Effects Of Colonial Policies And Practices Essay - 1735 Words

Amira Musah Professor Konadu AFN 122-1201 November 20th, 2016 The detrimental impact of colonial policies and practices on â€Å"colonial† and post-colonial Africa. In spite of their independence, African nations continue to face serious economic, social, and military challenges. I claim colonialism served as a significant force that had a detrimental impact on African society, economics, and politics. The Oxford dictionary defines colonialism as the â€Å"policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.† In this essay, I will examine the impact of colonial policies and practices on â€Å"colonial† and â€Å"post-colonial† Africa. Specifically, I will demonstrate that colonialism should be blamed for its negative influence on Africa s economic, social and political status. Colonialism is an historic process which happened in different parts of Africa, such as Ghana, The Gambia, Egypt, Kenya, a nd Nigeria. This process exploited African valuables and its economic benefits. Due to colonialism’s obstruction to African progress and development, the continent continues to face serious economic challenges. The detrimental impact of colonial policies and practices on Africa was assisted by the depopulation and devastation to African societies caused by the transatlantic slave trade. According to the book, â€Å"Transatlantic Africa† by KwasiShow MoreRelatedEffect of Colonization in Kenya1159 Words   |  5 Pages Yahya Bello World studies 2nd period The effect of colonialism in Kenya This essay analyses the effect of colonialism in Kenya. It explains the depth of colonialism within Kenya’s context and analyses the impact of colonial conquest, the imposition of international and local administrative boundaries. 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The Wonderful Discoverie Of Elizabeth Sawyer, A Witch,...

In this document commentary I will be analysing and commentating on an extract from Henry Goodcole’s pamphlet, The Wonderful Discoverie of Elizabeth Sawyer, a Witch, late of Edmonton. Her Conviction and Condemation and Death. (London, 1621). I will be seeing how if the contemporary public felt the same way and how this relates to the history of witchcraft. Henry Goodcole was a ‘prison visitor and author [and was] best known for a series of criminal biographies, arising from his experiences as ordinary and recounting his attempts to extort confessions from the condemned in the prison’. The most famous of his visits was to Elizabeth Sawyer, who was suspected of being a witch. ‘His pamphlet on the Sawyer case included the confession he had elicited from the condemned witch while preparing her spiritually for execution’. Before sixteenth century, the ability to read and write was low. But during the century there was growth in education for the public and illiteracy was decreasing. ‘It is estimated that in 1600 about 10 per cent of women in England were literate; by 1700 this had risen to perhaps 30 per cent’. In 1650 the male literacy rate ‘rose to almost a half’. The biggest form of reading was through reading print and ‘it was this mode of literacy that provided the foundation for pamphlet culture’. Despite the low literacy rates many peoples workplaces ‘allowed them to hear texts they could not read instead’. ‘Elizabeth Sawyer, was a poor woman of obscure origins

Write an analysis of the film clip Essay Example For Students

Write an analysis of the film clip Essay The film clip starts with a scene taking place in a victorian opera theater. It is probably set in the late 18th century as we can see from the setting. The setting plays highly important role in most of films as it tells us, in this film, what kind of people in the society they are, without hearing their conversation. Ladies are wearing long night dresses, and gentlmen are wearing suits with flowers on their left chests as such. The costumes simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Costume in narrative cinema is used to signify character, or advertise particular fashions, or to make clear distinctions between characters. In the clip, costumes suggest they are in an upper class society. But they do not have a specific function indivisualy, but instead they are cautiously orchestrated with one another in their colors to creat one big elegant mood in the opera theater. The theater has luxurious interior decorations and the texture of screen space is very rich which shows the important relation to the characters. It is both comprehensible; as we can easly notice the higher community, and significant; as it gives us the idea of when it is to be taken place. Like Richard Maltby says;  mise-en-scene is a system that requires recognition, but not necessarily articulation, on  the part of its audience, since meaning it produces is displaced to another area of the movie. In this scene, lightig, at one point, is a very strong sign. When Ellen tells her last line before Newland Archy leaves from the balcony, she turned around to him, looked into his eyes, then a light, probably from the opera stage, spotted her back. Then she told him her line. A combined use of lighting and quietness of their surrounding is used to create a tensed atmosphere between the two characters. It is very powerful and effective editing technique. Sometimes the cameras viewpoint gives the audience knowledge the characters do not share,2 In this shot, the spot light on her back is more than just illumination that allows us to see her, but it suggests that she is saying something important to him. Backlighting creats the contrast of the brightness of the blue spot light on her back to the darkness of the opera theater. It creates stronger emphasis on what had been said by her. It also brings a dramatic emotion of the characters out. The silhouette of Ellen Olenska leads to bring some kind of mysterious sence as well. Camera angles serve to indicate where charaters are in the scene. Ellen looks down at Newton from the balcony seats. Here, an angle of framing, the high-angle position is used. Then the low-angle is used to show that he was looking up at the balcony. The complex camera movements and editing bring to serve complecated situation of characters make audiences mind distinctive. The editer then uses elliptical editing which represents an action in such a way that is consumes less time on the screen than it does in the sotry.3 After the low angle position, which is the view from Newtons seat, the segment gose to the balcony where he is entering the balcony. The editor obviously has edited the part where he gose up the stairs from his seat to the balcony where his fiance and her cousin, Ellen are. The segment unneccesary to the story and ellipsis formulates articulation in the scene by using this conventional punctuation shot change.4 Whithin the scene, iris out is used to concentrate on the two characters, Newland and Ellen as they wisper. The sound around them, the sound perspective, becomes quieter and is gone at the end of the scene. The surrounding sound suggests not only there are many people in the theater, but we as a spectator is able to sense a spatial distance and visual depth of gigantic theater. Deep space is used to map out the actual distances involved between one location, the balcony, and auditorium in order to emphasize the dimention.  Iris out leaves the two characters speaches, as well as their actions, clearer and more focused. Close up shots and revers-shots serve more perticipation to the segment. Close ups of characters give us more information of their feeling from their expression on their faces. .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .postImageUrl , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:hover , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:visited , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:active { border:0!important; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:active , .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846 .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc787281c72faa73b1af035811f6eb846:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: North by North West EssayConticuity editing establishes spatioal and temporal relationships between shots in such a way as to  permit the spectator to read a film without any conscious effort, precisely because the editing is  invisible.The revers-shots guide the viewer deeper into their conversation and into their emotion, yet these editings are made to go invisibly. This editing is not easly defined as over-the-shoulder framing as two characters are not facing to each other. An extream close-up of an opera glasses, however, is clearly noticed. The distinctive movement of Ellens hand to pic it up suggests her confused state of mind in the conversation between Newland. Similary, close up of his troubled facial expression puts the same effect. Sound plays one of the most essential functions in most of films and this film, Age of Innocence, was not an exception. At least, sound fills the silence and adds crutial mood and atomospher in each scenes. It can be played just as background music or it cues us to form expectation. In all cases, the sound track can enter into an active relation with the image track.6 When Newton leaves the balcony we hear music, probably from the stage in the story. Ellen puts her opera glasses and pays attention to the stage. So we think that the music comes from the performance, but when the sence moves on to the next, the same music is played. It plays a role as a sound bridge. The carried out music becomes non-diegetic from what we first thought it as external diegetic sound. Diegetic and nondiegetic sounds, which is the same orchestral classic music, are juxtaposed during the connection of two scenes. Since the music is played vey quietly it is made to go unnoticed but making the transition of the two is very smooth. Newland writes a letter to a flower shop to order yellow roses to send them to Ellen. A close up shot of his hand and the letter, and a shot where he sits down at the desk writing the letter overlapses. A narrater reads the letter out loud at the same time. The overlapping editing of the two different shots creates less serious attension to the action, but puts more emphasis on the quantity of letters he writes instead. He keeps writing to them until he recieves an answer and that is the main point of this scene. However, he gives up to buy yellow roses ene when he sees them in the shop when he passes buy the shop. The scene is bluer and seemes darker in order to stress the significance of the moment.  The next scene where the two characters walks in the snow, uses the 180 rule. Infact, this system of editing is used in most of the scenes in the entire clip so that to make sure spectators see the relative posisions in the frame. Eleens red court suggest passion and is very feminine, making a distinctiion with white snow. It is suggested that they are playing with colour to signify love relationship exists between the characters. They go into the house and puts a fire on in the next scnene. The sound of the fire is exhasulated, editing technique called accentuation, so that to make a stress on warmth in the house, cotrasting to the coldness outside. Grafically and visually it is warm and viewer can almost feel the same warmness as the two. But ironically he stands at the window, and the shot which is taken from his back suggest us his loneliness suported by the snow that can be seen from the window. He asks her you must tell me what you are running away from. Then camera casts Ellen but she says nothing. Here, silence is the beauty. It serves her mind that she dose not want to tell him anything. He then closes his eyes and she comes up to him and hold him tite from his back. He puts his hand over her hands. An extream-close shot is used to put stress on an affection. Unfortunately, it is only his imagination. Right after he opens his eyes, close shot takes his action, turning around and looks at her, then exterior long shot casts her, what is being observed by him, where she is still sitting on the same chair and in the same position. The camera movement called eyeline-matche is used here. It is a simple way of editing but very persuasive and functional. It creats strong spatial conticuity and assures us as to the characters locations. .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .postImageUrl , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:hover , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:visited , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:active { border:0!important; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:active , .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228 .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1b052095dbda4319cc5d8525072dd228:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Barilla Spa Case Study Analysis EssayAt this point of the clip, although it is a very short one, we as spectators have an idea that this film is a romantic film with a bit of mystery. Most of genre cannot be defined in a single hard and fast way.7. The main theme can be defined as love, but there are some other spices to add to the story. The story line is stretched out so the speed of the action is to be said very slow because of the complecated situation of the two characters- so far, viewer are not given enough information about what exactly is the relationship between them but we are given with sufficient amount of facts to tell the genre of the film. Like the other cl assical Hollywood narative, this film is also focusing on characters, has chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. It has a well forcused and tensed story line which, in this clip, is continuos- meaning no flash forward or flashback and it is in order of the time.

