Ethics in Public Relations Essay

Nowadays, Public Relations is one of the fastest-growing fields of professional employment worldwide. The public relation profession is constantly having to adapt to the needs of society through which different people and different organizations from different countries form a variety of definitions. For this reason, the number of ethical dilemmas in public relations continues to grow as well. Some of the issues with ethics that can be found with public relations is the withholding of information from the public, directly and indirectly paying for ‘independent’ and ‘objective’ views and opinions, biased approaches and loyalty, distortion of reality, propaganda, bailing out and promotion of questionable industries, the funding of front groups by various industries, the use of Video News Releases, the Accreditation in Public Relations, and pseudo events. The Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics has a foundation that lies in the Member Statement of Professional Values. These Values include advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness. There are also six provisions involved in the PRSA Member Code of Ethics: Enhancing the Profession, Conflicts of Interest, Safeguarding Confidences, Disclosure of Information, Competition, and Free Flow Information. Of all the Principles and values listed above, I find the mos t important of the list to be the Value of Fairness and the Principle of Free Flow Information. The Core Principle of Free Flow of Information states, â€Å"Protecting and advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful information is essential to serving the public interest and contributing to informed decision making in a democratic society†. What I believe this means is that the member should be honest in all proceedings, correct any wrong information promptly, and be sure that the free flow of information is preserved and unbiased. One thing that interested me was Henry Mintzberg’s outline over the five definitions of strategy including strategy as a plan, pattern, position, perspective, and ploy. As a plan, strategy is concerned with setting up guidelines to establish direction for an organization. As a pattern, strategy consists of various actions carried out with consistency by firms. Strategy as a position looks at how organizations interact with the external environment and how they place themselves in the competitive environment. One thing that truly stood out  to me was the mention of the VNR’s, or the Video News Releases, which are video segments made to look like a news report aimed to inform an audience, however it is created by a public relations firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, or government agency. The issue with the ethics behind the VNR’s is the issue of deception to the audience or using these segments as a propaganda technique. VNR’s are a vital part for news delivery, however when the news becomes more of a commercial for a company, many issues with ethics begins to form that allow for many to ponder the line between right and wrong of the ethics regarding public relations. Over time, I feel that the ethical issues regarding public relations will improve and evolve with the time. What is unethical right now may not be unethical in the future. For this reason, it is important for journalist and people in PR to focus on the many the issues now in public relations to learn and improve.

