs on us. There are no better or worse societies, they are just merely different and so one society cannot judge another. Instead we should be non judgemental and celebrate diversity. Cultural relativism sounds good, but is it sound? Let’s assume that cultural relativism is true, this would be very problematic. The biggest problem for this argument is put forward by G.E Moore’s Open Question. He suggests that the relativists have mis-defined morality, it makes to sense to ask whether society approve of something or it, but does this make it automatically good? This ends up giving support to obviously evil regimes and evil cultural practices. For example it becomes impossible to criticize the Nazis. If Nazi culture says that genocide is right, then, for Nazi Germany, genocide is right. It was just their culture, after all. But we know that we can and should condemn such regimes and practices. There is also the criticism put forward by Objectivists who believe in moral development, where sometimes we have to go against the popular view, we need to be able to compare different societies. For example surely the German society now is much better than how it was like with all the racism involved when Hitler was in power. Objectivists believe that societies are a hierarchy where some are in fact better than others whereas cultural relativism believes in breadth where all societies are equal, but surely their tolerance goes too far? If cultural relativism is true, then internal cultural reform is disabled. What the culture says is right is right, so it’s not possible for one’s culture to be mistaken let alone reformed. Yes, one can critique acts according to cultural standards, but it’s not possible to criticize one’s own cultural standards. However they do arise for example Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, they were all trying to apply another standard for example Martin Luther King was trying to apply the standard of equality. The existence of cultural reformers is a fact, and this fact counts against cultural relativism. Cultural relativism also self-refutes. If CR is true, it allows for the possibility of a society having a non-relative or absolute morality. That is, on cultural relativism a society could hold that cultural relativism is false, and they would say that this morality is true. So, if cultural relativism, then it is also not true. This is a serious logical problem. There is also the problem of which culture? The one you’re born into or the one you presently occupy? When asking someone what cultural groups they belong in they will struggle as they have loads, for example being a student, a Muslim etc. Now let’s look at moral subjectivism. According to moral subjectivism ethics are merely a matter of individual preference. That is, to say action X is right or good if I like X, and X is wrong or bad if I don’t like X. Depending on our feelings, action X may be right for you but wrong for me. You may not like abortion, but I may be okay with abortion, if my feelings are not as troubled by it as yours are. Morality, then, is basically a matter of taste, and tastes vary. People should choose our own morals and have freedom, not simply just accept our parents, society or religion. They are relative to the individual and so are presented through our personal feelings. Feelings are the main index and guide to show what morals we should follow. However this could result in problems as intra-personal criticism is lost. If moral subjectivism is true, whatever we feel is right is right. In other words, we can never be wrong morally and we cannot criticize ourselves (all we can be is true to our feelings). This does not destroy subjectivism but it serves as a red flag against IR, because our pre-theoretic experience of morality is that we sometimes make moral mistakes, in spite of our feelings. We also cannot criticize others. We can’t truly morally condemn the behaviour of, say, Jack the Ripper clearly liked killing women; the feelings of a person justified their actions. In other words, according to subjectivism: Who are we to judge them? There is also the problem of how are our feeling a reliable guide to right and wrong? Sometimes we can misjudge and feelings can cloud our judgement, for example someone with a bad temper might kill someone by accident due to their anger issues. Also reason can sometimes change our feelings, for example if I am on a diet but I feel like I really want a chocolate ice cream, reasoning about this would convince me not to follow my feelings and opt to eat something healthy instead. In conclusion we have seen the two types of moral elitism. Both are quite sophisticated and a lot more open minded. Surely our feelings mater sometimes when it comes to moral decisions. There cannot be just set moral facts as how would everyone even agree about what they are. When trying to decide what is right and wrong, everyone seems to disagree so surely our feelings and following our own society would lead to our moral decisions. However many problems arise logically from moral elitism as sometimes we cannot choose our own morals instead we are a passive recipient where morals impose themselves on us. Following our society or feelings do not necessarily lead us to what is right or wrong and so it’s reasonable to conclude that individual moral relativism is flawed—logically, factually, and morally as following it will lead to wrong situations where wrong things will be condoned. Therefore moral elitism should be rejected.

Purpose of the Education System Essay

The question posed is â€Å"What should the education system be?† This question cannot be answered specifically because the education system means something different to everyone. The education system is, to an extent, what it should be, which is an institution devoted to the development of the intellect. American education should however, be more than rote instruction of mandated materials. Our children should be taught more life skills along with science and math. Children sit in rows, facing straight, not talking. They select and use educational materials in unison, and watch the teacher write on the board. The droning sound of the teacher’s voice attempts to fill their minds with knowledge. It sounds militaristic because it is. Students remember more of what they are taught if the material is presented in a less formal, more enjoyable atmosphere. School administrators and state agencies set forth guidelines from which teachers must not deviate. The problem is, these administrators are removed from the classroom and tend to forget that children have changing needs. Today’s teachers learn more progressive teaching methods such as portfolio assessment vs. testing, and sitting in groups instead of rows. There are few administrators willing to incorporate these changes into their schools. Education management needs to allow teachers the flexibility to teach their students using whatever methods actually work. There is no reason why children should not look forward to school. For the most part, our education system is devoted to teaching students. There is great concern that students should be prepared to move on to higher stages of education. Tests are given periodically to gauge students’ progress. There is much discussion how improving education and better preparing students for the world. Students do learn, and many excel, but school is still viewed as drudgery by most students. If our education system is to prepare children for the world educators need to look more closely at curriculum. Art, philosophy, history, math, English  and science are all important subjects. They teach us about the world around us and how things work. The social setting of the educational facilities also compels students to learn about society and what is acceptable behavior. However, are we properly preparing our students for the world? Are we teaching life skills like personal finance and relationship dynamics? Can we lower the rate of divorce or the number of poverty-stricken retirees by educating students in these areas? Our education system needs to incorporate fundamental life skills into the curriculum. The focus on education should not stop at the goal to create an intelligent adult. The education system must also attempt to create a responsible citizen, an asset to the community. The American education system is not entirely broken. There are many positive things happening. Progressive teaching methods are being employed and the student is being recognized as more of an individual. America cannot stop here. We need to ask ourselves if the moral fabric of our country can be improved through education. The education system plays a larger role in our lives than any other one thing. The system needs to use this influence to improve society as a whole and people as individuals.

Women Heads of States in Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women Heads of States in Latin America - Essay Example More so, there were virtually no female heads of state in Latin America as late as the 1980s. Nevertheless, beginning the 1990s to present, the number of women in executive positions and especially as presidents in Latin America has increased drastically. In this essay we look at two women who have made political impact in Latin America, both in the 20th and 21st centuries. We briefly look at Evita Peron, a 20th century woman and the role she played in shaping the future for Latin American women of the 21st century. Secondly, we look more extensively at Michelle Bachelet, her presidency in Chile and how she has continually championed for women rights. Evita Peron was the most influential woman in Latin American history until the late 20th century. Although Evita never officially held a post in the executive, she was a powerful advocate of women rights in the political arena. Until her death in 1952, Evita was actively engaged in designing policies intended to benefit women in Argenti na. In association with other feminists, Evita formed the â€Å"Peronist Feminist Party† that was designed to help women ascend the political ladder and occupy important political posts (Keen & Haynes, pp. 383). In the social sector, Evita founded a charitable organization that gave financial and legal aid to disadvantaged women in Argentina.

