Quality Assurance Question Bank

Question bank Q1. Why software needs to be tested? Ans. Every software product needs to be tested since; the development process is unable to produce defect free software. Even if the development process is able to produce defect free software, we will not be able to know unless & until we test it. Without testing it, we shall not be having enough confidence that it will work. Testing not only identifies and reports defect but also measures the quality of the product, which helps to decide whether to release the product, or not. Q2.What is the reason that Software has Bugs? Ans. Following factors contribute to the presence of bugs in the software applications:- a. Software development tools like visual tools, class libraries, compilers, scripting tools, etc. usually introduce their own bugs in the system. b. To err is human. Likewise programmers do make mistakes while programming c. In fast-changing business environments continuously modified requirements are becoming a fact of life. Such frequent changes requested by the customer leads to errors in the application already nearing completion.Last minute design changes leads to many chaos like redesign of the whole system, rescheduling of engineers, scrapping of the work already completed, fresh requirements of compatible hardware etc d. A quickly written but poorly documented code is bound to have bugs. It becomes difficult to maintain and modify such code that is badly written or poorly documented. – its tough to maintain and modify code that is badly written or poorly documented; the result is bugs. In many organizations management provides no incentive for programmers to document their code or write clear, understandable, maintainable code.In fact, it’s usually the opposite: they get points mostly for quickly turning out code, and there as jobs security if nobody else can understand it (if it was hard to write, it should be hard to read). e. When project deadlines come too close & time pressure s come, mistakes are bound to come Q3. What is the difference between QA and Testing? Ans. QA stands for â€Å"Quality Assurance†, and focuses on â€Å"Prevention† of defects in the product being developed. It is associated with the â€Å"Process† and activities related to the Process Improvement.Quality Assurance measures the quality of the processes employed to create a quality product. Whereas â€Å"Testing† refers to â€Å"Quality Control†, and focuses on Detection of Defect and removal thereafter. Or Quality Control measures the quality of a product. Q4. What is the difference between Software Testing and Debugging? Ans. Testing is the process of locating or identifying the errors or bugs in a software system. Whereas Debugging is the process of Fixing the identified Bugs. It involves a process of analyzing and rectifying the syntax errors, logic errors and all other types of errors identified during the process of testing.Q5. What is the diff erence between a Bug and a Defect? Ans. â€Å"Bug† is a problem or an error in the software code, which is found in the application during Testing. Bug is responsible for failure of the application to comply with the desired specifications. Whereas â€Å"Defect† is problem reported by the customer during usage of the software application. Q6. What is the difference between a Bug and an Enhancement? Ans. â€Å"Bug† is a problem or an error in the software code, which is found in the application during Testing.Bug is responsible for failure of the application to comply with the desired specifications. Whereas â€Å"Enhancement† is the additional feature or functionality found and added to the application as desired by the end user / real word customer or tester during the testing process. Q7. What is the difference between Requirements & Specifications? Ans. â€Å"Requirements† are statements given by the customer as to what needs to be achieved by t he software system. Later on these requirements are converted into specifications which are nothing but feasible or implementable requirements.Whereas â€Å"Specifications† are feasible requirements derived from various statements given by the customer. These are the starting point for the product development team. Q8. What is the difference between Verification and Validation? Ans. â€Å"Verification† involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications to confirm whether items, processes, services, or documents conform to specified requirements or not. This can be done with the help of checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs, and inspection meetings. The purpose f verification is to determine whether the products of a given phase of the software development cycle fulfill the requirements established during the previous phase or not. Whereas â€Å"Validation† is the determination of the correctness of the final progr am or software product produced from a development project with respect to the user needs and requirements. This involves actual testing of the product and takes place after verifications are completed. â€Å"Software Verification† raises the question, â€Å"Are we building the Product Right? † that is, does the software conform to its specification. Software Validation† raises the question, â€Å"Are we building the Right Product? † that is, the software doing what the user really requires. Q9. What is difference between Waterfall Model and V Model? Ans. â€Å"Waterfall Model† Is a sequential software development model (a process for the creation of software) in which development is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall)through the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing (validation),integration, and maintenance. To follow the waterfall model, we proceed from one phase to the next in a purely sequential manne r.In traditional waterfall model, testing comes at the far end of the development process. Whereas â€Å"V Model† or â€Å"Life Cycle Testing† involves carrying out verification of consistency, completeness and correctness of software at every stage of the development life cycle. It aims at catching the defects as early as possible and thus reduces the cost of fixing them. It involves continuously testing the system during all stages of the development process rather than just limiting testing to the last stage. Q10. What are Baseline Documents? Ans.Baseline documents are the documents, which have been approved by the customer and will not have any more changes. Baseline Documents cover all the details of the project and have undergone â€Å"walkthrough† process. Once a document is Base-lined it cannot be changed unless there is a change request duly approved by the customer. Service Level Agreement (SLA) & Business Requirement Documents (BRD) are the examples o f Baseline Documents. Q11. What is Defect Density? Ans. â€Å"Defect Density† Is a software metric defined as: Total number of defects per LOC (lines of code).Alternatively it can be: Total number of defects per Size of the Project. Here the measure of â€Å"Size of the Project† can be number of Function Points, Number of Feature Points, number of Use Cases or KLOC (Kilo Lines of Code) etc. Q12. What is Quality? Ans. Quality software is software that is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and expectations and is maintainable. However, quality is a subjective term. Quality depends on who the customer is and their overall influence in the scheme of things.Customers of a software development project include end-users, customer acceptance test engineers, testers, customer contract officers, customer management, the development organization’s management, test engineers, testers, salespeople, software engineers, stockholders an d accountants. Each type of customer will have his or her own slant on quality. The accounting department might define quality in terms of profits, while an end- user might define quality as user friendly and bug free. Q13. What is an Inspection? Ans.An inspection is a formal meeting, more formalized than a walkthrough and typically consists of 3-10 people including a moderator, reader (the author of whatever is being reviewed) and a recorder (to make notes in the document). The subject of the inspection is typically a document, such as a requirements document or a test plan. The purpose of an inspection is to find problems and see what is missing, not to fix anything. The result of the meeting is documented in a written report. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the document, before the meeting starts; most problems are found during this preparation.Preparation for inspections is difficult, but is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality, since bug prevention is more cost effective than bug detection. A14. What is Six Sigma? Ans. â€Å"Six Sigma† means Six Standard Deviations from the mean. It is a methodology aimed to reduce defect levels below 3. 4 Defects Per one Million Opportunities. Six Sigma approach improves the process performance, decreases variation and maintains consistent quality of the process output. This leads to defect reduction and improvement in profits, product quality and customer satisfaction.Q15. What is difference between CMM and CMMI? Ans. â€Å"CMM† means â€Å"Capability Maturity Model† developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). It is a process capability maturity model, which aids in the definition and understanding of an organization’s processes. CMM is intended as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors’ processes to perform a contracted software project. Whereas â€Å"CMMI† means â€Å"Capabil ity Maturity Model Integration† & it has superseded CMM. The old CMM has been renamed to Software Engineering CMM (SE-CMM).Q16. What is Verification? Ans. Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all functionality to the customer; it typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs and inspection meetings. Q17. What is Validation? Ans. Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in requirements, is the intended behavior of the product; validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. Q18.What is a Test Plan? Ans. A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software product. The complet ed document will help people outside the test group understand the why and how of product validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful, but not so thorough that none outside the test group will be able to read it. Q19. What is a Walkthrough? Ans.A walkthrough is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. A walkthrough is also a process at an abstract level. It’s the process of inspecting software code by following paths through the code (as determined by input conditions and choices made along the way). The purpose of code walkthroughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose. Walkthroughs also offer opportunities to assess an individual’s or team’s competency. Q20. What is Software Life Cycle? Ans. Software life cycle begins when a software product is first conceived and ends when it is no longer in use.It includes phases like initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design, internal design, documentation planning, test plann ing, coding, document preparation, integration, testing, maintenance, updates, re-testing and phase-ou Q21. What is the Difference between STLC & SDLC? Ans. STLC means † Software Testing Life Cycle†. It starts with activities like : 1) Preparation of Requirements Document 2) Preparation of Test Plan 3) Preparation of Test Cases 4) Execution of Test Cases 5) Analysis of Bugs 6) Reporting of Bugs 7) Tracking of Bugs till closure.Whereas SDLC means † Software Development Life Cycle† is a software development process, used by a systems analyst to develop an information system. It starts with activities like : 1) Project Initiation 2) Requirement Gathering and Documenting 3) Designing 4) Coding and Unit Testing 5) Integration Testing 6) System Testing 7) Installation and Acceptance Testing 8) Support or Maintenance Q22. What is the Difference between Project and Product Testing? Ans. If any organization is developing the application according to the client specifi cation then it is called as project.Accordingly its testing is known as â€Å"Project Testing† Whereas If any organization is developing the application and marketing it is called as product. Hence its testing is known as â€Å"Product Testing† Q23. How do you introduce a new software QA process? Ans. It depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large organizations with high-risk projects, a serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary. For medium size organizations with lower risk projects, management and organizational buy-in and a slower, step-by-step process is required.Generally speaking, QA processes should be balanced with productivity, in order to keep any bureaucracy from getting out of hand. For smaller groups or projects, an ad-hoc process is more appropriate. A lot depends on team leads and managers, feedback to developers and good communication is essential among customers, managers, developers, t est engineers and testers. Regardless the size of the company, the greatest value for effort is in managing requirement processes, where the goal is requirements that are clear, complete and testable. Q24. What is configuration Management? Ans.Configuration Management (or CM) is the processes of controlling, coordinating and tracking the Standards and procedures for managing changes in an evolving software product. Configuration Testing is the process of checking the operation of the software being tested on various types of hardware. Q25. What is the role of QA in a software producing company? Ans. QA is responsible for managing, implementing, maintaining and continuously improving the Processes in the Company and enable internal projects towards process maturity and facilitate process improvements and innovations in the organization.Tester is responsible for carrying out the testing efforts in the company. In many companies QA person is responsible both the roles of Testing as wel l as creating and improving the processes. Q26. What is Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)? Ans. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is a systematic approach to risk identification and analysis of identifying possible modes of failure and attempting to prevent their occurrence. Q27. What is Test Maturity Model or TMM? Ans.Test Maturity Model or TMM is a five level staged framework for test process improvement, related to the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) that describes the key elements of an effective test process. Q28. What is the difference between API & ABI? Ans. Application Programming Interface (API) is a formalized set of software calls and routines that can be referenced by an application program in order to access supporting system or network services. Whereas Application Binary Interface (ABI) is a specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms across different system platforms and environments.Q29. What is I V & V? Ans. I V & V mean s Independent Verification and Validation. Verification typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications. Verification can be done with the help of checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs, and inspection meetings. Whereas Validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. Q30. What are the benefits of Software Validation? Ans. Software validation is an important tool employed to assure the quality of the software products.Few benefits are as under: 1) It increases the usability and reliability of the device software, resulting in reduced failure rates, less recalls and corrective actions, less liability to device manufacturers. 2) It reduces the long term costs by making it easier and less costly to reliably modify software and revalidate software changes. 3) It helps to reduce the long-term cost of software by reducing the cost of validation for each subsequent release of the sof tware. Q31. What is the role of Design Reviews in Software Development Life Cycle? Ans.Design review is a primary tool for managing and evaluating software development projects. Design reviews allow management to confirm that all goals defined in the software validation plan have been achieved. Formal design reviews are more structured and include participation from others outside the development team. Design reviews are documented, comprehensive, and systematic examinations of a design to evaluate the adequacy of the design requirements, to evaluate the capability of the design to meet these requirements, and to identify problems.Design reviews include examination of development plans, requirements specifications, design specifications, testing plans and procedures, all other documents and activities associated with the project. Q32. What is the need of Software Validation after a change? Ans. When any change even a small one is made to the software, following activities need to be performed: 1) Re-establishment of the validation status of the software. 2) Conducting necessary validation analysis – not for the sake of validation of the individual change, but o to know the effect of the change on the entire software system. ) Conducting suitable level of regression testing to show that unchanged but vulnerable portions of the system have not been adversely affected. Regression testing is meant to provide a confidence that the software has been validated after the change. Q33. How would you convince upper management that company needs a formal QA testing team? How would you explain that Software quality would not improve if the company get rid of QA team? Ans. Developing amazing applications isn’t the same as testing them, ut a experienced QA tester, I would rather have a developers testing application than the testers who can just plainly submit bug reports.QA team needs to build quality into software development life cycle. The bug in software d esign is 15times cheaper than a bug in code. QA productivity is really hard to measure. If QA team is doing testing right, , everything just happens smoothly, but if testers mess up even a little, everyone knows about it. To be successful, QA team must create test plans, create test harnesses, create test cases and use testing tools. QA should ensure whether the application code is effectively delivering on the business requirements provided.The developers should unit test their own code and deliver ‘perfectly good code’ , while QA testers should deliver ‘code that actually addresses business needs’. For a company that make software applications, a rock-solid QA department is absolutely irreplaceable. Q34. WhatQuality Assurance and Quality Control activities are done differently for COTS / GOTS project than for a traditional custom development project? | Ans. The activities themselves are broadly the same, but with different stakeholders, and different deta iled procedures for verification and validation.Often the challenge for SQA is to pin down the ownership of the requirements, which may be represented by a complex debate between marketing departments, technical eggheads, user groups, customer focus groups and other interested parties. | | Q35. What in your opinion is the role of SQA personnel with respect to inspections or testing? | Ans. Formally, the role is to make the inspection process or testing process visible, both to the participants (so they can see what they are achieving, how effective they are being) and to management (so that they can assess progress and risk).In practice, SQA personnel often need to act as facilitators or coaches. They are often regarded (wrongly) as the owners or custodians of the inspection or testing process, or even as the owners/custodians of the whole software process. Part of the training and mentoring for SQA personnel should address the difficult dilemma of how to be adequately engaged in th e software process without being landed with the responsibility for it. | | Q36. What are the most likely quality consequences of choosing an inappropriate life cycle model for a software project? | Ans. The most likely consequence is that the project will not deliver anything at all.Not because the lifecycle couldn? t be made to work technically, but because it will fail to contain the political tensions between stakeholders. | | Q37. What in your opinion, are the most important changes that occurred in the role of Software Quality Assurance during the last 5 to 10 years? Ho| Ans. rowing awareness and importance of public domain models such as SEI SW CMM, BOOTSTRAP and SPICE. Changing nature of software development, especially model-based development (CASE) and component-based development (CBD). Growing need to connect software of different ages and sources.Software projects not pure software development, but including maintenance, package selection and implementation, and other so ftware activities. (Perhaps software projects never were pure development, but such topics as project management, quality management and configuration management used to be taught as if they were. )   Faced with these changes, SQA needs to be both reductionist (giving close attention to the quality of components from various sources) and holistic (giving broad attention to the emergent properties of the whole assembled system, in terms of its overall fit to business requirements).As I see it, the mandate of SQA is to make defects in software products and processes visible to management. SQA fits into a context of software quality management where this visibility leads to corrective and preventative action (not itself part of SQA), and to general software process improvement. | Q38. Someone complains that during system testing the application often crashes. What likely process problem does that indicate? | Ans. Systematic failure to carry out proper unit testing.OR inconsistency be tween the development/unit test environment and the system test environment. AND ALSO management failure to respond promptly to the situation with corrective and preventative action. | | Q39. What exposure have you had to auditing? Internal? External? Certification related? | Ans. I have been trained as a lead assessor for ISO 9000 and also as an examiner for the European Quality Award. I have conducted internal audits and informal external assessments but not formal external audits. I have advised organizations on steps towards certification. | Q40. What in your opinion are the most significant fundamental differences between SEI SW-CMM and ISO 9000-3? | Ans. The main difference is what the two models tell you. ISO 9000-3 gives you a yes/no answer, whereas SEI SW-CMM gives you a more complex assessment. This implies different ways of using the models for SQA and process improvement. | 1. Difference is ISO is a standard and CMMI is a model with framework. 2. Other one is Specific pr actices should be determinded in ISO and where as CMMI model having predefined useful specific and general practices. | Q41. In your experience, who are the most important allies of SQA within an organization? | Ans. SQA is a form of risk awareness, and is therefore potentially allied to any senior management with a risk management focus. Within some companies/industries (e. g. insurance), software risks are seen as having mainly financial consequences, and so the main ally might be the financial director. Within other companies/industries (e. g. retail), software risks are seen as having mainly customer service implications, and so the main allies may be in marketing roles.In one client, we had useful conversations with the Company Secretariat, because of the due diligence implications of some software risks. These conversations were triggered by Y2K issues, but ranged much more widely. In practice, SQA often fails to make these alliances, because it gets bogged down in obscure sof tware technicalities and trivialities, which it is incapable of communicating effectively even to software engineers, let alone anybody else. | Q42. A company recruits its first and only SQA â€Å"specialist†. The person is new to the area.The company is relatively young, operates in a competitive commercial domain and has no previous SQA presence. The SQA specialist feels he needs to show some results during the next 6 to 9 months. What advice will you give him? | Ans. Start with a risk assessment, to identify the significant software risks and their business implications. Identify managers directly affected by these implications, who may be recruited as allies. Select a small number of issues to address in the initial phase. Try to include some quick wins, as well as some improvements that could be achieved within 3-6 months.Don? t try to do everything at once. At this stage, use whichever model you prefer (ISO 9000-3 or TickIT or SW-CMM or SPICE) merely as a framework, so that you know how what you? re doing fits into a larger picture. | Q43. What advice would you give to someone who asked you where to start to introduce to their company a metrics and quality reporting program? | Ans. Use the GQM approach to derive relevant metrics from personal and corporate goals. Select a small number of key metrics that will be directly relevant to project managers and/or software engineers.Put the metrics into the hands of the workers, as a tool for personal performance improvement. | | | | Q44. What is Total Quality Management? Ans. A company commitment to develop a process that achieves high quality product and customer satisfaction. Q45. What is Quality Circle? Ans. A group of individuals with related interests that meet at regular intervals to consider problems or other matters related to the quality of outputs of a process and to the correction of problems or to the improvement of quality. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Quality Assurance Question Bank Question bank Q1. Why software needs to be tested? Ans. Every software product needs to be tested since; the development process is unable to produce defect free software. Even if the development process is able to produce defect free software, we will not be able to know unless & until we test it. Without testing it, we shall not be having enough confidence that it will work. Testing not only identifies and reports defect but also measures the quality of the product, which helps to decide whether to release the product, or not. Q2.What is the reason that Software has Bugs? Ans. Following factors contribute to the presence of bugs in the software applications:- a. Software development tools like visual tools, class libraries, compilers, scripting tools, etc. usually introduce their own bugs in the system. b. To err is human. Likewise programmers do make mistakes while programming c. In fast-changing business environments continuously modified requirements are becoming a fact of life. Such frequent changes requested by the customer leads to errors in the application already nearing completion.Last minute design changes leads to many chaos like redesign of the whole system, rescheduling of engineers, scrapping of the work already completed, fresh requirements of compatible hardware etc d. A quickly written but poorly documented code is bound to have bugs. It becomes difficult to maintain and modify such code that is badly written or poorly documented. – its tough to maintain and modify code that is badly written or poorly documented; the result is bugs. In many organizations management provides no incentive for programmers to document their code or write clear, understandable, maintainable code.In fact, it’s usually the opposite: they get points mostly for quickly turning out code, and there as jobs security if nobody else can understand it (if it was hard to write, it should be hard to read). e. When project deadlines come too close & time pressure s come, mistakes are bound to come Q3. What is the difference between QA and Testing? Ans. QA stands for â€Å"Quality Assurance†, and focuses on â€Å"Prevention† of defects in the product being developed. It is associated with the â€Å"Process† and activities related to the Process Improvement.Quality Assurance measures the quality of the processes employed to create a quality product. Whereas â€Å"Testing† refers to â€Å"Quality Control†, and focuses on Detection of Defect and removal thereafter. Or Quality Control measures the quality of a product. Q4. What is the difference between Software Testing and Debugging? Ans. Testing is the process of locating or identifying the errors or bugs in a software system. Whereas Debugging is the process of Fixing the identified Bugs. It involves a process of analyzing and rectifying the syntax errors, logic errors and all other types of errors identified during the process of testing.Q5. What is the diff erence between a Bug and a Defect? Ans. â€Å"Bug† is a problem or an error in the software code, which is found in the application during Testing. Bug is responsible for failure of the application to comply with the desired specifications. Whereas â€Å"Defect† is problem reported by the customer during usage of the software application. Q6. What is the difference between a Bug and an Enhancement? Ans. â€Å"Bug† is a problem or an error in the software code, which is found in the application during Testing.Bug is responsible for failure of the application to comply with the desired specifications. Whereas â€Å"Enhancement† is the additional feature or functionality found and added to the application as desired by the end user / real word customer or tester during the testing process. Q7. What is the difference between Requirements & Specifications? Ans. â€Å"Requirements† are statements given by the customer as to what needs to be achieved by t he software system. Later on these requirements are converted into specifications which are nothing but feasible or implementable requirements.Whereas â€Å"Specifications† are feasible requirements derived from various statements given by the customer. These are the starting point for the product development team. Q8. What is the difference between Verification and Validation? Ans. â€Å"Verification† involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications to confirm whether items, processes, services, or documents conform to specified requirements or not. This can be done with the help of checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs, and inspection meetings. The purpose f verification is to determine whether the products of a given phase of the software development cycle fulfill the requirements established during the previous phase or not. Whereas â€Å"Validation† is the determination of the correctness of the final progr am or software product produced from a development project with respect to the user needs and requirements. This involves actual testing of the product and takes place after verifications are completed. â€Å"Software Verification† raises the question, â€Å"Are we building the Product Right? † that is, does the software conform to its specification. Software Validation† raises the question, â€Å"Are we building the Right Product? † that is, the software doing what the user really requires. Q9. What is difference between Waterfall Model and V Model? Ans. â€Å"Waterfall Model† Is a sequential software development model (a process for the creation of software) in which development is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall)through the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing (validation),integration, and maintenance. To follow the waterfall model, we proceed from one phase to the next in a purely sequential manne r.In traditional waterfall model, testing comes at the far end of the development process. Whereas â€Å"V Model† or â€Å"Life Cycle Testing† involves carrying out verification of consistency, completeness and correctness of software at every stage of the development life cycle. It aims at catching the defects as early as possible and thus reduces the cost of fixing them. It involves continuously testing the system during all stages of the development process rather than just limiting testing to the last stage. Q10. What are Baseline Documents? Ans.Baseline documents are the documents, which have been approved by the customer and will not have any more changes. Baseline Documents cover all the details of the project and have undergone â€Å"walkthrough† process. Once a document is Base-lined it cannot be changed unless there is a change request duly approved by the customer. Service Level Agreement (SLA) & Business Requirement Documents (BRD) are the examples o f Baseline Documents. Q11. What is Defect Density? Ans. â€Å"Defect Density† Is a software metric defined as: Total number of defects per LOC (lines of code).Alternatively it can be: Total number of defects per Size of the Project. Here the measure of â€Å"Size of the Project† can be number of Function Points, Number of Feature Points, number of Use Cases or KLOC (Kilo Lines of Code) etc. Q12. What is Quality? Ans. Quality software is software that is reasonably bug-free, delivered on time and within budget, meets requirements and expectations and is maintainable. However, quality is a subjective term. Quality depends on who the customer is and their overall influence in the scheme of things.Customers of a software development project include end-users, customer acceptance test engineers, testers, customer contract officers, customer management, the development organization’s management, test engineers, testers, salespeople, software engineers, stockholders an d accountants. Each type of customer will have his or her own slant on quality. The accounting department might define quality in terms of profits, while an end- user might define quality as user friendly and bug free. Q13. What is an Inspection? Ans.An inspection is a formal meeting, more formalized than a walkthrough and typically consists of 3-10 people including a moderator, reader (the author of whatever is being reviewed) and a recorder (to make notes in the document). The subject of the inspection is typically a document, such as a requirements document or a test plan. The purpose of an inspection is to find problems and see what is missing, not to fix anything. The result of the meeting is documented in a written report. Attendees should prepare for this type of meeting by reading through the document, before the meeting starts; most problems are found during this preparation.Preparation for inspections is difficult, but is one of the most cost-effective methods of ensuring quality, since bug prevention is more cost effective than bug detection. A14. What is Six Sigma? Ans. â€Å"Six Sigma† means Six Standard Deviations from the mean. It is a methodology aimed to reduce defect levels below 3. 4 Defects Per one Million Opportunities. Six Sigma approach improves the process performance, decreases variation and maintains consistent quality of the process output. This leads to defect reduction and improvement in profits, product quality and customer satisfaction.Q15. What is difference between CMM and CMMI? Ans. â€Å"CMM† means â€Å"Capability Maturity Model† developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). It is a process capability maturity model, which aids in the definition and understanding of an organization’s processes. CMM is intended as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors’ processes to perform a contracted software project. Whereas â€Å"CMMI† means â€Å"Capabil ity Maturity Model Integration† & it has superseded CMM. The old CMM has been renamed to Software Engineering CMM (SE-CMM).Q16. What is Verification? Ans. Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all functionality to the customer; it typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs and inspection meetings. Q17. What is Validation? Ans. Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in requirements, is the intended behavior of the product; validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. Q18.What is a Test Plan? Ans. A software project test plan is a document that describes the objectives, scope, approach and focus of a software testing effort. The process of preparing a test plan is a useful way to think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of a software product. The complet ed document will help people outside the test group understand the why and how of product validation. It should be thorough enough to be useful, but not so thorough that none outside the test group will be able to read it. Q19. What is a Walkthrough? Ans.A walkthrough is an informal meeting for evaluation or informational purposes. A walkthrough is also a process at an abstract level. It’s the process of inspecting software code by following paths through the code (as determined by input conditions and choices made along the way). The purpose of code walkthroughs is to ensure the code fits the purpose. Walkthroughs also offer opportunities to assess an individual’s or team’s competency. Q20. What is Software Life Cycle? Ans. Software life cycle begins when a software product is first conceived and ends when it is no longer in use.It includes phases like initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design, internal design, documentation planning, test plann ing, coding, document preparation, integration, testing, maintenance, updates, re-testing and phase-ou Q21. What is the Difference between STLC & SDLC? Ans. STLC means † Software Testing Life Cycle†. It starts with activities like : 1) Preparation of Requirements Document 2) Preparation of Test Plan 3) Preparation of Test Cases 4) Execution of Test Cases 5) Analysis of Bugs 6) Reporting of Bugs 7) Tracking of Bugs till closure.Whereas SDLC means † Software Development Life Cycle† is a software development process, used by a systems analyst to develop an information system. It starts with activities like : 1) Project Initiation 2) Requirement Gathering and Documenting 3) Designing 4) Coding and Unit Testing 5) Integration Testing 6) System Testing 7) Installation and Acceptance Testing 8) Support or Maintenance Q22. What is the Difference between Project and Product Testing? Ans. If any organization is developing the application according to the client specifi cation then it is called as project.Accordingly its testing is known as â€Å"Project Testing† Whereas If any organization is developing the application and marketing it is called as product. Hence its testing is known as â€Å"Product Testing† Q23. How do you introduce a new software QA process? Ans. It depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved. For large organizations with high-risk projects, a serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary. For medium size organizations with lower risk projects, management and organizational buy-in and a slower, step-by-step process is required.Generally speaking, QA processes should be balanced with productivity, in order to keep any bureaucracy from getting out of hand. For smaller groups or projects, an ad-hoc process is more appropriate. A lot depends on team leads and managers, feedback to developers and good communication is essential among customers, managers, developers, t est engineers and testers. Regardless the size of the company, the greatest value for effort is in managing requirement processes, where the goal is requirements that are clear, complete and testable. Q24. What is configuration Management? Ans.Configuration Management (or CM) is the processes of controlling, coordinating and tracking the Standards and procedures for managing changes in an evolving software product. Configuration Testing is the process of checking the operation of the software being tested on various types of hardware. Q25. What is the role of QA in a software producing company? Ans. QA is responsible for managing, implementing, maintaining and continuously improving the Processes in the Company and enable internal projects towards process maturity and facilitate process improvements and innovations in the organization.Tester is responsible for carrying out the testing efforts in the company. In many companies QA person is responsible both the roles of Testing as wel l as creating and improving the processes. Q26. What is Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)? Ans. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is a systematic approach to risk identification and analysis of identifying possible modes of failure and attempting to prevent their occurrence. Q27. What is Test Maturity Model or TMM? Ans.Test Maturity Model or TMM is a five level staged framework for test process improvement, related to the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) that describes the key elements of an effective test process. Q28. What is the difference between API & ABI? Ans. Application Programming Interface (API) is a formalized set of software calls and routines that can be referenced by an application program in order to access supporting system or network services. Whereas Application Binary Interface (ABI) is a specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms across different system platforms and environments.Q29. What is I V & V? Ans. I V & V mean s Independent Verification and Validation. Verification typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications. Verification can be done with the help of checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs, and inspection meetings. Whereas Validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed. Q30. What are the benefits of Software Validation? Ans. Software validation is an important tool employed to assure the quality of the software products.Few benefits are as under: 1) It increases the usability and reliability of the device software, resulting in reduced failure rates, less recalls and corrective actions, less liability to device manufacturers. 2) It reduces the long term costs by making it easier and less costly to reliably modify software and revalidate software changes. 3) It helps to reduce the long-term cost of software by reducing the cost of validation for each subsequent release of the sof tware. Q31. What is the role of Design Reviews in Software Development Life Cycle? Ans.Design review is a primary tool for managing and evaluating software development projects. Design reviews allow management to confirm that all goals defined in the software validation plan have been achieved. Formal design reviews are more structured and include participation from others outside the development team. Design reviews are documented, comprehensive, and systematic examinations of a design to evaluate the adequacy of the design requirements, to evaluate the capability of the design to meet these requirements, and to identify problems.Design reviews include examination of development plans, requirements specifications, design specifications, testing plans and procedures, all other documents and activities associated with the project. Q32. What is the need of Software Validation after a change? Ans. When any change even a small one is made to the software, following activities need to be performed: 1) Re-establishment of the validation status of the software. 2) Conducting necessary validation analysis – not for the sake of validation of the individual change, but o to know the effect of the change on the entire software system. ) Conducting suitable level of regression testing to show that unchanged but vulnerable portions of the system have not been adversely affected. Regression testing is meant to provide a confidence that the software has been validated after the change. Q33. How would you convince upper management that company needs a formal QA testing team? How would you explain that Software quality would not improve if the company get rid of QA team? Ans. Developing amazing applications isn’t the same as testing them, ut a experienced QA tester, I would rather have a developers testing application than the testers who can just plainly submit bug reports.QA team needs to build quality into software development life cycle. The bug in software d esign is 15times cheaper than a bug in code. QA productivity is really hard to measure. If QA team is doing testing right, , everything just happens smoothly, but if testers mess up even a little, everyone knows about it. To be successful, QA team must create test plans, create test harnesses, create test cases and use testing tools. QA should ensure whether the application code is effectively delivering on the business requirements provided.The developers should unit test their own code and deliver ‘perfectly good code’ , while QA testers should deliver ‘code that actually addresses business needs’. For a company that make software applications, a rock-solid QA department is absolutely irreplaceable. Q34. WhatQuality Assurance and Quality Control activities are done differently for COTS / GOTS project than for a traditional custom development project? | Ans. The activities themselves are broadly the same, but with different stakeholders, and different deta iled procedures for verification and validation.Often the challenge for SQA is to pin down the ownership of the requirements, which may be represented by a complex debate between marketing departments, technical eggheads, user groups, customer focus groups and other interested parties. | | Q35. What in your opinion is the role of SQA personnel with respect to inspections or testing? | Ans. Formally, the role is to make the inspection process or testing process visible, both to the participants (so they can see what they are achieving, how effective they are being) and to management (so that they can assess progress and risk).In practice, SQA personnel often need to act as facilitators or coaches. They are often regarded (wrongly) as the owners or custodians of the inspection or testing process, or even as the owners/custodians of the whole software process. Part of the training and mentoring for SQA personnel should address the difficult dilemma of how to be adequately engaged in th e software process without being landed with the responsibility for it. | | Q36. What are the most likely quality consequences of choosing an inappropriate life cycle model for a software project? | Ans. The most likely consequence is that the project will not deliver anything at all.Not because the lifecycle couldn? t be made to work technically, but because it will fail to contain the political tensions between stakeholders. | | Q37. What in your opinion, are the most important changes that occurred in the role of Software Quality Assurance during the last 5 to 10 years? Ho| Ans. rowing awareness and importance of public domain models such as SEI SW CMM, BOOTSTRAP and SPICE. Changing nature of software development, especially model-based development (CASE) and component-based development (CBD). Growing need to connect software of different ages and sources.Software projects not pure software development, but including maintenance, package selection and implementation, and other so ftware activities. (Perhaps software projects never were pure development, but such topics as project management, quality management and configuration management used to be taught as if they were. )   Faced with these changes, SQA needs to be both reductionist (giving close attention to the quality of components from various sources) and holistic (giving broad attention to the emergent properties of the whole assembled system, in terms of its overall fit to business requirements).As I see it, the mandate of SQA is to make defects in software products and processes visible to management. SQA fits into a context of software quality management where this visibility leads to corrective and preventative action (not itself part of SQA), and to general software process improvement. | Q38. Someone complains that during system testing the application often crashes. What likely process problem does that indicate? | Ans. Systematic failure to carry out proper unit testing.OR inconsistency be tween the development/unit test environment and the system test environment. AND ALSO management failure to respond promptly to the situation with corrective and preventative action. | | Q39. What exposure have you had to auditing? Internal? External? Certification related? | Ans. I have been trained as a lead assessor for ISO 9000 and also as an examiner for the European Quality Award. I have conducted internal audits and informal external assessments but not formal external audits. I have advised organizations on steps towards certification. | Q40. What in your opinion are the most significant fundamental differences between SEI SW-CMM and ISO 9000-3? | Ans. The main difference is what the two models tell you. ISO 9000-3 gives you a yes/no answer, whereas SEI SW-CMM gives you a more complex assessment. This implies different ways of using the models for SQA and process improvement. | 1. Difference is ISO is a standard and CMMI is a model with framework. 2. Other one is Specific pr actices should be determinded in ISO and where as CMMI model having predefined useful specific and general practices. | Q41. In your experience, who are the most important allies of SQA within an organization? | Ans. SQA is a form of risk awareness, and is therefore potentially allied to any senior management with a risk management focus. Within some companies/industries (e. g. insurance), software risks are seen as having mainly financial consequences, and so the main ally might be the financial director. Within other companies/industries (e. g. retail), software risks are seen as having mainly customer service implications, and so the main allies may be in marketing roles.In one client, we had useful conversations with the Company Secretariat, because of the due diligence implications of some software risks. These conversations were triggered by Y2K issues, but ranged much more widely. In practice, SQA often fails to make these alliances, because it gets bogged down in obscure sof tware technicalities and trivialities, which it is incapable of communicating effectively even to software engineers, let alone anybody else. | Q42. A company recruits its first and only SQA â€Å"specialist†. The person is new to the area.The company is relatively young, operates in a competitive commercial domain and has no previous SQA presence. The SQA specialist feels he needs to show some results during the next 6 to 9 months. What advice will you give him? | Ans. Start with a risk assessment, to identify the significant software risks and their business implications. Identify managers directly affected by these implications, who may be recruited as allies. Select a small number of issues to address in the initial phase. Try to include some quick wins, as well as some improvements that could be achieved within 3-6 months.Don? t try to do everything at once. At this stage, use whichever model you prefer (ISO 9000-3 or TickIT or SW-CMM or SPICE) merely as a framework, so that you know how what you? re doing fits into a larger picture. | Q43. What advice would you give to someone who asked you where to start to introduce to their company a metrics and quality reporting program? | Ans. Use the GQM approach to derive relevant metrics from personal and corporate goals. Select a small number of key metrics that will be directly relevant to project managers and/or software engineers.Put the metrics into the hands of the workers, as a tool for personal performance improvement. | | | | Q44. What is Total Quality Management? Ans. A company commitment to develop a process that achieves high quality product and customer satisfaction. Q45. What is Quality Circle? Ans. A group of individuals with related interests that meet at regular intervals to consider problems or other matters related to the quality of outputs of a process and to the correction of problems or to the improvement of quality. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Anne Frank Book Summary Essay

