Nada Alamro

Muslims scholars made many discoveries in chemistry and developed medicine as a field of study. A very well known scholar named Ibn Sina (Avicenna to the West, 980-1037CE) authored a medical encyclopedia, “Kitab al-Shifa” “Book of Healing”, that also stressed about contagious diseases and how some of these diseases can be spread by contaminated water. One of his famous books was called “Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb" “Canon of Medicine” which was one of the most printed books in the medieval as well as in the European renaissance era, and it is taught up to this day in the East.

His work was translated into Latin and became a major textbook for the medieval European university for students. His works among many other Muslim scholars work helped the development of the intellectual western civilization.

Other Readings:
http://iaphomepage.org/arab/arab202/arab202.html
http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=521

Posted by Nada Alamro at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The information renaissance era relied heavily on the mathematical scientific discoveries that were made by historical Arabian Muslim scientists. They introduced the current arithmetical decimal system and other fundamental mathematical operations. They also introduced the concept of “zero” to the world. Without these mathematical discoveries, we wouldn’t have any of the advanced technologies that we rely on today…

One noted mathematical scientist is Al-Khowarizmi. His full name is Mohammed ibn Musa Al-Khowarizmi. He was born in 780 CE in Baghdad Iraq, where many mathematicians and scientists were born, and he died in 850 CE.

His most notable work is his work with algebra. He is considered to be the first to write a book on algebra “Al-kitab Al-mukhtasar fi Hisab Al-jabr w'al-muqabala” (“The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”), from this book the word algebra was derived. We see his name still alive today in the word algorithm as this word is derived from his name.

Posted by Nada Alamro at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi Quadrivium team, here are some of my notes that I jotted down when we went to visit the
LSA (Legislative Services Agency) http://in.gov/legislative this Monday.

Basically all the Bills are drafted by the LSA and then approved, then posted on the LSA’s server. LSA’s primary responsibility is technology. The initial bill draft goes through LSA’s attorneys.

Once a Bill becomes a Bill it is public information for everyone and it is available to access from the LSA server.

Since 1989 the Bills were stored on the server. This resulted in less paper and easy to correct mistakes.

The line of communication is basically: the technical people report to the programming people and then the programming people report to the executive director directly.

All directors have been working 8-10 years. The current director working is the 3rd director.

LSA serves both the house and the senate.

There is a lot of change happening in the government. LSA is used to change, and their experienced workers are used to change.

There are 4 groups that make their own decisions and sometimes it gets hard to have all four groups agree to one option.

Currently the House is running on LSA’s server but not the Senate.

LSA uses VoIP. The biggest issue in the 5 digit dialing because the State cannot call LSA on a 5 digit dialing, they have to dial 8 digit numbers. The initial cost on LSA is less than the cost on the state.

Security concerns, it is no different than any other businesses.

LSA must make sure that they don’t give out what they are doing for one party to any of the two parties. They don’t give out republican information to democrats and vice versa. Extra work results from this because more than one person (republican or democrat) may request for the same thing.

Sometimes not everyone at work gets informed of information at the same level when a lot is needed to be done.

Probably data can be duplicated. Sometimes there is not a good link between the legislative and the Bill itself.

Announcing a meeting about a bill maybe too late sometimes for everyone to know about it.

LSA does not meet with Access Indiana. Access provides information for free. The copy Bills from the LSA then post in on their own server.

Technology according to LSA is fairly good and is a good cost for the state government compared to Florida and California.

4 people work for LSA. They don’t have a lot of overtime. When overtime occurs there is not overtime pay, compensation is done through comp hours.

Document printing is an issue. Walk through the tunnel is required to get to printing (to get to the other building). Today, there is less printing than before. 150 copies for each legislator is not necessary anymore, each one can access information electronically. This resulted in one hundred thousand dollar savings annually.

LSA has limited tasks, no marketing needed, no customers/users.

These are the notes that I was able to jot down. Hope you find it helpful team...

Posted by Nada Alamro at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It has always been an issue understanding what exactly human communication is. There have been numerous attempts in defining and theorizing human communication. In this particular theory, human communication factors and types as well as its effects will be discussed.

