Effects of Alcohol Essay Example for Free

Effects of Alcohol Essay Alcohol can have some good benefits and then some bad ones, for example when you drink you can encounter yourself having a good time laughing and joking around with your friends, or you can find yourself angry wanting to argue and start fights with everybody. If you’re a â€Å"happy drunk† you probably don’t have bad alcoholism in your family, and you can control your drinking with the attitudes it may drag along. While on the other hand if you’re an â€Å"angry drunk† you may not be able to control what you do when you drink such as the amount of alcohol you consume or the attitudes that may come along with drinking. Alcoholic content in most alcoholic drinks is measured in proof, which is about half of the actual content of alcohol in the drink. An example is a 90 proof whiskey actually only contains 45 percent alcohol. Beer is one of the beverages containing the lowest proof. They range from 2 to 6 percent. Wines have anywhere from 14 percent or less. Fortified wines which have other alcoholic beverages included will be in a higher range. While drinking each of these different alcoholic beverages, each one of them has different serving sizes like with whiskey 1 serving is about half a shot glass, one serving of beer is a 12oz can of beer and the smaller amount of whiskey will get you drunk way faster than beer. When drinking you need to keep track of what you are drinking and at how fast of a pace because if you drink fast you will reach your state of being drunk a lot faster and the buzz be a lot more intense than you may want. But if you are drinking at a slow pace and not drinking those hard alcohol drinks your buzz will come a lot slower and easier to contain. In some of the first steps of alcoholism the image of drinking is no longer to socialize and have a good time it becomes a necessity to cope with life to escape from stress, inhibitions and anxiety. Early in the disease of alcoholism the person with the drinking problem starts to depend on the mood changing aspects of alcohol. Another aspect of the first stage of alcoholism is that a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are needed in order to feel a high or a buzz. When your tolerance goes up you need to consume more alcohol, so might change to stronger drinks which may have different effects on yourself and change your personality severely making people that you once held close in your life to drift away and leave your all alone with only yourself and your drink. The person with the drinking problem starts to avoid family and friends and experiences a loss of interest in activities that used to be fun or important causing them to lose their job and other fun activities forcing them to fall into a deep depression then they may not have anywhere to turn besides the bottle of alcohol so they can deal with life the only way they know how to now. Soon an alcoholic will need to have a drink as soon as possible like when they just wake up in the morning so they don’t have to deal with the true reality of their life, calming there nerves or to lessen the hangover so soon being drunk all day everyday becomes a regular routine in daily life. Coming alone with being drunk that much has some very bad effects like, an increase in failed promises and resolutions to ones self and to others, Frequent violent or destructive behavior, The start of physical deterioration and all this will lead to major problems with the law such as DUIs and jail time which could also bring along thoughts of suicide. Now at this point of alcoholism it is more than likely the person will not be able to hold a full time job like they could have in the earlier stage of becoming an alcoholic because drinking starts earlier in the day and usually continues all day long. Then once the person has come all this way the body is not going to be able to deal with this frequent drinking because alcoholism causes a number of medical conditions and cancers. The noncancerous medical problems with this horrible addiction/disease can include, Harm to the fetus while the mother is pregnant, cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes, impaired learning ability, kidney and liver failure, diabetes, alcohol poisoning and sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction and impotence in men are just some of the few side effects with alcoholism. Some of the cancerous problems that may come along are Stomach, Liver, Esophagus, Kidney and Colon cancer. When or if an alcoholic comes to reality and wants to quit drinking if forced by family and friends or medical conditions and can be too late for them because if a person has been addicted to alcohol for a long period of time their body is more than likely dependent on the daily consumption of alcohol and cannot function without. They could have been diagnosed with a cancerous symptom from drinking and need to quit or they will die, but on the other hand they can die from the sudden stop of drinking. Alcoholism is one of the most dangerous addictions’/ diseases’ out there because there is no cure and causes more deaths than a good deal of other drugs and addictive’s. Many studies have concluded that alcoholism is as addictive as or more addictive than heroin or cocaine, therefore before getting stuck going down the dead end road of alcoholism think twice.

