Alexis Silverstein Page 1Ms. LindquistEnglish 10AA Essays

Alexis Silverstein Page 1Ms. LindquistEnglish 10AAugust 18 2014A Thousand Splendid SunsThe key to creating a significant and influential literary work is the use of certain themes in order to convey the lesson of the story. A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of many noteworthy novels to have a very moving effect on its readers due to its themes. A Thousand Splendid Suns is written by Khaled Hosseini. The story takes place in Herat, Afghanistan, Gul Daman, Kabul, and Murree, Pakistan from 1958 to present day during the years of Soviet rule, the civil war and the Taliban dictatorship. The plot is centered around two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, whose lives are entwined when both are married to Rasheed, an abusive and cold-hearted man. Through the themes of oppression and hope and the education of women, Khaled Hosseini's message that all people are deserving of equal treatment and happiness is communicated.The theme of oppression and hope is prevalent throughout A Thousand Splendid Sun s. The use of this theme in the story is a great part of the development of Mariam's character. Furthermore, she suffered a lot of oppression during her childhood due to her mother's degradation and scorn. "She understood then what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing; that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance." (Hosseini 2) Mariam's mother, Nana, constantly told her that she was a "harami", even at a very young age. In addition, with so much ridicule and harshness, Mariam believed herself to be worthless which led to her yearning to please others and to be accepted. With nothing but her mother and the false hope that her father would accept her, Mariam became very resentful and bitter as time went on, although she had been innocent and thoughtful in the beginning. When Mariam left her home for the first time a fifteen to see her father, her mother felt v ery betrayed that she would leave her behind to see the man that lied and disregarded her. Mariam felt a similar betrayal when her father didn't let her in to see him, and then having her married to Rasheed. For the rest of her life, she would be abused and devoted to being a good wife to him, until Laila and her children gave her love and acceptance. " Why have you pinned your little heart to an old, ugly hag like me? Mariam would murmur into Aziza's hair. Huh? I am nobody, don't you see? A dehati. What have I got to give you?" But Aziza only muttered contentedly and dug her face in deeper. And when she did that, Mariam swooned. Her eyes watered. Her heart took flight. And she marveled at how, after all these years of rattling loose, she had found in this little creature the first true connection in her life of false, failed connections." (Hosseini 246) The love and acceptance that her mother and father didn't give Mariam was replaced with the kindness, loyalty and compassion of La ila, Aziza and Zalmai. This transcended past the guilt she had about her mother's suicide and her feelings of shame for being born out of wedlock. The education of women is a significant part of the novel. During the years of Soviet rule, the civil war and the Taliban dictatorship, men were the authority and women were seen as inferior to them. It is apparent that women who were poor were usually married at very young ages like Mariam, but the rich sent their daughters to get an education. This is because men controlled what women could do. "It did not escape Mariam that no mention was made of her half sisters Saideh or Naheed, both her own age, both students in the Mehri School in Herat, both with plans to enroll in Kabul University. Fifteen, evidently, was not a good, solid marrying age for them." (Hosseini 51) Moreover, Laila had plans to enroll in a college because her father had always said her education is the most important thing for her and her family was also financially st able. After the deaths of

Sodium Element (Na or Atomic Number 11)

Sodium Element (Na or Atomic Number 11) Symbol: Na Atomic Number: 11 Atomic Weight: 22.989768 Element Classification: Alkali Metal CAS Number: 7440-23-5 Periodic Table Location Group: 1 Period: 3 Block: s Electron Configuration Short Form: [Ne]3s1 Long Form: 1s22s22p63s1 Shell Structure: 2 8 1 Discovery of Sodium Discovery Date: 1807 Discoverer: Sir Humphrey Davy [England] Name: Sodium derives its name from the Medieval Latin sodanum and the English name soda. The element symbol, Na, was shortened from the Latin name Natrium. Swedish chemist Berzelius was the first to use the symbol Na for sodium in his early periodic table. History: Sodium does not usually appear in nature on its own, but its compounds have been used by people for centuries. Elemental sodium was not discovered until 1808. Davy isolated sodium metal using electrolysis from caustic soda or sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Physical Data State at room temperature (300 K): Solid Appearance: soft, bright silvery-white metal Density: 0.966 g/cc Density at Melting Point: 0.927 g/cc Specific Gravity: 0.971 (20  °C) Melting Point: 370.944 K Boiling Point: 1156.09 K Critical Point: 2573 K at 35 MPa (extrapolated) Heat of Fusion: 2.64 kJ/mol Heat of Vaporization: 89.04 kJ/mol Molar Heat Capacity: 28.23 J/mol ·K Specific Heat: 0.647 J/g ·K (at 20  °C) Atomic Data Oxidation States: 1 (most common), -1 Electronegativity: 0.93 Electron Affinity: 52.848 kJ/mol Atomic Radius: 1.86 Ã… Atomic Volume: 23.7 cc/mol Ionic Radius: 97 (1e) Covalent Radius: 1.6 Ã… Van der Waals Radius: 2.27 Ã… First Ionization Energy: 495.845 kJ/mol Second Ionization Energy: 4562.440 kJ/mol Third Ionization Energy: 6910.274 kJ/mol Nuclear Data Number of isotopes: 18 isotopes are known. Only two are naturally occurring. Isotopes and % abundance: 23Na (100), 22Na (trace) Crystal Data Lattice Structure: Body-Centered Cubic Lattice Constant: 4.230 Ã… Debye Temperature: 150.00 K Sodium Uses Sodium chloride is important for animal nutrition. Sodium compounds are used in the glass, soap, paper, textile, chemical, petroleum, and metal industries. Metallic sodium is used in manufacturing of sodium peroxide, sodium cyanide, sodamide, and sodium hydride. Sodium is used in preparing tetraethyl lead. It is used in the reduction of organic esters and preparation of organic compounds. Sodium metal may be used to improve the