ICT impact on social networks size and strengths Essay Example for Free

ICT impact on social networks size and strengths Essay Information technology has formed the backbone of socio-economic progression. It has opened the social condensation and propelled communication and business progress to higher performance and productivity levels. However there are various implications on the society that are being looked at as checks and balances in this advancement. The hypothetical position on social networks as within the dimensional and convectional implications is that, ICT has reduced the strength of social networks as well as the strengths of the social networks. The overall and the subsequent repercussion is condensation of the social integration and incubating social diversity into a less dynamic society due to lack of social networks. Overview on ICT impact on social networks A debate has come up on this hypothetical implication on the social networks and how social integration can be reconstructed and strengthened again. According to various research attributes and findings on implications of ICT diversity in the society is mainly based on disintegration of social networks. Andreina M (2002) points out that information technology has become an important tool in the society. She argues that the impacts of the internet on sociability are more diverse. People with lower social skills are negatively affected by ICT developments. These assertion project ICT as a key element social network disintegration. Social networks, according to Andreina, M. , bring together people of different sorts and helps bond society constituents. What is the impact of ICT on social networks size and strength? The hypothetical argument of ICT disintegrating size and strength of social networks is based on the diversity of ICT. Alan N, John P, R (2002) point out that ICT is revolutionary. This makes its implications on social networks vilified. Current social-economic views on social networks and ICT Alan N, John P, R (2002) further argue that ICT is a major historical event. At individual level, the revolution might be related to the social impact of IT, in terms of new ways of relating to other people and maintaining social contacts. The behavioural impacts of two-way communications formats, like the internet and the telephone, i-phone and phone messaging. They are used subtly to establish and maintain social relationships forming new infrastructures that facilitate different patterns of interaction. These implications reduce the size and strength of the social networks. There is less communication between certain social partners and groups reducing social interaction. ii- Social networks A synopsis that draws out the contentious breakage of social networks is that they are units of the people who meet and mingle freely to discuss and share their aspects of live. Social networks have incubated new types of networks which fit in to the ICT revolution. Seen in the context of Andreina M (2002), cyberspace networks and cell phone communication-video conferencing social networks have emerged as the breakaway social networks as a result of weakening of human-social networks. The emergence of ICT weakened social networks, and Andreina informs of cognitive and social digital networks are part of the more general cognitive and social networks that individuals are in and can access. Traditional and electronic social networks In her argument on diversity of social network transformation, Andriena examines the rise of technology as also a filler of the gap left by the weakened and less sizeable social network. Social networks consist of mainly friends, family and business circles that regularly meet to share ideas and merge to reach various principal objectives. According to Andreina, this is the offline outlook of social networks. She argues that, the internet cognitive and cultural space cannot be considered separated from the offline experience. If conceptual, it is particularly true when considering the diffusion of ubiquitous technology and cross-channel integrated communications on the net. Andreina M (2002) This point out the dynamism in social networks is now being transformed into a less strong position which is the cyberspace and video conferencing in phones and group messaging through mobile telephony. Earlier outlook of the social networks drew out a picture of a cohesive society where in meeting and sharing through live conversations. The picture today is different, more mobile phone calls and emailing is seen to replace meetings hence, subsequent weakening and reduction of size of the social network. How social networks have changed with emergence of technology Emergence of ICT based networking has transformed the facade of social networking, especially on issue based perspective as well as cognitive socio-economic approach. Earliest communication technologies, like simple conversations that evolved into more long distance forms illustrate the basic nature of one-to-one targeted communications. Meyer. K. , John P, R, Alan N, Anthony, A. (2002); besides, major concerns on the social transformation focus mainly on social life and personal communication and mass communication. Erstwhile, Meyer K. , John P, R, Alan N, Anthony, A. (2002) argue that the change focus is on the social networks secondary activities, social network company and the social network location. Secondary activities feature group television watching and so forth while social company looks at type of individual representation in terms of rankings in social stature. Time spent by the group’s members, by family members or by friends has become lessened. There is also a decline in level of discussion and verbal communication in live meetings due to the ICT based communication through which the persons in the groups exhaust most of their talks successively and comprehensively.