Development of an Equation Essay Example for Free

Development of an Equation Essay Purpose: Investigate a chemical reaction using lab procedures and observations. Then, find a pattern of reactivity and explain the findings using a chemical equation and particle diagram. Procedure: Refer to: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University. Development of an Equation. General Chemistry 1210 Laboratory Manual. Vol. 2013-2014. Plymouth: Hayden-McNeil. 32-35. Data/Results: Part A: In the potassium iodide solution, I think there were potassium atoms as well as iodine atoms. In the lead nitrate solution, I think there were lead and nitrate ions. The potassium atoms and the lead atoms can be classified as cations, since they are metals. The iodine atoms and the nitrate ion can be classified as anions since they are nonmetals. Upon mixing, the solution turned into a cloudy yellow color. Evidence that a chemical reaction occurred was that the two solutions created a new color because the two solutions were originally colorless. There was no gas formed. Part B: (Testing the Anions) Iodide reaction with hydrogen peroxide observations- The precipitate at the bottom turned into a red solid and the liquid solution was a dirty yellow color. Nitrate reaction with hydrogen peroxide observations- A colorless precipitate formed at the bottom and looked like a bubble. It was a relatively large bubble. The liquid solution was colorless and cloudy/fizzy. Since the reaction resulted in some fizzing and bubbles, this is indication that a gas was formed. (Testing the Cations) Potassium reaction with thioacetamide observations – No reaction occurred. Lead reaction with thioacetamide observations A violet-black precipitate formed at the bottom of the test tube and the liquid solution was a cloudy grey color. It was about the same size precipitate as the nitrate reaction with hydrogen peroxide. Strong smell from the thioacetamide. Part C: Identification of ions in the precipitate that forms when lead nitrate solution is added to potassium iodide solution. (Testing for Anions) Reaction with hydrogen peroxide observations- A dark red precipitate formed at the bottom of the test tube and the liquid solution was colorless. There was not a large amount of precipitate formed and it sort of smeared along the inside of the test tube. Inferences: What anions are in the precipitate? -iodine (I-) When compared with results from part B to test anions, similar results were found. A dark red precipitate was formed in both. (Testing for cations) Reaction with hydrogen sulfide observations- A small, violet-black precipitate formed at the bottom of the test tube and the liquid solution was grey and cloudy. Inferences: What cations are in the precipitate? – lead (Pb2+) When compared with results from part B to test cations, similar results were found, A violet-black precipitate was formed in both tests. Exchange reaction- Positive potassium started off with negative iodine, and positive lead started off with negative nitrate. Potassium switched to combine with nitrate and lead switched to combine with iodine. Part D: Testing of Precipitate| Observations on Initial Precipitate Formed (relative amount, etc.)| Lead Nitrate: Potassium Iodide Ratio| Tube 1| Powdery, yellow precipitate formed at the bottom. Not very much precipitate. Little to no streaking. Clear liquid solution above precipitate. | 3:1| Tube 2| Powdery, yellow precipitate formed at the bottom. Equal to tube 1. Little to no streaking. Clear liquid solution above precipitate.| 2:1| Tube 3| Powdery, yellow precipitate formed at the bottom. A little more precipitate than tube 1 and 2. Little to no streaking. Clear liquid solution above precipitate.| 1:1| Tube 4| Powdery, yellow precipitate formed at the bottom. Much more than tube 3. Noticeable streaking of precipitate along sides of test tube. Clear liquid solution above precipitate.| 1:2| Tube 5| Powdery, yellow precipitate formed at the bottom. Most precipitate formed out of all test tubes. A lot of streaking of the precipitate along sides of the test tube. Clear liquid solution above precipitate. | 1:3| Testing of Supernatant| Observations| Inferences: Which ions were in the supernatant? List cations and anions.| Tube 1| The solution was clear with lead nitrate, but turned a yellow cloudy color with the potassium iodide. | Pb2+ (lead)-cationsNO3- (nitrate)-anions| Tube 2| The solution was clear with lead nitrate, but turned a yellow cloudy color with the potassium iodide.| Pb2+ (lead)-cationsNO3- (nitrate)-anions| Tube 3| The solution was clear with lead nitrate, but turned a yellow cloudy color with the potassium iodide.| Pb2+ (lead)-cationsNO3- (nitrate)-anions| Tube 4| The solution was clear with both the lead nitrate and the potassium iodide.| Pb2+ (lead)-cationsNO3- (nitrate)-anions| Tube 5| The solution was a little yellow with the lead nitrate, and a little less yellow with the potassium iodide.| K+ (potassium)I- (iodine)| Discussion/Conclusion: In part A, the first step was to obtain 5 drops of potassium iodine and 5 drops of lead nitrate and put them into a test tube and record observations. Then, to test the anions in part B, 5 drops of potassium iodine, 5 drops of nitric, 10 drops of dichloroethane, and 5 drops hydrogen peroxide to a new test tube. Then to a separate test tube, 5 drops of potassium nitrate, 5 drops of nitric acid, 10 drops of dichloroethane, and 5 hydrogen peroxide to a new test tube. Both should be stoppered and shook to produce two distinct layers. To test the cations, 2 test tubes would each get 20 drops of thioacetamide and 2 drops of nitric acid. One would get 5 drops of lead nitrate and the other 5 drops of potassium nitrite. Both test tubes were heated for 5 minutes and observations were recorded. In part C, the sample was used from part A and the test tube was centrifuged, then the clear aqueous layer was removed and discarded and the precipitate was washed with distilled w ater. This process was repeated once more. To test the anions, 5 drops of nitric acid, 10 drops of dichloroethane, and 5 drops of hydrogen peroxide were added to the solid precipitate and the test tube was stoppered and shook. These results were compared to the results from part B. To test for cations, the less colored aqueous layer was transferred to a clean test tube and the leftover layer was discarded. The solution was heated in a water bath until clear. 20 drops of thioacetamide were added, stirred then heated in a water bath and compared to the results from part B. In part D, to determine the ratio of  ions in the precipitate, 5 test tubes were labelled 1-5 and were filled according to table 3.1 on page 34 of the lab manual. The same medicine dropper was used for all drops and the test tubes were stoppered and shook, then centrifuged. The relative amounts and appearance of each precipitate were recorded. To test for potassium of iodide ions in the supernatant, 5 drops of lead nitrate were added to 5 separate test tubes with along with 5 drops from the appropriate test tube solution. The same was done to test for lead or nitrate ions, but potassium iodide was added instead. The perfect ratio for thi s lab was 2 potassium iodides for every lead nitrate. This ratio was found from balancing the equation and from comparing the results from part C to part B to match the observations of the precipitates. The ratio is the molar mass ratio of the balanced equation. The balanced equation was: 2KI(aq)+Pb(NO3)2(aq) 2KNO3(aq)+PbI2(s) and the formula of the precipitate was PbI2(s) based on the observations. In part B, the test for anions resulted in a dark red precipitate which was the iodide solution with hydrogen peroxide. In part C, the same results were found when lead nitrate and potassium iodide were added to hydrogen peroxide, therefore; the anions found were iodide ions because it has a negative 1 charge. In part B to test cations, the precipitate was a violet-black color for the lead solution reaction with thioacetamide. In part C, the same results were found when lead nitrate and potassium iodide were added to hydrogen sulfide. The cations found were lead ions since they have a positive 2 charge. Some inherent errors could have been while extracting the clear aqueous solution, some of the precipitate could have been extracted with the solution and transferred into another test tube. Upon heating, not all of the precipitate dissolved. Some of the drops with the micropipet varied also. The medicine dropper was more precise with the drops. Through this lab, a chemical reaction was used to find the pattern of reactivity which was an exchange reaction. This is known by finding the chemical equation and properly balancing it which is seen above. This lead to the ability to create a particle diagram and the findings of a perfect ratio of lead nitrate to potassium iodide.