Gun politics in the United States Essay

To draw up case studies, it is first important to understand its various aspects. For an effective case study, one must first understand the principles of a case. It is important to understand what a case is, the types of cases there are and their purposes. Following this understanding, the methods of analyzing and discussing cases must be explored. After mastering these skills, The three stages of problem, decision and evaluation are vital to the organization of the case study. 4 ? 5 6 7 ? In all case studies we should first explore the brief synopsis of the case and its pedagogical objectives. 8 9 ? In a case method classroom, both the instructor and students must be active in different ways. The art of a case method instructor is to ask the right question at the right time, provide feedback on answers, and sustain a discussion that opens up meanings of the case. If students don’t come to class well-prepared, the case method will fail because the people responsible for making meaning from the case are not equipped to do it. ? 10 ? Case discussions are full of facts and information, but they aren’t shaped into single interpretation, the â€Å"truth†. Instructors don’t announce definitive conclusions or right answers, although they may discriminate between more and less plausible solutions. Students enter and leave the classroom responsible for the outcomes of the discussion. For students, this is a shift from the comfort of authority and single truth to the hard work of personal responsibility and the unease of ambiguity and multiple meanings. ? 11 ? Cases are verbal representation of reality. Real business situations involve uncertainty and don’t present selected and sorted information. ? A case must have 3 characteristics: 1) a significant real world business issue or issues 2) Sufficient information on which to base conclusions 3) No stated conclusions 12 ? Many cases have these complicating properties: 1) Information that includes â€Å"Noise†- false, irrelevant†¦ testimony by characters in the case 2) Unstated information that must be inferred from the information that is stated 3) Nonlinear structure 13 ? A well-written case must have these characteristics. Reader of the case must be able to: 1) Construct conclusion from the information in the text 2) Filter out irrelevant portions of the text. 3) Furnish missing information through inferences. 4) Associate evidence from different parts of the case and integrate it into a conclusion. 14 ? Noise is a characteristic of real situations. Today, we are flooded in information, much of it of little value. Every case, whether it has a large amount of information or very little, requires the reader to make inferences. This can be the most difficult transition from textbooks and lectures. ? If memorization is the primary skill of the lecture model, inference is the primary skill of the case model. Furthermore, cases do not have a linear structure and are not presented in the most logical way. ? 15 ? There are 3 possible approaches to reading the case: 1) Receive it 2) Find it 3) Make it (appropriate for cases) ? â€Å"Receive it† states both subject and its significance (fits a text such as news story) â€Å"Find it† states keys and clues to find the solution (fits a text such as mystery novel) On the first reading of the case, it can seem to be a whole that is less than the sum of its parts. Indeed, the most basic matters of fact are not clearly stated or are stated in multiple ways. Students have to read a case actively (Active Reading) and construct their own meaning based on pedagogical objectives of the case and the theories and concepts already discussed in the class. 16 ? ? ? A case is a text that refuses to explain itself; hence, a meaning needs to be constructed for it. To analyze a case, the contextual factors concerning it must first be studied in order to allow a deeper understanding of the case (Situational analysis) Contextual information helps to limit and narrow the analysis of the case. Courses are often divided up into different modules or themes defined by certain types of situations and, often, concepts, theories, and practices appropriate for these situations. Students should learn how to make a case with relevant information based on the objectives of the case or questions already given by the instructor. 18 ? ? ? The method of analyzing a text is heuristic, meaning that important aspects of the situation in which the case is set must be identified and understood. This is a term used for self-guided learning that employs analysis to help draw conclusions about a situation. 19 ? Analysis has two closely related definitions: to break something up into its constituent parts; and to study the relationships of the parts to the whole. To analyze a case, you therefore need ways of identifying and understanding important aspects of a situation and what they mean to the overall situation. ? Thinking about a case must start before you begin making it. This way, the different questions arising about the case can be answered during the reading process. For example, the framework of a certain concept may guide a product launch decision. Hence, specialized methods are advantageous in achieving well-defined purposes. 20 21 22. 23 The following will provide a starting point for further understanding the different aspects of analyzing a case: ? There are four types of situations which appear repeatedly in case: †º Problems †º Decisions †º Evaluations †º Rules (complicated for beginners) 24 ? The definition of â€Å"problem† as a case situation is quite specific, unlike its other suggestions. Problem is a situation in which there is a significant outcome or performance, and there is no explicit explanation of the outcome or the performance. A problem in a case study is when the outcome or performance is significant yet there is no clear explanation of why it has happened. The causes of these outcomes are important to know so that the situation can be improved. ? 25 ? The outcomes of the cases may be negative. This is as a result of the fact that the change effort of the manager may be self-destructive. This result may arise from weaknesses that are unapparent. For efficient problem analysis, the problem first has to be defined. This is where success can come to be seen as a problem, in its own special meaning. ? ? Next, the problem must be explained by linking the outcome or performance to its root causes. Specialized methods of business disciplines are needed as tools to carry out this analysis. 26 ? Problem analysis begins with a definition of the problem. That seems obvious, yet many cases do not state a problem. As a result, you will first need to realize that a problem does exist. After this, you must define it yourself. Next, you must work out an explanation of the problem. This can be done by linking the outcome or performance to its root causes. This is the main work of problem analysis. To carry it out, you will need to employ the relevant tools, the specialized methods of business disciplines such as Strategy or SCM or operations management. 27 ? Would Barnes & Noble have benefited (or been hindered) by its physical organizational structure and management processes in its attempt to strengthen its position as an electronic commerce product/service provider? Defend your arguments. 28 ? Many cases complicate the decision immediately. Many of these are organized around an explicit decision. The decision, however, should not be based on other situations. The existence of an explicit decision is an important distinction, because nearly all business cases involve decision. In many other cases, however, the decisions are implicit and dependant on another situation. The decisions featured in various cases vary greatly in scope, consequence and available data. An executive must decide whether to launch a product, move a plant, pursue a merger, or provide financing for a planned expansion. ? 29 ? Analyzing a decision requires the following, regardless of the dimensions of a decision: †º Decision options †º Decision criteria †º Relevant evidence ? The decision options are often mentioned in the case itself. A stated decision needs to be followed by a statement of the alternative decision options. Finding these or coming up with them can be set as the first goal of the analysis. 30 ? In making a rational decision, the appropriate criteria need to be determined. By thoroughly studying the specifics of the case with the help of specialized methods, the criteria can be derived from the case, as they are not likely to be directly stated. The criteria are then used to develop evidence so as to complete a decision analysis. The decision must be the best option between the evidence and criteria available. In decision analysis, no decision is objectively correct. The goal is to find a decision that creates more benefits than the alternatives, as well as having less severe downsides. 31 ? ? â€Å"If we are to continue outsourcing, and even consider expanding it, why should we keep paying someone else to do what we can do for ourselves? † what are the stimuli behind such a statement to reflect on eBay customer support decision? 32 ? In an evaluation, a judgment is expressed about the worth, value, or effectiveness of a performance, act, or outcome. An outcome can be the subject of an assessment. The analysis of an evaluation can be based on any unit, from an individual to a global region. ? The outcome can be the subject of an assessment. The competitive position of a company, for instance, is the outcome of numerous decisions and performances as well as contingencies such as macroeconomic conditions. 33 ? Evaluations require appropriate criteria for setting the standards for assessing worth, value, or effectiveness. These criteria can be inferred from the particulars of a situation, with the aid of specialized methods. An overall evaluation will express the best option between the evidence and the criteria. Another requirement of an evaluation is that it includes both positive and negative aspects. Both strengths and weaknesses require analyzing. ? ? 34 ? 1. Is it justifiable for a company like Amazon. com to continue investing so much money and effort in a business operation that not only has made a profit for nearly 5 years but was incurring heavier losses? (Refer to the company’s financial statements) 35 ? The key to the analyzing process is active reading in order to make a case, as it is interrogative, purposeful, and iterative, meaning that you make multiple passes through a case and each time reading with various purposes. 37 ? Three factors contribute to active reading: a goal, a point of view, and a hypothesis. Goal of Analysis – Concrete limits must be set in order to derive the desirable information form the case. In addition, a time limit can be used to make the time spent on analyzing the case more productive. the main character. This way, making a decision as a person in that situation will help making conclusions easier. compare and contrast a concrete statement against case evidence. †º Point of View – It is effective to pout oneself in the place of †º Hypotheses – This gives the advantage of being able to 38 ? The process of working on a case has five phases: 1) Situation 2) Questions 3) Hypothesis 4) Proof and action 5) Alternatives 39 The analysis can first be structured as a series of questions and then identifying the situation by reading the first and last sections. The opening or end of a case may present partial or complete descriptions of the problem as well as expressing a tension or conflict vital to the analysis. 40 Knowing the situation allows you to ask questions pertinent to a problem, a decision, or an evaluation. Hence, the stages previously stated can develop the needed understanding to ask the questions in this second phase. Making a content inventory of the case, to locate information that might be used to answer the questions about the situation, can be useful. 41 †º Problem – Who or what is the subject of the problem? What is the problem? Am I trying to account for a failure, a success, or something more ambiguous? What is the significance of the problem to the subject? Who is responsible for the problem and what might he need to know to do something about it? †º Decision – What are the decision options? Do any seem particularly strong or weak? What is at stake of the decision? What are the possible criteria? What might the most important criteria be for this kind of decision? Are any of the criteria explicitly discussed in the case? †º Evaluation – Who or what is being evaluated? Who is responsible for the evaluation? What is at stake? What are the possible criteria? What might the possible criteria be for this sort of evaluation? Are any of the criteria explicitly discussed in the case? 42 ? Instructor may decide to provide situation guidelines and questions regarding the case study for students: 1) Situation 2) Questions 3) Hypothesis 4) Proof and action 5) Alternatives 43. This is the most important phase while working on the case. This involves narrowing the possibilities to the one that seems most plausible. There are different aspects to take into consideration, depending on if you are dealing with a problem, a decision, or an evaluation. Recording your thought process can help the development of this stage. 