Approaches to Data Cleaning

Approaches to Data Cleaning Data Cleaning approaches: generally, data cleaning contains several steps Data Analysis: A detailed analysis is required to check what type of inconsistencies and errors are to be resolved. An analysis program should be used along with manual analysis of data to identify data quality problems and to extract metadata. Characterization of mapping rules and transformation workflow: We might have to execute a great amount of data cleaning and transformation steps depending upon the degree of dirtiness of data, the amount of data sources and their level of heterogeneity. In some cases schema transformation is required to map sources to a common data model for data warehouse, usually relational model is utilized. Initial data cleaning phases organize data for integration and fix single –source instant complications. Further phases deal with data/schema integration and resolving multi-source glitches, e.g., redundancies. Workflow that states the ETL processes should specify the control and data flow of the cleaning steps for data warehouse. The schema associated data conversions and the cleaning steps should be quantified by a declarative query and mapping language to the extent possible, to allow auto generation of the conversion program. Along with it there should be a possibility to call user written program and special tools during the process of data transformation and cleaning process. A user opinion is required for data transformation for whom there is no built in cleaning logic. Verification: The accuracy and efficiency of a conversion process and transformation designs should be verified and assessed on a sample data to improve the definitions. Repetition of the verification, design and analysis phases may be required because some faults may appear after performing some conversions. Transformation: Implementation of the transformation phase either by running the ETL process for refreshing and loading a data warehouse or during returning queries from heterogeneous sources. Reverse flow of transformed data: once the single source problems are resolved the transformed data should be overwritten in the base source so that we can provide legacy programs cleaned data and to escape repeating of the transformation process for future data withdrawals. For the data warehousing, the cleaned data is presented from the data staging area. The transformation phase requires a huge volume of metadata, such as, workflow definitions, transformation mappings, instance-level data characteristics, schemas etc. For reliability, tractability and reusability, this metadata should be kept in a DBMS-based repository. For example the consequent table Customers holds the columns C_ID and C_no, permitting anyone to track the base records. In the next sections we have elaborated in more detail probable methodologies for data examination, conversion definition and conflict determination. Along with it there should be a possibility to call user written program and special tools during the process of data transformation and cleaning process. A user opinion is required for data transformation for whom there is no built in cleaning logic. The accuracy and efficiency of a conversion process and transformation designs should be verified and assessed on a samp le data to improve the definitions. Repetition of the verification, design and analysis phases may be required because some faults may appear after performing some conversions. Transformation: Implementation of the transformation phase either by running the ETL process for refreshing and loading a data warehouse or during returning queries from heterogeneous sources. Reverse flow of transformed data: once the single source problems are resolved the transformed data should be overwritten in the base source so that we can provide legacy programs cleaned data and to escape repeating of the transformation process for future data withdrawals. For the data warehousing, the cleaned data is presented from the data staging area. The transformation phase requires a huge volume of metadata, such as, workflow definitions, transformation mappings, instance-level data characteristics, schemas etc. For reliability, tractability and reusability, this metadata should be kept in a DBMS-based reposito ry. To maintain data excellence, thorough data about the transformation phase is to be stored, both in the in the transformed occurrences and repository , in precise information about the extensiveness and brilliance of source data and extraction information about the source of transformed entities and the transformation applied on them. For example the consequent table Customers holds the columns C_ID and C_no, permitting anyone to track the base records. In the next sections we have elaborated in more detail probable methodologies for data examination, conversion definition and conflict determination. DATA ANALYSIS Metadata mirrored in schemas is usually inadequate to evaluate the data integrity of a source, particularly if only a small number of integrity constraints are imposed. It is therefore necessary to examine the original instances to get actual metadata on infrequent value patterns or data features. This metadata assists searching data quality faults. Furthermore, it can efficiently subsidize to recognize attribute correspondences among base schemas (schema matching), based