Design study on, HER2 overexpression and HER2 glycobiology changes Essay

Design study on, HER2 overexpression and HER2 glycobiology changes - Essay Example In the last years, multiple attempts have been conducted to develop strategies that could actually determine the over-expression of HER 2 positive breast cancer indicators in secondary breast cancer cell line compared to the primary cell line expression and the glycosylation process changes connected. In this regard, breast cancer lines have significantly been used to investigate the cancer pathobiology for new emerging therapies thereby identifying the cancer oncogenesis as a molecular heterogeneous disease (Schwab & Thomson Gale 2008). HER2 over-expression in metastatic breast cancer and O-Glycan changes exhibition has been used in invasive breast cancer in conjunction with the therapy involved for the illness. Therefore, HER-2 issues in metastatic versus primary breast cancer overexpression are associated with the HER-2-positive discovered disorder (Tavani, 2006). The increased prominence of HER-2 overexpression accompanied by glycosylation changes has increased interest in Breast cancer pathobiology researchers and academic learners to focus mainly on the basic theories and explanations for the origin and therapies for this particular condition. Many authors claim that the HER-2 oncogenes have been found to encode a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor that is responsible as the central classifier for the targeted therapy and invasive breast cancer disease (Jo & Zeon, 2015). On a broad analysis, the immunohistochemistry, fluorescence and chromogenic in-situ hybridization and the major marketed slide-based HER-2 methods are presented and contrasted broadly against the fundamental background of the HER-2 testing guideline testing (American Society of Clinical Oncology–College of American Pathologists guidelines). The over-expression of the HER2 receptor and glycosylation changes associated with breast cancer

Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company Essay

Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company - Essay Example Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company However, when the rules of Rugby and thereby rules regarding ball shapes and sizes got formalized in the early part of the 20th century and with availability of Rubber bladders, Gilbert Sports Company started making the modern Rugby balls. Although, the company changed hands quite a few times, the company continued to modernise and update the quality of the balls through the second part of the 20th century particularly during the 1980’s and 90’s. It was during the same period, they developed the first range of balls for Netball. However, it fell into the debt trap in 2002, and so it was acquired by another sports equipment maker, Grays of Cambridge in the same year. It continues to function with a lot of autonomy and even diversified into other product segments, with Grays of Cambridge ‘stewarding’ it. Thus, after rising from the internal crisis in 2002, Gilbert under Grays ownership has been able to consolidate its position. However, there are certain fact ors in its macro and micro environment, which could impact as well as influence its functioning. Market Environment Analysis Certain factors in the external environment as well as in the ‘immediate’ external environment will always influence the functioning and the strategies formulation of any organizations in the sport equipment manufacturing sector. Gilbert is no exception to it, as it can be controlled by the factors in the macro-environment, and also by factors in the micro-environment. Both these macro and micro factors can be collected and assessed in a detailed manner through certain analytical tools. The macro environment of Gilbert can be assessed through PEST analysis, while its micro-environment can be analyzed through Porters’ Five Forces. PEST Analysis Political When one focuses on the political factors in Gilbert’s external environment, the UK government can play both a regulatory and constructive role. Regulatory role in the sense, governme nt with its regulations on quality, advertising, pricing, etc., influences the production processes of sports equipment companies including Gilbert. Constructive role in the sense, the UK government through programs like Schools Sports Partnership provide funds to schools to buy sports equipments and construct other infrastructures, so the children can have an active lifestyle with good fitness levels. Although, the UK government had â€Å"plans to end funding for the Schools Sports Partnership program, it was forced to back down as a result of pressure from top athletes, educators and school children themselves.† (caloo.co.uk 2011). Economic The economic aspect of the UK Sports Equipment manufacturing and retail market shows a positive picture, because it â€Å"is valued at US$4.1 billion and grew at a CAGR of 4.19% for the period 2004-2008.† (Reportlinker 2009). However, with the British economy showing little signs of full recovery from the 2008 economic recession, and threatening to go into recession again, the prospects of these sport equipment manufacturing organisations could also suffer. â€Å"Bank of England policymakers agree that Britain's stalled economy will fail to pick up in the current fourth quarter, according to minutes of their last meeting published on Wednesday.† (AFP 2011). If this situation continues, there could be lack of readily available finance options because of credit crunch, and this will make the consumers cut back on their non-essential

A Passage to India Essay Example for Free

