Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Military

Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Military Wayne K Sullivan Saint Leo University MGT 327, CA01, Management Information Systems Professor Lawrence Mister November 26, 2011 Purpose: In today's military, leaders are continuously seeking ways to incorporate new technology to take the place of human soldiers. It has long been an important goal to be able to remove the human element from the modern battlefield, thus enabling high risk or sensitive political operations to be conducted without the fear of capture or exploitation of US military personnel.One such incident occurred during the Cold War, on May 1, 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. The United States government at first denied the plane's purpose and mission, but then was forced to admit its role as a covert surveillance aircraft when the Soviet government pro duced its intact remains and surviving pilot, Francis Gary Powers, as well as photos of military bases in Russia taken by Gary Powers.Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been fully integrated within all levels within the Department of Defense (DOD), from software programs designed to efficiently data mine the vast amounts of intelligence collected to complex quantum computing design to monitor and direct operational units in real time on the modern battlefield. This paper will focus only on a few Real world Combat systems currently utilized within the Department of Defense (DOD). Within the Department of Defense (DOD), the word autonomous is equivalent to and often substituted for the term Artificial Intelligence (AI).Autonomous is defined by Webster’s dictionary as; â€Å"Having independent existence or laws† (Webster, 2011) , where as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica as â€Å"the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. † (Britannica, 2011), both definitions define the overall goal of the DOD, Independent combat systems that increase soldier survivability and become a force multiplier in the combat theater of operations. And is being explored for all branches of the service for uses on land, sea, and air. Background:In today's modern combat arenas, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the desire for autonomous vehicles and intelligent combat systems is higher than ever. Currently within our armed forces there are numerous combat systems that are experimenting with artificial intelligence, designed to reduce or eliminate the need for combat soldiers on missions or tasks that are considered to dangerous for human operators. These missions or task include Biological or Chemical detection, Explosive Ordinance Detection and Demolition (EOD), High value target identification and covert tracking, and Treat Detection and Neutralization.Art ificial Intelligence (AI) is finally reaching the point where it is now feasible, and is starting to demonstrate its capabilities in the combat environment. AI techniques are becoming so ubiquitous that the computers that now bear the label â€Å"Intel inside† could well be labeled â€Å"AI inside,† says Alan Meyrowitz, director of the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington (Rhea, 2000).Now, with a combination of military-funded development programs and the availability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, the military services are beginning real world implementation. AI methods in such new generations of weapons platforms as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), autonomous submersibles to perform unmanned counter terrorism and surveillance operations in shallow water areas, and Fully Autonomous Land Vehicles designed for soldier support as well as search and destroy (Rhea, 2000).United Stat es Army, which is the largest arm of the military by far, in a recent report, has laid out its plans to introduce an upgrade artificial intelligence within its ranks, via a plan integration plan/roadmap from present-day through 2035. Currently the key areas the Army is looking to artificial intelligence are chemical biological detection, counter explosive hazards, security, interdiction attack, and long-range strike capabilities (US Army, 2010).Deployed soldiers have dozens of pounds of batteries, ammo, communications equipment and other Items such as food and water they have to carry on their backs, on top of heavy body armor, encumbering solders with up to 100lbs of additional weight. While this large amount of technology, is useful in combat, it can greatly fatigue solders prior to engagements and can render soldiers severely limited or even ineffective during sustained engagements with the enemy (Knapik, 1989). It is this reason that the U. S. Army is experimenting with a variet y of remotely controlled and even wearable machines to lighten this load.Some are deeply quirky, designed to resemble a headless dog. The spooky Big Dog quadruped robot, which is being developed by robotics company Boston Dynamics, has some of the most advanced artificial intelligence and navigation systems in the planet. In fact, US Army officials are stunned by its programmed behaviors, which make Big Dog extremely helpful in the battlefield. Big Dog can run along soldiers, walk slowly, or lay down to be loaded or unloaded with up to 400 lbs of gear, equivalent to one full squads (6 men) backpacks, all while being aware of the terrain around it.No matter what happens, or how hard it's hit, the robot maintains its course without falling on the ground under