Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Plagiarism and Fraud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plagiarism and Fraud - Essay Example Occasionally these cases hit the roof and media pushes them forward. Many academic frauds are never even discovered and pose a threat to the integrity of authors and authenticity. One such case occurred of a professor in India, where he was found guilty of plagiarising above 70 papers and publishing them in his name between the years 2004 to 2007. This fraud was committed by a chemistry professor named Pattium Chiranjeevi he was teaching at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati located in India. (Schulz, 2008) Pattium Chiranjeevi had submitted an article on the measurement of Arsenic (III) which was found identical to a published research paper by some Japanese scholars. He was also allegedly involved in charging students for awarding them their respective degrees. This fraud was exposed by Purnendu K. (Sandy) Dasgupta, who was also a chemistry tutor at the University of Texas. The discovery was done using a tool eTBlast. The discovery was initiated by a student of Dasgupta who reviewed the paper by Chiranjeevi. He informed Dasgupta about his suspicion of plagiarism on the professor’s work. Professor Dasgupta first threatened Professor Chiranjeevi about notifying his university of his misconduct. This did not receive a response from Chiranjeevi and he denied all accusation on his work. The notification letter was thus sent by Professor Dasgupta to Duvvuru Gunasekar, head of Chemistry Department of Chiranjeevi University; who did a detailed survey and probed in Chiranjeevi publications including the Arsenic (III) paper along with duplicate papers on selenium. The stakeholders in the mentioned case of plagiarism and fraud are Sri Venkateswara University, its faculty, and administrators, head of department and research journals who published his plagiarised articles and papers. This is because such crime was being committed under their noses.  

Monday, October 28, 2019

Frq Apush Farmers vs Industrialization Essay Example for Free

Frq Apush Farmers vs Industrialization Essay The Gilded Age, a time of industrious growth and a surge of new immigrants. Americans had witnessed the death of rural life dominated by farmers and the birth of an urban and industrial America dominated by bankers, industrialists, and city dwellers. Overproduction led farmers into debt leaving them just an overflow of crops due to the repressed prices. Tariff Policies forced farmers to buy manufactured goods for survival. Farmers lost their status and power due to industrialization. Let’s just say farmers felt betrayed by their government and not letting them have voice. Overproduction was the most vexing problem during this time. The American farmer produced too much for their own good. As levels rise, the use of farm machinery increased it allowed the farmer to grow even more, new farming techniques, and the spread of railroads l made markets full of produce. As more and more crops were in the markets, it made the prices fall for the produce. Farmers were growing more and making less money. Of all the problems a farmer faced, overproduction was the gravest. Not making enough to recoup expenses because of depressed crop values, farmers attempted to compensate by producing more. This made the problem worse. The lack of income drove farmers into ever-deepening debt. Farmers fell victim to a tariff policy of the U.S. during the Gilded Age. It forced them to buy all the manufacture goods they needed for survival on a market protected by tariff legislation at high prices while selling what they produced on an unprotected market at reduced prices because of oversupply and foreign competitors. The government put a tax on the manufactured goods being imported into the U.S. by other manufactures. They hoped to make them more expensive than the American goods. For consumers would buy American goods. During this process it made American rapidly industrialized. Famers felt doubly discriminated against because they felt the tariffs were applied primarily to manufactured goods while their interests were left to fend for themselves. One of the hardest impacts due to industrialization for farmers was that they had to deal with the recognition that rural and agricultural America was given way to an urban and industrialized American. Dominated by the interests of big business, and government. Famers found the major political parties during the time unresponsive to their demands that government deal with their problems. Farmers no longer controlled the social, economic, or political systems. Which was a constant struggle for them to be heard, and did not feel appreciated. Farmers were impacted by industrialization in many ways causing many problems. Making a huge amount of them very unhappy during the Gilded Age.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

John Wayne as an American Icon Essays -- John Wayne Marion Morrison Ac

John Wayne as an American Icon Marion Morrison, also known as John Wayne, is perhaps one of the most popular movie personalities ever. He began as a mere stagehand, but by the end of his career he had developed himself as a very successful actor, producer, and director. Marion Michael Morrison was born on May 26, 1907, in Winterest, Iowa. His father, Clyde, worked as a pharmacist, and John Wayne thought of his father as the â€Å"kindest, most patient man I ever knew.† Later on in life, John Wayne’s father developed a critical lung disease. Wayne said that his mother, Mary was â€Å"a tiny, vivacious redheaded bundle of energy.† John Wayne was nicknamed â€Å"The Duke† after his pet as a child that was named Airedale. Early in his life, John and his parents moved to California. After graduating from high school and failing admission to Annapolis, John Wayne went to the University of Southern California (USC) and played on a football scholarship from 1925-27. During this time, Tom Mix, a friend of John’s, got him a job as a prop man for a director by the name of John Ford. Ford and Wayne became close friends and Ford used Wayne for small parts in some of his movies. Then finally in 1930, Ford suggested to Raoul Walsh that Wayne star in The Big Trail. The film bombed, but it was a start to Wayne’s career as an actor in leading roles. Wayne’s first feature film was also in 1930. It was titled Men Without Women. After more than seventy low-budget adventures, John Ford cast Wayne in Stagecoach in 1939. This movie is where John Wayne emerged as a major star. From this point on, there was no turning back for â€Å"The Duke.† But in 1963, Wayne began to have health problems. He had a cancerous lung removed during in 1963. Then in 1978, he had open-heart surgery. He then had his stomach removed in 1979, just before dying from lung and stomach cancer on June 11, 1979. Throughout his career as an actor, John Wayne won a variety of different awards, achievements and accomplishments. In 1950, at the Photoplay Awards, John Wayne won his first award when he received the award for the Most Popular Male Star because of his work in the 1949 film, Sands of Iwo Jima. Also in 1950, â€Å"The Duke† was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for Sands of Iwo Jima. In 1953, Wayne was named the World Film Favorite male actor at the Golden Globe Awards. Seven ... ...eared in a number of Coors Beer commercials. Of course, this was done through the use of computerized virtual images. But, it’s still nice to see that he still has an influence on us. It is still very common to see â€Å"The Duke’s† face lingering around on television. Perhaps, he paved the way for such movie stars as Clint Eastwood, who also has made a name for himself through western films. Without a doubt, there will never be anyone quite as influential and all-American as â€Å"The Duke†. Everyone respected John Wayne. You might even say that some people were frightened by the rugged western and the war roles that he played. When our country was off fighting World War II, John Wayne was unable to be in the military because of an inner ear problem, but reports say that his movies about war kept everyone’s spirits up. He was a very patriotic man in real life, not only in film, and in my opinion, he is definitely an American icon. Bibliography: â€Å"The Wages of Virtue.† Time Magazine 3 Mar. 1952: 64-69 Freer, Ian and Hamilton, Jake. â€Å"The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.† Empire Magazine Oct. 1997: 190 Nardo, John. John Wayne. Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Freemark Abbey Winery Essay

1. Construct the decision tree for William Jaeger. 2. What should he do? Jaeger should choose to harvest later and wait for the storm. If the storm does come but destroys the grapes, he can decide whether to bottle wine or not to protect winery’s reputation. In either way, he will gain higher revenues from harvesting later than harvesting immediately: EV of â€Å"Do not harvest & Bottling†: $39240 EV of â€Å"Do not harvest & Not bottling†: $39240-$12000*0.6*0.5=$35640 EV of â€Å"Harvest†: $34200 If the winery’s reputation is of great importance for long term profitability, he should choose to sell the wine in bulk, or sell the grapes directly to avoid impairing reputation. Besides, Riesling wines contribute only about 1,000 cases of wine, and the whole winery produced about 25,000 cases of wine bottled each year. Since the Riesling takes only about 4% of winery’s total production and the decision analysis only affects a small proportion of winery revenues, an expected value approach is used (not expected utility approach). However, if Jaeger is extremely risk average or the winery could not afford any risks at that time, he could choose to harvest immediately to reduce uncertainty. 3. Incorporate the option that Jaeger can obtain perfect weather information on the path of the storm into your decision tree. Note that the type of storm remains uncertain. 4. What should he do now? And at most how much he is willing to pay for this piece of information? With perfect information of whether storm strikes or not, Jaeger should still choose to harvest later and wait for the storm. EV of â€Å"Harvest† stream: $34200 EV of â€Å"Do not harvest† stream: $39240 (no matter Jaeger decides to bottle  not-up-to-standard wine or not) When Jaeger decides to â€Å"bottling† not up-to-standard wine, EV of â€Å"Information† stream: $39240 When Jaeger decides to â€Å"not bottling† not-up-to-standard wine, EV of â€Å"Information† stream: $34200*0.5+$37200*0.5=$35700 (â€Å"Information, Storm strike, Do not harvest & Not bottling†: this option will not be chosen as its EV is $34080, smaller than EV of â€Å"Information, Storm strike & Harvest† $34200) As the option â€Å"harvest later and wait for the storm† will bring the highest revenues no matter Jaeger decides to bottle not-up-to-standard wine or not to protect reputation, he should stick to the strategy of harvesting later. Even if the perfect information is free-of-charge, and he decides to bottle not-up-to-standard wine to get more monetary returns, the expected value is the same as â€Å"do not harvest and do not gain perfect information†. If he chooses to get perfect information, and decides to not bottle not-up-to-standard wine, the expected value will be lower. Because the perfect information cannot affect his choice from an ex ante position, it is worthless and he is willing to pay for zero. In this case, the information cannot predict the storm type, so the perfect information is worthless for Jaeger. If the perfect information can predict the storm type, it is valuable and Jaeger will be willing to pay.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Information Freedom: the Ethical Implications of Sopa

