Technology Project Essay Example for Free

Technology Project Essay Week 1: Begin thinking of a business problem that could be solved with a technology solution for a company or organization you are familiar with. Use the QA Forum to ask questions and discuss your ideas about the project. See the Course Project Technical Areas for ideas. Week 2: Complete the Course Project Proposal using this format: Course Project Proposal (1-2 pages, 75 points, due week 2, properly cite any external sources used) Cover page 1. Subject of Course Project 2. Business problem statement 3. Name of the company or organization 4. Brief description of proposed solution 5. General benefits it will provide the organization 6. Audience to whom you are presenting the recommendation(s) George Mason University hosts this youth-based program in which the primary goal is to increase motivation, achievement, and exposure to STEM content of students from urban public schools by having them work with scientists and experts to design and build educational games that can be utilized by other students and teachers. The project is a partnership between George Mason University and McKinley Technology High School in Washington, DC. It will include 100 high school students from McKinley and other high schools and 100 middle school students from urban schools. During the academic year the project proposes a 3-week gaming camp which meets four hours each day while the academic year activities include 24weeks of activities for three hours each week. The project introduces fundamental concepts of IT as students develop human animation, multimedia authoring and rapid game prototyping using 3D tools. The project will include hands-on, inquiry-based activities with a strong emphasis on non-traditional approaches to learning and the intensive use of information technologies such as: web-based programming, GIS, architecture, database management, motion capture, LAN network management. The project targets urban traditionally underrepresented students from the Washington, DC area with the vision of being a model for other distance learning efforts.

Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai Summary

Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai Summary The concern of psychological reality by Anita Desai is clearly reflected in one of her masterpieces Fire on the Mountain. The novel mainly deals with the loneliness and isolation as well as the resultant anguish and agony in the deserted life of an old widow. The novel narrates the story of Nanda Kaul who live in Carignano, a desolate and haunted house in Kasauli, away from the world of bags and letters, messages and demands, she had wanted to be left to the pines and cicadas aloneWhatever else came or happened would be an unwelcomed intrusion and distraction. Nanda Kauls happy isolation is threatened by the irritating letter from Asha, her daughter announcing the arrival of Raka, the grand-daughter of Asha and Nanda Kauls great grand-daughter. The unexpected arrival of Raka comes in the way of the desire to live like a recluse, far from the society. She does not want to involve herself in any responsibilities anymore, for all she wants is to be alone, to have Carignano to herself, stillness and calm are all that she wishes to entertain. But Ashas letter has made her apprehensive and she ponders painfully: Now, to bow again, to let that noose sleep once more round her neck that she had thought was freed fully, finally, Â ¦now to converse again when it was silence she wished. The novel deals with Nanda Kauls determined detachment and non-involvement which is brought about by the unhappy conjugal ties which is seen in Desais earlier novels like Cry, the Peacock, Voices in the City, Where Shall We Go This Summer, Bye Bye Blackbird, etc,. Her fierce desire to live alone is the result of her busy but, empty live as the wife of an ex Vice Chancellor of Punjab University. She played the role a dutiful wife and almost everyone envied her. But the inner reality of her life is revealed to us when we learned that her relationship with her husband was an unhappy one. She led her life as he wanted her to live out of a sense of duty. Her life as a Vice Chancellors wife though crowded and full of social activity was meaningless and unsatisfying. Although her busy schedule lacked warmth and understanding, she carried on because of her obligations to her husband and children. Once she discharged her duties she does not want any disturbances. Discharge me, she groaned, I have discharged all my duties. Discharge. She has done away with everyone and everything and becomes a recluse. Emotional deprivation is at the root of Nanda Kauls disillusionment with human bonds. Her husband did not love her as a wife and treated her as some decorative and useful instrument needed for the efficient running of his household. She enjoyed the comforts and social status of the wife of a dignitary but deep down she felt lonely and neglected. Her husband extra marital affair with Miss David had been a source of agony throughout her life. She now believes every attachment to be the preface of a new betrayal and all socialization as fake. Her bond with her husband did not involve her self. It was full on the surface but empty at the core. The painful memory of the days when her