Review of Karl Marx’s Capital (1867)

Review of Karl Marx’s Capital (1867) Review of Karl Marx’s article Capital Capital, published in 1867 instantly made its mark as one of Karl Marx’s most ‘detailed critique of economic life.’ (Rivikin Ryan, 665, 2004) In his article, Marx not only highlights that we ‘fetishize the objects that appeal most immediately to our senses’, (Rivikin Ryan, 665, 2004) but he also argues that we ignore the real exploitation of the workers who provide these commodities on the marketplace. In his article, Marx illuminates how the capitalist economic system structures human society. One of the ideas that he puts forward is how the relationship between ‘satisfying human wants’ for the value of a commodity contrasts with the invisible exploitation of labour. He states that man easily ‘changes the forms’ of the commodities in order to be ‘useful to him’, therefore demonstrating how the bourgeoisie owns the means of production thus highlighting how they are only interested in producing the maximum surplus value to suit their needs. Furthermore, Marx describes the capitalist as an ‘enigmatical character’ which further suggests they have the power and control over the world’s natural, economic and human resources to take advantage of the product of labour, as soon as it takes the ‘form of commodities’ which is of high value. Another idea put forward by Marx is the contrast between the social relations and the technical relations of production. Firstly, Marx states ‘their own labour is presented to them as a social relation’ which is of importance as it means it is the people who are associated to a relatively stable economic structure. However, Marx goes on to say the producer’s labour only exists ‘between the product of their labour’ which implies it is now the people that relate to objects; thus highlighting how the result of production determines your social class. In addition, he states that the qualities of the products of labour are ‘perceptible and imperceptible’ which links back to the idea of how we are not only ignorant to the producers of commodities but this opens up to the alienation of social relations. Following on from this idea, the social relations become less apparent as Marx argues that the value relation between the products of labour has ‘no connection with their physical properties’. Marx’s idea of commodity fetishism is highlighted here as it transforms how the production of commodities and money are exchanged in the market trade through secretly hiding the fact that someone was exploited to produce that value of commodity. Furthermore, Marx continues to illuminate the human alienation of the capitalist structure as he states man is drawn into this concept by ‘the fantastic form of a relation between things’. Marx believes that through reification, these commodities now seen as objects obscure the economic exploitation of the labourer’s (subjects) wages and the new value of product created by the worker themselves. In his article, Marx cleverly underpins how we are ignorant to the inefficient and exploitive system with the analogy of the ‘act of seeing’. He argues that from the ‘external object to the eye’, we see an ‘actual passage of light from one thing to another’, which implies the exploitation of labourer’s is not invisible; but we just choose not to see it as we live in a controlled society. In his article Marx demonstrates a contrast between the social and technical relation production and from this light analogy we can argue that there is a need for social dependency that capitalism feeds off; in order for economic power to overrule all political and social activities. Furthermore, the value of capital would deteriorate if labour is removed from the workplace, thus highlighting how the bourgeoisie are in effect dependent upon the proletariat labour-power. In his text, Marx also puts forward a philosophical concept which brings about the theory of alienation of the capitalist system. The analogy of the ‘mist-enveloped regions of the religious world’ is a highly effective idea as it illuminates that Christianity and the concept of God estranges the natural characteristics of our human desires. Marx essentially made use of Charles de Brosses concept of fetishism through his The Cult of Fetish Gods (1760) which suggests a materialist theory of the origin of religion which developed the idea of commodity fetishism. Marx gives reference to ‘men’s hands’ which arguably suggests that the whole system is corrupt as commodities are seen as more valuable than the labourer who produced it. Marx concludes with ‘This I call Fetishism’ which emphasises and summarises how unfair and corrupt the capitalist system works. Word count: 748 Marxism applied to Raymond Carver’s poem Shiftless There are many subtle concepts of Marxism found in Raymond Carver’s poem Shiftless, published in 1985. The first few lines highlight the idea that everything is masked in the capitalist system of control. He states the people who were higher up the social ladder ‘were comfortable’ (1) who were fortunate to live in ‘painted houses with flush toilets’ (2) and ‘drove cars whose year and make were recognizable’ (3). From the description given, the materialist goods illuminate the idea of conspicuous consumption; they purchase these costly good and publicly display them to impress people with their wealth of economic power. Furthermore, this idea of ‘painted houses’ could be symbolic for the fact that commodity fetishism is active as it shows these material commodities are of greater value than those who produced it. Also, ‘painted’ links in with Marx’s idea of how we are ignorant to acknowledge the exploitation of labourer’s. These material goods also link in with Marx’s idea of ‘satisfying human wants’ from his chapter on Capital. The consumer aspires to have the best of the best commodities in order to gain social, economic and cultural prestige. Marx argues in his chapter on The German Ideology that ‘those who lack the means of production are subject to it.’ (Rivkin Ryan, 2004, 656) This means depending on where you stand on the ladder of the capitalist system, you are put in a social class depending on the amount of means of production. Carver continues with ‘The ones worse off were sorry’ which links in with Mar x’s theory of how the working class are exploited and it further attacks the unfair capitalist market system. Carver gives reference to ‘strange cars’ and ‘dusty yards’ (5) to juxtapose the material goods in the first three lines. The poet cleverly shows the distinction between the value of commodities and the social classes in just one line. This links in with Marx’s alienation theory of the effect of the capitalist production on labourers. These material objects are there in the poem so that the reader can identify the clear contrast in social class; however those who are subject to it are under the false consciousness as it is the way a capitalist society works. According to Bertell Ollman, he argues that all classes are under some form of alienation, but it is ‘the proletariats affliction is the most severe.’ (Ollman, 2014) Following this idea, we can see the contrast of material commodities given in Shiftless, which highlights the exploitation of labour. The reference to ‘dusty yards’ suggests the capitalist system dominates the history of class struggle and the poem reflects the poverty that the proletariat undergo. In his poem, Carver cleverly represents his own opinion of life to mock the capitalist system of control as he stats ‘My goal was always / to be shiftless. I saw the merit in that.’(8 9) The poet Jim McGarrah states that ‘This constant state of flux and the battle for economic stability began to take a toll on Carver’s personal life’ (McGarrah, 2009) which highlights the domineering effect of the capitalist control. The idea of ‘doing nothing’ (11) links in with Marx’s view of ideology and how ideology is part of everyday reality. Terry Eagleton, a literary theorist, argues that ‘people invest in their own unhappiness’ (Eagleton, 1991, 13) which suggests why Carver experiences simple activities in the poem. The word ‘Spitting.’ (15) is positioned on its own to perhaps emphasise how this shiftless behaviour is seen to be more appealing than being a subject to an exploitive system where commodities are of m ore value. Marx uses a philosophical analogy of how the natural characteristics of human behaviour is estranged due to them being subjective to an ideological apparatus of a higher system; God in the religious world. Carver challenges this interpellation procedure by stating in the final two lines ‘â€Å"Don’t I know you?† / Not, â€Å"What are you going to be when you grow up?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Carver highlights how controlled society is as everyone believes they have to be ‘something’ or ‘someone’ in order to attain social prestige. The pressure of a good reputation and a social status is what forces us into the idea of having to have the best commodities that we either buy or own in order to communicate a sense of social prestige. This poem highlights Marxist theoretical concepts in order to highlight how exploitive, alienating and inefficient the capitalist system is. Word count: 740

British Legal Framework For Construction Health and Safety