Scaling Content Creation 11 Tips for Scaling the Quantity and Quality of Your Content

In today’s competitive online environment, many companies are struggling to produce enough content to meet consumer demand. But with the right approach, you can streamline your content marketing processes to get better results. Here, we’ll look at how to scale your content more efficiently while maintaining or even increasing quality. Free Actionable Bonus: Looking to outsource your content writing? Get the complete guide to finding, vetting, and hiring freelance writers 11 Tips for Scaling Your Content Creation 1. Develop a System Every stage of the content creation process can be scaled and economized, from brainstorming and collaborating to publishing and promotion. Every stage of the content creation process can be scaled and economized, from brainstorming and collaborating to publishing and promotion. Click To Tweet The first step to streamlining this process is creating a documented content marketing strategy that aligns with your marketing goals. If you’re not sure what should be included in the document, here are some questions to help you get started: What does your company want to achieve in the next 12 months? What are the metrics you’ll measure to monitor the results? Who is responsible for each stage of the content marketing process? Does everyone on your team have access to a brand style guide? Where are your target audience found online? Make sure everyone on your team has access to the documented strategy and is aware of their responsibilities. Holding weekly or monthly meetings will help keep everyone accountable. You can brainstorm new content ideas, identify what’s working, and discuss overall progress. 2. Use an Editorial Calendar An editorial calendar is a simple way to boost productivity. Even a basic calendar will help your team work together more efficiently, and it can be adapted to suit your growing needs. Some things to consider: Content types. Do you have a diverse range of content types to meet audience demand? Which content types do your target customers prefer? Which content types do you need more of? Pain points. What key customer pain points should you be addressing? Funnel content. Are you producing content for every stage of the customer journey? Vary the call to action. What is the intended goal or call to action for each piece of content? Major events. Have you scheduled content for major events, holidays, and seasons? 3. Choose Quality Over Quantity Scaling your content effectively doesn’t just mean producing more content. You can’t ever forget about quality. One piece of great content is going to earn more shares than three average pieces, therefore reaching more prospects. Scaling your content effectively doesn't just mean producing more content. One piece of great content is more valuable than three average pieces. Click To Tweet If you’re hoping to scale both the quantity and quality of your content, then you’ll need to look for help from expert freelance writers. Which brings us to the next the point, the power of outsourcing content creation. 4. Outsource More of Your Content Hiring in-house writers costs more than outsourcing and doesn’t always lead to higher-quality content. Outsource some or all of your content creation so you can focus on promotion and distribution. Related: Hiring In-House Writers vs. Outsourcing to an Agency vs. Hiring Freelance Writers: What’s Right for You 4. Use High-Quality Freelance Writers Hiring inexpensive writers to produce average content at a higher frequency could harm your brand. It may initially cost more to hire experienced writers, but they’ll deliver regular quality content. This is also easier to scale because you’ll save time and money elsewhere. Some writers can also double as influencers, so seek out writers with a greater social media following. Download the complete guide on finding, vetting, and hiring freelance writers 5. Use Subject Matter Experts Hiring a writer who already understands your industry will help you hit deadlines faster and avoid the need for multiple revisions. Regularly using one writer for a specific topic will also build the writer’s subject knowledge. 6. Have a Consistent Promotion Strategy Creating great content is a waste of time if you have no promotion strategy. To maximize your promotion efforts: Discover which social platforms boost content engagement. Publish social media posts at optimal times. Repost social media content multiple times. Use social sharing and email subscription buttons within the content. Submit your content to online communities. Optimize all content for search engines. Take advantage of paid advertising. Link content to related internal web pages and external domains. Leave this field empty if you're human: 7. Reuse and Repurpose Content Increase content engagement with less effort by combining or reusing content. For example: Divide. Split larger content assets into separate blog posts. Create. Create an infographic based around a blog post. Gate. Turn a series of blog posts into a gated piece of content such as an ebook. Snippet. Post a statistic or short snippet from a longer piece to social media. 8. Develop Templates Whether it’s a landing page, email newsletter, or infographic, templates save you time. Keep everything so that you can reuse the format, images, and graphics for future content pieces. 9. Find a Reliable Source for Photos Where do you find your images? Check out Pixabay, PikWizard, Unsplash, and Negative Space for access to thousands of photos that are free to use without attribution for commercial use. Note: the image for this post was taken from Unsplash. Shout out to RawPixel for the image. 10. Use Your Network Tapping into your network is another great way to improve your content marketing. Connecting with colleagues, customers, and competitors helps you source content ideas, find interesting statistics, produce user-generated content, and add authenticity to your brand. 11. Track Results There’s no point in scaling your content marketing if you don’t know what’s working. Take advantage of some of the best free and paid analytics tools to discover which content topics and formats are getting the most engagement, and build upon your strengths. There’s a Better Way†¦ While marketers have different ways of organizing their content creation processes, all content marketers face these common challenges when scaling their content creation: A limited budget for hiring writers Finding the most suitable writers for each project A lack of time to create and publish quality content Distributing content to the right channels on a regular basis Communicating with writers A content creation service can help address all of these issues. While many marketers still use Word, Excel, and email to manage their content creation process, this approach has its limitations, especially if you have a busy schedule. Alternatively, when you have a handy platform that includes an editorial calendar, collaboration tools, team management tools, file sharing tools, workflow management, and publishing tools, it makes the content marketing process much more fluid and manageable. Practical Benefits of a Content Creation Service A content creation service supports your content marketing be providing you with access to multiple tools and functions to plan, create, manage, and publish content for all kinds of content marketing assets including: Blog posts Social media posts Email newsletters and automated emails Ebooks, whitepapers, and other gated content Press releases SEO content Magazine articles Product literature Video scripts Internal marketing documents Increase Productivity A content creation service can streamline your content production, from setting up a team of writers to managing the content output. A content creation service can streamline your content production, from setting up a team of writers to managing the content output. Click To Tweet Our built-in editorial calendar is also a useful planning tool, allowing you to see an overview of all the content you have in the pipeline and any content gaps you need to fill. Remember that a complete content calendar should include a variety of content types, the target audiences, as well as who is actually writing the piece. Improve Efficiency Whatever projects you have planned in your content strategy, having the right software will save you time and effort. A content creation service helps you work more efficiently by storing all the relevant information in a single place and reducing the number of tools you rely on. Without a Content Creation Service With a Content Creation Service Finding writers Social media, job boards Built-in Hiring Social media, job boards Built-in Planning Content Spreadsheets Built-in Assigning Projects Spreadsheets Built-in Communication Email Built-in Writing Word, Google Docs Built-in Plagiarism Check Various tools Built-in Payment PayPal, check Built-in Better Collaboration If you work with other team members and various writers across multiple locations, trying to communicate via different channels soon gets frustrating; we all know how confusing it can become when you’re receiving messages from various email addresses. With the Constant Content â€Å"My Projects† tool, the whole process of communication is made easier with a centralized dashboard that helps you keep track of writers, messages, your content requests, deadlines, and more. You can communicate with each writer directly from your projects page, so you’ll never lose track of project details, notes, and discussions. You can even share files and other documents with your team. Maximize Content Quality As you create more projects and build your team of writers, you’ll have your own private team of writers that can specialize in various subjects. Because you can assign requests to certain projects, you also have control over which writers receive each request. This ability to provide feedback to writers and select the most appropriate writers gives you complete control of your content output and quality. In short, you’re able to pick the right writer for the right reader. Improve Your Content Marketing Results Content marketing continues to be an integral part of building brand awareness, boosting search engine rankings, and engaging your audience. 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Archetypes essays

Archetypes essays Archetypes in The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood The film The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood examines the lives of four southern women who have sustained a bond over many decades based on a mysterious childhood alliance, unmet dreams and dark secrets. When the relationship between one of these women and her daughter threatens to become permanently broken, her childhood friends come together, as always, to help them mend their relationship as well as heal the painful past that drove them apart. The alcoholic parent, is manifested in the character of Vivian Joan Vivi Abbott Walker, mother of the young playwright Sidda Walker, a daughter who is just beginning to make her mark in the New York theater circuit. At the start of the film, Vivi is portrayed as a woman who, troubled by the comments made by her daughter in an interview for Time magazine, resorts to extreme outbursts of anger and grudge holding. In flashbacks of her life as a young mother, Vivi turns to alcohol to soothe her own pain however the alcohol works to blur her role as mother and causes her to neglect and, on more than one occasion, abuse her children. In fact, the alcoholic as archetype is manifested not only in the character of Vivi, but also in the characters of the other ya ya sisters, Neci, Caro and Teensy, who regularly ensure that they have alcoholic drinks available throughout the film. The scapegoat as archetype can also be identified in this film. Through much of her young life, Sidda Walker has had to play scapegoat to her mothers eccentric and alcohol-charged behaviors. Vivi randomly takes out her pain on the young Sidda through verbal chastising and unusual mother-daughter role-playing, which often leaves her daughter confused about whether her mother is a tyrannical caretaker or peculiar playmate. Siddas role as her mothers scapegoat is demonstrated from the start when Vivi b...

