The Development Of Human Genome Development - 1229 Words

Cellular process that are crucial for health or disease are orchestrated by the expression of multiple genes in a network of differential complex signaling pathways, consisting of many physical and functional interactions. Unlike the stable genome structure, the highly dynamic interactome represents a major challenge for quantitative mapping of protein-protein interactions . In this article, I will discuss the latest systems science advances by using breakthrough technologies to gain an understanding of the whole picture of the spatiotemporal signaling network as a response to dynamic individual genome-lifestyle interactions and translating it to the clinic. The intracellular signal transduction network involves the two complex†¦show more content†¦Current and emerging sequencing- and arrays-based methods are changing life sciences. Understanding how genome structural variation influences gene-expression regulatory networks and organ homeostasis, leading to disease, will change medical implementations, improving healthcare by achieving personalized clinical practice, particularly in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics . Combining next-generation sequencing with advancing mass spectrometry-based proteomics and phosphoproteomics , living cells imaging technologies and 3D genome mapping now provide powerful strategies for understanding input-output circuits at the protein, gene, chromosome and whole-genome level. Collectively, these genome-mapping novel technologies and systems and synthetic biology advances, along with mathematical and computational strategies , allow us to shift from amazing cell lines and network modeling r esearch to the initial steps of clinical genome and clinical cell signaling transduction circuits , which build the foundation for medical practice. Signaling transduction pathways Cell transport is movement of materials across cell membranes. Cell transport includes passive and active transport. Passive transport does not require energy whereas active transport requires energy to proceed. Passive transport proceeds through diffusion, facilitated diffusion and osmosis.Show MoreRelatedBiotechnology And Global Health : Genome Sequencing1518 Words   |  7 PagesChristine Kim (B00991454) BIOL1070 Biotechnology and Global Health Genome Sequencing Statement of issue or thesis: The rise of new scientific technology generally meets extensive amounts of skepticism. Scientific introduction and background: The human genome is essentially a set of instructions that consists of various DNA molecules that are unique to each individual human being. 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However, this strategy does not have enough power as applied to common diseases, in which usually multiple genetic and environ mental risk factors contribute to disease development, and each risk factor only account for a small fraction of the influences (Risch, 2000). Thereafter, association studies by analysis of genetic variants in a large number of affected individuals and unaffected controls have been developed to studyRead MoreQuestions On Human Genome Project1470 Words   |  6 Pages Layan Kojan BIOL 1010 Assignment #3 - Option 2 The Human Genome Project Tuesday November 17, 2015 What makes one person differ from the other? Is it physical appearance, personality or mentality? These three factors separate each individual from one another and it is what makes them different. Physical appearance, personality and mentality are made up from the same building blocks which are known as DNA sequences. 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Decision Support for Best Practices Lessons Learned Free Essays

string(153) " analyze results based on practical experience, and package what is learned into an Experience Base for new users of the organization to find and apply\." Decision support for best practices: Lessons learned on bridging the gap between research and applied pratice. Today, everyone is looking at best practices for developing a system or making the right choice in acquiring system components. If the right best practices are applied, they help to avoid common problems and improve quality, cost, or both. We will write a custom essay sample on Decision Support for Best Practices Lessons Learned or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, finding and selecting an appropriate best practice is not always an easy endeavor. In most cases guidance, based on sound experience, is missing; often the best practice is too new, still under study, or the existing experiences do not fit the user’s context. This article reports on a program that tries to bridge the gap between rigorous  empirical research  and practical needs for guiding practitioners in selecting appropriate best practices. ********** Many program managers would agree that using time-tested â€Å"Best Practices† can help to avoid common problems and increase the quality of a system, reduce development cost, or both. For instance, in a short survey at the 2004 Conference on the Acquisition of Software-Intensive Systems, 48 senior systems and software managers supported the use of Best Practices. However, the same survey indicated that it is hard to find such Best Practices. The survey identified the following reasons for this problem: * Best practices often do not exist (i. e. , they have not been publicly documented), * People do not know of a certain best practice, or * Best practices are not easily accessible (i. e. , there is no central place to look for best practices). The last point matches a more general study by the Delphi Group in which more than 65 percent of the interviewees agreed that finding the right nformation to do their job is difficult (Delphi, 2002). Further research conducted by the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) concluded that barriers for the adoption of best practices included: * the lack of selection criteria among practices within cost-constrained programs, * the lack of confidence in the value of such practices by the program offices, and * the inability to relate practices to the risks and issues programs were facing. In summary, recognizing g ood practices and  disseminating  them to the workforce seems to be a key issue. To address these issues the DoD Acquisition Best Practices Clearinghouse (BPCh) program, sponsored by several offices of the DoD (DS,  ARA, National Information Infrastructure [NII], and Defense Procurement ; Acquisition Policy [DPAP]), was initiated in 2003 (Dangle, Dwinnell, Hickok ; Turner, 2005). The Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering, Maryland (FC-MD) was chosen to develop the initial â€Å"proof of concept† for a system to document, evaluate, and  disseminate  Best Practices. In collaboration with other organizations within the DoD and industry (including  Northrop Grumman  IT, the Computer Sciences Corporation [CSC], and the Systems and Software Consortium [SSCI]), a prototype system has been built and piloted. It is currently operated