British Legal Framework For Construction Health and Safety In 1974 in Great Britain, the parliament adopted the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) which became the major piece of legislation at work for health and safety matters in the country. This Act was adopted for all industries including construction. Its aims were to provide the main principles and duties to employers, employees and all the participant of the work activity in general (St John Holt, 2005). Then, the European Union (EU) imposed new directives to its members on health and safety issues. The legal framework in Great Britain changed and new acts and directive had been adopted by the parliament setting up a hierarchy of component in the legal system (Howarth Watson, 2009): European Union regulations and directives: all the members of EU are subject to European legislation UK statutory law: acts of parliament HSWA 1974 is the principal act in the UK Statutory instrument: regulations to develop and detail specific duties and requirement concerning health and safety law in the UK Approved Codes of Practice: practical guidance for compliance with health and safety regulations Since 1974, the HSWA had been supported and supplemented by several statutory instruments and regulations (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004). Following the framework directives of the EU aiming to improve health and safety for workers at work, the Management of the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and then 1999 (MHSW) came to provide additional elements to the HSWA. Other daughter regulations had been adopted to implement this act on specific construction related areas (Fewings, 2005). Some examples of these new regulations (St John Holt, 2005; Fewings, 2005): MHSW Management of the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992/1999 CHSW Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996/2000 PUWER Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 LOLER Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 CSHHR Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 MHOR Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 CDM Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994/2007 The HSWA first objectives were to impose duties on the stakeholders involved in the work activity related to the safeguarding of health and safety standards. The key duties were places on employers toward employees, on employers towards people other than employees, on people in control of premises, on designer, manufacturers, suppliers and plant installer for the safety of their products, on every employees and more generally on everybody concerned by work activity (Howarth Watson, 2009). The responsibility for enforcing these act and regulations is taken by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) which is appointed by the government to develop policies on its behalf. Its executive arm, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is in charge of the enforcement. It controls and advise the companies in the applications of the regulations (St John Holt, 2005). The HSC and HSE are also responsible of recording and monitoring construction industry health and safety statistics in Great Britain. Injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences are then considered with numbers and corrective actions can be made (Howarth Watson, 2009). Construction design and management (CDM) On 6 April 2007 came into force in Great Britain the new Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007 written by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and approved by the Secretary of State and the Parliament. These regulations update, combine and replace the former Construction Design and Management Regulations 1994 (CDM94) and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSW) which both needed to be reviewed and updated accordingly with the recent evolutions of the considerations towards health and safety issues in construction and after consultations of the main stakeholders of the construction industry (HSC, 2007). The CDM2007 Regulations aim to reduce construction accidents and ill health in Great Britain by encouraging the various stakeholders of the construction industry to improve in planning and managing their projects taking into consideration matters of safety and health early on in the project definition. By starting focusing on these essential points at the beginning of a project, risks can be identified and managers are able to make good decisions ahead of difficulties (Howarth Watson, 2009). In this new version of the regulations, the HSC focuses on communication and co-ordination between all the parties involved in the construction project and set up several duties for each of the different stakeholders. It also highlights that the amount of paperwork and all the bureaucracy caused by the previous version of the regulations should be reduced and the focus put on the planning and management. (HSE Website) The CDM set up obligations for clients and designers. The main obligation imposed to the client is to appoint the main stakeholders for the planning and the realisation of construction work (St John Holt, 2005). By construction work, the CDM broadly refers to the carrying out of building, civil engineering or engineering construction word (HSC, 2007). The regulations also impose duties to the central figures then appointed which are related to health, safety and occupational safety on construction project and which will be summarised later in this paper. Among the dutyholders which participate to the carrying out of the project are the Client, the Designer, the CDM-Coordinator, the Principal Contractor and the Contractors (St John Holt, 2005). The Client The Client is defined as any person for whom construction work is being carried out, whether done by external labour or in-house (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004). It can be an individual as well as a company. By this definition of the investigator of the work, the Client is the one who provides adequate funds to design and realise the work in respect of safety and health regulations imposed by the CDM and thus has a certain influence on what happens on site (St John Holt, 2005). The CDM Regulations 2007 submit the Client to several duties (Howarth Watson, 2009) (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004) (HSE, 2006): Appoint a CDM-Coordinator and a Principal Contractor Make sure that these two stakeholders and all the other the client could directly appoint are competent and have the adequate resources to mange health and safety problem associated with the project Ensure that the construction does not start until suitable welfare facilities have been provided as well as an agreeable health and safety plan Provide the CDM-Coordinator and the Designers with all the relevant information about health and safety matters related to the project Retain and make the health and safety file available to anyone who asks for it The CDM-Coordinator should be appointed as soon as possible so the Client can receive advice from him in order to appoint the other stakeholders (St John Holt, 2005). One of the important duty of the Client is to make sure that all the main figures he (it?) has to appoint are competent and have the adequate resources to deal with health and safety issues. That means the Client has to ensure that these stakeholders understand well the project, are familiar with construction techniques, are well aware of health and safety matters their risks and consequences but also that they allocate enough money and persons to do the job (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004). Maybe what they are not required ? Fraser The CDM-Coordinator The CDM-Coordinator is a person or a company appointed as early as possible by the Client in the preparation of the project. He is a key element for the prevention of risks related to health and safety as he is the main advisor of the Client and he is the guarantor of coordination and co-operation between the main figures involved in the construction process (HSC, 2007). The duties of the CDM-Coordinator imposed by the Regulations 2007 are (HSC, 2007) (Semple Fraser, 2007) (Howarth Watson, 2009): Advise the Client and other stakeholders on appointments: competence and resource availability Notify HSE about the project Coordinate planning and design work on health and safety matters Cooperate with the Principal Contractor and facilitate good communication between the stakeholders involved in the project Collect pre-construction information and prepare a pre-tender health and safety plan Prepare and update the health and safety file Supervise designers and ensure the design is prepared adequately The CDM-Coordinator is appointed only in the case of notifiable projects. That covers all the construction works which are scheduled to last more than 30 days or involve more than 500 person-days of work. A person-day is defined as one individual carrying out construction work during one normal working day (St John Holt, 2005). An important part of the CDM-Coordinators duties is to work close to designers in order to ensure they get the right information are the good moment and to supervise their work in order to figure out if they consider hazard, risks and control (WS Atkins Consultants, rev A. Gilbertson, 2004). The Designer Designers have a key role in managing health and safety on site. They are the persons or companies who can prevent risks at the source (Semple Fraser, 2007). The designer is the one who analyse site information and prepare drawings and specifications for the project. He can be an architect, a land surveyor or an engineer (HSE, 2006). For complex projects, several designers can be appointed to split the design and ensure to identify and examine all the health and safety factors that need to be addressed (WS Atkins Consultants, rev A. Gilbertson, 2004). The main duties of a designers are Eliminate hazards and reduce health and safety risks Provide all the stakeholders with