Overcoming Speaking Anxiety When Speaking French

Overcoming Speaking Anxiety When Speaking French Shyness apart, if you feel nervous when speaking French, its probably due to a lack of confidence in your skills: you dont feel you have the grammar, vocabulary, and/or pronunciation needed in order to express yourself. The obvious solution is to improve your French, and this site is filled with resources to help you do just that. Beyond lessons and learning, however, there are other ways to increase your confidence and feel more comfortable speaking French. We All Make Mistakes First of all, you should know that most people are forgiving of mistakes in their native language.* Think about it - when a non-native speaker addresses you in English, are you really thinking what a dummy, his sentence is all out of order, and thats the wrong verb, and the less said about his pronunciation the better? Or do you try to meet him halfway, ignoring or perhaps mentally correcting mistakes in order to understand what he is working so hard to say? For most of us, its the latter, because we appreciate the effort people make to communicate. In my experience, the French much prefer that you speak to them in broken French, rather than being asked to speak to you in broken English - because theyre just as anxious about their English! So dont let fear of how you speak French stop you. Prepare Yourself If youre going to ask a question or buy a train ticket, think about what you want to say and how to say it before your turn comes. Try to anticipate what questions you might be asked and what additional information might be needed. Talk About Yourself Whether youre interested in current events, wine, or traveling around Alsace, read about those topics and make a list of the words and phrases that crop up repeatedly. And if you find that youre regularly getting pulled into discussions about tennis or movies, try to learn some of that vocabulary too. Practice Every Chance You Get Speaking French is like playing the piano or making bread - the more you do it, the more comfortable it feels and the easier it gets. Join the Alliance franà §aise, take a class, or place a classified ad to find someone to chat with regularly, even if s/he isnt fluent or native, but just another nervous French speaker like you. Even introverts can make friends - and have to if you are serious about improving your French. As you practice, youll gradually feel more comfortable and confident. Just Do It Finally, just try to relax, have fun, and remember why youre learning French in the first place. Its all about communication, so get out there and speak!

Crime Scene Documentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crime Scene Documentation - Essay Example The photography technique requires the investigator to use both close-up coverage and medium coverage that will provide aerial and vertical view of the suspect positions and items left at the crime scene. The sketches will identify the surrounding area of the crime scene and possible positions of the suspects (Pepper, 2010). According to Ogle (2011), crime scene sketching aims at creating a permanent record of the distance relationship of the physical evidence and crime scene. Sketching will require the investigator to have folding ruler, graph paper, pencil, and flashlight since it is essential to take proportional measurements such as exit areas and bullet trajectory angles (Pepper, 2010). The sketch is critical in clarifying the information in photographs and videos since it enables the viewer to gauge the dimensions and distances. A sketch is essential in crime scene documentation since it assists during interviewing and interrogations, it relates the sequence of events at the scene, and establishes a precise relationship of objects found at the crime scene (Ogle, 2011). The sketches may include details such as size if the room, height of a door frame and distance from the door to the window. The projection view of the sketch will show the horizontal floor plan while the schematic perspective is essential in showing the sequence of events such bullet firing position (Horswell, 2010). Another aspect of sketching is the triangulation that will involve taking the distance and measurements from a central position such as bedroom. Crime investigators rely on the rectangular coordinate method of sketching measure the distance from two perpendicular items such as walls and doors. The polar coordinate method is mainly applicable in outdoor crime scenes where there is only one reference point such as road accidents (Ogle, 2011). The final

What is Polanyis central thesis in The Great Transformation Define Essay

What is Polanyis central thesis in The Great Transformation Define double move- ment - Essay Example Unlike after the great evolution, people premised their economies on trade and redistribution of resources but paid little attention on the vital rational utility exploiters. Polanyi notes that following the great revolution of the market society, members of different societies became more level-headed when making economic decisions (Deutschmann, 2009). They started being guided by pointers of neoclassical economic concepts. The establishment of capitalist structures not only transformed the legal regime along those lines but also substantially changed various economic mentalities of members of various societies such that in the run-up to the revolution, markets contributed very minimally in shaping the trends of human affairs. However, they could not fix prices because they lacked the influence that comes with big movements. As Deutschmann (2009) noted, it was just after the establishment of new market structures and the growth of industries that the theory of humanitys penchant for trade became common. The transformation contributed immensely towards shaping human culture to be in line with the then existing market-based economic agents. Polanyi thus suggests a different ethnographic theory known as substantivism which discredits formalism as a way of achieving the great transformation. Double movement is a phrase coined by Polanyi in reference to unpredictable protective responses against declining market forces occasioned by social factors within countries (Polanyi, 2001). Recent Occupy Wall Street protests by local communities seeking to outmanoeuvre powerful forces behind inequalities in the world and the more powerful social movements which threaten to reverse the prevailing paradigm by creating new structures and processes that can offset the social and economic establishment are the impact of double movement actions (Polanyi, 2001). Whereas the

