Interpersonal Communication Styles Examined in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Throughout the semester, we have been introduced to many topics related to interpersonal communication. I have come to believe that these concepts have allowed me to better understand interactions that occur in our daily lives. My knowledge of these concepts was challenged when asked to relate these notions to a movie. During the time that I was watching the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I realized myself grasping onto what was going on and being able to relate certain scenes and situations to topics I had previously learned about. Interactions in My Big Fat Greek Wedding display concepts of conflict and politeness theory, which can be pointed out in a few specific scenes. During the movie, I found that these concepts that were taught in class helped me better understand and relate to certain clips of the movie. Throughout the rest of the paper, I will be going into a bit more detail about exactly what these concepts are and mean, following that I will be giving examples from the movie that demonstrate the concepts of conflict and politeness theory. The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a 30-year old and single woman named Toula Portokalos who although has lived a very Greek life-style up to this point, decides to pursue a relationship with a non-Greek man. This, of course, is disturbing to her family since they are so proud about their culture, and do not really know anything different. Her whole life, Toula has been instilled with a very traditional Greek outlook on life. She has been expected to do three things: Marry a Greek boy, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day they die. Throughout the movie, Toula overcomes inner struggles to find her own identity, and she overcomes struggles with her family. The first topic that is found in the movie that was taught in class is conflict. Conflict is expressed disagreement over perceived incompatible goals. Although it may seem it, conflict is not always a negative thing. Conflict is needed and can help growth of relationships. Many conflicts are started because people have different conversational styles. In class, we learned that there are guidelines that one should follow in order to help prevent conflict or help solve it. The guidelines include clarifying goals, helping others save face, using constructive criticism skills, using empathic listening skills, monitoring nonverbal be... ...er try to think of a way to ask her father. They decide to make him think that he has come up with the idea. Toula?s mother could have flat out said that Toula wanted to work at the travel agency, but she instead decides to save his ?face?. She basically decides to ask him in an off-record way. It could be said that the mother manipulates the father in a very clever way, which was probably a good way to handle the situation. If she would have just asked him bald on record, or with some redress, about Toula working at the agency it may have started an argument. After completing this assignment, I am amazed on how much of a better understanding I have on these concepts. Not only am I able to connect them with situations in daily life, but even to the extent at which I can relate them to circumstances in a movie. The two topics that I chose to explore further and relate to the movie and each other were conflict and politeness theory. Not only did I realize my ability to connect such topics to fulfill this assignment, but I somehow feel that my future experiences watching movies or paying attention to others daily behaviors will be more analytical after completing this assignment.

IQ Tests :: Triarchic Theory, Intelligence, Success

To what extent do you agree that IQ tests are a meaningful measure of intelligence? Introduction: There is much debate about IQ tests. There are many definitions of intelligence and no one agreed on a specific definition. Triarchic theory one of definitions which is describe intelligence categories in three aspects involved: analytical, creative and practical (Sternbery, 1958). Some researches emphasize that IQ tests are meaningless and measures intelligence as Cohen (1991) believes that IQ scores can predict if people success in school and work or not. However, other researches argue that IQ tests is meaningless and it not possible to determined intelligence. For example, Rawat (2001) clime that IQ scores are affected by many factors. As a result, people could not depended on IQ results. This essay will argue that taking IQ tests as a measures of intelligence is insignificant. Although, it also might present some benefits. In order to demonstrate this the essay first will discuss IQ scores are able to change and it is not a good criterion to depend on. Second, it will argue that there are many factors affected on intelligence such as heredity and socio-economic factors. Moreover, it will show the differences between success and intelligence. Furthermore, it will focus on using IQ tests to discriminate between people. 1. High IQ scores do not prove intelligence: One of the reasons of IQ tests are meaningless is the obtaining high scores in the IQ test is not enough of measuring intelligence. According to Rawat (2001) high scores in the IQ test do not mean someone is intelligent. Furthermore, Chon (1991) point out people can change IQ scores when they take the test more than once, also they could know the main idea of the test, how the test works, what procedures, how they can answer the questions. As a result, they can change their scores to a high level by preparation. Indeed, it could not be a good criterion of measure of intelligence because the result is not fixed and always changes. Goleman (1998) and Salovey and Mayer (1990) mention that emotional intelligence is the important ability to express and understand emotional knowledge. As a result, IQ scores cannot be accounted by IQ test because it could not support and covered the emotional intelligence's side. Therefore, it seems clear that attaining high scores in the IQ tests are not r eliable results and cannot evaluate intelligence significantly. 2. Different factors can affect intelligence:

New Communication Structure Essay

Communication is important in every aspect of our lives. This is also true for the communication used in our professional lives. When at work we â€Å"depend on cooperation with others to accomplish our goals, and communication is the critical human process we use to promote such cooperation.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 1.1) Understanding communication is the best way to make sure it is being used effectively correctly. When communication is effective then organizational components will run smoother and efficiently. Smoother and effective communication means that an organization has a greater chance of following its mission and achieving its goals. Successful communication can be as important to organizational productivity as any other component used. There are five concepts that are important for successful communication within an organizational setting and this proposal will discuss their necessity in an organization. Culture is something that needs to be recognized and aware of whe n we are communicating with everyone. It is also important in organizational communication. Organizational culture includes the norms and attitudes of the organization. To support clear and effective communication in an organization the employees must be pay close attention the organizational culture. The process of socialization will also help an employee to adapt to an organization’s culture. The process of socialization is where, â€Å"established members of cultural groups educate others and enforce adherence to established cultural rules or norms for appropriate behavior.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 17) In understanding the norms in an organization communication will be smoother because there will be less chance for misunderstandings. An example of organizational culture would be the style of dress in the office. If an organization is one where the employees dress in suits and formal business wear then an employee who came to work in shorts and a t-shirt would affect  the culture in a negative way. Those communicating with those employees could become uncomforta ble, or distracted. This may result in avoiding communication with this employee and over all communication will breakdown. Avoidance of communication with only one employee is enough to cause a gap in efficiency. The book â€Å"Communications in Organizations† explains, â€Å"Strategic organizational communicators initiate and develop strong, effective, and satisfying relationships with others to promote cooperation and coordination in organizational life.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 15) Understanding the organizational culture also builds trust and respect among employees which in turn brings higher production. Paying attention to organizational culture helps to build the relational communication to support effective communication. Part of an organization’s culture is the forms of communication used. Informal and formal communications are two types of communication that play an important role in an organization. The difference in both forms of communication can be explained as â€Å"Formal patterns of organizational communication follow the power hierarchy within organizations, whereas informal patterns of communication do not necessarily follow along power hierarchy lines† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 1.5) Formal communication is used to address important job related material. Paying close attention when receiving or using formal communication will stop an employee from making a mistake and will also give them the information to be successful. However, when filtering through formal communications such as emails it is important to avoid information overload. Information overload takes place when, â€Å"so many different messages are impinging on a person that the person has difficulty making sense of all the information available.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 174) Scanning email for the most important and relative messages is a skill that is necessary but recognizing formal emails for their importance will ensure that the information involved will be received. In understanding the nuances of informal communication an employee can avoid getting themselves in trouble by offending a supervisor or missing important information. In regards to organizational communication conflict resolution can be the difference in success or failure when working with others to meet company goals. Conflict is inevitable, and happens when people communicate. It can come from assumptions, miscommunications, or one way communication. The good news is conflict can be turned into a positive thing. A quote in  the book, says An Introduction to Leadership, that, â€Å"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.† (Weis, 2011, pg 2) Working through conflicts can build better communication skills, as well as trust and understanding. In using conflict resolution steps new and better ideas can be generated for the organizations. A gentleman named Mr. Tim Scudder wrote a book in which he describes five steps to conflict resolution. An interview he gave he made the point that in conflict â€Å"both parties want the same thing.