Complexity Measures in Design and Development

Complexity Measures in Design and Development Albert Einstein once said â€Å"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler†. These simple words coming out of a genius’s mind carry a lot of meaning and depth in them. The last two decades saw an exponential rise in different branches of engineering and sciences; and with these developments came in a crowd of very advanced yet very complicated technologies. Are these complexities intended? The answer is very simple NO; the very word advanced is almost always inherited by complexity. No one would want to design and manufacture something very complex, but the more advanced a technology is, the more complex it gets. Even the works done by the man who said those words are far too complex for a common man; and actually that is exactly what he meant. Everyone tries to make things as simple as possible, but no simpler than that, they just can’t and the simplest product design possible can become very complex in some regards. With increasing complexity, there is always a danger of system being destabilized, reduction in overall performance, higher cost, higher maintenance, etc. The way to keep control over complexity is to have measure of it, so that management and manufactures know what exactly to-do and how to change their operational strategy. In this dissertation I am presenting a detailed overview of complexity, it’s different meanings and interpretations in various industries and a host of measures that were developed to measure and evaluate complexity. There are also a few methods of minimizing complexity presented along with case studies illustrating the means in which these measures were applied to real-time manufacturing and designing processes. Complexity: â€Å"What is complexity?† could be one of the most complex questions tube answered. The very definition of complexity from dictionary would suggest the following: Æ’ËÅ" Consisting of interconnected or interwoven parts Æ’ËÅ" Composed of two or more units Æ’ËÅ" Offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining Æ’ËÅ" The interlacing of parts so as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately Æ’ËÅ" Extreme complication and often disorder; complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable The first two meanings are not too related to our present context so I will ignore them, but the rest suggest the exact meaning of what complexity is. As we can see, if I do not understand something properly or am not capable enough to understand it, ‘that’ thing is complex tome. Does this mean it is really complex? The answer again is very simple, NO and that is the very reason why complexity is so hard to define. Complexity of anything is dependent on many factors and one very important factor is human understanding. A subject complex to me could be a piece of cake for someone else and this very behaviour of complexity makes it very hard to measure and evaluate it. An important and interesting question that may arise in reader’s minds, â€Å"Does the very same meaning of complexity stand in industry standards too?† The answer could be both a YES and a NO. It does stand the same thing in some cases, but in rest, the definition of complexity is completely modified. A best example would be industries involved in computer sciences and engineering. There complexity of a code does not really mean it is hard to understand, it rather means that it takes a lot of time for computer to calculate and give the results. In most of the mechanical and electronic designs, complexity would mean systems with multiple interacting parts, the behaviour of which cannot be related with respect to individual parts. That is their collectivebehavior is completely different and /or unpredictable from their individual behaviour. Again this unpredictability can be related to just the static structure of these components or dynamic nature, thus the differentiation between static complexity and dynamic complexity. Now Avery good question to answer is â€Å"What exactly are these static and dynamic complexities?† Static Complexity: Given a particular system (could be any system like manufacturing plant with different manual and automated equipment or just a small network with multiple servers/ clients ), there is always some complexity involved with the static structure of these components, could be just their physical shapes/ sizes or their alignment with other objects or with environment. This complexity which is made up as a function of various parameters like physical shapes, structures, connectivity, variety and strengths of components is called static complexity. Dynamic complexity: Dynamic complexity is more related towards the behaviour of these components as a unit. As mentioned earlier, the pattern of behaviour for a group of components is almost always different than the pattern for individual components; this behaviour measured over a period of time is a major parameter in dynamic complexity. A very important form of complexity that is normally taken as constant or zero while evaluating static or dynamic complexities is complexity arising because of control; that is, given a particular system, there could be many ways in which it can controlled and each one of these methods can result in a different static / dynamic complexity measure, thus to really evaluate a system, we should also consider this parameter and measure a control complexity too. But for most practical purposes, it is assumed that there is only one way to control, thus ignoring control complexity. Measuring and evaluating dynamic complexity is highly dependent on the industry and its specific design, thus forming generic measures for dynamic complexity is not only complicated but also inapplicable invest majority of other designs. Thus research is more focused towards static complexity and its measures. Though there are papers which concentrate only on dynamic complexity, they are very much oriented towards a specific industry and its related fields. Does this mean that static complexity is similar for all industries and designs? No, but a particular measure calculated for static complexity could be easily expanded to other designs too, which is not the same for dynamic complexity. In this paper, I will give measurements of both static and dynamic complexities with respect to manufacturing environment. Before we go any further into measurement of complexity, it is a good idea to understand why and how complexity arises in systems? There is general belief that complexity arises due to many random factors. It could be true in some sense, but that only indicates a very bad design. For systems which are well designed, manufactured and maintained, randomness is not a major factor; it is rather the fact that the system cannot be easily described which causes more complexity. According to Axelrod and Cohen describe systems as comprising of agents and artifacts. The artefacts are just physical (or virtual) objects that comprise the system where as the agents who have attributes like location, memory, ability to interact with other agents, ability to manipulate and change functions, control these objects. The agents may not have to be people alone; they can be computer programs, groups, political entities etc. that may affect the system directly or indirectly. Another important