husband went to visit Miss Davids home haunts her even in the isolation at Carignano and on such occasions she lost her composition and harmony. Feelings of anguish and distrust of humanity also re veals itself as she learns the death of Ila Das, her friend who was brutally raped and murdered. The traumatic married life of Nanda Kaul is clearly sketched in the lines nor had her husband loved and cherished her and kept her like a queen-he had only done enough to keep her quiet while he carried on a life-long affair with Miss David. And her children were all alien to her nature. In her earlier novels, the incompatibility of temperaments or psychic complexes cause dissonance in the marital ties. But in Fire on the mountain an extra marital affairs disturb the conjugal relationship of Nanda Kaul and her husband. This deeply affects her outlook on life and makes her distrust all attachments and affairs. The conflict between the need to withdraw in order to preserve ones wholeness and sanity and the need to be involved in the painful process of life is shown vividly in the novel. This wavering between attachment and detachment reflects the need for a meaningful life. Nanda Kaul meets with a measure of success until she is drawn out of herself by Rakas effortless withdrawal who seem to be totally absorbed in a world of her own and ignores Nanda Kaul completely when compared with the latters flawed experiment. Raka only wants to be left alone to pursue her own secret life amongst the rocks and pines of Kasauli. Nanda Kaul wants to penetrate Rakas secret world as if Rakas total withdrawal is a challenge to her because withdrawal does not come naturally to her. In her desire to win Rakas affection and attention she builds an imaginary world around her father but this is of no avail. This action of Nanda Kaul also shows the unsatisfying condition of her own childhood and family life. Psychological experiment of the writer in the novel can also be seen on the portrayal of Rakas character. Psychologists attach great significance to the parent-child relationship, because, according to them the patterning of emotion takes place particularly during childhood. They argue that the prevailing quality of the experience the child has with his parents particularly the mother during early childhood is of paramount importance. Childhood is the most formative period of ones personality and socialization of the child begin in the family in the company of his parents who are the first individuals with whom the child interacts. Child learns the patterns of behavior which the parents set out to teach him in order to make him an acceptable member of the society. The emotion of the child depends largely on the quality of the emotional interaction that prevails between the child and his parents. Anita Desais characters have strange childhood, and their experiences and interactions du ring this formative period when combined with their congenital hypersensitivity contribute towards their inability to establish and maintain harmonious inter-personal relationship in later life. Commenting upon her solitary and introspective characters childhood, she observes I agree that the experiences of childhood are the most vivid and lasting ones. Based on this we shall study the parent-child relationship in Fire on the mountain and show how far the childhood interaction affects and moulds them in the ability to relate themselves with others. Another aspect of the novel deals with the result of a stifling home environment upon the tender psyche of Raka, the great grandchild of Nanda Kaul and the only child character in the novel. She is not a normal child and shuns all tenderness viciously. Unlike children of her age who gets attracted to fairy tales, adventure stories, the colorful and gay aspect of the world, Raka possesses a weird imagination and is drawn to uncanny places and things. After getting to know her character, we are not surprise when the care-taker of the burnt-house rightly thinks of her as the crazy one from Carignano. She as a child loves privacy and seclusion and her rejection of Nanda Kaul is complete when she feels restless to go out for her usual roaming in the presence of the former. Without informing her great grandmother she roams around all alone in the ravine or visits the lonely burnt house on the hill. She does not care for Nanda Kaul :She ignored her so calmly, so totally that it made Nanda K aul breathless. Raka is an abnormal child in comparison to other children. She never makes demand and seems to have no need of anything. The only thing she ever wanted was to be left alone and pursue her own secret life amongst the rocks and pines of Kasauli. Solitude never disturbs her and she is therefore happy during her stay in Carignano. One day while coming back from her daily excursions, she gets late and stumbles into the club building. Out of curiosity to know what is going on inside she inquires Ram Lal, the servant of Nanda Kaul, who told her about fancy dress balls. However, what Raka sees there is like a nightmare for her and therefore is disappointing. The perverted acts of the people dressed in the most bizarre fashion remind her of her own father and his wild behavior at home: Somewhere behind them was her father, home from a party, stumbling and crashing through the