JOB STRESS, SATISFACTION AND INTENTION TO LEAVE AMONG NEW SAUDI NURSES Research Proposal

JOB STRESS, SATISFACTION AND INTENTION TO LEAVE AMONG NEW SAUDI NURSES - Research Proposal Example The author further associates stress with a positive effect on employee turnover rate. Aflab (2013, p. 12) explains possible factors to the association between workplace stress and both employee’s satisfaction and turnover. According to the author, stress increaser â€Å"safety and healthiness hazards† (12) whose effects include poor psychological health and increased susceptibility to injury and diseases. Cheng (2009, p. 11) supports the role of workplace stress in increasing employee turnover rate and introduces an interaction effect between stress and employee satisfaction to in influencing turnover rate. With reference to the role of organizational change on employees, the author argues that employees’ values influence their stress on job. Stress and job satisfaction then affect each other before they, each, influence employee turnover rate. Empirical studies shows existence of many factors to job stress, job satisfaction, and employees’ intention to leave their organizations, observations that could be indicative of the environment in the nursing profession. A study that aimed at investigating relationship between job stress and depressive symptoms among nurses in Korea established significance of job stress that translates to the symptoms. The symptoms further relates to some work environment factors such as job security and absence of reward. These imply significance of pleasure at work on employees stress that the depressive symptoms can detect (Yoon and Kim 2013, p. 171- 173). Vijay and Vazirani (2012, p. 48- 50) also explains significance of job stress in the nursing environment. Based on empirical results from a study on causes and moderators of stress, the authors note that job environment such as dealing with difficult associates of patients, poor remuneration, and challenges in interpersonal relations i nfluences level of stress in nurses. The level of stress

The origins of international terrorism targeting the United States Essay

The origins of international terrorism targeting the United States - Essay Example It is â€Å"political and symbolic†, â€Å"a clandestine resistance to authority.†1 ITERATE’s definition of international terrorism is the following: â€Å"the use or threat of use of anxiety-inducing violence for political purposes, by any individual or group with the intent to influence the attitudes and behavior of a wider target group.†2 Again in this definition we see key words ‘threat,’ ‘anxiety,’ ‘political,’ ‘target group’ which were highlighted above. Defining terrorism is important to follow its origins. Though the phenomenon of terrorism is â€Å"highly diverse† and â€Å"deeply contested concept,†3 which embraces a number of different actions on behalf of certain grouping or states, in this paper we focus on the issue of why United States has been serving a target of international terrorist actions. The research into the psychology of terrorism is also important for understanding the sources of terrorism directed against the U.S. Since the outburst of terrorist actions, most researches were interested with psychology of terrorism. Some interpreted it as â€Å"a form of madness with perhaps an underlying physical disorder.† Some researches related terrorism with â€Å"nervous over-excitement of the period† resulting in â€Å"exaggerated individualism and the spread of decadent literature.† There were attempts to explain terrorism with fluctuations of barometric pressure, moon phases, alcoholism and droughts. 4 Terrorism was explained by personality disorders in particular narcissism or paranoia. Terrorists were viewed as abnormal, different psychologically from general public. This viewpoint was supported by a number of authors. Post (1990) and Pearlstein (1991), who believed that "the individual who becomes and remains a political terrorist generally appears to be psychologically molded by certain narcissistic personality disturbances" (p. ix).5 However, most terrorism researchers do not account

The Role Of Mass Media In Gender Roles

The Role Of Mass Media In Gender Roles Gender roles are very significant to an individual as they determine whether someone is male or female and therefore it can be said to be the attitudes and behaviors that a particular society expects from an individual or member of that society. The gender roles within different communities may vary depending on the expectations that a particular society expects of its individuals. For instance the gender roles that the society expects from its citizens has tremendously changed over the past decade and such changes have really affected relations at work, home, school and all Americans at large. This paper seeks to expound on the role of mass media in the development of gender roles. When talking about gender role formation and development, clear and precise definitions of the term sex or gender, need to be perfectly known and what makes sexuality to differ from gender roles is that the latter is usually influenced externally through various social factors while the expression sex represents the actual physical composition of individuals that describe them as male or female. Gender role mainly occurs during the childhood to the adolescence phase and what one chooses affects him/her throughout his life. At times situations may arise where one is not at peace with his identity. The strongest influence for the formation of gender role are the parents as they are our first teachers on earth and are the ones responsible for teaching children basic things such as walking, talking also attitudes and behavior for instance they tend to