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Saturday, December 29, 2018

Database technology at Saudi Aramco

With respect to the goals and expected outcomes from any DG programs and In order to increase the value of data and consider it as asset, policy and standard need to be established by the organizations .Organizations shall establish procedures of usage, development and management of data to create the right organizational structure. Therefore, organizations themselves considered to important discipline to assure its own right. DG has many goals, for instance; Assure that the data satisfy the business need and the Data are protected and managed as values asset. One more goal is to lower the cost of managing these data( Panian and Spremic2007).There are business drivers such as; Growing revenue, lower the cost and ensure compliances. These drivers are considered to be the common motivators for the DG and the common goals for any business (Panian, 2010).  do you agree with such ? 
Z. Panian, (2010). Some Practical Experiences in Data Governance. Zagreb, Croatia: World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology. Retrieved January 26, 2019, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1736/26431ed114b232c1dab8ae60a005a0d593dc.pdf.
Z. Panian and M. Spremic, (2007) Corporate Governance and Information Systems Audit, (in Croatian), Zagreb, Croatia: Zgombic & partneri, pp. 321-334

Friday, December 28, 2018

Justice in the Republic


            Having read various materials  and several definitions of justice in the Republic my definition is different now then it was before. This is not because I have completely changed my views, but because my eyes were opened to many avenues that I had not yet taken. I will first give Webster’s definition of justice: The administration of what is just (as by assigning merited rewards or punishments) 2: judge 3: administration of law 4: fairness; also: righteousness. I feel that justice is something different for everyone, depending on each person’s circumstance. For example many people get shot here in New York City. Some would agree that justice would be to have the person who committed the crime to pay for it with their own life. This could either be by death or life in prison, which to some is much worse. In other cases with a just and unjust argument a good person who does not commit crimes and would not take advantage of a circum-
stance even if they knew they could get away with it, could also be justice. I would actually agree with Webster’s number four definition: fairness. To me, this really sums up what I have always believed the word justice meant. If a person commits a crime no matter how big or small there should be actions taken. The punishment in the victim’s eyes may not always be as tremendous as the crime or even be enough to satisfy. We have a government who has to set and make sure laws are abided. Also to see that “justice” will come to those who are victims or to victim’s families.

            In reading about Socrates ideal city I see a lot that would be of merit. Too much of the story about the hypothetical city that he came up with is unattainable. He had hopes of a complete utopia. This could not work because all throughout time the world and the people in it are progressing. In Socrates’ day and in our own today there were and always will be those of who strive for a better existence. There should be, and why not? To think of what our world would be like if Socrates’ city ever came to be. No ones technology would have progressed in any form. In the case of a war, if the majority had stayed the way he had hoped for it would only take a small group of individuals to break away and quickly advance. This could have been another country and it would become survival of the fittest. The many that were programmed not to be anything but their contributing part to their community would not have any other skills. This is the main reason Socrates’ city would not work. But his selection of rulers being the most intelligent and concerned with the well being of its people and not of wealth was of value. The idea of selective breeding would yes, most likely having paired couples by intelligence and appearance be successful, but nothings ever perfect. I can’t imagine a city full of children and parents who don’t know exactly who they’re related to. Even though every one would be considered “family” I think it would be heart breaking. 

