The Younger Years of Grace Murray Hopper

The Younger Years of Grace Murray Hopper Computer programming pioneer Grace Murray Hopper was born on December 9, 1906, in New York City. Her childhood and early years contributed to her brilliant career but also showed how she was a typical kid in many ways. She was the oldest of three children. Her sister Mary was three years younger and her brother Roger was five years younger than Grace. She fondly recalled the happy summers playing typical childhood games together at a cottage on Lake Wentworth in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Still, she thought that she took the blame too often for mischief the children and their cousins got into on vacation. Once, she lost her swimming privileges for a week for instigating them to climb a tree. Besides playing outdoors, she also learned crafts such as needlepoint and cross-stitch. She enjoyed reading and learned to play the piano. Hopper liked to tinker with gadgets and find out how they worked. At age seven she was curious about how her alarm clocked worked. But when she took it apart, she was unable to put it back together. She continued taking apart seven alarm clocks, to the displeasure of her mother, who limited her to taking apart just one. Math Talent Runs in the Family Her father, Walter Fletcher Murray, and paternal grandfather were insurance brokers, a profession which makes use of statistics. Graces mother, Mary Campbell Van Horne Murray, loved math and went along on surveying trips with her father, John Van Horne, who was a senior civil engineer for the city of New York. While it wasnt proper at that time for a young lady to take an interest in math, she was allowed to study geometry but not algebra or trigonometry. It was acceptable to use math to keep household finances in order, but that was all. Mary learned to understand the familys finances because feared her husband would die from his health problems. He lived to be 75. Father Encourages Education Hopper credited her father for encouraging her to step beyond the usual feminine role, have ambition and get a good education. He wanted his girls to have the same opportunities as his boy. He wanted them to be self-sufficient since he wouldnt be able to leave them much of an inheritance. Grace Murray Hopper attended  private schools in New York City where the curriculum focused on teaching girls to be ladies. However, she was still able to play sports at school, including basketball, field hockey, and water polo. She wanted to enter Vassar College at age 16 but failed the Latin exam, She had to be a boarding student for a year until she was able to enter Vassar at age 17 in 1923. Entering the Navy Hopper was considered too old, at age 34, to join the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II. But as a mathematics professor, her skills were a critical need for the military. While Navy officials said she should serve as a civilian, she was determined to enlist. She took a leave of absence from her teaching position at Vassar and had to get a waiver because she was underweight for her height. With her determination, she was sworn into the U.S. Navy Reserve in December 1943. She would serve for 43 years. Her younger years shaped her path to the computer programming legacy for which she is famous. Later in life, after her time in the Navy, she invented the Mark I Computer with Howard Aiken. Her early math talent, her education, and her Navy experience all played a role in her eventual career. Source and Further Reading Elizabeth Dickason, Remembering Grace Murray Hopper: A Legend in Her Own Time, The Department of the Navy Information Technology Magazine, 27 June 2011.

Compare and contrast Burke's narrative of the scientific revolution Assignment

Compare and contrast Burke's narrative of the scientific revolution with Merchant's - Assignment Example This film primarily focuses on highlighting the impacts of science and technology on the western culture. Episode 04 of the movie talks about how â€Å"printing has transformed knowledge†. Storage, use, and processing of information were significantly changed by Gutenberg’s discovery of printing (Burke @-7:40). In episode 05, Burke talks about â€Å"how science has revised the heavens†. The main issue addressed in this episode is that the heavens do not revolve around the earth (Burke @-9:10). The key issues that are presented by both Merchant and Burke are that scientific and technological advancements have changed human societies. Merchant narrates that science and technological advancements have significantly transformed the environment and its fraternity in a negative way, while Burke believes that science and technological advancements have influence human societies in a positive way. Merchant believes that science and technology have led to excessive destruction of the natural environment and its fraternity. Activities like logging, hunting, and tapping at the onset of increasing urbanization and industrialization that took place in European nations, influenced Indians to begin destroying their natural environment (Merchant 143). Burke on the other hand, claims that written materials made it possible for information to be stored in hard copies, and this in turn also made it possible for history to be stored in the form of writing for easy remembrance. The ability to keep recorded financial statements among other records reduced the rate of corruption in the Catholic Church, and this is what also led to the emergence of Lutheran movements (Burke