Verbal vs. Nonverbal Communication:
Human communication is the exchange of messages, thoughts, ideas, and information either verbally or nonverbally. Verbal communication can be done through speech, words, emotions, sound, volume, tone, modulation speed/rate, velocity, signals, language, accent, and punctuation. However, much more can be listed and talked about in depth. Nonverbal communication can be represented though gestures, touch, movement, eye contact, visualization, dress, appearance, signals, symbols, and architecture.

Forms of Communication:
Most people might think communication is only done by at least two or more individuals. But come to think of it, a person might as well be communicating ideas or information to himself/herself. Thus, this means there is no specific number of individuals that need to be involved to form some sort of human communication other than the involvement of at least on human being.

Situations of Human Communication:
As mentioned previously, many theories and definition attempts have been made regarding this matter. The topic is huge in its nature that to capture each and every aspect of it is almost impossible. According to Emily Grove, “Human communication occurs in wide variety of situations, so many that describing each and every instance of human communication or every attempted method of human communication many prove impossible.

Intentional or Unintentional:
Intentional communication occurs voluntarily. It occurs when both or all of the participating communicators intentionally volunteer to participate in a conversation. Involuntary or unintentional communication occurs when at least one of the communicators does not plan or intend to participate in a conversation. This involuntary participation may seem confusing but it happens very so often.

Failing Human Communication:
A book could be written on how human communication tends to fail the majority of the time. Many fail to interpret the sent words by the sender. We see dispute or more clarification requests on a daily bases. Emily Grove thinks “regardless of the message of human communication, interpretation of any message is enhanced by the visual presence of the speaker.” This can help since it gives the opportunity for the receiver to ask questions or see gestures, facial expression of the message sender. This does not mean however misinterpretation will not occur.
Communication can fail due to lack of listening skills. A receiver may drop some of the words of the sender or may not absorb the senders’ entire message. Maybe the receiver is not listening well because he or she may perceive the information being sent as unimportant. Tom Peters says that “effective listening is engaged listening” (Peters, 1987, p. 528) he says, “the best way, by far, to engage others is by listening-seriously listening- to them” (Peters, 1987, p. 524). He finds listening is an important factor for effective leadership.
Humans use symbols in their communication. However, according to Korpela, it is what leads their communication to failure. “It is the use of symbols, i.e. the ability to define symbols for permanent or casual use that separates man from (other) animals. It is also the thing that makes human communication fail” (Korpela, 2006).

Other Factors:
There is a long list of factors in human communication. These include psychological orientation, beliefs, and traditions according to Littlejohn and Foss (Littlejohn & Foss, 2005, p.53-54). Physiological factors such as hormones might as well be a factor in communication. Women seem to experience hormonal changes that could confuse any man when trying to understand why a woman is too emotional and sensitive when talking about, for example, just any regular issue. Thus, we can say communication can differ between genders, man vs. women. Age could also be a factor as well, young vs. old, child vs. adult.
“Often, we fail to consider many of the aspects of communication we are continually exposed to” (Linder, J. B.). That being said, one of the most that we fail to see is the affect of architecture of communication. Architecture of a classroom, a dining room, or a theater hall can determine how people will communicate with one another. It determines where the people will sit or stand. It also determines who the audience will most likely listen to. The environment is also another aspect that one might forget. The temperature, weather, geographical site as well as hygiene determines how communication will take place. “Minding your surrounding can help decipher the true meaning of the conversation” (Warycha, 2006). Interestingly enough, history is an important component in defining meaning it is a factor in human communication. According to Dr. Gillette, a Human Communications professor at Ball State University, “history gives depth to meaning” (Gillette, 2006).

Shannon-Weaver Model:
Other factors according to Claude Shannon can be illustrated in his mathematical model of communication called the Shannon-Weaver model which is based on a source that sends the message and a receiver that encodes that message. “He theorized (and later proved) that the amount of information being transmitted was based on a number of factors including noise, frequency of transmission, and the strength of the signals” (Jones & Kovac, 2003, p. 2). The received message can be affected by noise, the medium being used, or clarity.

Mediums for Sending and Receiving:
History proves that people tried to find ways to communicate. Because of this, many inventions were invented in this field. Most importantly, thanks to Gutenberg, is the more advanced printing press. His invention was important “because it led to mass produced, economically produced books, as we know them” (Bellaver, 2006, p.2).
Communication can be done today through various technologies such as telegraphs, telephones, internet, email, newspaper, magazines, television…etc. There can direct communication to a specific individual or they can be used to send information to indirect individuals. Indirect could be through mass communication or by sending information to the wrong person.