44 ? – Make sure you know the problem that needs to be diagnosed. Consider whether the characteristics of the problem suggest causes. – Think about the frameworks that seem most appropriate to the situation. Quickly review the specifics of the frameworks if you are not certain about them. – Pursue the diagnosis by looking at case information through the lens of the cause you are most certain about. – For each cause, make a separate pass through the case looking for evidence of it. – If the case has a lot of quantitative evidence, to what case is it most relevant? If you do not have a case relevant to the quantitative evidence, formulate one. Work up as much relevant, high-value quantitative evidence as you can. – In a case with a protagonist (central character), consider whether she is a potential cause. If you think she is, work out how she contributes to the problem. Problem 45 Energy = 2/3 consulting + all of technology service Industry = 1/3 consulting + all of certification 46 ? Decision – Review the criteria you have come up with so far. Which do you have the most confidence in? – Review the decision options. Do any seem especially strong or weak? – Apply the criteria that seem to identify the most evidence in the case. – Investigate the strongest decision option with the criterion you have the most confidence in. or, if you are reasonably certain about what which is the weakest, see if you can quickly dismiss that option. – If the case has a lot of quantitative evidence, which criterion is most relevant to it? If you do not have the criterion relevant to the quantitative evidence, formulate one. Work up as much relevant, high-value quantitative evidence as you can. – If there are conflicts about the decision between individuals or groups, think about why it is. Look at the decision from the point of view of each of the parties to the conflict. – If the protagonist is in a difficult position in relation to the decision, consider why that is. 47 48 49 ? Evaluation – Review the criteria you have come up with so far. Which do you have the most confidence in? – What are the terms of the evaluation going to be? Do any stand out in the case? – Do you already have a sense of the bottom-line evaluation you favor? If you do, what are the reasons for the preference? Pursue those reasons. – Start by applying the criterion that seems to identify the most evidence in the case. – Investigate the most positive range or the most negative with the criterion you have the most confidence in. – Investigate the most positive rating or the most negative with the criterion you have the most confidence in. – If the case has a lot of quantitative evidence, which criterion is most relevant to it? If you do not have a criterion relevant to the quantitative evidence, formulate one. Work up as much relevant, high-value, quantitative evidence as you can. 50 08 😕 ?†¢  «  » ( )? ?†¢  «  » ( )? ?†¢  «  » ( )? ?†¢  «  » ( )? 😕 ?15? A hypothesis drives a different approach to the case. You will start proving something you have already found out. Evidence supporting the hypothesis can be found in this stage. After this, the evidence can be assessed and a decision option can be drawn up, also finding the actionable content of the decision made. The last phase involves questioning your own hypothesis. This means reading your hypothesis and evidence with a critical eye. In this way, you can be the one who notices the weaknesses in the first place. †º †º Problem – Can the problem be defined differently? Would that make a difference to the diagnosis? Are there any holes in the diagnosis – could there be causes missing? What is the weakest part of the diagnosis? Could an entirely different diagnosis be made? What would it look like? Decision – What is the biggest downside of the recommended decision? How would you manage the downside? What is the strongest evidence against the recommendation? How would a case for the major alternative look? 55 †º Evaluation – Have you been objective and thorough ? If a hypothesis, after all these stages of analyzing and evaluation, fails, looking at alternative ideas can help to come up with another, stronger, hypothesis. This can be made into a useful learning experience for gaining more expertise. Such a case may arise if you perhaps overlooked important information or not used specialized tools effectively. about the evaluation findings that oppose your overall assessment? Think how a different overall evaluation might be proved. Have you accounted for factors that the subject of the evaluation could not control? 56 ? Potential for further discussion 57 ?†¢ 02 0102 ? Deepwater Horizon , 11 ? 71 . 3 002 ? ? .? ?85? ? The variables that influence the path and quality of a case discussion include the instructor, the students, the case, and a host of other possibilities such as the physical setting, the time of day, or the proximity to exams. The only variable that you can control is yourself. Case discussions are the most important part of Industrial Engineering and Business studies classrooms. This method encourages students to apply their learned theories and be able to contribute as part of a group to converse in a business matter. Therefore, skills to communicate and participate are very essential. 60 ? ? A case is a condition explained in which the students attribute with giving their own opinions about it, as well as listening to their peers. It is important for everyone in the case class to contribute in the discussion and comment on it. 61 ? Unfortunately there are some students who do not find it comfortable to participate in the class and feel threatened. This could be due to several reasons. ? The language used in the class might be different from their mother’s tongue and therefore give them the fear of making a mistake in front of their native speaker peers. They might have the fear that they do not have enough knowledge and background about business as others do, and therefore make themselves look silly by making a useless comment and several other reasons, which limits students from participating. Strategies have been used by instructors to overcome these kinds of fears. 62 ? ? Preparing comments and speeches are among the tactics used to overcome fears. Students prepare all their comments and what they want to say before the class and write them down, ready to be said. They will feel comfortable thinking they will have a valuable point to make. This is not always right. A discussion is not predictable, and the preparation might not work very well. The discussion might go into a totally different path in which the prepared points are irrelevant. On the other hand a flexible plan preparation can be helpful. It only causes problems when it is â€Å"over prepared†. ? 63 ? Another tactic is to enter the discussion with a delay, which is after listening to the peers and the professor and trying to make a comment relevant to theirs. This is not a very good way. In fact, it makes it harder to enter a discussion, thinking that only a perfect comment will give him the power to break into the discussion. Therefore the earlier the student starts participating, preferably from the first class, he will feel more comfortable. ? 64 ? Case method exposes risk which is shared by everyone. Risk isn’t purely negative; it is a motivator to do the hard work the case method requires. The most valuable advice about case discussion is to speak up early. Speaking up early not only reduces the nervousness of being in the spotlight It also assists you in setting realistic expectations for yourself. †º Setting a limit on your case preparation has several benefits: it puts a healthy pressure on students to use the time well; and it encourages students to pay attention to how you analyze a case. †º Read the case actively. Reading passively is one of the most important obstacles to efficient analysis. 65 ? In addition, students can try to get to know each other outside the classroom. This reduces their fear and strangeness towards each other. ? They can meet outside the classroom. This will definitely change the environment in the classroom. Building a social network is important to case discussion. Students surrounded by classmates who clearly respect them will probably be at least a little more willing to take risks in discussions. The often subtle but damaging influence of stereotypes about gender, personal appearance, and many other characteristics can be muted when people get to know each other as they are instead of what they are projected to be. A classroom friend can encourage a quiet student to speak up or to take bigger risks with his/her comments 66. Regardless of business seriousness, it is also  helpful to be funny at some points, and make others enjoy the class with a little humor. participation. However it should be accompanied by participating. It is important to listen to everyone carefully and contribute equally, and do not hesitate to talk whenever an idea pops in the mind. †º Listening is the most important factor of 67 †º Take a little time after class to think about the discussion before the memory of it fades away, you’ll capture more of the value of the classroom experience. The short-term benefit is greater clarity about the issues that link on case to another and lends coherence to a course. In long run, these takeaways become your personal bible for leadership. is the product of useful contributions over a period of time, not occasional bravura performance. †º You need to be patient. Effective collaboration 68 ? In conclusion, it is important to first analyze and discuss a case to develop one’s understanding of it. Afterwards, the knowledge gained can be employed to draw up the planning of the casebased essay. Finally, using the guidelines outlined, the different aspects of the case analyzed can be used to write up a well-researched essay. 69 ? Ellet W (2007) The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases (Boston: Harvard Business School Press) ECCH Case Study Workshop 2010 ? 70 View as multi-pages TOPICS IN THIS DOCUMENT Scientific method, Casebook method, Case study, Qualitative research RELATED DOCUMENTS How to analyse case study †¦ How to analyse a case study Step 1: Get a general impression †¢ Which organisations and industries/sectors does it relate to? †¢ Is the organisation doing well or badly and how has it performed in the past? Is it an organisation that has an unbroken record of success or has it fallen on hard times? †¢ Look at the development of the organisation over time. What strategies has it pursued? Which have succeeded and which have failed? How successful has the†¦ 4076 Words | 3 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Case Study Guide Ukzn Westville South Africa †¦ UKNZN, SCHOOL OF MIG- DISCIPLINE OF MAKERTING AND SUPPLY CHAIN SCMA 305 2013 CASE STUDY GUIDE ANSWERING CASE STUDIES The following problems that have prevented companies to be successful are as follows: 1. The inability to recognize important problems; 2. Difficulty in formulating the main problem; 3. The inability to actually visualize or understand the situation; 4. The inability to communicate with other managers and†¦ 4076 Words | 7 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Case Study †¦ Introduction to Case Study by Winston Tellis+ The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 2, July, 1997 (http://www. nova. edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/tellis1. html) ——————————————————————————– Abstract This paper is the first of a series of three articles relating to a case study conducted at Fairfield University to assess aspects of the rapid introduction of Information Technology at†¦ 4076 Words | 20 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Case study †¦? Case Study Evaluation Protocol and Procedures Evaluation of the overall quality of each case study will be made on the following criteria: CASE STUDY PARTS CRITERIA Abstract Summary paragraph introducing the project, building, hypothesis, highlights of findings. concise brief of the parts to the case study. Introduction Description of building, background†¦ 4076 Words | 3 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT MGMT591 Case Study Analysis †¦? Case Study Analysis: Building a Coalition Aldranon English II aldranon_englishii@yahoo. com MGMT591 ­_68800_20150301 Glenn Palmer March 22, 2015 Abstract This is an in-depth analysis of case study involving the Woodson Foundation. The analysis will evaluate the structure, environment (internal and external), strategy and implementation of tactics surrounding the program. This is only my interpretation of the program’s strengths†¦ 4076 Words | 6 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Case Analysis Study †¦ Case Study Analysis Paper Prepare a 1,400 to 1,750-word case study analysis paper based on the University of Phoenix Material, â€Å"Case Study for Student Analysis,† located in Week Two of the COMM/215 [pic] page. Below is a detailed description explaining how to prepare a case study analysis paper. ____________________________________________________________ _________________†¦ 4076 Words | 6 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT How to Write a Case Study †¦ Write a Case Study Analysis By Karen Schweitzer, About. com Guide See More About: †¢ case studies †¢ case study analysis †¢ mba classes Ads Wetting Balance TestingSolderability Testing & Analysis Components -PWB- Assemblywww. standsgroup. com Requisite OrganizationFree research and information from the RO International Institute. www. requisite. org Novi Team BuildingIdealna zabava za†¦ 4076 Words | 4 Pages READ FULL DOCUMENT Case Study Writing Fromate †¦ Writing a case study report Josephine Hook, Research & Learning Coordinator Josephine. Hook@monash. edu (Source: www. office. microsoft. com) Outline ? What is a case study? ? Approaching a case study assignment ? The structure of a case study report ? Key elements of a case study report What is a case? A case might be: ? A†¦ 4076 Words |