James Eckert Professor Reed PHIL 2306 2 December 2011 Information Freedom: The Ethical Implications of SOPA The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a U. S. House of Representatives bill with the stated purpose, â€Å"To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U. S. property, and for other purposes. † (1) SOPA proposes to accomplish those goals by allowing the U. S. Department of Justice and copyright owners to take action against websites thought to be facilitating copyright infringement.What brought SOPA into the limelight is the criteria it uses to determine what a copyright-infringing site is, and the methods it allows to punish those websites. It was drafted with the intention of combating websites that host U. S. copyrighted content, many of which are hosted offshore and outside of U. S. legal jurisdiction; and subsequently focuses on attacking U. S. based internet services that could benefit such ‘rogue sites. â€℠¢ The sites it targets are defined as being â€Å"dedicated to the theft of U. S. property. † The qualifications for such a site? It must be directed toward the U. S. , and either * â€Å"engage in, enable, or facilitate† infringement; or * take or have taken steps to â€Å"avoid confirming a high probability† of infringement These defining attributes are for any portion of a site, even a single page containing infringing material can qualify a site as ‘rogue. ’ SOPA then allows a copyright holder who believes their works are being infringed by such a ‘rogue site,’ to send a notice to facilitating services of the site, such as payment processors (e. g. PayPal, Visa), ad networks, and hosting providers. These services must then deliver the notice to the site, and suspend their services; unless the site provides a counter-notice explaining how it is not violating copyright, to be delivered within five days of the original notice. If a cou nter-notice is supplied by the site, or if the supporting services do not end their service, the rights-holder is able to take them to court. One of the most troubling notions that SOPA introduces is the disconnect between judicial process and a real-world response.The extraordinarily broad definitions for a ‘rogue site’ would allow copyright holders (or anyone presenting themselves as one) to strangle services that support a site, without ever setting foot in court; or even requiring to verify that they do, in fact, own the copyright to the material they claim as infringing. SOPA also provides the previously mentioned supporting services with immunity from liability, if they comply with copyright violation notices, regardless of the validity of the claim itself.SOPA does provide one important clause concerning a right-holder’s request for takedown; if a copyright holder knowingly misrepresents a site as being a haven for copyright infringement, they are liable t o damages. Unfortunately, this has little effect in practice, because the breadth of definition in what constitutes a ‘rogue site’ would make virtually all of the internet services we are accustomed to into an illegality.For example, YouTube – a streaming video service that allows its users to upload media content, would no longer be protected from claims on material that is provided by their users; a state of affairs that it has enjoyed due to the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), stating that sites are shielded from the liabilities of their users, provided the site follows DMCA’s notice-and-takedown policy for copyrighted content.If sites that allow user-provided content were required to actively police all user content for potentially copyright-infringing material, even social media services such as Facebook or Twitter would be under attack as facilitating copyright infringement. SOPA’s provisio ns even ban linking to sites deemed infringing, including results from a search engine, or comments on a blog.The implications of this lead to a decidedly unjust outcome: service providers would have no reason to defend their customers from invalid claims, supposed copyright holders would have free reign to cripple even a law-abiding site, and even websites that make a good-faith effort to remove copyrighted content would be unable to meet the draconian standards set forth in SOPA. SOPA has still more provisions, of a substantially more troubling nature.While the process previously described is only related to the abilities granted to copyright holders, SOPA also has far-reaching implications for copyright infringements that do make it into a courtroom. It allows the U. S. Department of Justice to obtain a court order against sites accused of infringing, or facilitating infringement of copyrighted material. Once the U. S. attorney general is furnished with such an order, they have t he power to force U. S. ased Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to censor the website through the Domain Name Service (DNS), as well as forcing supporting services such as ad networks and payment processors to suspend their service to the site, and finally to force search engines from linking to an infringing site. This provision of SOPA is by far the most contentious, with dramatic technical ramifications that critics have compared to the internet censorship of countries such as China and Iran. 2) While the technical details are too deep to explore in this work, leaders in the fields of technology, business, and law have denounced it as being infeasible, insecure, unstable, easily defeated, and as setting a poor example for other nations if America were to adopt such a system of censorship. (3) (4) (5) (6) In conclusion, SOPA represents an appalling direction in U. S. copyright law. While it attempts to tackle the very real and present issue of online copyright infringement, the pow ers it grants are far-reaching and almost completely disconnected from judicial due process.If it were adopted and implemented, not only would it become an obstacle to the use of the internet for collaborative work, fair use content, and free speech; but it would undermine the very notion of justice in the attempt. It imposes an impossible state of constant vigilance on law-abiding sites, and proposes a dramatically imbalanced system where the burden of proof is on a website to prove that its content is legal, rather than the copyright-holder who believes their work is being infringed. Works Cited 1. U. S. House of Representatives.Stop Online Piracy Act. 2011. 2. Basulto, Dominic. SOPA’s ugly message to the world about America and internet Innovation. 2011. 3. Lemley, Mark A. , Levine, David S. and Post, David. Open letter to the House of Representatives. November 15, 2011. 4. McCullagh, Declan. OpenDNS: SOPA will be ‘extremely disruptive' to the Internet. November 17, 2011. 5. Mozilla, Google, Yahoo! , Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, LinkedIn, eBay, AOL. Joint letter to Congressional leaders. November 15, 2011. 6. Downes, Larry. Statement on Stop Online Piracy Act. 2011.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Qué es la expulsión inmediata o deportación rápida

Quà © es la expulsià ³n inmediata o deportacià ³n rpida La expulsià ³n inmediata, tambià ©n conocida como deportacià ³n exprà ©s o fast-track permite a las autoridades migratorias expulsar a un migrante de EE.UU. sin que se presente ante un juez y defienda su caso en corte. Con fecha del 22 de julio de 2019, el gobierno de EE.UU. ha autorizado a ICE a deportar siguiendo este mà ©todo a cualquier indocumentado que se encuentre en cualquier punto de Estados Unidos que no pueda demostrar que lleva ms de 2 aà ±os viviendo continuamente en el paà ­s. Esto es un cambio de lo que se venà ­a aplicando, ya que hasta este momento lo ms comà ºn era aplicar la expulsià ³n inmediata, conocida en inglà ©s como expedited removal, a los detenidos en la frontera o arrestados en los 15 dà ­as siguientes a su ingreso y en 100 millas de distancia de la frontera. Causas de  expulsià ³n inmediata o expedited removal Las situaciones en las que se puede ordenar una expulsià ³n inmediata son dos: El extranjero no tiene la documentacià ³n adecuada.  El extranjero ha tergiversado, falseado o presentado informacià ³n falsa para lograr o intentar conseguir un documento, la entrada en EEUU, u otro beneficio bajo las leyes de Inmigracià ³n. En este punto entran situaciones muy distintas, como hacerse pasar por otra persona, se tiene intencià ³n de emigrar a Estados Unidos y se obtuvo una visa de turista diciendo que sà ³lo se querà ­a pasear, etc. Si esta es la causa, las consecuencias pueden ser muy serias. Desde el punto de vista tà ©cnico, son las inadmisibilidades 212(a)(6)(c) -por informacià ³n tergiversada o falsa o lo que se conoce en inglà ©s como material misrepresentation  y la 212 (a)(7).   La expulsià ³n inmediata y dà ³nde se aplica Originalmente, la expulsià ³n inmediata sà ³lo se aplicaba en la frontera. A partir de 2004 se aplicà ³ a aquellas personas que se encuentren hasta 100 millas de cualquier frontera  y que no puedan demostrar que llevan ms de 14 dà ­as continuos en el paà ­s. A partir de estos momentos ICE tiene autorizacià ³n para deportar siguiendo este procedimiento rpido sin necesidad de pasar por Corte a todos los migrantes que no puedan demostrar dos aà ±os seguidos de presencia en EE.UU. La nueva polà ­tica aplica a lo largo y ancho del paà ­s. Aunque en principio los canadienses y los mexicanos no pueden ser expulsados inmediatamente, a menos que tengan un rà ©cord de violaciones migratorias o un historial criminal, en la prctica es muy frecuente que los mexicanos indocumentados detectados tras cruzar la frontera sean retornados  voluntariamente. Excepciones: quià ©nes no pueden ser expulsados inmediatamente en la frontera No pueden ser deportados mediante expulsià ³n inmediata; los menores  los residentes legales las personas que piden asilo y pasan una entrevista miedo de persecucià ³n creà ­ble Consecuencias de una deportacià ³n fast-track Una vez que se es expulsado, no podr regresar a EEUU por un periodo de cinco aà ±os. Adems, es posible que a ese castigo puede que se tenga que sumar el de la causa de  inadmisibilidad. Por ejemplo, si se intentà ³ ingresar con una visa falsa habr el castigo de la expulsià ³n y el de la falsedad. En casos especà ­ficos es posible pedir un perdà ³n, conocido como waiver. Pero tener en cuenta que en muchos casos tendrà ­an que pedirse dos: uno por la expulsià ³n  y otro por la causa de inadmisibilidad. En todo caso, consultar con un abogado ya que los perdones no son fciles de obtener. Otras situaciones que se pueden producir en una frontera de EEUU Ya que son frecuentes las expulsiones en la frontera a continuacià ³n se detallan otras situaciones que pueden darse en la misma: Se le dice al extranjero que se vaya. Esto sà ³lo sucede si se llega a pie o en auto. Son casos excepcionales y, en realidad, muy beneficiosos para la persona. Ejemplo, si se est casado con un ciudadano americano y se est en un proceso de ajuste de estatus  y se sale de EEUU y cuando se quiere regresar no se tiene en mano el advance parole porque se ha olvidado. En este caso la persona debe irse, buscar su documento y proceder a ingresar con toda la documentacià ³n en regla. Se da un parole. Es decir, se le deja entrar pero tiene que seguir una tramitacià ³n para poner al dà ­a la situacià ³n. Retirada de la aplicacià ³n Conocida como withdawal of application,  en inglà ©s). Aquà ­ el inspector de Inmigracià ³n autoriza al extranjero a retirar su peticià ³n de admisià ³n a los Estados Unidos. Se tendr que regresar a su paà ­s,  pero no hay expulsià ³n inmediata  (lo cual es una gran ventaja porque como se ha dicho la expulsià ³n acarrea un castigo de cinco aà ±os). En los casos de retirada de la aplicacià ³n se puede  solicitar una visa al consulado. Puede que no la apruebe, pero se sabr ms de la razà ³n y cul es el problema. (Puede ser algo tan simple como que no se puede probar satisfactoriamente que no hay intencià ³n de emigrar a Estados Unidos,trabajar sin los debidos papeles,  de tener lazos econà ³micos y familiares suficientemente fuertes en el paà ­s de residencia,  etc).   Por lo tanto, si a una persona no le dejan ingresar a EEUU lo primero que debe hacer es saber si fue expulsada o si es un caso de retirada de la aplicacià ³n.  Para ello mirar el pasaporte o/y la copia de un documento que posiblemente se ha firmado. Caso especial del Programa de exencià ³n de visa  (Visa Waiver Program, en inglà ©s) Los ciudadanos de paà ­ses en ese programa, entre los que se encuentran chilenos y espaà ±oles, pueden entrar como turistas o en visita de negocios en EEUU por un mximo de 90 dà ­as sin necesidad de pedir una visa. Si no salen del paà ­s al transcurrir los tres meses habrn violado su estatus migratorio y podrà ­an  ser deportados sin audiencia judicial y sin derecho a apelacià ³n. En otras palabras, pueden ser objeto de una expulsià ³n inmediata. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Waiting with Bated Breath

