Capstone Project Essay

Introduction The use of network services is increasing the management amount of copper and fiber cabling. This results in an ever increasing workload that must be maintained or reconfigured; resulting in challenges to organizational profitability. One of the challenges that arises is how does an administrator maintain a complex work environment when increased profits, fewer capital and operating resources are limited. One might suggest growing a complex network infrastructure requires operation efficiency with a desire to manage and protect cables without interrupting the workflow for clients. However, given the challenges affecting wireless service providers; maintaining focus and quality are just the fundamentals. The administrator is limited to the organizations profitability and cost variance when determining the best approach. These factors play a role which will likely affect the infrastructure as a whole. It is interesting enough to point out that towards the perspective of a network administrator; an issue should remain dormant and should never happen when the proper implications are set in place. However, because we live in an intractable world the possibility for a scenario is plausible. Capstone Proposal Summary As a volunteer for a network security survey for Aon Corp; the following survey was designed to point out vulnerabilities within the organizational network servers specifically under the surety office location where class mates using workstations were experiencing frustrating issues pertaining to network instability. The survey was intended to identify on whether security implications were required so that an upgrade request may be delivered. A staff meeting was set in place where we  interviewed the client regarding their needs. It is always a good choice to understand the fundamental needs of the client prior to making any changes to the network. After spending several hours brainstorming the client’s demands a solution has been reached. The project setting has been laid out clearly. During my timeframe interviewing the client I have gained the necessary background knowledge to understand my client’s visions building a strong mutual connection. Understanding this connection has entitled me to diagnose the network accordingly. As a part of the survey Aon Corp has several requirements prior to jumping into the project. First it was mandatory to inspect the minimum system requirements of the client machines. In the past latency issues have derived primarily to out of date hardware or device drivers as opposed to a security breach. It is always a wise choice to update these configurations while running the appropriate operating system updates which may all be contributing factors. During the prerequisite stage of the survey the required information is gathered to develop an effective network survey which would alleviate resource constraint. Rational & Systems Analysis It is always a wise choice to research similar case studies that may provide beneficial information relating to similar scenarios. I have done as such building my understanding of these scenarios which has a given me some background to my clients concerns. Several user friendly applications have offered me assistance analyzing security loop holes. They are the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). With accordance to the Microsoft website; the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a user friendly tool emphasized for technicians with a focus on assisting medium sized businesses. The tool focuses on the security state of the network with accordance to Microsoft recommendations providing guidelines and support. The user may download Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) from Microsoft.com as it is a well-known tool for all IT technicians. Once the tool has been successfully installed the administrator has the ability to scan multiple end users on the local network median. Upon completion of the scan the user is delivered a report highlighting potential threats along with missing updates. Some of these updates may include missing application patches, operations system  updates, and advised the user on whether a Windows firewall is running. MBSA has the ability to examine administrative accounts along with password policies. See Figure A for example. Figure A As technology advances, administrative technicians need to adjust to the challenges ahead. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a great tool to maintain the integrity of your network infrastructure. Scott Lowe (2004), a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, said the following regarding the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer: â€Å"Supporting a huge number of Microsoft applications, MBSA can serve you in two ways. First, it will help you keep your servers protected from problems; second, with powerful reporting capabilities, it can help you actually learn why you need to do the things that are suggested so you can make an educated decision as to whether something is an acceptable risk in your environment.† Project Goals and Objectives The objective towards the following project was to initiate a plan to upgrade Aon Corp network infrastructure alleviating latency issues better improving the efficiency and flow of data across the network median. A current unstable network prolonged business growth capacity making it difficult for end users to utilize resources effectively. Without the essential resources company growth was at a bottleneck. Breaking down the goals and objectives for the following project was essential in providing a remedy to the issue, they are as follows: Client must receive a current system image snapshot -Survey of a workstation must be documented -Survey of a server must be documented -Microsoft Baseline Security tool must be run saving each workstation along with the server A scheduled protocol plan must be provided articulating details for the client on overall performance and network stability. Client must be advised of a detailed schematic for preventative measures along with upkeep Client must be given an  instructional manual for managing updates related to the operating system and antivirus software Client must be given an estimate on productivity along with return of investment In order to present the deliverables to the client; a solid fundamental understanding of the clients requirements must be developed. Acquiring a background understanding is essential in order to understand the business process and what the client wants to achieve out of their network infrastructure. Without understanding the big picture the project would certainly fail. Pre-SurveyClientMeeting The goal and objective here was to initiate a meeting with the client to discuss the business orientation and the process relations to their workstations. The clients company being a training institution; certain software was required in order for the firm to achieve their business goals. The applications required minimum system specs in order to run efficiently. During the preliminary phase of the meeting the business model and goals were discussed. Operational hours were taken into consideration as a set schedule was established for performing the survey. As the meeting came to an end a survey schematic was brought to the client’s attention in order to calculate return on investment upon project completion (refer to Appendix 2). The success of the meeting was met and the first objective was complete. Upon the completion of the survey the client was provided with an executable plan laying out the details of the upgrade and preventative measures. However, the full execution will be help outside the Capstone; it will be the key highlight to the success of the business goals. Network Security Survey As a prerequisite to the survey several spreadsheets having been compiled for capturing images of data (refer to Appendix 3 along with Appendix 4). The first document entitles end user computers and second focuses on servers. As for the MBSA scans for each workstation; a thumb drive was used to save the results. Prior to beginning the survey an update was brought to my attention from the client that others may be working on these end-user machines as well. Because of my failure to follow through during the phone meeting advising of the time schedule, I needed to contact the  other administrators advising them of my presence. Fortunately, as I arrived at the designated project site there were many computers to survey. I began to survey the end-user machines not being surveyed. About 3 minutes elapsed for each workstation to survey; running Microsoft Baseline Security (MBSA) took about 11 minutes. Unfortunately, I have missed my goal of reaching the estimated number of computers being surveys as discussed in the preliminary meeting. The survey elapsed more time than I have predicted. On the other hand it was pleasant to know that the other administrators finished their portion of the project just in time before I got to them. Surveying the workstations went according to schedule, however, as I approached the servers several problems aroused. The list of passwords the client provided did not contain the correct characters as I attempted to log into the domain controller. The owner has left the building and was unable to achieve my goal with surveying the servers as planned thus leaving my network security survey incomplete. The following day the owner has been contacted and a scheduled return visit was planned. As the domain controller was surveyed; the security network part of the survey has been successfully completed. Despite the minor issues the survey went flawless; I would have followed through with the client more efficiently if the same scenario would have repeated itself. The desired goal has been achieved and a data image has been captured so the proposal upgrade can be finalized. Proposal Upgrade Preparation The upgrade proposal was designed to contain the following suggestions. Configuration of the Domain controller Configuration of the server Configuration of the workstation Suggestions for Malware/Antivirus Report for ROI Security guide for the end-user Timeline of Upgrade As assumptions defining the network configuration have been made. Unknowingly an assumption was made that the domain controller is established as the default gateway, DNS and DHCP server. I came to understand that their infrastructure was split into four subnets. ISA server was in between the  ISP acting as NAT, DNS, DHCP, and RRAS server. Logically understanding that their domain controller was their default gateway, DHCP, and DNS server; the services were contained on the internal network. Failing to understand the possibility of a network perimeter my assumptions were incorrect. Eventually I was able to complete each task item provided above; a presentation with the client would finalize this portion of the project. The task was completed, however, not within the desired timeframe. Presentation Proposal As the completion of the proposal has been achieved a client meeting has been scheduled. The agenda of the meeting is as follows: 1. Discussing survey results (network state) 2. Hardware discussion / software suggestions 3. Projected ROI and cost 4. Questions 5. Schedule implementation Despite the presentation lasting 2 hours it was a success. Proper planning along with a satisfying network survey were the predecessors leading to this success. The network survey went very smooth and efficient. The proposal was straight to the point and meaningful for the client. As the following goal completed and the deliverables presented to the client project completion has been achieved. Due to the clients satisfactions with the deliverables the project has moved forward to the next portion of the upgrade phase. Project Timeline The timeline of the project was compiled using a Gantt chart from the software Microsoft Office Project 2012. The project plan along with the details are listed in Figure B. As indicated in Figure B, the project time frame was expected to take 238 days.   Several areas took time constraint. First the network survey as previously indicated where I failed to follow through with the client after the preliminary phase of the meeting. This resulted in the client scheduling students on campus on the same timeframe as the survey. Fortunately, there  were enough end-user computers to perform the survey. In time the remainder of the students have left the building freeing up those workstations as well. Forgetting to get a confirmation of the amount of workstations at the preliminary meeting indivertibly resulted in my underestimation of the amount of time it would take to survey the total amount of workstations. The client password list for the domain controllers portrayed to be the only problem I have run into when performing the survey resulting in a setback. Because I have forgotten to request the following information from the client; the survey was setback from the estimated time for completion; resulting in a day setback. Compiling the proposal was another task that was miscalculated. Fortunately, I was able to finalize the project in one day thus keeping the project within the constraints of the timeline. Client satisfaction was the ultimate goal as they were very grateful. It is expected that situations as such will not always go accordingly to plan; however, without the clients support the project would not have gone as smooth. Planning a larger margin while taking a less aggressive attitude at the preliminary meeting would have avoided such issues. Project Development During the preliminary development of the following project, Aon Corps network infrastructure was heading in an unknown direction pertaining to its economic success. Instabilities in their security policy, workstations were exponentially getting slower each day. Students along with testers were losing hope in the integrity of the company. Their mindset was affecting performance along with business profit opportunities. The project I was assigned to revolve around building a business by updating their network infrastructure to a level of efficiency. The concentration of the project focused on performing an upgrade solution that would provide this efficiency to the client. Original snapshots of the network were based in the upgrade proposal plan which was used to optimize the network. The optimal goal of the project was to implement a network infrastructure that would be secure. Just like all problems issues aroused during the progression of the project. Students were scheduled to be in the building at the time of the survey; a work around was developed as I was able to hinder another classroom. Upon completion of the workstations I was able to come back to the student’s  classroom which was cleared. Rearranging the order of the computers that have been surveyed the issue was concealed. Another situation that derived during development happened when I discovered that the client has given me the incorrect domain controller password list which did not contain the server administrative passwords. The lack of the following information would have definitely resulted in the project failing. Rescheduling the visit with the owner has alleviated this scenario. Unfortunately, because of the rescheduling the timeline has been pushed back preventing me from completing the project within the completion period. Anticipating that the network domain controller would be a configured as a default gateway. Assumptions were proven wrong and the configuration process to longer than expected. Due to an ISA server on the network perimeter changes to the configurations proposal had to be made. Creating an ROI report was another unanticipated event that was requested upon the client. Determining the monetary cost was difficult when comparing the proposed and current network conditions. Consequently, changes had to be made to the customer question business survey to assist me in these calculations. Gracefully, the client was able to agree upon these terms. Actual and Potential Effects Majority of the following section will focus on potential effects due to the project being a proposal. The project effects can be conceived by indicating that the client had a clear perspective towards the network infrastructure and how in its previous state it has manipulated business continuity. The client experienced the previous state and was provided with a schematic to the current stable state. Empowering the client with the details providing them with a clear understanding influenced them to take action thus changing their network infrastructure to one that works efficiently. The potential positives to the following plan are as follows. Should the client comply with the proposal providing the solution to their network; they will be rewarded with a network that is optimally configured. This will result in network operating efficiency and business processes will maintain its integrity. Less classroom interruptions will arouse related to workstation issues. Students taking tests will be less frustrated due to server crashes along with workstations. Customer  confidence in Aon corp will increase. The potential of business growth will result from the following project. There will be an ease of urgency related to network related issues. The organization can now focus on its business model focusing on their clients. Conclusion The capstone portrayed to be exciting yet challenging providing to be rewarding as well. In terms of goals and objectives I believe that it was successful. Client satisfaction has been achieved as each goal and object has been delivered. The reason why it was so successful and effective is due to the methodical planning prior to the initiation of the project. The necessity of preparation along with the preliminary client meetings has given me the fundamental understand on how to start building the project. Building a plan has given me an effective tool to deliver the clients expectations. Attention to detail along with effective communication were advantage points that designed an effective proposal. The client was efficient in being proactive by understanding the problem at point and expressing their concerns. Together a proposed plan has been derived that would act as a roadmap to that optimal network infrastructure. Flexibility and client patience played an important role during the hiccup moments of the project. The ability to determine alternative routes in an event of hitting a wall is essential to the success of any project. As the project manager it was my pleasure to achieve the client’s deliverables along with the satisfaction that they truly deserve. References Keystone Strategy, Inc Study (2005). Why IT Matters in Midsized Firms. Retrieved January 31, 2007 from http://www.key inc.com/it_matters.shtml. Lowe, Scott (2004). Verify security settings on Windows XP using Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 1.2. Retrieved June 23, 2007 from http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5221961.html. Microsoft (2007). City of Stratford Brings Down the Curtain on its Legacy System with Server Upgrade. Retrieved June 23, 2007 from http://www.microsoft.com/canada/casestudies/cityofstratford.mspx. Microsoft (2007). Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. Retrieved June 23, 2007 from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/Security/tools/mbsahome.mspx. Microsoft (2007). Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PCs. Retrieved January 31, 2007 from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgr ade/capable.mspx. Sherman, Erik (2007). Investing in IT for a Competitive Edge. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://www.microsoft.com/business/momentum/content/article.aspx?c Appendix 1: Capstone Competency Matrix The graduate responds appropriately to diversity issues in the workplace. Implements an intuitive understanding of cultural and religious backgrounds; open to opinions in an attempt to understand diverse perspectives within the organization. Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving The graduate analyzes open-ended problems by learning about the problem and evaluating the accuracy and relevance of different Quality control is effective at determining common occurrences in issues; therefore, updating rules/protocols alleviate the issue at point. Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving The graduate recognizes the value of critical thinking in identifying and understanding the underlying structures of disciplines and professions. Organizational issues are indifferent each day; critical thinking along with brainstorming are essential in order to research a resolution to problematic issues. Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving The graduate demonstrates effective presentational communication strategies in a given context. Applies trial  and error to mimic the problem; then applies extensive research in reaching a solution to the issue. The research along with the problem is then logged as evidence for future claims. Language and Communication The graduate applies foundational elements of effective communication Communicates effectively in a stressful environment providing attention to detail. Language and Communication The graduate demonstrates effective presentational communication strategies in a given context. Evaluates graphical representation software to determine a flaw or an instability in performance/security of the organization. Security The graduate identifies and discusses basic concepts of security and security threats, and recommends security procedures. Implements a secure environment for each individual client PC; educating users on the importance of potential threats to network security. Security The graduate identifies security needs and recommends appropriate security practices for network infrastructure. Educates staff on the importance of implementing sufficient tools and policies in an attempt to protect the integrity of data crucial to the organization infrastructure.