and very interesting concept of complexity comes from Wolfram, in which he states that complexity in a system comes from randomness produced because of three sources. Æ’ËÅ" The first source is the environment and its intervention, either directly or indirectly, on the system. Æ’ËÅ" The second source is the initial conditions that the system was in, before being used. These initial conditions could be random thus adding more weight to the complexity. Æ’ËÅ" The third and most important one is the internal or intrinsic complexity of the system. That is the complexity of the system when there is no external influence or affect. With all these different views of complexity, we are now ready to go ahead and describe what complexity in design is? But before that, let us see what exactly design means. Design and Why is it done? In this section, let us see what exactly design means and as in every case, let us start with the exact dictionary definition of design. Æ’ËÅ" To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent Æ’ËÅ" To formulate a plan for; devise Æ’ËÅ" To plan out in systematic, usually graphic form Æ’ËÅ" To create or contrive for a particular purpose or effect Æ’ËÅ" To have as a goal or purpose; intend Æ’ËÅ" To create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner These, may be with little twists here and there, are the exact definitions of ‘Design’ that you see in dictionaries and they almost suggest what precisely designing means in industry standards. Basically designing involves â€Å"making things better and more useful to customers (or people)†. Almost every single thing that we use is (/was)designed at some point of time; things that we take for granted were once designed and engineered. Design is an integral part of us and our society and is united in almost everything and anything we do and we use. Designing anything starts with an idea, any idea good or bad. The main job of designers is to reform this idea so that it is understandable for the people who need to work on it and manufacture it, sort of able print. Whether it is a multibillion dollar dam or a small fashion hair pin, the process of creating them is all the same and involves almost the same basic general steps. Before we discuss these steps, it’s important for us to understand why designing is done on the first place? Designing is a very important and basic step in any product. To deliver product, there are many steps involved. There are scientists who invent new technologies, engineers who use these technologies to develop various components, manufactures that use these components in manufacturing different products and finally marketers who take the prime role behind delivering the product. But who is going to coordinate their efforts to produce a desirable and successful product, no one else but the designers. They are the people who understand what the customer want and deliver a mechanism to make it happen. Designing is not just what we read in magazines which depict it as mostly involved with fashion industry. No that is not at all the case it involves a lot of insight into the way customer thinks and wants his product. As I mentioned earlier, everything that we use was designed at some point of time. There are some very important things that every design is supposed to follow, a brief list of which is as follows: Æ’ËÅ" User requirements: The very first and most important aspect designer has to consider is user. In this world where the number of competitors for a product is more than the product itself, there are very few designs which are being accepted into user community. The main reason behind their success being complete satisfaction of customers. The very first step of any design process is to know â€Å"what exactly customers want?† Æ’ËÅ" Creativity: Next comes creativity. When the designer knows what the customer wants, he has to create something new; he just can’t give the same old stuff which just satisfies the needs. If I am buying a camera, being a picky customer I wouldn’t buy any camera that can take a snap of me, NO, I want so many other things which may be I will not even dream of using, but still I want them in my camera. That is how customers think and that is what exactly designers provide. Innovation has to be there in a product without which t here is no value to it.Designers explore all the different combinations in which a product can be designed and seek new methods in doing so. The stranger it is the better. Now that there are so many simulation tools and other devices that provide so much insight into the product even before it is made, this work is simplified a lot. Æ’ËÅ" Business process: the other very important consideration a designer has to go through is the business process both from company perspective and user perspective. The overall price of the product may depend on the design and considering this is a very important thing. The best examples are the products from Microsoft, take for example PowerPoint, though costing only 50-100 dollars, it’s overall revenue may be grater than some very big software companies whose products cost millions of dollars. Why? The design was so done that there are millions of satisfied customers to PowerPoint or excel who can afford it easily than to products that co st millions of dollars. Æ’ËÅ" Manufacturing overview: it is also very important for a designer tube thoroughly aware of what exactly his company is capable of and at what capacity. I can design a magnificent product in a technology that my company is not even aware of, there is no use to it. A designer should be completely knowledgeable in the manufacturing processes and principles of his company so that whatever he does is not counter tithe existing mechanism, but only increase its productivity by using it in a better way. Now that we considered the basic aspects of design, let us now look at the design process. Being a designer is not such a simple job, you will have to consider so many discrete and varied things, a small list of which was provided above. There is a lot of trial and error involved. Till you get the right one, there could be thousand rejected designs. Though most of the design process is done by designers, there is a lot of contribution from most of the other departments involved in getting that product out like manufacturing people, engineers, business analysts, managers etc. The following are the basic but general steps I mentioned earlier that any designer follows: Æ’ËÅ" Understanding and evaluating Requirements: The very first step involved in design process is to understand and evaluate the user requirements. This involves defining the objectives, setting deadlines, targets and parameters. The design team is involved right from the beginning to the end as they have to understand the business process both from the company’s point of view and the customer’s point of view. The idea being creating an ideal project which will satisfy both the business processes and optimize them. A very important question to answer at this level is why are we creating / modifying this product? Once this question is properly answered, the rest of the process becomes simpler and logical. Æ’ËÅ" Research: Research is one of the most important aspects of the whole process. This is an ever going process, especially in the case of longer project. Research typically includes