curtains of night beating her mother that made Raka cover under her bed clothes and wet the mattress in fright. The b ehavior of her parents in front of her has a deep influence on her tender mind. They have no time or inclination to cater the emotional needs of their child. Her father is a drunkard who always abuses and beats his wife. The mother is in such unhappy condition that she cannot do anything for her child. Consequently, Rakas traumatic experience deprived her of a childs trust and feelings of joy in the company of others. When Nanda Kaul tries to attract the child towards herself by narrating the stories of her childhood, Raka twists restlessly in her stool, her interest lost in this talk of belonging rather than happenings. Since in her parents home Raka has not been the center of attention like other normal children, she is not interested in stories about people and relations. She is, therefore happy in Kasauli with its charred house on the ridge, with its fire-blasted hilltop where nothing sounds good, but the creaking of the pines in the wind. The chaos in the life of her parents ma kes Raka averse to belongingness. From all the evidences we can get the impression that the seeds of neurotic drives are sown during ones childhood. The quality of interactions between Raka and her parents, and the disturbing home environment combined together to exert a lasting influence on her tender psyche. Anita Desai calls her a natural recluse and compares her with Nanda Kaul who was a recluse out of vengeance for a long-life of duty and obligation. However, we cannot say that Raka is a born recluse. She is a victim of a broken home. She becomes an introvert because of the abnormal circumstances around her. She has witnessed enough of the ambiguity of life and has seen bitterness, distrust and violence. Raka is a victim of emotional deprivation. Her embarrassing loveless childhood fills her heart with distrust and suspicion. As a result, she turns her back upon human beings and their so called safe, cozy and civilized world and develops a strong fascination for the ugly, lonely, rugged and desolate aspects of nature. Anita Desai though believing that childhood impressions shape the personality and attitude of the individual, she also states that even adult life contains many traumatic experiences. In this light we can explicate the inordinate desire for seclusion and non-involvement in the case of Nanda Kaul herself. Her love for privacy is not something inherent in her. In fact, her desire for seclusion is due to the unhappy relationship she has had with her husband and children. She initially, resent Rakas arrival because it reminds her of the past memories of her selfish children and faithless husband. Her relationship with her husband was nothing beyond the obligation they have for each other. After a long life of disorder, she has reached a state of elegant perfection. The thought of having a child around her at this stage is very undesirable for her. Even when Raka reaches Carignano she tries to keep aloof as the former arrival reminds her of her past life of duties and involvement. But Nan da Kauls strong resolution to be alone in Carignano begins to crumble in the presence of Raka. She once again looks for someone to care for her. Her inner self forced her to reach out to others, to love and be loved. In reality, she is filled with tenderness for Raka. All her life she has tried to feel wanted and be loved. Her efforts have been to get positive response from her family for her devotion, but all in vain. Despite all the betrayals and disappointments she received from her husband and children, she feels irresistibly drawn towards Raka as she longs for love. Fire on the mountain is largely concerned with the problems of being related. The psychological aspect of the novel is best portrayed in the relationship of the characters. Nanda Kaul and Rakas suffer at the hands of those who are related to them. They seem to develop hatred for all human contacts and cherish to live an unattached, uninvolved existence. In Nandas case the desire for seclusion is a mask to hide her intense longing for fulfilling emotional bond. Anita Desai has added a new dimension by writing a novel like Fire on the Mountain to the Indian fiction in English probing deep into the bottomless pit of human psyche, she brings the hidden contours into much sharper focus. She always emphasizes on character delineation and for exceptional characters in exceptional circumstances aiming at final essence of subjective life and consciousness. The charm of her art lies in her characters, independent, agonized frustrated and combating with angry defense. She has procured an important place for herself in the Indo-English fiction writings by shifting the refrain of her fiction from outer reality to inner reality and by carrying the flow of the mental experience of its characters she adds a new dimension to it. In a way she has presented the potentials of the post independent writers in English. It is true that Desai has her limits but she compensates her material in intensity what she lacks in variety. Desais unquestionable existential a nd psychological concerns have distinguished her from other novelist of her generation. We can say she unravels the subconscious of her highly sensitive protagonists.