and hosted by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). THE VISION FOR APPLYING BEST PRACTICES The DoD vision for the BPCh initiative is to provide more than just a list of Best Practices. It is to provide an integrated set of processes, tools, and resources which will enable information seekers to identify emerging or ell-proven practices that have been implemented and proven effective. Practices in the BPCh serve as an information resource to individuals  looking for  ideas on how to improve quality and become more effective in their job. Clearly, the vision of the BPCh is not to create another â€Å"data cemetery,† but to develop an information-sharing network around the BPCh repository which will foster relationships between individuals within DoD and also partnerships between DoD and industry leaders. The following types of questions illustrate usage examples: * â€Å"I just heard about accelerated life testing. Where can I find out if it’s useful or just hype? † * â€Å"They’ve just shortened my testing schedule by 30 percent. Are there any practices that can help me better handle that kind of schedule compression? † * â€Å"I want to add inspections to my quality process. Is it worth the cost and if so, what’s a good first step? Is there someone I can contact in case of any difficulties? * â€Å"I’ve taken over an acquisition program just before Critical Design Review (CDR). What practices should I look for in my contractors? † * â€Å"I’m in charge of defining a training course as part of the  continuing education  program for quality improvements. What are state-of-the-art or emerging practices that should be addressed? † The BPCh has been designed with the understanding that a single practice can never be a à ¢â‚¬Å"silver bullet† for each and every project/program. This is because some practices may only be useful or beneficial in certain contexts while failing to produce the desired results in others. For example, practices that are absolutely necessary for large, mission critical projects may be too heavyweight for  rapid prototyping  or Web application development. Practices that work well when the development team is located in the same room may not always scale well when the team is distributed across the country. Clearly, there exists no one â€Å"best† answer. Practices that are best for one user might not be best for the next. Therefore, the BPCh tool responds to user queries with a list of practices rated by how well they fit the project characteristics of the user making the query. The presented selection is compiled using the experience other users have had implementing the practice in a similar context. High-quality evidence about a practice is collected and reported with any necessary caveats, so that information seekers have a sound basis for making up their own minds given their needs. APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TO DELIVER BEST PRACTICES To develop the BPCh tool, we applied FC-MD’s EMPEROR approach (Experience Management Portal using Empirical Results as Organizational Resources). This approach makes use of all kinds of available  evidential  data from research and industry, analyzes and packages it, and disseminates it through a Web-based Experience Base. The EMPEROR is based on the experience factory approach, developed by Basili, Caldiera, and Rombach (1994), which has been successfully employed to facilitate  organizational learning  at  NASA  (Basili, et al. 1995), DaimlerChrysler (Schneider Schwinn, 2001), and elsewhere in  North America, Europe, and Australia (Koennecker, Jeffery, Low, 2000; Mendonca,  Seaman, Basili, Kim, 2001). An experience factory provides a way to analyze results based on practical experience, and package what is learned into an Experience Base for new users of the organization to find and apply. You read "Decision Support for Best Practices Lessons Learned" in c ategory "Papers" Since the users of the BPCh come from a wide variety of organizations and programs, any Experience Base will have difficulties in addressing all user needs. To mitigate this problem, EMPEROR is required to: (a) provide transparency to users, so that they can understand the analysis process and the sources of experience and make up their own minds; (b) rate the â€Å"trustability† of each of the used sources, so that users can judge the degree of confidence they have in the information provided; and (c) provide a completeness and maturity indicator of the practice information taken as a whole, that is, to perform a self-rating based on how much and what quality evidence can be offered. DATA STRUCTURE OF A BPCH PRACTICE These sections describe how these requirements are implemented in the case of the BPCh. In the BPCh, each practice has one associated Practice Record, containing information about the practice and what is available in the Clearinghouse, and zero to many Evidence Profiles, each of which contains a summary of a single organization’s experience using the practice. A Practice Record consists of: 1. A Practice Detail block, which contains information such as the practice name, a short description, and the completeness and maturity indicator for the experience package. . A Practice Summary block, which synthesizes all available evidence data and describes possible application contexts for the practice based on a set of characterizing attributes. This part of the practice record thereby allows different users (i. e. , organizations) to make use of the practice. An Evidence Profile contains an example or report of some type of program that has used this practice, how they applied it, and what results were obtained. Each Evidence Profile contains the same set of context and result fields as the Practice Summary block, except that the information recorded in each field will describe only what has been observed in the given context of the particular piece of evidence. In addition, the data structure of an Evidence Profile contains a field for documenting its classification of the trustability. TRUSTABILITY OF A SINGLE SOURCE OF EVIDENCE A 20-point scale rates the trustability of each Evidence Profile. A rating of l indicates an  anecdotal  or informal experience; a rating of 20 indicates that the results of applying the practice are rigorously measured and substantiated. Points are based on the following four dimensions: * how the practice was applied, ranging from a single pilot study to use on multiple real projects; * how the results were measured, ranging from an educated guess to a rigorous measurement program; * how the evidence was reported, ranging from an informal  anecdote  to a peerreviewed publication; and who reported the evidence, ranging from a second-hand report to someone directly involved on the team. More information on the rating scale can be found on the BPCh page of the Acquisition Community Connection of DAU (https://acc. dau. mil/bpch). MATURITY OF A PRACTICE RECORD A 4-point scale is used to rate each Practice Record to quickly inform the user of how much, and what type of, information is known about the