any circumstances. The only way to get him off its path is by a major direct hit, which could mean a rocket. U. S. Army Officials are optimistic for this beast. They see it as the most effective way to carry all kinds of material , reducing the weight that soldiers have to tug along, freeing them to move faster and be safer (Diaz, 2009). Another area the U. S.Army is excited about is the compact surveillance platforms that are now available, such as the Skylark I, advanced mini -UAV system, a unique man-pack configuration designed for day and night observation and data collection up to distances of 10-15 km. The mini -UAV system is equipped with an exceptionally quiet electric motor, totally autonomous flight, and outstanding observation capabilities allowing for easy operation and orientation (Keren, 2004). Soldiers can launch the state-of-the-art AI flight system, after a brief training period, usually only one week of computer software training, no pilot skills are required.It features a gyroscopic-stabilized gimbaled payload and a high degree of autonomous flight from take-off to precise recovery, yielding real-time intelligence, the operator simply points the camera to where he wishes to look and the Sk ylark flies there. The Skylark I system has proven itself in cloudy, rainy and windy weather conditions, the Skylark I has demonstrated excellent optical survey, target identification and surveillance capabilities. This configuration, equipped with algorithms derived from larger Hermes UAVs, can track fixed and moving targets, an impressive capability for a hand launched UAV.Skylark I can be used for both defense and homeland security applications including perimeter security, border and coastal surveillance, anti-terrorism surveillance and a variety of law enforcement missions. Skylark I has already accumulated more than 3000 successful operational sorties and is currently operationally active in several theatres of the global war on terror. Skylark I set a new world record in high altitude flights, climbing to an altitude exceeding 16,000 feet and has demonstrated outstanding performance in weather conditions ranging from arctic to equatorial weather.Skylark I is equipped with Elb it Systems' new-generation night payload. Weighing only 700 grams, the thermal payload is the lightest in its class. The payload’s capabilities include very wide area coverage, continuous tracking of moving targets and a higher resolution rate than any of its predecessors (Keren, 2004). Lastly we will examine two of the U. S. Army’s Unmaned Vehicle programs , first the Squad Mission Support System it looks as conventional as any six wheeled hauler you’d see on an admittedly large loading dock, the size of a car with a flat back, readying it to strap up to 600 lbs. worth of equipment onboard.It uses ladar, or laser radar, to identify the unit it needs to follow and drives off autonomously behind (Ackerman, 2011). Secondly is the Crusher, All branches of the United States military services are actively seeking new technology and programs that will limit or eliminate the need to place service personnel in harm's way. And operating and weapon systems become more adv anced, it appears inevitable that someday in the not so distant future, autonomous machines will be performing a large majority of mundane and repetitive task as well as tearing out specialized operations on the battlefield of the future.It is through organizations such as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), whose mission is to maintain the technological superiority of the U. S. military and prevent technological surprise from harming our national security by sponsoring revolutionary, high-payoff research bridging the gap between fundamental discoveries and their military use (DARPA, 2011). Unlike conventional bits or transistors, which can be in one of only two states at any one time (1 or 0), a qubit can be in several states at the same time and can therefore be used to hold and process a much larger amount of information at a greater rate.A major obstacle for realizing a quantum computer is the complexity of the quantum circuits required. As with conventional compu ters, quantum algorithms are constructed from a small number of elementary logic operations. Controlled operations are at the heart of the majority of important quantum algorithms. The traditional method to realize controlled operations is to decompose them into the elementary logic gate set. However, this decomposition is very complex and prohibits the realization of even small-scale quantum circuits. The researchers now show a completely new way to approach this problem. By using an extra degree of freedom of quantum particles, we can realize the control operation in a novel way. We have constructed several controlled operations using this method,† said Dr Xiao-Qi Zhou, research fellow working on this project, â€Å"This will significantly reduce the complexity of the circuits for quantum computing. † The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system with an integrated sensor suite that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissa nce, or ISR, capability worldwide.Global Hawk's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of ISR collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations. The Global Hawk complements manned and space reconnaissance systems by providing near-real-time coverage using imagery intelligence or IMINT, sensors. Once mission parameters are programmed into a Global Hawk, the UAS can autonomously taxi, take off, fly, remain on station capturing imagery, return and land. Ground-based operators monitor the UAS's status, and can change navigation and sensor plans during flight as necessary. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jason Tudor Think the U. S. military has a lot of drones now? Just you wait. The Pentagon has just released its 30-year plan for buying and developing warplanes. And in a development that should come as no surprise, the future the military anticipates for its Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps air fleets — toge ther numbering more than 5,500 warplanes — is more robotic than ever. The congressionally mandated Aircraft Procurement Plan 2012-2041 is, of course, filled with conjecture. Any number of factors — fiscal, strategic, industrial or technological — could change nexpectedly, sending ripples through the Pentagon’s carefully-laid plans, currently projected to cost around $25 billion per year. But based on current tech trends (everything always gets more expensive), anticipated (that is to say, flat) budgets and projected threats (China and terrorists, as usual), the military believes it can make do for the next three decades with air fleets roughly the same size as today’s — with just one big exception. The robot air force will double in just the next nine years. The Avenger, or Predator C, is a major upgrade from the earlier versions.With a 41-foot long fuselage and 66-foot wingspan, the Avenger is capable of staying in the air for up to 20 hour s, and operating at up to 60,000 feet. Powered by a 4,800-lb. thrust Pratt & Whitney PW545B jet engine, it can fly at over 400 knots — 50 percent faster than the turboprop-powered Reaper unmanned plane, and more than three times as quick as the Predator. The Avenger should also be much harder to spot – with wings, tails, weapons bays, and sides are all designed to reduce its radar signature. (General Atomics won’t say if it used any of its specialized radar-absorbent materials in the drone, but it’s a fair bet. The new plane might not just take off from land. Designed with folding wings and a tailhook, the latest killer drone could wind up launching from an aircraft carrier, before it attacks it foes. SAN DIEGO, April 12, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle marked a new single-day flight record of 18 hours. U. S. Navy operators achie ved the record using a single aircraft in a series of endurance flights Feb. 25 from the USS Halyburton (FFG 40).Fire Scout is providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data to support anti-piracy missions while deployed on the ship for the Navy's 5th Fleet. â€Å"We've continually worked with the Navy to enhance Fire Scout since its last deployment to meet these types of operational needs,† said George Vardoulakis, vice president for tactical unmanned systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. â€Å"These flights not only demonstrated Fire Scout's maturity, it showed how the system provides a much-needed extension for gathering crucial information during peacekeeping or wartime missions. In April 2010, Fire Scout concluded a military utility assessment on board the USS McInerney (FFG 8), a frigate similar to the USS Halyburton. Fire Scout has flown twice as much in the first two months on board the USS Halyburton than the entire USS McInerney dep loyment. The system also completed initial flight tests on board the USS Freedom (LCS 1) in November. Fire Scout features a modular architecture that accommodates a variety of electro-optical/infrared and communications payloads. These payloads provide ground and ship-based commanders with high levels of situational awareness and precision targeting support.Fire Scout's ability to operate at low ground speeds makes it particularly well suited for supporting littoral missions such as drug interdiction, search and rescue, reconnaissance and port security. Intelligent unmanned autonomous systems includes the multi-role Talisman family of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), which provide a flexible surveillance and protection capability for key facilities and assets, including harbours, inshore mine countermeasures and a range of oceanographic missions.The latest generation Talisman L uses the mission system, proven on the larger Talisman M, and re-packages it into a two man portable s ystem for port and harbor protection and inshore mine counter measures (MCM). It can be deployed from the shore, rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) or any platform of opportunity with either low freeboard or a small crane or davit. The system utilises the same control interface as other vehicles in the Talisman family. Talisman L can be operated using a ruggedized laptop or similar portable device.Its open architecture command system also allows its integration with command & information systems aboard naval vessels or land-based vehicles. Data storage on the vehicle is arranged to facilitate rapid mission turnaround and analysis to maintain the tempo of operations. To fly the military's baddest, most technologically advanced planes, you once had to have what Tom Wolfe called â€Å"that righteous stuff† — the willingness to strap yourself to a jet-fuel laden machine and push it to the very limits of its mechanical capabilities.Nowadays, unmanned systems have taken the human danger out of some combat missions, though human pilots remain at the sticks. But not for long. The Navy's experimental X-47B combat system won't be remotely