structure of some alloys, to descale metal, and to purify molten metals. Sodium, as well as NaK, an alloy of sodium with potassium, are important heat transfer agents. Miscellaneous Facts Sodium is the 6th most abundant element in the Earths crust, making up approximately 2.6% of the earth, air, and oceans.Sodium is not found free in nature, but sodium compounds are common. The most common compound is sodium chloride or salt.Sodium occurs in many minerals, such as cryolite, soda niter, zeolite, amphibole, and sodalite.The top three countries that produce sodium are China, United States,  and India. Sodium metal is mass produced by electrolysis of sodium chloride.The D lines of sodiums spectrum account for the dominant yellow color of the un.Sodium is the most abundant alkali metal.Sodium floats on water, which decomposes it to evolve hydrogen and form the hydroxide. Sodium may ignite spontaneously on water. It does not usually ignite in air at temperatures below 115 °CSodium burns with a bright yellow color in a flame test.Sodium is used in fireworks to make an intense yellow color. The color is sometimes so bright it overwhelms other colors in a firework. Sources CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics, (89th Ed.).Holden, Norman E. History of the Origin of the Chemical Elements and Their Discoverers, 2001.â€Å"National Institute of Standards and Technology.†Ã‚  NIST.

Report on Employee Attributes and Globalization Essay

Report on Employee Attributes and Globalization - Essay Example Having said that, there are four dimensions in Hofstedes that can be used as a basis for minimizing the risk of managing culture issues in operations. It is highly suggested that the following intercultural dimensions be sought: low power distance, low uncertainty, low individualism and low masculinity. Each of these dimensions would be discussed so readers would understand how these factors can increase the probability of a successful business in a host country. Low power distance would lead to more efficient decision-making inside the organization. If the host country has low power distance, it is easier to work through teams because people would not get tangled with organizational hierarchy. Instead, small groups can be established and team members can openly make suggestions. Everyone accepts responsibility for their mistakes and team members must learn how to collaborate closely. This empowers the employees by allowing them to responsible for their decisions. Low uncertainty can lead to a competitive advantage – innovation. Competition is intense due to globalization thus it is important for an organization to move fast. Cultures with low uncertainty are more open to change and can easily adapt to changes.

The Causes and Consequences of a Currency Crisis Essay

The Causes and Consequences of a Currency Crisis - Essay Example This creates inflation and a current account deficit, which may lead investors to doubt the exchange rate peg. Speculators eventually mount an attack--that is, they demand foreign reserves in exchange for the domestic currency. To defend the peg, the monetary authorities sell off foreign exchange reserves. When the reserves fall to a certain point, the government is faced with a choice: should it break its external promise (to keep the exchange rate fixed) or keep its internal political constituents happy (by not raising taxes or cutting spending) Governments usually choose internal objectives over external constraints; that is, there is a currency crisis. A model like this works well in helping to understand the breakdown of inflationary economies, like Russia in 1998. But such models don't help understand recent crises in Asia. Most Asian countries had admirable monetary and fiscal policies that were viewed as being sustainable. The second model views currency crises as shifts between different monetary policy equilibria; here speculative attacks can be self-fulfilling even against countries with sound policies. In these models, market speculators initiate attacks based on their beliefs about the willingness of policymakers to resist pressure on the exchange rate. When markets perceive that conditions, such as high unemployment or a weak banking system, compromise the central bank's willingness to defend the currency peg by raising interest rates, speculative attacks are more likely to succeed. When a country faces a currency crisis, other countries are affected mainly because of international trade. Thailand faced a financial crisis which led to Malaysia and Indonesia's currency situation as these countries were Thailand's main trade competitors. Hence, trade is regional so currency crises are regional. Recessions are associated with currency crises and Last Name 3 lead to a fall in imports. Trade flows are disrupted as one country's imports fall causes another country's exports to decrease. Once trade flows are disrupted, major issues occur as free trade is a wonderful thing. There are many models that attempt to explain the phenomenon of how a financial crisis is formed. Chang and Velasco (1998) suggest a useful model should consist of the following features, "It must not rely on government misbehavior to generate the crisisIt must be general enough to accommodate a wide variety of macroeconomic circumstancesIt must be specific enough to explain why in some of these macroeconomic scenarios a crisis occurs, and in some it does notIt must account for the high observed correlation between exchange rate collapses and banking crisesIt must replicate the puzzling fact that the punishment is much larger than the crime" The transferring of information in international financial markets can cause most of the information to become trapped. Minute changes in information can cause incredible behaviour by international investors. During a currency crisis, governments tend to expropriate foreign funds in an attempt to raise funds. (Chari and Kehoe, 1997). Their model implies that only governments with weak reputations are subject to volatile capital flows. Thailand faced incredible external (foreign) debts. As its debts increased, creditors wondered if it could meet its obligations. Hence, supply

Organisational Design In Social Care Organisations Social Work Essay