Waiting with Bated Breath Waiting with Bated Breath Waiting with Bated Breath By Maeve Maddox I laughed when I read the following in a film review: Richard M. Nixon granted British playboy presenter turned journalist David Frost a series of twelve television interviews. This was the first time Nixon had spoken since his resignation in the midst of the Watergate scandal and Americans waited with baited breath, longing for the trial they’d been denied by newly president Gerald Ford’s blanket pardon. What, I wondered, did those Americans use for bait on their breath? I’m no longer laughing. Apparently a lot of people don’t know that the word is spelled bated in the expression bated breath. Journalists tend to spell it correctly: China’s three astronauts are preparing for the nations first ever space walk as the country waited with bated breath to see if the manoeuvre, deemed highly risky, would be successful. With global automotive CEOs and leaders like Mr Carlos Ghosn saying that his company too would like to explore the possibility of manufacturing a similar car, the world’s media too has been waiting with bated breath for the Tata ultra-low cost car. Shoppers waited with bated breath in November to see what the future of Santas beady, winking eye was after he received a makeover. Many bloggers, on the other hand, tend to go with â€Å"baited† We waited with baited breath, turned our lonely eyes 2 U It was now Rome who waited with baited breath for the day when an army would sweep down.. â€Å"I was waiting with baited breath until I could order my prints. I was then waiting with baited breath until the order was confirmed. I then waited with baited breath until they arrived here in Melbourne, Australia. Now I am waiting with baited breath until they are back from the framing shop and I can hang all three in my house and gaze at them adoringly each time I pass them. The expression bated breath is another that we owe to Shakespeare: Shall I bend low and in a bondmans key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this; Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; You spurnd me such a day; another time You calld me dog; and for these courtesies Ill lend you thus much moneys? Shylock is speaking, with heavy sarcasm, to Antonio in the Merchant of Venice (I,iii). A bondman is a slave or an indentured servant who could be expected to speak in a quiet voice to his masters and betters. The bated in the expression is from a shortening of the verb abate and, in the form bate, means â€Å"to reduce, to lessen in intensity.† The expression under discussion is the only survival of the word in modern English. The person who â€Å"speaks with bated breath† is not using full lung power. The person who â€Å"waits with bated breath† is holding his breath, or barely breathing. Abate comes from Old French abattre, â€Å"to beat down, cast down. from a Latin origin meaning â€Å"to beat.† The word abattoir, a place where cattle are slaughtered, derives from the same source. In modern usage, abate is used most frequently in a legal context. For example, â€Å"noise abatement laws† seek to control sources of excessive noise. The noun bait, food put on a hook or trap to lure prey,† is from an Old Norse word. As a verb it means â€Å"to put food on a hook or in a trap.† And yes, there is one context in which â€Å"baited breath† would be correct: Cruel Clever Cat Sally, having swallowed cheese, Directs down holes the scented breeze, Enticing thus with baited breath Nice mice to an untimely death. Geoffrey Taylor, Argosy 1940 Otherwise, it’s bated breath. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Publish Long-Form Posts on LinkedIn

How to Publish Long-Form Posts on LinkedIn As of January 2015, all members of English-speaking countries have the ability to publish long-form post; shortly thereafter, LinkedIn will be expanding that privilege to all of the languages they support. To create a long-form post once you are given Publishing rights, go to your homepage and click on Write an article: You will arrive at a page where you can create a new post. To publish an article, insert your content, along with images and pertinent links. Over 40,000 long-form posts are published every week. According to a study by OkDork and Search Wilderness, the most successful posts followed these guidelines: Keep your title short and sweet. Titles with more than 40-49 characters can get cut off. Make it visual. Posts with at least 8 images perform 2.4 times better. Dont use videos and other multimedia! This might be surprising, but fewer people view articles that include videos (as opposed to static images, which boost views). Keep it clear. Include subheadings- ideally 5 of them- so your article is easy to read. Maintain a reasonable length. Articles between 1900 and 2000 words are read more often. Go neutral. Posts that were neither positive or negative ranked higher. Articles that met the reading level of an 11-year-old ranked better. Get Likes. The more Likes you have, the more views you will get. Publish on Thursdays. Thursday posts get the most views. Dont pose your title as a question. Titles that contained a question didnt fare as well. Always proofread your article before publishing! Once you click Publish, your post is shared. You can also share your article with your social media networks by clicking the Share button. Another tip, suggested by the Content Marketing Institute, is to send a tweet to Tip@LinkedInPulse with your post to improve the odds a LinkedIn editor will see it and it be published on LinkedIn Pulse. Heres what people in your network will see in their desktop inbox when you post an article: Here is what your post will look like on the homepage of your connections: Each time someone likes or comments on your post, it  is brought to the top of the page again. Your posts will also appear in the Posts section of your profile, just beneath your photo. And they can be searched via the Posts option from the search bar drop-down: Interested readers can click through to the post page where they can then follow you and comment on your article, even if they are not currently in your network. Social media statistics and share buttons above your post allow readers to spread your work beyond LinkedIn! Be sure to utilize keywords in your posts. LinkedIn uses a special algorithm to tag long-form posts into categories called channels and to suggest posts for its members. If your article is tagged, it will appear to LinkedIn members with the most relevant profile content. So do some keyword research for your field, or hire someone to do it for you, and build your posts using SEO practices! You can view all of your published posts from your profile, listed in the Posts section. You may also view them (along with any articles drafts) on your publishing dashboard, where you can measure each articles success by reviewing its stats. For LinkedIn ®s tips and best practices for publishing long-form posts, visit LinkedIns Helps Long-Form Posts on LinkedIn Overview. Have you utilized LinkedIn ®s new long-form post feature? If so, what benefits have you enjoyed? And if not, what are you waiting for? Save Save

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Why do ethics matter in research with children and young people As Essay

Why do ethics matter in research with children and young people As well as making use of the relevant course materials, your answer should make reference to Cousin and Milner (2007) - Essay Example To some, the suggestion that an orderly and analytical process of decision making, not only on a personal level – but more so in the field of research, should include the discussion of highly controversial ethical issues, about which honest differences of opinion are common and self-deceiving rationalization endless, is repugnant. The subject is more pronounced as research delved more into issues concerning children. In this regard, the objective of this essay is to determine the rationale for the importance of ethics in research with children and young people. It initially would determine the relevant ethical issues in research involving children. Likewise, it would discuss the importance of ethics and status of children in research. Various literatures would be used as theoretical frameworks for the subject especially those of Cousins & Milner (2007), Priscilla Alderson, and the article written by Robinson & Kellett. Ethical issues in research involving children range from concerns affecting children directly and the areas involved in undertaking the research. Those critical ethical issues that emerge affecting children are giving informed consent, competencies of children, environmental and social context, among others. Issues affecting the research process itself take into consideration the aims of the research, methodologies, sources of funds, to name a few. Children are susceptible to being ethically affected by decisions made by adults due to their age, immaturity, competence to decide for themselves, and their willingness to participate in adult activities, especially on research projects involving them. Ingredients for an appropriate ethical research included discussing both disrespectful and respectful methods of research. Making covert observations are considered under disrespectful methods. Respectful method seeks the consent of children and observes and talks with them in their natural

ITM501, Management Information Systems & Business Strategy, Mod 5 Case Essay

ITM501, Management Information Systems & Business Strategy, Mod 5 Case Assignment - Essay Example In todays world, IT knowledge cannot remain the same nor can it be thrown out. It must be grown and grown rapidly or with each new thing, it would mean going back to the beginning. In this case the team will need to do a structured analysis of the present system and of the new system to assure that where the corporation wants it to go is where it is headed. A structured analysis begins with a physical description of the current system and continues with a logical description of the system. It then ends with a logical description of the new system. This is all done in a partitioned data flow diagram. In other words, loss of the good things in the old system should not occur when the new system is adapted. Every system has a life cycle. A life cycle is a description of the distinct phases through which the IT process passes (Jirava, 2009). There are requirements which include definitions, concept design, production, operation, and maintenance. The time that the system is connected up to the time it is disposed of is considered. The team will need to consider several phases of the life cycle. Once the structured analysis is done, there is the requirements phase, development phase, operation phase, and retirement phase. Each of these should be considered and kept track of on a regular basis. This is where the corporation can win by having a well functioning IT team on premises. This way, this work goes on continuously instead of being scheduled on particular days or months. Jirava tells us (2009) that ":a life cycle is a set of procedures, some required and some optional which serve as a template for generating an individual design process. He reiterates that this is a top down, partitioned graphic model of the system to be and that there is huge importance of data definitions and scaled down specifications. There is also a need to have participatory

Friday, October 18, 2019

Testing of biomolecules Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Testing of biomolecules - Lab Report Example This research will begin with the statement that biomolecules are molecules that are produced by living organisms and which play certain roles in the life of the organism. They include proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids and lipids. Â  The knowledge of the organic molecules forms the basis in the study of biochemistry and medical sciences together with understanding how the body works. The body has a mechanism for ensuring that the molecules are regulated in the body and any deficiency is detected through various clinical manifestations. Some of the biomolecules are synthesized in the body while others are acquired through the food that we eat. For instance, when we come to amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins, they are divided into essential and non-essential ones. The essential ones are not synthesized in the body and so the body has to get them from the environment through the food that we eat. The various biomolecules play different roles in our bodies. T he carbohydrates serve as the primary source of energy. They are divided into three groups, the monosaccharaides which are the simple sugars, the disaccharides which are formed by the dehydration process when two monosaccharide molecules are brought together. An example is the formation of lactose from glucose and galactose. Proteins are important in growth and repair. They also form the enzymes and hormones which are important in various catalytic metabolic processes in the body.

