The Use Of Technology To Infuence Previous Generations Essay Example for Free

The Use Of Technology To Infuence Previous Generations Essay Introduction There is a common saying that necessity is the mother of invention. Most inventions were designed to make our lives more comfortable and to improve our standards of living. The internet was initially designed to provide a reliable communications network that could be used even if some sites were destroyed by nuclear attack (Howe, 2007). Routers would be used to direct traffic around the network by means of alternate routes if most direct route was not accessible. It was made solely for national defense. In those days, the internet was not user friendly and it was solely used by computer professionals, engineers, scientists and librarians. Due to its complex system, home or personal computers were not available. The Baby Boomers or those who are within the age of 43 and above have seen the advent of telephone, transistor radios, black and white television sets, typewriters and automobiles that created changes in the lifestyle of some individuals. As technology progress, we can now see a lot of modern appliances and better equipments than ever before. These days, we have digital phones and mobile phones, mp3 players and iPods, high definition television sets, computers and more sophisticated automobiles. The days of heavy and bulky gadgets that are often left at homes and offices are over. These days, we can see people walking around carrying a phone, listening to music or radio on the streets, watching the news on their mobile phones and using laptops in the restaurants. The functions and the features of these gadgets are getting better each day. Smaller, slimmer and lighter gadgets provide comfort and portability for most consumers. We have grown to be totally dependent on technology. The question that we need to raise now is for whom was these gadgets designed for? Were the electronic companies targeting the mature consumers or the young generation users? Did the present generation influence the Baby Boomers to use their technology? What are the effects of technological determinism in our society and culture? Technological Determinism Defined Technology means tools and gadgets such as mobile phone, computer, internet, iPod, etc. while determinism means that it is technology which determines the type and degree of social change and the course of history (Johnson, 1955). The term technological determinism was coined by Thorstein Veblen, an American sociologist and economist (Chandler, 1996). It refers to the assumption that the new technologies are the primary cause of major cause of major social and historical changes at the macrosocial level of social structure and processes and/or subtle but profound social and psychological influences at the microsocial level of the regular use of particular kinds of tool (ibid.). It is the belief that technology develops by its own laws, realizes its own potential, limited only by the material resources available and regarded as an autonomous system controlling and ultimately permeating all other subsystems of society (Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and System, n.d.). Marshall McLuhan, the philosopher and electronic media guru defined technological determinism simply as â€Å"we shape our tools and in turn they shape us† (Huster, 2000). McLuhan (1962) state that when media technology was introduced, it has shaped the way people in a society talk, write, feel and think and the channels of communication are the primary cause of cultural change. It also change the way our society operates from one technological age to another. Hence, a change in the medium is a change in society’s way of communicating. Today, people use mobile phones for wireless communication and instant messaging for talking through computer. Technological determinism is a school of thought believing that technology is the single most important factor in determining the success of an organization (Oxford University Press, 2005). The advancement of technology is a sign of the countries’ progress. The creation of technology cannot be avoided. The believers in technological determinism often fear the impact of technology. They are the critique of technological progress and oppose the belief that technology is the only determinant of change. Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y The early Baby Boomers were born between 1946 to 1964 and aged between 43 to 61 (Marchand, 1979). They are starting to retire. Generation X is a term used to describe generations who were born between 1965 and 1980 and aged between 28 to 42 and they are noted for being the most tech friendly generations in American history (Wikipedia, 2007). They are referred to as Gen X, Gen Xers or Xgen. These generations have founded billion-dollar companies like Yahoo, Google, and You-tube among others. The term Generation Y is used to describe those children born between 1981 to 1995 (Markiewicz, 2003). Today, the term has changed to include anyone born as early as 1976 to late as 2000. The term Generation Y is often shortened to Gen Y, Gen Yers or Ygen or Gyen. They are primarily children of the Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers and Technology New research shows that the Baby Boomers nowadays are overwhelmed by high-tech gadgets that often make them feel embarrassed, unhappy or plain dumb (Hendrick, 2005). The age of the person is a factor that contributes to the feeling of intimidation. Only 36 percent of those who are below the age of 40, said that they were tech-shy. However, 43 percent of those who are above 40 and 49 percent for those who are 55 and above claimed to be intimidated. Among the 28,000 people interviewed, close to 50 percent of those who are younger than 40 adapt to new technology while 29 percent of those older than 40 are not willing to try out the new gadgets. Findings also show that the new gadgets are not attractive to people who are using corrective lenses. Hence, some products need to be redesigned without complicated instructions and intimidating features if companies intend to attract the older Baby Boomers. A strong preference for a human guide or instructor on the usage of any gadget is evident for those who are 50 years old and above. These people are intimidated, annoyed and less patient to read the instructions written on the manual and prefer sales people to show them how to operate a digital camera, mobile phone, TiVo, iPod or PDA. The rapid change of technology magnified their inability to catch up and accept change. Just when they are comfortable with the gadget that they have mastered, a new one emerge on the market that makes them feel that they need to relearn things all over again when they upgrade their device. Although more women are using instant messaging on computers or cellphones, gender is not a factor in terms of being intimidated with the new gadgets. Age remains to be a deciding factor in their acceptance of these new devices. The older they are, the less interested they become. It