Ethics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics - Coursework Example This may cause unhealthy conflict among the team members who may not be comfortable with the scrutiny and strictness that results from this kind of thinking. Understanding ones preferences as a leader are important in helping establish healthy leader-subjects relationship. It is a part of the self-awareness that is known to create a bridge between people with different personalities. Diversity being an expected aspect of teams and organization, understanding and being able to control ones thinking preferences makes one an engaging and respecting the leader (Marcic & Daft, 2013). When, for instance, a leader knows that he or she prefers imaginative thinking, they will be able to control it in such a way that it does not affect their focus on reality. In emotional intelligence, a leader can focus attention on the most important aspect of leader-subject relationship this is the emotional congruence and relationship. Any leadership process involves interacting with people at various levels. These interactions create emotions on the side of the leader as well as on the side of the subjects. According to Hughes et al. (2011), emotional intelligence does not only entail knowing or learning about the emotions of other peoples but self-awareness is an important principle. With self-awareness, the leader is able to focus on the personal emotions and feelings and hence align directly with the expectations of the subjects while still maintaining a cordial but professional relationship (Hughes et al., 2011). With self-regulation, an attribute of emotional intelligence, the leaders can successfully identify their personal values and those of their subjects. This develops within the relationship the notion of being accountable and knowing the limits of one another. The importance of this is that there is self-restraint from within the leadership structure and between the

The kite Runner Essay Example for Free

The kite Runner Essay The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a book many readers might appreciate. The book inflicts turmoil of emotions and leave readers in shock. The Kite Runner illustrates a heartbreaking friendship and other relationships that make the story come alive. Readers will appreciate the love, friendship and redemption. The characters are Amir, Hassan, Baba, Ali, Sohrab and Assef. Amir is selfish, Hassan is loyal, Baba is brave, Ali is dutiful, and Assef is cruel. Amir is the protagonist of the book, Hassan is a servant in Amir’s house. Hassan is loyal to Amir and Ali is another servant to Amir and Baba (Amir’s dad). The reader gets a feel for the relationship between Amir and Hassan on page 34. â€Å"Then he (Ali) would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break. Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. The story is set in 1975 through 2001, Afghanistan and United States, specifically in Kabul and California. The significance of the Kabul, Afghanistan setting is that it’s when the Afghanistan monarchy is overthrown, through the Soviet military intervention and the rise of the Taliban regime. The significance of the setting’s shift from Kabul, Afghanistan to California, United States is that because the Soviet military intervenes in Afghanistan, Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan, and then to Fremont, California, where they settle in a run-down apartment Amir faces certain forces and pressures. Amir is having a self vs.self-problem, he has to decide whether to go back to Kabul in order to get Sohrab (Hassan’s son) from an orphanage or leave him there. He meets these forces and pressures by deciding to go back to Kabul and save Sohrab from the dangerous city. You can see this early in the story on page 300. The tension rises when Amir makes it to Kabul. Amir notices that their signs of war and destroyed villages. This might leave a reader feeling worried because readers might think that Amir will back down and not save Sohrab or that Amir will get hurt. The story climaxes when Amir goes to the orphanage, and finds out that Sohrab isn’t there but was taken by a Taliban official. When Amir finds Sohrab, he finds out that Assef a childhood bully and who raped Hassan, has Sohrab in his house. Amir has to fight Assef, but Sohrab ends up saving Amir and himself by throwing a rock in Assefs eye with a slingshot. â€Å"Dont hurt him anymore. â€Å"Put it down. Please. Put it down! Put it down! Assef let go of my throat. Lunged at Sohrab. The slingshot made a thwit sound when Sohrab released the cup. Then Assef was screaming. He put his hand where his left eye had been just a moment ago. † The falling action ultimately resolves the conflict. Amir finally takes Sohrab to the United states, where Amir raises Sohrab as his child. It’s a self vs. self-type of conflict that’s driving this story. Amir in the beginning is a selfless person and does things he regrets such as not saving Hassan from being raped and having Hassan having to leave his home. But by saving Sohrab, Hassan’s son and raising him, Amir finds a way to redeem himself.