practice. As required by EMPEROR, this scale focuses on the quality of the overall accumulated information that is available for a practice (i. e. the  synthesized  and packaged information in the Practice Record). Based on the available information we describe the practice maturity as: * No status assigned/Initial entry: A new Practice Record is initially entered into the BPCh when it is nominated by our experts and/or user communities. Typically at this time, only some of the fields in the Practice Detail block are filled in and no Evidence Profiles are available. * Bronze status/Awareness raised: As soon as any evidence becomes available (i. e. , an Evidence Profile has been linked to the Practice Record), the status is set to Bronze Level. For users, the Bronze Level status indicates that the practice has been nominated by our experts and user communities, and received a preliminary check for applicability. * Silver status/Evaluation performed: When a sufficient set of Evidence Profiles is available, the BPCh experts will fill in the Practice Summary block and the status is set to Silver Level. For users, the Silver Level status indicates that the practice has been selected as promising enough to commission experts in the area to summarize key information. Users can see at a glance what they should know. * Gold status/Continuously maintained: When the summary has been further evaluated (i. e. , vetted) by experts from industry, academia, and government, the status is set to Gold Level. For users, the Gold Level status indicates that the practice has been through a rigorous analysis by a committee of experts in the practice itself as well as by user representatives. Information on Gold Level practices contains the best and widest-ranging experiences we can find. CONTENT STATUS OF THE BPCH We have been piloting BPCh processes and tools by seeding initial content. At this point the BPCh contains 51 practices at all levels of maturity. Practices that have progressed to Gold Level are those, like inspection/technical review, which have a long history of published industrial experience. Many practices of interest in the area of systems and software acquisition have few documented sources of evidence or experience. Therefore, we are testing different processes for eliciting information from the workforce. Based on the recommendations of our User Advisory Group, the following types of practices are currently our top-priority areas for additional content: *  Earned Value Management, * Risk Management, * Information Assurance, and * Spiral Development Process. We hope that visitors to the BPCh tool will try out the offered features for providing short stories about their own experience with practices in these (or any other) areas. We encourage you to provide feedback as to whether you agree or  disagree with  the existing experiences that have been entered, or thoughts on our BPCh tool in general. LESSONS LEARNED Based on our experience with the BPCh program and other knowledgemanagement projects, we can formulate some observations which make useful rules of thumb for good practices to build such systems. The BPCh program has been organized along three parallel (but interconnected) tracks, which reflects our first lesson learned. LESSON 1: PROCEED IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY Progress in building a knowledge repository needs to proceed in multiple dimensions simultaneously: content collection, tool development, and outreach. Although there is often a temptation to view these as tasks that can be done sequentially (e. g. , first the tool will be built, then  populated, and then it will be advertised to users), we have found this to be an overly  simplistic  view that diminishes the chance of project success. Constructing the tool prior to collecting actual content and getting users’ feedback almost ensures that important user needs will be discovered late and will require much more effort to implement. Populating the content without getting user feedback leads to a high likelihood that the content will not really address user needs. More importantly, content needs to come from the user community, if the repository is to have a long-term life. We have found that for the research team to generate substantial amounts of content is a time-consuming way of recreating what many users already have at their  finger tips. Finally, engaging in outreach and building excitement in the community of potential users runs the risk of all prototyping efforts: When told how anything is possible in the final system, users often come up with many wish list features that are not really linked to their everyday needs. Moreover, users often get  frustrated  with the slow pace of progress when the system actually has to be implemented, and lose interest before the system is fielded. To avoid these problems, we have adopted an  incremental  approach, with content and tool development going on simultaneously and outreach activities to the user community (such as booths at major conferences, or specific User Advisory Group meetings) planned at major milestones. Although this sometimes stretches resources a bit thin, we feel this approach has enabled us to engage periodically with the user community, show them progress since the last  iteration, and get feedback on ever more mature versions of the system, with an initial body of content. LESSON 2: MAINTAIN A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF FUNDING Because of the interconnected nature of all the tasks listed above, having a stable funding stream is crucial. Requiring the team to take a  hiatus  from the project after a release is delivered leads to lost opportunities for user involvement (users find it hard to match their schedule to the development team’s), leads to new content ideas that miss getting followed up on, may result in the loss of expertise if experienced personnel resources are in transition to other projects during the hiatus, increases the personnel learning curve encountered at restarts, and may result in flagging interest in the user community since momentum generated during outreach is lost. LESSON 3: RECOGNIZE THE RELATIVE MERITS OF CONTENT Our most important lesson learned is a direct implication of the BPCh vision: There is no such thing as a â€Å"Best Practice. † Or, to say it more diplomatically: No practice will be â€Å"best† for every project. Practices that are absolutely necessary for large, mission-critical projects may be too heavyweight for rapid prototyping or Web application development. The implications of this lesson are many. Perhaps the most important is related to the tone of the recommendations that users find: Rather than arguing as an expert that readers should be following a given practice, or else they are doing something wrong, practices should be recommended to readers on the basis that projects of certain type(s) have found it useful. That is, rather than presenting a  foregone conclusion  to users, the system should aim at respecting users’ intelligence enough to enable them to draw