a variety of areas like Technology, Economy, User Satisfaction, Competitor products, trends, risks etc. Every one among them will affect the product and its design. A simple example would be the conversion from analogy to digital. May bee decade or two ago, there were some systems which were still concentrating on analogy devices. Now they are hardly seen. When such drastic change is happening (a decade would not be drastic for us, but for large scale manufacturing plants to change their whole technology from analogy to digital would cost millions of dollars even though it is spread over multiple years), it would be highly beneficial to a company to be well informed beforehand rather than changing at the spur of moment. Research is more concentrated on the customer / user than anything else. Whatever user wants has to be done and it would be much more preferable to know the user choices beforehand doing our own research, rather than getting a dissatisfied comment from him. Æ’ËÅ" Planning: planning is another significant part of the whole process. As I mentioned earlier, it is always good for the designers to know the internal business processes of the company beforehand rather than knowing them later on and trying to modify the design. Planning takes care of this step. With participation from wide variety of areas all across the board, it becomes simpler for the designer to know and understand different views and angles about a manufacturing process so that the overall design is acceptable and enjoyable by everyone. Æ’ËÅ" Communication: In a business process, there are always instances when the customer thinks of something, the designer understand something else and the manufacturing guys create something completely different. Why does this happen? Lack of communication. Whose mistake is this? Nobody’s. It is very important for a designer and his team to keep inconstant touch with both the customers and the manufacturing guys at the same time. Designers are the only bridge between customers and manufacturers and they should be completely aware of the business process from both the sides. It is client’s responsibility that he conveys the proper requirements to the designers so that they care-convey them to their manufacturing guys, a small leak here and there can result in disaster. But does the client do this always? NO. So it becomes an additional burden on the designer to keep in constant touch with the customer and keep him posted of what is going on with the product, so that if there is some discrepancy, then the message is obtained instantly, same is the case with manufacturing people. Æ’ËÅ" Implementation: the last step is implementation, mostly done by the manufacturing people but involves a little contribution from design team too. First of all, they may have to monitor the whole process and may be even test it thoroughly. Being the only people with complete knowledge of client’s business requirements, they are also responsible for quality. This is how a generic design process goes, let me stress the word generic again. Depending on industry, this process may change here and there, but the changes would be nominal. Now let us consider the different contexts of complexity in different industries and their detailed analysis, the major difference between the following topic and the one presented earlier being that the following one is description of complexity from design perspective. Different Contexts of complexity in different industries: I already mentioned while explaining the definition of complexity that its basic meaning may change from industry to industry. In this section let me highlight some key industries and illustrate the meaning of complexity with respect to that particular industry. In the very same process let us also try to combine the design process into the contexts that we can start concentrating more on complexity in design more than complexity in general. Let us start with the software industry where the definition of complexity is very fundamental but very useful. Complexity in Design for Software industries: What exactly does complexity in software design mean? IEEE standard 729gives the following definition for complexity in software, â€Å"The degree of complication of a system or system component, determined by such factors as the number and intricacy of interfaces, the number and intricacy of conditional branches, the degree of nesting, the types of data structures, and other system characteristics. Though very extensive, this definition still doesn’t cover all the aspects ofcompelxity in software. There are many things to be considered while stating complexity in software a few of which are the operating system, programming language , database, interface being used etc. and etc. Now popular question could be, â€Å"Does all this matter, a complexity has tube related to the way you design an algorithm more than the way you program it?†. Actually it does. There is a popular notion of measuring complexity in software industry where in they compare a particular language (for example) with another one and decide what is more complex. Though theoretically perfect, practically this is totally wrong. How can one compare an algorithm written in Java to the same algorithm written in C, their applications and usages are completely different. Similarly you cannot compare a program using Oracle as its database to a program using Microsoft Access. Now can we measure complexity taking all these into consideration? Not really. For measurement purposes again everything falls back to algorithm level. Whatever be the programming basis you are using, underneath it there is only a single algorithm being used. Thus in this context measurmentof complexity has to be done with a lot of risk. Later in the dissertation Aim going to suggest some popular methods of complexity measurements used in software industry. In general, complexity in software comprises mainly of the following components (apart from the algorithm): Æ’ËÅ" Component Reuse (so called Object Oriented Programming): This is Avery important component of complexity measurement these days. Given a particular algorithm, if you can reuse a piece of code again and again, thus avoiding redundancy, the complexity would decrease by a lot. Hence this factor is a very important component of software complexity. Æ’ËÅ" Control Flow: This takes into consideration the whole control structure of the program. Æ’ËÅ" Data Structures: The number of data structures being used and their size (in bits and bytes) Æ’ËÅ" Size: the overall length of the code (also including the commented lines and documentation as even they are considered in compilation process) From the above description, we can conclude that software complexity depends a lot on the algorithm being used, but many other factors contribute a lot too. Thus a good designer would first of all consider the algorithm and once the algorithm is decided, he / she would spend more time looking into various other considerations, trying to decrease the length of code, number of hits to the database, number of requests from the server etc. Complexity in Manufacturing: Let me clarify what I mean by Manufacturing before I go any further, it includes almost every single sector of consumer product industry starting from auto industry to small electronic components. Why am I including them of