on which automatic data conversions can be developed. There are two associated methods for data analysis, data mining and data profiling. Data mining assists in determining particular data forms in huge data sets, e.g., relationships among numerous attributes. The focus of descriptive data mining includes sequence detection, association detection, summarization and clustering. Integrity constraints between attributes like user defined business rules and functional dependencies can be identified, which could be utilized to fill empty fields, resolve illegitimate data and to detect redundant archives throughout data sources e.g. a relationship rule with great certainty can suggest data quality troubles in entities breaching this rule. So a certainty of 99% for rule â€Å"tota_price=total_quantity*price_per_unit† suggests that 1% of the archives do not fulfill requirement and might require closer inspection. Data profiling concentrates on the instance investigation of single property. It provides information like discrete values, value range, length, data type and their uniqueness, variance, frequency, occurrence of null values, typical string pattern (e.g., for address), etc., specifying an precise sight of numerous quality features of the attribute. Table3. Examples for the use of reengineered metadata to address data quality problems Defining data transformations The data conversion phase usually comprises of numerous steps where every step may perform schema and instance associated conversions (mappings). To allow a data conversion and cleaning process to produce transformation instructions and therefore decrease the volume of manual programming it is compulsory to state the mandatory conversions in a suitable language, e.g., assisted by a graphical user interface. Many ETL tools support this functionality by assisting proprietary instruction languages. A more common and stretchy method is the use of the SQL standard query language to accomplish the data transformations and use the chance of application specific language extensions, in certain user defined functions (UDFs) are supported in SQL:99 . UDFs can be executed in SQL or any programming language with implanted SQL statements. They permit applying a extensive variety of data conversions and support easy use for diverse conversion and query processing tasks. Additionally, their impleme ntation by the DBMS can decrease data access cost and thus increase performance. Finally, UDFs are part of the SQL:99 standard and should (ultimately) be movable across many stages and DBMSs. The conversion states a view on which additional mappings can be carried out. The transformation implements a schema rearrangement with added attributes in the view achieved by dividing the address and name attributes of the source. The mandatory data extractions are achieved by User defined functions. The U.D.F executions can encompass cleaning logic, e.g., to eliminate spelling mistakes in city or deliver misplaced names. U.D.F might apply a significant implementation energy and do not assist all essential schema conversions. In specific, common and often required methods such as attribute dividing or uniting are not generally assisted but often needed to be re-applied in application particular differences. More difficult schema rearrangements (e.g., unfolding and folding of attributes) are not reinforced at all. Conflict Resolution: A number of conversion phases have to be identified and performed to solve the numerous schema and instance level data quality glitches that are mirrored in the data sources. Numerous types of alterations are to be executed on the discrete data sources to deal with single-source errors and to formulate for integration with other sources. Along with possible schema translation, these preliminary steps usually comprises of following steps: Getting data from free form attributes: Free form attributes mostly take numerous discrete values that should be obtained to attain a detailed picture and assist additional transformation steps such as looking for matching instance and redundant elimination. Common examples are address and name fields. Essential transformations in this phase are reorganization of data inside a field to comply with word reversals, and data extraction for attribute piercing. Authentication and alteration: This step investigates every source instance for data-entry mistakes and attempts to resolve them automatically as much as possible. Spell-checking built on dictionary searching is beneficial for finding and adjusting spelling mistakes. Additionally, dictionaries on zip codes and geographical names assist to fix address data. Attribute reliance (total price – unit price / quantity, birth date-age, city – zip area code,†¦) can be used to identify mistakes and fill missing data or resolve incorrect values. Standardization: To assist instance integration and matching, attribute data should be changed to a reliable and identical form. For example, time and date records should be transformed into a defined form; names and other string values should be changed to lower case or upper case, etc. Text data might be summarized and combined by stop words, suffixes, executing stemming and removing prefixes. Additionally, encoding structures and abbreviations should continuously be fixed by referring distinctive synonym dictionaries or implementing predefined transformation rules.