Survey on Traffic Pattern Discovery in Mobile Ad hoc Network

Survey on Traffic Pattern Discovery in Mobile Ad hoc Network Priyanka Sen Priti Saktel Abstract— Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is one of the networks of mobile routers that is self-configuring and connected by wireless links. Anonymity communication is one of the major issues in MANET. Though there are many anonymity enhancing techniques that have been proposed based on packet encryption to protect the communication anonymity of mobile ad hoc networks. There are still passive statistical traffic analysis attacks that can be vulnerable to MANET. The communication anonymity consists of two aspects: source/destination anonymity and end-to-end anonymity. In order to discover the communication pattern without decrypting the captured packets, this proposed system will be designed. The proposed system will first search the required node by using a heuristic approach. Then statistical traffic analysis will be performed to find the data transmission of the searched node to its neighboring nodes. After performing the statistical traffic analysis whether the search node is source or destination will be estimated. With the help of this estimation the traffic pattern will be discovered. The utility of this proposed system is basically in military environment. Keywords— Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET), anonymity communication, statistical traffic analysis. I. Introduction Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a self configuring infrastructure less network of mobile devices connected by wireless network. It is one of the types of ad hoc network. Every device in MANET is independent to move. This results in changes of link of such device. Thus MANET is also known as an infrastructure less network. The devices that are present in the network must forward the traffic to other devices. In MANET each device must act as a router. The basic figure of a mobile ad hoc network can be illustrated in Fig 1. One of the critical issues of MANET is communication anonymity. Anonymity can be defined as the state in which identity of an object that performs the action is hidden. An anonymous communication system can be defined as a technology that hides the object identity. Communication anonymity [1] has two aspects: Source/destination anonymity and End-to-End relationship anonymity. In source/destination anonymity it is difficult to identify the sources or the destinations of the network flows while in end-to-end relationship anonymity it is difficult to identify the end to- end communication relations. In MANET communication anonymity has been proposed by anonymous routing protocols such as ANODR (ANonymous On-Demand Routing) [7], OLAR (On-demand Lightweight Anonymous Routing) [6]. All these anonymous routing protocols rely on packet encryption to hide the information from attackers. Still the passive attackers can eavesdrop on the wireless channel, intercept the transmission, and then perform traffic analysis attacks. Traffic analysis [10] is one of the types of passive attack in MANET. Traffic analysis is further subdivided into predecessor attack [8] and disclosure attack [9]. The following are the three nature of MANET due to which above approaches do not work well to analyze traffic in MANET: 1) Broadcasting nature: In wired networks point to point transmission can be easily applied to only one possible receiver. While in wireless network message is broadcasted to multiple receivers. 2) Ad hoc nature: Mobile node can be served as both source and destination. This can create confusion to determine the role of the node. 3) Mobile nature: Traffic analysis model do not consider the mobility of communication peers. This makes the communication among mobile node more complex. There is a need of such a technology which can analyze traffic without any interruption of the above three characteristics of MANET. This proposed system fulfills the need. The objective of this paper is to show that passive attackers can perform traffic analysis without the knowledge of the adversaries. This approach is required in military environment. The proposed system will perform statistical traffic analysis to discover the traffic pattern. This system will perform the point to point as well as end-to-end traffic analysis among receivers. Indirectly this calculation will provide probable source and destination of the network that will discover the hidden traffic pattern. Thus the adversaries will not be able to know about the traffic analysis. Fig. 1. Mobile Ad hoc Network The remaining paper is organized as follows: Section II describes the previous work. Section III presents the proposed work. Section IV describes the expected outcome of the proposed system. Lastly section V presents the conclusion. II. PREVIOUS WORK Yang Qin, Dijiang Huang and Bing Li [1], proposed that though there are many anonymous routing protocols and anonymous enhancing techniques available still mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is vulnerable to passive statistical traffic analysis attacks. The authors proposed a system called as Statistical Traffic Pattern Discovery System (STARS). A STAR is used to discover the hidden traffic pattern in MANET. The drawback of this proposed system is that no searching algorithm is applied to search the traffic free path. Douglas Kelly, Richard Raines, Rusty Baldwin, Michael Grimaila, and Barry Mullins [2], investigated on anonymity. For a user anonymity can be defined as using any services while keeping their identity hidden from an adversary. Anonymity help user to protect their data from attacks. Unidentifiability, Unlinkability, and Unobservability are the three properties of anonymity. Unidentifiability means the adversary is unable to determine one’s identity or action among similar ones. Unlinkability means the adversary is unable to relate messages or actions by observing the system. Unobservability means the adversary is unable to observe the presence of messages or action in the system. Since unobservability keeps the identity of messages or action secret it can be implied as anonymity. Unidentifiability is subdivided into sender anonymity (SA), receiver anonymity (RA), mutual anonymity (MA) and group anonymity (GA). Unlinkability is subdivided into location anonymity (LA), communicat ion anonymity (CA) and group communication anonymity (GCA). In order to discover the traffic pattern we have to work on unidentifiability property of anonymity and decrease the sender anonymity (SA) and receiver anonymity (RA). Lei Liu, Xiaolong Jin, Geyong Min, and Li Xu [3], proposed that in order to detect the attack in a network traffic intensity and packet number are the two important metrics. Lei et al. had designed an anomaly detection system. This anomaly detection system is used to detect the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in MANET. When traffic analysis is carried on MANET these two metrics are used to detect the DDoS attack. Similarly when traffic analysis will be carried on our proposed system data transmission will be considered as a parameter. We can conclude that data transmission will be an important factor whenever traffic analysis will be carried out, though the reason may be for detection of attack or for discovery of traffic pattern. Zhilin Zhang and Yu Zhang [4], introduced that control traffic plays an important role in route discovery in MANET. The characteristic that involve to carry out research on control traffic in MANET when on demand routing protocols are used include distribution of nodes’ control packet traffic, communication of control packets between nodes, rate of RREQ (route request) packets and the ratio of number of RREQ packets originating from one node to all RREQ packets relayed by this node. These characteristics of control traffic are affected by factors such as mobility, node density and data traffic. Thus theoretically we can determine that indirectly one of the factors of control traffic is data traffic. Hence we can conclude that control traffic will also play an important role in route discovery in our proposed system though the situation will be different. In our proposed system we will find traffic free path i.e. control traffic path so that it will be easy to find out the numb er of data packets transmitted to neighboring nodes. This will help us to discover route in our proposed system. Y. Liu, R. Zhang, J. Shi, and Y. Zhang [5] designed a novel algorithm called as traffic inference algorithm (TIA) which allows an adversary to infer the traffic pattern in MANET. This algorithm is based on the assumption that difference between data frames, routing frames and MAC control frames is visible to passive adversaries. Through these differences they can identify the point-to-point traffic using the MAC control frames, recognize the end-to-end traffic by tracing the routing frames and then find out the actual traffic pattern using the data frames. This algorithm is not a successful invention as it depends on the deterministic network behaviors. Stephen Dabideen and J.J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves [6], proposed that routing in MANET using depth first search (DFS) is feasible as well as efficient than breadth first search (BFS). The algorithm introduced is called as ordered walk search algorithm (OSA). The objective of this algorithm is to take advantage of the smaller time complexity of BFS and combine it with the low communication complexity of DFS in order to improve the efficiency of the search through the known path information. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of OSA, ordered walk with learning (OWL) routing protocol has been presented which uses DFS to establish and repair paths from the source to the destination with minimum signaling overhead and fast convergence. The following are the advantages of DFS over BFS that had been investigated by Stephen et al. in MANET: (i) DFS require less overhead as compared to BFS. When large number of nodes is performing BFS, the routing TABLE 1 COMPARISON OF SEARCHING ALGORITHMS overhead can saturate the network making it difficult to deliver any packets. However DFS use only small network for routing. (ii) When BFS is used in a network, where there are multiple flows of search packets this situation can lead to increase the load on network and loss of packets. On the other hand as DFS involves only a small part of the network, thus this reduces the load in the network and results in less packet loss. A comparative study of searching algorithms is shown in TABLE I. From this table we conclude that DFS is better searching algorithm for MANET than BFS. III. PROPOSED WORK One of the characteristic of MANET is that all the nodes are hidden. This proposed system will unhide the nodes by using one of the searching algorithms. The searching algorithm chosen for searching the node will be depth first search (DFS). Source node will use DFS algorithm for traversing or searching the path in the network. Then statistical traffic pattern analysis will be performed on these searched nodes. This analysis will provide an estimation of the data transmitted to all the neighboring nodes of every searched node. We can discover the traffic pattern by using probability distribution. The working of each of the module is explained in detailed below. A. Searching node in MANET using depth first search. In this proposed system we are using DFS for routing decisions. When a node receives message for the first time, it sorts all its neighboring nodes according to their distance to destination and then uses that same order in DFS algorithm. It starts its searching from the source node and updates one hop neighbors. This search continues to reach traffic free path between source and destination node. As shown in Fig. 2, depth first search works on tree or graph. The Fig. 2 gives an example of DFS routing path for the following graph: The searching starts from root node A. It is assumed that the left edges are selected than the right edges. Each node remembers the last visiting nodes which help to backtrack and reach the last node to complete the traversing. From Fig. 2 the path will be: A, B, D, E, C, and F. B. Statistical traffic analysis of packets in MANET For point-to-point (one hop) traffic in a certain period, first build point-to-point traffic matrices such that each traffic Fig. 2. Depth First Search matrix only contains independent hop packets. There can be situation in which two packets captured at different time could be