information about the remaining risks that could be eliminated Ensure the client is aware of duties and that he (it?) appointed a CDM-Coordinator Update the health and safety file with all the new information concerning health and safety matters Cooperate with the CDM-Coordinator and the other designers and supply the relevant information Designers have the duty of indentifying and eliminating hazards and reduce the risks of those which cannot be eliminated (HSC, 2007) by using risk assessment methods to detect foreseeable risk and ensure the safety of workers by tackling the problem at the source. For this purpose they have to reduce de likelihood of harmful occurrences and the potential severity of harm resultant from it, limit the number of people exposed the these occurrences on site as well as and the duration and frequency of exposition (Howarth Watson, 2009). The Principal Contractor The Principal Contractor is an individual or a company appointed early in the construction process by the Client and is responsible for planning, managing and controlling health and safety on site during the construction phase of the project (HSE, 2006). The Principal Contractor is usually the main Contractor of the project. He (it?) has to ensure a good cooperation and coordination of work between the Contractors involved in the construction because of the fact they may work on the same site at the same time and then interaction between then can create unexpected hazards (HSC, 2007). The duties imposed to the Principal Contractor are (Howarth Watson, 2009) (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004) (HSE, 2006): Plan, manage and control construction phases and provide a good communication with Contractors Create and implement the health and safety plan on the base of the pre-construction plan Set up site rules Provide Contractors with all the information available concerning health and safety matters to ensure safety of their workers Ensure the availability of suitable welfare facilities at the beginning of the work and maintain it during the duration of the construction phase Check the resource availability and the competence of its (his?) appointed stakeholders Provide the workers with an induction when they arrive on site and further training and information for specific work Make the site a safe place and restrict access to people involved in the construction Consult with the workers and liaise with the CDM-Coordinator The Principal Contractor has a significant health implication when designs change or decisions are modified. The consultation process with the workers and the CDM-Coordinator permits to make everyone aware of the new updates in the construction phase plan and of the changing in managing health and safety (Semple Fraser, 2007). The Contractor The Contractor is any person or company who is in charge of the carrying out or the management of the construction work. The Contractor can also organise the work of other stakeholders who carry out the work on his (it ?) behalf (Joyston-Bechal Grice, 2004). The duties of the Contractor are (Howarth Watson, 2009) (HSC, 2007): Plan, manage and control own work and that of workers Check competence of workers and sub-contractors Specific training for workers Provide health and safety information to workers Make sure workers beneficiate of suitable welfare facilities Check the project is notified before starting the work Cooperate with other Contractors and with the Principal Contractor Provide any information to update the health and safety file Report any accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Principal Contractor as well as problems with the health and safety plan. Most of the time on large projects, several contractors work at the same time on the same site. In this case it is essential they cooperate with each other and follow the instructions of the Principal Contractor not to interact and create new hazards on site. The contractors should ask for the health and safety construction phase plan produced by the Principal Contractor to get all the information they need to ensure safety of their employees (HSE, 2006).

How does Willy Russell us the separation of the twins in Blood Brothers to good dramatic effect? :: essays research papers

Blood Brothers is about two twins separated at birth, into an Upper class family and a lower class family. The Twins eventually find out they are twins when it is too late. Their separation is used to good dramatic effect to keep the audience in suspense for what’s to come. When you are of a lower class you tend to be superstitious. For example, because of the little opportunities and low fortune a person of a lower class has they tend to believe in fate and bad luck. This is a dominant theme which is introduced at the beginning of the play and runs throughout it. Mrs Lyons says to Mrs. Johnson, â€Å"They say that if either twin learns he was one of a pair they shall both die immediately!† She threatens Mrs. Johnson and plays on her superstitious beliefs by making her believe that if Eddie and Mickey or anyone ever found out the truth, the twins shall both die. This creates good dramatic effect because the audience are shocked that their friendship has now changed and frightening for Mrs Johnson. Class difference is displayed very clearly in Blood Brothers, in particular the difference in wealth between the two families. Eddie’s parents ensure that he has a comfortable upbringing and is able to study at university and receive a qualification, resulting in a highly paid job. This is completely dissimilar to Mickey. He comes from a poor family which meant that he was stuck in a dead end job in a factory. â€Å"I bleeding hated it, standing there all day never doing anything apart from putting cardboard boxes together.† This reflects Mickey’s frustration and highlights the lack of opportunities open to him, which adds to the dramatic effect of the play because it prepares us for trouble in the future. A good example of dramatic irony in the play is when Eddie and Mickey decide that as they are such good friends they will become blood brothers. â€Å"Hey, we were born on the same day. That means we can be blood brothers.† The audience knows that they were actually brothers, whereas the children were unaware of their relationship. As the blood brothers go through life Mickey starts to realize that he will never be as good as Eddie or receive the opportunities Eddie is given; this is the message of the play. Our futures are determined by circumstances beyond our control; in Mickey’s case his upbringing and culture determine his lifestyle.

Essay For Setting :: essays research papers

Essay for Setting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A setting is where and when the story takes place. Most of the setting involves the time and place of the action, and like â€Å"The Three Strangers†, by Thomas Hardy, who presents this short story with good development and distinctive setting. In this work of his, he creates a captivating atmosphere, emphasizes the force that the protagonist struggles with, and he makes it believable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hardy creates an environment of rough landscape with phrases like â€Å"Three miles of irregular upland†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (760), thus creating a feeling of insecurity. Hardy also represents it in â€Å"†¦some starved fragment of ancient hedge is usually taken advantage of the erection of these forlorn dwellings† (760). In addition, we see the forming of an environment of danger, like in the passage where it says â€Å"†¦straightway several of the party fell into the snare set by Nature for all misguided midnight ramblers over this part of the cretaceous formation†¦flint slopes, which belted the escarpment†¦losing their footing on the rubbly steep they slid sharply downwards†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (771). Therefore, giving a mood of mystery and of tension.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, Hardy emphasizes that struggle between the protagonist and the people or forces acting on them throughout the whole short story. For example, although Mrs. Fennel allows the new arrivals in her house, she seems uncomfortable with them, â€Å"This testimony to the youthfulness of his hostess had the effect of stopping her cross-examination† (764). Similarly, we see that the moment the second stranger gets in the house, the first one tries to create a friendly environment with him, â€Å"†¦and the first stranger handled his neighbor (the second stranger) the family mug†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and also, in the silence of everyone to the second stranger’s song, the first stranger would join in; â€Å"The room was silent when he had finished the verse-with one exception, that of the man in the chimney corner who at the singer’s voice, ‘Chorus’ joined in†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (768).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third, the author makes it believable when he states places, dates, and regional customs. For instance, when instead of the word tobacco, he places baccy, which was a word from that specific place and time, â€Å"The shepherd filled and handed him a new clay pipe, saying as he did so, ‘Hand me your baccy box- I’ll fill that too, now I am about it’ †(765). Also when it says â€Å"Among the few features of agricultural England which retain and appearance but little modified by the lapse of centuries†¦ †, â€Å"Shaking the water drops from his low-crowned glazed hat, he said, ‘I must ask for a few minutes’ shelter comrades, or I shall be wetted to my skin before I get to Casterbridge.

