Tuesday, November 26, 2019
8 smart things you need to do the night before your job interview
8 smart things you need to do the night before your job interview Pop quiz, hotshot: it’s the night before your big job interview. What should you be doing to get yourself ready? Know where you’re going.This is probably the most important thing you can do before your job interview. Nothing sends your brain into panic mode (and gets the interview off on the wrong foot) like feeling lost and worrying you’re going to be late. The night before, make sure you’ve got a planned route ready to go in Google Maps, or Waze, or whatever your favorite navigation app is. If you’re going to be using public transportation, check the schedules and look for notifications about planned changes, updated timetables, etc. If you’re driving, look for signs of construction or traffic delays. That way you can plan to leave earlier if necessary.Get your paperwork together.You should bring a copy of your resume, as well as any notes you want to bring with you. If they’re assembled the night before and placed with your bag or y our keys, you’re less likely to forget to bring something important.Assemble the interview outfit.If you have a go-to interview outfit that is clean, pressed, and ready to go, you’re ahead of the game. If you’re not sure yet what you’re going to wear- well, it’s a little late, but you’ve still got time. Take 15 minutes to review your suit or outfit and your shoes, and make sure that a) everything is clean, and b) there are no hanging threads or wrinkles.Rehearse your body language.If you have a trusted audience (a significant other, a family member, a friend), run through your best handshake-and-smile routine. Have the other person ask you a few test run questions, and ask the other person to note any posture or demeanor issues- bonus points if you get the person to engage in some generic small talk/banter to get you ready for that as well.Even if you don’t have a trusted audience, you can still prep- you’ve got a mirror, right ? You can practice your easy interview smile and your â€Å"ask me about my accomplishments†sitting posture. Believe it or not, just putting some thought into where you put your hands or how you cross your legs can help you feel more at ease the next day.Rehearse your talking points.Sure, the interviewer is going to have your resume in front of them, but neither of you wants you to just run verbatim through the document. Come up with specific, real-world examples for the points on your resume and be prepared to talk about them. You probably already did some practice questions, but take the time to review the points you really want to hit in the interview.Do a last sweep for information about the company.Visit the company’s website and social media profiles to see what’s going on at the company in real time. It can give you background information to use during your interview (â€Å"Ah yes, I saw that you just had an intriguing breakthrough in widget production last week!†). But it can also save you from making an awkward mistake (â€Å"Good thing your own CEO hasn’t been indicted for insider trading. What? Oh, I didn’t see that news last night.†)Set your alarm.I’m setting this as a separate to-do because it’s so important if you have a morning interview. You want to make sure you have time to get ready in the morning, without being late for the interview. So if you have to be up at a specific time to allow timely prep and travel, set your alarm. Set two alarms. (I believe in not messing around here, especially if you’re not a morning person.)Get plenty of sleep.I know, it’s a clichà ©, but it’s true. More sleep leads to better cognitive function, and you want to be at your very best. Sure, coffee can help, but not nearly as much as genuine rest. Go to bed as early as you can.And at every step of your night-before prep, don’t forget to be positive about the whole thing. You’ve got this, and every proactive thing you do the night before will make your interview even better.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
How to Make Nylon - Nylon Synthesis
How to Make Nylon - Nylon Synthesis Nylon is a polymer you can make yourself in the lab. A strand of nylon rope is pulled from the interface between two liquids. The demonstration sometimes is called the nylon rope trick because you can pull a continuous rope of nylon from the liquid indefinitely. Close examination of the rope will reveal that is is a hollow polymer tube. Nylon Materials a solution made from 6 g sebacoyl chloride in 70 ml heptanea solution made from 3 g 1,6-diaminohexane in 70 ml watermetal tweezers or forceps Make Nylon Use equal volumes of the two solutions. Tilt the beaker containing the 1,6-diaminohexane solution and slowly pour the sebacoyl chloride solution down the side of the beaker so that it forms the top layer.Dip tweezers into the interface of the liquids and pull them up to form a strand of nylon. Continue to pull the tweezers away from the beaker to lengthen the strand. You may wish to wrap the nylon rope around a glass rod.Rinse the nylon with water, ethanol or methanol to remove the acid from the nylon. Be sure to rinse the nylon before handling it or storing it. How the Nylon Rope Trick Works Nylon is the name given to any synthetic polyamide. Acyl chloride from any dicarboxylic acid reacts via a substitution reaction with any amine to form a nylon polymer and HCl. Safety and Disposal The reactants are irritating to the skin, so wear gloves throughout the procedure. Remaining liquid should be mixed to form nylon. The nylon should be washed prior to disposal. Any unreacted liquid should be neutralized prior to washing it down the drain. If the solution is basic, add sodium bisulfate. If the solution is acidic, add sodium carbonate. Reference Chemical Magic, 2nd Ed., Leonard A. Ford (1993) Dover Publications, Inc.