Hotel Ole Housekeeper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hotel Ole Housekeeper - Assignment Example High standard of housekeeping therefore becomes essential for customers’ satisfaction and for their regular patronage. Moreover, role of housekeeper becomes crucial as room rental constitute around 50% of the revenue, thereby, making customers’ satisfaction intrinsic part of hotel’s objectives. Housekeeper is vital part of service industry that is responsible for the overall cleanliness and welcoming environment of hotel. Housekeeper also ensures Attractive decoration, cleanliness and maintenance of public and office area like reception, corridor, banquet hall, conference hall etc. Housekeeper also looks after the comfort, health, hygiene and safety of the guests by ensuring cleanliness and material comfort in the room. The fresh sheets, spotless toilets, clean wardrobe, fast laundry services and good ambience of the room in general, greatly facilitate guests’ comfort. Effective communication through room service also helps to resolve his/her problems related to housekeeping services. He is responsible for the general well-being of the guests and their comfort throughout the stay. The feedback from guests therefore becomes essential tool to assess the level of service of the housekeeper that reflects their level of satisfaction and expectations. The regular appraisal system by supervisor through feedback and direct communication is important ingredient to monitor and assess the job specific skills of the housekeepers and to know whether the job objectives are fulfilled. It also encourages regular communication with them to understand their expectations, their needs and their requirements vis-Ã  -vis job fulfillment and job satisfaction. Most importantly, it helps to create an environment of trust and relationship that contributes to higher work productivity and commitment to the organization. The 360 degree appraisal/ feedback is another key

Meaning of life essay Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life essay Essay ?â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus). If you spend your whole life searching for one thing you will waste your life and it will only take a few moments for time to pass you by. The meaning of life is nonexistent and imponderable. ?â€Å"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation† (Jackson). The meaning of life is simply the way you view it. Like religion everyone has different philosophies and opinions and only those who give life a meaning have the true understanding of the meaning of life. My Opinion on the Meaning of Life I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning, because there truly is no meaning otherwise. I believe everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal, never complex. I believe the meaning of life should be simple and potentially whatever we want it to be. I do what I do because I want to. It’s that simple for me; I do it because it means something to me. â€Å"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can† (Kaye). I believe this quote is saying that you should give life your all and do whatever it takes to make your life the way you want it. This is saying someone should do what you believe the philosophy of your life is. Many people go about their lives searching for the meaning of life and how it applies to them but in reality they will waste their lives away looking for something that does not exist. â€Å"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person† (Nin). â€Å"Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer† (Campbell). This is saying how we bring the meaning to life and our thoughts and ideas on what we believe life is and should be. I do not believe in the idea of there being one specific meaning but millions for each and every soul around the earth. Various populations will all agree to disagree about their views but in retrospect you realize that everyone is right. Everyone gives their own meaning to the idea. Purposes and meanings will change, but the overall meaning to life, that there is no true meaning, will always stay the same. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Works Cited ?Albert Camus Quote. BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/quotes/a/albertcamu105605. html? src=t_meaning_of_life. ?Anais Nin Quote. BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/quotes/a/anaisnin133215. html ?Danny Kaye Quote. BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/quotes/d/dannykaye125475. html. ?Michael Jackson Quote. BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/quotes/m/michaeljac399788. html? src=t_meaning_of_life.

Designing a 1MW Solar Power Plant

Designing a 1MW Solar Power Plant Introduction CE 1.1 Turn the air con on, its 45 degrees Celsius already, said my mum. The weariness of stifling heat with the tops of dry 45 degrees Celsius radiated in her tone. But there was no electricity for the past 9 hours. Wretched in the state of disbelief, I realized the painful dilemma of Electricity load shedding was worsening day by day. Thats when I thought to channelize my engineering skills to overcome this issue. And it was back then in 7th Semester of my Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering (University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore) in 2012, I planned to use the scorching heat to produce electricity and design an alternative for the conventional method. I later pitched this idea to my professors who took me under their wings and mentored me to design and present it as a final year project. I was heading a group of 4 team members. Background CE 1.2 During my fifth semester in the university I studied a subject related to renewable energy resources and it fascinated me big time. Most of these resources are environmentally friendly and they would be here to serve us even when the other traditional energy resources would be depleted. Especially in country like Pakistan, its the need of hour to explore the renewable resources. Despite having the potential, Pakistan is energy deficient. I decided to work on renewable energy resources during my final year project in an attempt to help the country with potential ways to produce energy. Nature of project CE 1.3 The nature of the project was to study the renewable resources currently deployed in the country and the scope of sustainable energy in the country. Particularly, Concentrated Solar Power was the main focus of the project including development of concentrated solar thermal power by using Parabolic Trough Technology. Objective of the Project CE 1.4 The objective of the project was to design 1MW solar power plant using parabolic trough technology and help Pakistan to overcome energy crisis by using the economical energy resources. Nature of My Particular work area CE 1.5 Being the leader of the group, I had to perform many duties. Some of them are listed below: Assigning tasks to team members Keep track of the work done by group members Arrange meetings between group members and supervisor Selection of technology for solar power Design calculations Report writing CE 1.6 Organizational structure Personal Engineering Activity CE 1.7 After being selected as leader it was my responsibility to start the project right away. So that it could be finished on time. I divided the project into different parts and assigned each part to different member of the group. I had to perform the design calculations and report writing. Other two members had to do literature review, select a storage system and provide conclusion and recommendations. CE 1.8 To control the overall project it was required to set target dates for each activity, I used Microsoft project to help me in project planning. While assigning the tasks to the members, I also made sure to give them a particular time period to finish each task. After assigning the tasks I kept track of their performances by conducting frequent meetings. If someone was lagging behind, I made sure to help him finish the task within advised time. It helped me a lot to finish the project efficiently before the due date. CE 1.9 I had to keep the supervisor aware of the progress of project. During the project I had many meetings with the supervisor for the consultation and as well as to report the progress of team members and myself. I had to keep record of all the activities from start of the project till the end and present them to the supervisor from time to time to see whether we were on track or not. CE 1.10 Basically solar power can be used in two different ways to produce the energy; Concentrating solar power and Photovoltaic. I had to decide which technology we were going to use in our project. The reason behind selecting the concentration technology was that the absorbing materials are more expensive than the reflecting materials. In concentration technology a large surface of reflecting material concentrates the solar power on to a smaller absorbing surface of a collector. Second reason was, due to small size of the collector surface the rate of heat loss from the collector would be low and they can be used at an elevated temperature. CE 1.11 After selecting the concentrating solar power as main source, I had to pick one of the man ways to concentrate solar power like Parabolic Trough, Solar power Tower, Dish String, Fresnel reflectors. Keeping the local conditions in Lahore in mind and to get a little flexibility I selected parabolic trough. Local conditions in Lahore are much suitable to produce power using a parabolic trough and it could also be used with constant tracking or seasonally adjusted, depending upon the efficiency needed and finances available. CE 1.12 To begin with the designing, first I had to find the values of enthalpies at different points of the cycle. After that I had to calculate the energy required from concentration and fluid and cooling media flow rates required to produce 1MW electricity. That energy helped me to decide the field requirement and configure solar filed. CE 1.13 On the basis on the environment locally in Lahore, I had to set some input parameters for the design. The solar irradiation in Lahore was enough to produce the required input temperature and on the base of temperature the value of operating pressure was fixed. Parameters I used, are given below: Power Output at Turbine Shaft Steam Pressure to Inlet of Turbine Steam Pressure at the outlet of Turbine Steam Temperature to Inlet of Turbine Specific heat capacity water CE 1.14 In designing different assumptions were made on the basis of literature review. Assumptions used in calculations are given below Steam Generator Efficiency = 85 Isentropic Efficiency of Turbine Isentropic Efficiency of Pump Reflectors Absorbers Combined Efficiency Land Usage Factor Condenser Water Temperature Difference Solar Insulation CE 1.15 After setting all the parameters and assumptions I did Enthalpy Calculations. The Rankine cycle and line diagram of such a system are shown below Figure 1: Real Rankine cycle (non-ideal) The real life Rankine cycle is composed of 6 processes as shown above in figure 1. Stage 1-2, boiler increases the fluid temperature and pressure to convert it to a point where the addition of latent heat will lead to the conversion of liquid into wet steam, as shown from point 2-3; Stage 3-4 leads to a pressure increase to convert the wet liquid into superheated steam. After the work done by the steam, stage 5-6, the losses in pressure and temperature due to turbine work leading to the next stage where condensation occurs. The working fluid is heated a bit to improve the efficiency of the system and the cycle is repeated again. The process is illustrated in figure 1. The figure 2 shows all these processes in a parabolic trough system. From stage 1-2, concentrated solar energy increases the fluid temperature and pressure. Stage 2-3 converts this fluid into wet steam, using solar energy. During stage 3-4, further addition of energy converts the liquid into superheated steam. Pressurized superheated steam expands in a steam turbine which operates a generator to produce electricity. In the last stage, this low pressure and temperature steam, eventually, condenses into fluid again. Figure 2: Parabolic Trough System The values of enthalpies and entropies at different temperatures and pressures, at different points in Rankine cycle, were taken from the steam table. The enthalpy of steam at the inlet of steam turbine (h4) at the pressure and temperature values of So The entropy of steam at the inlet of steam turbine (S4) at the pressure and temperature values of So Because the ideal expansion in the steam turbine was Isentropic So The entropy of the steam at the exit of steam turbine can be determined from the formula Where The entropies of steam at the exit of steam turbine (SE) at the pressure value of So, by using above given formula, the valve of dryness fraction was To find the enthalpy of steam at the exit of steam turbine (Ideal), following equation was used = The enthalpies of steam at the exit of steam turbine (SE) at the pressure value of Then The isentropic efficiency of the steam turbine was given by the following relation Using equation The actual dryness fraction now can be calculated from the following relation = So The enthalpy of steam after the condenser at the stage 6 was given by V1 is the specific volume of the saturated liquid taken from the steam table at P5 The work of pump was calculated using the formula The enthalpy of liquid at the outlet of pump i.e. at stage 1 was given as So The isentropic efficiency of the pump was given by the following relation Using above equation, the actual value of enthalpy can be calculated So CE 1.16 Using the enthalpies calculated in the earlier step, I calculated the steam flow rate. The energy required to convert the saturated liquid from point 1 into superheated steam to point 4 is given by The work output/kg of steam flow of the turbine was given by The power output at the outlet of turbine was obtained by dividing the system output by generator efficiency so it was given by This output was equal to turbine work output/kg of steam flow multiplied by its flow rate so given by the following formula CE 1.17 Steam flow rate was used to calculate the condenser water flow rate. The heat rejected by the water in the condenser/kg of water flow was calculated as: If the temperature differential of inlet and outlet of condenser is then So, the total energy that we require from solar concentration to generate 1MW electricity was calculated by This is the amount of energy we have to produce from the concentration of solar irradiance using solar field consists of reflectors and receivers. CE 1.18 After calculating the energy required from solar concentration, I used that energy to calculate the size of filed required. I already had the assumed values of solar insulation G and combined efficiency of absorber and reflectors. Reflector area was calculated using following formula Where is the reflector area in m2 So Taking into account the land usage factor Lu=60% So CE 1.19 In the last step I calculated the overall efficiency of the plant by taking ratio of power output to power input. Where So the overall efficiency comes out to be CE 1.20 In safety talks I cautioned my team members to be careful around the hot surfaces. I placed the warning signs near high temperature and high pressure points.I advised my group members to protect their skin by covering it or by using sunscreen, while working outside, so that they could avoid sunburns. Due to these precautions, project was completed without any personal injuries. Summary CE 1.21 After all the hard yards of 6 months, I was able to present my design of 1 MW power plant run by solar power aimed to reduce energy deficiency. I presented it as my final year project (combined power point presentation + project report) in front of project supervisor, chairman of mechanical engineering department and an external examiner. It was a stepping stone in power industry in Pakistan. 1 MW power plant can produced sufficient energy to cater for the normal operation of the community households. Moreover, the innovation could not only reduce the global carbon foot print but it could also shift the reliance from already depleting traditional fossil fuel resources. This project helped to understand that its need of the day to switch our focus to renewable energy resources to cope with energy deficiency, more local councils are now encouraging to switch to micro energy renewable resources and design such plants. In the end, I would like to say that it was a great honor for me to see people getting inspiration from my work and using the renewable energy to fix the biggest problem of the country.