The Need for Communication:
People have always showed the need for communication throughout history. Jared B. Linder puts it in a very nice way “the human need to receive…communication; it is why we read books, listen to music, or pay for collect calls. Human communication is never merely limited to sending of signals, but also to their collection and absorption” (Linder, 2006).

Good Communicators:
Today, communication for some individuals can be viewed as a profession. Famous people have used their skill to communicate such as in talk shows for example like Oprah Winfrey. Some politicians in history have also been known for their excellent communication skills and speeches such as Winston Churchill who gave many speeches during World War II. Communication is seen in the entertainment industry such as in music, movies, art…etc.

Conclusion:
No matter how or where communication takes place, it is important to say that the significance of the communicated information is what’s important. Individuals will decide whether to participate in a communication event depends whether it is significant to them. Delivering the intended message to the addressee, among all other things (factors), is the challenging part in the whole human communication process.

References:

Bellaver, R. F. (2006). Characters of the information and communication industry.
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.

Gillette, J. (2006). Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at Ball State
University. Muncie, IN.

Grove, E. J. (2006). Spoken, written, signed, or mimed: A definition of human
communication.

Jones, S., & Kovac, R. (2003). Introduction to communications technologies: A guide for
non-engineers. Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach Publications.

Korpela, Jukka. (2006, May). How all human communication fails, except by accident, or
a commentary of Wiio’s law. Retrieved October 20, 2006 from IT and communication, Web Site: http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html

Linder, J. B. (2006). Getting my point across: Defining human communication.

Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2005). Theories of human communication
(8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Peters, T. (1987). Thriving on chaos: Handbook for a management revolution. New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Warycha, D. M. (2006). No Title.

Note:

Grove, E. J., Linder, J. B., & Warycha, D. M. are Master of Science degree candidates in Information and Communication Sciences at Ball State University. Muncie, IN

Posted by Nada Alamro at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi, Yitzhak Rabin, Anwar Sadat, and King Faisal Alsaud of Saudi Arabia are all prominent men who have something in common. They were all murdered by a surprise attack, which is called “assassination”.

The word “assassin” etymologically is of Arabic origin. Assassin originated from the Arabic word “hashashin” which means “people who smoke or chew hashish”. The word hashish is originally applied to grass-like plants, and through the course of time, it came to refer specifically to hemp. A product of a hemp plant was used to intoxicate, and this is where we get the word hashish.

The word hashashin comes from the root hashish, which literally means grass. The singular form of hashashin is hashash. The word hashashin was used to refer to the Ismaili clan in Syria. “They were known as the hashish-takers by Syrian society” (Miriam Webster, 1989). This clan was also known as being murderers, not just murderers, but those who killed for political or religious reasons. They used to “commit their crimes while intoxicated by hashish” (Miriam Webster, 1989). “The word itself shifted from its literary meaning of hashish eaters to murderers of political or prompt figures in society” (Barnhart, 1995).

References:
Miriam-Webster (1989). Webster's word histories. Springfield, MA:
     Merriam-Webster Inc.
Barnhart,R. K. (1995). The Barnhart concise dictionary of
     etymology (1st ed.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Special thanks and credits to Dr. Mona Turjoman, a linguist , who has helped me gather the material for this topic.

Posted by Nada Alamro at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Social engineering is one of the important security issues we face today. The writer of the article “Social Engineering Fundamentals, Part I: Hackers Tactics” Sarah Granger, gives a good explanation and description of what social engineering is, and shows the importance of protecting ourselves from it.

Basically, social engineering is seen as an art or a science in being able to have people comply with the hackers’ wishes. It is also the use of psychological tricks, on users of a system, to obtain the information needed to access the system. This is all done by the hacker’s clever manipulation in forming a trust relationship with the information provider.

Hackers today prefer to get information through social engineering rather than through the use of technical hacking. Their typical targets are large corporations, telephone companies, military and government agencies, and hospitals. You too (the individual) can be a target and an easy one too!

According to Granger, social engineering attacks take place on two levels: the physical and psychological level. Physical level attacks occur in the workplace, on the phone, on-line, and by searching in the trash. The psychological level attacks are done by impersonation, integration, conformity, diffusion of responsibility, or simple friendliness.

