Distributed and Parallel Systems Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Distributed and Parallel Systems - Term Paper Example A parallel system is a computer with more than one processor for parallel processing. Although there are many kinds of parallel computers, they are basically distinguished by the kind of interconnection between processor, known as processing elements (PES), and the memory. One major way to classify parallel computers is based on their memory architectures. Shared memory based parallel computing systems have multiple processors that access all available memory as a global address space. Distributed system is a network of a set of asynchronously connected computing devices. Communication in DS is either through shared memory or through messages. In wide-spread distributed systems, work and information are physically distributed, implying that computing needs should be distributed. Along with improvement in response time, this system contributes to offering a local control over data. With this solid background of multiprocessor systems, parallel computing, distributed systems and shared memory; speed-up performance law such as the Amdahl's law was introduced to throw light on algorithm design for speed-up and operational efficiency of parallel system. Concurrency is another important factor which enables distributed systems to share memory; and to better understand its execution, Dining philosophers' algorithm Bully's algorithm and Logical clocks were introduced. 2. Amdahl's Law The memory organization of parallel system also has a profound impact on algorithm design. In systems in which memory

Northern Ireland Political Conflict Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Northern Ireland Political Conflict - Case Study Example This essay discusses the various perspectives to the peace process and conflict resolution in Northern Ireland showing that the outcome of the peace process as an enduring framework could be interpreted in different ways. After the finalisation of the Northern Ireland accord, all Northern Ireland political groups agreed on the formation of a new coalition government, but in 1999 the peace process faced a major setback when the IRA refused to disarm. The IRA claimed that it would disarm only after a new government is formed. The Ulster Unionists wanted disarmament of the IRA and boycotted the Assembly session that would have nominated a new coalition government. Thus the initiated Northern Irish government that was promised in the 1998 accord was brought to a halt in 1999. This process of new government formation was attempted several times although failed consequently due to IRA's failure to keep promises on decommissioning, a position they held in 1998. The IRA disarmed completely in 2005 to end violence making way for an enduring peace process in the region. However it is important to focus on whether this has been successful. Globalisation seems to have played a major role in transforming the approach to conflict and in bringing about stability within a region. This could be explained by the fact that the emergence of global institutions associated with globalisation can bring about changes towards de-territorialsing sovereignty and can also provide solutions to resolve the ethno national conflicts within a trans-national context. Globalisation perspectives consider the national problems at a global level and in case of both Northern Ireland and Israel Palestine conflicts, conflict resolution has been associated with global integration although in these two cases, there have been many differences in the structure, dynamics and outcomes of the peace process (Ben Porat, 2005). Ben Porat (2005) has highlighted the fact that the Agreement in Northern Ireland meant for peaceful resolution has been based on a power sharing model between Protestants and Catholics so that both the groups could claim and express their national identity. This according to Ben Porat is quite in contrast to the peace process in the Middle East and agreement between Israel and Palestine that focused on partition rather than power sharing. Coakley (2003) points out that the agreement of 1998 between British and Irish governments has been a subtle political document which could be exemplary and a model for other similar conflicts. Coakley discusses extensively on the features of the agreement suggesting that the document included several important decisions and compromises in the areas of citizenship, rights, equality, reforms, and criminal justice systems, release of prisoners, demilitarization and decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. All these aspects were considered within the agreement and being a very comprehensive document, the 1998 settlement could be considered as exemplary as some of its features would be common to all similar conflicts providing a basis for conflict resolution. Dingley (2005) however claim that the 1998 agreement which has been considered

Androids History Essay Example for Free

Androids History Essay Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or through online stores such as Google Play (formerly Android Market), the app store run by Google. In June 2012, there were more than 600,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play was 20 billion. Android became the world’s leading smart phone platform at the end of 2010. For the first quarter of 2012, Android had a 59% smart phone market share worldwide. At the half of 2012, there were 400 million devices activated and 1 million activations per day. Analysts point to the advantage to Android of being a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS. HISTORY: Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October 2003 by Andy Rubin,Rich Miner Nick Sears and Chris White to develop. Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. VERSION HISTORY: Android has been updated frequently since the original release of Astro, with each fixing bugs and adding new features. Each version after Astro and Bender is named in alphabetical order. List of Android version code names: ? Android consists of a kernel based on the Linux kernel 2. 6, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C and application software running on an application framework which includes Java-compatible libraries based on Apache Harmony. Android uses the Dalvik virtual machine with just-in-time compilation. The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM architecture