allow the boy child to try different things unlike the girls as there is fear for their safety Peer pressure can also contribute to reinforcing the traditional gender roles. This clearly arises when children tend to tease those that that are not fitting to the usual traditional roles which they are normally exposed to. For instance it is vividly clear that a girls color is pink therefore a boy spotted having a pink item will be teased therefore being forced to hate the color Mass media and gender roles formation Introduction Television for a long time has been a tool in promoting the stereotypes of gender roles and tends to show them as being natural. The television industry is usually male dominated therefore most of what is produced tends to take a male perspective therefore bringing about male gaze. Through such productions girls get to learn that this is a mans world and hence they get to change their personalities. It is a very powerful and highly influential means to make and communicate gender equality and gender culture of society are mass media technologies which have become an essential part of individual daily lives and culture in the world over (Craig, 2003, p.93). The mass media are able to genuinely make legal gender ideas and philosophy shaped by gender politics and beliefs, and to increase the likelihood or chance of their reception by the general audiences. The mass informs and also gives great pleasure and full entertainment. It is a dominant influence in distinguishing the roles of men and women in a civilized world. Morley in his work opines that, The younger generations are especially influenced by its depiction of gender roles. Even though television has improved very well in its representation of gender, women are still stereotype in conventional roles, and under-represented, while men are revealed or seen as dominant figures (Lawrence, 2004, p.28). Generally, women are known to be mothers whiles men are depicted as the bread winners of the family. Advertisements by the mass media In mass media advertisements, sex stereotyping tends to be at its greatest because the intended audiences are normally either male or female. Men are seen in further occupations than women; women are seen generally as house-keepers and mothers. Men have greater possibilities to be seen advertising car companies or marketing products; women are mostly advertising household products. Men are more likely to be shown outside or in a big business backgrounds; women in domestic settings. Men are more often seen to represent authority. Craig writes, As far as advertisement is concern, with older men gaining more authority than the younger men, at the same time as women seem to fade away. Television and radio commentary represent the interpretations of what is actually seen by the initiator of the TV or radio program me (Craig, 2003, p.82). These commentary or voice over is the tone of power or authority. A recent figure shows that television commentary majorly male. Even though the number o f female voice-overs in recent years has been on the rise, women still engage in their regular, domestic products and feminine care products advertisement. Male voice-overs are more likely to be linked with a far wider variety of products. Influence of TV gender images There is a general agreement that the mass media act as very significant agents of interaction, in cooperation with the family unit and peers, and it contribute to ensuring the gender roles are shaped effectively. Without doubt, at individuals level, it is normally learnt to be male or female this does not come naturally and the mass media helping in making such roles seem as if they are normal. And there is no doubt that the mass presents influential, compelling images of gender. It has been shown that many male individuals spend most of their time with male role-models on the television. But television as a means of socializing is not accountable for shaping the gender roles of individuals. There is abundance of instances of gender-typed conducts around the world today. An exceptional involvement of the television may be to present clear examples of models seen in a larger world than that which is more honestly experienced domestically and the locality. Wherever they get their tho ughts from, by the age of about eight, it seems that most kids develop precise and definite stereotypes about what the sexes can perform or cannot accomplish. Most individuals tend to see the mass media as unavoidably socializing children into customary stereotypical roles, because of the commonness or popularity of such images on the television and the importance attribute to them by children (Donna, 2010, p.35). On the other hand, such records tend to overrate the power of mass media and underrate the multiplicity of ways in which people; mostly children tend to handle their lifes experiences. Most television images of boys, girls, men and women are more different and less clear-cut than such arguments suggest. In the world today, the television offers conflicting images which can be understood in several ways, and viewers are far more dynamic interpreters than the inactive recipients suggested by such records. Craig states that, The prospective influence of the television may be greatest during teenage years (between 12 and 18), since at this phase gender plays such a significant role in social life. At this juncture prevailing gender pictures on TV may tend to strengthen and support traditional expectations among adolescents, thus bringing to mind role variances (Craig, 2003, p.90). Some individuals speculate that the space between a teenager self-concepts and highly fascinating media images may occasionally induce personal uncertainty. In a nutshell, although there are enormous