is very common that older people have poor eyesight and they have difficulties in reading the messages, menus, icons and toolbars. Therefore, when manufacturers design products, they must consider the needs of the aging population. The Influence of Technology The present technological environment is the major crossroad in the history of communication. Today so many people rely on the internet as a source of information and a medium of communication. Instead of going to the post office to mail the letters that we have written, we use the email as a quicker and convenient means of communication. The internet has also provided a cheaper means of communication. Now, people use the broadband to keep in touch with anyone instead of spending for costly overseas calls. Students use the internet to do their research homework instead of using the school or public libraries. People read the news on the internet instead of reading the newspaper or watching the news on television. Some prefer to shop online instead of going to the department store. On one hand, technology has reduced time consumption, eliminated the inconvenience of traveling, and facilitated inexpensive global communication. On the other hand, the electronic advantage has also made human interaction and socialization suffer as a lot of people these days prefer to spend so much time staying in front of their personal computers. The ultimate effect of the internet is undefined and unpredictable. Its long term impact remains uncertain. However, the internet is a typical example where we shaped a tool, and now that tool is shaping us. In the 1700s, fossil coal was developed as a source of energy when England ran out of wood. However, the continuous digging of coal mines resulted in a flood and the removal of water from the mines using hand operated pumps became inadequate. Hence, the steam engine was developed to solve the problem. As time progresses, the steam engine was used in textile factories, locomotives, steamboats, farm equipment and power plants that resulted in an increase demand for iron, steel and coal (Merkel, 2000). This demand resulted in large-scale coal and iron ore mining and steel plants. Labor union movement and industrial revolution emerged that gave rise to human progress and wealth. The steam engine is also a classic example of technological determinism. Mobile Technology for all Generations In terms of connective technology, mobile phones and internet usage are widely used around the world. In a study made by InsightExpress (2007), 80 percent of the 2015 mobile respondents in the USA owned a mobile phone, while 78 percent of the Americans have internet access spread evenly across the generations. Leading the survey is Gen Y (ages 18-24) at 85 percent, followed closely by Gen X (25-44) at 82 percent, younger Baby Boomers (45-54) at 80 percent, and older Baby Boomers (55-64) at 79 percent. With regards to their plans in upgrading their mobile devices, over half of Gen Y-ers and 37 percent for Gen X-ers plan to upgrade next year or so, and 30 percent of younger Boomers and 24 percent of older Boomers plan to upgrade next year. This indicates that all generations want the latest mobile gadgets. In terms of having mobile phones that allow users to connect to people and information in a variety of ways, 51 percent of Gen Y-ers have mobile phones that can access the internet followed by 47 percent of Gen X-ers, 39 percent of younger Boomers and 32 percent of older Boomers. This shows that the Boomers are not far behind from the Gen Y-ers and Gen X-ers. In addition, 75 percent of younger Boomers have text messaging capabilities, 54 percent have ring tones, and 52 percent have camera phones. Mobile Behavior Sending text messages is a cheaper means of communication in comparison with making phone calls. Forty-three percent of the Gen Y sends text messages on a daily basis while 16 percent of the younger Boomers and 10 percent of older Boomers text daily. This may be attributed to the fact that the Gen Y-ers are not as financially stable as the Baby Boomers; hence their preferences for an economical mode of communication. A strong preference for calling instead of sending text messages may be due to the Boomers desire for a faster and easier ways of communicating. When it comes to accessing the mobile internet daily, the survey finds that 8 percent of Gen Y uses the mobile internet while 4 percent of the younger Boomers and 3 percent of the older Boomers do so. The temptation of using the mobile phones is strong for individuals of all ages. In spite of the laws in many states against using mobile phones while driving, the survey reveals that 47 percent of Gen Y-ers, 42 percent of Gen X-ers, 37 percent of younger Boomers and 28 percent of older Boomers send and receive text messages while driving. All generations engage in the practice of talking on the phone without a hands-free device. The research conducted by InsightExpress clearly shows that mobile technology is widely used and accepted by the consumers regardless of their age. Although the Gen X-ers and the Gen Y-ers grew up with the sophisticated gadgets, the Boomers have managed to adapt to the rapidly changing technology. Regardless of whether the internet or mobile devises were designed, produced and marketed today or tomorrow, people of all generations will accept anything that would make their lives comfortable. Generation Gap Although there are studies made that the older generations are moving towards acceptance of the technology of the present generation, a generation gap still exist in terms of the usage of the latest gadgets. A survey and news articles revealed that a conflict between generations exist when it comes to using online services (Pew/Internet American Life Project, 2005). While the younger generations are impatient with the older generations’ sluggishness to adopt the latest online product, there is a strong value for privacy among the older generation who believe that any private information should not be published on the internet (Nussbaum, 2007). Hence, while the youngsters are having fun with the social networking tool as MySpace, Skype, ot YouTube, in searching for friends, and contacts, the oldsters still prefer a face-to-face contact (Hamm, 2007). They also use the information superhighway to post videos to and pictures of their weddings, and the birth of their children. Teenagers prefer to use instant messaging or text messaging for talking to friends to reach them wherever they are or post to a communications network and they use e-mail to communicate with old people and with their professors (Carnevale, 2006). Although 86 percent of more than 1,300 students at the University of Illinois at Chicago have not given up on email, they often consider messages coming from their colleges a form of spam (ibid.). People who are born from the internet generation have innate technological skills and they require little or no training in usage. This however, does not suggest that older adults do not go online. They also use the internet for banking activities, do