However, the more advanced method of gaining illicit information is the “reverse social engineering”. There are three steps to reverse social engineering: sabotage, advertising, and then assisting. The hacker sabotages a network. Then, the hacker advertises that he/she is the appropriate personnel to fix the problem. Finally, the hacker fixes the problem and requests some information from the employees to get what he/she really came for. We see that the hacker puts himself/herself in an authority position, and makes the employees believe that he or she is the authority figure to lookup to when a problem occurs, or when information is needed. By this, a hacker can get valuable data he or she wants from the employees, however, this requires a lot planning, research, and pre-hacking to pull off.

Social engineering is a reality that everyone, whatever work position or level of education you acquire, must know about. You don’t need to be a technical expert in the field in order to understand what social engineering is and in order to take the necessary precautions. I highly recommend reading the article, it’s very informative and it portrays more scenario examples that can give you a clearer view of the issue.

Posted by Nada Alamro at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What would you do if you ever had the chance to get your hands on a time machine? Would you go back in time and change your life history? Would you change something in particular or just leave things exactly the way they are?

If you do decide to change something in the past, what guarantee do you have that it would all turnout to the better? if you do go back in time, would you still be in the present and will you still have the ability to go back to your future/present?

So if I did have that time machine, would I go back and try to change my failures? Or would I choose to go back and enjoy the happy moments I had one more time?

We all have failures, we all learn from them. So if we change our failures would we be susceptible to committing it again because we didn’t have the chance to learn from it in the first place? So basically, what’s the point of going back in time?

We might as well not look back at our failures, it’s just worthless. Who we are today is what our passed created. We should cherish who we are today because our past is what makes each one of us a unique character in our own way.

Hmm...Just a last thought, would you take a peak at the future? ;)
Come to think of it, maybe that too is not a good idea…

Posted by Nada Alamro at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The CICS placement seminar was one great opportunistic experience. It makes me feel proud and grateful that the CICS department is one of the few, if not the only, department that gives such opportunities for its graduate students. The whole seminar experience has been valuable and helpful, and I would like to list 10 valuable lessons that I have acquired from the seminar:

Ten lessons learned at the placement seminar:

1. KNOW your résumé.
2. If you have a skill that you don’t enjoy doing or don’t want to talk about, don’t list it in your résumé.
3. Be prepared to talk about YOUR ROLE in previous projects during interviews.
4. Most employers prefer to look at a 1 page résumé, so make sure to think thoroughly and write what is necessary to the interviewer.
5. Have a couple of previous situation examples ready for answering behavioral questions or scenario questions.
6. Don’t list things in your résumé that you can not defend or talk about.
7. Know the company you are applying at and ask the interviewer impressive questions related to the company, show them that you care.
8. Be ready to answer why the company should choose you among all other applicants. Also, be ready to have that closing sale pitch.
9. Don’t rush into answering questions, think it over for a second or two, no one is chasing after you, and keep a calm pace while answering.
10. Market yourself beforehand and sell yourself at interviews.

Posted by Nada Alamro at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why do girls wear pink and boys wear blue? What made people associate colors with a specific gender? And how did this become a globally agreed upon thing?

Today, I would hear things like “REAL men wear pink” as if it were wrong for a guy to wear pink from the start, or “Pretty in pink” as if the color itself is what made the female wearing pink beautiful.

Why does color have meaning? Why is hot associated with the color red and cold associated with the color blue? Who came up with these rules?

Why would some people say a person’s face looks green when he/she is sick? I have never seen a green person or a person turn green literally. Why do we refer to a person who is coward as being Yellow? Was there this well-known coward who used to wear yellow? Why is it when a wife decorates the master bedroom ivory purple it’s considered the husband’s worst nightmare?

I started questioning this when I read an article the other day about a prison in Texas that uses the color pink to get rid of or decrease the number of male prisoners in the prison. What fascinated me about this is that the prison officials said that it worked! What does the color pink do to straight men? Does it drive them crazy? I really don’t get it. I had a pink bedroom when I was living at my parents; it didn’t cause me any damage, hmm…not that I’m aware of?!

I’m sure a lot of the color association with meaning is obvious and has a reasonable explanation to it, but some just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Sheriff Uses Pink to Deter Prisoners From Coming Back

Posted by Nada Alamro at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)