Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Architecture - Essay Example Defining the various methodologies and looking at the research required then provides a different level of insight into creating the right approach in understanding and evaluating the architectural topics that are required. Qualitative Methods of Research The basis of qualitative methods of research is to associate with people or objects at a given level to collect data. Instead of using hard data, such as statistics and other formats of numbers, there is a relationship to the social aspect of data and how this alters in given situations. Social sciences, such as psychology and the arts, are able to use qualitative methods for specific interpretations and observations that are required. Surveys, interviews, observation and informal methods of collecting data are often combined with creating a relationship to various variables required. This is furthered with types of research that are used with qualitative studies. For instance, grounded theory takes the ideology of qualitative metho ds and proposes ways to move through the research process. This is inclusive of observing and gathering data as well as finding specific ways to analyze and interpret the method that has been used. This helps to explain the statements and actions with specific individuals while building meanings out of the observation. For this to work, there is the need to have grounding with theoretical ideologies, combined with the capacity of coding information into data that creates meaning (Charmaz, 2006: 3). For architectural alternatives, there is the ability to observe and analyze a variety of movements, actions and theories with the theory. This is combined with analyzing the outcome and observations associated with this. The strength in this is based on creating meaning for a social and cultural observation of society. However, there is also a specific interpretation which is made according to the researcher and the defining points of the observations made, as opposed to being based only on facts. A basis that is a part of research philosophies in architecture comes with the main topic area and how this influences the availability of studies. Architecture is considered a component of both the social sciences and an art form, both which create a broad range for study that can be considered. To further the research that is done according to subject matter is also the need to have a specific type of research to identify the architecture. Theory based data analysis becomes one of the main approaches to those studying the architectural forms. The theory data is provided with past theories of architecture, social movements, cultural affiliations and philosophies which are attributed to the buildings that are studied. The overview and observation that occurs with the form of theory based data analysis then offers a broad viewpoint of the architectural forms and how this links to the buildings and subjects that are a part of the research. In relation to this are formats suc h as the focal relationship, which takes at least two independent theories and compares them to identify the relationship with architecture to given theories. This provides a cause and effect theory, which shows the cause for building the architecture and the effect which this has had within the social sciences (Aneshensel, 2002: 11). The theoretical observation that takes place has strength in looking at the past theories and relating these to dependent

Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Example for Free

Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Magneti Marelli Holding S. p. A. , a division of Fiat, is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and is an international manufacturer that designs, produces, and supplies high-tech automotive components. The primary product range is engine control systems for gasoline and diesel engines. Magneti Marelli is currently present in five continents and 18 countries (Fiat, 2010). To create a more consistent environment in the global process, World Class Manufacturing (WCM) has been implemented in all Fiat manufacturing companies. World Class Manufacturing is an international methodology for the organization of the manufacturing cycle to manage plants in accordance with the best standards. The application of WCM principles and methods resulted in logistics and quality and significant cost reductions. Fiat’s manufacturing structure has become increasingly efficient and flexible and has enabled the company to gain a competitive edge. Strategy Description For several years, the Fiat Group has been working to develop into a global manufacturing entity with the highest standards. The implementation of World Class Manufacturing addresses all aspects of the organization including environmental, health and safety, quality, maintenance, cost and logistic issues from the standpoint of continuous improvement. The entire process revolves around the methodical identification and decrease or elimination of waste through application of standardized techniques and tools and involves everyone in the company. WCM recognizes that employee involvement and empowerment are critical to attaining continuous improvement in all fundamentals of the manufacturing system. Organizational development occurs predominantly through employee involvement. World Class companies invest relatively more in their worker relationships and offer appreciably more training. For program achievement, Human Resources needs to be a business strategic partner and a key member of the management team overseeing and providing operational leadership (Entrepreneur, 1996). Strategy Application The key to developing and maintaining a workforce capable of supporting World Class Manufacturing is to cultivate an atmosphere of employee engagement and team building. Developing a skilled and flexible workforce creates value for external customers. To sustain a talented labor force, Human Resources initiatives involve recruitment and hiring; performance management; employee development and training; leadership development and training; team building; and safety and health programs (Scondanibbio, 2010). By recruiting and retaining top talent by identifying skill gaps and focus training as characterized by WCM, turnover and absenteeism rates are lowered and productivity and efficiency from workers increases. Training employees provides the chance to take ownership of their daily activities. Working in teams and cross-functional training increases efficiency and eliminates clutter and confusion on the plant floor. One section of World Class Manufacturing is People Development (Scondanibbio, 2010). HR provides team facilitation, leadership, and direction guidance in meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating a vision that depicts the core values and purpose that guide the organization. It provides a worthwhile direction for designing, implementing, and assessing needed organizational changes. HR Professionals must sustain the change momentum through to completion by providing resources for change, developing new competencies and skills, and reinforcing new behaviors. Strategy Implications Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown which can impact worker competencies and coping abilities. Human Resources must prepare the workforce by meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. This requires HR to be both the constant and supporter in the middle of the turmoil of change. The organization looks to HR to provide needed structures, processes and approaches to support change management and to ensure the efforts deliver results (Belilos, 1997). World Class Manufacturing has defined key principles that define the organization and inspires doing things better and improving quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction. It is important to understand exactly what waste is and where it exists. For each identified waste, a strategy is prepared so performance and quality are improved. The identical process is also applied to human errors and gap analysis. Specific training models are designed applicable to the need. As the phrase indicates, World Class Manufacturing enhances an organization to be a global leader in performance and quality. Human Resources should have a clear understanding of the value of metrics and continuous measurement as the key to achieving sustainable efficiency and effectiveness. Using these outcomes, HR will have a thorough focus on talent and performance management to establish an integrated workforce management system that is closely aligned to the business needs and brand.

Legal issues :: essays research papers

ESSAY. The Constitutional system in Australia determines how the law is made. Some issues addressed by this are; The Federal government, division of powers, the separation of powers, amending the constitution, the high court and the constitution and transfer of powers. The federal System of government has one central government deal with matters involving the whole nation. This system was adopted in Australia on 1 January 1901.In a federal system of Government there must be a division of powers. Powers are divided between the states and federal government. The powers divided are legislative, executive and judicial powers. These are divided by the Australian constitution. The constitution provides for four types of legislative powers; Specific powers: areas of law making specifically mentioned in the constitution as belonging to the Federal government, Residual powers: powers that the states retained after federation, these are not mentioned in the constitution but became the states powers. Concurrent powers: areas over which the states and commonwealth have legislative power. Exclusive powers: areas over which the federal government has exclusive power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Separation of powers means that power is distributed between three arms of government. The three arms are; legislature, executive and judiciary. The judiciary is separated from the legislature and the executive, because of this it is independent and can examine their actions without bias. The legislature is separated from the judiciary and executive powers, because of this it is independent, providing for some rights which cannot be taken away by legislation and this allows provides for regular elections. The executive powers, there is no true separation between these two arm, because the British require that members form the executive arm be chosen from the legislature. However the power of the executive is subject to checks and balances in other ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amending the constitution. Section 128 of the constitution provides the procedure by which the constitution may be changed. The constitution can only be changed if a bill stating the question is passed by both houses of parliament and the change is approved by referendum by the majority of people in a majority of states. It is difficult to amend the constitution because it cannot be amended like any other law; if it were then the federal government could make laws on any area it chose by amending the constitution. For example the 6 November 1999 referendum asked the Australian public ‘do you support an act to alter the constitution to establish the commonwealth of Australia as a republic, with the queen and governor general being replaced by a president appointed by two thirds majority of the members of the commonwealth parliament’.

Commemorative Speech Essay

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban we were introduced to Sirius Black, a character who would change the Harry Potter world, as all readers would know it. I would like to commemorate his memory; not only because he did pass in Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, but also because he introduced us to the greater plot and foreshadowing that JK Rowling had in store for us, I am qualified to speak on this topic because I have read the Harry Potter series 14 times and listened to the audio books 8 times. Sirius is a fighter. Sirius spent 13 years in Azkaban, being held for a crime he didn’t commit, and never lost hope. Even though the whole wizarding world was against him and thought that he killed muggles, and Peter Petigrew, he fought to get out and protect his god son. Sirius is also a person who brought Harry information about his parents. Sirius was Lily and James’ best friend since the first day at Hogwarts, and grew up with them. Sirius exposed the truth that Wormtail betrayed his parents, and made the bold statement that â€Å"he would rather have died than betray his friends†. Sirius Black also turned into that person that Harry needed. Sirius was a father/older brother role model that Harry lacked and so desperately needed. Sirius was always there for Harry when he needed him. In the Goblet of Fire he gave him life saving advice when Harry had to face the 3 tasks. In the Order of the Pheonix Sirius calmed Harry about the uncertainties he had about his father, and came to his resuce at the Ministry of Magic. Everything about Sirius Black was crucial during the Harry Potter books. Sirius was one of the most influential and important character in the Harry Potter books, and that is why I chose to commemorate him.

