PACS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PACS - Essay Example A PACS consists of at least one or more image acquisition devices (like Computed Tomography Scanners, Ultrasound Scanners, MRI), communication network, a long term storage device and an image review and/or post processing workstation, in other words PACS is used to run medical digital images. All these components enable following processes: image acquisition, image  communication, image storage, image display and image processing. All these processes act as pathways for PACS to improve the quality of diagnosis, extend the reach of services of an expert radiologist, higher efficiency and cost savings (Reiner and Siegel, 2002, 3). Since healthcare is a safety as well as security intense domain, these parameters cannot be compromised. Hence saving and archiving medical images without loosing quality (or information) has been a compelling need of the users of various users dealing with medical images. This concern of the clinicians have been appropriately addressed by a universal standard pertaining to digital medical imaging, this standard is termed as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (popularly called DICOM). DICOM provides all the tools required for diagnostically correct processing and presentation of medical imaging data (Pianykh). DICOM takes care of data transfer, storage and display protocol that contains sets of standards. DICOM incorporates the following processes: Information Management System  Storage, Query/Retrieve,   Study Component, Query/Retrieve, Results Management, Print Management, Media Exchange. The DICOM Standard takes care of levels of the ISO OSI network model and enables the exchange of information on interchange media. DICOM currently defines an upper layer protocol (ULP) that is used over TCP/IP (independent of the physical network), messages, services, information objects and an association negotiation mechanism. These definitions ensure that any two implementations of a compatible set of services and

Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Article Analysis - Essay Example The statistics are worrying because one would expect the teachers to take advantage of the computers and internet to ease the learning process (Keengwe and Onchwari, 210). I, however, think there should be no cause for worry among parents concerning the adverse effects of technology to their children. Teachers have the responsibility of monitoring how children use technology to restrict it for educational purposes only. From the research conducted at the summer institute, it is devastating that teachers find it hard infusing instructional responsibilities with technology integration. I fail to understand why they view integration and instruction as two different entities. If both support each other in delivering content to the students, teachers should be willing to adopt them (Keengwe and Onchwari, 214-215). I think teachers are intellectuals who can integrate technology into classrooms to engage various learning styles that meet the abilities of all learners. I concur with the authors that teachers need technological skills that do not necessarily make them experts (Keengwe and Onchwari, 215-216). Based on the authors’ recommendations, it is imperative that school administrators move swiftly in installing modern technological tools that aid educational software. Besides, state education officers should not only create technological workshops, but also provide full-time technology experts t o schools. The article, therefore, meets the authors’ goal of stimulating reflections and evaluating the need for technology integration in classrooms and, in particular, early childhood education. Keengwe, Jared, and Grace Onchwari. "Technology and Early Childhood Education: A Technology Integration Professional Development Model for Practicing Teachers."  Early Childhood Education Journal  37 (2009): 209-18. Web. 2 June

Reliability and Validity Essay Example for Free

Reliability and Validity Essay Reliability is defined as the consistency of the measurement. The term can also be defined as the extent to which one instrument can be used in a similar way, every time it is utilized under similar circumstance, and with similar subjects. This is what it means to say that the measurements or the instruments are reliable. It is also the repeatability of measurement. Any measurement is considered reliable where the results of the same test are the same. It is crucial to note that reliability cannot be measured, but it is given as an estimate. To find out the reliability of a measurement, it is important to carry out an experiment more than once or use the same instrument for similar experiments. There are two basic kinds of reliability: test/retest and internal consistency. The first type is the most traditional approach in estimating reliability. The argument behind this approach is that there should be similar results in test 1 and test 2. The three basic concepts of this approach are: the measuring instrument should be implemented in two differing tests for every subject; the relationship between the two tests should be accurately computed; and the assumption that the fundamental condition should be made between the two tests. The other approach is the estimation of reliability by listing queries in a questionnaire that gauge the same concept. For instant, two groups of three queries can be written that gauge the same concept. Then the relationship between the two sets of three queries can be run to evaluate the reliability of the instrument. It is important to know how reliability test ought to be. Some of the guidelines to reliability are . 