How does the theme of loneliness affect the friendship and relationships in “Of Mice and Men?” Essay

The novel is set in California in the 1930’s. It is about migrant workers working on a ranch. The novel tells us about two lonely men who travel together. While they are together they carry something inside called â€Å"The American Dream†. It was a dream that one day they would make money and have a place of their own but it was hard because of The Great Depression. The Great Depression was a result of the Wall Street crash which meant economy declined and people worked hard but got low wages. Migrant workers had to travel from ranch to ranch for work and often stayed for a short period of time. Because of their circumstances, life was lonely. Migrant workers led a lonely life, but often factors in the 1930’s prejudice caused people to become lonely. Society discriminated people because of their race, gender, age and often simply because someone was different, which meant if you black, or too old and weak to be useful or if you were a women on a ranch, you could lead a very lonely life. This affects a number of characters in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† Furthermore, some characters isolate themselves from others. Carlson and Crooks do so, in order to protect themselves from the harshness of life. George and Lennie are two men who travel together trying to save money so that one day they can have their little place where Lennie could pet the rabbits and chickens and they can â€Å"live ‘off the fatta the lan†. To an extent George and Lennie understand each other emotionally but are physically different. George is described as having â€Å"strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose†. Whereas Lennie is the opposite, he is, â€Å"a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws†. Steinbeck often compares Lennie to animals which reinforce the wild uncontrollable side of his character. Lennie is like a child in a man’s body. George gives a lot of care for Lennie so he doesn’t get in any trouble like he did in Weed. People thought Lennie was going to rape a girl. Lennie provides George with company and without Lennie, George would probably be an ordinary lonely isolated worker. George and Lennie have a relationship that is almost like father and son, George the father and Lennie the son. George needs Lennie by his side to keep him motivated but he does not like to admit it as we see in the novel, â€Å"If you don’t want me, I can go off in the hills and find a cave. I can go away any time†. George then replies â€Å"No look! I was just foolin’. Lennie cause I want you to stay with me†. George is much more dominant because he has all the control over Lennie and is much cleverer therefore he would know what to do in difficult situations, but on the other hand George is also lonelier because he looks after Lennie who is simple minded. George does not have a friend who is his intellectual equal and makes him even lonelier. â€Å"God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easily. I could get a job an’ work†. Showing us there is an advantage and disadvantage with George having to look after Lennie. Lennie’s shortcoming leads George and Slim to make friends. George confides in Slim in manor that suggests he has not been able to talk with someone who understands him for some time. Migrant workers had a bad way to make relationships with women who they simply paid for sex and because they worked all day they were too tired to make friends or relationship. They moved from place to place which meant they did not have many possessions, just anything they could carry with them. Whit is a good example of the life of a typical migrant worker. He was lonely and found it hard to make friends or relationships with anyone, but when making friends he sees them as very important as his friend Bill, who he reads about in the magazine. Migrant workers went through that sort of lifestyle because they thought â€Å"The American Dream† was something worth working hard for so everyone did their best to accomplish the dream but as Steinbeck illustrates, many failed due to loneliness, they have no motivation or support from anyone so being lonely does not help at all. Slim thinks, â€Å"Everybody in the whole damn world are scared of one and other†. This might be because there is hardly any communication in the ranch. George and Lennie’s â€Å"Dream† was to own a ranch of their own and Lennie to pet rabbits and feed the chickens. It was the ambition that bought them and kept them together. Candy is an old man who has only his dog left in his life. He is not physically strong like the other men so he is useless in the ranch. He gossips a lot because he wants to make himself seem useful and make friends. He is isolated by the other men because he is old and so is his dog. When Candy wants to go in the bunk house he can not leave his dog outside because he loves it, so he brings it in but the other men kick him out. Carlson says, â€Å"God almighty that dog stinks. Get him outta here, Candy! I don’t know nothing that stinks so bad as an old dog. You gotta get him out!† Candy’s dog gets shot because it is old and worthless to the other men. Steinbeck shows us what life is like in the ranch by the dog. The dog gets shot but life continues. This influences George at the end of the novel, Lennie gets shot but life continues. Candy’s dog is a metaphor for Candy’s life and what might happen to him when he becomes useless. Candy is frightened he will lose his job in the ranch and end up with no money because he is old. He then tries to get involved with George and Lennie’s dream so he does not end up with any money. Lennie talks ambitiously about the dream and Candy says, â€Å"An’ they give me two hundred an’ fifty dollars cause I los’ my hand. An’ I got fifty more saved up right in the bank, right now†. He says he could be useful when they buy yhe place and feed the chickens. The dream makes Candy more confident after his dog had got shot. Curley’s Wife’s death made Candy give up hope on the dream because he knew things were not going to work. This happened before Curley’s wife was killed. As readers we feel sorry for Candy because he has nothing left in his life now. At the time of the novel everyone was prejudice and racist to Crooks because he is black. Crooks works in the â€Å"horse stable†. He is not allowed to step in the bunk house with the other men so he is separated and is forced to sleep in the â€Å"horse stable† with the horses. Crooks is independent, one of the loneliest characters in the novel and keeps to himself. He is bitter to other people because of the way he is treated. He is not used to socializing with others. We notice this when Lennie suddenly appears at â€Å"horse stable† to ask Crooks if he could check on his pup and Crooks replies bitterly, â€Å"Well I got a right to have a light. You go an’ get outta my room. I aint wanted in the bunk house and you aint wanted in my room†. Crooks carries this attitude because of all the racism that went on. He then says, â€Å"Cause I’m black they say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all stink to me†. Lennie tells Crooks about the dream and Crooks starts getting friendlier because he becomes interested on what the dream is about. All of a sudden Curley’s wife steps in and asks for Curley but then ends up talking about Lennie’s dream. Crooks sticks up for himself and tells her to go out of his barn or he will tell the boss to never let her in. Curley’s wife intimidates Crooks saying, â€Å"Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you stung up on a tree so easily it ain’t even funny†. It shows how Curley’s wife made Crooks bitter and all to himself again just when he started to have a bit of faith in people. Curley’s wife is the only women living in the ranch. We never know her name in the novel, she is only described as Curley’s wife and Steinbeck clearly does this to show she is his possession and she does not have any freedom. Because of this she lives a life of loneliness with no friendships with anyone other than Curley. The other women in the novel are Sussy, Clara and Aunt Clara. Susy and Clara both run a whorehouse each but Susy’s whorehouse is more successful. Aunt Clara used to give Lennie mice to pet. And What does this tell us about men and women in that society? Curley’s wife puts make up on and has her hair neat. â€Å"She had full, roughed lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers†. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife with the colour red because red is the most emotionally intense colour and the colour of love and blood. It also symbolizes danger which comes at the end of the novel when Lennie kills her. Curley’s wife also stands in a very sexy manner as Steinbeck illustrates she put her hands back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward and she then says, â€Å"You’re the new fellas that just come, ain’t ya?†. The men in the ranch call her different names. Candy says â€Å"Well, I think Curley’s married a tart†. George says, â€Å"Jesus what a tramp†. Whit calls her a â€Å"bitch†. She is a very lonely woman so she acts very sexy towards the other men in order to get attention because she has no friends. Curley imposes her loneliness on her. He doesn’t like her being in the ranch with the other men and so she is lonely because is not entitled to friendship. In the novel the men say she is a tart but I think she is just lonely and wants attention. As readers we feel a lot of sympathy for her. Curley’s wife had a dream too. She says she could have been a star because she met a man in the movie business. â€Å"He says he was gonna put me in the movies, said I was a natural†. She also says â€Å"Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes†, but her mother stole a letter she was expecting so she could be a movie star. She ends up marrying Curley and becomes a woman in a ranch affected by â€Å"loneliness†. Curley’s wife’s death is significant to the other characters because it changes everyone. George knew Curley’s wife’s death was a mistake by Lennie. Lennie got very scared and panicked. Candy was confused and did not know what was going to happen next. Curley wanted revenge. Lennie and Curley’s wife are both very lonely people affected by loneliness because they are both one of a kind, Lennie being simple minded and Curley’s wife being the only woman in the ranch. They are both two people in the novel that can not communicate with any one else well in the novel because no one can understand their unique personalities. Lennie and Curley’s wife find themselves alone right after Lennie killed his pup. Lennie did not want to talk to Curley’s wife because George said, â€Å"she is nothing but trouble†. Eventually they both start talking friendly amongst each other. Curley’s wife shares a secret with Lennie. She tells him something she has not told any one. She says, â€Å"I don’t like Curley. He’s not a nice fella†. We find out that she does not even like Curley so she’s even lonelier then us as readers thought. Lennie tells Curley’s wife he likes to touch and feel velvet and anything that is soft. Curley’s wife lets Lennie stroke her hair because it is soft. Lennie says, â€Å"Oh! That’s nice†. He gets carried away and starts stroking harder. Curley’s wife yells out â€Å"stop†. Lennie panics and covers her mouth and nose with his big hand. He accidentally kills her. Steinbeck shows us that the death of Curley’s wife and Lennie are both due to loneliness. As readers we are affected by their death because we can se what excess of too much loneliness can come to. We also feel very sorry for Curley’s wife because she could have had a much better life being a movie star but ended up in the wrong environment and now, dead. The life she led was unfair. We feel sorry for Lennie because he does not realise what he does and George has no choice but as a good friend, George shot Lennie. George also learnt that its better he shot as a favour of a good friend than to have Curley to kill him with revenge. As soon as George saw Curley’s wife’s body he knew Lennie had committed a big mistake. Candy lost hope in the â€Å"dream† because he knew things were not going to work out, whereas everyone else got their guns and wanted to kill Lennie. Steinbeck shows us that all the characters in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† are affected by loneliness in one way or another. As readers we learn from the novel that loneliness can lead to death. We learn we should not choose to be lonely. We are all alone in this huge universe so companionship should be treasured.

Hugo Boss Case Study

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Environmental pragmatism Essay Example for Free

