Computer Use and Copyright Policies and Regulations Research Paper

Computer Use and Copyright Policies and Regulations - Research Paper Example Every single organization, educational institutes and businesses using computers has introduced certain policies and regulatory measures to keep the computer usage under control. The computer usage policy ideally defines certain goals and principals of the organization with respect to the computer systems. The basic principles that the policies are based upon are essentially the beliefs of the organisation like ethics, morality, values and philosophy. Generally every organization has a written set of rules also known as the Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP). These form a core part of the information technology security procedures and define what a user must do or not. It also in clear and concise manner defines the penalties that might be implemented if a user does not comply with the rules. Regular audits within the organizations ensure the compliance of the AUPs. The most important segment in every AUP is the code of conduct that regulates and controls the behaviour of a user while at work. It defines how one should conduct oneself while using the internet, permissible languages, prevent activities that might cause harm to the organization or any colleague, and ensure that there is complete data security and privacy. (Office of Information Technology, 2010). The AUP also defines the consequences that one might face incase the policies are violated or not adhered to. Non-compliance to the policies can lead to termination, suspension, or dismissal from educational institutes. There is another important factor apart from the computer usage policy that is relevant to most organizations and educational institutes; that being the copyright policy. Copyright is defined as exclusive rights granted by the Government to the creator or builder of something original and unique. (Quarterman, 1986). It prohibits anyone else from copying, imitating or using the contents for any other purpose, other than for what it was created or conceived. Organizations and institutes using co mputer technology incorporate the copyright policy as well to protect their work, study material, thesis etc. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that they comply with the copyright laws and restrictions while using resources on the internet, journals or accessing databases. The copyright policy prohibits users from making copies of copyrighted material or software, non-compliance of which can lead to fatal outcomes. Both policies are equally important in any organization or educational institutes to maintain sanctity of work and data privacy, while permitting the employees and students to perform their duties properly. Institutes incorporating Computer Usage Policy American University (AU) established at Washington in the early 18th century remains a prestigious university. Moving along with changing time and period, it has ensured it remained in sync with the modern technologies and along with everything else, has incorporated the computer usage policy. The policy res tricts individuals from accessing any account, file or software that they don’t have the authorization for. All staff and students are given network access privileges, with unique access codes, that allow them to access all resources like the library, research materials, systems, networks and registered software’

Secon Hand Smoking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Secon Hand Smoking - Research Paper Example 1). Due to the dangers of being exposed to secondhand smoke, one agrues that secondhand smoke should be banned in all public places through ordinances and stricter governmental policies. Statistics Some of the most alarming information gathered on SHS, as revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO) are as follows: that (1) â€Å"SHS causes 600 000 premature deaths per year. There are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer† (WHO: Fact 3, n.d., p. 1); (2) â€Å"more than 94% of people are unprotected by smoke-free laws. However, in 2008 the number of people protected from second-hand smoke by such laws increased by 74% to 362 million from 208 million in 2007. Of the 100 most populous cities, 22 are smoke-free† (WHO: Fact 9, n.d., p. 1). These figures prove that government health agencies have acknowledged the detrimental effects to health of SHS and are designing and implement ing various monitoring measures to validate, confirm, and address the dilemma. The segment of the population who were identified to be most at risk are children who were noted to eventually develop different health dilemmas, ranging from pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, and even ear infections (CDC, 2012). For adults who were persistently exposed to SHS, studies have revealed preponderance to lung cancer and heart ailments (CDC, 2012). The study published by the CDC, entitled â€Å"Vital Signs: Nonsmokers' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke --- United States, 1999—2008† confirmed the followign statistics related to SHS, to wit: â€Å"An estimated 88 million nonsmokers in the United States were exposed to secondhand smoke in 2007–2008. Children are at particular risk for exposure to secondhand smoke: 53.6% of young children (aged 3–11 years) were exposed to secondhand smoke in 2007–2008. While only 5.4% of adult nonsmokers in the United States lived with s omeone who smoked inside their home, 18.2% of children (aged 3–11 years) lived with someone who smoked inside their home in 2007–2008† (CDC, 2010, p. 1). These varied statistical information affirm that SHS is clearly linked to illnesses, both for children and adults, alike. Likewise, since the figures and trends continue to alarm health authorities, there seems to be a crucial need to re-assess current health ordinances to at least minimize the risks of contracting the identified illnesses. Effects of SHS The effects of SHS on health of children and adults, alike, have been confirmed from various studies for being exposed in SHS (CDC, 2012). The most pronounced health dilemma of SHS is the increased risks to contract various forms of cancer, such as lung cancer, and â€Å"childhood leukemia and cancers of the larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and breast† (ACS: Why is SHS a problem, 2013, par. 3), making SHS a health co ncern of government health agencies. The exacerbating factor is that since children and adults who were exposed to SHS could not control the source of the problem, preventing and minimizing its debiliating impact proved to be extremely challenging. More pronounced focus and strategical efforts exerted by government health agencies to address SHS means more time, money and resources being expended