the same packet appearing at different location. In order to avoid a single point-to-point traffic matrix form containing two dependent packets time slicing technique is used. Time slice technique is technique in which the process is allowed to run in a preemptive multitasking system. This is called as the time slice or quantum. The scheduler runs once every time slice to choose the next process to run. In this proposed system a sequence of snapshots during a time interval constructs a slice represented by a traffic matrix. The traffic matrix is denoted by W. This traffic matrix will consists of traffic volume from one node to another. For example, Here 1 indicates that there is transmission of data (traffic volume) from node 1 to node 2 whereas 0 indicate that there is no transmission of data between the two nodes. C. Discovery of system The traffic matrix tell us the deduce point-to-point and end-to-end traffic volume between each pair of nodes. We need to discover the actual source or destination in order to discover the traffic pattern. Here probability distribution is used. Probability distribution calculates the probability of the data transmitted to neighboring node which provide an accurate estimation of a node as source or destination. This will help to discover the traffic pattern. The equation required for source probability distribution is The equation required for destination probability distribution is Fig.3. System Flow Diagram Where s’(i) is the source vector, N is number of nodes, r(i,j) is the accumulative traffic volume from node i to node j, d’(i) is the destination vector. In the Fig. 3, the flow of the proposed system is explained. When the system will start it will form a network. This network will consist of certain number of nodes. All the nodes will be browsed. In order to search the node a heuristic searching algorithm will be applied. If the required node is present then statistical traffic analysis will be performed on it. After performing statistical traffic analysis probability distribution will be applied to discover the traffic pattern. However, if the required node is not found then the system will stop and no further process will be carried out. IV. EXPECTED OUTCOME From the idea of the proposed system we are clear with two outcomes. The outcomes will be to discover traffic pattern in MANET and to find probability of point to point transmission among receivers. These two outcomes are discussed below. 1. Discovery of traffic pattern in MANET The first step to discover traffic pattern will be searching a node. Then using point-to-point traffic matrix and end-to-end traffic matrix a statistical traffic analysis will be performed. The parameter to be considered for traffic pattern discovery will be number of data transmitted. 2. Probability of point to point transmission among receivers is estimated Point-to-Point transmission can be estimated by point-to-point traffic matrix. This matrix will consists of traffic volume between each node at one hop distance. The calculated traffic matrix will be used to determine the probability of point to point transmission among receivers. V. CONCLUSION The proposed system will be an attacking system. As nodes are hidden in MANET a heuristic searching algorithm will be applied. This heuristic searching algorithm will be depth first search (DFS).This system will perform statistical traffic analysis to find the data transmission between one to one and one to many nodes. Probability of point to point transmission among receivers will be estimated by point-to-point traffic matrix. Then by calculating multihop traffic and performing probability distribution the traffic pattern will be discovered. This will provide an approximate traffic pattern with approximate source and destination in the network. The proposed system will reduce the issue of anonymous communication in mobile ad hoc network (MANET). REFERENCES Yang Qin, Dijiang Huang and Bing Li â€Å"STARS: A Statistical Traffic Pattern Discovery System for MANETs† IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, Vol. 11, No. 2, March/April 2014. Douglas Kelly, Richard Raines, Rusty Baldwin, Michael Grimaila, and Barry Mullins, â€Å"Exploring Extant and Emerging Issues in Anonymous Networks: A Taxonomy and Survey of Protocols and Metrics†, IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials, Vol. 14, No. 2, Second Quarter 2012. Lei Liu, Xiaolong Jin, Geyong Min, and Li Xu, â€Å"Real-Time Diagnosis of Network Anomaly based on Statistical Traffic Analysis†, IEEE 11th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, 2012. Zhilin Zhang and Yu Zhang, â€Å"Control Traffic Analysis of On-Demand Routing Protocol in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks†, IEEE Second International Conference on Networking and Distributed Computing, 2011 Y. Liu, R. Zhang, J. Shi, and Y. Zhang, â€Å"Traffic Inference in Anonymous MANETs,† Proc. IEEE Seventh Ann. Comm. Soc. Conf. Sensor Mesh and Ad Hoc Comm. and Networks, pp. 1-9, 2010. Stephen Dabideen and J.J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, â€Å"OWL: Towards Scalable Routing In MANETs Using Depth-First Search On Demand†, IEEE 6th International Conference on Mobile Adhoc and Sensor Systems, Oct 2009. Y. Qin and D. Huang, â€Å"OLAR: On-Demand Lightweight Anonymous Routing in MANETs,† Proc.Fourth Int’l Conf. Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking, pp. 72-79, 2008. J. Kong, X. Hong, and M. Gerla, â€Å"An Identity-Free and On- Demand Routing Scheme against Anonymity Threats in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks,† IEEE Trans. Mobile Computing, vol. 6, no. 8, pp.888-902, Aug. 2007. M. Wright, M. Adler, B. Levine, and C. Shields, â€Å"The Predecessor Attack: An Analysis of a Threat to Anonymous Communications Systems,† ACM Trans. Information and System Security, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 489-522, 2004. G. Danezis, â€Å"Statistical Disclosure Attacks: Traffic Confirmation in Open Environments,† Proc. Security and Privacy in the Age of Uncertainty, vol. 122, pp. 421-426, 2003. J. Raymond, â€Å"Traffic Analysis: Protocols, Attacks, Design Issues, and Open Problems,† Proc. Int’l Workshop Designing Privacy Enhancing Technologies: Design Issues in Anonymity Unobservability, pp. 10-29, 2001.