† (Scudder, 2011) He also stressed the importance of anticipating conflict. By anticipating conflict an employee will take time to think, and in thinking they will realize that the person they may have a conflict with wants the same thing. This puts the employee in a positive frame of mind and helps to come to a reasonable solution for both involved. In the article â€Å"How to Deal with Annoying Co-Workers† gives a suggestion to help in dealing with co-workers. It suggests that, â€Å"With most types of annoying co-workers, the solution is simply to be straightforward and assertive.† (Green, 2011) Working through a conflict helps co-workers to come to a better understanding of each other. When people understand and respect each other communication is smoother and more effective. Once again, smoother and effective communication benefits the organization. Formal communication, informal communication, and conflict resolution involve two parties. Each of these communications involves a time where another party receives information. In face to face communication active listening is a technique that will ensure that messages are received correctly and will allow the listener to formulate the best response. Active Listening is not only an important part of conflict resolution but communication as a whole. Active listening means, â€Å"being fully engaged in paying attention to your relational partner’s communication with you. It is not just hearing skills. It involves paying close attention to your partner’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 4.3) In other words, it’s a way of showing respect for those you are communicating with. It sounds as simple as just listening but it’s not that simple. It takes a conscious effort to begin with before it becomes habit. If you are fully engaged in what your partner is communicating then you will get all of the information being sent. It may also evoke the norm of reciprocity which will have your partner giving you  their full attention. The norm of reciprocity is, â€Å"the urge to act in-kind that often encourages these relational partners to provide you with information and treat you similarly to the way you treat them.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 15) The importance to an organization of its members practicing active listening is participants receive all the information that is coming to them. This means that they have all they would need to know to complete their jobs successfully and meet organizational goals. Organizations have both formal and informal leaders. Formal leaders typically are ‘assigned their positions of authority within the organizational hierarchy and hold titles such as president, vice president, division leader, and manager.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 19) Informal leaders are little harder to define by position or tile but â€Å"emerge with organizational life based on credibility (usually a combination of charisma, dynamism, expertise, and trustworthiness), ability to accomplish complex tasks, and access to relevant information.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 19) Even if you are not a formal leader you can still have influence over others as an informal leader. Informal leaders are not defined by title but by quality of character. Understanding leadership strategies and what being a leader entails helps to motivate workers to meet organizational goals. It is important for organizational leaders be able to communicate in different ways for different situations. There are several different leadership strategies that can be employed for different situations. To understand leadership strategies it’s important to think about how leaders may see those under them. Douglas McGregor used X and Y models of leadership to explain the relationship between leaders and followers. Theory X makes the assumption about workers they do not like work and will do anything to avoid it. This model will make leaders be more directed because they think that is what workers prefer and need. McGregor’s Theory Y assumes that workers do not dislike work and will work hard if they feel the value of their effort. The Theory Y suggests that if workers are given a degree of autonomy and a chance to use their imaginations they will strive to be successful in their tasks. Depending on how leaders see workers can dictate their leadership strategies. One of three helpful leadership styles is the autocratic leadership style. This is a leadership style that would come from a leader who is a believer in Theory X. An autocratic leader â€Å"makes most  organizational decisions without consulting with others. The leader calls all the shots, tells workers what to do and how to do it.† (Kreps, 2011; sec 7.6) This type of leadership style would have little use for upward communication from those who follow. Upward communication is, â€Å"communication that travels up the power hierarchy.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 10) This would be difficult for a leader who believes in Theory X because, â€Å"upward communication enables workers to express their concerns and ideas, to provide and ask for feedback, and seek clarification from managers.