Environmental pragmatism Essay Pluralism, environmental pragmatism and eco feminism represent differing perspectives on the subject of moral ethics. The paper seeks to look into the details surrounding some of these issues and comparisons between them will be made. Major principles As the name suggests, eco-feminism refers to a merger between feminism and environmentalism. In other words, the term refers to a social movement that connects female oppression and the degradation of nature to similar attitudes that are related to masculine domination. The latter principle asserts that there must be some sort of interrelation between women, race, class and the environment. While the oppression of women may be the main concern within this field of study, eco feminism asserts that environmentalism, animal rights, class struggles, age oppressions, human supremacism and racism all have one thing in common; they all signify oppression driven by the same social mentality. (Thoma-Slayter Rocheleau, 1995) One of the most interesting aspects about eco feminism is that this particular movement has merged thoughts and views in seemingly different fields to come up with a comprehensive analysis of current environmental problems. Eco feminists assert that male land ownership has led to patriarchy hence resulting in a manifestation of the following environmental problems †¢ Viewing animals and land as material resources †¢ Abusing land †¢ Exploiting people †¢ Overgrazing †¢ Excessive food export even when local residents lack adequate food The latter adherents also propose that this abuse of land and environmental degradation has eventually led to female oppression. Such an assertion was made by Thoma-Slayter, B. Rocheleau, D. (1995) in their book â€Å"Gender, Environment and Development in Kenya† McMillan. The latter authors illustrated how exports in this East African country have been driven by a capitalist culture that has led to soil erosion, deforestation, excessive pesticide use and less productive land. In the end, families have been forced to move from such areas and this is especially visible among the women. Other authors claim that the reason why nature has been undergoing excessive degradation is because nature has been treated as something that is only valuable if it has material benefits. Again, such proponents claim that this is the same view held about women; that they have little value since they are not the major wealth creators. However, eco-feminists assert that such beliefs are quite misleading owing to the fact that nature is still useful even without man’s interference. An example of such a perspective is when one analyzes a forest. The former attitude would assume that a forest is useful for fuel, food and the like. However, even without tampering with it, a forest can still be useful in terms of protecting ground water, circulating oxygen or providing a habitat for other animals. On the other hand environmental pragmatism is founded on the beliefs held within pragmatism; that there is no absolute truth in the process of seeking for knowledge. Instead, pragmatists assert that there are only relatively stable ones that assist people in the process of making sense of their world and their surrounding. Experience plays a central role in pragmatism because through it one can either affirm or reject previously held beliefs about how their world works. Given this background, then it is possible to understand some of the perspectives put forward by environmental pragmatists. The latter school of thought put forward the idea that the environment forms a central part of our experiences. Consequently, it needs to be held in high regard. It asserts that every part of the environment needs to be treated with as much seriousness as the next. For instance, oceans are jut as important as deserts or just as important as buildings and bridges. (Lucas, 2002) Environmental pragmatism rejects the notion that man can dominate the earth. Since nature is an important part of one’s experience, then it is essential for man to look for the most feasible ways of co-existing with nature. In fact, adherents to this philosophy claim that understanding or cultivating meaning in the earth is quite crucial, however, imagining that man can do anything with nature without dealing with any consequences is self defeating. Additionally, the latter adherents put forward the notion that exerting care within the environment is a crucial element in preserving it. They claim that in the process of determining what constitutes good things or what constitutes right things, it is indeed necessary for human beings to implement environmental ethics through the foundations of certain beliefs and ideas. One can therefore assert that environmental pragmatism has elements of interrelatedness with other concepts. In this regard, there is a connection between eco feminism and environmental pragmatism owing to the fact it refers to the concept of caring for one’s environment. Environmental pragmatism also brings in new concepts of environmental philosophy owing to the fact that it opposes the notion of trying to decide constituents of value. In other words, the latter adherents claim that it is impossible to determine whether man holds greater precedence over nature. Instead, both issues need not be treated as mutually exclusive as they both need one another. (Lucas, 2002) Pluralism on the other hand refers to the acceptance of diversity of thought within ethical endorsements. Adherents to this school of thought claim that it is possible for different perspectives to exist within a particular ethical system owing to the fact that morality is an ensemble of many things. This means that nature as it is cannot provide an underlying and thoroughly conclusive explanation for things; consequently, it is best to settle for a series of explanations that can provide a more comprehensive framework for these matters. In this regard, pluralism can be related to eco feminism owing to the fact that the latter theory attempts to merge concepts from different fields. Additionally, environmental pragmatism is another form of pluralism because in the former philosophy, there is the belief that there is more than one way to understand nature. Pluralism can occur in three forms i.e. †¢ First order †¢ Second order †¢ Third order In first order pluralism, environmentalists believe that the value in something can be described in more than one way i. e. beauty, diversity etc. In second order pluralism, there is the belief that nature can be described in so many ways that there is no single method that is appropriate. In third order pluralism, there is the belief that other views should be tolerated because it is almost impossible to account for forms of value within nature. In this regard, pluralism advocates for an overlap of explanations. (Lucas, 2002) Conclusion Eco feminism is the view that falls in line with my belief system owing to the fact that it is the most practically rooted environmental theory. Additionally, its interrelatedness with other concepts is less abstract than in pluralism or environmental pragmatism. The latter two theories are quite related because of their adherence to multiplicity of beliefs. References Lucas, P. (2002): Environmental ethics – between inconsequential philosophy and unphilosophical consequesialism; Journal of environmental ethics, 24, 353-369 Rocheleau, D. (1995): Gender, Environment and Development in Kenya; McMillan.

Role of International Institutions: Effects of Globalisation

Role of International Institutions: Effects of Globalisation Introduction Different theories and scholars exist in the literature regarding different â€Å"globalisation† definitions.While BBCNews (2015) indicated that globalisation is the process by which the world is turning out to be gradually interconnected as a consequence of vastly expanded exchange and social trade, which expanded the generation of the production of goods and services. Besides, according to Baylis et al (2014: P.19) argued that†globalisation denotes the growing extensity, intensity, velocity, and deepening impact of world interconnectedness†, which stands for four characteristics of today globalisation. In another words, globalisation links the world and relate activities together on a global scope. This literature review aims at exploring role of international institution in relations with four features above of globalisation. It also evaluates the link between IPE theories and characteristics of globalisation. Finally, the relationship between globalisation and poverty and inequality will be assessed. II. Literature review According to Krieger (2001:p 325) extends our knowledge of four characteristics of today globalisation, which is explained below such as : â€Å"Extensity: the stretching of social, political and economic activities across political frontiers, regions and continents† ( Krieger (2001:p 325). Intensity: the â€Å"growing magnitude and concentration of interconnectedness and flows of trade, investment, finance, migration, culture, etc† ( Krieger (2001:p 325) Velocity: â€Å"speeding up of global interactions and processes, as the evolution of world-wide systems of transport and communication increases the velocity of the diffusion of ideas, goods, information, capital, and people† ( Krieger (2001:p 325). Deepening impact: â€Å"the effects of distant events can be highly significant elsewhere and even the most local developments may come to have enormous global consequences. In this sense, the boundaries between domestic matters and global affairs can become increasingly blurred.† ( Krieger (2001:p 325) The role of international institutions in the effects of globalisation Globalization catches components of a broad observation that there is an expanding, extending and accelerating of overall interconnectedness in all parts of life, from the social to the criminal, the monetary to the natural. At issue has all the earmarks of being a worldwide changing; that is, a world being formed, by monetary and innovative powers, into a common financial and political enclosure ( Polity.co.uk, 1999). The one obvious effect of globalisation is to transform the world order from a state-centric geopolitics to a global politics. There is no clear departure between domestic and foreign governing; instead a hiding border is appearing in all aspects of human activities. The states are increasingly embedded in setting and covering of the World Wide Web (Baylis et al, 2011: p25). Obviously, international institutions appear and reinforce that transformation by executing the global policies and developing the four characteristics of globalisation such as growing extensity, intensity, velocity and deepending impact of worldwide interconnectedness. However, whether this strengthening is positive or negative is still controversial and highly depend on the nature and situation of the aspects it influences. As a result, the point of international organizations (IO) is to help manage the process integrating the developing economies into the world economy, however they have done more harm than good, leading to widened income difference and developing countries’ dependence on the industrialized. On the one hand, IO’s has a positive contribution in globalisation, which is indicated by many researches. Firstly, according to Milner el al (2005) stated thatIO make the application of force and power by states to achieve their objectives less likely; instead states are required to follow the rules, norms .One interesting finding isIO also supports society to harness power of the most powerful states (Ikenberry, 2001). It is such a crucial role in a world faced with heightened challenges of global governance. However, the developing countries have not gained much from trade roundsbut IMF/WTO make a contribution on tacit supporting of developed countries by giving them votes( Milner el al , 2005: p 838) . And make sure that all of voting actions should be fair- play negotiation in both developing countries and developed countries. Secondly, IO alsoprovides us the information and lowering transaction costs (Coleman Porter, 1999). IO facilitatesmutual cooperation in an anarchic world, reduce uncertainty by observing states’ behaviors, allow distributed enforcement through tradeoff strategies. Unfortunately, IMF/WB policiesadvices generally have been unhelpful because they failed to take into account conditions of developing countries. For example, there are some tradesrules are using toengage people in unfair agreements. In order to recover this issue, it needs to supply the requirement of technical info and expert knowledge in obstacle for more active participation, which is based on existing institutional arrangements. Thirdly, international institutions facilitate tradeoff strategies among countries in an anarchic environment (Milner el al, 2005: 840). Especially, IO aims at exchangereliable and practical.Although, developed countries used GATT/WTO to enforce tradeoff strategies and lower trade barriers, which could helpthese bigcountries can achieve more efficient and cooperative out-comes.For example, The United States, Euro-pean Union and Japan have applied the GATT/WTO toenforce tradeoff strategies andworse their trade barriers. But trade preferential access harms small developing countries, does not provide growth in the long run.Because, according to theories about the value of reciprocity in is that â€Å"Countries with small markets are just not attractive enough for larger trading partners to engage in meaningful tradeoff negotiations† (AadityaSubramanian, 2004). Finally, IO alsofacilitates reform in domestic politics for everlasting by IO rules can help domestic managers to activate interest parties to balance othergroups’ impressive and thus present different approaches than something else. However, the poorest countries have not used WTO to make commitments (Milner el al, 2005: 841). Thus, they ought to give themselves a large adaptability of flexibility to turn around their exchange strategies. On the other hand, IO has caused bad affect into society such as: Due to tech innovation, IO reduced communication between countries in the world and raised the transportation costs. And the policies also are changed that leads to differences in standards may reflect different conditions or preferences inside of countrystates which more than justify different, even higher standards. As a result developing countries have been more uncovered to world economy. In short, IO roles have not only grown balance, but also causeproblem (Coglianese, 2000). IPE theories’ explanation of increasing interconnectedness Neoclassical or economic liberalism have a long standing traditional in world politics. People are Liberalism characteristic is â€Å"perfectible†, that democracy is needed for that compeletely to improve and they they believe that â€Å"the war is being natural condition of world politics† (Baylis et el, 201: p4). By another words, it means the realisation of a global competitive marketplace, or rather argues that the understanding of such an economy is unavoidable, and that its emergence is now apparent( Berry.C, 2008). But this process is not necessarily simplistic view of the economic processes associated with globalisation. Although, this theory also brings a belief in the efficiency and freedom-enhancing properties of the market economy, private property, the ultimate sovereignty of the individual, and the rule of law, but only through the concept of â€Å"minimal state†, with the laissez-faire principle, i.e. with its singular role to maintain and warrant â€Å"fair† relations on the free market. Financial aspects, as brought about by neoclassical economic theory, is still the focal main force of globalization, however neoclassical globalization hypothesis contends, that elements, for example, corporate association and innovative advancement help to give contemporary business sector relations their particularly worldwide character ( Berry,2008). With regarding the multilateral institutions, agencies such as the IMF, the WTO and the. OECD have continually linked globalizationwithliberalization. Globalization has promoted non-national, i.e. supra-national institutions and communities with trans-border mutual relations. Globality has transcended area and upset state sovereignty. Forces of globalization have undermined the democratic capacities of national governments. States cannot tame the tyranny of global corporations. Global financial markets, too, have often forced the possibilities for democratization (Kukoc. M, 20019 Marxism: Marxists generally relate agency only to given material interests. Ideas are seen as either functional of those interests or, for some theorists, devices employed in service of those interests (Berry,2008). Moreover, it seems that with the apparent advent of globalisation, Marxists can confidently proclaim the victory of the structural forces of entrepreneurship over the potential mediatory power of states. A global class choice which incorporates the (neoliberal) leaders of nation-states, institutions of ‘global governance’ and TNCs, and which acts to reproduce and establish the global capitalist system, is theorized. In combining with the emergence of global class elite, the emergence of a global public is expected; resistance to global capitalism is often interpreted as signalling the growing relevance or power of the global public. Neoliberal institutionalism: mains technique of globalisation conditions that present quickening reliance and its effect on how states see their hobbies (Keohane, 2002). In a state of complex relationship, states will perceive a shared interest for collaboration . This approach perceive the same helplessness and affectability of association that realists do ( Kay, 2014). . However, rather than seeing globalization as education conflict, neoliberal scholars see states as having an interest in cooperation. In perceiving a state-based enthusiasm for all in all dealing with a globalized world, states try to decrease coordination issues, to build up concurred standards, standards, guidelines, and choice making strategies, to encourage straightforwardness, to expand the limit for bartering and â€Å"issue-linkage† (Kay, 2014). Constructivism: draws on social hypothesis of human collaboration and sets that the structure and substance of worldwide relations are the by-items of social connection . (Kay, 2004: P 13) . Just as the domestic content of politics and culture shapes the analyse of the nation-state issue, thus does the nation-state concurrently shape the international environment. The worldwide environment consequently turns into an impression of the intersocial connections among states, and in the meantime can input to impact the household substance of country states. Globalisation and poverty/inequality Porverty: On the one hand, the negative factors of globalisation has been examined clearly through many reports, which are discussed below. As a report of the Development Program of the United Nations (UNDP) announced in 2014 showed that over 2.2 billion people, totally for one-third of the worlds population, live in poverty line because of being scarcity and lack of access to health care services, education and minimum living standards. Based on a scholar named Sustaining human progress: reducing vulnerability and building resilience, the report gaved the whole imagation of the hardships of the conflict to avoid poverty across the global. In spite of the fact that the poverty rate is diminished by the general globalisation tendency, but there are 800 million people could become poor due to the changing life circumstances or dangers. Despite the fact that poverty rates have a tendency to minimise, UNDP(2014) additionally announced that rising inequality is creating the expanding defenseless issue. Also, neo-liberal monetary methodologies has brought about greater imbalances inside and between nations, yet views disparity positive as a goad to rivalry and the entrepreneurial soul ( Baylis et al, 2011: p465). As a result, they are not simply only lessening the rate down to tiny, but also must ensure those individuals who are undermined by natural disasters, environmental change and fincancial crisis. Inequality Inequality is relied on people and can only be solved by them self. The blank between the rich and poor people now touchs the highest amount in 30 years( OECD, 2014). According to Karl Marx ( 1967) indicated that with the aims at helping society to exist, the total distributed to personal consumption impossible exceed the total of social income. The neoliberal contention says that the appropriation of wage between the whole worlds population has turn out to be more equivalent in the course of recent decades and the quantity of individuals living in great neediness has fallen (Wage, 2004: p567–589). More open economies are more rich, economies that change more experience a quicker rate of advancement, and individuals who oppose further financial liberalization must be carrying on of vested or â€Å"rent-seeking† interests. In a nutshell, World Bank claimed that â€Å"globalisation generally reduces poverty because more integrated economies tend to grow faster and this g rowth is usually widely diffused† ( Neutel Heshmati, 2006). To sum up, standard left supposition, interestingly, is that the rich and intense nations and classes have minimal enthusiasm for more greater fairness. Consistent with this view, the â€Å"anti-globalization† (more accurately, â€Å"anti-neoliberal†) argument asserts that world neediness and imbalance have been rising, not falling, because of powers unleashed by the same globalization. The line of arrangement is some level of fixing of open approach constrains on the operation of business sector strengths; however the anti- neoliberal camp grasps a much more extensive scope of arrangements than the liberal camp (Wage, 2004: p567–589). Referrences: Helen V. Milner, William Easterly, Thomas Pogge, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Randall Stone, James Raymond Vreeland. (2005). Globalization, Development, and International Institutions: Normative and Positive Perspectives . . Vol. 3/No. 4 (1), http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jrv24/milner_05.pdf BBC. (2015). Globalisation. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/globalisation_rev1.shtml. Last accessed: 15th June 2015. Ikenberry, G. John. 2001. After victory: Institutions, strategic restraint, and the rebuilding of order after major wars. Princeton: Princeton University Press. William D. Coleman, Tony Porter. (1999). INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, GLOBALIZATION AND DEMOCRACY: ASSESSING THE CHALLENGES. Available: http://www.opencircle.mcmaster.ca/institute-on-globalization-and-the-human-condition/documents/IGHC-WPS_99-4_ColemanPorter.pdf. Last accessed: 15th June 2015. Mattoo, Aaditya, and Arvind Subramanian. 2004. The WTO and the poores countries: The stark reality. IMF Working Paper 04/81 Cary Coglianese. (2000). Globaliz ation and the Design of International Institutions . Available: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/mrcbg/research/c.coglianese_governance_globalization.and.design.pdf. Last accessed 22th June 2015. Craig Berry. (2008). I NTERNATIONAL P OLITICAL E CONOMY , THE GLOBALISATION DE BATE AND THE ANALY SIS OF GLOBALISATION DISCOURSE .. Available: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/csgr/research/workingpapers/2008/24708.pdf. Last accessed 25th June 2015. Keohane, Robert O., 1989. International Institutions and State Power. Boulder, CO: Westview. Keohane, Robert O., 2002. Power and Governance in a Partially Globalized World. New York: Routledge. Sean Kay. (2004). Globalization, Power, and Security. Available: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0403kay.pdf. Last accessed 25th June 2015. Robert Hunter Wade. (2004). Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality?. In: Arun Agrawal Worl development. UK: London School of Economics and Political Sciencer. 567–589. Marcel Neutel Almas Heshmati (2006). Globalisation, Inequality and Poverty Relationships: A Cross Country Evidence. Germany: IZA DP No. 2223 Globalisation, Inequality and Poverty Relationships: A Cross Country Evidence Marcel Neutel Almas Heshmati DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit. 3. UNDP (2014), Human Development Report 2014. Available : http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr14-report-en-1.pdf Last accessed 25th June 2015. OECD (2014) â€Å"Focus on Inequality and Growth†. Available : http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/Focus-Inequality-and-Growth-2014.pdf . Last accessed 25th June 2015 Marx, K. (1967) Capital, vol. 1, New York: International Publishers. Krieger Joel (2001). The Oxford companions to politics of the world. 2nd ed. NY: Oxford University Press. 325. David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt, Jonathan Perraton. (1999). What is globalization? . Available: https://www.polity.co.uk/global/whatisglobalization.asp. Last accessed 15th June 2015. 1