piloted, but almost completely autonomous. Human involvement won't be of the stick-and-rudder variety, but handled with simple mouse clicks. Speaking to reporters at the Sea Air Space convention near Washington, reps from both Northrop Grumman (maker of the X-47B) and the Navy said the X-47B would be piloted not by human handlers in some steel box in Nevada, but by 3. million lines of software code. The rest of its functions will be able to be handled by non-pilot personnel (or your average child), as they will only require clicks of the mouse; a click to turn on the engines, a click to taxi, a click to initiate takeoff, etc. For flyboys proudly boasting their nighttime carrier landing cred, the idea is anathema. But given the difficulty and danger of carrier takeoffs and landings, automating them is one way to ensure saf ety–provided the systems work the way they are supposed to.The X-47B has already taken to the skies from Edwards AFB earlier this year, but this is a Navy plane. As such, it will begin â€Å"learning† the ins and outs of carrier operations via simulated takeoffs and landings starting in 2013. If all goes well, the X-47B could be autonomously showing Navy pilots how to put a multimillion aircraft down on a sea-tossed carrier deck by 2014. Those carrier landings, of course, take a certain kind of touch. Specifically, that of an index finger on a standard issue mouse (Dillow, 2011). On August 11, 2011, DARPA attempted to fly the fastest aircraft ever built.The Agency’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) is designed to fly anywhere in the world in less than 60 minutes. This capability requires an aircraft that can fly at 13,000 mph, while experiencing temperatures in excess of 3500F. The second test flight began with launch at 0745 Pacific Time. The Mino taur IV vehicle successfully inserted the aircraft into the desired trajectory. Separation of the vehicle was confirmed by rocket cam and the aircraft transitioned to Mach 20 aerodynamic flight. At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles would be less than 12 minutes.Cited works: University of California – Santa Barbara. â€Å"Physicists demonstrate quantum integrated circuit that implements quantum von Neumann architecture. † ScienceDaily, 1 Sep. 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. University of Bristol. â€Å"Dramatic simplification paves the way for building a quantum computer. † ScienceDaily, 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. United States Airforce. WWW. AF. MIL. United States Airforce, 19 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . Axe, David. â€Å"post Next post Pentagon Looks to Double Its Unmanned Air Force. † Wired Magazine. United States Airforce, 31 May 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 011. . Shachtman, Noah. â€Å"Tiny Weapons, Jet Engines in Killer Drone Upgrades. † Wired Magazine. United States Airforce, 20 Apr. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. . Dillow, Clay. â€Å"The Navy's X-47B Will Be So Autonomous, You Can Steer It With Mouse Clicks. † Popular Science. N. p. , 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. . Diaz, Jesus. â€Å"Big Dog Army Robot Will Change the Face of War Forever. † Gizmo. com. N. p. , 26 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. . Knapik, Joseph. â€Å"LOADS CARRIED BY SOLDIERS:HISTORICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL,BIOMECHANICAL AND MEDICAL ASPECTS. † The Defense Technical Information Center .U S ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MED, June 1989. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. . Autonomous. † 1. Merriam-Webster. 2011. N. pag. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"artificial intelligence (AI). † Encyclop? dia Britannica. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online. Encyclop? dia Britannica Inc. , 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. . Keren, Yarin. www. Israili. Weapons. com. Elbit Systems , 4 Feb. 2004. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. . Rhea, J. (2000, November 1). The next ‘new frontier' of artificial intelligence. In Military Aerospace. com. Retrieved November 7, 2011, . US Army UAS Center of Excellence. 2010, April). Eyes of the Army US Army roadmap for UAS 2010 -2035. In FAS. org. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www. fas. org/irp/program/collect/uas-army. pdf. Ackerman, S. (2011, July 25). Army Preps Robot Mule for Afghan Action. In Wired. Com. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www. wired. com/dangerroom/2011/07/army-preps-robot-mule-for-afghan-action/#more-52823. DARPA. (2011). Army Preps Robot Mule for Afghan Action. In Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from http://www. darpa. mil/About. aspx. [pic]