gaps in our understanding of developmental factors, the developmental point of view gives emphasis to the problem of talking about the weight of television on a growing kid in general. And the critical significance of the family should not be ignored, either. It would be improbable for children not to be subjective by the contradictory ways in which their parents use the television. In some families in which the g ender roles are basically traditional, the television may tend to serve to strengthen such gender roles. In this way TV most definitely plays a very vital role in the building of gender roles. Despite the fact that there is little uncertainty that TV presents largely conventional gender photos there is this mixed evidence about the effects of such images or pictures on gender thoughts and behaviors? It is quite hard and extremely difficult to cut off the role of mass media (TV), since people are influenced by their entire environment, even though there is reasonably widespread acceptance that over time, still yet the mass media seems possible to influence peoples thoughts concerning gender roles. The watching of television by individuals may tend to contribute to gender role development and/or strengthening amongst children and teenagers, and some associating stereotyping of gender roles with profound TV spectators. On the other hand, there is proof that opposing stereotypical portr ayals do appear able to influence the perceptions of most kids, but in general such portrayals are uncommon. In summary, the influence of television gender images or pictures on kids is not very beyond question, partially because they have not constantly been well designed. Rheingold writes, There is a modest relationship between presentation patterns and gender stereotypes. There is not much confirmation yet for any great impact of the mass media (TV). Kids are not inactive recipients of images shown on the television (Rheingold, 2000, p.447). Their open feelings to gender role play a significant part in understanding the meaning of images of gender on the television. Conclusion From the above findings it is clear that there are various factors that bring about gender role formation and these factors are rooted within the society and are passed on from one generation to another. The media has also been a factor in bringing about gender roles as it tends to focus more on the ancient stereotypes that cover the boy and girl child roles in the society hence bringing about the inflexibility in the gender roles Conclusively, there is proof that a stereotypical view of gender role may weigh greatly on the viewers, particularly young viewers. There is also clear evidence to show the effect of television messages on young viewers. On the other hand there is indication to show that there is a strong potential correlation with stereotypical ideas. The ideas of conventional or long-established roles of the genders are very deceptive. So as to ensure a change in the gender roles there should be campaigns against stereotypes that surround gender roles

The Native Boomerang :: Essays Papers

The Native Boomerang Imagine the typical colonial or imperial exploration party as white, rational, glorious civilized male believers encountering dark, irrational, ignoble, savage androgynous heathen. Imagine the currently popular (in policy, not theory) admiration of the native as a centered, serious, balanced, healthy, sane, and enlightened idealized form of the explorer. The first is a mirror in speckled and faded photographic negatives – the other is all that is bad about the subject. In the second the mirror is in 32 Bit True Color Photoshopped splendor – the native is all the subject could aspire to be. In the text of Columbus’ first voyage the boomerang effect of the assumed subject perceiving others’ perceptions of his/her self takes form as a rather unsubtle direct photocopy. While the ‘native’ other usually exists as a foil to define the non-‘native’ ‘subject’, in the case of the first voyage in the â€Å"Digest of Columb us’ Log Book†, the newly encountered native, as a collective and individual, functions as someone radically similar to the subject. In this text, the ‘native’, filtered through a complex circuitry of â€Å"authors† and â€Å"translators†, gives its[1] perceptions and reactions in several varieties: in its self-interest, intrigued by Columbus’ cohort as merchants; in its religious/social nature, awed by the â€Å"men who have come from the skies† (58); and in its â€Å"very simple †¦ not savage† (59) state, reluctant and irrationally attached to native lands and the earth. Columbus’ boomerang vision of his ‘natives’ perception of his expedition explains them as rationally, in both its then-present forms, eager about his presence and held back only by irrational impulse. I call Columbus’ perceptions boomerang vision because they emphasize/generate so much likeness between his expedition and the natives that the text understands the parties not as different people marked by similarities, but as the same sort of folks marked by occasional differences. The explicit justifications[2] used at home for his exploration are what he now ‘witnesses’ abroad as the natives’ response: reasoned excitement for wealth and religious ends balanced against unreasoned hesitancy. Columbus’ seven-year solicitation at the court of Spain included â€Å"repeatedly holding out great prospects of wealth and riches for the crown of Castile† (34), culminating in a â€Å"project for the exaltation of His Church† (103). That, thousands of miles away, he happen to ‘discover’ the precise same appreciation for his project, mitigated only by â€Å"their timidity† (77) is not coincidence, but the circular input and output of images through one filtering lens[3].

