Interaction and Engagement Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interaction and Engagement - Coursework Example Subsequently, the study will examine another project and offer five alternative design ideas that seek to enhance the interaction of the users with its technology and amongst themselves in a simple, yet engaging manner. However, rather than focusing on how specific technologies work to create the effects, the study will dwell on suggesting simple solutions that can produce the â€Å"Wow† factor. The case study being considered for this study is the â€Å"Piano Staircase,† a project created under the initiative of Volkswagen. THE PIANO STAIRCASE (Shinn 2010:6) The project, â€Å"Piano Staircase,† offers a staircase adjacent to an escalator on a subway in Odenplan, â€Å"Stockholm, Sweden† that makes passersby wonder as to what option to take (Shinn 2010:6). This was part of Volkswagen’s experimental campaign known as the â€Å"Fun Theory† that seeks to find out whether incorporating some innovations in design that contain the fun element can i ncite people to â€Å"engage in good behaviours† such as climbing the stairs instead of using the escalator (6). While Volkswagen and their PR professionals purport this as the fun element for the sake of entertainment, in actual practice they are aiming at analysing the needs of their audience and meeting their requirements in â€Å"new forms† (6). ... An analysis of Volkswagen’s innovative concept reveals that the inclusion of fun factor has enabled active interaction of most of the audience of the Piano Staircase as can be verified from the video clipping on YouTube. Their concept of encouraging more passersby to â€Å"choose the stairs† by providing a fun element in the design, works perfectly fine in this video (Piano Stairs: The Fun Theory 2009). The beginning, the video shows a nondescript, mundane staircase remaining unused by passersby who prefer the adjacent escalator. However, once Volkswagen adorns the staircase flooring with a piano key design on the floor, it attracts public attention. As a result, a couple of passersby, who initially decides to go by the escalator, reverses their decision and takes the stair after they notice a woman coming down the stairs and perhaps on listening to the sound of the piano notes as well. Subsequently, the video shows the number of people who take the stair increasing and as the video progresses, it shows the passersby interacting in different ways with the staircase and these interactions engage them intensely and actively with various aspects of the design of the staircase. For example, the pair of youngsters who walk the stairs finds the fun of the music quite engaging and fascinating. Lured by the design’s interactive charm, the boy hops around, in tune with the music. Similarly, a lone man walking the stairs jumps from key to key to listen varying notes of the piano. On the other hand, when a woman walks a toddler, the notes play the tune of â€Å"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.† In this manner, the piano notes cater to different audiences by understanding the needs of different users so that they can interact with

What Did Jeffersonian Republicans Thought about the War of 1812 Term Paper

What Did Jeffersonian Republicans Thought about the War of 1812 - Term Paper Example The war of 1812 can rightly be renamed the Republican’s War as the Republicans successfully waged the war even though the Federalists opposed it. In the preceding pages, I would investigate and analyze the course of the war of 1812 and prove this hypothesis.Americans’ confidence in the viability of their republican form of government had begun to erode in the early nineteenth century under the pressure of foreign affairs. Great Britain and France, bled white from butchering one another in the Napoleonic Wars and each desperate for advantage, were assaulting the merchant vessels of the United States. The English first started to impress sailors from American ships in 1803. Then in a series of Orders in Council over the next few years they blockaded the European continent, denied to American merchants the wartime carrying trade, and began to seize American ships with their commercial loads. Napoleon responded with the Berlin and Milan Decrees, edicts which blockaded the B ritish Isles and prohibited all neutral trade with them. The French by 1806 also began to confiscate trade vessels of the United States. From 1803 to 1807 the Republican administration of Thomas Jefferson relied upon protest and negotiation in attempting to moderate the maritime policies of the European belligerents. This strategy failed.In December of 1807, the Republicans took a new tack. Determined to find an effective American policy somewhere between war and submission, Jefferson and his Congressional followers enacted the famous embargo. This measure prohibited American ships from traveling to foreign ports, and foreign ships from gathering any cargo in the United States. Designed to bring Great Britain and France to reason by economic pressure, the measure instead prompted economic hardship, political discontent among mercantile interests, and a widespread smuggling trade within the United States. The embargo’s unpopularity brought its repeal in fourteen months, and th e subsequent enactment of weaker forms of commercial restrictions. All of these policies were ineffective. But they did succeed in creating, especially among Republicans, a profound crisis of confidence over the vigor of American republican government. If the foreign affairs conundrum had helped raise tensions in American political economy by turning it inward toward production and the home market, it also raised larger and even more unsettling questions: could the United States wage war and survive? And if it could not, did its republican structure deserve to survive?