Organisational Design In Social Care Organisations Social Work Essay Organisational design according to Mintzberg (1983) is defined as the ways in which labour is divided into distinct tasks and then its coordination is achieved among these tasks. Organisational design comprises of the component parts of an organisation such as the employees, the information and the technology and how they are integrated together. The relationship between the different parts of the organisation is a social construction. This social construction needs to be adequate to meet the goal of the organisation, in the case of social care organisations it needs to serve the service users best. [Social care is] a profession committed to the planning and delivery of quality care and other support services for individuals and groups with identified needs. Organisational design is used achieve the vision or mission of the organisation. The vision is defined by the managers and leaders of the organisation and the design is formulated around this vision. It is important to design an organisation around an agreed goal; this can be problematic if leaders cannot agree on a goal or they have different understandings of the goal. The Minister for Health, Mary Harney has a view of privatisation of service and more reliance on community involvement than state involvement in individuals care (such as care of the elderly) which conflicts with the policies in place for an equitable health care system (O Doherty, 2010). In many ways organisational structure and culture are interlinked and both must be addressed when examining organisational design. The design is often difficult to change because of the culture of agreed norms, values and expectancies within the organisation. Organisational design is integral in creating efficiency and effectiveness in the organisation therefore it is important in all organisations to implement a structure. Drucker (1999) argues that as situations vary there are no clear guidelines that can be given to identify the best structure to use and mangers must use their own judgement regarding which design to choose. The structure must however coincide with the service users needs and not what the organisation believes should be the structure. Having an identified structure in an organisation is important to contribute to its functions. There are a number of designs outlined that managers may choose from but mangers need to acknowledge elements of the organisation when deciding which model to choose. These elements include: the specialisation of work, the chain of command, the span of control required, degree of formalisation required etc. Bureaucracy is the evident design applied in modern society. This may be influenced by Scientific Management and the military structure from history. The bureaucratic design is controlled and involves standardisation. Hierarchy is an important element of bureaucratic organisations, with departmentalisation and sub-groups evident. Having too many levels of hierarchy however can slow the decision making process within organisations, particularly social care organisations (Jones, 2007). The Quality Assurance in the Social Care sector report (2010) identifies also that an organisational desi gn which values low levels of hierarchy is the best approach for effective communication between staff. According to Kolb (1988) reflective practice and supervision is an important element in social care work. As an organisation adopts a more bureaucratic style the level of good supervision declines (Ruch, 2005). It is important to recognise that supervision in the context of social care works requires the supervisor supporting and guiding the employee towards best professional practice. Supervision involves reflecting on practice and recognising strengths and weaknesses of the employee in a positive way so as to improve the overall service for the service user. The lack of acknowledgement of the function of supervision in this way may be detrimental to the overall organisational goal. Social care workers are not to be seen as bureaucrats simply there to carry out tasks assigned by management but as individual problem solvers with skills for decision making (Thompson and Thompson, 2008). Therefore it is important to have an organisational design in social care organisations which incor porates supervision. The health service in Ireland has undergone fundamental changes since EU pressure began in 1973. The Commission on Health Funding (1989) recognised that the health board system was failing due to management and administration and many layers of hierarchy and a new system needed to be implemented. Other recent reports also outline the need for changes and the need for clarity of decision making in the health care system such as the Quality and Fairness A Health system for you (2001) report. It was outlined that the health boards operated as separate entities which led to inconsistency and did not address best practice. The Health Service Executive (HSE) was formed in 2005; it joined the former 11 health boards together. It consisted of three main parts: the National Hospital Office (NHO), the Primary Community and Continuing Care (PCCC) and Population Health. Unfortunately the HSE was not fully planned or organised. It underwent another organisational structural change in 2008 when t he NHO and the PCCC were joined together under one manager. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) was established in 2007, it incorporated the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) to work in collaboration with the HSE. HIQA can be viewed as an affixed type of organisation, quality should have been built into the organisations structure but instead HIQA was set up to add in quality into the services provided by inspecting the level that the standards are upheld. This shows that organisation design is an important issue to be addressed. Equally important is the setting of a vision or a goal. The HSEs budget plan is only up until 2014. Although the Quality and Fairness A Health system for you (2001) report outlined what needs to be done, some issues are still outstanding. The human element in social care organisations must be taken into consideration when applying a structure. Maslows (1943) theory of needs acknowledge that human need for self-actualisation is important for their well being. This would imply that organisations would need to involve employees in the decision making process within the structure as self actualisation means being involved in problem solving. Argysis (1957) argues that