MIS project for Virginia Tech University implementing the Wimba Research Paper

MIS project for Virginia Tech University implementing the Wimba Virtual Classroom Technology - Research Paper Example In addition, it has been observed that lecturers have been using the virtual classroom for synchronous class periods and office hours as it has multiple uses which include the ability to access and to share information simultaneously from different locations, a tool for audio-visual phone calls, and a medium for retrieving and delivering online lectures. It provides prospects for the students in real time communication with the classmates and lecturers. Correspondingly, the objective of the paper is to explore a discussion relating to the implementation of Wimba Virtual Classroom Technology in Virginia Tech University (Martin & Parker, n.d., Clark & Kwinn, n.d.). Blackboard Inc. lately made acquisition of two of the best providers of collaboration learning and synchronous learning which included both Wimba Inc. and Elluminate Inc. This collaboration resulted in formation of Blackboard Collaborate that is a newest platform for providing educational solutions. This collaboration pursues innovation at a greater extent in meeting the ever-growing requirements of collaboration and synchronous learning with continuous integration support of learning management systems and open sourced application. As a result, it can be affirmed that Virginia Tech University should develop a kind of plan which focuses on successful implementation of virtual classroom. This can be done effectively if inquiry based learning and student centered learning approaches are incorporated in the university to make it interactive, which might be a part of broader blended solution for learning. The plan also should include designing the class in such a manner that the Wimba V irtual Classroom uses a blend of learning activities such as reading, assignments and undertaking of e-learning that is self-paced. Moreover, the result and objectives of the class undertaken must also be considered, along with activities used in these classrooms that ensure reinforcement of learning. In

Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Letter - Essay Example There is no doubt that Facebook has become an outlet for self-aggrandizement represented in such a way that mundane things become magnified and disseminated in mere seconds. There are even times when the venue could jeopardize connections, relationships and even jobs. But this need for information, regardless of necessity is the very reason Facebook survives and will continue to do so for some time. As the author so aptly puts it, â€Å"If someone is offering you a carrot you did not pay for, chances are that there is a stick somewhere.† I think many people feel the same way towards Facebook as a social networking site. Those who abhor it and never attempts to join and those who have joined but decided to uphold their privacy later on or just out of boredom. But the fact still remains that it has given people something to talk about, online or on other medium such as magazine articles. It has diversified life as we know it. Relationships, as pointed out, have become virtual in nature and the interesting idiosyncrasies of human communication have drastically changed. But this is not to say absolutely that everything Facebook has offered is negative. As they say, different strokes for different folks.

Business Plan for Camera Phone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Plan for Camera Phone - Essay Example The detailed plan covers the techniques of marketing and promotional plan which can help the company to achieve its target market. Our product is exclusive and unique in its own way. Our cell phone is slider phone and its offer a 6.3 mega pixel camera. The camera automatically focuses and record videos as well. Following are the exclusive features of our cell phone: Our exclusive camera phone gives clients many opportunities to have some funny and amazing things as they have camera with themselves all the times. Our camera phone is designed to replace your digital camera because of its exclusive technology of 6.3 mega pixels. Another interesting feature is its applications. Now the customer can browse internet easily through our cam phone through GRPS which is very easy. It also includes calendar items, contacts, synchronizing notes etc which are very effective. The biggest benefit you gain while having our company cam phone is that you can email pictures from our cam phone. This is the convenient way to send copies of pictures from our cam phone. The clientele has not to bear any additional cost for hardware or software. However, the client might be charged for such message at very nominal rate. From the research and studies we come to know that's there is huge potential of our company to excel in the market. The sales of installed base of camera phone increases rapidly. And it's around one billion by the end of 2008. The emerging market of first digital camera, results in continuous increase in sales. We are also of the opinion that the launch of our camera phone will be huge success as camera phone sales rising in the

Attend and Analyze a Speech - Delivery Aspects Essay

Attend and Analyze a Speech - Delivery Aspects - Essay Example His speech was quick, probably because he had a lot to cover in a short time. However, he took momentary pauses in between, especially after conveying something important to give us time to ponder over what he just said. He spoke animatedly with many facial expressions. His pronunciation was perfect although his speech lacked lucidity. The speaker appeared very confident in his speech. His appearance was very pleasing to the eye. He had a certain dignity in the way he spoke and moved about during the speech. He would hammer the fist of his right hand onto his left hand whenever he had to stress on the obligations that we should follow in daily life. I found this particular act of his to be very articulate and effective. He maintained eye contact with all the listeners, but most of the time, he would focus on the central part of the audience. He sometimes glanced in the book he carried, but that was less frequent. Most of his facial expressions conveyed more than words could. Whenever he spoke of kindness and compassion, piety and righteousness, his eyes shone with warmth and tears would appear in his eyes. His nonverbal communication was very effective and demanded both attention and admiration. Most of the time, he would point his index finger at the audience as if he was condemning them for something.

Broadband diffusion--estimate the value of national broadband network Research Paper

Broadband diffusion--estimate the value of national broadband network - Research Paper Example Research questions 1. Who are the users of NBN in Melbourne? 2. What are the major applications of NBN by those who have adopted it? 3. What are the benefits/values of NBN to its users? 4. What barriers and problems do the users of NBN face during its application/adoption? Approaches and methods This study will adopt a positivist quantitative approach. The data will be collected from a 40 households from Melbourne area, who will be randomly selected. This will be achieved by use of a survey designed with relevant questions to examine the value of NBN amongst its users. The results of the survey will be analyzed quantitatively, with the aim of finding common patterns that will lead to conclusion. Required resources To effectively conduct the study, the researcher will require about 50 copies of questionnaires, services of two research assistant, stationery such as pencils, rubbers, and two note books. The researcher will also require budgeting for the major expenses that will be incur red in conducting of the study such as transport, communication, and ancillary expanses. Research plan The following table shows the study’s timeline, from development of a plan through submission of the report. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Development of a plan x x Analysis of historical data x x x x Conduct field work x x x x x x x Submit manuscript x x x Model development x x x x x x x x x x x Defend the concept x Submit final report x x Study design The premise of the paper has been defined within a positivist dimension, and as such a quantitative analysis of the data collected will be conducted to try and estimate the value of NBN in Melbourne. A Survey will be conducted, targeted on a total of 40 households and business people from Melbourne area. This survey will be intended to provide insight into household adoption of NDN and its value. The survey will aid in examining how the households and business people have adopted NBN; the reasons they have a dopted them; how they preserve NBN; and how they understand broadband services. Other areas of interest will be on how adoption of NBN affects households’ devises at home, use of internet, and the cost of communication, among other related issues. The survey will be conducted using questionnaires, designed to give answers to the research questions. Some of the advantages that have inspired the researcher to select questionnaire over other data collection tools include the following: (1) It is less expensive because it requires less financial and human resources; (2) Its use can ensure reach of many respondents; (3) The respondents get opportunity to think about how to answer the questions; (4) Since there is no face-to-face interaction, the respondents who would like to hide their identity will be encouraged to participate; and (5) The data is pre-coded and hence its analysis is quite easy (Berg,1998). Once collection of data was completed; it was captured in a Microsoft Exce l spreadsheet. This data was then analyzed using the IBM SPSS 11.0 package. The data was described using descriptive statistics as well as frequency tables. According to Hussey