The Indian Healthcare Sector Erp Systems Information Technology Essay

The Indian Healthcare Sector Erp Systems Information Technology Essay The Indian Healthcare sector is rapidly expanding in terms of revenue and employment with its total value estimated about $34 billion. Some of the reasons for the same are: Growing population and economy The biggest driver of the expansion of the healthcare sector in India is its booming population, which is currently estimated about 1.1 billion. (Appendix-Figure1) Rising middle class Due to the rise in the average income, as of now, around 50 million Indians can afford to use advanced healthcare services and medicines. Increase in the spread of disease One of the significant driving factors for the growth of Indias healthcare sector is the rise and spread of various diseases, infectious and chronic degenerative in nature. 1.2 ERP need in Heath Care Industry ERP has got a huge scope of implementation in the healthcare industry since more and more hospitals are coming up and the customers are now looking for better professionalism and improved and efficient healthcare services. Key healthcare organization objectives: The specific healthcare industry objectives include: Improved productivity and efficient workflow with proper information at various care points. Integrating various systems across individual departments in a hospital and also across hospitals under the same management. Performing core hospital activities and increasing customer service to enhance Hospital Image. Implementation of SAP ERP in Wockhardt About Wockhardt Wockhardt is one of the major players in the Indian sector for Healthcare services. Besides providing the healthcare services via its chain of hospitals, Wockhardt also manufactures and markets various formulations, nutrition products, biopharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and vaccines. 2.2 Summary Name of the Organization : Wockhardt Limited Head Office Location : Mumbai, India Services : Healthcare No. of Employees : 9,000 Revenue of the Firm : Rs 26 Billion Implementation partner : IBM India 2.3 Pre-ERP Environment in Wockhardt Wockhardt had a non-integrated, non-SAP IT system The IT hardware used were of IBM P-Series IBM AIX was the IT Operating System in use prior to ERP implementation Oracle 10g database at Wockhardt Some of the challenges faced by Wockhardt prior to ERP implementation are as follows: Inability to handle the business growth due to poor existing technology Integration and formal communication among the existing systems were low. High cost dependency on independent product vendors adding to maintenance costs. Difficulty in managing and controlling disparate data. Dependency on multiple small packages and SMEs for day to day operations. Overall service levels and patient satisfaction levels were low. 2.4 Choosing an ERP vendor Some of the issues that were considered while choosing a vendor were: Data accuracy Hospitals have to supply all the essential information to the vendor at the time of making the proposals. This will help him to easily configure the required software. The mistake of not disclosing information Many hospitals do the mistake of not disclosing crucial information at this juncture. They are reluctant to disclose confidential information. Demonstrations The hospital will be able to rate the vendors suitability more so during practical demonstrations. His level of competencies and technicalities will be revealed to the company. The reason why SAP solution was chosen as the ERP vendor was: Its a robust, integrated solution with multiple customized functions and features Its positioned for future growth with global credibility Its a well defined reliable partner with assured support It strategically aligns itself with the Wockhardts business requirements 2.5 Objectives of SAP implementation The companys vision to integrate and standardize global processes was a major reason for introducing SAP solutions. Wockhardt was looking for an ERP solution that would: Establish a single, integrated ERP solution. Improve visibility and standardize the current business processes across the organization. Provide a platform for free flow of information and a central data repository. Introduce best practices of Life Science Industry for all locations. Provide a common technology platform with capabilities of analyzing business data. Meet the global business requirements, with simultaneously adhering to the country specific necessities. 2.6 SAP ® Solutions Services used in Wockhardt SAP ® ERP SAP ® Business Information Ware house SAP NetWeaver, ® SAP NetWeaver ® Portal, SAP ® Solution Manager, a tool found in the SAP NetWeaver ® platform 2.7 SAP Implementation Highlights Time-frame of implementation : 8 months (From May 2005) Top Managements support with highly dedicated team Highly successful implementation with a big bang approach in India Subsequent rollouts to subsidiaries in Europe US by the Wockhardt In-house team The average 3 year cost of a SAP deployment is shown in Appendix -Figure2. The various stages for the same were: Project Planning Business Process Study Installation Training Business Requirement mapping Configuration Modifications Data Conversion Documentation Testing Go-Live Post production support 2.8 SAP R/3 Architecture in Wockhardt SAP R/3 works on Three Tier Architecture comprising of the database, application and presentation layer. (Appendix Figure3) The Database server is solely responsible for Wockhardts data storage. The Application server interacts with the other two servers to manage user requests. The User terminal is responsible for data creation, modification and retrieval. 