Martha Stewart Essay

Its headquarters is in New York and it employs approximately 760 people with annual turnover of $327. 9 million dollars (Martha-Stewart-Living-Omnimedia,-Inc. ). Martha Stewart achieved her fame because she was able to reach the masses. She managed it through her affordable product line along with lot of common sense. Her television shows gained popularity in the U. S. A. MSLO earned good revenues through her magazine sales. It appears that Americans took pride in having Stewart’s products — whether they are for decorating the home or used in their yard. This demonstrates MSLO’s popularity in the U. S. A. Any company’s mission statement is reflected in its business culture. The mission statement of Martha Stewart’s MSLO is: â€Å"Martha Stewart Living enriches the everyday lives of women with a sense of pride, creativity, and how-to confidence. Our relationship is comprised of dreamers and doers– those who aspire to a more beautiful life and those who are actively in pursuit of one, in ways big and small. We provide both the tools and inspiration they need to elevate their quality-of-life. Martha Stewart Living sharpens their senses to the world around them, trains them to see the potential of beauty in their surroundings, and helps them establish a distinctive signature style to enhance their world† (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. , 2010). It appears that MSLO’s culture is very vibrant and focuses on having a stylish and meaningful life. Martha Stewart’s values reflect on MSLO’s culture. Those are: †¢Pursue your purpose with passion. †¢Practice solid values. †¢Lead with your heart as well as your head. †¢Establish connected relationships. Unfortunately Martha Stewart, an American home decorator icon, was convicted of conspiracy, making false statements, and obstruction to an agency proceeding. On December 27, 2001, Sam Waksal, the key shareholder in ImClone, ordered his broker, Peter Bacanovic to sell all his stock in the company. Bacanovic was also Martha Stewart’s broker and told his assistant to phone Stewart. The assistant left Stewart a message about Waksal’s sales (insider information), suggesting she might do the same. Martha Stewart called Bacanovic back and ordered him to sell her entire holding of ImClone’s 3,928 shares. The sale took place on December 27, 2001 (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). â€Å"ImClone stock plummeted and Waksal was investigated. The SEC learned of Stewart’s sale, and called Stewart to a formal interview. Before the interview, Stewart and Peter Bacanovic conspired. Rather than admitting that Bacanovic gave Stewart an inside tip, they invented a story of a â€Å"standing sell order. † Stewart gave this story to the government in formal interviews. After a lengthy investigation, Stewart was found guilty by the court on various charges on June 4, 2002, although not for insider trading. † (AcaDemon term papers and essays). Obviously, Martha Stewart was engaged in this unethical and illegal behavior along with her broker Peter Bacanovic. Selling shares was just a onetime incident on December 27, 2001. â€Å"Martha Stewart was tried in U. S. District court. On June 4, 2003, James B. Comey the United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York, and Kevin P. Donovan, the Assistant Director in Charge of New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the filing in Manhattan Federal court of indictment charging Martha Stewart, chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. and Peter Bacanovic, a former securities broker at Merrill Lynch & Co. , Inc. , with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal agents. The indictment separately charged Stewart with securities fraud in connection with her artificial manipulation of the price of MSLO common stock† (Justice Government Press Release, 2003). The charges contained in the indict ment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 230). The defendants filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that expert witness Lawrence F. Stewart, director of the Forensic Services Division of the United States Secret Service, had committed perjury in his testimony on behalf of the prosecution. Motion for new trial was denied by the court on the basis that defendants cannot escape the fact that the jury acquitted both defendants of making false statements relating to the existence of the $60 agreement, and the fact that ample evidence supports the charges (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 42). Stewart did not enter into a plea bargaining agreement. A plea bargain is an agreement in which the accused admits to a lesser crime than charged. In return, the government agrees to impose a lesser sentence than might have been obtained had the case gone to trial. This saves costs, avoids risks of trial, and reduces the burden on the prisons (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 231). Defendants Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic were both convicted of conspiracy, making false statements, and obstruction of an agency proceeding. A jury panel of eight women and four men found Stewart guilty on all four counts. Stewart did not appeal. The conviction came exactly one week after U. S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum threw out the most serious charge against Stewart, securities fraud which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine (Kellman). STEWART’S CRIMINAL INTENT AND CRIMINAL ACT Martha Stewart had mens rea and actus reus. Mens rea is a criminal intent when an act was committed. Actus reus refers to the actual performance of an act. Stewart was charged with insider trading (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. pg. 227-228). She gave public statements saying she was not involved in such activity. Her intention may have been to defend herself and tell general public the truth. Government prosecutors became creative. They did not pursue their charge for insider trading but charged her with mens rea — her criminal intent was to keep the MSLO stock price stable in the stock market. Later, Stewart corroborated the story that she already had a standing order with her broker to sell ImClone stock once it reached $60. She tried to falsify her trading records. Here she had actus reus. Brief time line of key trial events: On June 4, 2003, Stewart resigned as chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. hours after she was indicted on obstruction of justice charges. -On March 5, 2004, Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. The charges carried up to 20 years in prison. -On July 16, 2004, U. S. District Court Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum senten ced Stewart to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and fined her $30,000. She was spared an immediate trip to federal prison as the judge stayed her sentence pending appeal. On October 8, 2004, Stewart slipped into Alderson Federal Womens’s prison in West Virginia in the early morning hours and began serving her five-month sentence. -On March 4, 2005, Stewart was released from Alderson in the early morning hours and arrived back at her multimillion dollar 153 acre New York estate to begin serving the five-month home detention portion of her sentence (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS The Constitution protects the rights of the people from unreasonable search and seizure by the government (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 241). Stewart was a criminal defendant. Sixth Amendment was her second option. These rights mainly give rights to confront the witnesses against accused and have a speedy trial. IMPACT ON AMERICAN PEOPLE Martha Stewart was a successful businesswoman. She not only influenced lot of American people but improved their quality of life. Americans were shocked to learn that Stewart was charged with criminal fraud. Her ImClone stock transaction saved her approximately $45,000. This is a small sum of money compared to multi-billion dollar white-collar crime cases, as well as in relation to her wealth (in the hundreds of millions). It is important to note that ordinary shareholders incurred sizeable losses by purchasing Stewart’s dumped stocks. Celebrities like Martha Stewart are always in the limelight. Illegal acts committed by them instantly become public news (Heminway). PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND STEWART’S ILLEGAL ACT Going back several years in Stewart’s life, one notices that she is a daughter of Polish immigrants. She worked as a stock broker in her earlier career. Whether Stewart’s decision to sell ImClone stocks was either an impulse decision or a calculated move to cut losses will be difficult to determine. Everyone makes mistakes in life but we avoid making blunders. Sometimes personal success, wealth, and ego make a person feel that he or she is invincible. Even though she was a multimillionaire, greed compelled her to commit an illegal act. Stewart has a very positive mindset. She is more of a leader than a manager. She believed that MSLO will prosper in the near future. She had courage to overcome challenging circumstances. Stewart had faith in her heart that success is not too far if she sticks with core business values and maintains the quality of MSLO’s products. ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Ethics and social responsibility are an integral part of any individual’s life. They fit like a hand in a glove. They should be followed strictly not only by individuals but also by company personnel. Both of these terms are very subjective. Any activity is considered ethically correct or good when it is differentiated by incorrect or bad behavior or conduct. Milton Friedman strongly recommended that businesses should solely operate for profit. In my professional opinion, individuals as well as corporations owe their society. A corporation donating money to the local charity or church is an example of social responsibility. It adds value to mankind’s quality of life. Martha Stewart sold ImClone’s stocks based on inside information to reduce her losses; it was an unethical act. She conveniently ignored her social responsibility. She did not think of the other stock holders who suffered loss because of her action. It would be interesting to analyze Stewart’s act in light of three theories of ethics. These theories are: †¢Consequential theory †¢Deontological theory and †¢Humanist theory (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 89). All of these theories revolve around good or bad behavior. Consequential theory, as its name suggests, is based on the consequences of the act in question. Deontological theory analyzes behavior based on set rules and principles which a citizen should follow. Humanist theory focuses on the good qualities and applying mind during instinctive behavior. Sadly, Stewart failed miserably if one applies these theories to her act of ‘sale of ImClone stocks’. She did not restrain herself from selling the stocks based on inside information. She neither applied the rules which are set in such a situation nor thought of the consequences of her action. In Stewart’s case, humanist theory applies to her unethical behavior most. Honesty is a very important virtue. She did not use self-restraint when she quickly made the decision to sell the stocks. She lied to the Federal Court. If she had told the truth upfront, she would have saved herself from all the embarrassment. Let me attempt to evaluate Stewart’s actions in terms of five schools of social responsibility. These are: 1. Profit-Oriented school– Only goal is to make profit. 2. Managerial school– Corporations deal with people at large. 3. Institutional school– Deeds should help society. . Professional obligation school– Top tier of the company owes to public welfare. 5. Regulation school– Onus is on businesses to be responsible for actions. (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 98). It is obvious from the above brief description that Martha Stewart is from the ‘Profit-Oriented’ school. She acted reck lessly to reduce her losses to maintain the profits. MY OPINION Martha’s behavior is understandable. One should not forget that Stewart is a human being. A real life example will prove my point. Once in the middle of the night, a car was following me. I got scared and started speeding thinking he was a shady person. The driver turned out to be a police officer but did not give me a ticket when I explained my position. Stewart, although successfully defended her from insider trading charges, was prosecuted for other crimes. Considering Stewart’s reputation, she should have used her poise, status, and considered the impact of her actions on her and on the general public. Celebrities’ minor mistakes and blunders become news and it is usually blown out of proportion. Martha, being a smart woman, was most certainly aware of this. From this perspective, Stewart’s behavior is ifficult to understand. In my professional opinion the sentence is fair. Martha Stewart is characterized by egoism philosophy, where right or acceptable behavior is defined in terms of maximizing personal wealth. Martha’s actions were purely out of selfishness. She sold the stocks thinking it was fair and acceptable to avoid personal loss es. She did not bother to warn the shareholders about the upcoming losses. She bluntly did not care about the shareholders bearing losses as long as she was not losing. With this is mind, the sentence she received is not too harsh and fair enough to warn other greedy people. With this said, I also think and believe that Stewart acted on the information from her broker which she was not entitled to. One should not forget, however, that she did not ask for the information. Hence Stewart did engage in common business behavior. Attorneys should have stopped chasing her once they knew that they could not convict her for insider trading. In reality, I think she was simply a scapegoat. In business, a person has to be completely ethical. Ninety-nine good deeds are forgotten at the cost of one bad deed. That is human nature. To build one’s reputation again, one has to really work hard, with no guarantee that his or her image will be renewed in the public’s eyes. Martha is gaining popularity again. Recently she was on Donald Trump’s popular show, The Apprentice. Business leaders will surely think of Martha Stewart if they ever are tempted to sell stocks to avoid losses, especially since she went through a lot of unpleasant things, such as serving jail term, house arrest, and losing approximately 250 million dollars of her personal fortune. Martha Stewart’s case is really different from other criminal cases like WorldCom, Enron, or Tyco. Stewart’s wanting to sell the stock was a very personal decision and the US attorneys were successful in trapping her to make mistakes out of fear. In my opinion, this case will not provoke more government regulations and controls. Corporate whistle blowers are not an issue in this case. Bacanovic’s assistant, Douglas Faneuil who told Stewart of Waksal’s activity, reached a plea bargain with the government and became a witness (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. P. 229). I do not consider him to be a whistle blower. The first step to learn ethics and social responsibility is at home. Mistakes in life are acceptable; we learn from them and try our best not to commit those again. Blunders are so obvious that one can stay away from them and not commit them at all. In the business world, chances are higher that, when a blunder is committed, it is most probably illegal. Anything illegal has dire consequences. Illegal activity surfaces for sure. Until it comes to public knowledge, that person leaves in fear. So my recommendation is do noble things which are helpful to society. Make sure that you have a very clear conscious. Accept mistakes and be humble.

Definition of Nuclear Fission

In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission refers to either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei), often producing free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releasing a very large amount of energy, even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay. The two nuclei produced are most often of comparable but slightly different sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3 to 2, for common fissile isotopes. 1][2] Most fissions are binary fissions, but occasionally (2 to 4 times per 1000 events), three positively charged fragments are produced in a ternary fission. The smallest of these ranges in size from a proton to an argon nucleus. Fission as encountered in the modern world is usually a deliberately-produced manmade nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. It is less commonly encountered as a natural form of spontaneous radioactive decay (not requiring a n eutron), occuring especially in very high-mass-number isotopes. The unpredictable composition of the products (which vary in a broad probabilistic and somewhat chaotic manner) distinguishes fission from purely quantum-tunnelling processes such as proton emission, alpha decay and cluster decay, which give the same products every time. Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place). In order for fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting elements must be greater than that of the starting element. Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments are not the same element as the original atom. Nuclear fission produces energy for nuclear power and to drive the explosion of nuclear weapons. Both uses are possible because certain substances called nuclear fuels undergo fission when struck by fission neutrons, and in turn emit neutrons when they break apart. This makes possible a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon. The amount of free energy contained in nuclear fuel is millions of times the amount of free energy contained in a similar mass of chemical fuel such as gasoline, making nuclear fission a very dense source of energy. The products of nuclear fission, however, are on average far more radioactive than the heavy elements which are normally fissioned as fuel, and remain so for significant amounts of time, giving rise to a nuclear waste problem. Concerns over nuclear waste accumulation and over the destructive potential of nuclear weapons may counterbalance the desirable qualities of fission as an energy source, and give rise to ongoing political debate over nuclear power.

1,write a summary in my personal Linkedin page.2,Well-written Statement

1,write a summary in my Linkedin page.2,Well-written personalized email invitation to connect 3,Two recommendations to recommend me - Personal Statement Example The research involved the realization of image encryption based on Chaos System where I applied C++ programming and the logistics map of Chaos system to realize image encryption. I also made an analysis of chaotic image encryption. The research also opened me up to note the advantages of chaos system in the speed of image encryption. In 2011, between the month of March and May I was an intern in Hwadee IT Corporation. The experience in the Corporation was an eye opener as I learnt the security of basic communication platform. During the internship, I did various activities such as maintaining the network environment, establishing a secure Network Operating System (NOS), encryption, certification and network defense. In addition, I went for another internship for three months at Anhui Provincial Hospital as from July I the same year. This gave me a chance to correct the system bug and customers’ needs during the commissioning and later communicated with the R&D department and assisted them to upgrade related models. I also communicated with customers who get to use the system to increase our work efficiency. Finally, I was involved in the testing of the system’s function at each stage, ensuring to meet customers’ needs to their satisfactory. I have obtained various skills from my academics and the interns. One is in the Software Engineering which involves assembling language and Microsoft Visual Studio. The other skills I learnt are in Microsoft Applications and Operating systems. This is to confirm that Cheng Qian was on internship in Hwadee IT Corporation from March to May of 2011. For the brief period, we have been with him, he has proven to be hardworking, punctual and reliable individual who is courteous in dealing with colleagues, creative, eager to learn new things and willing to take new challenges. I am writing to confirm that Cheng Qian was a student in Sichuan University studying a Bachelor of Engineering, Majoring in