90 indicates high reliability, . 80 indicates moderate reliability, and . 70 indicates low reliability. High reliability is revealed where the majority of standardized tests show a score of . 90. For majority tests, low reliability is where for majority of standardized tests reveal a score of . 70. This is equivalent to 49 percent consistent variation. Reliability estimate of . 80 are moderate, where the estimate is below . 60, it is usually considered inappropriately low (Worthen, Borg and White, 1993). Validity refers to the strength of conclusions, deductions and proposals. A more formal definition by Cook and Campbell (1979) is that validity is the best estimate of the accuracy and inaccuracy available, of a provided deduction, proposal or conclusion. It is basically the degree to which a test does what it is supposed to do. It is the subjective finding that is based on experimentation and empirical pointers. There are two basic types of validity: face validity and construct validity. The face validity is the most basic and must be supported by other types. What is refers to is whether on the surface the measure seems to measure does what it is supposed to do. Face validity is the beginning point, and it is not valid for any use. The test has been used to indicate high reliability in punishing witches. From this test, it is estimated that 100,000 women argued to be witches were condemned and burnt. A measure that has construct validity is one that has been proved to measure what it is supposed to gauge. Criterion, which includes predictive and concurrent; convergence, and discriminative validity are elements that contributive to construct validity. Validity and reliability of the development of experimental evaluations is a basic part of the scientific method. Without a reliable and valid method, accurate scientific results and deductions cannot be obtained (Worthen, Borg and White, 1993). Freuds Theory of Personality vs. Neo-Freudian Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud was the first individual to come up with the theory that explains how the mind or psyche operates. He developed his ideas from working with people suffering from psychological disorders. He held the belief that personality is made up of three basic structures. The three are the id, the ego and the superego. The id according to Freud is the structure that has instincts. He argued that this structure is totally unconscious. This means that the id does not have any contact with the realism (Mischel, 1999). The second structure of personality comes up as a child experiences the demands and limitations of the realism. This structure is what Freud referred to as the ego. This according to Freud is the structure of personality that emerges to deal with the stresses and the constraints of the reality. It is considered the executive structure of personality. This is due to the fact that it utilizes reason in decision making. According to Freud the ego and the id lack morality. They do not take into consideration what is wrong or right. The moral structure of personality according to Freud is the superego. It is the branch that takes into consideration if an act is right or wrong. It is what is basically known as the conscience. The consideration of Freud about personality is that it is similar to an iceberg. This means that most of our personality is in existence beneath our degree of consciousness. His argument is that most of the personality exists in this form. In examining people’s personality, there is revelation of the evidence of ego and superego. Where the two are partly unconscious and partly conscious, the id is the unconscious, which means that it is one that exists below our awareness. The ego utilizes the defense mechanism to solve the conflict between wishes of the id and the limitations of the superego. Freud added that it is the contradicting demands of the personality structures that lead to anxiety. According to Freud, oppression is the strongest and most persistent defense mechanism. It is the mechanism that pushes the unacceptable demands of the id out of consciousness. It is basically the foundation of all the other defense mechanisms (Mitchell and Black, 1995). Neo-Freudian theorists are those who were in agreement with the ideas of Freud, but transformed them and used them to come up with their own theories. The ideas of Freud, though controversial have influenced a lot of theorists. Most of the theorists support the idea of the unconscious psyche and its significance in childhood. There are other ideas that the theorists did not agree with. Some of these thinkers include Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Erik Erikson and Karen Horney. Jung was in agreement with the idea of the unconscious mind. There are various reasons as to why most of these theorists disagreed with Freud. Erikson disagreed with the idea that personality is developed entirely from childhood experiences. There are a number of general similarities between the ideas of Freud and those of the neo-Freudian theorists. There was agreement with the fact that the unconscious is the key influence of character (Mischel, 1999). They also agreed that there is influence on personality from childhood events. The Neo-Freudian theorist like Jung agreed with the ideas of defense mechanism and