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 10) The autocratic leadership style is best suited not for driving workers but in emergency situation where there is little time for collaboration. Organizational participants would appreciate a direct approach in times of pressure. On the opposing side of autocratic leadership is democratic leadership style. When using the democratic leadership style you, â€Å"share responsibility and involve other organizational participants in decision making, although the process for the final decision may vary from the leader having the final say to them facilitating consensus in the group.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) This type of leadership style is something that followers respond positively to. It also bolsters the leader’s position because the workers feel a â€Å"buy in† to the process. This is something that Theory Y talks about. The ability of helping the workers feel that their efforts and work are valued, and helping them to see the value. The drawback to this type of style is that it is time consuming, and can lead to conflict if not used correctly and in the right situation. Lastly, there is the laissez-faire leadership style. The laissez-faire leadership style would have the leader, â€Å"share power with workers and delegate decision-making authority to those individuals who are directly involved in the decision-making situations.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) This leadership style could be considered an extension of the democratic leadership style. In using this style it is important for a leader to know the capabilities of those under them. The employees under this leader must be experienced and skilled in the tasks that they are being given a degree of control over. This type of leadership style will help a leader delegate those things they have little time for. Delegation is an important skill. In the article â€Å"A Tool Kit for the Real World† it says that, â€Å"Business people don’t get accolades for being smart, but for being effective. That is measured in  things like increased sales, increased earnings and an increased number of licensing agreements. Not, alas, by the fruition of one employee’s great idea.† (Motluk, 2011) However, this should not be used as a way of having others do their work for them. This would be damaging to the leader and certainly the organization in that it can bring a degree of disorganization that would be extremely difficult to correct. The leadership strategies above are mentioned because they show the need for a leader to be able to decipher the right strategy for the right situation. Each has one distinctive way to deal with leading and each has its drawbacks when used outside of its best application. Therefore the situational model of leadership may be the best strategy when it comes to leadership. The situational model of leadership is, â€Å"based on the assumption that there is no right way of leading. Rather, the best leaders adapt to the unique situational constraints to exhibit the appropriate leadership style for the situation.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) A leader must be able to analyze situations, those involved, the choices, and the preferred outcome. If it’s an emergency and little time involved then use the autocratic leadership style. When time is available to employ upward communication, and bolster workers self esteem and organizational value a leader should employ democratic leadership style. If a leader is feeling overwhelmed or they are feeling pulled in too many directions, perhaps a laissez-faire leadership style might help to delegate tasks to that can handle them. Understanding leadership strategies helps to use communications with workers that will work best in certain situations. The most important thing about communication in the work place is awareness. As the book â€Å"Communications in Organizations† points out, â€Å"Organizations and the way they communicate play critical roles in our lives.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 25) The key to effective communication is awareness. All of the five concepts of organizational communication mentioned above have some type of awareness piece built in. Communication is smoothest when those communicating are aware of those they are communicating with, their culture, and their style of communication. Thinking before speaking, anticipating change and conflict, and knowing what actions to take will help a leader communicate effectively with workers. After presenting the five concepts for successful communication within an organizational setting above it is clear to see their necessity for  successful communication. References Kreps, G. (2011). Communications in Organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Green, A. (2011, January 6). How to Deal With Annoying Co-Workers. Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/06/06/how-to-deal-with-annoying-co-workers Motluk, A.(2011) A Tool Kit for the Real World. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19969-a-tool-kit-for-the-real-world.html?full=true (2011). Tim Scudder Interview. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_E7YVkjJQ0 Weiss, J. (2011). An Introduction to Leadership. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Adam Smith and Karl Marx Essay