online shopping, share pictures of their families, and download music and movies. The big difference lies in the fact that the seniors have the money to pay for these activities. The older groups were not as fast to pick up on the information on a Web site and they do not see the links as quickly as the younger group (Zook, 2007). The web designs are not as comfortable to the older generations although suppliers of user generated online content are not age restricted and all generations are included when describing social networking phenomenon (Dye, 2007). The major purpose of using new technology in creating blogs, website, emails or text or instant messages is to enable the users to communicate effectively and to connect people with a shared purpose, regardless of whether they belong to the generations of Baby Boomers, X-ers or Y-ers. What matters is to know how to reach them in their own world and in their own preferred medium. Technological Determinism One of the debates in the field of science, technology and society studies is whether technology has shaped society or has society influenced the development of technology. The former is associated with technological determinism and notions of technology as a force dominating other basic social institutions. The latter is associated with social construction of technology. Langdon Winner was the leading defender of some aspects of the technological determinism thesis in his first book, Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control (Cutchliffe and Mitcham, 2001). In the chapter â€Å"Do Artifacts Have Politics?† of his second book, The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology, Winner noted the irony of the contentions of the strongest defenders of technology who felt that although technology is beneficial, it is impossible to change the direction of its development. With this contention, we can now question ourselves as to whether our history has been defined by its technologies considering the technological development of our times. If we trace our technological development, we can say that we have progressed from â€Å"stone age†, â€Å"iron age† and now â€Å"computer age†. If the change in technology is good for all, why can’t we just accept and live with it? If technology is not good, why is there an absence of control in its progress and why is there no move in stopping technology? These questions can help us assess the strength or weakness of the self-directed force that technology has brought in our culture. The focus on technology and society debates was believed to be the important features of technology and technological change. One can only recognize that since Generation Y has grown with technology and Generation X started to modernized technology, they may welcome its progress and changes without even considering about its outcome in the society. In contrast, the economist, historians and social theorists would continue to stress that the force of technological change followed a path where its outcomes are predictable. To understand the effects of these changes will lead us to investigate the effects of modernization on human communication. Modernization means the appearance of modes of social life or organization that emerged in Europe from about the seventeenth century onwards which became worldwide in their influence (Giddens, 1991). Modernization theory has evolved in three waves and it explains the changing ways of communication and media use in traditional and post modern societies (University of Twente, 2004). The first wave of theory produced three variants in the development of economic, literacy and cultural and national identity most of which have been discredited because of their pro-Western bias (McQuail, 2000). The second wave of modernization theory does not support but criticize the influence of Western modernization that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s (Schiller, 1976). The third wave of theory that has risen in the 1990s attempts to expose the contradictions in the modernization process and explains the consequences of modernity for individuals in modern-day society (Giddens, 1991a, 1991b). It is neither in favor nor against modernization. Giddens showed that while traditional society is based on direct interaction between people living close to each other, modern society is characterized by time-space distantiation and disembedding mechanisms. Hence, Van Dijk (1993) stressed that the rise of computer networks and mobile telephony is an important tool for modern life. This will enable us to keep our interactions with people across the globe. As Stewart Brand (1995) explains to the readers of Wired magazine, â€Å"Technology is rapidly accelerating and you have to keep up.† Technology is the product of human action and the result of the workings of dynamic processes. As the outcome of past action and constraint, it has the potential to shape and enable action. It is not analogous to social structure because it takes material form; hence, technology does not acquire the status of a natural resource. Technology is always a product of human action and knowledge and always requires further knowledge and action to maintain and reproduce it (Garnsey, 1994). The experience of technology is often the experience of an ineluctable force which structures our way of life in ways we cannot control, as the forces of nature might do (Hill, 1988). An analysis of technology is presented in studies of the sociology of science and technology (Latour, 1987; Bijker et al., 1989) and resolves many of the problems of determinism that gave rise to the mechanical conceptions of technology. Barley (1986) and Orlikowski (1990) have shown that the concepts of structuration theory can be applied to the analysis of the role of technology in organizations and in social systems. But because technology takes material form, it may be misleading to treat it as a structural property of social systems as Orlikowski (1990) has proposed. Unlike technology, social structures and structural properties have no material existence. Social structures exist by virtue of the knowledge and actions of those who instantiate them through their practices; structure is seen as both medium and outcome of human action (Giddens, 1984). The physical interactions which are manifestations of social structure are not exhaustive of the relationships associated with those interactions; in giving primacy to physical interaction certain behavioral approaches come close to reifying social structure (Wellman and Berkowitz, 1988). Social structures draw on shared knowledge, on rules and roles, on shared symbolism and mutual expectations. Unlike social structure, technology can take material form. Technology has a physical form and is manifest as a set of entities, though a broader conception includes the knowledge and social practices required to create and activate technology. The problem of reification does not arise in relation to technology. With the growth of information systems, technologies have a symbolic dimension in the written word and