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid The absorbance of light, wavelength 632nm, was measured in an indicator solution at varying pH, and varying concentration, allowing for a Beer-Lambert plot to be constructed. This was then used to measure acetic acid uptake at the surface of deionised water and octan-1-ol coated water, allowing pH, and hence concentration, to be calculated from absorbance of the liquid. Introduction Surfactants are molecules which are able to form a surface across a liquid, and stop the interaction of foreign molecules with the solution without interacting with these molecules first. These are extremely useful since they often contain a hydrophobic and hydrophilic aspect, which interact differently to different molecules. Surfactants are used in the manufacture of paper, textiles and construction among others.[1] They are the main ingredient of detergents and they allow non-polar molecules to dissolve in polar molecules, such as oil into water. On the surface of the liquid, the surfactant will inter act slightly differently. It will create a surface of hydrophobic ‘tails’. This will stop polar molecules from entering the liquid, since the liquid will appear to be a poor solution for the polar molecule to interact with. They also increase decrease tension of the liquid.[4] This barrier is expected to stop the acetic acid, used in part 3 of the experiment, interacting with the water solvent. If it does interact, the pH of the solution will lower due to acetic acids presence, and the indicator will show a change in colour. If no acetic acid enters the solution, no change should be observed or measured. Experimental Using de-ionised water, a reference light intensity was recorded. A 250ml solution (1) of 0.005% wt bromocresol green was then prepared, and absorbance was measured. 100ml was removed, and the pH adjusted using 0.1M sodium hydroxide and glacial acetic acid, and absorbance was noted at pH’s between 3-6 at 0.3 increments. 50ml of remaining solution (1) was further diluted to solutions of 0.0025%, 0.00125%, 0.000625% and 0.0003125% concentration. Spectroscopic analysis of these concentrations was made, and a Beer Lambert graph plotted. A solution of unknown concentration was then spectroscopically analysed and it’s approximate concentration determined. This solution was then enclosed in a container with acetic acid, and spectroscopic readings taken every 30 seconds. This was repeated with fresh solution, with the addition of 0.2ml of octan-1-ol to the surface of the cuvette. Results The results for the pH change showed a curve, going from lower pH on the left to high pH on the right. This is a more quantifiable way of showing that as the Bromocresol turned blue at higher pH. This shows absorption toward the end of the spectrum of lower energy, (ie higher wavelength). So as pH increased, the absorbance of Bromocresol at 632nm increased too as it became blue. The next aspect of the experiment was to analyse how concentration affected the absorbance of Bromocresol green. As concentration of bromocresol green was altered, it was possible to draw a Beer-Lambert plot detailing how the absorption of the light changed with concentration of the Bromocresol Green. As would be expected, there is a straight line relationship between Bromocresol concentration and Absorbance except at higher concentrations, where the solution plateaus and becomes non-linear. Excluding this end point it is possible to derive the gradient, and hence the value of ?L. This was determined to be 36600.

Global Structures and Local Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Structures and Local Cultures - Essay Example We would start with looking into the definitions racism to determine, what exactly racism is. Building upon it, we would drill down into the matter that what is considered by us as racism and what really is racism but is not considered by us as so. In the end, we would be inquiring for the reasons of such a continuous racism in the human history. This definition thus shows that usually racism is considered as racism only when the racist feelings are executed by the racist. The very word racism connotes some feeling on the basis of race, but since over the history, we have observed such feelings by the majority, as only the majority could execute such feelings, the notion of racism is made limited, by the people, only to those who have such prejudices and are in a position to execute them. However, from the sociological point of view, we would be taking the definition of the racism as the feeling that one's race is superior to others', regardless of the fact that whether those feelings were executed or not. (Bell and Blumenfeld 1995) It is one of the major stereotypes regarding racism that only Whites are the racist. Such feelings are quite evident from the literature written over the period of time. (Miles and Brown 2003) It is however a noteworthy fact that whenever we talk about racism, we have in our mind the execution of the racist feelings. It is a common stereotype that we always consider the party showing the racial behavior is bad while the party to whom such behavior is shown is nice. (Carter 2000) This stereotype has been developed because we have seen the so-called racist from the perspective of the victim. But if we change the perspective, we may find that this is not always the battle of good and evil, nice or vile. People have a habit to look at everything from the perspective of discreteness, to look everything as black or white, people tend to ignore gray areas, as a result of it this perspective has been developed and rooted very firmly in the mind of people that the person who shows racist beh avior is evil while since another party is victim so being the victim makes that party as good and non-racist. Now, it is the time to look at the matter from a neutral point of view. In this regards, first of all we need to determine that execution of the racist feeling does not make a person racist, only the existence of such feeling makes it so. Secondly we need to make it sure that the so-called racist can also be nice, depending on the victim of the racism, the standpoint of the racists etc. (Leone 1978) There may be

Critical analysis or explain some important point about a piece of Essay