Information Systems and Services Essay -- Essays Papers

Information Systems and Services Question 1 Components of an Information System: Hardware – There are three types of hardware technology - mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers. Mainframes – The mainframe computer is a very powerful machine designed for large-scale data processing activities. These computers have steadily declined over the last 20 years due to their size, cost of operation and maintenance. Minicomputers – The minicomputer is often referred to as a server. It has the ability to offer networking, speed and power. These computers can be programmed and are much more interactive as well as more user friendly. Although they are still expensive (though not as expensive as the mainframe) they are upgradeable. Microcomputers – The microcomputer is commonly known as the PC (personal computer). It is most commonly used as a desktop computer intended for office or home use. These machines can be placed in fixed locations and connected to peripherals such as printers, scanners etc. The microcomputer is easily upgraded, fairly cheap to upgrade-repair and components can be easily fitted or removed. Software – The most common piece of software associated with an information system is a database. Information is accessed through a database management system, which is defined as one or more computer programs that will allow the user to enter, store, organise, manipulate and retrieve data from the database. Data - Data is derived from both internal and external sources and whilst most external data is readily usable and concrete forms e.g. Bank statements, purchase invoices etc. Data is a routine by product of some routine essential operation such as the production of an invoice or alternatively a special counting. Data are facts obtained by reading, observing, counting and measuring, which are then recorded. Personnel – Information systems personnel usually work in their own department (I.S. Department), which employs computer programmers, systems analysts, computer operators etc. They may also work in other functional departments or areas in a support capacity. The skills required by these personnel will include technical skills, written and verbal communication skills, an understanding of the organisation that they work for and the ability to work with other people. The information systems department has three primar... ...mmediately available or delayed. The information should be available when needed. If it is supplied too late it will be of no use. It is also important that information is communicated through the correct channels so that it arrives at its destination clear and understood. Question 3 INFORMATION FLOWS WITHIN THE SYSTEM. Internal - The internal flows of a system are the data or paper work that is sent internally to other departments within an organisation i.e. making and receiving orders, sending invoices and memos etc. It also helps the different departments to communicate effectively with each other. External - The external flows of information are to whom the organisation is accountable e.g. the government for taxes, suppliers for payment, shareholders for dividends, financial institutions for deposits or withdrawals etc. Electronic - The electronic flows within the system can be anything that requires technology to move data around e.g. e-mail, fax, network messages within a LAN or WAN, bar code scanners, swipe machines etc. Hardcopy - A hardcopy is any thing that is received which is paper based e.g. invoices, purchase order, statements and received faxes.

Counseling Couples: The Complexity of Delicate Situations Essay

Abstract Love is patient and love is kind, according to Corinthians 13:4 yet more and more frequently couples find themselves at impasses not knowing which is better to stay together or to separate. Living in a society of our way right away, right away can present conflicts among couples especially when they each have different views on what is best for their relationship. To add more complexity, family units may be non-traditional or other elements such as substance abuse and infidelity are present, which results in the presence of additional stressors. Through careful intervention, respect for the family unit, and proven methodologies, couples counseling is an avenue that provides hope for preparation for those entering marriage or long-term relationships, while also providing redemption and restoration for those who desire to maintain current relationships. Introduction and History For many years psychologist have studied and expounded on the research of pioneers such as John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth who developed attachment theory, as well as, research conducted by Abraham Maslow, who determined that humans have a â€Å"need for belonging.† These pioneers set the foundation for understanding our humanistic desire to have a companion. Prior to these psychologist, the Bible reveals in Genesis 2 that Adam was lonely and for that reason, a â€Å"help mate† was created. Furthermore, according to Sandberg, Busby, Johnson, & Yoshida (2012), research has shown that even in adulthood, the presence of a significant other or partner can produce feelings of â€Å"security, relief, and other positive affects† whereas the absence of this  secure attachment produces avoidant and anxious behaviors. As individuals engage in relationships, spanning from basic acquaintances to commits such as marriage, there are times when communication, confidence, and c ommitment become difficult. Some situations lead couples to seek the intervention and expertise of counselors to assist in reconciling. Despite the troubles that couples encounter, Worthington, Lerner, and Sharp (2005) suggest that by utilizing counseling with the purpose of developing strong emotional bonds, couples have the ability to sustain long, healthy marriages. As unique as each individual is, so is each family unit or couple and it is important that therapist work within the systems that are presented, because on some occasions, the couple or family simply interacting within itself produces focus and accessibility of change (Chambless, Miklowitz, and Shoham, 2012). Counseling that promotes hope, forgiveness, better communication, conflict resolution, and build commitments, especially those encompassing Christ, leads to repair and reconciliation, which why most couples initially seek counseling (Worthington, Lerner, & Sharp, 2005). Major Topics in Couples Counseling Types of Relationships/ Couples As times have changed, so have couples. The family unit is often not the traditional mother, father, and 2.5 children, instead families are now composed of stepparents, stepchildren, and same-sex