Film editing process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Film editing process - Research Paper Example Video clips can be improved significantly by simply discarding unwanted or flawed bits. Another editing goal involves choosing the best footage. It is common for filmmakers to shoot far more footages than actually needed and then choose only the best material for the final cut. Often, several takes of a shot are filmed and the best one is chosen during editing.The other goal is to create a flow, since most videos are meant for a certain purpose, such as providing information or explaining a story. Thus, editing is a vital step in ensuring the video flows in a manner that achieves this goal. The part of editing that is considered most interesting is the addition of effects, music, graphics, etc. It involves improving the videos by adding extra elements. Another goal is the altering of the pace, style, or mood of the video, with a good editor having the ability to create in a video mood prompts that are subtle. Techniques such as visual effects and mood music can have a great influence on the reaction of the audience. The editor can also give the video a certain angle, which is tailoring the video in a way that it supports a certain viewpoint, serves an agenda, or imparts a message.Perhaps in order to understand film editing, it is important to look briefly into its history. Edwin S. Porter is considered the father of modern film editing. In 1903, he displayed his unprecedented ability to make a film and narrate a story from multiple shots, as opposed to just one whereby the entire story takes place in front of one stationary camera. Porter was the first to apply editing as a means of progressing the story of the film. He also defined numerous film transitions that play a major role in the theory of film editing. He was also the first to transform a found footage into a story he wished to narrate, with the story being unrelated to what the footage was initially intended to portray. This means he actually saw film editing as a form of art capable of narrating stor ies independently (Weynand 2005). Aims and objectives This essay undertakes a collaborative research in order to develop a framework for analyzing the film editing process together with all the related approaches, theories, and techniques. The essay will address the following aims and objectives: To provide a technical investigation covering the theory of film

Signal Theory Essay Example for Free

Signal Theory Essay In this assignment I am going to describes different types of communication devices. For example Switches, Routers, etc. Then I am going to explain the principles of signal theory. After this I will look at In Manchester encoding the signal synchronizes itself. This is an advantage because this will decrease the error rate and optimize the reliability. But on the other hand it is also a disadvantage because the amount of bits sent in the original signal when transmitted has be twice the amount of bits from the original signal. Differential Manchester Also known as Conditioned Diphase (CDP). It is a encoding method which uses data and clock signal as fused to create a self-synchronizing data steam. Similar to Manchester encoding it uses present or absent transitions to represent logical value. Made from Copper, PVC, Plastic Length:100 M Speed:100 Gbit/s Extremely fast and less interference Incredibly expensive and mostly likely be manufactured till 2013 Bluetooth Mostly Copper for the circuitry, Plastic for casing. Length: 100 M Speed:1 Gbit/s Send from cell phones, do not need wires to connect, Most of the phone are equipped with it Open and other people can access your phone if not protected. Quite slow when sending and receiving on a cell phone. Infrared Receiver, Antenna and Transmitter, Copper Plastic Length: 40 km Speed: 4 Mbit/s Shorter wave than microwaves, not as harmful. Less interference. Microwaves Antenna Receiver. Length: 1 M Speed: 300 GHz Good for sending data over longer distances Dangerous, if something that uses microwaves e. g. cell phone for too long. Too much interference Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Signal Transmitter. Length: 95 M Speed: 5 GHz Usable anywhere in the house, can even be used as a hotspot in public places e. g. airports, cafi , etc Other people can also access it so many connections can make it slow. Satellite Dish and a satellite in orbit Length: 22,000 Miles Speed: 40 Mbit/s Connection from anywhere in the world. Delay of up to 500 millisecond due to rain or moisture. Fibre Optic LED/Laser Connector. Glass, Plastic, PVC. Length: 40,000 Speed: 10 Gbit/s Extremely fast speeds can be achieved without the use of switches, hubs, etc over long distances Simply expensive to buy. Radio Transmitter Receiver Length: 100 Miles Speed: 300 GHz Available anywhere in the world. Very limited range and gets easily affected by interference. Name Specification Advantages Disadvantages Coaxial Diameter: 6 mm / Resistance: 85. 2 km Capacity: 70 km at 1KHz Cheap. 