Critical analysis or explain some important point about a piece of literature - Essay Example The story mocks at the innocence and niceness, and proves that too much simplicity becomes serious obstacle in personality development, and the progress of the simple people appears to be struck and stopped. On the contrary, the people who take timely decisions by revolting against the unnecessary domestic and social rules make their sure headway towards progress, independence and success in life; the same can be observed by going through the personalities of Dee and Maggie, the two daughters of a single mother, Mrs. Johnson. Published in 1973, the novel under the title â€Å"Everyday Use† is one of the most influential works created on the topic of the adherence and emotional attachment of the African Americans to their traditions, customs, conventions and values. The author, Alice Walker, has skillfully elaborated the very reality that the dedication and affection for the cultural heritage and ancestral norms can be found in the attitude and behavior of even the most modish, trendy and voguish individuals of society. Consequently, the African Americans have not forgotten their cultural values and traits even after four centuries of their migration from their motherland. The same is applied on the elder sister Dee, which abhors the name her Mama has given to her, and replaces it with Wangero, as she views: â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.† (Christian 29) Additionally, the novel also supports the very idea that innate characteristics dominate over personality throughout human life. Hence, the children of the same parents are also different from one another in liking, disliking, tastes and habits. The main theme of the story is this that man is valued as he makes himself valuable. Consequently, the individuals, who take initiative, establish goals and make struggle to achieve the same, are looked at with unabated admiration and respect. On the contrary, the simple, innocent and extra-obedient and complying members of society lag far behind them in the race of accomplishments and achievements; the same can be observed by getting oriented with the personalities of Dee and Maggie in the story under examination. It is therefore instead of being grateful to the innocent and simple Maggie, the Mama also admires the qualities Dee possesses: â€Å"She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.† (Christian 229) The story also throws light on the problems faced by the US population including single motherhood, class discrimination, racial and ethnic conflicts and socioeconomic situation etc. Moreover, the author has also highlighted the shabby abode and dilapidated environment in which the lower stratum of the US society lives and strives in order to make its both ends meet on the one hand, and keep the wolf from the door on the other. The story focuses upon th e character of the middle-aged lady, called Mrs. Johnson, and her innocent daughter Maggie, who are leading a miserable and lonely life in the southern part of the USA. Being the member of lower middle class, Mrs. Johnson had led a very hard and pathetic life and had brought up her two daughters by toiling hard throughout the week in her youth. Not only this

Florence County School district vs. Carter 1993 Research Paper

Florence County School district vs. Carter 1993 - Research Paper Example require better learning opportunities designed according to their needs, and they have the right to get this education from the public sector schools. These issues consequently made the Congress to pass an act in 1975 which is known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This act assured that all the children, no matter what learning disability they have, are permitted to receive free and appropriate public education. Shannon Carter was a student in the 9th grade at Timmonsville High School in Florence County School, South Carolina. This was the time when her parents were told that their daughter would not be given education in a special education classroom, as she was suffering from dyslexia, rather she would be introduced in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) which would be in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Shannon was way behind her peers in education. When she entered high school, her reading ability was at the 5th grade level. The Individualized Education Program promised that by the end of the year she would be reading on level 5.8, as her current level was5.4, it meant that Shannon would make four months progress in reading after a complete year. This confirmed the fact that she would be left further behind her class mates. This was rather not acceptable to her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Carter. They wanted her child’s reading skills to be on the gr ade level by graduation. The Carters requested the school authorities to take more intensive and concentrated program for Shannon, but the school refused to do so. They requested the authorities a special education due process hearing. There, the parents of Shannon Carter demanded funding for Trident Academy, a school that specialized in imparting education to children with language learning disabilities. But the hearing officer did not accept the Carters request. He was sure that the IEP was the best option for the child and it was rightly designed to meet her