all into a single concept? Because the way they function is almost similar with the difference in size. Thus in this section, I will try to distinguish them whenever necessary, but otherwise they are all the same. Majority of these industries involve many moving parts and each one of these parts are again designed and manufactured, either in the same company of in a different one. Thus there is complexity involved in designing each one of them, and then comes the complexity of assembling them into one single system, normally carried out by various automated and / or manual methods. Consider for example an auto industry. With thousands of components going into the assembly line, the whole process becomes highly complex; similar is a case with electronic devices wherein minute parts has to placed and soldered on a PCB with utmost precision. Normally complexity of a manufacturing process is dependent on many parameters, a brief list of which is as follows: Æ’ËÅ" Similarity in processing requirements: the complexity of manufacturing process is highly dependent on the processing requirements and their similarity. Any process would be much simpler when it has similar methods being used across various modules. Thus with variance in processing requirements, the complexity increases. Complexity also increases due to changing consumer demand, which directly affects the whole setup. Æ’ËÅ" Yield: Manufacturing yield is another important factor that determines the complexity. There is always a constant effort to increase the yield but without proper planning and automation, this could result in huge complexities. Æ’ËÅ" Miniaturization: With the latest trend of miniaturization, all the components are being made as small as possible thus increasing their overall complexity. We can easily say that a laptop or as a matter of fact a palm top is much more complex than a desktop. A similar trend is being observed in many of the electronic sectors and thus enhancing the complexity of design. Æ’ËÅ" Energy Efficiency: More applicable in automobile than anywhere else, this parameter is affecting the complexity a lot. With modern vehicles(hybrid electrical and gasoline based engines), the energy efficiency is being increased a lot, but along with it, the complexity is also increasing at a similar rate. Why do we need Complexity Measures? Till now I discussed the basic definitions and detailed meanings of complexity and design. Now let me consider on measurement of complexity. The very first question to be answered in this regard is, Why do we need complexity Measures for? The answer for this question cannot be given in all technical fashion; we need some philosophy for this. As can be seen from the trends in the past two decades, the population is rising at a huge rate and along with it the technology is improving at an exponential rate. We are living in the period where Moore’s law is still being maintained and the devices that we use daily are being made more and more sophisticated and user friendly. But what if someone wants to understand the concepts behind any of these devices, though the modern communication is fast and very knowledgeable, it is vast too. Most of the information provided is random, not relevant, redundant and sometime inaccurate. This provides more confusion than clarity. As Simon says in his paper Creativity, Innovation, and Quality, â€Å"Today, complexity is a word that is much in fashion. We have learned very well that many of the systems that we are trying to deal with in our contemporary science and engineering are very complex indeed. They are so complex that it is not obvious that the powerful tricks and procedures that served us for four centuries or more in the development of modern science and engineering will enable us to understand and deal with them. We are learning that we need a science of complex systems, and we are beginning to construct it†, it is becoming more and more painful for common men to understand or evaluate systems becaus e of their complexity. This complexity is increasing day by day rather than taking a downward step. Not only in manufacturing processes but also in other industries like software, electronics, even social, political, religious, medical, biological hectare also vastly affected. The only way out of this confusion is to do proper designing so as to minimize the complexity involved, (note the work minimize. It is impossible to eliminate complexity). Are these the only reasons of measuring complexity? No way. None of the industrialists would ever invest in research for complexity measures for the above mentioned reasons. There is a huge economic advantage by doing proper complexity measurement and then taking proper steps to minimize it. I will mention a small list of these benefits here, and then explain them in detail as we go on to subsequent sections. List of advantages for measuring, evaluating and finally minimizing complexity from financial point of view: Æ’ËÅ" The operational strategy could be improved a lot. Æ’ËÅ" Processing speed and thus information transfer is much faster and smoother. Æ’ËÅ" System performance is better. Æ’ËÅ" Increased autonomy. Æ’ËÅ" More customer satisfaction and thus higher profit. Æ’ËÅ" Easier to maintain, modify or redesign. Statistics involved in Complexity measurement: Before we can go ahead and derive some formulae for complexity measures, it is a good idea to brush up some basic concepts of information theory and other related statistical engineering subjects. So this section is dedicated for a brief overview of some of these important concepts. Ensemble: An ensemble X is a random variable x with a set of possible outcomes, Vex = {v1,v2,..vi, †¦ VI), having probabilities {p1,p2,†¦pi,..pie} with P(x=vi)=pi, pi >0 and Conditional Probability: Product rule: Sum rule: Bayes’ Theorem: Stationary Process: A random process where the various statistical qualities or properties do not vary with time is called a stationary random process. That is for a stationary process, the parameters like Mean, Variance, Standard Deviation etc. are constant across time.(Example White Noise) Erotic Process: Random process in which the time series produced are the same in statistical properties. That is a set of random processes are considered as time shifts of an original stationary process. Entropy: A very popular term in Information Theory, entropy means the lowest amount of bit rate needed for representing a particular symbol. The exact value of Entropy is . It is also called as uncertainty of x. With this definition of Entropy and following the probability rules defined earlier, joint and conditional entropies can be defined as follows: Joint Entropy: Conditional Entropy: This information should be sufficient for us to go ahead and derive our formulae; if anything is needed I will provide it at that instant. Different methods of Complexity Measures, their Evaluation and Analysis: As indicated above, different industries use the term ‘Complexity’ indifferent aspects, thus there are varied meanings and definitions of it. With so many differences involved in just defining complexity, we can imagine how difficult it would be to measure and find methods to reduce complexity for all these manufacturing units. Taking into consideration this vastness, normally research is done only in those fields where there is some sort of existing