500 meters length. It very reliable Expensive and hard to install Fibre Optic Diameter: 2 microns. Good for transmission over long distance because it is immune to magnetic interference. Electrical interference protected. Stretches up to 3000 meters. No noise is generated Very expensive and over time the sent signal will get weaker because of signal reflecting. UTP/Cat. 5 Foiled and uses copper wire. Stretches up to 100 meters. Easy installation and transmission rates reaching up to 1 Gbps. Very open to interferences. STP Foiled and also uses copper wire. Shielded. Length up to 100 meters. Transmission rates between 10-100 Mbps Expensive heavy and big in physical size. Radio Uses antenna to transmit. Signal can be refracted. No wires needed and very long distances capable. Signal gets weaker the more time taken to reach the destination. Security is a problem very open for hackers. LAN This is type of network which covers a small office, home or a school network. A LAN uses either wired Ethernet or wireless RF technology. Using a LAN can be much easier when there is a printer available or sharing a file throughout the network. Updating software is much easier because updating software will automatically update all the other softwares. LAN has much higher transmission rates because it is wired connection rather than wireless. Ethernet and Wi-Fi as most widely used technologies, however many others such as token rings have been used before. This relates to standard IEEE 802. 2. This standard allows two connectionless and one connection orientated operational mode: Type 1 which allows frames to be sent to a single destination or multiple destinations on the same network is a connectionless mode. Type 2 is the oriented operational connection mode. In this mode it uses something called sequence numbering which makes sure that when the data is send it gets to the destination in the correct order and not a single frame has been lost. Type 3 which is also a connectionless service, but only support point to point communication. Infrared is related to this service because in computer infrared network it can receive and transmit data either through the side of the device or the rear side of the device. When connections are made using Microsoft Windows Infrared the same method used for LAN connections can be used. Infrared technology has been extended to allow more than two computers to be connected semi permanent networks. The advantage of a LAN is that the same physical communication path can be shared by multiple devices. For example it there is a printer, a computer and the internet connection the LAN will allow connections to the printer and it will also allow connections to the internet. If a software is loaded onto the file server that all the computers on the network can use it. There are quite a few drawbacks of a LAN network. For example security measures need to be taken so that users cannot access unauthorised areas. It is quite hard to setup the network. Skilled technicians are needed to maintain the network. Yet the biggest disadvantage is that if the file server goes down than all the other computers on the network are affected as well. WAN This type of network covers a wider area. It is used over high speed, long distance communications such as computers in two different areas. A WAN can also be shared. For example two occupants in two buildings can share the wireless connection to a third person, or a business or anyone or anything they wish to do so. Data is safe, secure and quick when it is transmitted between two computers. WAN can also be used to connect different types of networks together for example a WAN network connected to a LAN networks. The reason behind this is that it is AppleTalk. It is a cheap LAN architecture which is a standard model built for all Apple Macintosh computers and laser printers. It also supports Apple LocalTalk cabling scheme as well as Ethernet and IBM token ring. AppleTalk can connect to standard computers which do not have AppleTalk. This all relates to FDDI standard which stands for Fibre Distributed Data Interface. It is a backbone of a wide area network. It uses fibre optic cable to transmit data up to supported rate of 100 Mbps. An advantage of a WAN it allows secure and fast transmission between two computers. Data transmission is inexpensive and reliable. Sharing a connection is easy as well because it allows direct connectivity. A WAN also allows sharing of software and resources to other workstations connected on the network. Disadvantage of a WAN network is that the signal strong all the time so anyone trying to hitchhike a connection can use the WAN connection it is not protected. WAN are slow and expensive to set-up. They also need a good firewall to stop intruders using the connection. Networking Mediums Different types of medium are used for different types of topologies. Coaxial Cable It is normally used to connect telecommunication devices which used for broadband connection which use high transmission rates to transfer data. The cable is insulated using a braided shield which is also known as a screen. It protects the cable from electromagnetic interference. It has higher capacity than a standard copper wire. Therefore it allows radio frequencies and television signals to be transmitted. Various types of coaxial cables are available which can be used for thin Ethernet which are used for networking 10Mbps connections lengthening up to 200 meters. There is also thick Ethernet cable is also used for 10Mbps connections but stretching up to 500 meters. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) coaxial cable has been used in the past when building networking using thick or thin Ethernet. Ethernet cables quite expensive but they are still used because they carry more data then a telephone wire and it is less susceptible to interference. Optical Fibre Optical fibre also known as a fibre optic cable uses light to transmit data. Light is made using a laser or LED is sent down a fibre which is thin strand of glass. Fibre optic is about 2 microns in diameter which is 15 times thinner than a single human hair. Optic fibre is not affected by electromagnetic interference. It is cable of higher than data transmission rates, ideal for broadband usage. Fibre optics are manufactured in two different types the single mode and multi mode. The difference between the two is quite obvious single mode uses one beam of light to transmit data to longer distance of around 3 km but the multimode