The Time to Choose is Now :: essays papers

The Time to Choose is Now A fatigued traveler approaches a clearing in a forest where a cloaked woman stands. â€Å"Where am I?† he asks. Silence. The woman, instead, counters with a question of her own. â€Å"I greet you at the Crossroads of Time, my friend. Or is it foe? Would you like to feel my love or to feel my wrath? It is but your choice.† â€Å"I—do not know you, but—† â€Å"Answer correctly!† â€Å"I hope to be a friend, although—† â€Å"Then you shall learn much,† she interrupted. Out of her cloak emerged a slim, delicate hand, gesturing upwards as if holding a fragile object. An image projected out of that ghost-like palm, showing three paths. Although muffled, the figure spoke: â€Å"Three paths lie in the journey of life†¦three very different paths.† The semblance focused on the left-hand passage. â€Å"To the left you see a barren land where only the Devil dares to dwell.† As she spoke, a column of white fire erupted from the dead earth. â€Å"The course on the right shows an unending paradise filled with majestic phenomena nurtured only by the holy God.† Multi-colored creatures glide through the clear sky. She paused, staring at the middle path. Filled with uncertain fear, she tightened her gaze upon the projection. Finally, the woman spoke. "Towards the middle lies a path, cloaked with intangible forests, where only the bravest enter.† She stared directly into the stranger's eyes before continuing. â€Å"Those who go in never come out.† The woman tilted her head slightly, allowing a slight shaft of light to penetrate the impending darkness. Seeming to read his mind, she repeated the question he mentally asked. â€Å"Why? Because of an indestructible danger? Or of a pleasure so great that it gives no leave. That is for you, vagabond, to find out.

The Great Game of Business :: essays research papers

The Great Game of Business â€Å" I am often asked to say exactly what the Great Game of Business is. I have to admit I find this hard to do. It is not a system. It is not a methodology. It is not a philosophy, or an attitude, or a set of techniques. It is all of those things and more. It is a whole different way of running a company and thinking of how a company should be run.† Business has many different parts to it. The main two aspects of business are making money and generating cash. Many people don’t know the difference between the two, but it is this distinction that can determine whether or not your business will fail or be successful. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to give each person in the company the knowledge that they need to prosper. The biggest barrier at any company is ignorance, and it comes on more than just one level. The problem with the top managers is that they don’t feel that the people below them understand the responsibilities and problems that they have. The workers are the people who don’t know why the managers do what they do. They also think that everything that goes wrong is a result of the greed and stupidity of the managers. The middle managers are caught in the middle of everything. They are torn between the demands of the workers and the highest managers and feel as if they have a responsibility to both. They, perhaps, have the hardest job at the company because of it. Every company has trouble at some point being short on people that they need to do a specific job. To prevent this from becoming a disaster, plan ahead! Give all people the opportunity to learn anything and everything that they want. Teach people the skills they would need to function in a department that is completely unlike their normal work. Not only will this prevent future problems, but you could find hidden talents in several people that will help you out a great deal. If you have every one doing something that they really enjoy doing, they will blow by any obstacles that arise. If ignorance is taken out of the workplace, it will help your establishment be prosperous, and motivate the people who work for you. The first step to get people interested in their jobs is to give them the numbers.

Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations Essay -- business Co

Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations The critical theory of communication developed by Stanley Deetz was designed to explore ways to insure the organizations’ health while increasing the representation of diverse human interests. He does this first by showing that corporations have become political as well as economic institutions. Deetz then employs advances in communication theory to point out how communication practices within a corporation can distort decision making. Finally, he outlines how workplaces can become more productive and democratic through communication reforms. Humanists feel that meanings are in people not words. Deetz accepts this but goes another step and wants to know whose meanings are in people. The companies meanings, the CEO’s meanings, the perception the companies give as their meanings, this is what Deetz is looking for. When people use slang in big business, they begin to put corporate values in to play. According to EM Griffin, this theory is critical in that he wants to critique the assumption that â€Å"what’s good for General Motors is good for the country.† Furthermore, Deetz feels that most people fall into the norm that is presented to them from corporate America. Companies in today’s society are appearing more democratic. They appear as more focused on the worker, the consumer, and society than their monetary needs. Is this to say that they are not concerned with money? No. The bottom line for the company is cash. However, the latest strategy is perception. How the company is perceived, makes a huge difference in how society interprets them. This theory will help us understand consent practices in the workplace. Corporations tend to make critical decisions for the public, regardless of if they know or not. The four criteria Deetz uses to discuss ways that public and corporate decisions can be made are: strategy, consent, involvement, and participation. These four points are how I am going to evaluate his theory. In the first criteria, strategy, Deetz describes the problem to be managerialism, which he defines as â€Å"a kind of systematic logic, a set of routine practices, and ideology†. Managers have one thing on their mind: control. Some employees will conform to the ways of their bosses, however some will reform against them. Deetz uses an example of stockholder... ...heory that has many truths to it, that most corporate employees would take as a surprise. They do not want to know that this is the reality of their world. What kind of person would want to know that they are being controlled by the people that give them the opportunity to make a living? Most people already realize it. Although most people do not have much of a choice in the matter, I think that most would continue with what they are doing. What is the difference between working at PriceWaterHouseCoopers and Chili’s restaurant, besides the major salary difference. I work at Chili’s, a large corporation with so many rules that you would think I was making more than $2.83 an hour (excluding tips). They dictate the way I communicate to customers, the way I dress and the style of my attire and how I look. They don’t give the impression that work comes before family, but they do expect me to pay them for the meals I eat while at work. Overall, Stanley Deetz has made many good points in evaluating how a corporation is organized. If only people would break away from the corporation, but this is the way we made it, the way our world is run, and it will never be the same again.