Prisoner Abuse Essay

Introduction Prisoner Abuse is one of the biggest problems faced by the society. It is one serious problem in many countries worldwide. There are many kinds of abuse experienced by incarcerated men and women, with sexual abuse being the most serious case since the perpetrators is not only fellow inmates but jail guards and prison staff also. Overpopulation is also one form of abuse since the needs of the prisoners are not properly given due to the scarcity of resources brought about by huge population. Drugs and drug abuse are is still prevalent in the prison world. Drugs have been noted to have a detrimental effect to prisoners the impact which may last for a lifetime. These kinds of abuse should be given due punishments because the convicts, no matter how serious their crimes are, still deserve to receive treatment that is rightfully accorded to a human being. More and more inmates are stepping inside jails every year. Majority of them experience extreme abuse that even leads to death of some unfortunate inmates. It is saddening that these experiences of prisoners are hindered by many factors. They cannot demand for justice because their behaviors and emotions are controlled by authorities over them. There are also times when their complaints are not acknowledged since they are already imprisoned due to heavy crimes. This problem however needs to be solved since the effect of the abuse is not only physical; it also affects the sociological and psychological aspect of human beings. However, prisoner abuse is an unfortunate phenomenon that can still be prevented and controlled. Everyone is entitled to fight for his or her human rights. This also includes even the prisoners who are convicted with a crime, and they should not be denied of these rights. Defining Prisoner Abuse Prisoner abuse happens to incarcerated men and women through mistreatments. Incarcerated individuals suffer twice the punishment given to them because of abusive jail guards, jail employees, and co-prisoners. One of the ways in which inmates suffer abuse is through torture. As cited in the Human Rights website, torture in prison is defined as: any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity (Fathi, 2008). Violence among prisoners by fellow prisoners or jail guards and employees is also rampant. It is a great problem that should be addressed immediately. Prisoners of all cultures, races, ages, and social status experience abuse at some points of their lives in prison. The socioeconomic status and cultural background have a significant influence in the impact of prison violence. Poor prisoners are more likely to experience abuse because they cannot afford to hire attorneys to defend the kind of life they have in prison. Those who are not natives of one country are inclined to have hesitation when calling out for help because they are not speaking in that country’s language (Richie, 2000). Forms of Prison Abuse Prisoner abuse comes in various forms, all of which cause harmful effects to male and female inmates. It comes in the form of physical, psychological, sexual and verbal. Physical Abuse Physically, the prisoners are abused through hitting and continuous beating. Physical abuse may also manifest as forced work assigned to the victims which is not a part of their punishment when they are convicted. This also includes depriving them of their basic needs such as food and clothing by cruel jail employees. The growing population of corrections may also be considered as form of physical abuse. Due to the large population that results in scarcity of resources, the prisoners do not receive an adequate amount of their basic needs (Idaho Observer, 2006). One of the most controversial and disturbing issues regarding prisoner abuse is the ultimately degrading treatment of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq by American soldiers. A report made by Higham and Stephens (2004) at the Washington Post narrates how the Iraqi detainees were physically violated: Previously secret sworn statements by detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   describe in raw detail abuse that goes well beyond what has been made public, adding   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   allegations of prisoners being ridden like animals, sexually fondled by female soldiers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and forced to retrieve their food from toilets (Higham & Stephens, 2004). Many of the prisoners who experience physical abuse, particularly those in the Abu Ghraib, are treated like animals. Prisoners are also out of touch with the real world. Their socialization is hindered by many factors. They do not have the capacity to fight back since they are already convicted for the crimes that they made. Other cases of physical abuse go as far as the prisoner’s death. Verbal Abuse There are also instances of verbal abuse to prisoners. They are called imbecile, idiot, moron, and other nasty words by jail guards in order to humiliate them (Higham & Stephens, 2004). Higham and Stephens (2004) add that â€Å"some of the detainees described are being abused as punishment or discipline after they were caught fighting or with a prohibited item† (Higham & Stephens, 2004). According to the Idaho Observer (2006), the guards tend to think that the inmates always do something wrong. One of the guards admitted that if they catch the prisoners’ lips moving, they assume that the latter are not telling the truth (Idaho Observer, 2006). Words that are usually thrown by jail guards to inmates are often harsh and hard to take. These words are more discriminating and humiliating. There are also instances when prisoners who commit mistakes in front of their fellow prisoners are being shouted at by jail guards and employees. These are really improper ways of treating prisoners because it damages their self-esteem and has bad effect on their mentality (Higham & Stephens, 2004). Psychological Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Discipline is far different from torture. However, some jail authorities resort to using psychological abuse and mask it as a method of discipline for prisoners. This happens to prisoners by means of taunting, white noise, and not allowing them to sleep. Such cases of psychological abuse may lead to mental disorders. There are also threats given out to prisoners which cause paranoia and mental and emotional torture. Drug usage in prison may also lead to psychological disorders (Idaho Observer, 2006). One good example of psychological abuse in prison is cited in the May 2006 Idaho Observer report. The said report states that the abuse in the prison may manifest subtly. Instead of inflicting physical harm on prisoners, they are being abused by toying with them psychologically and emotionally. For instance, the jail employees leave the lights on for 17-and-a-half hours straight (4:30 in the morning to 10 in the evening). The guards also disturb the prisoner’s sleep by pointing the flashlights on the latter’s faces every 60 minutes or so, slamming the doors, and speaking loudly (Idaho Observer, 2006). Obviously, lack of sleep will cause one’s mind not to function properly. This kind of maltreatment in prisons is still rampant until today. Sexual Abuse The most popular abuse among prisoners is sexual abuse. There are many cases of forced sexual intercourse inside corrections. This abuse leads to diseases like AIDS and HIV. Sexual abuse is done by forcing prisoners to have sexual encounter with jail guards, jail employees and even their co-inmates. Sexual abuse is not only limited to prison guards and employees. It also occurs inside jail bars, the co-inmate being the perpetrator. Male to male sexual encounter occurs because they don’t have any choice but to satisfy their sexual needs by abusing their fellow male inmates. On the case of female prisoners who were sexually abused, lack of power hinders them to report the incident. There are times when sexual abuse to female prisoners occurs with the consent of the victim. However, this is still a violation of the law (Idaho Observer, 2006). Types of Prison Abuse Cases of maltreatment and mistreatment inside corrections take place when jail guards, any prison employee, or co-prisoner does something inappropriate to other prisoners. It comes in many abusive forms depending on the type. Although something bad is done by the inmate it is still improper to treat them like animals.   It is still a case of abuse of power by jail personnel and a violation of human rights. Drugs in Prison Using illegal drugs, drug trafficking and other drug related cases cause individuals to be imprisoned. To end the promulgation of drugs, the drug pushers are detained in jails. However, the issue on drugs does not end here. Some correctional tolerate the use of drugs among prisoners. Others are forced to use it while those who are already users before entering the bars continue to use it. Addiction among inmates of the prohibited drugs is also attributed to stress that they experience in such environment (Uchtenhagen, 2007). Because of drugs being trafficked in jails, inmates who used to use drugs mildly prior to being imprisoned may become highly addicted to drugs.   On the other hand, those who do not have any history of drug use may turn out to be drug users as their method of coping with stress and depression (Managing Drugs in Prison, 2007). Source of prohibited drugs are jail employees, jail guards, and those inmates who still have contacts on drug suppliers outside. Other causes of drug abuse inside prison are related to other types of abuse. When one prisoner is abused sexually, he/she is bribed by things like drugs to avoid complaining about the incident. Those prisoners who are users of drugs being incarcerated are blackmailed by using the victim’s personal cravings to drugs to get their consent and agree to be molested. Those prisoners who are weak are being bullied and forced to use drugs by those who are superior inside their cells (Managing Drugs in Prison, 2007). The effects of drug abuse to prisoners are really pervasive. They cannot act and think normally because of substance abuse. Their relationship with each other is also affected as well as their relatives outside the prison environment (Managing Drugs in Prison, 2007). Overpopulation in Prison Every year, more and more people are being incarcerated because of many reasons. Some are guilty of their crimes while others are victims of injustice. The increase in the number of prisoners equates to greater demands for resources and space inside the prison vicinity. However, the inmates are being abused by corrupt prison personnel who ask help from the government to aid the scarcity of prison resources like food, beds and others. In some cases, normal and mentally ill prisoners are combined in one place which makes the situation worse. Prisons which are overcrowded are, more often than not, unsafe as they warn of a riot erupting any time (Idaho Observer, 2006). One of the reasons for prison overcrowding is the incarceration of pregnant women. Women who are giving birth in prisons also increase at the same time. The problem here is not only the condition of the female prisoner but the condition of the infant being born in that kind of environment. The problem arises before and during the delivery since medical support is also inaccessible inside prisons. Sexual Abuse in Prison In some cases of sexual abuse in prison, bribery is included to avoid reporting the bad incident made to prisoners. Those who were abused are given cigarettes, drugs, clothing, access to telephone and other prison privileges in replace of sexual encounters. Offering goods to prisoners makes the sexual abuse possible because prisoners crave things that they only experience outside. Food and drugs are commonly used to perpetrate the abuse. Threats is also involved when forced sexually abuse is done. However, sexual abuse perpetrated by female inmates does not fall in the context of rape. This is because there is no force used to perform the abuse. â€Å"Girls are often framed by probation officers as being overemotional and needy† (Gaarder et al., 2005, p. 578). Male rape is a common thing inside prisons, but as for female prisoners, the enemy is not their fellow prisoners but much worse. They are the male prison guards and correctional staff. Female prisoners who are sexually coerced by jail guards give in because of fear. Sexual abuse is also used in most prisons to cover up more serious problems like drug addiction and carrying of deadly weapons behind bars. There are also cases when sexual abuse serves as the key to escape from jail.   Correctional employees assist the escape of female prisoners with whom they have sexual involvement (Human Rights Watch 1996). The problem of sexual abuse among women prisoners is much worse precisely because of their sheer number. Research shows that the United States has earned the distinction of incarcerating the most number of prisoners.   Most of these prisoners are women and their number is increasing dramatically at a fast rate. According to studies, since 1980, the number of women entering U.S. prisons has been raised to almost 400%, which is roughly double the incarceration rate increase of males. According to current statistics, nearly â€Å"half of all female prisoners have experienced some form of sexual abuse prior to incarceration† (Human Rights Watch 1996).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most common sexual abuse in prison always incorporates violence in it. In a report made by the Department of Justice in 2004, there are 8,210 allegations of sexual violence according to correctional authorities, â€Å"the equivalent of 3.2 allegations per 1,000 inmates and youths incarcerated in 2004† (Department of Justice 2005). When violence is mixed with sexual abuse, it is really damaging on the part of the victim. There are physical disabilities that may occur, including broken bones and joints, skin injuries, and many more. The worst cases of prison rape lead to the death of prisoners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rape cases also happen to male prisoners. There are male prison guards and correctional staffs that take advantage of the authoritative power and force male prisoners to have sex intercourse with them. Then they disguise their revolting act, by pretending as protectors of the prisoners. It often involves group of prisoners in order to scare the target prisoner to be raped. It is a setup made by having group of prisoners bully the victim and threatening him with body harm. At the point that they will hurt the victim, the so-called â€Å"protector† will try to defend the victim and scare the groups away. In order to repay the savior (a jail guard, a jail staff or a co-inmate), the inmate will be asked to do favors and be repaid sexually. Causes of Prison Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abuse of power is the main reason why there is such thing as prison abuse. Those who are in authority take advantage of their power and demands many things from others. Such dominance causes abuse and torture to poor convicted criminals trapped behind bars. The lack of courage to speak for the truth and shout for justice is also a reason why the abuse is done over and over to prisoners. Cases of sexual abuse are included in this example and cited in the Human Rights Watch website. These are the words of a male prisoner who was raped inside the institution. As he recalls: â€Å"I’ve been sentenced for a D.U.I. offense. My 3rd one. When I first came to prison, I had no idea what to expect. I’m a tall white male, who unfortunately has a small amount of feminine characteristics. And very shy. These characteristics have got me raped so many times I have no more feelings physically. I have been raped by up to 5 black men and two white men at a time. I’ve had knifes at my head and throat†¦There is no supervision after lockdown† (Human Rights Watch 2006),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When a prisoner looks appealing among the rest, there is a great chance of being molested by prison guards. Some prisoners use their charms to have access to other things like phone calls and extra food during meal times (Human Rights Watch 2006). Effects of Prisoner Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The effects of prisoner abuse can last a lifetime. The trauma and depression can be inculcated in the minds of prisoners who were physically, psychologically, verbally and sexually abused and leave them scarred permanently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Those who were brutally abused through physical means have traces of scars and bone injuries that cannot be treated anymore. There are also cases of physical abuse when one inmate is forced to have a tattoo by their fellow inmates. The denial stage comes in when they are visited by their relatives and ask what happened to them. They will try to hide the fact that they are abused by people who should have looked after them and just discipline them instead of giving them torture. Most prisoners are afraid of telling the truth because harder punishments will be given to them by their perpetrators (Men in Prison, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mental illnesses are also developed as years go by inside prisons. This is because the wide spread of drug abuse is rampant. It is obviously known that prohibited drugs cause malfunction in the brain. Other diseases like STDs (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and AIDS are attributed to sexual abuse inside prisons. This is the reality in the prison system which has been institutionalized in the society—a kind of system that contributes to the perpetuation of violence inside prisons (Men in Prison, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prisoner abuse also has sociological effects on the prisoner. The traumatic experience causes fear and trauma that will make him separate himself from everyone. The issue of women inmates giving birth to their child is also included because of prisoner abuse. The child is automatically separated from the mother once born inside the prison. In effect, the child may grow up without the necessary care and attention which is expected to be given by the biological mother. There are even cases of pregnant prisoners who are raped by prison guards. Such sexual abuse is really unbearable for the victim and their families. It does not only impact the prisoners but the institution as a whole. The reason why they are incarcerated is for them to be disciplined and not to be tortured and abused (Acoca & Austin, 1996). Sexual abuse makes the institution not credible in disciplining the prisoners. Instead, they themselves should be incarcerated as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When prisoners experience abuse, the effects can last a life time. The nightmare will forever haunt them and may lead to mental incapacitation or death at the worst. Those who experience sexual abuse and accumulate diseases find themselves committing suicide than suffer the illness daily. On cases of female prisoners who are raped, there is greater possibility of being pregnant. Being mentally ill is also an additional risk of being sexually abused (Acoca & Austin, 1996). Rights of Prisoners   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although a person is found guilty of a crime, there is still no reason for him/her to be abused inside prisons. There are several studies showing various changes regarding situations of prisoners. Most of the said report involve abuse without due punishment given to the perpetrators. Everyone has the right to seek for justice even if you are already set behind the bars. Inmates do not deserve any kind of abuse inside the correctional. They are placed there to be rehabilitated and disciplined, not to be punished twice for their misdeed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the report made by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice, prison population in the United States has grown to 2 million inmates (Longley, 2007). The said research also shows that the escalating number of inmates heightens the problem of sexual abuse while incarcerated. Such demands about this problem should no longer be ignored; preventive measures need be done eradicate this problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rights of prisoners as cited in the Human Rights Website (2008) are based from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992. These rights address the following: (1) All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. (2)The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation (Fathi, 2008). ICCPR also guarantees prisoner who were abused that there are remedies at hand to counter such violation of their human rights. The said covenant includes the following: (a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity; (b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy; (c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted (ICCPR, Art. 2, sec. 3, as cited in Fathi, 2008). Solutions to Prison Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aside from the rights and privileges mentioned above, there are a variety of solutions to end this abuse among prisoners. There are organizations and government groups that help victims of prison abuse. There are also preventive measures that can be followed so as to stop the occurrence of any kind of abuse. People against prisoner abuse are comprised of individuals who seek for justice for those abused prisoners. One of the organizations that have been fighting for inmate rights is the People Against Prison Abuse, organization established in 1994 to help inmates and their family. The said organization aims to assist the families and friends who are currently imprisoned (People Against Prison Abuse, 2008). It attempts to address the following concerns: The tax being paid by taxpayers over the past several years are said to be spent more on prison inmates than public education but it is not visibly seen. The medical care of inmates Overcrowding is always ignored which should not become a norm. Mentally ill prisoners are not properly taken care of and are often abused by guards because they are not trained on how to deal with such conditions. The physically challenged inmates do not have the medical care, equipment, and/or facilities to enable them to be a functional human inside the prison system (6)The vast number of industrial prison complex staff (wardens, guards, and medical staff) commit worse crimes than majority of inmates so they should be punished. (People Against Prison Abuse, 2008). The aforementioned concerns are few of the many appeals of people who want justice for prison abuse. It is also important to support organizations like this to make all people aware and to convince the government to â€Å"investigate conditions within our prisons and to pass legislation to protect prisoners from abuse† (Stop Prison Abuse, 2008). Conclusion It is saddening to note that the judicial system which is supposed to protect the oppressed likewise offers no solution to this problem as it would consider this problem as an internal matter and would rather allow prison officials to handle this matter amongst themselves. The indifferent attitude of the correctional officials to one inmate raping another is likewise depressing. It renders much harmful effects on the condition of the prisoner and the credibility of justice. Prisoner abuse is indeed a pervasive in penal institutions. This problem however is preventable and controllable if preventive measures will be enacted and the government will responsibly address the issue. The response need not be limited to their strict punishment as avoidance measures may be instituted as a matter of prison policy. â€Å"The governments often have limited resources on giving the right prosecution process for victims and offenders† (Hoffman, 1993, p. 1552). Prisoner abuse should be given immediate action so that it will never happen again. Abuse of authority should not be tolerated. This is a serious problem needed to be solved immediately.   Not only because the victim is already convicted, but because the victim is a human. Every human being has indelible rights. Conviction for a crime no matter how heinous it is will not strip him or her of these rights. References: Acoca, L. & James, A. (1996).The Crisis: Women In Prison. Draft report submitted to the Charles E. Culpepper Foundation. San Francisco, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Hoffman, Paul (1993).   The Feds, Lies and Videotape: The Need for an Effective Federal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Role in Controlling Police Abuse in Urban America. Southern California Law   Ã‚  Ã‚   Review, 66, 1522. Higham, S. & Stephens J. (2004). New Details of Prison Abuse Emerge. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43783-2004May20?language=printer Human Rights Watch. (1996). All Too Familiar: Sexual Abuse of Women in State Prisons. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://hrw.org/reports/1996/Us1.htm Human Rights Watch. (2006). No Escape Male Rape in US Prisons. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from:http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report.html#_1_2 Idaho Observer. (2008). Seven Years Abuse in Idaho Prison. Pro-Liberty Network. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://proliberty.com/observer/20060520.htm It’s Not My Problem. (2008) Men Stuff Organization. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/jailhouserock.html Longley, R. (2007). U.S. Prison Population Tops 2 Million.   About.com. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aaprisonpop.htm People Against Prison Abuse. (2008). People Against Prison Abuse. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from:http://www.peopleagainstprisonabuse.com/page1.html Richie, Beth. (2000). Exploring the Link Between Violence Against Women and Women’s Involvement in Illegal Activity. U.S. Department of Justice. Research on Women and Girls in the Justice System. Stop Prison Abuse. (2008) Stop Prison Abuse. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://stopprisonabuse.org/ Uchtenhagen, A. (2008). â€Å"Drug Prevention Outside and Inside Prison Walls.† Joomla!. Retrieved April 30, 2008 from: http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/97817.htm