Tourism Policy and Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism Policy and Planning - Essay Example On exploiting these opportunities, the Tourism industries can indeed open doors for more variety in the offerings like the food chain, entertainment, shopping and heritage sites (The Tourist Offices Of Spain, 2013; City Of York Council, 2003). This gives immense scope to incline the differentiating factors like the culture, history, heritage, language, lifestyle and natural resources. Â  While bringing these differences to a compromise seems challenging, the lack of effort in the same might make the tourist bored very quickly. Eventually, the most serious threat these two destinations might face would be the loss of revenue worth billions and the depreciation of regional output figure / GVA that has seen a commendable growth of about 20% in the last decade (The Tourist Offices Of Spain, 2013; York Tourism Partnership, 2007). Â   2. ... Â  York and Seville are blessed with environmental assets which are indeed the strength for businesses. Exploring these unruffled regions creates new options for tourists and allows them to explore the best of them, rather than just the popular and most visited places. On the other side, the weakness of the two destinations is the lack of speedy communication option, together with the challenge of balancing standardization against customization and matching tourist’s luxury with value for money (Leeds City Council, 2012). 3. Having a competitive transport infrastructure increases the mobility of tourists and gives equal opportunities for all places to be explored in the same visit. One may easily reach York by car, bus, coach tour, train, ferry and boats (Visit York, 2013). For international tourists, the entries to UK is via major airports at Leeds, London, and Manchester with world class amenities which are well connected with other famous and frequently visited destination s of the world (City of York Council, 2003). However the local conveyance needs further detailing. To overcome the disadvantages like lack of geographical knowledge of the new place, emphasis on putting up detailed maps, precise sign boards, directions and distance for visitor’s reference should be made (Seville City Council, 2008). The key proposal of investment would be towards making the best travel experience, in terms of destination development and visitor management, which demands increase in public transportation facilities and roads to help tourists navigate throughout the city quickly and with ease. A smart investment plan would include joint

How the Railway Labor Act Affected Bargaining in the Aviation Industry Essay

How the Railway Labor Act Affected Bargaining in the Aviation Industry - Essay Example ("United Airlines CEO," 2000) In the airline industry, bargaining is administered by the National Mediation Board (NMB) under the RLA. In the last half century the RLA, as applies to the airline industry, has resulted in strikes in less than 3 percent of all cases. In spite of this, most airline management views the process required by the RLA as antiquated and broken ("Ex-Gov. Goldschmidt," 2003) The railway labor act of 1926 was the first major labor legislation passed by the U.S. Congress. Instead of forming rules that applied to the whole of U.S. Industry, it targeted the railroad business, then the most important part of the transportation business in U.S. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act"). The act's purpose was essentially to replace strikes with bargaining, arbitration, and mediation as a way to resolve labor disputes. The act also disallowed employers from forcing workers to bargain through company-dominated unions. ("Collective Bargaining") There are two ways in which the RLA delays or eliminates strikes altogether: the act prolongs the process of collective bargaining; as the act requires that the parties have been released by the NMB 30 days before a strike can take place, where the date of release is the sole discretion of the NMB. ("Collective Bargaining") Second, the RLA requires mandatory arbi... ("Collective Bargaining") Both labor unions and employers benefited from the RLA. Workers, who wanted to have the opportunity to organize themselves and to obtain the proper attention from employers to negotiate new agreements and enforce existing ones, got what they wanted. So did the railroad companies. The Congress had decided that commerce had to be kept moving in the interest of the public, and thus mandated that workers, in spite of any disputes, must "work now" and "grieve later." Thus employers won the right to keep business going in spite of ongoing labor disputes. ("Railway Labor Act," 2005) There are some exceptions to the "work now, grieve later" rule, however. Workers are allowed to refuse to work when they have a reasonable belief that the work is unsafe, and when work being asked for is in clear violation of the contract. However, if the company can make a "reasonable" claim that the contract justifies the work being requested, then the employee is expected to work, and report any grievances later. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act") Under the RLA, the first step in contract negotiations are "direct negotiations," which are negotiations without the mediation of the NMB. Agreements also do not have inherent expiration dates under the RLA-expiration dates must be set within the agreement itself. Hence the agreement remains enforceable, and is the status quo, until any change is agreed upon by both parties. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act") The RLA allows strikes over major disputes (or disputes that concern the creation or modification of the collective bargaining agreement) only if all of the RLA's negotiation

Teachers Viewpoint on the Impact of Applying Distance Training on the Essay

Teachers Viewpoint on the Impact of Applying Distance Training on the Participation in Training Programmes - Essay Example e participation of teachers in training programs, and applying distance training, the study has a number of importance’s, thus making it relevant in literature. The methodologies used in reflecting the research, research questions are used as a mode of data collection. They will be restarted as an introduction of the methodology and process. In addition, methods will be justified and study the sample presented. The selection of participants, questionnaire design and use of semi structured interviews. In order to enhance the capability of teachers for critical thinking and provides effective contribution towards the progression and advancement of knowledge regarding various practices of training, regarding future research, a number of suggestions could be provided. Research should investigate the effects of application of distance training on the performance of teachers in Saudi Arabia. An obstacle facing the application of distance training in Saudi is a serious topic that needs further research. Teachers play a significant role in the society and their deliberate efforts are subjected to internal workplace pressures and external societal pressures. It is these internal working environment pressures and the external communal pressures which deeply influence the functions and responsibilities of the teachers towards their target viewers i.e. the students along with various subject matters taught to them (Martinet et. al., 2001). It has been identified that according to the official standards of a country, the training of the teachers is a kind of study programme which leads towards an enhanced status of a qualified teacher (UNESCO, 2001). It has also been observed that there are many numbers of teachers who have participated in various training programmes using both face-to-face and distance training. However, at the same time, certain segments of teachers fail to participate in training programmes due to a number of problems they face. This study aims to

Organizational Culture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Culture - Term Paper Example The top directors have been replaced while the managers and the employees continue to work. Hence there is no coordination between the employers and the employees. Both groups have no familiarity and no understanding; both are not willing to help the other group adjust to the new demands and situation. There are no shared values or missions; no shared goals to pursue. Orders have been steadily declining and performance is affected. The client complaints have increased and the compliant resolution period has become indefinite. Power culture resides in the company which is evident in reserving the car parking space for the new bosses. Such restrictions have been communicated through memos circulated among the employees. There is practically no co-ordination or trust between the two groups at this organization. This is because there is no continuity of the top management and since there is no established culture employees are generally unhappy and not motivated to give their best. There is weak focus on both performance and culture. Individual employees are concerned with their own career goals and organizational commitment is affected. Clearly the organization is in the first quadrant – going out of business. Reform measures to achieve excellence Each organization is unique and so are their problems. Thus, they need to follow their own unique path to shape and sustain high-performance culture. Rosenthal and Masarech (2003) describes five stages that can help an organization achieve the high-performance culture but these steps need not be followed in the exact sequence as suggested as each organization is unique. Since this construction company has no espoused or... This essay stresses that the managers and the top management have to transmit the core values through living them, by leading them. This is the hallmark of a transformational leader and this requires maintaining discipline. Their behaviour must be linked to the values and this should be visible to all. At this company there are very few senior leaders or managers and hence it is up to them if they would like to be the role models or train a few senior managers to help them carry out the responsibility. The first step would be to lift the restrictions on car parking which separates the top management from the rest of the workers. This would encourage the employees to listen to the management. Aligning the day-to-day operations with espoused values is a major block to achieving the desired performance culture. This report makes a conclusion that through this strategy of keeping the employees’ interests at heart, the construction company would be able to engage the employees. The right leadership would be able to inspire every employee to own the culture, to live the culture and to sustain the culture. If the leaders are able to personally connect with the organization’s values, they would be able to engage the employees and evoke similar response from them. It would be able to engage the employees in a way that become passionate about the organization and passionate to achieve the organizational goals. This is the true test of a performance culture.

The Meaning of Love According to Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Meaning of Love According to Plato - Essay Example The symposium is a venerable treatise record of speeches employed in both story and verse by six prominent Athenians to convey a clump of myths and motifs regarding nature, meaning together with the purpose of live. A symposium was a social event in Ancient Greek where people partied after an evening meal. In this occasion, people would drink wine saturated with water, sing songs, make conversation, and tell stories and riddles as well as fables. Those who participated perfumed wore garlands, danced, and entertained by hired mimes, acrobats, and flute-players. It was during his occasion, Plato remarked on conversations regarding the meaning of love with a discourse of speeches. He begins lessons of this formidable yet a life-determining discussion by referring to love as a great god, marvelous as to how he came into being, and very wonderful according to how he treats fellow gods and people. Love is a god and no one knows when it commenced existing but believed to have come into bein g after what the poets’ term as chaos and earth (Plato 57). Referencing from Plato’s definition of love, I think love in terms of genealogy is the oldest god meaning that it is virtually eternal and there has never been a time when it was not there. Since love is a god and ancient, he offers the greatest goods such as gentle relationship full of great love with neither shame nor pride. Love is the origin or source of greatest gifts that has its stand in the heart of all humankind considered noble and within every generous act. Plato’s description of love as source shows that love is a motivational power that generates need to establish a relationship and maintain it for as long as possible. In this case, the value of the greatest gifts of love does not necessarily mean satisfaction of erotic needs (Plato 19). It also values virtue development and distinguished character within both parties. Some of the gifts that come along with love include justice within towns , good guidance in life, bravery in war as well as getting rid of fear and shame. Love fills people with might that enables them to overcome danger and deepens their courage to an extent of losing their lives in place of their loved ones. Love is a motivation for noble and high actions and benefits the lives on men effectively as it gives the greatest gifts (Plato 23). Regarding this definition of love, I think love is kind and caring as it gives people motivation and courage to face any kind of challenge or risk including death. I also presuppose that love creates emotions that make people develop feelings towards others and in the process begin trying winning the subjects love, establish a relationship that the lover maintains for good. Further, Plato portrays definition of love with unmitigated praise saying that love is neither noble nor ignoble. In this definition, there are two types of love, which are Common Aphrodite and Heavenly Aphrodite (Plato 35). In this arena, love is neutral, but what determine its position are its actions and sentiments. If sentiments and actions of love depict negativity, it means that love is ignoble and shameful in this scenario. If love’s actions as well as sentiments come out as a product of nobility and goodwill then love in this particular scenario is noble and honorable. According to Plato, love that a vulgar feels is ignoble and produces ignoble sentiments. He classifies this kind of love in the class of