Establishing The Private Universities In Sri Lanka Information Technology Essay

Establishing The Private Universities In Sri Lanka Information Technology Essay Human Resource of a nation forms the sound basis for its sustainable economic and social development. Human capability development is an essential precondition for successful achievement of poverty alleviation, sustained economic growth and social progress. As the economy of a country grows, the demand for different types and levels of skills in different sectors expands. In the context of the globalization, it is necessary to develop appropriate human resource required to meet the changing demands. More over to day we are in a knowledge base economy. In this context higher education is utmost important. And also investment in education is a long term investment. As a prime organization in the world UNESCO recognized education as the most important single factor for a countrys development. More importantly when we consider about the national interest of the country high education has close bearing on it obviously. AIM 2. The aim of this paper is to examine the implications of emerging private universities in Sri Lanka in order to identify reachable solutions for not to get effect the existing system. PRESENT SITUATION OF THE ISSUE 3. The establishment of private universities was a topic in Sri Lankan media for the last few years. There were attempt being taken during last two decade but due to the influences raised by the different societies and public indicating that it could have serious implications for social stability they were hindered times to time. Even though at the mid of last year there are around 78 private institutions which offer degree courses were operating without direct link to higher education ministry. But today it has increased and set up being arranged to open up private medical colleges which produce doctors also. 4. The issue was again highlighted due to the reason that few of them were emerge recently. Among those most sensitive issue was opening of private medical colleges make huge cry in the recent past in the country. Due to that there were series of protest launched by under graduates with country wide awareness program followed by few of demonstrations. Beside it became a storm centre in the politics in this country. 5. As the ministry of higher education recently reviled, there are around seventy three private institutes have established in the country. Some of them have commenced degree courses. Even though these institutes had no direct link to the higher education ministry they prepare students for the degrees offered by foreign universities with having their registration at the Board of investment .They have registered as private companies. Although ministry is still preparing legal drafts and standers for the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Sri Lanka .According to their sources there are eight private university institutes which have been given recondition under section of 25 A of the universities Act to awards some selected degree program . Specially about the recent emerge private medical collages they maintain on par with provisions of Regulation for the Medical Education (Minimum Standers) Regulation No. 1 of 2008 of the ministry of Health by extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 1590/ 13 dated 23 February 2009 and the WHO/ WFME guide lines on accreditation in basic medical education. 6. Its significant that the existing system for the higher education in the country is pacing number of serious problems .Over the decades issues are getting more complex where at this point which cannot amendable to simple solution. Due to quantitative and qualitative limitations the nature of this mater becoming worst to national interest also. THE EXISTING UNIVERSITY SYSTEM IN SRI LANKA 7. The university system in Sri Lanka operates within the framework laid down in the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978. The selection of students for admission to undergraduate courses in the universities is a task assigned to the University Grants Commission (UGC) under the said Act. The UGC carries out this task in consultation with the Universities, Campuses, and Institutes. The UGC selects students for admission to undergraduate courses. Following Higher Educational Institutes have setup under the Universities Act and the name of these are attached at annex A. a. National Universities 14 b. Campuses 03. c. Institutes 05 ADMISSIONS POLICY 8. Admission of students to universities in Sri Lanka is being done on the basis of an admission policy laid down by the UGC with the concurrence of the government. Policy for selection of students for admission to universities is based on the rank order on average Z scores obtained by candidates at the particular G.C.E. (A/L) Examination. Z scores are released to candidates by the Commissioner General of Examinations. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION 9. Candidates who are pronounced eligible by the Commissioner General of Examinations should have to obtained; a. At least S grades; in all three approved subjects. b. A minimum mark of 30% for the common general paper. 10. With all of above, the challenges face by some of our public universities are enormous. Few of them are shortage of qualified academic staff, lack of facilities for students, lack of training programs for academic staffs, problems of salaries increment, students clashes, struggle with politicians are some of these challenges. DO THE COUNTRY HAS A REAL REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISHING PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES 11. What I see in this issue the significant factor is quantitative limitation. Admission to universities is extremely competitive. Prevailing state- run universities are not in a position to accommodate the number of students who get qualified annually. And also the government could not able to find out a solution overnight to expand or open new universities in the country. When we consider about statistics in year 2009, there were 250000 students who sat for G.C.E. Advance level examination and 130,000 were qualified for university entry. Out of 130,000 students only 21,547 students were selected into the state universities. This will ended up with most of the capable and intelligent students from both urban and village areas are deprived of their higher education by denying entry to universities. Hence these valuable resources will become underutilized resources even though have the talents and willingness, this unfortunate system have denied their opportunity of getting flourish. Apart from that following reasons can be identified as some of reasons for need of private universities. a. Lack of Doctors. It is significant that lack of doctors is a burning issue to the country .Ratio wise, when compared to the population, the number of doctors in this country is very low. It is about 60 doctors per each 100000 people, where country like Italy having 590 doctors for the same. The state sector could annually produce only 1600 doctors. There for Sri Lanka needs private medical colleges since the state-runs medical universities alone can not meet the demand for doctors. b. Loss of foreign exchange. To day competitive worlds job market demanding professionals and skilled workers. Rather sending unskilled ordinary workers we can earn quit considerable higher amount of foreign exchange to the country. Same way today considerable amount of students from middle class and above are going abroad spending thousands of dollars to do their higher studies. In future it could increase many more due to the emergence of international schools in the country. Even with lot of difficulties parents wont decide to stop loving childrens education half way. Then it will boost up spending of foreign exchange. c. Providing services for world job market. Increasing opportunities to develop human resources in a country like Sri Lanka is much important to achieve economic and social development. Because country like ours could not gain sustainable industrial development in a short term process. d. Competition. According to the capitalist theory and the competition it will enhances the quality of goods and services to stand against the competition. It also can recognize as a factor to be considered. RELATED ORGANIZATIONS VIEWS ON THE ISSUE 12. When we consider about the views of related authorities, some of them are opposing private universities due to varies reasons .Few of those organizations views are listed as follows. a. Ministry of Higher Education. Higher educational ministry recently reviled that, there around seventy three private institutes which offered degree courses. These institutes had no direct link with higher education ministry. b. University Grants Commission (UGC ). The Chairman of UGC has reviled that these private universities and medical colleges would not come under the purview of the UGC. The institutions would be established as Board f Investment projects. There is still no system to monitor them. c. Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). Assistant Secretary of the GOMA has said that, the GMOA has not taken any decision so far on the issue of establishing private medical schools in the country. d. All Ceylon Government Medical Officers Association (ACGMOA). President of ACGMOA has said that they are totally against the private medical college project as it could lead to create substandard medical professionals. They are claming that, it would open opportunities for those who unqualified to the medical sector. Further they are in a opinion that any person who just gets thought the advance level exam in Bio Science stream could become a doctor if he or she has got the money and no one to assure their knowledge and skills? e. Inter University Student Federation (IUSF). Convener of the (IUSF) has opposed due to reason that free education is been privatized with the blessing of the government. They are with the opinion that, the plan to set up private universities is a severe threat to the free education system. DEMERITS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES 13. When we consider about private university concept for higher education sector with out proper planning and consideration it could cause multi dimensional effects to the countrys education system. Even though it carries number of positive effects less negative effects could cause entire system ineffective and change. When I study about this mater in an unbiased stance following demerits were identified. a. When we consider about the population distribution in the country, it has reviled by a recent concession out of 20 million of population more than 17 million population consist with rural areas. Out of that about 13 million people counted to rural poor community. With that we could derived that, most of university students are coming from rural areas and from poor families. Since the independence Sri Lanka has been providing free education at least without charging tuitions fees for university education. With the blessing of that they have benefited to access the knowledge with out any of social disparity. Establishment of private universities will lead state university staff being designated to private universities where they will be paid higher salaries. It is a one of significant issue at present among the enormous problems of state universities having and it could directly effect to destruction of state universities. Then above mentioned major group will come across an unfortu nate situation. b. With the establishment of private universities in the country it will lead to a competition between state runs universities. If the private sector will become stronger and ahead of state universities it could lead to a draw back. As usual vulnerability of getting affected is higher than grooming up. Apart from that I have identified following questions and the possible answers could stand as demerit to the issue. c. These proposed universities will be profit making institutions and if they do not make profit then what will happen? d. If the ministry of higher education dont have viable concern with these institution, who will ensure the credibility of these organizations? e. When it formulate comprehensive legal frame work? g. Who will monitor the quality of these degrees? what recognition will it gain in future? h. With introduction of private universities, will Sri Lanka may experience some western cultural influence in students university life? SUMMERY 14. Today high education is a paramount important factor to consider by any country on its perception. It will decide the future perspectives in order to pace many of challenges. Since today we are in a knowledge base economy, national level close concern is much needed to ensure effective functioning in this sector. 15. When we consider about introducing of private universities to higher education system is a very sensitive mater which has multi dimensional results to the country .It should require careful planning in national level. Any rush job that does not consider quality, viability and sustainability of new private universities is condemned to failure. It will simply discredit the private university system as a whole and vindicate those who are opposed to private universities. Above all, the community too will lose a valuable opportunity to enhance its higher education opportunities. 16. All higher educational institutions should function under the preview of the state and monitored by its agencies. This is more important due to the reason that it has close bearing to the national interest of the country. Beside the provision of higher education facilities has a close relevance to social equity issues. In that university system of a country plays a vital role to produce well educated resource personal to the country. 17. While the opportunity provided by the free education system should be acknowledged with gratitude it is now quite obvious that State universities alone cannot guarantee every qualified students right to a university education. Therefore establishing of private universities will increase the opportunities for higher education. RECOMMENDATIONS 18. Based on my study and findings it could give following Recommendations to overcome de merits and develop our higher education system: a. Set up an independent commission to study and examine the entire system of higher education in Sri Lanka. The importance of having such an authority is to makes the entire approval and continuous surveillance process free from politics. b. The government would need to bring these private universities under its purview and supervision to ensure that they impart a quality education. This responsibility state should have to bear up. More importantly, Sri Lankan policy makers on education should study about how other countries handle the private universities. c. University system has to be extremely separated with political influences. Who ever promote such allies strict actions has to be taken. As I mentioned above who ever recognized body should given due authority and responsibility sent out those student who misbehave from the universities. The university sector has to be functions with fewer or no disturbances. d. More importantly, Sri Lankan policy makers on education should study about how other countries handle the private universities and how evaluate the possibilities of making this private entrepreneurship fruitful in this sector. e. The government would need to bring these private universities under its purview and supervision to ensure that they impart a quality education. This responsibility state should have to bear up. f. Actions should be taken to enhance the capacity of UGC if it is charged with the task of assuring quality, overseeing financial viability and continuous surveillance of the private universities to be set up under the new system. g. Introducing English medium at universities is timely needed policy at this age of globalization and information revolution. But it has to be done in a gradual process. then it will make more easy to access to the knowledge. On the other hand it will make state universities on par with private universities with out making gap. h. Actions should be taken to enhance the capacity of UGC if it is charged with the task of assuring quality, overseeing financial viability and continuous surveillance of the private universities to be set up under the new system. i. One of important qualitative limitations is assurance of quality and recognition of degree program to be on par with those offered with reputed international universities. Due interest should taken by the authorities to find out these private universitys links, collation and affiliation with foreign universities. GN EDINADURA CR Major Annex: A. Higher Educational Institutes have setup under the Universities Act. ANNEX A TO DSCSC5/MISC/5043( ) DATED FEB 11 HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES UNDER THE UNIVERSITIES ACT 1. Universities. a. University of Colombo. b. University of Peradeniya. c. University of Sri Jayewardenepura. d. University of Kelaniya. e. University of Moratuwa. f. University of Jaffna. g. University of Ruhuna. h. Eastern University, Sri Lanka. i. South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. j. Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. k. Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. m. Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. n. Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka. o. University of the Visual Performing Arts. 2. Campus. a. Sripalee Campus. b. Trincomalee Campus. c. Vavuniya Campus. 3. Institutes a. Institute of Indigenous Medicine. b. Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute. c. University of Colombo School of Computing. d. Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies. e. Eastern University, Sri Lanka. f. Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna .

Playboy Of The Western World: Discovering Reality Essay -- essays rese

In order to counter the unreality of Ibsen and the bleakness of Chekhov, John M. Synge has chosen a seemingly unbelievable story to create his realist masterpiece, The Playboy of the Western World. Its realism comes from two unlikely sources: joy and a far-fetched tale. Yet, as Synge identifies himself in the preface, these elements in combination are extremely effective in showing the life of the peasantry; more so than any bleak or so-called "real" story (in the manner of Ibsen) could.The problem with showing the peasant class in a bleak manner is that, by virtue of their position, the audience knows their life is bleak in terms of money. By featuring a peasant class, it would be redundant to make a movie about their lack of finances, intelligence, or other virtues not usual...

Rocking Horse Winner and The Destructors Essay -- Graham Greene D.H. L

Rocking Horse Winner and The Destructors There are many differences and similarities between Graham Greene’s â€Å"The Destructors† and D.H. Lawrence’s â€Å"Rocking Horse Winner.† One general difference is that in â€Å"The Destructors† the setting is in Great Britain, after the bombing had happened during World War 1, when the buildings were destroyed. The setting of â€Å"Rocking Horse Winner† is a suburban community located on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland. This one distinct difference affects the entire background of each story. The setting of â€Å"The Destructors† brings mood and feeling into the story were ass the setting of â€Å"Rocking Horse Winner† is just a general setting which could be changed and would not have a significant affect on the story as a whole. One general similarity between the two stories is that they both have a young boy as the main character, but the use of this character is very different in each story. The boy in â€Å"Rocking Horse Winner† is more innocent and unknowing of the evil the world can hold, he also hasn’t reached the rebellion stage of adolescence. In the other story â€Å"The Destructors† you have â€Å"T† who comes from a high class English family but is forced into poverty by the war, but he has already begun his rebellion against what is â€Å"good.† The similarities and differences between money, class, and family values in the stories are much more significant because they have more affect on each story and on the reader. One of the key differences between â€Å"...

Tom Sawyer Essay -- Essays Papers

Tom Sawyer Tom Sawyer, the mischievous, adventurous boy, always was looking for trouble to keep his life interesting. Tom, along with his friends, Huckleberry Finn and Joe Harper planned adventures to keep themselves busy. Tom, being the boy that always gets into trouble, was at the same time smart. He got out of his punishments, given by his Aunt Polly whom he lives with. His cousin Sid, whom he also lives with informed Aunt Polly with all of Tom’s mischief. Tom tried not only to get out of his punishments, but he tried to find ways to avoid school too. Tom’s own adventures always get him in more trouble than expected. While on his way to the graveyard to find a cure to warts, he and his friend witness a murder. Trying to keep what they have seen a secret, Tom suffers with n...

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 9

9. Tenderloin If you're looking for a great taco in San Francisco, you go to the Mission district. If you want a plate of pasta, you go to North Beach. Need some dim sum, powdered shark vagina, or ginseng root? Chinatown is your man. Hankering for stupidly expensive shoes? Union Square. Want to enjoy a mojito with an attractive, young professional crowd, well you'll want to head for the Marina or the SOMA. But if you're looking for some crack, a one-legged whore, or a guy sleeping in a puddle of his own urine, you can't beat the Tenderloin, which was where Rivera and Cavuto were investigating the report of a missing person. Well-persons. â€Å"The theater district seems somewhat deserted today,† said Cavuto as he pulled the unmarked Ford into a red zone in front of the Sacred Heart Mission. The Tenderloin was, in fact, also the theater district, which was convenient if you wanted to see a first-rate show in addition to drinking a bottle of Thunderbird and being stabbed repeatedly. â€Å"They're all at their country homes in Sonoma, you think?† Rivera said, with a sense of doom rising inside him like nausea. Normally at this time of the morning, the Tenderloin sidewalks ran with grimy rivers of homeless guys looking for their first drink of the day or a place to sleep. Down here you did most of your sleeping during the day. Night was too dangerous. There should have been a line around the block at Sacred Heart, people waiting for the free breakfast, but the line barely reached out the door. As they walked into the Mission, Cavuto said, â€Å"You know, this might be the perfect time for you to get one of those one-legged whores. You know, with demand down, you could probably get a freebie, being a cop and all.† Rivera stopped, turned, and looked at his partner. A dozen raggedy men in the line looked, too, as Cavuto was blocking the light in the doorway like a great, rumpled eclipse. â€Å"I will bring the little Goth girl to your house and film it when she makes you cry.† Cavuto slumped. â€Å"Sorry. It's all kind of getting to me. Teasing is the only way I know to take my mind off of it.† Rivera understood. For twenty-five years he'd been an honest cop. Had never taken a dime in bribes, never used unnecessary force, had never given special favors to powerful people, which is why he was still an inspector, but then the redhead happened, and her v-word condition, and the old one and his yacht full of money, and it wasn't like they could tell anyone anyway. The two hundred thousand that he and Cavuto had taken wasn't really a bribe, it was, well, it was compensation for mental duress. It was stressful carrying a secret that you could not only not tell, but that no one would believe if you did. â€Å"Hey, you know why there's so many one-legged whores in the Tenderloin?† asked one guy who was wearing a down sleeping bag like a cape. Rivera and Cavuto turned toward the hope of comic relief like flowers to the sun. â€Å"Fuggin' cannibals,† said the sleeping bag guy. Not funny at all. The cops trod on. â€Å"If you only knew,† said Rivera over his shoulder. â€Å"Hey, where is everybody?† asked a woman in a dirty orange parka. â€Å"You fuckers doing one of your round-ups?† â€Å"Not us,† said Cavuto. They moved past the cafeteria line and a sharp young Hispanic man in a priest's collar caught their eyes over the heads of the diners and motioned for them to come around the steam tables to the back. Father Jaime. They'd met before. There were a lot of murders in the Tenderloin, and only a few sane people who knew the flow of the neighborhood. â€Å"This way,† said Father Jaime. He led them through a prep kitchen and dish room into a cold concrete hallway that led to their shower room. The father extended a set of keys that were tethered to his belt on a cable and opened a vented green door. â€Å"They started bringing it in a week ago, but this morning there must have been fifty people turning stuff in. They're freaked.† Father Jaime flipped on a light and stood aside. Rivera and Cavuto entered a room painted sunny yellow and lined with battleship gray metal shelves. There was clothing piled on every horizontal surface, all covered, in varying degrees, with a greasy gray dust. Rivera picked up a quilted nylon jacket that was partially shredded and spattered with blood. â€Å"I know that jacket, Inspector. Guy who owns it is named Warren. Fought in Nam.† Rivera turned it in the air, trying not to cringe when he saw the pattern of the rips in the cloth. Father Jaime said, â€Å"I see these guys every day, and they're always wearing the same thing. It's not like they have a closet full of clothes to choose from. If that jacket is here, then Warren is running around in the cold, or something happened to him.† â€Å"And you haven't seen him?† asked Cavuto. â€Å"No one has. And I could tell you stories for most of the rest of these clothes, too. And the fact that clothing is even being turned in means that there's lot of it out there. Street people don't have a lot, but they won't take what they can't carry. That means that this is just what people couldn't carry. Everyone in that dining room is looking for a friend he's lost.† Rivera put down the jacket and picked up a pair of work pants, not shredded, but covered in the dust and spattered with blood. â€Å"You said that you can link these clothes to people you know?† â€Å"Yes, that's what I told the uniformed cop first thing this morning. I know these people, Alphonse, and they're gone.† Rivera smiled to himself at the priest using his first name. Father Jaime was twenty years Rivera's junior, but he still spoke to him like he was a kid sometimes. Being called â€Å"Father† all the time goes to their head. â€Å"Other than being homeless, did these people have anything in common? What I mean is, were they sick?† â€Å"Sick? Everyone on the street has something.† â€Å"I mean terminal. That you know of, were they very sick? Cancer? The virus?† When the old vampire had been taking victims, it turned out that nearly every one of them had been terminally ill and would have died soon anyway. â€Å"No. There's no connection other than they were all on the street and they're all gone.† Cavuto grimaced and turned away. He started riffling through the clothing, tossing it around as if looking for a lost sock. â€Å"Look, Father, can you make us a list of the people these clothes belong to. And add anything you can remember about them. Then I can start looking for them in the hospitals and jail.† â€Å"I only know street names.† â€Å"That's okay. Do your best. Anything you can remember.† Rivera handed him a card. â€Å"Call me directly if anything else comes up, would you? Unless there's something in progress, calling the uniforms will just put unnecessary steps in the investigation.† â€Å"Sure, sure,† said Father Jaime, pocketing the card. â€Å"What do you think is going on?† Rivera looked at his partner, who didn't look up from a dusty pair of shoes he was examining. â€Å"I'm sure there's some explanation. I don't know of any citywide relocation of the homeless, but it's happened before. They don't always tell us.† Father Jaime looked at Rivera with those priest's eyes, those guilt-shooting eyes that Rivera always imagined were on the other side of the confessional. â€Å"Inspector, we serve four to five hundred breakfasts a day here.† â€Å"I know, Father. You do great work.† â€Å"We served a hundred and ten today. That's it. Those in line now will be it for today.† â€Å"We'll do our best, Father.† They moved back through the dining room without looking anyone in the eye. Back in the car, Cavuto said, â€Å"Those clothes were shredded by claws.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"They're not just hunting the sick.† â€Å"No,† Rivera said. â€Å"They're taking anyone on the street. I'm guessing anyone who gets caught out alone.† â€Å"Some of those people in the cafeteria saw something. I could tell. We should come back and talk to some of them when the priest and his volunteers aren't around.† â€Å"No need, really, is there?† Rivera was scratching out numbers on his notepad. â€Å"They'll talk to the paper,† Cavuto said, pulling in behind a cable car on Powell Street, then sighing and resolving himself to move at nineteenth-century speed for a few blocks as they made their way up Nob Hill. â€Å"Well, first it will be covered as amusing stuff that crazy street people say, then someone is going to notice the bloody clothes and it's all going to come out.† Rivera added another figure, then scribbled something with a flourish. â€Å"It doesn't have to come back to us,† Cavuto said hopefully. â€Å"I mean, it's not really our fault.† â€Å"Doesn't matter if we get blamed,† said Rivera. â€Å"It's our responsibility.† â€Å"So what are you saying?† â€Å"I'm saying that we're going to be defending the City against a horde of vampire cats.† â€Å"Now that you said it, it's real.† Cavuto was whining a little. I'm going to call that Wong kid and see if he has my UV jacket done.† â€Å"Just like that?† â€Å"Yeah,† Rivera said. â€Å"If you go by Father Jaime's example, they've eaten about three-quarters of the Tenderloin's homeless in, let's call it a week. If you figure maybe three thousand street people in the City, you're talking about twenty-two hundred dead already. Someone's going to notice.† â€Å"That's what you were calculating?† â€Å"No, I was trying to figure out if we had enough money to open the bookstore.† That had been the plan. Early retirement, then sell rare books out of a quaint little shop on Russian Hill. Learn to golf. â€Å"We don't,† Rivera said. He started to dial Foo Dog when his phone chirped, a sound it hadn't made before. â€Å"The fuck was that?† asked Cavuto. â€Å"Text message,† said Rivera. â€Å"You know how to text?† â€Å"No. We're going to Chinatown.† â€Å"A little early for eggrolls, isn't it?† â€Å"The message is from Troy Lee.† â€Å"The Chinese kid from the Safeway crew? I don't want to deal with those guys.† â€Å"It's one word.† â€Å"Don't tell me.† â€Å"CATS.† â€Å"Did I not ask you not to tell me?† â€Å"The basketball court off Washington,† Rivera said. â€Å"Have that Wong kid make me one of those sunlight jackets. Fifty long.† â€Å"You get that many lights on you they'll have you flying over stadiums playing Goodyear ads on your sides.†