Telecommunications Act Essay Example

Telecommunications Act Essay Example Telecommunications Act Essay Telecommunications Act Essay Communication laws and policies are important to ensure that the media serve not only their owners’ and content creators’ interests but also the society’s interests (p. 148). As members of the public sphere, both media and its consumers have the responsibility to comply with laws and policies. The Telecommunications Act addressed the issue of providing reliable and affordable services nationally and internationally, protecting users’ privacy and maintaining Canada’s identity and sovereignty (pp. 151-152). The main issue in the industry has been the transition from monopoly to competing services (p. 153). Instead of relying on one service provider that dictates every aspect of the service, competition is healthy and favorable. However, the Act should be amended to allow free market forces to achieve the policy objectives of an active Canadian communication line (p. 154), without giving up Canadian creativity and identity. Identity- and nation-building are also the objectives of broadcasting policies, specifically the Broadcasting Act. Broadcasting should be viewed as a public service and not an industry that merely entertains. With this in mind, it should provide educational arm’s length broadcasts (p. 155). Also, it is broadcasting’s technology to examine international wavelength, allotment, advertising, Canadian content, and ownership (p. 158). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s duty is to address issues on broadcasting licenses (p. 159), making sure that companies and individuals comply. Broadcasting content and access should also be prioritized as it tries to reach all Canadians in the country (p. 160), ensuring that Canadian creativity is presented in the programming (p. 161) and addressing Canada’s cultural diversity on TV screens (p. 162). Policies under the cultural industry film, music, print publishing, and the new media – also needs attention. For instance, funding in film has always been the problem in Canadian cinema. Filmmakers find it difficult to tap sources of funds to get their films done (p. 173). But even though funding may be solved, if audiences’ taste still craves for the larger-than-life Hollywood films, it will be useless. Therefore, it is best to give audience what they want. Furthermore, in the music industry, it is also the audience, together with technology, who are the ones who poses threat to radio and recording. Music downloading has stressed the fact that the recording industry has not been sufficient in giving what listeners want (p. 178). Even if Canada can boast of world famous singers, it cannot boast of a society free of copyright infringement. Not only have Canadians invaded the world’s music scene, but also the book publishing industry, as more and more Canadian authors become famous locally and internationally (p. 181). This has been due to the structural, cultural, and industrial support from the government (pp. 180-181). To continue good readership, assistance should be further strengthened, most especially financially. The government has also supported Canada’s drive to exempt culture in international trade negotiations (p. 189) by preserving Canadian identity. Genuine Canadian magazines’ goal of reaching Canadians through access to Canadian information (p. 185) is a wise decision to preserve culture and community, thus needs to be further intensified. As part of this community, Canadians should be the ones to demand for the proper, credible, and truthful information they need. They should not tolerate monopolistic companies with newspaper ownership on their prejudices, inaccuracies, misinformation, and disinformation. They should voice out their right to acquire quality news and information that is expected of newspapers and the whole of the media industry (p. 193). With the new media around and thriving, the communication and culture industries need much of audience participation, intelligent choice, and involvement, so that laws and policies will be highly effective. These are not supposed to be rules to be broken, but guidelines to help develop better, well-informed, and responsible Canadians.

How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers

How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers Your Resume:   Humans vs. Computers When I give webinars on writing resumes, one of the topics I cover is how to make your resume visually appealing.   I often get this question: Why would I want to spend so much time and money making my resume pretty if it’s just going to confuse the computers? My answer is that yes, the computers are important, and that you ALSO need to have a resume that’s designed to be read by human beings.   We all know that you are most likely to find your job through networking or the â€Å"hidden job market.† When you send materials to someone in your network or to a decision-maker in the hidden job market, you want to include a professional-looking resume.   And when it’s time for an interview, it’s also advisable to have a nicely formatted resume to hand across the table. For those of you who are hoping to get those interviews by applying online, the question still remains: How can I write a resume that makes it past the computers?   In other words:   How can I raise my odds above 2%? Keep reading. There are two issues with submitting online resumes.   One is the format of the resume; the second is the keywords it contains. Formatting for Robots: ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software is not the smartest software in the world.   It gets confused by bullets, non-traditional headings, graphs, tables, and text boxes.   So you need to have a version of your resume that is stripped down and organized just for the computers. We call this your â€Å"text-based† resume. Your text-based resume should follow these guidelines: Create it in (or copy it into) a text editor such as Notepad, SimpleText or TextEdit. Use easily understandable headings like â€Å"Summary of Qualifications,† â€Å"Professional Experience† and â€Å"Education.† Don’t get fancy or creative with your headings, and don’t put two categories together in one section.   Do NOT, for instance, use the heading â€Å"Education Certifications† or â€Å"Skills Interests.† Use dashes or asterisks instead of bullets. List your address in standard â€Å"tombstone† style, one line on top of the next. Put spaces between sections. Here’s what your text-based resume might look like (beautiful, isnt it?): How will you know what keywords to use in your resume? Just because the computers can read your resume doesn’t mean you will have the right keywords to make it past their screening systems. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the keywords that truly make a difference with computer scanners are the ones you have on your resume that not everyone else includes. I have no doubt that you have great experience that qualifies you for many positions. If the computer can understand and rank it properly, it will help you immensely.