A Passage to India Essay Books are truly among the best things ever invented. With thousands of books out there, there are plenty of connections to be made. Here is an example of a connection made when reading this two novels. A Passage to India is a story that takes place in India during the reign of the British Empire. It is truly wonderful when you read a book and manage to make a connection between two different novels. While reading A Passage to India, a connection was made between this book and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In A Passage to India ,There are constant clashes between cultures, races, religion, and even politics. This story depicts India as a world of only two types of people; the British, and everyone else that isn’t British. The British are shown as Superior authority to the Indians. They are very rude and disrespectful. They are very racist towards the Indians. In A Passage to India, the British don’t usually mix and mingle with the Indians because they are both very different groups of people, and the British are seen as racist in this novel. Their cultures are really different, and there religions are by far different. Basically, the Indians and British are segregated. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, whites and blacks are segregated in the southern states due to the era in which the story takes place. Most, if not all, of the blacks are slaves. The whites don’t like the blacks because they are considered lower standard people, slaves. There are only two types of people in this story; whites, and non-whites. Racism is a very common obstacle in our world and is used in many stories to depict and portray certain hardships and time periods of our world. Both of these stories use racism to help portray these two very different settings. In A Passage to India, the British are very harsh and cruel towards the Indians, just like how the whites treat the blacks in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.â€Å"You’re superior to them, anyway. Don’t forget that. You’re superior to everyone in India except one or two of the Ranis, and they’re on equality.†(Forester 42). Mrs. Turton’s statement gives us an example of the racism of a typical Englishwomen. Here she tells Adela that they are superior to Indians in any way possible, even the higher politicians. The authors use statements like these to help the reader be able to imagine how things must be in the particular setting. Here, is a passage from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which shows us how racism is used to help build up the setting by Mark Twain. â€Å" It was lection day, and I was just  about to go and vote myself if I warnt too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where theyd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says Ill never vote agin.†(Sawyer 28). Just because a black man was free to vote in the election, Pap would never vote again because he didn’t believe blacks were good enough to be able to vote in the Election of the President of the USA. He didn’t want to be held to the same standards as blacks, he wanted to be able to be distinguished from blacks and have superiority. In his eyes, blacks were just property. They weren’t meant to be anything other than slaves. This passage helps the reader understand and imagine the harsh setting of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These novels have very different settings but still have one thing in common. These two authors take a risky and sensitive subject like racism to help portray their stories and how they impact the reader. This connection also shows us that there is racism all around the world, even if these are fictional stories. A Passage to India and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn both are stating messages that show how harsh and cruel racism can be, and how it affects people. Racism a very common theme in many stories and there are many connections to be made amongst them. Forster, E. M. A Passage to India, New York: Harcourt, Brace and, 1924. Print. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

Norms and values

Norms and values The purpose of this document is to research, from a sociological perspective the norms, values and socialisation that is essential for family, society and culture. These key attributes provide the individual with key skills, behaviours and habits necessary to enable participation within their own society observing the rules and boundaries established within their Norms and Values and modifying and changing behaviours throughout their life time The Culture of Society is the way of life of its members; the collection of ideas and of habits which the learn and transmit from generation to generation Ralph Linton Norms are the social and cultural guidelines by which we live our lives, and both knowingly and unknowingly conform and comply too during our life time. Out norms are key attributes that define our behaviours and can determine the groups and individuals, social acceptance Or non acceptance. We learn how to behave through a complex combination of stimulus Visual, Oral and Sensory. As we grow in our mental maturity and awareness, the influence of family, environment and culture, combine to define our Norms. These key developmental elements combined, influence and determine, personal and social interactive abilities developing social skills to recognise social boundaries, acceptable behaviours and responses. Therefore our Norms are intrinsic to our development, our personal behaviour, and social acceptance. Key aspects of our Norms are: Convention Being a standard, non culturally specific element within the Norms of convention. An example being that an individual is expected to follow the rules which are an established expectation of behaviours, within the context of conventional social acts and responses. An example of a culturally specific Injunctive Norm is when a Cultural belief, such as polygamy is accepted as a Norm. This is defined as Culturally Specific as this practise is not legally practised or recognised within the Western Society. An exception could be the Mormons, who have Sects that practise polygamy, based mainly in America. The main Mormon Church The Latter Day Saints, no longer advocates such practise, although there are certain Mormon Fundamentalists Sects, whose religious fundamental belief systems adhere to the original writings of Brigham Young. Within many Muslim cultures, a husband can legally take more than one wife. This practise is not recognised legally with Western cultures. Sociological Values may be material or nonmaterial, internal or external. Values and beliefs are culturally specific Given this the evaluation of their respective value is specific to the individual or group. An example might be, when an individual uses their Core value system, they relate into either a cultural or belief system that is specific to the influences within their social Norms and Value origin, group or society. Ultimately Social Norms and Values cover a wide range of Sociological study. Example of Cultural Values defined: Sociological Norms and Values under stress from changes, can impact an individual, group, society or