their own conclusion, providing sufficient evidence as necessary for those decisions to be sound ones. LESSON 4: UNDERSTAND THE LIFE CYCLE OF BEST PRACTICES Practices (and practice information) are not static and have a real life cycle. Major  paradigm shifts  in the software development world can have an impact on which practices are recommended. The practices that seemed to be good fits for most projects, when a  waterfall  life cycle was the most common approach to software development, are not all equally applicable at the current time, when  iterative, spiral, and even agile approaches are probably more representative of the state-of-the-art practice. Our recommendations regarding a structured life cycle for practice information are: 1. A knowledge repository needs to be continually evolving by accepting information on topics of interest and making it available to users as soon as possible. While some quality checking is necessary to make sure that incorrect, misleading, or incomplete information is disseminated outward, it is better to get information to users as it comes in, than to wait and try to create something perfect. Users should be able to see a timestamp on all information so that they can see if the experiences related are fresh and up to date or come from years ago. 2. However, the desire to get information out quickly should not interfere with the need for validation activities that provide higher confidence in the information. These additional levels of maturity should be noted, to give users more confidence in the information they find, but should not be used as aprecondition  for displaying content. 3. Content needs to be retired when appropriate. Practices may have a natural lifespan, since the acquisition and development worlds continue to evolve and change on their own. Practices that were good 10 years ago may not be appropriate given today’s constraints or technologies. To avoid users finding obsolete information in the repository, reports need to be generated periodically of which practices have received no updates or new experiences in the longest time. LESSON 5: APPLY AGILE STRATEGIES AND PROTOTYPING To create the front end of the BPCh tool, which helps users find candidate practices, explore possibilities, and get more information on practices of real interest, we have found that prototyping and agile strategies are extremely valuable for developing knowledge-management systems. Precisely because of the need for parallel activities in different tracks, and the number of  stakeholders  involved (tool developers, content gathering team, end user representatives, sponsor representatives), an agile approach is extremely valuable. The implementation of the prototype BPCh tool was carried on in two-week increments, at the end of which a releasable version was always available. At the end of each two-week period, a demonstration and planning meeting was held with as many of the stakeholders as could be present. This approach was necessary to help us coordinate and  prioritize  the evolving expectations of the users as well as the necessary changes that were suggested by the content development team, based on what they were finding. As part of this meeting we learned the following lesson: LESSON 6: USE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE Speak to the users in their language. Do not expect them to learn yours. We realized early on that having the greatest possible content in the BPCh repository would not be of much help if the users cannot find it. To address this we needed to provide multiple paths to the information, so that users could select the path that made the most sense to them. Some specific lessons learned here included: 1. Organize around common tasks. The best way to reach users is to organize the contents of the repository  according to  everyday activities that the user performs. This helps users see the repository less as an additional activity that they need to make time for, and more as a value-added to the activities that already consume their time. In the case of BPCh, we added several such perspectives (i. e. , indexes to the content) based around activities of importance to different segments of the user community (e. g. , addressing  CMMI  practice areas, constructing a systems engineering strategy, and referencing back to common guidebooks). 2. Push as well as pull information. Rather than always expecting users to take time to come to browse the BPCh tool, information can be â€Å"pushed† outward to the user on a periodic basis. For example, the user could select some practices of special interest, and when new experiences come in related to these practices a notification is sent via e-mail. 3. Match users to practices based on context similarity. Since no practice will be â€Å"best† for every project, it is important to match users to practices using context characteristics. This provides the users with a pick list of practices that may be useful in their particular situation, in ddition, it may alert the user to practices that they might not have known about previously. For example, if the user selects a few context variables that describe his/her context, then practices can be prioritized and displayed according to whether they have associated evidence provided by users with similar context information. This is a way of indicating that, e ven if the practice does not answer a specific search query, users like the current one have found this practice useful and it may be something the user should know. LESSON 7: DEMONSTRATE PRACTICAL EXAMPLES TO INTENDED USER To engage in effective outreach activities, aimed at building up an interested and active community of users of the BPCh, we find the following lesson of relevance: You can not show initial users an empty  depository. In line with the idea that building a tool like the BPCh needs to proceed on three tracks in parallel (front-end, content, and outreach) is the lesson that populating the content cannot come after the repository is built. Showing users a fancy front-end without an initial set of real content may get their interest for a short time period, but is not an effective way of building an active user community. Users need to see a small but representative set of content which they can respond to and start generating ideas for the next content or tool release. LESSON 8: UPDATE CONTENT AND FUNCTIONALITY CONTINUOUSLY To keep interest engaged, when users do check back to the site they need to see that updates have been made since last time. Content needs to be continuously updated and  refreshed  to stay abreast of trends. If users ever become convinced that the repository does not get updated on a regular basis, this often spells the end of their involvement. Rather, they need to be motivated to come back often enough to find new things and hopefully, as they progress, be motivated to submit responses and ideas of their own showing emerging trends and keeping the content relevant. Thus, user involvement tends to build more user involvement. As users become interested