number, reminding us that social systems are made up of symbolic as well as physical interaction. Mowery and Rosenberg (1979) pointed out that human needs are almost infinite and often long felt, and cannot explain the emergence of a particular invention at a certain time. They also criticized a series of confusing studies undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s which illustrated market demand as the force behind innovation. Eventually, Mowery and Rosenberg came to the conclusion that innovation is the result of the interaction between science and technology push factors (Katsikides, 1994). Freeman (1987) states that new technological systems can offer such great technical and economic advantages to a wide range of industries and services that their adoption becomes a necessity in any economy exposed to competitive economic, social, political and military pressures. Increasingly in this century, the world-wide diffusion of such new techno-economic paradigms dominates the process of technical change for several decades and powerfully influences economic and social developments even though it does not uniquely determine them (ibid.). Technological developments, like other social, economic and technical approaches, are not socially neutral, and in the end they deal with different traditions e.g. European, US, Scandinavian, Japanese, etc. (Katsikides, 1997). They accumulate social processes and reflect them, or, as Thomas Kuhn (1970), put it, a failure to assimilate fully new conditions and technology will strain the existing structures of society. Conclusion As we examine the progress of technology, we cannot deny the impact that technological development and innovation has brought to our society. Although researches have shown that the latest gadgets are challenging and frustrating for the Baby Boomers, there are studies that also revealed that this generation have accepted the use of the internet and mobile phones for communication. Although generation gap exists in terms of technology usage among the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y, there are companies today that are designing user friendly gadgets for the Baby Boomers. This only shows that the industry has seen a growing market for the older group of people who are financially stable and have better purchasing capabilities. Hence, the design of the future technology will be made for all generations regardless of age. Technology, being a product of human action and knowledge, require further knowledge and action for its maintenance and reproduction. It has structured our way of life in ways we cannot control. The use of technology to enhance communication has greatly influence people to adapt to the medium that will enable them to send and receive messages that are commonly use by the norm. This explains that with every development of new systems of technology, our culture or society will change and adapt to that technology. There is no end to the continuous development and improvement of technology because we are living in a fast paced world where everyone spends more time away from home. Changes are inevitable and necessary. The theory of technological determinism will only be proven wrong if a new technology is invented and nothing changes in our society. Bibliography Barley, S. (1986). Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observation of CT scanners and the social order of radiology departments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31, 78-108. Bijker, W., Hughes, T. and Pinch, T. (1989). The social construction of technology. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Brand, S. (1995). Two Questions, in Scenarios: The Future of the Future. Wired, 3(11) 28-46. Carnevale, D. (2006). E-Mail is for Old People, by Chronicle of Higher Education: Information Technology. October 6, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2007 from http://chronicle.com/free/v53/i07/07a02701.htm. Chandler, C. (1996). Shaping and Being Shaped. CMC Magazine. February 1, 1996. Retrieved December 25, 2007 from http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/feb/ chantd.html. Cutchliffe, S. and Mitcham, C. (Eds.) (2001). Visions of sts: counterpoints in science, technology, and society studies. New York: State University of New York Press. Dijk, J.A.G.M. van (1993b). Communication Networks and Modernization. Communication Research, 20(3), 384 407. Dye, J. (2007). Meet Generation C: Creatively Connecting Through Content. Information Age. Freeman, C. (1987). Technology policy and economic performance: lessons from Japan. London: Printer Publishers. Giddens, A. (1984). 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An Overview Algorithms And Data Structures Computer Science Essay

An Overview Algorithms And Data Structures Computer Science Essay Algorithms consist of a set of rules to execute calculations by hand or machine. It can also be defined as an abstraction consisting a program executed on a machine (Drozdek 2004). This program will follow operations carried out in sequence on data organized in data structures. These data structures are generally categorized into: Linear data structures examples which are arrays, matrices, hashed array trees and linked list among others. The tree data structures which include binary tree, binary search tree, B- trees, heaps e.t.c. Hashes which consist of the commonly used hash table Graph Graph: This is an abstract data structure which implements the graph oriented concepts. The graph will consist of arcs or edges as (x, y) of nodes or vertices. The edges may assume some value or numeric attribute such as cost length or capacity. Some of the operations of the graph structure G would include: Adjacent (x, y) an operation testing whether for the existence of an edge between x and y. Set_ node, value (G x, a) an operation setting the value associated with node x to a Add (G x, y) an operation that adds to the graph an arc from x and y if it is not existent. Graph algorithms are implemented within computer science to find the paths between two nodes like the depth or breadth first search or the shortest path (Sedgewick 2001 p 253). This is implemented by the Dijkstras algorithm. The Floyd Warshall algorithm is used to derive the shortest path between nodes. Linked lists These are linear data structures consisting of a data sequence linked by a reference. Linked lists provide implementation for stacks, queues, skip lists and hash tables. Linked lists are preferred over arrays because the lists may be ordered differently from how they are stored in memory. These lists will therefore allow the removal or insertion of nodes at any point. Each component or record has a node containing an address to the next node called the pointer or next link. The remainder of the fields are known as the payload, cargo, data or information. The list has first node as the head and the last node as the tail. A linked list may be circularly linked where the last node references the first node in the same list or linear where the link field is open. B -Tree This is a