Blocking rehearsal time with an interference task Essay Example for Free

Blocking rehearsal time with an interference task Essay The theories of memory and how much, or how long we can remember things, and why, is a greatly studied area of Psychology as a science. Psychologists have created and recreated numerous tests and research methods in order to prove that their particular theory is correct. There are two main theories of memory: Levels of Processing (L.O.P.) and the Multi-store Model.  The L.O.P. approach was pioneered by two psychologist Craik and Lockhart (1972), who believed that the mind will remember things better if the information is processed on a deeper level, ie. thought about more, taking into account the amount of work that is put into processing the information received. From research they discovered that the deeper the processing required the longer and more durable the memory is likely to be. They also identified what they believed to be three levels of processing: Structural What something looks like.  Phonetic What something sounds like.  Semantic What something means.  From experiments and tests carried out, they found that the deepest level was semantic, and their reason for this, they argued, was because in order to extract the meaning from a word, and to consider its relevance in a sentence of words, requires a lot of processing. They decided that hearing a word and then trying to visualize it also requires some extensive cognitive processing, but not as much as semantic processing, and the least amount of mental work was required for structural processing, ie. what the letters look like. A test carried out by Craik and Tulving (1975), Depth of processing and retention of words in episodic memory supported their theory. Another model which is highly regarded as one of the most influential theories of memory is the Multi-store model, in particular the two-process model, designed and tested by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968, 1971). Their theory was that information received by the senses is primarily stored in the sensory store for a very short period of time before it is transferred to the short term memory. Atkinson and Shiffrin believed that when the information is in the short term memory (STM), it could either be rehearsed for a certain amount of time and then stored in the long term memory (LTM), or alternatively lost. Figure 1.1 illustrates the theory in an easier to understand way. Perhaps this is also an example of how the L.O.P. theory is flawed as although the diagram is seen to be structural information, it will probably provoke strong visual imagery. Atkinson and Shiffrin believed that chunks of information received by the sensory store could be held in the STM for around 20 seconds, but only 5 to 9 (on average) chunks of info can be remembered without rehearsal. However, if rehearsed the chunks of information can be transferred into the long term memory and more items can be remembered. The theory of the rehearsal loop interests me, so I decided to look further into it and found that psychologists: Brown (1958) and Peterson and Peterson (1959) independently discovered a method for testing the existence of the rehearsal loop called the Brown-Peterson technique. This basically involves a list of trigrams (three letter words made up of consonants with no immediate meaning ie. BKD, as apposed to WHY) shown to subjects for 20 seconds, rehearsed for 25 seconds and then recorded in order by the subject as well as possible. The same list is then shown to another subject for the same amount of time, however this time the 25 seconds rehearsal time will be interrupted with an interference task ie. counting backwards in threes from the number 58. This is the technique I will use as a basis of my mini-cognitive research project. AIM:  To test the existence of the rehearsal loop by preventing it from its task with an interference task during the rehearsal time.  RATIONALE:  I will be re-creating the Brown-Peterson technique for testing the existence of the rehearsal loop, although my study will use slightly different trigrams, and obviously a different set of people. Im interested to check whether the results of my study will support the results found by Brown-Peterson or not. I will use a set word list for both groups of people studied and Im expecting the results of my study to support the results of previous tests, thus supporting the theory of existence of the rehearsal loop. HYPOTHESIS:  When asked to recall the list of trigrams in order after a period of 25 seconds rehearsal time, the subject will remember significantly more trigrams if the rehearsal time is not interrupted by an interference task.  NULL HYPOTHESIS:  Subjects taking part in the experiment will not recall a significantly greater number of words whether their rehearsal time is interrupted with an interference task or not. Any difference found is purely down to chance. METHOD:  The method I chose to use in order to obtain the clearest and most reliable data was the laboratory experiment. The reason for using this method is to reduce the amount of extraneous and possibly confounding variables which could interfere with the results; also it becomes very easy to repeat the same test over and over without change. I will use the independent groups design to ensure that different participants are used for each test in order to avoid the chances that the participants will skew the results through rehearsal. The first set of participants will be shown a list of 15 trigrams for 20 seconds, after which time they will be asked to rehearse these for a period of 25 seconds. After that time they will then be asked to write out as many as possible in the correct order (if the trigram is BHD then the participant must write BHD, no mark will be given for BDH). The results will then be recorded.  The same set of trigrams will then be shown to a different set of participants for the same amount of time. This time however during the 25 seconds rehearsal time, the participants will be asked to perform an interference task, which will be counting backwards in sets of 4 from the number 295. After the 25 seconds, they too will be asked to recall the trigram list and their results will also be recorded.