Management and Leadership Team Presentation Essay

Does a manager have to have quality leadership skills to motivate, establish trust, empower and communicate with employees to run a business properly? Different areas of leaderships include organizational leadership, organizational culture, managerial control and leveraging diversity. Planning is the most important basic leadership skill a manager can have. A business that wants to grow must have an effective plan with the correct leadership skills to motivate and lead employees in the right direction. A manager must be effective and consistent when they are leading a group of diverse employees. Although there are many differences in managing and leading, they are not necessarily two separate concepts. â€Å"People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.† (Murray, 2010, para. 5). A manager’s job is to ensure that tasks are completed in a correct and timely fashion. A leader’s job is to inspire their followers to achieve a common goal that both the leader and his/her followers share. It is important, however, that a manager develop good leadership skills in order to benefit an organization as a whole. Leadership in management will help employees feel confident in the work that they do, and proud to be a part of the organization they are working for. It will establish trust in the manager, and a passion to want to conclude tasks competently. A manager with quality leadership skills will also motivate employees to follow the standards and guidelines set forth by the organization, creating a better organizational culture, and an efficient workforce. The manager along with leadership is the structure. â€Å"Excellent technical skills do not automatically transfer to excellent interpersonal skills.† (Resnick, 2005). Developing leadership skills in managers require a  different set of skills than the ones they likely already possess. Often, managers are more competitive than collaborative. An effective leader must demonstrate authority matched with collaboration. When identifying leadership potential, it is best to train multiple individuals in the skills that need development. This creates more flexibility. Substantial gateway for the top of an organization’s structure is to merge with the lower part of managers that apply quality leadership principles to them, have a better effect on how they want the culture of their company to become. Leading by example and effective communication are key tools that are needed to be an effective leader. Once a manager sets the pace for the culture he or she wants, then, they have to get others on board with their plans for the direction they want to go. A manager has the ability to hire the individuals that fit into the company culture. Being a manager does not always mean that they earned their position based on their leadership skills. However, a good manager has the ability to be more of a people person and actually listens to what their employees have to say while implementing the ideas of their employees, creating a culture for their organization. A culture change does not happen overnight and can be a lengthy process if not handled correctly. Culture change does come from within and requires the constant effort of everyone involved while having the same goals. The goals need to be clearly defined and acceptable by all who are involved with the manager leading from the front to be able to guide the change in the right direction. Creating cultural change and taking the time to groom their subordinates to become better leaders in the process is a great practice to start from the beginning. A good manager knows how to utilize control mechanisms that are necessary for a business to run properly. This allows for the goals of the business to be met and determine if the employees are on the right path to reach the goals the company has set for them. The three main managerial controls are bureaucratic, clan and market. Bureaucratic control is a type of authoritative control by creating regulations, standards, and a basic behavior for employees to follow. Companies can utilize Bureaucratic control in a way which could help save the company time when planning  strategies to reach their goals. Managers would plan the goals and how to reach them and then relay the strategy to their employees allowing for fewer people to be involved and lessen the time making the plans. Clan control is the opposite of the Bureaucratic control because it does not have a set of rules or guidelines for employees to follow. Rather than tell employees how to do their job, the company trusts the employees will do what they are supposed to do and will do it well. By utilizing clan control, employers may be able to gain additional goals or ideas on how to reach the goals that have been set because they have the input of their employees as well during the planning process. Market control is more along the lines of Bureaucratic control because there are regulations or standards placed upon the work the employees do. Analyzing the economic information received for the company does this. By using market control, managers would analyze data received to create strategies on goals the company has set. A diversified workforce is one of the most successful strategies in gaining and retaining a competitive advantage. Since the labor force has become diverse, recruitment of the differencing population also assists in attracting a wider consumer base, which in turn the company becomes more successful. Organizations must understand that diversity begins with valuing differences and believing