Evaluation of Sociological Theories Essay -- Papers Sociology Deviance

Evaluation of Sociological Theories Deviance can be described as: "Nonconformity with existing/traditional social norms. This nonconformity is often said to be pathological when it challenges power and privilege; yet it is said to be indicative of innovation or creativity when the gatekeepers of morality approve it. A loaded term, deviancy is a negative asset when the environment is stable but can be a positive asset to a society when the environment is irreversibly changing." Each perspective asks different questions and focuses on different issues regarding crime and deviance. They have different ideas about the causes of crime. Subcultural theories on crime and deviance were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s from the works of Albert Cohen(1955) and Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin(1960). They suggested that people react to forces 'external' to them, this leads them to behave in certain ways. Their behaviour is determined by social causes. Criminals behave differently from non-criminals. Subcultural theorists have attempted to seek the causes of these differences, they claim to have identified malfunctions in the social order. These malfunctions are seen to be rectifiable by different types of social engineering e.g. Social reform, social welfare and education. Crimes are 'social facts' and therefore must have 'social causes'. Criminals are not seen as 'abnormal' individuals by subcultural theorists, but as social actors influenced by social causes. Statistics have indicated that criminals are mostly male, adolescent, working class and urban living. An idea inspired by Durkhiem (1952) suggested that this is a 'socia... ...s as it gives evidence to support their idea that working class people commit more crimes than middle class males. On the other hand, criminal statistics was challenged by left realists who believe that criminal statistics is the reality and therefore we should accept it, along with the solutions to attempt to solve the problems to tackle the high levels of crime. Marxist approach in explaining deviant behaviour is only reliable to some extent. Along with the contradictions from other perspectives, it shows that improvements can be added to their ideas. Marxists mainly concentrated on the class distribution and stress that they the ruling class control the norms and values of the society. It will not be classed as deviant unless the bourgeoisie say so and they will not say so unless a working class person commits it.

Survey Report

The aim of this report is to present the findings of a survey carried out in order to determine the public opinion and performance of Lambshorne Town Council. The data included in this report was obtained from a random sample of 1,000 people. Services On the whole, the ratepayers of Lambshorne expressed dissatisfaction with the services provided by the Council. A significant percentage felt that neither refuse collection nor recycling facilities are adequate, as illustrated by the fact that over half of those questioned felt that these are poor. On the other hand, a large proportion of the public was of the opinion that maintenance of public buildings is satisfactory, which is shown by the fact that forty-nine per cent of those questioned expressed their approval. This is further emphasized by the fact that fifty-one per cent of those surveyed commented favorably on the restoration of the Corn Exchange building. Amenities It is generally felt that public facilities are of high standard, as shown by a large proportion of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with amenities. Furthermore, sixty-eight per cent of those questioned indicated the excellent condition of the new sport center. The fact that only eleven per cent of respondents gave a negative response concerning public parks indicates that ratepayers are mainly satisfied with its conditions. Opinion was mixed regarding other amenities, with an almost equal number of â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Poor† assessments. In particular, thirty two per cent of those surveyed mentioned that Maplegrove Housing Estate needs more street lights. Council Efficiency On the one hand, it is generally felt that staff efficiency is not adequate which is shown by the fact that majority of people expressed dissatisfaction with staff efficiency. On the other hand, the significant percentage of those who responded expressed satisfaction with cost efficiency of services. Opinion was mixed regarding the helpfulness of staff, with an almost equal distribution of â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Poor† assessments. The sixty-four per cent of people were of the opinion that Council has too many employees for work done. Recommendations On the bases of the findings on services, it would seem that services provided by the Council need to be improved. The main weaknesses of services are the lack of refuse collection and recycling facilities. As the assessments of amenities indicate, public parks and recreation facilities are satisfactory. My recommendation is, therefore, that more street lights should be set up. Based on the opinion regarding the efficiency, I would recommend that staff efficiency should be revised.

Different Generations Speak Different Languages Essay

Different generations in the same country speak different â€Å"languages†? Sounds impossible, but it is indeed the case. Consider situations in which your mother does not understand what you say to your classmates, situations in which you cannot figure out what your mother refers by a simple abbreviation and situations in which your father cannot reflect your undertone of some words. Different generations speak different â€Å"languages†, causing conflicts and misunderstandings. According to the passage â€Å"What can words do and cannot do†, words have denotative meanings and connotation meanings. Denotative meanings are meanings defined by the dictionary, which cause little misunderstandings. On the other hand, connotative meanings are associated with personal experiences and are likely to cause conflicts. But in the context of communication between different generations, there are both likely to evoke misunderstandings. Some connotative meanings of words are so widely recognized by a certain generation or group of people, that they consider these meanings as denotative meanings. But these meanings are unknown to other groups and are not included in the dictionary. The word, â€Å"net†, for example, may mean â€Å"a trap made of netting to catch fish or birds or insects† in your grandfather’s dictionary but means â€Å"a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange† when you talk to your friends meet on the â€Å"net†. From this aspect, language of different generations do differ in the conception of words. Different generations may be confused by denotative meanings, not to mention by connotative meanings. â€Å"The connotative meaning of a word is the associations and overtones people bring to it. †¦When we hear a word, the thoughts and feelings we have about that word and about the person using it determine what that word ultimately means to us. † (â€Å"What can words do and cannot do†,Weaver, Understanding Interpersonal Communication, pp. 230-333 ) Consider the word â€Å"news† perceived by different generations. Your grandfather may reflect news as titles in printed newspaper or radio messages while your father form in his head the television correspondent and you, a teenager thinks of web-sites. These difference in language is brought by the development of social and technology. Words and phrases have their life cycle, there are times when certain words and expressions thrive and time when they die. It is not uncommon that older generations tend to use words, phrases and expressions that are seldom used by younger generation. Moreover, young people have the tendency to make expressions short. For example, instead of saying â€Å"good morning†, they say â€Å"morning†, instead of â€Å"lots of laughs†, they type â€Å"LOL† and so on. So next time when talking to your grandmother, use less abbreviations. Difference languages spoken by different generations giving rise to unavoidable misunderstanding, so bearing in mind that different person has varied perception of words and may not understand what you mean. Don’t be bothered to interpret in detail what you mean to be fully understood by other generations.