enough to post comments or send  new ideas  to the repository, other users will continue to be interested to show up to see which comments have been added since the last time and possibly find something of interest to their current situation–and more likely to find something applicable. One way we have experimented with–to reinforce this concept–is to list on the front page of the BPCh tool the most recently added practices and highlight ones that have been promoted to various maturity levels (Bronze, Silver, or Gold). Thus, one of the  first things  users see is an indicator of how much progress has occurred since their last visit. CONCLUSIONS This article has presented some of the lessons learned with the BPCh program, which aims to document practices and quickly disseminate them to the users. The BPCh, which is based on the EMPEROR approach, makes use of a two-dimensional rating scale. These scales provide users with a quick overview of the trustability and maturity of the stored practice records. The scales allow users to understand and to draw their own conclusions based on a set of evidence from different contexts, from research studies as well as industrial experiences, and using measures at different levels of  rigor. Practitioners can rely on this information without reading in detail through the different evidence sources, unless they are interested in the very detailed level of information. In addition, ways to collect user feedback and trigger discussions are offered to allow a vivid and growing user community. While initial feedback regarding the BPCh tool has been positive (Turner Shull, 2005), we are continuing to improve the BPCh program and its associated tool through ongoing research, advisory groups, and user community feedback. We are interested in addressing such questions as: â€Å"How much extra effort to  certify  evidence sets and summaries as correct is worthwhile to users? † or â€Å"Are there subsets or types of evidence that users will find especially worthwhile? We invite you to take a look at our BPCh tool, available at http://bpch. dau. mil. We appreciate all feedback, whether it be submitted through the tool or directly to the authors’ e-mail. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was supported with funding from the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD), the  Office of the Secretary of Defense  (OSD), and the Defense Acquisition Univers ity (DAU). We wish to thank the members of the BPCh team, from DAU, FC-MD, CSC, and SSCI, for the many productive discussions that have improved this work. REFERENCES Basili, V. R, Caldiera, G. , Rombach, H. D. (1994). Experience factory. In J. J. Marciniak (Ed. ),  Encyclopedia  of Software Engineering (Vol. 1, pp. 469-476). New York:  John Wiley   Sons, Inc. Basili, V. , Zelkowitz, M. , McGarry, E, Page, J. , Waligora, S. , Pajerski, R. (1995). SEL’s software process improvement program. IEEE Software, 12(6), 83-87. Dangle, K. , Dwinnell, L. , Hickok, J. , ; Turner, R. (2005, May). Introducing the Department of Defense acquisition best practices clearinghouse. CrossTalk, 18(5), 4-5. Defense Acquisition University. Retrieved from http://bpch. dau. mil Delphi White Paper. (2002). Taxonomy  ; Content Classification–Market Milestone Report. Boston, MA: Delphi Group. Koennecker, A. , Jeffery, R. , Low, G. (2000, April). Implementing an experience factory based on existing organizational knowledge. In Proceedings of the 2000  Australian Software Engineering Conference  (pp. 28-29), Canberra, ACT, Australia. Mendonca, M. , Seaman, C. , Basili, V. R. , Kim, Y. M. (2001, June). A prototype experience management system for a software consulting organization. In Proceedings of the 13th  International Conference on Software Engineering  and Knowledge Engineering (SEKE). Ottawa, Canada. Schneider, K. , ; Schwinn, T. (2001, June). Maturing experience base concepts at DaimlerChrysler. Software Process-Improvement and Practice, 6(2), 85-96. Turner, R. , ; Shull, F. (2005, November). An empirical approach to best practice identification and selection: The U. S. Department of Defense acquisition best practices clearinghouse. In Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering (ISESE  2005)(pp. 33-140), Noosa Heads, Australia. Mr. Raimund L. Feldmann is the technical lead for Knowledge and Experience Management at the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering, MD (FC-MD). Before he joined FC-MD in 2004, Raimund participated in several technology transfer projects in Germany and was also involved in the development of the Virtual Software Engineering Competence Center (VSEK) portal, funded by the Department of Education and Research (bmb+f) of the German Federal Government, to offer up-to-date Software Engineering knowledge to subject matter experts. E-mail address: rfeldmann@fc-md. umd. edu) Mrs. Michele A. Shaw is a Scientist at the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering. Michele supports clients implementing process improvement, measurement, and experience factory concepts. She has over 25 years of experience in Information Technology including software and service development, project management, quality assurance, client care and  subcontractor  management Ms Shaw holds a BS in Business from  University of Baltimore  and a masters in applied  behavioral science  from  Johns Hopkins University. (E-mail address: mshaw@fc-md-umd. edu) Dr. Forrest Shull is a senior scientist at the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering, MD (FC-MD). He is project manager and member of technical staff for projects with clients that have included Fujitsu, Motorola, NASA, and the U. S. Department of Defense. He has also been lead researcher on grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Air Force Research Labs, and NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. (E-mail address: fshull@fc-md. umd. edu) How to cite Decision Support for Best Practices Lessons Learned, Papers

Module A - Joyeux Noel + Christmas Truce free essay sample