Frank-n-Furter, Michel Dorsey/Dorothy Michels, and Dil: alternative mas

Frank-n-Furter, Michel Dorsey/Dorothy Michels, and Dil: alternative masculinities in film from the 70's to the 90's The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Tootsie (1982), and The Crying Game (1993) are united by their overt concern with sexuality and gender; particularly non-dominant gender and sexual identities. Dr. Frank-N-Furter, of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Michel Dorsey, of Tootsie, and Dil, of The Crying Game, challenge conventional masculinity, and, the latter two especially, expose gender roles as nothing more than performances or social constructs. In so doing, these protagonists propose alternative masculinities and male gender roles. The nature and the presentation of these alternative males has evolved from being alien, as in the early Rocky Horror Picture Show, to being an improvement on the masculine norm, as in Tootsie, to being a completely new form of masculinity within society, as in the recent Crying Game. This evolution demonstrates society’s gradual acceptance of the existence of alternative masculinities, from the seventies to the nineties. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is considered by many film scholars to be "the granddaddy" (Saunders 91) of cult films. As most cult movies appeal to our subversive instincts, our desire to see conventional morality trashed (Giannetti, Leach 252), the film provides an interesting point of departure for a study of the subversion of masculine norms. Throughout this film, Frank-n-Furter mercilessly assaults the straight world and its values, especially conventional masculinity, as represented by Brad, and finally seduces Brad into adopting his alternative masculinity. The opening scene foreshadows the fact that Brad’s conventional masculinity will be challenged late... ... The Crying Game, all challenge conventional male gender roles, and propose alternative ones. The latter two characters also expose gender as a social construct, and, in so doing, illustrate that gender roles are malleable, and not predetermined and fixed. While The Rocky Horror Picture Show presents an alternative form of masculinity in an alien being, and Tootsie’s alternative male turns out to be a reworking of the conventional male, in The Crying Game, the alternative male is just that, a real alternative to normative masculinity. Dil is not an alien, or a heterosexual actor, but is an actual transvestite, living among more or less conventional masculine types. This evolution in the presentation of alternative masculinities in film, from the seventies to the nineties, demonstrates society’s gradual acceptance of the existence of alternative forms of masculinity.

Abuse of Prescription Drugs on College Campuses

Abuse of Drugs on College Campuses Today on college campuses, it is not possible to make it through college without knowing someone who has at least tried a prescription drug or recreational drug for either party uses, to help them study and keep up in school, or simply to help them get by day-to-day essay writer toronto. Maybe you have tried them yourself? College students all across the nation are abusing substances such as Adderall, Vicodin, Oxycontin, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. Those students who drink alcohol are more likely to use prescription drugs for non-medical uses than non-drinkers.The number one way students are getting their hands on these different drugs is from the help of their peers. As for prescriptions, others steal it from their family members in their medicine cabinets at home if it is available. Like any drug, your body will build up a tolerance when you take it regularly resulting in dependence of that drug and/or need of higher dosages. Some people even fake symptoms to get prescribed the drug needed. For example, there are multiple websites on how to fake ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) so your doctor will prescribe you Adderall.Prescription Drugs All this talk and we do not know what Adderall even is. Adderall (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts) is a prescription drug that is generally prescribed to treat people with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Some side effects are euphoria, restlessness, headache, dryness of mouth, insomnia, and even anorexia because of loss of appetite. Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant which can result in stroke or even death if the proper precautions are not met.This stimulant causes an increase in average heart rate about 3-6 beats per minute and an increase of average blood pressure about 2-4 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) (â€Å"Adderall†). As for Adderall’s contribution to college students, it is known as â€Å"Brain Steroids. † Some street names for it are addy, beans, black beauties, speed, double trouble, and Christmas trees. It is also known as cheap cocaine. Many students use it for late-night studying because the drug keeps you awake and alert for long periods of time. The problem is many students will do nything to get their hands on it in fear that they cannot do work without it. On the other hand, Adderall is also used as an all-night party drug. In the party scene, this is where Adderall is known as cheap cocaine. It is either taken orally or snorted before or while drinking alcohol, allowing the user to stay awake and drink for a longer period of time causing their BAL (Blood Alcohol Level) to continue to rise without the user falling asleep. This can not only lead to hospitalization but it can also lead to death. Adderall is being so widely used that the prescription is currently on a manufacturer backorder.The reason is because more and more people are be ing diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and in most cases I believe it is because people are faking the symptoms and doctors are too willingly writing out prescriptions. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) only releases a certain amount of the drug at a time in an attempt to prevent illegal abuse. With the demand of Adderall being so high at this time, its presence in the market is currently scarce. A story told in Texas showed that a man drove about 80 miles away from home to fill his prescription and paid $417 for the name brand Adderall (Keith).This story comes to show how addictive this drug can be. The central nervous system stimulant Adderall is not the only form of prescription drugs being abused. Pain killers are also being abused by students, Vicodin being one example. It is used to treat mild to severe pain with side effects of nausea, sedation, shallow breathing, slow heartbeat, confusion, and possible seizure (â€Å"Vicodin†). The abuse may begin when you break a bo ne and are in return prescribed Vicodin for the pain. You continue to take the drug until the pain goes away and may continue to take it after the pain is gone.I have personally seen this happen with a friend who recently broke his leg. This particular person has no more pain from the injury, but continues to take the Vicodin for recreational purposes and sometimes drinks alcohol while taking them. When mixing alcohol and Vicodin it causes an enhanced sedated feeling and/or respiratory depression making the effects life threatening. In addition to Vicodin, the pain killer Oxycontin is also widely abused. It is used to treat severe pain that is expected to last a prolonged amount of time.Oxycontin has many similar side effects of Vicodin along with sweating, itching, loss of appetite, and severe weakness. It works by blocking the brain from receiving pain messages. The reason Oxycontin is so dangerous is because it is highly addictive and is a central nervous system depressant. It is believed that a younger healthier college student is more likely to become addicted to the drug rather than an older adult taking it for pain reasons. This is because taking Oxycontin to get high has a completely different effect on the body (â€Å"Oxycontin†). Like most drugs, Oxycontin can be abused in many different forms.It can be taken orally, crushed up and snorted, or dissolved and injected. By crushing it up or injecting it, it causes an instant feeling of euphoria when it enters the body. Oxycontin is often called â€Å"poor man’s heroin† due to the fact that they both have comparable effects. When the user is exposed to constant amounts of high doses, dependence of the drug is nearly inevitable. College students do not understand the dangerous and deadly outcomes of abusing Oxycontin. There are many cases where young adults in college have died from abusing it as a party drug.One case at the University of California, a student was not so lucky. Daniel Ashkenazy, a pre-law student was found dead at the age of 20 the morning after a fraternity rush party after taking Oxycontin while drinking alcohol. The shocking part is that a lot of times there are no signs of drug abuse and you do not have to be addicted to the drug for it to kill you. Daniel was a junior at the college with a 3. 