uses multiple beams of light to transmit data but only to shorter distance of 2 km. This allows more data to be sent simultaneously. It is normally used for broadband transmission as mentioned before because it is faster at transmission than any other cable currently available. Fibre optic also has an advantage of long distance transmission because light propagates through the fibre with little attenuation compared to electric cables. Not many repeaters are needed for long distance. Data travelling using the fibre can reach rates of unto 111 Gbps. Fibre optics also restrict high voltages travelling from end to end of a fibre to another end. It also restricts cross talk and environmental noise between signals transmitting to different cables. UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) UTP and STP both use copper wires which are known to man as one of the oldest types of transmission media methods. STP is insulated with a metallic plastic foil which is all under the plastic sheath. This insulating is expensive to make thats why it is more expensive than normal cable. Even though STP cable is shielded there is still crosstalk. It cannot be eliminated. Both UTP STP individual wires are twisted together so it creates there is less crosstalk. Core of each of the type of cable is a very good conductor and easy to work with. Media which can be used with UTP is internet, because it is easy to install, maintain, less expensive and allows higher transmission rates. The media used with STP is also internet, but it is more expensive and difficult to install. The advantage is that there is less interference. It is difficult to install because it has to be grounded at both ends. Improper grounding will result I metallic shielding acting as a antenna and it will pick up unwanted signals. Due to the cost and difficult to install and maintain it is hardly used in Ethernet networks. It is mainly used in Europe. Crosstalk Crosstalk means that signal that are transmitting in different circuits interfering with each other. Crosstalk happens because unwanted signals interfere with another channel transmitting undesirably. Electrical Noise Noise is when an electrical signal is transmitted across a wire which is not the sent signal by the user, but it is another signal which has been picked up randomly. Twisted pair cables eliminate the interference because they are twisted with each other so they cancel out each other. The thickness and varied insulation of a cable and its capacitance of the wires will cause noise. For example when there is communication on a telephone and either person cannot hear the message clearly this is caused by noise affecting the signal. This is known as crosstalk, as mentioned before crosstalk is when signal is affected by electromagnetic field around a wire. Electric noise cannot be eliminated but can be minimized by taking caution. Keep cables away from electrical equipments and shield the cable weather it is a fibre optic or a STP. Checksum It is a method used for error-checking the received data against a calculated checksum. For example when a data is received by the designated node the checksum error detection method will create a new calculation and check it against the old calculation to check weather the same result it received. This makes sure the data has not been altered in any way when it was transmitting.

Theory, use and therapeutic value of symbolic play

Theory, use and therapeutic value of symbolic play This essay looks at the issue of symbolic play being therapeutic play for children. The essay looks at the theory of symbolic play, the use of symbolic play with children, the therapeutic value of symbolic play, using research to support the discussions. The essay discusses what is understood by symbolic play, then moves on to discuss the importance of symbolic play in childrens development, looking at the various theories that have been put forward to explain the importance of play in childrens development. The essay then moves on to look at various instances where therapeutic play has been used, and is considered useful, such as in children who are experiencing a chronic illness, who are hospitalized, who are awaiting surgery or who have experienced some form of trauma. What is symbolic play? Symbolic play is, according to Piaget (1962) one of the main ways in which children learn to think in a representational manner, where representation is understood as a process through which children store information according to the perceptual analysis of their ingoing experiences (Leslie, 1987; Lyytinen et al., 1997). Play essentially allows children to understand the things they experience and to put these things in to perspective. As such, play is fundamentally important for childrens development (Piaget, 1962). Play is one of the ways in which children understand the world, their interactions with others and the rules and regulations that govern their passage through the world. Play is, thus, a fundamental activity for children that allows them to form their personalities and to understand their place in the world, in relation to others. Relevant of symbolic play in child development Symbolic play, which arises around the age of 18 months, basically involves children substituting one item for another, and can constitute incorporating others in to their play, pretend play or sequencing. This can mean that children pretend to be mother (or father) or that they use household items to reproduce day-to-day activities they have seen their parents doing, amongst other common symbolic play activities. This symbolic allows children to experiment with different roles and different forms of being, which, as has been discussed, allows children to understand, and to contextualise, their experiences. As