Adam Smith and Karl Marx Modern political economic theory and philosophy can be greatly attributed to the works of two men who seemingly held polar opposite views on the subject. Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher, published his most well known work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776 and is most often associated with the ideas and principles of the political economic system known as Capitalism. At the other end of the spectrum is Karl Marx; the German philosopher most often associated with Communism and the author (or co-author) of The Communist Manifesto. This paper seeks to discuss the core differences in their respective political economic philosophies with regards to what economic value is and what the role of government should be in their versions of political economy. This will conclude with the argument that while Smith's work had laid the foundation for modern economic philosophy, it was Marx who would ultimately leave the most significant impression upon the world with his revolutionary ideas. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (commonly abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations) is considered to be the first full treatment on the study of Economics. This work essentially lays the foundation for the economic system known as Capitalism. Interestingly enough, Capitalism was a term first brought into the public debate, somewhat pejoratively, by Karl Marx himself in describing a â€Å"capitalist† as a private owner of capital or the means or production. (â€Å"Capitalism† (Wikipedia), 2008). A consensus definition of this idea is an economic system based on private individual ownership of property in which the distribution of goods is determined freely by competing market forces and investments are made by individuals. (â€Å"Capitalism† (Merriam-Webster), 2008). In a Capitalist society, individuals are free to own property and invest their capital in the pursuit of profit with relatively limited influence or barriers from the government. The Wealth of Nations was organized into five books of several chapters each. The first two books examine the fundamentals of the market system and include explanations relating to the role of labor, the nature of capital and markets, and the motives people have for entering into the market system. The third book is mostly an historical examination of the economics in ancient societies. The fourth book is the core of Smith's argument for the capitalist society and it in these chapters that Smith lays out the core arguments for the limited role of government that is required for long term economic success. The fifth book deals primarily with government spending, revenues and taxation. The Communist Manifesto was much more a call to action than it was a treatise on economics and is a much shorter work than Smith's The Wealth of Nations. Marx also published a very thorough (and denser) economic examination known as Das Kapital in 1867. The conclusions reached in that and other works would underpin the concepts found in The Communist Manifesto. It is not inaccurate to say that Communism is in many ways the opposite of Capitalism. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and co-author Friedrich Engels listed 10 attributes of an ideal Communist society. The first one lays out the primary condition: â€Å"Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. † (Marx & Engels, 2006, p. 32) This effectively describes state-ownership and control of all capital and the means of the production made for the benefit of all in a classless society. Communism espouses the idea that the economy should function for the greater good of all society and not merely act as a tool to enrich the ‘bourgeois† or ruling classes. As the title would indicate, The Communist Manifesto lays out the purpose and reasoning for the existence of the Communist party that was developing across Europe in that time. In the prologue, Marx and Engels state the books purpose: It is high time that Communists should openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the Specter of Communism with a Manifesto of the party itself. Marx & Engels, 2006, p. 2) The chief disagreement between Capitalists and Communists is who or what is entitled to ownership and the means of production. In chapter one of the second book of The Wealth of Nations, Smith defined capital as the stock (read: assets or money) that a person does not immediately consume for which the owner expects to derive a f uture profit. (Smith, 1909) This of course implies that the individual has possession and ownership of the capital item in the first place. Marx bestows a social aspect upon what capital is in The Communist Manifesto. Marx stated that capital is a â€Å"collective product? nly by the united action of all members of society, can it be set in motion. Capital is therefore not a personal, it is a social power. † (Marx & Engels, 2006, p. 23) In other words, capital belongs to all of the people that are needed to not only produce it, but to provide a reason for its value. One thing that Marx and Smith seems to have agreed upon is something economists call the Labor Theory of Value. While they would ultimately come to different conclusions on the use of the value, the basic assumption is this theory is that value is ultimate derived in an object from the labor necessary to produce it. â€Å"Labor Theory†, 2008) In chapter 5 of book I of The Wealth of Nations, Smith argues tha t â€Å"the real price of everything? is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. † (Smith, 1909, p. 36) Smith distinguishes this from the nominal value of an item that can vary based on market forces; he holds that the real value is constant in relation to the labor that it used in its production. Smith argues in the following chapter that there are three components to the price of an item: the labor needed to produce it, the â€Å"rent of the land† or resources needed to make it, and the â€Å"profit of stock† that compensates the investor for risking his resources. In Das Kapital, Marx also recognizes the labor component of any item in the first chapter. He states that any commodity has a use-value and an exchange value that is derived from the labor needed to produce it. (Marx, 2000) Marx however viewed