Develop an outline research proposal for a project related to social

Develop an research proposal for a project related to social care provision for pre-school children - Outline Example The type of social care has been found to have an influence on the personalities and behaviour patterns of children (Burchinal, 2009). The proposed study therefore aims at validating the research studies carried out by other people and seeks to improve on the measures taken towards the alleviation of the problems. The study also aims to assess the position of women in the problem and tries to find ways that can be used to incorporate them in the solutions. The problem of the study is to identify the challenges of day care facilities and organizations and suggest ways through which these problems and challenges may be resolved. The problem is an old one, which has become more pronounced with the increase in population and strain on the available social amenities (Children’s Foundation, 2007). Also, the fact that more women are participating in the workforce contributes to the burden on social care for child support. The study therefore has in its scope the implementation of both long term and short-term solutions for the standards needed for day care as well through policy change. The literature review is expected to include a discussion of the preschool day care facilities in the UK and how it impacts on the economy and the society. It will also include previous research undertaken to assess the impact of quality of day care on the development of children. Data is collected periodically by the U.K Census bureau on the different arrangements that are employed by families with working mothers. The Daycare Trust publishes child cost surveys annually. It covers cost surveys in January for general child-care costs and July for holiday child-care costs. According to Daycare trust 2011, the survey indicates that child-care costs have increased and surpassed the average wage. This has placed parents under financial immense strain. For example, the costs of child minders in Scotland for children

Discuss the onset and clinical picture of PTSD in young people with Essay

Discuss the onset and clinical picture of PTSD in young people with reference to the literature and using case examples - Essay Example This critical review is being undertaken in the hope of establishing a clear and comprehensive understanding of PTSD and its impact on young people’s lives. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is usually seen after a major disaster or traumatic experience. Several studies assessing emotional responses were carried out in the wake of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. In a paper by Adams and Boscarino (2006, p. 485), the authors set out to identity the factors associated with PTSD following the World Trade Center Disaster (WTCD) and the changes in PTSD status which were seen over time. This study was a prospective cohort study of New York City adults living in the city on September 11, 2001 and was conducted a year after the attacks and another year after that for follow-up. About 2000 individuals were covered in the first survey and 1600 on the second survey (Adams & Boscarino, 2006, p. 485). The study revealed that in the year immediately following the WTCD, younger females who experienced previous trauma and negative life events, and who had low self-esteem had a greater possibility of developing PTSD (Adams & Boscarino, 20 06, p. 485). In the second year following the September 11 attacks, those who were middle-aged, Latinos, who experienced previous trauma and negative life events, and those who had low self-esteem were more likely to develop PTSD (Adams & Boscarino, 2004, p. 485). The study was able to point out crucial qualities in individuals which made them vulnerable to PTSD after a significant trauma like the September 11 attacks. This study is a peer-reviewed research conducted by reputable experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry. The study presented in detail the different characteristics present among respondents which make them vulnerable to PTSD. The authors were able to draw an analysis based on reliable statistical results. These results were also related and founded on

A Rose for Emily by William Falkner Research Paper

A Rose for Emily by William Falkner - Research Paper Example He also won the Pulitzer Prize for â€Å"Fable† and â€Å"The Reivers†. Faulkner started writing for material gains as he did not belong to a wealthy family he struggled his way through hard work and voracious reading. Skills of writing can be learnt but ways to pore your thoughts into words can be a gift from God. Faulkner depicted the social and moral connections between present and past. Most of his stories have an element of southern culture or link themselves to ethical aspects. As he was a survivor, witness and victim of world war, he portrayed his stories with the background of civil war and slavery. His books always had a flare of southern element in them. Faulkner’s stories contained the tragic part more sturdily than the adequate ending. He was a firm believer of southern values. Due to change in socio economical conditions people began to adapt them. Faulkner however wasn’t convinced to see the fall of those values exchanged by the new ones. The passion and never ending energy through which Faulkner wrote without financial security in the era of depressing war, his series of achievements contain As I lay dying, Light in August, Absalom, Absalom.(John) A rose for Emily, written by William Faulkner, tells the life story of a woman who had gone through complicated phases of life which she had to endure.(William) She showed acceptance in her youth to accept norms and customs taught by his father but after maturity she practiced the same values showing none flexible attitude to change and to accept change as large. Emily represented the resistance of decayingold southern values. The story mainly revolves around one character Emily Grierson, a young lady who lived all her life with her father. Her father was a proud man who believed that he was higher in status and superior to all the people in town, endowing the same beliefs to his daughter. The world of Emily revolved around her father and she was shattered when he died and sh e went into solitude. The town’s people felt sorry for her after the death of her father. They were curious about her way of living and they kept a close watch on Emily. â€Å"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant—a combined gardener and cook—had seen in at least ten years.†(Faulkner.) She again suffered a major blow when she got close to a newcomer in town known as Homer Borron who refused to marry her. But she found out her own way to deal with the situation and poisoned him and kept his body with her for thirty years. This was discovered in the end when she died and his body was found in her house. This shows her psychologically disturbed inclination towards past and the dead. Even if her father’s overpowering control over her beliefs and ideology or her isolation after his death causes this inclination, it was clearly a pathological scenario. The story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† presents Emily as a very stubborn lady who lives her life in her own way and finds her own ways to deal with situations. She constructs her own modes and methods to lead her life and does not care about the restrictions of society. This can be seen when Emily refuses to pay the taxes â€Å"