One Wish

Ever since I played in my first soccer game when I was five, I knew I wanted to play professional soccer. I loved the feeling of running past defenders and scoring a goal. If I had one wish, it would be to play on the USWNT because I would get to travel to new places, be on Nike commercials and go to the Olympics. To begin with, I have always wanted to travel to new places such as Europe. Imagine, seeing the Alps mountains, and getting to play where futbol originated. Another reason is that I would become a better player; I would learn to be more adaptable to climate change and less sleep.In addition, I would be on Nike commercials! For example, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of my favorite players, and he has a butt load of Nike gear! So, if I became a professional soccer player I could get Nike gear and I could meet Cristiano Ronaldo! This leads up to being on T. V. which is one of my top reasons for wanting to be a professional soccer player. People around the whole globe would soon lea rn my name. Additionally, I would have the chance to be on the Olympic roster! Imagine, standing on the podium, a bouquet of flowers in your arms, sweat dripping down your face, being awarded a gold medal.Just feeling the weight of the gold medal around your neck, the sense of accomplishment you feel, the roar fans screaming your name. That’s the feeling I want. While I’m playing, knowing I was playing against the best teams in the world. In conclusion, if I had opportunity to have anything I wanted, it would be to play professional soccer because of the Nike commercials, visiting new places, and going to the Olympics. I love playing soccer, and that’s why I wished to be on the USWNT. If you had the chance to wish for anything, what would it be?