dream interpretation. The neo-Freudian theorists disagreed with the argument that development stopped at age five or six. They also did not agree with instinctual drives. The other thing that they failed to agree on is the emphasis on the pathological factions of personality, degrading and pessimistic. From the point of view of one of the neo-Freudian theorists, the paper will evaluate Alfred Adler. He agreed with Freud on the importance of the initial years of one’s life. He also agreed with the unconsciousness of what drives us. He also agreed on the ideas of Freud on dream interpretation and analysis. His disagreement was based on the influence of the parents in a child’s development, people actively establishing their own destiny; availability of therapy goals; and the influence of superiority, not sexuality (Mitchell and Black, 1995). The Situation versus Trait Controversy The situation versus trait controversy is a topic that has been assessed, discussed, analyzed and resolved by very many psychologists in the past few years. This controversy is basically the disagreement on whether it the situation or traits that are responsible for the character of a person. The debate is said to have been started by Walter Mischel in his title Personality and Assessment. The book offered to empirical arguments about the approach to personality. His first argument was that character traits have a relationship of approximately 0. 30 with the way individuals behave in specific situations. The other argument is that the cross-situational constancy of character is about 0. 20 to 0. 30. His conclusion was that character traits are not positive predictors of the way people behave. He added that situations are more significant in people’s behavior. He also claimed that character traits do not exist in reality. This was supported by the argument that behavior changes with situation. His ideas arose a lot of debates on the issue with some people in support and others opposing. During this time, there were psychologists who were already carrying out researches to measure personality. The ideas of Mischel were supported by the critics of personality. They were basically behaviorism theorists who claimed that the best explanation of behavior was the environment. They based this argument on the notion of psychology being a science of tangibles and observables as opposed to intangibles like emotions, character traits and thoughts. For some time this idea was adapted quite a number of psychologists (Mischel, 1999). The other side of the debate took effect from the 70s, where psychologists began accepting the innate states like cognitions that influence how people behave. From this point of view, it is argued that the character traits are the ones that determine how people behave. This is the side of the debate that garnered more support that the situation one. Many of the psychologists now are in agreement with the fact that character traits exists in reality and that it is best suited in predicting behavior that the environment. The agreement is that both of the experimental arguments by Mischel were partially accurate, but the relationships approximations of 0. 30 between character traits and the way people behave, and behavior across environments, were given by other psychological researchers to be 0. 40. The supporters of the situation side of argument did not anticipate questions about the interpretation of their empirical results. It was not possible to tell whether it was 0. 30 or 0. 40 that was the small correlation (Fleeson and Noftle, 2009). It was also not possible to tell how this compared to the relationship between environments and how people behave. The answers were provided by two supporters of trait psychology, David Funder and Dan Ozer. They provided the answers by reviewing the different standard experiments in social psychology. These experiments were aimed at establishing how behavior is affected by environment. One of the studies evaluated was by Stanley Milgram. This is the study on obedience that employed counterfeit electric shocks to establish the way individuals reacting to hurting others. Here Funder and Ozer realized that the relationship between environments and the way people behave was from 0. 36-0. 42. This was almost similar to predictive capability of character traits. Another study that nullified the work of Mischel was the findings of Seymour Epstein. His findings suggested that in one complete behavior over a considerable period of time, as opposed to viewing single situations, the cross-situational constancy of the way people behave can be normally as high as 0. 80 to 0. 90. This means that the trait side of the controversy seemed to carry more weight than the situation side. The trait side of explaining behavior is what is followed by most psychologists currently, although studies are always being carried out (Fleeson and Noftle, 2009). References: Fleeson, W. , Noftle, E. E. (2009). The End of the Person-Situation Debate: an Emerging Synthesis in the Answer to the Consistency Question, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2 (4), 1667-1684. Mischel, W. (1999). Introduction to Personality. Sixth edition. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace. Mitchell, S. Black, M. J. (1995). Freud and Beyond: a History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought. New York: Basic Books. Worthen, B. R. , Borg, W. R. , and White, K. R. (1993). Measurement and Evaluation in the School. New York: Longman.