mathematical background, using which new complexity measures and evaluations can be done. Ones these are formed, then the same measures could be used for relating complexity of any related industry. A popular area where there is a lot of mathematical background existing is algorithmic complexity, mostly for software related industries but applied in general to a vast area of other industries too. For beginners, let me start with describing few methods in software industry and we shall proceed to manufacturing plants later on. Fan-In Fan-out complexity: One of the most basic complexity formulae to be derived is Fan-Infant-Out complexity formed by Sallie Henry and Dennis kauri. Let us define the following parameters, L = length of the code in lines Fanon = the number of functions that call a particular function Fan-out= how many functions are called by a given function is calledfanout. Then the complexity of the code by this method is given as Complexity = L* (Fanon*Fan-out)2 In overall essence what exactly this formula does is, it counts the number of data counts from a particular unit of code and number of data counts into that unit or into a data structure to measure the complexity. Not so useful in real time applications with millions of lines of code and very complex algorithms. Software Science: This method was started by Maurice H. Halstead. Again this is a very simple and quite useless sort of algorithm to calculate complexity of program code. The formula for complexity that Halstead proposed was as follows: N=n1logn1 + n2logn2 Where N is the implementation length of the code, n1 is the number of unique distinct operators appearing in the implementation, n2 is the number of unique distinct operands appearing in the implementation. Now he defines the program volume as V =N log(n1 + n2) Where log is logarithm to the base of 2. Then he suggests that more the volume of the program code, more complexity is. As I said the above two measures were quite useless for modern programs involving very complicated algorithms. McCabe’s Cyclamate Complexity: To measure the amount of decision logic that is loops like for loop, while loop etc. or breaks like if, case etc., for a simple software module, we can use McCabe’s Cyclamate Complexity. An example formula that

Agatha Christie And Deception :: essays research papers

Deception is viewed as a negative term in society. However, in the genre of mystery novels, it is the essential key to its success. For the reader to want to continue on, he/she must be supplied with numerous possibilities for an ending. The only way one could provide such an abundant selection is with the use of deception. Agatha Christie has deceived her readers on purpose to present more plentiful probabilities for a conclusion. â€Å"No job is trickier or more critical than inventing ostensibly fair misdirection—that is, preserving some connection with plausibility while making many characters suspect. She (Agatha Christie) has perfected it.† (Wagoner, 2) Her skill has made her the most popular mystery author and now has over two billion books in print. She has also achieved Britain’s highest honor when she was made a Dame of the British Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And then there were None (Ten Little Indians) is the most popular novel written by Agatha Christie and is considered, by many, the greatest mystery novel ever written. In this acclaimed masterpiece of murder and suspense, Mr. Owen gathers ten strangers who share forgettable pasts together on an isolated Indian Island. However, the guests do not know the identity of their host. As they start telling their deepest, darkest secrets to each other, one by one, they start to die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this novel, deception is a significant part of the story. Agatha Christie misleads the reader by giving an impression that a mysterious, unknown figure has committed the heinous murders. Dr. Armstrong is one of the guests on the island and is suspicious about the homicides. He does not feel any of his fellow guests are to blame so he says, â€Å"You’re probably right! Damn it all, there must be someone hiding on the island! Ah! Here comes Lombard!† (Christie, none 68) By supplying a possible scenario, Christie has made the reader consider the possibility that it maybe true.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Further on in the novel, Christie hints about the identity of the alleged killer. Mr. Justice Wargrave is beginning to think that he can’t trust anyone on the island. He is starting to blame others including the very people who also have been attempting to solve the murders. In an abnormal, feverish tone he says, Its Armstrong†¦. I saw him looking at me sideways just then†¦. His eyes are mad†¦. Quite mad†¦. Perhaps he isn’t a doctor at all†¦. Agatha Christie And Deception :: essays research papers Deception is viewed as a negative term in society. However, in the genre of mystery novels, it is the essential key to its success. For the reader to want to continue on, he/she must be supplied with numerous possibilities for an ending. The only way one could provide such an abundant selection is with the use of deception. Agatha Christie has deceived her readers on purpose to present more plentiful probabilities for a conclusion. â€Å"No job is trickier or more critical than inventing ostensibly fair misdirection—that is, preserving some connection with plausibility while making many characters suspect. She (Agatha Christie) has perfected it.† (Wagoner, 2) Her skill has made her the most popular mystery author and now has over two billion books in print. She has also achieved Britain’s highest honor when she was made a Dame of the British Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And then there were None (Ten Little Indians) is the most popular novel written by Agatha Christie and is considered, by many, the greatest mystery novel ever written. In this acclaimed masterpiece of murder and suspense, Mr. Owen gathers ten strangers who share forgettable pasts together on an isolated Indian Island. However, the guests do not know the identity of their host. As they start telling their deepest, darkest secrets to each other, one by one, they start to die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this novel, deception is a significant part of the story. Agatha Christie misleads the reader by giving an impression that a mysterious, unknown figure has committed the heinous murders. Dr. Armstrong is one of the guests on the island and is suspicious about the homicides. He does not feel any of his fellow guests are to blame so he says, â€Å"You’re probably right! Damn it all, there must be someone hiding on the island! Ah! Here comes Lombard!† (Christie, none 68) By supplying a possible scenario, Christie has made the reader consider the possibility that it maybe true.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Further on in the novel, Christie hints about the identity of the alleged killer. Mr. Justice Wargrave is beginning to think that he can’t trust anyone on the island. He is starting to blame others including the very people who also have been attempting to solve the murders. In an abnormal, feverish tone he says, Its Armstrong†¦. I saw him looking at me sideways just then†¦. His eyes are mad†¦. Quite mad†¦. Perhaps he isn’t a doctor at all†¦.