Theory and Knowledge Development in Nursing Article

Theory and Knowledge Development in Nursing - Article Example While patient cases will have similarities, each case is also uniquely different and may require a different process of determining solutions. A patient is inherently individualistic, based on social and economic factors as well as the type of illness involved. What may work for one patient, may not work for another patient, due to differing circumstances of age, eating habits, social structure and economic environment such as working status or for those who are unemployed. Nursing morals and ethics will also come into play when confronted with issues of insurance coverage and what solutions are available as defined by the coverage, if there is any coverage. Consequently, right answers in one case may not be right in another, based on principles which are not always absolute (Nourreddine, 2001). Nursing Theory as a Guide for Knowledge When evaluating nursing knowledge, nurses will ask themselves what they know; what the extent of that knowledge is, based on how that knowledge is atta ined through various methods, and whether it is appropriate. Epistemology is the term used for the study in the theory of knowledge which has several basic types. Empiric knowledge is developed through scientific observations, suitable testing and ability to replicate and validate the information. Personal (priori) knowledge is attained from thought processes alone. Intuitive knowledge comes from feelings and hunches that come from unconscious recognition of experiences or patterns as known from previous experiences or by some type of educational process. Somatic knowledge is experience attained from a physical experience which becomes a learned process through conducting physical tasks. Ballet dancers and gymnasts are great examples of those with somatic knowledge. Metaphysical knowledge which is a spiritual precept of knowledge gained by acknowledging a higher power other than ourselves through religious practices, miracles, extrasensory perceptions, near-death experiences, and ot her conventions which are not scientifically proven, at least not currently. Esthetics is the knowledge of beauty and harmony, expression through creativity and art, and development of values which sustains these. Finally, moral and ethical knowledge is based on the concepts of what is considered right and wrong, based on social values and surrounding environment (McEwen & Wills, 2010). In nursing knowledge, it is not based simply on the scientific proof, but also on the social and behavioral sciences as well and, therefore, nurses rely on multiple genres of knowing. Carper (1978) presented four fundamental basic concepts which applied to nursing knowledge: empirics as the scientific form of knowledge, esthetics, personal knowledge and ethics. Empirical knowledge is gained through laws and theories which describe, explain and predict various phenomena, based on factual evidence (Carper, 1978; Carper, 1992; McEwen & Wills, 2010). This would be most evident in clinical practice conduc ted within the environment of the emergency department because split-second decisions must be made and they can only happen when there is enough knowledge from structural theory and from experience gained through other case experiences of trauma and sudden illnesses. Personal knowledge is ga

Evidence Based Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evidence Based Practice - Essay Example The society expects the public to provide the highest quality of health care for individuals with smallest costs. Nurses need to have clinical information and use their expertise in analyzing it. Analysis of the information is crucial because of its application to the clinical practice. Evidence-based Method involves the practice where nurses use their knowledge to make the decision based on research facts (Jeffs et al., 2013). The nurses use clinical experience to manage and take care of patients. Evidence-based Method works best because there is sufficient evidence of the publication on nursing topics. Nurses should have the ability to access and scrutinize the research of a particular topic (Jeffs et al., 2013). There is anticipation from the society for hospitals to have access to printed health journals. Evidence-based Method is crucial in the modern health care because it creates the atmosphere for nurses to provide care for patients. It is important for the incorporation of the best research with clinical knowledge. The approach also provides the nurses with quality health outcomes. The evidence-based approach gives nurses confidence to use their knowledge of basic principles for the provision of appropriate health care to patients. The nurses should offer suitable health care and manage their patients. All the nurses should have full-time access to up to date evidence to sustain the best practices. Nurses have to stick to their morals and ethics when applying evidence-based Method in their day-to-day activities. Nurses have a strong culture of providing excellent health care to the patients, and they should maintain the culture. Incorporation of evidence-based practices into the education system is important to the nursing sector. It leads to the development of a system that will help nurses manage their patients. The

Research proposal in identity theft in banking,uk Essay

Research proposal in identity theft in banking,uk - Essay Example 1 billion every year to identity theft which is already sending warning signals to the online bankers. With more banks venturing in online services and online financial transfer is dominant in these sectors, the banks and the customers are at a very high risk of losing their money to fraudsters. This research intends to narrow down to cybercrime, an area that has had little coverage by researchers of identity theft, yet a threatening one. By taking a quantitative approach to identify the severity cybercrime in identity theft and identifying possible security approaches that can be used to reduce instances of identity theft, it is possible to make viable recommendations that would go way far in reducing identity theft. Problem statement In the UK, the banking sector loses approximately ?1 billion to cyber crime and customer trust is at stake in this sector (Barclays, 2013). The banking sector is a major contributor to the economy of the country contributing about 8% of the UK Gross Do mestic Product. Therefore, it is one of the sectors that must be protected to ensure economic stability in the UK. Online banking is an innovative strategy that has enhanced business growth in the UK and has ensured customer comfort and satisfaction. However, as the internet technology grows, network aware experts delve in cyber crime and take advantage of innocent customers who do not know the threats that they expose themselves to wherever they conduct an online bank transaction in the UK. By identifying the vulnerability of the people and possible mitigation measures it is possible to protect the banking industry and consequently contribute to the economic development of the UK. Research Questions This research study intends to provide the answers to two critical research questions; What are the factors that predispose customers to identity theft during their online transactions? And what are the possible mitigation measures that would reduce the risk of customers falling victims of cybercrime? Objectives of the Study Main objectives To identify the factors that predispose customers to identity theft during their online bank transactions. To identify possible mitigative measures to protect online bank transactions from cyber crime. Specific Objectives To gather information from the public on their awareness risk of the identity theft while conducting online bank transactions. To assess the UK bank's security policies that protect their customers from identity theft within the scope of their online services. To identify the efficiency of the banking security policies in protecting their customers from cybercrime. To quantitatively analyse the data and make possible conclusions on identity theft To make viable recommendations on the possible measures that can protect bank customers from identity theft. Literature Review According to Haldane (2011, Para. 3), an economic analyst, the UK banking sector contributes to over 8% of the country gross domestic product and employs millions of UK residents. This points out that the UK banking sector is a major contributor in the economic development of the country, hence the need to protect it from any kind of business threat. Surprisingly, the UK banking sector continues to lose over ?1 billion every year from identity theft which has led to loss of trust in customers and a consequential drop in their revenue margin. In the current technology driven business sector,

The Unintended Consequences of Drug Legalization Essay

The Unintended Consequences of Drug Legalization - Essay Example For example: Pew research figured out that people in the favor of legalization of illicit drugs such as marijuana have exceeded the number of people who are against the legalization of such drugs (PEW, 2013, p.1). This research was conducted through a survey during the period of 2013. Due to the increase in the number of people who are in favor of such drugs, certain states such as Colorado and Washington have accepted marijuana as a legal drug. There is heavy support for the legalization of such drugs due to the several benefits that can be attained through legalization. These benefits may include: decrease in issues related to accessibility of such drugs, decrease in crimes that are conducted by individuals to obtain these drugs, the medical benefits of these drugs and various other reasons. What these people have ignored is that the legalization of such drugs that can result in consequences that are unknown and unintended. The legalization of illicit drugs in the region of United States of America can lead to unintended negative effects including: increase in consumption by those who could not previously afford such drugs, crimes that are severe in nature may increase loss of ability to make rational choices, development of other diseases while being used to help cancer patients. Body It is a common rule of demand and supply that when any good or service is recognized as illegal, its supply through legal methods decreases and this causes shortages and due to the shortage of supply, the prices of goods and services elevates as demand exceeds supply and people are ready to pay any price for certain goods such as goods that are addictive in nature. One of the reason due to which there have been an increase in the support for the legalization of illicit drugs is that if these drugs are made legal, the supply of such drugs will increase as legal ways of supplying such drugs will increase and the supply will exceed demand which will result in decrease in prices of these drugs. The problem with this benefit of legalization of illicit drugs is that the drug will become affordable to those individuals who could not previously attain these drugs due to higher prices. Wealthy individuals in a society have the ability to pay higher prices for such drugs but those who earn lo w and those who are dependent on pocket money from their parents can hardly purchase such drugs if they are illegal because illegal drugs are sold at higher prices. This means that consumption of such drugs will elevate and number of addicts will elevate. Another issue is that consumption of such drugs will become affordable for school and college going students who live on small amount of pocket money provided by parents (Zimring, 1995, p.104). Due to this, students start experiencing psychological issues associated with abuse of illegal drugs and if an individual develops an addiction at an early age, he/she may conduct with that addiction during adulthood. Individuals even support the legalization of illicit drugs because they believe that legalization of drugs will result in decrease in rate of criminal activity associated with it and will even decrease the amount of money spend by the criminal justice system to deal with drug related criminals and crimes. Drugs are considered i llegal, due to which deals and buyers both tend to sell

Competition and financial stability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competition and financial stability - Essay Example The competition is always seen as a requirement necessary for efficiency of the banking system. Although varied theoretical and empirical studies have attempted to argue that monopoly offer banks higher incentives to improve their financial performance, competition in the banking sector have also enabled banks to compete favorably; thus enabling banks to achieve their demanding needs effectively (Schinasi and International Monetary Fund, 2006). This is because of the notion that vulnerability and restraints on competition are necessary for preserving the stability of the banking system in the current financial market; therefore, the essay offers a critical assessment of the trade-offs between competition in the banking system and financial stability. Advantages of Competition Competition is desirable in the banking system because it contributes to increased competitive business performance across the banking sector (Marinc, 2012). The charter-value for competition stability theory as sumes that the more concentrated and less competitive banking systems, the higher chances of becoming more stable. The contrasting perspective to this theory is that a more concentrated banking structure may lead to more bank frailty. Boyd, De Nicolo and Jalal (2010) argue that market control in banking system increases profits, but bank steadiness ignores the prospective impact of market powers for banks. The authors argue that the higher interest rates in the banking sector may induce the banking industries to assume greater risks; hence, they find a positive relationship between concentration and bank fragility (Kohn, 2003). Many banking system support competition feebleness and this had significantly contributed to financial volatility in many banks across Canada and the UK. Therefore, the less bank rivalry, the less credit rationing and higher chance of malfunction in case loans are subjected to multiplicative reservations. Competition and higher level of concentration in the b anking sector can also create a positive impact on liability menace. Boyd, De, Jalal and International Monetary Fund (2009) argue that less competition in banking system can contribute to more financial stability in case information about the probability distribution of liquidity of the depositor is private. Allen, Carletti, Gale and Centre for Economic Policy Research (2011) assert that it is crucial to prevent banks from taking excessive risks in the competitive markets. Hence, the deposit interest rate ceilings are vital even with capital requirements. Beck, Beck and World Bank (2008) argues that concentration is not a consistent rivalry signal in the banking sector; thus, the bank illiquidity can augment in any fiscal market structure. Therefore, lower competition in the banking system is crucial because it enables banking relationships to endure for a long period. Drawbacks of Competition Competition in the financial market can impact steadiness in the banking system in diverse ways; first, competition can impact financial stability is through the interbank market system and through the payment system channels. Allen and Gale (2000) argue that perfect competition can prevent banks from offering liquidity to other banks that have been strike by short-term liquidity shortage. Therefore, there is no bank that will have adequate incentive to offer liquidity to the banks that have problems in case all banks are price takers.