Task Scheduling Based On Multilevel Queue Scheduling Computer Science Essay

Task Scheduling Based On Multilevel Queue Scheduling Computer Science Essay Abstract This paper gives the survey on task scheduling. The different scheduling used to schedule task based on priority, time and deadline. To achieve that techniques such as First In First Out, Shortest Job first, Round Robin Scheduling, Multilevel Queue Scheduling are discussed. Among these techniques, the technique named Multilevel Feedback Queue scheduling is proposed as a good scheduling technique along with the future work. Keywords FCFS, Context Switching, Starvation, inflexible, SJF, Multilevel queue. INTRODUCTION Scheduling is a basic concept in computer multiprocessor and multitasking operating systems. Scheduling refers to the way processes are ordered to run on the CPUs, since there are typically many more processes running than there are available CPUs. It also states that when an activity should start or end depending on its duration, predecessor activity, predecessor relationships, resource availability and especially the target completion which is consider as deadline. The  scheduler  is concerned mainly with Throughput, Latency, Turn around, Response Time and Fairness. Throughput describes  that number of processes that complete their execution per time unit. Latency, specifically illustrates about turn around and response time. In Turnaround, total time between submission of a process and its completion is described and the response time  deals with the amount of time it takes from when a request was submitted until the first response is produced. Finally, fairness tells about the equal CPU time to each process (or more generally appropriate times according to each process priority).In practice, these goals often conflict (e.g. throughput versus latency), thus a scheduler will implement a suitable compromise. In  real-time  environments, such as  mobile devices  for  automatic control  in industry (for example  robotics), the scheduler also must ensure that processes can meet  deadlines; this is crucial for keeping the system stable. Scheduled tasks are sent to mobile devices and  managed  through an administrative back end. Types of Operating System Schedulers: Long Term Scheduler: The long term scheduler is otherwise called admission scheduler. This scheduler decides which process or job has to be admitted first to the ready queue. Because while executing a program, which process to be run is authorized or delayed by long term scheduler. The degree of concurrency is maintained and it checks whether high or low amount of processes are to be executed concurrently. It also dictates how the split between CPU intensive and IO intensive is to be handled. It is useful for the real time process to get enough CPU time to finish their tasks in the modern OSs. The GUI interfaces becomes slow if the real time scheduling is not proper. Long-term scheduling is also important in large-scale systems such as batch processing systems, computer clusters, supercomputers and render farms.In these cases, special purpose  job scheduler software is typically used to assist these functions, in addition to any underlying admission scheduling support in the operating system. Long term scheduling obviously controls the degree of multiprogramming in multitasking systems, following certain policies to decide whether the system can honor a new job submission or, if more than one job is submitted, which of them should be selected. The need for some form of compromise between degree of multiprogramming and throughput seems evident, especially when one considers interactive systems. The higher the number of processes, in fact, the smaller the time each of them may control CPU for, if a fair share of responsiveness is to be given to all processes. Moreover we have already seen that a too high number of processes causes waste of CPU time for system housekeeping chores (trashing in virtual memory systems is a particularly nasty example of this). However, the number of active processes should be high enough to keep the CPU busy servicing the payload (i.e. the user processes) as much as possible, by ensuring that on average there always be a sufficient number of p rocesses not waiting for I/O. Short-term Scheduler: The short-term scheduler (also known as the CPU scheduler) decides which of the ready, in-memory processes are to be executed (allocated a CPU) next following a clock  interrupt, an IO interrupt, an operating  system call  or another form of  signal. Thus the short-term scheduler makes scheduling decisions much more frequently than the long-term or mid-term schedulers a scheduling decision will at a minimum have to be made after every time slice, and these are very short. This scheduler can be  preemptive, implying that it is capable of forcibly removing processes from a CPU when it decides to allocate that CPU to another process, or non-preemptive in which case the scheduler is unable to force processes