Dental Prosthetic for a 5 Year Old Child

Dental Prosthetic for a 5 Year Old Child

Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants :: Hills Like White Elephants Essays

In the story 'hills like white elephants' by Ernest Hemingway, we read about two characters, a girl and an American man. They have short conversations between them, and these conversations can hint of many clues about them and their relationship. In the story, we discover what the characters are like, through what they say, and also through the things they don't say. First, in the story, we understand that the American man has money, and he is an adult because he seems to knows what he is doing. He doesn't want to have a child. Therefore, he is asking his girlfriend to risk her life by having an abortion. The surgery's death rate was higher than its survival rate at that time. All this makes him very selfish, as well. He doesn't care about her, despite the fact that he says: 'well, I care about you.' (Hemingway, 255). He doesn?t even listen to her. She speaks to him, and he says some unrelated things back. We can assume that he always talks about drinking because he wants to get her drunk so she will accept the abortion. Also, we can understand from his comment: ?I?ve known lots of people that have done it?, (Hemingway, 255) that he had too many relationships with teenage girls before, and he has been through the same situation nemrus times. Secondly, the woman, who is called the girl in the story, has no identity. We don?t know where she is from, or if she has a family. We can understand that she is a teenager who depends on a careless man. Furthermore, it?s clear from her words: ?and if I do it you?ll be happy and things will be like they were and you?ll love me (Hemingway, 255), that she is a lonely desperate girl who still hopes for happiness. Nevertheless, she knows she will never have it. That?s why it?s obvious from her reply, ?I don?t care about me?, (Hemingway, 255), that she is depressed, and even ready to die by agreeing to the abortion.

Kent State Massacre :: essays research papers

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were authored in secret by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in response to the repressive Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798. In the opinion of Jefferson and Madison, the Acts were unjust. They also represented a major victory for the Federalists. By writing the Resolutions, Jefferson and Madison spearheaded the protests of those against the Alien and Sedition Acts and those in support of stronger states’ rights. Although the Resolutions were successful in the two originating states, they did not have much success in the other states. Still, the new ideas presented in the Resolutions were almost revolutionary. Although the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 were not very successful, they were important because they provided necessary arguments for the supporters of greater states’ rights against the proponents of a stronger central government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Alien and Sedition Acts played major roles in the coming about of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Passed in early 1798, the Acts laid down a number of harsh restrictions on foreigners. The Alien Act stretched the minimum years for eligibility for naturalization from five years to fourteen years. It also gave the President the power to expel any alien from the country. The Sedition Act was even harsher; it gave the government the right to arrest anyone accused of seditious activities. The Sedition Act thus cracked down on many Jeffersonian newspapers which criticized the government. Of course, Jefferson criticized these Acts; he even called them â€Å"worthy of the 8th and 9th century† (2 / p.174). With these laws the Federalists were thought to be stifling the power of the Jeffersonians.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the Alien and Sedition Acts, those in support of a stronger federal government achieved a major victory. The Acts gave new powers which were not dictated in the Constitution to both the executive and legislative branches. The Federalists were able to pass these acts with their logic based upon loose translations of the Constitution, especially the â€Å"elastic clause.† In peacetime, these Acts would not have had a chance in being passed, but the undeclared war with France had riled up Congress enough to accept these loose translations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The opponents of the Alien and Sedition Acts were led by Jefferson and Madison; in response to the Acts the Republicans launched an attack on what they believed were breaches of the Constitution. The attack on the Alien and Sedition Acts was based upon the â€Å"strict construction theory† of the Republicans.