Piaget (1962) argues, such symbolic play allows children to understand the role of self and others, the use of objects and the sequences of actions and activities whilst playing. This allows children to understand objects, to learn about the properties of objects and to learn about consequences and causality (Piaget, 1962). Play thus allows children, amongst other things, to re alize where their boundaries are, to understand why things work in the ways they do and to understand how to interact with others. Symbolic play is thus, as has been discussed, a fundamental developmental tool for children. Watson and Zlotlow (1999) talk about symbolic play as, an important characteristic of childrens early play, through the enactment of activities that are very familiar to the child in contexts that are not typical for those activities. Enacting activities out of context allows the child to explore, and to understand, the role of agents in their lives, allowing them to understand how the world works and what their role is in this world. Symbolic play, therefore, has been argued to have three main features: the use of objects; the use of actions during the play; and individuals enacting the play (i.e., agents) (Watson and Zlotlow, 1999). The use of objects can be undertaken in many forms, either through substitution, in which the object is used to represent something else, through scenario-building, with the object being used to perform some task or in combination, with the object being used in various ways (Watson, 2008). The use of actions in play and the development of the agent in p lay follow certain patterns depending on the age of the child, as does the theme of childrens symbolic play (Watson, 2008). The one thing that all symbolic play has in common, at whatever age or developmental stage the child is at, is that the child uses some representation of self in their play. At age four, for example, children will have progressed to fantasy play, but these fantasies will usually involve themselves in becoming their fantasy a fireman or a prince, for example (Garvey, 1990). This allows them to explore different roles and responsibilities. Symbolic play is, therefore, a natural phenomena, that children follow naturally, as part of their development through childhood. As Reed (2007) argues, symbolic play links all four areas of a childs development, namely cognitive, language, social/emotional and physical, and, as such, is a fundamental part of the development of children. Symbolic play allows the child to acquire knowledge and to express and represent their ideas, thoughts and feelings: as Vygotsky argues, in his sociocultural cognitive theory, symbolic play allows children to develop and to self-regulate and to work out any problems they might face (Reed, 2007). It is in this aspect, then, that the therapeutic value of symbolic play becomes clear. As children constantly experiment with their environment, their peers and the other agents they meet, and as the results of these experiments are constantly being fed back to lead to reinforce certain behaviours or to elicit different patterns of behaviours, the value of pl ay as therapy is clear. Children who are passing through a difficult moment and who need help to understand this, to contextualise these difficulties in the framework of their existing knowledge, can, through engaging in therapeutic play, manage this. Therapeutic play allows them to experiment with the various outcomes and to contextualise the problems they face, allowing them an opportunity to work through these problems/problematic situations, through this working out their difficulties and coming to understand how to deal with them. The use of symbolic play as therapy In terms of the use of symbolic play as therapy with children, as Bettelheim states, Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unresolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is also his most significant tool for preparing himself for the future and its tasks (Schaefer, 1995). Using play as a tool to help children through a difficult stage in their lives is, therefore, grounded in theory and makes sense in light of the fact that children learn through play. The research shows, for example, that therapeutic play can be helpful in aiding children through hospital stays (William, 2007) or through surgery, with this therapeutic play being shown to reduce anxiety and increase overall well-being (Bowmer, 2002). As Moore and Russ (2006) discuss, pretend play can act as a resource for children, relating, as it does, to many areas of adaptive functioning including creativity, coping and emotional regulation. As Moore and Russ (2006) show , pretend play in hospital settings can reduce anxiety and, through this, can reduce the likelihood of complications following surgery and can allow children to adapt better to the complications of chronic illness. The therapeutic value of symbolic play In terms of the therapeutic value of symbolic play, as Axline (1964) discusses, therapeutic play can be delivered through one of two major approaches, namely via non-directive play therapy and via directive play therapy (Oaklander, 1988). According to Axline (1964), play therapy should be governed by eight principles, namely that the therapist and child must be comfortable with each other; that the therapist accepts the child as he/she is; that the child can freely express their feelings; that the therapist is alert to the feelings the child expresses; that the therapist respects the child and their ability to resolve their own problems; that the therapist does not attempt to influence the child; that the therapy is carried out in its own time; and that the only limitations placed on the play therapy are those that anchor the therapy