The Art of Negotiation - Teams vs individuals Assignment

The Art of Negotiation - Teams vs individuals - Assignment Example The effectiveness arises from the fact that all the members of the team have similar interests in the negotiations and expect to have uniform benefits (Mannix, Neale & Overbeck, 2011). The efficacy effect of team negotiations is the ability to have different viewpoints supporting the same issue under negotiation. This is different from individual negotiation in which the individual uses a single unsupported point of view. In addition, individuals negotiating with a company or an organization is at risk of unnecessary victimization as opposed to a group which cannot be victimized. Further, an individual fighting for a personal course does not only lack the voice but is also seen as uncooperative and individualistic (Mannix, Neale & Overbeck, 2011). The results of the two types of negotiations differ greatly. In team negotiation, the diverse points of view makes the teams bargaining power increase and the consensus is easily reached. The actual results of solo-negotiations, on the other hand, are low bargaining power and it takes a more difficult convincing to have the result reflect as the individual would

Five Point Plan for Crime Reduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Five Point Plan for Crime Reduction - Essay Example Yet, despite placing more and more individuals under the control of the country’s correctional center, the crime rate does not seem to be going down. A reasonable conclusion that can be reached from the aforesaid findings is that the present justice system is not working as expected. Alternative plans or policies, therefore, should be adopted to bridge the gap between law enforcement and effective reduction in crime rates. Such policies and measures should be able to address the shortcomings of the existing approaches to crime reduction as well as remedy the limited capacity of the criminal judicial system. Such measures should, at the least, include the following: reducing re-offence through education, training and employment; focused or individualized deterrence; addressing criminal gangs from the roots; Situational Crime Prevention (SCP), and; reducing drug use. Reducing re-offence through education, training and employment One way of reducing crime rates is to lower the ra te of recidivism or reoffending. A study of rearrest, reconviction, and reincarceration conducted by the Bureau of Jail Statistics (BJS) in the 1990s on inmates released in 1994 showed that within three years, more than 50% of them went back to prison within three years from release. Thus, 73.8% of property offenders released in 1994 were rearrested within 3 years and so did 61.7% of violent crime offenders, 66.7% of drug offenders and 62.2% rate of public order offenders (2002). In 2000, 42% of 459,000 US parolees reoffended within 18 months from release (Serin, 2005). A parallel study of reoffending in the UK published by the Audit Commission (1996) revealed that most repeat offenders come from disadvantaged groups, which could entail homelessness, unemployment, drug use, mental and alcohol problems. A majority of the offenders are unemployed at the time of arrest. The youth group has a high rate of recidivism, most of who are out of school. Generally, most prisoners lack necessar y skills for employment (Audit Commission, 1996) Intervention should be applied both in the prisons and in the community. According to Ofsted (2009), education, training and employment are the best ways of reducing re-offence. Joblessness triggers some people to engage in crimes and join gangs to get money. Education and training for prisoners will provide them with important knowledge and skills, which will work to their advantage once they are released from prisons. Employment will be relatively easier and ultimately, reintegration into society. Being armed with the necessary education and training also reduce feelings of inferiority upon return to their respective communities. Difficulties in re-integration can cause depression and frustration and compel newly released prisoners to resort to recidivism. For the youth, this encourages them to seek the company of persons similarly situated, such as joining criminal gangs. Education intervention offers a chance for ex-convicts for a better life rather than engage again in criminality. Technical training is best for most prisoners because it is less academically oriented, but adult and juvenile prisons should receive the same level of education as those in mainstream schools. This will make it easy for the youth offenders to integrate back to their schools or continue with higher

Shaken and therefore angered Essay Example for Free

Shaken and therefore angered Essay Chris is a character in which the audience can really relate to, the audience only knows what Chris knows, both of them dont know the real truth. Miller uses Chris to convey the real message out of this story. Chris a character who believes his father and is a very innocent in the beginning of the play. The truth of the cylinder heads effects Chris so much because the people who Keller killed were like brothers to him. Chris refers to the soldiers in war as his brothers because the war experience to him was very moving for him, Chris was amazed to see the courage and love which each soldier gave to each other, and how he was shocked to see that the same courage and love wasnt seen back at home after the war. On page 66, he calls the soldiers as his boys which is a reflection of how much he cared for them. Miller uses Chris to show how businesses made profit out of the war, how they wrongly used innocent soldiers to profit from. . Such as on page 61 when George says how Steve would like to get every man who made money out of the war, Chris replies Hell need a lot of bullets so agreeing with him. Miller is very anti-capitalist, and he makes Chris anti-capitalist as well, he want to make Chris a person who attacks people who want to make money out of doing wrong, that is why he didnt want his name on his dads business. Miller wants to use Chris to show how corrupt the American dream really is. Chris can be viewed at being a character who never deceives himself or others, however this isnt entirely true. On page 76 he admits that he suspected that his father was responsible for the soldiers deaths but still lies and deceives himself to George, I suspected my father and I did nothing about it.  Miller dramatises the theme that sooner or later the chickens will come home to roost very well. He does it very effectively and uses a variety of techniques which makes it effective. If you refer to the word when in the actual theme, relates to the point that eventually the consequences of actions are going t come back to haunt the character. This idea of something appearing later on in the story engages the audience who wait to see what the other character reactions are to emerging consequences. Another way in which he makes the dramatising effective is by stopping us in particular parts in a crucial conversation which is likely to give us the vital information which we need to make full sense and understanding of the play. The stopping in a middle of a heated conversation is known as a diversionary tactic, Miller uses them by introducing new characters who stop a engaging conversation between two of the main characters in the play. An example of the use of a diversionary tactic is shown on page 53. This is where George has entered the scene with Anne and Chris, at first the tension is very low and the conversation is very light-hearted, but it soon switches when George asks Anne whether she has married Chris yet. The topic of marriage increases the tension in the scene, and is aided by the short and sharp verses which both George and Chris say. The argument escalates even further when Keller is brought in to the topic of conversation, Your Dad took everything we have. The audience become more engaged with the conversation as George demands to see Keller, so that the confrontation which the audience have been wanting for can now happen but Miller holds the audience back and uses a diversionary tactic by introducing mother. Mother quickly reduces the tension and relaxes the atmosphere by referring to George in an informal and friendly way, Georgie. George decides to change the topic of conversation which he previously had with Chris and start talking light-heartedly to Mother, he decides to be more friendly as he doesnt want to alarm or upset such a fragile and disturbed women. Another effective technique which Miller uses, is the use of stage directions, they are used to portray a characters positions and reactions. They are used to enhance the suspicions within the audience, examples of them are Crossing to them rapidly, They wait and Shaken and therefore angered. These specific examples are used just before George enters the scene, and makes the audience question to why the other characters have those stage directions.