that a difference does not mean better or worse -just different (Johnston, 2013). And differences can range from seen differences like race, color, gender, age, and physical ability to the unseen difference such as education, social status, religious beliefs, and work experience. Recruitment of a diverse labor force definitely takes a ‘welcoming’ approach. Establishing a universal work environment from consequences for behavior, to photos in a hallway that depict the organizations acceptance and inclusion of diversity; shows employees that even though they come from different backgrounds they’re part of a single team that is committed to goals of the company. Managers who are affective in managing diversity will have a work force that is more creative, innovative, and better able to solve problems. This is due to the fact that, since people come from different backgrounds they also hold different perspectives on issues. When organizations realize that differences should not just be merely tolerated but valued; then employees become more loyal, productive, and committed. More and more organizations are leveraging diversity; a study by the Work  Diversity Network, a national network of professionals and major companies working for diversity in the workplace, stated that women and ethnic minorities represented 70% of new entrants in 2004. In addition, 43% of the workforce was non-Caucasian in 2008 (Clark, 2013). A diversified organization relates to everyone, applies to most situations, and impacts the continued and future success of a business. In conclusion, businesses take action on the management team, so that their business’ can run smoothly. The four types of leaderships include organizational leadership, organizational culture, managerial control and leveraging diversity. Managers must be able to coordinate workers, and encourage workers to mature into the absolute best employees and present an outcome of a successful team. The businesses take control to put strategies into place; therefore business will have a flowing, well-trained management team. This will help command, control, and manage the behavior of team members and the management team. References Barnat, R. (2005). Strategic-Control. Retrieved from http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en112 Clark, D. (2013). Examiner.com. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/leading-a-diverse-workforce Encyclopeda of Business. (2013). management Control. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Log-Mar/Management-Control.html Johnston, K. (2013). Leading a Divers Workforce. The Chron , (), . Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/leading-diverse-workforce-34292.html Kotter, John. (2012). The key to changing organizational culture. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2012/09/27/the-key-to-changing-organizational-culture/ Murray, A. (August 10, 2010). What is the difference between management and leadership? Retrieved from http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership/ Resnick, H. (February 28, 2005). Cultivate leaders from your existing talent crop. The Jacksonvil le Business Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2005/02/28/smallb2.html What is the difference between management and leadership? (n.d.) The Wallstreet Journal Online. Accessed on Aug. 22, 2013. Retreived from: http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership/

Microsoft Vista and Home Computing Essay

In 2005, Microsoft announced that it was working on a new version of their Windows operating system that would fix many security problems that were plaguing Windows-XP users. Consequently, many software lovers eagerly anticipated the launch of the upgraded operating system, named Widows Vista. Unfortunately, after Vista was released in 2007, it disappointed most users and critics because of its lack-luster performance, high cost and incompatibility with XP software. It is worse than Windows XP, and home-computer users today are better off using Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows Vista was released five years after XP, taking longer to produce than previous versions of Windows. XP had numerous security flaws that allowed hackers to manipulate or destroy a computer user’s data or cripple network communication, and Microsoft aimed to fix these with Vista (Ricadela 2006). Viruses, spyware, trojans and other forms of malware can easily infect XP, especially when users access the internet. Microsoft’s preoccupation with fixing these bugs in XP eventually delayed the production and release of Vista (Ricciuti 2004). Unfortunately, after Vista was released in 2007, it met harsh criticism from press reviewers, corporate users and home-computing users. A corporate satisfaction survey launched in 2008 indicated that only 8% of Vista users were very satisfied compared to 40% for XP users (Keizer 2008). Netmarketshare (2010) also estimates that Vista has the smallest portion of users (14. 34%) among the currently-used Windows operating systems, with Windows 7 at second place (14. 46%) and XP with the most users at 61. 87% (2010). Home users will find it difficult to use Vista, especially if they have been used to the more stable XP operating system. XP users will realize that Vista’s system requirements are higher than XP’s. Consequently, existing users have to upgrade their computer hardware or buy a new computer altogether if they want to upgrade to Vista. Microsoft recommends at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of Random Access Memory (RAM), a 128-MB video-graphics card capable of DirectX 9. 