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Servant Leadership Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Servant Leadership Reflection - Essay Example Secondly, servant leadership might lead to the failure of an organization to achieve its goals. Servant leadership focuses on enhancing growth at both organizational and community level, which hinders centralized growth in the firm (Schaap, 2008). Finally, servant leadership can demean the leadership role of the management in the organization. This servant leadership can cause laxity at the workplace because it eliminates the leadership at the workplace (Schaap, 2008). There is comfort working under servant leadership style because it promotes unity in the organization. In addition, servant leadership enables managers to experience the status of the working conditions of their employees. This type of leadership creates a good working atmosphere among the subordinate workers and the managers. In addition, it is essential to enhancing the public relations of the organization and production of quality products. Consequently, I would be comfortable using the system (Hammer, 2012). Today’s global society is characterized by the used of advanced technology in all sectors of an organization. The technology enables individuals to share their views regarding the operations of the company. In addition, the modern global society focuses mainly on the corporate social responsibility, which is achievable through servant leadership (Hammer, 2012). Servant leadership is a real leadership approach in the modern society. It enables organizations to relate effectively with the communities through production of high-quality products and corporate social initiatives. In addition, it creates a platform where employees obtain motivation from the leaders that are essential in enhancing productivity and profitability of the organization (Schaap,
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Ken the Drunkard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Ken the Drunkard - Essay Example Maggie has been married to Ken for ten years and their two kids are now eight and six years old. At the time the two met, Ken never used to drink in fact they met in a church function. Maggie had gone to pay a visit to her aunt in Brooklyn. It happened that on her first Sunday at the place, she and her cousins went to church when Ken happened to be worshipping. Ken took notice of Maggie when she and her cousins entered the church. After the church service, Ken approached Maggie and they exchanged contacts. They became friends for quite sometime and Maggie would go and visit him. As time went by, they became lovers an affair which led to their marriage five years later. By then Ken was an engineer in a certain firm where he worked for eight years and afterwards got retrenched. Consequently, he turned to drinking in trying to cope with the situation. Ken would go drinking and would go home as early as nine but on one particular night, he was late. After knocking the door for sometime a nd no one opening, he decided to sleep on the veranda. Fortunately, Ken used to snore while asleep and thus at some point, Maggie woke up and realized her husband had not come home yet. She went to the living room, turned on the lights and on looking at the watch it was three in the morning. Shortly after, she heard some sounds emerging from the door. At first, she was afraid and decided to peep through the window since the front side of the house was lit up by the security light. Surprisingly, she saw her husband lying down just at the door. She opened the door and woke him up. After waking up, Ken started shouting at Maggie telling her what a non-caring wife she was and that she refused to open the door for him despite the fact that the house was his. Maggie tried explaining to him that she did not hear his knock but he could not listen. Ken’s voice was so loud that, the kids woke up. When the kids showed up at the living room, Ken went ahead and started telling the kids ho w useless their mother was and that he was going to chase them away from his house together with their mother. There and then, Ken told Maggie that, he did not care what time it was but she and the kids should pack their things and leave the house. Maggie in response told him that neither she nor the kids were going anywhere. At that time, their voices were so loud and the kids were crying aloud which woke up their neighbours who started streaming in the compound one by one to know what the matter was. Ken kept on repeating to Maggie to leave the house before he did something crazy but Maggie could not listen. At some point, he pushed her through the front door only for her to fall on the rough surface of the veranda where she secured some knee and arm bruises. The neighbours were now increasing in number and Ken viewed it as some sort of interruption to his family affairs. What followed next was a very terrifying scene to Maggie, the kids and the neighbours. Ken who happened to be at the door of the house entered inside and came out with a gun. He started chasing everybody in the compound shouting that Maggie should leave his house and the neighbours should leave his compound. Some of the male neighbours tried their best to take hold of Ken but their efforts where all in vain since Ken was too strong and they were still afraid of the weapon. At first, Ken fired in the air to scare away the crowd. A philosopher once said that, when a person is terrified or exposed to a frightening situation or a
Sunday, November 17, 2019
The New Rule Essay Example for Free
The New Rule Essay Judging by the numbers has been an integral way of assessing the success or failure of a company or a CEO from then and even until present. The influence of this method has been augmented by the advocacy by â€Å"successful†executives through their published and mediated ideas. But even with the prevailing numerically-dependent idea on success, it seems that globalization has paved way for people to rethink and reconsider other â€Å"rules†that must have been missed out before. Fortune senior writer Betsy Morris wrote an article about â€Å"New Rules†that, as it is implied in the text, should replace the Wallstreet-pressured old ones. The question is: Is there really a necessity to replace the old rules with new ones?            The old rules are easier to manage and apply compared to the new ones. The old rules focus merely on raising the numbers; everything is judged based on the numerical values. Theoretically, there are no people to please, and not much effort on creative thinking is necessary. All that has to be done is to follow proven formulas of success, that is, as dictated by the experiences of â€Å"successful†businessmen and executives. The only goal is to be on top and it was believed that that goal can be easily attained with linear progression as long as the â€Å"book†was followed.            To exemplify this, there is this old rule about big dogs owning the street (Morris, 2006). Based on this old rule, the greatest benefits and rewards in the industry are reaped by the biggest player or by the economies of scale. This old rule is relatively easy to manage compared to its counterpart in the â€Å"new rules,†that is to be agile. Although being big is not as easy as what might have been implied, this old rule is considered one because based on what is implied in the rule, just being big allows the player to take advantage of whatever resource in the industry or to take huge profits from a specific market without much effort and simply just by being â€Å"big.