off the CPU. In most cases short-term scheduler is written in assembler because it is critical part of operating system. II.ANALYSIS In this part, we will discuss about different types of scheduler and their usage. Each Technique is compared with different performance metrics such as Throughput, CPU utilization, Turnaround time, waiting time and response time. First Come First Severed (FCFS) This technique is a basic one, and commonly used scheduler. Based on the order the job arrives, the task be scheduled. To maintain this queue will be handled. The entire ready task is put inside the queue, according to the arrival of jobs. To describe this sample source code along with the Gantt Chart. Sample Code: queue_Fifo q; //The processes inside the queue task_Include(procs) // method to include a process into the queue { q.include_Tail(procs); //Inserting the new coming process at the tail end  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  q.size++; //Reporting } Rescheduling(){ // To remove the process from the queue   P=q.head_Exclude();   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reporting;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  return P; }   Example: Consider four tasks P,Q,R and S. Each task requires some amount of time to complete the task. It is shown below. Table 1 Task Schedule Task Time Unit P 9 Q 5 R 10 S 6 Gantt Chart: P Q R S 0 9 14 24 30 Fig 1. FCFS Example In the above example, the incoming task is included in the queue one by one. It executes based on the time units. The drawback of this the task which has to finish first has to wait until its time reach. Another problem is overhead occurs between the processes which leads to Context Switching. Performance Evaluation: Table 2 Performance Metric 1 performance metrics First In First Out Throughout 4/(30+3cs) CPU utilization 30/(30+3cs) Turnaround time (9+14+24+29+6cs)/4=19 Omitting cs Waiting time (0+9+14+24+6cs)/4=11.75 Omitting cs Response Time (0+9+cs+14+2cs+24+3cs)/4=11.75 Omitting cs Shortest Job First (SJF) To overcome the problem of first one we are going for shortest job first technique. In this scheduler, a sorted list is maintained. In the list all the task which has least time unit will be scheduled first. This technique is useful because the task which has earliest time unit got the opportunity to execute. To describe this sample source code along with the Gantt Chart. Sample Code: sort_List SL; //Data Structure for sorted list task_Include (procs, expected_runtime) { // method to include a process into the sorted list. SL.insert(procs, procs.runtime); } //Inserting the newcoming process into the sorted list Rescheduling(){ // To remove the shortest job from the list.   return SL.remove_head();   }   Example: Consider four tasks P,Q,R and S. Each task requires some amount of time to complete the task which is given in table 1. Gantt Chart: Q S P R 0 5 11 20 30 Fig 2. SJF Example In this scheduler, the new incoming shortest job will be included in the list which leads to the problem named Starvation. In Starvation, the job which has longest time to finish the execution will be waiting because all the newly arrived jobs will enter into the list. Therefore, the longest job will starve to get the resource. Performance Evaluation: Table 3 Performance Metric 3 performance metrics First In First Out Throughout 4/(30+3cs) CPU utilization 30/(30+3cs) Turnaround time (5+11+cs+20+2cs+30+3cs)/4=16.5 Omitting cs Waiting time (0+5+cs+11+2cs+24+3cs)/4=10 Omitting cs Response Time (0+5+cs+11+2cs+24+3cs)/4=10 Omitting cs Round Robin Scheduling In time-sharing systems, the Round robin technique is very much successful. The jobs will be preempted. For each task, particular time slot will be given. The job should be finished within that time, otherwise the other jobs will be preempted and the old task should wait until it gets the new slot.This will be achieved using queue Sample Code: queue_Fifo fq; //First in first out queue task_Include(procs) // method to include a task into the queue { q.include_Tail(procs); //Inserting the new coming process at the tail end  Ã‚   }   Rescheduling(y){ // To remove the next process and run it If(y==timer) task_Include(current); set_Timer(time_quanta);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   return fq.remove_head(); } Example Here also the same four task will be taken and based on time quanta 3 and 6 the task be scheduled. If Time quanta=3, P Q R S P Q R S P R 0 3 6 9 12 15 16 19 21 23 26 Fig 3. RR Example TQ=3 If time quanta=6, P Q R S P R 0 6 10 16 21 23 26 Fig 4. RR Example TQ=6 Performance Evaluation: Table 3 Performance Metric 3 performance metrics First In First Out Throughout 4/(26+9cs) CPU utilization 26/(26+9cs) Turnaround time (23+16+26+21)/4=21.5 Omitting cs Waiting time (15+12+17+16)/4=15 Omitting cs Response Time (0+3+6+9)/4=4.5 Omitting cs Priority(PRI) In this method a priority is fixed to each and every process. To implement this Shortest job first(SJF) algorithm is used. If two jobs are having