0, at least 40 GB of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) capacity with at least 15 GB of free space, and a DVD-ROM drive to install the software (Microsoft 2010). It may be possible to run Vista with less, but the performance will crawl. In reality, one needs much more than the stated requirements to achieve reasonable performance. Vista’s performance is also slower compared to XP and Windows 7. XP users will immediately notice the difference in speed when they start using Vista. Many tasks seem to crawl compared to XP. Benchmark tests run by Tom’s Hardware indicated that XP is generally faster than Vista, and the testers recommend sticking with XP because â€Å"it cannot perform better than Windows XP† (Schmid 2007). For example, basic tasks, such as copying files, are much slower than XP. Microsoft released a Service Pack upgrade to fix this problem, but ZDNet benchmark tests indicate that the upgraded Vista is still slower than XP (Kingsley-Hughes 2008). In fact, computers that were purchased pre-installed with licensed Vista software performed so poorly that customers wanted to downgrade it to XP, but retailers charged a fee for it. Consequently, customers sued Microsoft for this (Melanson 2009). Avid gamers will also be very disappointed if they use Vista in their home computers. Just like Tom’s Hardware, Techgage processed comparative tests using different games running in both Vista and XP. Naturally, XP was faster than Vista (Williams 2007). The graphics drivers of Vista are simply not developed enough, and the basic requirements of Vista itself are heavier than XP. Microsoft attempted to fix this again through a Service Pack upgrade. However, even after the â€Å"fix,† game developers still recommend Vista users to double the requirements of XP users. For instance, Capcom, the publisher of the game Devil May Cry 4, requires a minimum of 2 GB of memory for Vista users. However, XP users only need 1 GB (PC Game Requirements 2010). Some XP software and hardware are also not compatible with Vista. Existing home computer users who already spent a considerable investment in software will be frustrated again with Vista’s inability to run some of their existing computer programs such as virus scanners. Even many businesses did not bother to upgrade from XP to Vista when it was released because of this incompatibility issue (Deare 2007). The US Department of Transportation has also banned any upgrades from XP to Vista citing software incompatibility issues, costs and the lack of additional features that could prove to be useful or advantageous (McDougall 2007). Using Vista with WiFi will also be difficult. While connecting to networks with XP is not a problem, Vista sometimes refuses to connect with some networks (Claerr 2008). Even if one is able to connect to the router, the Internet may be absent or access to network files and printers may not be available. The user may also be disconnected intermittently from the router if he or she is able to connect, or the speed may be very slow. Fixes may involve upgrading routers, but if the router is not owned by the user, such as in airports, cafes or other public Wifi hotspots, then connections are not possible unless XP or other compatible operating systems are used. Vista also consumes more power than XP. This means that laptop batteries will drain faster using Vista. It is due to Vista’s higher hardware requirements that use more energy. Attempting to turn off some of Vista’s features, such as its fancy graphical interface, will make it more energy-efficient. However, doing the same with XP still makes it greener than Vista. Vista is also more expensive than XP or Windows 7. Microsoft Vista Home Premium currently retails for $239. 95 in online software retailers. On the other hand, Windows 7 Home Premium retails for only $199. 99. And if one buys a new, discounted, old-model personal computer today, with a CRT screen, a tower CPU and an extended keyboard for around 200 to 250 dollars, sometimes Windows XP is already bundled together with the entire package, making it virtually free. This is why Vista is not cost effective. Some of the new features of Vista are also not impressive compared to its predecessor, Windows XP and its successor Windows 7. The new graphical interface of Vista is more aesthetic than XP, but it slows down performance to the point where it is not worth it. The new versions of bundled software such as the internet browser, media player, email manager, photo manager, appointment manager and movie maker are either downloadable for free for XP users or available for free either from third-party vendors or packaged together with purchased hardware like cameras and scanners. The new security prompts can also be nagging or annoying. The most noticeable new feature for Vista is the Aero graphical user interface. Compared to XP, it appears more three-dimensional. The new eye candy has improved icons, animations and thumbnails that are live. The transparencies are also new. However, since Aero uses more energy, it drains the battery life of laptops. Turning it off will save power (Murph 2007). Another new feature that is immediately noticeable is the Windows Sidebar. It is a transparent panel where various applets or small programs called Desktop Gadgets can be attached or removed. These applets include gadgets such as clocks, weather information, news, photographs, currency converters and so forth. In Windows XP, a similar panel called Google Gadgets can be downloaded for free, courtesy of Google. Internet Explorer 7 also comes with Vista. This