†As it is with their status, the natural laws of economics come to play under normal circumstances, that is, the economies of scale could naturally spread their fixed costs and thus acquire larger revenues (Morris, 2006).            This is not the case with its counterpart â€Å"new rule.†Based on the new rule, the player must be agile because being big can actually bring harm (Morris, 2006). This rule implies more than the requirement of a player to simply be agile. It implies the necessity of a certain ability that is, to properly observe the direction of the market and be able to apply this gained knowledge to the needs of the company.            The new rules, thus, require more than the ability to follow rules. It requires that the leader or executive is able to have the wisdom to realize the need to acquire knowledge and be able to use the gained knowledge (particularly the needs of the market) to direct the company towards adapting to these needs and continuously make the company flexible afterwards. The ease in managing the old rules is dependent on its nature which is based on â€Å"following,†while the new rules are mainly based on â€Å"skill and creativity†.            That the â€Å"old rules†are in fact labeled as â€Å"old†does not necessarily mean it should all be replaced with the new ones or worse, eradicated and forgotten. After all, these rules are based on wisdom from past experiences and it is not very difficult to find similarities, no matter how small between past experiences and current ones. The term â€Å"old†may not always be synonymous with â€Å"better†but the same can be said with â€Å"new†. It is actually possible that both are equally important and a fusion of which could create a better â€Å"rule†.            Citing again the example on the old rule of big dogs owning the street and its counterpart new rule, agility is best, it can be said that while the old rule may not necessarily be better than the old rule, being â€Å"not big†does not also guarantee positive effects. Agility and the company’s flexibility, plus, being big, can actually create more advantage for the company. With the big company’s ability to spread its fixed costs and the agile company’s ability to make efficient use of resources, the business can actually reduce its costs and make more revenues.            Similarly, any company can attempt to find a niche or create something new. This is not an easy feat because as it is said, it involves creativity. But a company must not limit itself to just one of two choices. The old and new rules that are presented in the article are not opposites. This means that it is actually feasible for a company to both strive being the best in the market and at the same time, strive to always create something new for their market.            Starbucks may have â€Å"continuous change†as their goal but this goal is only the surface of an underlying goal. Why does Starbucks want to keep moving and evolving? This is to continue their identity, which caters to their market, that keeps their profits and thus keep the enterprise going. Starbucks may not have had being number 1 as their main goal but they were able to be on top by always creating something new for their clients. In the end, it is able to take advantage of its ability to create something new, as well as its being on top. Being on top had become one of the old rules because it had a rationale that is deeper than the â€Å"numbers†. A top business could improve the employees’ morale and could thus make them become better in performing their jobs. This could result in better relationships with clients. The businesses’ rules must not be limited to a choice between the old or the new. Both are not opposites and the instances when both can be done simultaneously to complement the other must be recognized.            While in general, the new rules teach about the importance of flexibility the necessity of the corporate world to be able to adapt and consider the actual needs of its clients, some of the old rules can be truly â€Å"greedy†.            One old rule that represents this is that the shareholders rule. According to a study done by One Bain Co. (Morris, 2006), there is a significant discrepancy about the perceptions of the executives about the quality of their service and the perceptions of the customers themselves. It is said that 80% of the executives perceive themselves as doing a great service and only 8% of the customers agree (Morris, 2006).            This implies that the customers’ needs are not adequately met while the executives consider themselves as being justly compensated for their â€Å"efforts,†and the company being the just recipients of revenues. It may be that any business is made for the sole purpose of profiting. But this does not exempt anyone from disregarding ethical considerations. Simply put, any customer deserves the value of what they pay for.            In addition, the companies, whether profit-centered or otherwise, must realize that the laws of economics would indicate that catering to the customers would actually increase the revenues and considering the new rule (The Customer is King), can be a positive way of gaining profits instead of taking so much effort to decrease their operating costs, which could in almost all cases, also reduce their product’s quality. Considering the clients could only be symbiotic, benefiting both the clients and the business itself. This has been proven by companies like Apple and Genentech (Morris, 2006).            