Software Process Development: Water Fall Model and the RAD

Software Process Development: Water Fall Model and the RAD Software Process Development Abstract Choosing the best suited Software development system (SDS) for any particular project is the first and foremost thing to do. If this step goes wrong or selecting an unsuited SDS for the project may lead to unsuccessful or incomplete or may be delayed to the time expected. Till now many surveys and investigations are done on finding new processes, rectifying the problems in the pervious projects, etc. the new processes every time comes with a new way of implementation of the software development process. In this project I am investigating on the basic implementation of the SDS with the water fall model and the rapid application development (RAD) model. For this a detailed study of the both the models are done, and then finding out which software development model is best suited for the development of windows applications. For this comparison the yahoo messenger (a windows application) is used as an example. Introduction Software development has become very difficult due to changing requirements, lack of standards, unpredictable schedules, and due to the insufficient training and more than that by the lack of effort by the professionals. After a lot of research, it was clear that the problem is with the process that is used for the software development, rather than the technology, which cause number of the problems in software development and in the maintenance phase. A new terminology is introduced with five levels of the SEI which is known as capability maturity model (CMM). Most of the software life cycle includes six processes they are: requirements engineering, design, programming, integration, delivery, and maintenance. Each of these phases in brief: Requirements Engineering In this phase first all the requirements that are required by the client a0re designers of the site collectively. Then the technique of rapid prototyping in which a prototype program is built that can illustrates the functionality of the desired software model. Using this prototype, clients can understand better how the final product would be, how would be the functionality and from that they can find out whether this is what they really need. If the requirements engineering process is not done properly, the resulting software product will not be useful to the client and it may not run correctly. Design In this process, the analysts and developers decide how to construct the software with the requirements specifications agreed in the requirements specification document. This way of designing is called stepwise refinement, and this allows the developers to control the complexity of the software. After completing the design, it is recorded in design specification document. Programming In this phase, programmers are divided into groups who write the actual code of the software. Before coding starts, the software is divided into separate units called modules. This modularization is done to reduce the complexity of the programming process. This is also responsible for proper documentation that describing the code and for testing the code to ensure that the code is free of bugs. Integration In this phase, the individual modules of the software are combined to form the complete software product. As the modules are developed separately, testing is very important in this integration process. Even when the design is good, some times incompatibilities between modules are likely to exist. All these problems are identified and corrected to complete the integration. Delivery In this phase, the developers deliver the completely working software product to the clients. Usually the clients will test the software to determine whether all the specifications agreed upon in the requirements specification document are fulfilled or not. If the client is satisfied with the software he accepts the software and installs it or else gives back for modifications. Maintenance In this phase, the software undergoes many changes after delivery in order to change the features or to fix the bugs, add new functionality, port the software to new platforms. Its not true that the work is over after delivering the product to client. Actually more work is to be done, after delivering the product, in this maintenance phase. From the investigation done the experts it is surprised to discover that of all the processes, the maintenance phase has the more cost of the life cycle. The diagram below shows the expected costs that are likely to be spending on each of the processes in the software life cycle. As maintenance cost is more, many developers started to use the design approaches that result in software, which is easier to maintain. History of Software Process Models The Software Engineering Institute was established at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1984, under a Department of Defense contract. The mission of this institute is to provide the leadership in advance state of the practice of software engineering that helps to improve the quality of systems that are developed which depend on software. After two years the software process work has began. One of those results was the software process maturity model. In the year of 1987, the Software Engineering Institute and MITRE Corporation produced the first questionnaire on the maturity of a software in general, a set of question that has the options as yes-no are prepared that address organization, management issues and the technical software development process. In the next few years, the Software Engineering Institute developed two methods that are used for the questionnaire to test and conclude the report of an organizations software process. After many reviews, the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for software was developed which replaced the software process maturity model in the year 1991. The CMM gives the detailed information of the levels of the firms that best suites for the general software process practices that are followed by the firms which are divided into five maturity levels. The questionnaire that are to be satisfied by the firms at there CMM levels , once the current level of operation is attained using the maturity, for further improvement of a companys software process involves in the implementation of the software engineering practices that are needed to reach each of the five levels in an order from the lowest to the highest level. Water Fall Model The water fall model is first and the basic model of software development. From this basic model only all other models were developed. The necessity of developing the water fall model was, until it was developed there was no model or software process work flow model. Thats the reason the water fall was the basic model for software development. Water fall model is divided into separate phases of software development. The phases in Waterfall model are: Requirement Specifications phase, Software Design, Implementation and Testing Maintenance. . All these phases are cascaded to each other so that second phase is started as and when defined set of goals are achieved for first phase and it is signed off, so the name Waterfall Model. All the methods and processes undertaken in Waterfall Model are more visible. All possible requirements of the system to be developed are analyzed in this phase. Requirements are set of functionalities and constraints that the end-user (who will be using the system) expects from the system. The requirements are gathered from the end-user by consulting the customer who have requested for the product. These requirements are analyzed for their validity and the possibility of incorporating the requirements in the system to be development is also studied. Finally, a Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model. Next comes the system and software design phase. In this phase, before starting for actual coding, it is highly important to understand what we are going to create and what it should look like? The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system architecture. In this phase the estimation of cost for developing the product is also analyzed depending on the requirements. The system design specifications serve as input for the next phase of the model. The next sequential phase is the implementation (coding) and unit testing the software. On receiving system design documents, the work is divided in modules/units and actual coding is started. The system is first developed in small programs called units, which are integrated in the next phase. So that it would be easy to develop the code by dividing the work into small units. Then each unit of work that is divided from the total work is developed individually by each developer and tested for that particular unit of work is done properly or not. This type of testing the individual unit code is called unit testing. In the next upcoming phases the small units of code is to be integrated into one single code and should be tested for the over all functionality. As specified above, the system is first divided in units which are developed and tested for their functionalities . These units are integrated into a complete system during Integration phase and tested to check if all modules/units coordinate between each other and the system as a whole behaves as per the specifications. After successfully testing the software, it is delivered to the customer. The maintenance phase is the most important and it is almost 70% of total software process life cycle. This phase of is virtually never ending phase (Very long). Generally, problems with the system developed (which are not found during the development life cycle) come up after its practical use starts, so the issues related to the system are solved after deployment of the system. Not all the problems come in picture directly but they arise time to time and needs to be solved; hence this process is referred as Maintenance. On the time ruin the problems may occur and the code may not accept the new type of data, and then there is the need to change the part of the code or correct that part of code. Due to some disadvantages of the water fall model later some other models are developed. The disadvantages are The main drawback of the waterfall model is the difficulty of accommodating change after the process is underway. One phase has to be complete before moving onto the next phase Inflexible partitioning of the project into distinct stages makes it difficult to respond to changing customer requirements. Therefore, this model is only appropriate when the requirements are well-understood and changes will be fairly limited during the design process. Few business systems have stable requirements. The waterfall model is mostly used for large systems engineering projects where a system is developed at several sites. Rapid Application Development (RAD) RAD is a software development process initiated by James Martin in 1980s. It is a very high level of application development techniques that uses prototype, iterative customization and CASE tools. RAD is a software development methodology that focuses on building applications in a very short amount of time, traditionally with compromises in usability, features and execution speed. Figure-Traditional RAD The traditional RAD software development cycle follows a rigid sequence of steps with a formal sign-off at the completion of each. RAD is not appropriate for all projects. This is bet suited for the projects that can be divided into small chunks and where scope is small. RAD has many core elements which make it unique are prototyping, iterative development, time boxing, team members, management approach and RAD tools. Prototyping: This part of the RAD can be done by the Computer Aided Software Engineering that focus on capturing requirements, converting them to a data model, converting the data model to a database, and generating code all in one tool. Iterative development: Iterative development means creating increasing functional versions of a system in short development cycles. Each version is reviewed and approved by the client to produce requirements that feed the next version. This process is repeated until all functionality has been developed. Time boxing: Time boxing is adding features to future versions of the software and developing it no time. It is very important aspect of RAD to complete the job in less time and get the best product out than other competitors. Team members: The RAD methodology recommends the use of small teams that consist of experienced, versatile, and motivated members that are able to perform multiple roles. As the client plays a vital role in the development process, dedicated client resources must be available during the initial Joint Application Development (JAD) Management approach: Active and involved management is required to reduce the risks of lengthened development cycles, client misunderstandings, and missed deadlines. In addition to enforcing a strict timeline, management must focus on team member selection, team motivation, and on clearing media or political obstacles. Coding phase: Developing Code in RAD process model takes very short span. At the time of development of these types of projects the there is no need or no time to make the code future enhancements. So the code developed using this process is not the most reliable code. Testing phase: In the testing phase the developed software or website is tested in two ways i.e. alpha testing and beta testing. Alpha testing is the testing done by the developers before delivering the product. This alpha testing can be done in two ways i.e. white box testing and the black box testing. The testing of all the models that are working properly or not and to ensure that each function is fully operational while at the same time searching for the errors in the code is called white box testing. Testing the internal and primitive operations and to sure that all are working according to the specification is called black box testing. Testing done by the customer to check weather all the specification requirements are working properly is called beat testing. If any problem occurs, then the error is set up and just added to the code at the appropriate position. Advantages: Speed and quality are the main advantages of Rapid Application Development, while potentially reduced scalability and feature sets are the disadvantages. The main goal of RAD is the speed delivery of the product using CASE tools, which helps in converting the requirements to code automatically. The speed delivery is the main feature of RAD because the product has the competitors and demand in the market. The software developed by the RAD has versions and each version is better, has new features or at least overcomes the defects of the previous versions. Disadvantages: Scalability and the reduced features are main drawbacks of the RAD Due to very less time using the time boxing the development of the product that can construct the advanced features is not possible. By using time boxing we have very less time to develop much more features and more enhanced features. Yahoo Messenger The versions of yahoo messenger that are developed with the features are: Version 3.0: Yahoo Messenger 3.0 (1.3 MB) The first basic yahoo messenger was version 3.0 with basic features of chat, webcam, file transfer and emoticons that can incorporate in between the text in chat box. Version 3.5: Yahoo Messenger 3.5 (1.9 MB) This version has the new features of mail updates of the user account and the option of my display image. This feature enables the user to show his picture to the person with whom he/she chatting. Version 4.1: Yahoo Messenger 4.1 (2.3 MB) In this version the send contact details, message archive are introduced. Send contact details option enables the user to send the messenger list in his account to others. If message archive option is set then all the conversations done by the account user can be stored in the local system where person chats. Version 5.0: Yahoo Messenger 5.0 (2.2 MB) This version has the new feature of photo share through which two persons can share the pictures by just dragging and dropping the pictures into the sharing box. This is the great feature that had made yahoo! messenger more popular. Version 5.5.1228: Yahoo Messenger 5.5.1228 (2.6 MB) This version has the option to change the skins and the option to join the chat rooms all over the world. Version 6.1922: Yahoo Messenger 6.1922 (4.5 MB) This version ahs the feature of play game with the other person in the chat. And the other new feature is buzz which alerts the with a sound. The chat box is provided with the text format tool bar. Version 7.0: Yahoo Messenger 7.0 (8.2 MB) This version has the drastic changes and much new features than the previous versions. The IM environment option that changes the backdrop of the chat box. Version 7.426: Yahoo Messenger 7.426 (8 MB) This version has the new feature called the voice chat. With this option a person can record his voice message and send it to this other person in the chat. This feature revolutionized the yahoo! Messenger and made popular. Version 7.437: Yahoo Messenger 7.437 (8 MB) In this version we have the plug-ins of yahoo! Games, yahoo! Music and yahoo! Weather. These features enable the users to play the games, listen to music and see the weather report in certain areas all over the world. Version 7. 