Transnational Criminal Organizations Research Paper

Transnational Criminal Organizations - Research Paper Example â€Å"Organized crime is both a social system and a social world; the system is composed of relationships binding professionals, criminals, politicians, law enforcers, and various entrepreneurs†1. Evidently, globalization has intensified transnational criminal activities, and the strong existence of these groups has become a new social system which allows reciprocal services to be carried out by professional criminals. Although global financial system has undergone tremendous deregulations, the growth of transnational criminal groups still remains steady. Admittedly, globalization has numerous benefits with regard to international trade and associated activities; but at the same time, the same advantages are accessible to transnational criminals including traffickers and smugglers also. The more alarming threat to the modern world is the apparent linkage between terrorists and transnational criminal groups.    Unrestricted cross-border transaction is one of the major reasons of the increasing rate of transnational crime. Wide use of modern telecommunication technology also has benefited the transnational criminal groups. Today terrorism and transnational crime are the two central threats to our national and international threat; and the both use the similar means to exploit the modern technology, both use the same operators and same systems to move their fund, and both jointly run a good network. Organized crime is so powerful to influence the industrial sectors of many of the developed countries2. For instance, the legal industries rely on the precursor chemicals in large quantities for the cocaine and heroin processing, and attempting to restrict these chemicals can hinder legal trade and have been resisted by the chemical manufactures in the US and Europe3. Organized criminal groups make their income through trafficking weapons and dreadful explosives, drugs. They involve in smuggling, sex rackets, money

Linguistics and Language Essay Example for Free

Linguistics and Language Essay Language Comprehension †¢Language Production †¢Language Acquisition Psycholinguistics is a branch of cognitive science What will be covered in this class? †¢ How do we produce and recognize speech? †¢ How do we perceive words, letters, and sentences? †¢ How do we learn and recall information from texts? †¢ How can we improve texts to make them easier to understand? †¢ How does the brain function to process language? †¢ What are the causes and effects of reading disabilities? Is there language in other species? Central themes in psycholinguistics 1)  What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language? Tacit (implicit) knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge †¢ tacit: knowledge of how to perform something, but not aware of full rules †¢ explicit: knowledge of the processes of mechanisms in performing that thing 2)  What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language? How do we understand a lecture, read a book, hold a conversation? Cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, learning Some definitions of basic components of language: Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences Syntax: The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence or phrase Phonology: The sound pattern of language Pragmatics: How language is used in a social context Examples from psycholinguistics Parsing garden path sentences The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush. 1) The defendant examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable 2) The evidence examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable The process of parsing is the process of making decisions The effect of prior knowledge on comprehension The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important, but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more, and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life. Bransford amp; Johnson, 1973 Recall: No context: 2. 8 idea units out of a maximum of 18 Context afterwards: 2. 7 idea units Context before: 5. 8 idea units Child language development How many words do you know? Hint: Dictionary has about: 450,000 entries Test high school graduates: How many words do they know? About 45,000 english words About 60,000 including names and foreign words The average six year old knows about 13,000 words. Learning about 10 words per day since age 1. (One every 90 minutes) How much do we have to teach children to learn language? Do you have to teach a child to walk? Is it the same way of learning a language? My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we patted them I eated my dinner A brief history of psycholinguistics Wilhem Wundt (early 1900s) Interest in mental processes of language production Sentence as the primary unit of language †¢ Speech production is the transformation of complete thought processes into sequentially organized speech segments. Behaviorism (1920s-1950s) †¢ Rejected the focus on mental processes †¢ Measurement based on objective behavior (primarily in lab animals) †¢ How does experience (reward and punishment) shape behavior? B. F. Skinner: Children learn language through shaping (correction of speech errors) Associative chain theory: A sentence consists of a chain of associations between individual words in the sentence What’s wrong with the behaviorist approach? Noam Chomsky (1950s present) 1) Colorless green ideas sleep furiously 2) Furiously sleep ideas green colorless. 3)  George picked up the baby 4)  George picked the baby up. Almost every sentence uttered is a new combination of words The Poverty of stimulus argument: There is not enough information in the language samples given to children to account for the richnes and complexity of children’s language The pattern of development is not based on parental speech but on  innate  language knowledge Linguistic Diversity vs. Linguistic Universals Linguistic diversity There appears to be a lot of diversity among languages Even within languages there is diversity When are two languages different? We speak the same language if we can understand each other Exceptions: Norwegian and Swedish Cantonese and Mandarin Dialects within languages: The myth of pure language How/why do languages change? Why does there seem to be a correct English? Members of the dominant (most powerful) sub-culture tend to speak one dialect and may punish those who do not Linguistic Chauvinism Belief that one’s own language/dialect is the best of all possible languages Black English Vernacular (BEV) Study by William Labov Interviewed African-American street youth You know, like some people say if you’re good an’ sh*t, your spirit goin’ t’heaven . . . ‘n if you bad, your spirit goin’ to hell. Well, bullsh*t! Your spirit goin’ to hell anyway, good or bad. [Why? ] Why? I’ll tell you why. ‘Cause, you see, doesn’ nobody really know that it’s a God, y’know, ‘cause I mean I have seen black gods, white gods, all color gods, and don’t nobody know it’s really a God. An’ when they be sayin’ if you good, you goin’ t’heaven, tha’s bullsh*t, ‘cause you ain’t goin’ to no heaven, ‘cause it ain’t no heaven for you to go to. †¢ Place holders: There vs. It in the copula Copula: Is, Was optional †¢ Negatives: You ain’t goin’ to no heaven BEV just as linguistically complex as Standard American English We don’t see/understand the complexity in other languages Moral: All languages seem to permit as wide range of expressions as others Linguistic Universals What is in common with all languages? Sentences are built from words based on the same physiological processes †¢ All languages have words †¢ All humans have ways of making sounds. †¢ Languages tend to use a small set of phonemic sounds †¢ Phoneme: The minimal unit of sound that contributes to meaning How many phonemes in a language? English: 40 phonemes †¢ Range: Polynesian 11 to Khoisan 141 Discreteness Messages in human language (e. g. speech sounds) are made up of units of which there is a discrete (limited) number Arbitrariness The relationship between meaningful elements in language and their denotation is independent of any physical resemblance between the two. Words do not have to look or sound like what they describe Openness †¢ New linguistic messages are created freely and easily †¢ Languages are not constrained in a way so that there are a limited number of messages that can be created.