In the rapidly changing times and with globalization, it seems that the â€Å"new rules†are most applicable. This is because these new rules can only be products of observations of the successful companies and CEO’s at the present time. Still, it must be noted that the â€Å"old rules†were what the people considered then as the â€Å"new rules†. This means that rules are created based on what seems appropriate depending on the demands situations and circumstances that happen at a certain period. With this in mind, what is important is not exactly to follow which rule is popular at a certain period but to allow circumstances and the nature of events to become guides in strategizing and decision-making. Truly, following the old rules religiously would be like staying at a certain era and preventing growth. But still, following the â€Å"new rules†by-the-book would be self-contradictory because the principle behind the â€Å"new rules†is to allow constant change and flexibility depending on specific factors involved. Like what the Morris (2006) said about the old rules, the â€Å"new rules†are made to answer specific problems of a specific situation at a specific time. Then, it is only the value of flexibility that must be retained. As it is, the world will always change even with resistance from business players and all that can be done is to allow themselves to be swayed and be creative so that each situation can be used to their competitive advantage. Still, the old rules must not be completely disregarded. These old rules must be seen based on the rationale or wisdom behind. Because such rules, when seen at a less common or different perspective could still apply to a specific present, although not necessarily modern situation. Jack Welch may right when he said that â€Å"If applied correctly†¦ rules can work forever.†(Morris, 2006). The only question that matters then is â€Å"what is correctly?†Again, â€Å"correctly†depends on one’s ability to gain knowledge in situations, be flexible and be creative in using these situations to his or her advantageâ€â€but of course, with all the ethical considerations. Works Cited Morris, B. (2006). The New Rules. Fortune. Retrieved 28 Feb 2007 from http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/10/magazines/fortune/rules.fortune/index.htm.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
reading between the lines :: essays research papers
Reading Between the Lines      Many times people take books for granted. They’ll sometimes prefer to watch a show on television or a movie than to pick up a book and read it. Simply, all because it is easier and faster to get trough with a movie than with a television show. Then there are also those few that do read, but when reading one mustn’t just read text on books to get trough with it. They must be able to comprehend what it is that is said in the book, what point it is trying to get across. A couple of days ago I read and article written by Mortimer J. Adler. It was called â€Å"How to Mark a Book†. The article mentioned and talked about how people must learn to read a book. Not by simply just reading the text, but by understanding what is mentioned, consider the point of view of the author, and the degree of significance the author gives to the text. This is where reading between the lines comes in. A person must be able to acknowledge what he or she is reading. If the individual reads the text and does not understand its’ meaning, then the time has been wasted as Adler mentions in his article. One must learn ways of understanding a book and what it is trying to get across, because text carries emotion to a great extend and people just don’t seem to know. This is why reading is essential not only to one’s education but to one’s life as well. I completely agree with what Adler mentions in the article. If a person does not make notes of what he or she is reading, then he or she is only processing text trough their mind and not receiving the message that is the subject at hand. If one is able to understand the significance of the writing then not only can a person develop better writing and communication skills but also gain an experience. Understand that when reading a book the reader has to take time making notes and figuring out what certain material means in order to perceive well what is being mentioned. Therefore one must read books more than one time so that one can appreciate the book and put it to good use one way or the other in their lives.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Interface Culture: New Technology Transforms the Way
Steven Berlin Johnson is known for his reputation of being able to scale what the future holds through a differential paradigm that he sets basing from the present society. His ability to do so has made most of his books a must read especially for those who are enthusiasts of change. Through the researches that he does, he has made it certain that the changes in the world that affects the human society are clearly explained and outlined as to how they positively or negatively affect the human development.Through this, social and technological developments have been widely used as a topic for his books. Steven Berlin Johnson at present continues to startle the world of book-publication with his style of research and writing. He lives with his wife and two sons while he continues to write other books and do several columns for the internet at www.stevenberlinjohnson.com and he is the present editor of the Wired Magazine. He also continues to share his ideas to the young generation by b eing a resident writer in the Journal paper of the New York University Department of Journalism.Among his other works include â€Å"The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Epidemic and Hoe it changed Science, Cities and the Modern World†. This book has also been one of the best selling published work of Johnson after he launched the â€Å"Interface Culture†.I.About the BookInterface Culture showed that one of the greatest advancements that the human society ever jumped into for the past ten decades was the development of the cyberspace or the Internet. Before the said advancement, it could be observed that seas and mountains have separated the world, and that people were living in two different sides of the world and that communication from both sides was not that easy to incur.However, with the introduction of the cyber world, everything changes. It just happens that with just one click of a button, an individual could already be wired through to the world. Th is is the idea that Johnson point out in his written work. This book has been mainly devoted to help the society see the actual effects that the internet caused the cultures and the personal and behavioral development of people at present.Certainly, it is through this book that Johnson himself tried to outline the future possibilities that could be brought about by technology in changing the actual view of the society as a whole to the reality of culture mixing and global peace as well. It could be noted that through this written work, he naturally gave life to the widely used system of communication. He clearly points out that a world without computers is quite unimaginable for the generation that has just been born today. To them, it would the past years