Risk Management Business Contingency Plan Essay Example for Free

Risk Management Business Contingency Plan Essay The qualitative risk analysis performed in a previous report identified eight notable risks associated with setting up a call-center presence in Quà ©bec, Canada. As those risks are successfully managed, the call center will commence operation and start handling telephonic insurance requests from mostly French-speaking customers. (Only one-quarter of employees at this center will handle English-speaking calls from Canadian customers.) Because there will be a sole call center in Canada handling 100 percent of the French-speaking calls and one-quarter of English-speaking calls, it will be imperative to establish a business contingency plan, or BCP. Because of the aforementioned propensity for natural disasters in Canada, this plan will address continuity of business in the event of a natural disaster, such as a tornado. The specific areas of business continuity to be treated are 1. Pre-incident adjustments, 2. Ethical use and protection of sensitive data, 3. Ethical use and protection of customer data, 4. Communication plan, and 5. Post-incident continuity. The goal of this plan is to reduce pandemonium associated with natural disasters’ effects on normative business operations. Pre-Incident Adjustments It is important to understand the principal components that contribute to the locomotion of a well-functioning call center. These components include: 1. A functioning telephone-delivery system, also known as a PSTN 2. A functioning networking system for data sharing 3. A functional group of computers for customer processing 4. A functioning electrical system There are other less-crucial components that contribute to a normative operational environment, such as fax capabilities and office equipment. The focus, however, will be on major components. It is obvious that a call center requires the ability to manage inbound and outbound calls. A tornado of any strength has a high likelihood of disrupting this call management ability. (Please review the risk register and attendant risk report for more information on the level of severity and likelihood.) Public Switch Telephone Network The call center is dependent on a public switch telephone network, or PSTN. This is an array of externally managed networks employed to deliver calls throughout the world; this network uses coaxial cables, fiber optics, land lines, and satellite communication to support communication. A natural disaster can physically affect this aspect of the communication network, which effectively prevents the delivery of calls to the call center’s own internal automatic call-delivery system, or ACD. This is an obvious impediment to the nature of a call center. Networking System In order for call-center employees to make and receive calls, the PSTN must deliver the calls to the call center’s networking system, which comprises the business telephone system, or PABX, and high-speed data delivery lines, such as ISDN. If a tornado affects the PSTN, the call center’s networking system for call delivery would be useless, and no calls would be delivered or could be made. If the tornado damaged the call-center structure, the networking system would also fail, not only preventing the handling of calls but the appropriate transmission of data. If there are onsite servers or mainframes, they may also be damaged. Functioning Computers Computers are required in every aspect of call-center operation. Front-line employees cannot process calls or customer requests without access to a computer. Information-technology workers cannot support the existing call-center network without a computer to interface with the network. A direct impact of a tornado would most likely destroy a significant number of workstations, causing elevated levels of inefficiency and the inability to meet customer needs. Functioning computers and network lines are also important for what is referred to as the Intra-Day Management Team. This team is responsible for 1) the proper routing of calls to call-center representatives based on their skill set—referred to skill-set gating—and 2) managing the call-center employees’ phone and off-the-phone schedules—referred to adherence and conformance. Damage to telephone lines, networking structures, and computers prevents the proper support of the call-center employees, which results in missed commitments with telephonic customers. Functioning Electrical System The electrical system is managed by the public-utilities company of the local area. If a tornado sufficiently damaged this entity to prevent the consistent delivery of electricity to the call center, there may be a disruption to the ability to make and receive calls as well as process data. The call center employs backup power generators in such an instance, but these generators provide eight hours of power. In natural disasters, it is not unlikely that utilities companies will be able to restore service within weeks. For each of the communications components listed above, State Farm should establish a call-routing process to handle inbound and outbound calls in exigent situations. Call routing simply means that a national Intra-Day Management Team, a team that manages the overall statistics generated from all State Farm’s call centers and that supersedes the authority of local intra-day management teams, would direct calls from the Canadian center to any number of call centers in the United States. In theory, this concept is simple: Calls are routed to a random call center for processing. In reality, the execution of this process is complicated. State Farm’s call centers house representatives with specific skill sets, with some call centers sharing overall skill-set attributes with others. For example, State Farm’s call center in Jacksonville, Florida, shares the same skill set as its Tempe, Arizona, location. However, four other call centers house representatives that, internal to each call center, are multi-skilled and, external to other call centers, do not share the same skill set. For example, the Phoenix call center houses customer-service representatives and claims representatives—two mutually exclusive skill sets within one call center. The Utah call center houses Spanish-speaking risk-management representatives and non-polyglot underwriting professionals. The call centers are dissimilar in the skill attributes and overall functioning. Depending on the call volume handled by the damaged Canadian call center and based on the distinctions in the antecedent paragraph, routing Canadian customers to American centers can 1. Be tedious to find the appropriate representatives in the call centers to handle the calls 2. Be a negative influence on the call center’s existing metrics it is required to meet. The latter difficulty is notable, since each call center is required to meet specific service-level agreements set forth by operations managers at the national level. These service-level agreements comprise call statistics, such as average speed of answer, average hold time for calls answered, abandon rate (number of calls that disconnect before being answered), etc. These agreements do not account for natural disasters, so with the introduction of, for example, 400 calls to a particular call center, that call center’s ability to meet its own service-level agreements will most  likely be constrained. Considering the nature of service-level agreements is to ensure that telephonic customers are responded to within a reasonable time frame, the customer experience will decline, which will result in lower customer-satisfaction results. This reality correlates with lower profit-maximization opportunities; customers who must wait what they deem to be an interminable amount of time to have a request processed will be more likely to choose a competitor, such as All State, for their insurance needs. Another notable concern is that the Canadian call center answers mostly French-speaking calls. There are currently no other centers nationwide that have French-speaking representatives. At present, customers routed to other customer-service call centers would speak with customer-service representatives who would use a language vendor State Farm employs, ATT Language Line. With the assistance of a language professional from the vendor’s company, the State Farm representative can successfully handle the call. However, statistics demonstrate that these calls are extensively longer and negatively influence the customer experience. It is recommended, therefore, that State Farm seek to employ bilingual representatives throughout its call centers. Human resources would be responsible for managing this proactive initiative. Ethical Use and Protection of Data State Farm houses a staggering amount of proprietary sensitive data. This data must be ethically used and protected. Some examples of this sensitive data is call-center statistics that can expose the employee identification numbers of the Canadian call-center employees; human-resources information systems, or HRIS, containing employee records; and financial records of all payments made to vendors. The call-center statistics are stored onsite on a server. The reason for the onsite storage is the ready access to read and write to this information. Call-center statistics change constantly. For example, the average speed of answer will vary daily, depending on the call volume. The HRIS is also stored onsite on the same server that houses the call-center statistics. The reason that this data is resident on the same server as the call-center statistics is that they are interdependent. The HRIS will contain information on the results of previous-years’ performance evaluation; however, this performance-review data cannot be properly curated without input from call-center statistics. As an example, State Farm can justifiably offer a 10-percent salary increase to an employee because that employee met the calls-handled-per-hour metric, which is culled from call-center statistics. Technically, this data can be discretely stored, but an attention to efficiency demands otherwise. Pulling data sets from one location is more efficient than doing so from discrete locations. The call center has many vendor relationships, all of which require payment to sustain the contractual relationships. For example, all office equipment, excluding computers, is leased through Ricoh International. The call center makes quarterly lease payments for the use of this equipment. This is a financial relationship that requires each element be tracked and stored for tax-reporting purposes. This data is housed in a separate server onsite. The reason for onsite storage is ready access to reading and writing to this data. Similar to call-center statistics, this data constantly changes, so onsite storage offers an efficient way of handling this data. In the event of a natural disaster, the call center must adopt a data-redundancy mindset. Specifically, State Farm must house this data at a separate location, preferably in a different country. Doing so ensures that if a natural disaster were to affect all of Canada, this data, which is stored in Salt Lake City, would still maintain its integrity and can be readily accessed by American call centers that would temporarily manage the calls. Also, when housed offsite, the data should be maintained in the same fashion as it is onsite. Call-center statistics and HRIS data should be housed together due to their interdependence, and financial data should be housed  separately. Ethical Use and Protection of Customer Data Just as company data is important, the maintenance and protection of the integrity of customer data is imperative. Examples of State Farm customer data include customer name, Social Security number, insurance-policy identification number, mailing address, vehicle identification number, and credit-card information. As has been demonstrated with well-publicized data breaches in the past, there is a causal relationship between identity theft and dilatory security processes. Thus, State Farm should not take a languid attitude toward customer security. The abstractions from the customer profile are grouped in two: 1. Demographics: name, address, Social Security number, and license-plate information 2. Financial data: credit-card name and number, banking information, invoices, receipts, and tax documents Each categorization is housed on separate onsite servers, but the categories are connected by a primary key, that is, a record in each group that connects in order to create a complete customer profile. The primary key is name—the name field in the demographic group abstraction and credit-card-name field in the financial-data group abstraction. (This primary key is necessary in order for each representative to access a complete customer profile upon processing a customer request during a call.) In preparation for a natural disaster, this data must be stored offsite on discrete servers but still connected by a primary key. These servers must also be in another country, though they both can be offsite in the same country. When a natural disaster causes the Canadian call center to shutter temporarily, American call centers will still have access to complete customer profiles to add insurance riders or to make payments, since they will not have been affected by the natural disaster. It should also be clearly noted that this data must be stored, whether onsite or off, using the highest encryption, which is presently 256 bit. This encryption level is especially imperative for offsite storage. It mitigates against unauthorized access or breach of this customer data, which would surely lead to expensive and unnecessary lawsuits. Communication Plan A communication plan is a strategy, normally a project-management function, that details the process of effective communication during exigent situations, such as when a call center is damaged due to a natural disaster and is unable to function normally. To avoid chaotic discourse or managers leading at cross purposes, the communication plan offers structure and, thus, efficiency. Ultimately, it is a planning document. (Please note that the goal is always to ensure the customer’s needs are met; this can only happen when the company proceeds in a structured, well-planned fashion.) An effective communication plan has the following attributes: * Objectives * Stakeholder identification * Communication strategy Objectives are set forth in a scope statement. A scope statement is a sentence or series of sentences that define the parameters of the communication plan, that is, what the plan will manage, and what is out of its purview. Setting these boundaries is necessary in order to promote efficiency and structure. The objective of the State Farm Canadian call-center communication plan is to keep all shareholders updated on the drive to normative call-center functioning for the Canadian location. Stakeholder identification is also important, since doing so identifies the key individuals who will benefit from the communication plan. This is also  referred to as a stakeholder analysis. The reason to know the beneficiaries of the plan is so the plan can be crafted to meet their needs. State Farm’s communication plan for a natural-disaster event identifies external customers, shareholders, management, and even line-level employees as stakeholders. Each of these entities will gain a benefit from the successful execution of the plan. Communication strategy sets forth the details of how communication is to occur. For example, when the network fails due to damage from a natural disaster, the communication plan will explicitly designate the entities responsible for communicating and receiving the communication of this event. The communication strategy can be reduced to several components. First, a routine communication strategy must be set. This strategy identifies quotidian communication behaviors, for example, meetings that are held, issues that are identified, and the communication of status updates. Second, financial communication should be set. This aspect is important to internal stakeholders, since recovery from a natural disaster places a burden on limited company finances and, as a result, on their ability to earn profit. Questions that this portion of the communication plan addresses are 1. Is the cost of transferring calls to different American call centers aligned with expectations? 2. What are the current costs for repairing the Canadian call center? 3. What is the downtime cost for every day that the Canadian call center cannot take a call? This is not an all-inclusive list of queries. Third, this communication plan should provide updates on risks and issues that are identified during recovery from the natural disaster. This portion of the communication plan is dependent on prior risk registers and reports that were generated. When additional risks are identified or if additional  issues are noted, this portion of the plan identifies the entity that should be notified and updated. Two risks associated are delays in re-building permits and follow-up natural disasters that thwart rebuilding progress. Post-Incident Continuity The goal of this BCP is to ensure that the call center returns to the level of function prior to the natural disaster. To ensure continuity of the business after the natural disaster, the following must take place: 1. Collaboration with external entities to resolve any communication-line issues 2. Restoration of any communication lines managed by the call center 3. Possible repurchasing of office equipment, inclusive of computers 4. Reinstatement of laid-off employees 5. Rehousing of company data onsite 6. Rehousing of customer data onsite 7. Rehousing of financial data onsite 8. Redirection of routed calls back to the Canadian call center Depending on the severity level of the natural disaster, adjustments will have to be made to the Canadian call center’s service-level agreements. The average-speed-of-answer requirement is 95 percent, that is, 95 percent of all incoming calls must be answered within 30 seconds. This level would have to be upwardly adjusted to allot time for call-center homeostasis. Also, depending on the call center’s downtime, there may be an extenuating time period in which there are no statistics to generate. Such a scenario would have an overall negative influence on the achievement of yearly service-level agreements. It may also be conceivable to start to reroute calls back to the Canadian call center in a gradated fashion. For example, if the call center returns to mostly normal functioning in August, it may be helpful to route only 20 percent of normally handled calls back. Doing so allows the target call center to adjust sufficiently to avoid short-circuiting processes designed  for restoration that are already underway. With each successive month, rerouting can increase by 20 percent. Within five months, the call center would handle all the calls it originally handled, and it would do so within the service-level agreement. State Farm previously developed a risk register and attendant risk report to account for such natural disasters. After normative functions have been restored, call-center management, along with any other entities involved in the execution of the restoration project, should hold a lessons-learned session. The purpose of this session is to determine which executions of the restoration project, based on the risks identified before the natural disaster, were successful and which were areas of opportunities. This is a continuous-improvement aim. Adjustments may have to be made to various aspect of the restoration project to better respond to future natural disasters affecting the Canadian call center.

An Analysis of the Poetry of Yeats :: Biography Biographies Essays

An Analysis of Down by the Salley Gardens One of Yeats' poems, Down by the Salley Gardens is a typical story of inexperienced youth in the realm of love. The final two lines hold the key to the theme of the poem: She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. The poem is evidently about the relationship between the narrator and the woman with the "little snow-white feet†¢ and the narrator's failure to be able to cope with that relationship. Whilst she wanted to enjoy herself and "take life easy†¢, he was too "young and foolish†¢ to understand her needs, resulting in them going their separate ways, hence the ?nal line. Down by the Salley Gardens has a number of problems, probably due to it being written at an early point in Yeats' writing career. It lacks the subtlety of his later poems; there really is very little to analyze in terms of the themes and issues raised within. The language is also far simpler - there are no very memorable lines in this poem, whereas his later works contained lines that would eventually enter most people's collective unconscious, such as some of the first few lines of The Second Coming: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The repetition used in the last two lines of each stanza is obvious and overstated, and the bouncy, cheerful rhyme scheme does not seem to compliment the rather downbeat and morose tone of the poem. Down by the Salley Gardens simply lacks the power and depth with which he later infused his poems. The Lake Isle of Innisfree Written only four years after Down by the Salley Gardens, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a remarkable advance. This poem is far more sophisticated in all respects. An immediately noticeable difference between it and the previous poem is its maturity; the themes explored and the techniques used to do so are far more complex and detailed than those used in Down by the Salley Gardens. The central theme is that of exile, and it is portrayed in a somewhat curious way. The narrator longs to live on the island of Innisfree and be closer to nature, hence the lines:

Learning Styles

The process of educating one's self can be a difficult process. That is if you don't understand your habits and the way you learn and absorb information. Luckily in these times educators are becoming more understanding to their students learning habits and are able to adapt to a students learning styles to better educate them. Some may not know in what category of learning style that they are, there are online surveys one can take to find out there learning style strengths.I myself have Just aken a survey and my results are as follows; Visual: 7 Aural: 9 Read/Write: 4 Kinesthetic: 9. Pretty much what this means is that I am good at listening and hands on learner. The survey also provided learning strategies to better help me. I scored strong on the Aural side (Auditory) strategies that were recommended are, Step 1: INTAKE: attend class discussions and tutorials, discuss topics with others and your teachers, explain new ideas to other people, use a tape recorder, pretty much any metho d that is easier for you to â€Å"intake† the information.Step 2: â€Å"SWOT† which means study without tears, convert your notes into a smaller package, as an Aural learner it would be key study with another aural learner like yourself, also have your partner listen to your understanding of the material discussed, and reading your summarized notes aloud to yourself is also key. Step 3: Output, which is how you will use this information on your tests, assignments and examinations. Imagine talking with the examiner or speaking the answers aloud and writing them down, listen to your voice nd write it down, spending your time in a quiet place is also helpful in recalling the information.I also scored strong on the kinesthetic part of the survey, which is someone who needs to experience something to learn from it, or you need to be able to relate to it, something real, or an easy way to remember it is a hands on person. Studying for every learning style uses the same three step process I discussed in paragraph Learning Styles Executive Summary Learning also known as studying usually occurs when some one can demonstrate that he/she knows something that they don’t know before and/or when they can do something they couldn't do before (skills).  Learning is set of skills, and like all other skills one can improve and develop them over time. Therefore it is important spending some time reflecting  on how to learn best, so that once learning can be more efficient and effective. Honey & Mumford's (1986) designed a Learning Style Questionnaire, which has four styles and these styles are Theorist, Activist, Reflector and Pragmatist.  One of the four learning styles described by Honey & Mumford (1986) is what we shall consider in this paper. Reflectors Reflectors like to stand back to ponder experiences and observe them from many different perspectives. They collect data, both first hand and from others, and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion. The thorough collection and analysis of data about experiences and events is what counts so they tend to postpone reaching definitive conclusions for as long as possible. Their philosophy is to be cautious. They are thoughtful people who like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move. They prefer to take a back seat in meetings and discussions. They enjoy observing other people in action. They listen to others and get the drift of the discussion before making their own points. They tend to adopt a low profile and have a slightly distant, tolerant, unruffled air about them. When they act it is part of a wide picture which includes the past as well as the present and others' observations as well as their own. Conclusion Honey and Mumford (1992) define a reflector as one who likes to stand back and ponder experiences from many different angles. They collect data and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion. They tend to be cautious and thoughtful and usually listen to discussions and get the gist of the arguments before making their own points. Once you have identified that the reflector learning style is the one that most closely suit you. You can improve your learning skills following the Honey and Mumford strategies stated in this paper References 1. De Bono, E. (1967) The Use of Lateral Thinking, Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth. 2.   Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1986) The Manual of Learning Styles Peter Honey, Maidenhead, UK. 3.   Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1992) The Manual of Learning Styles, Peter Honey, Maidenhead, UK. Learning Styles The process of educating one's self can be a difficult process. That is if you don't understand your habits and the way you learn and absorb information. Luckily in these times educators are becoming more understanding to their students learning habits and are able to adapt to a students learning styles to better educate them. Some may not know in what category of learning style that they are, there are online surveys one can take to find out there learning style strengths.I myself have Just aken a survey and my results are as follows; Visual: 7 Aural: 9 Read/Write: 4 Kinesthetic: 9. Pretty much what this means is that I am good at listening and hands on learner. The survey also provided learning strategies to better help me. I scored strong on the Aural side (Auditory) strategies that were recommended are, Step 1: INTAKE: attend class discussions and tutorials, discuss topics with others and your teachers, explain new ideas to other people, use a tape recorder, pretty much any metho d that is easier for you to â€Å"intake† the information.Step 2: â€Å"SWOT† which means study without tears, convert your notes into a smaller package, as an Aural learner it would be key study with another aural learner like yourself, also have your partner listen to your understanding of the material discussed, and reading your summarized notes aloud to yourself is also key. Step 3: Output, which is how you will use this information on your tests, assignments and examinations. Imagine talking with the examiner or speaking the answers aloud and writing them down, listen to your voice nd write it down, spending your time in a quiet place is also helpful in recalling the information.I also scored strong on the kinesthetic part of the survey, which is someone who needs to experience something to learn from it, or you need to be able to relate to it, something real, or an easy way to remember it is a hands on person. Studying for every learning style uses the same three step process I discussed in paragraph

Hamlet Soliloquies and Their Analysis

HAMLET’S SOLILOQUIES & THEIR ANALYSIS In the course of the play, Hamlet has seven long soliloquies. The first of these occurs before he has seen the Ghost. In this soliloquy, Hamlet reveals the grief that has been gnawing at his mind. He wishes that religion did not forbid suicide so that he could kill himself and be rid of this grief. He feels disillusioned with the world. â€Å"How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world†. He deplores (condemns) the fact that his mother should have remarried barely two months after the death of her first husband. This soliloquy shows Hamlet’s meditative nature. It also reveals his filial attachment to his dead father whom he speaks highly, and his scorn of his uncle to whom he refers in disparaging terms. His references to Hyperion, Niobe and Hercules show him to be well versed in classical literature. We also note his generalizing tendency when says: â€Å"Frailty thy name is woman;† Resolution to avenge his father’s murder. Hamlet’s second soliloquy comes just after the Ghost leaves him, after charging him with the duty of taking revenge upon the murderer of his father. Hamlet resolves to wipe out everything else from his memory and to remember only Ghost’s command. The manner in which Hamlet here speaks of never forgetting into action and carry out the behest (request) of the Ghost. The Ghost’s revelation has stunned him and he refers to his mother as â€Å"a most pernicious woman† and to his uncle as a â€Å"smiling damned villain†. We again note his generalizing tendency when he says that â€Å"one may smile, and smile, and be a villain†. Self reproach: In his third soliloquy, Hamlet bitterly scolds himself for having failed to execute his revenge so far, he calls himself â€Å"a dull and muddy mettled rascal† for his failure, accusing himself of being â€Å"pigeon livered†, an ass who â€Å" like a whore† can only unpack his heart with words and â€Å"And fall a-cursing, like a very drab†. He refers to his uncle as a â€Å"bloody bawdy villain; remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindles illain†. He then dwells upon his plan to stage a play (The Mouse Trap), saying: â€Å"the the play ‘s the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king† In other words, Hamlet now seeks a confirmation of the Ghost’s charge against Claudius. This is rather strange, because it has taken him long to doubt the authenticity of the Ghost’s version. It is obv ious that Hamlet is more a philosopher and less a man of action. On the Horns of Dilemma. Hamlet fourth soliloquy, his most famous and most celebrated, is the most philosophical of all. To be, or not to be: that is the question†. Hamlet asks himself whether it is noble to suffer the cruelties of fate silently or to put up a fight against the misfortunes of life. It would be better perhaps â€Å"to commit suicide† if death were to mean a total extinction of consciousness. But the fear of what may happen to us after death, make us endure the ills and injustices of life. This soliloquy, more than any other reveals the speculative temperament of Hamlet, his irresolute and wavering mind, and his incapacity for any premeditated action of a momentous nature. His catalogue of the misfortunes of life once again shows his generalizing habit of thought. This soliloquy partly explains Hamlet’s delay in carrying out his purpose, and shows at the same time the mental torture that he has been undergoing because of that delay. We here see a sensitive, reflective person compelled to face situation with which he unable to cope. Decision to â€Å"speak daggers† to his motherIn his fifth soliloquy, Hamlet describes his mood as one in which he could â€Å"drink hot blood, an do such bitter business as the day would quake to look on†. In this mood he can even kill his mother, but he would not follow Nero’s example: â€Å"Let me be cruel, not unnatural†. He therefore decides to â€Å"speak daggers† to his mother but use none. We can well realize Hamlet’s story resentment against his mother but we also know that the man who has not been able to kill his uncle will be incapable of killing his mother because, apart the fact of her marriage, she has done nothing to deserve that punishment. Evading the responsibility. Hamlet’s sixth soliloquy shows him shrinking from an act for which he has long been preparing and for which he now gets an excellent opportunity. Hamlet’s reason for not killing his uncle at this moment is that the uncle is at prayers and that by killing him at such a time Hamlet would be sending him straight to heaven. Hamlet decides to wait for an opportunity when his uncle is â€Å"drink asleep, or in his rage, or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed, at gaming, swearing, or about some act that has no relish of salvation in it†. Obviously, Hamlet is evading a responsibility which he has fully accepted. His reasoning here is nothing but a piece of casuistry (misleadingly subtle reasoning). Thus Hamlet’s tendency to procrastination is further emphasized in this soliloquy Self Reproach Again. Hamlet’s last soliloquy is again full of self reproach: â€Å"How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge! † Three part of his failure, he says are due to cowardice, and only one part due to wisdom. It is to be deplored (condemned) that he only lives yet to say: â€Å"This thing’s to do (meaning his purpose is yet to be accomplished). A man is no better than a beast, if he is content with feeding and sleeping. Hamlet’s dilatoriness is due to â€Å"bestial oblivions†, or to â€Å"some craven (cowardly) scruple (hesitation) of thinking too precisely on the event†. Having rebuke himself in strong terms, Hamlet forms the following resolve: â€Å"O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! † This soliloquy, once again emphasizes Hamlet’s irresolution and his meditative temperament. His conscience keeps pricking him and urging him to revenge, but a natural deficiency always obstructs him. His generalizing and universalizing tendency too is seen here once again † What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. † The idea of delay emphasized by the soliloquies. Hamlet’s soliloquies are foremost in bringing the idea of his delay to our notice. The stress on delay shows also Hamlet’s preoccupation with his role. His life is one to be lived under the imposition (burden) of a great task which he seems unable to fulfill. Excessively speculative, irresolute, scholarly poetic. The soliloquies of Hamlet undoubtedly throw a flood of light on his character and personality. A soliloquy is a device by which Shakespeare reveals to us the inner working of a character’s mind, the secret thoughts and cogitations (meditations) of a character’s mind, the deepest recess of a character’s soul. Hamlet’s soliloquies surely serve that purpose. These soliloquies not only reveal that Hamlet is given to excessive speculations and that he is therefore unfit to carry out the task assigned to him, but also unable to understand his reasons for delaying his revenge. Furthermore, these soliloquies show Hamlet's poetic eloquence. Each soliloquy by him is a masterpiece, not only as regards its philosophic content but also as regards its style and expression. They show Hamlet to be a scholar, a philosopher, and a poet. . Nothing about his relations with Ophelia in these soliloquies. Introspective as he is, Hamlet is constantly analyzing himself inwardly. He is for even looking into himself, delving into his own nature, to seek an explanation' for this or for that, and giving vent to his dissatisfaction, discontent, or frustration. In one important respect, however, these soliloquies do not express Hamlet's mind. In none of these soliloquies does he speak of his feelings or thoughts about Ophelia. While he speaks a good deal about his uncle and, his mother, he says nothing about Ophelia. The result is that so far as his relations with Ophelia arc concerned, we have to depend only on external evidence. Three powers of the soul dramatized. According to one critic, the first six soliloquies of Hamlet' dramatize the three powers of the soul – namely , memory; understanding, and will – and show how his memory and understanding are opposed to his will, while the seventh soliloquy is concerned with all three powers of the soul though-â€Å"the battle in Hamlet's mind is never decided at a conscious level. Over-analysis of motives. The soliloquies of Hamlet deepen Hamlet's tragic character by portraying him as a â€Å"thinking† man. His excessive introspection checks action by too curious a consideration of the need and justice of . the action contemplated. The soliloquies contain an over-analysis  ·of the motives of the action that is required of him. His mind weighs all that may conceivably be said for and against the course proposed.