I’ve just finished reading The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. Anne Frank’s diary was begun on June 14th, 1942 and her last entry was on August 1st, 1944. Her diary was mostly about the Holocaust, when her family went into hiding. Anne’s family included herself, her sister (Margot Frank), her mother (Edith Frank), and her father (Otto Frank). This story was set in Prinsengracht, Amsterdam. I chose to read this book because stories that relate to war, really interest me. It all started on Anne’s thirteenth birth, when she received a diary from her parents. She was really excited because she wanted someone or something, she could tell her thoughts to. Even though Anne had a rich social life, she felt as if people didn’t know the real her. She began writing about daily events, school, boys, etc. Within a month, her entire life changed. More and more Jewish people were getting captured and receiving call ups. Call ups mean to surrender now and go to concentration camp. The family decided to go into hiding. They moved into a little section of Anne’s father’s office building that was walled off and hidden behind a singing bookcase. It was called â€Å"the Secret Annex†. For two years, the Frank family lived in â€Å"the Secret Annex†. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan and their son Peter (a little older than Anne) were also hiding with them. Later, Mr. Dussel, an elderly dentist, moved in and Anne had to share a room with him. Anne’s whole life now revolved around getting used to hearing gunshots and bombs. She started drifting away from her family because she spent more time studying and ready instead of spending time with them. Anne started to change as she began to spend time with Peter van Daan. Around that time, she started having dreams about a bout she was in love with, another Peter, Peter Schiff. She always came to see Peter (of the Annex) more than she used to. Before, Anne thought he was an obnoxious, hypersensitive and a lazy guy, but he turned out to be sensitive and caring. Eventually their relationship changed, and they became more than friends. Another big change for Anne happened, when the war was beginning to end. She heard on the radio that â€Å"personal accounts such as her diary will be in demand after the war ends†. She than started editing her diary with excitement! Unfortunately that didn’t last long. Anne started becoming more sensitive to the world around her. She felt completely alone. She felt constantly criticized and there was no escape. At one point, Anne thought it might’ve been better if she and her family had all died instead of hiding in the Annex. Things got a lot harder on Anne. The secret Annex was raided. On the morning of August 4th, 1994, they arrested all of the people in hiding. They were first brought to a prison in Amsterdam and then transferred to Westerbork, the transit camp for Jewish people in north of Holland. They were deported on September 3rd, 1944, in the last transport to leave Westerbork, and they arrived three days later in Auschwitz (Poland). Mr. van Daan (Hermann van Pels) was gassed to death in Auschwitz in October or November 1944. Mrs. van Daan (Auguste van Pels) died at and unknown concentration camp. Peter van Daan (Peter van Pels) was forced to take part in the â€Å"death march† from Auschwitz to Mauthausen (Austria), where he died on May 5th, 1945, right before the camp started. Albert Dussel (Fritz Pfeffer) died on December 20th, 1944, in the Neuengamme concentration camp. Edith Frank died in Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 6th, 1945, from hunger and exhaustion. Margot and Anne Frank had gotten typhus, caused by one of two types of bacteria: Rickettsia typhi or Rickettsia prowazekii, and their bodies were dumped in the Bergen-Belsen’s (concentration camp) mass graves. The only sole survivor was Otto Frank. He was the one who published Anne’s diary. The thing is, to this day, no one knows who exposed them. Every time I read this book, it gets better every single time. It also leaves me crying about ten minutes. It also makes me realize how lucky and blessed I am. Anne was such a brave girl, I could never imagine being in her position. I give this book ten out of then, it was one the best books I’ve ever read. I definitely recommend everyone to read The Diary of a Young Girl.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 40