Code of Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Code of Ethics Paper - Essay Example (Donaldson, 2005) Section 54.1 Disclosure of Confidential Information Prohibited., Section 68: Retention of Clients records, Section 68.5 Audit Documentation Retention and Destruction Policy are the policies that when violated can lead to criminal or vivil accountant liabilities. The controversy involving powerful institutions has made an immense impact in the corporate world leading to their downfall and the implementation of stringent laws of the government. Enron and Arthur Andersen faced the collapse of their careers which affected the industry and the birth of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The largest bankruptcy in history marked the existence of fraudulent accounting procedures by Enron and Arthur Andersen in 2001. the once blue chip stock ended up to be valued for small meager amounts. Most of Enron’s profits were from transactions with controlled limited partnerships which turned into debts that were not reported on its financial statements The economic implications of the Enron case included the accounting industry’s review of their financial policies with the fear of having the same fate as Enron. Other companies who also used the same aggressive accounting methods as Enron have been affected. They steered away from the limelight and have seemed to have lay-low for the meantime while the issues are still steaming.. The existence of corporate fraud was verified by the emergence of the Enron case. With this, President George W Bush enacted a new law which targets the detection and prevention of company fraud. The US Pension regulations underwent scrutiny when it was found out that the worker of Enron lost a huge amount of money due to their pensions scheme being invested largely in Enron’s own stocks. The accounting profession tried to reconsider its structure and policies to be able to take notes of those that need to

An Employee and an Independent Contractor Coursework

An Employee and an Independent Contractor - Coursework Example There must be an agreement between the employer and the employee or the independent contractor and an â€Å"intention to create a legal relationship† (Gulshan and Kapoor 4). Other elements such as the legality of the work to be performed, the existence of consideration and contractual capacity, and free will into a contract are also common factors for enforceability of contracts between an employer and either employee or an independent contractor (Gulshan and Kapoor 4). The level of control by the employer, however, distinguishes between an employee and an independent contractor. An employee operates under direct instructions from the employer while an independent contractor operates independently from an employer’s instructions. An employee also receives training on the job by the employer or senior employees of the employer while an independent contractor is employed for owned expertise. Another difference between an employee and an independent contractor is period of the relationship. An employee’s contract is normally long-term and runs over many seasons while an independent contractor’s services run with the life of a contract in agreement. An employee is also remunerated by rate while an independent contractor is paid per contracted job (Miami Dade College 1-3).

Asbestos Removal †Essential for Healthy Living Essay Example for Free

Asbestos Removal – Essential for Healthy Living Essay For all those who spend most of their time indoors, whether it is their home or office, the environment of these living spaces has a straight affect on their health. Therefore, it is essential for individuals to ensure that atmosphere in which they and their family members live, is secured and healthy. In most commercial and residential buildings, asbestos is used quite extensively. With high tensile strength, it is a highly heat resistant material that comes with good insulating properties. Asbestos is mostly used in manufacturing building materials such roofing, ceiling tiles, insulators and many other building supplies. It is considered a harmless material provided that the building supply in which it is used is undamaged. However, with the depletion of these building products, it becomes necessary to remove them as it starts releasing minute asbestos fibers into the air. Generally, most of these building supplies are labeled to indicate whether they comprise asbestos or not. If there is no such label, it becomes very essential to opt for asbestos testing Toronto to verify any presence of asbestos. Such tests help to ensure that the home is safe and free from exposure to asbestos. Asbestos may have harmful effects on the health as minute particles might get breathed into the lungs that can be cause of lung diseases. For this reason, asbestos removal Barrie is so important. As asbestos is commonly used in the manufacture of building materials due to its high insulating qualities thus it is crucial to test asbestos when individuals renovate or shift into a new house. It is always a good choice to hire experienced professionals expert in the technique of asbestos removal as they are aware of the set rules and regulations. One the most common organic contaminations that might occur indoors are the molds, which are mostly seen in places that lack proper ventilation and have presence of any damp areas inside the home or office. Molds can be found mostly in ceilings, wallpapers, underneath carpets, basements, bathrooms, kitchens, and places near a wet area. Even though it is very minute and can be hardly seen with naked eyes, it can be cause of various health issues. Mold inspection Toronto becomes apparent, if individuals happen to detect any signs of molds at their home or office. Molds can be easily removed with help of mold removal Barrie services. The presence of molds would not only affect the health but also damage the house, making it unsafe and unhealthy for the occupants. In such circumstances, mold testing Toronto helps to identify the type of mold, the degree of damage and the techniques required to remove them. When individuals hire services of professional experts, they can be assured that mold would be completely removed and that no place in the home or office is left out. Molds can affect health of those persons trying to remove molds on their own. Thus, it is necessary that this task is carried out by someone who has knowledge and experience to perform the work efficiently and effectively. The most vital thing is to take act immediately whenever there is any indication that the home or office has been attacked by molds.