cultural perspective. Change or deviation when combined with poor or irrational judgement that sits outside the Norms and Values of either, a specific Culture or Belief System, can have a mired level of impacts. Therefore Norms and Values can and do change. What may be acceptable as an individual would not necessarily be acceptable at group level. Differentials on the range of what would be acceptable within their own personal attitude and value system is specific. Change to an Individuals Norm and Values can be challenged by the individual on the basis that the Worth or Value is not acceptable to them because it fails to resonate within them as acceptable as a Social or belief Value. Alternatively if may present as an abstract Value and hold no specific desirability. Values are abstract in nature and general. A cultures values are its ideals about what is good, right, fair, and just. Sociologists disagree, however, on how to conceptualise values. There is a conflict theory that focuses on how values differ between groups within a culture. The National Centre for social research annual report for 2009 indicates that the British values are changing the full report is available at (http://www.natcen.ac.uk/pzMedia/uploads/Downloadable/da9c4be7-da86-410a-9176-3b362fb4f1ba.pdf) the 2009 survey consisted of more than 4,000 interviews with a representative, random sample of people in Britain. It finding have shown that change in societys values is g enerally slow and is impacted by the media and other external stimuli. Functional sociologist Talcott Parsons noted that Americans share the common value of the American work ethic, Whilst this is most certainly a cultural social observation which encourages hard work. Herbert Spencer one of the first British Sociologists stated that Society exists for the benefit of its members, not the members for the benefit of society. Common values within western societies are based on materialism, and money, although reliance on science and technology, and the role of democracy and freedom are key norms and values that exist although these can change during stressed and unexpected change. A culture may have conflicting values; an example would be that value of materialistic success may be in opposition to that of charitable acts. Equally the value of social equality may be in opposition to that of the value placed on the individual state. This can be explained as a contraction in what people say, what they really think, and what they do. Social pressure to confor m can be a deciding factor, as individuals own norms and values system will be a sub conscious factor in that decision making. So when does socialisation begin; its starts as soon as we are born and ultimately ends with our death. As soon as a child is born, primary socialisation begins. In every instance of social interaction, a child can uses this period as a learning experience particularly in terms of cultural concepts of identity, social roles, and norms of behaviour. The very young child is totally reliant on its parents or carers. The baby will initially respond to the external stimuli provided by parents or carers. The main senses initially used by the child will be responsive, such as when they are hungry, in discomfit, or want human contact/ touch. They will respond to sound and vision this is important time for child/parent/carer socialisation this represents a very emotional time, and the close bonds of love and loyalty, which in theory will last a life time, are established. As chronological development of the child takes place, by the age of two, a child will be in procession of a rudimentary set of primary skills and behaviours. The child will be able to copy its parents and siblings, and will be learning a wider set of social skills these will be both culturally specific and socially generic. The socialisation of the child within its own society and culture will be established during an intense period of self development and awareness; children acquire a sense of their self. This is an important developmental milestone that occurs between 18/24 months. Psychologist Jean Piaget defined the fact that children progress through clear stages in their ability to think. The Sensorimotor Stage, which is from birth to age two, is when the developing childs reliance on touch for information about it surrounding world is the most commonly used of the childs developing skills. They will also experience the tactile warmth from parent/carers and will also gain stimulation and development from, copying, gestures and actions taste is also a key action of the developing child , and they will put most objects to their mouth, toys, food and potentially anything they can get their hands on. This period represents a time of great discovery and learning socially, and is part of the set of primary socialisation skills, which are prerequisite key developmental milestones. The next stage as described by Piaget is the Pre-Operational Stage. This stage generally starts between ages Two to Seven. Children now have the ability to think symbolically, that being to relate in abstract or via simple symbols. However they cannot perceive the world from another persons perspe ctive. This period also differs from later ones, because it is a time when children learn through hands-on manipulation of objects through copying, play and trial and error. When a child reaches the Operational Stage, ages of 7-12, Young children can now begin to think and reason rationally and logically. At approximately age seven or eight children enter the age of reason, when they can manipulate their own ideas, and apply learnt concepts. A child will now possess the ability to independently interact and abide to a set of social rules and boundaries. They achieve this via the mediums of school, social, family, cultural settings. Children are able to rationalise, apply logic, use and interact with media, and participate in debate verbally. Children are able to recognise self, which is an important milestone in self development: as is the ability to recognise their place socially and culturally. Finally a child moves to the fLogical Stage at ages 12 and on. The child and young adol escent, are capable of complex abstract, logical thought. They are able to have reasoned logical discussion, reach decisions based on fact, and are able to initiate and formulate argument and debate. They have a fully developed sense of self within