tree data structure that stores sorted data and allows searches, deletions, insertions and sequential access. The operations in the B- Tree are normally optimized for bulky data systems. The B -Tree has variants of design. However the B -Tree stores keys in the internal nodes. However this does not normally reflect at the leaves. The general variations are B+ Tree and B* Tree (Comer 129). The searching process is similar for the B- Tree and the binary search tree. It commences at the root and a traversal is executed from top to bottom. The search points at the child pointer with values between the search values. The insertion starts at the leaf node which if containing fewer than legally acceptable elements qualify for an addition, otherwise the node is evenly split into two nodes. A median is chosen in determining the left or right hand placements with values greater than the median going to the right node. The median here acts as the separation value. The deletion process assumes two popular strategies. Either the element located is deleted followed by a restructuring of the tree. Alternatively a scan may be performed followed by a restructuring of the tree after the candidate node to be delete has been identified. Hashes This is a data structure employing the hash function mapping to identity keys. The function transforms the key as an index of an array. The function then maps every key possibility to a unique slot index. Using well dimensioned hash tables every look up is independent of the population in the array. The hash table efficiency is utilized in database indexing, implementation of sets and cache and associative arrays. A simple array is central to the hash table algorithm. This algorithm derives an index from the elements key. This index is then used to store the elements in the array. The hash function f represents the implementation of the calculation. Hash tables implement various types of memory tables. The keys are used in this case for persistent data structures and disk based database indices. Greedy Algorithms. These algorithms work by making most promising decisions at the onset whatever the outcome would be is not taken into consideration at that moment. These algorithms are considered straight forward, simple and short sighted (Chartrand 1984). The upside or advantage to these greedy algorithms is that they are easy to invent and implement and will prove efficient. Their disadvantage is that they are not able problems optimally because of their greedy approach. Greedy algorithms are applied when we try to solve optimization problems. A typical implementation of these algorithms is the making change problem whereby we are required to give change using minimum number of notes or coins. We commence by giving the largest denomination first. Informally the greedy algorithm for this problem would follow the steps below: Begin without anything At each stage and without passing a given amount Consider the largest addition to the set. A formal algorithm of the implementation of the making change problem can be written as here below: MkChange C à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ {100, 25, 10, 5, 1} // C is a constant set of different coinage denominations Sol à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ {X} // Represents the solution set Sumà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0 which is the sum of items in {X} WHILE Sum. Not = n L =Largest of C such that Sum +L IF no such item THEN RETURN No item SUM à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  Sum+L RETURN S. An approach by the greedy algorithm to ensure optimization is the maintaining of two sets one for chosen items and the other for rejected items. Based on the two sets the algorithm will carry out four functions. Function one checks whether the chosen set of items can provide a solution. Function two checks for flexibility of the set. The selection function identifies the candidates. The objective function gives a solution. The greedy algorithm applies for the shortest path. The Dijkstras algorithm aims at determining the length of the shortest path. This path runs from S the source to other nodes. Typically Dijkstras algorithm maintains two sets of nodes S and C. S in this case consists of already selected nodes whereas C will consist of the rest of the nodes within the graph (Papadimitrious Steiglitz 1998). At the initialization of the algorithm our set X has only S. After execution {X} includes all the nodes of the graph. During every step in the algorithm a node in C that is closest to S is chosen. The remainder nodes that dont belong to S will result in a disconnected graph. The diagrams below illustrate the Dijkstra algorithm Considering the graph G = (V, E). Each node of the graph has an infinite cost apart from the source node with 0 costs (Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010) Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Initialize d[S] to zero and choose the node closest to S. Add to S while relaxing all other nodes adjacent to S. Update every node. The diagram here below illustrates this process: Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Choose the closest node X and relax adjacent nodes while updating u, v and y as indicated in the diagram below. Source: Next we consider y as closest and add to S and relax V as indicated in the diagram below Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Consider u and adjust v as a neighbor as indicated in the diagram here below. Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Finally add V and the predecessor list now defines the shortest path from S which was the source node. The diagram below illustrates the resulting shortest path Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Spanning trees Typically graphs will have a number of paths between nodes. Spanning tree graphs consist of all the nodes with a path between any two nodes. A graph consists of different spanning trees. A disconnected graph will represent a spanning forest. A breadth first spanning tree results after a breadth first search on this graph. The depth first spanning tree results after a depth first search on the spanning tree. Spanning tree applications among others includes the travelling salesman problem here below: Problem: Considering an undirected graph G= (V, E) having a non negative integer cost associated with every edge and representing a certain distance. We can derive a tour of the graph G with the minimum cost. The salesman may start from city 1 and go on to the six cities (1 6) and return back to city 1. The first approach would run in the following manner from city: 1 to 4 to 2 to 5 to 6 to 3 to 1 resulting in a total of 62 kilometers. The diagram below shows this approach. Adding the edge weights we have 15+10+8+15+9+5 = 62 Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 The other alternative approach which is the most optimal would run in the following man from city: 1 to 2 to 5 to 4 to 6 to 3 to 1 resulting in a total of 48 kilometers. The diagram below shows this approach. Adding