Ageing and managing health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ageing and managing health - Essay Example 5. Instruct the patient’s family members to keep all pathways in the patient’s home free from any cluster. 6. Intruct the patient’s family members to place a non-skid mat inside the patient’s shower room. 7. Encourage the patient to participate in gait training exercise programme once she has been discharge from the hospital. 1. Environmental factors such as dim light or poor lighting, unsafe stairways, irregular floor surface, and the presence of hazardous things like loose rugs, slippery or wet floors and telephone wires that scattered around the house will increase the patient’s risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 2. The installation of handrails or grab bars inside the shower room, around the bedroom, stairs, and bathroom will help reduce the patient’s risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 3. Placing a strip of light-colored adhesive tape on the edge of each stair will help increase the patient’s visibility of the stairs (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 4. Wearing non-skid soles will help reduce the risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 5. Freeing the pathways from clusters will reduce the risk wherein the patient’s Zimmer frame might accidentally touch other things causing her to loose her balance (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 6. The use of non-skid mat inside the patient’s shower room will help prevent the patient from falling (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63; Timby, 2009, p. 424). 7. Studies show that patients who are active in exercise can strengthen their muscles, improve their ability to balance and coordinate their body movements, increase their bone density which are all necessary in terms of reducing the patient’s risk for falls (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63). Problem Goal Intervention Rationale The patient... Discharge care plan is pertaining to the process of developing a plan for the transfer of patient from the hospital to his designated place to stay.It is equally important to know that the patient is no longer in pain at the time the patient is about to leave the hospital. It is equally important to know that the patient is no longer in pain at the time the patient is about to leave the hospital. To ensure that the patient is properly being taken cared of after being discharged from the hospital, the student nurse should focus on identifying continuing care that the patient will be needing to improve her overall well-being. After analyzing the case of Mrs. Jones, the following discharge care plan was created: Problem Goal Intervention Rationale Other than the history of falls, the patient is suffering from postural hopotension due to the intake of bendroflumethiazide. Postural hypotension increases the patient’s risk of accidental fall due to dizziness and inability to balance and coordinate her body movements. Other risk factors of accidental falls include: poor eye sight or impaired vision, neurological disorder, decreased lower muscle strength, brittle bones due to osteoporosis and ageing (Timby, 2009, p. 423). To reduce all factors that can increase the patient’s risks of falls. 1. Assess and teach the patient’s family members to modify the home environment of the patient by removing all things that can increase the patient’s risk of falling (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63). 2. The patient prefers to microwave and eat frozen meals for lunch. To ensure that the patient is receiving proper nutrition.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Source Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Source Evaluation - Essay Example Consequently, the number of available papers intended for this topic has made finding suitable sources a very difficult and tedious process. Some titles with good information may be those published a few decades ago, while there are also some recently released papers posted on the internet which pose doubts in terms of integrity and sincerity. Indeed after meticulously reviewing the available list of sources, five academic titles have been chosen to serve as references for the upcoming research paper namely Recycling and Waste Diversion Effectiveness: Evidence from Canada by Ida Ferrara  and  Paul Missios, Managing Electronic Waste: Issues with Exporting E-Waste by Linda Luther, Recycling and Waste-to-Energy: The Ongoing Compatibility Success Story by Jonathan V. L. Kiser, Greening Household Behaviour:  The Role of Public Policy and Improving Recycling Markets both by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Recycling and Waste Diversion Effectiveness: Evi dence from Canada is a paper written by Ida Ferrara  and  Paul Missios that was published in the 2005 issue of Environmental and Resource Economics, a peer-reviewed academic journal about environmental economics and one that acts as the official journal of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists since 1991 (Environmental Economics). The paper explores the relationship between recycling policy options and recycling behaviors that will identify the effective means of averting post-consumer waste. Also, it focuses on the significant effects of mandatory recycling for almost all types of provisions, which is similar to the core of my research paper. Its authors Dr. Ida Ferrara and Dr. Paul Missios both completed their Ph.D at York University. Ferrara is currently the Associate Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies in the same school (York University) while Missios is the Chair of the Department of Economics and Assoc iate Professor at Ryerson University in Canada (Energy Innovation Corp.). They both received several merit and research awards and numerous study grants over the years and have written several articles for peer-reviewed publications, journals, books and technical papers specifically in the Canadian territories. Managing Electronic Waste: Issues with Exporting E-waste is a book written by Linda Luther, an analyst in Environmental Policy at the Congressional Research Service in the United States who took her Masters degree in John Hopkins University (Profile). It was published in 2010 by DIANE Publishing which distributes important documents and reports from the U.S. government. They also publish journals of prestigious associations such as the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and The Library Company of Philadelphia (Diane Publishing). The featured book focuses on the hazards of e-wastes and its relevant recycling procedures. This will set the int roduction of my research paper by presenting the impact of garbage to the society and the factors influencing recycling. Recycling and Waste-to-Energy: The Ongoing Compatibility Success Story by Jonathan V.L. Kiser is an article featured in the online copy of MSW Management:  The Journal for Municipal Solid Waste Professionals in its May-June 2003 series. The paper demonstrates how recycling and waste-to-energy management finally work together after ten years of tedious investigation. This will address my research paper’s claims that recycling is an efficient waste management process that will benefit everyone. Kiser did his MBA in Business

Gun control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun control - Research Paper Example tance, Arne Duncan, the US secretary of education recently posted on twitter complaining that it is disturbing to admit the fact that many students will have lost their lives before authorities respond with lucrative measures to control gun-related violence in schools. Additionally, in a recent press statement, Obama stated that America should be ashamed of its failure to impose tough gun possession restriction laws. Carter (2006, pp 25), states that some states have legalized gun possession by students and this has posed a challenge in the fight against gun violence in learning institutions. Research has showed that authorities are not fully dedicated to handle illegal gun possession cases. For example, in 2010 a statute was passed in Nebraska State suggesting that legal gun owners to report cases of missing firearms to the local authorities but not underpinned by the federal laws. Gun laws in the United States require abrupt amendment in order to control gun-related violence and en hance peaceful relations among members of the public. Some people argue that gun-related violence is fuelled by both weak laws and the irresponsible character of people in possession of guns. For instance, Possession of guns by minors in learning institutions shows that the existing gun control regulations are weak and defective. Actually, the rise of gun-related violence in learning institutions across America can be ascribed to uncontrolled possession of guns by minors. It is estimated that gun shooting per school week amount to about 1.4 and at least 74 shooting have happened in schools since the 2012 shooting in Newtown. Federal or state laws are not the sole contributors to the increased gun violence in US. Irresponsibility of senior members of the community, especially those with legal rights to own guns, has also contributed to increased shooting incidents. For instance, after investigation of the Newtown shooting, the gun used by the culprit was found to belong to his 52-year

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Source Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Source Evaluation - Essay Example Consequently, the number of available papers intended for this topic has made finding suitable sources a very difficult and tedious process. Some titles with good information may be those published a few decades ago, while there are also some recently released papers posted on the internet which pose doubts in terms of integrity and sincerity. Indeed after meticulously reviewing the available list of sources, five academic titles have been chosen to serve as references for the upcoming research paper namely Recycling and Waste Diversion Effectiveness: Evidence from Canada by Ida Ferrara  and  Paul Missios, Managing Electronic Waste: Issues with Exporting E-Waste by Linda Luther, Recycling and Waste-to-Energy: The Ongoing Compatibility Success Story by Jonathan V. L. Kiser, Greening Household Behaviour:  The Role of Public Policy and Improving Recycling Markets both by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Recycling and Waste Diversion Effectiveness: Evi dence from Canada is a paper written by Ida Ferrara  and  Paul Missios that was published in the 2005 issue of Environmental and Resource Economics, a peer-reviewed academic journal about environmental economics and one that acts as the official journal of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists since 1991 (Environmental Economics). The paper explores the relationship between recycling policy options and recycling behaviors that will identify the effective means of averting post-consumer waste. Also, it focuses on the significant effects of mandatory recycling for almost all types of provisions, which is similar to the core of my research paper. Its authors Dr. Ida Ferrara and Dr. Paul Missios both completed their Ph.D at York University. Ferrara is currently the Associate Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies in the same school (York University) while Missios is the Chair of the Department of Economics and Assoc iate Professor at Ryerson University in Canada (Energy Innovation Corp.). They both received several merit and research awards and numerous study grants over the years and have written several articles for peer-reviewed publications, journals, books and technical papers specifically in the Canadian territories. Managing Electronic Waste: Issues with Exporting E-waste is a book written by Linda Luther, an analyst in Environmental Policy at the Congressional Research Service in the United States who took her Masters degree in John Hopkins University (Profile). It was published in 2010 by DIANE Publishing which distributes important documents and reports from the U.S. government. They also publish journals of prestigious associations such as the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and The Library Company of Philadelphia (Diane Publishing). The featured book focuses on the hazards of e-wastes and its relevant recycling procedures. This will set the int roduction of my research paper by presenting the impact of garbage to the society and the factors influencing recycling. Recycling and Waste-to-Energy: The Ongoing Compatibility Success Story by Jonathan V.L. Kiser is an article featured in the online copy of MSW Management:  The Journal for Municipal Solid Waste Professionals in its May-June 2003 series. The paper demonstrates how recycling and waste-to-energy management finally work together after ten years of tedious investigation. This will address my research paper’s claims that recycling is an efficient waste management process that will benefit everyone. Kiser did his MBA in Business