their family, society and culture. The family plays a significant and defining role in the primary socialisation of a child. The family acts as the primary socialising agent for the first few years of life; however Socialisation in the family varies greatly, and can be dependent on Social, cultural, ideological and ethnical differences. Within Britain, the structure of family has changed; there are more working class single parents families, who have no immediate family support available to provide child care this has resulted in child care providers having a far greater role in childhood socialisation over the last 20 years. One of the most important primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce biologically, socially and culturally-however, producing children is not the only function of the family. A childs perspective is that the family is its core and primary socialising agent; however the family perspective is one of responsibility, to provide the growing child with the necessary skills and knowled ge in their socialisation and acceptance in their common culture. From the parental/carer point of view the family is the central nucleus that provides the care, learning, development, social, cultural education: the goal of which is to socialise and incorporate cultural ideologies and values in their children. However there are many variants in societies and cultures, which place more emphasis on the sexual division of labour, marriage, and the resulting relationship between family groups and the economics. An example being; that child labour is still practised illegally and openingly in Asia, and parts of Africa. Many of these countries have poor economies and the communities and families require a child to work to contribute to the household or village this can be the difference between life and death. Equally the value of a male child may be greater than that of a female child, as in many cultures, males are preferred for financial and social reasons. In time of hardship cultures such as the Eskimos would practise infanticide, if they were lacking enough food or provisions, this was a decision made on the basis that males contribute more, as they grow in to hunters and support the community, where as a females contribution was seen as less valuable to the community. As in family, education is an important agent of socialisation and the school environment is a formal agent of socialisation. The purpose of education is to socialise children in selected skills and knowledge, preparing them with so that they can build on the skills and knowledge acquired, as they grow and mature. The formal education system in England starts at Playschool for ages 2-4 this is now a socially acceptable form of early socialisation. The child then progresses to a more formalised, yet still free play, Reception Class- these are mainly attached to a primary school, which the child then transition into thereby keeping the social group intact. Primary education provides a child with a formalised approach to learning. The child will learn new social rules and boundaries; these will build on the norms and values that they have been taught by their parents/carers. The family influence is still very strong, as these age groups are heavily dependent upon their family. The chi ld continues its primary socialisation via classroom activities, playing, and school social interaction, within its peer group. The peer group becomes important, as it is based on a childs ability to interact, make friends and socialise the pressure to conform and be accepted, increases with age. There are many reasons for this: such as social standing IE: family wealth, material possession, ethnicity, extrovert /introverts behaviors and the pecking order of favorability within the peer group. Exclusion from a peer group is a highly stressful and can be initiated by the school due to behavioral or attendance issues these issues would require remedial agreement and action between the school, child and parent. Wider involvement of care agencies, such as educational psychologists and family welfare social workers, would be required if the family were found to be unable to function or cope, due to a verity of social or financial reasons. An example being: a male child of 4 with undiagnosed ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) who in reception class could not settle, presenting as disruptive, Impulsive, restlessness with a high level of hyperactivity and an inability to concentrate or focus for any period of time. ADHD will often present as inattentiveness, and will prevent a child from learning and will stunt their socialisation if not addressed. This child was excluded from school at 5 years old. At this point a wider most specialised group of social, education workers worked with the parents, and school, after ADHD was diagnosed. Once the appropriate level of medication (Ritalin- commonly used for ADHD) was prescribed, an immediate change in behaviour was evident. A plan of resocialisation and integration was applied, and an educational statement was issued by the local educational authority. This ensured the funding necessary for one to one support, and additional help required to enable the child to be educated and resocialised. One of the key learning aids for this child reintegration was the use of media the use of media in the home and school, leisure environments have become an integrated part of contemporary life. Such is the impact of Media, that it has become a dominant agent of socialisation. Children are exposed from a very early age to media; examples being a music DVD, Television or Computer games which can be interactive, educational and agility based. Multimedia is used in a variety of ways within the family, and is seen a key aspect of socialisation and development. Equally Multi Media is used within the formal setting of school and is used regularly as part of an Educational programme. There have been negative aspects in attributed to media and the violence seen in games, music, TV and film. Secondary Socialisation is the wider process of learning; a child learns what is expected of them, and what is acceptable/appropriate behaviour, for them; within a small group that is part of a larger society and culture. Secondary socialisation represents a new developmental stage, and is generally associated with teenagers and adults. The social changes we experience are different to those