5.0.647: Yahoo Messenger 7.5.0.647 (7.7 MB) This version has very slight difference than its pervious versions with only new feature that is calling pc-to-pc using the VOIP protocol that is developed for voice transmission over Internet. Version 8.0.0.506: Yahoo Messenger 8.0.0.506 (10 MB) This is the very advanced version of the yahoo messenger, which has an option sending the SMS to the mobile directly to the person who has signed in into his mobile device. And the persons who are have the account into the messenger list. The new and smart tool is the audibles tool bar for chat box, which has many prerecorded audibles in different languages and different animated pictures speaking out those audibles. This is how the 11 versions of yahoo! Messenger is developed using RAD. And many other versions are upcoming using this method of software developing such as yahoo! Messenger 8.0(Beta), which is under testing phase. With in 8 years the yahoo had developed 8 versions of Yahoo! Messengers with versions numbered from 3.0 to 8.0.0.506 with pc -to-pc talk and SMS to mobile. Developing Yahoo! Messenger with Water Fall Model The first and the foremost is that in water fall model all the requirements are taken at a time. The design and coding is done in the most common way i.e. from the design phase itself it is designed. Requiremental Analysis and Design: The requirements of the yahoo messenger are the login window, chat window, the server side application for maintenance. All these are the requirements that are required for the development of yahoo messenger. The client application requirements are Login window Frame window Chat window Manage Contacts Authentication message window Then after the language in which the coding is to be done is decided. Data base for the server side application should be developed; the entire design depends on the data base that is structure to store the data of every client. The design of the yahoo messenger is taken up by the minimum and basic requirements. The design is made normally with out nay future plans. Development Diagrams The UML diagrams play an important role in the software development diagrams. These diagrams illustrate the clear cut idea of the software that is being developed. Use case Diagrams: Use cases describe the behavior of the system when one of these actors sends one particular stimulus. This behavior is described textually. It describes the nature of the stimulus that triggers the use case; the inputs from and outputs to other actors, and the behaviors that convert the inputs to the outputs. The text of the use case also usually describes everything that can go wrong during the course of the specified behavior, and what remedial action the system will take. Context diagrams: A context diagram is a data flow diagram, with only one massive central process that subsumes everything inside the scope of the system. It shows how the system will receive and send data flows to the external entities involved. Class Diagrams: Class diagrams are widely used to describe the types of objects in a system and their relationships. Class diagrams model class structure and contents using design elements such as classes, packages and objects. Class diagrams describe three different perspectives when designing a system, conceptual, specification, and implementation. These perspectives become evident as the diagram is created and help solidify the design. Data Flow Diagrams: A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the flow of data through an information system. A data flow diagram can also be used for the visualization of data processing. It is common practice for a designer to draw a context-level DFD first which shows the interaction between the system and outside entities. This context-level DFD is then exploded to show more detail of the system being modeled. Implementation and Coding: In this phase the actually the code is developed. Before that the total code is divided into independent modules, so that the coding becomes easy. So the coding part is divided into modules such as Integration and Unit testing : After the coding is done for individual modules such as data base structure, frame work and the data base or server connectivity module are integrated into one module of code for the code to work with all the functions full. Then this code is tested after the integration is done, to check weather the code is working collectively after integrating the all the modules into one single code. In the testing phase the developed software or website is tested in two ways i.e. alpha testing and beta testing. Alpha testing is the testing done by the developers before delivering the product. This alpha testing can be done in two ways i.e. white box testing and the black box testing. The testing for all the modules is done to check weather all the code is working properly or not and to ensure that each function is fully operational while at the same time searching for the errors in the code is called white box testing. Testing the internal and primitive operations and to sure that all are working according to the specification is called black box testing. Testing done by the customer to check weather all the specification requirements are working properly is called beat testing. If any problem occurs, then the error is set up and just added to the code at the appropriate position. Maintenance Phase: This is phase in which the maximum amount of resources are used. In this water fall model the yahoo messenger requires many changes in the features for adding new features such as the voice chat, video conference, pc to pc call etc. For all these new features the present code is not venerable to add the new models or to integrate, so that the reason why all the code is developed again with new features in the water fall model which consumes more time and resources. Developing Yahoo! Messenger with RAD Instant messenger is first lunched by yahoo named as Yahoo! Messenger on 21 July 1999. The first version of yahoo messenger is version 3.0 for MAC operating system with the features of webcam, file transfer, emoticons. The important requirement of an instant messenger is chat, and this chat is enabled between system to system because the messenger chat box communicate between two systems using there MAC (Message Authentication Code) address. Windows Application version of instant messenger and web messenger are the products of yahoo. Analysis Phase In this phase the requirements such as software hard ware requirements are analyzed and listed for the usage of the development of the product. The main problem is that the windows application cannot be directly connected to the remote database (for authentication, chat, offline message). For that the web service is the best solution that can connect database remotely and can call the methods in the remote classes. Because the web service transmits the data from the remote database, and it is in very robust form to destroy. Then its is to be decided in which platform the project should be developed either in java or Microsoft .net or etc. in some cases the customer itself asks the product to be done in a particular platform. If the customer did not ask for any particular platform we can chose the platform on our own. Estimation of cost is made in this phase itself. The total cost estimation for development, maintenance, etc. the cost for development is calculated in man hours of work. Requirement analysis: Actually the requirement of an software include the requirements of the customer that he want in the software and the other software and hardware requirements that are needed for the software development. The features of the yahoo instant messenger are enhanced form version to version. There are many version of yahoo messenger from version 3.0 to version 8.1. in each version the new changes and features had been added such as voice chat, pc-to-pc call, plug-ins, IM-Environment, SMS to Mobile etc. For developing software or windows application or a web application we need software to develop such as C++, VC++, Java or Microsoft Visual Studio etc. For instant messenger we need to develop a windows application that can be run at the clients pc and we a need a web service to communicate the client-client transaction. The windows application cannot directly communicate with the remote database and cannot communicate with the other client without a web reference. So web service is used a web service for checking the authentication of the users account and his details. The first version of the Yahoo! Messenger 3.0 has only few features such as chat, web cam, emoticons. In the later version the features such as voice chat, pc-to-pc call, plug-ins, IM-Environment, SMS to Mobile added. But all these features are not added at time. They are all added for the future versions of 3.0 to 8.1. With all these requirements a prototype model is prepared. And for designing the software that prototype model should be approved by the client. Hardware Requirements For developing an instant messenger an ordinary system is sufficient. But to make the instant messenger work we need a server that acts as web service for the instant messenger to communicate between the users of the instant messenger. The uninterrupted internet connection to the server is very much important so that no users finds incontinent to work. And steps need to be taken for a fast recovery at the time of crashing of the server. Design phase First the total development of the yahoo messenger is divided into modules. Then the software diagrams are drawn for the convenient for the developing the code. First the context diagram is drawn for the project. Then comes the data flow diagrams in which the flow of the data in the project is shown. The next diagram is the ER-Diagram in which the all the parameters of the total project are represented in diagrams. This diagram is very much useful in developing a database in which a column is made for every single column in the database. In this database the data should be maintained in the tables. And these tables should have the primary keys and foreign keys (primary keys of other table in the current table is called foreign key). In this design phase it self the use case diagrams, activity diagrams and sequence diagrams are developed. Then the use case diagrams which sub parts or modules of the project. Depending on these all diagrams the total project is divided into small modules and these modules are distributed to each team for development. Time boxing is adding features to future versions of the software and developing it no time. It is very important aspect of RAD to complete the job in less time and get the best product out than other competitors. In the design phase a first a prototype model is prepared with all the requirements that are analyses in the requirement analysis phase. And for designing the software that prototype model should be approved by the client. The total project is divided in small chunks so that it would be easy to develop the software in no time. The design phase has many sub phases, they are Software development diagrams: These diagrams are very important and help a lot in the development of the project. The diagrams are Context diagrams, Entity relationship diagrams, Data flow diagrams, Use case diagrams, Collaboration diagrams, Sequence diagrams. All these diagrams act as a blue print of the development of the project and will be very useful at the time of the software development. Development Diagrams The UML diagrams play an important role in the software development diagrams. These diagrams illustrate the clear cut idea of the software that is being developed. Use case Diagrams: Use cases describe the behavior of the system when one of these actors sends one particular stimulus. This behavior is described textually. It describes the nature of the stimulus that triggers the use case; the inputs from and outputs to other actors, and the behaviors that convert the inputs to the outputs. The text of the use case also usually describes everything that can go wrong during the course of the specified behavior, and what remedial action the system will take. The use case diagram gives the details of the requirements, options in the product specified by the client. These requirements dont change whatever the software development procedure used, so that use case diagram is same as that of the diagram that uses water fall model for software development. why in water fall model there is only one main class and all the other sub classes or child classes are developed under it. When a product is developed in .net, default folder AppCode is created in which all the class files, script files are developed. In the figure shown below the the authentication, chat address book, preferences are separate classes developed under the AppCode. Database Design: The design of database consists of making the data tables that are used in the project. Designing the tables includes deciding the primary keys and foreign keys in the tables and the data types of the columns of the tables. After completing all these diagrams and the database design, the project is divided in chunks and distributed among the team members for development of the project. RAD is best