the same priority the scheduled will be done based on FCFS queue. In some cases, the jobs be preempted eventhough it has the higher priority. To describe this sample source code along with the Gantt Chart. Sample Code: PRI (L,M,H(RR)) queue_Fifo fq[3]; //The processes inside the queue task_Include(procs, pri) // method to include a process into the queue { fq[pri].include_Tail(procs); //Inserting the new coming process at the tail end  Ã‚   } Rescheduling(y) { // To remove the next process and run it If(y==timer) task_Include(current, current.pri); set_Timer(time_quanta); for pri=H to L if(fq[pri].empty())   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   return fq[pri].remove_head(); }   Example: Consider four tasks P,Q,R and S. Each task requires some amount of time to complete the task. It is shown below. Gantt Chart: For Time quanta=6 P P R Q R S 0 6 8 14 18 21 26 Fig 4. PRI Example TQ=6 In the above example, the incoming task is included in the queue one by one. It executes based on the priority assigned to each task. The drawback of this the task is once the higher priority job finish its execution the lower priority jobs gets the chance of doing its execution. Performance Evaluation: Table 4 Performance Metric 4 performance metrics First In First Out CPU utilization 26/(26+4cs) Response Time (0+8+14+21+4cs)/4=10.75 Omitting cs Multilevel Queue Scheduling In Multilevel queue scheduling each process is divided into different groups. It is divided into the following processes: SYSTEM PROCESSES INTERACTIVE PROCESSES INTERACTIVE EDITING PROCESSES BATCH PROCESSES STUDENT PROCESSES Fig 5. Multilevel Queue scheduling Process groups. In the above diagram, the foreground queue is called interactive and background queue is called batch. These two plays a major role in scheduling. The jobs are assigned to separate queues. The assigning be done based on memory size, process type and process priority. The vital one is each queue uses its own scheduling policy based on the need of the task. It can either do preemptively or non-preemptively. Possibilities: There are two possibilities to choose the scheduling algorithm: Each queue has absolute priority; once the higher priority job queue becomes empty it wont go for lower priority jobs. Eg. In the Fig.5. The batch processes wont get the chance of execution until the system, interactive and interactive editing processes finish its execution. Each queue gets some CPU time when there is a time slice between queues after that it can be scheduled the processes in the queue. Eg. If 70% of CPU time is given to foreground queue, it uses round robin scheduling. Rest 30% be allotted to background queue which uses FIFO scheduling. The main drawback of this scheduling is, it is not flexible. To overcome this we are going for multilevel feedback scheduling. III.PROPOSED ALGORITHM Comparing with different task scheduling, the proposed algorithm which can be used in task scheduling is multilevel feedback queue scheduling. To overcome the inflexibility of multilevel queue scheduling, the multilevel feedback queue scheduling came into pass. In this, the process can move between various queues. Here separate queues will be used for handling the process, it automatically adjust the priority of the jobs. The process is either I/O bound or CPU bound. Based on the process type, the scheduling algorithm such as round- robin, FCFS be used which maintains the flexibility. It gives preference on short jobs, I/O bound processes and schedule the process according to the nature of the process. It is described based on number of queues, the scheduling policy, a method used to upgrade, degrade or introduce a process and the inter scheduling between the queues. Steps in Multilevel Feedback queue: The new incoming process is added to the queue tail. At one stage, the process comes to the top of the queue and that will be assigned to the CPU. The process leaves the system once it completes its execution. When the process relinquishes control, it leaves the queuing network and once it becomes ready it enters into the queue level. When the process is having quantum time it will be preempted, and enter into the lower level of queue. This will be repeated until the process completes or it reaches the base level queue. Example Consider three queues, Q0- Round robin TQ: 8 milliseconds Q1- Round robin TQ: 16 milliseconds Q2- FCFS TQ=8 TQ=16 FCFS If the new job comes it enters into the queue Q0 and served as FCFS. When it gains CPU, it gets the tine quanta as 8 milliseconds. If the job is not completed within 8 milliseconds, the job moves to the queue Q1. At Q1 job is again served as FCFS and received the time quanta of 16 milliseconds. If it is not complete it will preempt to queue Q2. IV.CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK From the different view of task scheduling, multilevel feedback scheduling is considered as the good one in assignment of task. This will be implemented in real time systems for the assignment of task.