of primary socialisation. An example would be, starting a new a level of education at college or university, relocating to a new environment or a change in social status or society. Some students may be transferring from a rural community to a more urban environment, whilst others may be international students being socialised to the British way of life. Others may be mature students without any prior higher educational experience. Moreover, any social structure can act as a socialising agent. For example, the work environment socialises the employees to conform to their way of business and their culture. In most organisations employees have clear responsibilities to respect authority, adhere to corporate policies, and work hard in exchange for financial compensation in the form of income and status promotions. Also, the wider public venues we all go to; such as shopping centres, libraries, hospitals, football matches, act as social interaction and educate us about new boundaries and constraints thereby influencing our behaviour. When considering the norms of behaviour, of passengers on airplanes; those of a diner at a Michelin Star restaurant; or the fans at a Rugby or Tennis game. We all conform and adapt without conscious thought a large percentage of our lives this conditioning allows us to move in a complex structure of Culture and Society. The secondary socialisation process is crucial particularly in times of stress and change. Transition from infancy to childhood to adolescence and adulthood are all companied by a socialisation process that is designed socially an d culturally to give the individual, all the skills necessary to grow and co-exist. If the process of secondary socialisation fails, due to internal or external factors, the individual may not be in possession of the necessary social or cultural skills to cope logically and rationally. This situation could lead to a change in their values and social group. As an adult we experience the socialisation process through changes in careers, family structure, personal relationships, interests, such as politics. As our lives continue, we move to retirement age, the changes in family and career are now viewed differently; our priorities change, as situations such as being, unwell, or alone take precedence. The extended older family highlight the changing cultural values in the socialisation process. With the introduction of media, older generations, are now learning and experiencing new experiences of information and communication, which is a new form of socialisation for them. This is a new agent of socialisation and is a powerful teacher and influencing agent within the context of socialisation, second only to Family. The media plays a significant role in shaping the social attitudes and social behaviours of our children and adolescents Parents do exert the most influence on children; however the mass media can be considered secondary agents of socialisation. For example, viewing of advertisements is related to lower self-esteem and depression among children who come from low-income families. It is likely that children feel bad about themselves because they cannot have the products that are advertised on television. Media and Marketing work hand in hand to influence our views We are targeted as either specific social groups, age groups and economic groups specifically to sell Products and Services. What we buy, where we buy, how we spend, and who we vote for, is heavily influenced by a range of Multi Media. Such as The TV, internet, Radio, advertising in magazines. Gender identity is one of the most important elements of our sense of self. Some aspects of gender identity are rooted in our biology, such as our physical strength. However most of our gender identity is culturally defined. As we grow and age we develop our self awareness, and how we should relate to others, and the role we play in a larger society. The lessons children learn and the processes through which cultural norms are passed from one generation to the next is known as socialisation. Gender socialisation shows that there are roles, or cultural expectations and norms, which are associated with each sexual classification Sociologists make distinctions between sex and gender. Whilst sex is based on biological factors, gender is the based on cultural factors that stereotypically construct different social roles for men and women. Therefore Gender socialisation is the process through which males and females learn gender specific appropriate behaviour, dress, personality character istics, and demeanour. While gender socialisation is an ongoing and lifelong the majority of the sociological theories tend to focus on early childhood socialisation, as the key factor in Gender determination Four such perspectives are the psychoanalytical, cognitive development, social learning, and social interaction perspectives. In all societies there is a need for resocialisation of an individual. Resocialisation is a sociological concept dealing with the process of mentally and emotionally re-training an individual so that they can exist in an environment other than that which he or she is used to. Examples of a need for Resocialisation such as the release from prison, mental health institutions and the Army ; New recruits into the army are encouraged to bond, so that they can operate as a cohesive unit and then the process is reversed for those who may have become institutionalised by their experiences in the socialisation process. Without appropriate support and counselling, mental health problems could present. Equally if an individual have been institutionalised due to lengthy incarceration because of illness or a criminal offence such as Murder: a staged plan of integration would be required, to allow assimilation and resocialisation to take place in society. Bibliography: Themes and perspectives sixth edition References Emile Durkheim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheim Brigham Young http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young Examples Cultural Values http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26852.html>. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialization#Types http://www.communicationencyclopedia.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405131995_chunk_g978140513199518 http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resocialization http://www.natcen.ac.uk/study/british-social-attitudes-25th-report/findings http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_great_aim_of_education_is_not_knowledge-but/198665.html