Electoral College System Essay Example for Free

Electoral College System Essay The President and the Vice President of the United States are elected indirectly by an institution known as the Electoral College. The U. S. Constitution provides the broad framework through which electors are appointed and by which they cast votes for the President and Vice President. In evaluating the contingent election process, some commentators have suggested that any threshold inquiry requires assessing how often contingent election occurs. If the results of a general election are frequently inconclusive, they increase the likelihood of contingent election. The democratic criteria require implementing reforms that bring the people into the contingency process. Critics of the Electoral College system argue that the presence of viable and well-funded third-party or independent presidential candidates, who may be able to garner electoral votes by carrying a plurality of the votes in statewide elections, increases the likelihood of contingent election. Analysis of criticism of the Electoral College system There are several shortcomings of the Electoral College as cited by the proponents of the presidential election reform. These shortcomings have raised justifications for reform or abolition of the current system. One of the criticism is on the Electoral College is the Electoral College deadlock of the contingent election. In this one, the 12th amendment provide that the House of Representatives should choose a president and the senate chooses the vice president by contingent election if the presidential and the vice presidential candidates votes have not reached a simple majority of the Electoral College votes. The election of the president by the House of Representatives happened only once on the February 9th, 1825 where John Quincy Adams was elected as President over Andrew Jackson. This election was criticized by some commentators saying that it brought about a constitutional crisis since the president was selected as part of a political corrupt bargain because some of the presidential candidates were disqualified from the contingent election. Critics claim that this election removes the choice of president and vice president voters (Whitaker Neale, 2004). Another criticism is on the minority president which was expressed in the Electoral College misfire. In this one, the current electoral college system can result in the election of a minority president which states that the president can be one who wins the majority of the electoral votes even though he has lost the popular votes. This was experienced in the 1800s where three minority presidents namely, John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, and Benjamin Harrison in1888. The other criticisms are on the current methods of allocating electoral votes, the decennial census problem, and the faithless elector, presidential succession between nomination and inauguration, independent and the third party versus major party candidates. These criticisms have caused so many controversies that have made many people believe that the current Electoral College system is not a good system and therefore it needs amendment (Whitaker Neale, 2004). Advantages of various reform proposals. The electoral college reform proposals include (1)the district plan, awarding each state two at large electoral votes to the state-wide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidate in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained in the state by each candidate; and (3) the automatic plan, awarding each state’s electoral votes directly on a winner-take- all basis to the statewide vote winners (Amar, 1995). The advantages to the electoral-vote system include its tendency to produce a clear winner. The constitution is however subject to change, allowing for the second vote in case of depressed voter turnout. Great leverage is also given to third party candidates by requiring the winner to have a majority and by this it calls for fair and just elections. A National Election Agency is incorporated in the system to run the vote. However, the government also comes in to help, where the National Election Agency has fewer powers under the government (Amar, 1995). Despite the fact that the president alone is elected by the people, doesn’t mean he can legitimately defy the law. It is good to know that the elections are fair in that a presidential candidate who stands in his campaign and wins with a substantial majority of votes from the American people does of course gain the mandate. The candidate who emerges with the most electoral votes has a fully legitimate claim to the office for the next four years (Amar, 1995). Disadvantages of various reform proposals. In the U. S there is a rule that, a candidate chosen on the Election Day may not be the president. Therefore if it happens that a candidate has failed to win the national popular vote, he might be sworn in as the president by the virtue of claiming more electoral votes on than his opponents. Therefore the main disadvantage of such kind of proposal, is that if the sitting president who lost in the popular vote is returned again to power after his rejection, then there will be a wide condemnation on the Electoral college as a wacky anachronism which will lead to extensive demands for the amendments of the constitution in order for the replacement of the electoral vote with popular election (Longley, 2008). Due to this kind of proposals, there is a possibility of not telling the exact winner since the constitution is the main source of authenticity. The main disadvantage here is that there might be a possibility of both candidates having different fundamental campaigns which give different issues of emphasis and making frequent appearances in different states. Another disadvantage for this proposal is the argument on which candidate to take office and who was chosen by an archaic and wholly irrational system. If the electoral system is replaced, by the popular vote election, since it is not irrational there is a possibility of embarrassment on the president opting to be chosen by this process (Dellinger, 2004). Another greatest disadvantage of the present system of voting in U. S is that there is a possibility that the candidate who receives the most votes from the nation (people) may not take office. Therefore the present president in office may face many challenges and offsetting values since he or she was not put in by the majority. The disadvantage of the constitutional system for choosing a president in the U. S is not perfect and needs to be changed and therefore the candidate who emerges with most electoral votes has full justified claim to the office for four years (Dellinger, 2004). Conclusion It is clear that once the candidate chosen by the people of the United States on the Election Day may not become president. The candidate must choose the constitutional rules currently in place. In the voting parties, the party that receives more total votes nationally wins the parliament while the one with fewer total votes chooses the Nation’s prime minister. The constitution however, is subject to change (Longley Dana, 1992). Amending the Constitution to alter it would present a series of difficult questions: Will we give great leverage to third party candidates by requiring the winner to have a majority? Will we have a runoff, which might lead to depressed turnout for the second vote? Will we create a National Election Agency to run the vote and or leave it with the 51 governments who now run it? If those states report raw votes, will they somehow artificially increase the number of voters in the state or pad the totals—a temptation now avoided by having a set number of electoral votes for each state? These are not insurmountable objections to constitutional change, but they should certainly give pause (Longley Dana, 1992). References Amar, A. R. (1995). Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Death: Closing the Constitution’s Succession Gap Dellinger, W. (2004). Popularity contest in defense of the Electoral College, Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC. Retrieved October 26th, 2008, from http://www. slate. com/id/2108991/ Longley R. (2008). The Electoral College System, who really elects the president of the united states, About . com Longley, L. D. Dana, J. D. , Jr. (1992). The Biases of the Electoral College in the 1990s Whitaker, L. P. Neale, T. H. (2004, November 5). The Electoral College: An Overview and Analysis of Reform Proposals. CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved October 26th, 2008, from http://italy. usembassy. gov/pdf/other/RL30804. pdf.