An Influential Rock :: Writing Technology Technological Papers

An Influential Rock Does technology influence how we write? A week ago I would have said no. I would have said that we write what we write independent of the means. That the art of writing could never be hindered or influenced by the technology in use. A week ago, I would have been wrong. Several college students were asked to figure out how to create a simple sentence without using modern technology. It doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult. Yet, as the process unfolds, it proves to be a much harder task than one would assume. Walter Ong wrote, â€Å"†¦writing is a technology, calling for the use of tools and other equipment†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (321). That influenced my first question: How do I create text without using tools and other equipment? That led me to my next question: How do I find tools and other equipment to write on without using tools and other equipment? My project consisted of taking a rock and smashing holly berries onto it to form the text â€Å"I love Ashton† in honor of my two-month-old son. The first problem I encountered was actually freeing the rock from the frozen ground. My attempt at trying to dig it out of the dirt with my boot and claw it out with my gloves, had gone on to no avail. I retrieved a shovel from my garage and poked and prodded the rock until it was finally loose. I felt as though I had already compromised part of the project by using the shovel, but it was what I had to do. Now, I had to find a way to create my text. The original plan was to write with grass, but the winter season made that impossible. Then the idea was to write with a piece of tree bark, but that didn’t work out either. I needed to use season appropriate materials, but writing in the snow seemed too obvious and it did not fit with two criteria of the assignment: permanence and portability.

Free College Admissions Essays: Landscape Architecture :: College Admissions Essays

Landscape Architecture    How to create an environment suitable for human living when resources are limited is a challenging problem for modern society. My strong interest in photography and art has compelled me to become especially observant toward the relationship between human beings and the environment. I have come to realize that the environment we live in has suffered much damage from pollution and lacks competent planning, making it difficult to find beautiful scenery to photograph or sketch. I began to think that I could make use of my artistic gift, concern about, and interest in the environment by entering the field of landscape design and putting my effort into beautifying our surroundings. Therefore, after graduating from high school, I entered the Department of Landscape Architecture at ABC University.     ¡@ ¡@During my freshman year, I joined the school's mountaineering club, where I served as a guide and also as president of its photography group. I went to many mountainous areas and ecological preserves, and saw that Taiwan is rich in natural resources; but I also saw that these precious resources are gradually disappearing due to poor planning and illegal land use. This realization solidified my determination to learn concepts of environmental planning and design. Due to my lengthy contact with nature while climbing mountains, I knew that landscape designers should treat nature and residential areas with respect. Over the next two years, I learned more in-depth concepts of landscape design, enhanced my basic abilities in environmental planning, and started developing an interest in urban design. I received commendations from my professors for my performance and ideas. In addition, I served as administrative head of the department student association during these two years, re sponsible for planning our department exhibitions and intercollegiate activities for exchanging ideas about landscape design. This experience increased my teamwork abilities and efficiency in problem solving, which will be of great help in my future pursuits.     ¡@ ¡@The value of landscape education is not in its accumulation of knowledge, but rather in its methods for solving real-life problems. I believe that one must learn more than plain theory, and so in the summers after my freshman through junior years, I took part in internships in related fields, mainly in urban design. I was involved in planning, design, and implementation of landscaping projects, combining theory with practice. After graduation, I worked at XYZ Landscape Consultants as a designer.

Kingdom of matthias Essay

The Kingdom of Matthias tells the story of Robert Matthews, who later took on the name Matthias the Prophet. A religious charlatan in 1830s New York, Matthews established a â€Å"Kingdom† of fanatical followers, causing a nationwide scandal. Matthews’ most fervent follower was Elijah Pierson, who was born into a strict Calvinist church upbringing but who quickly got swept up in the evangelical, â€Å"perfectionist† movement upon his move to New York as a merchant. Elijah married a missionary woman named Sarah, and together they established a â€Å"Retrenchment Society† and other organizations designed to spread the word of God. In her fervor, Sarah literally worked herself to death, and died in 1830. The event spurred Elijah toward madness as he attempted to raise Sarah from the dead during funeral. Elijah started to hear God speak and he adopted the title Prophet Elijah of Tishbe. Simultaneous to these events, Robert Matthews was born and raised in a Scottish community called Coila. His parents died when he was young, and after several of his sons tragically died, Matthews began to hear God and see prophetic visions. He adopted the name Matthias. In May 1832, Matthews visited Pierson, and Pierson became convinced that Matthews was God’s Prophet. Matthews used Pierson’s merchant wealth to establish â€Å"The Kingdom.