in the real world (Axline, 1964). If the therapeutic play is provided within this framework, the benefits of the therapeutic play can be many and varied , as discussed above, with the troubled child benefitting greatly from this intervention. As Li and Lopez (2008) argue, therapeutic play can be valuable not only in helping children through a difficult stage in their lives but can be useful in helping to in prepare children for a stressful, or difficult, period that they might face. For example, children who are facing surgery or a chronic illness can be helped to come to terms with this through the use of therapeutic play. As Li and Lopez (2008) report, by reinforcing to nursing and medical staff that play is a very important part of the lives of young children, and be employing therapeutic play techniques, this can markedly improve the anxiety that these children experience and can allow these children to have a more positive outlook regarding their situation and the difficult things they will face, meaning that they are better equipped to face these situations. As Li and Lopez (2008) argue, therapeutic play can help to improve the resilience of children who face difficulties and, as such, it is an important tool to use in those children who need help to become more resilient. Children who have faced some form of trauma, for example, can be aided through the fallout of this trauma through engaging in therapeutic play. By allowing the child the space to act out what they saw, or what they have experienced, for example, the child can come to terms with this traumatic experience. This therapeutic play could take the form of using puppets, or drawing, or role playing: anything that allows the child to re-enact the event(s) and, through this, come to terms with what happened. The use of therapeutic play in explaining the loss of someone close to them is known to be particularly valuable, for example, as this can allow them to imagine the person is still here and to resolve any outstanding issues they had with them, or to slowly come to terms with the fact that they are no longer alive and no longer able to be physically present with the child. The simple act of playing can, therefore, allow the child to come to terms with many difficult emotions, allowing the c hild to slowly become more able to cope with the negative emotions that a traumatic event (such as witnessing a violent act or the unexpected death of a close family member), allowing them to deal with these negative emotions (Schaefer and OConnor, 1994). As Schaefer and OConnor (1994) argue, role playing in particular can help children to face the negative post-trauma reactions that children might face, with role-play allowing children to relive the trauma and to find various solutions to their negative experiences and emotions. Conclusion In summary, then, this essay has looked at the issue of symbolic play being therapeutic play for children. The essay has looked, in particular, at the theory of symbolic play, the use of symbolic play with children and the therapeutic value of symbolic play. In regards to the theory of symbolic play, it has been seen that various theories have been proposed to explain the importance of symbolic play in childrens development, with all of these theories agreeing that play is a fundamental part of childrens development and that this play allows them to contextualise their experiences and to understand how these experiences dictate how they should act and should behave in different situations. It is this attribute of symbolic play that lends itself to being useful in helping children come to terms with difficult events in their lives: as has been discussed, play allows children to explore different scenarios (even difficult scenarios), with this play enabling them to overcome any negative emotions or feelings they might have had towards these scenarios. A child who is facing a difficult surgery, for example, might be scared, might be worried for themselves and for their families, but engaging in role play with this child (for example) allows them the opportunity to explore different possibilities and to release some of their anxieties and concerns. This has been shown, as discussed, to reduce the anxiety these children feel and to enable the childs health and well-being to be maintained, even under difficult circumstances. Similarly, a child who has experienced trauma can be helped through their post-traumatic period by engaging in some form of therapeutic play. This would normally consist of helping the child to act out their fears and their experiences, allowing the child to get rid of all of their negative emotions and feelings with regards to the even, allowing the child to expel these from their psyche and then to carry on without carrying this burden along with them. In conclusion, then, the essay has shown that play is fundamental for children and that, given its experimental nature and its ability to contextualise events and interactions for children, play is, at its very essence, therapeutic. Using play with children who need therapeutic interventions, then, makes perfect sense to allow children to understand the negative events/emotions and to overcome their fears and anxieties regarding these negative events and emotions. Therapeutic play has been shown to be a useful intervention in many cases, including in hospitalized children and in children living with chronic illnesses, who can be helped through this difficult period by engaging in therapeutic play, which has been shown to reduce their anxiety levels. In conclusion, then, therapeutic play is an extension of the symbolic play that children engage in as a normal developmental process and can be useful in helping children through difficult periods in their life.