Rudyard Kiplings Troubles Of The Empire English Literature Essay

Rudyard Kiplings Troubles Of The Empire English Literature Essay The White Mans burden reflects the Victorian degradation of the non-European world. Rudyard Kipling invites Americans to join the ranks of the British in imperializing the uncivilized Filipinos to rid them of troubles. The imperial nation plays a role of a father who is obligated to raise the child-like natives into becoming mature westernized adults. These Imperialists are defined throughout the poem as having idealized, saintly characteristics that are patrilineally passed through generations of whites for the purpose of imposing well-built culture to the atrocious adolescently uncultured. An altruistic, chauvinistic tone and purpose brings a shining idolization of imperialism but in doing so reveals Victorian era thoughts and sociocultural beliefs. These beliefs would not have been readily accepted as part of the modern time of the late 1800s, yet they were so deeply engrained into society that they shaped the lives of not only white men but of unrelated races of the world. These industrialized, patriarchal, racist attitudes have become so imbedded into the minds of people that it went unnoticed as to how it affected their definitive ideas of race, gender, social status, idealized characteristics, and nationalism. Kipling portrays this through constant use of figurative language to exaggerate certain ideas and relate them to the main theme of necessary colonialism. The use of a similar structure for each stanza group, alongside with the use of repetition and an unselfish tone, create a sense of order and of a powerful urgency to commit imperialism. The poem is organized in a manner that portrays order and power. He organizes each stanza into an octet. Each stanza, being eight lines long symbolizes perfection. Eight is the infinity sign sideways and represents totality and absolutism (Properties of 8). The imperialist view themselves as perfect being that have complete order and Kipling captures this by organizing his stanzas in a manner that most represents the infinite symbol. The poem is organized into an iambic trimeter and has rhythm every odd line. The unit of sound is divided into two syllables and stresses the second syllable (iambic trimester wiki). This is used to stress the importance of certain words in each line; for example: forthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦bestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦breed/ bindà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦sonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦exile (Kipling, lines 1, 2). These words are stressed because they are the ones that are important for the meaning of the lines and the poem as a whole. Two words that are constantly stressed throughout the poem are White and burden (Kipling line 1). Kipling purposely does this to relay the significance of these words as they relate to his poem as a whole. They hold more meaning because of they are repeated throughout and are stress. The first and foremost obligation the audience must meet is of a racial concern. An imperialist must be white and of a westernized culture. This was an obvious requirement and seemed natural to the peoples of the 1800s; however, it served a more distinct purpose of creating a division between two peoples: the Whites, in this case the Americans, and nonwhites, particularly those who are Filipinos. This division is set up to faintly, yet effectively, create a dichotomy between the two. One expression about this dichotomy is a metaphorical representation of a father to a son. The son, who represents the natives, is an uneducated and unenlightened half-devil and half-child (Kipling, line 8). He is young and has had no exposer to a responsible, committed, and real-world lifestyle and lives in isolation from the rest of humanity and knows nothing of its complexities. Children need the care of a mature adult who is willing to search [his] manhood and take up the challenge of teaching them t o have done with childish days (Kipling, line 53, 49). This use of language creates men, not woman, as the care giver. Child rearing was done predominantly by woman during this time; however, Kipling ignores this tendency and uses a fatherly relationship. In Victorian society, men need to become fathers as a rite of passage in their masculinity (Tosh, page 79). Being a patrilinial society, the ideal child was a son; he would carry on the name and inherit the essence of the family. Children obeyed their father and if they failed to do so, the father alone punishes them; he is the enforcer. Although the actual raising of a child was done by the work of women, Kipling refers to the fatherly dominance of the household. The natives will inherit the fathers characteristics and must obey him at all times otherwise they will be punished. Kipling ignores the fact that rearing children was done by women because colonialism is about taking on the characteristics of the imperial nation. He choo ses to use the metaphor of fathers, not mothers, because men have a stronger will to conduct the task of imperialism. Without the white man to be a father to these children, they shall remain ignorant, weak, and