relationships. As Christian counselors, relationships may present that are not condoned, yet respected. Stark, Kirk, and Bruch (2012) offer that even though marriage his recently become a highly idealized commitment, the rates for cohabitation and the number of single parents continues to increase and become more acceptable. Marriage has become a voluntary institution (Stark, Kirk, & Bruch, 2012). In addition, the composition of marriages has changed as reported by the Williams Institute. In 2006, the institute studied same-sex couples reporting status and determined that â€Å"nationally, the number of same-sex couples who reported their status to the government increased 437 percent† (Swanson, 2007). Along with the increase of reporting same-sex couples, the number of blended families has increased as well. Gonzalez (2009) discusses that the couples that blend families often face more challenges, they are more overwhelmed, and they often feel increased  pressure to resolve issues quickly. Couples that form blended families are challenged with making the relationship with their partner work, while also with helping to shape and mold two separate entities into one family unit (Gonzalez, 2009). Blended families are also a progressively significant family arrangement that produces complex relationships and distinctive pressures for each of the family members (Shalay & Brownlee, 2007). Accordingly, there is an increasing likelihood that family counselor will encounter blended families more frequent who are seek therapeutic assistance (Shalay & Brownlee, 2007). Cultural Sensitivity Counseling couples requires awareness of various cultural belief systems that are important to both individuals, both individually and together. The perceptions of each individual determines their expectations of the relationship, therefore counselors have to be aware of cultures, beliefs, traditions, and even historical references to ensure that elements are being evaluated from the client’s perspective. Couples counseling incorporates cultural intervention that is consistent with the client’s belief system regarding healing and has the potential to effect a specified change (Sperry, 2010). Couples counselors should carefully focusing the treatment process based on the core cultural values of both of the individuals that comprise the couple (Sperry, 2010). Sperry (2010) states that there are three specific steps to cultural sensitivity; recognize the cultural identity, identify the family dynamics, and develop a cultural formation that frames the context of the issue. Parenthood One of the most challenging transitions that couples face is the transition to parenthood (PINQUART AND TEUBERT, 2010). During the expectation of a child, parents often become stressed with the required adjustments and often positive communication among couples decrease (Doss, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2009). For example, as reported by Pinquart and Teubert (2010, in a study conducted by Miller, Pallant & Negri (2006), 80% of first time mothers expressed mild symptoms of depression within the first weeks postpartum, while 10 to 30% of mothers developed clearly diagnosed clinical depression. Emotional and psychological distress of this magnitude may also have a  significantly negative effect on parenting behavior, such as sensitivity, investment in the child, overall parenting, and cooperation between parents (Foster, Garber, & Durlak, 2008). Couples experiencing such life changes often seek counseling to better understand each other, the stressors, and methods for making the tra nsition less problematic. Pinquart and Teubert (2010) showed that intervention that were solely couple focused, developed stronger efficacy on couple communication than pure prenatal or postnatal interventions, reminded the couple that they are the foundation of the relationship and conduits of change. Intimacy Most couples experience problems that are not understood, therefore couples therapist are often presented complaints that are the results of communication failures and conflicts that are directly related to the couples unfulfilled attachment needs (Solomon, 2009). Couples therapy attends to increase the awareness and recognition between partners of their needs and the relational paths that each partner has encountered (Solomon, 2009). In addition, couples therapy, from an attachment theory approach, attempts to help individual to move beyond what could become an endless cycle of shame and blame, and instead teach and shows them they can choose to stop acting defensively with each other (Solomon, 2009). When couples are experiencing issues, intimacy is most often affected, however through couples therapy, partners are helped to understand their dependence on one another in order to meet their needs for secure attachment through therapeutic process and are encouraged to express emotion s when attachment needs are discontented (Solomon, 2009). Solomon (2009) further concludes that â€Å"if the couple responds by utilizing and giving examples of the ways their past has played out in their current relationship, it becomes possible to accelerate the healing process†. Techniques and Interventions In the past decade, Christian couple therapy has increased and began to develop although slowly (Hook, Ripley, Worthington, & Davis, 2011). Each couple, each situation, and each counselor is unique, so competency of multiple interventions is required to accommodate the needs and goals determined by the couple. Of these techniques, the hope-focused approach (HFA) to couples counseling is encouraged among Christian counselors  (Worthington, Ripley, Hook, & Miller, 2007). The HFA is based on the premise that hope is a core Christian value and since Christ ordained marriage, hope is essential among couples (Worthington et al., 2007). The HFA provides couples with strategies for promoting change, offering mutual submission in love, restoration of faith in God and each other (Worthington, et al., 2007). An alternative counseling technique that is being successful utilized in couples counseling is Marriage Matters (Hook, Worthington, Hook, Miller, & Davis, 2011). Marriage Matters consists of a nine week or 18 hour workshop that is conducted three times per year according to Hook et al (2011). This program is designed to assist couples who desire to invest in their relationship as well as for couples who are experiencing marital difficulties. During each of the nine week workshops, couples learn from trained professionals about topics that are important for couples such as historical background, culture, becoming more empathic during dialogue, conflict resolution, intimacy, forgiveness, and numerous other topics (Hook, et al., 2011). Ethics Involved