Quorum Sensing And Its Importance To Biotechnology

Quorum Sensing And Its Importance To Biotechnology Quorum sensing offers potential to create engineered bacteria capable of invading cancer cells. It is possible to envision the creation of novel anti-cancer therapeutics by the addition of cancer-destructing modules to these microbial biosensors. Another application of QS and quorum quenching lies in the creation of transgenic plants that are able to defend themselves against common bacterial pathogens. It plays a main role in controlling a diversity of microbial cell activities, such as biofilm formation and virulence that considerably impact human health, agriculture, and commercial production and transport systems. Quorum sensing is cell-to-cell communication in bacteria have ability to control development, sporulation, and antibiotic synthesis also virulence factor induction, cell differentiation, moreover nutrient flux along with extra physiological events in pathogenic bacterial infections. Scientists now a days creating more possible benefits from quorum sensing and off course there is lots of potential development for advancement in 2011ranging from marine to human disorders. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Several unicellular microorganisms use smallsignaling molecules to find out their local concentration. The processes involved in the production and recognitionof these signals are generally known as quorum sensing (QS). Unicellular microorganisms to manage their activities use this kind of cell-to-cell communication, which allows them to work as multi-cellular systems. Newly, several groups have confirmed artificial intraspeciesand inter-species communication through synthetic circuits, which incorporate components of bacterial QSsystems. Engineered QS-based circuits have a broad range of applications such as production of biochemicals, tissueengineering, also mixed-species fermentations. They are also extremely useful in designing microbial biosensors toidentify bacterial species present in the environment andinside living organisms. In this articlethe different ways inwhich researchers have designed QS-based circuits andtheir applications in biotechnology are explained. A decade ago, the secretion and perception of minorsignalling molecules that in turn are transduced tocoordinate behavior of a smallest unit of microorganisms was named quorum sensing by EP Greenberg with colleagues. Ever since then, an exponential growth in understanding and occurrence of quorum-sensing systemshas developed, with sightings ranging from virulence inhuman along with plant pathogens to degradative capacity ofactivated sludge. Not amazingly, regulatory mechanisms span traditional inducer/repressor motifs homologous to thelac operon to the newly discovered interfering RNAs.Advance characterization of signalling circuits, coupled with creative position applications, propose a wealth of prospects for advancing commercial biotechnology(reviewed by John C March and William E Bentley 2004). Researchers in biotechnology continuously seek new platforms from which to address problems: manifesto that, in a broad sense, improve efficacy, while maintaining or intensifying specificity. Most freshly, microbial quorum sensing has emerged as such a technology. Because microbial communities absorb a small space, concentrations of extracellular signalling molecules build up, providing motivation for unique and various cellular responses along with protection from rival microbial communities. Referred to as quorum sensing for its regularly reported and concurrent dependence on high population density (Joyce EA et al 2004), extracellular signalinggives a novel basis for control over molecular also cellular processes along with population behaviour, possibly in a manner more reliable with that of native physiology. Quorum sensing might be the base upon which the more complicated intracellular communication found in advanced level organisms has evolved. Defining quorum sensing Quorum Sensing considered a signalling molecule, a compound has to result a reaction in a population of cells that is different from the approach in which the cells would perform independently. There are two types of quorum sensing: species- specific and interspecies. Species-specific quorum sensing in Gram-negative bacteria is intercede by acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) with numerous moieties distinguishing signals between species (Fuqua C, Parsek MR, Greenberg EP 2001). In Gram- positive bacteria, species-specific quorum sensing is generallyassist through small peptides Figure1.Structure of bacterial Quurom sensing signals. Gram-negative bacteria like V.Fischeri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa use acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) as signals. The structure of mature AIP-I (from Staphylococcus aureus) is shown as a representative of the translationally derived auto-inducing peptides (AIPs) used by Gram-positive bacteria as signals for QS.Source- Functions of quorum sensing Quorum sensing is supposed to control ability development, sporulation, and antibiotic synthesis also virulence factor induction, cell differentiation, and nutrient flux along with extra physiological events in pathogenic bacterial infections (Cvitkovitch DGGreenberg EP,Yarwood JM,2003).More lately, quorum sensing was connected through proteomic analysis to increased pathogenic ability in tubercular strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Arevalo-Ferro C, et all 2004) Webb and co-workers (Webb JS, et al 2003), reviewed work on programmed cell death plusmicro colony differentiation in biofilms. As biofilms age, cellular differentiation and death improve nutrient sequestration and allow for bio- film sustenance when nutrients become limited. Though the functions of cell differentiation and programmed cell death are actually at odds, they can be described as an evolutionary progressionthat allows biofilms of prokaryotes to perform and adapt as multiceewllular organisms, a behavior that emerges to be matched through quorum sensing (Webb JS, et al 2003). CHAPTER 2 Applications of Quorum sensing in biotechnology Components of bacterial QS systems form an important part of many artificial genetic circuits that control phenomena such as bistable behavior, pulse response, spatio-temporal control of gene expression, and population control (Purnick and Weiss 2009). In this section, the applications of engineered QS systems for the production of biochemicals, tissue engineering, and mixed- species fermentations are highlighted (Fig. 2). Detailed explanation ofcurrent progress in building QS-based microbial biosensors and QS-based biocontrol are given. Lastly, discussion of QS inhibition as a viable strategy for the decline of biofouling is given. Also different applications of QS in biotechnology are given. Engineered Quorum Sensing systems The promisingfield of synthetic biology seeks to generatenovel biological systems by applying the fundamental engineering principles of standardization and hierarchical abstraction to GE engineering (Purnick and Weiss 2009). This method allows designers to build and optimize compound genetic circuits that perform new functions, such as DNA-damage-induced biofilm formation and preservation of synthetic ecosystems (Balagadde et al. 2008; Kobayashi et al. 2004). Various genetic modules can be included into complex gene networks also called genetic systems or devicesusing a plug-and-play strategy (Kobayashi et al. 2004). These gene networks are then commenced into a well-characterized, steady host cell known as a chassis, which supplies the essential raw materials and support machinery. Operation of the artificial genetic device imparts new functionalities to the host and makes a microbial cell factory that is capable of performing preferred tasks. Autoinducers are very useful as input signals as they are little, diffuse freely in aqueous media, and are simply taken up through cells. As the engineered cells synthesize QS signals by themselves, they are able to watch their own cell density with modulate their activities appropriately, thereby falling the need for outerprotection(Brenner et al. 2007). Scientists have devised QS-inducible mammalian genetic circuits by mixing bacterial QS receptors with either a eukaryotic transactivation domain or with a eukaryotic transcription repressor domain (reviwed from Neddermann et al. 2003; Weber and Fussenegger 2009; Weber et al. 2005; Weber et al. 2003; Williams et al. 2004).These synthetic gene regulation systems will have functions in drug discovery, tissue engineering, and also industrial production of biochemicalsduring mammalian cell culture. Consumption of a bistable switch module gives a pointed(ON or OFF) or binary profile of aim gene expression depending on the store concentration. Engineered QS systems including bistable switches are probable to be extremely useful in industrial production of toxic gene products and in designing environmental biosensors. Scientistshave used components of the V. fischeri Quorum Sensing system to engineer spatio-temporally keeping up cell to cell communication in E. coli (Basu et al. 2004). Depending on the comparative distribution of Sender and Receiver cells in a 2-D matrix, different reporter formats such as bullseye, ellipse, oval, heart, and clover were formed. Moreexpansion of this research into programming spatial patterning in 3-D will have applications in biosensing, tissue engineering, plus fabrication of biomaterials. Quorum Sensing like cell-to-cell communication systems have also been developed by using metabolites, antibiotics, hormonesor volatile compounds to give signals to extract a cell-density dependent population-wide reactions (Bulter et al. 2004; Chen and Weiss 2005; Weber et al. 2007). The capacity to develop QS type communication systems using non-Quorum Sensing signals considerablygrows the design possibilities for genetic engineering systems. Through inserting the producing signal components in one species, and the receptor in another, scientists