2.9 Benefits of SAP to Wockhardt The benefits that Wockhardt got on implementing SAP ERP were: Real-time access to higher quality information More structured data forming a basis for informed strategic and operational decisions A consolidated, single view of the business with efficient working practices due to standardized and integrated business processes Improved inventory management with better coordination of work across multiple locations Faster decision-making and improved Planning and customer service, efficiency, enhanced Visibility 2.10 Wockhardts future plans with SAP Wockhardts future plans with SAP include: SAP ® Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) SAP ® Supplier Chain Management (SAP SCM) SAP ® Advanced Planning Optimization component (APO) SAP NetWeaver ® component for integration. With the SAP CRM module, Wockhardt can: Implement one, multichannel contact center to control and coordinate the interactions between patients and Wockhardt. Link the contact center directly to the appointment system so a patient can make, change, cancel, or inquire about appointments. Improve communication with patients by using demand management software to remind patients of appointments, manage waiting lists, and fill late cancellations The Vendors Perspective About SAP and IBM IBM was finalized as the implementation partner for starting the SAP ERP implementation in May of 2005. The implementation team took around eight months to complete the project. With vendors like SAP and implementation partners like IBM, it has definitely resulted in lowering the pressure on healthcare organizations like Wockhardt. 3.1.1 SAP SAP is the market leader in ERP solutions. Since its foundation in 1972, SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in Data processing) have helped companies of all sizes and industries run better. Currently SAP departments are located in greater than 50 nations and serving 110,000  customers worldwide. SAP for Healthcare industry helps the firms like Wockhardt in integrating their healthcare processes by providing an end-to-end portfolio of solutions. IBM IBM has world class reliable, scalable and responsive business solutions and on collaboration with SAP, both will help the firms in various industries like healthcare by providing quality, simple and customised solutions with high returns. IBM and SAP are committed to delivering affordable end-to-end solutions scaled to meet the needs of SMBs. The combined solutions of IBM and SAP enable the organizations to speed up their business operations in order to comply with the dynamic changes in the marketplace. Challenges faced by IBM, SAP for ERP implementation The major challenges faced by SAP and IBM during Wockhardts ERP implementations are as follows: To cope up with the dynamic and ever-changing business processes and consumer needs To be in-line with the regulatory guidelines To assist the hospital service with regular up gradation . Integration with Legacy Systems Integration of ERP Modules of different vendors or versions and E-Business Applications like SCM, CRM, KM. 4. ERP modules used at Wockhardt Some of the important SAP ERP modules used by Wockhardt are mentioned below: Materials Management (MM) Customer Service (CS) Quality Management (QM) Sales Distribution (SD) Human Resources (HR) Production Planning (PP) Financial Management (FM) Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) The material management module (Appendix- Figure4) comprises of the features mentioned below: Stock Reconciliation- At warehouse / item(s) level Alerts and notifications on Shelf Life Storage Differentiations for Quarantine / Approved / Rejected items. Item tracking based on Expiry dates and Serial No. / Lot numbers Bar code interface integration Patient Administration: This module handles the front office, back office and nursing station of Wockhardt. Some of the modules of front office are handling the appointments, reservations, admission and discharge of patient along with the deposits, refunds of cashier department. The back office includes the maintenance, in-patient billing and scheduling of the Wockhardts back office. Besides this, SAP ERP integrates the administrative and clinical processes of the nursing station. (Appendix Figure5) Clinical Management The clinical management of the SAP package in Wockhardt includes: Laboratory- Lab scheduling, records, kit management, etc. Operation theatre- Theatre scheduling, maintenance, medical equipments usage, etc. Medical records Visit details of Outpatient and In-Patients, etc. Blood bank Donor registration list, Blood stock, etc. (Appendix Figure6) Resource Management The resource management of the Wockhardt SAP module includes: Pharmacy In and out-patient pharmacy, central pharmacy, etc. General stores Purchase orders, material receipts, inventory control, etc. Ambulatory Ambulance and personnel scheduling. Medical equipment management Equipment and AMC details, stock management, etc. (Appendix Figure7) Financial Management The financial management module includes functionalities like maintaining the: Accounts payable Accounts receivable General ledger Doctors accounting Payroll Care contracts Federations grants, etc. (Appendix Figure8) 5. Conclusion and Findings The Indian healthcare sector can be considered to be as a glass half empty or as a glass half full. This is so because, even though the healthcare sector has improved significantly over the years but still the challenges it is facing are significant. Improvisation needs to be done by developing the existing physical and IT infrastructure in order to provide quality healthcare services. The need of the hour is to perform core hospital activities and increase the quality of customer service by integrating its various components and avoid data redundancy. Industries look for ERP solution that can provide a common technology platform with capabilities of analyzing business data. They expect to meet the global business requirements, with simultaneously adhering to the country specific necessities. Because of the availability of a single unified platform for data sharing and standardization of the various healthcare business processes, the redundancy of data entry has minimized significantly and has resulted in saving valuable administrative time. The SAP ERP implementation has assisted the Wockhardt staff in successfully updating, recovering and managing the data in real-time. Also, reports can now be produced quickly, thus minimizing the logistical headaches. The most striking benefit of implementing SAP ERP in Wockhardt has been the significant visibility in its service operations which has lead to improved planning and coordination across Wockhardt. Hence sooner or later, most of the companies need to change their traditional practices and have an advanced technology supported with state of the art IT infrastructure to support its core business activities and integrate them efficiently across the organization. Appendix Figure 1 Indian economy growth rate Figure 2 3 year cost of a SAP deployment Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Patient Administration Figure 6 Clinical Management Figure 7 Resource Management Figure 8 Financial Management