The Intersection of Race, Sexual Orientation and Religion in the Gay Co

Intersectionality is a relevant theory for some gay, lesbian or bisexual individuals. Intersectionality studies "the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations" (McCall, 2005). The theory argues, pursues and considers how gender, race, sexual orientation and other categories of identity interact on many and often concurring levels of social relationships, therefore allowing discrimination and social inequity. Intersectionality explains how the notion of social injustice, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and belief-based bigotry such as religion are not independent of one another; instead, they are interconnected, and thereby reflect â€Å"intersectionality† in regards to social relationships. Humans are multifaceted beings; we move, maneuver and adjust, to present different and appropriate representations of ourselves to others, based on the circumstances. Perhaps we look for a reflection of ourselves within the groups with we associate. We strive to understand ourselves, in part by the people with whom we come in contact the most, namely our family, friends and co-workers. Race, sexual orientation and religion, individually, are hot bed topics of discussion, but how do each one of those issues, or all of them intersect in the life of someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual, and how do those individuals manage those identities as they negotiate the multicultural experience that we call life? Does culture have an impact on the identity of homosexual persons? To what extent may devotion to a particular faith cause discordance between gay and religious identities? The research examines, and attempts to determine what effect racial identity, sexual orientation, an... ...d Participants of a Gay-Positive Church. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(3), 333. doi: 10. 1111/0021-8294. 00028 Schulte, L. J. , & Battle, J. (2004). The Relative Importance of Ethnicity and Religion in Predicting Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians. Journal of Homosexuality, 47(2), 127-142. doi: 10. 1300/J082v47n02_08 Tajfel, H. , & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds. ), The Social psychology of intergroup relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub. Walton, G. (2006). "Fag Church" : Men Who Integrate Gay and Christian Identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(2), 1-17. doi: 10. 1300/J082v51n02_01 Ward, E. G. (2005, September). Homophobia, hypermasculinity and the US black church. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 7(5), 493-504. doi: 10. 1080/13691050500151248

Digital Fortress Chapter 47

â€Å"A billion-dollar code?† Midge snickered, accompanying Brinkerhoff back up the hallway. â€Å"That's a good one.† â€Å"I swear it,† he said. She eyed him askance. â€Å"This better not be some ploy to get me out of this dress.† â€Å"Midge, I would never-† he said self-righteously. â€Å"I know, Chad. Don't remind me.† Thirty seconds later, Midge was sitting in Brinkerhoff's chair and studying the Crypto report. â€Å"See?† he said, leaning over her and pointing to the figure in question. â€Å"This MCD? A billion dollars!† Midge chuckled. â€Å"It does appear to be a touch on the high side, doesn't it?† â€Å"Yeah.† He groaned. â€Å"Just a touch.† â€Å"Looks like a divide-by-zero.† â€Å"A who?† â€Å"A divide-by-zero,† she said, scanning the rest of the data. â€Å"The MCD's calculated as a fraction-total expense divided by number of decryptions.† â€Å"Of course.† Brinkerhoff nodded blankly and tried not to peer down the front of her dress. â€Å"When the denominator's zero,† Midge explained, â€Å"the quotient goes to infinity. Computers hate infinity, so they type all nines.† She pointed to a different column. â€Å"See this?† â€Å"Yeah.† Brinkerhoff refocused on the paper. â€Å"It's today's raw production data. Take a look at the number of decryptions.† Brinkerhoff dutifully followed her finger down the column. NUMBER OF DECRYPTIONS = 0 Midge tapped on the figure. â€Å"It's just as I suspected. Divide-by-zero.† Brinkerhoff arched his eyebrows. â€Å"So everything's okay?† She shrugged. â€Å"Just means we haven't broken any codes today. TRANSLTR must be taking a break.† â€Å"A break?† Brinkerhoff looked doubtful. He'd been with the director long enough to know that â€Å"breaks† were not part of his preferred modus operandi-particularly with respect to TRANSLTR. Fontaine had paid $2 billion for the code-breaking behemoth, and he wanted his money's worth. Every second TRANSLTR sat idle was money down the toilet. â€Å"Ah†¦ Midge?† Brinkerhoff said. â€Å"TRANSLTR doesn't take any breaks. It runs day and night. You know that.† She shrugged. â€Å"Maybe Strathmore didn't feel like hanging out last night to prepare the weekend run. He probably knew Fontaine was away and ducked out early to go fishing.† â€Å"Come on, Midge.† Brinkerhoff gave her disgusted look. â€Å"Give the guy a break.