Database Solutions

DATABASE SOLUTIONS (2nd Edition) THOMAS M CONNOLLY & CAROLYN E BEGG SOLUTIONS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS Chapter 1 Introduction- Review questions 1. 1List four examples of database systems other than those listed in Section 1. 1. Some examples could be: †¢A system that maintains component part details for a car manufacturer; †¢An advertising company keeping details of all clients and adverts placed with them; †¢A training company keeping course information and participants’ details; †¢An organization maintaining all sales order information. 1. 2Discuss the meaning of each of the following terms: (a)dataFor end users, this constitutes all the different values connected with the various objects/entities that are of concern to them. (b)database A shared collection of logically related data (and a description of this data), designed to meet the information needs of an organization. (c)database management system A software system that: enables users to define, create, and maintain the database and provides controlled access to this database. (d)application program A computer program that interacts with the database by issuing an appropriate request (typically an SQL statement) to the DBMS. (e)data independenceThis is essentially the separation of underlying file structures from the programs that operate on them, also called program-data independence. (f)views. A virtual table that does not necessarily exist in the database but is generated by the DBMS from the underlying base tables whenever it’s accessed. These present only a subset of the database that is of particular interest to a user. Views can be customized, for example, field names may change, and they also provide a level of security preventing users from seeing certain data. 1. 3Describe the main characteristics of the database approach.Focus is now on the data first, and then the applications. The structure of the data is now kept separate from the programs that operate on the d ata. This is held in the system catalog or data dictionary. Programs can now share data, which is no longer fragmented. There is also a reduction in redundancy, and achievement of program-data independence. 1. 4Describe the five components of the DBMS environment and discuss how they relate to each other. (1)Hardware:The computer system(s) that the DBMS and the application programs run on. This can range from a single PC, to a single mainframe, to a network of computers. 2)Software:The DBMS software and the application programs, together with the operating system, including network software if the DBMS is being used over a network. (3)Data:The data acts as a bridge between the hardware and software components and the human components. As we’ve already said, the database contains both the operational data and the meta-data (the ‘data about data’). (4)Procedures:The instructions and rules that govern the design and use of the database. This may include instructions on how to log on to the DBMS, make backup copies of the database, and how to handle hardware or software failures. 5)People:This includes the database designers, database administrators (DBAs), application programmers, and the end-users. 1. 5Describe the problems with the traditional two-tier client-server architecture and discuss how these problems were overcome with the three-tier client-server architecture. In the mid-1990s, as applications became more complex and potentially could be deployed to hundreds or thousands of end-users, the client side of this architecture gave rise to two problems: †¢A ‘fat’ client, requiring considerable resources on the client’s computer to run effectively (resources include disk space, RAM, and CPU power). A significant client side administration overhead. By 1995, a new variation of the traditional two-tier client-server model appeared to solve these problems called the three-tier client-server architecture. This new arc hitecture proposed three layers, each potentially running on a different platform: (1)The user interface layer, which runs on the end-user’s computer (the client). (2)The business logic and data processing layer. This middle tier runs on a server and is often called the application server. One application server is designed to serve multiple clients. (3)A DBMS, which stores the data required by the middle tier.This tier may run on a separate server called the database server. The three-tier design has many advantages over the traditional two-tier design, such as: †¢A ‘thin’ client, which requires less expensive hardware. †¢Simplified application maintenance, as a result of centralizing the business logic for many end-users into a single application server. This eliminates the concerns of software distribution that are problematic in the traditional two-tier client-server architecture. †¢Added modularity, which makes it easier to modify or replace o ne tier without affecting the other tiers. Easier load balancing, again as a result of separating the core business logic from the database functions. For example, a Transaction Processing Monitor (TPM) can be used to reduce the number of connections to the database server. (A TPM is a program that controls data transfer between clients and servers in order to provide a consistent environment for Online Transaction Processing (OLTP). ) An additional advantage is that the three-tier architecture maps quite naturally to the Web environment, with a Web browser acting as the ‘thin’ client, and a Web server acting as the application server.The three-tier client server architecture is illustrated in Figure 1. 4. 1. 6Describe the functions that should be provided by a modern full-scale multi-user DBMS. Data Storage, Retrieval and UpdateAuthorization Services A User-Accessible CatalogSupport for Data Communication Transaction SupportIntegrity Services Concurrency Control Servic esServices to Promote Data Independence Recovery ServicesUtility Services 1. 7Of the functions described in your answer to Question 1. 6, which ones do you think would not be needed in a standalone PC DBMS? Provide justification for your answer.Concurrency Control Services – only single user. Authorization Services – only single user, but may be needed if different individuals are to use the DBMS at different times. Utility Services – limited in scope. Support for Data Communication – only standalone system. 1. 8Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of DBMSs. Some advantages of the database approach include control of data redundancy, data consistency, sharing of data, and improved security and integrity. Some disadvantages include complexity, cost, reduced performance, and higher impact of a failure.Chapter 2 The Relational Model – Review questions 2. 1Discuss each of the following concepts in the context of the relational data model: (a)relati on A table with columns and rows. (b)attribute A named column of a relation. (c)domain The set of allowable values for one or more attributes. (d)tuple A record of a relation. (e)relational database. A collection of normalized tables. 2. 2Discuss the properties of a relational table. A relational table has the following properties: †¢The table has a name that is distinct from all other tables in the database. †¢Each cell of the table contains exactly one value. For example, it would be wrong to store several telephone numbers for a single branch in a single cell. In other words, tables don’t contain repeating groups of data. A relational table that satisfies this property is said to be normalized or in first normal form. ) †¢Each column has a distinct name. †¢The values of a column are all from the same domain. †¢The order of columns has no significance. In other words, provided a column name is moved along with the column values, we can interchange c olumns. †¢Each record is distinct; there are no duplicate records. The order of records has no significance, theoretically. 2. 3Discuss the differences between the candidate keys and the primary key of a table. Explain what is meant by a foreign key. How do foreign keys of tables relate to candidate keys? Give examples to illustrate your answer. The primary key is the candidate key that is selected to identify tuples uniquely within a relation. A foreign key is an attribute or set of attributes within one relation that matches the candidate key of some (possibly the same) relation. 2. 4What does a null represent?Represents a value for a column that is currently unknown or is not applicable for this record. 2. 5Define the two principal integrity rules for the relational model. Discuss why it is desirable to enforce these rules. Entity integrityIn a base table, no column of a primary key can be null. Referential integrityIf a foreign key exists in a table, either the foreign key value must match a candidate key value of some record in its home table or the foreign key value must be wholly null. Chapter 3 SQL and QBE – Review questions 3. 1What are the two major components of SQL and what function do they serve?A data definition language (DDL) for defining the database structure. A data manipulation language (DML) for retrieving and updating data. 3. 2Explain the function of each of the clauses in the SELECT statement. What restrictions are imposed on these clauses? FROMspecifies the table or tables to be used; WHEREfilters the rows subject to some condition; GROUP BYforms groups of rows with the same column value; HAVINGfilters the groups subject to some condition; SELECTspecifies which columns are to appear in the output; ORDER BYspecifies the order of the output. 3. What restrictions apply to the use of the aggregate functions within the SELECT statement? How do nulls affect the aggregate functions? An aggregate function can be used only in the SEL ECT list and in the HAVING clause. Apart from COUNT(*), each function eliminates nulls first and operates only on the remaining non-null values. COUNT(*) counts all the rows of a table, regardless of whether nulls or duplicate values occur. 3. 4Explain how the GROUP BY clause works. What is the difference between the WHERE and HAVING clauses? SQL first applies the WHERE clause. Then it conceptually arranges he table based on the grouping column(s). Next, applies the HAVING clause and finally orders the result according to the ORDER BY clause. WHERE filters rows subject to some condition; HAVING filters groups subject to some condition. 3. 5What is the difference between a subquery and a join? Under what circumstances would you not be able to use a subquery? With a subquery, the columns specified in the SELECT list are restricted to one table. Thus, cannot use a subquery if the SELECT list contains columns from more than one table. 3. 6What is QBE and what is the relationship between QBE and SQL?QBE is an alternative, graphical-based, ‘point-and-click’ way of querying the database, which is particularly suited for queries that are not too complex, and can be expressed in terms of a few tables. QBE has acquired the reputation of being one of the easiest ways for non-technical users to obtain information from the database. QBE queries are converted into their equivalent SQL statements before transmission to the DBMS server. Chapter 4 Database Systems Development Lifecycle – Review questions 4. 1Describe what is meant by the term ‘software crisis’.The past few decades has witnessed the dramatic rise in the number of software applications. Many of these applications proved to be demanding, requiring constant maintenance. This maintenance involved correcting faults, implementing new user requirements, and modifying the software to run on new or upgraded platforms. With so much software around to support, the effort spent on maintenan ce began to absorb resources at an alarming rate. As a result, many major software projects were late, over budget, and the software produced was unreliable, difficult to maintain, and performed poorly.This led to what has become known as the ‘software crisis’. Although this term was first used in the late 1960s, more than 30 years later, the crisis is still with us. As a result, some people now refer to the software crisis as the ‘software depression’. 4. 2Discuss the relationship between the information systems lifecycle and the database system development lifecycle. An information system is the resources that enable the collection, management, control, and dissemination of data/information throughout a company. The database is a fundamental component of an information system.The lifecycle of an information system is inherently linked to the lifecycle of the database that supports it. Typically, the stages of the information systems lifecycle include: pla nning, requirements collection and analysis, design (including database design), prototyping, implementation, testing, conversion, and operational maintenance. As a database is a fundamental component of the larger company-wide information system, the database system development lifecycle is inherently linked with the information systems lifecycle. 4. 3Briefly describe the stages of the database system development lifecycle. See Figure 4. Stages of the database system development lifecycle. Database planning is the management activities that allow the stages of the database system development lifecycle to be realized as efficiently and effectively as possible. System definition involves identifying the scope and boundaries of the database system including its major user views. A user view can represent a job role or business application area. Requirements collection and analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing information about the company that is to be supported by the d atabase system, and using this information to identify the requirements for the new system.There are three approaches to dealing with multiple user views, namely the centralized approach, the view integration approach, and a combination of both. The centralized approach involves collating the users’ requirements for different user views into a single list of requirements. A data model representing all the user views is created during the database design stage. The view integration approach involves leaving the users’ requirements for each user view as separate lists of requirements. Data models representing each user view are created and then merged at a later stage of database design.Database design is the process of creating a design that will support the company’s mission statement and mission objectives for the required database. This stage includes the logical and physical design of the database. The aim of DBMS selection is to select a system that meets th e current and future requirements of the company, balanced against costs that include the purchase of the DBMS product and any additional software/hardware, and the costs associated with changeover and training. Application design involves designing the user interface and the application programs that use and process the database.This stage involves two main activities: transaction design and user interface design. Prototyping involves building a working model of the database system, which allows the designers or users to visualize and evaluate the system. Implementation is the physical realization of the database and application designs. Data conversion and loading involves transferring any existing data into the new database and converting any existing applications to run on the new database. Testing is the process of running the database system with the intent of finding errors.Operational maintenance is the process of monitoring and maintaining the system following installation. 4. 4Describe the purpose of creating a mission statement and mission objectives for the required database during the database planning stage. The mission statement defines the major aims of the database system, while each mission objective identifies a particular task that the database must support. 4. 5Discuss what a user view represents when designing a database system. A user view defines what is required of a database system from the perspective of a particular job (such as Manager orSupervisor) or business application area (such as marketing, personnel, or stock control). 4. 6Compare and contrast the centralized approach and view integration approach to managing the design of a database system with multiple user views. An important activity of the requirements collection and analysis stage is deciding how to deal with the situation where there is more than one user view. There are three approaches to dealing with multiple user views: †¢the centralized approach, †¢the view integration approach, and †¢a combination of both approaches.Centralized approach Requirements for each user view are merged into a single list of requirements for the new database system. A logical data model representing all user views is created during the database design stage. The centralized approach involves collating the requirements for different user views into a single list of requirements. A data model representing all user views is created in the database design stage. A diagram representing the management of user views 1 to 3 using the centralized approach is shown in Figure 4. 4.Generally, this approach is preferred when there is a significant overlap in requirements for each user view and the database system is not overly complex. See Figure 4. 4 The centralized approach to managing multiple user views 1 to 3. View integration approach Requirements for each user view remain as separate lists. Data models representing each user view are created and then mer ged later during the database design stage. The view integration approach involves leaving the requirements for each user view as separate lists of requirements.We create data models representing each user view. A data model that represents a single user view is called a local logical data model. We then merge the local data models to create a global logical data model representing all user views of the company. A diagram representing the management of user views 1 to 3 using the view integration approach is shown in Figure 4. 5. Generally, this approach is preferred when there are significant differences between user views and the database system is sufficiently complex to justify dividing the work into more manageable parts.See Figure 4. 5 The view integration approach to managing multiple user views 1 to 3. For some complex database systems it may be appropriate to use a combination of both the centralized and view integration approaches to managing multiple user views. For examp le, the requirements for two or more users views may be first merged using the centralized approach and then used to create a local logical data model. (Therefore in this situation the local data model represents not just a single user view but the number of user views merged using the centralized approach).The local data models representing one or more user views are then merged using the view integration approach to form the global logical data model representing all user views. 4. 7Explain why it is necessary to select the target DBMS before beginning the physical database design phase. Database design is made up of two main phases called logical and physical design. During logical database design, we identify the important objects that need to be represented in the database and the relationships between these objects.During physical database design, we decide how the logical design is to be physically implemented (as tables) in the target DBMS. Therefore it is necessary to have selected the target DBMS before we are able to proceed to physical database design. See Figure 4. 1 Stages of the database system development lifecycle. 4. 8Discuss the two main activities associated with application design. The database and application design stages are parallel activities of the database system development lifecycle. In most cases, we cannot complete the application design until the design of the database itself has taken place.On the other hand, the database exists to support the applications, and so there must be a flow of information between application design and database design. The two main activities associated with the application design stage is the design of the user interface and the application programs that use and process the database. We must ensure that all the functionality stated in the requirements specifications is present in the application design for the database system. This involves designing the interaction between the user and the data, w hich we call transaction design.In addition to designing how the required functionality is to be achieved, we have to design an appropriate user interface to the database system. 