Your Trucker Future Forecast

Your Trucker Future Forecast Wondering what the state of the trucking industry looks like from the vantage point of industry insiders? If so, then keep reading! TruckingInfo.com recently looked at a nationwide GE Capital forecasting survey given to mid-market trucking company execs. The results? Company insiders see a trend towards growth over the coming year, in business, employment, and equipment expenditures. Execs point to growing optimism in the national economy as a key factor.The outlook over the next 12 months isn’t completely rosy, however. Execs also anticipate a number of challenges including key regulatory concerns involving the hours of service regulations, CSA, and reauthorization of the highway bill. Retention of quality staff, fluctuations in oil and gas prices, and commodity costs are also concerns.What should you make of these results? Well, if you’re looking to become a driver, the overall outlook is a good one! An optimistic outlook on hiring means that now could be a great time to make a move if you’ve been thinking of becoming a driver. So make your move and find yourself on the road to a new career!GE Capital Survey Forecasts Expanding Trucking IndustryRead More at TruckingInfo

HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY QUESTION ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY QUESTION - Assignment Example Unlike meiosis which occurs in the gamete cells. The first mitotic stage is prophase. During this stage, the observable changes include the fading of the nucleolus while the chromatin material condenses together and forms the chromosomes. A chromosome is made up of two chromatids which have identical genetic material. Another significant change is the disassembling of the microtubules of the cytoskeleton. These are responsible for cell shape and motility. After this the cell moves to the next stage. Metaphase is the second stage in mitosis, during this stage, the nuclear envelope breaks making the nucleus no longer distinct. Another notable change is the elongation of spindle fibers. These elongate from the centrosomes and attach themselves to the kinetochores. After this, all the chromosomes are aligned in one plane at the center of the cell. This is due to the tension created by the spindle fibers. In anaphase, the third stage in mitosis, the spindle fibers shorten. The chromatids are pulled apart to opposite poles of the cell. In telophase, the fourth stage in mitosis, the daughter chromosomes are at the poles. The spindle fibers degenerate. Cytokinesis involves, the cleavage of a contractile ring that cleaves into the two daughter cells. After this microtubules responsible for cell shape reorganize it. Mitosis is important for growth and repair in eukaryotic organisms. The daughter cells have same number of chromosomes as their parent. It is important to note that unicellular organisms also use mitosis for reproduction. This is the type of cell division that divides the number of chromosomes by two. It occurs in gamete cells. Unlike mitosis, meiosis occurs in phase I and phase II of all the stages discussed in mitosis. The result is that the genetic material is divided by two. Prophase I: Chromosomes become visible at this time due to the condensation of the chromatin material. During the S phase, the chromatid duplicates so they are two

Is speech recoding necessaryfor reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is speech recoding necessaryfor reading - Essay Example Triumphant readers can be carved up with the help of tutors specialized in psycholinguistics. The tutors need to adopt sophisticated and analytical approach with respect to their training to read. What is the basic framework that help these tutors build up an advanced perceptive of the cognitive growth that happens as a child enter into the process of reading? The cognitive psychological domains listed with the framework may prove to be important to develop reading acquisition. However, it is important for every teacher to assess the development of every child with respect to the cognitive domains. Different children may hold diverse talents, backgrounds and weakness. Therefore, it forms a necessity to provide the instructions knowing their mode of grasping. To find out the reading instruction requirement of a child, the teacher needs to conduct ongoing evaluation. Is their any special group who require special attention and instructions to develop reading skills? What are the tactics induced to help these groups to emerge as successful readers. Children with reading disability or complete deafness need more attention compared to the normal group. How can speech recording help this group? Children with attention disorder and hyperactivity disorders also require more attention to learn the basic process of reading. You may find ideas, techniques and successful instructions to help develop winning readers from these categories also. According to certain researchers, reading is a habitual process, which does not require much psychological effort. However, we need to find out how this habitual process is connected with speech coding. According to experts, there are two vital components necessary for reading comprehension. The initial one forms the capability to transform wording to speech, so called the decoding. The next vital component forms the capability to comprehend verbal language referred as the

Tax return problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tax return problem - Essay Example For instance, the capsizing of Paul’s boat is not exempted from the tax imposed on his income, but his sale of shares and the profits that he made from the sale of Acme shares are included in the tax thus increasing the amount he is taxed overall. Secondly, the addition of the extension to their house to accommodate Hanna, leads to an increase in the property tax. Another major consideration that has to be imposed is the child support they receive from Bob, since the paper requires the child tax laws to be ignored. Such considerations had to be included in the calculation process. Primarily, income, expenditure and property changes schedule were included to evaluate the changes in the amounts. After the schedule was evaluated, then the tax calculations were made. The focus was put on the changes in the tax, using the same ratio as that imposed by the IRS on previous incomes. Alternatively, all the additional incomes would be collectively collected and then taxed. Additionally, the unreimbursed expenses that Paul underwent were not considered, as the latest the tax refund will be made is in December 2012. This shows that despite the fact that they were unreimbursed, by the time the refund is made the tax will have already been imposed for the next year, thus showing that it will be exempted from the next year

Management Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Style - Essay Example Currently, the management of the firm is focused on the creation of management structures that will enable the expansion of its core strength as a global technology, electronic and entertainment company. The current Chief Executive Officer is Kazuo Hirai. The responsibility of the C.E.O is to run the firm’s business operations globally. Sony Corporation is a design and production intensive firm. The founders of the firm provided the platform for the current design management style used by the current managers (Nagasawa, 2013). Design management style uses design, project management, supply chain techniques and strategy to control a firm’s creative processes. The style is suitable to Sony because it establishes a structure and organization for design. It also supports a culture of creativity. Design management is based on the objective of developing and maintaining a business environment where companies and organizations can achieve their mission and strategic goals through design (Chang, 2011). Sony uses this style because of its strategic advantages in the establishment and management of effective and efficient system. Design management covers all areas of a business. These range from operational and strategic activities to the discovery phases and implementation phases. The management style encompasses ong oing processes, strategies that facilitate innovation and business decision making. Most importantly, design management works in hand with operational, marketing and strategic management. Sony’s design management approach is focused on asset management. In this case, the firm highly values its assets, which range from its innovative products, human resources and projects (Borja, 2003). Design management approaches asset management with an objective of creating value. The style also approaches attitude management with an aim of adjusting employee’s mental attitudes (Nagasawa, 2013).

Todays Business Environment of JetBlue Case Study

Todays Business Environment of JetBlue - Case Study Example Indeed, business has been growing as a result of the strategy but the problem is that it is not fully sustainable in the long run which has influenced the airline to seek leadership changes. Â  Today’s business environment is characterized by an increasing intensity of competition, rapid technological changes as well as the ever-changing needs of the customers and the employees. Success in this dynamic and competitive environment depends on the extent to which the organization develops, implements, monitors and evaluates its business strategy (Temtine, 2001:1 as cited in Roussow 2003). At times the organizations fail not because of the strategy but the execution of the strategy. Thus the aim is to develop a strategic management and competitive advantage plan in order to ensure the viability of the airline in the long run. Â  Against all odds, JetBlue managed to gain a competitive advantage since its inception due to different reasons. Through embarking on the value chain, the organization managed to attract many customers since it was rated as one of the airlines offering best service. The concept of value chain entails that value chain entails that any business ought to separate its business systems into various activities which can add more competitive advantage to its operations (Robinson 1997). For instance, the aim would be to offer the customers with first class service which would be valuable in other activities to the customers. Part of the system of value chain involves identification of the customer needs as well as the generation of sales. There would also need to offer support to the customers after the services have been sold to them. The primary activities of value chain would also involve infrastructural development which can support the control systems as well as company culture.

Animals with a saccade and fixate eye movements strategy. Why should Essay

Animals with a saccade and fixate eye movements strategy. Why should this be so - Essay Example In animals the visually elicited spikes have been supported by the modulation in Neuronal excitation. Naturally movements of the eye introduce artifact recordings that are done by the electroencephalographic commonly known as the (EEG). The saccade is the word use to refer to the fast eye movement. The eye being on organ in animals can be referred to as a device the same as in a machine that is very useful with the issue of providing sight to the animal as per that matter.When these simulations are done in a quick movement then this is termed as Saccade where both the eyes do move in the same direction. The focus that comes with the eyes moving straight to the area of interest or concern has been researched as being the fixation. For instance animals are able to detect danger and keep a sharp eye focus on the enemy or at times it might not necessary be danger but the animal has spotted its prey. This will cause more concentration as there is need for food (Johansson, 2001).. The eye at this point has been used for locating the food and then the hunting will take place. This strong focus is what is being referred to as fixation. There are always some small eye vibration that so important in visibility moreover to stand still objects. There is circular kind of movements that will be of great importance in giving a clear and stable image. When we refer to the issue of visual fixation we do refer to the starring of a given point. There is need for the co-ordination of the eye the head and other body parts that will bring Saccade and visual fixation to inter-marry. These bring about speed of responding to events and situations. Let’s take an example of a cheater hunting a gazelle in the field. The Saccade will occur when the cheater will focus and move as close as possible to the prey and the fixation of the eyes will be that it won’t change its focus on the prey (Regan, 2000). On the other hand when the gazelle notices the enemy it will moves with spe ed to save its life as the cheater remains focused to the prey to keep it alive or else it will die of hunger. Now the mechanics on the three fixations does occur when the eye movement is given the category of ocular drift. There are micro saccades and then the ocular micro tremors (Brain, 2006). Their function is to perceptual. Oscillation that occurs from this kind of fixation has not been well detected. The cat family, the primates the avian such as the eagle and owl has been reported to have the best fixation practices. They have a very sharp connection between the eye and the brain that helps the to be well adaptable their environment. They connect the neurons in various different visual parts and connect to their brain perfectly (Brain, 2006). This shows that the text processing is ‘on-line’ on a fixation by the fixation basis. In a similar way, difficult words often result in longer fixations. This indicates that cognitive process operates within single fixations . Like music playing, copy typing has a motor output. According to (Butsch, 1932),a typist of any skill levels always attempt to maintain the eyes about one second ahead of the letter he is currently typing. This is much the same as it is in music reading (Butsch, 1932). In both musical sight-reading and text reading, the gaze must move progressively to the right side. However, it is more complicated in that there are two staves -for key board players- from which the notes are must be acquired. As recorded by Weaver (1943), eye movements of trained pianists gets their gaze alternated severally between the lower and upper staves. This alternation clearly shows that notes that are to be

Todays Business Environment of JetBlue Case Study

Todays Business Environment of JetBlue - Case Study Example Indeed, business has been growing as a result of the strategy but the problem is that it is not fully sustainable in the long run which has influenced the airline to seek leadership changes. Â  Today’s business environment is characterized by an increasing intensity of competition, rapid technological changes as well as the ever-changing needs of the customers and the employees. Success in this dynamic and competitive environment depends on the extent to which the organization develops, implements, monitors and evaluates its business strategy (Temtine, 2001:1 as cited in Roussow 2003). At times the organizations fail not because of the strategy but the execution of the strategy. Thus the aim is to develop a strategic management and competitive advantage plan in order to ensure the viability of the airline in the long run. Â  Against all odds, JetBlue managed to gain a competitive advantage since its inception due to different reasons. Through embarking on the value chain, the organization managed to attract many customers since it was rated as one of the airlines offering best service. The concept of value chain entails that value chain entails that any business ought to separate its business systems into various activities which can add more competitive advantage to its operations (Robinson 1997). For instance, the aim would be to offer the customers with first class service which would be valuable in other activities to the customers. Part of the system of value chain involves identification of the customer needs as well as the generation of sales. There would also need to offer support to the customers after the services have been sold to them. The primary activities of value chain would also involve infrastructural development which can support the control systems as well as company culture.