in Counseling Couples A cautiously compiled confidentiality agreement is essential when therapists agree to treat clients conjointly with their spouse or significant other (Bass & Quimby, 2006). Currently although there are not any ethical codes that directly indicate that conjoint counseling is considered unethical, increasing numbers of many organizations caution their members about the ethical disadvantages characteristic in doing so (Bass & Quimby, 2006). Consequently, counselors working with couples are probable, or perhaps even inevitable, to find themselves struggling with the issue and conflicts of one person’s right to privacy versus a partner or spouse’s right to obtain access to information relevant to their personal well-being (Bass & Quimby, 2006). Furthermore, there are additional concerns when the disclosures are related to illegal activities. According to Bass and Quimby (2006), an example of potential conflicts is when adultery has occurred in a relationship. Adultery is con sidered a crime in some states and as a result of keeping this information confidential, it is possible that a counselor could be accused or even charged with conspiracy or â€Å"alienation of  affection† (Bass & Quimby, 2006). Researchers further state, that although this charge is highly unlikely, some writers have argued that counselors must not condone illegal activity by keeping secrets. Ignorance of the law is not excusable therefore when engaging in such practice, counselors should be familiar with their state laws and ethical standards (Bass & Quimby, 2006). Couples counselors have a unique relationship with their clients due to being responsible developing multiple therapeutic relationships. As outlined in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT, 2012) code of ethics, counselors are responsible for ensuring that each counselee has been properly informed and consents to services, while also ensuring confidentiality is discussed and is understood by each participate. AAMFT Codes of Ethics, specifically outlines the expectations of counselors in regards to professionalism among couples, present and past. As well as safe handling of information and communication among counselees as well as third parties. The AAMFT and the American Counseling Association are very similar due to the nature of counseling. Biblical values Religion can be a significant source of marital and couple conflicts, especially if they do not share the same religious beliefs, however religion also proposes as a source of resolution among couples with common beliefs (Lambert & Dollahite, 2006). Research reveals that couples that participate in congruent religious practices such as public and private prayer as well as religious attendance, couples were more receptive to counseling with less negativity and values that focused on having and maintaining a caring, forgiving relationship (Lambert & Dollahite, 2006). Considering that God’s love abridges all of God’s commands, therefore a fitting appraisal of forgiveness is crucial for one to love in a way that pleases God and to help others in counseling situations (Cheong & DiBlasio, 2007). God’s love and forgiveness are inseparably connected all throughout Scripture and often amidst the pain and conflicts of couples is the need for resolution and forgiveness. The bible clearly defines marriage, the love shared among those married, as well as the sacredness of matrimony, and although as  Christians we cannot impose our thoughts and worldviews, according to the American Counseling Association Code of ethics, it is important that the elements are incorporated in counseling, especially with those who consent to Christian integration in sessions. Personal reflection I personally believe that couples counseling is important, especially premarital counseling. Although my husband and I dated for six years prior to getting married, we both found that premarital counseling, which is a requirement at our church, brought forth so many subjects that we had not discussed. The opportunity to learn God’s will for marriage and our expectations of each other, provided clarity that we can reflect to even now. Years into our marriage, counseling would definitely be a consideration if we even found ourselves in need of reconciliation and restoration. Annually, our church hosts sessions during the month of May that focuses on the family. Although this is not considered counseling for us directly, we have found that each year a new prospective, a new method of communicating, and a renewed relationship results from attendance of the sessions. Reflecting on these marriage building workshops and lessons, reassures me that with the desire to stay focused on Christ, our marriage can sustain, and we may even be models for others who are contemplating commitment. I believe that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, we can easily slip into routines and struggle to satisfy deadlines, which result in undue stress on relationships. Committing to reconnecting and taking personal time to show appreciation for each other is ideal and provides the support and recognition that although we may be busy, as a couple we are never too busy for each other. Furthermore, the same goes for our relationship with Christ, it is not enough to just be a c laim a relationship, instead works, devotion, praise, and worship are due to Him as a priority of our lives. While researching couples counseling the most interesting aspect that I discovered was the Hope Focused Approach (HFA). The methodology presented in HFA sparked an interest primarily because of the numerous step-by-step interventions that allow the counselor to be the facilitator, yet offering couples the opportunity and supports to reconnect. The opportunity to be a  conduit, a vessel, of restoration offers not only the couples hope, it also seems that it would provide counselors with the opportunity to see the magnificent power of Christ and his ability to make people, relationships, homes, families, and even churches whole. Christ offers to make all things new, it is up to us to follow him, forward. Incorporating the ethical expectations of a counseling professional presents as challenging. It is evident that when working with a couple, the amount of intervention, developing a relationship and rapport with both individuals, however remaining unbiased, and serving them as a couple seems initially difficult. However, it would be my privilege to be a vessel of Christ to assist couples to complete both premarital and martial counseling, as marriage is ordained by God, however staying rooted and grounded in the Word and maintaining the standards as outlined by the AAMFT and ACA subjects one to continued studying, devotion, and increasing