Nomination Process for Supreme Court Justices

Nomination Process for Supreme Court Justices The nomination process for Supreme Court justices begins with the departure of a sitting member of the high court, whether by retirement or death. It is then up to the president of the United States to nominate a replacement to the court, and the U.S. Senate to vet and confirm his choice.  The nomination process for Supreme Court justices is among the most important obligations on presidents and members of the Senate, in part because members of the court are appointed for life. They dont get second chances to make the right choice.   The U.S. Constitution gives the president and the Senate this vital role. Article II, Section 2, clause 2 states that the President â€Å"shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court.† Not all Presidents have the opportunity to name someone to the court. There are nine Justices, including the chief justice, and one is replaced only when he or she retires or dies. Forty-two presidents have made nominations to the Supreme Court. The president with the most nominations was George Washington, who had 13, with 10 of those being confirmed. The President’s Selection As the president considers who to nominate, investigations of possible nominees begin. The investigations include a probe into a person’s private background by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as an examination of the person’s public record and writings. The list of possible nominees is narrowed, with the goal being to ensure that a nominee has nothing in his or her background that would prove embarrassing and to guarantee that the president selects someone likely to be confirmed. The president and his staff also study which nominees agree with the president’s own political views and which ones would make the president’s supporters happy. Often a president confers with Senate leaders and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee before selecting a nominee. This way the president receives a heads-up on any potential problems a nominee may face during confirmation. The names of possible nominees may be leaked to the press to gauge the support and opposition to different possible nominees. At some point, the president announces the selection, often with great fanfare and the nominee present. The nomination then is sent to the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee Since the end of the Civil War almost every Supreme Court nomination received by the Senate has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee does its own investigation. A nominee is asked to fill out a questionnaire that includes questions about his or her background and to fill out financial disclosure documents. The nominee also will make courtesy calls to various senators, including party leaders and members of the Judiciary Committee. At the same time, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary begins evaluating the nominee based on his or her professional qualifications. Ultimately, the committee votes on whether a nominee is â€Å"well-qualified,† â€Å"qualified,† or â€Å"not qualified.† The Judiciary Committee then holds hearings during which the nominee and supporters and opponents testify. Since 1946 almost all hearings have been public, with most lasting more than four days. The president’s administration often trains a nominee before these hearings to ensure that the nominee does not embarrass himself or herself. Judiciary Committee members may ask nominees about their political views and backgrounds. Since these hearings receive a great deal of publicity, senators may attempt to score their own political points during the hearings Following the hearings, the Judiciary Committee meets and votes on a recommendation to the Senate. The nominee may receive a favorable recommendation, a negative recommendation or the nomination may be reported to the entire Senate with no recommendation. The Senate The Senate majority party controls the Senate agenda, so it is up to the majority leader to determine when a nomination is brought to the floor. There is no time limit on debate, so if a senator wants to conduct a filibuster to hold up a nomination indefinitely, he or she may do so. At some point, the minority leader and majority leader may reach a time agreement on how long a debate will last. If not, the nominee’s supporters in the Senate may attempt to end debate on the nomination. That vote requires 60 Senators to agree to end debate. Often there is no filibuster of a Supreme Court nomination. In those cases, a debate is held on the nomination and then a vote is taken by the Senate. A majority of voting senators must approve the presidents choice for the nominee to be confirmed. Once confirmed, a nominee is sworn into the position of justice of the Supreme Court. A justice actually takes two oaths: the constitutional oath that is taken by members of Congress and other federal officials, and a judicial oath. Key Takeaways: How a U.S. Supreme Court Justice is Nominated Step 1: A sitting justice retires or dies, leaving a vacancy on the bench.Step 2: The president nominates a candidate to replace the departing justice.Step 3: The nominee is vetted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Step 4: The Senate Judiciary Committee conducts its own investigation and hearings with the nominee. It will then take a vote on whether to send the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. If the committee does not approve of the nominee, the candidate is dropped from consideration.Step 5: If the Senate Judiciary Committee approves, the full Senate votes on the nomination. If a majority of the 100-member Senate approves, the nominee ascends to the U.S. Supreme Court.

QUIZ What grade you should teach based on your personality

QUIZ What grade you should teach based on your personality Becoming a teacher is such a rewarding fulfilling career. Teachers have the ability to make learning fun with creative spins on new concepts, constantly learning, and being able to still enjoy having summers off. As a teacher, you inspire and impact the lives of many children. Thinking about becoming a teacher but not quite sure what grade you should teach? This quiz is perfect to help you decide what grade you should teach based on your personality.Source [ Playbuzz ]

Acquisition of Northrop Grumman Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Acquisition of Northrop Grumman - Term Paper Example The primary objective of this paper is to recognize the overall structure of the company and whether acquiring it in order to obtain the company’s technological patent rights is a profitable venture or not. This paper has been formed by also considering the long-term future perspectives of the firm. Northrop Grumman was formed in the year 1994, by way of the purchase by Northrop. It is headquartered in Virginia, United States (Northrop Grumman, 2014). Northrop Grumman is one of the largest companies dealing in defense and aerospace technology. The main business sectors of the company are Aerospace systems, Electronic systems, Information systems and Technical services. The core values on which the firm is based on are quality, customer satisfaction, leadership as a company and as individuals, integrity in all actions as well as valuing employees and suppliers as effective members of the firm. Excellence, speed, collaboration and open communication are some of the key elements of behavior observed in this company. The firm gives adequate importance to its corporate responsibilities, ethics and business conduct. It uses advanced technology to deliver the best performance and to provide high-quality service for clients located across the globe. The security solutions provided by Northrop Grumman are highly innovative and is developed keeping in mind the importance of security and freedom for nations worldwide. Delivering such service is considered by them as not only a part of business goals but also a moral responsibility. Such values and philosophies make this company stand tall. Northrop Grumman aims at delivering technology solutions at maximized cost efficiency. They also pay attention towards developing innovative technical solutions for which they have formed an effective team of researchers and scientists who work towards discovering new and effective ways of dealing with aerospace and defense.

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Business Strategy - Essay Example Thus, the goal of this paper is to identify and recommend specific measures on how the proposed transition in ownership can be best managed with the interest of both parties in mind. This paper will primarily answer the biggest issues that Walden and Able faces which includes their different strategies and success metrics. How would you reconcile Ables need for building market share (long-term strategic business objective) with Waldens drive for year-to year quarterly increases in sales and pretax profit (short-term, corporate objective)? The current strategy of Able is building market in order to efficiently distribute costs. The business organization believes that in order to be successful in its industry, in needs to capture most of the market. The strategy can be seen as a long-term business objective. On the other hand, Walden pursues a short term corporate objective of increasing its quarterly income and pre-tax profits. At the first look, these two strategies seem to be in direct contrast with each other. For one, the focus of Walden is in the short run while Able is concern in the long term. However, looking more closely, both of these strategies can be simultaneously pursued as they will be bringing in the same results for the two business organizations which is growth. It can be argued that establishing the quarterly goal of revenue and profit increases can be attained through revamping the whole operation of Able and in the long run can help it earn a sizable share in the market. Walden’s acquisition of Able can be largely help the latter to pursue its goal of increasing market share and record sales and profit increases each quarter. It should be noted that aside from circular saws, Able’s products are only able to corner no more than 3% of the market. This is amidst the fact that there is a large and growing