8 grade-point average and frequently spoke with his mother. Another case at Colorado State University, 20 year old John Hunter-Hauck was found dead by his roommates the day after an off-campus party.His autopsy revealed traces of Oxycontin and alcohol in his system which resulted in his death. Moving away from pain killers, Xanax is a highly abused prescription drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Common street names for the drug are bars, blues, peaches, and handlebars. Xanax has a calming effect that controls the chemicals in your brain that cause anxiety. Some side effects may include drowsiness, depression, dry mouth, constipation, and h eadache. Students turn to this drug because it has similar effects of alcohol. Also, it is used to help take the edge off the constant stresses and demands that college puts on a student.When taking it in ‘bar’ form rather than the smaller dosage pill, the effects are so intense that you lose your ability to reason and think. When Xanax is mixed with alcohol, the effects are either intensified or reversed causing even greater anxiety because they are both central nervous system depressants (â€Å"Xanax†). Like Xanax, the prescription drug Valium is taken to reduce anxiety but it also used to treat muscle spasms and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Some side effects may include dizziness, fatigue, and muscle weakness. When mixing Valium with alcohol you may experience difficulty breathing and it may cause you to pass out.If too much Valium or alcohol is taken, it could lead to a coma. The effects of alcohol are stronger and you are unable to drink a much as you normal ly do. After long term use, dependence may form. Insomnia, panic attacks, tremors, and/or depression may occur after a sudden stoppage from taking Valium (â€Å"Valium†). Prescription drug abuse among college students has become so rampant that there are parties specifically intended for exchanging these drugs. They are known as â€Å"pharm parties. † The basis of a â€Å"pharm party† is that everyone who attends brings their own prescription drugs and freely exchanges these drugs for other drugs.They sometimes even put all the pills into a large bowl and ingest whatever pills they pick out. Being that many of these individuals are willing to try anything new, they do not always know what prescription they are taking which results in different forms of potentially dangerous highs (Alexander). Even places one would believe to be a safe route for help are not always so safe. Recently in Indiana County, PA, a doctor at the Indiana Walk-in Clinic was arrested and ac cused of exchanging powerful pain medications for sexual favors. This just shows what extremes people will go through to get the drugs that they need.The doctor was providing prescriptions of Oxycodone to the patient despite the fact that he was aware she previously failed drug screenings at the clinic (â€Å"Indiana Co. Doctor†). So what happens when a college student is caught selling their prescription medication in the library during finals week or in the hallway of a school building? The consequence is that of a felony offense, although different states have different laws regarding the selling of a controlled substance. In some states you could be sentenced prison time or you could be let off on easier charges if you are a first time offender.The same ramification is in effect if you are caught purchasing the drug as well. Recreational Drugs Prescription drugs are not the only substances where abuse is a problem. On college campuses, alcohol is by far the most serious i ssue. Almost half of college students drink to the point of binge drinking or drink in greater excess. Binge drinking means a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0. 08 grams percent or higher. The BAC generally reaches this after a man consumes 5 or more drinks or a woman consumes 4 or more drinks within 2 hours.This kind of drinking is what effects students the most. When under this influence, students are more likely to fall behind with school work, skip their classes, engage is risky or illegal activities, or be injured. The issue of binge drinking is not easily controlled due to the fact that alcohol fits within a student’s budget and it is very easy to access(â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects†).. Alcohol is used in many social situations in college such as fraternity/sorority parties, house parties, tailgating for sporting events, or just going to the bar.In these social settings, students are more likely to drink more in a short period of time resulting in a blackout. A blackout is where you are intoxicated to the point where you cannot remember specific events that take place or you may not remember anything from a certain point on (â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects†). This stage in consuming alcohol is the most dangerous because the person may have little or no memory of risky actions like driving under the influence, engaging in unprotected sex, or committing illegal acts (â€Å"Binge Drinking†). Some students are less fortunate nd instead of blacking out, the consequence is death. Samantha Spady, a sophomore at Colorado State University, was found dead at a fraternity house at the age of only 19. The cause of death being binge drinking. Binge drinking also leads to a high risk for sexual assault, where women are mostly the victims. After consuming over 10 drinks in one sitting, about 60% of young women are sexually assaulted after their first semester of college (â€Å"Freshman women†™s binge drinking†). Sexual assault can range anywhere from unwilling sexual interaction or even worse, rape.Since alcohol is the most frequently abused substance, marijuana is the runner-up (Boyum). Marijuana, also known as pot or weed, is usually smoked either like a cigarette (joint), blunt/cigar form, or from a pipe. It can also be ingested by cooking it into food or brewed into tea (â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts†). Marijuana is considered a gateway drug that opens up users to even harder and more dangerous drugs. The effects of smoking weed can include paranoia, random thinking, short term memory, anxiety, and distorted sense of time (â€Å"Marijuana Uses†).College students often turn to marijuana use because it helps to take the edge off of everyday college demands and responsibilities. Weed smokers are more likely to spend more time engaging in party-like activities rather than studying due to difficulty concentrating (Ray). Results from continued use will more t han likely result in poorer grades, possible changes in personal relationships, inability to retain new information, or difficulty comprehending information (Ray). Some say marijuana is addictive yet some say it is not. So what is an abused drug that is addictive?Cocaine. We have already found that Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant, and so is cocaine but highly more addictive and powerful. Cocaine (coke) is usually snorted but it can also be mixed into water and injected. Regardless the way it is used, it enters the bloodstream quickly and the effects only take seconds. The results are similar to that of Adderall yet much stronger causing very high levels of mental alertness and energy. It works by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain which is a chemical associated with pleasure.Long term usage can cause addiction because it is disrupting the brain’s reward system and will not produce dopamine in a normal fashion as it did prior to using the drug. It ma y sound like an amazing drug that causes it’s user to have a feeling of euphoria each time it is used, but the problem is it is very easy to overdose. Over time, a tolerance may build up causing the user to take more and more of the drug attempting to achieve the euphoric feeling they had the first time they tried it. Needless to say, this can ultimately result in overdose and death (â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts†).Cocaine can even effect life decisions as serious as what college to attend. Paige, a student at the University of Miami made her decision to attend there because she found that coke was cheap and very easy to get. Luckily for Paige, she