             Glaucon tells Socrates that the “ideal city” he has come up with is only fit for pigs. So, Socrates begins to elaborate on the features of the city. The professional soldiers who are also the Guardians must be carefully selected. Their training, upbringing, intelligence, and strength was pertinent. They had to excel in all things such as gymnastics and music. The older should rule the younger. They must have the interest of the city first in mind, because that of which a man loves he will protect. The question that Socrates raises is that of how can it be guaranteed that all citizens will obey? Glaucon came up with a lie or myth to tell all citizens and make them believe it. This was the structure of classes called the Myth of Metals. This is where the social levels would be divided in to Gold – the rulers, Silver – the auxiliaries, and Bronze – the tradesmen. The lie was that the off spring of the particular metal would be that of the parent, just as a cast system. Socrates did acknowledge that the citizens would probably doubt this lie or myth for the first few generations. He ultimately hoped it would end in a loyal and stable city. The Guardians would provide the education for the children of this city. If a child were born in to the wrong class it would be removed and put in to the correct class. This is if people from different “metal” classes gold, silver, or bronze procreated a child. The child would have to be removed because that was not allowed. The people would contribute to the city the skill they favored the most and this would be their sole skill and job in life. The rulers felt if the city were well educated and learned to be people of discernment then they would grasp things like mating and procreation quickly, and know not to disrupt the system at hand. They said if the city gets a proper start it would gain momentum and grow quickly and efficiently. Education was the main concern for the Guardians to deliver. The children would not be allowed to sidetrack with things such as gymnastics, music, or poetry because it could undermine the city.

            One issue that was discussed in great length was the role of women. The idea of having men and women equal in this society on all accounts except for physical strength made me wonder why the rest of history, including today didn’t think like that. They would be raised, trained, and educated the same. The women also learned the art of war. The main question was if women could perform all the tasks that men could? Also, could women really handle war? It was said that if the only difference that came up between men and women is that one begets and one can give birth then there is no difference to argue. The bottom line is that sex cannot be a criterion of who is in a governmental or any other position in the city. 

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Create Ways for Your Employees to Learn from Each Other

Peer-to-peer learning can be a powerful (and free) development tool. Research shows that when people want to learn a skill, turning to colleagues for help is often the first thing they do. You can encourage this kind of learning in your organization by setting up a formal program for it. Start by appointing a facilitator to oversee the program. It’s important to have a neutral party — who is not the team’s manager — to organize sessions, keep everyone on topic, and maintain a positive atmosphere. You also need to build a safe environment so that people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, experiences, and questions. Setting ground rules around honoring confidentiality and accepting feedback graciously can help. During sessions, be sure that learning is tied to real-world situations and problems so that participants can apply the skills they’ve learned quickly. And encourage employees to network, whether online, at networking events, or through another method, so that anyone in the company can get involved.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Facebook and its databases

Facebook 
Facebook, Inc. is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California with close to one a billion of active users(Facebook Annual Report, 2017). Users are expressing themselves and interacting with their peer and friends through wall posts, uploading their photos, passing information’s about events and other meaningful information and for that reason Facebook needs a large scalable database.
Facebook Databases 
Facebook uses multiple databases to ensure that it website is up and running smoothly in spite of handling close to billion active users (Facebook Anaual Report, 2017). Facebook primarily uses MySQL for structured data storage such as wall posts, user information, timeline etc. (Madison, Barnhill, Napier & Godin, 2015).  This data is replicated between their various data centers. It is also important to note that Facebook makes heavy use of Memcached, a memory caching system that is used to speed up dynamic database driven websites by caching data and objects in RAM to reduce reading time (Madison, Barnhill, Napier & Godin, 2015). Memcached is Facebook’s primary form of caching and greatly reduces the database load. Having a caching system allows Facebook to be as fast as it is at recalling the user’s data.
Database Technologies and its Benefits
Haystack-the photos application is one of Facebook’s most popular features (Goel et al, 2014). Up to date, users have uploaded over 15 billion photos which make Facebook the biggest photo sharing website; for each uploaded photo, Facebook generates and stores four images of different sizes, which translates to a total of 60 billion images and 1.5PB of storage (Goel et al, 2014). The current growth rate is 220 million new photos per week, which translates to 25TB of additional storage consumed weekly (Borthakur, 2013). Overall, users of Facebook have enjoyed many benefits from using this technology as they are able to effectively communicate with their friends and family member, make video calling, share of memories and photos, and communicate with others who share same interest or hoppy. All these benefits are free to all Facebook users. 
Downsides of Databases and Facebook Technology
On other hand, having to deal with multiple databases has created several downsides to Facebook Company and some downsides existed from using this technology affecting primarily the user. Multiple databases have created complexity requiring experienced designers and significant financial resources to overcome this complexity (Facebook Annual Report, 2017). Also, Databases require significant upfront and ongoing financial resources to continuously develop or customize the database management systems (Borthakur, 2013). On the users’ side, “Facebook addiction” is a new disorder in which addicted users spent many hours using Facebook keeping them away from socializing with real people and eventually creating the problems with the real-life relationships, relatives, school, or in the career (Goel et al, 2014). Another downside of Facebook is Data privacy issues in which some apps can have accessed to personal information and share them with third party as users don’t use privacy and security settings properly. 
Considering other Technologies
I believe that is the big concern Facebook facing is the privacy issues of its customers; therefore, Facebook needs to develop technologies that fully protected and safeguard personal information of its users. Facebook could use simple technologies to increase awareness of its security and privacy setting in order to mitigate these risks. It could also implement technologies that track fake accounts and suspicious links and prevent them from posting on its pages (Borthakur, 2013). These technologies would increase the reliability and the security of Facebook. 
Utilization of Database Technologies for Managers
As a manager, database technologies would be utilized to support me in making decisions that would improve the effectiveness of my management. For an example, I could utilize customer relationship management (CRM) database to improve my customer experience and increase their satisfaction (Chaudhuri, Dayal & Ganti, 2001).  Moreover, I can utilize database technologies alongside with electronic data interchange and barcode scanning to track my inventory and minimize lost sales while maximizing my opportunities for growth (Chaudhuri, Dayal & Ganti, 2001). 