Cloud Computing with Machine Learning for Cancer Diagnosis

Cloud Computing with Machine Learning for Cancer Diagnosis Cloud computing with Machine Learning could help us in the early diagnosis of breast cancer Junaid Ahmad Bhat, Prof. Vinai George and Dr. Bilal Malik Abstract— The purpose of this study is to develop tools which could help the clinicians in the primary care hospitals with the early diagnosis of breast cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer in developing countries and often gets detected at the lateral stages. The detection of cancer at later stages results not only in pain and agony to the patients but also puts lot of financial burden on the caregivers. In this work, we are presenting the preliminary results of the project code named BCDM (Breast Cancer Diagnosis using Machine Learning) developed using Matlab. The algorithm developed in this work is based on adaptive resonance theory. (Explain the results of this work here ..). The aim of the project is to eventually run the algorithm on a cloud computer and a clinician at a primary healthcare can use the system for the early diagnosis of the patients using web based interface from anywhere in the world. Keywords— Adaptive Resonance theory, Breast Cancer Diagnosis, FNA I. Introduction The breast cancer is one of the common cancers and ranked second in the world after the lung cancer. (1)This type of cancer also ranked second in northern India. (1)Breast cancer is one of the leading cancers found in Kashmir (1) .Classifying the cells into the malignant and benign is the main goal in the diagnoses of breast cancer and misclassification could cost pain to the patients and extra burden to health care providers. Due to noise in the data, the problem to classify becomes non-trivial and has thus attracted researchers from machine learning to improve the classification.(2) Researchers have used different machine learning algorithms to improve the diagnosis of breast cancer. (3) And Neural Networks is one of the machine learning algorithms, which has been widely used for diagnosis of breast cancer. In order to achieve the exactness Adaptive Resonance theory that is one of the variants of Neural Network been used for prediction purposes. Neural Network gained importance in 505 till late 60s due to its accuracy and learning capabilities but got diminished in 80s due to its computational cost. With the advancement in technology (4) Neural Networks are becoming popular due to their ability to achieve non-linear hypotheses even when input feature scale is large (4). This work proposes to use a variant of neural networks based on adaptive resonance theory to improve the breast cancer diagnosis. This algorithm has been developed and tested in Matlab 2012.has been tested on lot of real life problems that include automated automobile control, for classification purposes and for the detection of intruders in the battlefield. II. Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) The Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) is a neural network architecture that generates suitable weights (parameter) by clustering the pattern space. . The motive for adapting ART instead of a conventional neural network is to solve the stability and plasticity problem. (5) ART networks and algorithms keep the plasticity to learn new patterns and prevent the amendment of patterns that it learned earlier. The stable network will not return the previous cluster. The operation of ART works as it accepts an input vector and classifies it into one of the clusters depending on to which cluster it resembles. If it will not match with any of the category then a new category is created by storing that pattern. When a store pattern is, bring into being that matches the input vector within a specified tolerance that made it to look like the input vector. The pattern will not be modified if it doesnt match the current input pattern within the vigilance parameter. With the help of it the problems associated with stability and plasticity can be resolved. (5) Figure 4 Art 1Neural Network Architecture A. Types of Adaptive Resonance Theory 1) Adaptive Resonance Theory 1 It is the first neural network of Adaptive Resonance theory. It consists of two layers that cluster the pattern from the input binary vector. It accepts the input in the form of binary values (6). 2) Adaptive Resonance Theory 2 It is the second type of neural Network of Adaptive Resonance theory .It is complex than that of ART1 network and accepts the values in the form of continuous valued vector. The reason of complexity for ART 2 is that it possesses the normalization combination and noise inhibition alongside it compares the weights needed for the reset mechanism. (6) B. Working of ART 1 Neural Network The art Neural Networks works in the following fashion, which comprises of three layers and each layer has its own role to play. 1) Input layer 2) Interface layer 3) Cluster layer The parameters used in algorithm are as: Num = Number of Symptoms M = Clusters as {benign ,Malignant} bwij =Bottom up weights Twij = Top down weights P =Vigilance parameter S = Binary forms of the input symptoms X = Activation vector for interface ||x|| =norm of x or sum of the components of x Step 1: Initialize Parameters L > 1 and 0 Initialize weights 0 ij (0) ij (0)=1 Step 2: While stop condition is false, perform step 3 to 14 Step 3: For each training input do step 4 to 13 Step 4: Set Activation of all F2 units to 0 Set Activation of F1(a) units to binary forms of Symptoms vector Step 5: Compute the sum of the symptoms ||s|| = ∑ i Si Step 6: Send the symptom vector from input layer to interface layer xi = si Step7: The cluster node that is not inhibited If yj != -1 then yj = ∑ bij *xi Step8: While reset is true, perform step 9-12 Step 9: Find J such that yi >= yj for all nodes j If yj = -1 then All then odds are inhibited thus cannot be clustered Step 10: Recomputed activation vector x of interface unit Xi= si *tji Step 11: Compute the sum of the components of vector x ||x||= ∑I Xi Step 12: Test for reset condition if ||x|| / ||s|| Yj = -1 (inhibited node j) Move to step step 8 again if ||x|| / ||s|| >= p then move to next step Step 13: Update the bottom up weights and top up weights as: bij (new)=L*xi / L 1 +| |x|| and Tji (new)=xi Step 14: Test for the stopping condition if((bij(new_val)==bij(previous_vreeal)))(tij(new_val)==tij(previous_val))) III. Classifying Breast Cell The data set for this research was taken from Mangasarian and Wolberg. This data set was obtained by taking Fine Needle Aspirates (FNA) approach. (7) This data set is available for public in UCI repository. (7) It contains 699 samples of patients consists of two classes 458 as benign cases and 451 malignant cases. The following are the attributes of the database: Sample Code Number Clump Thickness Uniformity of Cell Size Uniformity of Cell Shape Marginal Adhesion Single Epithelial Cell Size Bare Nuclei Bland Chromatin Normal Nucleoli Mitosis Class We have taken this data in its original form. This dataset is available in UC Irvine Machine Learning Repository (7) IV. Experiment Our Experiment consists of four different modules which is further divided and does work in the following sequence as given in the figure 5 below. Figure 5: Modules of the Algorithm A. Modules of the Experiment 1) Pre processing In our dataset, not all the features are taking part in the classification process thus; we remove patients id feature. Then we left with ten attributes so we separate the feature set from the class values as Xij and Yi. a) Data Normalization After preprocessing stage Normalization of Xij (nine feature vectors) need to perform by using this equation: New_val = (current _val min value) / (Max value min value) Where, New_val = New value after scaling current_val = Current value of the feature vector Max_val = Maximum value of each feature vector Minvalue = Minimum value of each feature vector b) Data Conversion The new values (New_val) after getting from the previous step are truncated and converted into binary format. Then grouping was done on the base of range; the values falling in the range of 0 to 5 assigned as 0. Whereas, values in the range from 5 to 10 are assigned as 1.Then each sample as an input is given to ART1 network for training and testing purpose. 2) Recognition Stage Initially all components of the input vector were assigned to zero because no sample was applied to the input layer. This sets the other two layers to zero there by disabling all the neurons and results in zero output. Since all neurons are at the same stage, thus every neuron has an equal chance to win. The input vector then applied in the recognition layer, at each neuron performs a dot product between the input vector and its weight vector. A neuron that comes with the greatest dot product possesses the weights that most excellent matches input vector. It inhibits all the other outputs from that neuron from that layer. This indicates the recognition layer stores the patterns in the form of weights associated with neurons one for each class. 3) Comparison Stage In the recognition layer the network fired passes one back to the comparison layer when it passes the output signal. The comparison neurons that will fire are the one those receive simultaneously from the input feature vector and the comparison layer excitation vector. If there is a mismatch between these two, few neurons in the comparison layer will fire to the next layer until X got over. This means that the pattern P being feedback is not the one sought and neuron firing in the recognition layer should be inhibited. Then comparison of the symptoms vector and the inner layer vector and if the value is less then vigilance parameter, the network causes reset which causes the firing neuron in the recognition layer to zero and disable it for the current classification. 4) Search Stage The classification process finishes if the reset signal is not generated. Otherwise other patterns were researched to find the correct match. This method continues until either all the stored pattern has been tried or all recognition neurons are inhibited. V. Results The performance of the Algorithm studied is as under: The Training percentage and testing percentage total time taken and the relative efficiency when vigilance parameter is 0.5 is given by the chart. Figure 6 : The classification performance on Vigilance parameter 0.5 The efficiency of the Network with vigilance parameter 0.7 on different percentage of training and testing sets given in figure 7. And on taking the vigilance parameter as 0.7 but on different percentage of training and testing dataset we got better efficiency than that of in figure 7 as shown in figure 8. Figure 7: The Classification performance on Epoch 0.7 Figure 8: Calculation of Efficiency on different proportion of data The efficiency of the Network with vigilance parameter 0.9 on different percentage of training and testing sets given as under: Figure 9 : The Efficiency of the Network on Vigilance Parameter 0.9 The Maximum and Minimum time for training the Network on different tolerance factors is in the table as: Table 1: Calculation of Training time VI. Conclusion In this paper, we evaluated the adaptive resonance theory for the diagnosis of breast cancer using Wisconsin as data set. Several tests has been taken on different proportion of training and testing dataset and we concluded that by taking the vigilance parameter as 0.5 and taking the ratio of data as 90% for training and 10 % for testing we could achieve the better results. Although we have taken into account all the parameters in the further scope of research, we use the feature selection process so that we can reduce the time and improve the accuracy. In addition to that, we take the dataset from the local hospital so that we use that for the benefit of the society. References Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics. Afroz, Fir, et al. 2012, Vol. 8. Heart Disease Diagnosis using Support Vector. Shashikant Ghumbre, Chetan Patil,Ashok Ghatol. Pattaya: International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technology, Dec. 2011. Stefan Conrady, Dr. Lionel Jouffe. Breast Cancer Diagnostics with Bayesian Networks. s.l.: Bayesia, 2013. DONG, Yiping. A Study on Hardware Design for High Performance Artificial Neural Network by using FPGA and NoC . s.l.: Waseda University Doctoral Dissertation, July -2011. S N Sivanandan, S Sumathi , S N Deepa. Introduction to Neural Network and Matlab 6.0. s.l.: Tata Mc-Graw -Hill, 2006. Evaluation of Three Neural Network Models using Wisconsin Breast Cancer. K. Mumtaz, S. A. Sheriff,K. Duraiswamy. UCL Wisconsin data set. [Online] [Cited: 30 10 2014.] http://archive.ics.uci.edu/ml/datasets/Breast+Cancer+Wisconsin+(.