Strategic HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic HR - Essay Example R systems are the most critical in HR architecture since they are the source of value creation and have greater inimitability depending on how they are aligned with the overall corporate strategy. According to the Resource based View (RBV) of the firm, human resources are the most strategic assets for the firm and should be recognized in order to attain competitive strengths. In implementing SHRM strategy, the firm should focus on the key strengths and capabilities. According to Porter, the firm should emphasize on cost leadership and differentiation in the competitive strategy (Becker and Mark 902). Current trends in focus on differentiation in the SHRM since business processes should create value for the organization (Becker and Mark 903).unique and firm specific HR architectures will create and sustain competitive strength for the firm. Modern SHRM literature focuses on the holistic view of human resources since all employees have unique talents and contribute differently in the value creation process. Effective human resource management strategy includes both HR core architecture that creates equal value to all business processes and HR differentiated architecture that provides specific skills and attributes for the effectively performance of certain strategic jobs in the organization. According to five national surveys conducted between 1991 and 2000 and data from 3200 firms, the standard deviation from HR systems change is 10-20 percent in value of the firm. Increase of one standard deviation leads TO 4.6 percent increase in return on assets (ROA) (Becker and Mark 907). SHRM should focus on intermediate outcomes since financial performance should not be the only dependent variable and outcome of SHRM. Focus should be on strategic business processes that involve a high level of human resources. New focus should be on contingencies and fit since HR architectures should also be differentiated. HR managers face challenges of measuring employee performance

Health and Social Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Health and Social Management - Essay Example So, the hospital that later got him recruited, should have had performed the reference and background check properly despite of his good performance and experience. At least the hospital should have had kept a close eye on him in order to assure his behavior towards the organization (Gillies, 2003). Contextual Factors Dr. Shipman was more often considered to be a psychic serial killer, who killed his patients to gain satisfaction. Some psychologists were of the view that Shipman might want to refresh the scene of his mother dying whom he loved a lot; and others were of the view that he still had not gotten over of his mother’s death and wanted to take control of life and death. But the main reason which led to Shipman becoming a serial killer was an extremely pampered childhood, along with somewhat isolation from external environment, and the death of his mother who loved him the most. The death of Shipman’s mother was the leading cause of his behavior, because his moth er always wanted him to be different from others and she was unnecessarily attached to him, and her sudden death made him feel lonely and depressed. This depression might have resulted in his psychic behavior. Besides his personal life depression, the other factors that aggravated his desire of killing were the lack of hospital management and peers attention. If Shipman had been stopped during his first few attempts of killing his patients, and from changing the medical records of those victims, the number would never have reached 400. Therefore, the negligence of hospital management, co-workers, nurses and even the inspectors led to the deaths of 400 patients (Davies, 2007). Management theories The loss of a parent is an extremely traumatic event, and may affect the... This essay approves that social workers ensure the best environment for the society and its inhabitants. They provide the social policy which assures the social development. An effective feedback system in all the organizations involved in social work will increase employee and social worker’s commitment towards their profession (Sullivan, 2010). If the hospital in which Shipman worked had enforced beaurocratic style, where the doctors had to share their decision making regarding their patients with their colleagues, more doctors would have been informed regarding the health condition of the patients. Moreover, the hospital should have kept a record of the medicine prescribed and their quantity, and a proper check should have been maintained. We know doctors’ profession is all about helping their fellow beings, so if they are not delivering what is demanded by their profession, then they are useless for the society. This report makes a conclusion that everywhere in the world, the profession considered to be most respectable and valued is that of doctors. On secondary level comes the profession of all the people involved in social work. The essay has highlighted the importance of the decision making on the part of social workers and how their carelessness, misconduct, and wrong decision-making can ruin the lives of people linked to them. If only the hospital management, co-doctors and the nurses had kept a proper check over Dr. Shipman as well as the number of patients died under his treatment, the victims would never have reached the count of 400. Today, social workers have increased attention due to rising number of social evils, which is the result of unawareness on the part of individuals regarding social policies.