Coffy by Jack Hill

Coffy by Jack Hill Introduction The film, Coffy, intended on defying stereotypes about depictions of African American women as sapphires; however, it ended up creating a new stereotype. Pam Grier was a refined version of the whore stereotype.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Coffy by Jack Hill specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Coffy played a sexy woman who used her attractiveness to get what she wanted. This portrayal hypersexualized black women and reduced them to sex objects. Depictions in the film When Coffy meets with a sex-crazed drug dealer (Arturo Vitroni), she first appears as a non-threatening, if not an unintelligent, woman. The white mobster spits on her and asks her to crawl towards him. One immediately realizes that he is a racist who only perceives black women as sex slaves. The individual even hurls insults at Coffy in a crude and disgusting manner. The scene is quite uncomfortable to racially conscious viewers as it conju res up images of the dark days of slavery. At this point, Pam Grier fights back by unleashing a gun from under her bag. However, Vitroni’s bodyguard prevents her from using it and forces Coffy to tell him who sent her. Grier uses this moment to get back at the unforgiving pimp King George by naming him as her boss. Coffy thus punishes King George for being a cause of her sister’s addiction. Her aggressiveness and ability to fight against injustice endear her to audiences. Therefore, Pam Grier uses the role of a prostitute to disguise her vengeful ways. Additionally, this role is a depiction of camp comedy because it mocks submissive women.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One must look beyond this disguise to get to the symbolic meaning of the scene as well as the movie in general. When Coffy used her body to lure her enemies, she was doing more than just exerting revenge; Pam was representing black women. We should note that, in the 1950s and 1960s, movie executives repressed or erased black women’s sexuality, as seen through images of the Sapphire and the Mammy. In the 1970s, however, the society exaggerated black women’s sexuality, and Coffy was the typical depiction of such exaggeration. Black feminists often argue that white women may sometimes appear as sex objects in film; nonetheless, producers often give white women a greater range of characters to depict than black actresses. This narrows down the portrayals of African American women in films to two possibilities: sexy temptresses or matriarchal nurturers. Producers of the film, Coffy, were reducing African American women to this narrow characterization. Stakeholders in the film industry have an enormous burden that they must bear; their choices affect how members of other cultures perceive the represented group. These distortions of what black women are all about hurt their image. It causes members of other races to perceive African American females in a stereotypical fashion without the complexities and dynamics that make them authentic. Conclusion One must give credit to the film’s producers as they tried to portray African American women in an empowered fashion. Coffy is tough and will stop at nothing in order to exert revenge on society’s oppressors.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Coffy by Jack Hill specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the use of a hypersexualized female as the message carrier neutralized this noble goal of black empowerment. The producers of the film had a series of roles that they could give their main character, but they settled for a degrading one. This says a lot about what society perceived as an acceptable role for black female characters.

Biography of Benjamin Banneker, Author and Naturalist

Biography of Benjamin Banneker, Author and Naturalist Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731–October 9, 1806) was a self-educated scientist, astronomer, inventor, writer, and antislavery publicist. He built a striking clock entirely from wood, published a farmers almanac, and actively campaigned against slavery. He was one of the first African Americans to gain distinction for achievements in science. Fast Facts: Benjamin Banneker Known For: Banneker was a writer, inventor, and naturalist who published a series of farmers almanacs in the late 1700s.Born: November 9, 1731 in Baltimore County, MarylandParents: Robert and Mary BannekyDied: October 9, 1806 in Oella, MarylandPublished Works: Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris, for the Year of our Lord, 1792Notable Quote: â€Å"The color of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers.† Early Life Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Although he was born a free man, he was the descendant of slaves. At that time, the law dictated that if your mother was a slave then you were a slave, and if she was a free woman then you were a free person. Bannekers grandmother Molly Walsh was a bi-racial English immigrant and an indentured servant who married an African slave named Banna Ka, who had been brought to the Colonies by a slave trader. Molly had served seven years as an indentured servant before she acquired and worked on her own small farm. Molly Walsh purchased her future husband Banna Ka and another African to work on her farm. The name Banna Ka was later changed to Bannaky and then changed to Banneker. Benjamins mother Mary Banneker was born free. Benjamins father Rodger was a former slave who had bought his own freedom before marrying Mary. Education Banneker was educated by Quakers, but most of his education was self-taught. He quickly revealed to the world his inventive nature and first achieved national acclaim for his scientific work in the 1791 survey of the Federal Territory (now Washington, D.C.). In 1753, he built one of the first watches made in America, a wooden pocket watch. Twenty years later, Banneker began making astronomical calculations that enabled him to successfully forecast a 1789 solar eclipse. His estimate, made well in advance of the celestial event, contradicted predictions of better-known mathematicians and astronomers. Bannekers mechanical and mathematical abilities impressed many, including Thomas Jefferson, who encountered Banneker after George Elliot had recommended him for the surveying team that laid out Washington, D.C. Almanacs Banneker is best known for his six annual farmers almanacs, which he published between 1792 and 1797. In his free time, Banneker began compiling the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris. The almanacs included information on medicines and medical treatment and listed tides, astronomical information, and eclipses, all calculated by Banneker himself. Many historians believe that the first printed almanac dates to 1457 and was printed by Gutenberg in Mentz, Germany. Benjamin Franklin published his Poor Richards Almanacs in America from 1732 to 1758. Franklin used the assumed name of Richard Saunders and wrote witty maxims in his almanacs such as Light purse, heavy heart and Hunger never saw bad bread. Bannekers almanacs, though they appeared later, were more focused on delivering accurate information than on communicating Bannekers personal views. Letter to Thomas Jefferson On August 19, 1791, Banneker sent a copy of his first almanac to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In an enclosed letter, he questioned the slaveholders sincerity as a friend to liberty. He urged Jefferson to help get rid of absurd and false ideas that one race is superior to another. Banneker wished Jeffersons sentiments to be the same as his, that one Universal Father...afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties. Jefferson responded with praise for Bannekers accomplishments: I thank you sincerely for your letter of the 19th and for the Almanac it contained. No body wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren, talents equal to those of the other colours of men, that the appearance of a want of them is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence both in Africa America...I have taken the liberty of sending your almanac to Monsieur de Condorcet, Secretary of the Academy of sciences at Paris, and member of the Philanthropic society because I considered it as a document to which your whole colour had a right for their justification against the doubts which have been entertained of them. Jefferson later sent a letter to the Marquis de Condorcet informing him about Banneker- a very respectable mathematician- and his work with Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor who marked the boundaries of the Territory of Columbia (later the District of Columbia). Death Declining almanac sales eventually forced Banneker to give up his work. He died at home on October 9, 1806, at the age of 74. Banneker was buried at Mount Gilboa  African Methodist Episcopal Church  in  Oella, Maryland. Legacy Bannekers life became the source of legend after his death, with many attributing certain accomplishments to him for which there is little or no evidence in the historical record. His inventions and almanacs inspired later generations, and in 1980 the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor as part of the Black Heritage series. In 1996, a number of Bannekers personal belongings were auctioned, and some of them were later loaned to the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum. Some of Bannekers personal manuscripts, including the only journal  that survived the 1806 fire that destroyed his home, are in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society. Sources Cerami, Charles A.  Benjamin Banneker Surveyor, Astronomer, Publisher, Patriot. John Wiley, 2002.Miller, John Chester.  The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery. University Press of Virginia, 1995.Weatherly, Myra.  Benjamin Banneker: American Scientific Pioneer. Compass Point Books, 2006.

Assessing the Marks and Spencers retail chain

Assessing the Marks and Spencers retail chain Marks and Spencer is a British retail chain with over 800 stores in around 30 countries (600 in the UK). Food and clothing retail play a large part in the Marks and Spencer corporate strategy. The Marks & Spencer business model has had to adapt to change and consumer trends over the years to maintain the company’s position as one of the largest retailers in the world. Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a heritage of the British retail and has been present for nearly 130 years. Throughout the years, several individuals have led the organisation and distinct patterns of leadership style can be observed. The impact of leadership style at M&S will be compared to the organisation’s performance and critically evaluated against published leadership models. Covey, S.R. (1990) Historical leadership (1880-1990) (Mathieu) Until the middle of the 20th century, the customers and employees were divided in two classes: middle class and working class separating people who had money and the wo rking class who hadn’t. Additionally, women during this period seemed to have predominantly a reproducing role and did not have direct political power. Gender and classes have shaped the evolution of M&S dominated by strong powerful males from its early days [Rippin A. (2005)]. The leadership of M&S has been and still is dominated by men. Michael Marks founder of M&S had the traits of an entrepreneur. As the leadership was passed on through the family, increased competition within the heirs led to emergence of stronger characters. Michael’s son, Simon Marks and later Simon’s brother in law Israel Sieff changed the leadership style towards a stronger dictatorial influence. Both Marks and Sieff families had been victims of violence especially during the war and controversially established an organisation with ‘systematic symbolic violence’ and bullying [Rippin A. (2005)]. M&S managed to blur the gaps between the social classes, at least on the fashion aspect by the type of clothes provided by the company. Working class women could at last afford and wear elegant and aspiring clothing deemed to a superior class. Derek Raynor took over in 1983 which was a major transition from a family business to a plc. In 1988, Sir Richard Greenbury concentrated on the operational and financial of the organisation. In the following year however, M&S failed to transform significantly and became reactive [Stockport G.J. (2000)]. As the environment became more dynamic, customers’ expectation changed, competition became fiercer but M&S failed to keep up and adapt to the market. The family business became victim of their past success and lacking of a person with exceptional calibre to lead change through its professional debut. 2.0 Leadership transition Changes outside and inside M&S In 1997 M&S made over 1 Billion pounds of profit and accounted for over 16% of UK’s clothing market. The company was then valued at 19 Billion pounds. (199 7 Annual Report). 1998-1999 marked the start of an under performing period and share price plummeted by 40% [Cape Times Business Report (1999)]. As competitors such as Zara and Next took market share from the top end of the market while the same time value offerings were attacked by the supermarkets who were increasingly entering the same market. Peter Salisbury became CEO in 1999 and started to question the M&S ways of working. He placed an emphasis on empowerment by reducing the number of hierarchical layer from eight to seven, and promoting a sense of ownership and decision-making in local stores [Stockport G.J. (2000)].