Agricultural Activities In Dungun Terengganu Sociology Essay

Agricultural Activities In Dungun Terengganu Sociology Essay CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides the background of the study in particular will focus on social capital in relation to agricultural activities in Dungun Terengganu. 1.0 Introduction Agriculture play important role in economics of a country especially in developing country. This is because this field become large financial resource of national income (Ayob, 1994). Various policies were enacted to ensure intact permanent agriculture field as one of the national income main source. Among them were National Agriculture Policy, Policy Of Agricultural Development (Ayob, 1994) and Program 1 Azam (. Government Transformation Programme: The Roadmap. 2010). All this policy drafted to ensure country earned food source that is sufficient (food security) in long time and can eradicate national poverty. This is because most poverty area was in agricultural area. Hence, the areas of agriculture are very important to the country in ensuring food continuity and economic development of the country. Nevertheless, agriculture in Malaysia still was in weak level as this field not so adored by youth. Hence, government needs come out with alternative that is good and need promote the productivity so that it can enhance agricultural activity productivity. According to Liverpool-Tasie, Nail, Ajibola,(2011), the improvement of agricultural productivity is very important to the government policy goal and development agency. In line with nations modernization, areas of agriculture also experienced the revolution. Nomination method no longer limited to those having land, even people who has no land also can garden. It refers to innovation where change occurs within practices (Westendorp, Biggs). Hydroponic and Fertigation System is innovation for agriculture system in Malaysia. It used to provide opportunity to farmers to increase their income revenue as this field often associated with poverty (Ayob, 1994). There are various elements to ensure areas of agriculture success. There are trust, interaction, networking, knowledge sharing and cooperation. However, element that is most important of success in agricultural field is social capital. Social capital is public resources. It needs to be managed and being shared nicely through cooperation by group or people in long period to ensure sustainable social development (Yamaoka, 2007). However, if people fail for recognise the benefit of social capital, it will cause failure on something. Hence, social capital is very important to ensure innovation agricultural project can walk successfully. This study looks into how the social capital fit in the context of agricultural activities. 1.1 Background of study Modernity of a country not only base on the technology but it involves with innovation in agricultural field. In recent years, there are various types of new agriculture in the worldwide. These show that area of agriculture also experienced comparable revolution with others field. According to Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004); D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde and Westendorp, Biggs, they focus to agriculture innovation as it needed for stabilizing production and areas of agriculture productivity by can enhance community development. There is various innovation that have been done in every country to stabilize sector agriculture such as implementation of small water reservoirs in Ghana by Kinderen, (2006), crop without using any poison in Indonesia by Westendorp, Biggs, agricultural technologies for dryland, arid and semiarid Areas by D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde in India and Soil Management Option in Southern Africa by Njuki, Mapila, Zingore, Delve, (2008). All this agriculture innovation affects that positive impact on social capital. However, Malaysia also has the agriculture innovation and it had known as fertigation project. Fertigation is soilless culture production system. Fertigation crop system can avoid crop from root disease infection soil-borne. Among type of crop that suitable to be used for crop fertigation is like red chilli, cucumber, melon, zucchini, brinjal, okra, capsicum and strawberry. Usually, the farmers will build greenhouse known as Struktur Perlindung Tanaman (STP) to protect crop from infection in leaves and fruit and ensure fertilizer concentration at level that correct. Apart from that, crop medium that commonly used in this system is coconut coir dust known as coconut powder or coco peat. It applies as able to absorb and stores fertilizers solution beside used by root as place to believe. Moreover, it cheap and easy to find in the market. This system also uses arranging device time to ensure every crop get fertilizers solution in time was prescribed. Frequency and period every drop depend on type of crop and crop age. (Sources: Teknologi Penanaman Secara Fertigation (MARDI)). Organization from areas of agriculture now had opened the eye of farmers by introducing new crop system namely fertigation crop. It has become latest trend in agricultural field of Malaysia where all organization support using the fertigation crop. This crop promising returns back investment capital within short time if those use this method properly. There are various successes of the farmers by using this system fertigation (sources: By Cultivation Technology Fertigation (MARDI)). In this research, the researcher focuses on how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. The researcher want see the connection between social capital and the agriculture. According to Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011), social network will affect nomination method (farming practices) by adaptation technological information or network. This indirectly will affect agricultural productivity as the farmers have acquired information that is useful to develop their crop system. Apart from that, social capital can improve the agricultural technology. This is because social capital has ability for developed and it also can use various types of social network to create understanding between farming household and farming community (D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde). Social capital in agriculture has given benefit on farmers and also nonfarmers. Social capital will increase awareness and appreciation to the stakeholder interests where it will increase trust and confident on action of community member. When social capital has existed, nonfarmers will support and respect on local agriculture while farmers will respect nonfarmerss concerns and need. Hence, the establishment of social capital will contribute mutual respect among each other and they will share sense of community which will support individual interest and locality (Wilkinson (1991) cited in Sharp, Smith). According to Aleksiev, Penov, (2006), social capital will make people change to be better because everyone have the opportunity to change position and can modify the network where they work. Putman (1993) cited in BRUEGEL, (2006) tell difference between societies with social capital and societies with no social capital. He found that the high level of distrust shows the low level of social capital. People with low level of social capital have a tendency not to follow the rule. Hence, any punishment sentenced will take long time as offences committed heavy. Apart from that, the researcher also focuses on two types of social capital such as bonding and bridging. According to Putnam cited in Yamaoka (2007), bonding social capital are also known as exclusive type where this group have members that is more-or-less and had equation between one same other in term of nature and internally oriented while bridging on the other hand known as inclusive type which include few groups in cross- sectoral and it externally oriented manner. This aim of this study is to explore on how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project of Malaysia especially case of Dungun Terengganu. Malaysia has not yet has research on improvement of fertigation on social capital. 1.2 Problem Statement Social capital is the main issue of this research. Social capital is one of the most crucial agricultural activities that are proven to offer advantages to not only for organization but also for individual in meeting certain objectives. The role of social capital for instance is indeed critical especially dealing with networking between the people. With regard to social capital, learning, communication and trust are among the significant attributes that can help to measure the successful fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. Fertigation project in Malaysia are growing the usage. However, there are some of the issues that are link in this project. The issue which occurred are trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, all this problem can be overcame with social capital. Trust is another thing which is highly associated with social capital. Trust will be influenced by a lot of factors which need to be explored by the researcher. Besides trust, according to officer in Dungun Agriculture Office, they cannot measure the level cooperation between farmers and organization. It is because not all farmers involve in all activities carried out by organization. Other than that, interaction also play very important role to expedite the social capital. Hence, the effective communication needs to use to make sure they understand the information and terms used in fertigation project. Note that effective interaction can influence social capital should they choose the right tools. Networking play role that is important in ensuring continuity social capital in this study. The researcher will study factor which influenced networking in this project of fertigation. Apart from that, the researcher also focuses to knowledge sharing to know as far as it influences social capital. There are a lot of studies pertaining on the social capital. However, the researcher only focus on social capital and agriculture where there will be many research carried out showing that social capital can help agricultural project. For Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004); D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde and Westendorp, their Biggs focus on social capital and agriculture innovation while Yamaoka, (2007); Sharp, Smith; Kinderen, (2006); Liu, Besser,(2003) on the other hand focus on social capital and agricultural and rural development. Apart from that, Hong, Sporleder on the other hand focus on social capital and agricultural cooperative and Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011) on the other hand focus on social capital and agriculture productivity. However, projects carried out above not venture in the nature on fertigation project. 1.3 Research Question With regard to the problems highlighted in problems statement, the following research questions were posed for this study: How bonding contribute to successful of fertigation project How bridging contribute to successful of fertigation project 1.4 Research Objective In general, the main research objective is to examine the social capital for fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. Besides that, this research also explore on the factors that influence social capital which include trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing Thus, the study is carrying out to achieve the following objective: To examine the relationship of social capital towards successful fertigation project 1.5 Scope of the Study The scope of this study is the organization that related to agriculture sector in Dungun Terengganu. There are the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Organization Authority of Malaysia and the farmers involved in Fertigation Project in Dungun. The selection is based on trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing that are assumed to contribute towards social capital. There are several limitations of this study. There are: 1.5.1 Place This research is made in Dungun district where it focuses on farmers in Dungun district. It only focus to one place only and it may be cannot represent actual situation. 1.5.2 Scope The scope of this study is the fertigation project. This project was conducted in two organizations that have been selected by the researcher. The researcher only concern about this project on the area of Dungun, Terengganu only. If the same study implemented in another scope, the result may be different. 1.5.3 Variables In this study, the researcher only focus on trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing as the variables. 1.6 Significance of the Study The importance of this study will see whether the trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing to the stakeholder will gain the social capital in agricultural product development in Dungun Terengganu. Social capital is critical to realize the development community in the social agriculture. This is because by having a good networking, it will create the positive impact to the society and also will increase capacity building in the area. In addition, it also will foster innovative community where they can understand the new knowledge and be involved with a new mission and decision. The other significant of the study is to gather new knowledge on this area. It will give academicians and organizations new knowledge on social capital, how it can be done between the farmers and organization in an agriculture context. Besides that, it can serve as a platform for future research. The data obtained can be used for other researchers to study the social capital globally. Besides that, the researcher also will come out with the theoretical contribution which can use by the others scholar particularly on social capital in agricultural activities. Last significance of this study is to provide recommendations to improve the present situation. With that, the organizations can prevent, reduce and overcome some cases by taking appropriate prevention and action to solve the problems. It is to ensure that any problems that occur have the solution and make sure that the organization did not make the same mistake in the future. 1.7 Definition of Terms 1.7.1 Fertigation Fertigation is soilless culture production system (Teknologi Penanaman Secara Fertigation (MARDI)). 1.7.2Social Capital For Cohen (2007), social capital is network of informal trust relationships that provide an essential social infrastructure for knowledge sharing and knowledge creation sparked by new combination of existing knowledge. Besides that, according to Woolcook Narayan, 2000 (cited in Kilpatrick Falk, 2003) social capital is norms and networks that enable people to act correctly (pp. 501). According to World Bank Cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011), social capital refers to the institutions, relations and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a societys interactionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Social Capital is not just the sum of the institutions which underpin a society-it is the glue that holds them together. 