References 
Borthakur, D. (2013). Petabyte scale databases and storage systems at facebook. Paper presented at the 1267-1268. doi:10.1145/2463676.2463713
Chaudhuri, S., Dayal, U., & Ganti, V. (2001). Database technology for decision support systems. Computer, 34(12), 48-55. doi:10.1109/2.970575
Goel, A., Chopra, B., Gerea, C., Mátáni, D., Metzler, J., Ul Haq, F., & Wiener, J. (2014). Fast database restarts at facebook. Paper presented at the 541-549. doi:10.1145/2588555.2595642
Facebook Annual Report (2017). ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. Retrived from http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NASDAQ_FB_2017.pdf
Madison, M., Barnhill, M., Napier, C., & Godin, J. (2015). NoSQL database technologies. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 24(1), 1.

Friday, December 21, 2018

The importance of academic writing in business

Writing well is the most important skill for graduate student, because it enables them to express their views, and increase the importance of writing skills when you need to support your ideas or writing a thesis in an excellent academic way. Nevertheless, academic writing skills and requirements are varied in terms of importance. Taking others writing ideas and information then using them in your work, without referring to them in accepting manner, is one of the most important requirements of right research (Bailey, 2006). Moreover, clarified the purpose of writing is another most important requirement for good academic writing (Howard, 2014).
            “Plagiarism is using somebody else’s ideas, research or written work without saying where it comes from” (Swain, 2012, p. 1), in the internet era plagiarism being easier than ever, that pushing to invest in plagiarism detection software. Criticize others ideas or writing is acceptable if writer referred to them properly (Howard, 2014). In academic writing, taking others writing is misconduct and lead to legal sanction. So, the most important characteristic of a good researcher is acknowledging his sources.
            Writing for entertaining, definitely different than writing for persuasion, therefore, every writer should clarify the purpose of his writing before starting write, ask yourself what is my purpose hop to accomplish with the text? The reasons of writing are diverse, from writing to inform, to express your feelings or beliefs, to entertain or persuade (Howard, 2014). Determine the purpose of writing prior to the start very important factor for writing and research especially for academic writing.

References:

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing A Handbook for International Students (Second Edition ed.). New York: Routledge.