Matt and Mrs. Flowers were in the bunker – the addition to the house that Mrs. Flowers's uncle had put onto the back for woodwork and other hobbies. It had fallen into even more neglect than the rest of the house, being used as a storage space for things Mrs. Flowers didn't know where else to put – such as Cousin Joe's folding cot and that old sagging couch that didn't match a stick of furniture inside anymore. Now, at night, it was their haven. No child or adult from Fell's Church had ever been invited inside. In fact, except for Mrs. Flowers, Stefan – who'd helped move large furniture into it – and now Matt, no one had even been in for as long as Mrs. Flowers could remember. Matt clung to this. He had been, slowly but surely, reading through the material Meredith had researched and one precious excerpt had meant a lot to him and Mrs. Flowers. It was the reason they were able to sleep at night, when the voices came. The kitsune is often thought to be a sort of cousin to Western vampires, seducing chosen men (as most fox spirits take on a female form) and feeding directly on their chi, or life spirit, without the intermediary of blood. Thus one may make a case that they are bound by similar rules to the vampire. For example, they cannot enter human dwellings without invitation†¦ And oh, the voices†¦ He was profoundly glad now that he'd taken Meredith and Bonnie's advice and gone to Mrs. Flowers's first before going home. The girls had convinced him he'd only be putting his parents in danger by facing up to the lynch mob that awaited him, ready to kill him for allegedly assaulting Caroline. Caroline seemed to have found him at the boardinghouse immediately, anyway, but she never brought any kind of mob with her. Matt thought that perhaps it was because that would have been useless. He had no idea what might have happened if the voices had belonged to ex-friends long ago invited to his house while he was at home. Tonight†¦ â€Å"Come on, Matt,† Caroline's voice, lazy, slow, and seductive purred. It sounded as if she were lying down, speaking into the crack under the door. â€Å"Don't be such a spoilsport. You know you have to come out sometime.† â€Å"Let me talk to my mom.† â€Å"I can't, Matt. I told you before, she's undergoing training.† â€Å"To be like you?† â€Å"It takes a lot of work to get to be like me, Matt.† Suddenly Caroline's tone was not flirtatious any longer. â€Å"I bet,† Matt muttered, and added, â€Å"You hurt my family and you're going to be sorrier than you can imagine.† â€Å"Oh, Matt! Come on, get real. Nobody is going to hurt anybody.† Matt slowly opened his hands to look at what he had clenched between them. Meredith's old revolver, filled with the bullets blessed by Obaasan. â€Å"What is Elena's middle name?† he asked – not loudly, even though there were the sounds of music and dancing in Mrs. Flowers's backyard. â€Å"Matt, what are you talking about? What are you doing in there, making a family tree?† â€Å"I asked you a simple question, Care. You and Elena played since you were practically babies, right? So what is her middle name?† A flurry of activity. When Caroline finally answered he could clearly hear the whispered coaching, as Stefan had heard so long ago, just a beat before her words. â€Å"If all you're interested in is playing games, Matthew Honeycutt, I'll go find someone else to talk to.† He could practically hear her flounce away. But he felt like celebrating. He allowed himself a whole graham cracker and half a cup of Mrs. Flowers's homemade apple juice. They never knew when they might be locked in here for good, with only the supplies they had, so whenever Matt went out of the bunker he brought back as many things as he could find that might be useful. A barbeque lighter and hairspray equaled a flame thrower. Jar after jar of Mrs. Flowers's delicious preserves. Lapis rings in case the worst happened and they ended up with pointy teeth. Mrs. Flowers turned in her sleep on the couch. â€Å"Who was that, Matt dear?† she asked. â€Å"Nobody at all, Mrs. Flowers. You just go back to sleep.† â€Å"I see,† Mrs. Flowers said in her sweet-old-lady voice. â€Å"Well, if nobody at all comes back you might ask her her own mother's first name.† â€Å"I see,† Matt said in his best imitation of her voice and then they both laughed. But underneath his laughter there was a lump in his throat. He had known Mrs. Forbes a long time, too. And he was scared, scared of the time that it would be Shinichi's voice calling. Then they were going to be in trouble for good. â€Å"There it is,† shouted Sage. â€Å"Elena!† screamed Meredith. â€Å"Oh, God!† screamed Bonnie. The next instant, Elena was thrown, and something landed on top of her. Dully, she heard a cry. But it was different from the others. It was a choking sound of pure pain as Bloddeuwedd's beak thunked into something made of flesh. Me, Elena thought. But there was no pain. Not†¦me? There was a coughing sound above her. â€Å"Elena – go – my shields – won't hold – â€Å" â€Å"Damon! We'll go together!† Hurts†¦ It was just the shadow of a telepathic whisper and Elena knew Damon didn't think she'd heard it. But she was circling her Power faster and faster, done with deception, caring only about getting those she loved out of danger. I'll find a way, she told Damon. I'll carry you. Fireman's lift. He laughed at that, giving Elena some hope that he wasn't dying. Now Elena wished she'd taken Dr. Meggar in the carriage with them so he could use his healing powers on the injured – – and then what? Leave him to the mercies of Bloddeuwedd? He wants to build a hospital here, in this world. He wants to help the children, who surely don't deserve all the evils that I've seen visited on them – She shunted the thoughts aside. This was no time for a philosophical debate about doctors and their obligations. It was time to run. Reaching behind her, she found two hands. One was slick with blood so she reached farther, thanking her late mother for all the ballet lessons, all the children's yoga, and she grabbed the sleeve above it. And then she put her back into it and pulled. To her surprise she hauled Damon up with her. She tried to heft him farther up on her back, but that didn't work. And then she even managed a wobbly step forward, and another – And then Sage was there picking both of them up and they were going into the lobby of the building of the Shi no Shi. â€Å"Everyone, get out! Get out! Bloddeuwedd's after us and she'll kill anything in her way!† Elena shouted. It was the strangest thing. She hadn't meant to shout. Hadn't formulated the words, except perhaps in the deepest parts of her subconscious. But she did shout them into the already frenzied lobby and she heard the cry taken up by others. What she didn't expect was that they would run, not out into the street, but down toward the cells. She ought to have, of course, but she hadn't. And then she felt herself and Sage and Damon going down, down the way they had last night†¦ But was it really the right way? Elena clamped one hand over the other and saw, judging by foxlight, that they needed to head off to the right. â€Å"WHAT ARE THOSE CELLS TO THE RIGHT OF US? HOW DO WE GET THERE?† she shouted to the young vampire gentleman next to her. â€Å"That's Isolation and Mentally Disturbed,† the vampire gentleman shouted back. â€Å"Don't go that way.† â€Å"I have to! Do I need a key?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Do you have a key?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Give it to me now!† â€Å"I can't do that,† he wailed in a way that reminded her of Bonnie at her most difficult. â€Å"All right. Sage!† â€Å"Madame?† â€Å"Send Talon back to peck this man's eyes out. He won't give me the key to Stefan's ward!† â€Å"As good as done, Madame!† â€Å"W-wait! I cha-changed my mind. Here's the key!† The vampire fished through a ring of keys and handed one to her. It looked like the other keys on his ring. Too much alike, Elena's suspicious mind said. â€Å"Sage!† â€Å"Madame !† â€Å"Can you wait till I pass with Saber? I want him to tear the you-know-what off this guy if he's lied to me.† â€Å"Of course, Madame!† â€Å"W-w-w-wait,† gasped the vampire. It was clear that he was completely terrified. â€Å"I may – may have given you the wrong key – in this – this light – â€Å" â€Å"Give me the right key and tell me anything I need to know or I'll have the dog backtrack you and kill you,† Elena said, and at that moment, she meant it. â€Å"H-here.† This time the key didn't look like a key. It was round, slightly convex, with a hole in the middle. Like a donut that's been sat on by a police officer, part of Elena's mind said, and began laughing hysterically. Shut up, she told her mind sharply. â€Å"Sage!† â€Å"Madame?† â€Å"Can Talon see the man I'm holding by the hair?† She had to go on tiptoe to grasp him. â€Å"But of course, Madame!† â€Å"Can she remember him? If I can't find Stefan I want her to show him to Saber so he can track him.† â€Å"Uh†¦ah†¦got it, Madame!† A hand, dripping blood from the wrist, lifted a falcon high, at the same time as there was a serendipitous crash from the top of the building. The vampire was almost sobbing. â€Å"Turn r-right at the n-next right. Use the k-key in the slot at h-head height to g-get into the corridor. There m-may be guards there. But†¦if – if you don't have a key to the individual cell you want – I'm sorry, but – â€Å" â€Å"I do! I have the cell key and I know what to do after that! Thank you, you've been very kind and helpful.† Elena let go of the vampire's hair. â€Å"Sage! Damon! Bonnie! Look for a corridor, locked, going right. Then don't get swept away. Sage, hold Bonnie and have Saber bark like crazy. Bonnie, hold on to Meredith in front of the guys. The corridor leads to Stefan!† Elena never knew how much any one of her allies heard of this message, sent by voice and telepathy. But ahead she heard a sound that to her was like choirs of angels singing. Saber was barking madly. Elena would never have been able to stop by herself. She was in a raging river of people and the raging river was taking her right around the barrier made by four people, a falcon, and a mad-seeming dog. But eight hands reached out to her as she was swept by – and a snarling, snapping muzzle leaped ahead of her to divide the crowd. Somehow she was being run into, bruised, cradled, shoved, and, grasped and grasping, forced all the way to the right wall. But Sage was looking at that same wall in despair. â€Å"Madame, he tricked you! There is no keyhole here!† Elena's throat went raw. She prepared to shout, â€Å"Saber, heel,† and go after the vampire. But then, just below her, Bonnie's voice said, â€Å"Of course there is. It's shaped like a circle.† And Elena remembered. Smaller guards. Like imps or monkeys. Bonnie's size. â€Å"Bonnie, take this! Shove it into the hole. Be careful! It's the only one we've got.† Sage immediately directed Saber to stand and snarl just ahead of Bonnie in the tunnel, to keep the stream of panicked demons and vampires from jostling her. Carefully, solemnly, Bonnie took the large key, examined it, cocked her head, turned it in her hands – and placed it in the wall. â€Å"Nothing's happening!† â€Å"Try turning or pushing – â€Å" Click. The door slid open. Elena and her group more or less fell into the corridor, while Saber stood between them and the herd pounding by, barking and snapping and leaping. Elena, lying on the ground, legs entwined with who-knew-who-else's, cupped a hand around her ring. The fox eyes shone straight ahead and a bit to the right. They were shining into a cell ahead.