the edge weights we have 10+8+8+8+9+5= 48 Kilometers Source: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms 2010 Other applications using the panning tree approach are like the airlines route determination, designing of computer networks, the laying of oil pipelines to connect refineries and road link constructions between cities. (Goodrich Tamassia 2010; Sedgewick 2002). A typical minimum spanning tree application based on the spanning tree application MST(minimum spanning tree) cost can be used o determine the points of connection of some cable for example the fiber optic being laid along a certain path. The edges with a larger weight which corresponds to more cost would be those that require more attention and resources to lay the cable. An appropriate result would be derived from the graph with the minimum cost. Prims Algorithm. The approach for this algorithm is that it proceeds from an arbitrary root node at every stage. A new edge being added to the tree at every step. The addition process terminates when all the nodes in the graph have been achieved. This algorithm concentrates on the shortest edge. Therefore the time lapse for the algorithm will depend on how the edge is searched. The straight forward search method identifies the smallest edge by searching adjacently a list of all nodes in the graph. Every search as an iteration has a cost time O (m). Total cost time to run a complete search is O (mn). The Prim algorithm (basic) takes the following steps: Initialize the tree to consist of a start node WHILE not all nodes in the tree Loop Examine all nodes in the graph with one end point in the tree Find the shortest edge adding it to the tree End. After each step or iteration a partially completed spanning tree holding a maximum number of shortest edges is created as A and B will consist of the remaining nodes. The loop looks for the shortest edge between A and B. Kruskals Algorithm. This is an algorithm that computes the minimum spanning tree (MST). This is done by building a generic algorithm into a forest. Kruskals algorithm will consider every edge and is ordered based on the increasing weight. Consider an edge (u, v) that connecting two different trees. It follows that (u, v) will be added to the set of edges in the generic algorithm. The resultant is a single tree from two trees connected by (u, v). The algorithm can be outlined as follows: Commence with an empty set E selecting at each stage the shortest edge not yet chosen or discarded regardless of its location on the graph MST KRUSKAL (G, w) A à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ { } // the set containing the edges of the MST for every node n in V[G] do make_set (n) sort edge of E by decreasing weights w for each edge (u, n) in E do if FIND_SET (u) not equal FIND_SET (n) then A=A U {(U, N)} UNION (u, n) Return A The algorithm above makes use of disjoint set data structures. Kruskals algorithm can also be implemented with the priority queue data structure. The resulting algorithm is shown below: MST KRUSKAL (G) for each node n in V[G] do define S(n) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ { n} initialize the queue Q consisting of all the edges of the graph G. Weights are not used as key here A à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ { } // This set will contain the edges of the generic algorithm(MST) WHILE A has v-1 edges do n à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ S(n) and u à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ S(u) IF S (n)! = S (u) Then add edge (u, n) to A S(n) U S(u) Return A The Binary Search Tree. A binary tree is one where every internal node X will store an element. Generally the elements in the left sub tree of X are less than or equal to X whereas those on the right sub tree are equal or greater than X. This represents the binary search tree property. The binary search tree height amounts to the number of links between the root and the deepest node (Skeinna 2008). The implementation of the binary search tree is such as a linked data structure where each node is an object with a total of three pointer fields namely left, right and Parent. These points to nodes corresponding to the left, right children and the parent. A NIL in any of these fields indicates no parent or child. The root node contains NIL in the Parent field. Dynamic programming algorithms These typically explores ways of optimization sequence based decisions in determining solutions. The algorithms employed avoid full enumeration of partial decisions that having a sub optimal contribution to the final solution. They instead concentrate only on optimal contributors (Aho Hopcrost 1983). The optimal solution is derived from a polynomial number of decision steps. At other times it is necessary for the algorithm to be fully implemented, however in most cases only the optimal solution is considered. Dynamic programming algorithms use of duplication and every sub solution is stored for later referencing. These solutions to the sub problems are held in a table. The total sub problems are then worked out using the bottom up technique. The steps in this bottom up technique will include the following: Begin by addressing the smallest sub problem Combine and sum up their solution increasing the scope and size UNTIL arriving at the solution of the original problem Dynamic programming relies on the principle of optimality. This principle alludes to the fact that present in an optimal decision or choice sequences are sub sequences that must be optimal as well. Warshall Algorithm. The WFI algorithm as it is also known is a graph analysis algorithm used to determine the shortest path in a weighted graph (Chartrand 1984). A comparison carried out will cover all possible paths between nodes of the graph. Consider graph G with nodes V as 1 to N. Let sPath(i, j, k) be the function that will return the shortest path between I and j while using the nodes 1 to k, demonstrates a recursive formula that results as shown here below sPath(i, j, k) = min{shortestPath(I, j, k-1),shortestPath(i, j, k -1)+shortestPath(k, j, k-1)} shortestPath(i, j, 0) = edgeCost(i, j) This forms the heart of the WFI algorithm. The shortest path is first computed as shortestPath(i, j, k) for all (i, j) pairs of k where k = 1 to n. The Floyd Warshall algorithm iteratively determine paths lengths between nodes (i, j) over i=j. The initial path is considered as zero, the algorithm provides the path lengths between the nodes. Conclusion Data structures and their associated algorithms are fundamental even today in providing the means for data storage and manipulation (Sage 2006). Core and complex computer processing involving memory management functions for operating systems, the database management systems cache implementation rely on data structures and their associated algorithms to execute efficiently and effectively. It is therefore becomes necessary that an adequate study of these data structures and algorithms is carefully studied and understood by system programmers to ensure the design of efficient and effective software.