Response & Recovery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response & Recovery - Essay Example After doing this, the second step I need to do is to perceive imposing hazards that can affect the safety of the people and the environment. This entails securing the area to prevent accidents and further casualties, which might eventually lead to evacuation of people or residents within and around the area of disaster; as well as the potential hazards that rescue personnel and the affected community may face (Emergency Management Institute – FEMA, n.d.). The following step that I need to do after the first two aforementioned steps have been undertaken is to set up initial priorities and urgent supply necessities which take on the need to process requirements in terms of equipment, personnel, facilities and supplies that will support the activities for response and recovery operations. This phase of the operation is quite critical because everybody involved needs to be on an equal footing that puts strict compliance to having personnel who are trained for such situations with knowledge in the use of common terminology pertaining to incident amenities; the position or title of designated supervisors/heads; the role of each present organization within the recovery operations; and the description of resources. ... It is vital to the whole operation that a chain and unity of command is established before the whole operation actually proceeds. This will enable every individual involved to report to a selected supervisor that I will be assigning, thus eliminating the possibility of being given several contradictory orders that can affect the smooth flow of communication and field work. Having a unity of command allows different agencies (local, state or federal) to work as a cohesive unit and effectively mete out the desired services as expected. There is also an essential need for responders to have and know entrance and exit routes, making the staging area an efficient workplace for everybody (Emergency Management Institute – FEMA, n.d.). Parallel to the abovementioned paragraph is the organization of priorities which I will do. The first priority is always the safety of all the personnel involved in the operation since another loss of life or another casualty may undermine the self-conf idence and self-esteem of the staff. Making the place of the incident safe from further damage is the second priority to do away with accidents and further loss of lives. The third priority is the preservation of property, where relief operation personnel implements procedures to safeguard possessions within the vicinity of the disaster (Emergency Management Institute – FEMA, n.d.). Likewise, I need to be very specific about the goals of the operation that must be finished within a specified timeframe or period. The goals must be realistic and feasible; and must be within the authority that was vested on me as Incident Commander (Emergency Management Institute – FEMA, n.d.). Additionally it is