Cross Cultural Health Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross Cultural Health Perspectives - Essay Example Four issues will be investigated: The best practice among a range of options in medical language interpretation, legal responsibilities in providing that services, CLAS standards seen in the case, and your role in a similar situation in the future. The best option in providing medical language interpretation is to hire a qualified medical interpreter. This means that the person is trained and is on-hand right away. Outsourcing from an agency also works, but interpreters might not be available at all times. A microphone helps by allowing these interpreters to speak on the phone with the patient and the healthcare provider at the same time. There are three less ideal options to choose from if a professional interpreter is not available: a.) Bilingual hospital staff, b.) community volunteers and c.) Family members and friends. None of these people are trained to be professional medical interpreters. Issues of time management, confidentiality and objectivity may arise when using these people. The legal responsibility of an organization to provide qualified language interpretation comes from Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states, â€Å"No person in the United States shall, on ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance† (Office of Minority Health, 2005). This entails providing meaningful access to services even if the patient cannot speak English. Other legal responsibilities are dependent upon the state or the institution. For example, JCAHO Standard RI.2.100 â€Å"requires that organizations ensure effective communication between the patient and the organization through the provision of interpreter and translation services. The standards also require the collection of race, ethnicity, and language data† (as cited in Office of Minority Health, 2005).  