International Monetary Fund Essay

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a central organization in the world whose mandate of establishment in 1945 revolves around world economic and monetary cooperation (imf. org, 2006). By following microeconomic policies of the member countries, this intergovernmental organization manages or oversees the global financial system. In this organization, almost all the countries in the world work together in cooperation for the common good. The primary purpose of IMF is to propagate and stabilize international monetary system which is key in ensuring and maintaining stable international payments and exchange rates that are critical in promoting trade between countries. In its efforts to ensure stability of the international monetary system, IMF has the responsibility of reviewing the financial developments in the national, regional, and global arena. The major purpose for which International Monetary Fund was established can be explained in three points. First is to promote stable exchange rates while at the same time ensuring that order is maintained in the exchange arrangements between its member countries and to prevent competitive exchange from depreciating. Secondly, IMF was established to enhance the expansion of international trade in a balanced manner so that all the member countries can benefit from increased levels of employment and real income in addition to better development and utilization of economic resources of these member countries. Thirdly, IMF has the mandate to contribute in the establishment of a new system of payment which is multilateral in nature and which functions to eliminate the many restrictions imposed by foreign exchange and which impedes the blossoming of world trade (munfw. org, n. d). The 184 member countries are required to adopt policies which protect them from financial and economic crises, promote economic stability and policies which have the capacity to raise the living standards of the citizens (imf. rg, 2006). In any given organization, the mission and the set goals are very important since they form the basis for the strategies and management of different affairs in the organization including the critical area of decision making which determines whether the goals will be achieved or not. It is therefore the objective of this paper to describe the mission and the goals of International Monetary Fund and also analyse the process of decision making in the orgaization so as to achieve these goals. One of the mission of IMF is to offer financial assistance to various countries which have faced crises of balance-of-payments as a result of domestic policies. The governments of such countries do not have a choice other than to borrow from the IMF so as to propagate various economic activities in their countries. On the part of IMF, it has to safeguard the interest of the shareholders and therefore it requires that the countries borrowing the funds put in place stringent policy adjustments which will facilitate repayment. Another mission of the IMF is to function as a reserve pool for global economies. This is in light of the fact that various countries especially in the developed world have accumulated colosal amounts of resources and money which act to insure them against shocks. On the other hand, many countries especially in the developing world lack the capacity to accumulate resources for insurance purposes but rather would use them for consumption and investments. The IMF therefore in this case acts as reserve pool which can manage these reserves so that even poor countries can access financial assistance in times of economic crises (Eichengreen, 2009). The third mission of the IMF is to act as a supervisor with regard to macroeconomic activities and trends. This means that it has to be very prudent in keeping an eye on the prevaling financial conditions or trends in the whole globe and in case of any signs of financial instability, provide warnings on the same so that appropriate actions can be taken. However, it has only played a supporting role since most of these activities have been undertaken by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) following the suggestions by the G-20. The goals of the International Monetary Fund are in line with the goals set by the international community in 2000 popularly known as the UN Millennium Development Goals. These goals focus on fundamental aspects of human existence and are geared toward ensuring improved living standards by curbing poverty and improving the health of world populations. The time frame for the achievement of these goals is set to be by the year 2015 and therefore decision making and actions taken are done systematically and resources managed carefully to meet the set deadline. The areas of focus of the first seven goals are on eradication of extreme hunger and poverty, ensuring that primary education is accessible by all children, empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality, improvement of maternal health and reduction of child mortality. The sixth goal is with regard to HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases which have been wrecking havoc in many developing countries. The seventh goal focus on issues of environment in that IMF intends to achieve environmental sustainability by the year 2015 (imf. org, 2010). The last goal requires that a global partnership for development be formed to address issues of debt relief, aid and trade. Decisions made by the IMF are meant to ensure that the resources available are managed carefully so that the organization can meet its goals without having problems caused by lack good management of available resources in many organizations. From the goals described, it is clear that IMF targets to offer assistance to poor countries in order to overcome some of the most common challenges facing them such as disease, poverty and illiteracy. However, the organization is not a development institution like the World Bank and regional development banks. This implies that it has no mandate to provide funds for building physical infrastructure in the poor countries rather it only offers loans to the low-income countries on concessional terms in an effort to ease the pain which these countries have to endure when making critical adjustments in terms of their spending (imf. org, 2006). The purpose for making these adjustments is to bring the levels of spending to the right levels which are commensurate