International Human Resource Management - International competition Essay

International Human Resource Management - International competition - Essay Example Differential payment is not just a business tactics but a whole some strategy developed by new international human resource management for multinational corporations. Yet, the reality of pay differentials among the international staff does not normally lead to grievances among them. Multinational corporations usually stick to a number of principles of international compensation strategies in order to overcome the ill-effects of pay differentials. The present study is an effort in delineating the mechanism of pay differentials followed by multinational corporations and its effect over the employees from different national environments. The practices of multinational corporations aim to get rid of the resentments and motivational issues pertaining to pay differentials among the international staff would be examined in detail and with theoretical rigour. There is no consensus among the theorists of international compensation strategies over the question of the correct approach to the understanding of pay differentials, related grievances and appropriate compensation strategies (Scullion and Linehan, 2005). Rather than adhering dogmatically to a single approach, the paper tries to synthesise the wisdom each approach in understanding and defining the subject-issue. The paper would primarily give a clear picture of the existing practices of international compensation and multinational common and theoretically validated reactions for addressing the possible and real negative effects of pay differentials among the international staff. The issue of performance management, especially the difficulty of neutral performance appraisal would be examined with special emphasis. Moreover, the paper would be a comprehensive and introductory appraisal of a complex issue which is an important matter of debate in the present business world. Pay Differentials and Compensation Strategies of Multinational Companies International compensation as a concept encompasses the issues and concerns regarding the defining aspects of international compensation, the determining factors of international compensation strategy, reforming compensation along with international transfer within MNCs, and disparities in international compensation (Dowling and Welch, 2004). Performance appraisal is vital in performance management as a core human resource management activity. Revealing the importance of compensation strategy in the practices of multinational companies, Fenwick defines the compensation system of an organisation as "the usual means by which employee rewards are planned and administrated" ( 2004, p. 308).Compensation strategy is increasingly becoming integral to the conduct of organisational strategy as globalisation of market became a reality with an unprecedented pace and intensity (Tayeb, 2005). It is important to not that no distant corner of the world is out of the reach of the twenty first centu ry globalised market. For Fenwick, international compensation is "the provision of monetary and non-monetary rewards, including base salary, benefits, perquisites, long- and short-term incentives, valued by employees in accordance with their relative contributions to MNC performance"( 2004, p. 308). The very structure of organisation itself has become transformed in great deal to get adapted with

Yosemite National Park Essay Example for Free

Yosemite National Park Essay The Yosemite Valley is regarded by its visitors as one of the World’s greatest natural wonders. People were attracted to its crowding beautiful scenery all in one small area. These include the five domes, lakes and caverns, cliffs and mountains elevated form 13,000 up to 15,000 feet (Hittell 1868). Yosemite National Park is found in eastern parts of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera countries located in east central California, United States. Extending across the Sierra Nevada mountain chain, the park area was measured 3,081 square kilometers (Harris 1997). According to Hamilton and Hamilton (2006), majority of Yosemite is composed of Plutonic igneous rocks which forms underground when magma cools and solidifies slowly forming large crystals. Yosemite Park is composed of plutonic rocks including tonalite, quartz monzonite, granodiorite and granite which were loosely treated as granitic rocks. Gabbro, quartz diorite and diorite are plutonic rocks which cannot be technically recognized as granitic rocks. Minerals including potassium feldspar, biotite, hornblende, plagioclase feldspar and quartz constitute plutonic rocks. The texture and relative extent of quartz and feldspar largely differs in plutonic rocks. The formation of different bodies of individual plutonic rocks was due to the repetition of magma intrusions into host rocks beneath the Earth’s surface taking 130 million years ago. The plutonic rocks previously inside the Earth are already out at the surface due to deep erosion and elimination of the previously overlying rocks. Within Yosemite, only small amounts of volcanic igneous rocks were found. Beneath the surface, latite lava flows, basaly flows and latite tuff are found while obsidian, ash-flow tuff, rhyolite and pumice were found on the surface. Huber (1987) stated that on each side of the batholith of plutonic rocks, metamorphic rocks of two northwest-trending belts were found. He added that metamorphic rocks were formed from the alteration of sedimentary and volcanic rocks due to high pressure, cutting stress and temperature beneath the Earth’s crust. Volcanically originated rocks are called metavolcanic rocks while those with sedimentary origin are called metasedimentary rocks. As explained by Lawson (1921) from the Handbook of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada belongs to the class of mountains of the Basin Range type. The Great Basin is a region being described as without drainage to the sea which lies between Wasatch and Sierra Nevada. The blocks which were found in this region of the Earth’s crust were broken and elongated in a north to south direction. The blocks under the wide valleys of the desert have been reclined and depress while the others was uplifted and composed the linear mountain ranges. Matthes (1930) indicated in his work that the characteristic, structure and history of the two mountain systems were known by certain rock formations. The fossil remains preserved in rocks indicate the approximate time of creation. 415,000,000 years ago covered by the Paleozoic era, accumulation of thickness of thousands of feet on the Pacific Ocean’s floor was caused by the outwashing of sediments from the continent. The sediments are then uplifted dry folded forming mountain ranges in the Permian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period of the same era. During the Mesozoic era, which was 40 million years ago, in the Triassic period, the mountains slowly faded to hills and land sunk below the sea depositing new sediments. During the Jurassic period, as the sea bottom sinks more sediments were laid down. Parallel northwestward-trending mountain ranges came from the folded and crumpled remains of the old and new sediments. The folds below were accumulated with molten granite. In the Cretaceous period which is 75 million years ago, gradual worn down of the mountain ranges and the region resulted to its reduction into lowland. Streams carried away masses of thousand feet thick granite and sedimentary rock uncovering wide areas. The region together is gradually upwarded to moderate heights. Due to volcanic burst, the land in the northern region was continually covered with mud, mash and rhyolitic lava. In the Oligocene period, Rhyolitic materials were worn away due to continuous erosion. During the Miocene period which was 12 million years ago, the northern half of the region was covered with succeeding flows of andesitic lava and mud due to the beginning of another volcanic eruption. Irregular minimal crust movement and volcanic eruption happened. After that is a period of stability. The lofty block range with steep eastern front of the Sierra Nevada was caused by the transformed forceful tilting with strong faulting movements along its eastern margin. Pleistocene epoch is known for the great ice age, it was characterized by repeated mantles of glaciers at the higher regions of the range. Twenty thousand years ago up to the present time, is considered as the postglacial time wherein the normal climatic conditions returned. According to Harris (1996), island arc of volcanoes that was located at the west coast of proto-North America was due to the generation of Farallon Plate subducting beneath the North American plate. When two tectonic plates move and meet toward each other one moving down into the mantle and one sliding beneath is called subduction. During the Jurassic era, volcanism intruded and covered the rocks and these rocks eventually eliminated by the process of uplifted-accelerated erosion. 210 million years ago up to 150 million years before today, regional plutonism occurred. Plutonism is the process wherein rocks are formed due to volcanic activity. Around the same period of time, Nevadan orogeny occurred. Orogeny is the process of natural mountain building through distinctive structural phenomena. The rocks formed were composed of mostly granite and below the ground measures 6 miles. Uplifting of the Sierra Nevada was due to the vertical movement along the fault. The difference of westerm-flowing streams promoted the uplift of Sierra Nevada. The streams ran faster quickly cutting the valleys. Creation of Owen’s valley was due to the development of major faults to the east. Sierra’s uplifting accelerated during the Pleistocene. Exfoliation occurred due to the pressure produce by the increased erosion and uplifting exposing the granitic rocks into the surface. Exfoliation is responsible for the rounded shape of many domes in Yosemite National Park. Harris (1996) also stated that about 2 to 3 million years ago, the region has been changed by glaciations. Sherwin, Tahoe, Tenaya and Tioga are the four glaciations which have taken place in Sierra Nevada. The largest glaciers produced are from the Sherwin glaciation while the other stages only form smaller ones. It was said to be the reason for the largely excavated and shaped of the Yosemite Valley. Figure 1. Geological Map of Yosemite National Park Source: http://geomaps. wr. usgs. gov/parks/yos/yosmap. html References Hamilton, Calvin. , and Hamilton, Rosanna. Yosemite National Park Rocks. 2006. 14 May 2008 http:// www. scienceviews. com/parks/yrocks. html. Harris, Ann. Geology of National Parks 5th edition. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. , 1997. 2008 17 May 2008 http://people. uwec. edu/ERICKSKM/references. html. Hittell, John. Yosemite: Its Wonders and Its Beauties. 1868. 20 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/yosemite its wonders and its beauties/general features. html Huber, N. King. The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park. 1987. 17 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/geologic_story_of_yosemite/rocks. html. Lawson, Andrew. Handbook of Yosemite National Park. 1921. 17 May 2008 http://www. yosemite. ca. us/library/Handbook_of_Yosemite_Nat’l_park/ Matthes, Francois. Geologic History of Yosemite Valley. 1930. US Geological Survey Proffesional Paper 160. 17 May 2008 http://www. nps. gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/pp/160/