Conflict Assessment of an Ongoing Sibling Rivalry Using the Wilmot-Hocker Conflict Essay

It’s very common for siblings to fight and it’s not uncommon for sibling to throw a punch or two, but what happens when the fighting becomes hate and aggression towards each other. This form of tension between brothers and sisters is called sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among brothers and sisters, blood-related or not. This type of competition or animosity can cause a rift in the sibling’s relationship with one another, which can result in a multitude of fight (sometimes physical) and many verbal altercations as well. Sibling rivalry can also cause various problems within a household, including favoritism, divorce, and a house that is emotionally divided. Stress within the parent’s lives and children’s lives can create more conflict and increase sibling rivalry. Eighty two percent of people in Western countries have at least one sibling, and siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality, and people experiences outside the family. Sibling rivalry is not unique to Western culture and can involve aggression towards one another. Often, sibling rivalry starts before the second child is born and continues as the children mature and compete for everything from toys to attention. Each child in a family competes to define who they are as an individual and wants to show the world that they are separate from their siblings. Children may often feel they are getting unequal amounts of their parents’ attention, discipline, and responsiveness. Children tend to fight more in families where there is no understanding or boundary set that shows that fighting is not an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, and no alternative ways of handling such conflicting situations. In this conflict assessment we will assess the sibling rivalry of a brother and sister who have had an ongoing issue of animosity towards each other for over fifteen years. Using Wilmot-Hocker’s conflict assessment guide, we will be able to understand  each aspect of the conflict and possibly come to a common ground in which they (the siblings) will be able to get along in a more long-term manner. Through this conflict assessment the siblings will be able to explore the possible solutions to assist in resolving this issue in a sensible manner. The two subjects that will be assessed today are DeMarcus (33 years old) and Danett (25 years old). They are blood related siblings and share the same parents. They’ve been living in consistent animosity of each other for over fifteen years and they continue to fight (physically) and argue. Their parents are tired of this frequent quarrel between them, and the parents feel like the conflict is driving a wedge into their household. The two siblings, now that they are adults, can see the toll their quarrel has caused, within their relationships with others (personal and intimate) outside of their family and also within the frame of their intermediate family. Nature of the Conflict From prior questions asked to the subjects, there are a various number of triggering events that have cause this particular conflict. Numerous acts of belittlement, hatred, physical violence, neglect, bullying, abuse, and threats over the years have escalated this conflict out of control. DeMarcus states that the conflict began when Danett was born and he expressed his dyer need, want and concern for a younger brother. DeMarcus states that Danett has always been an over achiever that has always captured the attention, no matter if the attention was good or bad, of their parents. Danett’s personal concerns and issues became more alarming when she expressed her feelings on why her issue or animosity towards her brother was so strong: â€Å"When I was younger, I lived in the shadow of my older brother. Any activity that my brother was in, I wanted to participate in as well. I was basically the tag-a-long little sister, until I turned the age of ten, then things began to change a bit. One day DeMarcus and his best friend where playing a game and I was in another room. When my brother finished the game with his friend he left to go use the bathroom, leaving his friend unattended. His friend, at that time, got up and came into the room that I was in and began to fondle me. My brother came back to the room to see his friend was gone and decided to search around the house for him. When  DeMarcus came into the room I was screaming, â€Å"Stop! Stop it!† But instead of DeMarcus trying to get his so-called best friend off of me, he sat and watched as I fought to get away from his teenage friend.† â€Å"Later that night when our mother picked us up, I whispered to her that I needed to talk to her about something important and my mother told her that we would discuss it when they got home in private. As soon as we arrived home, I began to tell her mother what happened and immediately she called DeMarcus into the room to question him about the events that took place. DeMarcus stood in my mother’s face and called me a liar and said that it never happened. I was crushed and didn’t know if my mother believed me and I felt abandoned in a sense.† Danett continued to express her concerns of hurt, worthlessness, embarrassment and betrayal, and that her relationship with her brother became a downward spiral of abuse and deceit. When asking DeMarcus about the events that took place, he claimed that he had no recollection of this ever happening, but quickly interject with the comment, â€Å"If she was a boy then that wouldn’t have happened to her!