Information System In Allied Bank

Information System In Allied Bank Allied bank was the first bank to be established in Pakistan. It started out in Lahore by the name Australasia Bank before independence in 1942; was renamed Allied Bank of Pakistan Limited in 1974 and then Allied Bank Limited in 2005. Allied Bank was the first Muslim bank to have been established in Pakistan. Established in December 1942 as the Australasia Bank in Lahore with a paid-up share capital of Rs. 0.12 million under the Chairmanship of Khawaja Bashir Bux, the Bank attracted deposits equivalent to Rs. 0.431 million in its first eighteen months of business. Today, with its existence of over 60 years, the Bank has built itself a foundation with a strong equity, assets and deposit base. At the time, the Banks total assets amounted to Rs. 0.572 million. Today, Allied Banks paid up Capital Reserves amount to Rs. 10.5 billion, deposits exceed Rs. 143 billion and total assets equal Rs. 170 billion. It offers universal banking services, while placing major emphasis on retail banking. The Bank also has the largest network of over 800 online branches in Pakistan and offers various technology-based products and services to its diverse clientele. Vision: To become a dynamic and efficient bank providing integrated solutions and the first choice of bank for all customers. Mission: To provide high tech innovative solutions to meet customer requirements To create sustainable value through growth, efficiency and diversity for all stake holders To provide a challenging work environment, and reward dedicated team members To play a proactive role in contributing towards the society Values: Integrity Excellence in service High performance Innovation and growth Areas of Business: Allied bank is operating in all major cities of Pakistan. It has a network of 700 branches. Information Systems at Allied Bank Limited Information systems used at ABL differ from department to department and complete specifications of systems used in Customer Retail Banking Department will be mentioned in the later part of the report however, the IS used in Allied bank serves the common purpose of faster communication between all stake holders, updating of transactions process on daily basis, provision of better customer service, faster execution of data, easier access and communication to the central branch and other branches countrywide etc. However, Allied Bank used manual systems before 2002. The reasons for making the shift to automated information systems are summarized below: The need for converting from manual to automated systems: Personnel at Allied Bank are of the view that both manual and automated systems are effective ways of message entry and transmission but manual data systems have certain cons as compared to their counterpart the automated data systems. Manual data systems are slow and tedious as compared to automated systems. Moreover, there are more chances of human error occurring in the usage of manual systems as compared to automated systems and this error removing is crucial to the efficient functioning of the Allied Bank. Moreover, manual data systems are less secure and tampering with data is possible via their use and to minimize that risk Allied bank shifted to the use of automated Data systems in 2002. Moreover, Mr. Shahzad Shahid, Product Manager-Liabilities, was of the view that this change will result in cost reduction in the long run. Management Information System used at ABL The MIS used at Allied bank Limited is Oracle Database 10g. Oracle Data base 10g has completely transformed the outlook and operations of ABL. It has transformed the structure such that now ABLs IS does not consist of fragmented machineries working individually to attain goals but they now function as a fused collection of servers, storage devices, and systems to meet the changing processing needs of ABL. This resulted in dramatic cost reduction, overall efficiency and enhancement in the quality of customer service. It has also reduced hardware costs by efficient networking and amalgamating of functions performed by various servers and systems. Cost reduction also took place because Oracle 10g eliminated the need for the purchases and upgrading of management softwares and tools and third party interventions as it was a complete management solution in itself. Oracle 10g also enabled Allied Bank Limited in efficient and wider data base storage, high and faster accessibility of data, faster performance, secure data transferring and cheaper application development. Salient features of Oracle 10g from which ABL is benefiting from are described below in great detail:  [1]   Oracle 10g served as a very attractive investment for Allied Bank Limited as it cut down significant costs of Allied Bank on hardware because Oracle 10g provide the technology of Oracle Real Application Clusters which enabled the creation of communication clusters via use of just 3-4 PCs which become more easier to administer and run and are more efficient as compared to functioning of sole systems. Oracle 10g also enabled Allied Bank to cut down its costs on storage devices which prove to be a big cost for banks to store humongous amounts of daily transactions and data. However, this problem was solved by the use of Oracles automatic storage management which not only enabled the pooling of PCs but also enabled pooling of storage devices to the communication cluster as per required. This choice of addition of storage devices to clusters made the data transformation, collection and storage cheaper, easier and efficient. Oracle 10g has enabled Allied bank to save on its database management costs as its database administration is either completely automatic or much uncomplicated. This has enabled Allied bank to save its costs on the training of new database managers. Oracle 10g has its own cluster administration softwares which monitor, manage the performance of clusters and thus eliminates the needs for extra utility and program softwares. Oracle uses Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control and Management Packs to monitor clusters performance efficiently. Oracle 10g uses GUI tools and utilities for increasing the power and efficiency of the clusters. Oracle 10g also introduces self-administration in the databases through use of programs such as Automatic Storage Management, Automatic Memory Management, Automatic Optimizer Statistics Collection, Automatic Workload Repository, Automatic Database Diagnostics Monitor, Automatic SQL Tuning, Segment Advisor, Automatic Workload Management, Automatic Disk-Based Backup and Recovery to meet the changing processing, data transforming and storing demands. Thus, Allied Bank has benefited greatly from its shift from Manual systems to the automated Oracle 10g system. The benefits reaped are unparalleled in terms of cost reduction, efficiency, data disseminating and decision making. Allied Bank in addition to the use of Oracle 10g uses softwares such as Unibank, however it is planning to change its banking software from Unibank to Temenos t-24 in the mid of 2010. Shift from Unibank to Temenos T-24 When Allied bank shifted to automated Information Systems in 2002, it started using softwares such as UNIBANK .This software held answers to the management of all the chaos created by the use of manual systems.  [2]  Unibank was a branch centric cash management software which held answers to the banking problems of the time thus it was called the core banking solution. Unibank gave faster and safe electronic access to banking transactions and functions. Unibank enabled Allied Bank to: Evaluate the latest record of all account transactions taking place in the branch Exchange information with other departments of the branch such as finance and accounting Monitoring and management of deposits and withdrawals simultaneously Electronic transfer of data from one branch to another Provision of e-statements for the employees making their jobs easier. Secure data control and transfer. Electronic monitoring and management of employee payrolls Need for Temenos T-24 Although Unibank seemed to be the answer to all the banking problems at that time however due to changing technological trends, higher uncertainty in the environment, shift towards centralized functioning and policies, Allied Bank has decided to shift from Unibank to Temenos T-24. The reason being that, Unibank was branch centric software and due to this reason data could be lost or misplaced if server crashed at any particular branch. Moreover, considering the uncertain political situation in Pakistan, there was high possibility of raids and fires and due to this the threat of data loss was eminent thus a shift is being planned and implemented from Unibank to Temenos T-24 as we speak. This shift will be implemented in all the branches countrywide within a period of 6 months. The reason for shifting to Temenos T-24 is that it is centralized software with the central server in Kashmir Road Branch in Lahore. This central server acts as a hub and daily transmissions are not only recorded in branches but in the central hub too, thus making the information more secure. Moreover, designated user ids/passwords, bio-metric systems add to the security of information. All the transactions and operation take place in real time. Policies are designed at the central server in Lahore and are applicable to all the branches country wide thus making the operations uniform and consistent in all the branches.  [3]   Temenos T-24 in addition to providing all the functions that Unibank provided, offers a more secure platform and new and efficient data bases. Moreover, Temenos T-24 is partners with Microsoft and has adopted MS platform to make the functioning of the software more user-friendly and easy. Moreover, one of the reasons for adopting Temenos T24 by ABL is that its cost of owner ship is very cheap as compared to the benefits it provides. Moreover, it uses established programs such as HTTP, XML so that functioning it not an entirely new experience but adds on to the previous knowledge of the employees. Moreover, it has an edge over Unibank as it eliminates the need for end-of-day banking and is a true 24/7 banking system, which heaves away burden from the employees and enables employees and customers to access updated information at all times. Department: Commercial and Retail Banking Overview The Commercial Retail Banking Group (CRBG) offers a variety of asset and liability-based retail products to its customers. The Groups main focus has been on introducing various financing and investment products for its valuable clients, and contributing to the steady growth of the financial industry. CRBG consists of 4 geographic groups and is further divided across 27 regions in Pakistan. Each region is responsible for providing a quality service to its own customer-base. In recent years, the Group has been working to find alternate ways to bank for customers, and has installed more ATMs to its already strong and largest ATM network. The department offers the following product and services to its customers Internet Banking Online Banking Profit Rates ATM Network Unclaimed Deposits Deposit Account SME Agriculture Other Services Corporate Leasing The department has a total of 6000 employees all over Pakistan, the information flow and the data transfer rate thus is very high and poses a great challenge for the Information System of the department to maintain and keep it secure. Functional Hierarchy of the Department Technical specifications Allied Bank after its privatization has been following a pro I.T policy. The switch from the manual system to a more automated Information System requires certain infrastructure (PCs, Softwares etc) and ABL in this regard didnt compromise on quality; they have a contract with Digital World Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. (DWP) to provide state of the art computers with the best softwares to run the M.I.S system. The CRBG dept of ABL has the following I.T infrastructure: Hardware Specifications Personal computers- 14 in total Consisting of 9 desktop PCs and 5 laptops Desktop PCs Specs: Intel Pentium 4 2.5ghz, 512MB RAM, 80 GB hard-disk Laptop PCs Specifications: Intel Dual Core2 2Ghz, 2gb RAM, 160GB Hard-disk HP Printers 3 in total 2 HP LaserJet 1010 Colored Printers, 1 HP Desk-jet Black and white printer HP Digital Scanner IBM P5 Mainframe Server Specifications: Four 1.65GHz 64-bit POWER5 processors L2 cache: 1.9MB (2-way); 3.8MB (4-way) L3 cache: 36MB (2-way); 72MB (4-way) 32GB of 266MHz DDR1 memory Two 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports Optional 2 Gigabit Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 4x InfiniBand ® adapters Two USB, two HMC and two system ports Software Specifications Application Software CRBG department Employees uses the following application softwares; Microsoft Office 2007 2010 McAfee Anti-Virus 2010 Adobe Reader 8 System Software The departments computers were found to be using the following system softwares; Operating System: Windows XP for Desk-top PCs and Windows Vista for the Laptops. Windows NT server for mainframe server. Core Banking Solution The software currently in use is UNIBANK, however T24 has been introduced in one branch in LAHORE. Query Software ABL employees generate queries through these softwares, for example if I want to view a customers demographics I will put in a query in the Discoverer Viewer which will then seek the data from the Central Database Discoverer Viewer It is just for viewing of data, Discoverer PLUS The queries here can even be edited and employees have limited access to this software Network Type Allied bank is using the client/server network because the employees easily share the data and its cheaper than others and maintainable. All the data is saved in Central Database (CBS) and employees can easily access it. This type of computing system provides an easy access and efficient flow of data, which increase the functionality of organization. End-User and training In this era of cut-throat competition and diminishing profit margins Banks are becoming more lean, service oriented and efficient. As mentioned before Banks in order to keep this trend of efficiency going upward are adopting new information systems and updating the existing ones however one barrier to this are the employees, there is already a shortage of computer literate people in Pakistan and for this reason when new softwares or In our case a new CORE BANKNG SOLUTION is introduced it requires rigorous training session to train the employees so that they are able to use the software. The effectiveness of core banking systems is directly related to the skills and knowledge of those operating them; therefore training is an essential investment and not an expense. The training session have been divided into three stages When we talk of the end user its the employees themselves here, they use the information available and make different queries accordingly as mentioned before currently the Core Banking Solution (CBS) namely Unibank is being change to Temenos and this requires that the support and operations staff be trained to use this CBS. For this reason different training sessions have been organized by the Bank and the Temenos technical team itself. Apart from this Temenos, to support the contracted BANKS, also provides the following courses to their employees: Open Training Courses Bespoke Training courses End User Training (EUT) Training consultancy for design and development of EUT courses eLearning and Computer Based Training (CBT) The Train the Trainer approach The benefits of attending these training programs include dedicated premises and training equipment, and the added advantage of minimizing interruptions for the duration of training course. Information Intakes and Flow CRBG has information flow daily from all over Pakistan, the department has the responsibility to effectively manage the liabilities of the Bank. The information accessible by this department through the Information system includes: Daily Monitoring of Deposits The deposits intakes and off takes during the day Maintaining a minimum balance of funds ATM monitoring Monitoring the downtime of each ATM Monitoring which area has a consistent network/server issues Customer Demographics ABLs information system is linked to NADRAs system for verification of Customers IDs CRBG has access to all the information of its customers and employees as it is responsible for managing the liabilities section Account Opening Run Rate The accounts opened each day along with their balances Employee Check in Check out time Through monitoring of this data employee efficiency can also be measured. Query Regarding an Employee Employee Record Information Flow We observe TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEM functional in this department apart from the Office Automation Systems, all the activities and transactions done throughout the chain of command in this department is recorded first at the Branch level then after EODs (End of Day) are Run all the data of that days transactions are transferred to the ORACLE CENTRAL DATABASE located in ABL HEAD-QUARTERS LAHORE. Real-time Monitoring is being done of this information flow by the department, once the days information is saved in the ORACLE CENTRAL DATABASE in their respected fields and tables, it can be accessed through the DISCOVERER VIEWER/PLUS Software the next day by creating a query for it. Issues with the Information System To function effectively as an interacting, interrelated, and interdependent feeDatabase Administratorck tool for management and staff, MIS must be useable. The five elements of a useable MIS system are: timeliness, accuracy, consistency, completeness, and relevance. The usefulness of MIS is hindered whenever one or more of these elements are compromised. The IS at Allied Bank, although effective to a great extent, has certain weaknesses as we found out: From a branch centered approach, the bank has moved to a centralized system. Transactions at the branches, previously used to be stored and processed at the branches only. It was only at the day end, that all data and information was relayed to the head office. Now, however, this practice has changed. Branches only facilitate interactions with customers, whereas the information is directly send to the head office and is processed there in real time. The problem with this is the time lag that results subsequently. Data flow from the point of transaction to the head office, back to the point of transaction is a longer and hence a slower process. Also the security procedures inbuilt in the new software, Temenos, make processing slower. In the new IS, cash transactions taking place go from a Temenos account head to a buffer account and then to the customers account. Previously, the cash transactions were directly debited/ credited to the customer account. Buffer accounts created, although increase the overall security; make the processing of data slower. Too much reliance on information systems also means that in the scenario when server crashes down, or gets hanged, banking transactions will be completely disrupted. Security Measures and Backup One of the major concerns of organizations using information technology to carry out their business processes is how to secure the data against internal and external threats. With modern advancements, mitigating information security threats has become an ongoing battle. Viruses, worms, hacker attacks, spam, phishing, and instant messaging attacks are just some of the problems. Data bank faces risk of security breaches not only at the hands of customers and outsiders, but also from the employees working within the organization. Therefore it is highly crucial to build security parameters to detect whatsoever threats there might be and also to ensure data safety. At Allied Bank, data security is the thing that cannot be compromised at all. For this reason, the MIS department has taken stringent measures to ensure data security. The Corporate and Retail Department which deals primarily in confidential data of bank customers has taken numerous steps to avert security threats. Employees have individual Ids and passwords that they use to log-in to the system database. But this does not mean that all the employees have same access to the data and information. There are proper hierarchy levels: which implies that there are gatekeepers at each level, supervising who access what data! Password protection is there to prevent just everybody from viewing confidential data. Moreover, Allied Bank uses SSL certified encryption to secure its data channels. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral. SSL is an industry standard and is used in the protection of online transactions with customers. Encryption of data exchanged by customers and the bank ensures that data security, even if breached on its way, will make decrypting and understanding the data difficult. Anti-virus and anti-spam packages like McAfee Anti-Virus are also installed to secure data against viruses, spam, etc. There is also a Disaster Recovery System in place, in case of fire, raids, and other unforeseen and unexpected events. The backups are stored at both hot and cold sites. The head office in Lahore is the hot site. It is the central database of Allied Bank where all the transactions taking place in the eight hundred or so branches are recorded and updated on a real time basis. The cold sites are at the twenty seven regional offices all over Pakistan. These cold sites are updated at appropriate intervals, on a weekly basis sometimes. In accordance with the State Bank of Pakistan regulation, data and information of three years is stored and maintained at these cold sites. Also, USBs are widely used as potable storage devices. Future Plans Allied bank is planning to replace the current Core Business Solution Uni Bank with Temenos. This transformation is in its phase I. The software is being tested in one branch near the Head Office in Lahore. This testing phase will end on June 30th. Training of employees is being conducted and further more sessions are in the pipeline Allied bank plans to introduce Temenos in 107 branches out of the whole network of 800 braches within six months. Implementation in further branches is still unplanned. Allied Bank has opened its branch in Kashmir and plans to extend its network and reach in the remote areas of the country. Recommendations The disaster recovery system at Allied Bank is inappropriate to bear the load of 800 branches. There is one common hot site of all the branches at the Head Office and cold sites at the regional offices, 27 in number. But we feel that these backups are too less, keeping the current security scenario in view where banks have even been raided and burned by mobs. Therefore the backups should be set up at places other than the bank branches. The training period for a batch of 50 people is three weeks on average. We feel that this is insufficient as the new banking system Temenos has far complex procedures as the user interface is not friendly. Proper temperature controls are needed for the server to operate efficiently. We feel that the current infrastructure is insufficient to support the system. References http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/topics/0,295493,sid14_tax299811,00.html http://tldp.org/HOWTO/SSL-Certificates-HOWTO/x64.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster_recovery http://info.ssl.com/article.aspx?id=10241 http://www.occ.treas.gov/handbook/mis.pdf http://www.temenos.com http://www.abl.com.pk http://www.oracle.com