Animal Rights Essay -- Legal Issues, Animal Rights

Justifying Animal Rights In this society, it is under law for all people have the basic rights under the universal declaration of human rights. As stated, this only benefits humans, where humans rule the world. So where does the rights of animals come from? Many people do not understand animal rights and how we should treat them equally and why. Through animal research and experimentations, humans are getting benefit and gains in the obscene inhumane ways; the poor animals are suffering through pain and distress, even though they have moral status and rights. A right is a particular way of protecting interests, to say that an interest is protected by a right, is to say that interest is protected against being ignored or violated simple because this will benefit someone else. So what are animal rights? Animal rights is the idea that animals have the same rights as humans, to live free of suffrage, just as important as living individuals, and with the same moral status as humans. According to Doris Lin, an animal rights attorney and the Vice President of Legal Affairs for the Bear Education and Resource Group, â€Å"They have a right to be free of oppression, confinement, use and abuse by humans.† However, rights are not absolute in the sense that their protection has no exception. David DeGrazia, the author of many scholarly animal rights books dealing ethical and philosophical issues, explained that animal rights might be unfamiliar to most people because of the daily abuses and killing toward animals that are viewed as socially a cceptable, and unconsciously ignored due to normal day-to-day activities and even festivals with animal killings for fun. (12) Animal abuses can be ranged from animal experimentations and testings... ... animal rights view, the animals, like humans have rights in the â€Å"utility- trumping sense†. The utility-trumping sense have vital interest that we must not override, even in an effort to maximize the utility for society. (Animal Rights, 20) Billions of animals are being slaughtered, abused, and harmed every year; causing enormous amounts of pain, suffering and distress upon them. It is wrong for humans to cause extended harm to animals for no compelling reason, for the fact that they have moral statuses. We have obligations to animals, and these are not simply grounded in human interests. However, the issues of moral status and equal consideration are far more fundamental and far-reaching in practical impact as DeGrazia have stated. (38) Animals have as much moral status and rights as humans do, and are most definitely worthy of our consideration in their lives.

The Sun Will Rise Over Moldova :: Personal Narrative Writing

The Sun Will Rise Over Moldova It is 5:30 in the morning, and I still fill like I am dreaming. The officer asks for my Passport, I give it to him and look back. My mother with her face wet with tears says something, but the words do not reach me. I have to move on, but I know this is a moment of extreme importance in my life. Somebody by my side tells an anecdote; everybody is laughing, but I felt deep in my thoughts. My flight to New York is in less than 30 minutes. Moldova is a small developing country in South-central Europe. Its economy is in transition from a command to a market economy, and the life of the society is directly associated with the fluctuations in financial need. People have a hard time. Sometimes there is no heat in winter, or the salary is not paid on time. There are limited energy resources, so it is common not to have electricity certain hours or gas for cooking. It is strange for people to think it is better somewhere, and the movies and TV shows about the United States seem like a far, impossible reality. I dreamed about it. In this environment some years ago a few foundations established in Moldova, and they provide a free cultural exchange for high school students. They have their goals to teach the youth about a better system of life arrangements, which can be brought to life in Moldova, too. The country of freedom, democracy, and economical wealth was not so far now. I was one of those willing to see the new continent, and I knew that all the efforts are worth it. I forced myself to be better, involved myself in many activities, and began studying English intensively, because I knew it would not be easy to achieve the goal. Every year thousands of students enter the contest, but only 20 or 30 receive the funding. In 1996 I entered the contest supervised by FSA ( Freedom Support Act ) and founded by the Congress of the United States of America. After 6 month of tests, essays, and intense emotions I did not win the contest. I was disappointed and ready to quit, but I did not. It was not finished yet. T he next year my name was on the contestants' list again. I applied for two scholarships, the FSA and the Soros Foundation. The Sun Will Rise Over Moldova :: Personal Narrative Writing The Sun Will Rise Over Moldova It is 5:30 in the morning, and I still fill like I am dreaming. The officer asks for my Passport, I give it to him and look back. My mother with her face wet with tears says something, but the words do not reach me. I have to move on, but I know this is a moment of extreme importance in my life. Somebody by my side tells an anecdote; everybody is laughing, but I felt deep in my thoughts. My flight to New York is in less than 30 minutes. Moldova is a small developing country in South-central Europe. Its economy is in transition from a command to a market economy, and the life of the society is directly associated with the fluctuations in financial need. People have a hard time. Sometimes there is no heat in winter, or the salary is not paid on time. There are limited energy resources, so it is common not to have electricity certain hours or gas for cooking. It is strange for people to think it is better somewhere, and the movies and TV shows about the United States seem like a far, impossible reality. I dreamed about it. In this environment some years ago a few foundations established in Moldova, and they provide a free cultural exchange for high school students. They have their goals to teach the youth about a better system of life arrangements, which can be brought to life in Moldova, too. The country of freedom, democracy, and economical wealth was not so far now. I was one of those willing to see the new continent, and I knew that all the efforts are worth it. I forced myself to be better, involved myself in many activities, and began studying English intensively, because I knew it would not be easy to achieve the goal. Every year thousands of students enter the contest, but only 20 or 30 receive the funding. In 1996 I entered the contest supervised by FSA ( Freedom Support Act ) and founded by the Congress of the United States of America. After 6 month of tests, essays, and intense emotions I did not win the contest. I was disappointed and ready to quit, but I did not. It was not finished yet. T he next year my name was on the contestants' list again. I applied for two scholarships, the FSA and the Soros Foundation.