without the existence of computers may have been quite boring an uncivilized. Yes, cyber world has completely changed the views of the society from what is necessary and what is simply a luxury in life.II.Summary of the BookInterf ace Culture focuses of technological advancements of communication, particularly the internet, and how it affects the society at present. The said book by Johnson has been mainly a rhetorical writing that helps the readers understand the reality of â€Å"Interface†and the great impact that it has upon the lives of those who are directly linked to the said technological development.The interface avant-garde has quite been the core idea of the discussion that Johnson has presented in this book. The use of GUI’s (Graphical User Interface) have made it possible for certain individuals, even those who are not specifically involved in the usage of the Internet has caused much individual advancements among people in the society. It is mainly pointed out in this book that the changes that the introduction of the cyber world has radically performed social connection among races around the globe.Among the said advancements, Johnson focused on the social impact of the said Inter face. Cultures from around the world are already wired together and are thus able to learn about each other with just a click of the button. It could not be denied that it is through the Internet that people are educated about what happens on the other side of their own share of the globe.Yes, the world became smaller and the nations became close neighbors. The Internet even surpassed what televisions could provide through actual-time-video-streaming. What happens within other countries could easily be observed by other through the connection that they have. With the Interface culture, anything is possible. Working, studying, researching and other things could already be done anywhere using a computer and the connection that the Internet provides.With the existence of the cyber world, anything becomes possible and everything becomes easy within reach by anybody who is wired to the Interface Culture.III.The Main Theme and IdeaThe Internet is the doorway to interface culture (Johnson, 5). This is the most significant claim that Johnson particularly send to the readers through his book. It is through the wired culture that the society is connected to one another giving them the chance to understand people form all over the world and thus gain a wider perspective of why things happen.It also opens up the mind of the people to the possibility of gaining peace through the wired connection that they have. Although discrimination and things a like has not been removed, it could be observed that cross-cultural relationships has been constantly developing ever since the Internet has been introduced.However, along with the great provisions that the Internet provides the society, it could be noted that there too are those disadvantages that it brings the world. As it could be noted, it is not only the positive things that are presented through the Internet, there also exists several fraud and chaotic reports that are presented through cyberspace. However, it is upon the u sers’ discretion on which kind of reported occurrences he should believe and thus be affected by such. It still remains true that the actual development in the society still lies within the people’s decisions and not through the technological breakthroughs that the Internet makes accessible to the society.IV. The Book’s Relation to RealityWithout any doubt, the book of Johnson clearly gives an actual view of the present society as to how it is directly affected by the development of technology. Certainly, because of the fact that everything in the present society of man is affected by technology and the existence of Internet, it is thus helpful that the realities behind the existence of the said invention is directly presented to readers.As for the author of this paper, the important impact that it brings is simply the fact that the book covers much of the present situation of mankind as directly related to the cyberspace involvement. The said development has be en causing several changes that impacts people’s lives as common individuals. The strong effect that computers along with internet-based communication provide has mainly re-shifted the views of the entire society from traditional to a completely modern perspective of life and living as well.V. Evaluation and CritiqueAs an overall reaction upon the work done by Johnson in his book, it could be observed that his researches proved to be much helpful in helping the readers realize the impact of Interface Culture in their lives.Some may have used the Internet for several years now and yet not realize the fact that they are already a member of an existing society that are wired through the cyberspace. The international connection that the current communication technology provides has been clearly one of the focuses of the book, which helps the readers understand the clear effect of technology in their lives.Johnson has clearly defined what Interface Culture is and has mainly identi fied the need of everyone to both understand and be cautious to what the Internet, or cyber connection gives them access to. Basically, his enthusiasm and his knowledge on the background of the topic that the book discusses has made the book a must-read and a source of informative passages that would be greatly helpful for one to understand the importance of the emergence of technology and its interconnection with communication developments.VI. ConclusionThe present society is living in a â€Å"wired-community†of the cyber world. With a closer look on the idealisms that Johnson portrays in his book, people would realize that indeed, the Internet and computer-technology have been able to take over the most important developments in the human society.The economy, the individual development through education and thing alike has been made available to everyone through the Internet. This is the reason why interface culture has been regarded as the modern way of living. Yes, there are still a lot more to expect in the future, and there is nothing the society could do, but to be prepared on the changes that may happen in the future.BIBLIOGRAPHYSteven Johnson. (October 6, 1999). Interface Culture : How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate. Perseus Books Group; Rep Sub edition. ISBN-10: 0465036805.W.Colston Leigh Inc. (2007). Steven Berlin Johnson Biography. http://leighbureau.com/speaker.asp?id=327. (April 3, 2007).