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Pharmaceutical microbiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmaceutical microbiology - Essay Example Development and maintenance of a sterile compounding are complete with sterilized equipment and supplies. Aseptic technique is a means of manipulating sterile products without contaminating them. Proper use of a LAH and strict aseptic technique are the most important factors in preventing the contamination of sterile products Contamination is a basic in introduction of antibiotic resulting into need for aseptic techniques .the techniques is designed to prevent access of the drug by the unnecessary substances and this is a risk associated with contamination which may include; The air, air that is not sterilize may contain bacteria e.g. micrococci, bacillus and clostridium. And these are pathogenic and may access the drug during production; the staff involved may also risk the drug by introducing bacteria especially which may eject droplets into the air compromising the properties of the drug. The skin may be contaminated especially most of the hand s by handling non sterilize product which are not sterilize and machines and these may then transfer the pathogen to the drug during preparation risking its purity. The clothing used during aseptic preparation should be sterilized less they risk the status of the products they produce, before starting the production, the laundry should be done to eliminate the dust that may be carried into the preparation room and the sleeve should be rolled above the elbow so that they do not pick any foreign bodies from surfaces which are not clean. Before taking any procedure in preparation in the production room through aseptic, the surfaces of the working benches should be sterilized using a bactericidal solution to minimize the risk that the drug may be exposed to. Sealing reduces the risk of the drug to contamination, used of fused ampules is much preferred which are the sterilized after sealing ,the product is then expected to remain

Monday, October 14, 2019

Xunzi Human Nature Essay Example for Free

Xunzi Human Nature Essay Introduction Xunzi (Xun Qing, or Xun Kuang: c. 310-c. 219 BCE) lived at the very end of the Zhou dynasty. Like Mencius, he was an advocate and interpreter of the teachings of Confucius. Living a generation after Mencius, Xunzi lived through the final, brutal wars which ended with the state of Qin absorbing and unifying all the Chinese feudal states. Xunzi was a widely traveled scholar, teacher, and official. Document Excerpts with Questions (Longer selection follows this section) From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed. , vol. 1 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 179-183.  © 1999 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Selection? from? the? Xunzi:? â€Å"Human? Nature? Is? Evil†? ? Human? nature? is? evil:? its? goodness? derives? from? conscious? activity.? Now? it? is? human? nature? to? be? born? with? a? fondness? for? profit.? Indulging? this? leads? to? contention? and? strife,? and? the? sense? of? modesty? and? yielding? with? which? one? was? born? disappears.? One? is? born? with? feelings? of? envy? and? hate,? and,? by? indulging? these,? one?is? led? into? banditry? and? theft,? so? that? the? sense? of? loyalty? and? good? faith? with? which? he? was? born? disappears.? One? is? born? with? the? desires? of? the? ears? and? eyes? and? with? a? fondness? for? beautiful? sights? and? sounds,? and,? by? indulging? these,? one? is? led? into? licentiousness? and? chaos,? so? that? the? sense? of? ritual,? rightness,? refinement,? and? principle? with? which? one? was? born? is? lost.? Hence,? following? human? nature? and? indulging? human? emotions? will? inevitably? lead? to? contention? and? strife,? causing? o the? example? of? a? teacher? and? guided? by? the? way? of? ritual? and? rightness? before? one? will? attain? modesty? and? yielding,? accord with? refinement? and? ritual,? and? return? to? order.? †¦? ? †¦? A? questioner? asks:? If? human? nature? is? evil,? then? where? do? ritual? and? rightness? come? from I? reply:? ritual? and? rightness? are? always? created? by? the? conscious? activity? of? the? sages;? essentially? they? are? not? created? by? human? nature.? †¦? ? If? human? nature? were? good,? we? could? dispense? with? the? sage? kings? and? desist? from? the? practice? of? ritual? and? rightness.? Since? human? nature? is? evil,? we? must? elevate? the? sages? and? esteem? ritual? and? rightness.? ? Primary Source Document, with Questions (DBQs) on SELECTION FROM THE XUNZI: â€Å"HUMAN NATURE IS EVIL† Questions: 1. How does Xunzi’s understanding of human nature compare to your own? 2. How does Xunzi’s understanding of human nature compare to that of Mencius? Which do you prefer, and why? 3. Why might the two men, from the same background, both self-appointed interpreters of Confucius, and only one generation apart, come up with their respective understandings of human nature? 4. What implications does Xunzi’s understanding of human nature have for family life and government? Longer Selection From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed. , vol. 1 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 179-183.  © 1999 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Selection? from? the? Xunzi:? â€Å"Human? Nature? Is? Evil†? ? Human? nature? is? evil;? its? good? derives? from? conscious? activity.? Now? it? is? human? nature? to? be? born? with? a? fondness?for? profit.? Indulging? this? leads? to? contention? and? strife,? and? the? sense? of? modesty? and? yielding? with? which? one? was? born? disappears.? One? is? born? with? feelings? of? envy? and? hate,? and,? by? indulging? these,? one? is? led? into? banditry? and? theft,? so? that? the? sense? of? loyalty? and? good? faith? with? which? he? was? born? disappears.? One? is? born? with? the? desires? of? the? ears? and? eyes? and? with? a? fondness? for? beautiful? sights? and? sounds,? and,? by? indulging? these,? one? is? led? to? licentiousness? and? chaos,? so? that? the? sense? of? ritual,? rightness,? refinement,? and? principle? with? which? one? was? born? is? lost.? Hence,? following? human? nature? and? indulging? human? emotions? will? inevitably? lead? to? contention? and? strife,? causing? one? to? rebel? against? one’s? proper? duty,? reduce? principle? to? chaos,? and? revert? to? violence.? Therefore? one? must? be? transformed? by? the? example? of? a? teacher? and? guided? by? the? way? of? ritual? and? rightness? before? one? will? attain? modesty? and? yielding,? accord? with? refinement? and? ritual,?and? return? to? order.? From? this? perspective? it? is? apparent? that? human? nature? is? evil? and? that? its? goodness? is? the? result? of? conscious? activity.? ? Thus? warped? wood? must? be? laid? against? a? straightening? board,? steamed,? and? bent? into? shape? before? it? can? become? straight;? blunt? metal? must? be? ground? on? a? whetstone? before? it? can? become? sharp.? And? in? that? human? nature? is? evil,? it? must? wait? for? the? example? of? a? teacher? before? it? can? become? upright,? and? for? ritual? and? rightness? before? it? can? become? orderly.? Now,? if? people? lack? the? example? of? teachers? they? will? be? partial? and? narrow? rather? than? upright;? if? they? lack? ritual? and? rightness? they? will? be? rebellious? and? chaotic? rather? than? orderly.? In? ancient? times? the? sage? kings,? recognizing? that? the? nature? of? human? beings? is? evil that? they? incline? toward? evil? and? are? not? upright,? that? they? are? disposed? toward? chaos? and? are? not? orderly? created? ritual? and? Asia for Educators | Columbia University | http://afe. easia. columbia. eduÃ'Ž

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Albert Einstein :: biographies biography bio

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany as the son of Pauline and Hermann Einstein. Albert was slow to talk. Family members remember that he didn't really start talking until he could speak in entire sentences. He would pause for long periods to gather his thoughts before speaking. His sister told stories of his hours of perseverance constructing houses from playing cards. One of his favorite childhood stories was about the wonder he felt the first time he saw a compass. The compass convinced him that there had to be "something behind things, something deeply hidden." At the age of 12, he was given a book on Euclidean plane geometry, which sparked his great wonder in mathematics and physics. His uncle was also a great influence in young Albert's life. He was an engineer and loved to talk about his work, which gave Albert great inspiration as a child. Einstein loved to learn, but hated the high school he was sent to in Munich. He generally got good grades and was one of the top students in mathematics, but could not stand the idea that success depended on memorization and the obedience of authority. Einstein taught himself most material at home where he had quite a collection of books on mathematics and physics. He was even told to leave school by one of his teachers because his presence caused a loss of respect for the teachers by his fellow students. In 1905 Einstein received his doctorate from the University of Zurich for a theoretical dissertation on the dimensions of molecules, and went on to become one the greatest scientists of the 20th century as well as winning the Nobel Prize. In 1933, he accepted a position at the new Institution for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey where he stayed until his death in 1955. Was his brain different? This question plagued people for many years. Just before his death, Einstein gave permission to researchers to dissect his brain and look for abnormalities, but none were found. Later, in 1999, Sandra F. Witelson discovered he lacked a small wrinkle called the parietal operculum. She theorized that because of the absence of this wrinkle, other regions of his brain were able to develop more fully, possibly contributing to his incredible intelligence. "The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

From the two short stories you have read what do we learn about what :: English Literature

From the two short stories you have read what do we learn about what it was like for American black people to live in Americain the 1950s? From the two short stories; The Gold Cadillac by M.D. Taylor and 1955 by Alice Walker, both set in 1950s America and both written by black female writers we learn about the segregation, racism and poverty of 1950s black America. Both these stories are set in the deep south of America. The gold Cadillac is about a young black girl who knows nothing about racism and discovers it for the first time as she travels with her family into the Deep South in a gold Cadillac. 1955 is written from the point of view of a black woman who has experienced the racism her whole life. America in the 1950s was segregated in the Deep South; it was divided into black ghettos. Even radio stations were divided into stations playing only black music and ones only playing white music. Before Elvis Presley black music would not be played to a white audience so it did not get the recognition it deserved, but Elvis's music was played on all stations and democratised music. Black people did not have the freedom that white people had and were discriminated everywhere they went, black people could not use the same buses and could not eat in the same restaurants as white people and were discriminated by police because the law was nearly completely run by white people, they were turned away at shops and were discriminated against in nearly all other places. In M.D. Taylor's "The Gold Cadillac" the family are driving through the Deep South and the girl sees signs saying "White only coloured not allowed" In Alice walker's "1955" Gracie Mae tells her husband J.T. to put his shirt on because Traynor who is a white man comes to the door, this is because white people had to be treated with more respect because they were seen as more important than black people. The American civil war took place in 1865 and slavery was abolished in the Deep South, but 90 years later there is still resentment from whites towards blacks. The two short stories are all about the prejudice against blacks in the Deep South and how it affects people's lives and freedom. In "The Gold Cadillac" the family is trying to aspire to be rich as they live