System Design Of The Waterfall Implementation Model Information Technology Essay

System Design Of The Waterfall Implementation Model Information Technology Essay The Waterfall model is a chronological software development process, where the progress in develop the software is flowing from upward to downward (like waterfall) through the stages of Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification and Maintenance. The first waterfall model is published on article in 1970 by Winston W. Royce[1]. In Royces original waterfall model, the following stages are followed in order: The waterfall model implemented in this study is preceded with the requirement analysis. Here, the requirements of the new software will be identified. The literature review about the software or system that wants to design must be done. Even a small project of calculate the sum of numbers also need to be written with the output in mind. All requirements will be listing and presented to the team of programmers. The software and hardware will be analyzed include the deciding of computer language used to design the software. System Design This implementation is followed by the next stage in the waterfall model, which is the system design phase. In this section, the requirements that have been analyzed will be translated into detailed design and flowchart of the software code is being created. System design is the important stage that depending on the previous stage to make the great implementation and can be executed properly. When have anything requirements to be insert in designing the code, it will be add up in the requirement analysis phase and the design phase is carried out based on the new set of resources. System Construction (Coding) In the system construction phase, all the design will be converted into machine-readable coding. The coding of the software that wants to be developed and implemented is carried out based on the algorithm or flowchart designed before. Here, all of the ideas in developed the software of program to be designed is turn up. System Integration The various codes designed by different programmers will be integrated together so that, at the next stage of system testing will have no problem. System Testing The complete coding will follow by the testing department where it testing based on the functional and non-functional requirements. It checks if there is any problem in the designed software and if it follows the specifications. At this stage, testing activity will include the involvement of computer technician and client. Here, the good flow of the process in designing the software will ensure satisfaction from the client. If there is any problem with the design, it must be reverted back to the system design. Coding and testing are repeated again. System Installation For the last stage of the software development process, using waterfall model, a proper execution of all previous stages will ensure it is followed the requirements and more important to satisfied the client. The setup of final software which needs to be installed at the client system will be tested so that, the client does not face any problem while using the software. Here, the product is handed over to client. System Maintenance Some support regarding the software that has been developed must be provided to the client. If have any problem about the software or clients demand some further enhancements to the current software, so that, all of the process need to be started from the requirements analysis. Waterfall Model Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages Linear model are the most trouble-free to be implemented and easy to understand. Cannot go back if the design phase has any problem. The amount of resources required to implement this model is very minimal. Any change in implementation the software is a source of confusion. Documentation is produce at every phase of the waterfall model development. Small error that arises in the completed software will become a big problem. Testing is done in every main stage of software coding. Errors in the code only discovered when the testing phase is reached. Waste time and other important resources. Employs a organized, conventional method of project development and delivery. Client doesnt get a chance to see the software until the last stage of development cycle. Not suitable for project requirements that are dynamic or constantly changing Waterfall Model Vs Agile [3] Waterfall Model Agile Model History Waterfall model established as a method by Winston Royce in 1970. The idea of Waterfall model was generate from the hardware manufacture strategies and construction strategies that were produce in 1970s. Agile model were formally defined by Edmonds in 1974. The agile model of software development progress in 1990s when developers changed from traditional structured to flexible development styles. Conceptual Difference Waterfall model is the chronological process of software development. The model phases are state below: Requirements specification, conception, analysis, design, coding, testing and debugging, installation, and finally maintenance. The next stage of development can be do when the first stage are fully completed. After the design stage is finish, proceed to implement based on the coding stage without any alterations. Agile model focuses on agility and adaptability in development process. Involves multiple iterative that used to improve the output of process. The design can be changed even in the last minutes due to iterative implementation. Faster than waterfall model and deliver the working program. Efficiency Less efficiency than agile model due to its compliance to the real world. The last minute changing in requirements and design are more complicated. More efficient than waterfall model due to their iterative and compliant nature. Product can be produce in short time and integrated with changes. Suitability Waterfall model is appropriate for development of programs that are already stable and doesnt need a major alteration. Agile model is appropriate for web based application where the iterative nature helps in integrating and repairs the various bug that arise over time. Discussion and Conclusion Waterfall model (heavy method) works best when we can clearly define our requirements that consist of two; system requirements and software requirements. All the requirements must be documented so that it is easy to develop the software based on the requirements that have been listed. After the requirements are clearly define, it will eliminate the problem in the design and development phase while also enforcing discipline to our workers or designers and programmers. All workers will clear on the scheduling and customer expectation. Based on the comparison between waterfall method and agile method, we understand that, there is no win or lose situation because between those two methods, it has their respective advantages. For example, agile method is also the variation of the waterfall method where it is exist when developers decide to changed from traditional structured, segmented, bureaucratic approaches to more flexible development styles. Therefore, the agile method or light weight method is introduced in 1974. The method should be use in software development are depends on the project, team members, and the company environment that we work in. For example, the waterfall model is most suitable for development of programs that are already stable and do not need bigger alteration. It is also involved a large size of team and focuses on large project. Thats why it needs a bigger amount of cost to develop this project. Even this waterfall model known as the orthodox method, it still widely use because it is a linear model and simplest to implemented. Waterfall model still continues to remain as the one of the most commonly use methodologies even the new system that more flexible was exist, the widely uses of waterfall model is the reason why it is studied and adapted in various software management and development project. For a conclusion, the process of software development will be easier if we understand the waterfall model diagram. This method is not only simplest software process model for application development, but also known as the most popular model for its ease of implementation in the area of software development. ISO 12207:2008, SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE [4] Engineering: Software Life Cycle Processes Software life cycle processes is a structure corresponding to the processes, activities, and task used for gaining development and maintenance of software products. Specialization of the system life cycle processes is the software life cycle processes. In the context of organizational wish for is to define the standard processes that suitable to the company business where follow the processes from organizational rather than follow the ISO standard. Life cycle model is not include in the standard, however, life cycle processes will be mapped onto life cycle model that suitable to the project, and accepted by the organization. System Context Processes ISO 12207 is more specific because it is include the software specific information to provide more widely defined processes in ISO 15288. The name of processes in ISO 15288 also slightly changed in ISO 12207. This contribution is for satisfaction of the corresponding processes in ISO 15288 and provides more specialization to those processes. Software Implementation Processes Software Implementation is the software-specific specialization of the ISO 15288 standard. The life cycle model is select and development activities are mapped to that model. Standard and procedure are based on the requirements of project and implementation plans. Software implementation process is supported by six lower level processes: Software Requirement Analysis To develop the software requirement, the system requirement must be analyzed. The software requirements need to be reliable and visible with the system requirements. Software Architectural Design To translated the software requirements into a high-level design and allocated to software components. Software Detailed Design To develop the design of each software to a greater levels and then to be coded and tested. Software Construction Each software unit and database is coded and tested. Software Integration A documented plan for the integration of software unit is develop and executed. When software requirements are satisfied, it proceeds to qualification testing. Software Qualification Testing Demonstrate that the software product performs as specified.

Bay Of Pigs :: American America History

Bay Of Pigs The story of the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, which is located on the south coast of Cuba about 97 miles southeast of Havanna, was one of mismanagement, poor judgment, and stupidity ("Bay of Pigs" 378). The blame for the failed invasion falls directly on the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and a young president by the name of John F. Kennedy. The whole intention of the invasion was to assault communist Cuba and put an end to Fidel Castro. Ironically, thirty-nine years after the Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro is still in power. First, it is necessary to look at why the invasion happened and then why it did not work. From the end of World War II until the mid-eighties, most Americans could agree that communism was the enemy. Communism wanted to destroy our way of life and corrupt the freest country in the world. Communism is an economic system in which one person or a group of people are in control. The main purpose of communism is to make the social and economic status of all individuals the same. It abolishes the inequalities in possession of property and distributes wealth equally to all. The main problem with this is that one person who is very wealthy can be stripped of most of his wealth so that another person can have more material goods and be his equal. The main reason for the Bay of Pigs attack on Cuba was the change to communism. On January 1, 1959, Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country for the safety of the Dominican Republic (Goode, Stephen 75). Fidel Castro and his guerrilla warriors overthrew the old government dictated by Batista. During the next couple of weeks, Castro established a new government and on February 16, he was officially declared premier (Finkelstein, Norman H. 127). The United States accepted this new regime as a relief from the harsh, corrupt, and unpopular government of Batista. Soon after everything settled down, Castro and his men made a rapid move to change their political course. He announced his transformation to Marxism-Leninism and avowed his friendship with the Soviet Union (Goode, Stephen 75). These events upset the United States and there were concerns about Castro becoming too powerful. One reason was the friendship with the Soviet Union because Cuba was receiving armed forces to expan d and improve its army.

Discussion. Digital Nation

Students felt that computing class is less boring than original classes. Also, young students can learn what netiquette is. Another example was ‘Bubby cooks'. Through her story, I could find that humans culture can adopted into technical environment by social services such as twitter, Youth, and personal blobs. 2) Is customizing the message and targeting resources tailored around consumer preferences and habits a good thing? An efficient use of resources? Dealt nations customize each consumer because many business people try to close to consumers by virtual systems.Virtual systems are a kind of online space. Through the virtual systems, people can imagine their commercial goals and create new situations. Also, they can discover diverse unique situations such as crisis markets. For example, according to World Dairy Expo sass, â€Å"Technology has made deep inroads into the world of dairy farming, helping manage day-to-day chores and collecting and analyzing the large batches of data a herd of cattle generates daily' (Acrobat 42). It means that digital and technical life influences not only consumers but also many companies.The reason is that many companies can find products and services which have more benefits for their consumers. Also the consumers can satisfy their consumption and the companies, and they believe digital data that Is related with the companies. For this reason, consuming data can give much more beneficial Information to humans' life. Although the data and Information sometimes give negative parts, the parts also become a kind of digital life where modern people lives in. Hill, Elizabeth. â€Å"Big Dairy Enters The Era of Big Data. † Bloomberg Businesslike 22October 2012: 41-42 print. Discussion. Digital Nation By alleviators 1) In today's technological immersion environment, do you think the good side of it Technological environment is very powerful and complicated to people. The reason is that some people think digital life giv es positive and good affections, but Digital nations customize each consumer because many business people try to data that is related with the companies. For this reason, consuming data can give much more beneficial information to humans' life.