Euthanasia Must Not Be Legalized Essay -- Arguments Against Euthanasia

Presently, many cases of euthanasia had occurred around the world. Many a time we will stop and ask whether the person has anymore hope to live as a normal person. At the end it is left to the court to decide whether the people live or die. But why does the patient or the guardian choose euthanasia when they can live a longer time with their loved ones. Some might ask whether it is worth to see your loved ones suffering, wouldn’t it be better to end the suffering? To answer this question we must know what euthanasia means. According to Fergusson(1992) euthanasia which comes from the Greek word ‘eu-thanatos’ which means â€Å"well death† or â€Å"good death†(Fergusson, A. 1992). Besides that according to the oxford dictionary sixth edition (1986) the definition of euthanasia is to† bring about gentle death especially in the case of incurable and painful disease†. According to the Journal of the Americans Medical Association (as cite d in BBC,n.d) there are more than one way of defining good death(BBC,n.d). This means that good death is define according to one personal view of euthanasia or when he is in a situation that is critical to his health. Some people want to die a death that involves less pain. According to BBC(n.d) voluntary euthanasia happens when voluntary death is define as the request for mercy killing is done (BBC,n.d). According to BBC(n.d) non-voluntary euthanasia happens when the patient is unconscious(BBC,n.d). There are two concepts of euthanasia. One is â€Å"active† and the other â€Å"passive euthanasia†. As BBC (n.d) pointed out active euthanasia is define as when there is an intentional action that causes the patient to die(BBC,n.d). This means an act to kill the patient instantly, whereas passive euthanasia accordi... ....pg4 Ostler,G & Swannell,J.(1986) The Little Oxford Dictionary. Oxford university Gibb,Frances.(2009,June 3). Debbie Purdy takes assisted suicide case to the house of lords. The Times. Retrieve from http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6414255.ece House of lords,(2004) Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill[PDF Document]. Retrieved from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldbills/017/2004017.pdf Politics.uk.co (2005,Jun 25) .Euthanasia . Politics.uk.co. retrieved from http://www.politics.co.uk/briefings-guides/issue-briefs/health/euthanasia-$366667.htm The UK Statue Law database(n,d) Suicide Act 1961 Twycross,G,R.(1993).A Doctor Dilemma. Journal of The Christian medical Fellowship,pg1 WHO,(n.d).Palliative care .World Health organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en/

Power of Men in William Shakespeares The Winters Tale Essay -- Europ

Power of Men in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale It has been said that in "The Winter's Tale" Shakespeare dramatises the contemporary struggle between masculine and feminine power. In light of this comment, examine the presentation of the relationships between men and women. Despite their many differences, contemporary society is now only beginning to realise their equal and respective roles in society. Since the beginning of time a contemporary struggle for equality has been present between masculine and feminine powers. The biblical stories of creation have often been used as an excuse to mistreat women. The mythical story of "The Garden of Eden" has been used to display women being easily seduced into wrong doing "The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good the fruit would be to eat... so then she took some of the fruit and ate it", how women corrupt men into wrong doing "Then she gave some (the fruit) to her husband, and he also ate it," illustrating women being dependant on men and men as dominant leaders going out to hunt for food "made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed". Also because the male was created first "God took some soil from the ground and formed man out of it" he is often thought as being the perfection of c reation, where as the female is a helper "he formed woman out of the rob (Adam's.)" Â  Even after the Women's Social and Political Movement (WSPU), the work that the women assured responibility for during the World Wars and the feminist movement of the 1960's for women to be equal to men politically, economically and socially, inequality still exists today. The search for equality between sexes began in the early twentieth century with the WSPU and continues to the tw... ...nist Criticism and Shakespeare." London: Cornell Univ. Press, 1985. Mackey Sally and Simon Copper "Drama and theatre studies." Stanley Thornes Neeley, Carol Thomas. "The Winter's Tale: Women and Issue" (1985). Reprinted in the Signet Classic Edition of The Winter's Tale. New York: Penguin, 1988. Pyle, Fitzroy. The Winter's Tale: A Commentary on the Structure. New York: Routledge & Paul, 1969. Richards, Adam and Gerald Gould "Into Shakespeare: a introduction to Shakespeare through drama." London: Warlock Educational publishers (1977) Tillyard E.M, "Shakespeare's last plays." Chatto and Windus Wilson, Dover "Life om Shakespeares England" Cambridge University Press Folger Shakespeare Libary: www.folger.edu/ Internet public Libary- Shakespeare bookshelf: www.ipl.org/div/shakespeare/shakespeare.html Absolute Shakespeare- absoluteshakespeare.com/