Analysing specific financial issues in Oxford Instruments PLC Essay

Analysing specific financial issues in Oxford Instruments PLC - Essay Example The company has a vision to actually turn smart science into viable and affordable commercial products which can be easily available to the target market. It is involved in the development of sophisticated The company started as a small company manufacturing magnets used in the scientific research however, over the period of time, company grew and become one of the most important players in the market. Its history also suggests that it was the first spin-off from the Oxford University and was the first venture which was successfully launched from Oxford University. This paper will explore the financial performance of the Oxford Instruments Plc with special reference to how stock markets are related with the public limited companies and their performance, relationship between the investor values and financial performance of the firm, the gearing level and issue of debt to the investors besides summarizing the overall things with special reference to the limitations of the ratio analysis. There are different methods under which an organization can actually raise money and utilize those funds for the expansion and development of business. One of the key methods of having funds is to basically borrow from the banks, financial institutions or through issuing debt to the investors. Debt or the money borrowed by the companies however, have to be paid repaid along with the interest rates to the debt holders i.e. the persons who actually buy the debt and expect to be repaid with their original principal amount and the interest. Secondly, however, firms can also raise money by selling their equity on the stock markets. A firm, when issuing stocks for the first time to raise money, enters into what is called primary issue of stock listing. Primary issue is basically when the firm sells its stocks for the first time at the price they decide to set whereas secondary selling of the stock market takes place

International HRM PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International HRM - PowerPoint Presentation Example Other studies suggest that there are certain aspects to business organisations like technology, structure and other common practices that transcend culture and form a commonality between how businesses operate across cultures (Kerr et al, 1973 & Hickson et al, 1979 cited in Mullins, 1999). In Hofstede’s words, â€Å"effective multinationals have created practices that bridge the national value differences† (1997). This suggests that uniformity in organisational structure may in fact help the organisation create its own culture regardless of national culture differences. These common practices are what help international managers operate effectively beyond their own cultures. Identifying Cultural Differences and Prejudices: â€Å"One’s own culture provides the ‘lens’ through which we view the world; the ‘logic’ by which we order it; and the ‘grammar’ by which it makes sense† (Avruch and Black, 1991) Hofstede (1994, 199 7), argues that ethnocentrism, the behaviour where one considers their own culture to be superior over others, has no place in a world that is getting smaller due to globalisation. The same applies to management, as Evans et al (1989) suggest that managerial styles designed in one culture may not easily translate to another because of the differences in traditions and values of the management and workforce. Globalisation has increased pressure upon firms to invest across cultures to maintain their competitive advantage and to be open for new opportunities. This calls for international managers to be prepared for the challenges they may face as they venture into unknown cultures. Understanding people requires understanding their background, as their background has provided them with their culture and would help one predict their present and future behaviour (Hofstede, 1991 cited in Tulder & Zwart, 2006; Scullion and Linehan, 2005). This calls for an understanding of historical origin s of culture in terms of religious beliefs, values and norms (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). In most cases cultural traits can be identified through culture-specific literature, for example, the Holy Bible, which has historic significance in the evolution of both American and British cultures. Both cultures, argues Cleary (1991), are derived from belief in Biblical texts, which suggest an absolute truth outside of oneself, and as a consequence, one evaluates issues in terms of absolutes and fixed goals. So both Brits and Americans, or westerners in the general sense, according to Trompenaars (1993), tend to be goal oriented and tend to rely on legal contracts during business negotiations. Also, as multicultural nations, both offer a weak culture (Robbins, 2003), which is flexible to change. People in both cultures also tend to be more short-term oriented in their association with organisations. Evans et al (1989) suggest that in the west in general, â€Å"workers ‘sell’ the ir time to the company for wages and do not owe any allegiance to the company in their own time† (pg130). The Five Cultural Dimensions: Hofstede’s five dimensions of cultural values can be now applied to both cultures to better understand the challenges of cross-cultural management, and to derive suggestions for the International