Billy should be prosecuted for the alleged assaults Essay

Billy should be prosecuted for the alleged assaults - Essay Example The crown prosecution service is controlled by the Director of Public Prosecutions, who is normally accountable to the Attorney General in Wales and England. The Attorney General, as a result, is normally answerable to Parliament for the service provided by the crown prosecution service1. The Crown Prosecution Service normally has the responsibility for taking criminal cases above the police investigatory level. The crown prosecution service normally direct the police on cases for conceivable prosecution, they evaluate cases submitted by the police; they decide any charges in minor cases; they organize cases for court and forward cases to court, both in the Crown and the Magistrates Court. The major role of the crown prosecution service is to examine the evidence collected by the police, and deliver guidance. After sufficient evidence is obtained, the crown prosecution service normally makes its decisions based on the evidence. They also decide whether a case should be followed or dr opped. In the occasion that the crown prosecution service is contented that there is sufficient evidence to arraign, they then prosecute either in the Magistrates Court. If the case is to be taken to the Crown Court, they order an independent advocate to arraign for them or, gradually, they may employ their advocates. Despite the fact that the Crown Prosecution Service operates with the police, it is autonomous of them, and except for exceptionally petty cases, the choice whether to arraign a case depends on the crown prosecution service2. The Crown Prosecution service is normally accountable for defining the charge in all, but minor cases, they also advice the police during the initial stages of an enquiry, they also study cases passed by the police for prosecution; the crown prosecution also have the responsibility of examining cases for court and handing over those cases at court. In each case studied, the prosecutor normally weighs, whether, there is enough evidence, and if ther e is sufficient evidence, the prosecutor determines whether the person needs to be prosecuted. Despite the fact that Crown Prosecutors interact closely with the police, they normally have a responsibility of serving the Crown Prosecution Service, which is an independent governmental organization3. The rules and principles relating to assault and the general principles of the crown prosecution service are as follows: the crown prosecution service normally has the responsibility of deciding, whether, to prosecute or give an individual involved in an assault an out-of-court clearance. The crown prosecution service normally have to ensure fair and effective trial is provided. This is normally necessary so as to maintain law and order. The crown prosecution service has the responsibility of ensuring that the right person is prosecuted. They also have the responsibility of ensuring the person is prosecuted for the right offence. This is necessary to ensure that such offenders are brought to justice. It also the role of the crown prosecution service to ensure that casework judgments are performed fairly, without any bias, and with integrity in order to bring justice for defendants, witnesses, victims and the public4. The crown prosecution service also have the responsibility of evaluating, advising the people involved, and prosecuting cases to ensure proper out-of-court disposal to the lawbreaker. The crown prosecution service should ensure that the law is applied properly; they should do this by ensuring

Fuel prices remain high because of the United State's energy policy Research Paper

Fuel prices remain high because of the United State's energy policy - Research Paper Example In 1970s and 1980s renewable energy was called alternative energy because it was the best alternative for nuclear power and fossil fuel. There are different sources of energy. Firstly, I would like to discuss renewable energy that can be extracted from natural resources. Types of renewable energy are wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal and tidal energy. Then we also have fossil fuel sources extracted from coal or hydrocarbon, which are the remains of decomposition of animals and plants. There are three types of Fossil fuels: coal petroleum, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Third one is Nuclear power based on fission and fusion. The US is second largest energy consumer in world.  The US is seventh country in the world in terms of consumption of energy per capita. We know that in 20th century, after coming out of isolation US played a major role in the world socially, politically and economically. Every event or crisis in US has its own historical background; nothing happens within some days or months. Same is the case of fuel price, which is one of the biggest issues in the US now days. US was an agrarian state in 18th century but industrial revolution brought changes in the energy requirements and its production ways. At that time major source was coal to produce energy till 20th century then it took drastic change during WWII era. Petroleum and natural gas attracted the attention of US energy production sectors in 1950s. †Following  World War II, oil heating boilers took over from coal burners along the Eastern Seaboard;  diesel locomotives  took over from coal-fired  steam engines  under dieselization; oil-fired electricity plants were built; petroleum-burning buses replaced electric  streetcars  in a GM driven conspiracy, for which they were found guilty, and citizens bought gasoline powered cars.  Highways helped make cars the major means of

Food and Beverage Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Food and Beverage Operations Management - Essay Example As the report highlights food production systems vary in methods of preparing, cooking and serving food to generate meals served to the customer. The methods differ in terms of the actual location where food production takes place, the total time from preparation to service, number of stuff required, quantity of food produced and the level of hygiene and control. The main considerations in food production include quality of raw materials, food hygiene, minimal wastage, proper food storage, suitable preparation of every food item, employees’ compliance with handling regulations and cooking foods to the proper temperature. Food production methods include centralized distribution, sous-vide, cook-freeze, cook-chill and conventional method.This essay discusses that cook-chill method is a catering system founded regular preparation and cooking of food and subsequent chilling and storage in monitored low temperature conditions. Food is then re-heated prior to consumption. The chille d food is rejuvenated in finishing kitchens that necessitate minimum staff and low capital investment. During the process goods are brought into the kitchen store, followed by preparation and cooking, portioning, packaging, blast chilling, re-heating and eventually consumption. The cook-freeze system of production entails taking goods into the kitchen, preparing and cooking, blast freezing, blast thawing, re-heating and serving when customer orders food. Food and beverage service was customarily viewed as a delivery system.

Financial measures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial measures - Essay Example Financial measures are the traditional ones for evaluating operating performance, benchmarking competitors, and comparing industry results. To determine whether a company is profitable, profitability ratios like return on equity, return on assets and net profit margin may be used. Other companies or competitors normally use the same ratios also so that comparison and benchmarking are possible among companies (Meigs, Meigs & Meigs, 1995). However, it does not mean that non-financial measures are not useful since normally they are the underlying explanations of the difference in performance measures. To illustrate in the case of two similar companies in the industry, it is possible that one has more revenues or higher profitability than the other does. What could explain the difference between the two companies may be in the more loyal and active sales force of one company over the other. Upon investigation, it can be found that personal objectives of the workforce or people of the mor e profitable company are tied with the corporate financial objectives. The human resource contribution, which is basically non-financial, is normally not emphasized in the financial statements but they could constitute the competitive advantage on one company over the other company. After knowing that a company has more loyal and hard working sales force, the same company could sustain profitability or further the advantage and that makes the non-financial measure very useful. Of course they are other non-financial measures such as better customer service, better attendance of employees in meeting, zero absences in important activities, timely submissions of reports by concerned employees or departments (Streetdirectory, 2010). The advantage and disadvantage of each measure can be drawn from the example given. Financial measures are readily measurable and are closer to measuring attainment of measurable financial objectives. It is easier to

Land Law - Dimensions of land Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land Law - Dimensions of land - Essay Example The corporeal and noncorporeal components are known as realty to distinguish it from personalty. The latter being personal or movable property (Gray & Gray 2007). Thus in the eyes of law land is a multidimensional asset as discussed below. The first two dimensions of land: it is a two dimensional piece of earth with defining contours, features and limits of jurisdiction. Which is recognised by the registrars, conveyancers, surveyors and ramblers. However this definition too does not takes into account the low water mark area in the coastline. The three mile territorial area including water constitute land. However , even outside this three mile limit the channel tunnel subsoil upto the middle of English channel is called land (Channel tunnel act 1987). Thus land includes land covered with water as well (Gray & Gray 2007). 4-5The third dimension of land: A Latin maxim says that the one who owns land owns the heaven above it and the earth deep down to the centre. It certainly indicated three-dimensional nature of land but lacks practical wisdom. The indefinite extension of territory of land would mean an airplane passing over it causes trespass. Still some three-dimensional characteristics is to be accepted for land in statutory definition. A land can be held above surface and may be divided horizontally. Thus different owners can hold the titles of the land each holding a stratum of cubic surface above or below the surface layer of the earth (Gray & Gray 2007). The components of these three dimensions are (Wilkie 2006; Gray & Gray 2007; Dixon 2005): The word 'hereditament' in law means nature of right involved in ownership of land. land law is all about-not just the land (the soil, the grass, the trees, the buildings), but the rights that people may have in land. Thus, land is to be reclassified as including corporeal and incorporeal hereditaments. Ownership of land may equally include ownership of a house and ownership of a right of way over someone else's house (an incorporeal hereditament). The land law may be viewed from corporeal and incorporeal rights or by distinction between fixtures and chattels. The fee simple owner's right of air space: The owner's rights extend to such a height as is reasonably necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land. In Baron Bernstein of Leigh v Skyviews and General Ltd [1978] QB 479, Griffith J stated that it was necessary to balance the rights of an owner to enjoy the land against the rights of the general public to take advantage of all that 'science now offers in the use of airspace'. Where there is an interference with the legitimate rights of the fee simple

Food and Beverage Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Food and Beverage Operations Management - Essay Example As the report highlights food production systems vary in methods of preparing, cooking and serving food to generate meals served to the customer. The methods differ in terms of the actual location where food production takes place, the total time from preparation to service, number of stuff required, quantity of food produced and the level of hygiene and control. The main considerations in food production include quality of raw materials, food hygiene, minimal wastage, proper food storage, suitable preparation of every food item, employees’ compliance with handling regulations and cooking foods to the proper temperature. Food production methods include centralized distribution, sous-vide, cook-freeze, cook-chill and conventional method.This essay discusses that cook-chill method is a catering system founded regular preparation and cooking of food and subsequent chilling and storage in monitored low temperature conditions. Food is then re-heated prior to consumption. The chille d food is rejuvenated in finishing kitchens that necessitate minimum staff and low capital investment. During the process goods are brought into the kitchen store, followed by preparation and cooking, portioning, packaging, blast chilling, re-heating and eventually consumption. The cook-freeze system of production entails taking goods into the kitchen, preparing and cooking, blast freezing, blast thawing, re-heating and serving when customer orders food. Food and beverage service was customarily viewed as a delivery system.