bureaucracies did not allow for this decision making process. Likert (year) also identifies that using design which involves open communications and trust is best used. There are arguments against this style of involving employees in decision making such as those by Vroom (1973) and Feidler (1967) who value the contingency style of management. Job satisfaction is difficult to access and achieve in service organisations. It is evident that work specialisation does not lead to job satisfaction in social care area; staffs need to be able to change their roles a nd rely on teams and supervision. The impact of staff burnout in social care is prominent. In the Roscommon Child Care Case recently reported there are clear problems with the structure of the organisation. During the period when the health professionals were working with the families the legislation in the child care area was changing with the introduction of the Child Care Act 1991 and Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, 1999 and new implementations arose. The staff were not trained in the new developments. If they had been trained then the Roscommon Child Care incident perhaps intervention would have occurred earlier. One of the objectives of the Quality and Fairness (2001) report was to protect children and the need for early intervention. The family in the Roscommon case were known to the HSE since 1989 and the children were not taken into care until 2004. The lack of continuing professional development (CPD) was highlighted as a reason why the mistakes of the past were not learned and as to why new legislation was not implem ented in this case. This can be seen as a failure of the system as well as the culture to provide CDP (Roscommon Child Care Case, 2010 4.16). The report also recognises the need for organisational change and identifies that the HSE has implemented systems of child protection in some areas but this highlights the need for it to be implemented across all organisations (Roscommon Child Care Case, 2010 5.1) Within social care work the need for interagency work is fundamental to provide the best service possible for the service users. However the communication between the agencies needs to be clear and consistent to ensure that the best service is provided and essentially that children are safe and protected (Julius et al, 1980). Julius outlines that the structure of the organisation may hinder the interagency work and it is important to recognise this in work. The structure and culture of the organisation have an impact on the behaviour and attitudes of employees. The structure must be designed so that the employees behave in a manner that best benefits the goal of the organisation, in the case of social care it would be to best serve the service users. When restructuring fails it leads to confusion and turmoil among those affected such as the managers, staff and service users. Models of design will unavoidably need to be changed according to the period of time. Organisations need to plan for the future, make predictions regarding changes that may need to be made by identifying opportunities and threats. Financial issues, new technology and changing population may require an organisation to change its structure. The structure needs to be examined to ensure that it is fulfilling its purpose and that is especially true in social care work where the impact of failure can lead to serious harm or even death to individuals.

Cloud Computing Essay

ABSTRACT: This white paper is an introduction to the terms, characteristics, and services associated with internet-based computing, commonly referred to as cloud computing. Also introduced are the benefits and challenges associated with cloud computing, and for those seeking to use communications services in the cloud, briefly presented are different ways of determining the interfaces needed to use these communications services. Cloud computing is where software applications, processing power, data and potentially even artificial intelligence are accessed over the Internet. Many private individuals now regularly use an online email application such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail. The location of physical resources and devices being accessed are typically not known to the end user. It also provides facilities for users to develop, deploy and manage their applications ‘on the cloud’, which entails virtualization of resources that maintains and manages itself. 1. What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing provides the facility to access shared resources and common infrastructure, offering services n demand over the network to perform operations that meet changing business needs. Definitions: â€Å"Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet.† – Wikipedia â€Å"Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.†- Wikipedia Basically a cloud is a virtualization of Resources that manages and maintains itself. CCSIT, Junagadh tank.infotech@yahoo.com Page 1 2. Types of cloud Public Cloud: the services are delivered to the client via the Internet from a third party service provider. Example: Amazon, Yahoo, Google Example of Clouds 3. Architecture Cloud architecture,[15] the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over application programming interfaces, usually web services and 3-tier architecture. This resembles the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs each doing one thing well and working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts. Private Cloud: these services are managed and provided within the organization. There are less restriction on network bandwidth, fewer security exposures and other legal requirements compared to the public Cloud. Example: HP Data Centers Hybrid cloud: There is some confusion over the term â€Å"Hybrid† when applied to the cloud – a standard definition of the term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† has not yet emerged. The term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† has been used to mean either two separate clouds joined together (public, private, internal or external), or a combination of virtualized cloud server instances used together with real physical hardware. The most correct definition of the term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† is probably the use of physical hardware and virtualized cloud server instances together to provide a single common