Ir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ir - Essay Example Mr Johnson has admitted that the people have a just point when they complain. The claim that the rebels represent Islam, but Muslim theologians say they do not follow the teachings of Islam. An Islamic theological institute, Al-Azhar in Egypt, has strongly denounced the abductions, saying it â€Å"completely contradicts the teachings of Islam and its tolerant principles.† President Johnson has admitted the country is struggling, but his wife has told the group they are just playing games. The report states that the government is corrupt. Boko Haran only has a few hundred men, yet the Nigerian army seem powerless. The kidnappings have taken place just before the World Economic Forum on Africa, with 6,000 troops deployed for security, so this is an embarrassment for the president. The delegates may be kept secure, but the army cannot protect its own vulnerable people safe, so how can it hope to attract investment. This is written from a very personal viewpoint of the ‘It could have been me’ as the reporter had travelled as a student on the very same ferry route to that where tragedy recently struck. He describes how there was no thought of possible danger and that the ship was just a giant playground for the school children. The incident is described as a preventable accident, and from this the writer sees lessons which can be learnt. The ship was very overloaded and the cargo was not properly secured so it moved about, affecting the stability of the ship. The captain had left the ship in the charge of a very inexperienced mate, and this resulted in only two life boats being used and many lives lost. He describes the fury of the Korean public that the captain was among the first to leave the ship. This isn’t the only image of Korea he insists, and gives the example of a Korean crash in San Francisco where stewardesses carried injured passengers to safety. The difference

Insight into the Stagnant Performance of Textile Industry in Pakistan Literature review

Insight into the Stagnant Performance of Textile Industry in Pakistan - Literature review Example Pakistan is a major player globally in the textile industry. The textile industry in Pakistan can be traced back to its origins in 1947. In 1947, the country produced approximately 1.1 million bales of cotton (Iqbal 2010). Over the years, the production of cotton has increased to reach over twelve million bales in 2010. The country has also diversified its cotton products to increase the quality and quantity of products that are exported. For instance, Pakistan textile industry has increased the quantity of ready made garments that are exported. However, the textile industry in Pakistan has been faced with numerous challenges. One of the issues that have affected the textile industry in the country is the stagnation in the amount of textile products that are exported (Channar & Nannik 2010). Also, other Asian countries such as Bangladesh and China have become fierce competitors in the textile industry. Due to these challenges, it is necessary for the Pakistan textile industry to reinvent itself in order to improve the quantity and quality of cotton products so as to stay competitive. The study would evaluate the current status of the Pakistan textile industry and globally. The research will examine the global market and production of cotton and cotton related products in to contextualize the situation in Pakistan. The rapid globalization of the world economies has made all countries to be intertwined such as that international issues significantly affect national economies. The research will also look at the amount of investment that Pakistan has dedicated to the development of the textile industry in the country. The research aims to evaluate the factors that have led to the stagnation of the Pakistan textile industry with a view of answering the research objectives. A critical understanding of the issues affecting the growth of the textile industry will help the

Ir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ir - Essay Example Mr Johnson has admitted that the people have a just point when they complain. The claim that the rebels represent Islam, but Muslim theologians say they do not follow the teachings of Islam. An Islamic theological institute, Al-Azhar in Egypt, has strongly denounced the abductions, saying it â€Å"completely contradicts the teachings of Islam and its tolerant principles.† President Johnson has admitted the country is struggling, but his wife has told the group they are just playing games. The report states that the government is corrupt. Boko Haran only has a few hundred men, yet the Nigerian army seem powerless. The kidnappings have taken place just before the World Economic Forum on Africa, with 6,000 troops deployed for security, so this is an embarrassment for the president. The delegates may be kept secure, but the army cannot protect its own vulnerable people safe, so how can it hope to attract investment. This is written from a very personal viewpoint of the ‘It could have been me’ as the reporter had travelled as a student on the very same ferry route to that where tragedy recently struck. He describes how there was no thought of possible danger and that the ship was just a giant playground for the school children. The incident is described as a preventable accident, and from this the writer sees lessons which can be learnt. The ship was very overloaded and the cargo was not properly secured so it moved about, affecting the stability of the ship. The captain had left the ship in the charge of a very inexperienced mate, and this resulted in only two life boats being used and many lives lost. He describes the fury of the Korean public that the captain was among the first to leave the ship. This isn’t the only image of Korea he insists, and gives the example of a Korean crash in San Francisco where stewardesses carried injured passengers to safety. The difference