† Danett explains that this is always DeMarcus’ negative attitude towards her, and that these comments always are the heated beginning of a fist fight between them. Argument is â€Å"reason giving† (Benoit 1992; Rowland and Barge 1991) one makes claims and backs them up (Keough 1992). DeMarcus, in order to maintain innocence from accusation, begins to belittle Danett in order to get his innocence across to whoever is listening. The arguer tries to get others to â€Å"recognize the rightness† of his or her beliefs or actions (Benoit 1983, 550). Interpersonal argumentation, then, has a place in our everyday conflicts and negotiations (Trapp 1981, 1989). Orientation to the Conflict The attitudes expressed in the conflict are ones of deceit, regret, close mindedness, unhappiness and a loss of self-esteem. In many ethnic household certain issues are swept under the rug and never discussed causing suppressed feelings and hidden issues. Danett explains: â€Å"I would try to discuss the issues I had with my mother. I felt that since she was once a young girl, like me, she would understand where I was coming from with my  concerns. My mother was very good at trying to make my problems go away through the acts of prayer and faith. My mother tried to make me a firm believer in the motto: Let go and let God. Which in translation means: Let your burdens go and let the Lord handle them; no need to stress. My family was very good about trying not to stress over things and trying to sweep problems under the rug or resolve an issue in a timely and quiet manner. Even though the issue was never discussed again, the emotional and mental scars were there and I felt like I could never trust my brother again and I could never come to anyone in my family with any of my problems. My biggest fear was that the acts of faith I was taking through my cultural and religious beliefs were going to make the situation worse and my fear came true.† A person is supposed to say what he or she means to resolve disagreements through the use of power (as in competition) or by working things out together (collaboration) (Wilson 1992). The problem is that when we are angry, we may exaggerate an offense, seek revenge, and then lead ourselves and others into unproductive and wasteful conflict (Planalp 1999). DeMarcus expressed: â€Å"Danett has always been an over achiever (in sports and academics) and has always captivated the attention of the family. I admit, I always wanted a brother and I say that every day because I don’t understand what others see in her that draws them to her. She makes me feel worthless to others in the family and I treat her how I feel. Thus is why I belittle her and allow things to happen to her because I feel she deserves the treatment I give her.† DeMarcus, aside for the feelings he bestowed above, made it clear that he wanted to make this situation better with his sister. â€Å"I love my sister, don’t get me wrong! At the time, I could understand why I wasn’t treated more like her. I felt unwanted and when I failed in certain areas, she would succeed. This is one of the main problems I have with her. Her ongoing success was acquired during birth and when I was unable to succeed, I started to resent her. When my plans of â€Å"trying to bring her down† didn’t work, I think that when I became more physical and wanted her to be in physical pain as well as emotional.† The noted interest to resolve this  issue between the siblings is very evident. They (the siblings) keep maintaining the fact that they not only want to resolve this issue, but they want to better their relationship with one another. Interest and Goals The role of each person has in the interaction with others is a form of identity goals, and how one wants to resolve the conflict is process goals. I believe that when you open the lines of communication with your colleagues or relatives, everyone is able to approach the problem respectively, than the parties involved will receive a positive outcome that will allow the parties to further their relationship. The main interest and goals of these two siblings, is to come to an understanding of one another’s feelings in order to function as a family and to decrease the rift between them. Both of the parties want to accomplish the same goal, in order to alleviate the consistent arguing. Danett and DeMarcus, though they are both adult and live in separate locations of the United States, believe that the alleviation of this conflict between them will bring them closer together and allow their parents a form of relief from the added stress this conflict has caused. Power According to (Kritek 1994;90) People using dominance (power or control) for their own needs do so out of fear or insecurity. The ability to control one’s environment, including the behavior of others is power. The siblings are exhibiting a balance of power between each other. Danett’s power over DeMarcus comes from her achievements and her existence on this earth, while DeMarcus’ power comes from his insults, his nonchalant attitude towards his family, and his inability to act like an older brother and allow others to take advantage of his sister mentally and sexually, when she was younger. Styles Hearing both sides of the situation and understanding the tactics used in each altercation of conflict, the styles exhibited in this conflict are varied. There are threats, which is a commonly used competitive tactic. We rush to use threats because we believe they are effective (Johnson and Ford  