Global Reputation of American People Essay -- essays research papers

The American If asked to describe Americans in a few words, some foreigner's may use such adjectives as 'powerful, influential, smart, wealthy or patriotic.' Undoubtedly others will venture on to say that Americans are 'lazy, spoiled, reckless, arrogant, or foolish.' There is no doubt that a foreigner who has never stepped foot on American soil will probably have distorted but firm views of America, its people and its government. This is because America is very influential, both positively and negatively, around the world. For any born and raised American it may still be hard to give a clear, unbiased perception of America, simply because America is so diverse and few have seen all that the United States has to offer. As a born and raised American, who has seen but a glimpse compared to what is offered within the boundaries of our country, not to mention, I have yet to have the opportunity to see and live in any other country, by which I could compare America. I can only give an overview of what I have observed, both first-hand and second. Americans are for the most part ignorant, selfish, egotistical, and irrational, however, we are also diverse, enterprising, competitive, and?best of all?liberated. I could not imagine myself living in Iraq right now?nor any other far away country for that matter. What?s worst than the fact that I can?t is that many don?t try. Not only is the most impoverished American citizen entitled to some means of government nourishment but many complain about it. We also love to accept welfare checks, complain that immigrants are taking our jobs, and at the same time refuse the jobs that are ?below? us as Americans. It isn?t just the lower class either, the upper and middle class is guilty of ignorance an... ...hat are protecting us. One recent case was with the Patriot Act. After the occurrence of 9/11 everyone, for the most part, was in favor of the Patriot Act because they believed it would protect them. However, after the nation?s nerves began to settle and people weren?t as anxious, many Americans decided the Patriot Act was actually inconvenient for them and changed their minds. It would seem that no matter how much freedom is awarded to us we will never be satisfied. Furthermore, Americans happen to be indecisive and irrational when it comes to their own government. In all, Americans can be ignorant, selfish, egotistical, irrational and indecisive, while also remaining diverse, enterprising and competitive. Best of all, we are liberated. Of course my views are only generalizations. As I said, we are a diverse people and do not share any characteristics as a nation.

The Importance of Wearing a Seatbelt Essay -- Argumentative Safety Dri

The Importance of Wearing a Seatbelt We have all heard the excuses before, "It's uncomfortable, I'm only going around the corner", I'd rather be thrown out of a car than be stuck in a seatbelt," and my favorite, "I'm a good driver I don't need to wear one." Well you may be a good driver but there are situations beyond your control such as bad weather, road conditions and not to mention other drivers that can affect your safety. Seat belts can mean the difference between life and death in an auto accident. Wearing a seat belt every time you enter a vehicle is not only the smart thing to do it is the right thing because it saves lives, it's the law and it will save you money. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35. Wearing a seat belt can prevent death in about half of these accidents. Did you know that every 15 seconds someone is injured in an automobile accident if they are not buckled up, or that every 13 minutes someone is killed in a crash. Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety related behavior. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration seatbelts saved nearly 12,000 lives in the United States in the year 2000. The NHTSA estimates that more than 9,000 U.S. car accident fatalities in 2000 would have been avoided if the victims had been wearing seatbelts. Sixty three percent of the people killed in accidents were not wearing seat belts. The NHTSA a...

constitution :: essays research papers

The Constitution itself did not mention political parties, and it was assumed that none was going to arise. But this was soon proven wrong when the debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in 1787 and 1788 stir into a two party system. This soon led to a permanent feature in American policies. In early times, groups of people formed temporary assembly and voted together either for or against a specific policy. When the policy was settled, the assemblies would dissolve. The Federalists and Anti-Federalist was sort of like these assemblies, but they didn’t dissolve that easily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1790’s became known as the Federalist Era because a Federalist President led it. Political parties began to form around two leaders, Hamilton and Jefferson. The Federalist Party supported Hamilton and his financial program. The opposing party that was known as the Democratic-Republican Party supported Jefferson and tried to elect candidates in different states who opposed Hamilton’s program. The French Revolution later hardened the formation of these two parties. Americans became sharply divided over whether it should or should not support France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Federalist strength was greatest in the northeastern states and the places that favored the growth of a federal power. They supported British and aided businesses, national bank, and tariffs. Made up of the rich businessmen and large landowners. The Democratic-Republican power were the party whose supporters were mainly from the southern states and where people favored the protection of state rights and a weak central government. They supported French, favored agriculture, no national bank, and opposed tariffs. 2). Explain the circumstances that lead to the incorporation of a Bill of Rights in our federal Constitution. State two rights guaranteed to you by the Bill of Rights, and explain what privileges each right grants to you and what privileges each right grants to you and what obligations each right demands to you.