† It was no secret Midge Milken didn't like Trevor Strathmore. Strathmore had attempted a cunning maneuver rewriting Skipjack, but he'd been caught. Despite Strathmore's bold intentions, the NSA had paid dearly. The EFF had gained strength, Fontaine had lost credibility with Congress, and worst of all, the agency had lost a lot of its anonymity. There were suddenly housewives in Minnesota complaining to America Online and Prodigy that the NSA might be reading their E-mail-like the NSA gave a damn about a secret recipe for candied yams. Strathmore's blunder had cost the NSA, and Midge felt responsible-not that she could have anticipated the commander's stunt, but the bottom line was that an unauthorized action had taken place behind Director Fontaine's back, a back Midge was paid to cover. Fontaine's hands-off attitude made him susceptible; and it made Midge nervous. But the director had learned long ago to stand back and let smart people do their jobs; that's exactly how he handled Trevor Strathmore. â€Å"Midge, you know damn well Strathmore's not slacking,† Brinkerhoff argued. â€Å"He runs TRANSLTR like a fiend.† Midge nodded. Deep down, she knew that accusing Strathmore of shirking was absurd. The commander was as dedicated as they came-dedicated to a fault. He bore the evils of the world as his own personal cross. The NSA's Skipjack plan had been Strathmore's brainchild-a bold attempt to change the world. Unfortunately, like so many divine quests, this crusade ended in crucifixion. â€Å"Okay,† she admitted, â€Å"so I'm being a little harsh.† â€Å"A little?† Brinkerhoff eyes narrowed. â€Å"Strathmore's got a backlog of files a mile long. He's not about to let TRANSLTR sit idle for a whole weekend.† â€Å"Okay, okay.† Midge sighed. â€Å"My mistake.† She furrowed her brow and puzzled why TRANSLTR hadn't broken any codes all day. â€Å"Let me double-check something,† she said, and began flipping through the report. She located what she was looking for and scanned the figures. After a moment she nodded. â€Å"You're right, Chad. TRANSLTR's been running full force. Raw consumables are even a little on the high side; we're at over half a million kilowatt-hours since midnight last night.† â€Å"So where does that leave us?† Midge was puzzled. â€Å"I'm not sure. It's odd.† â€Å"You want to rerun the data?† She gave him a disapproving stare. There were two things one never questioned about Midge Milken. One of them was her data. Brinkerhoff waited while Midge studied the figures. â€Å"Huh.† She finally grunted. â€Å"Yesterday's stats look fine: 237 codes broken. MCD, $874. Average time per code, a little over six minutes. Raw consumables, average. Last code entering TRANSLTR-† She stopped. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"That's funny,† she said. â€Å"Last file on yesterday's queue log ran at 11:37 p.m.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, TRANSLTR breaks codes every six minutes or so. The last file of the day usually runs closer to midnight. It sure doesn't look like-† Midge suddenly stopped short and gasped. Brinkerhoff jumped. â€Å"What!† Midge was staring at the readout in disbelief. â€Å"This file? The one that entered TRANSLTR last night?† â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"It hasn't broken yet. It's queue time was 23:37:08-but it lists no decrypt time.† Midge fumbled with the sheets. â€Å"Yesterday or today!† Brinkerhoff shrugged. â€Å"Maybe those guys are running a tough diagnostic.† Midge shook her head. â€Å"Eighteen hours tough?† She paused. â€Å"Not likely. Besides, the queue data says it's an outside file. We should call Strathmore.† â€Å"At home?† Brinkerhoff swallowed. â€Å"On a Saturday night?† â€Å"No,† Midge said. â€Å"If I know Strathmore, he's on top of this. I'll bet good money he's here. Just a hunch.† Midge's hunches were the other thing one never questioned. â€Å"Come on,† she said, standing up. â€Å"Let's see if I'm right.† Brinkerhoff followed Midge to her office, where she sat down and began to work Big Brother's keypads like a virtuoso pipe organist. Brinkerhoff gazed up at the array of closed-caption video monitors on her wall, their screens all freeze frames of the NSA seal. â€Å"You're gonna snoop Crypto?† he asked nervously. â€Å"Nope,† Midge replied. â€Å"Wish I could, but Crypto's a sealed deal. It's got no video. No sound. No nothing. Strathmore's orders. All I've got is approach stats and basic TRANSLTR stuff. We're lucky we've even got that. Strathmore wanted total isolation, but Fontaine insisted on the basics.† Brinkerhoff looked puzzled. â€Å"Crypto hasn't got video?† â€Å"Why?† she asked, without turning from her monitor. â€Å"You and Carmen looking for a little more privacy?† Brinkerhoff grumbled something inaudible. Midge typed some more keys. â€Å"I'm pulling Strathmore's elevator log.† She studied her monitor a moment and then rapped her knuckle on the desk. â€Å"He's here,† she said matter-of-factly. â€Å"He's in Crypto right now. Look at this. Talk about long hours-he went in yesterday morning bright and early, and his elevator hasn't budged since. I'm showing no magno-card use for him on the main door. So he's definitely in there.