Land Law - Dimensions of land Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land Law - Dimensions of land - Essay Example The corporeal and noncorporeal components are known as realty to distinguish it from personalty. The latter being personal or movable property (Gray & Gray 2007). Thus in the eyes of law land is a multidimensional asset as discussed below. The first two dimensions of land: it is a two dimensional piece of earth with defining contours, features and limits of jurisdiction. Which is recognised by the registrars, conveyancers, surveyors and ramblers. However this definition too does not takes into account the low water mark area in the coastline. The three mile territorial area including water constitute land. However , even outside this three mile limit the channel tunnel subsoil upto the middle of English channel is called land (Channel tunnel act 1987). Thus land includes land covered with water as well (Gray & Gray 2007). 4-5The third dimension of land: A Latin maxim says that the one who owns land owns the heaven above it and the earth deep down to the centre. It certainly indicated three-dimensional nature of land but lacks practical wisdom. The indefinite extension of territory of land would mean an airplane passing over it causes trespass. Still some three-dimensional characteristics is to be accepted for land in statutory definition. A land can be held above surface and may be divided horizontally. Thus different owners can hold the titles of the land each holding a stratum of cubic surface above or below the surface layer of the earth (Gray & Gray 2007). The components of these three dimensions are (Wilkie 2006; Gray & Gray 2007; Dixon 2005): The word 'hereditament' in law means nature of right involved in ownership of land. land law is all about-not just the land (the soil, the grass, the trees, the buildings), but the rights that people may have in land. Thus, land is to be reclassified as including corporeal and incorporeal hereditaments. Ownership of land may equally include ownership of a house and ownership of a right of way over someone else's house (an incorporeal hereditament). The land law may be viewed from corporeal and incorporeal rights or by distinction between fixtures and chattels. The fee simple owner's right of air space: The owner's rights extend to such a height as is reasonably necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land. In Baron Bernstein of Leigh v Skyviews and General Ltd [1978] QB 479, Griffith J stated that it was necessary to balance the rights of an owner to enjoy the land against the rights of the general public to take advantage of all that 'science now offers in the use of airspace'. Where there is an interference with the legitimate rights of the fee simple

Marketing Across Culture Success or Dilemma Essay Example for Free

Marketing Across Culture Success or Dilemma Essay Marketing across culture is one of the biggest issues which multinational companies have been confronting nowadays. Since marketing is an important factor for the propagation of a particular product or company, marketing plan should also be effective simultaneously. Every organization has to pay attention towards all the aspects which can make a marketing plan successful and ethical aspect is one of them. Since global marketing is a complex process, ethical issues like cultural diversity is one of the major reasons that can cause failure of marketing plan. Marketing across culture is basically defined as product or service promulgation beyond the borders. Since beyond borders, culture, lifestyle and audience get changed, the attitude of the people also gets changed simultaneously. (Hutterer 2006) So, it can be regarded an ethical dilemma to market the products on international level and for dealing with such situation, company needs to scrutinize interests, traditions and culture of the indigenous people. However, different organizations have developed dissimilar strategies in order to cope with such ethical issues. Reasons of this dilemma Cultural diversity is generated by dissimilarity between native culture and the culture beyond the borders. Since every society has its own culture, its audience also possesses dissimilar concerns, ideologies, concepts, principles and keeping all these dynamics under consideration, a marketing plan is developed so that it can come up with the requirements of that respective culture. (Hall Hall, 1990) If the organizations neglect this aspect without considering the emotions and affiliations of its audience important, the result appears in the form of negative consequences. Since the main reason of this dilemma is dynamic nature of traditions, the organizations usually employ strategic plan keeping the regional aspects under consideration. However, in such cases, the organizations which assume theory of relativism are considered successful because it enables them to come up with regional cultural requirements. Since there are no absolute criteria for universal morality in this regard, this ethical dilemma has been solved using the utilitarian approach and the example can be taken from IKEA Inc. In Saudi Arabia, they have kept ethical and moral concerns in limelight while marketing their services and their apology for using female images in marketing transmedia can be taken as evidence in this regard. (Quinn 2012) Another reason why this thing is considered a dilemma is that marketing across culture makes it complex for the organizations to comply with the needs of customers since not only traditions, culture and thoughts of the audience change with the boundaries, but their taste and priorities also change simultaneously. For instance, McDonalds in India markets its products keeping the vegetarian audience under consideration while in other regions like USA, UK and Canada, they market their products through promulgating other additional factors. Hence, through this way, McDonalds not only keeps the cultural but also religious needs of its audience under consideration and this ethical aspect of its marketing plan makes it outstanding in one way or other. However, with the expansion of the business on global level and with the advancement in technology, marketing has become rather a technical yet interesting task and the reason behind this fact is the propagation of social media and similar other sources. These sources have made it ample easy to approach targeted audience yet the cross-culture issue is still persistent since these sources do not give any remarkable evidence regarding the cultural diversity and marketing plan. Comparatively, there are different other organizations like Air Asia which have been struggling with the ethical issue of marketing across culture. Though it has assumed different ethical approaches like absolutism, egoism etc in order to deal with its audience yet there is no remarkable progress in making its service a world popular one. However, there can be several strategic options available to deal with this issue of marketing across culture. Proposed solution: Different solutions for dealing with the issue of marketing across culture are as followed: Pluralism: The first solution in this regard can be given in the form of pluralism since it enables the organization to have an in-between path of utilitarianism and absolutism. (Hinman 2011) Some organizations use absolute ethics for marketing its products and some consider utilitarianism as the best source of marketing across culture but both of them might cause failure since no absolute policy or theory works when the regions are diverse and discriminate from each other. So, only an organization, who assumes theory of pluralism in order to deal with this global dilemma, can get successful position in global market. For this purpose, the organization can also do cultural analysis before marketing its product. Cultural analysis before marketing: This solution can be regarded one of the most significant steps in order to deal with the dilemma of marketing across culture. The reason behind this claim is that understanding the culture of the native people would not harm their feelings in any way. Suppose, if McDonalds never does cultural analysis in India and launches its products without differentiating vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, the result would appear in the form of violation of ethical code of that country. In such case, this organization would face severe opposition and there would be no profitability as well. So, another best solution to deal with this issue would be cultural analysis of the organization and before marketing a specific product or service in any region of the world, it is mandatory for it to analyze the potential market from cultural perspective. Change management strategy: Apart from assuming above given both solutions, the organization would also need to have caliber to adopt change management strategy since marketing across culture would need a severe change in the core marketing plan of the company. In such case, the company would have to deal with the internal issues as well and it can deal with this global ethical dilemma only if it would be able to deal with the internal issues of the organization. Through assuming all these three solutions, all the organizations aiming at expanding its services beyond borders can deal with the ethical dilemma of marketing across culture. Hence, only through dealing with ethical issues, the organizations can get successful marketing promotions throughout then world. References: Hall, E. T. Hall, M. R., (1990) Understanding cultural differences. Yarmouth, Me.: Intercultural Press. Hinman, L. M. (2011) Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub. Hutterer, R. (2006) Marketing Across Cultures Qoo an International Success Story? NY: GRIN Verlag Quinn, Ben. Ikea Apologises over Removal of Women from Saudi Arabia Catalogue. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 Jan. 2013. .