have engineered inter and intra-kingdom communications among bacteria, yeast, plants, and mammalian cells (Balagadde et al. 2008; Brenner et al. 2007; Weber et al. 2007). Depending on the planned synthetic communication device, relationships like predator-prey, commensalism, mutualism, amensalismand parasitism were producedamong the communicating species. Different from engineering inter-species communication, Quorum Sensing based genetic devices can control diverse features of mixed-species fermentations. Forcase, basedon QS population control circuits can be used to manage the cell densities of the contributing species (You et al. 2004). Based on QS gene-expression circuits can also be used to initiate expression of mark genes when the cell densities of contributing species reach a definite threshold (Brenner et al. 2007). At present, the majority of the engineered QS devices are built on Gram-negative AHL systems, which, as stated previously, are absolutely unreliable. Various applications of Quorum Sensing: Biosensors An interesting application of Quorum Sensing is in the engineering of whole cell microbial biosensors to distinguish pathogenic microbes present in the environment with diseased host organisms. Quorum Sensing have also been used to produce engineered bacteria capable of attacking cancer cells. It is probable to visualize the creation of new anti-cancer therapeutics by the addition of cancer-destructing elements to these microbial biosensors. Another function of QS and quorum quenching lies in the designing of transgenic plants that are able to protect themselves against general bacterial pathogens. Pathogen diagnostics and therapeutics The majority of the whole cell QS biosensors that have been explained so far recognize Gram-negative AHLs (Kumari et al. 2008; Steindler and Venturi 2007). A standard AHL biosensor contains an AHL responsive transcriptional regulator also a cognate promoter, which directs the transcription of a reporter gene. It has been recommended that QS signals only can be used as markers for the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria in clinical and environmentalsamples. Thus, QS signals should not be engaged as the only inputs for microbial biosensors. However, Quorum sensing based amplification circuits can still be used to engineer biosensing circuits to find the occurrence of pathogenic microbes in contaminated groundwater products, dairy, and meat products. Upcoming design directions willinclude the formation of ingestible whole cell biosensors by launching QS-based bio- sensing devices into GRAS organisms such as lactic acid bacteria(Konings et al. 2000). Such diagnostic biosensors would be muc h useful in identifying the existence of pathogens in the gut micro flora. So collecting these resultsbring up the exciting possibility that future QS-based microbial biosensors may possibly not only detect pathogens, but also increase a concerted reaction against them. Cancer detection The P. aeruginosa Quorum Sensing signal 3-oxo-C12- HSL reduces proliferation alsoinduceapoptosis breast cancer cell lines in human(Li et al. 2004). Biocontrol The rhizosphere is a limited region of soil that surroundings a plants roots and is affected by secretions from the root also soil microbes in the vicinity. Quorum sensing bacteria form amain component of the rhizosphere community. Scientists have also engaged quorum-quenching enzymes to decrease bacterial virulence against plants. This researchproposes that engineering the production also secretion of quorum- quenching enzymes into plants and plant-associated microbes can also serve as a crop protection plan. Though, QS systems also controlnecessary functions in useful rhizosphere bacteria, as well as biofilm formation, antibiotic production, and nitrogen fixation (Muller et al. 2009; Sanchez-Contreras et al. 2007). More research is therefore essential to understand the promising effects of quorum quenching on plant biochemical pathways. In brief, while quorum quenching is an attractive approach for biocontrol, more research isessential to demonstrate its safety and efficacy. Prevention of biofouling Biofouling is the increase of bacteria, algae;also animals like protozoans and crustaceans on surfaces that prolonged contact with water. Biofouling can happen on surfaces as assorted as pipes, tanks, ship hull, membrane bioreactors, medical or dental implants, and catheters. This unwantedgrowth of living organisms and their secretions lead to contamination, colonization, also corrosion of machine parts expose to water and reduce machine efficiency. Incorporation of Quorum Sensing inhibitors on the device surface is a possible strategy for declining P. aeruginosa biofouling of surgical implants. QS inhibition may be used to givedefense against many pathogens that rely on QS to start biofilm development. Recombinant gene expression Possibly one of the exciting areas for research in quorum sensing is the synthesis of recombinant gene products withmetabolic engineering. Quorum sensing has been used to control gene expression and cellular growth. Brief reviews by Toniatti et al. (Toniatti C, et al 2004) discusssome of the progress in control of gene expression through the perceptions of possible gene therapy applications. Pathogen/pest management Pathogen and pest (i.e. some organism whose existence in a specific environment is undesirable) management include most of the present applications of quorum-sensing technology. Inhibition of quorum signalling is theevident and, in practice, most appreciated application of quorum-sensing knowledge. CHAPTER 3 New technologies in Quorum Sensing The discovery of antibiotics early in the past century marked the beginning of active control and prevention of infectious microbial diseases. However, extensive use of antibiotics has also unavoidably resulted in the emergence of superbugs that resist conventional antibiotics. The finding that many pathogens rely on cell-to-cell communication mechanisms, known as quorum sensing, to synchronize microbial activities essential for infection and survival in the host suggests a promising disease control strategy, i.e. quenching microbial quorum sensing or in short, quorum quenching. Work over the past few years has demonstrated that quorum-quenching mechanisms are widely conserved in many prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. These naturally occurring quorum-quenching mechanisms appear to play important roles in microbe-microbe and pathogen-host interactions and have been used, or served as lead compounds, in developing and formulating a new generation of antimicrobials. An advance study of bacterial quorum sensing process can facilitate development of novel technologies intended at interfering with bacterial communication and virulence. The term quorum sensing explains the capability of a microorganism to recognize and response to diffusible signal molecules. Bacterial cells sense their inhabitants density by a complicated cell-to-cell communication system also triggers expression of exact genes. Quorum sensing in Seaweeds Explaining this title, the quorum sensing is wider spread among bacterial population then was previously thought, in Gram positive, Gram-negative bacterial communication. Followed by this numerous researchers have concluded that in Gram negative bacteria acyl-homoserine lactone is dependable for the cell to cell communication system. In gram-positive bacteria peptide and derivative peptide based signaling molecules appear to be the main mode of communication. Throughout high cell density the marine bacteria can produce enzymes, surfactants, toxins, antibiotics by the chemical signal communication. Marine epibiotic bacteria are also identified to produce compounds active beside drug resistant hospital pathogen by the cross species induction process. Austin described in building on assays (Billaud and Austin 1990) a screening method has been developed in which marine bacteria are confront by exposing them to terrestrial bacteria prior to assay of antimicrobial compounds. Therefore, in currentstudies it is proposed to search the abilities of seaweed epibiotic bacterial organisms to createantibacterial compounds by quorum sensing. Theseconclusions have important consequences for the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds from marine bacteria and might allow the growth of novelprocess for screening new compounds eff ective against multidrug resistant bacteria. CHAPTER 4 Conclusion Quorum Sensing plays a main role in controlling a diversity of microbial cell activities, like biofilm formation and virulence, that considerably impact human health, agriculture, marine, commercial manufacture and transport systems. As mentioned in above applications of QS there are many areas that are fully touched by QS method. Therefore, significant research efforts are needed to understanding Quorum Sensing and the growth of strategies to disrupt and influence Quorum Sensing. Our understanding of quorum-sensing mechanisms currently restricts applications for quorum sensing. Though there has been progress made in the use of quorum sensing, more understanding of quorum functionality is necessary before the control of this tool can be completely raised. However, the full-scale management of the bacterial quorum circuit in a biotechnological application yet to be an unconvinced goal. More studyand deep research is needed to uncover andthe details of QS in a diversity of microbial species, with Gram- positive bacterias and fungis. The task of QS in microbial populations, with Quorum Sensing crosstalk and signal specificity, is another significant area of research and study that will influence strategies to prevent biofilm formation and for biocontrol. Quorum sensing seems to be a distinctive example of how the exploitation of bacteria cell-to-cell communication in biotechnology can be used to significantly drive the growth and development of medicine, diagnosis tics, therapies and gene control. For sure, it will influence every part of biology, with novel research and technologies in science world.