† Brinkerhoff breathed a slight sigh of relief. â€Å"So, if Strathmore's in there, everything's okay, right?† Midge thought a moment. â€Å"Maybe,† she finally decided. â€Å"Maybe?† â€Å"We should call him and double-check.† Brinkerhoff groaned. â€Å"Midge, he's the deputy director. I'm sure he has everything under control. Let's not second-guess-â€Å" â€Å"Oh, come on, Chad-don't be such a child. We're just doing our job. We've got a snag in the stats, and we're following up. Besides,† she added, â€Å"I'd like to remind Strathmore that Big Brother's watching. Make him think twice before planning any more of his hare-brained stunts to save the world.† Midge picked up the phone and began dialing. Brinkerhoff looked uneasy. â€Å"You really think you should bother him?† â€Å"I'm not bothering him,† Midge said, tossing him the receiver. â€Å"You are.†

Free Essays on Student Performance Analysis

There are links between student performance and financial, human, and material resources. School districts that can afford to spend have the resources stand a better chance of having higher performing students. These links also affect teaching and learning. It is pretty simple the more money, parental/community involvement and better materials, equals the more effective teacher. And the end result equals a well educated high performing student. Bear Valley Unified School District’s strategic plan illustrates all of the resources relate to teaching and learning. The first example of the resources affecting teaching and learning that I saw came from this particular statement in Bear Valley Unified School District’s strategic plan. Number four on the district parameters says: School district policy and expenditure decisions will support the Strategic Plan (bigbear.k12.ca.us/sarcs/plan.htm). By supporting the Strategic Plan which includes a lot of benefits for teachers and students shows the district’s commitment to develop its policies and budgets according to achieving what is in the plan. When a person reads this they know that the Bear Valley Unified School District is attempting to do everything in its power to achieve all of the things outlined in its strategic plan. Number six under district parameters stated the following: The school district will not change nor implement programs or activities without provisions for staff training (bigbear.k12.ca.us/sarcs/plan.htm). This statement articulates that the Bear Valley Unified School District is willing to invest money into staff development to produce better teachers within their school district. If this happens the district will produce better teachers. The more effective teacher will then challenge his/her students to become better learners. Here there seems to be a trickle down effect. By investing i n building better teachers in return will p... Free Essays on Student Performance Analysis Free Essays on Student Performance Analysis There are links between student performance and financial, human, and material resources. School districts that can afford to spend have the resources stand a better chance of having higher performing students. These links also affect teaching and learning. It is pretty simple the more money, parental/community involvement and better materials, equals the more effective teacher. And the end result equals a well educated high performing student. Bear Valley Unified School District’s strategic plan illustrates all of the resources relate to teaching and learning. The first example of the resources affecting teaching and learning that I saw came from this particular statement in Bear Valley Unified School District’s strategic plan. Number four on the district parameters says: School district policy and expenditure decisions will support the Strategic Plan (bigbear.k12.ca.us/sarcs/plan.htm). By supporting the Strategic Plan which includes a lot of benefits for teachers and students shows the district’s commitment to develop its policies and budgets according to achieving what is in the plan. When a person reads this they know that the Bear Valley Unified School District is attempting to do everything in its power to achieve all of the things outlined in its strategic plan. Number six under district parameters stated the following: The school district will not change nor implement programs or activities without provisions for staff training (bigbear.k12.ca.us/sarcs/plan.htm). This statement articulates that the Bear Valley Unified School District is willing to invest money into staff development to produce better teachers within their school district. If this happens the district will produce better teachers. The more effective teacher will then challenge his/her students to become better learners. Here there seems to be a trickle down effect. By investing i n building better teachers in return will p...