competence as well as wisdom to address each couple genuinely. Conclusion According to Atkins et al. (2005), there have been numerous randomized clinical trials that confirms the effectiveness of couple therapy as well as the increase in relationship satisfaction after attending therapy. The research further outlines that although there are a number of options, methods, intervention, and treatments greater change in marital satisfaction is expressed among couples who attend direct approach therapy together (Atkins, et al., 2005). Despite these promising findings, there still remains a considerable number of couples that are not responsive to treatment and no correlations have been demonstrated that distinguish between those couples who respond to treatment and those who do not (Atkins et al., 2009). Further evaluations of couples therapy is required to guide treatment revisions that will make techniques more powerful and applicable to increase efficacy among couples according to Atkins et al (2009). References American Association of Christian Counselors, AACC Law & Ethics Committee. (2004). AACC Code of ethics: The Y2004 final code. Retrieved from: http://www.aacc.net/about-us/code-ofethics/ American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, AAMFT Ethics Committee. (2012). AAMFT Code of ethics. Retrieved from: http://www.aamft.org/imis15/content/legal_ethics/code_of_ethics.aspx Atkins, D.C, Berns, S.B., George, W. H., Doss, B.G, Gattis, K., Christensen, A. (2005). Prediction of response to treatment in a randomized clinical trial of marital therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73 (5), 893-903. Bass, B.A & Quimby, J.L. (2006). Addressing secrets in couples counseling: An alternative approach to informed consent. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 14, 77-80. Chambless, D.L., Miklowitz, D.J., Shoham, V. (2012) Beyond the patient: Couple and family therapy for individual problems. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 68 (5) 487-489. Cheong, R. K., & DiBlasio, F. A. (2007). Christ-like love and forgiveness: A biblical foundation for counseling practice. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 26(1), 14-25. Retriev ed from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237250982?accountid=12085 Doss, B. D., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2009). The effect of the transition to parenthood on relationship quality: An 8-year prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 601–619. Gonzales, J. (2009). Prefamily counseling: Working with blended families. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50 (2), 148-157. Hook, J. N., Ripley, J. S., Worthington, E. L., & Davis, D. E. (2011). Christian approaches for helping couples: Review of empirical research and recommendations for clinicians. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 30(3), 213-222. Hook, J. N., Worthington, E. L., Hook, J. P., Miller, B. T., & Davis, D. E. (2011). Marriage matters: A description and initial examination of a church-based marital education program. Pastoral Psychology, 60(6), 869-875. Lambert, N. & Dollahite, D. (2006). How religiosity helps couples prevent, resolve, and overcome martial conflict. Family Relations. 55 (4) 439-449 Miller, R. L., Pallant, J. F., & Negri, L. M. (2006). Anxiety and stress in the postpartum: Is there more to postnatal distress than depression? BMC Psychiatry, 6, 12. Pinquart, M, & Teubert, D. (2010). A meta-analytic study of couple intervention during the transition to parenthood. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 59, 221-231 Sandberg, J.G., Busby, D.M., Johnson, S.M., Yoshida, K. (2012). The brief accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement scale: A tool for measuring attachment behavior in couple relationships. Family Process, 51 (4), 512-526. Shalay, N. & Brownlee, K. (2007). Narrative family therapy with blended families. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 18 (2), 17-30. Solomon, M.F. (2009). Attachment repair in couples therapy: A prototype of for treatment of intimate relationships. Clinical Social Work Journal. 37, 214-223. Sperry, L. (2010). Culture, personality, health, and family dynamics: Cultural competence in the selection of culturally sensitive treatments. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families. 18(3) 316-320. Stark, M.D., Kirk, A.M., & Bruhn, R. (2012). Generational differences as a determinant of women’s perspectives on commitment. Adultspan Journal. 11 (2), 112-122. Swanson, P. (2007). Study: More tell U.S. they’re gay partners. The Gazette. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/268288139?accountid=12085 Worthington, E.L., Ripley, J.S., Hook, J.N., Miller, A.J. (2007). The hope-focused approach to couple therapy and enrichment. Journal of Psychology and Christianity. 26 (2), 132-139. Worthington, E.L., Lerner, A.J., Sharp, C.B. (2005). Repairing the emotional bond: Marriage research from 1997 through early 2005. Journal of Psychology and Christianity. 24 (3), 259-262.

Lab 1 Report Essay

Lab 1 Report Essay Lab 1 Report Essay Nicholas Bollinger Unit 1 Case Lab IT Project Characteristics: 1. Difficulty: High, Medium or Low 2. Size: Large, Medium or Small 3. Skill: High, Medium or Low 4. Changes/Development: New Development, Upgrade of change of an existing software product. 5. Risk: High, Medium or Low 3 IT Categories: 1. Small IT projects 2. Medium IT projects 3. Large IT projects Small IT projects There must be less than two man years of development effort is needed A single development team of five people or less is required The amount of source code is less than 10000 lines, excluding comments. Difficulty The difficulty of functions and data is low. The Number of Interfaces is less than 10. The amount of source code is less than 1000 lines, excluding comments. The number of entities is less than 10 The number of relations is less than 10 The number of data fields is less than 20 Size No more than a half years time with 1 to 2 project members max. Skill Members of the project need a low expertise level to achieve the project Changes/Development Changes of an existing software product. Risk Involved The project presents medium level risks. . Medium IT Projects Difficulty The complexity of functions and data is considered medium. The Number of sub-functions is more than 10 and less than 30. The Number of Interfaces is more than 10 and less than 30. The amount of source code is between 1000 and 5000 lines, excluding comments. The number of entities is more than 10 and less than 40 The number of relations is more than 10 and less than 40 The number of data fields is more than 20 and less than 100 Size The projected cost/effort is not more