1996; Rubin, Pruitt, and Kim 1994). DeMarcus would threaten Danett and in return a fight would escalate, inflicting both a negative cast of physical and mental pain within one another. This act is also a form of verbal aggressiveness; which is a broader category of communication than threats. Rather than just telling someone what might happen to them, when you use verbal aggression you â€Å"attack the self concepts† of other people (Infante and Wigley 1986). These aggressive tactics overlap and become known as bullying. Bullying is â€Å"ongoing, persistent badgering, harassment and psychological terrorizing†¦ that demoralizes, dehumanizes and isolates those targeted† (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, and Alberts 2004, 3; Lutgen-Sandvik, Tracy, and Alberts 2005). After the massive verbal assaults between the siblings, violence would soon occur between them. Violence is when conflict interactions move beyond threats and verbal aggressiveness, often involving a multitude of physical pain and or danger. These styles are very collective and evolve into one another. Assessment Given all the facts of the conflict, I feel that a third-party intervention should be available for mediation. Meditation is an act of resolving conflict positively between parties using a mediator or third party help. Mediation is defined as a process in which a third-party helps (mediator) to assist in resolving a dispute between two or more parties. A mediator’s role is to facilitate and assist with the communication efforts of the parties involved and to further their focus on tackling real issues and to help generate a positive or neutral outcome. Mediation in this situation will hopefully bring about a positive change with the attitudes of the siblings. Being able to voice opinions, emotions/ feelings to one another will bridge the gap of the sibling’s ongoing rift. Coming to a solution is the main focus of a mediator. The mediator is to create a positive yet productive discussion that will allow the parties to express their concerns amongst each other without criticizing either party’s opinion. Sometimes mediation is used to improve relationship amongst parties that have to consistently work with each other or be around each other. There are many ways to stop the growth of sibling rivalry. Many times it starts at birth with the parents. As a parent, being able to express equal amounts of affection to your children is needed to eliminate this future dilemma. Also being able to listen to a child’s issues and assist them in any form of conflict, weather in school or at home, will make their conflict resolution skills better. DeMarcus and Danett understand that this issue will not disappear after a few sessions with a mediator and are fully dedicated to resolve this problem. The conflict, which has been occurring for several years, has not only called for assistance from a mediator, but also a psychiatrist will be needed to assess the permanent mental damage it has caused throughout their lives. The parents should also be involved in these assessments to decrease the stress and tension amongst the entire family. The parents might be able to give further insight into why this bickering has been an ongoing process amongst the two siblings. Personal Intervention Being able to see and address an ongoing issue is a major step within the lives of these siblings. The fact that they understand that this issue has gone too far and has taken a major toll on their lives as individuals, is a break though that should be applauded. Forgiveness and reconciliation are just the first steps needed to carry the torch in this intervention. Forgiveness allows us to restore ourselves and through forgiveness DeMarcus and Danett can begin to bridge the gap that has been a gaping hole in their lives. Reconciliation will follow as they continue to progress in the resolution of their conflict. Reconciliation will restore them to one another as a result of time; the human desire to transcend injury; the courage to place violation, betrayal, deception, or some other wound in the larger context of additional experience; and perhaps the mysterious effect of what some may call â€Å"grace† will assist in the accomplishing of their goal to become civil towards one another. Attempted Solutions The parities have generated a wide variety of possible solutions. Further research methods and deep considerable thought into this form of conflict may be needed to further understand the deep rooted nature of this relationship between these two siblings. It is very important to develop and  explore as many options as possible when coming to a reasonable solution to a conflict of this magnitude. An approach to apology and reconciliation has been attempted many times but still the two siblings are back to square one in their conflict. Being able to make authentic apologizes through forgiveness is important in this particular conflict. Through apology, reconciliation can be accomplished in order for each party within this conflict to further a relationship with one another. Through mediation and other acts of mental therapy, these issues can be resolved, but it will take time, full cooperation, and commitment of the parties involved. References Benoit, P.J. 1983. Characteristics of arguing from a naive social actor’s perspective. In Argument in transition: Proceedings of the third summer conference on argumentation, edited by D. Zarefsky, M. O. Sillars, and J.Rhodes, 544-559. Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association. Benoit, P.J. 1992. Introduction, special issue: Interpersonal argumentation. Argumentation and Advocacy 29: 39-40. Infante, D.A., and C. J. Wigley III. 1986. Verbal aggressiveness: An interpersonal model and measure. Communication Monographs 53: 61-69. Johnson, C., and Ford. 1996. Dependence power, legitimacy, and tactical choice. Social Psychology Quarterly 59, no. 2: 126-141. Keough, C.M. 1992. Bargaining arguments and argumentative bargainers. In Communication and negotiation, edited by L.L. Putnam and M.E. Roloff, 109-127. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Kritek, P. B. 1994. Negotiating at an uneven table: A practical approach to working with difference and diversity. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.  Lutgen-Sandvik, P., S. Tracy, and J. Alberts. 2005. Burned by bullying in the American workplace: A first time study of U.S. prevalence and delineation of bullying â€Å"degree.† Presented at the Western States Communication Convention, February, San Francisco, California. Planalp, S. 1999. Communicating emotion: Social, moral and cultural process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rowland, R.C., and J.K. Barge. 1991. On interactional argument. Argumentation and Advocacy 28: 24-34. Rubin, J.Z.,  D.G. Pruitt, and S.H. Kim. 1994. Social conflict: Escalation, stalemate and settlement. 2d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tracy, S.J., P. Lutgen-Sandvik, and J.K. Alberts. 2004. Is it really bad? Exploring the emotional pain of the workplace bullying through narratives, drawings and metaphors. Paper presented at the annual convention of the National Communication Association, Chicago, Illinois (November). Trapp, R. 1981. Special report on argumentation: Introduction. Western Journal of Speech Communication 45: 111-117. Trapp, R. 1989. Interpersonal argumentation: Conflict and reason-giving. Communication Reports 2: 105-109. Wilson, S. R. 1992. Face and framework in negotiation. In Communication and negotiation, edited by L.L. Putnam and M.E. Roloff, 176-205. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Competency in Information and Technology Literacy Essay

The dynamic changes in information technology has advocated for nurses highly qualified in nursing informatics. This paper discusses some barricades allied to the employment of essential Nursing Informatics competencies into undergraduate nursing websites. Introduction Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to discover, repossess, evaluate, and use information. The Changes in information technology have led to new changes in the way nurses operate on patients. These nurses have to undergo various competencies. This paper discusses the changes and the required competencies. Discussion Information literacy is important in the nursing researches and practical working with the nursing informatics equipment. It is not just for students to learn but for practicing nurses and other healthcare practitioners as well. The practice of nursing in which the nurse makes medical decisions based on the best existing research proof, his or her own clinical expertise, and the needs and inclinations of the patient is referred to as evident based nursing. The nurses should learn to practice Information system to design and maintain their healthcare information. For instance, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant or Patient Data) could allow nursing scholars to access various decision support systems that would offer them with professional guidance relating to specific care and treatment matters at their patient’s bedsides. There are various sources where one can learn about information literacy and find ideas about relationship between them. These include the website, libraries, journals, electronic full-text for nursing, that is, books, journals, virtual libraries, other articles and databases. To evaluating a website containing medical records, determine the website goal; discover the website objectives; website content description, evaluation questions, sources of evaluation data, methods of data collection. The steps performed are performed systematically. First and foremost, find out if the results have been reproduced in other research laboratory or by other scholars. Next step involves an attempt to conclude the study’s credibility. Look keenly at the material of study that is, if investigators essentially compare two sets of topics or did they just make bservations? If a control was used were the group results comparable? Evaluate the criteria used to conclude this study. Consider the modification and duration of the study. The next step is to look at the conclusions. Consider if they are warranted by the evidence. If one can’t find useful solutions in the website, then it is time to address some questions like: does one have to take illegalized results? How does one know that the product in question is the right one? If the product is or could be the right one, then, what guarantees this? Moreover one must to know more information on the product. Any information that is relevant should be taken into account. If the person still decides to take the product, he or she should be sure to tell the doctor who can make observation on the side effect about the product. Conclusion Nursing informatics is very important in today’s dynamic technological application. It is very important for nursing professionals to have the knowledge of nursing informatics as this will help them to participate fully in the technology enabled nursing.