1.7.3 Bonding social Capital Bonding social capital describes the links between individuals or groups with similar goals within the network (Hong, G., Sporleder) 1.7.4 Bridging Social Capital Bridging social capital describes the capacity of individuals or groups to make links with others outside their organization, particularly across social networks (Hong, G., Sporleder) Measurement of social capital Social capital has a variety of dimensions. While in many developing countries, it is often captured via some measure of membership in community based organizations, as well as engagement in the community (Okunmadewa et al. 2007; Balogun and Yusuf 2011a; Yusuf 2008), there are a number of other aspects of social capital that have been identified as important for a comprehensive understanding of the concept. Some aspects of social capital that have been identified in the literature as very important (Roslan et al. 2010a, 2010b; Balogun and Yusuf 2011) include: 1) Groups and networks, measured by a) Membership in formal or informal organization or association. b) Ability to get support from those, other than family members and relatives, in case of hardship. c) Remittances. d) Ability to learn from ones network or group, particularly the impact on technology adoption. e) Access to various markets (labor, input, or output) via the group. 2) Trust and solidarity, measured by a) Perceptions about whether most people in the community can be trusted. b) Perceptions about social support/help provided by group members for each other in times of hardship. 3) Collective action and cooperation, measured by a) More than half of the community contributing time or money towards common development goals. b) A high likelihood that people, in the community, cooperate to solve common problems. 4) Information and communication, measured by a) Frequency of reading or listening to news sources such as radio, newspapers, and television. 5) Social cohesion and inclusion, measured by a) Strong feeling of togetherness within the community. b) Feeling safe from crime and violence when alone at home. 6) Empowerment and political action, measured by a) Having control in making decisions that affect everyday activities b) Political participation such as voting and being voted for in local elections (Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola (2011)) To measure socialcapital, two indicators are utilized. The first item is a social network measure reflecting the extent to which residents interact with farmerss. The second socialcapital item represents trust, and is an attitudinal measure of resident trust or confidence in local farmerss. The network question asked respondents to indicate how often he or she saw or met a farmers during the course of a year, with response categories including never, a few times a year, once or a few times a month, and once a week or more (Sharp Smith) This paper uses an innovations systems framework to analyse the ways social capital in the overall agricultural and natural resources innovation system in Nepal has increased far beyond what was originally expected in the project proposal (Westendorp Biggs) CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In the previous chapter, the researcher provides the basic information of social capital. Under this chapter, it will explore more on the elements of social capital which relevance to the research. This chapter describes the theoretical foundation for social capital in agricultural sector in Dungun Terengganu. In the section, the researcher gives an overview of the how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. This section will culminate issue related to theoretical considerations to empirical study. The researcher will also present a conceptual framework. An outline of this chapter is given in the figure as below: Figure 2.0: Outline of Chapter 2 2.1 Problems in Agriculture Every project carried out doubtless has problem and the challenge. In this study, the researcher focus on problems which occurred in sector agriculture so that the researcher knows what problem that is real occurs within field of agriculture. Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004) discuss on group size. There is conflict on group size that should use in this areas of agriculture whether small size or big size. According To Pretty (2003), every agriculture project need membership within 20 and 50 persons but if membership less than 20, farmer can still functioning well. In this study, they discuss on advantages of small size group and big size group. Small size group will influence social capital with much better as fewer members beside it have been administered easily and particularly dynamic. However, large size will gain the huge experience as it involving many memberships. Hence, the group size become issue to many project agriculture in ensuring social capital happen. Apart from that, difference parties doubled up problem in areas of agriculture (Enserink (2004) cited in Kinderen (2006)). According to this study, farmer with parties that have different tendency to resolve their own problem without discuss with responsible party. This is because they have their own perspective and they rather solve problems according to their own way. It also supported by Wilber (1981) cited in Kinderen (2006) where when this situation happened, farmer no longer want to solve problems but they prefer to live in imbalance and inequalities. In addition, low skilled and low educational background doubled up problems for areas of agriculture (Ogunanya 2009; Ekunwe, Orewa and Emokaro 2008 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola 2011; Ayob (1994). These problems happen due to poverty which hit most farmers. This is because most impoverished area located in agricultural area. When farmer has no educational, it will give impact on agricultural productivity as they cannot accept new skill and has no knowledge to develop areas of agriculture. Apart of that, low income in the agriculture as the farmers have low educational and low skilled. Hence, they had to make other jobs to accommodate their income (Fasoranti 2006; Okafor 2004; Adewuyi and Okunmadewa 2001; Yusuf et al. 2009; Peke 2008; Adewuyi 2006; Adejoh 2009 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola 2011). Problems in this agriculture have encouraged innovation in agriculture to help farmers and in Malaysia, fertigation project is agricultural innovation and it also establishes to help farmers in country. 2.2 Social Capital Social capital is defining an asset. It will give the benefit such as productive on process more efficient, effective, innovative, and developed. Social capital did not exist in one person, however it inhering relationship between one and other individual and with socioeconomic institutions where the individual operate (Coleman 1988 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola, 2011). The study of social capital have been intrigued various scholar. Social capital is a set process by which individuals will be built and developed the relationship with other people to provide goods or services (Keyes, 2006). At this time, people will identify their strengths in their working relationship and had been feeling the benefits resulting from effective team. Social capital cannot be seen by the naked eye, but it certainly exists in the real world and its existence can be felt by the interaction. According to Woolcock (1999) cited in Bostrà ¶m (2002), social capital can be found at club, association and societies and communities where people can meet and work together. According to Huotari livonen, social capital associated with the actor in a relationship. If the actor in a relationship trusts each other, it does not only increase the social capital but also can create the knowledge for innovation. This also supported Ji et al (2010) that social capital has relationship with trust and had the connection in empirical study. Before going with more much further, we need to know how social capital can happen. According to Morrice (2207), everyone has owned different amount of social capital. Only they uncertain whether it many or a little. However, when something has occurred and it involves people interest, they will be united and will develop bond among them. When they already united, this bond will become double- edge. All problems faced would be resolved jointly. It will be giving advantages to group because network has become stronger. Interaction and learning is between one of the element in social capital (Maskell (2000) cited in Chou (2006)). It can exist in society with the existence of process of interaction and learning. This is because people interact with colleague compared to own family and also friends. Hence, social capital will emerge at workplaces and it will help cooperation in job. Social capital will note happen if individuals only used a little ability or note use it direct for society interest (Dà ­az Andrade Urquhart, 2009). According to them, social capital provides structure to understand configuration and intensity of interaction between individuals in network. Apart from that, social capital can make innovation. According to Westendorp Biggs, it not only changing productivity agriculture and reduce cost but it also enhance institutional linkage and social capital development. Besides that, storytelling will reinforces further social capital between people because it would be firmed further norm and trust people on organization (Hope Cheong, 2006). Networks have four characteristic such as pluriformity, interdependency, closedness and dynamic (de Bruijn and heuvelhof, 2000 cited in Kinderen, 2006). According to them, pluriformity is variety in the network. This is because everyone have characteristic, knowledge, power, financial resources and own objective. When people do something policy that new, pluriformity need to establish because there will have conflict in the network. This is because people have various characteristic and they will act based on their characteristic. In this study, there is part of society in Africa agreeing with implementation of small reservations and some of them do not want to take part. Closedness of the network is a characteristics that is easily been recognised in the societies. In African villages, often rivalry between different ethnic groups exists and kinship is a crucial factor of being part of the group or not. The closedness of an organisation (read: village/community) is the result of its frame of reference which is formed by core values deeply rooted in the organisation and which determine its action to a large degree. Organisations are usually sensitive to interventions that fit their own frame of reference (de Bruijn and Heuvelhof, 2000: 27). So being able to determine that frame of reference will, partly, determine the successfulness of the intervention. Apart from that, interdependency exists within group or society between actors. It depends on the amount of connection in group. When it have strong bonding, network will become interdependency. However, it difficult for predict. Hence, actors need to be careful so that no one takes advantage towards them. Last network is dynamic. Dynamic of network have the large power. It can affect the people in the network. This is because network that is dynamic will inconvenience inteference from outside. Apart from that, Maertens (2010) cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola (2011) said that dynamic network will affect p eople to engage in new activity as their network strong. Figure 2.2: Modelling a Theory of Social Capital (Lin, 1999) (pp.41) Based on from this model, it has three blocks variable namely a blocks represent pre- conditional and precursors of social capital factor in social structure and every position individual in social structure which can constrains or facilitate social capital. Second block representing social capital element and last block representing return probability for social capital. In first block to second, it explained on formation of inequality of social capital namely what structural element which will affect the opportunities for construct and maintain social capital. In second block on the other hand, it explained on two element of social capital namely access to social capital and use of social capital. Both elements explain process of social capital mobilization. Third Block also explained on three ingredients has inter- connected namely better accessible embedded resources, better embedded resources that could be utilised by individual. In process second block (social capital) until t hird block (outcome), it represents the process which social capital produce returns. It explains on what we get outcome from social capital. 2.3 Important of Social Capital According to Grooteart, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006, social capital can expect certain aspect in society such as crime, health, poverty and unemployment. It can leverage on the efficiency of production, happiness, life satisfaction and wellbeing of the community (Helliwell and Putnam, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006). Apart from that, social capital now also is looked as important asset that is equivalent with natural, physical capital, finance, human, and political capital (Dll Meinzen-Dick, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006). Social capital afford consolidate democracy in society and it can enhance efficiency towards work (Safr and Sediackova, 2006 cited in POSPÄÅ ¡CH SPÄÅ ¡Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚  Nà  (2011). When networking in strong society, all activity carried out will happen nicely because the existence of bonding in community. Apart from that, social capital also influenced the sustainable livelihood (Pretty, 2003). This is because it got involved with social bond where actor which have high social bond will success in activity carried out and it will also influence living stability. At the same time, social capital also gave impact on knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is one element in social capital. According To Putnam (1993) cited in D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde, uniqueness social capital rests with willingness of people to share. All activity carried out will succeed because people know what they need to do by can increase knowledge. Social capital has a few key features. First feature was social capital can accumulate stock where it will give various benefits. According to Westendorp Biggs, social capital comprises more than a social organisation or social capital values. Social can improve output with improve productivity activity. Apart from that, social capital could reduce cost if work together. People will be having confidence to invest in collective activities (Pretty, 2003). Pretty and Ward 2001; Pretty, 2002 cited in Pretty, 2003 stress four aspects that can be ensured in social capital. Among them was the relationship of trust, reciprocity and exchanges, common rules, norms and sanction and connectedness, network and group. 2.4 Impact of Social Capital to Agriculture According to Bourdieu (1983) cited in Wolz, Fritzsch, Reinsberg (2004), people can change social capital to other types of capital like physical capital when obtain social capital through purposeful action. However, it takes a long time to see the result of investment on social capital. Social capital also able generates profit in economic (POSPÄÅ ¡CH SPÄÅ ¡Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚  Nà , 2011). This is because actors have various networks of personal ties. When actor has many networks, it can help them market their productivity agriculture. Apart from that, social capital also produced innovation on agriculture. According to Westendorp Biggs, the natural resources innovation system in Nepal increased and it exceeded over their expectation. In the development of agriculture sector and urban and rural area, social capital perceived as readiness and capacity to work together. In this study, it covers case such as watersheds, irrigation management, and integrated pest management strategies. This concept has become solution of problems faced by modern society, socioeconomic and political development. (D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde). Apar