Philosophy-imputable Acts :: essays research papers

Dr. Kitchel Ethics 2314 "Imputable Acts in Regards to the Fate of a World" An act is called imputable when the person committing the act is in possession of both knowledge and consent in regards to the action at hand. Imputability is a thing that is always completely possessed or completely not possessed by a person. Imputability causes accountability. Accountability has degrees upon which it is based and these degrees depend on whether or not the person was influenced by some modifier of either the intellect or the will. Imputability's requirements, knowledge and consent, have to do with the relationship between the act in question and whether or not it is a good or evil act. An act is either objectively, morally good or evil. To the degree that the person committing the act is aware of this in the form of either knowledge or consent is the degree to which the act itself is imputable and thereby also the person is accountable for the act. The characters in C. S. Lewis' novel, "Prelandra", make choices and perform acts that drastically effect the outcome of the world in which the novel takes place. Some of these acts are wholly imputable while others are not. However, all of the acts are either good or evil. As a result of this, the novel illustrates the importance of being able to distinguish the difference between good and evil acts in the consequences that befall its characters from their own actions within the novel. The novel's protagonist, John Ransom of Thucalandra (Earth), is sent by Maleldil (God) to the planet of Prelandra (Venus) in order to stop the Bent Oyarsa (Satan) from corrupting that planet as he did with Earth though Ransom has no knowledge of the exact purpose of his journey upon leaving or even once he is there on the planet. Once he arrives on the planet, he encounters the person he deems "the Green Lady." Lewis' character, the Green Lady, is Prelandra's counterpart to the Eve character in the Genesis story of creation in the Bible. After meeting her and realizing who she is, Weston the villain from the first book appears in Prelandra. He is there on a new "mission." This new mission is no longer for the survival of the human race as it was on his journey to Malacandra but is now for the survival of the "Human Spirit.

Is Government Interference Right? Essay -- essays research papers

Should government have the right to interfere in our private lives? Does being part of a representative democracy mean that we abdicate our freedom to make our own choices in the name of the good of all? Should the government have the right to interfere in our private lives? Democracy guarantees freedom. One might then argue that a government should allow people to act according to their own free will. But there are two sides to every coin. Absolute independence might not lead to anything productive in an interdependent society as ours. There needs to be a basic framework of rules and guidelines to which all participants in that society agree to. According to Hobbes, human nature is such that if there were no rules or a law enforcing institution in the government, it would be a war of every man against every man1. The government regulates the activities of individuals in a manner such that the freedom guaranteed by democracy to everybody is not infringed upon by the selfish acts of few. Apart from the protection of these basic rights of people, I feel that government interference in our private live is not acceptable. Systems such as welfare and progressive taxes do not seem quite right. The government should definitely work towards the increase in the standard of living of the whole nation but it should not be by snatching well-earned money from the rich in the form of progressive taxes just because they have some extra money whereas some others are not so fortunate enou...

Logical and Physical Network Design

Introduction This paper presents a brief overview of what goes into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) contract. It also presents an example of one. Contents This publication contains the following topics: Topic Why Have Service Level Agreements? Contract Areas to Consider Contract Components Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract See Page 2 3 6 8 -1- Why Have Service Level Agreements? Rationale SLAs are critical towards formalizing expectations around services with end users and customers. Without these, customer expectations will assume that everything will be delivered and available at a 100% level all the time.Very little can be done about poor service when there is no definition what good service is. Objectives should be set that describe items such as response times, availability, turnaround and accuracy. Customers and IT should commit to a mutually acceptable means of verifying compliance with service objectives and agree on actions that must take place when exceptions occ ur. Key Goals Key goals of undertaking formalized service arrangements are as follows: †¢ Allow for IT to understand customer service requirements.†¢ Control customer expectations for levels of service to be delivered. Allow for clear understanding of priorities when handling service problems. -2- Contract Areas to Consider Overview The following section presents a number of key areas to consider when building SLA Contract documents. Level of Formalization Service levels may range from a formalized contract that is signed off by representative customer departments to informal â€Å"known† levels internal to IT functions. IT should be aware which level of formalization is appropriate. Ability to Meet Service Targets IT should ensure that documented levels of service can indeed be met.Targets should allow for a latitude contingency to cover occasional problems or slowdowns to occur without jeopardizing targets. Within ITIL, Availability Management should review planne d targets and provide guidance as to what levels may be appropriate given current IT capabilities. Requirements for new capabilities should be highlighted to management to determine whether to invest in them or not. Control of Customer Expectations Targets should be communicated to customers in terms that make them clearly understood from their perspective. This promotes a good level