service Architecture The two most significant components of cloud computing architecture are known as the front end and the back end. The front end is the part seen by the client, i.e. the computer user. Hybrid cloud CCSIT, Junagadh tank.infotech@yahoo.com Page 2 This includes the client’s network (or computer) and the applications used to access the cloud via a user interface such as a web browser. The back end of the cloud computing architecture is the ‘cloud’ itself, comprising various computers, servers and data storage devices collaboration. For more information on collaborative working using Google Docs, you can watch the now classic video Google Docs in Plain English. Taking collaboration further still, the outputs of some SaaS applications can be embedded in other web pages as web service gadgets. For example, a Google Docs or Zoho Sheet chart can be mashed into another website. There it will automatically update when the data in the online spreadsheet that is generating it is changed. SaaS applications are also constantly updated, which can free users of the â€Å"upgrade hell† of a major traditional software package revision. The disadvantage of SaaS is that it is basically a takeit-or-leave-it form of cloud computing. This means that businesses and individuals who require direct access to cloud computing hardware on which they can run their own applications cannot use SaaS. Rather, they need to cloud compute at the platform or infrastructure level using either platform as a service (PaaS) or infrastructure as a service (IaaS). 4. Services of Cloud Computing SaaS(Software as a Service) PaaS(Platform as a Service) IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service) Services Of Cloud computing PaaS(Platform as a Service) A platform is a software environment used to develop and run applications. For example, Microsoft Word is an application that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. When people choose to cloud compute using platform as a service or ‘PaaS’, they obtain access to an online platform provided by a cloud computing vendor. They can then use this platform to develop and deliver their own online (SaaS) applications. Applications developed using PaaS may be used privately by just one or a few users within a particular company. However, they can also be offered free or for-a-fee to anybody on the web. This means that if you have a great idea for a new online application then you can use PaaS to turn it into a reality! Several cloud suppliers now offer PaaS tools. Most notably these include Google App Engine, Microsoft Windows Azure, and Force.com. All such offerings effectively provide their customers with a box of cloud computing Lego. New applications are then constructed from the plastic bricks on offer. With Force.com, some applications can even be built using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Relatively nontechnical people can therefore create new online applications very quickly. SaaS (Software as a Service) Software as a service is where computer applications are accessed over the Internet rather than being installed on a local computing device or in a local data centre. So, for example, people may use an online word processor like Google Docs, an online database application like Zoho Creator, an online photo editor like Pixar, or an online invoicing application such as Zoho Invoice. Many SaaS applications are free to use, at least initially. You can find links to a great many in the Cloud Computing Directory. SaaS can provide its users with many benefits. These include the general cloud computing advantages of dynamic scalability and any device independence, as well as the benefit of being able to use an application without incurring fixed costs. Many SaaS applications are also collaborative. This allows multiple users to share documents and even to work on them at the same time.  For example, in the Google Docs spreadsheet different users can work on different cells simultaneously. The cells different users are working on are locked-off and highlighted in different colours. A real-time chat window can also be opened up alongside the spreadsheet to further enhance Indeed, Force.com claim that their â€Å"simplified programming model and cloud-based environment mean [customers] can build and run applications five times faster, at about half the cost of traditional software platforms†. Google App Engine and Force.com also allow an initial application to be created for free! Whilst PaaS is great in many situations, its users do need to be mindful of the involved flexibility verses power trade-off. What this means is that whilst PaaS makes it relatively easy to create new online applications, users are nevertheless constrained by the particular programming languages and tools provided by their PaaS supplier. In other words, PaaS vendors have total control over which Lego bricks they allow their customers to build with. Whilst this ensures that applications built using the tools on offer will always function correctly, it is nevertheless restrictive. It is for this reason that many companies and some individuals choose to cloud compute at t he infrastructure level. Dedicated physical servers and virtual server instances can perform exactly the same functions. However, there are some differences between them. For a start, virtual server instances are cheaper to supply as each does not require its own piece of physical hardware in a cloud data centre. On the other hand, virtual server instances are sometimes seen as less secure by those who do not want to share server hardware with other customers. For this reason, four categories of IaaS are available. These are most commonly known as â€Å"private clouds†, â€Å"dedicated hosting†, â€Å"hybrid hosting† and â€Å"cloud hosting†. 5. How cloud computing works? In traditional enterprise computing, IT departments forecast demand for applications and capacity and invest time and money to develop those resources inhouse or purchase them from others and operate them in-house. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Infrastructure as a service or â€Å"IaaS† is where a cloud supplier provides online infrastructure on which their customers can store data and develop and run whatever applications they please. IaaS therefore allows companies to move their existing programs and data into the cloud and to close down their own local servers and data centres. Whilst computing applications run on platforms, platforms in turn run on computing infrastructure. So, for example, whilst the Microsoft Word application runs on the Microsoft Windows platform, in turn the Microsoft Windows platform runs on the infrastructure of an IBM-compatible PC. How it works The fundamental building block of cloud computing infrastructure is the server. Cloud computing servers are basically computers on which online applications can be run and data can be stored. When provided by an IaaS vendor, cloud servers can also be real or virtual. Real or â€Å"dedicated† servers are individual circuit boards – known as blades – mounted within equipment racks in a data centre. In contrast virtual servers – also known as â€Å"virtual server instances† – are software-controlled slices of real, physical servers. Virtual servers are created by a process called virtualization that allows many users to share the processing power of one physical server. With cloud computing, institutions procure IT services from remote providers, and campus constituents access these resources over the Internet. E-mail, for example, long considered a staple of an institution’s IT operations, can be obtained from a range of sources, and a growing number of campuses contract with outside suppliers for this function. Software is hosted by the provider and does not need to be installed—or maintained—on individual computers around campus. In some cases, a large university or a consortium might become a provider of cloud services. Storage and processing needs can also be met by the cloud. Institutions pay only for the resources used, and users can access the applications and files they need from virtually any Internet- connected computer. In a mature cloud computing environment, institutions would be able to add new IT services or respond to changes in capacity on the fly, saving capital costs that can be redirected to programs of strategic value to the institution. Advantages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Reduced Hardware equipment for end users Improved Performance Lower Hardware and Software Maintenance Instant Software Updates Accessibility Less Expensive (Amazon example) Better Collaboration Pay for what you use Flexible 6. CHARACTERISTICS †¢ High scalability Cloud environments enable servicing of business requirements for larger audiences, through high scalability Disadvantages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Security Issues (#1 concern) Internet connection Too many platforms Location of Servers Time for Transition Speed †¢ Agility The cloud works in the ‘distributed mode’ environment. It shares resources among users and tasks, while improving efficiency and agility (responsiveness) †¢ High availability and reliability Availability of servers is high and more reliable as the chances of infrastructure failure are minimal †¢ Multi-sharing With the cloud working in a distributed and shared mode, multiple users and applications can work more efficiently with cost Reductions by sharing common infrastructure †¢ Services in pay-per-use mode SLAs between the provider and the user must be defined when offering services in pay per use mode. This may be based on the complexity of services offered Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) may be offered to the users so they can access services on the cloud by using these APIs 7. CONCLUSION After so many years, Cloud Computing today is the beginning of â€Å"network based computing† over Internet in force. It is the technology of the decade and is the enabling element of two totally new computing models, the Client-Cloud computing and the Terminal-Cloud computing. These new models would create whole generations of applications and business. Our prediction is that it is the beginning to the end of the dominance of desktop computing such as that with the Windows. It is also the beginning of a new Internet based service economy: the Internet centric, Web based, on demand, Cloud applications and computing economy

Annotated Bibliography: Stress Management Essay

Throughout life stress is a common problem whether it’s at work, school or home. The many negative effects of stress in fact affect individuals differently varying from health issues to work performance. Therefore, all individuals have different views of stress and various ways of handling it or otherwise managing their stress. Stress is when any living thing feels endangered and its homeostasis is at risk (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011, p. 74). Ways of dealing with stress are efforts of cognitive, behavioral, and psychological nature that allows a person to manage stress. Although there are different causes of stress, there are also many techniques for relieving it. The following articles are intended for the reader to understand these different techniques for relieving stress, and coping with the effects that stress can cause. Stress Management Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress management techniques: evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Science Journal, 5(2), 74-89 In this evidence-based study, numerous stress management techniques are used to help reduce the ill effects that stress can cause. The authors explain each technique as well as the benefits. The techniques include the following: Progressive Muscle Relaxation which consists of tensing and relaxing muscles in the abdomen, legs, arms, and face; Autogenic Training in which the person learns to instruct the body to relax and control otherwise autonomic body functions such as heartbeat and blood pressure; Relaxation Response is a repetition process that allows an individual to concentrate, and return to that repetition when other thoughts come to mind; Biofeedback uses instruments to measure physiological activity, which gives information to the user to utilize with changes in emotions and thinking to allow physiological changes; Guided imagery is audio, writing, or a professional using the person’s individualized images to reduce stress and promote health; Diaphragmatic breathing, or bell deep breathing, is thought to reset the autonomic nervous system, and promote relaxation; Transcendental meditation which is when the individual sits and repeats a chant with closed eyes; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy uses assessments, cognitive and behavioral treatments, along