uncultured. Kipling exaggerates this with strong word choices. For example, the natives are described as illiterate, silent, sullen people (Kipling, line 47). Kipling ignores the fact that they speak a foreign language and, instead, says they do not speak at all. This dehumanization insists that the indigenous people will remain silent unless they learn the true language of English; the only language that is in existence, the rest is gibberish. Another example of Kiplings use of strong language would be when he hints that starvation and disease will be inevitable unless they have a father to fill full [their] mouth[s] of famine and bid the sickness cease (Kipling, lines 19, 20). The natives are automatically categorized as famine and disease infested. This is used as another form of justification for colonialism. The fatherly nations of imperialism will put an end to this. The natives, being children, will remain like this unless they are taught otherwise. And since most of western society during the 1800s was patriarchal, the father was the one to do the job. Kiplings use of language makes it quite clear as to who the poem is aimed at in terms of gender. The constant repetition of sexist language is evident in the title and in every following stanza with the phrase: White Mans burden. This reappearance is meant to create a clarification of who has the privilege of colonization. More words that reflect a male audience are sons, manhood, king, and the continuous reiteration of his and man (Kipling, lines 3, 26, 53). These word choices hint heavily toward a male audience. The role of an imperial colonization was solely a mans duty and honor to complete. This reflects a sexist Victorian world where males play the dominant role (Tiffert). It was a time where women were expected to be conservative, quiet, caring, emotional, and supportive of their husbands yet reliant of them. Males, on the other hand, were brave, politically active, patriotic, socially active, and hardworking. During this time it was only fitting for men to construct colonies and be brave enough to aid the foreign sullen people (Kipling, line 7). But not just any man was fitting enough to execute such a task successfully; it had to be narrowed down to an elite few. The Victorian era was a time of many statuses and classes that divided people and made certain white males more qualified to colonize over others; The White Mans Burden captures this division in a few lines. Kipling targets parents to send forth the best ye breed and bind [their] sons to exile to serve [their] captives needs (Kipling, lines 2, 3, 4). Now first off, it is not considered an exile but a privilege because only the select few have what it takes to colonize. The word exile is used as a metaphorical representation of the foreign land. The natives live in a place that is not suitable for proper life; it would be considered an exile to the peoples of western society. Its very existence is a crime against nature. The white man must go and fix this land and its people. And second, as hinted in this quote, only the most intelligent and superlative can conduct such a challenging task of cleansing and taming the untamed. The phrase, best ye breed, not only states who the intended class is, but also creates a division among the whites themselves and says that not all can undertake in the mission of colonization. The word breed brings to mind either dogs or horses; more specifically pure breed ones. This allusion is used to represent the upper (pure breed) and lower (mixed breed) classes and puts a value on them. Pure breeds are usually worth more than mixed-breeds; therefore, the upper class has a higher value, is specialized, better developed, and more idealized (Welton). But then later in the poem Kipling seems to contradict himself when he says that this process requires the toil of serf and sweeper (Kipling, line 27). These jobs of servitude were usually held by members of the lower class during this time (Victorian Era). But, realizing how daunting the challenge of colonization is, the work of lower class men must be included. Colonization was just like any other business of the time. The rich are the bosses and the poor are the workers. The orchestrator gets all the recognition but the musicians are the actual ones to conduct the procedure. Now of course the upper class has organization skills, tenacity and many other characteristics that are vital for imperialism to be performed. Traits that Kipling so explains throughout his poem in a condescending manner. If it were not for the brainchild of the intelligent, this operation would not happen at all. Kipling really emphasizes this by choosing to only portray elements of upper class men. It is evident in his patronizing tone throughout the whole poem. For these reasons, the target of the poem can be narrowed down to the middle to upper class of society, the knights of bravery; knights who are required to fight for their birthright to honor and duty. Kipling implies the importance of this duty to colonize but explains this by using the seemingly unrelated, connotative meaning of the word burden. He repeats the phrase, take up the White Mans burden at the start of every stanza to illustrate the white man as his sole audience; it