4. 9Describe the potential benefits of developing a prototype database system. The purpose of developing a prototype database system is to allow users to use the prototype to identify the features of the system that work well, or are inadequate, and if possible to suggest improvements or even new features for the database system. In this way, we can greatly clarify the requirements and evaluate the feasibility of a particular system design.Prototypes should have the major advantage of being relatively inexpensive and quick to build. 4. 10Discuss the main activities associated with the implementation stage. The database implementation is achieved using the Data Definition Language (DDL) of the selected DBMS or a graphical user interface (GUI), which provides the same functionality while hiding the low-level DDL statements. The DDL statements are used to create the database structures and empty database files. Any specified user views are also implemented at this stage.The application programs are implemented using the preferred third or fourth generation language (3GL or 4GL). Parts of these application programs are the database transactions, which we implement using the Data Manipulation Language (DML) of the target DBMS, possibly embedded within a host programming language, such as Visual Basic (VB), VB. net, Python, Delphi, C, C++, C#, Java, COBOL, Fortran, Ada, or Pascal. We also implement the other components of the application design such as menu screens, data entry forms, and reports.Again, the target DBMS may have its own fourth generation tools that allow rapid development of applications through the provision of non-procedural query languages, reports generators, forms generators, and application generators. Security and integrity controls for the application are also impleme nted. Some of these controls are implemented using the DDL, but others may need to be defined outside the DDL using, for example, the supplied DBMS utilities or operating system controls. 4. 11Describe the purpose of the data conversion and loading stage.This stage is required only when a new database system is replacing an old system. Nowadays, it’s common for a DBMS to have a utility that loads existing files into the new database. The utility usually requires the specification of the source file and the target database, and then automatically converts the data to the required format of the new database files. Where applicable, it may be possible for the developer to convert and use application programs from the old system for use by the new system. 4. 2Explain the purpose of testing the database system. Before going live, the newly developed database system should be thoroughly tested. This is achieved using carefully planned test strategies and realistic data so that the entire testing process is methodically and rigorously carried out. Note that in our definition of testing we have not used the commonly held view that testing is the process of demonstrating that faults are not present. In fact, testing cannot show the absence of faults; it can show only that software faults are present.If testing is conducted successfully, it will uncover errors in the application programs and possibly the database structure. As a secondary benefit, testing demonstrates that the database and the application programs appear to be working according to their specification and that performance requirements appear to be satisfied. In addition, metrics collected from the testing stage provides a measure of software reliability and software quality. As with database design, the users of the new system should be involved in the testing process.The ideal situation for system testing is to have a test database on a separate hardware system, but often this is not available. I f real data is to be used, it is essential to have backups taken in case of error. Testing should also cover usability of the database system. Ideally, an evaluation should be conducted against a usability specification. Examples of criteria that can be used to conduct the evaluation include (Sommerville, 2000): †¢Learnability – How long does it take a new user to become productive with the system? Performance – How well does the system response match the user’s work practice? †¢Robustness – How tolerant is the system of user error? †¢Recoverability – How good is the system at recovering from user errors? †¢Adapatability – How closely is the system tied to a single model of work? Some of these criteria may be evaluated in other stages of the lifecycle. After testing is complete, the database system is ready to be ‘signed off’ and handed over to the users. 4. 13What are the main activities associated with oper ational maintenance stage.In this stage, the database system now moves into a maintenance stage, which involves the following activities: †¢Monitoring the performance of the database system. If the performance falls below an acceptable level, the database may need to be tuned or reorganized. †¢Maintaining and upgrading the database system (when required). New requirements are incorporated into the database system through the preceding stages of the lifecycle. Chapter 5 Database Administration and Security – Review questions 5. 1Define the purpose and tasks associated with data administration and database administration.Data administration is the management and control of the corporate data, including database planning, development and maintenance of standards, policies and procedures, and logical database design. Database administration is the management and control of the physical realization of the corporate database system, including physical database design and implementation, setting security and integrity controls, monitoring system performance, and reorganizing the database as necessary. 5. 2Compare and contrast the main tasks carried out by the DA and DBA.The Data Administrator (DA) and Database Administrator (DBA) are responsible for managing and controlling the activities associated with the corporate data and the corporate database, respectively. The DA is more concerned with the early stages of the lifecycle, from planning through to logical database design. In contrast, the DBA is more concerned with the later stages, from application/physical database design to operational maintenance. Depending on the size and complexity of the organization and/or database system the DA and DBA can be the responsibility of one or more people. . 3Explain the purpose and scope of database security. Security considerations do not only apply to the data held in a database. Breaches of security may affect other parts of the system, which may in turn affect the database. Consequently, database security encompasses hardware, software, people, and data. To effectively implement security requires appropriate controls, which are defined in specific mission objectives for the system. This need for security, while often having been neglected or overlooked in the past, is now increasingly recognized by organizations.The reason for this turn-around is due to the increasing amounts of crucial corporate data being stored on computer and the acceptance that any loss or unavailability of this data could be potentially disastrous. 5. 4List the main types of threat that could affect a database system, and for each, describe the possible outcomes for an organization. Figure 5. 1 A summary of the potential threats to computer systems. 5. 5Explain the following in terms of providing security for a database: authorization; views; backup and recovery; integrity; encryption; RAID. AuthorizationAuthorization is the granting of a right or privilege t hat enables a subject to have legitimate access to a system or a system’s object. Authorization controls can be built into the software, and govern not only what database system or object a specified user can access, but also what the user may do with it. The process of authorization involves authentication of a subject requesting access to an object, where ‘subject’ represents a user or program and ‘object’ represents a database table, view, procedure, trigger, or any other object that can be created within the database system. ViewsA view is a virtual table that does not necessarily exist in the database but can be produced upon request by a particular user, at the time of request. The view mechanism provides a powerful and flexible security mechanism by hiding parts of the database from certain users. The user is not aware of the existence of any columns or rows that are missing from the view. A view can be defined over several tables with a user being granted the appropriate privilege to use it, but not to use the base tables. In this way, using a view is more restrictive than simply having certain privileges granted to a user on the base table(s).Backup and recovery Backup is the process of periodically taking a copy of the database and log file (and possibly programs) onto offline storage media. A DBMS should provide backup facilities to assist with the recovery of a database following failure. To keep track of database transactions, the DBMS maintains a special file called a log file (or journal) that contains information about all updates to the database. It is always advisable to make backup copies of the database and log file at regular intervals and to ensure that the copies are in a secure location.In the event of a failure that renders the database unusable, the backup copy and the details captured in the log file are used to restore the database to the latest possible consistent state. Journaling is the process of keeping and maintaining a log file (or journal) of all changes made to the database to enable recovery to be undertaken effectively in the event of a failure. Integrity constraints Contribute to maintaining a secure database system by preventing data from becoming invalid, and hence giving misleading or incorrect results. EncryptionIs the encoding of the data by a special algorithm that renders the data unreadable by any program without the decryption key. If a database system holds particularly sensitive data, it may be deemed necessary to encode it as a precaution against possible external threats or attempts to access it. Some DBMSs provide an encryption facility for this purpose. The DBMS can access the data (after decoding it), although there is degradation in performance because of the time taken to decode it. Encryption also protects data transmitted over communication lines.There are a number of techniques for encoding data to conceal the information; some are termed irreve rsible and others reversible. Irreversible techniques, as the name implies, do not permit the original data to be known. However, the data can be used to obtain valid statistical information. Reversible techniques are more commonly used. To transmit data securely over insecure networks requires the use of a cryptosystem, which includes: †¢an encryption key to encrypt the data (plaintext); †¢an encryption algorithm that, with the encryption key, transforms the plain text into ciphertext; †¢a decryption key to decrypt the ciphertext; a decryption algorithm that, with the decryption key, transforms the ciphertext back into plain text. Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) RAID works by having a large disk array comprising an arrangement of several independent disks that are organized to improve reliability and at the same time increase performance. The hardware that the DBMS is running on must be fault-tolerant, meaning that the DBMS should continue to operate even if one of the hardware components fails. This suggests having redundant components that can be seamlessly integrated into the working system whenever there is one or more component failures.The main hardware components that should be fault-tolerant include disk drives, disk controllers, CPU, power supplies, and cooling fans. Disk drives are the most vulnerable components with the shortest times between failures of any of the hardware components. One solution is the use of Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology. RAID works by having a large disk array comprising an arrangement of several independent disks that are organized to improve reliability and at the same time increase performance. Chapter 6 Fact-Finding – Review questions 6. Briefly describe what the process of fact-finding attempts to achieve for a database developer. Fact-finding is the formal process of using techniques such as interviews and questionnaires to collect facts about systems, requiremen ts, and preferences. The database developer uses fact-finding techniques at various stages throughout the database systems lifecycle to capture the necessary facts to build the required database system. The necessary facts cover the business and the users of the database system, including the terminology, problems, opportunities, constraints, requirements, and priorities.These facts are captured using fact-finding techniques. 6. 2Describe how fact-finding is used throughout the stages of the database system development lifecycle. There are many occasions for fact-finding during the database system development lifecycle. However, fact-finding is particularly crucial to the early stages of the lifecycle, including the database planning, system definition, and requirements collection and analysis stages. It’s during these early stages that the database developer learns about the terminology, problems, opportunities, constraints, requirements, and priorities of the business and t he users of the system.Fact-finding is also used during database design and the later stages of the lifecycle, but to a lesser extent. For example, during physical database design, fact-finding becomes technical as the developer attempts to learn more about the DBMS selected for the database system. Also, during the final stage, operational maintenance, fact-finding is used to determine whether a system requires tuning to improve performance or further developed to include new requirements. 6. 3For each stage of the database system development lifecycle identify examples of the facts captured and the documentation produced. . 4A database developer normally uses several fact-finding techniques during a single database project. The five most commonly used techniques are examining documentation, interviewing, observing the business in operation, conducting research, and using questionnaires. Describe each fact-finding technique and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each. Exa mining documentation can be useful when you’re trying to gain some insight as to how the need for a database arose.You may also find that documentation can be helpful to provide information on the business (or part of the business) associated with the problem. If the problem relates to the current system there should be documentation associated with that system. Examining documents, forms, reports, and files associated with the current system, is a good way to quickly gain some understanding of the system. Interviewing is the most commonly used, and normally most useful, fact-finding technique. You can interview to collect information from individuals face-to-face.There can be several objectives to using interviewing such as finding out facts, checking facts, generating user interest and feelings of involvement, identifying requirements, and gathering ideas and opinions. Observation is one of the most effective fact-finding techniques you can use to understand a system. With this technique, you can either par ¬ticipate in, or watch a person perform activities to learn about the system. This technique is particularly useful when the validity of data collected through other methods is in question or when the complexity of certain aspects of the system prevents a clear explanation by the end-users.A useful fact-finding technique is to research the application and prob ¬lem. Computer trade journals, reference books, and the Internet are good sources of information. They can provide you with information on how others have solved similar prob ¬lems, plus you can learn whether or not software packages exist to solve your problem. Another fact-finding technique is to conduct surveys through questionnaires. Questionnaires are special-purpose documents that allow you to gather facts from a large number of people while maintaining some control over their responses.When dealing with a large audience, no other fact-finding technique can tabulate the same facts as efficiently. 6. 5Describe the purpose of defining a mission statement and mission objectives for a database system. The mission statement defines the major aims of the database system. Those driving the database project within the business (such as the Director and/or owner) normally define the mission statement. A mission statement helps to clarify the purpose of the database project and provides a clearer path towards the efficient and effective creation of the required database system.Once the mission statement is defined, the next activity involves identifying the mission objectives. Each mission objective should identify a particular task that the database must support. The assumption is that if the database supports the mission objectives then the mission statement should be met. The mission statement and objectives may be accompanied with additional information that specifies, in general terms, the work to be done, the resources with which to do it, and the money to pay f or it all. 6. 6What is the purpose of the systems definition stage?The purpose of the system definition stage is to identify the scope and boundary of the database system and its major user views. Defining the scope and boundary of the database system helps to identify the main types of data mentioned in the interviews and a rough guide as to how this data is related. A user view represents the requirements that should be supported by a database system as defined by a particular job role (such as Manager or Assistant) or business application area (such as video rentals or stock control). 6. How do the contents of a users’ requirements specification differ from a systems specification? There are two main documents created during the requirements collection and analysis stage, namely the users’ requirements specification and the systems specification. The users’ requirements specification describes in detail the data to be held in the database and how the data is to be used. The systems specification describes any features to be included in the database system such as the required performance and the levels of security. 6. Describe one approach to deciding whether to use centralized, view integration, or a combination of both when developing a database system for multiple user views. One way to help you make a decision whether to use the centralized, view integration, or a combination of both approaches to manage multiple user views is to examine the overlap in terms of the data used between the user views identified during the system definition stage. It’s difficult to give precise rules as to when it’s appropriate to use the centralized or view integration approaches.As the database developer, you should base your decision on an assessment of the complexity of the database system and the degree of overlap between the various user views. However, whether you use the centralized or view integration approach or a mixture of both to build the underlying database, ultimately you need to create the original user views for the working database system. Chapter 7 Entity-Relationship Modeling – Review questions 7. 1Describe what entities represent in an ER model and provide examples of entities with a physical or conceptual existence.Entity is a set of objects with the same properties, which are identified by a user or company as having an independent existence. Each object, which should be uniquely identifiable within the set, is called an entity occurrence. An entity has an independent existence and can represent objects with a physical (or ‘real’) existence or objects with a conceptual (or ‘abstract’) existence. 7. 