Practical Report

My possible results were now: Bacillus cereus, Mycobacterium segments, or Lasciviously acidophilus. Next I preformed the acid fast staining. When preparing this slide and viewing it on oil immersion, I was a little more confident about the negative result yielded. You are less likely to confuse a negative blue with a positive fuchsia or pink color, which was my issue in my gram staining process. Was teetering on whether my gram stain was purple, red, or both. My results in the acid fast staining were clearly blue, making the results negative.Looking back at the key, it narrows my possible results by one, leaving me with: Mycobacterium segments, or Lasciviously acidophilus. My last staining slide was the spore stain. Here yielded a negative result. The color on my slide was red. From lab red is highlighting the cell, here green would represent the spore. Did have maybe one or two green spots, but chalked that up to over dripping of malachite green, over microwaving, or not enough wate r on paper towel, as my slide was cracked in half after being microwaves. Looking back again at the lab key was narrowed my choices again, ending up with Lasciviously acidophilus.In the end, three staining tests results were as follows: Gram yielded positive, acid sat yielded negative, and spore standardized negative. The morphology that noticed was rod shape. I had a hard time distinguishing long rods from short rods. In my opinion the rods seemed short, if possible when they appeared longer they looked more like two short rods were just attached at the ends. So my thought as to what my unknown bacteria is, would be: Lasciviously acidophilus. My rationale for my results answer is mainly based on what was yielded from the staining Of each slide.The colored results matched to either positive or negative and the morphology just takes you a tepee closer in matching your result. The bacteria that believe my results yielded is Lasciviously acidophilus. It is known as a â€Å"friendly' b acteria and is a very common proportion that is found naturally in our bodies, mainly in the mouth, intestines, and the vagina. Structure wise Lasciviously acidophilus is a single-celled prokaryotic microorganism that lacks a distinct nucleus. It also contains a cell wall, a cytoplasm membrane, a nucleoli, cytoplasm, ribosome, pill, and flagella.It is rod shaped and measures about 0. 5 to 0. 8 micrometer across by 2 to 9 mm in length. It occurs in chains and is non spore forming (Sanders 322). Lasciviously acidophilus has optimal growth at 37-42 degrees Celsius. They are able to live in highly acidic environments. Prefers to grow at low pH, anything below 5. It is a motile bacteria that grows in or without the presence of oxygen. Bacteria is able to digest lactose. Culture preparations consist of dried or liquid cultures of living bacteria (it can be grown on agar slants made of 2% agar in a solution of 3. 5% Lasciviously broth).High colony counts on mediums that contain potassium a cetate, dextrose, and CHOPPY to name a ewe. This bacteria is used as a proportion to prevent/treat vaginal candidates, yeast infections of the mouth, and diarrhea. Overuse or a side effects that are currently known about this bacteria is constipation and flatulence. With Lasciviously acidophilus there wasn't much about the production of toxins it could cause, but more about the dittoing abilities. It aids in producing enzymes which promote digestibility, decreases the levels of toxic amines in the blood, the positive list goes on.When researching of other bacteria that was closely related to Lasciviously acidophilus. I was unsuccessful. But because it does grow naturally within us this bacteria works in conjunction with other bacteria and organisms within our bodies. After coming to the conclusion of my results until now I think was very oblivious to the bacteria that I was looking up. The more in-depth search I went into I realized I used this bacteria, this proportion, often in my profession. The physicians at my nursing home often prescribe Lasciviously acidophilus to residents that are being treated with an antibiotic.

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley

Alex Haley was born on August 11, 1921 in Ithaca, New York. He was the oldest son of Simon Alexander Haley and Bertha Palmer Haley. His father was a World War I veteran, and his mother was a teacher. Until he was five years old, he lived in Henning, Tennessee with his grandmother because his father had to finish his studies. Alex was always extremely proud of his father as a young man. Alex Haley graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Alcorn A&M College (Alcorn State University) in Mississippi.He focused hard on education, just like his father. In 1939 he quit school, though, to become part of the Coast Guard. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1959, and decided to make writing part of his life. He became a freelance writer. He wrote many articles over the years and got them published, but he got very little pay. Haley can still remember working 16-hours a day for roughly $2,000 a year, surviving on not much but canned sardines. Alex Haley was the author of the R oots phenomenon.He had learned tales of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, as a child. Alex was told he was Kunta Kinte’s seventh generation descendant, and after ten years of research he discovered the truth. He went to the village of Juffure, where Kunta Kinte grew up, and listened to the true tales of a tribal historian. Alex said that the most emotional moment of his life was standing at the site in Annapolis, Maryland, where his ancestor stood in chains from Africa more than 200 years ago. Alex Haley also wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X book.His big breakthrough was in 1962 when he was asked to do an interview with the trumpeter Miles Davis in the Playboy magazine. The interview was so successful that Haley was given a contract to conduct interviews with several other African Americans. Haley interviewed Martin Luther King Jr. , Sammy Davis Jr. , Quincy Jones, and Malcolm X. After an interview with Malcolm X, Alex asked if he could write a book on Malcolm’s l ife. Two years later, The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told To Alex Haley book was published.Not only did Alex Haley write these beautiful pieces of art he showed people of color that they too should be proud of their heritage and avoid easily falling victim to the viciousness of racism. Through his writing, Alex Haley was capable of making African Americans feel strong and triumphant. He attempted to depict African Amercians for what they truly opposed to what many racists may perceive them to be. This is in my opinion, is what Alex Haley has contributed to society. If I could meet Alex Haley, I would tell him how much I admire him and his ancestor, Kunta Kinte.I watched Roots from start to finish and it honestly blew my mind. I would also ask a few questions, such as- â€Å"What was it like after you found out Kunta Kinte was your ancestor? † â€Å"How did you feel when you stood at the site where Kunta Kinte arrived? † â€Å"Did you like school? † And final ly, â€Å"Do you know how much I love Roots? † I actually did enjoy researching Alex Haley because I learned a few new things. I had been wanting to learn more about the man who directed Roots. So when I was given this project I was pretty excited.