is a demand aimed directly at the reader, commanding them to take up the burden (Kipling, line 1). This burden is described throughout the poem as requiring the white man to serve the captives needs, veil the threat of terror, to fill full the mouth of famine, and the list goes on (Kipling, line 4, 11, 19). The ultimate meaning is that the conquerors are providing benefits and servitude to the conquered and nothing is mentioned about slavery, stolen political freedom, and the life toll of defeat. The burden, being of such a noble cause, can only be conducted by whites that have the proper characteristics. This is where Kiplings patronizing tone comes into play. He explains that they must show patience, be plain in their purpose, forfeit their show of pride, and be selfless (Kipling, line 10, 12, 13, 14). They must be merciful enough to end the misery of the half-deviled and half-child by filling full the mouth of Famine and making their sickness cease (Kipling, line 8, 19, 20). They must be willing to work hard and conduct the toil of serf and sweeper and not just simply rule as luxurious lazy kings (Kipling, line 26, 27). The saintly figures will never exploit the colonized but instead they bestow their heavenly touch on the people: curing their diseased, revitalizing their economy, and ending their hunger. All these noble characteristics, duties, and acts of civility are taught in western culture and are born from nationalistic passions. Nationalism is the main idea behind colonization. Kipling is explaining how nationalism can be harnessed to implore citizens to believe colonization is a necessity and that this imperialistic burden is, in fact, a natural occurrence. In this sense, nationalism can be explained by Imperialism which, in turn, can be explained in terms of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism was born in the 19th century and soon became recognized by imperialist in the same way Aristotles ideas about planetary orbit around Earth was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church (What is Social Darwinism). It was nothing but truth and could be related to almost every aspect of human interaction in one form or another including superiority of a race over others (What is Social Darwinism). Western nations, as known throughout the Victorian era, are by far the most superior beings in the world and the highest example, at this time, was Great Britain. This can be explained by their advances in science, industry, medi cine, and even quality of life as expressed through culture. Foreign races, lacking many of these same advances, naturally were less competent and weaker. But instead of letting these races die out or live horrible lives as explained by Darwin, it is more humane and noble to assist them in becoming enlightened. It is the duty of western culture to use their predictive knowledge of the troubles of these foreign races and aid them before they happen. Imperialism demands that they take advantage of this opportunity and act, not only for spoils but for honest principles. Their natural, nationalistic pride should stir up these beliefs and if they do not, they are just as inferior and ignorant as the races they are trying to help. If America does not quench its prides demands, they shall face the judgment of [their] peers who are the British (Kipling, line56). Nationalism is a justification for imperialism which Kipling harnesses, and this is why his poem is effective in convincing his au dience towards colonialism. The root of this justification is Great Britain, the homeland of Rudyard Kipling. Kipling is informing Americans on the proper way to portray their nationalistic passions. In doing so, Britain becomes the teacher; a teacher who does not wish to get embarrassed by the pupil. America needs to show maturity and responsibility in empire building. Kipling is spurring America to work hard and long and to reject the lightly proffered laurel and the easy ungrudged praise of taking the painless route to international and national recognition (Kipling, line 51, 52). It is something that is earned through progressive work with the indigenous, not something that can be easily taken from them.

Essays --

â€Å"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a mirror planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special†-Stephen Hawking. At the age of 21, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) which is a type of motor neuron disease that left him paralyzed. Hawking was given only a few years to live yet he powered through his disease. Hawking overcame this life threatening disability to become one of the most influential scientists of our modern day physics. Stephen Hawking has influenced physics by his incredible work and data explaining his revolutionary ideas evolving around black holes and their role in the universe. One of his influences to physics includes his work researching a certain type of radiation named after Hawking himself. Hawking radiation is the emission of particles of a black hole (Uehling). Hawking discovered that there are subatomic particles coming from the black hole which then releases a form of radiation. Because of Hawking’s discovery, we have learned more about how black holes can disappear. ...