Friday, October 11, 2019

7 Chankras Essay

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning spinning wheel. Chakras are part of the subtle anatomy. The seven major chakras line up from the crown of the head to the base of the spine and connect to various endocrine glands. Each major chakra is directly associated with many aspects of the mind-body-spirit dynamic. When a specific chakra is closed, distorted, or congested, the perception of stress, disease, or illness may result (Seaward, 2012, p. 72.) Of the seven major subtle energy chakras, Western culture only recognizes the seventh chakra, known as the crown chakra. See more: Examples of satire in adventures of huckfinn essay The first chakra is known as the root chakra. It is found at the base of the spine. This chakra is associated with safety and security issues; it represents our foundation and feeling of being grounded (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) Furthermore, the root chakra is connected energetically to some organs of the reproductive system, hip joints, lower back, and pelvic area. Some health issues that are believed to correspond with disturbances of the root chakra include lower-back pain, sciatica, rectal difficulties, and some cancers (Seaward, 2012, p. 73.) Some of the emotional issues tied to the root chakra include survival issues such as financial independence, money, and food (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) This chakra is known as the seat of the Kundalini energy, a spiritually based concept that is yet to be understood in Western culture (Seaward, 2012, p. 73.) If the Western Culture were to accept the root chakra, it would promote a deep, person al relationship with Earth and nature. When one is rooted in life, they are filled with satisfaction, stability and inner strength (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The second chakra, known as the sacral chakra, is associated with the sex organs, as well as personal power in terms of business and social relationships (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) It describes our connection and ability to accept others and new experiences. It is located in the lower abdomen, about 2 inches below the navel and 2 inches in (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) The sacral charka deals with emotional feelings that are associated with issues of sexuality, sense of abundance, pleasure, and self-worth. When self-worth is viewed through external means like money, job, or sexuality, this created an energy distortion in this region. Obsessiveness with material gain is believed to be a means to compensate for low self-worth, therefore, created a distortion to this chakra. Some of the symptoms associated with this chakra include menstrual difficulties, infertility, vaginal infections, ovarian cysts, impotency, lower-back pain, sexual dysfunction, slipped disks, and b ladder and urinary infections (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) Accepting the sacral chakra would encourage people to more easily open themselves towards others, especially the opposite sex (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The solar plexus chakra, located in the upper stomach region, is the third chakra. This chakra feeds into the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, including the abdomen, small intestine, colon, gallbladder, kidneys, liver, pancreas, adrenal glands, and spleen. This region is associated with self-confidence, self-respect, and empowerment (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) It relates to our ability to be confident and in-control of our lives (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) The solar plexus chakra is commonly known as a gut feeling – an intuitive sense closely connected to our level of personal power. Blockages to this chakra are thought to be related to ulcers, cancerous tumors, diabetes, hepatitis, anorexia, bulimia, and all stomach-related issues (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) Should the Western Culture accept the solar plexus chakra, it would promote feelings of peace and inner harmony within one’s self and in life. It would allow people to accept themselves complete ly, and respect the feelings and character traits of others (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The fourth chakra is known as the heart chakra. It is considered to be one of the most important energy centers of the body. The heart chakra refers to our ability to express love (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) It is located in the center of the chest, just above the heart (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) The heart is not the only organ closely tied to this chakra as the lungs, breasts, and esophagus are included. Symptoms of a blocked heart chakra include heart attacks, enlarged heart, asthma, allergies, lung cancer, bronchial difficulties, circulation problems, and problems associated with the upper back and shoulders. An important association exists between the heart chakra and the thymus gland. The thymus gland gets smaller with age and is believed to be a reflection of the state of the heart chakra (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) The advantage those in the Western Culture would see from accepting the heart chakra involve warmth, sincerity and happiness. These energies open th e hearts of others, inspiring confidence and creating joy among them (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The fifth charka is located and greatly connected to the throat. Organs associated with the throat chakra are the thyroid, parathyroid glands, mouth, vocal chords, and trachea. This chakra represents the development of personal expression, creativity, purpose in life, and willpower (Seaward, 2012, p. 74.) The inability to express oneself in feelings or creativity distorts the flow of energy to the throat chakra and is thought to result in chronic sore throat problems, throat and mouth cancers, stiffness in the neck area, thyroid dysfunction, migraines, and cancerous tumors in this region (Seaward, 2012, p. 75.) Upon acceptance of the throat chakra, individual feelings, thoughts and inner knowledge could be expressed freely and without fear. Individuals are not manipulated by other’s opinions and they are able to stay true to who they really are without fear (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The sixth chakra, known as the brow or third eye, is located on the forehead, between the eye brows. It refers to our ability to focus on and see the big picture (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) This chakra is associated with intuition and the ability to access the ageless wisdom or bank of knowledge in the depths of the universal consciousness. As energy moves through the dimension of universal wisdom into this chakra, it promotes the development of intelligence and reasoning skills. The sixth chakra is directly connected with the pituitary and pineal gland and feeds energy to the brain for information processing. The wisdom channeled through the brow chakra is more universal in nature with implications for the spiritual aspect of life. Diseases caused by dysfunction of the brow chakra include brain tumors, hemorrhages, blood clots, blindness, comas, depression, and schizophrenia. These types of diseases are believed to be caused by an individual’s inability to see something that is extremely important to their soul growth (Seaward, 2012, p. 75.) The biggest advantage to the acceptance of the third eye chakra is an increased ability of visualization and comprehension of things intuitively. In today’s society, too many people don’t trust their instincts (â€Å"The Human Chakra System,† 2009.) The seventh is the crown chakra. It is located at the very top of our head. It represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) The highest level of consciousness is reached when the crown chakra is fully open and functioning. Although no specific disease or illness may be associated the crown chakra, every disease has a spiritual significance (Seaward, 2012, p. 75.) Some of the emotional issues associated with this chakra include inner and outer beauty, our connection to spirituality, and pure bliss (â€Å"The 7 Chakras for Beginners,† 2009.) Western Culture is accepting only of this chakra. In fact, it is highly useful in acupuncture therapy. Resources MindBodyGreen. (2009, October 27). The 7 Chakras for Beginners: Healing, balancing, and opening your chakras with exercises, foods, colors. Retrieved January 10, 2013 from http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-91/The-7-Chakras-for-Beginners.html Richards, R. (2009, September 20). The Human Chakra System. Retrieved January 10, 2013 from http://www.rickrichards.com/chakras/Chakras2.html Seward, B. L. (2012). Managing Stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Oystercard – Electronic Ticketing System