Module A- Comparative Essay Comparative essays serve to enhance the understanding of the themes, values and ideas represented in texts, by examining their different mediums, contextual values and purposes. Christian Carrion’s feature film Joyeux Noel, and Nic Young’s documentary, The Christmas Truce, are both 21st century filmic responses to a 20th century event. The similar values of the texts are showcased through different forms, and techniques. QUESTION. Carrion has created a sanitizing version of the Truce, QUESTION, through the gripping use of characterization and film techniques. Modify Topic sentence to answer question. Through visual and textual techniques, Carrion has conveyed the camaraderie between the soldiers and has proposed the idea that music can unite enemies. This is evident in the ‘Interaction’ scene on Christmas Eve. German Tenor Sprink, sings a well known Christmas carol Silent Night, and is responded by the Scottish soldiers’ bagpipes. This suggests that music can descend the barriers of war. We will write a custom essay sample on Module A Joyeux Noel + Christmas Truce or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Long shots are used to display the sanitizing mise-en-scene of candles and snow. This use of artistic license softens the horrendous state of the war and creates a sense of hope. The linear structure of the film is reinforced through the unifying song ‘I still dream of home’. The Germans humming this Scottish song in the carriage, accentuates the idea of the human spirit overcoming adversity and links the idea that all soldiers share the longing for home and peace. Modify Link to answer question. Modify Topic sentence to answer question. Nic Young has used powerful film techniques and stylized reenactments to create a realistic representation of the truce. The documentary follows a linear structure and moves chronologically, this is supported through the continuous use of time and date stamps. This highlights the director’s purpose of an informative and historical documentary. The lack of colour in  the documentary reflects the dull lives of the soldiers. Darkness is dominant, significantly in the opening scene, symbolizing the dark time in history. In contrast to the sanitizing effect of the feature film, this creates a realistic interpretation of the event, minimizing the sense of hope. The opening shot of the hand stuck in a wire in no man’s land, foreshadows the fate of these soldiers. This scene is juxtaposed against the handshake over the wire, representing that humanity breaking down the physical barriers of war. Equality is achieved through long shots of the fraternizing men. The exchange of photographs of wives and children highlights the commonality between these men. Multiple shots of men singing the same carol yet in a different language, emphasizes that war and enmity has been overridden by the fellowship and Christmas. However, the bitter narration ‘business as usual’ conveys the realistic purpose of the suffering of these men, money and power. By using characterization, Carrion enhances the viewer’s emotional response and understanding of the event. Parallels can be drawn to the documentary in the ‘Abandon’ scene, however Carrion has used this scene to develop the character of the priest and therefore increasing the viewers emotional connection and response. This scene displays his compassion and bravery and highlights his use of religion as a tool for peace. Extreme close ups of the French soldiers in the ‘Interaction’ scene, convey the petrified emotions of these soldiers. These shots exemplify the individuality of these men and position the viewer to perceive them as normal as opposed to killing machines. The powerful confession from French Lieutenant Audbert, ‘I want to go home too’, gives a realistic insight of the men’s feelings towards the war and positions the viewer to sympathize, therefore increasing their emotional response to the film. Carrion has created a two dimensional representation of the Generals. Spink’s comment ‘ Look at those fat sated men, parading and spilling champagne’ and French soldier’s quote ‘ Those bastards sitting pretty, sent us here to slug it out’, influence the audience to perceive the Generals as rude and ignorant. The relatable impressions between Sprink and the French soldier, ironically suggest that that the soldiers have more in common with their enemies than with their leaders. Through the characterization of Scottish soldier Jonathan, Carrion  displays the destruction of innocence and its psychological impact. ‘At last, something great is happening in our lives’, this opening state of mind is contrasted with the reality of the war, his loss and destruction. The voice-over conveys his denial to reality and positions the viewer to sympathize and understand his disturbance. The connection through characterization enhances the viewer’s emotional response. The lack of characterization in the documentary positions the viewer to focus on the facts and information presented, limiting their emotional response and connection. The use of didactic technique employed, limits the viewers connection to the soldiers, however the use of 1st hand diary extracts creates a realistic impression of the soldier’s experiences. ‘ Grave and tender voices rose out of the frozen mist, .. it was like being in another word’, these first hand diary extracts are used to present the outwardly experience of the men, witnessing the truce. ‘We don’t want to fight this war, not now, not ever’ This confessions from the conscripted German soldier highlights the mentality of the soldiers and their longing for home and normality. The unreality of peace in the truce is displayed through the decisive comment ‘ It can’t alst’ and the accompagniment of slow motion camera work. The cello music and the estinguishment of the candles, highlights the end of the truce and hope for soldiers. A non biased representation of this event is developed through the comparative study of the two different mediums. Carrion has effectively accentuated – QUESTION.

How does Amenabar use presentational devices in The Others Essays

How does Amenabar use presentational devices in The Others Essays How does Amenabar use presentational devices in The Others Paper How does Amenabar use presentational devices in The Others Paper Essay Topic: Film Film director Alejandro Amenabar wanted to leave the imagination to create the real horror of his film the others instead of using digital effect cinematography. But instead he uses sounds and light (or absence of light) to create a sense of unease in his films. To create the unsettled atmosphere Amenabar uses a number of cinematographic ideas that are very effective in creating a feeling of unsettlement. Examples are that he uses light and sound to inhibit viewers key senses. He uses our own childhood fears to make us feel frightened. He uses the fears of being alone to create disorder and panic by making characters feel vulnerable. He also uses our imaginations to his advantage by associating characters with other people, the old woman acting as the nanny wears dark clothes thus visualises a witch, therefore he has realised another of our childhood fears (fairytale witches and monsters). Amenabar uses the most prominent of our childhood fears and a fear many adults still withhold, our fear of the dark; with the curtains in the house all drawn the characters are plunged into darkness, making an absence of light a good way to bring horror to the film as by restricting the sense of sight a viewers imagination can only think about what the darkness could be covering. This is his idea of how to make a good film the essence of real horror is leaving something for the imagination. The second most key fear Amenabar uses against us is fear of what we dont understand (paranormal ghosts). In the film the world of the living and the world of the dead seem to be crossed over, so that the inhabitants of the house can see what they believe to be ghosts and the ghost can see them. In most films the opening sequence shows the viewer the genre of the