Drugs in the Prison System Essay -- Drug Trafficking Jail Prison Essay

Drugs in the Prison System This research paper will consist of an analysis of the use and abuse of illicit drugs within the prison systems on a global basis. With information gathered from various sources such as the internet and one on one interviews with an inmate in a male correctional facility and a former inmate of a female correctional facility I intend to show the rampant flow of drugs in and out of the prison system, the control of (or lack there of) by prison officials, the drug gangs and dealers in correctional facilities, the rate of addiction, and treatments available to inmates suffering from addiction. The introduction of drugs into the prison system has been an issue for corrections staff for many years. Prison officials suspect inmate visitors are the main source of how drugs coming into prisons. Although inmates and visitors are subjected to a meticulous search prior to contact with one another, the introduction of drugs is happening on a regular basis. Drugs can become a major source of income, not only for the inmate, but also for the individual or individuals who take the drugs into a correctional facility. Another avenue for inmates is using a correctional officer. Most of the drugs that are available within a prison arrive by courier through a corrections officer. Unlike an inmate visitor, a corrections officer is not subjected to a meticulous search of their person and property. Stephen Shaw of the Prison Reform Trust was quoted as saying, " Prison officers were said to turn a blind eye to its use and even to deal it in themselves, to make their job easier."1 Several states within the United States allow for inmates to have possession of personal clothing. An inmate receiving personal clothing from home may also receive drugs that have been hidden within the clothing by a family member or friend. In addition, drugs have been known to be sent via the mail to an inmate concealed in packages of all natures. In the past, the distribution of heroin to an inmate was easily concealed on a postage stamp or on the glue part of an envelope. The use of drugs are an issue many people around the world must deal with while incarcerated or in the "free world." Throughout the history of prison reformatories inmates have constructed a mailing system within the prison to communicate wi... ...liams (in person) First hand account of drug trafficking, use, abuse, effects, and treatment in a Washington State male correctional facility. Prison Information Handbook (http://www.pars.org.nz/prison_information_handbook.htm) General information about prisons in New Zealand. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy (http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GovPubs/cjstcha.htm) A Criminal Justice System Strategy for Treating Cocaine-Heroin Abusing Offenders in Custody. Substance Use In Prisoners The Norm Rather Than The Exception (http://www.docguide.com/dg.nsf/PrintPrint/1930E4546A3C26C7852564CA00574711) An article detailing drug use in UK prisons. The Eye of the Needle (http://news.scotsman.com/columnists.cfm?id=1207092004) An article about an inmate detailing drugs use and authority’s attitude in Scotland. The Prevention of Infectious Diseases in Prison (http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/florenz.html) The effects of drugs and the spread of Aids and other diseases in prisons as a direct effect of drug abuse. Zero Tolerance for drugs in Prison (http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/Work/010599.html) Presidents Clinton’s No tolerance drugs policy for the American Prison system.

What Happened to Kmart

Case Study – What Happened to Kmart? 1. Evaluate Kmart using the value chain and competitive forces models. What was Kmart's business model and business strategy? Kmart has numerous problems with its value chain. This is evident from the suppliers sending items that the suppliers want to sell, shelves remaining unstocked, the â€Å"hand shifting† reordering process for popular items, products being allocated by central planners and not based on individual store demand, excess inventory stored in 15,000 truck-trailers behind its stores, shrinkage, and having to choose to either ship toothpaste or Christmas trees.Since its entrance as the first discount store in the 1960s, Kmart has not been able to ward off new entrants into the discount chain business. The new entrants, such as Wal-Mart and Target, have come on strong and surpassed Kmart. Kmart's suppliers seem to be calling the shots with the retailer, since they are promoting the items that they can sell and not helpi ng Kmart address its mounting problems. Kmart's customers are voting with their pocketbooks and shopping at its competitors' stores.Kmart uses a promotions-drive business model. The company uses advertising circulars to promote its â€Å"blue-light† specials. 