Comparative Study of Existing ATM Systems and Systems for Small Literature review

Comparative Study of Existing ATM Systems and Systems for Small Payment Transactions Using Mobile Phones - Literature review Example With the development and advent of e-commerce, the mobile transactions have also evolved and gained much popularity in recent years. In several small payment transactions, uses of direct cash have changed by mobile payment systems. It provides users the advantage of using mobile phone for any kind of financial transactions such as bill payment or purchase goods. The increasing uses of ATM system and mobile technologies in payment have also increased the security risks. In present days, these electronic means of money transaction involve several security threats from illegal activities such as card trapping, swapping, cloning, phishing, shoulder surfing, and smishing among others. These activities result in loss of huge money and account information of users. The paper will describe the existing ATM system and small payment transactions by using mobile technology along with the security issues of these systems. Keywords: ATM System Security, Small Payment Transactions, Mobile Technolo gies. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Literature Review 4 Introduction 4 Existing ATM System 4 Small Payment Transactions through Mobile Technology 6 Mobile Transaction 7 ATM System Security 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 17 Literature Review Introduction Presently, ATM system can be found in almost every bank and financial institution and the uses are growing rapidly. The paper will describe the ATM system and several security issues of this technology. ATM stands for â€Å"Automated Teller Machine† which is a real time methodology having extremely complex design and operation. ATM technology has been developed through â€Å"Real-Time Process Algebra† (RTPA) systems and â€Å"Unified Data Models† (Wang, 2010). The static actions of ATM machine are indicated by Unified Process Models for processing money transaction and dynamic actions are indicated by process precedence allocation, process disposition, and report processing simulations. The AT M system never performs autonomously it should be controlled by some banks and requires specialized software and computer which is aimed for performing the money transaction operations. The software of ATM must support the electronic system of bank (Wang, 2010). Existing ATM System This theme will provide a brief description about ATM system, how it performs and its importance. This section is relevant for conducting the research as it can help the reader to understand the characteristics of ATM system. ATM system is most efficient in microfinance institutions (MFIs) (Whelan, 2011) which take money and help customers in numerous sites throughout non-office hours. The value of a single ATM machine is almost 22,600 Pounds (Approximately 35,000 USD) and needs dependable electrical and communication networks (Whelan, 2011). In today’s dynamic business environment, the excellence in service quality and flexibility has become imperious for organisations to survive. The progress of machinery has empowered banks to deliver superior services for enhancing customer satisfaction. This is the reason, majority of banks provide self service delivery system such as ATM in order to increase self-sufficiency in performing the money transactions. In the banking sector, ATM system acts as a pioneering service which provides diversified facilities such as money withdrawal, account transfer, cash payment, credit card notices, check book applications, and other monetary queries (Khan, 2010). The advancement of ATM system is

Organization Development Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organization Development Change - Essay Example From this essay it is clear that  professional development deals with improvement of individual’s effectiveness in practise, while organizational development entails the ways in which organizations can be enhanced through   overall   productivity,   human   fulfilment, and the response that is necessary towards the   environment.  Ã‚  This study highlights that  scholars such as Rittel and Weber have proposed the concept of wicked  Ã‚   problems and wicked projects as a class of problems that has difficulty in definition and has no ultimate solution. Moreover, they argue that these wicked problems are found in several forms that are in different organizations, as well as, environments. It is worth noting that wicked problems generate from a dense network of interconnected factors that are challenging in understanding how a particular decision is viable towards influencing decisions in other areas.  Change has numerous definitions that go in line with where it has been used. Never the less, a change agent could be best explained as a helper, advisor, coach, and leader or consultant. Its main function is the catalyst effect that entails bringing change to an organization or businesses in specific ways.   In light of this, many companies, as well as, organizations hire change agents to foresee specific changes in organizations.  The practitioner must be adversely knowledgeable about organization development theory.... It is expected that the practitioner has self management skills which makes it easier to practise interpersonal skills to members of the organization. Besides, the practitioner must be adversely knowledgeable about organization development theory (Beyerlin and Marauhn, 2011). Of importance to note is that change is constant as it occurs in both national and international levels, over and above, physical environment particularly in ways that organizations are structured and ways in which the organizations operated politically, socially and economically. Apparently, the world has become so complex and is continuously integrated to the extent of changes that seem too far being affective. Moreover, change appear to be frequent and random, a situation that makes the world a global village. According to Fitzmaurice 2009, incredible amount of change that is being witnessed globally has put the world in a position where individuals and organizations are now able to see the big picture in rel ation to how events are affecting them and vise versa. Change Applications Application of organization development in terms of change ensures that organizations and individuals are aware of the changes and how they are affecting them. Besides, the applications of organizational development support individuals and organizations to deal with change through events such as team building efforts and improvement of functions within the organization, over and above, those that are external through the introduction of planned change efforts (Griffiths 2007). In every organization development change, there are three practitioners’ who are involved ensuring that there is change in