[pic] Oyster Card – Electronic Ticketing [pic] â€Å"Time is money, we are told, and increasing mobility is a way of saving time, but how successful are modern transport systems at saving time? â€Å" (John Whitelegg, â€Å"Time Pollution†, Ecologist 23, no. 4 – 1993) Service choice reasons [pic] If you live in London, you will probably know the Oyster Card fairly well. More or less everybody has one. You use it to pay for bus or tube travel – top up some money on the card and instead of buying a paper ticket each time, just place your card on a yellow reader, and it will work out how much the journey cost and automatically deduct it from your card. It does save a ton of time, and quite a bit of money too (tickets are cheaper on Oyster). When I first came to London, I found extremely benefcial using the Oyster Card to move around the city and realized how crucial is this service in order to make people travel fast and saving time during their journey. I come from a place where the concept of â€Å"Public Transport† is missed at all. We do not have underground systems, buses are few and always late. In my hometown, Palermo, there are neither tram nor boat services and if you want to cycling you have not to be fussy: bicycle paths are just in the historical centre, which is the â€Å"car† kingdom. Last but not least, people are not used to walk even if distances are very short. I have chosen to analyse the Oyster Card as I honestly think it is a light, useful and well-designed service supporting another service, in other worlds: an electronic ticketing serving the public transport system. Travelling around London, I have been using my Student Oyster Card and I rarely had problems. When it has happened, I have always found punctual and kind help from the London Underground Staff. In a Metropolis as London is, where our journey is not an easy one, we need to go fast, simplifying all the touch points that allow us to buy a ticket, to board on a bus or to finally come back home. My experience with this service has been pleasant and easy so far, and I guess most of the people who live in London will agree with me. [pic] Piccadilly Circus – picture taken by myself. Value proposition [pic] Project: Oyster Card Designer: Transys Year: 2002 [pic] The Oyster Card, developed as part of the ? 1. 2 billion Private Finance Initiative, was introduced for three reasons: first, to reduce queuing at ticket offices during peak periods; second, to make better use of staff; and third, to reduce fraud. Transport for London placed the contract with Transys, a consortium of specialist firms, for the provision of an advanced ticketing system. It was hoped that the Oyster Card would eventually replace most paper tickets. The smartcard system went live in November 2002 when the Oyster brand was launched and the first cards were made available to 80,000 staff. [1] Fraud, estimated to be running at ? 43million per year, was the main driver of the project. The main loss of revenue stemmed from customers either travelling without tickets or using tickets not valid for the whole journey. Other countries have similar smart cards and some of them are used for other types of micro-payments as well as transport – for example Hong Kong's Octopus card and Japan's Suica card. At the moment about over 70 similar systems are runned across 5 continents. Since the Oyster card has been introduced in London, the advantages for the customer have been the speed and ease with which they can get through barriers and on to the station, and also in the savings that they make through using the Oyster Card. It can currently be used on the London Underground, London buses and trams, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail Services in London, providing â€Å"seamless journeys across London†. In future, the Oyster Card will be linked to the provision of other services including shopping. This is a great example of advances in technology being applied to improve customer experience. [2] Core service [pic] What it is for? The  Oyster Card  is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the  Greater London  area of the United Kingdom. Where can use it? Oyster Card is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London, including: o London Underground; o buses; o the  Docklands Light Railway  (DLR); o London Overground,  trams; o some  river boat services; o most  National Rail  services within the London Fare Zones. How it looks like? A standard Oyster Card is a blue  credit-card-sized  stored value card  which can hold a variety of single tickets, period tickets and travel permits which must be added to the card prior to travel. It is also a  contactless smartcard  which passengers must touch onto electronic reader when entering and leaving the transport system in order to validate it or deduct funds. [pic] [pic] Front and back of an early Oyster card. How it works? The way Oyster works is pretty simple: you purchase the card, buy tickets or concessions either at terminals or online, then swipe the card at a reader when you take a train or bus trip. The Oyster card makes ticketing much more efficient for the consumer: no paper tickets, no handover of cash, little to no interaction with ticketing staff, speedier processing when entering the train station or bus. For the transport authorities, there are cost savings and instances of ticket payment avoidance / counterfeit are greatly reduced [pic] Oyster Card aims to replace the paper Travelcard by storing period tickets electronically. [pic] [pic] Examples of card readers at London Tube Stations. The cards may be â€Å"recharged† in person from numerous sales points, by  recurring payment authority  or by  online purchase. Usage is encouraged by offering substantially cheaper fares on Oyster than payment with cash. [3] The card was first issued to the public in July 2003 with a limited range of features and there continues to be a phased introduction of further functions. By March 2007 over 10 million Oyster cards had been issued[4], and more than 80% of all journeys on services run by Transport for London used the Oyster card. [5] Technology [pic] The Oyster card is a  contactless smartcard, with a claimed proximity range of about 8  cm (3  inches). The scheme is operated by  TranSys, and is based on  NXP/Philips'  MIFARE  standard 1k chips provided by Giesecke & Devrient  and  SchlumbergerSema. [6] [pic] A damaged card, revealing the microchip in the lower right corner, and the aerial running around the edge of the card. MIFARE DESFire  is now being rolled out on newly issued Oyster cards starting January 5th 2010. It is the same contactless smartcard as  Touch ‘n Go  card in  Malaysia  which is mainly used for tollway fares. [pic] The  malasian Touch ‘n Go  or  TnG  smart card. The technology used for the Oyster card is known as  radio-frequency identification  (RFID), which is the same technology used in other electronic pass cards like Japan's  Suica  fare cards and other cards used all over the world. [7] [pic] The japanese Suica  ( Suika )  smart card. Suica Smart Card additional services: – Operating lockers; – Airport check-in; – Coupon; – Bank account access. Advertising, Brand Identity and Analogies [pic] The London Tube Oyster card resides inside a plastic thingie that opens up, just like a clam (oyster) does. According to Nicole Carrol, then of EDS, the name reflects the way â€Å"the oyster protects a pearl in much the same way that the card protects the cardholder's money. â€Å"[8] [pic] [pic][pic] Oyster Current more popular Oyster card wallet By Ikea Yellow background, blue writing, unmistakably IKEA. But it is not justt the colours of the most popular Oyster Card which remarks the sponsor, it is also the sentence(s) on the leaflet: â€Å"Travel is a means to an end. Home. † Fact behind the story: It’s the IKEA latest campaign about putting the concept of HOME in the Londoners minds. Two years ago, in fact, Swedish home store Ikea is launching a ? 2 million outdoor campaign which included sponsorship of the Ideal Homes Show 2008. Since the Oyster Card has been introduced, several different type of wallets have been launched and produced such as: Designer Oyster Card Wallets, Oxfam, Pimp My Oystercard (by Ben Jarvis and Tim Crook -badoyster, a Company that makes satirical oyster card wallets. [9]), Virgin, and so on. Every one aimed to advertising or sponsoring a Brand or a Company just because a Oyster Card wallet is a good launch window. [pic][pic][pic] [pic][pic][pic] Exaples of Oyster card wallet. Adverstising Campaigns examples: Agency: M & C Saatchi Client: Transport for London a. One poster was headlined â€Å"Blue is the new pink†. It showed a photograph of a one day Travelcard and an Oyster card. Text below stated â€Å"Faster Smarter Easier Oyster†. b. A second poster was headlined â€Å"The correct change†. It showed a photograph of an Oyster card. Text below stated â€Å"Faster Smarter Easier Oyster†. c. A third poster stated â€Å"Did you know? Using Oyster is cheaper than buying daily single tickets. Ask our staff about Oyster Pre Pay. † d. A fourth poster stated â€Å"Still paying cash for single and daily tickets? Using Oyster Pre Pay is: cheaper quicker – avoid queues more convenient – no need to plan your journey in advance †¦ â€Å". [10] Features Registration and protection Oyster Cards can be registered or protected for loss or theft. Full registration can be done at a  London Underground  station, an Oyster Ticket Stop (shop) or a Travel Information Centre: an Oyster registration form must be filled in (either at time of purchase or subsequently). Registration enables the customer to buy any product for the card and to have an after-sales service, and it protects against theft or loss. All adult Oyster Cards purchased online or by phone are fully registered. (This does not include Visitor Oyster Cards. ) Oyster Cards obtained at stations or shops cannot be fully registered online. However customers can  protect their Oyster Card online by setting up an Oyster online account and recording their card to that account. Sales Oyster Cards can be purchased from a number of different outlets in the London area: London Underground or London Overground ticket windows; o cash-only vending machines at some stations, they charge ? 5 for the card (? 3 refundable deposit and ? 2 worth of credit); o about 2,300 Oyster Ticket Stop agents (usually newsagent shops); o selected National Rail stations which are also served by London Underground; o Travel Information Centres; o online via the Oystercard website; o by telephone sales from TfL. [1 1] [pic] Oyster Card Machine installed at London Bridge station in December 2006. A refundable deposit of ? 3 is paid for all new Oyster Cards. 12] A registration form is provided at the time of purchase. If the form is not completed the Oyster Card is restricted to Pay as you go and weekly tickets. Most National Rail stations and termini do not sell or top up Oyster card products; TfL publish a list of the participating stations. At several main line termini, TfL run Travel Information Centres which do sell Oyster. Reporting Touch screen ticket machines report the last eight journeys and last top-up amount. The same information is available as a print-out from ticket offices, and also on-board London Buses by request. The balance is displayed on some Underground barriers at the end of journeys that have caused a debit from the balance and can also be requested at newsagents and National Rail stations that provide a top-up facility. A complete 8 week ‘touch' history can be requested from Transport for London: For registered and protected Oyster Cards, Transport for London can provide the history for the previous 8 weeks, but no further back. The Oyster website gives details of the most recent journeys charged to pay as you go if and only if credit has been purchased online, but not for other journeys, or those paid for by Travelcard. Renewals When the Oyster Card Travelcard is due to expire, it can be renewed at the normal sales points and ticket machines at London Underground or London Overground stations, Oyster Ticket Stop agents, or some National Rail stations. Travelcards can also be renewed online via the Oystercard website, or by telephone sales from TfL; users must then nominate a Tube station where they will swipe their card in order to charge up the card with the funds purchased. This can only be done the day after ordering. [13]Travelcard renewals cannot be added from a reader on a bus. Recharging When the PAYG balance runs low, the balance can be topped up at the normal sales points or ticket machines at London Underground or London Overground stations, Oyster Ticket Stops or some National Rail stations. All ticket offices at stations run by London Underground will sell or recharge Oyster cards, or handle Oyster card refunds. However, some Tube stations are actually operated by National Rail train operating companies, and their ticket offices will not deal with Oyster refunds. DLR ticket offices do not sell any Oyster Card top-ups or handle refunds. PAYG funds and Travelcard season tickets (but not Bus & Tram Passes) can also be purchased online via the Oyster online website or by calling the Oyster helpline; users must then select one station or tram stop where they will validate their card in order to load the funds or Travelcard purchased. This should be done as part of a normal journey to avoid the risk of paying an Oyster maximum fare. If the customer is purchasing PAYG, the top up will be at the gates of their nominated station, or Tramlink stop the  next  day (ready for first train, provided they made the purchase before 11 PM the previous night). It will remain at the gates for 7 further days before dropping off the system. If the customer purchases a Travelcard season ticket, it will ‘arrive' at the gates, up to 5 days before the start date of the ticket and will remain there until 2 days after the ticket has started. If the customer does not make their pick up in time, it will take a further 14 days to refund automatically to the bank card they made the purchase with. [14]Top-ups of this type cannot be added from a reader on a bus. Auto top-up Customers can set up and manage Auto top-up online for their existing Oyster Card. They register a  debit  or  credit card, make a payg top-up purchase (minimum ? 5) and select either ? 20 or ? 40 as the Auto top-up amount. Alternatively, a new Oyster card with Auto top-up and a mimimum of ? 5 pay as you go can be ordered via Oyster online. Whenever the pay as you go balance falls below ? 5, ? 20 or ? 