the â€Å"profit of stock† as the ability of the capitalist to exploit the wage laborers out of the surplus value of the things they create because of their control over the means of production. The role of government in relation to the economic system is a central theme of how ultimately successful the economic system would become. One of Smith's core arguments to the success of capitalism is summarized in his most famous metaphor of the â€Å"invisible hand† found in Chapter 2 of Book IV in The Wealth of Nations: By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. (Smith, 1909, p. 351-352) Smith argued that in a fair and free market economic system, producers will act in their own self-interest to maximize their profits. As profits increased, competitors would come about seeking to obtain a share of the profits, and would thus drive down prices through this competition. The result was more efficiency and productivity that would lead to the long term benefit of all of society. He was against any government action that would serve to disrupt this natural balance such as trade restrictions, wage laws, and industry regulation. Smith essentially believed that the more the government stayed out of the way, the better off society would be as a whole. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx makes an argument for an entirely stateless society. â€Å"Political power† he states, â€Å"? is merely the organized power of one class for oppressing another. † (Marx & Engels, 2006, p. 3) A common theme of The Communist Manifesto is the struggle between different classes of society, to which Marx simplifies to a clash between the â€Å"bourgeois† and the â€Å"proletariats†. Marx argues that â€Å"The essential condition for the existence, and for the sway of the bourgeois class, is the formation and augmentation of capital; the condition for ca pital is wage-labor. † (Marx & Engels, 2006, p. 19) Marx held the belief that in a pure Communistic society, there would be no classes, and that the government would out of necessity dominate and control the means of production in the economy. The legacy and impact of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was felt throughout Europe shortly after its publication. In England in particular, the British prime ministers sought policies that were attributed to what they had learned in Smith's book including a new commercial treaty with France, customs reform, and a change in fiscal policy that resulted in lower debt and government spending. Government's throughout Europe also began to realize the fallacy of the artificial trade barriers erected between the different countries; so much so that they would prefer to trade with their American colonies more often than their own neighbors. West, 1990) Smith's greatest impact is perhaps the academic contribution to the study of economics. Before The Wealth of Nations, there really was nothing of the sort that so thoroughly examined the fundamentals of economics. Nearly every economist after Smith, including Karl Marx, would use The Wealth of Nations as a primary source and base their argument s off of Smith's suppositions. Marx's influence on the world however was far from an academic exercise. The violent revolution that Marx predicted would need to occur in order for the proletariats to overthrow the bourgeois did indeed occur in Russia during the â€Å"Red October† of 1917. The ruling aristocracy of Russia's Czarists came to an end at the hands of Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks. This would lead to the formation of the communist Soviet Union. During the revolution, the Bolsheviks seized all the private property around the country, gave control of all the factories to the government, nationalized all the banks, seized all of the Church's properties, and declared that they would not honor any foreign debts. Thus the first real attempt at Communism took the form of the Soviet Union; symbolized by the worker's sickle and hammer on the flag. â€Å"October Revolution†, 2008) The actions of the Soviet Union would go on to inspire many other Eastern countries to attempt their own versions of Communism; all consistent with the principles Marx envisioned in The Communist Manifesto. The resulting conflict of economic fundamentals between these Communist entities and the more Capitalist economies of Western Europe and the United States would spark conflict throu ghout much of the 20th century. References capitalism. (2008) In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia Retrieved December 17, 2008, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Capitalism capitalism. (2008). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved December 17, 2008, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/capitalism labor theory of value. (2008) In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia Retrieved December 17, 2008 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Labor_theory Marx, K (2000) Das Kapital Gateway Edition, Washington, DC, Regnery Publishing, Inc Marx, K & Engels, F (2006) The Communist Manifesto, New York, Penguin Books October Revolution. 2008) In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia Retrieved December 17, 2008, from http http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/October_ Revolution Smith, A (1909) Harvard Classics: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, New York, P F Collier and Son West, E (1990) Adam Smith's Revolution, Past and Present. Adam Smith's Legacy: His thought in our time. Retrieved December 17, 2008 from http://www. adamsmith . org/images/uploads/publications /ADAM_SMITH_Legacy. pdf

Unix Multiprogramming