version has new features including multiple tabbed windows, the ability to zoom pages, a filter against phising (hackers attempting to gather important data such as passwords from users), additional security features, including restricting suspected malicious software from writing beyond the Temporary Internet Files folder without consent, and International Domain Name (IDN) support. However, these features and many more are included in free internet browsers such Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome, which can be downloaded and installed using Windows XP or other operating systems for free. A new version of Windows Media Player, version 11, is also bundled with Vista. A new feature in this version allows users to search for music or video files while they type. This is called â€Å"word wheeling. † It also includes a new media library Graphical User Interface (GUI), a photo organizer and an Internet file-sharing feature. However, new versions of Media Player can be downloaded from Microsoft’s website under Windows XP for free. Moreover, there are other third-party software applications that provide free video and audio software, including codecs, to play all the latest types of media for free. Again, these can be downloaded from the Internet using XP or other operating systems. Vista also includes a new version of Outlook Express which was renamed Windows Mail. It features continuously-updated junk-mail and phishing filtering. However, there are better email management programs, such as Mozilla’s Thunderbird, that can again be downloaded for free from the Internet using XP or other operating systems. Windows email systems have also always been the prime target of hackers and malware authors, so using a different email program such as Thunderbird is more secure and safe. There are also new multimedia applications that are included In Vista, but these programs are usually included for free with the hardware that they support. For example, Vista includes Windows Photo Gallery, which allows users to import pictures from digital cameras, organize them, adjust their properties and produce slideshows. But software that is bundled for free with digital cameras is more advanced than Vista’s basic Photo Gallery. There are also new games included with Vista. A new chess and mahjong game is included. A folder is also included to organize all of the games. Unfortunately, like previous versions of Windows, the bundled games are not the type of commercial games that users like or want to play. And if they have an existing game collection already, they will run slower on Vista and may not even run at all. Vista also has speech recognition software integrated within Vista. It allows users to hear words in computer applications by allowing the computer to speak them out loud in a robotic voice that may not be comprehensible occasionally. This feature may be useful for those with visual problems, but usually the visually impaired purchase better speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is available in XP and other operating systems. Vista also has other minor new features. It has new fonts and improved international fonts. For mobile computer users, there is also a centralized control panel called the Windows Mobile Center for controlling properties needed by laptop user such as battery life, wireless connections, brightness, screen orientation and other settings. There is also a new version of Netmeeting renamed Windows Meeting Space. This allows different users to share their entire desktop or individual applications over the Internet with other users. And there is also a new version of the back up and restore application which facilitates the restoration of damaged data. The improvements however are not significantly new. In conclusion, home computer users should avoid Windows Vista altogether. If one is an existing XP user who is thinking about upgrading, one should just forget about it since it may make home computing worse. It is also overpriced. However, if one is purchasing a brand new state-of-the-art PC or laptop with an option for choosing one’s operating system, then Windows 7 is the answer. On the other hand, if one is on a budget and wishes to purchase new, discounted, old-model PCs pre-installed with licensed versions of Windows XP, then that is a satisfactory option as well. But whatever one does, one should always avoid Vista. It’s a lemon. References Claerre, J. (2008). Vista Problems With WiFi. eHow. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www. ehow. com/about_5106461_vista-problems-wifi. html Deare, Steven. (2007, May 14). Gartner: App testing delaying Vista rollouts. ZDNet. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www. zdnetasia. com/gartner-app-testing-delaying-vista-rollouts-62012902. htm Devil May Cry 4 Game Requirements. (2008, Jul 26). PC Game Requirements. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www. pcgamerequirements. com/game-index/devil-may-cry-4-game-requirements/ Keizer, G. (2008, Mar 26). Leopard drubs Vista in corporate satisfaction survey. Computerworld. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www. computerworld. com/s/article/9072218/Leopard_drubs_Vista_in_corporate_satisfaction_survey? nlid=1&source=NLT_AM Kingsley-Hughes, A. (2008, Feb 15). Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 – Benchmarked. ZDnet. Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www. zdnet. com/blog/hardware/vista-sp1-vs-xp-sp2-benchmarked/1332 McDougall, P. (2007, Mar 2). Microsoft Hit By U. 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