2Describe what relationships represent in an ER model and provide examples of unary, binary, and ternary relationships.Relationship is a set of meaningful associations among entities. As with entities, each association should be uniquely identifiable within the set. A uniquely identifiable association is called a relationship occurrence. Each relationship is given a name that describes its function. For example, the Actor entity is associated with the Role entity through a relationship called Plays, and the Role entity is associated with the Video entity through a relationship called Features. The entities involved in a particular relationship are referred to as participants.The number of participants in a relationship is called the degree and indicates the number of entities involved in a relationship. A relationship of degree one is called unary, which is commonly referred to as a recursive relationship. A unary relationship describes a relationship where the same entity participates more than once in different roles. An example of a unary relationship is Supervises, which represents an association of staff with a supervisor where the supervisor is also a member of staff.In other words, the Staff entity participates twice in the Supervises re lationship; the first participation as a supervisor, and the second participation as a member of staff who is supervised (supervisee). See Figure 7. 5 for a diagrammatic representation of the Supervises relationship. A relationship of degree two is called binary. A relationship of a degree higher than binary is called a complex relationship. A relationship of degree three is called ternary. An example of a ternary relationship is Registers with three participating entities, namely Branch, Staff, and Member.The purpose of this relationship is to represent the situation where a member of staff registers a member at a particular branch, allowing for members to register at more than one branch, and members of staff to move between branches. Figure 7. 4 Example of a ternary relationship called Registers. 7. 3Describe what attributes represent in an ER model and provide examples of simple, composite, single-value, multi-value, and derived attributes. An attribute is a property of an entit y or a relationship. Attributes represent what we want to know about entities.For example, a Video entity may be described by the catalogNo, title, category, dailyRental, and price attributes. These attributes hold values that describe each video occurrence, and represent the main source of data stored in the database. Simple attribute is an attribute composed of a single component. Simple attributes cannot be further subdivided. Examples of simple attributes include the category and price attributes for a video. Composite attribute is an attribute composed of multiple components. Composite attributes can be further divided to yield smaller components with an independent existence.For example, the name attribute of the Member entity with the value ‘Don Nelson’ can be subdivided into fName (‘Don’) and lName (‘Nelson’). Single-valued attribute is an attribute that holds a single value for an entity occurrence. The majority of attributes are singl e-valued for a particular entity. For example, each occurrence of the Video entity has a single-value for the catalogNo attribute (for example, 207132), and therefore the catalogNo attribute is referred to as being single-valued. Multi-valued attribute is an attribute that holds multiple values for an entity occurrence.Some attributes have multiple values for a particular entity. For example, each occurrence of the Video entity may have multiple values for the category attribute (for example, ‘Children’ and ‘Comedy’), and therefore the category attribute in this case would be multi-valued. A multi-valued attribute may have a set of values with specified lower and upper limits. For example, the category attribute may have between one and three values. Derived attribute is an attribute that represents a value that is derivable from the value of a related attribute, or set of attributes, not necessarily in the same entity.Some attributes may be related for a p articular entity. For example, the age of a member of staff (age) is derivable from the date of birth (DOB) attribute, and therefore the age and DOB attributes are related. We refer to the age attribute as a derived attribute, the value of which is derived from the DOB attribute. 7. 4Describe what multiplicity represents for a relationship. Multiplicity is the number of occurrences of one entity that may relate to a single occurrence of an associated entity. 7. 5What are business rules and how does multiplicity model these constraints?Multiplicity constrains the number of entity occurrences that relate to other entity occurrences through a particular relationship. Multiplicity is a representation of the policies established by the user or company, and is referred to as a business rule. Ensuring that all appropriate business rules are identified and represented is an important part of modeling a company. The multiplicity for a binary relationship is generally referred to as one-to-on e (1:1), one-to-many (1:*), or many-to-many (*:*). Examples of three types of relationships include: †¢A member of staff manages a branch. A branch has members of staff. †¢Actors play in videos. 7. 6How does multiplicity represent both the cardinality and the participation constraints on a relationship? Multiplicity actually consists of two separate constraints known as cardinality and participation. Cardinality describes the number of possible relationships for each participating entity. Participation determines whether all or only some entity occurrences participate in a relationship. The cardinality of a binary relationship is what we have been referring to as one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many.A participation constraint represents whether all entity occurrences are involved in a particular relationship (mandatory participation) or only some (optional participation). The cardinality and participation constraints for the Staff Manages Branch relationship are shown in Figure 7. 11. 7. 7Provide an example of a relationship with attributes. An example of a relationship with an attribute is the relationship called PlaysIn, which associates the Actor and Video entities. We may wish to record the character played by an actor in a given video.This information is associated with the PlaysIn relationship rather than the Actor or Video entities. We create an attribute called character to store this information and assign it to the PlaysIn relationship, as illustrated in Figure 7. 12. Note, in this figure the character attribute is shown using the symbol for an entity; however, to distinguish between a relationship with an attribute and an entity, the rectangle representing the attribute is associated with the relationship using a dashed line. Figure 7. 12 A relationship called PlaysIn with an attribute called character. . 8Describe how strong and weak entities differ and provide an example of each. We can classify entities as being either strong or we ak. A strong entity is not dependent on the existence of another entity for its primary key. A weak entity is partially or wholly dependent on the existence of another entity, or entities, for its primary key. For example, as we can distinguish one actor from all other actors and one video from all other videos without the existence of any other entity, Actor and Video are referred to as being strong entities.In other words, the Actor and Video entities are strong because they have their own primary keys. An example of a weak entity called Role, which represents characters played by actors in videos. If we are unable to uniquely identify one Role entity occurrence from another without the existence of the Actor and Video entities, then Role is referred to as being a weak entity. In other words, the Role entity is weak because it has no primary key of its own. Figure 7. 6 Diagrammatic representation of attributes for the Video, Role, and Actor entities.Strong entities are sometimes r eferred to as parent, owner, or dominant entities and weak entities as child, dependent, or subordinate entities. 7. 9Describe how fan and chasm traps can occur in an ER model and how they can be resolved. Fan and chasm traps are two types of connection traps that can occur in ER models. The traps normally occur due to a misinterpretation of the meaning of certain relationships. In general, to identify connection traps we must ensure that the meaning of a relationship (and the business rule that it represents) is fully understood and clearly defined.If we don’t understand the relationships we may create a model that is not a true representation of the ‘real world’. A fan trap may occur when two entities have a 1:* relationship that fan out from a third entity, but the two entities should have a direct relationship between them to provide the necessary information. A fan trap may be resolved through the addition of a direct relationship between the two entities th at were originally separated by the third entity. A chasm trap may occur when an ER model suggests the existence of a relationship between entities, but the pathway does not exist between certain entity occurrences.More specifically, a chasm trap may occur where there is a relationship with optional participation that forms part of the pathway between the entities that are related. Again, a chasm trap may be resolved by the addition of a direct relationship between the two entities that were originally related through a pathway that included optional participation. Chapter 8 Normalization – Review questions 8. 1Discuss how normalization may be used in database design. Normalization can be used in database design in two ways: the first is to use ormalization as a bottom-up approach to database design; the second is to use normalization in conjunction with ER modeling. Using normalization as a bottom-up approach involves analyzing the associations between attributes and, based on this analysis, grouping the attributes together to form tables that represent entities and relationships. However, this approach becomes difficult with a large number of attributes, where it’s difficult to establish all the important associations between the attributes. Alternatively, you can use a top-down approach to database design.In this approach, we use ER modeling to create a data model that represents the main entities and relationships. We then translate the ER model into a set of tables that represents this data. It’s at this point that we use normalization to check whether the tables are well designed. 8. 2Describe the types of update anomalies that may occur on a table that has redundant data. Tables that have redundant data may have problems called update anomalies, which are classified as insertion, deletion, or modification anomalies. See Figure 8. 2 for an example of a table with redundant data called StaffBranch.There are two main types of insertion anomalies, which we illustrate using this table. Insertion anomalies (1)To insert the details of a new member of staff located at a given branch into the StaffBranch table, we must also enter the correct details for that branch. For example, to insert the details of a new member of staff at branch B002, we must enter the correct details of branch B002 so that the branch details are consistent with values for branch B002 in other records of the StaffBranch table. The data shown in the StaffBranch table is also shown in the Staff and Branch tables shown in Figure 8. 1.These tables do have redundant data and do not suffer from this potential inconsistency, because for each staff member we only enter the appropriate branch number into the Staff table. In addition, the details of branch B002 are recorded only once in the database as a single record in the Branch table. (2)To insert details of a new branch that currently has no members of staff into the StaffBranch table, it’s nec essary to enter nulls into the staff-related columns, such as staffNo. However, as staffNo is the primary key for the StaffBranch table, attempting to enter nulls for staffNo violates entity integrity, and is not allowed.The design of the tables shown in Figure 8. 1 avoids this problem because new branch details are entered into the Branch table separately from the staff details. The details of staff ultimately located at a new branch can be entered into the Staff table at a later date. Deletion anomalies If we delete a record from the StaffBranch table that represents the last member of staff located at a branch, the details about that branch are also lost from the database. For example, if we delete the record for staff Art Peters (S0415) from the StaffBranch table, the details relating to branch B003 are lost from the database.The design of the tables in Figure 8. 1 avoids this problem because branch records are stored separately from staff records and only the column branchNo re lates the two tables. If we delete the record for staff Art Peters (S0415) from the Staff table, the details on branch B003 in the Branch table remain unaffected. Modification anomalies If we want to change the value of one of the columns of a particular branch in the StaffBranch table, for example the telephone number for branch B001, we must update the records of all staff located at that branch.If this modification is not carried out on all the appropriate records of the StaffBranch table, the database will become inconsistent. In this example, branch B001 would have different telephone numbers in different staff records. The above examples illustrate that the Staff and Branch tables of Figure 8. 1 have more desirable properties than the StaffBranch table of Figure 8. 2. In the following sections, we examine how normal forms can be used to formalize the identification of tables that have desirable properties from those that may potentially suffer from update anomalies. . 3Describ e the characteristics of a table that violates first normal form (1NF) and then describe how such a table is converted to 1NF. The rule for first normal form (1NF) is a table in which the intersection of every column and record contains only one value. In other words a table that contains more than one atomic value in the intersection of one or more column for one or more records is not in 1NF. The non 1NF table can be converted to 1NF by restructuring original table by removing the column with the multi-values along with a copy of the primary key to create a new table.See Figure 8. 4 for an example of this approach. The advantage of this approach is that the resultant tables may be in normal forms later that 1NF. 8. 4What is the minimal normal form that a relation must satisfy? Provide a definition for this normal form. Only first normal form (1NF) is critical in creating appropriate tables for relational databases. All the subsequent normal forms are optional. However, to avoid th e update anomalies discussed in Section 8. 2, it’s normally recommended that you proceed to third normal form (3NF).First normal form (1NF) is a table in which the intersection of every column and record contains only one value. 8. 5Describe an approach to converting a first normal form (1NF) table to second normal form (2NF) table(s). Second normal form applies only to tables with composite primary keys, that is, tables with a primary key composed of two or more columns. A 1NF table with a single column primary key is automatically in at least 2NF. A second normal form (2NF) is a table that is already in 1NF and in which the values in each non-primary-key column can be worked out from the values in all the columns that makes up the primary key.A table in 1NF can be converted into 2NF by removing the columns that can be worked out from only part of the primary key. These columns are placed in a new table along with a copy of the part of the primary key that they can be worked out from. 8. 6Describe the characteristics of a table in second normal form (2NF). Second normal form (2NF) is a table that is already in 1NF and in which the values in each non-primary-key column can only be worked out from the values in all the columns that make up the primary key. 8. Describe what is meant by full functional dependency and describe how this type of dependency relates to 2NF. Provide an example to illustrate your answer. The formal definition of second normal form (2NF) is a table that is in first normal form and every non-primary-key column is fully functionally dependent on the primary key. Full functional dependency indicates that if A and B are columns of a table, B is fully functionally dependent on A, if B is not dependent on any subset of A. If B is dependent on a subset of A, this is referred to as a partial dependency.If a partial dependency exists on the primary key, the table is not in 2NF. The partial dependency must be removed for a table to achieve 2NF. See Section 8. 4 for an example. 8. 8Describe the characteristics of a table in third normal form (3NF). Third normal form (3NF) is a table that is already in 1NF and 2NF, and in which the values in all non-primary-key columns can be worked out from only the primary key (or candidate key) column(s) and no other columns. 8. 9Describe what is meant by transitive dependency and describe how this type of dependency relates to 3NF. Provide an example to illustrate your answer.The formal definition for third normal form (3NF) is a table that is in first and second normal forms and in which no non-primary-key column is transitively dependent on the primary key. Transitive dependency is a type of functional dependency that occurs when a particular type of relationship holds between columns of a table. For example, consider a table with columns A, B, and C. If B is functionally dependent on A (A ? B) and C is functionally dependent on B (B ? C), then C is transitively dependent on A via B (provided that A is not functionally dependent on B or C).If a transitive dependency exists on the primary key, the table is not in 3NF. The transitive dependency must be removed for a table to achieve 3NF. See Section 8. 5 for an example. Chapter 9 Logical Database Design – Step 1- Review questions 9. 1Describe the purpose of a design methodology. A design methodology is a structured approach that uses procedures, techniques, tools, and documentation aids to support and facilitate the process of design. 9. 2Describe the main phases involved in database design. Database design is made up of two main phases: logical and physical database design.Logical database design is the process of constructing a model of the data used in a company based on a specific data model, but independent of a particular DBMS and other physical considerations. In the logical database design phase we build the logical representation of the database, which includes identification of the important e ntities and relationships, and then translate this representation to a set of tables. The logical data model is a source of information for the physical design phase, providing the physical database designer with a vehicle for making tradeoffs that are very important to the design of an efficient database.Physical database design is the process of producing a description of the implementation of the database on secondary storage; it describes the base tables, file organizations, and indexes used to achieve efficient access to the data, and any associated integrity constraints and security restrictions. In the physical database design phase we decide how the logical design is to be physically implemented in the target relational DBMS. This phase allows the designer to make decisions on how the database is to be implemented. Therefore, physical design is tailored to a specific DBMS. . 3Identify important factors in the success of database design. The following are important factors to the success of database design: †¢Work interactively with the users as much as possible. †¢Follow a structured methodology throughout the data modeling process. †¢Employ a data-driven approach. †¢Incorporate structural and integrity considerations into the data models. †¢Use normalization and transaction validation techniques in the methodology. †¢Use diagrams to represent as much of the data models as possible. †¢Use a database design language (DBDL). Build a data dictionary to supplement the data model diagrams. †¢Be willing to repeat steps. 9. 4Discuss the important role played by users in the process of database design. Users play an essential role in confirming that the logical database design is meeting their requirements. Logical database design is made up of two steps and at the end of each step (Steps 1. 9 and 2. 5) users are required to review the design and provide feedback to the designer. Once the logical database design has been ‘signed off’ by the users the designer can continue to the physical d