film. Often it can also give an idea of what is going to happen in the film or what the characters are like. The others is no different the opening shows certain traits the film includes. The opening shows the viewer the religious theme of the film by starting with the sound of children reading the creation story from the bible this has the effect of warning a potential viewer that the film has a prominent religious them. In the opening sequence there is a show of different pictures most of pain and suffering. The sequence of pictures and strange music all show the signs of a horror movie. The hand that is almost made of mist opening a door in the pictures shows that there is someone there who isnt normal, it makes a point of the living and the dead occupying the same space. The broken doll shows that there is something dangerous or evil involved in the film, this again shows the genre of the film to be horror. The pictures of the two children screaming and being really frightened show the viewer that the film is about being scared and suffering. It also shows that the film is dark as there is not much or no light; this is portrayed by the use of candles and oil lamps in the opening sequence. For Amenabar to create an unsettling atmosphere he uses setting to make us feel uneasy this is achieved almost immediately with an establishing shot of the outside of the house in which the film is completely centred on. The large Victorian mansion house which in enveloped in thick mist, gives a feeling of isolation as well as making us feel uneasy this is also achieved because the house looks like one that would be in a childrens story book about ghosts. The rustic wooden beams and derelict looking features making the house seam very strange. To the viewer this establishing shot shows the films genre as a horror movie. This is due to an old gothic style mansion surrounded by mist is a very prominent object to appear in a horror film. The horror genre is again confirmed by the inside of the house. The wooden floors, Absence of light, locked doors and long staircases have all added to the anxiety the viewer feels about the film. The reason that they add anxiety is that they all restrict a sense in some way, the absence of light restricts sight, the locked doors restrict sight and ability to hear well and clearly and the wooded floors restrict the viewers ability to hear something in the silences as whenever a character moves the floors creak and crack. As director Amenabar decided to use light as a way of making a viewer feel scared or have a feeling of uncertainty of what is going on. He uses light or an absence of it to easily create a tense atmosphere which a viewer watching can even catch. Due to the main character Grace fearing that her children are photosensitive she keeps all the curtains in the house drawn and makes sure that all the light is kept to a minimum. This means that the restriction of light and sense of sight can be controlled and kept low but there is a good reason for it to be like this. Due to there being a reason for low levels of light a viewer finds it easier to feel scared and be submersed into the film without needing to wonder why it is so dark, the candlelight and lamps also cast eerie shadows which make the atmosphere tense. The expressionist lighting techniques that Amenabar uses, makes the items in rooms seem obscure and add to the ambience of the rooms and make them feel oppressive. In all movies sound plays a key role in creating a required effect and portraying feeling or emotions of the characters involved. The music in the film contributes to the ambience and feeling of unease. A good example of sound being used to this effect is the scene where Grace is outside the music room with the piano playing. The music slows down and plays in the form of a heartbeat. This is due to it being uniformed and accented every second or two. When Grace moves towards the music room door the music speeds up to show her heart racing and to portray her fear. Grace being near the music room is also a good example of Amenabars use of diagetic sound. He uses the sound of the piano in the background but over this he amplifies Graces heavy breathing as she opens the door. This makes a viewer more scared as the louder breathing shows the viewer that grace is scared and therefore makes the viewer feel frightened. A key purpose of sound in film is for it not to exist, silence in a film is almost as key to create suspense and unease as sound is. Silence in the film is used to create a sense of vulnerability for Grace as when there is no sound that means that there is no one to help Grace should there be trouble. This makes a viewer feel vulnerable and isolated; it also shows Grace to have a problem coping mentally due to her being scared of silence. The film makes use of a variety of camera techniques and cinematographic angles and movements. The main camera work is normally control by where Grace is in a room. The angles of a camera can create horror as depending on the angle or view of the camera. A viewer can see a threat when a character cant or cant see a threat when a character is screaming or running. There limiting of what a viewer sees by camera techniques and also maximising what a viewer sees by using long shots can make a viewer feel isolated or to give a viewer a false sense of security before something key in the film happens. Another aspect of camerawork is the uses of camera movement, as a sudden zoom in on something is more effective to show a frightening thing like no one playing on the piano in the music room. The director didnt use sudden zoom on the piano instead he used a slow pan across the music room ending on the piano to emphasise that there was definitely no one in the music room and the piano was playing all by itself. The impact this has on an audience is that it raises more questions which confuses and unsettles a viewer: (what was playing, how was it playing) To please an audience a horror film almost has to have a resolution. A film often tries to have a better ending to make it memorable and give a lasting impression. The Others has a unique ending. By discovering that the main characters were actually the dead ghosts and the ghosts were the living people, the viewers feeling and what they thought they knew are reversed. This confuses the viewer at first but then puts their mind at ease as they now know about all the ghosts and noises what they were and why they happened. The viewers final sight of the film is the family looking out of one of the mansion big windows in the light. Saying that this was their house and they were never going to be scared away from it. Due to this the viewers are completely happy with the film as any loose ends have been tied up and the film has finished with all the characters storylines ended and completed. I believe that Amenabar has succeeded in his ideal as he wanted to create a horror film filled with suspense and unsettlement without resorting to special effects. Therefore since The Others fits these criteria he has succeeded.