stopped using the drug after her first year attending the college because it stopped being a fun thing for her to do (Shepherd). Another case was that of a former student of the University of Miami, who was identified by her middle name Xavier. She stated that using coke not only affected her grades, but also her relationships with f riends.Her grades were so bad that she was unable to continue attending the university. Another effect of coke is loss of appetite, and Xavier even admitted that was one of the reasons she continued to use it. â€Å"It’s so addictive that your life revolves around coke,† she said. â€Å"I was failing school, and I wasn’t going to class because you don’t really have the desire for anything [while] on coke. † After leaving the university, she stopped using the drug and her grades have improved as she now attends Miami Dade in hopes to re-enroll at the University of Miami (Shepherd).In Andria Ziegler’s case, she was found dead at her Paradise Valley Community College professor’s home. The autopsy revealed the 19-year-old’s death was caused by an accidental cocaine overdose (â€Å"College Student Dies†). Another popular drug among college students has a completely different effect than any of the previous drugs. These drugs are called hallucinogens. A common form is LSD (Lysergic Acid Diathylamide), also known as acid. It most often comes in the form of blotter papers, which are small paper squares that are dipped in LSD. Other forms include powder, liquid, pills, and capsules.Taking the drug results in a â€Å"trip† lasting around 12 hours with feelings of mind-altering changes in thought and mood, distorted perceptions of reality, and can cause hallucinations (â€Å"LSD†). College students are attracted to acid because of its easy availability, cheap prices, and mind-altering perceptions (Loglisci). A user can either have a very pleasurable experience or have a very terrifying â€Å"bad trip†. Each time acid is taken the results are different and have extremely unpredictable outcomes. Not only does the trip affect you when you take it, but it may also result in flashbacks of the experience weeks or even months later.These recurrences are also unpredictable and will lessen over ti me(Hallucinogens). Another similar hallucinogenic drug linked to LSD is mushrooms. They are also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms which contain psilocybin (a hallucinogenic principle). Shrooms can either be orally ingested or brewed into tea and drank. They have very similar effects of acid being that they cause trips that can either be pleasant or terrifying but they also cause altered perceptions of sight, touch, and taste. The long term effects are the same and can cause horrific flashbacks that can occur long after taking the drug (â€Å"Mushrooms†).The scariest aspect of this drug is that when you are around the students taking it, you do not know what is going to happen, depending on the outcome of the trip. I have personally experienced a friend â€Å"tripping† on shrooms and it was not a pleasant experience. It happened to be a bad trip and he was severely depressed and talking about life in a very serious manner. It was quite a frightening experience. Altho ugh I have never seen anyone take acid, I was told a story from another friend who tried it. They were two students at IUP who were bored one night and decided to try the drug.My friend explained to me that the two of them sat in a room all night until morning writing their thoughts on post-it notes and sticking them all over the wall until it was covered. She said that the next day they read the notes and had not one clue as to what any of them meant because they did not remember what was going through their heads at the time of the trip. A case in New York showed that Michael Simmons, a 19-year-old student at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts was found dead after an 8-story fall from his dorm window.Nothing was posted about the autopsy, but friends said that it happened after Michael and a few others consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms (Feeney, Gendar, and Lauinger). It is a scary thought to think that if you take a hallucinogenic drug you could possibly have a terrifying experience, jump out of an 8-story window to your death, or possibly not remember anything at all. In conclusion, it is clear from the sources displayed in this article that recreational drugs and prescription drugs will always be in demand for certain users.As a responsible and sovereign society it is one’s personal responsibility to understand the threats and consequences of these substances. Recreational drugs and prescription drugs alike all have potentially harmful and sometimes fatal effect on the human body. The sad truth is that these drugs are all addictive and are easy to miss use in the wrong hands. Unfortunately this is a real and unfortunate fact of the world we live. Different individuals and personalities handle and make with decisions their own way. Drug use to some is a personal choice.With new knowledge in drug awareness it is our responsibility as a society and individuals to educate, influence, and prevent the harmful and potentially fatal effects of drug abuse. To avoid potentially harmful or life threatening situations please consider the data and message displayed in this paper. Works Cited â€Å"Adderall. † Rxlist. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web 20 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects On The Brain. † Nih. gov. National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism, Oct. 2004. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Alexander, Deborah, â€Å"Pharm-Raised Teens Oxycontin Abuse Prevalent Among Adolescents,† alexanderlawoffice. om. N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Binge Drinking on College Campuses. † Cspinet. org. Center For Science In The Public Interest, Dec. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Boyum, Richard. â€Å"A Two Edged Sword: Marijuana Use and College Students. † Selfcounseling. com. N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"College Student Dies After Overdosing on Cocaine at Home of Professor, Her Alleged Lover. † Foxnews. com. FOX News Network, 5 June 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Coroner: Alcohol Poisoning Killed CSU Student. † Thedenverchannel. com. Denver News, 17 Sept. 2004. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. Feeney, Michael J. Alison Gendar, and John Lauinger. â€Å"Friends say mushrooms contributed to Brooklyn College student's fatal fall. † NY Daily Times. 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Freshman women’s binge drinking tied to sexual assault risk. † Jsad. com. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Jan. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. â€Å"Hallucinogens. † Justive. gov. United States Drug Enforcement Administration, N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Indiana Co. Doctor Charged With Trading Drugs for Sex. † Wpxi. com. 12 Oct 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. Jacobs, Andrew, â€Å"The Adderall Advantage. † Nytimes. com. The New York Times, 31 July 2005.Web. 24 Oct. 2011. Keith, Damali, â€Å"Adderall Shortage Has Many Worried. † Myfoxhouston. com. 30 Aug. 2011. Loglisci, Caroline A. , â€Å"LSD popular for college students. † Dailycampus. com. The Daily Campus, 25 Apr. 2001. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"LSD (Acid). † Drugabuse. com. National Institute on Drug Abuse, N. p. Web. 23 Nov 2011. â€Å"Marijuana Use and Its Effects. † Webmd. com. WebMD, N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Mushrooms. † Drugfree. org. The Partnership at Drugfree. org, N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts: Cocaine. † Drugabuse. com. National Institute on Drug Abuse, N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 011. â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts: Marijuana. † Drugabuse. com. National Institute on Drug Abuse, N. p. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Oxycontin. † RxList. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011 Ray, Linda. â€Å"What Are the Effects of Marijuana Use on College Students? † Livestrong. com. 17 May 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Shepherd, Lauren. â€Å"Cocaine used by college students. † UPIU. com. UPIU, 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Vicodin. † RxList. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011 Williams, Eni, â€Å"Valium. † Rxlist. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Xanax. † RxList. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011.