40 is added to the balance automatically when the Oyster Card is touched on an entry validator. A light on the Oyster reader flashes to indicate the Auto top-up has taken place and an email is sent to confirm the transaction. Payment is then taken from the registered debit or credit card. To ensure successful transactions, customers must record any changes to their billing address and update their debit or credit card details as necessary. [pic] Top up machine Touching in and out system [pic][pic][pic] London Underground ticket barriers with yellow Oyster readers Travellers touch the card on a distinctive yellow circular reader (a  Cubic  Tri-Reader) on the automated barriers at  London Underground  stations to ‘touch in' and ‘touch out' at the start and end of a journey (contact is not necessary, but the range of the reader is only a few inches). Tram stops and  buses  also have readers, on the driver/conductor's ticket machine and, in articulated buses, near the other entrances also. Oyster Cards can be used to store both period  travelcards  and bus passes (of one week or more), and a  Pay as you go  balance. The system is  asynchronous, the current balance and ticket data being held electronically on the card rather than in the central database. The main database is updated periodically with information received from the card by barriers and validators. Tickets bought online or over the telephone are â€Å"loaded† at a barrier or validator at a preselected location. [pic][pic][pic] Oyster validators are placed at most entrances on London buses. Pay as you go system Oyster Route Validators [pic] The yellow symbol for Oyster validators. In addition to holding  Travelcards  and bus passes, Oyster Cards can also be used as  stored-value cards, holding electronic funds of money. Amounts are deducted from the card each time it is used, and the funds can be â€Å"recharged† when required. The maximum value that an Oyster card may hold is ? 90. This system is known as â€Å"pay as you go† (abbreviated PAYG), because instead of holding a season ticket, the user only pays at the point of use. The use of PAYG differs across the various modes of transport in London, and passengers are sometimes required to follow different procedures to pay for their journey correctly. [pic] The pink symbol for Oyster Route validators In 2009, TfL introduced a new form of Oyster Card validator. These validators, distinguished from the standard yellow validators with a pink-coloured reader, do not deduct funds but are used at peripheral interchange points to confirm journey details. Oyster Pay as you go users travelling between two points without passing through Zone 1 are eligible for a lower fare, and from the 6 September 2009 they can confirm their route by touching their Oyster Cards on the pink validators when they change trains. By doing this, they can be charged the appropriate fare without paying for Zone 1 travel. [pic] A Thames Clipper river bus service As with Underground, Buses, River Buses and DLR journeys, Oyster PAYG users on National Rail must swipe their card at the start and end of the journey to pay the correct fare. PAYG funds may also be used to cover any additional fares due from season ticket holders who have travelled outside the valid zones of their season ticket. Many large National Rail stations in London have Oyster Card-compatible barriers. [pic] National Rail ticket barriers with yellow Oyster readers [pic] Standalone Oyster readers provided at interchange stations between National Rail and the Tube. Pricing The pricing system is fairly complex, and changes from time to time. The most up to date fares can be found on Transport for London's FareFinder website. To encourage passengers to switch to Oyster, payg fares (including Bus and Tram fares) are generally much cheaper than cash fares: A cash bus or tram fare is ? 2, while the single Oyster fare is ? 1. 20, but capped at ? 3. 90 for any number of trips in a day. Using pay as you go, a single trip on the Tube within Zone 1 costs ? 1. 80 (compared to ? 4 cash), or from ? 1. 30 (? 3. 50 cash) within any other single zone. Penalty fares and maximum Oyster fare In order to prevent â€Å"misuse† by a stated 2% of passengers, from 19 November 2006 pay as you go users who do not both ‘touch in' at the start and ‘touch out' at the end of their  rail network  journeys are charged a ‘maximum Oyster fare' – currently ? 6 (Mon – Fri 06:30 – 09:30 & 16:00 – 19:00) / ? 4. 30 (at all other times) for most journeys, or more if the journey begins or ends at certain National Rail stations. Depending on the journey made, the difference between this maximum fare and the actual fare due is automatically refunded to the user's Oyster Card upon touching out. Users must touch in and out even if the ticket barriers are open. At stations where Oyster is accepted but that do not have ticket barriers, an Oyster pass validator will be provided for the purposes of touching in and out. The maximum cash fare applies even if the daily price cap has been reached and does not count towards the cap. Maximum cash fares may be contested by telephone to the Oyster helpline on 0845 330 9876. [15] This involves providing the Oyster Card number and the relevant journey details; further journeys appearing on the card are helpful to validate the user's claim. If the claim is accepted then the maximum Oyster fare minus the cost of the journey will be refunded. The customer should make the pick up as part of his or her regular travel pattern. This is because when they touch the reader with their Oyster Card, not only will the refund go on to the card, but a new journey will start. Oyster users who do not touch in or out when making a journey (in only for bus and tram journeys) may be liable to pay a penalty fare (currently ? 50) and/or reported for prosecution if caught by a revenue protection inspector. Issues Technological and security issues The system has not been without technical setbacks and criticisms. Passenger groups have expressed concern that buying single travel tickets with cash is far more expensive than using Oyster Cards, and it is suggested that this is putting many tourists off coming to London. Oyster has been promoted by Visit Britain and TfL, who sell them on their website and in their offices around the world. Despite this, visitors to London have often never heard of Oyster and its benefits, and are paying higher cash fares unnecessarily. 3 deposit is also seen as a deterrent to tourists. Another complication is the confusing terms of validity on National Rail services which serve many popular tourist sites on the outskirts of London. The system has been criticised as a threat to the privacy of its users. Each Oyster card is uniquely numbered, and registration is required for monthly or longer tickets, which are no longer available on paper. Usage data are stored bot h on the card and centrally by Transport for London; recent usage can be checked by anyone in possession of the ticket at some ticket machines. Privacy groups consider it a form of mass surveillance and are concerned with how these data will be used, especially given the introduction of the London congestion charge by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone in February 2003. The police have used Oyster card data as an investigative tool, and this use is increasing. Between August 2004 and March 2006 TfL's Information Access and Compliance Team received 436 requests from the police for Oyster card information. Of these, 409 requests were granted and the data was released to the police. [16] The system has been criticised for usability issues in general system, website and top-up machine design. The most significant usability issue is that pay as you go customers who for whatever reason do not â€Å"touch out† at the end of their journeys will not be charged correctly. Users who have run up a pay as you go debt of as little as ? 1 are prohibited from using any period travelcards on the card until the debt is repaid. Another criticism is that problem diagnosis by London Underground staff is generally poor[citation needed] as the system is new and complex, and the staff unfamiliar with all its workings and insufficiently trained; this causes passenger frustration. On 10 March 2005 a software fault meant that the Oyster system was inoperable during the morning rush hour. Ticket barriers had to be left open and pay-as-you-go fares could not be collected. [17] On the day that the pay-as-you-go went live on all Oyster cards, some season ticket passengers were prevented from making a second journey on their travelcard. Upon investigation each had a negative prepay balance. This was widely reported as a major bug in the system. [18] However, the reason for the â€Å"bug† was that some season ticket holders, either knowingly or otherwise, were passing through zones not included on their tickets. The existing paper system could not prevent this kind of misuse as the barriers only checked if a paper ticket was valid in the zone the barrier was in. Touching Points and Journey Mapping [pic] Mapping the user journey from buying an Oyster Card, touching in at the barrier, catching the tube, touching out, going to work and coming back home following the backwards corse. Highlighting all the touching points: †¢ ticket machineoffice to purchase or top up the Oyster Card; †¢ barriersvalidators in and out; †¢ Tfl website; †¢ Tfl green-line; †¢ travel information center; †¢ member of the staff for questions or problems; †¢ crime department in case loststolen cards; †¢ mailletter for student or photo cards [pic] Touching points [pic] [pic] Mapping the journey Surveys and Service Implementation [pic] Source: http://www. transys. com/whatwedo/oystercardproject/results. php [pic] Source: http://www. transys. com/whatwedo/oystercardproject/implementation. hp Conclusions In Principles of Marketing, Philip Kotler defines a service as â€Å"any activity or benefit that one party can give to another, that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything†. [19] I, like millions of other people travel to and around London every week day for work and so have found the Oyster Card an invaluable tool to help me in my journey. I think the main advantage of this card is that it means I can load a certain amount onto it for the month and then not have to worry about having actual cash on me to buy a new ticket each day. The Oyster Card can be carried in your wallet just like a credit card and so is small, handy and easy to use. The other great thing about the Oyster Card is that it's cheaper to use per journey than if you buy a ticket with cash. Another thing I like is that if you swipe in and then there is a long delay on you line and you have to swipe right out again without going anywhere you can go back up to the ticket office and have them refund your money back onto the card. This however, must be done within 15 minutes of swiping out again otherwise they will not refund it for you. I also like the fact that if you journey is delayed for fifteen minutes or more (this happens quite a bit to me, sitting in tunnels for ? hour at a time) you can log onto the website given above and ask for a refund. You can enter your Oyster Card details so they can see you are telling the truth and then you will be sent a credit voucher in the post that you can then put back onto your Oyster Card to compensate you for your inconvenience. One of my criticisms though with the Oyster Card is that it does not always swipe first time and you are given a red light meaning you have to swipe your card again. This often causes backup at the gate, especially at rush hour in the mornings or evening. Generally I find it is because you are standing too close to the gate and so if you back away a bit you should be ok to swipe after that. One thing I would urge is that you need to make sure that you swipe in and then remember to swipe out to complete a full journey and to avoid being charged a full amount. On one hand we can safely assume that such services are an optimized solution for our current need of travelling fast. On the other hand, we do not know the unpredictable consequences of our design actions. As John Thackara worn us, increases in mobility cause negative impact on the environment [20] and we use time gained by speed in order to travel further [21]. ———————– [1] http://www. transys. com/whatwedo/oystercardproject. php [2] Bill Hollins – http://www. designcouncil. org. uk/About-Design/Design-Disciplines/Service-design-by-Bill-Hollins/13-lessons-in-service-design/. [3] â€Å"What is Oyster? â€Å". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 August 2008. 4]  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mayor to give away 100,000 free Oyster cards†. Media Centre  (Greater London Authority). 17 April 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2007. [5] â€Å"New deal with Visit London and Superbreak makes Oyster even more convenient†. Press Centre  (Visit London). 28 August 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2007. [6] MIFARE. net  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Easing travel in London’s co ngested public transport network [7] â€Å"Smart-card ticketing goes Underground†. ZDNet. 20 October 2002. Retrieved 8 October 2007. [8] http://www. rfidnews. org/2002/12/01/a-tube-full-of-oysters-london-goes-contactless -A tube full of Oysters? London goes contactless . [9] http://londonist. com/2007/03/pimp_my_oysterc. php [10]http://www. asa. org. uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2005/11/Transport-For London/CS_40497. aspx [11] Transport for London  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Oyster online shop [12] Changes to Oyster card deposit from 17 May 2009  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Transport for London. Retrieved 27 September 2009 [13] Transport for London. â€Å"Oyster online help†. Retrieved 17 November 2007. [14] Transport for London. â€Å"Oyster online help†. Retrieved 17 November 2007. [15] â€Å"What should I do if I can't touch out at the end of my journey? . Transport For London helpsite. Retrieved 19 June 2008. [16] OysterCardRFI – Letter from TfL in response to a freedom of information request [17] BBC News – ‘? 50,000 lost' in Oyster failure. [18] BBC News – Inquiry into Tube's Oyster card [19] Philip  Kotler, Gary Armstrong – 2005 – Business & Economics- Chapter 9-pp 276. [20] John Thackara. In the Bubble – Designing in a Complex World. The MIT Press, Massachussetts – 2006. [21] John Thackara. In the Bubble – Designing in a Complex World. The MIT Press, chussetts – 2006.