Sunday, November 10, 2019
The Components of a Decision Support System
(i)Data Management Component. The data management component performs the function of storing and maintaining the information that you want your Decision Support System to use. The data management component, therefore, consists of both the Decision Support System information and the Decision Support System database management system. The information you use in your Decision Support System comes from one or more of three sources: Organizational information: One may want to use virtually any information available in the organization for your Decision Support System. What you use, of course, depends on what you need and whether it is available.You can design your Decision Support System to access this information directly from your company’s database and data warehouse. However, specific information is often copied to the Decision Support System database to save time in searching through the organization’s database and data warehouses. External information: Some decisions r equire input from external sources of information. Various branches of federal government, Dow Jones, Compustat data, and the internet, to mention just a few, can provide additional information for the use with a Decision Support System.Personal information:You can incorporate your own insights and experience your personal information into your Decision Support System. You can design your Decision Support System so that you enter this personal information only as needed, or you can keep the information in a personal database that is accessible by the Decision Support System. (ii)Model Management Component. The model management component consists of both the Decision Support System models and the Decision Support System model management system. A model is a representation of some event, fact, or situation.As it is not always practical, or wise, to experiment with reality, people build models and use them for experimentation. Models can take various forms. Businesses use models to rep resent variables and their relationships. For example, you would use a statistical model called analysis of variance to determine whether newspaper, TV, and billboard advertizing are equally effective in increasing sales. Decision Support Systems help in various decision-making situations by utilizing models that allow you to analyze information in many different ways.The models you use in a Decision Support System depend on the decision you are making and, consequently, the kind of analysis you require. For example, you would use what-if analysis to see what effect the change of one or more variables will have on other variables, or optimization to find the most profitable solution given operating restrictions and limited resources. Spreadsheet software such as excel can be used as a Decision Support System for what-if analysis. The model management system stores and maintains the Decision Support System’s models.Its function of managing models is similar to that of a databa se management system. The model management component can not select the best model for you to use for a particular problem that requires your expertise but it can help you create and manipulate models quickly and easily. (iii)User Interface Management Component. The user interface management component allows you to communicate with the Decision Support System. It consists of the user interface management system. This is the component that allows you to combine your know-how with the storage and processing capabilities of the computer.The user interface is the part of the system you see through it when enter information, commands, and models. This is the only component of the system with which you have direct contract. If you have a Decision Support System with a poorly designed user interface, if it is too rigid or too cumbersome to use, you simply won’t use it no matter what its capabilities. The best user interface uses your terminology and methods and is flexible, consiste nt, simple, and adaptable. For an example of the components of a Decision Support System, let’s onsider the Decision Support System that Land’s End has tens of millions of names in its customer database. It sells a wide range of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, as well various household wares. To match the right customer with the catalog, land’s end has identified 20 different specialty target markets. Customers in these target markets receive catalogs of merchandise that they are likely to buy, saving Lands’ End the expense of sending catalogs of all products to all 20 million customers.To predict customer demand, lands’ end needs to continuously monitor buying trends. And to meet that demand, lands’ end must accurately forecast sales levels. To accomplish theses goals, it uses a Decision Support System which performs three tasks: Data management: The Decision Support System stores customer and product informati on. In addition to this organizational information, Lands’ End also needs external information, such as demographic information and industry and style trend information.Model management: The Decision Support System has to have models to analyze the information. The models create new information that decision makers need to plan product lines and inventory levels. For example, Lands’ End uses a statistical model called regression analysis to determine trends in customer buying patterns and forecasting models to predict sales levels. User interface management: A user interface enables Lands’ End decision makers to access information and to specify the models they want to use to create the information they need.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Definition of Tag Question and Its Use in Spanish
Definition of Tag Question and Its Use in Spanish A tag question is a brief question that follows a statement in which the person asking is seeking confirmation or denial of the statement. In both English and Spanish, it is common to use tag questions when the person making the statement expects the listener to be in agreement. In both English and Spanish, a tag question following a negative statement is usually in the affirmative, while a tag question following a positive statement is usually in the negative. The most common Spanish tag questions are  ¿no? and  ¿verdad?, with some usage of  ¿no es verdad?. English question tags usually take the form exemplified by are they?, arent they?, is it?, and isnt it?In both English and Spanish, a negative tag question is answered in the affirmative (such as yes or sà ) if the responder is in agreement. This is in contrast with German or French, which have special words (doch and si, respectively) for giving an affirmative answer to a question that is negative in form. Also Known As Question tag in English, coletilla interrogativa in Spanish (although the term is seldom used). Examples of Question Tags Tag questions are in boldface: El presidente es loco  ¿no? (The president is crazy, isnt he?)No eres guatemalteca  ¿verdad? (Youre not Guatemalan, are you?)Este ordenador es nuevo  ¿no? (This computer is new, isnt it?)No quieres comer  ¿verdad? (You dont want to eat, do you?)