of understanding and cooperation when service problems do occur.Handling SLA Contract Changes Processes should be in place to handle changes in service requirements. Customers may wish to negotiate better service levels, add new functions that require new levels of service or periodically renew current levels. These should be negotiated through a Service Level Manager and processed via Change Management. Number of SLA Contracts Less is better, more greatly increases management overhead to report and manage. It may be determined to have a single contract for all departments versus multiple service contra cts for different departments.Another structure may be to have a base agreement that covers everyone as a default with a limited set of overriding contracts for unique needs. Continued on next page -3- Contract Areas to Consider, Continued Types of Service Targets to Be Included The types of service targets to be provided should be identified in the service level contract. Examples of types of service targets include items such as: †¢ Response Times †¢ Availability Windows †¢ Equipment Service And Repair Times †¢ Technical Support Response and Level †¢ Report Or Other Media Delivery †¢ Security Access †¢ Data Retention and Backup RequirementsDetermining Customer Services It will be necessary to identify what critical customer workloads are. From this a specific service level can be derived. Workloads can be defined as one or more customer functions that require service from IT. Examples of these might include items such as: †¢ Processing patie nt accounts in a hospital. †¢ Entering orders from customers on a phone. †¢ Accessing E-Mail. †¢ Retrieving and creating memos. Each of the above have an associated level of service that allows that function to be accomplished successfully.This level might include availability of service to that function. (i. ; E-Mail will be available from 8AM to 9PM on weekdays). It might also include a level of response. (i. e; Order Entry transactions on a terminal must provide a response time less than 5 seconds 85% of the time). Most organizations have found it helpful to implement an ITIL Service Catalog to better define what these services are. With this, the SLA contract would only need to reference those service descriptions. The Catalog can also serve to centralize all of these definitions in one place. Multiple Targets For Services It may desired to provide or negotiate multiple service levels for a single customer service.An example of this might be negotiating a lower re sponse time for peak hours of the day and a higher response time at other hours. Another example might be provision of high availability all the time but specific functions or files may be unavailable at certain times of the day. Continued on next page -4- Contract Areas to Consider, Continued Resolution of Service Disputes It may be desired to put a process in place that fairly identifies resolutions to problems or misunderstandings in service expectations. This may be a committee of representative Customer and IT personnel without a direct interest in the problems under discussion.Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts In an environment where the service to be delivered is provided by multiple departments, organizations or outside vendors, service boundaries must be clearly defined. This identifies where responsibilities lie and what kinds of services have to be delivered by each service delivery entity. An example of this might include a client/server architected application where end user response time service consists of both mainframe processing and server/front-end processing. If these two components are managed by ifferent organizations, then each organization should set up an operational level agreement.As an example of the above, mainframe response time targets will be under 5 seconds 85% of the time, server processing will be under 3 seconds 80% of the time. This would result in the actual service level to the customer of a response time less than 8 seconds 80% of the time. Service Targets Must Be Reportable Any service level that is set must be able to be adequately reported on. It would be useless to establish a service level for which monitoring data cannot be collected.The operational efforts and costs involved with monitoring and reporting on any given service level should be taken into account when that level is set. -5- Contract Components Overview A Service Level Contract is a key component of a formalized service level agre ement process. Key components of this document are described in this section. Contract Dates Starting and ending dates that the contract is to be in force. If ending dates are specified, new service level agreements may have to be created for projects or departments that function beyond the end dates. Contract NumbersThese may be necessary if negotiating multiple contracts. They simply identify specific contracts. Customer Identification Identifying information that describes the group of users who are included within the scope of the contract. Demand Periods It is helpful to identify periods of time in which types of use are likely to make the greatest service demands on processing resources. Some targets may differ depending on demand periods. For example, an E-Mail service may have a lesser target for response time during the start of work when most employees retrieve their messages.There may be a higher target for slower periods later in the day. Project or Departmental Descript ion A brief description of the department or project to be serviced. This may include its main purpose or business function and how processing supports the goals of that entity. Expected Service Requirements A description in clear concise terms of the service level targets to be delivered by IT to support the department(s) or project(s) covered by the service contract. These should be in business terms and from the customer perspective as much as possible. Continued on next page -6-Contract Components, Continued Service Assumptions If needed, this section can be included to describe any service assumptions used to support the service levels being delivered. Examples might include: †¢ A set number of customer users not to be exceeded †¢ Specific IT capacities that might incur additional costs if exceeded †¢ Allowances for special times of the day, week, month or year Target Calculations Methodologies or calculations used to determine