The computer allocated in UNIX to every process, whether a system task or user task. The choice of task to be executed when the CPU becomes free is based on a formula that penalizes tasks that have used most CPU cycles in the recent past. The process priority which can be set by super user (root) is an important part of this formula. The CPU scheduling algorithm is simple but allows users some measure of control over their workstation performance. The CPU speed defines the capacity of a mainframe for a given release of the operating system. All other hardware components are usually configured so that when the system is fully loaded, the CPU which is by far the most expensive resource becomes the bottleneck. In order to give the user the impression of simultaneous execution, the CPU must be allocated alternatively among the individuals processors. This task is managed by scheduler, a special processor that maintains a list of normal processes and sees to it that the processor handles the next process at certain time intervals. There are various strategies that a scheduler can use to determine which process to handle next, one of these strategies is (round robin) selects the next respective process in the list at regular intervals and puts it at the end of the list after the allocated time if the process is not yet finished. Another strategy assigns each process a priority, whereby processes with higher priority are allocated more CPU time. UNIX employs nice levels, which allow the user to influence the internal priorities of processes. This allows the user to reduce significantly the encumbering of the system by programs running in the background. Likewise the administrator can also raise the priority of important process to ensure faster execution. UNIX does timesharing as well as multiprogramming. Timesharing creates the illusion that several processes execute simultaneously, even though there maybe only one physical CPU.

Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Research Proposal Example This was the main traditional method of removing microorganisms from the hand prior to a surgical procedure. The norm was using antimicrobial soap and water to wash hands with chlorhexidine and iodine. The more recent is hand rubbing, which is the preparation of hand using the alcohol hand rub. The alcohol is rubbed to the hand to inactivate microorganisms and temporarily suppress their growth. The preparation used contains a mixture of alcohol and chlorhexidine gluconate. The traditional surgical hand asepsis was mainly done by using povidone iodine or chloerhexine based detergents. More recently, alcohol hand rub has been introduced to replace the traditional hand scrubbing using povidone iodine. Its introduction has been successful in has it has shown greater effectiveness, lesser irritation as compared to the traditional method and requiring less time to wash hands. The replacement of the traditional hand scrub with alcohol hand rub has been evident in some institution continental Europe while other countries such as Singapore has maintained the use of hand scrubbing. Despite the effectiveness of alcohol hand rub, studies have indicated lack of trust among the health care providers in the efficacy of alcohol hand rub over the additional hand scrubbing. This has made many health care providers across the world to continue using the traditional hand scrubbing instead of alcohol hand rubbing. Confirmation of the efficacy of the surgical hand rubbing over the traditional hand scrubbing will therefore help to convince the health care providers to use the surgical hand rubbing technique instead of the traditional surgical hand scrubbing. The increase in use of alcohol based hand rubs have resulted to a number of trial studies that compares the efficacy of alcohol hand rub against the traditional hand scrubbing using povidione iodine before surgery. Current evidence regarding surgical hand antisepsis stipulates that alcohol hand rubs

Animal Cruelty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Animal Cruelty - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that  animal issue is a very important issue as it contributes to the much needed development of medicines that save human life. But the same time the quality of life when it comes to the animals used in the experiments is adversely affected. The animals suffer prolonged pain, they are alienated from their natural ecosystems and therefore forced to lead normal lives. What this means is that animals’ rights are grossly violated when they are used   experimentally; they are separated from their natural ecosystems, denied their inherent rights such   as that to mate and chose mates as well as to choose what to eat and not. Many of the animals used in experiments end up losing their lives in the process. It raises an important issue i.e. if it is not right cause suffering for animals then animal experimentation results in moral problems that are serious.This essay highlights that  it is a very important global issue especially considering the ri se in terminal illnesses requiring new types of medication. Scientists and medics the world over are busy in search for medicines that can cure conditions such HIV AIDS, cancer, hepatitis B and many other deadly conditions that have no sure cure. This means a lot of research and experimentation is on-going globally and therefore use of animals for testing of drug efficacy. As for my audience the topic is particularly important as it involves important of morality and ethics in treating animals. Animals for instance have rights to live in their natural wild environments, reproduce and lead better lives.