Using Cell Phones in School

Using Cell Phones in School With Americans checking their phones 8 billion times a day (thanks for that stat, Time.com), most of us can agree that we dont leave home without them. Thats also true for students. Only a few short years ago, many schools banned cell phones, but many schools, especially private schools, have changed their rules and now allow smartphones and tablets to be a part of daily school life. In fact, some schools now have 1-to-1 device programs, that requires students to use laptops, tablets or even phones as part of their daily work. Most schools still have rules about using cell phones, in that ringers must be turned off and phones must be put away at certain times, such as during tests or presentations. But some teachers are capitalizing on students constant need to be connected. From text reminders and notifications to school apps for turning in homework and checking into dorms, our devices are enhancing the learning experience.   Using Cell Phones in Schools is Mainstream   In private schools, the prevailing view is that cell phones are here to stay. They are not only an essential line of communication between frantically busy parents and their children but are also a tool that many educators and coaches rely on to keep students engaged. As a result, most private schools allow cell phones on their premises with the understanding that students must adhere to  specific guidelines written into their handbooks and acceptable use policy manuals. All students agree to abide by those rules both while on the school premises and also while under the schools jurisdiction when off campus. Learning Opportunities Believe it or not, smartphones and tablets are more than just social communication hubs. Some schools have even worked mobile devices into the daily curriculum, allowing students to use their phones for school work during class. With the growing number of educational apps, its no wonder that these devices are becoming a valuable part of the educational environment. Students today are using apps in robotics, presenting directly from their phones and sharing documents with teachers on the fly thanks to the implementation of mobile devices in school. There are many apps to choose from, ranging from polling and testing apps to language-learning apps and math games.  Socrative  is an app that allows for real-time polling in class, while some schools are using  Duolingo  as a summer learning opportunity to help students prepare to take on a second language. Many games incorporate critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as physics to solve problems and maneuver through game levels. Some schools are even offering classes that educate students on how to build their own apps, teaching them the skills they need to thrive in our digital world. Boarding Schools and Cell Phones Every student has a cell phone at home these days, and there is no exception when home is a boarding school. In fact, many boarding schools capitalize on the fact that their students are chained to their mobile devices, using them to communicate and keep track of students. Many boarding schools use apps that allow students to check in and out as they come and go from different buildings and activities, and leave campus. These apps often feed a dashboard accessible by teachers, administrators and dorm parents, helping the adults on campus ensure the safety and well-being of students.   Cell Phones Provide Connections with Parents   Any parent will tell you that their worst nightmare is not knowing where their child is. A thousand gut-wrenching scenarios run through their mind: Is my child ok? Has he or she been kidnapped? In an accident? Its much worse for a big city parent. The variables increase exponentially to the point where you become a nervous wreck. Subways, buses, the weather, purse snatching, hanging around the wrong friends - supply your own worries about your children. Thats why cell phones and other smart devices are such wonderful tools. They allow for instant communication with your child by voice or text message. Cell phones can turn an emergency into a relatively easily handled and controlled event. They can give instant peace of mind. Of course, we are assuming that your child is honest and is where he says he is when you call. For boarding school students, the cell phone helps students stay connected with their families who are miles away. Gone are the days of waiting by the payphone for calls in the common area or obtaining a landline in the dorm room. Parents can now Facetime and text with students at all hours of the day (just not during the academic day!).   The Opposing View There is still evidence of cell phones being a distraction in school if not properly managed. Small size and inaudible, high-pitched ringtones make cell phones easy to hide and use in situations that dont warrant them. It is a proven fact that adults over 30 cannot hear some of the high-pitched ringtones that teens use deliberately for that reason. Cell phones can be used to cheat, to call the wrong people and to bully classmates, especially over social media. For these reasons, some teachers and administrators want cell phones banned from school, however, studies have also shown that educating students on proper usage and providing strict guidelines with consequences for infractions will actually benefit students and prepare them for life after high school. The sensible approach is to create a set of rules and policies regarding cell phone use, educate students on best practices and ethical use, and enforce the rules that are put in place. Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

Post a paragraph about your reaction to the lecture on plagiarism and Essay

Post a paragraph about your reaction to the lecture on plagiarism and the paraphrase practice. What aspects of this are new to y - Essay Example Moreover, to avoid plagiarism paraphrasing is a good tool. However, this may also be included as a means of plagiarizing if not properly cited. The information that was new to me included the requirement of citing after paraphrasing. The process of paraphrasing is easy and the citations help in preserving the right of the original writer to be accredited for the information produced by him. In this regard, plagiarism and paraphrasing concepts are important and helpful. The lecture also helped in enhancing my understanding about the paraphrasing concept and the importance of citing the sources. The actions that may be taken in case of plagiarism being detected are severe. This lecture stresses on the possible consequences and maintains a level of commanding attitude to guide the students on providing plagiarism-free work.

Chromosomal Instability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Chromosomal Instability - Essay Example due to the aberrations in the genomes, there is chromosomal instability leading to aneuploidy, i.e, an imbalance in the chromosomes results, so that the possibility for cancerous growths is increased.(Pollack, 2006). In a brief article, Pollack (2006) has summarized the findings of a study of aneuploidy that was taken up recently, where a gene expression was identified as a possible identifying symptom of chromosomal instability. In their study of chromosomal instability, the authors identified 25 genes that could predict the clinical outcome for six different types of cancer. Maintaining the chromosomal integrity of a cell is a complicated process because DNA regulation in the cell must be precisely regulated, while damaged DNA must be recognized and repaired quickly. Shima et al (2007) conducted earlier studies where they identified a Chaos3 mutation in mice that causes spontaneous chromosomal aberrations. In the instant study, they report that this chromosomal instability, which was isolated in a forward genetic screen, is a viable allele of Mcm4 (michromosome maintenance deficient 4 homolog). This allele is a component of the MCM2-7 complex, which is the replication licensing factor. Shima et al (2007) conducted their study on female mice and found that mutant embryonic fibroblasts in these mice were susceptible to chromosomal instability induced by inhibition of DNA replication. 80% of the subjects of the study succumbed to mammary carcinomas. The findings in this study suggest that the hyphomorphic alleles such as mcm4 of the genes that encode the subunits of the MCM2-7 complex may cause an increase in the risk of breast cancer. Another causal element identified in chromosomal instability is the mSds3 chromatin regulator, which is a key component of the mSin3 compressor complex that regulates target gene expression through chromatin modification.(David et al, 2006). In their study, David et al (2006) carried out their study using mice assessed whether the