with physician and patient cooperation to help the patient become self-aware, and change their way of thinking; Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction uses meditation to help those suffering from mental or physical ailments; and the Emotional Freedom Technique which encompasses the use of acupressure while speaking a phrase out loud. All of these techniques allow the individual to relax and alleviate stress, and improve his or her health. It also explained that these methods can help with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, pain management, and reduce anxiety due to chronic illness. Engel B . (2004). Are We Out of Our Minds With Nursing Stress? Creative Nursing 10(4), 4-6. The article was written about large amounts of stress occurring in the nursing community and the effect it has on us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It goes on to describe certain ways to approach stress and stress relief to include, taking certain actions to manage stress and be able to use that to better the profession. Stress is a part of our daily lives and even more so in nursing. The situations that a nurse is put in on a daily basis are not only physically demanding, but are emotionally draining as well and even tax our spirituality having to deal with death and dying, sickness and disease. The article goes on to talk about stress manifestations, or how we perceive stress in our lives and our own approaches to it. Stress can be harmful and even debilitating. Or it can help sharpen your skills and challenge you to get better, depending on how you plan on dealing with it. Understanding stress and what it can do will open us up to figuring out how to use it to our advantage. One of the ways the article describes a way to approach a stressful situation is â€Å"mindfulness.† This is the ability to realize where you are in the situation, to include your physical body and what is going on around you. This is described as knowing your body knowing what is going on inside and realizing where you are in the situation. Maloney, C. (2012). Critical incient stress debriefing and pediatric nurses: An approach to support the work enviroment and mitigate negative consequences. Pediatric Nursing, 38(2), 110-113. In this article Maloney covers stress debriefing for nurses involved in traumatic incidents in throughout the workplace, specifically paying close attention to critical incidents and pediatric nurses. Traumatic events are common in the nursing workplace and if not properly tended to, can result in physical and emotional distress. Although quantitative research cannot determine the efficacy of critical incient stress debriefing, the author used a great example of a study that had extremely positive results that cut down the turnover in one hospital by half. Maloney also used studies that supported that critical incident stress debriefing was found useful over 98% of the time, and helped nurses find meaning over 97% of the time. Stress in these work environments can cause many symptoms that would effect a person’s well being not only physically but also emotionally, this article offers a great tool that can be used to reduce stress levels, and shows that hospitals are also contributing to stress management in other ways. Furthermore, the article would be very relevant for research of stress management in nursing as well as for first responders (i.e. fire fighters, EMT’s and paramedics) and other agencies that respond to traumatic situations. The author points out those hospital administrators that are recognizing the needs for emotional support that goes beyond the responsibility of the individual, and those hospitals are implementing programs to provide all the support they can to help relieve the stress brought upon healthcare providers (nurses). Bento, W. (2012). Living with Stress as the New Norm of the Post Modern World its consequences and challenges. LILIPOH (LILIPOH), 17(66), 21-7. In this article, Bento states many different types of stresses that a person comes across on each and every day. He states that the â€Å"four main sources of stress are worth noting. The first is perceived threats of any kind, whether physical, social or financial. Stress due to threats is always related to needs either being denied or jeopardized. Whether rational or irrational, the feelings generated from such stress translate into existential angst. The level of existential angst is higher the more it is perceived that there is no way to control or reduce the threat.† (Bento, 2012, 24). He also states that fear, cognitive dissonance and anxiety towards the future are three additional stressors that tax on to a person’s life and affects their daily habits. Knowing and understanding the factors of stress will allow a person to further comprehend his or hers environment and surroundings. Once that understanding is further developed, an individual will be able to make steps into controlling and managing different types of stress. Thus, applying it into the real world and the world of nursing. Solowieg, K. (2010). Take it easy: how the cycle of stress and pain associated with wound care affects recovery. NURS RESIDENTIAL CARE, 12(9), 443-444. This Article explains how stress can be detrimental to the human body, especially in a health care facility. Pain is closely intertwined with stress being that when a person feels pain, their level of stress and anxiety can inhibit optimal immune system function. In Solowiej’s article, it shows a study that â€Å"wound cleansing is considered to be one of the most painful treatments associated with wounds. Pain itself can have a negative impact on wound healing, as it can contribute to stress and other negative emotional states including fear, anxiety and depression.