Effect of Pre-Existing Schemas on Memory Recall

Effect of Pre-Existing Schemas on Memory Recall Aasimah Nabeebocus Abstract: Previous research has shown that everyday memory fails in being able to recall and represent data accurately, measured using a drawing task and recognition task. Researchers have explained this in terms of a schema theory. That is individuals recall and represent information based on their pre-existing schemas. However much research conducted in this field, is outdated, therefore this current study aimed to shed light on this by using the same procedure as †¦Results indicate that while there was a significant difference in the representation of the clock between the copy and memory condition. No significant differences were found in the choice of recall by participants in the memory or copy condition. The result partially supports some previous research, and the implications of this finding suggest potential real life applications. Historically researchers have highlighted the importance of everyday memory. But contrary to this popular view emerging research have actually shown that everyday memory lacks accuracy and lead to biases in perception of everyday objects and situations. Nickerson and Adams (1982) investigated this idea whereby participants were instructed to recall and draw both sides of a U.S. penny. They found that recall was inaccurate and relatively poor, and that the features identified by the participants did not match correctly to the ones on the coin. Morris (1988) who investigated this further found that British students who were asked to identify and recall the right coin, only a small (15 %) percentage of students were able to recall the appearance of the coin. This indicates that simply looking at an object constantly does not necessarily mean that we pay attention and that the memory formed is correctly retained. Cohen (1989) proposes a theory that best explains this notion of failure in accurate memory recall. Schema theory suggests that our capacity to recall information is based on existing knowledge and prior experiences. In addition, it claims that our day-to-day memory â€Å"consists of a set of schemas, or knowledge structures through which we form our knowledge of objects, situations, events, or actions t learnt from previous experience†. A study that lends firm support to this theory was examined by Allport and Postman (1947). In their study participants were shown a photograph of a black male being menaced by a white male on the subway. When participants were questioned afterwards about the offender, participants were more likely to recall and identify the black man as the offender. It appears therefore that limiting ourselves to what we already know can biased one’s view on how they may perceived and recall a situation or person. Furthermore, a study by Williams and Richards (1993) investigated the effect of everyday memory on our ability to accurately recall roman numbers on a clock. The advantage of using such method was useful , as the number four was represented differently on a clock than to how it appears in roman numerals. Therefore, by varying the conditions in which participants engaged, they were able to detect whether participants resorted to using their schematic memory when trying to draw and recall the numbers on the clock. The three conditions included: (forewarned) where participants were instructed to look at the clock for a short period of time, as they would be asked to draw it after it had been taken away from their sight, (surprise) in this condition participants were simply asked to look at the clock, then later asked to draw it once it had been taken away, (copy) in this condition participants were instructed to draw the clock that appeared in front of them. Their results indicated that in the forewarned and surprise condition, participants were more likely to make mistakes and draw the figure four as â€Å"IV†, whereas those participants in the copy condition drew the figure four precisely to how it appeared on the clock e.g. â€Å"IIII†. Therefore it appears that the participants in the two memory conditions were more likely to recall information based on their schematic memory, this supports the theory that schemas do directly influence how we recall and represent information. However a limitation that stems from this study is that the participants in the copy condition were effortlessly drawing the clock that appeared in front of them, therefore schemas were not useful when asked to draw the clock. A study that accounts for this limitation is by Richard, French and Harris (1996). In their study the same method was applied, as participants engaged in 3 conditions, (forewarned, surprise, copy) and were asked to draw the clock but additionally they were asked to participate in a recognition task afterwards. Their results showed that the participants in the copy condition, when asked to choose between two pictures and identify which of the two clocks presented to them had the correct figure i.e. (4). Participants were more likely to recall the figure (4) being represented as â€Å"IV’ on the clock rather than â€Å"IIII†. In sum, while these findings provide evidence that schemas do have an impact on our ability to recall and recognise information. Much of the research conducted is outdated. Therefore, the findings cited above suggests that more recent research is to be conducted to find out whether the same results would be obtained at this present time. For this reason, the current study aimed to repeat the same procedure used in previous research in order to shed light on this issue. Since findings have been consistent, we proposed two experimental hypothesis based on Richard Harris (1993) and French Harris’ (1996) findings , which is stated below: H1: In the drawing task, there will be a significant difference between the two conditions i.e. memory condition and copy condition. The participants in the memory condition will be more likely to incorrectly represent the figure (4) as â€Å"IV’ compared to participants in the copy condition. H2: In the recognition task, there will be a significant difference between the two conditions i.e. memory condition and copy condition. Of the participants who accurately represented the figure four as ‘IIII’ in the drawing task, those in the copy condition will be more likely to accurately recall the figure four as ‘IIII compared to participants in the memory condition. Method: Participants: In the study 61 students were undertaking this experiment . However, two were excluded from the analysis because one participant drew the clock with ‘1,2,3,4 o’ clock etc. rather than Roman numerals, and a second did not complete the critical ‘IIII’ or ‘IV’ choice. Therefore our data only included a total number of 59 participants, this included 4 males and 55 females, aged between 18 and 30 years old. The mean for the age=19.21, SD=1.18, range=18-30. The participants were all undergraduate psychology students at Queen Mary University of London and were selected from 1st year undergraduate at Queen Mary. The participants were appropriately briefed prior to the experiment and informed consent was obtained. Lastly, the researcher ensured that all ethical guidelines were met and was approved by Queen Mary University of London Ethics Committee. Design: In this experiment, a between -subject design was used as participants only took part in one condition. The researcher also insured that all participants were randomly allocated to each condition. The independent variable were the three types of conditions: (surprise, forewarned and copy). While the dependent variable was whether participants drew or recognised the figure (4) as ‘IV’ or ‘IIII’ and how frequently participants recall or recognised the figure (4) as being ‘IV’ or ‘IIII’. Procedure: Small groups of participants took part in each condition, this was to ensure that all participants observed the clock clearly and no obstructions were present. The clock used in the original studies was a standard clock made by Samuel Bishop of London, with clear Roman Numerals on the face. The figure (4) appeared as ‘IIII’ on the clock. The time on the clock was adjusted at ten past seven. In this current experiment, a picture of the clock was employed rather than the actual clock used in French and Richard (1993) study. The experiment compromised of 3 conditions (forewarned, surprise and copy). Each group of participants were assigned to one of these conditions. These conditions were carried out chronologically. In the first condition (surprise). Participants were informed to simply look at the clock for a period of 5 minutes. Once the picture had been taken away from their sight. Participants were then asked to draw the clock from memory. In the second condition (forewarned). Participants were informed that they would be asked to draw the clock after observing the clock for a short period of time. But that they could only draw the clock, once the image had been taken out of their sight. In the third condition (copy). Participants were informed to observe the clock and draw the clock. In all the conditions participants were asked to state on their drawing sheet their age, sex, conditions ( and personal identifier, this was composed of their mother’s first two initials and their date of birth. In all the conditions (forewarned, surprise, copy) a recognition task was also carried out after the drawing task. This was the same method employed by Richard Harris (1996) in their study. In the recognition task, participants were presented with two pictures of the clock at the same time and asked to choose the correct picture that matched the clock that they had previously observed. In each of the group, half of the participants obtained both pictures in which the correct picture was placed on the left, and the rest of the participants obtained both pictures in which the correct picture was placed on the right. After participants had made their choice they were asked to write down which conditions they took part in (i.e. 1st, 2nd or 3rd) age, sex and personal identifier this was to ensure that their data from the drawing task could be matched accordingly. [MW1] Results: Count 24 7 IV Expected count 18.4 12.6 Count 11 17 IIII Expected count 16.6 11.4 MC CC Count 4 11 IV Expected count 5.7 9.3 Count 7 7 IIII Expected count 5.3 8.7 All the participants drawing were assessed to see whether they presented the figure four as ‘IV’ or ‘IIII’. The frequency of this is shown for each condition is shown below. There was no difference in the results between the forewarned and surprised condition, as a result these two data were collapsed into one condition called ‘memory condition’, this was carried out in order to increase the statistical power of the test. Given the test is categorical, we used a non-parametric test to examine whether the differences were significant. A chi-square test was conducted on the data. The test revealed that there was a significant difference between how participants represented the number 4 in each condition, chi-square (1)=8.87,p=. 003. In the recognition data, analysis was only taken for those participants who accurately dew four as ‘IIII’ in the first part of the study (drawing task) .A chi-square was conducted on the data to see if there was a significant difference in participant’s ability to identify the correct clock from two possible options, whether they had previously copied or drawn it from memory. The test revealed that there was no significant difference between the choices in recall made by participatns in the mempry and copy condition, chi-square (1)=1.68, p >.05 [MW3] Discussion: This study aimed to add to previous old research by looking at whether the same result would be found at this current time. The results showed that in the drawing task there was a significant difference in the frequencies i.e. whether they accurately or wrongly represented the figure (4) as either ‘IV’ or ‘IIII’ between the two conditions. However there was no significant difference between the numbers of correct recalls made by participants in the recognition task. Therefore, our first experimental hypothesis is supported while our second hypothesis is rejected. This shows that in the drawing task, those participants in the memory conditions who incorrectly represented the figure (4) as ‘IV’ were more likely to use their schematic memory rather than actually processing the information. However those participants in the copy condition who accurately drew the figure (4) in the drawing task butwrongly recalled the figure (4) as ‘IV’ i n the drawing task. This shows that observing the clock while drawing did not facilitate the participant in processing or encoding that information, thus affecting their ability to accurately recall it later on.[MW4] These findings are in accordance with Williams et al (1993) study that found that in the drawing task, participants in the copy condition were accurate in their representation of the four compared to participants in the memory condition (forewarned and surprised). Additionally, our results is partially supported by Richard, French et al (1996) who found that those in the copy condition were more likely to recall the figure (4) inaccurately though they had represented the number 4 accurately in the drawing task. A plausible explanation, may be that participants were effortlessly drawing what appeared in front of them, therefore more likely to get it right in the drawing task but when asked to recall the information as they did not pay attention they resorted to using their schemas in order to recall what the figure (4) appeared as on the clock. However, unlike our results this study did find a significant difference between the memory condition and copy condition when asked to recall. As those in the memory condition who represented the figure (4) accurately in the drawing task, none of these participants inaccurately recalled the four in the recognition task. The fact that that these results are only partially consistent with previous research points to a possible limitation within the study. Due to our study consisting a small sample size, this suggests a possibility in creating a Type II [MW5]error. A type two error is â€Å"falsely rejecting the null hypothesis and stating that the results are due to chance†. Therefore having a larger sample may have yielded more statistically powerful results, this is supported by Richard et al (1996) who found a statistically significant difference. Additionally, using a different statistical test may have been better given the small sample size, a good alternative would have been a Fisher exact test [MW6]this is again supported by Richard et al (1996) who found statistically significant difference when running a fisher test. Further, one possible explanation for the outcome of this result is the impact of interference on students schematic memory[MW7]. A study by Nickerson and Adams (1979) suggested that participants who drew the penny incorrectly may have have difficulty in differentiating between features of an old and current penny. This results indicates that roman numerals learned at school may have interfered with participatns ability to form new memories of the clock face, this is increasingly more prominent in younger students as they have had less exposure to roman numeral clock faces. Therefore participants may have recognised the number 4 as ‘IV’ rather than ‘IIII’. Finally, the impact of these findings are not only interesting, but could hold significance in real life situations . In a case study in which a young lady Jennfier Thompson (1984) was raped, it was found that when asked to identity her rapist she falsely accused an innocent man . This finding suggest that memories are not infallible and can be influenced easily by schemas or other factors. Nickerson, R. S., Adams, M. J. (1979). Long-term memory for a common object.Cognitive Psychology,11(3), 287-307. [MW1]Perfect method, well done à ¯Ã‚ Ã…   [MW2]You need to portion out the forewarned and surprise memory conditions in the initial frequency table. You can then explain why the conditions were collapsed together afterwards (this is what Richards and co did) [MW3]This isn’t reported correctly. You need to put it inside brackets, and you need to use the Greek symbol for Chi which is χ [MW4]If you’re looking to cut words, I think these two paragraphs can be shortened. [MW5]This is written as Type II Good old roman numerals 😉 [MW6]Needs capitals – Fisher’s Exact Test [MW7]As I said before, this is not a limitation. This is a possible explanation for the results.