Analysis of Theme for English Essay

The premise behind this poem is that the speaker is a black college student whose instructor has given his students an assignment to write a paper about themselves. While the poem takes the reader through his walk home from class and his thought process about â€Å"who he is†, the final line of the poem, â€Å"This is my page for English B† (ll. 41) suggests that this poem is the paper he has written for class. Langston Hughes wrote this poem during the Harlem Renaissance of the late 1910s, so a reader might immediately assume that the main topic involves race or racial prejudice. The second stanza almost takes this direction when the speaker mentions that he is â€Å"the only colored student in [his] class† (ll. 10). The third stanza changes directions, though, when the speaker, addressing his white instructor, says, â€Å"I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races† (ll. 25-26). This suggests that he is not, because he is black, different than others, but rather, the same. White people might think that his preferences are different, but they are actually similar. Asking â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write† (ll. 27) is a creative play on his identity that will come across in the paper he will write for class; will it reflect his â€Å"blackness†?, he wonders. It â€Å"will not be white† (ll. 28) he knows, since he is not, but it will partially reflect his instructor, the one who gave the assignment. After all, both he and his instructor are human (â€Å"yet a part of me, as I am a part of you† (ll. 32)). As the poem closes, the speaker draws his conclusions about his own racial identity: he no more wants to be white than his white instructor wants to be black, but there is no denying the similarity between them. He’ll learn from the instructor (â€Å"As I learn from you†(ll. 37)) but the instructor will also learn from him (â€Å"I guess you learn from me† (ll. 38)). Perhaps he thinks the instructor does not understand what it’s like to be black. A quick scan through the lines of this poem reveals the frequent use of the words â€Å"I†, â€Å"me†, and â€Å"you†, which are a clue for the poem’s overall theme:  should one find his identity through his race, or through ordinary, everyday elements, likes and dislikes, enjoyable pastimes and perceptions of life? In lines 6-15 alone, the word â€Å"I† is used to ask questions, tell his age, race, and birthplace, his college, and route home to the Harlem Branch YMCA. This is how he identifies himself outwardly to others. The third stanza uses â€Å"I† and â€Å"me† to compare himself to â€Å"you†, the instructor. The speaker identifies himself with Harlem in the lines which read â€Å"But I guess I’m what / I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me, talk on this page† (ll.17-19). Many black people during this time were inspired by Harlem’s empowerment of their community. Having a black heritage was seen as positive and black poets, musicians and authors thrived in Harlem. The speaker has likely been encouraged by living in Harlem, and therefore sees his black identity in direct contrast to â€Å"you†, the white identity of his instructor. He’s not entirely sure, though, because the short line â€Å"Me – who?† (ll. 20) indicates that his identity isn’t clear to him, or maybe to whites. The fourth stanza’s conclusion about this issue recognizes that to allow blacks to be proud of their heritage is â€Å"American† (ll. 33). While this poem doesn’t seem to make use of specific figurative language, there is one instance of alliteration which makes a neat point. In the third stanza, the speaker points out the things he enjoys that help to identify him, including â€Å"records – Bessie, bop, or Bach† (ll. 24). This intentional alliteration identifies three different types of music: a jazz vocalist (Bessie Smith), the bop genre, and Bach (classical), to point out that even a black man whose culture strongly identifies with jazz and bop music, can like classical music which is often associated with white culture. The alliteration serves to highlight the â€Å"sameness† of these three, all of which he likes, but their difference lies in their cultural associations. Although there is no specific rhyme scheme, internal rhyme throughout and the rhyme at the end seem intentional. The internal rhyme has an almost sing-song sound to it, and provides a beautiful flow from line to line. In lines 16-17, the rhyme of â€Å"true†, â€Å"you† and â€Å"two† and the enjambment of the lines seems to ask the question â€Å"what is true of ‘you’ and me†? This same  rhyme patter is repeated in the fourth stanza in lines 35-36, â€Å"Nor do I often want to be a part of you. / But we are, that’s true!†. This seems to answer the question: the common factor between â€Å"you† and â€Å"me† is that we are part of each other, â€Å"that’s true!†. As the speaker comes to this decision in the end, the tone is final and the end rhyme becomes even, as though his decision is final and right. He says â€Å"I guess you learn from me – / although you’re older – and white – / and somewhat more free. / This is my page for English B†. The rhyme of â€Å"me†, â€Å"free† and â€Å"B† suggest an answer to his question: the instructor will learn from him, although it will not immediately change the identity of any person, white or black. This is one of my favorite poems because of its rhythm and rhyme. Lines like â€Å"Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me† (ll. 18-19) and the last four have a rhythm like music and the words just flow from my mouth as I read them. They’re short and simple, but pack such a powerful punch. And while I cannot identify with the racial divide so present in this poem, I like to think about how being white is assumed, and being black is not. It was probably such a simple assignment for the professor to give, yet how many of the white students would have written about being â€Å"white†? And does the speaker think that the instructor will expect him to write about being black? And will his paper reflect being black or will it be just as â€Å"white† as the others? Hughes makes a play on this concept with the line â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write?† (ll. 27). For me, this poem is easy to understand but not overl y simplified. The concept is a complex one, but is presented in a way that makes it seem like a neat little package.