Howard, R. M. (2014). Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research (Second Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Swain, D. (2012). Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: A Brief Guide for New Students. (C. Guthrie, Ed.) Hamilton: The University of Waikato.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Same-Sex Education

Not surprisingly, same-sex education has been a controversial issue in many countries throughout the world for quite some time. A great resource that cover the history of same-sex education that caught my interest include the following:

Sharpe, W. (2018). Single-gender classes: Are they better? Retrieved from: https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr215.shtml

This article provides a brief historical perspective on the same-sex education issue in the United States of America. The article delves into the stereotypical social consequences of gender-based learning, weighing the pros and cons of the issue. The pros definitely outweigh the cons as presented in this article, including:

·      Some single-sex classes have shown significant improvements, particularly in areas like stem and mathematics.
·      Building comradery amongst individuals of the same sex is easier.
·      Some programmatic dropout rates have decreased significantly resulting from positive social constructs.
·      Generally, increases student success rates and levels of confidence.
·      Creates a less distracting environment between genders.

 Some of the cons noted include:

·      Not all single-sex classes have shown significant improvements.
·      Cliques are easily formed in single-sex classes, which could result in negative or positive social structures that impact productivity.
·      It’s critical to have the right person teaching either gender. Gender preference can become a bias and therefore result in unfair teaching practices.

I think the most important lesson learned from this article is regarding the social constructs and integration between individuals of the same gender must be positive and targeted. Overall, it is my personal opinion and goal to treat every individual with the same level of professionalism, coaching, and leadership, no matter the gender.


Single gender education

Reading through some of the literature on single gender education, I have learned a few strategies that can be used to effectively work with students. 
1. Understand the reason for the single-gender program and abide by the guiding principles. 
2. Tailor the context and examples of the learning materials to suit to the gender your are teaching. 
3. Never focus on the gender as an issue in the class room. 
References:
NEA, 2017. Research Spotlight on Single - Gender Education. http://www.nea.org/tools/17061.htm

Ibnez, N. (2011). Best Practices In Single Gender education. 

https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dre-reports/11.09_Best_Practices_in_single_Gender_Education.pdf

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Single Gender Teaching

The U.S. Department of Education defines single-sex education as “education at the
elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level in which males or females attend school
exclusively with members of their own sex” (U.S. Department of Education, 2005) as cited in (UCLA, 2018). Reports show that in 2011-2012 more than .5k public institutions across the states provided single-sex choices in some shape. While there are a variation of justifications for single-sex education, the reasons always stressed are to address (a) male-female differences performance and in growth  (b) the accomplishment gap favoring or kindness to boys and discerning against certain racial minorities bringing up in poverty. Additional reasons encompasses notions like that boys will aim improve on study tasks if not inattentive by females and that all females classes will face gender-prejudice toward females and eliminating the distraction of males (ULCA, 2018).

What is the stand of Research discoverings Linked to Single-Sex Education?
Research study has aimed on two vital matters: (1) the relevance of boy-girl differences as a reasoning for single-sex education and (2) the positive and negative affect of single-sex
education. Clearly, boys and girls differ in numerous avenues, but study has not made the case
that gender differences trump other variations that should be addressed in schools (e.g.,
person variations in growth and motivation). And the study discoverings about impact stay
ambiguous because of the methodological dilemmas faced by study in this arena (ULCA, 2018).
What are some of the Pros and Cons?
Given the standing of the study and legal circumstances, decisions about same-sex education lean to be rooted on the beliefs and values of those whose make decisions and frequently are influenced by politics and economics. Distinct cost-benefit analyses of disadvantages and advantages emerge from evaluations aimed on the impact on (a) individuals (e.g., academic accomplishment, personal and social growth, health), (b) subgroups (e.g., result differences in socioeconomic chances and standing), and (c) the society (e.g., heightening equity of opportunity, facilitating socialization /parenting/teaching, economic growth) (UCLA, 2013).