† (Solowiej, 2010, 444). It is important to know how pain and stress are very similar because when combined the psychological effects is has on a person can slow down the process of healing. Furthermore, when initial pain is confronted right away with positive reinforcement, a negative reaction to a trauma, chronic wound or small damage can help a person or patient make a full recovery from a situation. Urban, A. (2010). Managing stress. SRNA NEWSBULLETIN, 10(4), 7. The Article written by Anne Marie Urban gives us insight to how we can manage and prevent stress. Stress is inevitable cannot be prevented. It is an integral part of our life and will always happen from time to time whether it is a positive or negative one. However, even though stress itself is impossible to prevent, management of it can provide a positive response to a person’s life. Urban states that there are four ways for a person to positive manage and analyze stress. In doing so can provide a good energy for a person to use for their everyday activities. The four steps to a positive mindset towards stress are called Stop, Breath, Reflect, and Choose. The first step, Stop, asks an individual to think and analyze what is going on in their surroundings, and asking to not let their emotions and thoughts escalate. The second step is to Breathe. When in a stressful situation, it is difficult to take a second to catch your breath, but taking those few extra moments can help a person gather themselves. Taking deep breaths, and inhaling and exhaling calmly can help trigger a relaxation response to the body. Reflect is the third step of management. Analyzing and thinking about the situation. This step asks to look from the outside and ask yourself internal questions. Asking these internal questions helps to see if an individual is being over reactive or if there are other alternatives. The last of the four steps is choosing your response to a situation. This is a person’s decision to act upon a situation and ask themselves if the stress is worth it or not. Knowing these techniques can help maintain manage stress at a low level. There are many forms and sources of stress that can affect an individual’s well-being or surroundings. Being able to manage stress properly and doing so in a positive way will allow a person to achieve their goals or make a memorable impact on the world. Davis, C. (2011). Forum to help staff deal with day-to-day Stress . Nursing Management – UK, 18(4) , 18-21. This article is based upon studies in hospitals in England. The study provided a program to help hospital staff deal with stress from patient care, coworkers, and everyday stress in a hospital environment. In order to reduce stress, the article encourages discussion and group interaction in order to talk about emotional and social stress and challenges. This article stresses the importance for â€Å"rounds† to be incorporated in all hospitals in order for the healthcare professional to verbally discuss a patient’s case, plan of care, and any concerns an individual may have. One weakness to this article is that it does not touch on individual support for stress. If an individual does not benefit from the rounds and their stress level is still high, there is no alternative listed. Also, being in a group setting may increase someone’s stress and may only make the individuals stress worse. This correlates to the topic of stress management because every day as a nurse, we will be faced with stress and may be emotionally stressed out due to a patient’s care or diagnosis. This article is promoting and advocating how rounds will help decrease stress in healthcare professional, which will ultimately improve patient care. I believe that this article is on point with the implication of rounds for healthcare professionals. It allows the healthcare team to come together as a group and talk about problems and patient care, which can reduce stress and anxiety in the healthcare professionals. Cox, T., & Griffiths, A. (2007). Work-related stress in nursing: controlling the risk to health. Retrieved August 9, 2012, from http://ilo-mirror.library.cornell.edu/public/english/protection/condtrav/pdf/4stress.pdf This scholarly article was written to identify the causes of stress in hospital-based nurses as well as provide therapies and techniques in order to manage stress. This article states that stress in nursing is derived from three areas: work demands that are not matched to the level of knowledge of the nurse, work that does not fulfill their needs, level of co ntrol at work, and the lack of support a nurse may receive (Cox & Griffiths, 2007, p. 3). The article also touches on how stress affects the health of the nurse as well. This is the strength of this article because not only does it list the origin of stress, but it also states how overtime stress can affect the health of the nurse. This is helpful to readers because even though stress is a normal part of life, it must be controlled and managed otherwise it can negatively affect the health and wellness of the individual. One weakness of this article is that it only focuses on hospital-based nursing and neglects nurses that are working outside of the hospital. One way the article could be improved would be to research and comment on the profession of nursing as a whole rather than to only focused on nursing working inside the hospital. This article is directly related to the topic of stress management because it focuses on the origin of stress a nurse may face while working, the affects of stress on the nurse’s health, and tips to manage stress and promote health and wellness. This article is a great article for nurses to read because it provides tips and techniques to avoid and reduce stress as well as manage stress once present. Abraham, S. (2012). Relationship between stress and perceived self-efficacy among nurses in India. . Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www.ictbm.org/ictbm12/ICTBM12CD/pdf/D2144-done.pdf This scholarly article focuses in on nurses in India and how stress affects not only the nurse but also the organization the nurse works for. This article states that the individual as well as the organization should manage the stress but the individual experiencing stress should be primarily in charge. The article lists techniques to manage stress but also touches on the how the individual’s capacity to cope with stress can affect the stress level. One strength of this article is that it emphasizes self-efficacy as a part of stress management. According to Abraham (2012), self-efficacy is defined as â€Å"beliefs in one’s own capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations† (p. 611). This is important for coping with stress because multitudes of tips and techniques can be offered, but it is up to the individual and the capacity for a change in behavior to cope with stress. A weakness of this article is that the study was conducted only in India and does not include nurses from all different countries. This could be a weakness because nursing practices in India may differ from