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Understanding Cosmology and Its Impact
Understanding Cosmology and Its Impact Cosmology can be a difficult discipline to get a handle on, as it is a field of study within physics that touches on many other areas. (Although, in truth, these days pretty much all fields of study within physics touch on many other areas.) What is cosmology? What do the people studying it (called cosmologists) actually do? What evidence is there to support their work? Cosmology at a Glance Cosmology is the discipline of science that studies the origin and eventual fate of the universe. It is most closely related to the specific fields of astronomy and astrophysics, though the last century has also brought cosmology closely in line with key insights from particle physics. In other words, we reach a fascinating realization: Our understanding of modern cosmology comes from connecting the behavior of the largest structures in our universe (planets, stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters) together with those of the smallest structures in our universe (fundamental particles). History of Cosmology The study of cosmology is probably one of the oldest forms of speculative inquiry into nature, and it began at some point in history when an ancient human looked toward the heavens, asked questions such as the following: How did we come to be here?What is happening in the night sky?Are we alone in the universe?What are those shiny things in the sky? You get the idea. The ancients came up with some quite good attempts to explain these. Chief among these in the western scientific tradition is the physics of the ancient Greeks, who developed a comprehensive geocentric model of the universe which was refined over the centuries until the time of Ptolemy, at which point cosmology really didnt develop further for several centuries, except in some of the details about the speeds of the various components of the system. The next major advance in this area came from Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, when he published his astronomy book on his deathbed (anticipating that it would cause controversy with the Catholic Church), outlining the evidence for his heliocentric model of the solar system. The key insight that motivated this transformation in thinking was the notion that there was no real reason to assume that the Earth contains a fundamentally privileged position within the physical cosmos. This change in assumptions is known as the Copernican Principle. Copernicus heliocentric model became even more popular and accepted based upon the work of Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler, who accumulated substantial experimental evidence in support of the Copernican heliocentric model. It was Sir Isaac Newton who was able to bring all of these discoveries together into actually explaining the planetary motions, however. He had the intuition and insight to realize that the motion of objects falling to the earth was similar to the motion of objects orbiting the Earth (in essence, these objects are continually falling around the Earth). Since this motion was similar, he realized it was probably caused by the same force, which he called gravity. By careful observation and the development of new mathematics called calculus and his three laws of motion, Newton was able to create equations that described this motion in a variety of situations. Though Newtons law of gravity worked at predicting the motion of the heavens, there was one problem ... it wasnt exactly clear how it was working. The theory proposed that objects with mass attract each other across space, but Newton wasnt able to develop a scientific explanation for the mechanism that gravity used to achieve this. In order to explain the inexplicable, Newton relied on a generic appeal to God, basically, objects behave this way in response to Gods perfect presence in the universe. To get a physical explanation would wait over two centuries, until the arrival of a genius whose intellect could eclipse even that of Newton. General Relativity and the Big Bang Newtons cosmology dominated science until the early twentieth century when Albert Einstein developed his theory of general relativity, which redefined the scientific understanding of gravity. In Einsteins new formulation, gravity was caused by the bending of 4-dimensional spacetime in response to the presence of a massive object, such as a planet, a star, or even a galaxy. One of the interesting implications of this new formulation was that spacetime itself wasnt in equilibrium. In fairly short order, scientists realized that general relativity predicted that spacetime would either expand or contract. Believe Einstein believed that the universe was actually eternal, he introduced a cosmological constant into the theory, which provided a pressure that counteracted the expansion or contraction. However, when astronomer Edwin Hubble eventually discovered that the universe was in fact expanding, Einstein realized that hed made a mistake and removed the cosmological constant from the theory. If the universe was expanding, then the natural conclusion is that if you were to rewind the universe, youd see that it must have begun in a tiny, dense clump of matter. This theory of how the universe began became called the Big Bang Theory. This was a controversial theory through the middle decades of the twentieth century, as it vied for dominance against Fred Hoyles steady state theory. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation in 1965, however, confirmed a prediction that had been made in relation to the big bang, so it became widely accepted among physicists. Though he was proven wrong about the steady state theory, Hoyle is credited with the major developments in the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, which is the theory that hydrogen and other light atoms are transformed into heavier atoms within the nuclear crucibles called stars, and spit out into the universe upon the stars death. These heavier atoms then go on to form into water, planets, and ultimately life on Earth, including humans! Thus, in the words of many awestruck cosmologists, we are all formed from stardust. Anyway, back to the evolution of the universe. As scientists gained more information about the universe and more carefully measured the cosmic microwave background radiation, there was a problem. As detailed measurements were taken of astronomical data, it became clear that concepts from quantum physics needed to play a stronger role in understanding the early phases and evolution of the universe. This field of theoretical cosmology, though still highly speculative, has grown quite fertile and is sometimes called quantum cosmology. Quantum physics showed a universe that was pretty close to being uniform in energy and matter but wasnt completely uniform. However, any fluctuations in the early universe would have expanded greatly over the billions of years that the universe expanded ... and the fluctuations were much smaller than one would expect. So cosmologists had to figure out a way to explain a non-uniform early universe, but one which had only extremely small fluctuations. Enter Alan Guth, a particle physicist who tackled this problem in 1980 with the development of inflation theory. The fluctuations in the early universe were minor quantum fluctuations, but they rapidly expanded in the early universe due to an ultra-fast period of expansion. Astronomical observations since 1980 have supported the predictions of the inflation theory and it is now the consensus view