Data Warehouses & Data Mining

DATA WAREHOUSES & DATA MINING Term-Paper In Management Support System [pic] Submitted By:Submitted To: Chitransh NamanAnita Ma’am A22-JK903Lecturer 10900100MSS ABSTRACT :- Collection of integrated, subject-oriented, time-variant and non-volatile data in support of managements decision making process. Described as the â€Å"single point of truth†, the â€Å"corporate memory†, the sole historical register of virtually all transactions that occur in the life of an organization.A fundamental concept of a data warehouse is the distinction between data and information. Data is composed of observable and recordable facts that are often found in operational or transactional systems. At Rutgers, these systems include the registrar’s data on students (widely known as the SRDB), human resource and payroll databases, course scheduling data, and data on financial aid. In a data warehouse environment, data only comes to have value to end-users when it is organized and p resented as information.Information is an integrated collection of facts and is used as the basis for decision-making. For example, an academic unit needs to have diachronic information about its extent of instructional output of its different faculty members to gauge if it is becoming more or less reliant on part-time faculty. [pic] INTRODUCTION :- â€Å"The data warehouse is always a physically separate store of data transformed from the application data found in the operational environment†. Data entering the data warehouse comes from operational environment in almost every case.Data warehousing provides architectures and tools for business executives to syste-matically organize ,understand ,and use their data to make stragetic decisions. A large number of organizations have found that data warehouse systems are valuable tools in today’s competive,fast-evolving world. In the last several years ,many firms have spent millions of dollars in building enterprise wide da ta warehouses. Many people feel that with competition mounting in every industry ,data warehousing is the latest must have marketing weapon –a way to keep customers by learning more about their needs.Data warehouses have been defined in many ways,making it difficult to formulate a rigorous definition. Loosely speaking , a data warehouse refers to a database that is maintened separately from an organization,s operational databases. Data warehouse systems allow for integration of a variety of applications systems . They support information processing by providing a solid platform of consolidated historical data for analysis. Data warehousing is a more formalised methodology of these techniques.For example, many sales analysis systems and executive information systems (EIS) get their data from summary files rather then operational transaction files. The method of using summary files instead of operational data is in essence what data warehousing is allabout. Some data warehousin g tools neglect the importance of modelling and building a datawarehouse and focus on the storage and retrieval of data only. These tools might havestrong analytical facilities, but lack the qualities you need to build and maintain a corporatewide data warehouse.These tools belong on the PC rather than the host. Your corporate wide (or division wide) data warehouse needs to be scalable, secure, openand, above all, suitable for publication. NEED OF DATA WAREHOUSE :- Missing data: Decision support requires historical data which operational DBs do not typically maintain Data Consolidation: DS requires consolidation (aggregation, summarization) of data from heterogeneous sources: operational DBs, external sources Data quality: Different sources typically use inconsistent data representations, codes and formats which have to be reconciled. pic] DATA WAREHOUSE ARCHITECTURE :- [pic] Components :- †¢ OPERATIONAL DATA WAREHOUSE ( for the DW is supplied from mainframe operational data he ld in first generation hierarchical and network databases, departmental data held in proprietary file systems, private data held on workstaions and private serves and external systems such as the Internet, commercially available DB, or DB assoicated with and organization’s suppliers or customers †¢ OPERATIONAL DATABASE( is a repository of current and integrated operational data used for analysis.It is often structured and supplied with data in the same way as the data warehouse, but may in fact simply act as a staging area for data to be moved into the warehouse †¢ LOAD MANAGER ( also called the frontend component, it performance all the operations associated with the extraction and loading of data into the warehouse. These operations include simple transformations of the data to prepare the data for entry into the warehouse WAREHOUSE MANAGER ( performs all the operations associated with the management of the data in the warehouse. The operations performed by this c omponent include analysis of data to ensure consistency, transformation and merging of source data, creation of indexes and views, generation of denormalizations and aggregations, and archiving and backing-up data. †¢ QUERY MANAGER( also called backend component, it performs all the operations associated with the management of user queries.The operations performed by this component include directing queries to the appropriate tables and scheduling the execution of queries. . END-USER ACCESS TOOLS( can be categorized into five main groups: data reporting and query tools, application development tools, executive information system (EIS) tools, online analytical processing (OLAP) tools, and data mining tools. DATA MART :- It is a subset of a data warehouse that supports the requirements of particular department or business function.The characteristics that differentiate data marts and data warehouses include: †¢ a data mart focuses on only the requirements of users associated with one department or business function †¢ as data marts contain less data compared with data warehouses, data marts are more easily understood and navigated †¢ data marts do not normally contain detailed operational data, unlike data warehouse. pic] META DATA:- Metadata is about controlling the quality of data entering the data stream. Batch processes can be run to address data degradation or changes to data policy. Metadata policies are enhance by using metadata repositories. IMPORTANCE OF META DATA :- The integration of meta-data, that is †data about data† †¢ Meta-data is used for a variety of purposes and the management of it is a critical issue in achieving a fully integrated data warehouse †¢ The major purpose of meta-data is to show the pathway back to where the data began, so that the warehouse administrators know the history of any item in the warehouse †¢ The meta-data associated with data transformation and loading must describe the source data and any changes that were made to the data †¢ The meta-data associated with data management describes the data as it is stored in the warehouse †¢ The meta-data is required by the query manager to generate appropriate queries, also is associated with the user of queries †¢ The major integration issue is how to synchronize the various types of meta-data use throughout the data warehouse. The challenge is to synchronize meta-data between different products from different vendors using different meta-data stores †¢ Two major standards for meta-data and modeling in the areas of data warehousing and component-based development-MDC(Meta Data Coalition) and OMG(Object Management Group) †¢ a data warehouse requires tools to support the administration and management of such complex enviroment. †¢ for the various types of meta-data and the day-to-day operations of the data warehouse, the administration and management tools must be capable of supportin g those tasks: †¢ monitoring data loading from multiple sources data quality and integrity checks †¢ managing and updating meta-data †¢ monitoring database performance to ensure efficient query response times and resource utilization. [pic] [pic] DATA WAREHOUSING PROCESSES :- The process of extracting data from source systems and bring it into the data warehouse is commonly called ELT, which stands for extraction, transformation, and loading. In addition, after the data warehouse (detailed data) is created, several data warehousing processes that are relevant to implementing and using the data warehouse are needed, which include data summarization, data warehouse maintenance. Extraction in Data Warehouse :-Extraction is the operation of extracting data from a source system for future use in a data warehouseenvironment. This is the first step of the ETL process. After extraction, data can be transformed and loaded into the data warehouse. Extraction process does not ne ed involve complex algebraic database operations, such as join and aggregate functions. Its focus is determining which data needs to be extracted, and bring the data into the data warehouse, specifically, to the staging area. The data has to be extracted normally not only once, but several times in a periodic manner to supply all changed data to the data warehouse and keep it