2. What was the relationship of information systems to Kmart's business processes and business strategy? How well did its systems support its strategy? Kmart's information systems and its business processes and business strategy were not in alignment. As an example, the information systems could collect data, but the data were not available for analysis and decision-making purposes.As the case mentions, forecasting decisions were based on management's judgment, not on the data. Kmart's systems did not support its strategy. One of the problems mentioned in the case is that its supply chain management system could not easily accommodate the sharp increases and decreases in demand. The distribution center's outdated technol ogy led to supplies sitting on pallets for 24 hours until they were recorded in the central tracking system. When reordering popular products, the employees would hand sift through previous purchasing receipts. . What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to Kmart's problems? From the case, it appears that Kmart management is inconsistent with its implementation of the company's strategy. Management is unable to use data to forecast demand; it has lost sight of its core competencies, and is unable to change Kmart's image. Although management wanted to restructure its supply chain, it continued to expand its product offerings, as opposed to focusing on the fastest selling items. Mr.Conaway's plan to restructure Kmart has obviously not worked out. Although Mr. Conaway wanted the local stores to make their own stocking decisions, the stocking decisions were still being made by the central planners. When the new system was installed, Mr. Buzek made the comment tha t â€Å"the information would be useless because management just didn't believe in the system. † Although the company uses a promotions-driven strategy, the company reduced its advertising circulars. As the case points out, no other alternative for achieving the strategy was provided.Although Kmart wanted to reinvent its supply chain, management was unwilling to unify the distribution system's two computers because the project was too expensive. From an organizational perspective, the suppliers, central planners, business processes, individual stores, warehouses, and distribution center have definite communication problems and are not sharing data as efficiently as possible. One could argue that very little data sharing is going on. Central planners are making the stocking decisions for the individual stores, but what needs to be stocked at each store is not being effectively communicated.From a technology perspective, outdated technology and incompatible systems were in plac e. The new i2 project did not succeed for a variety of reasons, including the need for more hardware, the inability of the project to connect the point-of-sale systems and inventory systems to the distribution systems, and not being robust enough to handle a large number of SKUs. 4. How important was supply chain management in contributing to Kmart's problems? Evaluate Conaway's decision to use i2 software to improve Kmart's supply chain management.Supply chain management was very important to Kmart. Kmart has been unable to successfully manage its inbound logistics, operations, sales and marketing, service, and outbound logistics. Unfortunately, the company's inability to effectively manage its supply chain led to ineffective advertising, lots of items being overstocked, popular items being understocked, a large product offering, poor communication with suppliers and its business units, items sitting on pallets waiting to be entered into the central tracking system, and shipping pr oblems.The goals for the i2 project were commendable, since the project was supposed to improve Kmart's sales forecasting, inventory sourcing, logistics, and reporting. The project was supposed to facilitate micromarketing, supplier product tracking, order execution, shipment scheduling, and delivery tracking. It is interesting that Mr. Conaway chose i2 Technologies for the new supply chain management project, since i2 Technologies had â€Å"only recent and limited experience in the retail sector. The decision to use i2 Technologies was not a good decision, since the system was not designed to work with the large number of SKUs, Kmart (according to some) wrote off and abandoned some of its i2 software, the project fell behind schedule, and the inability to connect the point-of-sale systems and inventory systems to the distribution systems. 5. Were those blaming software for the collapse of Kmart correct? Explain your answer. Actually, there is enough blame to go around. 2 Technolog ies did a very poor job analyzing and designing the system for Kmart. It also appears that Kmart's management did not get behind the project and was also unwilling to transform its core business processes. 6. It has been said that â€Å"Wal-Mart uses their IT strategically, and they fully integrate it into their operating model. † Does this statement apply to Kmart? Explain your response. This statement does not apply to Kmart.Kmart is using an outdated business model and has been unwilling to change its model. Its unwillingness to change is one of the reasons why Wal-Mart and Target have been able to successfully compete against Kmart and why Kmart is in bankruptcy. 7. List the problems Conaway faced when he took over Kmart, and then describe the short- and long-range policies you would have followed had you been in his place. When Mr. Conaway took over Kmart, he faced several problems, including stiff competition from Wal-Mart and Target.The company was using an outdated bu siness model, spending more money than the competition to get its goods into its stores, its information systems were collecting data but not using it effectively, it had significant problems with its entire value chain, it had a frumpy reputation, its shelves were often empty, it offered a wide range of products, it provided poor customer service, and it did not care about the competition. Students will provide a variety of short- and long-range policy recommendations.