with their income. Consequently, this promotes important reforms which enhance much stronger and sustainable economic growth which results in poverty eradication in the affected. In addition, following streamlining of a country’s economic policies, the IMF loan given to a particular country may attract other donors who are encouraged to provide more financial support. Therefore, this organization has well elucidated approaches which are used to fight poverty and achieve the rest of the goals which it has set to accomplish by the year 2015. Decision making at the IMF revolves around two major aspects one of them being on membership of countries which may want to join the organization and on the other hand on the internal operations of the organization. Both of these areas are quite important in ensuring the sustainability of the operations within IMF. For instance, bearing in mind that the major source of money of the organization is the quotas which are contributed by different countries upon joining the organization, decision making at this stage is critical since it impacts directly on the financial stability of this organization. Quotas are basically a reflection of the size of the economies of the member countries so that a country with a broad economy in terms of variability of trade, national income, monetary reserves and output is required to deposit more into the IMF kit than a country whose size of the economy is small and whose trade variability is not great. The decisions made on the amount of quota a particular country is required to deposit also affect the voting power of that country as a member of the IMF. This means that, the larger the quota of a member country, the more decision making power or voting power it possesses. For instance, the US contributes the largest quota into the IMF kit and therefore has the highest decision-making power at nearly 18%. On the other hand the whole African continent due to its small quota in the IMF possesses only a 5% decision-making power (munfw. org, n. d). The Board of Governors can review these quotas periodically and increase them when deemed necessary. The IMF staff and management comprise of different bodies which govern and manage the affairs of the organization to facilitate the realization of the laid down goals by 2015. These include the Board of Governors, International monetary and financial committee, the Executive board, and the standing committees. However, the important decisions are made by the Board of governors. The whole IMF staff and the management are accountable to the managing director of this organization who is appointed by the executive board to whom he is also accountable. The supreme decision-making body of the IMF is the Board of governors which is made of one governor and one alternate governor from each member country who is appointed to represent the interests of the country at the organization. The alternate governor of each member country is usually the governor of the central bank or the minister of finance. The board of governors is bestowed with the responsibility of making decisions concerning membership and also internal operational activities of the organization such as changes that might be required to the Fund’s structure. Decision making process requires ample time and therefore the Board of governors usually meets twice every year to deliberate on critical issues. The Executive board has the responsibility of carrying out the day-to-day activities of the organization. The board is chaired by the managing director who is assisted by three deputy managing directors. The member countries or groups of countries elect or appoint 24 executive directors make the bulk of the board. To ease the decision making process at the board level, most member countries are grouped into constituencies but the largest shareholders that is US, Germany, Japan, UK, France are not grouped but instead each has one chair. The decision making with regard to appointment of executive directors is in some countries based on the number of votes that a particular country has so that a country with the highest number of votes appoints the executive director. Good decision making process is characterized by consensus and this is adequately embraced in the organization whereby the board relies on consensus in making decisions. The nature of this consensus is determined by the number of executive directors who agree or disagree with a certain issue. In the light of the principle that a good decision making process gives room for opinions and views from all members involved, IMF is keen to allow for a voting exercise to take place in case different opinions crop up in the initial stages of the decision making process. In this voting approach, a needed majority is established in order to give a direction on decision making. However, the percentage majority required will be determined by the nature of the decision which is being made so that a 51%, 66% or 85% majority may be required (brettonwoodsproject. rg, 2005). During this process, the managing director of the IMF who chairs the executive board is required to advice the board to consider matters arising and be patient until that time when a broad majority has made a clear decision on the issue under discussion. Decision making process is characterized by the presence of options or alternatives so that if one fails, the other alternative can be employed to see whether the anticipated results will be achieved. This is exactly what happens at IMF when the majority still fails to precipitate consensus. The alternative is to go by the simple majority of the voting power in which a decision can be quickly made through a collective agreement involving G-7 chairs and a few directors (brettonwoodsproject. org, 2005). The IMF as a firmly rooted organization is therefore a good example of an organization whose excellent management strategy is reflected by its ability to facilitate many poor countries especially in Africa overcome common challenges such as poverty and disease. The mission and the goals set by this organization go hand in hand with the Millennium Development Goals and therefore consistent management of all the resources available to the organization is critical to meet the 2015 time target. The decision making process employed by the IMF also points to one of the key reasons for successful operations since it offers alternatives, democracy and dialogue in addition to the well organized management staff.