Learning Activities Essay

Think about your own organization and the people related records that it stores Identify five records that would fit within any of the identified reasons for keeping records outlined above (you will find more information on these on p278 –p280 of the course textbook). Explain why your organization needs to maintain and use these records (provide examples of how they are actually used where you can). Training Records – At Enterprise we have a spreadsheet called â€Å"The Matrix†, this stores each employed persons training records. It is a basic excel spreadsheet with a column for names and a list of each of the available courses within Enterprise along the top. As soon as an employee has been on a course this will be inputted on to the spreadsheet along with the expiry date (if there is one) so we can ensure all personnel have valid records. Having this information available is very important, due to the nature of our work we need to show that we are keeping our employees safe by having valid training records. For example if there is an accident on site and an employee has hit an underground cable, we would need to be able to show that the person has valid training records for â€Å"safe digging† to our Health and Safety officer otherwise we as a company could be seeing as being negligent when we have a duty of care towards our employees, this could result in claims against the organization. Invoice Tracker – Every week invoices are sent in from our DSP’s to each of our contracts within the Trowbridge office. I am the project manager of shrouding and have 2 invoices sent in from each of the companies working for me. Leven’s & MOYAD construction. Once these invoices are emailed to me I will copy and record the information on to my â€Å"surveying† spreadsheet. This spreadsheet contains all site numbers ever worked on by each of my sub contractors and to what percentage that they were done on which day. Having  this information is vital to my contract I need to be able to check that each site is not being invoiced on more than one occasion as well as to the percentage that is required. Also on this spreadsheet it shows how much money will be due to be paid to both the contractor and Enterprise. Showing weekly turn over information and that we are hitting profit margins are essential on monthly meetings. Also if there was ever a dispute of pay, being able to refer to this information is important. Employee personnel Files – Each employee of Enterprise has their own personnel file. This file contains full name, address, date of birth, bank details, sickness and holiday absence details as well as written warnings (if they have any) and their signed Enterprise contract stating what their job role is and salary. These files are used when appropriate, usually when employees details need updating or they have booked holiday. Online Time Sheets – Every week every employee within Enterprise must fill out an online time sheet in order to be paid. The guys on site bring in a written version of this for the person who deals with time sheets to update their online version. This is so that any absence is recorded whether it be for half an hour or for an hour, this provides accurate attendance percentages and highlights regular patterns of absence. Curriculum Vitae – For every Job advertisement that is put on the job websites a large number of CV’s from potential applicants. These are all then filtered down to persons with most experience and knowledge of the role that we are looking to fill. These persons will then be asked to interview, if they are not successful we will still store there CV on file for six months. This is a helpful system and saves re advertising for the same job if a vacancy arose for that position. Learning activity two Again think about your own organization. For the five records you have identified above, identify and describe how the records are stored. Explain the rationale for this. Training Records – These records are stored on Microsoft Excel, this system allows us to filter out what’s relevant and what isn’t depending on the persons records we are searching. As soon as a course is booked for an employee the date of the course is put on the system till the certificate is received, at which point the expiry date ( if there is one) will then be entered in it’s place. Invoice Tracker – The invoice surveying data sheet is in Microsoft Excel, this allows easy copy and pasting of data from spreadsheet to spreadsheet. Once an invoice has been received all data from the invoice will be extracted by copying and recorded on to the surveying form by pasting in to the relevant columns. Employee Personnel Files – These are all held in a locked filing cabinet in alphabetical order. Any new employee will have an personnel file created on their day of induction. All of their personal information will be stored in here and updated when necessary. Online Time Sheet – The online time sheet is kept on our internal server database, It is a case of simply going in to â€Å"online time sheet† on the server, clicking on last weeks week, and inputting the hours worked during that day. CV’s – All CV’s received from suitable job applicants will be stored in a file on the computer. They will be copied from the Enterprise email inbox and pasted in to the file, or scanned if received through the post. Learning activity three Take one of the examples of areas of organizational activity that require accurate information to facilitate decision making. For this example: Identify and describe how the data is gathered Provide at least three examples of the sort of information that is derived and why it is useful Describe how the information is used to inform the decision making process Describe how and to whom the information is presented Draw up a list of these. Curriculum Vitea when advertising a vacancy: Once Enterprise have advertised a vacancy on the system, this will be logged on to the job centre website and other job search sites. With an Enterprise email to send all Cv’s too, there is also an address for those who are unable to send via email. All CV’s are automatically filtered in to a separate email inbox, and posted CV’S are scanned in to the system as well and will wait for review by the relevant persons. Once a significant amount of CV’s have been sent in the filtering process will begin, for example if we were advertising a Data input/Administration role we would look for experience in those titles from previous roles. Or a qualification in business administration. Filtering through this information is important so as to find the right person for employment. Once the CV’s have been filtered through they will be passed on to the office manager for review. They will then pick names from the persons filtered and make an appointment for interview. The interview is carried out by our office manager and a member of staff who will be training the potential candidate. The candidate will be asked a series of questions relating to their working background and what their skills are as well as a question on Enterprise this usually tells us straight away whether they had made the effort to do some research. This goes down very well with the office manager. Once all interviews have been carried out they will be filtered down to three potential employees who will go to the final stage of the Interview process which is a trial half day. The people who were not successful will be sent a standard letter telling them that their CV will be kept on file for 6 months. Trial half day consists of a member of staff who has a good knowledge of the role being taken on, And the potential employee. They will be shown what to  do and given tasks to get on with. Once all three candidates have been in for this, the office manager, the trainee and and a member of office staff will sit down and make a decision based on how well they got on, how quickly they learned the tasks and general attitude within the workplace. This person would then be informed of their success and will be given a start date. The two other candidates will be sent a standard letter informing them that they were unsuccessful on this occasion and that their CV will be kept on file. The short listed CV’s will be kept in a separate folder to the other batch of CV’s. Learning activity four Consider what data gathering methods you might use for a particular information gathering requirement. Cover: The specifics of the requirement The method(s) used Reason for using that particular method Any considerations in using the particular method Interviews – Potential employees, this method is perfect for getting to know the candidate, asking any questions not answered in their CV. Consider writing down all questions you are thinking of asking to avoid forgetting to ask. Surveys – Surveys are a good way to gather data from a large number of people when it’s impractical to meet them face to face, it is a good method of getting an opinion on a product, service or company. Surverys can be both formal where the results are due to statistical, reliability and validity. And informal where the results are anecdotal – Anecdotal The definition of anecdotal is something that is story-like or something that is based on stories and retellings, not based on provable facts. Observations – Direct observations are a good way of recording data, especially in a working environment, they are often done in conjunction with  another data gathering method that is used to fill in the gaps and answer questions. Observations must be arranged with plenty notice to the person you are observing and the permission from management. Consider getting someone who can tell you what to look for with regards to what you are observing, for example the use of a new mechanical device in a warehouse. Learning activity five Explore the information under the link above, then tackle the following: List the eight principles of the DPA with a brief explanation of each What does the DPA say about the rights of individuals to access to data kept on them? List at least five measures you might take to protect personnel information The eight principles of the DPA Data Protection act are the following: 1: Processing personal data fairly and lawfully, It means that you must have legitimate reason for collecting and using personal data, you must not use the data in way that have unjustified adverse effects on the individual concerned, be clear on how you intend to use the data, handle the personal data in ways they would expect and make sure you do not do anything unlawful with the data. 2: Processing personal data for specified purposes, meaning you must be clear from the offset as to why you require the information and what you are going to do with it, comply with the acts fair processing requirements – including the duty to give privacy notices to individuals when collecting their personal data. You must also comply with what the act says about notifying the information commissioner and ensure that if you wish to use or disclose the personal data for any purpose that is additional to or different from the originally specified purpose, the new use or disclosure is fair. 3: The Amount of personal data you hold; Personal data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. Meaning that you hold personal data about an individual that is sufficient for the purpose you are holding it for in relation to  that individual and you do not hold more information that you need for that purpose. 4: Keeping personal data accurate and up to date; personal data shall be accurate and when necessary up to date, to comply with this you should take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of any personal data you obtain, ensure that the source of any personal data is clear, carefully consider any challenges to the accuracy of the information, and consider whether it is necessary to update the information. 5: Retaining personal data; personal data processed or any purpose shall not be kept for loner than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. Meaning review the length of time you keep personal data, consider the purpose or purposes you hold the information for in deciding whether and how long for to retain it, securely delete information that is no longer needed for this purpose or these purposes; and update, archive or securely delete information that goes out of date. 6: The rights of individuals; Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this act; the rights of access to copy the information compromised in their personal data; a right to object to processing that is likely to cause or is cause damage or distress, a right to prevent processing for direct marketing, a right to object to decisions being taken by automated means, a right in certain circumstances to have accurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed, and a right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the act. 7: information security; appropriate technical and organizational measures shall be taken against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. It means you will need to design and organize your security to fit the nature of the personal data you hold and the harm that may result from a security breach; be clear about who in your organization is responsible for ensuring information security; make sure that you have the right physical and technical security, back up by robust policies and procedures and  reliable, well trained staff as well as being ready to respond to any breach of security swiftly and effectively. 8: Sending personal data outside the European Economic Area; personal data should not be transferred to a country or territory outside the #EEA unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level od protection for the rights and freedoms od data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data. Individuals who wish to access personal data on themselves commonly known as subject access; Can do so by writing a request to the company with possibly paying a fee, this entitles them to be told whether their personal data is being processed, they can request that they are given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed and whether it will be given to any other organizations or people. The individual can also be given a copy of the information compromising the data and be given details of the source of the data. An individual can also request the reasons as to why any automated decisions are made for example a computer generated decision on credit. Whether to allow or deny. The individual is entitled only to their own personal data and not to information relating to other people. If I was running my own company the five measures I would put in place to protect the personal data are the following: Install a fire wall, anti spy ware and virus checking on all computers, this is a very common security implication, this would protect my computers from viruses which have the potential to download information from my computers to theirs. Anti spyware provides a monitoring service which stops programs being installed that can read passwords, bank details and other sensitive data. Protect computer files with passwords: Protecting files with passwords is a good way of keeping data restricted; I would ensure that only a few members of staff have the password and that it is changed on a regular basis. Disposing of computers; All old computers should be destroyed correctly, by using a recognized computer disposal service or by destroying the hard disk. Any old computers despite deleting the data, can still be accessed. Email information securely: Consider whether the email should be password protected. Learning activity six Look at the information provided under the link above, then tackle the following: What are the two ways that public authorities are obliged to provide information? What is the public interest test? What is a vexatious request? Try to interpret your answers using your own words Public authorities are obliged to publish information about their activities, as well as members of the public are entitled to request information from them. Public authorities must publish information proactively; The freedom of Information act requires every public authority to have a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a commitment by the council to make information available routinely, without waiting for someone specifically to request it. The publication scheme must state a promise to make certain levels of information routinely available such as who you are and what you do, the services you offer, organizational structure, policies and procedures, Contracts and reports, minutes of meetings, annual requests and financial information. Once the publication has been created it must first be approved by The Information Commissions Office ICO. Information in the publication scheme represents the minimum that must be shown, if a member of the public wants information that is not on this, they can still ask for it. Members of the publican request information from public authority and they have two separate ways in which they can respond: 1: Tell the applicant whether you hold any information that matches the criteria of what they have requested. 2: to provide them with the requested information Usually the request should be responded to within 20 working days. When receiving a request it must be in the form of a letter of email to be valid under The Freedom Of Information Act, the request must include their name, address and a description of the information requested, the act covered information not specific documents. The public interest test is a guidance document provided by The Information Commissioners Office,he has produced this series of good practice guidance designed to aid understanding and application of the FOIA The aim is to show some of the key areas of the freedom of information act and to help guide on how to respond to information requests. The guidance provided by the ICO is only a starting point going from research I found: section 1 of FOIA sets out the right to any person making a request for information to a public authority these are: The right to be informed Whether the information is held or not by the authority and if so then The right to have that information communicated to them. In principle it states that both these rights need to be treated separately. When applying the public interest test, consideration should be given first to whether it is right to confirm or deny whether the information is held and secondly whether the information should be supplied. To decide whether a request is vexatious you would need to look at the following: Can the request be seen as obsessive Is the request harassing the authority or causing distress to staff Would complying with the request impose significant burden in terms of expense and distraction ( with regards to employees) Is the request designed to cause disruption or annoyance Does the request lack any serious purpose or value You should be able to decipher whether the request is vexatious by looking at  these headings. Learning activity seven There are many methods of keeping records or information, some of which are computerized. Identify three types of records or information that relate to an area of business and inform decision making in that area. For each of the three types: Describe how the information/record is stored How reason for storing the information/record in this way How the storage method meets the requirements of the DPA Keeping records of employees sickness and absence, we keep his electronically on the system in a password secured file. Each person has there own line on a spread sheet and each day they are off that date will be marked in red, with a comment attached to it stating why the person was off sick. Any sick notes will be scanned in to the system and stored within that persons file. We ensure that this file is secure at all time and only management have access to it. Reasons for this is that we want to ensure other employees cant see other peoples absence and reasons for being off sick as that is private and confidential. The DPA states the following: obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes adequate, relevant and not excessive to the purpose for which the data are required accurate and, where necessary, kept up-to-date kept secure against unlawful or unauthorised processing, or accidental loss or erasure This is compliant with the Data protection act as we have only managers who have access to the file. We must keep this information as up to date as possible as absence and sickness in the work place can highlight problem areas that need to be looked at and resolved. Keeping CV’s – These are all stored in a file on the main system, these can be accessed by the nominated filter processors who are usally a member of the team which the vacancy is for, and the manager of that dept. This is so  they can access them when needed. CV’s are usually kept for a year and then disposed of. This is compliant with the DPA’s standards as we don’t keep information longer than we need to as well as having only a select few people who are able to access the information. Training certificate records – All certificates are kept in our personnel files, however our training dept at head office also holds a copy as when the training is carried out a copy of the cert is sent to them also. This information is recorded on our training matrix and updated accordingly. We store the certificates in this way so that we can see who requires training and when. Also if anything happens on site and our health and safety officer needs to see what training they have in place we can have it available as soon as possible for him. Our storage methods meet the requirements of the DPA by keeping the information secure, all our employees have access to their records when required. We do advise that when we receive a certificate that they come in for a copy to put in their own records at home. Learning activity eight Take one example from the context of your organisation where information has been sourced, collected, analysed and then interpreted to inform decision making. For this example: State why the information was needed (how was it intended to support decision making?) How was it sourced? What method of data gathering was used and why? Show an output from the analysis of the data (example: pie chart, bar chart) Sickness and Absence – The information is gathered from employees time sheets which are handed in weekly to the office manager the time sheet consists of a basic table on an A4 piece of paper that requires the employees to input their hours. This will then be handed in and inputted manually. This can then be printed off and used. Sickness and absence information is required once a month at the operations meetings, the operations manager will go through with the contracts manager as to why someone was off for a period of time whether it was due to sickness, was a doctors note provided or whether it is a reoccurring unauthorized absence. If it is an re occurring unauthorized absence; this will be highlighted with our HR Department at head office. Once this happens our HR representative Jo Betts will arrange an interview with the person to get to the bottom of why they are having this time off and whether an improvement program can be put in place. Usually they will be issued with a warning and put on an attendance watch if they cannot give a valid reason as to why they aren’t coming in to work. This bar chart is in my Evidence folder 02.07 document Learning activity nine Look at the example above – and considering the broad principles of a dashboard – describe how you might create a dashboard (or describe an existing dashboard What areas of information would/does it contain? From where would you source the data to populate the dashboard? Who would use the dashboard and why? I would create a dashboard based on training record information; it would show what percentage of employees had valid training records and what percentage have them but they are out of date.. I would also have an accident chart, we have a few accidents a month relating from hitting underground BT cables and water pipes, as well as employees having accidents from climbing electric poles. Due to the fact most of our accidents are fairly similar, I would be able to group them easily by title. We provide training courses for all of these incidents such as â€Å"pole top rescue† and â€Å"Safe digging practices†, so where an employee may not have a valid training record for this, and that employee was involved in the accident this would be a good way of highlighting why the accident happened in the first place and that he should not be carrying out that particular job without undergoing training. I would source the training data from the Training Matrix file system. This  information is kept up to date at all times and is readily available to me when I need it. The accident data is kept with our Health and Safety manager, I would request the information from him. The dashboard would be a great tool to take to Operations meetings where our health and safety manager goes over the level of accidents and training carried out for that month. He can then compare using a bar chart whether there are a higher percentage of valid training records for that month in comparison to others. Learning activity ten Read the information contained under the link above, then tackle the following: A Balanced Scorecard approach generally has four perspectives – what are they? What are the potential benefits of using a balanced scorecard? Why is feedback essential? A balanced score card is defined as â€Å" a strategic planning and management system used to align business activities to the vision statement of an organization† in more simple and realistic terms a balance score card attempts to translate the sometimes vague, hopes of a companies mission statement in to the practicalities od managing the business better at every level. To produce your own balance score card you must know and understand: The companies mission statement The companies strategic plan/vision The financial status or the company How the organization is currently structured and operating The level of expertise of their employees Customer satisfaction level. The four perspectives that the Balanced score card generally has are that of: Finance – in which covers the following areas: Return on investment Cash flow Return on capital employed Financial results Quarterly/Yearly Internal Business processes – which covers the following areas: Number of activities per year Function Duplicate activities across functions Process alignment (is the process in the right dept.)(When the organization’s business processes, quality definitions and measures are aligned to the strategy) Process bottlenecks Process automation (A general technology term that is used to describe any process being automated through the use of computers and computer software. Processes that have been automated require less human intervention and less human time to deliver) Learning and Growth – which covers the following areas: Is there the correct level of expertise for the job Employee turnover Job Satisfacti0on Training/Learning opportunities Customer – Which covers the following areas: Delivery performance to customer Quality performance for customer Customer satisfaction rate Customer percentage of market Customer retention rate. The benefits of using a balanced score card are that it enables you to see a mixture of financial and non financial measures each compared to a target value within a single concise ( expressing alot of detail in a few words†¦) report. Once the Balanced score card is implemented within the organization you should see improved processes. Motivated educated employees Enhances information systems Monitored progress Greater customer satisfaction Increased financial usage. However for any software to work effectively it should be: Compliant with your current technology platform Always accessible to everyone – Everywhere Easy to understand/update/communicate The balanced score card is only of good use when available to everyone, not by keeping it hidden. Feedback is essential and should be contributed to by everyone within the business Carol do I need to go on to discuss the 360 degree feedback here?