Expressiveness And Effectiveness Of The Visualization Computer Science Essay

Expressiveness And Effectiveness Of The Visualization Computer Science Essay Visualization is a method or a transformation of data or information into images, diagrams, or animations. Concise Oxford Dictionary states that visualization means to imagine or remember as if actually seeing. Besides, in Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, it has defined visualization as the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visual forms. [1] In another words, visualization is the communication of information using graphical representations. There is no longer an obstacle for collecting data or information though extracting necessary values from collected information has turned out to be gradually more complex and complicated. Since early days before the written language has formalized, we have been using pictures for communication and visual imagery has been an efficient way to correspond both tangible and abstract ideas. We, humans, have complex and great vision system which we utilize and rely for everything we do on a daily basis while the speed of analyzing text is quite limited for us by the sequential process of reading. Purpose of Visualization The main reason of visualization is to convey, explore and analyze information. To be more specific, visualization is used to present large amount of information compactly from various view points and at several levels of details. Furthermore, it helps us extract the important information which is hidden within the data. Visualization is essential to manage todays world information of computers, satellites, digitized systems and etc. Some data sets are naturally better to be represented visually since we possess the abilities of powerful human vision system. Graphical representation makes easier for analyzing the data especially when all the information and its relation are segregated with different colors, shapes, and size. [1] As todays technology is tremendously growing and with the inventions of all the computers and their capabilities to generate large data sets, visualization is the most suited technology to extract and study the information from collected raw data. Some examples of visualization comprise mapping the blogosphere, web trend map which is a detailed study of the current online trends, and hierarchical structure of the internet that displays the connectivity and how it is being managed. In addition, visualization offers considerable financial advantages in todays competitive world. Computer simulation together with visualization can save product expenses and time required for production. Types of Visualization Therere few terminologies which can be used to represent visualization. Scientific visualization in computer science field means the method of graphically displaying real or simulated data. It is a fundamental process in the innovative realization of scientific ideas and its basic visualization techniques contain surface rendering, volume rendering, animation, processing algorithms and other sensory presentation such as sound or touch. [1] Another phrase to express visualization is data visualization. Data visualization is more general compared to scientific visualization as its data sources involve business, marketing and financial data which are beyond sciences and engineering fields. [1] Moreover, it consists of statistical processes and other standard data analysis techniques. Information visualization is used to visualize abstract information and abstract structures, directory files on computers, hypertext documents on World Wide Web, etc. [1] It draws on the intellectual history of several customs like computer graphics, human computer interaction and statistical graphics. Visualization can be classified based on context in which data exists. Based on the data sets, the techniques of visualization are differed. Scientific visualization methods are used when data exists up to three spatial coordinates and time dimension whereas information visualization is for data in higher dimensional or abstract spaces. Scientific visualization and information visualization overlap each other and they are allied fields. [1] The relationship of three different visualizations can be found as in figure 1. Figure 1: Types of Visualization Visualization Process Figure 2 illustrates the steps of visualization process. [2] The very first step of designing visualization is about analyzing the data to be visualized. It is necessary to find out whether data from a database, a file or some source, simple or complex, is able to be structured and allows for easy modification to suit its visualization. The designer needs to take note of the presentation of the visualization results and the information the users wish to extract from the enormous data set. Raw data will be then transformed into symbolic representations. Secondly, the data values themselves or the data attributes are mapped as graphical objects, such as shapes, lines, color, position and size. The last component of visualization process is rendering of graphic objects by the computer onto the display and generation of visualization for the users interpretation. Figure 2: Visualization Process from High Level View Visualizing Information One of the fundamental questions in information visualization is how to describe expressiveness and effectiveness, the two mathematical measures of visualization, which can be applied at all stages of visualization process. Besides when visualizing, therere some important parameters to consider such as visualization and symbols, graphic features and the eight visual variables. Expressiveness and Effectiveness of the Visualization Jock D. Mackinlay, an American visualization expert, states a visualization is expressive if a visualization encodes all relevant information and only that information. [3] That denotes the person may see all information he/ she wants to examine without any distractions. Therefore, expressiveness measures the concentration of information. Perfect visualization means with ideal expressiveness and it is tough to achieve in reality. Expressing too much information will lead to interference of interpreting essential information and expressing less information will miss out important datasets need to be visualized. Effectiveness means that all information is presented clearly and quickly in a cost effective manner. [3] Hence effectiveness measures a precise cost of information awareness. Beshers Feiner, the scientists, adapt these two measures and express it as potential expressiveness and potential effectiveness. [3] A visualization is potentially expressive, if it has the potential and under the user control to display all essential information over time. It is potentially effective, if the information presented is sufficiently clear over time. Visualization and Symbols In visualization, symbols create a wide range of new possibilities for visual effects. Symbols have been used to connect with many intentions and they play as valuable roles in information visualization. Visual objects are graphical symbols which are parts of visualization like arrows, labels, dots and etc. To discover relations or patterns of visualization, Cleveland states that there are two major steps. [4] The first step is a mapping between graphic symbols and the represented data. Lastly finding patterns on the screen that imply the patterns in the data. Graphic Features Graphics are represented in three or more dimensions. Every single point of a graphic is construed as a relation between two positions x and y with a third variable value z. Graphics can be analyzed in three main steps. [2] First is to perceive groups of objects pre-attentively, followed by characterizing those groups cognitively. The final step is to examine special cases which are out of the group. The Eight Visual Variables To represent different aspects of the same information, choosing visual variables is crucial and can affect the perception and understanding of the presented information. Thus, it is essential to understand graphic primitives and their variables. The eight visual variables are as below. [2] Position It is the most important visual variable and changes in x, y location. In visualization, the spatial arrangement is the very first thing to be done. That is the reason why positioning has the greatest impact on the display of information. Shape Shapes or marks refer to points, lines, areas, volumes, and their compositions, and they are graphic primitives that represent data. There are infinite number of shapes and they are used for categorization. Size Size changes in area, length or volume. It influences the way of individual data representation and display. Brightness Brightness or luminance is good for large interval and continuous data. However, there is a limitation to distinguish among all those different levels of brightness. Color It changes according to two parameters, hue and saturation. It requires mapping of data values to individual color codes. Orientation Orientation changes in alignment. It cannot be used for all marks. For example, circles look the same even their orientations change. Shapes with natural single axis are the best to apply orientation. Texture It is a combination of many other visual variables including marks, color, orientation and so on. Motion Motion describes all visual variables change over time and it can convey more information. Human Perception System Visual perception means the ability to interpret and process information from visible light in the surrounding environment. Not everyone perceives data exactly the same. Different viewers differently interpret the identical visual representations. When designing visualization, to reduce the confusion later on, the designers need to take account of color usage of graphical entities for accurate measurement, quantity of distinct entities, and etc. Besides, we also need to consider the primitives that humans usually detect pre-attentively and the level of accuracy we perceive various primitives. Consequently, when we visualize data, it is a basic requirement to learn the limits of human perception since we need to factor in these limitations and avoid producing images with vague or deceptive information. Visual System The human eye is composed of many parts. [5] They obtain visual images, focus them accurately and send messages to the brain. The main sensory component of vision assembles light scattered from objects and forms a two dimensional function on the photoreceptors, the small sensory devices which respond in the presence of photons making up light waves. Information related to the external objects in the environment is captured through the visual system. Light rays from an object enters through the outer part of the eye, named the cornea. It helps the eye to focus to make things look sharp and clear. Then, the light rays travel towards an opening called the pupil, the dark round circle in the middle of the colored part of the eye. The colored eye is called the iris and the pupil is just a hole in the iris. The iris controls the amount of light goes into the eye. Besides, your eye also possesses a lens to focus the light rays. Light passes through the lens till the back of the eye, the retina. It has millions of tiny light sensitive cells sending messages to parts of the brain, the optic nerves. Field of View A pair of normal healthy human eyes can view about 200 degrees horizontally where approximately 120 degrees of which are shared by both eyes and giving rise to whats known as binocular vision. [6] It has a field of view of 135 degrees vertically. However, as we get older, these values decrease. Both of human eyes are positioned more or less on the front of our heads and it is common in prey species as it helps increase an animals total field of view. Angular Resolution Angular resolution refers to the minimum distance at which our eyes can differentiate things of the same size and shape from each other. [6] The typical set of human eyes has an angular resolution of one minute of arc. It means objects one degree apart from each other can be distinguished. Therefore, angular resolution is useful when we need to differentiate similar objects. Nevertheless, every human eye is different and their angular resolution varies based on eyesight strength, eye shape and age. The Blind Spot The photoreceptor cells in our eyes are used to perceive light and information being received is relayed to the brain via the optic nerve. Blind spot is the visual field where it lacks the light detecting photoreceptor cells on the optic disc of the retina. [6] A small part of the field of vision is not perceived as there are no cells to detect light. Normally, with two eyes, the brain interpolates the blind spot based on surrounding details and information from the other eyes so that the blind spot would not be detected. However, blind spot can be perceived easily with one eye closed. Perceptual Processing Attention acts as a critical role in perceiving information. Perception can be pre-attentive or attentive. Usually the flow of perceived information starts from the low level pre-attentive towards the high cognitive stages. Professor Treisman states perceptions that can be performed in less than 200 to 250ms are regarded as pre-attentive. [7] Initiating random locations of the elements in display by human eyes normally take at least 200ms. That determines attention cannot be pre-focused on any particular situation and information is processed in parallel by the human visual system. Pre-attentive perception requires its objects to possess a unique feature, such as color and size. For attentive perception, it uses short term memory and it is selective. Attentive tasks convert premature image effects into a well-structured objects. Attentive perception is generally slower and often signifies aggregates of what is in the scene. When designing visualization, the designers should take note of pros and cons of the human visual system and provide well-suited visuals to the viewers for easy analysis. Thus, in order to use the visual features effectively and not to produce visual interference effects masking information in a display, the visualization creators should be aware of the attentive tasks and the pre-attentive visual features like length, width, hue, intensity, lighting direction, and so on. Data Foundation The very primary step of visualization is the data to visualise. It is a must to explore and examine the characteristics of the data since it can be from many different kinds of sources and has a wide variety of attributes and features. Data Types Data can be differentiated into two main types: ordinal (numeric values) and nominal (non-numeric values). [2] To be specific, ordinal values mean: Binary values those with only 0s and 1s Discrete values integer values from a very particular division Continuous real values Nominal values are: Categorical values from list of possibilities Ranked categorical variables with significant ordering Arbitrary infinite range of values without significant ordering Scale is another useful technique of sorting data variables since each graphical attribute from raw data possesses scale associated with it. There are three attributes of scale: Ordering relation ranked nominal variables and ordinal variables which can be ordered in some manner Distance metric all ordinal variables where the distances of different records can be calculated Existence of absolute zero variables with fixed lowest value Data Pre-processing In reality, real world data that is to be analyzed can be incomplete, noisy, incoherent and cumulative. Those raw data need to be transformed somehow into an understandable format and the process of its transformation is known as data pre-processing. Data pre-processing can greatly improve the quality of data visualization results. There are some different aspects of data pre-processing: Metadata and statistical Missing values and data cleansing Normalization Segmentation Sampling and sub-setting Dimension reduction Mapping nominal dimensions to numbers Aggregation and summarization Smoothing and filtering Raster to vector conversion For more information about data pre-processing techniques refer to [2]. Visualization Techniques for Different Types of Data Visualization techniques will be differed for different types of data since they comprise special characteristics. Main types of data and useful visualization methods for them will be discussed in this section. Spatial Data Spatial attributes identify data in 1,2 or multi dimension. Visualizing spatial data is defined as mapping spatial data to spatial attributes on the screen. [2] Techniques of visualization of those data include histograms, linear probes, flow visualization, vector field visualization, slice plus isosurface, isosurface plus glyphs and so on. Geospatial Data Geospatial data or geographic information classifies geographic locations and boundaries in the real world. [8] They include coordinates and topology on earth. Examples of geospatial data consist of climate, environmental, economical and sociological and credit card payment locations. Visualization methods of such data can be completed using dot maps, pixel maps, network maps, choropleth maps and cartograms. [2] Multivariate Data Multivariate data is lists or tables of data that arises from more than one variable. It normally doesnt have an precise spatial attribute. [2] Multivariate data can be visualized by point based techniques like scatter-plots and force based methods, line based techniques like graphs, parallel coordinates, andrews curves and radial axis techniques, and region based techniques which are bar charts, histograms and tabular displays. Combination of above techniques are also applied sometimes. Trees, Graphs and Network Bertin declares that trees, graphs and network visualization demonstrates the relationships of each data recorded, similarities among values and attributes, parent and child nodes, connectedness such as networks between countries around the world, shared classification and derivation. [9] Space filling methods, non space filling methods, displaying arbitrary graphs and networks, and node link graphs are some of the methods for trees, graphs and networks visualization. maps, pixel maps, network maps, choropleth maps and cartograms. [2] Text and Documents By applying suitable visualization techniques, valuable information can be obtained from huge resources of information such as digital libraries, text files from your computer and billions of words in your thesis paper. Searching comparable patterns and outliers within the text or documents will be painful without visualization. Tag clouds, word trees, text arcs and arc diagrams can be used for visualizing single documents. Visualization practice for collections of documents are self organizing maps, themescapes and document cards. [2] Interaction Concepts Techniques John and his group clarify that interaction within data visualization is a helpful structure for transforming what the users see and how they perceive it. Interactions will transform visualization images to better and smooth transitions. Summary of interaction techniques are discussed as below. [10] Navigation It allows the users to adjust the cameras position and scale the vision. Examples include panning, rotating and zooming. Selection Selection refers categorizing an object or collections of objects. To be precise, it grants the user to control the regions of interest. Highlighting, deleting and modifying are types of selection. Filtering The size of data mapped on the screen is reduced by filtering techniques by reducing or omitting dataset, dimensions or both. Reconfiguring It is to change the way analyzed data is mapped to visualization graphical attributes like reordering data layouts in order to provide a diverse way of viewing data. Encoding Users are permitted to control graphical attributes such as point size, line colors to discover different features of visualization. Connecting Connecting means linking different views or objects. Abstracting and Elaborating It is to modify the level of detail. Hybrid Hybrid defines combining the above techniques together. Effective Visualization In fact, visualizations implemented by the designers have larger risks of being ineffective than being effective. It is not very simple to build effective visualizations where the users satisfy as there are many chances of data being distorted and lost during the mapping process, or data presented is too confusing and complex for the users to interpret, and so on. A successful and effective visualization efficiently and accurately transmits the preferred information to the viewers. Therefore, the designers should take in consideration of what the targeted users really want to observe from the results so that they will be able to visualize effectively. Intuitive Data Mappings Ed H. Chi explains that it is essential to consider the importance of data semantics and the context of the user. [11] To avoid any misinterpretation, the designers should be able to predict the users expectations. Choosing data-to-graphics mappings that provides the users mental model will significantly support in interpretation. The designer should take note of the compatibility between scale of data and graphic attributes on the screen. Besides, they should utilize humans abilities to correlate position on the screen medium with position in real world. Selecting and Adjusting Views It is obvious that one view is hardly satisfactory to express all the information enclosed in the dataset. Expecting the view modifications which are most useful to the users is one of the major factors of developing an effective visualization. Common view operations are as follows. [2] Scrolling and Zooming Operations This operation comes in handy when the dataset is too huge to be presented as one whole at the resolution that the viewer wants. Color Map Control It allows the user to make changes of individual attribute colors or entire palette. Mapping Control Mapping control helps the viewers to toggle among different ways of visualizing the same data and to discover the distinct features which might be hidden. Scale Control The user can focus on specific data subsets by applying scale control where they can modify the range and distribution of values. Information Density The designers decision, to verify how much information to display, plays an important role for an effective visualization and representation. Alexandru [12] points out that if there is too little information to present, it is the best to display the results as text. Conversely, if the data has too much information to present, it might cause confusion, lose essential information within the data, and face with obscurities in interpretation. In such cases, the user should be permitted to disable or enable different components of the presentation. Keys, Labels and Legends Most of the visualizations are ineffective because they lack useful and supported information to aid them. [2] Keys, labels and legends are therefore very helpful. Examples include captions, mappings used, grid marks, units of axes, key for symbols, color bar and etc. Using Color with Care Color can add significant visual appeal to a visualization but can also significantly decrease the effectiveness of the communication process. [2] Usage of color is context dependent and the characteristics of dataset itself can influence how the colors are noticeable. The designers should not forget there might be some color blind users as well. The Importance of Aesthetics Visuals, with both informative and pleasing to the eye, are known as the best representations. If the visualization is aesthetically pleasant, it attracts the viewers to analyze it in greater details. [2] Some useful guidelines for attractive visualization designs are as below. Focus The users attention should be drawn towards the most vital part of the visualization. Balance Balancing the screen space is another aspect to take note of designing pleasing visualizations. The most important components should be placed in the center. Simplicity Representing too much information will confuse the viewers. The designers should get rid of features which can be removed without losing information wanted to pass on since it is the best to be as simple as possible. Misleading Visualizations b c