† Matthews preached regularly to a small band of followers. Eventually, he came to regard Christianity as the Devil’s work, and his philosophy was full of anti-woman hatred. Matthews convinced a wealthy couple, Benjamin and Ann Folger, of his prophethood, and soon he established a community at the Folger home in Sing Sing, which he called â€Å"Mount Zion.† Matthews ruled his community with an iron fist, dressing extravagantly, bearing an unkempt beard, punishing severely, and lecturing frequently. Not content with the Christian conception of marriage, several of Matthews’ followers forsake marriage to be united in the â€Å"Spirit of Truth.† This caused a good deal of scandalous â€Å"wife-swapping†, as it might be called today. Matthews and Ann fell for each other, and Matthews proclaimed Ann as the â€Å"Mother† of the kingdom. Benjamin strayed to Matthews’ twenty-year-old daughter Isabella, as well as to a widow named Catherine Galloway. The sexual intrigue proved too much for the community, and Benjamin and then Ann revolt. Additionally, an increasing public outcry against the Kingdom and its scandals assisted in its dissolution. One day, Elijah Pierson, suffering from seizures, ate blackberries and soon after died. The public rumor was that Matthews, along with his servant Isabella Van Wagenen, had poisoned the man. Matthews was arrested and tried with murder after two doctors conducted an autopsy and claimed there was poison in Pierson’s stomach. However, the prosecution had only a flimsy case, and the jury found Matthews not guilty of murder, but guilty of assault (for beating his daughter), and so Matthews served four months in prison. The Kingdom of Matthias scandal is noteworthy for sparking the â€Å"penny press† newspapers, with their obsession with crime and scandal, a tradition that continues to this day with such periodicals as National Enquirer.

According to research done by Warr

A lot of research has been conducted and hypothesis formulated to determine whether delinquent peer associations precede delinquency or vice versa. Another concern is how age influences delinquency and the interactivity or linkage among age, peer association, and delinquency. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to bring to fore, the various researches, theories and hypothesis that invariably throw more light on this issue.According to research done by Warr (1993), delinquency escalates rapidly as individuals enter their teen years and then declines almost as rapidly as they enter their late teens and early twenties. A possible explanation for this in my opinion is that youngsters in their early teens tend to be more adventurous and experimental.They are also easily influenced to try out new habits-good or bad- since often times, they are not experienced enough to know or care about the consequences of their actions. However, as they grow older and of course learn by experience, th ey inadvertently develop a more matured and balanced approach to the everyday choices they make.On another note, the fact that a peer group that you belong to engages in unlawful activities helps to validate its relevance and the feeling that it probably is the cool thing to do. Also, because humans are creatures of habit, once they start a habit, say alcoholism, it doesn’t take long before they become addicted.From another perspective, a criminal activity, say illegal drug use, can form part of general criteria for joining some particular peer groups. This can in no small way influence youths to indulge in these activities just to win the group’s approval or endorsement.A bone of contention among researchers is which comes first between delinquency and delinquent peer association? Research by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1987), support the notion that delinquency   actually comes before delinquent peer association. Similar researches performed by Thornberry (1994), Elli ot and Menard (1996) however, offer opposing views.It is important to examine the role that age actually plays in delinquent acts. Hypothesis by Elliot and Menard (1996), show that both delinquency and delinquent peer association increase with age.A more insightful theory is the interactional theory by Thornberry (1987) that suggests that the influence of delinquent peer associations should increase during mid-adolescence and then decline gradually based on the reasoning that the hold that peer groups have on an individual is more pronounced during early stages of adolescence and less so as they grow older and commit to traditional activities like school, family, church, work etc.Still on the effects that age and delinquent peer association have on delinquency, the constant supervisory roles that teachers/guardians play in schools can douse the negative influences that delinquent peer associations can have on a young individual.However, as they advance in age and schooling, and move on to institutions of higher learning, the teachers or guardians tend to treat individuals as adults capable of making their own decisions. In other words, the supervisory roles that teachers play in the life of students reduce drastically as they advance in age and schooling. This also represents the theories expressed by Jang (1999:675).The interactional theory developed by Thornberry (1987) has been put to test but not without some loopholes. For instance, though the theory suggests that delinquent peer associations vary with age, it doesn’t specifically address the measure or category of offending. Also, a general inference tends to be made based on just one category of offending (e.g. drug offending).