Common Positive Arguments

Advocates claim that, compared to co-educational classes, single-sex education better
studying and performance by permitting an improve match for instructing and studying. That is, as with other shapes of homogenous grouping, separate classes for boys and girls are seen as enabling instructing and studying and decreasing accomplishment gaps. As for girls, for instance, single-sex education is sighted as an avenue to enable them to perform better in science and math, opening up job opportunities or careers where females are not over represented. For urban and Latino males, African-American, single-sex education is sighted as an avenue to counter the school-to-prison and dropouts (UCLA, 2013).

Examples of dilemmas in co-educational settings that are emphasized encompass”:

  1. Boys and girls develop at different rates which produces differences in their respective
academic learning readiness in the early schooling years
  1. Teachers often respond differently to males and females (e.g., favoring males,
overprotecting females)
  1. Peer attitudes toward the opposite sex also differ in the early years of schooling and
change with biological development (e.g., distractions due
to the presence of the opposite sex, male domination of females)”(UCLA, 2013). 

Common Arguments Against
Advocates claim that public funds should not be employed to help single-sex education because the “approach
1. Has not generated methodologically sound empirical evidence showing societal benefits
(e.g., findings related to improved achievement for males and females is equivocal,
achievement gaps are more associated with socio-economic factors than gender and CNS
differences)
2. Maintains and even exacerbates sexist attitudes and gender stereotypes (e.g., genderoriented
facilities and teaching content and methods create a gender-stereotypical
environment, limit exposure to the opposite sex and cross sex social-emotional learning)
3.Can make transition to co-educational situations difficult”(UCLA, 2013).
Interrogating single‐sex classes as a strategy for addressing boys’ educational and social needs
Wayne, Mills, and Lingard (2007) study explore the policy of single‐sex  or same-sex classes was being espoused in certain schools as an approach for addressing boys’ educational and social needs. Their paper drew on study in one Australian government, coeducational mainly school to analyze educators’ and learners’ experiences of this strategy. They carried out Interviews with male and female educators and the principal, accountable for educating the single‐sex or same-sex classes and the learners engaged in these classes are utilize to exhibit the impact of the approach on pedagogical practices in this particular school (Wayne, Mills & Lingard, 2007).
Their case study, it was discovered that educators had a likelihood to alter their pedagogical practices and the program of study to fit stereotypical constructions about girls’ and boys’ presumed oppositional orientations to learning. Their study concluded that educator knowledges and assumptions about gender play a significant persona in the implementation of their pedagogies in the single‐sex same-sex class.
“Some strategies you will utilize to work effectively with my online learners”
  1. Always be very professional and treat all my students with respect, farness, and provide equal treatment to all. Address them appropriately by first name via all communication modes
  2. Daily proactively engage with discussion question with my students
  3. Proactively watch for incoming notifications from my students via IPhone and provide guidance, support, or assistance with my student questions or concerns
  4. Proactively grading my students submitted assignments and provide constructive feedback as they are submitting
  5. In additional live classroom sessions as required, weekly I also provide to media in guiding or helping them to be on the right track with their assignment or provide good resources so that they can get started.
Conclusion
In the end, policy or decision makers are seized generating resolutions about single-sex education that balance economic and political costs and benefits, and when there is an option, parents are left to generate resolutions they trust are in their child’s best interests. 

As member of faculty staff, I need to ensure that all my students are successful with the courses that I will be teaching. Although we are course facilitators, I think that our students success depend on how well we presented the material, concepts, and topics to all students weekly. When we thoroughly follow  teaching policy as well as faculty expectation and well as we on a further step in sharing our students with our real world, help make it very interesting and livelier. In this manner, our students want to learn more, in the end they will to work hard in order to get a desired outcomes for the course they are taking with us as faculty staff.

References
Wayne, M., Mills, M., & Lingard, B. (2007). Interrogating single‐sex classes as a strategy for addressing boys’ educational and social needs. Retrieved from 
UCLA (2013). Single-Sex Education: Pros and Cons. Retrieved from
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/singleeduc.pdf
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