among most cosmologists. Mysteries of Modern Cosmology Though cosmology has advanced much over the last century, there are still several open mysteries. In fact, two of the central mysteries in modern physics are the dominant problems in cosmology and astrophysics: Dark Matter - Some galaxies are moving in a way that cannot be fully explained based on the amount of matter that is observed within them (called visible matter), but which can be explained if there is an extra unseen matter within the galaxy. This extra matter, which is predicted to take up about 25% of the universe, based on most recent measurements, is called dark matter. In addition to astronomical observations, experiments on Earth such as the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) are trying to directly observe dark matter.Dark Energy - In 1998, astronomers attempted to detect the rate at which the universe was slowing down ... but they found that it wasnt slowing down. In fact, the acceleration rate was speeding up. It seems that Einsteins cosmological constant was needed after all, but instead of holding the universe as a state of equilibrium it actually seems to be pushing the galaxies apart at a faster and faster rate as time goes on. Its unknown exactly what is causing this r epulsive gravity, but the name physicists have given to that substance is dark energy. Astronomical observations predict that this dark energy makes up about 70% of the universes substance. There are some other suggestions to explain these unusual results, such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and variable speed of light cosmology, but these alternatives are considered fringe theories that are not accepted among many physicists in the field. Origins of the Universe It is worth noting that the big bang theory actually describes the way the universe has evolved since shortly after its creation, but cannot give any direct information about the actual origins of the universe. This isnt to say that physics can tell us nothing about the origins of the universe. When physicists explore the smallest scale of space, they find that quantum physics results in the creation of virtual particles, as evidenced by the Casimir effect. In fact, inflation theory predicts that in the absence of any matter or energy, then spacetime would expand. Taken at face value, this, therefore, gives scientists a reasonable explanation for how the universe could initially come into being. If there were a true nothing, no matter, no energy, no spacetime, then that nothing would be unstable and would begin generating matter, energy, and an expanding spacetime. This is the central thesis of books such as The Grand Design and A Universe From Nothing, which posit that the universe can be explained without reference to a supernatural creator deity. Humanitys Role in Cosmology It would be hard to over-emphasize the cosmological, philosophical, and perhaps even theological importance of recognizing that the Earth was not the center of the cosmos. In this sense, cosmology is one of the earliest fields that yielded evidence that was in conflict with the traditional religious worldview. In fact, every advance in cosmology has seemed to fly in the face of the most cherished assumptions that wed like to make about how special humanity is as a species ... at least in terms of cosmological history. This passage from The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow eloquently lays out the transformation in thinking that has come from cosmology: Nicolaus Copernicus heliocentric model of the solar system is acknowledged as the first convincing scientific demonstration that we humans are not the focal point of the cosmos.... We now realize that Copernicus result is but one of a series of nested demotions overthrowing long-held assumptions regarding humanitys special status: were not located at the center of the solar system, were not located at the center of the galaxy, were not located at the center of the universe, were not even made of the dark ingredients constituting the vast majority of the universes mass. Such cosmic downgrading ... exemplifies what scientists now call the Copernican principle: in the grand scheme of things, everything we know points toward human beings not occupying a privileged position.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Case Analysis and Recommendation Research Paper
Case Analysis and Recommendation - Research Paper Example The issue started on 11 March 2008, when Shared refused to participate in a GSD sponsored event to attend to a family obligation. Haydar though, his direct supervisor, did not express objection of any sort but reported the matter to Sahib beyond Shared’s knowledge. For the following four weeks, Shared was denied of assignments upon Sahib’s instruction. Nevertheless, when he approached Haydar, Shared was advised not to get troubled by the setup. On 06 April 2008, Shared was summoned, without prior notice, to the office of the Employees Relations’ Head on account of the aforementioned recommendation. This was the only time Shared was informed of the presence of a disciplinary proceeding in which he is the main concern. Tasks in the Accompany Services department were assigned verbally, and partakers are chosen randomly by the division’s director. The same involve planning, arranging and executing detailed programs of visiting business delegations. The departm ent also arranges for a number of other services including security escorts, transportation, and logistics. On the date in question, Shared was not notified of his supposed participation until a few hours before the event. Shared also explained that the red marks on his attendance record were duly sanctionedâ€â€notice of late appearance and leave of absence were filed properly. Further, he suggested verifying with his colleagues that he is always within the workplace the entire shift. Shared criticized the action taken by his superiors, and pointed out that he should have received a verbal or written warning before the case is even initiated. The Discipline and Grievance committee investigating Shared’s case knows that both Haydar and Sahib can be held legally responsible for such an unethical procedure. The action taken does not comply with the rules and regulations of the GSD and the Department of Civil Services. Even so, Shared does not want to impair his relationship with his superiors as this may directly impact conditions at work. On 20 April 2008, two separate meetings with Haydar and Sahib were requested by the chairman of the committee. Sahib turned down the request on grounds that the written recommendation was not his doing, while Haydar argued that he did not know about the existing organizational policies, and proposed that the case be terminated as if nothing happened. A case where the main problem is not accurately identified will not be resolved as a whole. There are always sub problems that coexist with the main problem; and at times, without thorough analysis, these are confused with the other. In effect, the proposals intended for resolution are subsequently regarded as ineffective when in fact it is the preliminary procedure that brought about the failure. From this scenario, it can be established that Shared has nearly been a victim of unethical disciplinary practices at work. There are several aspects in the company system that prove ineffectual, thus employees have low morale and do not display confidence in the administration. The Civil Services Department asserts the existence of rules and regulat
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