Global Political Economy Research Question Paper

Global Political Economy Question - Research Paper Example Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Cuba Assets Control Regulations of 1963, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 20001. When the embargo reached its fiftieth anniversary, there are arguments both in favor of and against it. While some people claim that it is the only way for the U.S to bring Cuba to respect democracy and human rights, some others think that it only hinders Cuba from converting to democracy. This paper argues that lifting the embargo would promote democracy and free trade markets in Cuba. When Batista was overthrown in Cuba in the Cuban Revolution, the new revolutionary government, under the leadership of Castro, started seizing U.S properties in the island and nationalizing them. As a response, the U.S reduced the Cuban import quota of brown sugar through the Sugar Act of 1948. However, the revolutionary government of Cuba gained support from the Soviet Union, which offered to purchase sugar from Cuba2. The situation grew worse when Cuba supported the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Infuriated, the Kennedy government extended the embargo measures. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, travel restrictions to Cuba came into force in 1963 and as a response to the Cuban hosting of Soviet nuclear weapons, Cuban Assets Control Regulations came into force, freezing Cuban properties in the U.S. Though the restriction on the U.S citizens from visiting Cuba expired in 1977, it is still illegal for U.S citizens to spend money or receive gifts in Cuba without a U.S government issued license. That is, it is not possible for the U.S citizens to pay airfare ticket taxes at a Cuban airport. In essence, though the travel restriction was removed, it is not possible for U.S citizens to visit Cuba without breaking the monetary transaction rule. However, by the year 2009, a change came as the Obama administration eased the ban, allowing Cuban-Americans to travel freely to Cuba3. The

Law Enforcement in the Czech Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law Enforcement in the Czech Republic - Essay Example The total area of Czech Republic is 78,844 square km and the population is 10.5 million. It is surrounded by Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Germany and also occupies the historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia and a small area of Silesia. The people of Czech Republic are Slavic people who are from central and Eastern Europe but their culture and tradition connects them to the West. Czech Republic is a democratic country and the bicameral Parliament, that includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, acts as the central body in the political system. The head of the state is the President with limited powers and is elected for five years. The President holds some important legal powers such as the appointment of the Prime Minister and members of the government, selection for the members of Czech National Bank Board and the official signing authority (Czech Republic Country Brief, 2007). General: In Czech Republic the Justice system consists of 86 District Courts, 8 Regional Courts, 2 High Courts and a Supreme Court. The highest judicial authority in the country is the Constitutional Court which is situated in Brno. Its major activities do not include dealing with criminal cases. Prosecution: The formation of the State Prosecutor's Office entirely follows the courts. Prosecution is brought by the State Prosecutor's Office. The courts completely handle the operations of the office. Police Force The total number of police force in Czech Republic is approximately 47,400 officers and 11,600 civilian staff. They are responsible for the security of its people and investigation of all crimes that took place in the country. In addition to the state police, there is municipal police that controls the traffic and public order in their particular municipalities. The right to investigate and arrest only lies with the state police. Police officers of Czech Republic are allowed to use vehicles. Their vehicles contain a black and white inscription "Policie" on the sides. These vehicles are white in color with horizontal green strips on the sides. Police force of Czech Republic possesses the following rights: 1. Demand for testimony in case of any accident. 2. Demand for personal identification. 3. Taking a person into custody. 4. Supervising the traffic and checking the conditions of the vehicles. Czech Police departments Criminal police: In the police department of Czech Republic, the officers monitor the criminal cases. Moreover, they detect the wrong doers and take them under their custody. The criminal police force is also responsible for the investigation of different cases regarding stolen properties, missing people, road accidents etc. They continuously look after the people and places in order to safeguard the lives of the citizens (Czech Republic, 2007). Traffic police: By law the traffic police officers are there to organize and control the movement of the traffic. In addition to it, they have to be really careful about the investigations made on the roads regarding accidents that happen almost every day. They are further required to check the procedures of collecting fines for illegal acts. When a driver commits an offense then the traffic police officer has the right to stop him from driving and take the car into his custody with some

Marketing Strategy for Business .Marketing & Enterprise .I chose this Essay

Marketing Strategy for Business .Marketing & Enterprise .I chose this company for assignmnet(Midland News Association.Express & - Essay Example Implementation 24 7. Conclusion 24 References 24 1. Executive summary 1.1 Current Position Midland News Association (MNA Media) is the largest independent regional news company in the UK. The company is owned and operated by the Graham family of Wolverhampton. Two of its daily titles, Express & Star and the Shropshire Star, are Britain’s biggest selling regional daily newspapers, and sell more than 200,000 copies everyday. 1.2 Key issues The major concern facing Midland News Association is the generally lackluster trend in the industry. Declining demand constrained the UK newspapers industry over 2006 to 2011, and while the rate of decline is likely to slow down after 2011, forecasted demand remains bleak until 2016 ('Newspapers Industry Profile’, 2013). A lesser but still important concern is that of remaining competitive even while rival regional publications adopt innovative practices to create new products. 2. Corporate Strategy 2.1 Corporate mission/objectives The Express & Star aims to become the biggest-selling regional evening newspaper in Britain (â€Å"About Us†, 2013). Its objectives include providing its subscribers and readers with accurate and timely news on the political, business, lifestyle and social events, and articles of general interest for entertainment, through printed and online publications, in a manner that afford customers easy access. 2.2 Summary of overall position and corporate strategy Strategic pricing. Express and Star fields two types of issues every week. The midweek edition carries the regular features and while there are special interest features, overall the newpaper adopts straightforward news reporting in both its print and e-edition. MNA retained the price of the mid-week issues, but raised the price of the Weekend edition by 30 per cent. The significant price increase is justified by the higher value added and the inclusion of features such as the week-long TV guide which makes the Weekend edition r elevant for the entire week following (Cross, 2013a). Image overhaul. Recently, the Express and Star have have kept pace with competitors’ moves by matching their attempts with a corresponding strategy. Cross (2013a) reported in April a revamp by competitor Birmingham Mail of its weekend paper, Trinity Mirror, intended to boost readership. The new Saturday issue boasts a new design, combined with a launch of its e-edition, improvements to the website, and the launch of a new, part-free Friday edition of which the paper distributed 50,000 copies free throughout the city centre. To match the move Express and Star rebranded its Saturday edition as the ‘Weekend’ edition which included a new supplement featuring ‘a full weekly TV guide, lifestyle and entertainment sections, new columnists, and several puzzles and games pages. Like the Trinity Mirror, Express and Star’s Weekend edition will sell at the higher price of 60p from the previous 45p (Cross, 2013 a). Expansion into mobile publishing. The Express and Star launched in April 2013 an app for Android smartphones which is made available by Google Play online store. The app allows subscribers to view the same image as features in the printed edition.This also allows greater access of readers to MNA’s products, without necessarily being confined in time and space. 3. External and internal analysis 3.1 PESTEL Political – The UK is a democracy with a stable governance system supported by highly consistent policies

Customer Service Operations & Excellence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Service Operations & Excellence - Essay Example Service Packages offered by The Edge Restaurant Service Packages also known as â€Å"A bundle of goods and services with information that is provided in some environment†. Supporting facility The physical resources that must be in place before a service can be sold. The physical resources of the Edge include the location of the restaurant in the campus, interior decoration of the restaurant, the advanced point of sale systems etc. Facilitating goods The material consumed by the buyer or items provided by the consumer. The facilitating goods in the Edge would include the food items served by the restaurant like Sandwiches, Baguettes and Paninis, Chocolate bars and tablets, Chocolate crisps, Fresh Fruits, Potato Chips, Waffles, Pancakes, Pasta etc. Explicit services The essential or intrinsic features are known as explicit services. The explicit services of the Edge restaurant would include the quality of food, timing of serving the meal, courtesy and behavior of the staff of th e restaurant etc. Implicit services This includes the psychological benefits or extrinsic features which the consumer may sense only vaguely. These include factors like the spacious environment, space provided for car and motorbike parking etc. The timings of the restaurant is 8:30 am to 2:00 pm which have been kept for the convenience of the students (Disabledgo, 2013b). ... The Service Blueprinting method consists of a graphically represented overview of the service process and activities. In each process the contact and the interaction points of the customers becomes visible. A Service Blue print would be created for The Edge restaurant to understand the interaction points between customers and identification of the failure points of the restaurant. Client Interaction: This separates the process step of the service activities that the client carries out independently (Gremler, n.d.). Visibility Line: It separates the visible service activity from the hidden service activity. Above the line the process components which can be seen, smelt or heard are ordered. Internal Interaction: This separates the activities that imply to the immediate relation to the customer’s order from the support activities. These support activities can serve as a guide for the preparation of the primary activities and do not belong to the customer’s order. Control Line: This separates the preparation activities from the management activities which are general. Line of Interaction Arriving at Canteen, Reading Menu, Selecting Menu, Ordering and Eating Line of Visibility Seating at Table, Giving the menu card, Taking order, Serving food &drinks, checking whether seats are ready or not Line of Internal Interaction Placing order, Taking drinks from counter, placing order on kitchen counter, cooking and serving meal Control Line Creation of special â€Å"order of the day† , Paying at counter etc. (Source: Gremler, n.d.) The failure points in each of the stage would be as follows: a) Line of Interaction: The seating arrangement, cutlery etc of the Edge restaurant can be termed as the failure points in the line of interaction. b) Line of Visibility: The

Aspects of Entrepreneurship as a Future Career Essay

Aspects of Entrepreneurship as a Future Career - Essay Example In this paper, the main focus will be to confirm the contemporary aspects of entrepreneurship and relate how they can apply to me as a future entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is usually a self-employed individual, hence enjoys enormous independence. The independence enjoyed by an entrepreneur is usually experienced as they launch ventures. Entrepreneurs have the flexibility and ability to multitask (Bharadwaj 1). Given their strong sense of responsibility, entrepreneurs can handle and deal with the basic requirements of starting up businesses on their own. Here, their independence may allow them not to seek professional assistance, which many opt for, and as required by the prerequisites, especially when it is a company involved. Entrepreneurs exercise their independence right from the point of being cognizant of the opportunity, resource gathering, network creation or building, goal setting as well as strategies implementation. An entrepreneur is highly reliant, and this helps them to avoid many of the business odds that come during its early stages. As an independent individual, entrepreneurs are jacks-of–all trades, making them single-handedly able to bring up a business from a scratch to operation. Research shows that many entrepreneurs record higher and significant job satisfaction than those in the wage employment (Naude 1). Such entrepreneurs usually receive satisfaction from for being self-employed as they have total control over their venture and its resources.