service expectations should be docu mented. The purpose is to clearly state how service levels may be calculated, measured and reported on.IT Charging Costs Any assumptions or expected costs of delivering the service should also be documented. Determination of costs is aided by the Capacity Planning and Financial Management processes. In some cases, it may be necessary to include a sample charging bill. Contract Maintenance This section should describe the conditions under which the contract should be changed. It should identify who is responsible for reporting on the quality of service delivered and how service disputes may be resolved. Contract ResponsibilitiesThis section should identify organizations or personnel responsible for support activities related to Contract Maintenance, Service Level Reporting, Service Level Dispute Resolution and Renegotiation of Service Levels. Signature Block This section provides space for Customer and IT sign-off to the terms in the contract. -7- Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract Introduction The following pages present one example of a comprehensive Service Level Agreement contract. This example is probably much more formalized than necessary but illustrates some of the concepts discussed in this paper. Continued on next page 8- Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTContract Date: Agreement Number: Division: Location: Project: Peak Times: Expiration Date: This document with attachments specifies the agreement between the above named business unit and the Data Processing Center (DPC) for shared computing services. This agreement consists of the following sections: Section I: Section II: Section III: Section IV: Section V: Section VI: Services To Be Provided Expected Service Requirements Service Assumptions Costs Contract Maintenance DPC Responsibilities Section VI: Section VII:Customer Responsibilities Service Change Control Procedure Section VIII: Signatures -9- Continued on next page – 10 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION I: SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED Business Unit Description, Business Unit Scope And Desired Services to be provided. May provide references to ITIL Service Catalog here†¦. SECTION II: EXPECTED SERVICE REQUIREMENTS Examples (May list for each service to be provided or reference ITIL Service Catalog): Response Time Requirements: Availability Requirements: Report/Media Delivery Requirements Data Retention and Back-Up Requirements:Technical Support Requirements: Job/Report Turnaround Requirements: Security Requirements: Continued on next page – 11 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION III: SERVICE ASSUMPTIONS The services and costs within this agreement are based on the assumptions below. Any assumption found invalid could have an effect on ability to meet service targets and/or costs charged for services. Changes to assumptions will be handled in accordance with the Service Change Control Procedure described in this agreement. The service assumptions included with this agreement are: SECTION IV: COSTSCOST FACTOR RULE AND CHARGES APPLIED ——————————- Anticipated Costs Per Period —————————-Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Continued on next page – 12 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION V: CONTRACT MAINTENANCE Terms for Renegotiation Penalties/Rewards Service Level Reporting Responsibilities Service Problem Resolution Responsibilities Continued on next page – 13 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION VI: DPC RESPONSIBILITIES DPC will provide IT Service Management to control the services described in this agreement.DPC will appoint a Service Manager who will have responsibility for: Coordinating DPC activities and responsibilities to address any service issues that may arise. Interfacing with the customer Service Contact for service issues and requests for service changes. With the customer Service Contact, administer the Service Change Control Procedure described in this agreement. Delivering service reports to the customer Service Contact. Maintain service communications and reviewing any service improvement actions and progress with the customer Service Contact during execution of this agreement on a regular basis.Continued on next page – 14 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION VI: CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES This section identifies the customer responsibilities associated with this agreement. DPC’s performance is predicated upon the responsibilities identified below. Prior to the start of this agreement, customer will designate a person, called the Service Contact to whom all DPC communications will be addressed and who has the authority to act for customer in all aspect s of this agreement.The responsibilities of the Customer Contact include: Serve as the interface between DPC and all customer departments participating included in the scope of this contract. With the DPC Service Manager, administer the Service Change Control Procedure as described in Section VII of this agreement. Attend service status meetings. Obtain and provide information, data, decisions and approvals, within 3 working days of DPC's request unless DPC and the customer agree to an extended response time. Resolve deviations from service assumptions which may be caused by customer.Help resolve service issues and escalate issues within customer’s organization, as necessary. The following responsibilities by appropriate customer personnel involved in this project are as follows: Continued on next page – 15 – Example Of A Service Level Agreement Contract, Continued SECTION VII: SERVICE CHANGE CONTROL PROCEDURE The following provides a detailed process to follow if a change to this agreement is required: A Request For Change (RFC) will be the vehicle for communicating change.The RFC must describe the change, the rationale for the change and the effect the change will have on the services. The designated contact of the requesting party will review the proposed change and determine whether to submit the request to the other party. The receiving contact will review the proposed change and approve it for further investigation or reject it within three (3) working days. The investigation will determine the effect that the implementation of the RFC will have on service targets, service charges and service assumptions related to this agreement.