Successes and Failures of Signals Intelligence :: essays research papers

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE The United States must be prepared to deploy against sophisticated and unsophisticated adversaries on a moments notice. The enemy may have little concern for the Hague Convention, which seek to limit collateral damage and noncombatant casualties. Signal Intelligence provides foreign data that analysts can collect, process and analyze into intelligence information. Whoever has the ability to control and exploit the electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from zero to infinity, will know their enemies vulnerabilities, create opportunities, achieve tactical surprise, and result in mission accomplishment. Considerations such as successful and unsuccessful collection in Signal Intelligence will be a tremendous factor in planning and the execution of U.S. military operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are numerous accounts of the successful gathering of Signal Intelligence that prove to be of use. The rapid advancements in microelectronic technology forces the government to design and manufacture sophisticated new radars, airborne reconnaissance, and surveillance platforms; they offer superior capabilities over previously employed systems. Having accredited systems and networks, in accordance with Department of Defense guidance, will ensure that units are within regulations while collecting signals. To obtain the most beneficial information, analysts need to be properly trained in the latest and greatest data sets. Staffing 100% qualified personnel in strategic locations will lead to optimal performance in signals analysis; commanders should provide the capability of target redundancy with different forms to ensure that collection requirements are met. Lastly, understanding commander’s intent and the focus of effort are critical ingredients for su ccess. Despite the factors that lead to success, there are just as many failures, which need to be discussed. Failures are the temporary or possible permanent annihilation of the ability of a mechanism to perform its required purpose. The number one failure in signal intelligences is bureaucracy. All of the policies, guidelines, rules, procedures, course of actions, and laws, create so much red tape, that signal analysts cannot do their jobs, which is to collect, process, or analyze foreign intelligence information. Once the analyst work through the political rubbish, the opportunity for collecting Signal Intelligence may have disappeared. Units that try to use lethargic and robust radars against state of the art Electronic Security will provide marginal data if any; the Electronic Security provides firewalls, secure logins, and offers protection resulting from measures that are designed to deny unauthorized persons access to information. Some radars have the ability to use passive tracking , which means that there is no target illumination by the tracking system.

Robbery of Freedom: The Ultimate Injustice :: history

Robbery of Freedom: The Ultimate Injustice WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AND IMPRISONED IN ALABAMA My story is told to you as honestly and as accurately as can be. Over the years, I have felt like I've had to 'defend' something, but I have realized that, as bizarre as it is, just tell the truth and let that be it! I was released in April 10,2001, and my quest for justice has only gained momentum. I am the victim of small town politics where the locals have met very little resistance in doing things their own way, regardless of the law. In fact, I am the first one who has ever been known to challenge that state court of Bullock County, Alabama (City of Union Springs) for their misconduct and gross miscarriage of justice. I feel that I must preface my story with events that led up to the conspired, bogus lie, and malicious accusation against me. My accuser, John Will Waters, whom I was never allowed to face in court, is a king pin drug lord. He operates out of that small town, but reaches as far as Colombia, South America. My parents grew up in that same town. Waters was from a long line of moonshiners and crooks. He is very liberal and seems to think money will do anything. He and my parents have always been on the opposite side of issues, i.e., they opposed the building of a state prison there, Waters was for it. They are Republicans, he's a Democrat. My father started, owned and operated a tire business there for 45 years. During the latter years, he depended strictly on out of town business, because the locals prevented county vehicles, school vehicles, and any other county business to be done there. Nevertheless, the business did very well. In 1993, my father had double knee replacement surgery. The business fell behind a few payments on a mortgage loan from a local bank. My father had done business with that bank since 1951. After very few months, the bank began foreclosure proceedings. My father immediately sold a large inventory of tires, raised $10,000. He offered the bank the $10,000 to pay the arrearage plus a few payments in advance to show good faith. Every possible attempt was made to satisfy the bank, but everything was turned down except the $50,000 required to pay the loan off in full.

Direct Marketing and Direct Selling Essay

What is the difference between direct marketing and direct selling? Answer: Direct Marketing; definition, â€Å"The total of activities by which the seller, in effecting the exchange of goods and services with the buyer, directs efforts to a target audience using one or more media (direct selling, direct mail, telemarketing, direct-action advertising, catalogue selling, cable TV selling, etc. ) for the purpose of soliciting a response by phone, mail or personal visit from a prospect or customer. † – by Peter Bennett. In simpler words Direct Marketing is a system of marketing by which the organizations communicate directly with target customers to generate a response or transaction. Direct selling, definition,† Direct selling is the personal presentation, demonstration, and sales of products and services to consumers in their homes. † Direct marketing is a process in which the middle men are removed and the product is directly sold to the end users or consumers. While personal selling is one to one selling in which the sales person visits a prospect and closes the sale. Direct selling is a form of direct marketing. Direct marketing and selling both involve dealing directly with the customer, seeking a response, however direct marketing assumes a broader variety of media than just sales. Direct marketing includes, direct selling, direct mail, telemarketing, direct-action advertising, catalogue selling etc. Q 2: Describe the various forms of direct selling and some of the characteristics that make it unique. Answer: There are three forms of direct selling: 1.