Cell Phone Use :: Technology Essays

Cell Phone Use With technology on the rise, an important issue of social interaction and communication has risen with it. Many people have become heavily dependent on technology, unable to make it through a normal day without it. Granted, technology has provided society with many beneficial inventions, and for that we are grateful; yet, the sense of community that once resided around our homes has seemed to have all but diminished. For every branch of expansion this new technology â€Å"tree† grows, a new root ensnaring society grows with it, causing us to become ever more dependent on technology. I have found that many people are oblivious to the clear cause and affect system that is inseparable from growing technology. Being a student at a Public University, I have noticed an increasing amount of students who talk on their cell phones between classes. It has gone unnoticed that this limits the amount of interaction among students on the campus. With people ranting all over the media about what great opportunities technology provides to reach those across the globe, I began to wonder if technology was actually holding a positive effect of society. I wanted to find out how others viewed the situation. I decided that a good way for this to be done was by survey. In conducting this survey, I chose to question twenty random students at James Madison University. The survey was given at the on campus food court, PC Dukes. Its purpose was to investigate the topic of cells phones, attempting to discover whether cell phones expand our everyday life or if they constrict us to our own individual world. While eighteen students of the twenty surveyed felt cell phones actually do expand their life, a more in depth look was necessary. Other questions on the survey (questions four, five, six, and nine) contradicted this statement. For example, ten students who found their life to be expanded felt that they would be more socially active if they did not have cell phones. To me, this shows that cell phones keep people from reaching out and meeting new friends. I feel this is largely due to the fact that with cell phones, people are extremely easy to get in touch with. By having this luxury, a small group of friends can stay closer and more sociable with each other rather than keeping a large group of friends.

Virus Among the Navajo :: Native Americans Influenza Essays

Virus Among the Navajo Medical investigators, such as myself, have not given a great deal of attention to the "medical" traditions of indigenous groups in the past. But the outcomes of the recent investigation that took place in "The Four Corners" area exemplify our need to consider age-old notions right along with the ecological history of the region in question. A few months ago, the New Mexico Department of Health notified my department (Office of Medical Investigations) that three young and healthy adults from the Navajo Nation had died of a sudden respiratory illness. Their symptoms had been the similar: fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, and abdominal pain, followed by coughing and shortness of breath, then the abrupt onset of respiratory distress which is usually fatal (KCPH). Our first inclination was to look at diseases that are known to affect the Navajo specifically, such as bubonic plague, influenza, and viral pneumonia. However, laboratory results indicated that these disea ses had not caused the deaths, nor had toxic chemicals. Furthermore, the perplexing disease had begun to take the lives of non-Navajo people living near the reservation (AMNH). By the end of May the mysterious deaths had attracted significant media attention. I remember seeing the headline "Mystery Illness Kills 10 on Reservation" in the Sun-Sentinel while I was conducting interviews there. Without knowledge of a possible cause, our department, and several other agencies, began an intense investigation. Samples of tissue from patients infected with the mysterious disease were sent to the CDC Special Pathogens Branch for analysis. After a few weeks and several tests, the virologists linked the disease with an unknown type of hantavirus. Because other hantaviruses were known to be transmitted to people by inhalation or ingestion of rodent feces or urine, our next task was to collect as many species of rodent in the area as possible in order to pinpoint the source of the virus (AMNH). While trapping rodents, we decided that it was worth the risk to not wear protective clothing or masks so as to avoid alarming residents of "The Four Corners" region (CDC). After testing approximately 1,700 rodents we had found a link--the prevalent deer mouse carried the unknown type of hantavirus. But why was this mouse suddenly infecting people in this region? I was becoming frustrated, my years of work in medicine were failing me and I couldn't figure out why these people kept getting sick. Virus Among the Navajo :: Native Americans Influenza Essays Virus Among the Navajo Medical investigators, such as myself, have not given a great deal of attention to the "medical" traditions of indigenous groups in the past. But the outcomes of the recent investigation that took place in "The Four Corners" area exemplify our need to consider age-old notions right along with the ecological history of the region in question. A few months ago, the New Mexico Department of Health notified my department (Office of Medical Investigations) that three young and healthy adults from the Navajo Nation had died of a sudden respiratory illness. Their symptoms had been the similar: fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, and abdominal pain, followed by coughing and shortness of breath, then the abrupt onset of respiratory distress which is usually fatal (KCPH). Our first inclination was to look at diseases that are known to affect the Navajo specifically, such as bubonic plague, influenza, and viral pneumonia. However, laboratory results indicated that these disea ses had not caused the deaths, nor had toxic chemicals. Furthermore, the perplexing disease had begun to take the lives of non-Navajo people living near the reservation (AMNH). By the end of May the mysterious deaths had attracted significant media attention. I remember seeing the headline "Mystery Illness Kills 10 on Reservation" in the Sun-Sentinel while I was conducting interviews there. Without knowledge of a possible cause, our department, and several other agencies, began an intense investigation. Samples of tissue from patients infected with the mysterious disease were sent to the CDC Special Pathogens Branch for analysis. After a few weeks and several tests, the virologists linked the disease with an unknown type of hantavirus. Because other hantaviruses were known to be transmitted to people by inhalation or ingestion of rodent feces or urine, our next task was to collect as many species of rodent in the area as possible in order to pinpoint the source of the virus (AMNH). While trapping rodents, we decided that it was worth the risk to not wear protective clothing or masks so as to avoid alarming residents of "The Four Corners" region (CDC). After testing approximately 1,700 rodents we had found a link--the prevalent deer mouse carried the unknown type of hantavirus. But why was this mouse suddenly infecting people in this region? I was becoming frustrated, my years of work in medicine were failing me and I couldn't figure out why these people kept getting sick.