Western Art History and nudity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Western Art History and nudity - Essay Example Cubism began from the description of the geometric schemas cubes, which were paintings on exhibition in Paris. Though it does not refer to any art style or movement, its description has a great influence on all art movements. Purism was an improved version of Cubism because of the intense use of paint. A further explanation by the artists created a divide amongst people in that they misunderstood the true meaning of artwork. This movement was a tool that artists relied on to reform France by using simple art impressions. Nude art first began in Greece for religious and athletic festivals. The word nude brings pornography in mind. However, nude painting is a form of creativity in art while the nude photo has to do with pornography. The misconception brings confusion when artists display such creativity to the public. Nudity is an expression of art where the images appear with or with little clothing that cover the private parts. Such images portray meanings that the public can relate to life events. This kind of art is very rampant in the Western art history. In the medieval art, the use of nude images was to express emotions. Literally, the art meant something was pure, originally innocent or a sexual desire if not shame. However, every artist has its own way of bringing the meaning clear with such images. Some cultures associate themselves with such nudity as part of their culture. This depends with how the dress appears. In other communities, they are used for ritual purposes.

The queen of spades by pushkin, and The Shining Movie Research Paper

The queen of spades by pushkin, and The Shining Movie - Research Paper Example When the story unfolds the life of Hermann, an officer of the engineers in the Imperial Russian Army, and his attempts at the fortune of cards by some fouls means and, the movie revolves around the writer, Jack Torrance who takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel with his wife and son. The movie portrays the mysterious and the crucial series of incidents that took place in the life of Jack and his family during their stay at the hotel which is believed to be the abode of ghosts and evil souls. While going through both the story and the movie, one can see that both deals with ghosts to create an atmosphere of horror. Both Hermann and Jack suffer as a result of false imaginations. When Hermann in the story suffers from sleeplessness and horrid images of the ghost of the dead Countess as an outcome of his greediness to hoard money through gambling, Jack in the Movie The film ‘The Shining’ has almost all the features of a horror movie. ‘‘The Shining is set in the apotheosis of the Bad Place: not a haunted house, but a haunted hotel, with a different ‘real’ horror movie playing in almost every one of its guest rooms and suites’’ (254). The presentation of the characters and the scenes also conjoin with the nature of the movie. ‘King places a family which is already in crisis in this evil setting. People and place interact to create horror which is both natural and supernatural’ (Sharon 46). Stephen King, whose novel ‘The Shining’ has been filmed with the same title, states, â€Å"Horror allows us to penetrate the mystery of death: horror, on the one hand, shows a way to cope with death and, on the other hand, even suggests what might happen beyond death† (Heidi 119). The novel and the film provide so many instances establishing this fact through the life of the central character Jack. It was his attempt to penetrate into the mystery of "crazy woman in one of the rooms" creates all the troubles in his life (Heidi

The Guillotion Essay Example for Free

The Guillotion Essay The guillotin was a fast falling blade that extinguished life instantly. It was improved by Dr. Joseph Guillotin so that criminals can be wronged for their doings. Robespierre did not actually use the guillotin, but advocated the use of it. Robespierre quoted â€Å"Liberty cannot be secured, â€Å"Robespierre cried†, unless criminals lose their heads(225). â€Å"Maximilian Robespierre (1758—1794) did not have an easy childhood. Robespierre mother died when he was only 6 years old. Two years later, his father abandoned his family. The childrens aunts and grandfather then raised them. Because of this, Robespierre assumed responsibilities at an early age. Eventually, he went to study law at the university of Paris. His performance was chosen to deliver a speech to Louis XVI on the occasion of the kings coronation. But young Robespierre was snubbed. After listening to the address in pouring rainstorm, the king and queen left without acknowledging Robespierre in any way. Years later, in 1789, Robespierre was elected to the estates- general†(225). He also became a chief architect of the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror played a significant roll of the revolution. Which lasted from September 1793-July 1794 it provided hasty trials in which spectators greeted death sentences with cries of â€Å"Hail the republic or death to traitors†(225). About 300,000 ere arrested for resisting the revolution during the Reign of Terror. As many as 17,000 were executed many victims of this massacre were mistaken for others and falsely accused by their neighbors supporters of the revolutions were afraid for their lives. Robespierre believed that France could achieve a â€Å"republic virtue† only through the use of terror, which he defined as nothing more than prompt, inflexible justice. Robespierre was described as being physically unimposing and immaculate in attire and personal manners (Wikipedia/Maximilian Robespierre). He was a bloodthirsty dictator.