How the Relation of the Camera to the Real is Problematized in The Thin

How the Relation of the Camera to the Real is Problematized in â€Å"The Thin Blue Line† and â€Å"Yuki Yukite Shingun† Documentary films can include every type of discourse about the real world. The accomplishments of nonfiction film are derived from more than the stereotypical edited interview segment, and recently have been a totality that is useful as much for showing reality as it is for expressing the creative visions of its director. It is possible for the most extrinsic implications to be presented in a way that reflects individual systemics and personal expression. The innovation of a nonfiction work can legitimize many techniques that were previously unused and will ultimately provide countless new ways of exploring social and historical issues. The examination of these issues using different visual styles leads to the methodical questioning of the degree of truth that surrounds each individual style. For nonfiction cinema, the epistemological virtue exists within the relation of what is filmed and what truly is real. In an inspection of The Thin Blue Line and Yuki Yukite Shingun, the relation between the camera and the real is problematized by both films’ intentional reversal of presentational truths, the awareness of the camera, the staging or reenacting of real events with actors, and the addition of graphical or aural stylistic elements. The Thin Blue Line was directed by Errol Morris in 1988. It is the retelling of a story of two men that meet by chance in Dallas, one of whom later kills a police officer. The facts are chronicled through a series of interview segments and supplemented by various reenactments, striking visual images, and a repetitive, captivating musical accompaniment. The images presen... ...ing of real events with actors, and the addition of graphical or aural stylistic elements. As presented in The Thin Blue Line and Yuki Yukite Shingun, these elements are important to the originality of their overall films and have the effect of problematizing the relation between the camera and what is real. Sources Cited Bruzzi, Stella. New Documentary: A Critical Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 2000. MacDonald, Scott. A Critical Cinema 3: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1998. Plantinga, Carl R. Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Renov, Michael. Theorizing Documentary. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 1993. Ruoff, Kenneth. Filming at the Margins: The Documentaries of Hara Kazuo. Iconics 16 (Spring 1993): 115-126.