up-to-date.Thus, data extraction is not only used in the process of building the data warehouse, but also in the process of maintaining the data warehouse. Every often, entire documents or tables from the data sources are extracted to the data warehouse or staging area, and the data completely contain whole information from the data sources. There are two kinds of logic extraction methods in data warehousing. Full Extraction :- The data is extracted completely from the data sources. As this extraction reflects all the data currently available on the data source, there is no need to keep track of changes to the data source since the last successful extraction. The source data will be provided as-is and no additional logic information is necessary on the source site. Incremental Extraction :-At a specific point in time, only the data that has changed since a well-defined event back in history will be extracted. The event may be the last time of extraction or a more complex business event like the last sale day of a fiscal period. This information can be either provided by the source data itself, or a change table where an appropriate additional mechanism keeps track of the changes besides the originating transaction. in most case, using the latter method means adding extraction logic to the data source. For the independence of data sources, many data warehouses do not use any change-capture technique as part of the extraction process, instead, use full extraction logic.After full extracting, the entire extracted data from the data sources can be compared with the previous extracted data to identify the changed data. Unfortunately, for many source systems, identifying the recently modified data may be difficult or intrusive to the operation of the data source. Change Data Capture is typically the most challenging technical issue in data extraction. [pic] DATA MINING :- Data Mining is the process of discovering new correlations, patterns, and trends by digging into (mining) large amounts of data stored in warehouses, using artificial intelligence, statistical and mathematical techniques. Data mining can also be defined as the process of extracting knowledge hidden from large volumes of raw data i. e. he nontrivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from data. The alternative name of Data Mining is Knowledge discovery (mining) in databases (KDD), knowledge extraction, data/pattern analysis, etc. The importance of collecting data thai reflect your business or scientific activities to achieve competitive advantage is widely recog nized now. Powerful systems for collecting data and managing it in large databases are in place in all large and mid-range companies. [pic] How Data Mining Works :- While large-scale information technology has been evolving separate transaction and analytical systems, data mining provides the link between the two.Data mining software analyzes relationships and patterns in stored transaction data based on open-ended user queries. Several types of analytical software are available: statistical, machine learning, and neural networks. Generally, any of four types of relationships are sought: Classes: Stored data is used to locate data in predetermined groups. For example, a restaurant chain could mine customer purchase data to determine when customers visit and what they typically order. This information could be used to increase traffic by having daily specials. Clusters: Data items are grouped according to logical relationships or consumer preferences. For example, data can be mined t o identify market segments or consumer affinities.Associations: Data can be mined to identify associations. The beer-diaper example is an example of associative mining. Sequential patterns: Data is mined to anticipate behavior patterns and trends. For example, an otitdoor equipment retailer could predict the likelihood of a backpack being purchased based on a consumer's purchase of sleeping bags and hiking shoes. DATA MINING MODELS :- 1. Predictive Model Prediction a. determining how certain attributes will behave in the future Regression b. mapping of data item to real valued prediction variable Classification c. categorization of data based on combinations of attributes Time Series analysis xamining values of attributes with respect to time 2. Descriptive Model Clustering most closely data clubbed together into clusters Data Summarization extracting representative information about database Association Rules associativity defined between data items to form relationship Sequence Di scovery it is used to determine sequential patterns in data based on time sequence of action [pic] APPLICATIONS OF DATA WAREHOUSE :- Exploiting Data for Business Decisions The value of a decision support system depends on its ability to provide the decision-maker with relevant information that can be acted upon at an appropriate time. This means that the information needs to be: Applicable.The information must be current, pertinent to the field of interest and at the correct level of detail to highlight any potential issues or benefits. Conclusive. The information must be sufficient for the decision-maker to derive actions that will bring benefit to the organisation. Timely. The information must be available in a time frame that allows decisions to be effective. Decision Support through Data Warehousing One approach to creating a decision support system is to implement a data warehouse, which integrates existing sources of data with accessible data analysis techniques. An organisati on’s data sources are typically departmental or functional databases that have evolved to service specific and localised requirements.Integrating such highly focussed resources for decision support at the enterprise level requires the addition of other functional capabilities: Fast query handling. Data sources are normally optimised for data storage and processing, not for their speed of response to queries. Increased data depth. Many business conclusions are based on the comparison of current data with historical data. Data sources are normally focussed on the present and so lack this depth. Business language support. The decision-maker will typically have a background in business or management, not in database programming. It is important that such a person can request information using words and not syntax. [pic]The proliferation of data warehouses is highlighted by the â€Å"customer loyalty† schemes that are now run by many leading retailers and airlines. These sc hemes illustrate the potential of the data warehouse for â€Å"micromarketing† and profitability calculations, but there are other applications of equal value, such as: Stock control Product category management Basket analysis Fraud analysis All of these applications offer a direct payback to the customer by facilitating the identification of areas that require attention. This payback, especially in the fields of fraud analysis and stock control, can be of high and immediate value. APPLICATIONS OF DATA MINING:- †¢ Banking: loan/credit card approval †¢ predict good customers based on old customers †¢ Customer relationship management: identify those who are likely to leave for a competitor. †¢ Targeted marketing: †¢ identify likely responders to promotions †¢ Fraud detection: telecommunications, financial transactions †¢ from an online stream of event identify fraudulent events †¢ Manufacturing and production: †¢ automatically adjust knobs when process parameter changes †¢ Medicine: disease outcome, effectiveness of treatments †¢ analyze patient disease history: find relationship between diseases †¢ Molecular/Pharmaceutical: †¢ identify new drugs †¢ Scientific data analysis: †¢ identify new galaxies by searching for sub clusters †¢ Web site/store design and promotion: find affinity of visitor to pages and modify layout. [pic] CONCLUSION :- What we are seeing is two-fold depending on the retailer's strategy: 1) Most retailers build data warehouses to target specific markets and customer segments. They're trying to know their customers. It all starts with CDI – customer data integration. By starting with CDI, the retailers can build the DW around the customer. 2) On the other side — there are retailers who have no idea who their customers are, or feel they don’t need to†¦. the world is their customer and low prices will keep the worldloyal. They use the ir data warehouse to control inventory and negotiate with suppliers.The future will bring real time data warehouse updates†¦with the ability to give the retailer an minute to minute view of what is going on in a retail location†¦and take action either manually or through a condition triggered by the data warehouse data†¦ The future belongs to those who: 1) Possess knowledge of the Customer and 2) Effectively use that knowledge†¦ REFERENCES :- 1. Mining interesting knowledge from weblogs: a survey – Federico Michele Facca, Pier Luca lanzi. http://software. techrepublic. com. com/abstract. aspx http://en. wikipedia. org/ http://msdn. microsoft. com/ Google Books Google Images Google Search www. seminarprojects. com Self =========================================================