Justice System And The Cases Of Miscarriages Criminology Essay

Justice System And The Cases Of Miscarriages Criminology Essay INTRODUCTION Cases of miscarriages of justice have come to light in recent years and have become a celebrated issue in the society. Different reasons have been given for it like poor investigative interviewing practices, court processes and custodial practices. However, investigative interviewing practices is the most rated as the cause of these injustices, hence, the purpose of this essay is to see how these cases of miscarriages of justice have helped in changing investigative interview practices for better. INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING An interview is a conversation intended to yield information, it is essential to obtain correct, detailed and comprehensive explanations that are rich in detail from all those involved within the criminal justice process; from victims, witnesses, colleagues, friends, neighbours, family and suspects. Interviews are generally non-accusatory; during the course of an investigation the investigator will conduct interviews with all available witnesses and potential suspects. (Milne Bull, 2003, p.111) Investigative interviewing is an important part of the investigative process for patrol officers, loss prevention agents, detectives or other investigators. Most information is derived from people, which makes it important to have knowledge and skill in interviewing, in order to get the best of the interview process. The investigator should ask open-ended questions in an attempt to elicit as much information as possible. The interview subject should do most (75%) of the talking during the conversation (Reid Associates, 2001). If, during the interview it is found that the subject has lied, the investigator should generally not confront the subject. In most cases it is best to challenge a lie during a follow-up interview or once the interviewer has moved into an interrogation. Interviews are conducted at different levels of the investigative process, ranging from the initial police interview of a victim, witness, or suspect to an in-court interview in front of a judge or other decision makers. Interviews conducted during the initial phase of the police investigation are usually the most critical in determining whether a criminal case is solved (Fisher, Geiselman, Raymond, 1987), especially when there is little or no physical evidence and only one witness to guide the investigation. At this point in the investigation, there is considerable potential to extract extensive, accurate information, because the event is still fresh and, hence, relatively accessible in the witnesses memory. Furthermore, witnesses have had little time to think about the event, so their immediate perceptions are likely to be pristine, untainted by later influences. Properly conducted interviews may thus advance the police investigation immeasurably by yielding thorough, accurate rec ords of the crime details. On the other hand, poorly conducted interviews have the potential to distort the witnesses memories and contaminate the entire investigative process. (Hoffman, 2005) Among the most important traits for a successful interviewer are Empathy, Communication and Professionalism. All three of these characteristics combine to send a powerful message to the subject. That is, that the interviewer is an honourable person, who has all of the necessary evidence, and truly understands the feelings of guilt within the subject. Empathy is considered an essential characteristic of a good interviewer. EMPATHY Empathy is the ability to understand and share in anothers feelings (Webster, 1972). Investigators who adopt empathy easily identify with other people see things through anothers eyes. An interview or interrogation is a conversation between two human beings. The subject and interviewer are on an equal basis. Unlike the interviewer, the subject likely has no training whatsoever in interviewing. But as a person the interviewee communicates with others all the time and can identify when dealing with someone who is insincere. It is difficult to convincingly offer explanations and understanding to a subject when the interviewer cannot identify with the other person. This might make the interviewer seem insincere and make it difficult to obtain a fair account of the issue on ground. COMMUNICATION One of the most important traits of a good interviewer is being able to communicate excellently. When people communicate they use more than words. Tone, inflection, volume and pauses are all essential aspects of Para-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is as important as what is actually being said. Gestures, posture, hand, eye and head movement (or lack thereof) are vital parts of a persons non-verbal communication. The interviewer should also take note of the messages sent by the subjects physiological responses such as skin tone, sweating and respiration. In some circumstances the interviewer will notice that one can visibly monitor the subjects heart rate by observing the carotid pulse. The most important communication challenge for the interviewer is to be aware of all of these methods of communication. The interviewer must take note of what he or she is receiving and also of what one is passing across. The core of interviewing is communication, but how the interviewe r presents oneself to the subject is the first communication that occurs. PROFESSIONALISM The interviewer should be dressed in a professional manner. The interviewer should put into consideration the subject and the location of the interview before deciding on attire, the interviewers attitude should always be professional. No matter the outcome of the interview, the interviewer should not make sarcastic or disapproving remarks during or after the interview. The interview should begin civilly with a handshake and end in the same manner. The final role that professionalism plays in the interview is the attention to detail paid to the confession and statement. Someone, perhaps the interviewer, spent valuable time preparing the investigation. The investigation file will likely be full of detail and description. Once the subject confesses, the professional interviewer will follow through with developing the confession and capturing it in a detailed and accurate statement. Investigation is a core duty of policing. Given that the interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects is central to the success of an investigation, the highest standards need to be upheld. In order to do this, forces need to develop and maintain the valuable resource that the skills of their interviewers represent. Interviews that are professionally undertaken and quality assured can realise several business benefits. In particular, they can: Direct an investigation, which in turn can lead to a prosecution or early release of an innocent person; Support the prosecution case, thereby saving time, money and resources; Increase public confidence in the Police Service, particularly with witnesses and victims of crimes who come into direct contact with the police. Conversely, failure to professionally undertake and assure quality interviews can have adverse consequences in terms of failure to adhere to legislation, loss of critical material, unsolved crime, lack of credibility and loss of confidence. The gathering of information from a well-prepared victim and witness interview will contribute significantly to the investigation. An effective interview of a suspect will commit them to and account of events that may include an admission. In the admission, the suspect may detail how the offence was committed and thus the investigation can be more focused. The value of a properly obtained admission can prove the mens rea of the offence, beyond doubt. (Hoffman, 2005) MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE The mistakes that occur within the criminal justice system can be described in various ways; the criminal justice system is founded on the presumption of innocence; a legal fiction intended to insulate the individual from abuses of state power and reduces the likelihood of a factually innocent person being convicted. In order to cast this protective net as widely as possible, the appellate test has to be expressed in the neutral term of safety. The media and campaigners have different motivations and usually focus upon cases of innocence in order to attract public interest and to achieve reform. Despite the moral and political impact of innocence cases, for those who seek to safeguard the rights of defendants and to uphold the integrity of the criminal justice system, it is imperative to resist allowing the criminal justice debate to degenerate into competing claims of guilt versus innocence. Miscarriage of Justice has been defined as A grossly unfair outcome in a judicial proceeding, as when a dependant is convicted despite lack of evidence on an essential element of the crime. (Barak, 2007). This definition can be attributed to wrongful arrests, wrongful charges or indictments, wrongful sentences, but most notably wrongful convictions arising from improper and insufficient investigations. According to Barak, There are two general types of miscarriages of justice which are errors of due Process and errors of impunity. Errors of due process involve unwarranted harassment, detention or conviction, or excessive sanctioning of people suspected of crimes. Errors of impunity refer to a Lapse of justice that allows a culpable offender to remain at large or escape justice in some way. Error of due process can lead to error of impunity, thus, if a person is wrongly arrested, convicted and imprisoned for a crime that he/she did not commit. There is a good chance that the real offe nder will remain free to commit other offences, meanwhile, there is a probability that the real offender will be arrested, convicted and arrested for another crime. Both types of error can undermine the integrity and legitimacy of the Criminal Justice system. The origin of most miscarriages of justice can be said to be from the roots, which is the law enforcement agents. The police have a big role to play in ensuring justice is carried out always, but in doing this, proper investigations and interview have to be carried out to ascertain the right facts. There have been many celebrated cases and many more of miscarriages of justice, as in the case of Stephen Downing who was convicted of the murder of Wendy Sewell in a  Bakewell  churchyard in 1973. The 17-year-old had a reading age of 11 and worked at the cemetery as a gardener, he was made to sign a confession that he was unable to read by the police. The case gained international notoriety as the Bakewell Tart murder. After spending 27 years in prison, Stephen Downing was released on bail in February 2001, pending the result of an appeal. His conviction was finally overturned in January 2002. Miscarriages of Justice highlights the shortcomings of the Criminal justice system, it also reflects a tendency for police investigators to develop a theory as to responsibility for a crime and then to exclude all other avenues for investigation. (Dixon 1999). This may occur as a result of not following up other potential avenues of investigation or by active manipulation of evidence to support the theory. As in the case of The Cardiff Three, Steven Miller, Yusef Abdullahi, and Tony Paris who were falsely jailed for the murder of prostitute Lynette White, stabbed more than 50 times in a frenzied attack in a flat above a betting shop in Cardiffs Bute town area on Valentines Day 1988, and jailed in 1990. This was a serious case of miscarriage of justice as a result of poor investigation and interrogation by the police officers involved, the young men were bullied and coerced to falsely confess to a crime they did not commit, they were charged to court with the barest minimum of evidenc e and were later cleared on appeal in 1992; it was not until 2003 Jeffrey Gafoor was jailed for life for the murder. The breakthrough was due to modern DNA techniques used on evidence taken from the crime scene. Subsequently, in 2005, nine retired Police Officers and three serving Officers were arrested and questioned for false imprisonment, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and misconduct in public office. Another celebrated case of miscarriage of justice is that of Rachel Jane Nickell  (23 November 1968-15 July 1992) who was the victim of a  sexual assault  and  murder  on  Wimbledon Common,  London, on 15 July, 1992. She was stabbed 49 times. On 18 December, 2008,  Robert Napper, 42, pleaded guilty to Miss Nickells  manslaughter  on the grounds of  diminished responsibility.  Colin Stagg had earlier been charged and then acquitted in relation to this murder, as there was no forensic evidence linking Mr Stagg to the scene, the police asked  criminal psychologist  Paul Britton to create an  offender profile  of the killer. They decided that Mr Stagg fitted the profile and asked Mr Britton to assist in designing a covert operation, Operation Ezdell, to see whether Mr Stagg would eliminate or implicate himself, an undercover police woman using the pseudonym Lizzie James contacted Mr Stagg, posing as a friend of a woman with whom he used to be in contact vi a a lonely hearts column. She attempted to obtain information from him for over five months by feigning a romantic interest, meeting him, speaking to him on the telephone and exchanging letters containing sexual fantasies. Believing on the advice of the  Crown Prosecution Service  that there was sufficient evidence to convict Mr Stagg, the police arrested and charged him on 17 August 1993 with Miss Nickells murder. When the case reached the  Old Bailey,  Mr Justice Ognall judged that the police had shown excessive zeal and had tried to incriminate a suspect by deceptive conduct of the grossest kind. The entrapment evidence was excluded and the prosecution withdrew its case. Mr Stagg was acquitted in September 1994. This case is a clear example of a miscarriage of justice from different aspects; bad investigative interviewing, ignorance of other leads, bad decisions and errors on the part of the police officers. The main culprit was left roaming around and went on committing crimes before he was eventually caught for another crime. There have been lots of other cases of miscarriages of justice with poor investigative interviewing being the major cause and other factors too. This led to the emergence of Judges Rules which was drawn by Judges in 1912, which was revised over the years and added to over the years and remained in force until they were replaced by the Police and Criminal Evidence act (PACE) 1984 and the Codes of Practice (Home Office Circular 89, 1978) as a result public outcry concerning highly publicised miscarriages of justice (e.g. Guildford 4) in the UK, the Home Office is the central government department responsible for the criminal justice system) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) developed the investigative interviewing; ethos and PEACE training course in the 1990s PEACE continues to be the Police Service framework for interviewing. There are five phases to the PEACE framework which are: Planning and Preparation: This includes what to consider when planning for an interview, understanding the main aim and the essence of the interview to the case at hand. Engage and Explain: This describes how to cope with the special features of getting an interview started, involving the interviewee in the conversation, building rapport, setting the interviewee at ease and informing him/her about rights and other legal necessities, and establishing the ground rules. Account, Clarification and Challenge: This deals with the central issue of obtaining the interviewees account, clarifying this and, where necessary, challenging it. Closure: This is an important aspect of the whole process, a good closure is necessary to ensure that there is a mutual understanding about all that transpired, it describes the considerations before closing an interview. Evaluation: This consists of asking questions about what was achieved during the interview and how it fits into the whole investigation. Evaluation also includes the development of an interviewers skill level, through assessment (self, peer and manager) and feedback. According to Griffith Milne (2005) Most of the identified problems with police interviews prior to PEACE were due to miscarriages of justice linked to false confessions. These false confessions were due to bad police interviewing processes, though subsequent legislative which has authorised compulsory audio tape recording of all interviews with suspects and the right for a suspect to have a legal representative present should avoid a repetition of such occurrences. Miscarriages of Justice also led to the need to review police interviewing initiated under the auspices of the Association of Chief Police Offers (ACPO) and the Home Office. The National Strategic Steering Group on Investigative Interviewing exists to ensure the development and delivery of the most effective interview strategy. Its role is to ensure that a consistent and professional approach is adopted by the Police Service, which is able to withstand judicial and academic scrutiny and has the ability to instil public con fidence. The overall aim of the National Strategic Steering Group on Investigative interviewing is: To provide direction on the development of policy, practices and procedures to ensure that the interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects supports professional investigation. The terms of reference of the National Strategic Steering Group on Investigative interviewing are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To maintain an effective dialogue with key stakeholders to ensure high standards of professionalism and service delivery. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To monitor the potential impact of any changes in law and procedure on interviewing practices and make recommendations on further changes as necessary. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To provide advice to ACPO and other key stakeholders on technical and procedural issues that impact on the professional practice of investigative interviewing. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To ensure that the National Occupational Standards applicable to investigative interviewing are fit for purpose. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To inform the design and development of effective learning and development products that supports the National Investigative Interviewing Strategy. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To establish an effective partnership with the NPIA to develop professional practice and maintain operational support. The principles of investigative interviewing (NSLEC, 2004, pp. 16-20) which have generally stood the test of time have been revised. The Principles of Investigative Interviewing 2007 are: The aim of investigative interviewing is to obtain accurate and reliable accounts from victims, witnesses or suspects about matters under police investigation, accurate information to seek truth and not coercing false confessions. Investigators must act fairly when questioning victims, witnesses or suspects, vulnerable people must be treated with particular consideration at all times. Investigative interviewing should be approached with an investigative mindset. Accounts obtained from the person who is being interviewed should always be tested against what the interviewer already knows or what can reasonably be established, investigative interviewing should be approached with an open mind. When conducting an interview, investigators are free to ask a wide range of questions in order to obtain material which may assist an investigation. Investigators should recognise the positive impact of an early admission in the context of the criminal justice system. Investigators are not bound to accept the first answer given. Questioning is not unfair merely because it is persistent, the interviewers duty is to get accurate and reliable information from an interviewee no matter the number of times the question is asked, as long as it is done carefully and not in an oppressive manner. Even when the right of silence is exercised by a suspect, investigators have a responsibility to put questions to them, if the interviewer believes truth can be derived from the person in question. Miscarriages of justice threaten the very foundation of a society, because in every liberal legal system, legal rights and autonomy are paramount. Miscarriages of justice undermines these individual rights which has led to an outcry by society and prompted the necessary bodies to build laws, policies and practices to be adhered to in order to prevent further miscarriages of justice arising from investigative interviewing and thus has improved investigative interviewing practices. RELEVANT CASE LAW R. v. Downing (2003, March 10) Newstatesman R. v. Miller, Paris and Abdullah [1993] 97, G. App. R. R. v. Stagg (1992) The Sun. Retrieved 3 January, 2011.