Superconductivity Essay -- essays research papers

Superconductivity INTRODUCTION We've all heard about superconductivity. But, do we all know what it is? How it works and what are its uses? To start talking about superconductivity, we must try to understand the how "normal" conductivity works. This will make it much easier to understand how the "super" part functions. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how superconductivity works, some of the current problems and some examples of its uses. CONDUCTIVITY Conductivity is the ability of a substance to carry electricity. Some substances like copper, aluminium, silver and gold do it very well. They are called conductors. Others conduct electricity partially and they are called semi-conductors. The concept of electric transmission is very simple to understand. The wire that conducts the electric current is made of atoms which have equal numbers of protons and electrons making the atoms electrically neutral. If this balance is disturbed by gain or loss of electrons, the atoms will become electrically charged and are called ions. Electrons occupy energy states. Each level requires a certain amount of energy. For an electron to move to a higher level, it will require the right amount of energy. Electrons can move between different levels and between different materials but to do that, they require the right amount of energy and an "empty" slot in the band they enter. The metallic conductors have a lot of these slots and this is where the free electrons will head when voltage (energy) is applied. A simpler way to look at this is to think of atoms aligned in a straight line (wire). if we add an electron to the first atom of the line, that atom would have an excess of electrons so it releases an other electron which will go to the second atom and the process repeats again and again until an electron pops out from the end of the wire. We can then say that conduction of an electrical current is simply electrons moving from one empty slot to another in the atoms' outer shells. The problem with these conductors is the fact that they do not let all the current get through. Whenever an electric current flows, it encounters some resistance, which changes the electrical energy into heat. This is what causes the wires to heat. The conductors become themselves like a resistance but an unwanted one. This explains why only 95% of the power... ...vious afterwards. It's as if the train was "surfing" on waves of voltage. THE MAGSHIP Another interesting application is what is referred to as the magship. This ship has no engine, no propellers and no rudder. It has a unique power source which is electromagnetism. The generator on the boat creates a current which travels from one electrode to another which go underwater on each side of the ship. This makes the water electrically charged. This only works in salt water because pure water would not conduct the current. The magnets which are located on the bottom of the ship would produce a magnetic field which will push the water away making the ship move forward. There are a lot of problems related with that. The magnetic field could attract metallic objects and even other ships causing many accidents. CONCLUSION As time goes by, transition temperature, critical field (maximum magnetic field intensity that a superconductor can support before failing), current capacity and all other problems are improving slowly. But, at least they show that we are moving in the right direction. A lot of people are getting interested in that field since it promises a lot for the future.

Criminal Record Does Matter

A Criminal Record Does Matter April 11, 2013 Sociology 381 In the article, Mark of a Criminal Record by Devah Pager, the effect that a criminal record has on black and white males is examined. Pager's goal is to answer whether and to what extent employers use criminal history, whether race plays a role in hiring, and whether there are different results for black applicants than for white applicants when applying for a job. In order to conduct this research Pager uses Audit Methodology. The basic design of this study was to create four different resumes for four different people (testers).Each tester was an articulate college student who took on one of two roles when applying for a job: an ex convict or someone with no criminal history. Each resume had the same level of qualifications for education and job experience. The two black testers were paired together and the two white testers were paired together. Each tester had one resume and the only difference between the resumes within each group was that one had served prison time for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.The first objective of the study was to find out whether and to what extent employers use information about criminal history in making hiring decisions. This was important because in the sample taken by Pager (2003), 27% of employers said they would perform background checks on all applicants. However, the actual number was most likely higher because employers were not required to indicate whether or not they intended to perform background checks (Pager, 2003, p. 953). And although not all employers actually do this, it still implied that, to some degree, a criminal history will affect job opportunities.One criticism to this type of research was that employers use other characteristics to determine whether or not the applicant will be hired and not the criminal record. This says that the same characteristics that make a person resort to crime happen to overlap with characteristics that make a person an undesirable employee. This objective and study was designed to find out how true that is. It has been found that a criminal record plays a significant role during the hiring process. A criminal record reduced the likelihood of a call back by 50%. 4% of whites without a criminal record received a callback compared to 17% of whites with a criminal background. For one tedious job application for a trucking service, one applicant was told that the job had been filled after the employer reviewed the application. Keep in mind, though, that the applicant had to check with the supervisor several different times during the application process in order to complete the application. The second objective was to find out the extent to which race continues to serve as a major barrier to employment.This is important because racial inequality is a prevalent issue that has been heavily debated in regards to job opportunities. African Americans have lower rates of employment compared to whites. There is disagreement over the cause of these discriminations. This method of testing is designed to address this question. Recent studies have doubted the importance of race when it comes to the job hiring process. Some recent arguments have stated that other factors such as spatial location, soft skills, social capital, and cognitive ability are to blame rather than race.This study compares equally qualified black and white applicants who apply for the same job and the frequency each one received call backs. One surprising finding is that out of the black applicants without criminal records, only 14% were called back compared to 34% of white applicants without criminal history. What really makes the results of this audit so surprising is that whites with criminal backgrounds were called back more than blacks without a criminal background at 17% of the time.Blacks with criminal history were only a little less likely to be called back than their noncriminal counterparts at 14% of the time. The third objective is to assess whether the effect of a criminal record differs for black and white applicants. This is important because criminal history can affect job opportunities and may even be more troublesome depending on the race of the applicant. Effects of criminal records for blacks and whites can be even more detrimental in times of economic hardships.One employer for a janitorial service said that the company had been extremely short staffed and had to interview virtually every applicant. Now with job scarcity, even the most entry level jobs are able to be more selective about whom they employ. It is important to recognize the possible racial differences in the effects of incarceration. Current literature on racial stereotypes says that â€Å"stereotypes are most likely to be activated and reinforced when a target matches on more than one dimension of the stereotype† (Pager, 2003, p. 45). This may make employers, who already have preconceive d notions, even more wary with proven past criminal behavior. The results of the study showed that the effect of a criminal record is more pronounced and impacting blacks 40% more than whites. On three separate occasions black testers were asked if they had criminal backgrounds before they submitted their applications. I had a lot of different reactions to this article. Before I read the article I had a couple different assumptions that were correct.For example, I already figured that a criminal record would affect opportunity for hire and that it would have a bigger impact for blacks than for whites. I was, however, surprised to learn that whites with a criminal history were more often called back than blacks with a clean history. I did not know that there was still such discrimination with the workplace. I was more disturbed by how much a criminal record affected overall employment rather than by how much race played a role. One finding that really bothered me was that there are n o limitations as to how far back an employer can go when performing a background check.Employers may potentially reject an applicant because of a crime committed many years prior or even during adolescents and according to Kurlychek (2007), individuals who have juvenile or early adult records have a lower chance of recidivism. With today's technology it is even easier to access this information, making it more likely that an employer will look at the background, making the mark of a criminal record even more problematic. Employers are allowed to deny employment if the offense directly relates to the job.This is vague and the lack of regulation and accountability on the employer's part makes it easy for them to dismiss an applicant and blame it on other â€Å"defects† of character or qualification even though these defects may be completely erroneous. Another part of the results that is shocking is that these testers are articulate college students, and even though they took o n criminal personas, are still not being selected. During the study the testers were the â€Å"best possible scenario† ex convicts, meaning that each one had some college education and his own transportation.Each applicant put down his parole officer's name and had other references. Very rarely did the employer contact any of the references. To me, this means that regardless of how well presented a person is or even if he/she has credible references that are able to atone for his/her character and reliability, a criminal record may destroy any chance a person has for a particular job. One important part of Pager's study is that the testers were open and upfront about their criminal background.The part of this which stuck out in my mind was even if the job application did not request criminal information, it was still given. And according to Pager (2003), this reflects real life situations, as it is assumed that most employers will eventually find out; with that being said, th ese people are being openly labeled as ex convicts. Labels serve as cues to how others respond to an individual and have even been formalized into law so that people who have criminal records face civil disenfranchisement (Kurlychek, 2007, p. 67).Another aspect of this I found incredibly shocking is that people labeled deviant suffered more setbacks in search of employment than did illegal aliens. I realize there are different types of offending and I believe each one should be treated on a case by case basis, but the fact remains, it is easier for an illegal alien to find employment than some U. S. citizens who are labeled as criminals. â€Å"50% of cases, employers were unwilling to consider equally qualified applicants on the basis of their criminal record† (Pager, 2003, p. 956).I find this statistic to be very unsurprising yet unfair in some circumstances. The fact that half of the employers polled will not even consider an applicant because of a criminal record is absurd , especially, in cases such as the one studied in Pager's audit. This finding is supported by a study reviewed in Kurlychek's article: 25 employers received a resume with a criminal history and only one offered the applicant employment (2007, p. 67). Each crime is different, and as I have previously stated, each one should be considered on a case by case basis.I do not believe that all hope for employment should be abolished due to the criminal record described in Pager's study. The testers were one time offenders whom otherwise would have been viewed as good candidates for employment. In one study by Cheng, Kim, and Lo (2008), there was a positive correlation between the number of offenses committed in the past and the likelihood of reoffending. Other findings in Kurlychek's (2007) article state that the majority of one time offenders do not continue to offend and either learn their lesson or grow out of it.I should add, when an offender forms a positive social tie, such as the one that would be created due to employment, the chances of offending decrease. After reading these articles, the way I view those with criminal records is a little bit different. I am very open-minded, I give people the benefit of the doubt, and I do not believe that a criminal history defines who a person is or their ability to perform certain tasks. Although, each situation needs to be evaluated separately by factors other than the presence of a criminal record.I think one time offenders should be given more leniency and there should be more focus on the offender's pattern (or lack thereof) of criminality. The way in which offenders are labeled in society by both written and unwritten law is another aspect I see a little differently. I never realized how difficult it is to escape the stigmatization of being labeled as deviant. This kind of negative label has the ability to haunt people their entire lives, even if their offense can be attributed to one bad decision made while maturin g.References Cheng, T. , Kim, Y. , & Lo, C. (n. d. ). Offense specialization of arrestees. (2008). An Event History Analysis,  54(3), 341-365. doi: 10. 1177/0011128707305746 Kurlychek, M. , Brame, R. , & Bushway, S. (n. d. ). Enduring risk? old criminal records and predictions of future criminal involvement . (2007). Crime & Delinquency  ,  53(1), 64-83. doi: 10. 1177/0011128706294439 Pager, D. (n. d. ). The mark of a criminal record. (2003). American Journal of Sociology,  108(5), 937-975. doi: 10. 1086/374403