Case Study “Scouts Canada” Essay

Question 1 Using the full spectrum of segmentation variables, describe how Scouts Canada could segment its market place. Scouts Canada is a Canadian organization; therefore the organizations segmentation strategy is primarily geographic. The company focuses on the Canadian market, including all provinces and territories of the country. Based on what the organization wants to accomplish Scouts Canada should dedicate their marketing strategies to study and segment the market based on demographics (age, family size, life cycle) and psychographics. Demographic Segmentation fragments the market into categories according to different demographic factors, usually with regards to the wants and needs of multiple consumer groups. The organization provides opportunities for many people of different ages and gender. Whether people want to participate in a program, volunteer, or strive to be a leader. Scouts Canada caters to their target market and offers incentives to attract people in various life cycles. The programs of Scouts Canada are aimed at different age groups: Beaver Scouts (5-7), Cub Scouts (8-10), Scouts (11-13), Venture Scouts (14-17), and Rover Scouts (18-26). They can tailor their programs to those with large families, in which each member can feel included and involved. Psychographic segmentation – this marketing strategy incorporates the lifestyle aspect approach, because part of their mission is to provide adventure, healthy active living, getting outdoors and learning how to be environmentally friendly and responsible, etc. Question 2 What changed first: the potential scouts member or the scouting experience? Explain your response by discussing the principles of market targeting. â€Å"It began with a vision. It was nurtured with passion. It will succeed through action.† In accordance with their targeting strategy differentiated marketing, the organization strived to alter and improve their scouting experience to appeal to a larger number of scout members by customizing separate offers to appeal to appropriate segments. They updated their programs to have an increase in appeal to a broader range of members. In doing so they also created more volunteering spots as to provide easier access and increase opportunities. They also increased their appeal to younger members by providing potential for leadership growth. In addition they had the uniforms redesigned by Joe Fresh, an innovative Canadian designer. Also they intensified their environmental campaign and centric values by planting trees, promoting recycling, and other projects. To further promote their new image they published a simple and effective scouts manual, detailing new information, as well as designing a new logo and bilingual motto to appeal to the countries two official languages. Finally they fabricated new print advertisements that highlighted health issues such as obesity, and â€Å"quirky† ads, which captured the public interest. Question 3 What steps did Scouts Canada take to reposition its offering? An initial aspect that Scouts Canada has reconstructed is their experiences, with the hopes of expanding their potential scout member range. The case study stated that members would start when they were very young and lose interest after a few years. So one of the things Scouts Canada had to do was find a way to retain them past those few years. The reason why Scouts Canada faced its loss of potential members was because they failed to understand their market segments. They could not tailor their product or ‘membership’ so that it would meet the needs of more individuals; they just kept a simple plan across the board. Because they did not apply differentiation and understanding of the cultural shift towards â€Å"being green† they suffered a high member loss between 1996-2000. Question 4 Will Scouts Canada ever return to the membership levels its experienced in the 1960? Why or why not? Scouts Canada has the potential to reach equal or higher membership levels than in 1960, (maximum member period), but only if they continue to take certain actions. They need to target specific groups of people who focus on being â€Å"Green† and invironmentaly friendly, as well as creat valuable exciting experiances for all. Scouts Canada’s target market is relatively sturdy, and there stands much to be harnessed from it. Conclusion Since the internal and external reefurb of the organization, membership has increased in every province. Almost 6000 scouting groups have increased membership by over 15%. Scouts Canada should strive to continue to watch and analyze the changing market, and adjust its marketing and retention strategies accordingly. They should also Implement a stronger training program for scout leaders, as they are the future of the company. Finally, they should seek to increase their efforts in focusing on alumni members because experienced members serve to help in grounding the organization and further legitimize the company’s existence. Thanks to the innovative marketing strategy, the new company branding has proven a successful overall increase in acquiring new members, and maintaining loyal participation throughout the country.